Head in the Clouds

The polish I have to show you today is just as amazing on the nails as it is in the bottle! It's Models Own Indian Ocean. Since it's a sheer, duochrome, shimmer polish, I chose to layer it. My base of choice? Hard Candy Sky--a pretty, light blue creme.
Indian Ocean has a blue tint, so it made Sky appear more vibrant than usual. The pink shimmer was also quite evident, although I had a hard time capturing its actual vibrancy on camera. I shoot my pictures by a window, and the light totally out the shimmer :( Oh, I recently made a lightbox using Sarah's super easy tutorial, so look out for my more consistent lighting scheme soon! :D











For another variation on layering Indian Ocean, check out my girl LB's blog here! She comes up with some of the sickest layering combos, and her blogging voice is always so much fun to read (:

Guest Post on Sonidlo's Nail Polishes

No post on Lacquers and Laces today, but you can swing by Sonidlo's Nail Polishes to see what I did here! (;

Blue Royalty

3 words: Best blue EVER. It's been a while since I've gotten this excited over a polish, but this one is seriously amazing and is highly deserving of all the praise I've heard about it. This perfect ten goes by the name of Nails Inc Baker Street.

The consistency of this polish wasn't thick and gloopy nor thin and runny--it was just right. The polish was so incredibly smooth and leveled itself out, which made application a breeze. It also dries to such an intensely glossy finish that it's hard to believe it's not a jelly. Not to mention, the crystal cap is just ballin`. Believe the hype!

I wanted to admire the awesomeness of this color to stand out, so I went with a glitter accent on my thumb and ring finger. The glitter I used was Color Club Jingle Jangle. Here it is!










Nails Inc Baker Street + Color Club Jingle Jangle

Granite

If you ask me, a gunmetal polish is equivalent to the little black dress. It's simple. It's chic. It's timeless.
In addition, it can be worn in a number of ways, making it a staple in any collection.

Today I'd like to show you Maddox St, a shimmery, gunmetal shade by Nails Inc. It looks good glossy, but I wanted to switch it up by mattifying it, and used The Face Shop BK901 as an accent. I'm typically not a fan of black polish, but I think it totally rocks when mattified!




Nails Inc Maddox St + The Face Shop BK901 + Essie Matte About You

Do you have a gunmetal shade in your collection? What do you think is a staple polish to have?

Indigo Strippers

I kept telling myself not to get any polishes from Forever 21, but their polish section kept luring me in... until one day, I broke and purchased Indigo. I mean, just look at it! It's the perfect blurple polish with blue shimmer. I must admit it looks cooler in the bottle, but ain't that usually the case! Although it had a sheer jelly formula, the polish was definitely buildable. I used three coats, topped with NYC Grand Central Station in my swatches below.
By the way, if the blue shimmer seems to stand out more on my ring finger, it's not the polish--I actually tried stamping for the first time! It was quite a fail, but I left it on because it seemed hardly noticeable on the nails.






Love & Beauty Indigo

The name of this polish brings a funny story to mind. When I was in high school, one of my classmates told me that if he ever became a stripper, his stripper name would be Indigo. Completely random, right?! Well anyway, because of that incident, I've come to associate Indigo with strippers.

Anti-Summer

Maybe you've seen this already, maybe you haven't. This mani definitely ain't new, but it's one I've been dying to try for the longest time! I figured it was about time to get this look onto my nails, since summer is approaching its end!

For this mani, I started out with my tips painted black. I alternated flakie polishes, using Fingerpaints Twisted for my ring and index finger, and Asylum for my pinkie, middle, and thumb. Finally, I added a matte top coat for a flat finish.








Wet n Wild Black Creme + Fingerpaints Twisted + Fingerpaints Asylum + Essie Matte About You

Have you tried this mani before? If you haven't, you may be in luck!

A-Morir

What up everybody! I'm super stoked about the kicks I'm gonna feature today--the Supra x A-Morir Skytop by Kerin Rose! I first caught a glimpse of them on Missomnimedia and I knew I had to have them. I had been searching for the sequin Nike x X-Girl Blazer but never found them in my size, so these definitely fit the bill. I already have tons of colorful kicks, so this glam addition was exactly what my collection needed.













I love that the black sequins are laced with chrome ones. It makes this pair look extra sparkly because it seems like the sequins are always catching the light. I also like the overlapping details, because it shows that Supra stayed true to this model all while decking it out in sequins. 

If you're nit-picky, you might want to take note of the last picture above. There seems to be an inconsistency with the heel tab, because my left one is lower than my right one and I noticed that they're attached at slightly different points. I mean, it's not a major deal breaker and I doubt anyone would notice, but I think it shows that Supra's quality control could use some improvement.

