SinfulColors Halloween 2014 Wicked Color Collection

Press Samples

I was fortunate enough to be able to try some of the newest polishes released by SinfulColors for their Wicked Color Halloween Collection (all polishes shown in graphic below). They sent me five of these fun polishes to try: Glow In The Dark, Mystery Moonshine, Pumpkin Spice, Cauldron Couture, and Splatter Spell.

Glow In The Dark is described as "Ghoulishly fluorescent." Shown above in indirect light and in complete darkness. I only used one coat of the polish and let the polish and my hands sit in direct sunlight before taking either photograph. In direct sunlight (below) the polish appears to have particles within it and is not completely clear.

 Mystery Moonshine is festively described as "Multi-colored confetti." This polish truly resembles confetti with its irregular foil pieces in copper, emerald, and periwinkle floating in its clear base. Above one and two coats of this MardiGras-esque polish are shown. Below, two coats of Mystery Moonshine are shown over a bright periwinkle polish (SinfulShine Alfresco).

 Pumpkin Spice is a "Twinkling fall orange." This clear polish is full of tiny gold and small copper hexagonal glitters. Shown above you can see its density in one and two coats. Below, two coats of Pumpkin Spice are shown over a black polish (SinfulColors Black on Black).

Splatter Spell, a layering polish with "Gilded black flecks," also shown above as one and two coats. This clear base has tiny, small, and large black hexagonal glitters. It is also contains small and large copper hexagonal glitters as well as irregular foil pieces of the same color. There also appear to be some irregular gold foil pieces as well. Below two coats of Spatter Spell are shown over a peach polish (Essie A Crewed Interest).

Cauldron Couture is a "Wickedly glittery emerald." Shown above in one and two coats of this glittery topcoat. This clear base has tiny, small, and large black hexagonal glitters. It is also contains small and large emerald green hexagonal glitters as well as irregular foil pieces of the same color. Below two coats of Cauldron Couture are shown over a mint green polish (Essie Mint Candy Apple).

The Verdict:

These were fun polishes to try. I enjoyed the variety of glitters and foil particles in Cauldron Couture, Splatter Spell, and Mystery Moonshine. These were also my favorites of the bunch and the most unique. If you love glitter, layering, or "jelly sandwich" manicures you should walk run to your nearest SinfulColors retailer and grab these before they're gone. They are definitely versatile and playful.

Also, if anyone has successfully used a glow-in-the-dark polish, I would love to hear any tips and tricks that you may have!

Available for $1.99 exclusively at Walgreens & Target stores in October 2014

Jewel-Toned Stained Glass

This autumn rich, jewel tones are everywhere. I must admit that I adore this trend. Jewel tones favor my complexion and are very flattering on me. Due to the fact that many polish brands have a bunch of this gorgeous tones in their polishes, it has made choosing a polish to wear ridiculously difficult. So what is better than deciding? Why, wearing all at once of course!

I created this lovely stained glass manicure using beautiful, glowing jewel inspired shades. After painting my middle and ring finger nails black I let the polish dry before dividing my nail into random sections using striping tape as painters tape. I then randomly painted the sections with beautiful metallic colors. Before the polish dried, I removed the tape. After it dried, I applied a clear topcoat to level it out. To avoid too much darkness in this manicure, I painted the rest of my nails with a beautiful textured polish.

I like this and think it adds a bit of flair to an otherwise boring autumn manicure. Besides, I was able to wear all the polishes that I could not decide between:) How do you wear jewel tones?

Polishes used: SinfulColors Black on Black and Zoya nail polishes in Mason, Neve, Channing, Giovanna, and Tomoko

Sugar Skull Inspired

This manicure draws inspiration from the Mexican holiday el Dia de los Muertos (The Day of the Dead). This early November celebration somehow makes death and dying a beautiful celebration full of bright colors and flowers. Sugar skulls personify these festivities to me. Here is my festive, colorful rendition...

This manicure was fun and very random. It is one of those things that you probably cannot recreate because you just made it up as you went. The whimsy of this is that no two will be the same (my two hands looked different). While this looks complex, it was rather simple in its execution.

What do you think about this bright, festive manicure?

Spooky Trees

Today's festive fall manicure is simple and straightforward. I love seeing autumn trees covered with colorful leaves, however that beauty does not last forever. Eventually the leaves fall off, giving way to trees that beckon toward the winter sky. These spooky trees were the inspiration for my manicure.

While this may not be my most favorite manicure, I really loved the combination of essie Bobbing for Baubles and Bad Ass Polish Dusk. It also made me rekindle my love for essie Bobbing for Baubles. Dusk adds some light and beauty to the manicure while creating mystery and intrigue.

Do you have a favorite topper that adds more character to manicures, like Dusk did for this manicure?

Aztec Tribal Chevron Manicure

Following the 4th of July festivities, I decided to cleanse my polish palette with one of my go-to neutral polishes. So, I painted my nails with Revlon Grey Suede. Well... I managed to mess up my manicure. This is not at all surprising. Instead of reaching for the polish remover, I decided to revamp my current manicure with some nail art to match the sweltering temperatures. When summer is in full swing, I love tribal inspired prints, polka dots, and chevron. Yes I combined these three loves in this Aztec tribal chevron manicure.

