Is this how we say goodbye...?



I'm sure all or at least most of you are familiar with the blog, The Crumpet. Recently, this post showed up on The Crumpet, highlighting a list of some of the people who stopped blogging in 2014.  There were some interesting and very valid points made about why people stop blogging or lose interest or just disappear.  Many of my most loved blogging friends have thrown in the towel on the blogging game. There are loads of reasons to stop. Blogging is A LOT of work.  Just like a new relationship, in the beginning its new and fun and exciting and spending 30 hours a week on it is something you just don't think about. Why do anything else?  But after awhile it becomes tedious and a chore and just...work.  Then there are other things. The reader disappeared and that makes it an absolute nightmare for me trying to keep up with thousands of blogs.  Not to mention there's not a lot of payout anymore.  Before the reader was gone you could look at your page and say to yourself, I have 1300 followers.  I could work really hard and maybe I'll get to 1500.  Now there's no number game anymore and with comments that trickle at best it's easy to feel like you're just blogging to an empty audience.  Add to that Instagram with it's quick posts and fancy filters and it's easy to say, why sit here and take pictures and edit the lighting and spend all this time writing out blogs for no one when I can instantly snap, filter, and reach thousands?  It's a challenge.  I'm sure if you come here often (and for those of you who do I am truly grateful) you've noticed a decline in the amount of blogs I post and probably in the length of blogs.  I still love nail art and polishing but my life has changed dramatically from when I first started posting. I've moved over an hour from my family, started a new job working twice the hours, struggled with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and various other health ailments, lost loved ones, experience financial setbacks....well...you get the picture. Blogging for me is not what it used to be.  There are certainly times I'd like to give up on it, however, then I remember why I started blogging.  I've come to recognize that I'm never going to be one of those bloggers who has tens of thousands of followers.  Heck, I may never even crack 2000 and I've learned to be OK with that.  I'm not ever going to be someone who tries to squeeze 30 hours of blogging into an already packed schedule.  Sometimes I have a lot of time and I get ahead and sometimes I have no time and I fall behind.  I recognize that this hinders my ability to be a "top blogger" but it's my life. It's my voice. My little corner of the bloggerverse and I like it.  There is no sunshine where I live at the moment and while I invested in a light box some months back I've never sorted using it properly and everything I do with it looks a mess.  So I've been using Instagram to show off my work lately because I feel that these photos aren't "good" enough for my blog.  Today, I'm throwing caution to the wind though and I'm sharing these anyway! No, they aren't blog perfect.Yes, there is tip wear (this is day five) and the filter skews the colors just a tad but here it is anyway! I hope you like them and I hope you remember if you're a blogger that your blog is YOUR voice.  You don't have to live up to anyone's standards but your own. If you want to post once a month; do it. If you only have a cell phone camera, post them anyway! Do what makes YOU happy and you can't fail at this. :) Happy Holidays to all of you!

Flashback Friday: Reindeer/Rudolph



It's the final day of the Digital Dozen's Winter Wonderland challenge week. For today's look I wanted to recreate a design that I did for another challenge several years ago! It continues to be my most popular post of all time and it's ironic because it was a design I just sort of threw together at the last minute! So these nails are based on this post, which was part of a 31 day challenge I did in 2011.  The days challenge was Rudolph and/or Reindeer.  Thing is I was SO sick that day and it had snowed so of course it was FREEZING outside.  I was already twelve days into the challenge and I wasn't about to miss a day so I hauled myself out of bed and threw together this look with reindeer pulling a sled.  As almost an afterthought I added a little red nose to the lead reindeer and while I was happy with the look it certainly wasn't what I considered my BEST work.  Sometimes that's the way it works out!  I still think the lighting was better in my original post but there has been just NO sun whatsoever recently here and while at that time I had days off I now have an 8-5 job so it's fairly dark when I get home.  SO...that said. The original look is below.  I still had most of the original polishes so I used Models Own Bloo Bloo again for the base with a topper of My Blue Lacquer's Space Lift.  I added a snowy gradient to the bottom this go round, painted a little bag onto the sled and stamped my reindeer in brown rather than black, although I think I prefer the black deer.  I also did Rudolph's nose a bit smaller! Which look do you prefer?


Check out the other ladies art work below!!
 