These also run a bit small lengthwise. I ordered a size 8 and my toes don't have much wiggle room. For reference, I'm a size 7Y for most Jordans (6.5Y for Jordan 7's), 7 for SB Dunks, and 8W for most Nike and Adidas Originals.

The SLY Terminator

This pair of Terminators is one that I never expected to own. They dropped in 2009 in limited numbers as an exclusive women's release in Asia, along with a white colorway. I was barely getting into kicks back then! I only found out about this pair sometime last year, when my chance to cop a pair was long gone.

Then not too long ago, I found a brand new pair in my size for less than $50! I'm sure you can imagine my delight because the scenario was seriously too good to be true. I was a bit apprehensive, but they exceeded my expectations when they arrived. They're even more dope than all the pictures I had browsed while I was lusting for these kicks!

There are no words to describe the immense satisfaction I felt when I finally got a hold of these kicks. Sure, it's awesome to run down to the store and grab a pair on the day of a release... but to hunt for a pair and actually find them! The fruits of labor never tasted so sweet.










SLY x Nike Terminator Premium QS

Color-blocking

This mani is inspired by a lovely color-blocked piece from La Lune & Moon. Now I know this may seem a bit out of my element since I'm usually into the loud and obnoxious, but something about this line caught my eye. Simplicity can be strangely alluring.

Anyway, for this look, I first started off with Essie Real Simple. Then I used good old Scotch tape to cover approximately one third of my nails, and painted the rest with Orly Cotton Candy. Pretty simple, right?









P.S. I'm now on Tumblr! You can find it here :D

XOX

When I first heard about the Betsey Johnson collection for Sephora by OPI, I couldn't wait for it to release! I love her loud and obnoxious, yet fun and whimsical designs, so I was expecting some really fun colors for her collaboration. I was pretty bummed when I saw the relatively muted shades her collection had to offer, but this pinky nude shade called out to me.

XOX Betsey is one of the better cremes I've tried... the consistency and application were nice, but it dried to a semi-matte finish, so a glossy top coat is a must! Of course, you know I can't leave nudes alone, so I decided to accent my ring finger with Teenage Dream. I figured an accent mani was the best way to go, as to not take away from the simplicity of nude nails.




Sephora by OPI XOX Betsey + OPI Teenage Dream

It took me so long to pick this one up because I thought the whole line was scented (and I couldn't stand the scent)! Turns out, only the hot pink from this collection is scented--phew! Did you grab anything from this collection?

Epi Amande

One day, when the bestie and I were hanging out, we stumbled on a random cosmetic boutique. This shop stands out in my memory because I remember the sales lady doing a demo on a strange face misting contraption. It's also where I purchased my first Paul & Joe polish! I've been wanting to try their polishes for the longest time, and I was thrilled when I discovered this mylar flakie lacquer!

I decided to use it as an accent with Re-fresh Mint--a soft, light mint green. I was a bit bummed to discover that my Paul & Joe polish had a consistency of Jell-O, but I made it work to the best of my ability. I'm debating what I should do with it, because I've never had a polish with that consistency, and I'm scared to ruin it with thinner. If you have any suggestions, feel free to let me know!






China Glaze Re-fresh Mint + Paul & Joe 028

As I admired my completed mani, I realized that it matches my wallet! (That's the last picture shown above.) I can't wait to wear Re-fresh Mint again. Do you love the color as much as I do? (:

Converse x Marimekko

Following up on my last nail design, here's another one featuring Converse! I thought the print on this Converse x Marimekko collaboration was so fresh that I wanted to do my own rendition on my nails.

For this look, I started off with Wet n Wild French White Creme. Then I used Orly Snowcone and China Glaze First Mate to create the shape of the flowers.  Next, I dabbed The Face Shop BL603 to the center of the flowers. To finalize the look, I used Wet n Wild Black Creme to dot the centers of the flowers and create the black bars that you see on the sneakers.







That's it for now, have a great weekend (:

Acid Floam

Did any of you fall into the Floam craze? I wasn't feeling it at first, but after seeing some really awesome manis with it, I knew it was a polish that I had to have!

Here's a mani I created, using American Apparel Neon Green. I love the color--I've been looking for a neon green in the exact shade to go with my neon green Nike Vandals. I topped it off with Seche Vite and the result was awesomely glossy!

For my Floam accent, I chose to only use it on my thumb and ring finger because I heard that is an absolute pain to remove. I'm hoping that my Scrubby Tub won't fail me once it's time for removal!
For any of you wondering what the Scrubby Tub is, hit up Dizzy Nails for the details! I totally swear by it, and it's the only reason why I don't mind wearing glitters all the time!








American Apparel Neon Green + Nail-venturous Floam

Has anyone else noticed that all my posts for this week have been green? It's just something I recently noticed haha, hope you don't mind! I'll have something different for my next post--promise. I'm thinking another sneaker match-up (: