A Parliament of Owls

Hello girlies! I don't know about you but I've been seeing owl nails everywhere. Sometimes just colorful owls like SuPa Nails Oh Oh Owls! Sometimes not so colorful like JawsOfKita-LoveHim's Owl Nails. There's also those with one owl like cutepolish's Cute Nail Art tutorial. Or those with designs that incorporate all nails like Chalkboard Nails Valentine's Owl Nail Art or Unhas da *micktuti*'s owl nails.

With all these awesome owl nails I wanted to try some of my own. I saw this design on Pinterest first and just had to recreate it. It's originally from Chalkboard Nails and was then recreated by Let them have Polish as part of a challenge—inspired by a tutorial.

Parliament of Owls Owl nail art nails


I couldn't have chosen a worse time to do this design though. It was very hot and humid; the kind of heat that nail polish doesn't dry well in. I also had very little time to do my nails before I had to start getting ready for my niece's dance recital. I thought I could do it though. How hard could they be? Well, I'll admit they weren't that hard. I didn't think out the color choices very well. I mostly just reached into my nail drawer and grabbed the closest colors.


Parliament of Owls Owl nail art nails


The base colors worked well together but once I started lightening it for the chest, dotting on the chest spots, and adding the beak everything just kind of blended together.


Parliament of Owls Owl nail art nails


The spots and beak look nearly perfect on the mint and purple, shows up slightly less on the pink and red, but really just blends completely on the orange. If I had more time I'm sure I would have tested each color on paper before using them, but I was in a rush.

Parliament of Owls Owl nail art nails

How much of a rush you ask? So much of a rush that I didn't realize I had scraped the eye off my thumb owl and dented the tip of the middle finger owl until I was in the car and far away from my nail supplies. I told my nieces that the orange owl was evil and attacked the pink owl. *giggle* I'm so mean. :)

Parliament of Owls Owl nail art nails


I'm actually pretty proud of how well my right hand turned out all told. I'm right handed but through much practice I've gotten my left hand able to do much of the fine detail work. Still, it's never as good as doing nail art with my right hand. However, besides the googly eyes on the red owl I think everything came together very well.


For those who are wondering ... a groups of owls is called a parliament, hence the title. Yeah ... I had to look it up too. ;)


Polish Used

  • Revlon - Base Coat
  • Wet n Wild - I Red a Good Book
  • Wet n Wild - I Need a Refresh-Mint
  • Wet n Wild - Club Havana
  • Wet n Wild - Bite the Bullet
  • Wet n Wild - Tropicalia
  • Sally Hansen - Mellow Yellow
  • Sally Hansen - Sun Kissed
  • LA Colors - Black
  • LA Colors - White

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China Glaze Strawberry Fields

Tomorrow it's already June, so summer is really here. That's why I wanted to wear China Glaze Strawberry Fields, it is truly a summer polish. I've shown it here in my blog before, but that was quite some time ago, so I decided to post this again with some (hopefully) better pictures.

This is really one of those polishes that I have to wear each year when spring turns to summer. It's really a bit shame that I have quite many awesome polishes, but I rarely get to wear them, because there's also always something new waiting too. But then again, there's also so many pretty new polishes that I can't wait to wear... 

Tell me, what's your favourite summer polish (or polishes)?
 



Nail Tek Foundation II
China Glaze Strawberry Fields 2 coats
Sally Hansen Insta-Dri

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Accessorize Electric Purple+ a comparison (with Gina Tricot #48 "Diva" and GOSH #001 "Lavender Love")+ Accessorize Crystal Shimmer


Hello everyone!


I had planned to show you "Electric Purple, shade 26" with "Crystal Shimmer, shade 33", both from Accessorize. But when I came home after I had bought Electric Purple (to see the whole haul, click here), I saw that it was very similar to Gina Tricot #48 "Diva". At first I was sad, and felt like I had thrown away my money. But it was not expensive... Neither of them... And then I decided to make a comparison post instead, and added the a little more pastel GOSH #001 "Lavender Love". But still, I wanted to see what the iridescent glitter would look like over this kind of blue- purple.

