Meet The Beatles!

Ok, so yesterday I did John Lennon nails in honor of his birthday today, and while I was thinking about those nails, I decided that I REEAAALLLLY wanted to do the Beatles nails that I have had on my list to do! I've always been a huge Beatles fan, amongst other 'oldies' tunes... in fact, I pretty much listened only to oldies stations until I was about 16 or 17! I love ALL of the Beatles albums, but Abbey Road is definitely my favorite, and my favorite Beatle is Paul, even though Ringo is pretty funny to watch. Favorite Beatles song? Has to be 'A Day in the Life', I love that song, in fact, it's one of my favorite songs of any group/artist! Also LOVE the Jeff Beck version, do yourself a favor and check it out, it's badasstastical. Anyway, I digress...to the nails! I think I need longer nails though (even though they're borderline too long already) so I can fit the ENTIRE Beatles logo on them without squishing- or cutting off part of the 'B'.

I used American Apparel Summer Peach as a base on the band member nails, American Apparel Hassid for the outline and hair, Sally Hansen Professional Lavender Cloud for the eyes and teeth. For the Paul nail, I used Zoya Yummy for his collar, and Pure Ice Wild Thing for the background, for Ringo, I used Zoya Robyn in the background, for John, I used Essie Foot Loose in the background, and for George, I used CND Electric Orange for the background. For 'The Beatles' logo, I used American Apparel Hassid as a base, with Sally Hansen Professional Lavender Cloud for the logo. Topped it all off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

And somebody spoke and I went into a dream...Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Sexay Scarlet Funky French....

While looking through my stash, I realized just how many reds I have. This used to be my go to color. Well this bright red stuck out, and since I had yet to try it, I did. It's by Wet N' Wild, and it's called Scarlet Red. This was only 2 coats, and great application.

Then of course, I wanted to see what some black tips would look like. For some reason this mani reminds me of a great pair of night out on the town, stilettos.

Okay, after looking back in my pics, I have done this color combo before, LOL. Here is one I did, that hasn't been posted yet

I used Forever 21's Red, so much prettier in real life.

and here it is with s black tip























Note To Self: Do different combos!! : P

Guiltfree Glam: B3F FTW!

"What is B3F?" is a question I find almost daily in my inbox, so for today I've got a little writeup on the matter. I always redirect everyone to this awesome post by All Lacquered Up, since I'm no chemist AT ALL, but the requests kept coming, so bear with me. I won't get into all the bad stuff certain ingredients can do, as I don't want to have people panicking!

B3F wha?

What are B3F or Big 3 Free nail polishes anyway? These are polishes that are free from Formaldehyde, DBP & Toluene. Formaldehyde in its pure form is a colorless gas. Formaldehyde is anti bacterial and acts as an anti dissolvant and improves adhesion. DBP or Dibutyl phthalate is used as a plasticizer which should keep surfaces smooth and unbreakable. Toluene is a substance that keeps your polish liquid.

Why?

Each of these ingredients have certain dangers attached to them. There is still debate over whether these are actually harmful: usually these ingredients only trip you up when you're exposed to huge amounts during a longer period of time or when they are being incinerated. However, long term consequences are still unknown and there are many people who suffer from allergic reactions from these substances. Formaldehyde is hardly used these days, except in hardeners/strengtheners. You might want to give those a body check. A product from Formaldehyde, called Formaldehyde Resin, is more often used nowadays, I'm not entirely sure about that one, but it's considered safe by the FDA. If you're allergic to Formaldehyde you might be allergic to the resin as well though.

Just a marketing tool?

I know a lot of people don't care at all, but better safe than sorry goes a long way. I know I don't want to to cause unnecessary harm to my health. Why risk it if there are plenty alternatives - especially when you're pregnant or breastfeeding! Maybe the fuzz is a little overblown and I do think a lot of brands are using this as a clever marketing tool, but it doesn't hurt to be careful.
A lot of older polishes are not B3F, but I can't wrap my head around the fact that companies still choose to produce nail polish the oblivious way. For example: Models Own polishes are still crammed with Toluene. Why?! I know producing non B3F polish is a lot cheaper than its healthy alternative, but the price of Models Own polishes ($8 each, where Nubar costs &7.49 & Zoya $7 each) hardly reflects that. It does take some companies a while to get their new formula to work, but practice makes perfect right?