 

In a Winter Wonderland...



It's day four of the Digital Dozen's Winter Wonderland challenge. I can't believe how fast this week is going!  I had some fun with this design but it really didn't come out nearly as nice as I wanted it to.  I really need to look into some smaller snowflake stamps.   At any rate I did like the gradient and the snow glitter.  I was hoping it would come out with a litte more depth but you win some ya lose some! Check out what's sure to be some incredible art from my fellow dozeners below! 

Frozen in Space...


You might notice I'm sort of dipping in and out of this weeks challenge.  I've had a rather tough month leading up to this challenge and I wasn't really able to get ahead so I apologize for that. You'll also notice the change in length on my nails. I usually do a full start over in January BUT this time it was for other reasons I had to start over. I had a job interview for a promotion at work and there are often type tests involved so in an effort to look professional and do the very best I can I chopped them. It worked though, I was told yesterday that I got the promotion! So I'll be happy to look at my little nubs knowing my polish budget just went WAY up. ;) At any rate these nails are meant to be an icy galaxy. I hope you enjoy them!!

Check out the other girls work below!

The Digital Dozen does...Winter Wonderland


It's time for another week of art with The Digital Dozen.  The theme of this week is Winter Wonderland.  You're going to have to excuse the changing length and shape of my nails as this week progresses. I had a job interview and  had to cut them down. Having stiletto nails which are short is a challenge so I rounded them out until they grow back.  At any rate these are some Frozen inspired nails I did for my nieces birthday.  They feel very wintery so it seemed like a great choice to start the week!


Please check out the other girls artwork below!!


Leader of the pack...


Apologies for being so slow with the posts here lately.  I've had lulls before, usually due to health issues or work but this time it was for something I never wanted to face.  My grandma passed away on Thanksgiving Day.  It was somewhat unexpected and it's been very hard on my family and I.  I'm trying to get back into the game here and do some nail art but I'm just really not feeling it lately.  A week before she went I spent a day in the hospital so it's just been a tough time all the way round. That said here's a design I did awhile back.  I was sort of playing with different techniques and trying to use some fun 3D nail accents.  It came out pretty well I think.  I love the ring finger with the negative space.  Which is your favorite?

Barielle Jetsetter Collection

barielle


Today I have some swatches of another new collection from Barielle.  I didn't have a ton of experience with Barielle before this year because they're difficult to find in my area, but I have to say I'm really loving these. Not only are they shiny and creamy, they're great for stamping!  At any rate this collection contains six more colors for Fall/Winter.  Above is my favorite of the bunch. It's called Kiss Me Kate and it's a gorgeous creamy neutral.  I've already used it a million times! It's perfect for my skin tone. Plus, above is two coats with no top coat and just LOOK at that shine!


Next up is Rain In Spain.  I love the name on this one, My Fair Lady is a GREAT classic film!  The color is also nice but nothing special to my collection.  Still it's flattering and again, super shiny with great coverage.



This next one is a real stunner.  Midnight in Paris is a GORGEOUS deep blue with a nice shimmer.  It leans just slightly purple and it really lights up on your nails!  So pretty for this time of year.


Autumn in Seoul is another real standout in the bunch. This one is a metallic copper shimmer. Not only is it super pretty on it's own, it stamps like a dream!


Then we have Irish Eyes, a mossy green.  Again two coats, no top coat. Super shiny and so flattering.

Finally we have Gondola Ride. A lighter creamy sage green.  Overall I really liked this collection. While some of the colors weren't unique to my collection, they all have great formulas and as I stated above, they stamp quite nicely as well!  Which is your favorite?

Barielle colors are vegan, 5 free and cruelty free. You can purchase them at Barielle.com or any authorized retailer.

**These polishes were provided to me for my honest review. I have not been compensated for my opinion**

Flashback Friday: Happy Thanksgiving



It's the final day of Thankfulness (In it's wildest form!) with The Digital Dozen!  Today's nails are also Flashback Friday nails and we're flashing WAY back to 2011!  The other day my 2011 Thanksgiving Day nail art was featured on the ABC show, The Chew, which got me thinking two things: one, how horrific my nail art and photography was three years ago, and two, how far I've come in the last three years and how far I can go in the future.  Here is the original art which aired on TV...



