Lynx Cosmetics Mystery Island Mixes

Hi guys!

Today was like Christmas for me. I got my Ipsy, my Glitterdaze, and my recent order from Lynx Cosmetics, which is what I'm going to show you now!

I am so excited to show you these. Remember when I said that I was going on a no-buy in November? And when I said I broke my no-buy for a fun and exciting reason? These are it!

Recently Lynx Cosmetics has created some really unique nail polishes called Mystery Island Mixes. I first saw them on Instagram. They look mostly clear with a few layers of glitter/pigment, and you can't really tell what they'll look like because you have to shake them. Here is the description from LC:

"The bottom of my bottle is a Mystery Island of beautiful color! You can see a glimpse of what I may look like, but there are layers of surprise glitters and colors all around me. You won't know what beautiful polish I am until I arrive at your doorstep! Add the mixing bead into my bottle to fully mix my colors and see all my beauty."

This is such a cool and unique idea that I absolutely could not resist. I picked out three, based on the colors/glitters I could see because I figured I would like them. 

Here is the first one. 

This is what it looked like when I took it out of the package (and pretty much how it looks on the website):

This color is called You're Hot Then You're Cold.

This is what it looks like after shaking it vigorously for a few minutes:

This is a really pretty blue base with big red circle glitters, tiny red circle glitters and holographic gold microglitters. This one might be my favorite. It reminds me of Superman/Snow White. The holographic microglitters are what make this polish. 

This one is called A Unicorn Was Born, and it is Limited Edition, and I believe no longer available. It reminds me of The Little Mermaid. I saw this on IG and it said there were only two left, and my brain automatically went "I must have one of them!"

This is what it looks like shaken. It's a very light blue base with small pink circle glitters, pale blue hexes, and tiny gold glitters. I could have sworn it was also supposed to have a mystery scent, but I smelled it a bunch of times and it just smells like nail polish (i stopped smelling it after a while because I didn't want to get high on nail polish fumes ;)

This last one is called Spectra Bomb. I thought it was going to be holographic (spectraflair) and it has a lot of pretty colors. It looks kind of like theres a tiny genie inside :) 

This is a really cool milky white base with glitters in literally every color of the rainbow and large white hexes. This was after minutes of shaking it and I still feel like I didn't mix it enough. 

You really have to shake the hell out of these. Like...my arms were sore after. They give you a little steel mixing ball in a little plastic baggie attached to each polish. 

Here they are swatched on a nail wheel:

From left to right : Specrta Bomb, You're Hot Then You're Cold, and A Unicorn Was Born

What do you guys think of these? I've never seen anything like them. I think that Lynx is making different ones each month, and right now they have two different sized mystery bags with never before seen Mystery Island Mixes! I am SOOO tempted, but I'm still on that no-buy. And these are the only polishes I've bought since I've been on the no-buy (I even said no to the new Julep mystery box) so I'm pretty proud of myself!

Go to http://lynxlacquer.com and get some for yourself!

xoxo, 

Belle

Dance Legend 180 Termo Shine (with glitter)

Hi guys!

So today I wanted to share with you a polish that I recently got that I've been dying for. It's Termo Shine (with glitter) 180 by Dance Legend. If you didn't know, Dance Legend is a Russian company (they ship to the U.S., but big nail polish retailers (like Llarowe and Ninja Polish) also carry them. 

I first saw this polish on Jen, the Polishaholic's blog. I knew immediately that I HAD to have it. This was the first thermo polish I had ever seen, and it changes from black to really light (almost clear) silver, which is probably the most dramatic change I've seen in a thermo. Also, it has glitter! Of course it was out of stock everywhere, and the company's page was down for a while, but I stalked the site as soon as the page was back up and ordered directly from Dance Legend when it was available. 

Here is a "cold" shot, with Shirley Temple by Ellagee for the accent nail. I've already shown this polish before, and I thought i would be cool to have a different color thermo as an accent.

