IT IS FINALLY CHRISTMAS MUSIC SEASON (happy thanksgiving)

I love Christmas music.  I don't think I can ever get sick of every hokey, oft-heard standard (except for Christmas Shoes, that song is awful).  But I keep myself from listening to it until Thanksgiving; it just isn't time for Christmas music until then.

So, let's celebrate Christmas music season with a holly jolly manicure!

I bought these Sally Hansen Rent the Runway polishes (Red: Rosey Shooter, Green: Green Rocket) way back in October, as I thought they, along with Glitter Gun (a gold) were PERFECT Christmas shades.  I layered them over Zoya's Hunter and Livingston (green and red respectively), to create a pitch-perfect holiday mani.

The greatest color combination of all time?

I threw these together on a whim a while back, just to see if they were brilliant or ghastly together.  My verdict? BRILLIANT!

The burnished burgundy-purple base of Revlon's Sugar Plum, with its hint of bronze, balances the pale indigo of Essie's Stroke of Brilliance just perfectly.  This combo just glows, it's an unexpected knockout.

Autumn

"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns."--George Eliot

Autumn is, and always will be, my favorite season.  From my birthday, to glorious fall colors, to the cool crisp weather that makes yardwork (my favorite form of exercise) so much easier, to apple season and more, I feel calmer, more fulfilled and more generally happy in the fall.

To celebrate, above are some perfect autumn nails; Zoya Cheryl as a base, a gorgeous cocoa brown glassfleck shimmer, with Candii Blossom Cosmetics Autumn Leaves as a matte glitter topper.  Ahh, crisp fall perfection!

Luxurious Brocades from Maybelline

I spotted the Maybelline Brocades in a CVS recently, and snapped up three bottles posthaste.  This manicure layers Embelleshed Blues (dark blue) and Beaming Blue (light blue) over Zoya's Neve, a gorgeous purple-leaning blue.

The Brocades can lean a little lumpy if they're more than one coat, but with the layering over a base color they smooth out beautifully with a layer of topcoat.

The shimmer in Embelleshed Blues has a GORGEOUS green flash to it, and Beaming Blue is a light blue/purplish pink duochrome.  Both have larger blue glitters as well, giving these polishes quite an effect in a single bottle.

I'm back!

I've been a pretty lackadaisical blogger for a while now, but I'd like to change that!  I moved house, got a new job, got some chickens and have been working on increasing my fitness level as well, so I let blogging take a bit of a back seat.

I'm hoping to stick to a Tuesday/Thursday posting schedule.  As my polish collection has done nothing but grow lately, I've got even more to share.

Let's start with my current manicure:

I used Zoya's Jaime as a base, and jazzed it up with one of the new Maybelline Brocades, Gilded Rose, and Sally Hansen Glitter Gun from the Rent the Runway collection (see a fantastic overview here: http://nouveaucheap.blogspot.com/2013/08/spotted-new-sally-hansen-limited_22.html).

Application Notes:

• The application of Jaime was very nice; I still had visible nail line at 2 coats, but no streakiness or tricky application, which can be the case with a pastel like this.  
• Gilded Rose is just perfect; opaque in 2 coats, smooth even before you add topcoat, stunning.  I might just buy a backup.
• Glitter Gun was a shot in the dark for me, because a lot of the major brands kind of miss the mark with glitter mixes like this, but I was pleasantly surprised!  Simple application, not too much dabbing to place the glitter, and a free-flowing base that didn't gloop up.

I, much like Wendy Torrance, love pink and gold together. Gorgeous!

Indie Spotlight: Hot Mess Lacquers

*none of the links in this post are affiliate links
Hot Mess Lacquers is a personal favorite for me.  I own a fair number of her line already, and so when I got the opportunity to review polishes for my blog, I jumped at the chance!  Hot Mess Lacquers  was kind enough to provide three polishes for review, and I even got to select one myself, with the other two being surprises.

Unsurprisingly, I love all three. A lot.  I knew I got a Hot Mess package in the mail by the fun neon pink zebra duct tape, but I didn't expect coordinated wrappings for the polishes!  I love these kinds of details, they make getting packages so much fun.

For review, I was given "All Hail the Queen", an Alien movie series reference, "Across the Trailer Park", and "Bourgie Bitch".  I love the Hot Mess labels; they really make a statement, but you can still see the polish in the bottle, it's a great design balance.

Below are the gorgeous swatches:

First off, All Hail the Queen.  I love the Alien movie series, even the terrible 4th movie.  I rarely get into a horror series, but I think the grandeur, the good acting and the quality of the cinematography is beyond compare for these movies.  So, to get a nail polish themed after these movies was extra fun.  What was extra, extra fun?  Discovering that the label was printed in the title font for the Alien movie; such attention to detail is a fantastic example of why I love Hot Mess.

