Nail Art Style

All the best nail trends from Spring 2014 Fashion Week in New York. Nail and manicures for spring summer 2014 at New York Fashion Week. Here we have a small sampling of the nail art The Blonds sent down the runway for their Fall 2014 show. Although we didn't see much in the way of nail art on the runway for Spring 2014, the trend is still going strong on the street.If you are looking for cute designs to impress you boy on Valentine's Day, you are in the right place! Check out all this cute themed original nail art designs Search Engines with my blogs.

Hey everyone! Before I start off I just want to say a massive thankyou to you all for voting for me in the China Glaze holiday competition, because I won!! I'm so unbelievably happy and it's all down to you, so thankyou. Anyway, today I'm super excited to share a new project with you. Me, Sammy of The Nailasaurus, Lucie of Lucy's Stash, Allie of Brit Nails and Amelia of xameliax have started a new monthly challenge group called Nailvengers Assemble. After all meeting at the Cosmo Blog Awards, we've been in constant contact, and we decided that it would be a great idea to create something like this. I'm so excited to be part of this with such an amazing group of people, and I hope you will all get involved too! We will be posting on the last day of every month with a new challenge, and you will have the whole of the next month to post your versions of the prompt. This month's challenge is 'New Year, New Technique'. If you want to get involved you can use the hashtag #nailvengers and you can like our facebook page to keep up to date with what we're doing:

So for this month's new technique I chose to do negative space nails. I've been seeing them around for a while and I've always wanted to give it a go, and I'm so glad I did. These took a bit longer than expected but I'm really happy with how they came out.  I had to take these pictures on a different camera to usual so the lighting looks a bit different, but I'll be back to my usual camera for the next post!

The base for these nails was OPI - My Boyfriend Scales Walls, then I used Barry M - Gold Foil to draw the shapes using a brush, and acetone and a wide brush to clean up the space. Then I used Seche Vite to top it off

What do you think? Let me know in the comments! 

Don't forget to use the hashtag #nailvengers if you give a new technique a try this month

Alice

Today I have two more eyeshadow rows to share with you from the Ulta Blockbuster Beauty Box that I picked up during a spur of the moment online shopping spree (More details here.). This set of shades includes a row of cool grey and black tones, and a row of bright nude and taupe tones. I was excited to swatch the grey shades, but was a bit surprised to have yet another row of taupe shades, since the very first row of shadows are so similar. But they are a bit more on the warm side, and brighter, so I actually prefer this row to the first one.

Blackout: A solid, matte, black shade that is on the chalky side. Three swipes shown. I find this one a bit intimidating, though it would be a great contour color for a bold smokey eye. I just feel I would end up looking like a raccoon. Which, even though raccoon's are adorable -Those little paws!-, I don't want to look like one.

Galaxy: A deep grey shade with a hint of shimmer. This one is a little less scary than Blackout, since it is more of a charcoal color. Somewhat chalky, but has a much smoother application than Blackout.

Gunmetal: My favorite shade in the whole grey range, this shimmery, metallic grey applies wonderfully, and has a nice glossy finish. I think it would look great even by itself blended in with some liquid liner on top.

Lock & Key: A soft, matte, metal shade that was chalkier than I wanted, but still looks nice when blended out. Would be a great lid shade for a classic smokey eye.

Sterling: A shimmery, glossy version of Lock & Key. Very pretty, and much less chalky than its counterpart. 

Ice Queen: And finally, the shade with the best name in the bunch, a soft, light grey shade, with the tiniest hint of shimmer. Weirdly enough, it looks beyond chalky in the pan, yet applies with a glossy finish and only a small amount of chalkiness. It is very bright on my skin, but blended out, and with a light hand, it would be a great highlight color. Or it could be worn alone as just a slight wash of color on my lids.

Naked: A matte, light tan, highlight shade that looks chalky in the pan, and on my skin. It also looks a lot warmer and darker in the pan than it does on my skin. That's either the shades fault, or my Casper the Ghost pale skin's fault...

Au Naturel: A warm, pretty, sun kissed peachy/tan shade with a hint of shimmer in the pan, that vanishes once it hits my skin. Sadly, like most of the light shades in this set, it was chalky. But not as bad as others I've tried. I'm looking at you, Lock & Key...

Sunburst: My favorite! An absolutely gorgeous Terracotta shade, that's matte in the pan, but leaves a nice gloss on my skin. This shadow is just so pretty, I could totally see myself wearing it in the summer time, with a nice light brown liner to keep the focus on it.

In the Buff: these nude puns are starting to get old... Anyway! This shade is a mid-tone tan shadow, with little flecks of glitter. It looks a tad dull in the pan, but on my skin it looks very gold, glossy and lovely. Very odd... Reminds me of the old saying "Don't judge a book by it's cover." Or in this case, don't judge a shadow by it's pan...

Cafe Ole: A bright, coppery brown shade with flecks of shimmer. It reminds me of those wood chips people use to border their gardens... But it does have a nice gloss to it. It's just a bit much for me, though it would work great as a mid-shade for a brown hued eye look.