With flash:

Here is a transition photo:

And here is a "warm" photo

This is going to be fun to play with at work. I ordered this on September 3rd, and it just came a few weeks ago. And then a few days ago, they sent me another one! I got excited because I thought it was the multichromes I ordered from them (I ordered the entire collection). I ordered these a few days later, but apparently the shipping was delayed. Hoping I get them by December!

On top I used one coat of HK Girl Top Coat and then a coat of Sally Hansen Insta-dry to help with chipping. 

Now I need to go to sleep so I can be up at 7 for work :(

xoxo

Belle

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

The Little Mermaid Ursula Inspired Nails

Hi everyone!

Today I pre-ordered a few of the new nail polishes from I <3 Nail Polish (www.ilnp.com), and I am officially on a no-buy for the month of November. Like, for real. 

So I decided that I would spend this month trying out nail polishes that I haven't gotten a chance to yet. I decided to try out four of them at once:

This kind of reminds me of the little mermaid. My motivation behind it:

Recently Hit Polish (http://www.etsy.com/au/shop/HitPolishNailLacquer) came out with a new collection, and was selling their old collections for discounted prices. I picked up three minis for $1.88 each. One of the ones I picked up was Ursula. It's a REALLY pretty crelly lavender base with TONS of holographic microglitter, small holographic purple hex glitters, matte white lines, grey and black hex's, black squares of various sizes, and purple shards. Pictures will not do this polish justice, it is GORGEOUS in person. As soon as I saw it, I knew it would look amazing over Julep's Joanna, which is a lavender creme base with a pearl finish. I figured since most of my mani was Ursula, I wanted to do an Ariel accent nail. I picked Julep's Angela (which I somehow have two of). It's one of those blueish duochrome colors that pretty much every company has by now. 

On top of that I put on Avon Opal Top Coat. Arielle got this for me for my birthday, and I've been wanting to try it out. It looks like magic in a bottle. For some reason, it reminds me of when Ursula stole Ariel's voice and put it in the locket. I don't know why or how that makes sense. I topped everything with Sally Hansen Insta Dry.

From left to right: Ursula by Hit Polish, Avon Opal Top Coat, Julep Angela, and Julep Joanna.

With flash...I tried to capture some of the microglitters, but it's night time and what you see in the picture is not even close to how sparkly it is in person. 

I really wish I had a full-sized Ursula. But the awesome thing about Hit Polish is that you actually have an option to buy a full-sized discontinued polish under a custom listing (for $8!).

I don't think I'll run out any time soon, considering that I have probably hundreds of polishes I haven't tried yet (and I'm on a no-buy so I can't!) but I will probably eventually get one. 

That's all for now, as always thanks for reading <3

xoxo,

Belle

Glitter Daze Daze of the Month Ultra Box October 2013

Hi guys! Today I present to you the contents of my Glitter Daze Daze of the Month Ultra Box for October 2013:

Full sized A Garlic A Day Keeps the Vampires Away:

This is a white to red thermal polish with red microglitters, various sized black glitters, and holographic micro glitters. I was REALLY excited to see this in my box. I actually saw this polish on the Glitter Daze facebook page a few days before the box came, and the "I-need-this-polish-to-live" switch went off in my brain. However, the rational part (it's still in there somewhere) said that I should wait until I get my box. I'm glad I did! 

Mini Dont Bite the Heart That Feeds You:

This is a clear glitter topper with holographic silver, purple, and black glitters in various shapes and sizes. This is REALLY pretty, when I swatched it I couldn't stop moving the swatchie-thing from side to side.  

Bat decals! This is the extra gift this month for the Ultra box. 

Glitter accessory: These are earrings made with nail polish that match the mini polish for this month. They're really pretty, but they're kind of big. One thing I learned about myself recently is that I apparently don't like big circles. I wore them to work though and they looked cool & didn't bother my ears (I've been having problems with earrings lately). 

Here are some swatches of Don't Bite the Heart That Feeds You and A Garlic a Day Keeps the Vampires Away (cold) - this is two coats no top coat

DBTHTFY and AGADKTVA (warm)

I was so excited about this polish that I peeled off my other nail polish at work so I could put this one on. This is what it looked like after the topcoat dried. 