 All Hail the Queen is an olivine jelly with forest green square glitter and golden-orange hexes in at least two sizes.  The coverage is fabulous; the swatches below are 2 coats, no topcoat.

I love the square glitter in this; it's a great departure from the typical hex, and the effect is insecty, lizardy, alien.  It's also appreciable that it's not a grey or black polish; it's not too literal, but it gives the great hidden, haunting, non-human effect that the films provide as well.

Next, Across the Trailer Park.  While I was given All Hail the Queen and Bourgie Bitch as surprises, I chose Across the Trailer Park.  I was looking forward to the deep blue with blue and green hexes, but I had no idea it'd be such a bright, peacocky color that made my nails look like they were covered in sequins!  Below is two coats, no topcoat:

Three thin coats would eliminate all visible nail line, but I didn't mind the hint of it with two coats.  The base is a bright peacock jelly, and the two types of hexes plus the mini blue glitter provide a fantastic finish.  I dabbed this a bit to ensure I got good glitter placement, but the application itself was smooth.  I didn't have to worry about bald patches or dragging at all.

Finally, Bourgie Bitch.  I think I gasped when I saw this one, and I'm so glad Hot Mess Lacquers picked it out to send to me for review.  It's a baby blue base with a pink flash, all with baby blue and rose gold hexes, along with two sizes of golden glitter.  Below is two effortless coats:

This polish is so subtly beautiful.  The dreamy, almost robin-egg blue with the pink flash, the glittering bits of gold adding luxury, oh my nails are so pretty right now!

You could draw some parallels to Revlon Whimsical or Deborah Lippman Glitter in the Air, but this polish is SO MUCH prettier.  I always thought Whimsical looked a little...barfy.  Just the wrong tones together.  Bourgie Bitch, along with being a beautiful full coverage, has a charming pink flash and golden glitter to really round it out as a beautiful polish.

I'm so flattered to have been selected to receive these polishes for review from Hot Mess Lacquers, and I am pleased to say that all three polishes here covered well in two coats, have fabulous glitter combos, and are just a pleasure to apply and wear.  A+!

*All products reviewed here were provided by Hot Mess Lacquers for review.  All opinions are my own.

Quick NOTD: Julep Melissa and Portia! Also FACEBOOK!

I finally started a facebook page for my blog!  You can follow me here: https://www.facebook.com/Accent.Nail

I've also added a Bloglovin' link to my blog, just to your right over there --->
As you've likely read, Google Reader is biting the big one on July 1, so if you want to follow my shennanigans, Facebook or Bloglovin' are your best bets.

As for my nail of the day:

I was in a seashelly kind of mood this time around, so I put Portia tips on 2 coats of Michelle.  The visible nail line doesn't bother me with this one, mostly because the glittery tips make the look intentional, instead of just a too-sheer polish with no undies (scandal!).

I got Portia in Julep's Spring Mystery Box (I'm a sucker for those mystery boxes), and really like how well the iridescent glitter reflects even over a pale color like Melissa.

Zoya Pixie Dust Review

I bought four of the Zoya Pixie Dust polishes  the second they went on presale; they looked like wonderful soft colors (I got Godiva, Vespa, Nyx and London), and the texture effect was intriguing.   They arrived at my house a few days ago, and have been staring at me, tempting me with their shimmery silver goodness.

These polishes are designed to dry to a textured, slightly gritty texture, a matte finish, with sparkle.  The texture is much like the fine-grit side of an emery board.  They require no basecoat or topcoat, and that's how I swatched them.  They can be topcoated to add a shiny finish and cover up the texture, if that isn't your thing.  Removal was a breeze, way way easier than any other glittery polish I've ever owned.

I love these; I wasn't entirely sure I would, but they're tugging at my rock-loving heartstrings.  They look like little geodes on your nails, and have a subtle, shimmery, crystalline beauty that I am in love with.  Application is a hair tricky, but with a smidgeon more patience than a creme might take, they work just fine.  Their dry-time is pretty quick; not Seche Vite quick, but you won't dent your mani within about 10-ish minutes.

First off, London; a deep foggy grey polish, it dries a touch darker than the bottle color.

The application with this color was flawless, and I used just two coats.  I do recommend wrapping your tips with these polishes, as their base is sheer enough that the white nailtip might stand out a bit, like it does on my ring finger.

Next, Godiva, a pale nude (nice reference, Zoya!):

The sparkle doesn't photograph well with this one, but trust me, it's there.  For this one, I had to add a third coat just to my nailtips, as I had visible nail line with two coats.  I was able to apply the polish just to the top third of my nails, and it blended seamlessly with the rest of the polish, so I bet chips would be easy to touch up with these polishes too!

