It Girl IG106 Stamping Plate Review Part 1

Greetings and Nailutations,

*Press Sample*
Today I have a new stamping plate from It Girl Nail Art.  There are 3 new plates available for pre-order IG104, IG105 and IG106.  You an also purchase all 3 for a good deal.  I'll be sharing half the manis I created and my thoughts using IG106 plate in this post (the next post will have the second half of the manis).

Now let's get to some manis!

HPB Presents Winter Sparkle Nails

Greetings and Nailutations,

The Hobby Polish Bloggers have another link up and this month's theme is Winter or Holiday.  I decided to run with the winter part of the theme because I rarely experience true winter, being in Arizona.  Snowflakes or snow isn't something I see much, if only from a distance.

I decided to create colorful glistening snowflakes.

I used ZR's Polish LE Diamonds, a silver holographic glitter polish as my base.  To add color, I did a gradient of Esmaltes de Kelly's Red, Orange and Yellow Soap Bubbles (tints).  I stamped with Drip Drop Nail Paint's Yoga Pants and CJS-03 Plate and a What's Up Nails Creative Shop Stamper.  To protect my skin and cuticle I used Dream Polish Gem Block Liquid Latex and topped the mani with Gem Glam Top Coat.

I love how they turned out!  Snowflake manis in the winter are my favorites and I love that every single one is different - just like real snowflakes!

Thanks for visiting!  Be sure to check out the other manis seen below from fellow Hobby Polish Bloggers!

Happy Polishing,
Kristi aka @BeginNails

An InLinkz Link-up

It Girl IG102 Stamping Plate Review Part 2

Greetings and Nailutations,

Today I have the second half of the IG102 Stamping Plate from It Girl.  It Girl is based out of Tacoma, Washingtong (my home state!) and this plate is part of her initial release.  She has new stamping plates available for pre-order now.  One thing I noticed first off is that the surface of the plates isn't as reflective as others, which I prefer as it makes taking photos a LOT easier!  I was able to capture each image and get a macro of each.

Now let's get to some manis!

Candy Drop Duo Trims The Tree

Greetings and Nailutations!

Today I have a Candy Drop Duo from Drip Drop Nail Paint (DDNP) and Candied Apple Polish (CAP)!  This was one of the December duos and the theme was the Candy Drops trim the tree.  This duo also came with some Christmas nail vinyls/stencils from Vinyl Quickies and soap from Glitter and Gratitude.

Now let's get to some swatches!

It Girl IG102 Stamping Plate Review Part 1

Greetings and Nailutations,

Today I have IG102 Stamping Plate from It Girl.  It Girl is based out of Tacoma, Washingtong (my home state!) and this plate is part of her initial release.  She has new stamping plates releasing soon.  One thing I noticed first off is that the surface of the plates isn't as reflective as others, which I prefer as it makes taking photos a LOT easier!  I was able to capture each image and get a macro of each.

Now let's get to some manis!

Candied Apple Polish 2016 Holiday Collection Swatch and Review

Greetings and Narlutions,

I have the 2016 Holiday Collection from Candied Apple Polish to share today.  The collection contains a total of 5 polishes, 3 glitter crellies and 2 glitter jellies.  Alison's (the creator of CAP) polishes are 5-free so they don't contain 5 of the harsh chemicals that can be found in polish.

Now let's get to some swatches!

Fall Into Christmas Duo Swatch and Review

Greetings and Nailutations,

Drip Drop Nail Paint and Joha's Love Nail Polish have teamed up to create a holiday duo.  They are festive and fun and perfect to use for manis this time of year.  The duo contains a chocolate creme and a green sparkly polish.

Now lets' get to some swatches.

Candy Drop Duo Gets Cozy Swatch and Review

Greetings and Nailutations!

Today I have a Candy Drop Duo from Drip Drop Nail Paint (DDNP) and Candied Apple Polish (CAP)!  This was the November Duo and the theme was the Candy Drops Being Cozy.  This duo also came with some leaf decals/vinyl stencils from Snail Vinyls and cuticle balm from Sun and Moon Nail Care in the scent of Pumpkin Spice.

Now let's get to some swatches!

Dream Polish Winter Scent Product Review (and nail art!)

Greetings and Nailutations,

*Press Sample*
Today I will be sharing my first impressions with the new winter collection from Dream Polish.  Dream Polish carries nail care items such as top coat, sticky base coat, ridge filling base coat, cuticle oil and balm as well as liquid latex for easy nail art clean up.  She has several core scents as well as scents that change with the season.  The winter scents include Cranberry Orange, Sugar Cookie, Mint Fluff, Jack Frost, Eggnog and Frankincense & Myrrh.