I mean it's decent. The clean-up isn't terrible, the art is fairly well executed.  I was still taking the pictures over my bathroom sink though and the color on this picture is just terrible!  While I still have MILES to go I'm so thankful for the past three years of blogging and for the accomplishments I've had, whether small or large. I'm thankful for the hours of fun and creative outlet it's given me, for the friends I've made, and the things it's pushed me to do in my life. Like getting my nail license and learning acrylics!  Overall it's given me a lot of joy and I'm very thankful to have stuck with it!!

Check out the other ladies art work below! :)


 

The only escape from the miseries of life are music and cats...


Its the fourth day of our Digital Dozen Thankfulness (in it's WILDEST form) challenge and today I wanted to honor my children!! The furry ones that is!  Even though I've already covered family and these guys are most certainly family to me, I felt I wanted to do a special tribute to them.  The index is dedicated to my littlest love, Caoimhe.


Caoimhe is a Russian Blue that we rescued late last year after we lost another of our babies. She began as a temporary kitty but as you can see, she grew very attached to me quite quickly! She's the most snuggly kitty we have and despite her sweetness she has a curious side that led to her nickname; Miss Keevious. Caoimhe's favorite toy is a little sparkly red ball with a felt halo like a sunshine.


The middle nail is dedicated to Aoife, my seal pointe Himalayan. The fluffiest and silliest of all my babies! We got Aoife when she was six months old and she was in rough shape. But we cleaned her up and loved her up and now she's a spoiled princess! I added some gold flakes to the Aoife nail because she's well earned her nickname as The Duchess of Chunk!!



Last but most certainly not least we have Eoghan. He was our first little rescue kitty and he was as wild and crazy as they come!! He was always into EVERYTHING and he and Aoife used to get into loads of adventures together.  He was a sweetheart too though and definitely a mama's boy. We lost him to a stomach disorder last December and it was hard on all of us.  I chose to put the nails in the order I did because Aoife was sort of the glue that held me together between Eoghan's loss and the arrival of Caoimhe. His favorite toy was a little blue and pink mouse. I bought it for him the week after we got him and he used to hide it all over the house. Sometimes, if he forgot his hiding spot he'd cry for hours until I fished it out for him.  We retired the mouse when he died.

Don't forget to check below to see what the other girls are thankful for today!

The drought was the very worst...


Today's Digital Dozen post is a little more personal than the other ones.  Someone close to me has recently celebrated thirty days of sobriety and I could not be more proud of them.  It's definitely something I'm VERY thankful for.  The art is mean to represent a foamy beer and it came out fairly nicely for what I intended although it's definitely not my most intricate of the week. Still it's one of the things I'm the most thankful for!  Check out some of the other things we're thankful for by clicking the links below!
 

I used to think one day we'd tell the story of us...



Today's Digital Dozen design is sort of two-fold.  First, it sort of subtly represents books which I LOVE and am incredibly thankful for. Not just because they allow me to escape into glorious other worlds but also because I've learned so much from them.  Books also helped me cultivate another of my loves which is writing.  I did a subtle gold line around the tips of these to play with that theme, like the gold tipped pages of children's novels.  The second is the more obvious which is family and friends and just love in general.  I've had an incredibly tough year.  Despite that I have such amazing people lifting me up and supporting me along the way.  Check out some of what the other girls are thankful for this week! 

The Digital Dozen Does....Thankfulness!!



It's another Digital Dozen week and this month our theme is Thankfulness.  I sort of struggled with this theme...don't get me wrong, I have TONS to be thankful for this year.  It's just hard to translate all that onto your nails.  Today I've done a simple look with two colors from the latest Barielle collection. It's meant to sort of emulate fall.  I'm thankful for cooler weather (although it's starting to get downright COLD) and that this time of year allows me lots of opportunities to be with family and friends.  I'm also thankful to have made it to another fall, especially after the year I've had!! Check out the other girls art below! :)