Third, I have Vespa, a lovely retro sagey green:

This polish applied the best of the four, with two easy breezy coats, one thin, one thicker.  This one is also the sparkliest of the four I bought.  I think it's my favorite shade from this collection, as it's hard for me to find sagey greens that mesh well with my skintone, and Vespa is really flattering.

Finally, Nyx, a faboo periwinkle blue:

I really love this soft blue; I think it compliments my skin fabulously, and is a change of pace from the typical creme finish for periwinkle polishes.  This one is also fairly glittery, like Vespa was.  I did have to watch for bald spots with this one, but this polish is so manipulable that a few extra swipes of my brush didn't damage the manicure at all.

My overall verdict is that as long as you watch your application, these polishes are really something special; unusual in their matte, textured sparkliness, and unique in the burgeoning textured polish market in that they're softer shades instead of the ultra-bright texture polishes you might see from other companies.  I have enough bright glitters, these are a change of pace for my collection that make me really, really glad I bought these!

Disclaimer: I purchased these products with my own money, and all opinions are my own.

Artsy Wednesday: Earthquake or Seismograph mani!

This kind of nail art, I like.  I can do it all with brushes in the bottles of my polish, it's simple, and people will probably ooh and ah when I go to the bank or grocery store, which is always a fun little ego boost!

I used two Pretty & Polished colors as my base; Olgite, a shimmering, duochromey blue with pale purpley-pink at certain angles, and Concoction, a deep purple jelly with holo glitter and iridescent flakies and small glitter (I KNOW, IT'S AMAZING).

Here, I have 2 coats of Olgite:

This polish is a nice opacity, and dries quickly to a satiny finish.  It's not matte, but it's not a full shine, probably due to the pigmentation.  I like it!  I did notice that my second coat needed to be a little thick to prevent dragging the first coat and creating bald patches; the polish wasn't hard to work with, it's just worth noting that a thicker second coat is worth it.  Plus, Olgite dries quickly, so no problemo!

Next, I put 2 coats of Concoction on half of each nail:

This polish is sheerer than Olgite, but two coats still provided good coverage (at least of the color of Olgite). This polish is pretty darn gorgeous, these pictures don't do it justice.  It's got a great depth, and the smidgeon of flakies in the polish give it a special twist!  I'll do lone swatches of Concoction soon, so you can really see how it pops!

Finally, paint a wiggly line down the center of your nail.  You can do this a few ways; add strips using the brush of the polish, add strips using a nail art brush, add a wavy line with a nail art brush, add zig-zags.  As long as it kind of looks like a seismograph, you've done your job!

I used GOSH Holographic Hero; I figured my nails were too dark to use black.  These turned out a little more Flash Gordon than Seismograph, but I really like them anyway!

I'm really honored to be able to participate in Artsy Wednesday, and you should all DEFINITELY check out these other, very talented Artsy Wednesday participants.  

Pretty Purple Polish

Lab Muffin

Maria's Nail Art

Valiantly Varnished

Unnaked Nails

Nail & Polish

Beauty Gnome

Lacquered Lunatic

Disclaimer: The Pretty & Polished polishes featured in this blog entry were provided for review.  All opinions are my own and have not been influenced in any way.

Artsy Wednesday: Indie

Have I got a glitter bomb of a manicure for you guys!

One of my favorite things about Indie polishes is that they have such different looks to them than mainstream, big-brand polishes have.  You couldn't get jewel-encrusted nails like this with just any polish!  I used Julep's Amber as a quick base for this (mattes make for fabulous quick drying bases!), then a single layer of Hot Mess's Aquanet, with Hello Dolly by Pretty & Polished on the tips in a glitter gradient.

The mega-hexes of Aquanet make me inordinately happy, and the super-glittery lilac of Hello Dolly, coupled with the freshness of the matte white glitter is a thing of wonder and a joy forever :)  I love indie polishes; you get to support small business, you get polishes that just don't exist in the mainstream market, and you get to have a great time combining them to make your very own fancy nail jewelery!

I'm really honored to be able to participate in Artsy Wednesday, and you should all DEFINITELY check out these other, very talented Artsy Wednesday participants.  

Pretty Purple Polish

Lab Muffin

Maria's Nail Art

Valiantly Varnished

Unnaked Nails

Nail & Polish

Beauty Gnome

Lacquered Lunatic

10 Day Nail Art Challenge Day 10: New Year's Eve!

Happy New Year!   I had a wonderful 2012, and I hope 2013 is good to all of you.  Have a wonderful time celebrating tonight!