Brands

You can check the labels to see whether your nail polish is B3F, but brands like Nubar, Zoya, SpaRitual, Orly, Chanel, RBL, Lippmann, Revlon, Del Sol (as pictured above), newer Misa, China Glaze and OPI are definitely B3F. However, some of these still contain Formaldehyde Resin.

I hope this was helpful and thanks so much for stopping by!
- With love, Michèle

Sources: Cosmeticsinfo.org, Wikipedia

Borghese Stellar Notte

I'm proud to say that this was actually my very first Borghese. I was hesitant to buy any, simply because I just can't stand the old style looking bottles. I'm a modern girl, and these just don't fit. Until I saw this duochromed girl in a display. I just love having color options from 1 polish. This is purple, blue, teal and a hint of green, which I had a hard time capturing.

War is Over! (If You Want it)

He was part of the British Invasion, one of those mop-tops from Liverpool that we all know and (whether you are too hardcore to admit it or not<---you know who you are) LOVE. There isn't a person today that hasn't heard of John Lennon or The Beatles, and the awesome that springs from them. Did you know that there is a little known bootleg album called 'A Toot and a Snore in '74' which is the only known recording where Lennon and McCartney played together after the breakup of The Beatles. The album was recorded during Lennon's 'lost weekend', the 18 months he was separated from Ono and was living with his former assistant, May Pang. Also on the album were Linda McCartney, Stevie Wonder (at one point Lennon asks, "You wanna snort, Steve? A toot? It's goin' round", in reference to cocaine), Harry Nilsson, May Pang, Bobby Keys, and Jesse Ed Davis. It's definitely an interesting album if you can snag it. (and if you're a Lennon fan) I have to say though, one Lennon song that I will ALWAYS love, Christmastime or not, is 'Happy Xmas (War is Over)'. I <3 that song. The title lyric is based off a poster campaign that John and Yoko did in 1969 in protest of the Vietnam War. Yoko's Official Flickr has the posters in several different languages available for download HERE. Plus- if they don't have your language- all you have to do it translate that phrase into your language and email them, and they'll make it!

In honor of what would have been Lennon's 70th birthday tomorrow (Oct. 9), I did the IMAGINE cover on my nails today! <---So you guys can do it for tomorrow!!

 I used American Apparel Cotton as a base, with American Apparel Hassid for the black, Essie Foot Loose for the hot pink hair. CND Electric Orange for the orange hair, Color Club Ms. Socialite for the mouth, Pure Ice Wild Thing for the nose, ALDO Sea You in Ibiza for the left side of the glasses, and a mix of ALDO Sea You in Ibiza and Essie Foot Loose for the right side of the glasses. Topped it all off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

Imagine.

My 2 Jessica polishes...

Venus Was Her Name, is one of my top 10 polishes of all time. She is gorgeous, and in my opinion, better than Chanel's Paradoxal. I love everything about her, from the deep murky purple, to the bright purple shimmer, that hides inside. The minute I saw a pic of this, I had to have it, and for once, it wasn't LE, and was available. I got these two of of Jessica's website.
Application was amazing, and only 2 coats for both. I really need to get more.

Here she is (trumpets playing in the background) .....
Venus Was Her Name!!!!!!! (cheering)

The 2nd one I got was Greta, which I gues is nice, but looked way better on the site (sigh) oh well

Water Marble Magic

My first water marble

Hi guys! For today I've got something different from usual: a water marble. My first one actually! Well.. the first one I didn't immediately want to wipe off ;). It's still not how I wanted it to look, and it's nothing compared to others', but I wanted to share anyway! If you're not familiar with this technique: water marbling is putting drops of nail polish into water, creating patterns with a stick and dipping your finger in it. There are many tutorials on this crafty business but definitely get inspired by Colette from My Simple Little Pleasures, because she's got super duper water marble skills!

