...slipping away...again!

Oye. I really need to keep up on this a lot better! It's one of my goals this year to blog a little more, but so far...I'm failing, miserably!

Yes, I'm still painting my nails.

I'm still buying polish like a fiend (ok, not THAT much).

I'm still doing mani swaps, bestie twin nail manis, still participating in polish swaps (and getting some pretty sweet stuff in the process)...but blogging about it has kind of fallen by the wayside as of late. Check out my Instagram feed @mamineedsamani or on the right side of the screen!

However................I'll have a very exciting post in a couple of months. Want to know why?

...Imgoingtopolishcon...

*giggle*

Toodles!

Envy Lacquer Seven Sins of Summer - Swatch and Review

***I was not compensated for this review. 

I purchased these polishes at a discount in exchange
for swatching and review.

This is my review, all opinions are my own.***

Envy Lacquer will be releasing a summer collection tomorrow, June 26, 2015 called Seven Sins of Summer, and it comes with a gorgeous glitter topper! Below you will see swatches of each color, as well as my feelings on each Enjoy!

Seven Sins of Summer collection by Envy Lacquer

Ok, up first, Wrath! This is a gorgeous red! It's almost like a neon coral red with gold shimmer in it. It really is pretty. In the swatch, it's shown with 2 coats on my index and middle finger, and just one thick coat over white on my ring and pinkie. I've alternated OPI top coat on my index and ring finger, as well as Wet & Wild matte top coat on my middle finger and pinkie. The formula was good, and with the slightly thicker application of the ring and pinkie, it had good coverage and was pretty easy to work with.

Wrath by Envy Lacquer

Next, I have Glutton. This one is a super pretty creamy neon orange color with a nice gold shimmer again. In the swatch, I've shown it with two coats on bare index and middle nails, as well as over white on my ring and pinkie finger. Again, I alternated OPI top coat on my index and ring finger, and Wet & Wild matte top coat on my middle and pinkie finger. The formula on this one was a little thick, went on kind of streaky, and it was kind of hard to work with.

Glutton by Envy Lacquer

Third, I have Greed! Here we have a darn near dead ringer for highlighter yellow! Just LOOK at that color pop! In this swatch, I have it shown with three coats on bare index and middle finger, and two coats over white on my ring and pinkie. Alternating OPI top coat on my index and ring finger, as well as Wet & Wild matte top coat on my middle finger and pinkie. The coverage with this one was a little streaky, and that made for a somewhat difficult application. However, if you use thicker coats, it does work a bit nicer.

Greed by Envy Lacquer

Next up is Envy. This is a bright neon green shimmer, which I've lovingly dubbed Envy (2) because I own another polish by Envy Lacquer with the same name. ;-) Anyways, in the swatch, it is shown with three coats over bare index and middle nail, and two coats over white on my ring and pinkie. As with all the other swatches, OPI top coat on index and middle, Wet & Wild matte top coat on middle and pinkie. Coverage again was a little streaky which made the application a little tricky.

Envy (2) by Envy Lacquer

The next swatch I have, is of Sloth. This is a super pretty pale blue with pink and purple shimmer. I adore this color!!! In this swatch, I did use the white undie again on my ring and pinkie simply for consistency with the whole collection. As you can see, it doesn't *really* need the white undie. This is three coats on my ring and middle finger, two coats over white on my ring and pinkie. Again, OPI top coat on my index and ring finger, Wet & Wild matte top coat on my middle finger and pinkie. The coverage was ok, slightly thick and a bit streaky. The application was a little tricky for me, just don't overwork it and you should be ok!

Sloth by Envy Lacquer

Lust...oh Lust, how I enjoy you! This gorgeous royal blue with a pale blue shimmer is just gorgeous. I liken it to Pacific Blue, only better, because shimmer! Again, for consistency, I used a white undie on my ring and pinkie nail. This is shown with two coats on my bare index and middle nails, two coats over white on my ring and pinkie nail. As you can see, this one also doesn't really need the white undie. Alternated OPI top coat on my index and ring finger, Wet & Wild matte top coat on my middle and pinkie finger. The applications was ok with thicker coats, and coverage was pretty good! The formula was a little thicker than I'm used to, but not too bad.

Lust by Envy Lacquer

Next, Pride! This is a really pretty warm neon purple with blue, pink and purple shimmer in it. In the swatch it is shown as one thin, one thick coat over all of my nails, white undie on my ring and pinkie again. OPI top coat on my index and ring finger, Wet & Wild matte top coat on my middle and pinkie finger. It's a bit tricky, so don't overwork it! The coverage and application are ok with slightly thicker coats.