Social Climber: Weird name, but a perfect contour color. This is a warm, almost violet based, dark chocolate shade. It has a lot of shimmer, which is surprising for such a dark color. It applies nicely, but sadly looks chalky on my skin. I do like it though, since it is a lot less overpowering than a completely black contour shade.

While I think two rows of neutrals is a bit odd for one kit, I think this row is much brighter, with more of a copper undertone, while the first row of neutrals was much cooler, and more subtle. So it actually was nice to have a range of neutrals to choose from, so kudos to Ulta for that decision. The cool grey and black row was also nice, and I loved that there was a mix of matte and shimmer. I was surprised by just how many of the shades had a chalky residue, the last swatches didn't have so many. But while that was a disappointment, the shades themselves were really nice, and like I've mentioned before, a lot better quality than you would expect from a makeup bundle box. 

My favorites from this swatch would have to be Sunburst for sure, that shade is gorgeous, and I already plan on wearing it. Cafe Ole, which is a bit bold for me, but still beautiful swatched. I also love Gunmetal, Sterling, and Ice Queen, even if it is only for it's name.

I've been thinking about maybe branching out into makeup, and maybe starting to show some looks created using these shades. I know I am a nail blogger mostly, but it is fun to try new things. I could even do coordinating looks of makeup and nails... If that sounds like something you would like to see, let me know in the comments.

Thanks for reading! To read the previous posts in my Beauty Box Swatch series click here.

Kun kuulin Ilonalta, että Shiro Cosmetics julkaisee George R.R. Martinin Tulen ja jäänlaulu -kirjasarjasta inspiroituneen The Seven Kingdoms -kokoelman, päätin jo siltä seisomalta seisomalta, että jotain tulen siitä ehdottomasti itselleni hankkimaan. Olen aikaisemminkin jo blogissa joskus maininnut olevani Game of Thrones -sarjan fani ja tiesin ettei Shiro vaan voi mennä metsään tämän aiheen kanssa. :D Ilmoitinkin heti Ilonalle, että laittaa samalla minulle pari tuotetta samaan tilaukseen, kunhan tilaamisen aika tulee. :p 

Red Wedding -huulikiilto oli oikeasti vaan pakko ostaa jo vain nimensä nerokkuuden takia. :D Verenpunainen pigmenttinen sävy oli sitten jo vain plussaa, haha :D Kuvassa kiiltoa on vain sipaistu nopeasti huulille, ilman mitään pohjustuksia tai rajauksia. Ehkä vähän epätasaisuutta on huomattavissa, mutta suosittelenkin käyttämään tätä pohjustuksen kanssa. Kiilto myös tuppaa vähän kerääntymään kuiviin kohtiin, joten ihan röpelöhuulille tätä ei ehkä kannata käyttää. Itse olen tykännyt kyllä kovasti tästä, varsinkin rajauskynällä tehdyn pohjustuksen päällä. Kiilto on todellakin pigmenttistä ja, noh, kiiltävää :D Eli antaa huulille vähän sellaisen "wet lookin". Red Wedding tuntuu miellyttävältä huulilla ja ei yhtään tahmaiselta.

Kaikki kolme valitsemaani luomivärisävyä ovat ihanan shimmerisiä ja kimaltavia, vaikka se ei kuvista valitettavasti välitykään. :/ Ne myös levittyvät ja häivyttyvät nätisti. :) En poistanut purkeista muovia välipohjasinettejä, vaan tökkäsin vain neulalla niiden läpi auki kaksi reikää. Olen oppinut tekemään näin irtoluomivärien kanssa, mielestäni tuotteen annostelu on näin hallitumpaa ja jauhetta ei keräänny liikaa sirottimen ulkopuolelle.

Mother of Dragons - Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen, Queen of the Andals and the First Men, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, Breaker of Chains, and Mother of Dragons. Tältä neidiltä eivät ainakaan tittelit lopu ihan heti kesken. :D Shiro kuvailee Mother of Dragons väriä violetiksi verenpunaisella pohjalla ja hopeisella shimmerillä. Minulla se näyttäytyy aika punaruskeana ja olen näkevinäni shimmerissä myös hiukan vaaleanvihreää. Kaunis ja moneen meikkiin sopiva sävy mielestäni, jossa hyvä pigmentti. :)

Maiden Queen - Aye, Queen you shall be. Until there comes another, younger and more beautiful... Kyseessä siis Margaery Tyrell:n turkoosi niin sanotusti. Shiro kuvailee tätä smaragdinvihreäksi aqua(turkoosi?)-shimmerillä. Olen heikkona sinivihreisiin silmämeikkeihin (ja kynsilakkoihin!), eikä tullut pettymystä tämänkään kanssa päin vastoin!