Now let's get to some reviews (and photos!).

It Girl IG101 Stamping Plate Review Part 2

Greetings and Nailutations,

Today I have the second installment of reviewing IG10 stamping plate from It Girl.  It Girl is based out of Tacoma, Washingtong (my home state!) and has the 3 available plates, with new ones on the way.  I really love the repeating patterns in this plate.  They work great as a full mani or an accent or a skittle!

Now let's get to some manis!

It Girl IG101 Stamping Plate Review Part 1

Greetings and Nailutations,

Today I have a stamping plate to share from an indie stamping line called It Girl.  It Girl is based out of Tacoma, Washingtong (my home state!) and has the 3 initial plates available. One thing I noticed first off is that the surface of the plates isn't as reflective as others, which I prefer as it makes taking photos a LOT easier!  I was able to capture each image and get a macro of each.  This post will cover the first half of the images on this plate.

Now let's get to some manis!

Mitty Brushes Review

Greetings and Nailutations,

*Press Sample*
I've been playing with a brush set sent to me by Mitty.  Mitty is a fellow nail artist, who wanted to have good quality Kolinsky brushes at an affordable cost.  Mitty are available as the complete set or as individual brushes.  The brush set comes with:

1 Brush bag
1 I'm Fan-tastic Brush
1 Lots of Dots with lid (dotter)
1 Stripy Glamour Brush with lid
1 Angle Me Brush with lid
1 Fabulously Flat Brush with lid
1 Shape n Lines Brush with lid

As a reminder, care for your brushes to ensure they last always clean them off completely and store safely with the lid on to protect the bristles.

Now let's get to some manis!

December Mani Of The Month Box Swatch and Review

Greetings and Nailutations,

Today I have the December Mani Of The Month box which features products from Heather's Hues, Nails Redesigned and Northern Star Polish.  December's box had the theme of The Gift Box and also had a special guest of Dream Polish.  Each box features a full size polish, a mini polish and assorted extra glitter all from Heather's Hues, an assortment of nail vinyl decals and Swarovski crystals from Nails Redesigned and a few products from Northern Star Polish.

This box came with red glitter bow decals, swirl nail stencil designs and red and white crystals and a glass file all from Nails Redesigned, and Northern Star base coat, Classic Top Coat and cuticle oil in the scent of Candy Cane.  The special guest contributor included a cuticle oil in the scent of Sugar Cookies.

Now let's get to some swatches!

Daily Hues Nail Lacquer 2015 Create Christmas Collection Swatch and Review

Greetings and Nailutations,

*Press Sample*
Today I am sharing 6 polishes that are part of Daily Hues Nail Lacquers' Create Christmas Collection, where Jenn (the owner) worked along side 6 polish lovers who won a contest to create a cohesive and festive collection.  The collection includes 3 glitter toppers and 3 glitter crellies.  They are available December 2nd.  All DNHL polish are 5-free, so they don't contain 5 of the harsh chemicals that can be found in some polish.

Now let's get to some swatches!

K2 Nail Paint Swatch and Review

Greetings and Nailutations,

*Blogger Package*
Today I am sharing a new-to-me indie brand called K2 Nail Paint.  I received 5 colors and a 3-free fast drying top coat.  K2 Nail Paint's products are all 5-free (aside from the fast drying top coat) and that includes a 5-free top coat as well.

Now let's get to some swatches!

Indie Shop Event Experience

Greetings and Nailutations,

November 21st was a special (first of it's kind) event called the Indie Shop Event.  It was a chance for a group of indie brands (independent) to get together and showcase what they have to offer the folks in the surrounding nail community.  It was presented by Envy Lacquer, co-hosted by Bliss Polish, and took place in Southern California.  As some of you know, I live in the neighboring state and since my husband loves road trips, we decided to drive 5-6 hours for a long weekend.

After a fun day at Disneyland (photos 1 and 2 below), I met up with some amazing makers and polish loves at the hotel in the bar for a few drinks the night before.  Melody of Envy Lacquer, Yvette from Bliss Polish, Painted Polish by Lexi was there with her sister and Alice from Squishy Face Polish along with a few polish lovers (Mayra and Gen and one other whom I didn't catch her name..sorry!!) all joked and laughed and thought about playing drinking games to bad "polish words"....like Arminex.  (Two cookies if you get that joke!)