 Cobalt blue, color-changing shimmer, holographic tips and stars, does it get any more festive?

Artsy Wednesday: New Years Eve!

PARTY TIME! EXCELLENT!

I have two Hot Mess polishes, Concussion and Yankee Star, that both SCREAM New Years Eve; stars, iridescent glitter, packed with sparkle, a confetti mix of glitter shapes?  Yes please!

I popped a layer of Concussion and Yankee Star both over Julep's Morgan, a great grapey royal purple, and I'm ready for a night out on the town!

 EXTREEEEEME CLOSEUP!

As an aside, I'm pretty pleased that I'm getting closer to a lighting scheme that doesn't make me look dead.  Woo hoo, photographic proof I'm not a zombie!

I'm really honored to be able to participate in Artsy Wednesday, and you should all DEFINITELY check out these other, very talented Artsy Wednesday participants.  

Pretty Purple Polish

Lab Muffin

Maria's Nail Art

Valiantly Varnished

Unnaked Nails

Nail & Polish

Beauty Gnome

Lacquered Lunatic

Artsy Wednesday: Christmas

I can't believe Christmas is right around the corner; wasn't it July just recently?

This manicure isn't going to make any kind of sense without a backstory, so here it is: Bees.  My manicure is a tribute to a very large Secret Santa exchange that happens over the internet, wherein the Secret Santas and Santees regularly make jokes about sending and receiving bees (can you imagine receiving a box full of bees in the mail? Terrifying!).

I was lucky enough to get a Santa who sent me a fabulous gift, including 4 Julep polishes I didn't own (a feat in itself, since I own something like 30!), some fabulous nail art glitters, and a nice black polish (for bee striping, of course!)  I set out to make a bee-like manicure with the bee colored portions of their gift, and made a honeycomb/stripey design for my Christmas manicure.

I've participated in this Secret Santa exchange for 2 years now, and it's so much fun to send gifts to people across the country (or the world!), get thoughtful and fun gifts from a relative stranger, and basically add even more excitement to the holidays.  So, I have a bee manicure, because it wouldn't be Christmas with out bees!

Bzz!

I'm really honored to be able to participate in Artsy Wednesday, and you should all DEFINITELY check out these other, very talented Artsy Wednesday participants.  

Pretty Purple Polish

Lab Muffin
Maria's Nail Art
Valiantly Varnished
Unnaked Nails
Nail & Polish
Beauty Gnome
Lacquered Lunatic

10 Day Holiday Nail Art Challenge Day 1: Silver and Gold!

Silver and gold, silver and gold

Ev'ryone wishes for silver and gold

How do you measure its worth?

Just by the pleasure it gives here on Earth.

Silver and gold, silver and gold

Mean so much more when I see

Silver and gold decorations

On ev'ry Christmas tree.

I've had that song stuck in my head since I signed on for this nail art challenge.  I tried to do striping tape trees in gold, with Zoya's Luna as the background, for the silver element of the nail art.  I added little iridescent stars on top of each tree, to create a super shimmery, gorgeous manicure!  I'm in love with this one, and the tape trees are SO easy to do!

Photographing them, on the other hand, is NOT easy, especially when they're this glittery!  My lighting was shining off of it so brightly that I barely got any usable photos.  However, moving my hands around creates this gorgeously distracting glitter

Indie Spotlight: Pretty & Polished Pretty as a Peacock

This swatcheroo has been a long time coming; I've had this polish to review for a while, and have actually done a very nice manicure with it before, but didn't photograph it at the time.  So, apologies for the delay, as this is a particularly neat polish that I'm pretty enthused about the layering and combination possibilities for it!

Pretty as a Peacock is a dense forest green glitter polish, small purple glitter, medium teal hexes, medium purple hexes and slightly larger hexes in a true peacock blue.  The minute I unwapped the bottle, I thought "Mardi Gras!"  This really is a gorgeous polish, although I do wish there was more purple; I'm a sucker for purple.

I didn't use any underwear on this manicure, and only needed 2 coats for full coverage, which is pretty darn impressive.  One coat of Poshe topcoat and there was nary a gritty feeling to be had.  I did use the PVA glue as a basecoat, because I'm sure trying to remove this with conventional remover would be a pain.

As I look at the polish more on my nails, I think it's kind of an understated glitter, if that's even possible.  It doesn't blow your mind with immediate glitterbomb explosions, but the subtle differences in the teals and blues with little pops of purple cumulate into a really neat effect.


This polish, and many other awesome polishes, can be purchased at the Pretty & Polished Etsy store.

Disclaimer: I purchased these items with my own money, at a discounted price for use in a review on my blog.  My opinions are my own and were not influenced in any way by Pretty & Polished.