Digit-al Dozen: Evergreens and Glistening Snow

Greetings and Nailutations,

*Press samples, disclosure below*
I am still a day behind for Digit-al Dozen's prompt of accent.  Today I have a festive winter mani.  A forest of trees with an accent of a snow flake!

Let's get to the details!

30 Days of Colour: First Day of Spring

Greetings and Nailutations,

The theme for 30 Days of Colour Challenge is "First Day of Spring."  The challenge objective is to use a polish that I haven't tried yet.  I knew I had to do something floral and selected a glitter crelly to spice it up!

Let's get to the details.

It Girl Nail Art IG112 Plate Manis Part 2

Greetings and Nailutations,

*Press Sample*
Today I will be sharing the second half of the manis I've done with It Girl Nail Art IG112 Plate.  As I mentioned in the first half blog post this is probably my favorite plate from It Girl Nail Art that I've received - the images are simply adorable!  All the images picked up well - I do recommend using a squishy/sticky stamper for the fine line images instead of a clear stamper.

Now let's get to the manis!

Candy Drop Duo: Spring Is In The Air

Greetings and Nailutations,

Today I am sharing the latest Candy Drop Duo!  Candy Drops are a collaboration between Candied Apple Polish and Drip Drop Nail Paint.  They come out with new duos every month and they have an adorable theme.  This month's theme is Spring is in the Air.

Now let's get some swatches!

Candy Drop Duo: Wishful Caking and Celebration Of Friendship

Greetings and Nailutations,

Today I am sharing 2 Candy Drop Duos!  Candy Drops are a collaboration between Candied Apple Polish and Drip Drop Nail Paint.  They come out with new duos every month - or sometimes 2 each month.

Now let's get some swatches!

It Girl IG108 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 purchase: IG107 (inspired by the art deco movement), IG108 (inspired by the Art Nouveau movement) and IG109 (features fine lines and intricate details).  You can also purchase all 3 for a great deal.  I'll be sharing half the manis I created and my thoughts using IG108 plate in this post (the next post will have the second half of the manis).  In addition to stamping plates, she also has scrapers with nail sizes on them (see below in the photo).

Now let's get to the manis!

A Mini Indied Box Swatch and Review Part 2

Greetings and Nailutations,

Today I have rest of the A Mini Indied Box, which was a collaboration box of 10 indies all providing minis for an affordable price.  What I love about this box is that it opened my eyes to a few new brands that I hadn't tried before.  The second box is in the process of being created!

Now let's get to some swatches!

Candy Drop Duo: They Go Ice Skating

Greetings and Nailutations,

I picked up this duo quite some time ago and I'm just now posting about it.  It is one of the December duos between Candied Apple Polish and Drip Drop Nail Paint.  This time the Candy Drops go ice skating!  This duo came with a soap from Glitter and Gratitude as well as festive vinyls from Vinyl Quickies.

Now let's get to some swatches!

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!

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!

October Candy Drop Duo Swatch and Review

Greetings and Nailutations!

Today I have a the October polishes from Drip Drop Nail Paint (DDNP) and Candied Apple Polish (CAP) aka The Candy Drops!  This duo took on an science theme and also came with bat vinyls from Snail Vinyls and cuticle balm from Sun and Moon Nail Care.  This duo sold out quickly and I almost didn't get it.  There was a close few seconds of panic!

Now let's get to some swatches!

First up is Drip Drop Nail Paint's contribution to the duo, Mad Scientist.  Mad Scientist is a purple creme that contains blue micro flakies and silver holographic rainbow dust.  This applied so nicely and photos show 2 coats with shiny top coat.

The polish from Candied Apple Polish is called Professor Bubbles.  It is a white glitter crelly that contains purple, white and neon green circles, squares and hexes in a few sizes.  Professor Bubbles is such a cheerful polish.  Photos show 2 coats with shiny top coat.

This duo also came with bat vinyls from Snail Vinyls, which I will use at another time.  It also came with cuticle balm from Sun and Moon Nail Care in the scent of apple cider.

Shiny Top Coat: Gem Glam Top Coat from www.dreampolish.com

Loves:  Drip Drop Nail Paint had me with the purple polish and the formula was perfection.  Professor Bubbles from Candied Apple Polish is so cheerful and you can't help but look at it and smile.