The next morning, I got up early and went downstairs to help set up the room.  I tried to be as helpful as I could without drooling.  I was amazed at the creativity of the tables and all the gorgeous colors being put on display.  I saw faces that matched with instagram accounts.  There was a little stress and panic, but the reassuring message of a line at the door made us all the more excited!  Below is Painted Polish by Lexi and Sea Lore Polish tables (photos courtesy of Mr. BeginNails).

Painted Polish set up - I really liked her presentation and the addition of lights to really show the sparkles.

Sea Lore Polish set up, she also had adorable bows/hair accessories.

Finally the doors opened (about 15 minutes late....SORRY!) and I saw girls walk in with wide eyes oohing and aaahing.  I heard screams of recognition, I saw hugs of brand owners caring about their customers, I saw kindness of customers admiring the beauty placed into a bottle...and I smelled....obviously polish.

Doors opened!  I am propping the one door open.  See, I am good for something!

Lavish Polish and the gorgeous product!

Stached Lacquer with her adorable table set up!

Melody (the planner) and her brand Envy Lacquer showing customers the love she places in each bottle.

Yvette, owner of Bliss Polish and her BoB's (Bliss'd Out Babes).

Lexi of Painted Polish and her sister.  

Lexi showing the sparkles of Painted Polish.

Sea Lore Polish and Poetry Cowgirl Polish talking to fellow polish addicts.

Yvette showing off the new collection of Bliss Polish.

Bad Bitch Polish up front (she sold out of most of her stuff) and Squishy Face Polish in back, updating her status about how great the event is going.

Sara from Nails Redesigned up front and the Nvr Enuff Polish owners toward the back.

I was given the opportunity to teach a demo during the event.  I wanted something easy and wanted to make it interactive.  I decided on water spotting and showed the gathering how to make nails look like turquoise (the stone).  My heart grew seeing folks learning a new technique and being excited about it.  I was also able to give out some prizes and coupons that some amazing folks sent me: Drip Drop Nail Paint, Polished Vino, CDB Lacquer, Heather's Hues, GG Indie Polish, Ellagee Polish, and Girlosity Cosmetics.

I came away with a HUGE haul of polishes (3 new to me brands: Poetry Cowgirl Polish, Bad Bitch Polish and Stached Lacquer) and some new friends!

Thanks for reading!  What polishes should I try first!?

Happy Polishing!Kristi aka @BeginNails

Drip Drop Nail Paint Mystery Trio Swatch and Review

Greetings and Nailutations,

The most recent mystery trio from Drip Drop Nail Paint was magical!  When I say magical, I mean they were thermal!  My absolute favorite because it is like two polishes in one!  As with all Drip Drop Nail Paint polishes they are 3-free and have creamy formula.  Be sure to follow Drip Drop Nail Paint on instagram for up to date information on restocks.

Now let's get to some swatches!

First up is my favorite of the trio, Chrysalis.  Chrysalis is pinky-purple when warm and a deep purple when cold.  The best part is that there are light blue and purple micro flakies in the polish.  When I initially swatched this polish I was so sad because it stayed dark purple (5th photo) and I realized that day I was part vampire because my hands were freezing!  I attempted it a day later (with warm hands) and it transitioned perfectly with no help.  Photos show 2 coats with shiny top coat.

Next is Photosynthesis which is green when cold and dusty turquoise green when warm.  The transition on Photosynthesis is subtle, yet gorgeous.  It contains light green and blue iridescent micro flakies.  Photos show 2 coats with shiny top coat.

The last polish in the trio is called Metamorphosis, which is pink when warm and darker pink when cold.  Metamorphosis contains light pink and gold micro flakies.  Like the other 2 thermals, it applied perfectly.  Photos show 2 coats with shiny top coat.

Top Coat:  Gem Glam Top Coat from My Dream Polish

Loves:  Thermals and Drip Drop?  YES PLEASE!  Sign me up every time!  I love that DDNP has taken on thermals and the formulas were outstanding.  I also loved the micro flake selections in each polish.  My favorite is Chrysalis because of the contrasting colors and it was very sensitive when I wasn't vampire-like.  And an added plus is that all Drip Drop Nail Paint polishes are also 3-free so it does not contain 3 of the harsh chemicals that polish can contain.

Wishes:  The only thing I wish is that Photosynthesis and Metamorphosis a more contrasting change.

Stay connected with sales, promos and announcements:
Store: http://dripdropnailpaint.storenvy.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dripdropnailpaintLLC
Instagram: @dripdropnailpaint

Happy Polishing,
Kristi aka @beginnails