So I will first show you Electric Purple on its own, then compare it with the two other blue- purple I have, and after that You can see Crystal Shimmer on top of the comparison hand.



Accessorize "Electric Purple", shade 26:

Accessorize Electric Purple, shade 26

This is a cream that to my surprise dries mat. It is opaque in two coats. I used no top coat because I wanted to show how it is on its own. (Now, I wish I had one photo with top coat too...) The color is a bit more purple than my photos. I have named it blue- purple. Compared to my other blue nail polishes it looks a little purple, but I put it on my purple nail wheel, and felt that that was completely wrong.

Accessorize Electric Purple, shade 26

Accessorize Electric Purple, shade 26

The color of all these nail polishes should have looked as purple as the purple part of the flower in the lower right corner on the photo below. I find it strange that the camera won't show purple.

Accessorize Electric Purple, shade 26





Comparison: A. Electric Purple- G. Diva- GOSH #001 Lavender Love


Gina Tricot/ Bella #48 "Diva", Accessorize "Electric Purple" shade #26, GOSH #001 "Lavender Love"




Here you see Lavender Love on the pinkie, Diva on the middle finger, and Electric Purple on the rest, no top coat.

Gina Tricot/ Bella #48 "Diva", Accessorize "Electric Purple" shade #26, GOSH #001 "Lavender Love"



You might have seen Diva in my skittles post (to see it click here). It is not very glossy, but compared to Electric Purple it is. It also has some shimmer. And the color is a bit deeper and darker. I wonder if it also is the blue one in the set of three (that I saw at ginatricot.com), together with a red, and a orange.


Holding Gina Tricot: #48 Diva

GOSH 001 Lavender Love is, as you see, more pastel. But it behaves as all my GOSH creams except for "Miss Grey". This is two quite thick, easy, glossy, coats. If it looks like I have made brushstrokes, the surface kind of evens out by itself. I bought this bottle on sale in 2011. Sadly, it was limited edition.

Holding GOSH #001 Lavender Love
As you see, these three are not dupes. And I was relieved by that, but I would not buy the one from Accessorize if I had the other two. As my friend always says; "No nail polish looks the same when it's applied on a nail"

Holding GOSH #001 Lavender Love


With Accessorize "Crystal Shimmer", shade 33, layered on top:


Gina Tricot/ Bella #48 "Diva", Accessorize "Electric Purple" shade #26, GOSH #001 "Lavender Love"+ Accessorize "Crystal Shimmer", shade #33


Gina Tricot/ Bella #48 "Diva", Accessorize "Electric Purple" shade #26, GOSH #001 "Lavender Love"+ Accessorize "Crystal Shimmer", shade #33

This is one coat on top of the comparison hand. In my haul post, I described Crystal Shimmer as a chunky holographic glitter in a clear base. But now I have seen the term iridescent about similar glitter. In the bottle it looks like white glitter, but the glitter sparkles in different colors when you move the bottle and the light hits the glitter. I see yellow, blue, green, and orange. When I put it over black though, the color on each particular glitter stays the same, and it looks like a regular multicolored glitter. It smells very strong before it dries.

It was difficult to read the gold text on white background. Even enlarged to this size. To read what is written on the bottle, I actually took a photo of it, so that I could see it on full screen on my computer.

Accessorize: Crystal Shimmer, shade 33
The blurry photos show the iridescent glitter better.

Gina Tricot/ Bella #48 "Diva", Accessorize "Electric Purple" shade #26, GOSH #001 "Lavender Love"+ Accessorize "Crystal Shimmer", shade #33



Gina Tricot/ Bella #48 "Diva", Accessorize "Electric Purple" shade #26, GOSH #001 "Lavender Love"+ Accessorize "Crystal Shimmer", shade #33


Gina Tricot/ Bella #48 "Diva", Accessorize "Electric Purple" shade #26, GOSH #001 "Lavender Love"+ Accessorize "Crystal Shimmer", shade #33

I have been told that all these brands are Cruelty- free, but can still only find GOSH on the animal organizations lists, so I wonder if it is true. So if you who own Gina Tricot/ Bella nail polish and Accessorize read this, please give your local animal organisation all the information they need to put your company on their Cruelty- free list, and they will spread the news to us all. If you are Cruelty- free, why keep it a secret??? 