Wishes:  I do wish the vinyls were delivered earlier (or that the Post Office didn't have polishes disappear so that they could have been released before Halloween), bat vinyls (batman symbol) are difficult to use year round.  I also wish the cuticle balm scent was stronger, as it was a bit muted.

Happy Polishing,
Kristi aka @BeginNails

Cuticula Scented Nail Tape Tutorial Water Marble

Greetings and Nailutations,

*Press Sample*
Today I'm sharing another experience with Cuticula Scented Liquid Nail Tape.  Cuticula is a liquid latex base product that is utilized during nail art to save time on clean up as well as making clean up a LOT easier.  Kristin, owner of Cuticula, sent me her mini Fall Trio in the scents of Candy Corn, Cinnamon Roll and Pumpkin Pie.  They also come with adorable nail decals that go with the scent!  My first mani, I used it for a blood splatter look, the second mani I did a sponge tutorial.  Today I will be showing a water marble tutorial.

Cuticula Scented Liquid Nail Tape Review

Greetings and Nailutations,

*Press Sample*
Today I'm sharing my experience with Cuticula Scented Liquid Nail Tape.  Cuticula is a liquid latex base product that is utilized during nail art to save time on clean up as well as making clean up a LOT easier.  Kristin, owner of Cuticula, sent me her mini Fall Trio in the scents of Candy Corn, Cinnamon Roll and Pumpkin Pie.  They also come with adorable nail decals that go with the scent!

I will be sharing the mani that I created using the Pumpkin Pie scented Cuticula and my experiences with it.

I started with a tuxedo mani, as seen below.  I wanted to make it more appropriate for Halloween and what better way to spice up a mani?  Add blood splatter to it!

Red creme polishes can and will stain your cuticles and skin, so it is best to take precautions using a product like Cuticula.  I applied Cuticula to my skin as well as flooded my cuticles with it to ensure that no red creme polish would even think about trying to stain my cuticles.  It dried extremely fast and as soon as I was done with my pinky, my pointer finger was dry.  You can tell it is dry by the color change.  The Pumpkin Pie scent grew stronger as Cuticula dried and it made me crave....you guessed it pumpkin pie!

Once the Cuticula was all dry, I grabbed my favorite red creme and a bobby pin.  I dipped the loop end of the bobby pin into the polish and pulled it out and hovered it slightly above my nails and blew hard in little bursts to get the look of blood splatters.  I did this until I was happy with the look.  As you can see, I could have gone a little farther up my finger with Cuticula.  Lesson learned: don't be shy with Cuticula, she will protect you!

Then I removed my dried Cuticula from each finger, taking most of the red creme with it.  I also included a photo (2nd photo below) of my mani pre-clean up.  Look at how easy my clean up job will be with just the addition of Cuticula!!

And here is the final look!

Other products used:
Polishes: Blank Canvas from Candied Apple Polish, Yoga Pants from Drip Drop Nail Paint, Little Red Dress from Polish My Life, Gem Glam Top Coat from Dream Polish
Products: Vinyls from Nails Jewelry Bling

Loves:  I love the fall scents of this trio and Pumpkin Pie is my favorite!  The best part is that the scent lingers on your fingers after you take it off.  I also love that it dries quickly and is very easy to use and control with the brush.  These little minis are the perfect gift for your fellow nail art addict too!  I also love that they come with nail decals to help inspire some nail art.

Wishes:  I wouldn't change anything with Cuticula.  For me, I can use latex based products and have no allergies....so if I was to wish for anything it would be for the gals out there that are allergic to latex to have a product like this to be able to use.  I'd love to see Kristin carry some non-latex base products too for my friends who are allergic.

Stay Connected:
Store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/rainysunraynails?ref=hdr_shop_menu
Instagram: @rainysunraynails

Happy Polishing,
Kristi aka @Beginnails

PS below is a tutorial of what I did:

All Mixed Up Lacquers Characters of Tim Burton Collection Swatch and Review Part 3

Greetings and Nailutations!

*Blogger Package*
Here is the 3rd installment of the entire Characters of Tim Burton Collection from All Mixed Up Lacquers.  The Characters of Tim Burton Collection contains 16 glitter toppers and they are all inspired from characters from Tim Burton movies.  (First and Second Reviews)

Photo courtesy of All Mixed Up Lacquers:

Now let's get to some swatches!