A Swirling Storm


So recently, as you know I decided to jump on the stiletto boat.  I've always liked the shape but it seems more suited for acrylics to me.  I just sort of feel like the tip would snap right off a natural nail, especially if you spend all day typing like I do.  Unfortunately, while I dig squares on my own nails, when they start to get longer it just doesn't work for me.  Squares can be great for weaker nails because it's sturdier but for someone like me who has strong nails already it's a nightmare because the corners snap off. I've been rounding them as they grow to help keep them stronger and it's worked out rather nicely but I get to the point when they get so long that I just itch to cut them short again!  So when I got to that point this time I just went to this shape. My theory was if they snapped off I was going to cut them anyway.  That said....so far it's been great. One thing that does suck is the tips (which are pretty dull above) get worn down so you have to periodically resharpen them or else you end up with just very almond nails.  The other thing I've found is that if you DO want to go shorter with them trying to take just a little bit off is kind of a nightmare. So I may go back to square if I want to shorten them and then slowly go back to stiletto again. But time will tell!



In the mean time I'm having fun trying out wilder designs on my new shape!

Zoya Winter 2014 Wishes Holiday Collection



Today I have some swatches of the 2014 Holiday Collection from Zoya for you! It's Called Wishes and it's made up of two shimmers, one cream and three "magical" pixies.  The pixies to me are more like the ultra pixie colors than the standard ones. They have large holographic hexes rather than just the standard smaller glitter.  I found this to be a pretty solid holiday collection.  The black threw me off a little but it's a great time of year for darker shades. So let's check them out!! Pixies are up first!

 

 This one is  Imogen, described as a black crystal Magical PixieDust with holographic hex glitter.  Pretty straight forward as you can tell.  These pixies were all easy to work with and all are swatched with two coats. They also weren't especially lumpy when they dry so while they are textured it's not super noticeable.


Here is Nori, described as a sapphire blue Magical PixieDust with holographic hex glitter. Nori was my favorite of the Pixie's.

 
Last is Thea,  a deep amethyst Magical PixieDust with an orchid flash, packed full of party-ready holographic hex glitter.  The description has her as a purple but I found this one to be very pink, more so than just a "flash".


Then we have the shimmers! This one is Haven. These are the standout's to me. I found both to be a touch streaky but it wasn't super noticeable after they dried.  The shimmer and depth to them is just gorgeous. Haven is described as a true holiday plum liquid metal with a thin vein of orchid to ensure brilliance.  It's just very slightly duo-chrome.



Then there's Prim.  You can see that Prim looks a bit streaky here too. Again, this wasn't as noticable in person and in natural light it's not noticeable at all but I wanted to show her in full sun so be forewarned, there IS a bit of streakiness there. It's not unexpected with a metallic shimmer though. Prim is a velvet blue metallic with a full coverage according to Zoya. I felt she was a cornflower blue, she leans just ever so slightly purple.  Stunning shade though. Perfect for winter.



Last is Willa. This is a throwaway to me. A straight up cream black. That being said her application is flawless and I've been DYING for Zoya to release a flat cream black so I'm in love with her regardless of how boring she is!  Which is your favorite shade?


**These polishes were provided to me for my honest review. I have not been compensated for my opinion.**

Ghostes with the mostest...



Today's Spooky mani is another easy one! Little floating ghosties!  These also glowed in the dark which was super fun! I used China Glaze glow in the dark polish over the white (but under the black) and I found that of the ones I own, it changed the color the least.  I think my favorite one turned out to be my ring finger but I tried to mix up their little ghost faces.  Which one is your favorite?

Monster Mash


It's time for another spooky design!!  Today I decided to mix up some of my favorite Halloween art for a fun skittle. You might also notice I'm rocking a new nail shape. While Halloween is the perfect time for a stiletto shape, it really just happened to be the time I decided to finally do it! When my nails get longer a square shape really doesn't work anymore. I do a lot of typing at work and the corners weaken and catch. I've gone round with great success but I wanted to try this new shape and so far I'm loving it!! Which shape do you prefer? (And as a side note my little monster nail glows in the dark)




Its skull in the details...


It's the second day of The Digital Dozen's Spooky Days challenge!! Today I was ambitious with my nail art!!


I've been going though my 3D art supplies and trying to find ways to use them more. I like the effect but it just seems like I never remember to add them.  I think my favorite nail turned out to be my thumb but after I did it I had concerns that it was too white.


Which one is your favorite? Don't forget it check out the other ladies art below!! 




Floating skulls...