The polishes I used were Nox Twilight Beauty Crush - a very bright pink - and It's You! by Misa - a duochrome-y dark shade! Not all polishes will work for water marbling but the well pigmented ones are usually fine. There are several ways to avoid getting those dirty fingers, taping and vaseline for example. Vaseline (or unpetroleum jelly in my case) worked really well for me, you apply it on your skin and cuticles and after you're done, you can wipe the polish off - just like that! I got this tip from Michelle from The Lacquer Files, thanks girl!

I hope you enjoyed this post, thanks for stopping by!
- With love, Michèle

My standard french manis.................

Standard french manis are not my favorite type, but in my opinion look best on shorter nails. Two nights

ago I ended up trimming mine down to little nubs, and decided to do this. I used to do standard french manis all the time, but ever since being on MUA, my world has been completely changed. I was just not fully aware of all the awesome colors, finishes and nail designs that were around. I'm so thankful for that too! Anyways, back to my mani, I used OPI's Bubble Bath for the base, and Sinful's Snow On Me White for the tips. I used my regular technique that can be seen HERE, to do my tips.

La La La La La La La La La La Laaaaaa.

Try getting THAT out of your head!! *muahahahahahaha* Ok, anybody who's ANYBODY knows who the Smurfs are, and how...Smurfy they are. :-D I remember many a Saturday morning growing up waking up and watching the Smurfs on tv, since I grew up in the boonies, we didn't have cable, *GASP* (yes, that's for REAL. My parents STILL don't have cable) so Saturday mornings were the only time that cartoons were on TV, so we definitely made the most of them, most likely eating S'mores cereal, maybe Count Chocula, or perhaps my dad's amazingtastical fried eggs. (I am 29, and I STILL can't make fried eggs as well as he can.) Ahhh, the memories....

Can I also mention that two of my friends (and readers) got married today!! Congratulations Len & Sarah! I wish you both all the happiness in the world!!

And now, on to the nails! I did Papa Smurf on my thumb, Painter Smurf on my index finger, Smurfette on my middle finger, Vanity on my ring finger, and Brainy Smurf on my pinky. :)

I used Zoya Yummy as a base, with Sally Hansen Professional Lavender Cloud for the hats and eyes, Eyeko Saucy Polish for Naughty Nails for the tongues (when you see 'em, the stem and spots of the mushroom, and Papa Smurf's hat. For Smurfette's hair, I used American Apparel Manila, which I also used for the center of the flower on Vanity Smurf's hat. For the top of the mushroom, I used butter LONDON Minger, which I also used for the paint splatter on Painter Smurf's hat. For his paintbrush, I used American Apparel California Trooper as a base, with a mixture of Color Club Best Dressed List and American Apparel Manila. For Vanity's flower, I used Color Club Ms. Socialite, then I used a combination (not mixed, just whatever I picked up on my brush) of Pure Ice Wild Thing, L.A. Girl Army Green, and Zoya Shawn, and as always, I used American Apparel Hassid to outline everything.

I have to say, I think this manicure is pretty smurfy. the only nail I'm not loving on my left hand is Smurfette, she was the first one I drew before changing my technique, and she looks a tad wonky. Ah well.

Sorry, no Gargamel this time, perhaps when the Smurfs movie comes out next summer. :-D

2010 New Limited Edition Wet n Wild - Wild Shine Collection

So I stopped in at CVS on my way home from work, and found the new WnW display!! I'm sopposed to be on a no buy, but $1 each, couldn't pass on them. I got most of them, but just so you know, many seem to very familiar. Here are the few I got.



The closest dupe I noticed right away is the new one called Midnight. It looks almost exactly like their DC'd one called Wild Orchid. The only minor difference is that Wild Orchid has slightly more holo.

The other ones I noticed, but didn't compare yet are, Cheers is Kaleidoscopes twin sister, and Celebration is only a teeny tiny brighter than her sis, Carribean Frost. Anyways, on to the swatches

Extravaganza, this does have tiny gold shimmer in it, but my camera chose to ignore them :(

Celebration

Cheers

Tipsy

Spectacle

Fireworks

Midnight

Then I tried the glitter ones, over black, and I love them sooo much more, but then again, Black polish, is my favorite!!

From Left - Right
Tipsy, Fireworks, Spectacle & Cheers