I would therefor wait till Accessorize and Gina Tricot are on the animal organisations Cruelty- free list before buying from those companies.


Lani

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Moo MiniCards Review

This post has been a long time coming. I always seem to have more pressing posts though, but not this time! This is a product review of some custom business cards I bought last month from Moo. Always be on the lookout for Moo sales. I ordered these the moment I got the email saying they were selling their 100 custom business card sets to 500 of their customers for only the shipping cost. That's only $5.00!!


Moo custom business cards printfinity


This is the pack my cards arrived in. All 100 of them! It's a really nice case, just about crush proof. However, I found it too big to carry around with me, so be sure to either have a business card holder on hand or purchase one with your Moo order. I already had one on hand.


Moo custom business cards printfinity


The bottom of the case tag contains information about the company. Personally, I think that's pretty cool, but that's just me. Another thing I think is cool? The Moo case is free with Business Cards and MiniCards. It is recyclable and made from recycled pulp.


Moo custom business cards printfinity


Here is the inside of the Moo case. You get your first look at the cards themselves. The cards are matte laminate so they have only a faintly reflective quality. This means, even on the brightest day, if you hand out your business card the recipient will certainly be able to see it! They are also made from paper product sourced from sustainable forests. I went with Moo's Classic Paper but there is also the option to order your cards on Moo's Green Paper. Green Paper is ecofriendly, 100% recycled paper. It's something to think about if you decide to order.




Moo custom business cards printfinity


I ordered the first business card through Moo's free Business Card sample pack last November. I got 10 standard Business Cards with Moo's Printfinity. This is simply Moo's way of saying you can choose a different image for each of your business cards at no extra cost. What other business card company will print 100 different images on 100 business cards? The second card in the picture is one of my new MiniCards. You can see the size difference immediately. The MiniCard is about half the height of the standard card and slightly less wide.




These cards also have a customizable back. Use this to put your name, your number, your email, your blog, anything you could possibly want your business cards to say. Moo also allows you to change font, font color, and the background color.


I found the MiniCards absolutely adorable. However, they are slightly unwieldy. I found I had trouble sorting through them to find a specific card to hand out. They catch slightly on each other and you can't get your fingers positioned just right on their smaller surface to scan through them quickly.


Another con for the MiniCards is that they are a bit more grainy looking than the standard Business Cards. Still, this might be my new camera causing the image graininess. The classic Business Cards I ordered had images from my older, better model camera while the images on the MiniCards were taken with an emergency camera purchased when I dropped and broke my old camera at the beach. I found no difference between the photos on the computer but that may not translate as well to print.


Still, Moo is now offering a free sample pack of all their products. Again, this includes free shipping. You don't get to choose the images like I did for my Business Cards. These are pre-printed Moo products. They include a sample of their Business Cards, MiniCards, Postcards, Stickers, and Labels. If you are looking for a company to purchase from I would definitely order Moo's free sample pack and check out the great quality of their products before making any decisions.

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Swag Bucks

Hey everyone! I hope everyone is having a great day, hopefully with family and friends instead of work. :)


I want to take a moment from my day to tell you about a site that was recently recommended to me. Some of you will surely know about this, but it's Swag Bucks.


Swag Bucks Search & Win


How did I find Swag Bucks and what is it? Well, I was looking for cool things I could use as a giveaway prize. Swag Bucks lets you use the points (or Swag Bucks) you rack up from doing searches, taking surveys, watching videos, using coupons, and so much more to 'buy' prizes and gift cards. It's like a carnival; you earn tickets and redeem them for prizes. The more tickets, the better the prize is likely to be.


