New Year's Eve 2014 Nail Art

I will come back and edit this but I need to finish getting ready! Here's are pictures of my New Year's Eve manicure which was inspired by a manicure I saw from Lucy's Stash.

Happy New Year everyone! Thanks for checking in with my little blog!

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New Year's Eve Manicure Idea with Cirque Polishes

Here's a potential New Year's Eve mani...with the infamous black and gold motif in mind. Usually you see black polish with gold glitter (which my toes are rocking for the new year), but I reversed this using some Cirque Polishes from her first and most recent collection.

I used a base of two coats of Cirque Colors Chrysopoeia. Surprisingly this only needed two coats to be full opaque, and as per the usual Cirque formula, it was creamy and easy to apply. It might look a little weird on my skin tone, but I do love the flash of the rainbow in the color.

Then using Cirque color Debris (which is sadly discontinued now), I created a gradient. I actually just used the nail polish brush and no separate sponge. Debris is a black, gunmetal, and silver glitter top coat with the main glitter being black squares. There's also a dusting of holographic microglitter. Truly the perfect glitter for a gradient.

Cirque Colors Chrysopoeia and Debris

Cirque Colors Chrysopoeia and Debris

Cirque Colors Chrysopoeia and Debris

Cirque Colors Chrysopoeia and Debris with flash

Cirque Colors Chrysopoeia and Debris with flash

But I ended up changing my manicure...which I will post soon (probably in 2014!) or I will post the pictures in a few with details later as I'm running out the house!

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Actual Ugly Christmas Sweater Nails...after Christmas!

So Christmas was a few days ago...how many of you threw out your trees and took your decorations down already? Screw that! I keep the holiday cheer going (the Rockefeller Tree does stay up until the first week of January). I got an awesome package from my polish friend Gina right before Christmas but had my nails done already. She added a baggie of those crazy huge Christmas glitters we've been seeing in so many indie polishes. I had to use them along with the 3 packs of Christmas decals I bought (why, Michelle, why, did you need THREE packs??). Basically this turned into one ugly manicure, yet at the same time was CHRISTMAS EXPLOSION. It literally looks like one of those ugly Christmas sweaters on their nails, and I loved/hated it.

The red base for my nails is Kiko LE Laser polish in Fluent Red (Kiko 432) and the green in Kiko LE Digital Glitter in Illusion Green (Kiko 411). The Digital glitter is so sparkly and fabulous (and even has tiny little bars...see macro at the end of the post). Both Kikos were two coats. Then I just threw up Christmas all over them in every motif possible.

Ugly Christmas Sweater Nail Art

Ugly Christmas Sweater Nail Art

Ugly Christmas Sweater Nail Art

Ugly Christmas Sweater Nail Art

Ugly Christmas Sweater Nail Art

Kiko 411 and Kiko 432

Kiko 411 and Kiko 432

Kiko 411 Macro

As fun as this manicure was, it did not last long. These glitters are great, but I have very curvy nails, so even with THREE coats of top coat, they wouldn't stay done. The candy canes did stay because I placed them on the flattest part of my nail, but within a few hours, I saw I was missing bells haha. Gina also sent me pink and white snowflake glitters but I decided to save those for a different manicure.

Well...as we head into the new year, what do you plan on wearing on your nails?

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Christmas Bonanza Nail Art

Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates the holiday! I'm squeezing this one in and I think the overall look was incredibly sophisticated.  I used a few different Christmas and holiday motifs for this simple yet elegant look.

My thumb and pinky were gradients using two texture polishes Julie G Mistletoe (green) and Kiko Cherry Red. My index is a wrapped gift using Cirque Lonesome George, Hit Polish Victorian Christmas, and Enchanted Polish November 2013. My middle nail is a simple gorgeous pine tree with a base of Borghese Almondine (a long time lemming recently squashed). I painted the tree with Cirque Lichen and Kiko Sugar Mat Green and Julie G Mistletoe. Lastly, my ring is two coats of Cirque In the Mood for Love (an exclusive craft show color) with some fun ornament and holly nail decals.

Christmas Bonanza Nail Art

Christmas Bonanza Nail Art

Christmas Bonanza Nail Art

Christmas Bonanza Nail Art

Christmas Bonanza Nail Art

Christmas Bonanza Nail Art

Christmas Bonanza Nail Art

Hope you had a wonderful holiday! Come back tomorrow for my last Christmas manicure, which is literally an ugly Christmas sweater.