Pride by Envy Lacquer

Last but definitely not least, Sinful Summer! How FUN is this glitter?!? It's holo! It's glitter! It's neon! There are so many different kinds of glitter in this I don't even know where to start! There are hex, square and micro holo glitters, as well as little neon glitters! In the swatch, I'm showing one coat (perfect topper!) on my index finger, two coats on my middle finger, three on my ring, and four on my pinkie! It can totally be worn as a topper and/or a full coverage super fun glitter! Only OPI top coat on this one, and no undie. The application was easy, formula good, and coverage...totally buildable!

Sinful Summer by Envy Lacquer

Overall, I do enjoy this collection. There are some tricky ones in there, but I really love the colors, and I can see myself reaching for a few of these over and over again!

I hope you've enjoyed my review! Please go check out Envy Lacquer on:

Facebook

Instagram

Website

Thanks for stopping by!

~Stacy

June Mani Swap

I took a short break from mani swaps just because I was beginning to feel overwhelmed. Well, this month, I jumped back in! Here's my mani swap with the fabulous @mani_on_the_run! I recreated her holographic/silver stamp mani, and she recreated one of my newest, and yet favorite mani's yet! OG Pacific Blue ftw!

And here's my solo shot from the swap. I used Colors by Llarowe My Broken Down Crop Duster...and oh my holo goodness! It is gorgeous!!!

See? Just look at that holo-y goodness!

Do you enjoy mani swaps? What was your favorite mani to recreate?

~Stacy

Envy Lacquer Swatch and Review

***I was not compensated for this review. 

I received these polishes in exchange for swatching. 

This is my review, all opinions are my own.***

I'm a little late in posting this, but trust me, these are worth it!

I was honored to swatch for Envy Lacquer, and I love everything she sent to me! These polishes are unique, and fun. Her launch is set for April 25th, so head on over to her Instagram or Facebook pages to see what she's got up her sleeves!

Back: Envy
Front Left: Maymoon's Paradise
Front Right: Jenn's Haunted Mansion 

Up first, Envy! This polish is the company's namesake, and what's the age old saying? GREEN with Envy. This is a cool green micro-glitter in a lightly colored base with scattered holo glitters. I feel like I catch a slight linear holo with this one as well.

This swatch shows two easy coats with no undie, plus a gloss topcoat on my index and middle fingers, as well as a matte topcoat on my ring and pinkie finger. It has good coverage, just don't over work it!

Envy

Envy: Gloss topcoat macro

Envy: Matte topcoat macro

Next up is Jenn's Haunted Mansion. This polish is SO MUCH fun! This one is a deep cool purple jelly shimmer with black and light purple flakies, small blue glitters, micro holo, and iridescent bar glitters. A gorgeous Heinz 57!

This swatch shows three thin coats with no undie, plus a gloss topcoat on my index and middle fingers, as well as a matte topcoat on my ring and pinkie finger. It's a sheer coverage and can be patchy, but it's pretty easy to work with, just don't over work this one, either.

Jenn's Haunted Mansion

Jenn's Haunted Mansion: Gloss top coat macro

Jenn's Haunted Mansion: Matte topcoat macro

Last but definitely not least, is Maymoon's Paradise! This polish has a sheer aqua base and is loaded with aqua hex glitters, blue and yellow square glitters, and small yellow glitters. I love the look of this one over the black and white!

This swatch shows one medium-thick coat with a black/white undie, plus a gloss topcoat on my index and middle fingers, as well as a matte topcoat on my ring and pinky finger. Since it is a jelly, it does require multiple coats. The swatch below the black/white picture shows 3 coats, no undie, with a gloss topcoat.

Maymoon's Paradise

Maymoon's Paradise: Macro

Overall, I loved these polishes! Once I figured out that they can't be overworked, they went on super easily and had good coverage in just 2-3 coats. Envy could actually be done in one medium-thick coat I think. I will likely be adding more of these to my collection!

Thanks for choosing me to swatch for you!

~Stacy

Nails Like Lace Instagram Rainbow Collab

Through all of these wonderful groups of ladies that I've "met" through my rekindled love of all things nail polish, I've gotten into some pretty awesome collaborations, features, and just overall great experiences.

Back on topic! Recently, I was able to participate in the #returnoftherainbowcollab that was put on by Amber at Nails Like Lace on Instagram! When I first signed up to be a part of it, I had no idea what I was going to do. Ok, let me rephrase that. I had so many ideas, but I couldn't narrow it down. Rainbow gradient? Man, a lot of people do those... Dotticure? I've seen a lot of those, too, but love how they look. I wonder how neons will look over nude...I'm going to try that! Ooh, what about a fan brush! YES! THAT'S what I'm going to do! Now you've experienced just a minuscule part of what goes on in my head when I'm trying to figure out just what I'm going to do with my nails.

