Thor 2 Nail Art...Loki Nails!

Okay guys.

So, Thor 2 comes out tomorrow, and I am SO EXCITED! Loki is, without a doubt, my favorite fictional character EVER. I don't know if it's because he is played by the amazing Tom Hiddleston, or because his character is so badass, but I love him. I mayyy or may not have been planning this manicure for months. I'm probably going to see the actual movie on Sunday (my day off), but I could see it before. My boyfriend offered to take me to the midnight showing, but honestly I'm getting to an age where I don't even want to go see a movie at midnight.

I'm working every day until Sunday, so there's a huge risk of my nails chipping before I can actually see the movie, but I had some free time and I figured I could always touch it up. 

As always, I used one coat of ORLY Bonder on all nails. Then I did three thin coats of Fight Like a Girl by PISTOL polish. Lastly I used two thin coats of Ciate Mattnificent Matte Top Coat (it came with a Chalkboard Nails Kit that I got as a gift). I used two coats because there was still some streaky shine after one. The accent nail is Oscar by Julep - three coats. I debated using a gold undie, but the glitter is so dense that by three coats it completely covers the nail. I topped it with my HK Girl Top Coat by Glisten & Glow, that I just got today, but I'll talk about that more in a different post (you can't really tell how shiny the top coat makes it because glitter is shiny anyway).

On a totally unrelated note, I noticed that for some reason on a lot of the pictures I was writing belleandarielle@blogspot.com instead of belleandarielle.blogspot.com. I don't know where the @ came from....maybe I like the way it looks? Who knows.

Also...I broke my no-buy today....but it's for a really cool reason! And I will definitely be showing you guys when I get them :)

That's all for now.

xoxo,
Belle

Pistol Polish November 2013 Duo

Hi guys! So today I got my PISTOL Polish November duo in the mail. I usually get my PISTOL exactly two days after they send the shipping email, so today I was stalking the mail man and watching him out my window like a crazy serial killer. 

I opened my mail box and was sad for a second because I didn't see it right away, but there it was, all the way in the back :). 

The packaging is a little different this time, it has this instead of the double pistols (I really liked those!) 

And here is the duo: 

The one on the left is called Big Bang, and here is the description: 

"We live color (author's note: I'm not sure if this is a type-o or not), but every once in a while a PISTOL craves a clean slate to clear her mind and prep for the "big bang," - that ahh-ha moment that sparks a dream. Stark while (a/n: pretty sure this is supposed to say white), a prominent nail trend of the season, is amazing alone or as the star of nail art. Or, try it as a base under brights and watch the colors pop." 

I use white pretty much in every other manicure, so this will most likely be my go-to from now on. Everyone can use white, whether you like it by itself, for nail art, as an undie for glitters, or before you sponge on your ombré colors. You can never have enough white polish!

The one on the right is called Bite the Bullet, and here is the description: 

"Inspired by misty fall mornings along the coast, this blue-gray hue, also known as "livid," is subtle yet powerful, just like you. It doesn't scream to be noticed, but wear this icy hue and we guarantee the clouds will clear."

This is a work-safe, almost denim color (it reminds me of jeans). It's a nice wintery hue, and I can see myself using it as an undie for winter nail art (and maybe stamping Big Bang on top!). 

As always, here are the swatches:

Not gonna lie, I'm kind of missing the shimmery colors, like the ones from the last two boxes (although, I can always put on a glitter top coat :). These colors are essential though, and are going to be SO pretty for winter.

I <3 my PISTOL :) 

Get yours at www.pistolpolish.com! 

xoxo,

Belle

Subscription Review: Nail Art Society September 2013 Box

Hello! Happy Labor Day weekend everyone! Today I wanted to do a quick review of the new Nail Art Society subscription box for September. 

Firstly, if you aren't familiar with NAS, they send you a curated nail art kit once a month for $9.95 plus shipping, so in the U.S. (New York specifically) it comes to $14.90. 

This subscription service is pretty unique, and I haven't come across anything like it yet. Apparently they recently overhauled the site due to various issues, and this is the re-launch month. Even if you already had an account, once they re-did the site you had to create a new account. 

So here is the September kit:

It came with four ORLY Instant Artist water-based paints in jet black, true blue, platinum, and crisp white. 

Personally, I think these are awesome. The brushes are striper brushes, which makes it easy to do simple, freehand nail art designs. A while ago I bought a 40

or 50 piece set of nail art polishes from amazon, the brand is Emori, and well, they kind of suck. The colors are really nice, but if you try to use them for more than 5 minutes, the paint starts to get goopy and makes lines on your nails that you don't want. Also, you have to cut the brushes, because they all have one really long strand that makes it difficult to distribute the paint evenly.  

What's cool about the ORLY ones is that the paint is water-based, so if you make a mistake, you can wipe it off without messing up the nail polish underneath (just make sure you wait for the nail polish to dry first!)

I also like that they give you basic colors that you could probably use with any mani. They are extremely easy to use, dry fairly quickly, and they look great. 