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Christmas Eve Textured Ornaments

And hello! Merry Christmas Eve. I'm sure many people are celebrating with their families, but just in case you need last minute nail art ideas, here's a simple and quick one.

I started with a base of two coats of Kiko 388, a gorgeous shimmery green. Then with Julie G Mistletoe, Kiko Sugar Mat 643, and Red Dog Designs Palm Cove, I brushed lightly across the cuticle to represent tree branches.

Then I added the ornaments using the brush on the polish, from thumb to pinky: Kiko Holiday Sugar Mat Cherry Red, Julie G Sugar Plum Fairy, Julie G Ho Ho Ho, Julie G Gift of Gold, and Julie G Sleigh Ride. Then I drew a tiny square with Cirque Polish Ginza with a dotting tool to be the ornament piece. Lastly, using Julie G Silver Bells, I drew string into the trees. Easy enough?

Christmas Eve Textured Ornaments

Christmas Eve Textured Ornaments

Christmas Eve Textured Ornaments

Christmas Eve Textured Ornaments

Kiko 388

I will be back tomorrow with my Christmas mani (or two, I may change my nails tonight!)

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Darling Diva Polish Diamond Collection

Press Sample

Today's post is a big one featuring the Darling Diva Diamond collection, which is a collection of 7 gorgeous holographic polishes.  I hope you have a cup of coffee with you because this is a huge post with lots of pictures.

For all these polishes, you could get away with one coat. I did two coats out of habit and for the pictures. I used no top coat because these are the fastest drying polishes I have ever used, and they don't need it for shine. Carrie from Darling Diva warned that Pink Diamond is a stainer, but I swatched it and was fine with one coat of base coat (but I thought I would warn you anyway).

I have taken my pictures in this order: Natural outdoor lighting (no sun, thanks New Jersey!), indoor lighting, and with flash. They are gorgeous in every way! So let's get started.

Black Diamond is smooth black holographic polish. The black is not a stark black but more greyed out. The holographic stripe is strong on this one and I actually love it in natural lighting.
 

Darling Diva Black Diamond

Darling Diva Black Diamond

Darling Diva Black Diamond

Darling Diva Black Diamond

Darling Diva Black Diamond

Chocolate Diamond is love at first sight! A light brown holographic polish, that looks similar to Black Diamond in the shade, but it's worth it to get both!

Darling Diva Chocolate Diamond

Darling Diva Chocolate Diamond

Darling Diva Chocolate Diamond

Darling Diva Chocolate Diamond

Diamond is the silver holographic polish of the set, which appears almost white in the shade and is so gorgeous. One of the easiest formulas for a silver holographic polish I have ever used.

Darling Diva Diamond

Darling Diva Diamond

Darling Diva Diamond

Darling Diva Diamond

Pink Diamond--this is the one that may be a stainer, so wear a base coat. Can you believe how different this polish looks in the lighting? It's kind of icey, but then super sparkly.

Darling Diva Pink Diamond

Darling Diva Pink Diamond

Darling Diva Pink Diamond

Darling Diva Pink Diamond

Now for my top three favorites. Rose Diamond. This one I actually only used one coat. What a stunner. I love it in every single lighting, and it's super pigmented and gorgeous. Can't wait to use this one with nail art.

Darling Diva Rose Diamond

Darling Diva Rose Diamond

Darling Diva Rose Diamond

Darling Diva Rose Diamond

Blue Diamond is another stunner--it's similar to Layla Ocean Rush, which I love, except this formula is MILES more amazing. Again, another one I love in the shade. In many holographic polishes, they are kind of ugly in the shade, but nope, not these.

Darling Diva Blue Diamond

Darling Diva Blue Diamond

Darling Diva Blue Diamond

Darling Diva Blue Diamond

Green Diamond is obviously my favorite of all of these. It's a dark lime green polish and I love everything about it. Everything.

Darling Diva Green Diamond

Darling Diva Green Diamond

Darling Diva Green Diamond

Darling Diva Green Diamond

Do you love these polishes or what? You can follow Darling Diva Polish on Facebook HERE for updates on their restocks and new polishes or sales. The Diamond Collection is available now for only $8 (WHAT A GOOD DEAL!!!) at their bigcartel site HERE. My favorites are Rose, Blue, and Green Diamond. But I also love the others!

These products were provided for my honest review.

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