Also pictured is the Mini Super Smooth Top Coat, which I used in the mani pics. I used it with my super smooth base coat that I got in my last box. The top coat made a huge difference in shine, it would have looked kind of matte and dull without one (which you can see in the swatch)

I didn't actually touch anything, it just started to get cold in my room...

...and then it got really cold.

I decided to add one of the bat decals literally like five minutes ago. 

When AGADKTVA is changing, it kind of looks like you ripped someone's heart out with your bare hands. Which is pretty sick for Halloween. For the mani I layered one coat of My Boyfriend Scales Walls by OPI (my go-to white coat). I think it looks kind of weird when it's cold with the white around the edges, so next time I would try to do 3 layers of the polish by itself instead of putting white underneath. This is gonna be fun to wear at work. 

I might actually keep this sub for more than 3 months. My first polish is glow-in-the-dark and my second one is a thermal? I'll probably just subscribe for of the smaller boxes when my first three months is up. 

Can't wait to see what's up for next month :)

Subscribe at http://glitterdazenp.com/

xoxo,
Belle

More swatches of She's a Pirate by Glitter Guilty

So as I predicted, my last manicure didn't last very long. It chipped, I touched it up, it chipped even more. The only nails that weren't chipped were the ones with She's a Pirate by Glitter Guilty on them, so I decided to do a full manicure with it:

One thing about having the skulls in a colored base is that you have to get the nail polish off of the top of the skull glitters or they blend in. I did this with one of those orange sticks that I bought like a pack of 100 of. I pressed them down and put on a coat of Gelous over them to keep the glitters from sticking out. 

I kind of love the fact that no one has this polish except me :) 

xoxo, 

Belle

PISTOL polish October 2013 Duo

Hi guys! It's that time of the month again! (Eww well not THAT time of the month). I mean the time when the PISTOL Polish duo comes in the mail!

PISTOL polish is a subscription service where you pay $17.99 a month and you get two polishes delivered to your door, based on current season trends. 

Here are October's colors:

On the left is Like a Boss, and it's a gorgeous baby pink with silver shimmer. This is one of those colors that you could get away with wearing at work. Here is the description on the information card for this color:

"Who's the boss? YOU! Sure, you may clock in for The Man but you're the CEO and President of your destiny, and that's what truly matters. And a sparkle-packed, dusty rose mani means it's time for a raise! Go get 'em."

I love pink, and I love shimmer, so this color will definitely be making its way onto my nails soon. 

The color on the right is called Helen Gurley Brown, and it's a milk chocolate brown. Here is the description:

"We've always loved PISTOL Woman HGB's catch phrase: "Good Girls go to heaven, bad girls go everywhere." This spiced mocha hue proves that a little rebellion can work wonders; Wear our milk chocolate shade and everyone will melt in your hands." 

I don't think I've ever painted my nails brown, but now I might. This color is perfect for fall, and is also subtle enough to wear to work without drawing too much attention. 

The swatches:

On the swatches, Like a boss looks more silver than pink, especially in the dark. That's cool though, because the pink is like a sweet surprise in the sunlight! 

PISTOL polish might be my favorite nail polish sub. I SO look forward to my duo coming every month, and they're usually the first subscription to arrive. Once again, I got colors that I don't already have in my collection (which has between 200-300 polishes). Love love love them, get yours at www.PISTOLpolish.com!

xoxo,

Belle

Halloween Haul Part II: Sick Lacquers

Hi guys! Here is a really cute pair of Halloween polishes I recently ordered from an indie brand called Sick Lacquers:

Sick Lacquers is a mother and son team that makes really cute polishes!

The one on the right is called Jack Skellington, and it's a crelly with a milky light orange base filled with neon orange hexes, squares and bars, black hexes, bars, and skull and crossbones glitter, and small neon yellow hexes. Very Halloween. This is the only skull and crossbones glitter that I own in a colored crelly base. I'd probably layer it over white or something. 