You Know Nothing - John Snuh knows nothing, except for the Lord's Kiss, and what a castle looks like. Vaaleansinisenä kimaltelevan lumenvalkoisen sävyn kantea koristaa tietenkin Jon Snow. ;) Tässä on näistä kolmesta heikoin peitto, eli joutuu vähän kerrostamaan jos ihan valkoisen sävyn haluaa tällä saavuttaa. Toisen esim. tummemman luomivärin päälle kerrostutettuna You Know Nothing:n vaaleansininen shimmer pääsee kivasti esille. :)

Shiro oli laittanut tilauksen mukaan pari erittäin reilulla kädellä täytettyä näytetepussia, mikä oli minusta tosi mukava yllätys! Kiva että pääsee testailemaan useampiakin sävyjä. ^_^ Shiroltahan voi myös itse tilata näitä näytekokoisia värejä 1$:lla per näyte. Tämä on minusta tosi asiakasystävällistä ja hienoa että sävyjä pääsee kuitenkin ihan kunnolla testailemaan, koska näistä tosiaankin riittää useaan meikkiin. Kuinkas moni sieltä ruudun takaa on kokeillut Shiro Cosmeticsin vegaanisia cruelty-free tuotteita? :)

As I mentioned, I dug through my stockpile of tweets and actually managed to find it! Not that it is very interesting. I started my Twitter account when I was an Avon rep, so they were all shameless self promotion! My first tweet was "Shop my AVON Store!". So deep right? But while I broke ties with Avon, I got hooked on Twitter, so I kept it! And now it is the account you may know now, full of randomness,  Instagram pictures, blog updates, manicures, and retweets of contests I never win... 

(If you would like to follow me, my link's on the right... Shameless self promotion strikes again!)

This was hard to remember! I just recently got into Youtube, and now I am obsessed. I just can't go without watching It's Grace, BLT, Pewdiepie, Swoozie, Jenna Marbles, YDAD, the list goes on and on! But I believe my first ever video was actually a Jenna Marbles video. I read about her in an article, and then decided to watch a video... And the rest is history! So frankly it's her fault I can't go a day without checking Youtube, and why I always run out of battery life after going on a Pewdiepie marathon! -Worth it!- I think it was the video where she shows what's in her purse, but I'm not sure...

That's easy, I don't have one! I've never had a Facebook. And I'm fine with that.

Wow! this got personal quick! I am not one for sentimentality, or expressing those sort of feelings, and I really don't think I've been in love, yet, so I don't have an answer to this question...Sorry!

I don't drink! I know, I'm so boring! I've just never had an interest in it. Though Baileys does look delicious... But I think that's just because it looks like coffee. Yum.

My first job is actually the one I have now! I work at a clothing store called Dot's, and I absolutely love it there.

It is, again, the one I have now. It is a Dodge Neon given to me by my cousin. While I didn't have to buy it, I did have to repair it! She wasn't very good at that, or cleaning it for that matter! But now it is in great shape, and clean.

I don't have texting... I'm so behind the times!

That would be the only person I think of everyday lately, my father. Who, sadly, past away. I will miss him everyday of my life...

I have too bad a memory for this! I don't remember her name, but I know she was super nice, and made me feel better when I was nervous on my first day of school, which was also my first day at that school, because my family had just moved there, so I knew no one.

I think it was to visit family when I lived in Florida, so from Florida to Massachusetts. Thrilling I know!

I think -Again, bad memory.- my first best friend was a girl named Robin. We both shared an obsession with Polly Pockets. And no, sadly I haven't seen or heard from her since we were both small children.

My cousin's house. And I freaked out, so my parents had to come and get me in the middle of the night... So that didn't go well!

Went back to sleep when I remembered it was my day off from work...

I've never been to one... Man, this Tag really shows what a dork I am! :p Though I would love to go see Imagine Dragons, they are one of my favorite bands, and are supposed to be amazing live.

I, luckily, have never broken a bone. I did almost break one of my pinkie toes once. Dramatic, I know...

My ears. What else could I get at 13? I don't think my parents would have consented to anything else. When I was in my teens I really wanted a lip piercing, but my mother almost had an aneurysm, so that was out!

Sadly I've never been out of the states! I may get a chance to go to Scotland in the summer though. But if I could go anywhere, I would love to go to Japan! That would be amazing.

I don't remember the name, but I remember it was either a bad Disney movie, or a bad Disney knock-off, and it scared me so much! I don't know why, but the "bad" characters creeped me out so badly that I couldn't even finish the movie.

One, I am shy and a total nerd, so no rebel behavior here. And two, I was home schooled since the second grade. So I sadly have no Breakfast Club-like awesome detention story to tell...

My first roommate was in art school at The Art Institute of Boston. She was nice, and we got along pretty well, but she was always with the most annoying, mean, pretentious girl ever! And would act differently around her, So we didn't really become best friends or anything.

Ha! Not this pale, frail, butterfingers! While I liked soccer from afar, I was never one for sports. The whole "sunlight" and "outdoors" thing just wasn't for me. I was more interested in books. And still am...

I change into my pj's, get a cup of coffee, and either write on this blog, take blog pictures, read, or watch a movie. -Such a party girl!- Yesterday's activity after work was drinking a cup of coffee, and watching Breakfast at Tiffany's. 

Thanks for reading! To check out other Tags I've done click here