I've only been doing this for a few days and I'm already over 1000 points. I'll have a gift card giveaway for you in no time at this rate.


Don't want to wait for only a chance at a gift card or want to help me earn it? You can start racking up your own points and help me earn points by using my referral link to sign up for yourself. Your searches will help me earn points while still earning you points. That means you can earn yourself a gift card and still have a chance of snagging yourself another gift card in my upcoming giveaway.


You can also use the Swidget to the right for searches and help me that way. It's a lot like Google so don't be afraid to use it.


So go to Swag Bucks, sign up, and start earning points for gift cards and cool prizes.

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Memorial Day

Hello girlies. Tomorrow is Memorial Day in America, a day to honor the men and women who died while serving in the Armed Forces. In national cemeteries, many volunteers place American flags on each grave as a way to honor them. These nails are my way of honoring the fallen.


Memorial Day nail art nails stars stripes red white and blue


I was hit with inspiration Friday night while looking through some tape manis. What if I used the elements of an American flag and put them on a nail? A red and white striped nail showing through outlines of stars. It could be just like a tape mani if I used stickers.  It was brilliant. I just needed some star stickers in various sizes.


Memorial Day nail art nails stars stripes red white and blue

It was amazingly hard to find the sizes of stars I wanted ... or to find any star stickers at all! I thought of nothing beyond the sizes I needed. Silly of me! Anyone else seeing the problem? Yes, they are stars in various sizes. Yes, they are stickers. Why yes, that does says adhesive gems!! Instead of putting star stickers on my nails and painting over them like tape I had to put these hard gems on my nails and carefully trace around each one since they didn't conform to my nails like a true sticker would. Then I had to fill in the entire nail around the star outlines. It went from being such a simple mani idea to an all night and all morning job. I got one hand done before I was too tired to see straight and had to do the other hand first thing in the morning.

Memorial Day nail art nails stars stripes red white and blue

Some of the stars turned out amazing, nearly perfect, while others were a bit deformed.





Still, my original idea came through pretty well I think.


Memorial Day nail art nails stars stripes red white and blue


Here is a look at what is under all that blue which is China Glaze First Mate if you were wondering. I started with a base of OPI Alpine Snow and drew in a few messy stripes with China Glaze Poinsettia. I just wanted to show you that, for a design like this, the stripes don't have to be perfect because you'll be seeing only a very small portion of each one. Looking at the finished nails you would never think something this messy was under each one! :)

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Accessorize: Pink Spice, shade 35


Hello everyone!

Accessorize: Pink Spice



This is Accessorize "Pink Spice", shade 35. It is a dark pink with a little terracotta/ orange in it. It did not have as much color shift as I had expected. Again, the camera shows more color shift than can be seen in real life.



Accessorize: Pink Spice
This time I want to show you some bottle photos first, and then some nailphotos. Look how different the color in the bottle looks.

Bottle: Accessorize: Pink Spice, nail: GOSH: Misty Mauve

Accessorize: Pink Spice

Accessorize: Pink Spice







I think the first and the third bottle shot are the most color accurate.


First day:

Accessorize: Pink Spice

Second day:

Accessorize: Pink Spice

Accessorize: Pink Spice

Accessorize: Pink Spice

Accessorize: Pink Spice

Accessorize: Pink Spice

 With flash:
Accessorize: Pink Spice

Accessorize: Pink Spice



The third day I had some tip ware:

Accessorize: Pink Spice

Accessorize: Pink Spice

Accessorize: Pink Spice

Accessorize: Pink Spice

Accessorize: Pink Spice

Accessorize: Pink Spice

Accessorize: Pink Spice

Accessorize: Pink Spice

Accessorize: Pink Spice

Accessorize: Pink Spice

Accessorize: Pink Spice




I do not have a color like Pink Spice, but you can see comparisons with MAC Bad Fairy if you click here and here.

After I got used to the color, this was a fun foil to wear, because I often had two colors on the nails at the same time.


Lani

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