The one on the left is called She Breaks Hearts and Skulls. It's a clear base with bubblegum pink bars, squares and skull and crossbones, pastel pink hearts and hexes, matte grey dot glitter and "ultra fine" pink and silver glitter. The pink and silver glitter give the polish a gorgeous sparkle. This polish is so pretty I can't even take it. I also love the name. 

In fact, after I ordered Jack Skellington, I stalked Sick Lacquers Instagram and Facebook pages, and I saw She Breaks Hearts and Skulls, so I had to have that one too. I ordered it like an hour after the first one. Later on that night, I got an email from Peggie, one of the owners, saying that she noticed that I placed two separate orders, and asked if I wanted them shipped together. She said she would refund me one of the shipping prices through paypal. I thought this was really sweet, especially considering it was my own fault, and she reached out to me. I love when people do nice things like that. 

Some swatches: 

I also really like how the names of the polishes are on the bottle right in front, that's something I haven't seen before. 

Definitely check out Sick Lacquers! 

You can buy from http://www.etsy.com/shop/SickLacquers

Got to run, have to get ready for work, which I have in an hour. Peace!

xoxo

Belle

EDIT: The pictures have been changed...I used a different camera setting and they're now more focused!

Quick glitter gradient!

Lately I have had horrible allergies.  Nail polish has kinda aggravated it further, so I put polish on the back burner. But today I totally felt a bit better, definitely enough to put polish on.  So I did a simple glitter gradient that dries fast and doesn't look bad if I mess it up.
I always use Seche Clear as a base coat.
I started off with China Glaze Inner Beauty as a base coat to even my nail tone. Only one coat.
Then I used China Glaze Snow Globe, and brought that further up 3/4th's of my nail.
Followed by China Glaze Shooting Stars on 1/2 of my nail.
Finally China Glaze Nova and fanned just the tip of my nail.
Finished with Seche Vite top coat and we are done!!!

You Polish October Box

Hi guys! So recently I got another box from a cool indie brand called You Polish. 

For $16.99 (U. S., there's also a Canadian version that is slightly more expensive), you got to pick two out of five  full-size polishes from their Halloween collection. That's right, not only do you get to see what's in the box before you get it, but you get to pick from a few options. 

If you bought one of the first 9 boxes, you got a special surprise (I was too late for this and I have yet to find out what the special surprise was). If you bought one of the first 30, you got 3 assorted Halloween fimo canes (I LOVE fimo) which I wasn't actually too late for. Here's what I got:

She threw in a box of candy too...which clearly didn't last long because, as you can see the box is already open and empty :)

These are the two polishes I picked:

Without flash

With flash

The one on the left is called After Midnight, and it is described on the website as a black base with orange, purple, and silver microglitter. Honestly, this color is SO much prettier in person. I could swear there is green glitter as well. I found it a bit impossible to photograph this polish...pictures just don't do it justice. 

No flash

Flash (you have to see the green flecks too!)

The one on the right is called Calaveritas, and it is a glitter bomb with pink, black, grey and white hex, dots and squares, and pink and white skull glitters. I think since I've discovered skull glitter nail polish I've ordered at least 6 different ones. I can safely say I have an obsession. And I'm okay with that. As with any heavy glitters, the bigger ones tend to sink toward the bottom (I had to fish to get the skull in my swatch picture below, but turning the bottle upside down a little while before you want to paint your nails should solve this). 

My 3 fimo sticks were a pumpkin, a black skull with a pink background (LOVE) and a...creepy footprint? I actually already have that fimo and I thought it was supposed to be like a baby's footprint (like for a baby shower manicure??) 

All in all Im in love with this box. It's not a monthly or recurring subscription, so you have to order a new one each time. I love that you can pick out the polishes you're going to get. I have WAY too many polishes now to be getting surprises that I may end up hating. I believe there are some October boxes left, and there is talk of a box for next month. 

Get one at www.youpolish.com!

xoxo,

Belle