This week The Digital Dozen are having an optional week of Halloween manis! I had some planned anyway so I'm jumping in with the other ladies to bring you a week of spooky nail art!  Here is  my first design, some floating skulls!  This is actually a SUPER DUPER easy mani to do and all you need is a dotting tool to pull it off. I thought after about making the skulls glow in the dark but then it just seemed like a hassle!  I hope you enjoy them! Don't forget we're having a totally awesome giveaway for you too! Check it out and win some prizes! :) 


The Digital Dozen Spooky Days Giveaway!


Hello Beautiful Readers!! Happy Monday! The Digit-al Dozen has something extra special in the works this week. We are doing a just for fun week of spooky Halloween manicures and guess what... we have a Giveaway for you guys too!! Two lucky winners will be bringing home some new pretties to add to their collection!

Prize 1 is the entire Different Dimension Spooky Spooky Collection!
Prize 2 will be winners choice of any 2 polishes from The Nail Junkie shop! 


A huge thanks to Different Dimension and The Nail Junkie for joining us in bringing some sparkle to your Halloween!
Both prizes will be open to international readers! (as long as your country allows polish to be shipped. You know if yours has restrictions, if it does please have another place your prize can be sent to) Giveaway will run until 12:00am (EST) November 4th Winners will have 72 hours to respond or another name will be chosen. Just fill out the rafflecopter widget below and Good Luck!

 a Rafflecopter giveaway 

 Please see terms and conditions. Prizes will be shipped directly from sponsors. Obviously we cannot be responsible for any items lost or damaged by the post office or customs.  **This giveaway is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by or associated with facebook **

Zoya Matte Velvet

 

Today I have some swatches of the new Zoya Matte Velvet collection for you. These colors are not new, rather, they are re-releases of discontinued matte colors.  So far as I can tell the formula is not new either. I only had two of these in my collection from the original release: Harlow and Veruschka and both seemed exactly the same from new bottle to old bottle.  I actually did one nail of each of them with the old bottle on the swatches so we'll see if you notice a difference!! These all have a lovely shimmer to them, they're more of what I'd call a suede finish. That makes them easier to work with and it also means they're gorgeous and shimmery when shiny as well! All swatches below are two coats, no top coat.


 Dovima a smoky charcoal-black with strong silver shimmer.


Loredana a medium gunmetal grey, packed with silvery shimmer.


Harlow a rich, saturated rose plum packed with sparkling metallic shimmer.


 Savita a bold, vibrant medium purple with strong red and gold shimmer.


Posh a medium cool-toned wine red with metallic red shimmer.


Veruschka, a deep evergreen garnished with strong metallic shimmer.


Which is your favorite? You can get these shades for $9 at Zoya.com!

**These colors were provided to me for my honest review. I have not been compensated for my opinion**

Waves of sunshine...



So...this mani is a bit of a fail. Lol...it didn't come out quite how I'd hope it would and then I went to bed before it was dry and got some sheet marks (HATE THAT).  It didn't last long on my nails but I may attempt it again later since I think it could've been better.  I also think that a matte finish would have helped immensely but for some reason I didn't do it.  It started as in inspiration from a dress I saw on Leighton Meester. I'm not really a fan of hers -- not that I dislike her just she's never done anything that particularly interested me-- so I'm certain she must have worn the dress to some type of event but try as I have I can't seem to find it again.  Anyway it was a silk or satin dress with a blue wavy top and a keyhole cutout and then the midsection was white with a pastel yellow trim round the bottom. The colors were outlined with black creating a really graphic effect. If I'm honest the dress was rather terrible!  The idea wasn't bad but the fabric choice was terrible.  She looked like she was wearing rumpled bed clothes.  I DID however think it would be a cute mani.  I guess my execution was as bad as the designers though!  I really wanted to use these pastel, sparkly Zoya colors but then felt I needed something less stark than a pure white to make it work together.  So I used this satin finish Revlon which needed, like, ten coats to be opaque. Then I didn't plan the waves quite right and so that was a bit of a miss.  Then when I added the shiny top coat the whole soft finish of the Revlon was totally lost. So...just wasn't what I wanted.  But I do still think the inspiration is cute.  It reminds me of ocean waves and the sun on the horizon.

**UPDATE**
Just before posting I FOUND the dress!


So it's not AWFUL but look at that puckering around the seams! Micheal Kors would have a fit!! ;)

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