I pulled all of the polish that I would need for both of these ideas, loaded them into my basket, grabbed a tv tray and parked my butt on the couch in the living room. One of these days, when my husband isn't around to side-eye me, I will take pictures of everything as I go. Anyways, you get the idea...lots of polish in my basket, lots of tools, too many ideas still swirling in my head. I went for the dotticure first. I used NYC Fashion Safari as the base color, and L.A. Colors Absolute, Spat!, Flicker, Scream, Aquatic and Electra for the dots. I do like it, but it didn't turn out quite how I pictured!

Off it came, and I moved on to my fan brush idea. For this one, I used a whole bunch of other colors that, unfortunately, I did not take note of. Sinful Colors Snow Me White is the base...I do remember that much. :-P

And here's the full collaboration! Talk about adding a little color to the world. How can you not smile seeing all these beautiful rainbows!?

Have you been a part of a large collaboration? Did you enjoy it?

See you soon, stay polished!
~Stacy

Push Your Mani - March 2, 2015

Howdy! If you like challenging yourself with your nail art, you're probably aware of a few monthly challenges on Instagram already. Well, this one comes to you from @Push Your Mani! This particular challenge holds a special place in my heart because I've been chatting with the person in charge of it for quite some time now ;-) I love these challenges because they really make me try things that maybe I haven't tried, or just haven't thought to try. I do enjoy them but alas. I am a slacker, and I don't do them enough!

I've done stamping in the past, but just plain old stamping. I've not been brave enough to try advanced stamping until now. I used Sinful Colors Hazard and Solar Flux for my base colors, and stamped with Sinful Colors Nirvana using my Cici&Sisi plate 5. I filled the stamp in with Revlon Hypnotize, Sinful Colors Hazard and Mint Apple. I actually love how this turned out, even though it wasn't my original plan.

Check it out! What do you think?

See you next time!

~Stacy

Shinespark Polish - Reveiw

***DISCLAIMER: I received two mini bottles of Shinespark Polish to review. Here you will see one of those polishes, and I have not been compensated for this review.***

Hello, hello! LOOK at this beauty. It starts as this totally soft lavender shade, then you take her out in the sun, and BAM. Purple, baby! But...you'll have to wait a little while. This indie brand isn't launching their first line until February 28 at 11 am CST!

What you see here is three average coats with no top coat. Application was a little bit tricky a couple of times because I tried to over work it and it pulled ever so slightly near my cuticles. However, after the second coat, there weren't any visible divots or lines (aside from the peeled gash in my index finger nail...cries). It dries to a nice matte satin finish with a great shimmer. I love the shift that this polish offers between indoor/shade and sunlight. Now...you can't get it do do this inside. Believe me, I tried. Lamp light? Nope. Energy efficient "bright white" bulbs? Nope. Sun blazing through the window? (I totally thought that would work, but...) Nope, at least not to this degree! It's truly stunning to see it switch right before your eyes. The fact that it's my favorite color is...well, a definite bonus!

Here's a quick macro to show the color detail.

The main factor that I look for in a polish, is color. It's the first thing I see - obviously - and it's the first thing anyone else sees. Second to that would be the finish and/or effects. I've seen thermals, but I've never seen these solar reactive polishes, so this is a definite bonus. I personally try to steer clear of a polish that requires more than two coats, but I always make exceptions to that rule. If I adore the color and finish/effect of the polish, I can look past the number of coats, or the fact that it might be kind of tricky to work with.

Overall, I'm pretty pleased with this polish! In my next review, I will be playing with a little Mickey glitter mix up from Shinespark as well!

You can find Shinespark Polish online at http://www.shinesparkpolish.com/ or on Instagram @shinesparkpolish

What do you think? What do you look for in a polish? Don't be shy, I don't bite!

~Stacy

Welcome to the colorful abyss, from my eyes!

Hello! Yes, me again. I've decided to start documenting my nail adventures this way, too! Yep, that's right. If you follow me on Instagram, are friends with me on Facebook, and know me on Babycenter, you'll probably get sick of seeing my nails all.the.time. :-)

Anyways. This is still very much under construction, so please bear with me as I get everything situated and figured out. In the meantime...

What is your favorite polish brand? Your favorite technique? Are you new to the nail world, or an "old pro"?

I'm so glad you've joined me. I hope you stick around!

~Stacy