What do you think? I really love it. But now that I've been looking at it, the chevron reminds me of angry eyebrows... So much for a neutral palette cleansing manicure;)

Have you ever "fixed" a manicure by adding nail art? 

Polishes used: Revlon Grey Suede, Sinful Colors Black on Black, Barielle Pink Diamond and Green Apple Chew

Playing with Polish--Art Deco Jewelry #1

Recently I decided to play with polish and started looking for sources of inspiration.  I ended up being inspired by the art deco jewelry that was popping up on my pinterest feed.  I decided to narrow down a couple of pieces to use for manicures.  Well, let's just say these were both "fails" in my book.  But I won't prevent you from staring at the trainwreck;)

Here is #1, which was inspired by this necklace:

Source: http://www.rubylane.com/item/443546-RL1451/Art-Deco-Pendant-Necklace-Rhinestones 

And this is what this ended up looking like...

Not bad, but not exactly what I was hoping for.

How often do you find something to inspire you, but end up wondering "what was I thinking?"

Time Warp Challenge--Day 8

This is sadly the final day of the "Let's Do the Time Warp" Challenge.  I think this was my favorite challenge ever.  It was so much fun and everyone participating was so encouraging.  Thank you to all of you for making this so wonderful.  And a special THANK YOU to Lindsay from Neverland Nail Blog for hosting and creating this challenge.

Today's challenge is... 

Let's do the TIME WARP again!

This challenge was basically to recreate a manicure of another participant.  This was such a difficult challenge.  The manicures were all so amazing and well executed that I was intimidated to recreate any of them.  However, when I saw the manicure created for Day 4 (Lights, Camera, Action!) by The Polished Squirrel I new that this was the one I wanted to attempt.  Stephanie was inspired by the classic fairy tale The Twelve Dancing Princesses.  Here is her incredible manicure & a bit of the story if you're unfamiliar with it.

The version I grew up with was slightly different from the one Stephanie recounts.  The book I remember is this one:

I always loved the story, but the illustrations in this particular book were to die for.  They were so stunning.  The story I remember is different from the one Stephanie told in that the soldier in her story was a gardener in the above tale AND in the one above the princesses were under a curse.  To solve the mystery, the gardener was given a magical golden flower to put into his lapel that made him invisible unlike the cloak of the soldier.  Due to these differences, I changed the manicure ever so slightly to include the flower instead of the cloak.  Below are the trees of the silver, gold, and diamond forests with the magical flower on my pinkie.

 I adore this manicure.  Thank you so much Stephanie from the Polished Squirrel for your inspiration and your beautiful manicure.  I could never do it justice!

Polishes used: SinfulColors Black on Black, Barielle Granite Glitter, Barielle Gold Digger, China Glaze Champagne Bubbles, NfuOh 61, Barielle Green Opal, OPI Stranger Tides, and marquis rhinestones

That's all.  Thank you to all of you for your wonderful comments and support throughout this challenge:)  Here's a quick recap: 

Time Warp Challenge--Day 7

Today's challenge is... 

You're timeless to me!

Styles that have been popular both "then" and now were supposed to inspire this manicure.  Since certain clothing articles/styles have become part of the style cycle (aka. if you keep something long enough it *might* become stylish once again) and regained popularity, I thought this day would be a cinch!  Well, I had extreme difficulty translating what was in my head or on paper to my nails.  So I took the theme literally and used something that is timeless in more way than one...

Image from Fashion in Motion

What is more timeless than a Rolex anyway???  My husband was traveling when I was taking this picture so I didn't have an actual Rolex to use, but a bunch of other watches works, right?

Polishes used: Barielle Granite Glitter, SinfulColors Black on Black

What timeless style/article would you have chosen?

Time Warp Challenge--Day 5

Today's challenge is...

We can do it!

This manicure is in honor of an influential woman in history.  As is only natural, names of these women flooded my mind, but I didn't know how to accurately communicate what they had done to change and influence our "today."  In the good old US of A we learn about so many of these women from Betsy Ross, Sacajawea, and Susan B. Anthony to Rosa Parks, Amelia Earhart, and Harriet Tubman.  I looked beyond these history class favorites and chose Irena Sendler.

 Irena Sendler smuggled about 2,500 children out of the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II.  She was even nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007.

I'm pleased with this manicure.  I think it effectively communicates what Irena Sendler did to impact our history and the lives of many children. 

Polishes used: Zoya Purity, SinfulColors Black on Black, Revlon Delicious, SinfulColors Ruby Ruby, China Glaze Champagne Bubbles.

Which woman would you have chosen to showcase in a manicure?

Time Warp Challenge--Day 3

Today's challenge is...

I remember when...

Personal or historical events were the inspiration and focus of this challenge.  I focused on history since I find it more fascinating than my own life:-P So many great historical events flooded my mind.  I listed and sketched so many ideas.  I ultimately landed on what I was most excited to recreate on my own nails...

October 4, 1957

The launch and orbit of Sputnik.

 I'm pretty pleased with my choice of this event and of the final product.  I think it's a pretty neat twist on a galaxy manicure:)

Polishes used: Too many:) Seriously, I don't know if I remember all of them!  Here's my best shot (not in the order applied): SinfulColors Black on Black & Nail Junkie, piCture pOlish mirage & orbit, essie Fear or Desire, and Zoya Purity

What event would you have chosen? (My other choice was the fall of the Berlin wall)