The next set of items is Cala brand Professional Nail Arts Water Decals. The first one contains different coloured butterflies, and the second contains silver butterflies. Now, I like butterflies as much as the next girl, but I'm not in LOVE with them. I don't know why they would send TWO different sets of butterflies. I would have loved more variety on these. I associate butterflies with spring instead of fall, so that's another reason I'm not super stoked about these. However, the silver does contain a few non-butterfly decales (roses) which I used (pictured below).

 I will say that they are extremely easy to use, and they look super pretty. All you do is make sure you have a top coat (I used Out the Door fast drying top coat), tap the back of the decales with water with your finger, slide the design off, place it on your nail, and seal with two coats of top coat (I used China Glaze No Chip Top Coat). 

Other things that were included in the kit are a chevron manicure tutorial, a paper about the featured nail guru who curated this months kit, and an ORLY color guide. 

Nail Art Society is also running a contest where you use your August kit, and upload your mani to twitter or Instagram. Then you tag @nailartsociety and @orlynails and then hashtag #NASGiveaway, #welcomebackNAS, and #nailart 

(I just entered, wish me luck!)

In conclusion, I am definitely intrigued and am excited to see what NAS comes up with next. Here is the mani in which I used the jet black ORLY instant artist and one of the non-butterfly silver water decals: 

I used Play Dirty by Pistol Polish as the base color (review of Pistol Polish below)

With flash 

xoxo,

Belle

p.s. if you are reading this, can you please drop a comment in the comment section? We're just curious to see who actually reads this and what kind of an audience we have. Thanks!!

Product Review: PISTOL Polish September Duo

Hi guys! I have a review that I'm REALLY

excited to do right now! Today I received my Pistol Polish September duo. 

Pistol polish has a monthly subscription box where they send you two polishes, based on the current season's colors and trends, for $17.99 a month. 

Now, the whole idea behind pistol polish is less about promoting gun violence and more about promoting empowerment and independence for women. In fact, on their home page, it states, "A PISTOL Woman envisions who she wants to become - whatever that may be - and devotes her life to making that vision a reality. PISTOLs chase their dreams every damn day." - www.pistolpolish.com

If that's not awesome enough, I don't know what is. 

Anyway, two days ago I received an email from the company that they were sending the September due early. In fact, this is exactly what they said:

"Hi PISTOL,

 

Even though our back-to-school days are a distant memory, September still reminds us of fresh starts, exciting challenges and new adventures; that’s why it is PISTOL polish HQ’s favorite month! 

 

And… well… we were just TOO STOKED for fall and couldn’t help ourselves… your September Duo has shipped early and is already on it’s way to you!  Sorry we’re not sorry."

I was THRILLED when I saw this. I got this email on Tuesday. Today is Thursday , and my pistol box was sitting in my mail box, waiting for me for me to open it. 

So, without further ado:

This is the box that it came in. So cute!!

This is probably the cutest tape I've ever seen...

I also got a sweet little welcome note, which I didn't take a picture of because I know you really want to see the polishes and not just the packaging!

 

I'm not gonna lie, one of the main reasons why I subscribed was because of the little pistols attached to the bottles. So punk rock!

The box contains a little card that tells you the name of each polish and a description. The one on the left is called Play Dirty, and this is the description: Fall is officially here, and that means it's time to get to work. Sure, we're all for a fresh mani but earning a chipped nail can be just as fun. This gilded cherry is a deep crimson color laced with sparkling gold flecks; it combines autumn's warm burgundy hues with the final traces of summer's sun. 

The color on the right it called Fight Like a Girl, and here is the description: Put your well-polished dukes up because everyone is going to be fighting over this shade. As the pigment of the season, it's sure to illicit stares, and maybe even a tussle or two. But remember, PISTOLs always fight fair even when rocking battle colors. 

And now for some swatches:

Without flash 

With flash 

I personally think that Play Dirty is GORGEOUS. I used three coats to make these completely opaque, and the golden shimmer becomes more pronounced with each coat. I actually can't wait to rock this shade. 

Note: you probably won't need 3 coats when you put them on your actual nails, because i doubt they are bright white like the swatches. I wanted to completely cover the swatches without any of the white coming through. 

Fight Like a Girl is a deep olive green, and it looks like something I will be wearing for a Halloween mani (I'm thinking zombies). 

I also thought that it might look REALLY

cool with a matte finish, so I tried it:

And I was right! Here's one without flash and against a different background:

These colors definitely scream Fall, and I actually dont have anything like these in my collection. And that's pretty impressive...considering I have enough polish to fill three 60 polish racks...

In conclusion, there's nothing I DON'T love about this subscription. I have about 5 or 6 subscriptions, which I am trying to weed down to like 2 or 3, and this is DEFINITELY going to be one of the ones I keep. Can't wait to see what you come up with next, PISTOL!

Subscribe at www.pistolpolish.com!

xoxo,

Belle