Cigar, anyone? fauxnad

Hi Kids!
This mani has been in my idea que for some time. It's a tribute to Jim ...soon to be husband for the second time around, and mah babies Daddy. We are polar opposites, sharing only 2 things in common- we're both first born and we both grew up with an abusive parent.
Although we are an unlikely pair, our relationship works because we genuinely like each-other. That, and he does all the cleaning ;) .

Anyway, Jim loves a cigar now and then, and I've been collecting the cigar tins, boxes and bands from his go-to brand, Macanudo. He was tickled when I told him I was finally going to use the cigar bands in my next mani.
I love how this turned out!

Base- 2 coats Milani Dot Com
BM 20, the diagnal lines stamped at the top half of my nails
BM19, the dots- stamped at the bottom half (tips)
Stamping polish was Wet n Wild craze, Nocturnal
Cigar bands were trimmed and adhered to my nail with a good coat of Seche
Fauxnad plate H4 the leaf swag
Stamped with Sally Hansen Gold Chrome
2 coats of Seche
****************

On another note...
Memorial weekend is the official start of summer vacations to the shore area. The restaurant I manage is on the major highway to Wildwood, Cape May...etc...meaning- the gates of Hell are about to open in my world.
Long hours, 10 mile traffic back-ups on the way to work and, Shoobies (common name for tourists going to the beach)

Milani, Dot Com, and a 'nadding tip

Hi Kids!
I've been *really* busy...having 1 day off sucks- nothing I start gets finished. :'(

Anyway, I *do* have some content, although just a mani, no 'nadding yet. (I have an idea, so nail art over this mani will be my next post).

Milani, Dot Com- is a lot like Sally Hansen Arabian Night, except that it's a jelly and has a pinkish copper flash and gold flecks. I LOVE this gorgeous color! The formula was excellent- very easy to work with. Dot Com has knocked Arabian Night down a spot on my top 10 list!

Two coats for opacity!
Click for a larger view!

This is how I set up my tools for nail stamping.The little clips/clamps you see hold cotton balls. One is saturated with acetone, one is dry. I use these to wipe (and dry) my plates between stampings. Because my nails are long, grabbing a cotton ball drenched in acetone not only ruined my right hand mani, it also ate away the corners of my acrylics.
I get these clips for under $1 at Home Depot. Before using them, be sure to remove the rubber tips (with pliers), or else the acetone will melt it and ruin your plate!

Another helpful tool for stamping with long nails- finger covers. I wear one on my index and one on my middle finger. No more puddles of excess scraped polish marring your mani!

On a quest for more storage, I cut an old shelving unit (found in the trash) in half. I used the bottom portion (flipped up-side down) because it had a cabinet with doors. 

I like how everything fits on top of this cabinet... and it was free!

Pacifica fragrance, Opi Coney Island Cotton Candy, bees for Ange-Marie!

Hi Kids!
As some of you know, I don't wear "mainstream" fragrance. I prefer natural scents over chemical, and blend my own fragrance(s) from oils in the wood, resin and spice families. I have been "out" of 2 oils I use for many months.
Over the weekend, on a raid, through my daughter Amber's bathroom, for something to wear, I came across a bottle of Pacifica , Malibu Lemon Blossom. One air squirt...no "chemical" notes detected, I deemed the fragrance acceptable for a wrist test. Call me impressed! I am not a reviewer, yet I loved Malibu Lemon Blossom so much, I just had to share.

Aptly named, Malibu Lemon Blossom smells lemony and floral on a salty beach. I know, I know... salt does not have an odor, but it *is* there....conjured up  from whatever it is that smells "beachy". This fragrance smells exactly like a beach babe after a lemony shower. ( "babe" for the lack of a better word.)
Malibu Lemon Blossom is an absolutely amazing blend of scents. Although very affordable at $22 (for a 1.2oz bottle), it does NOT smell cheap.
I wore this along with Malibu Lemon Blossom Body Lotion all weekend and had many compliments. Big bonus- this fragrance did not clash with my Lemony Flutter!

I just ordered the Beloved Woods and Coveted Spices Solid Perfume Gift Box, and can't wait to try them!!!

Pacifica products are 100% VEGAN and Gluten-free. No parabens, animal testing, animal ingredients or artificial colors.
 Pacifica is also available at Sephora.

The other thing I wore all weekend was OPI, Coney Island Cotton Candy. <3!
To date, this is my absolute favorite of all the neutral/nude/flesh polishes I've tried thus far.
As you can see, I had some pooling at the cuticles, and at 2 coats vnl...I still love it bunches! The color is to die for- is it peach or pink?...how about both. Very cool that the color shows pink on my nail beds and peach at the tips! This is over my new set of acrylics (OPI, Absolute in natural).
IMO, Coney Island Cotton Candy is a jelly, and takes the #1 spot for shine. I did not feel the need for a top coat. Pictures taken after 4 days of wear.
I will be buying a couple of back-ups for sure.

Next picture taken in front of my Betty Prior Climbing Rose and wild honeysuckle.

And for Ange-Marie of Scandalously Polished, bees...

What I've been up to...plus 8ty8Beauty Supply review

Hi Kids!
No art today...I've been rather busy creating a new and improved fauxnad/konad plate holder! As opposed to the last time I built one, this time, I put more thought into designing the holder with room for expansion. I also used a pre-fab "material" for the plate tracks, instead of using wood. It's called Lattice Capping.
(Made of a plastic resin, it is used for capping off the free edges of PVC Lattice. (There is a C track -for capping, and an H track for joining panels of lattice.) I LOVE this stuff! I have used it for its' intended purpose and also for unintended ones. When I installed a new 2 person Garden Tub a couple of years ago, I used this stuff to construct tracks for sliding doors at the base of the tub, and to cap off the free edges of the faux leather panels I made into doors).

As you will see below, I moved my plate display holder to the right of my mani desk. It now sits on a dresser (full of fabric for corsets). A hutch containing sewing related items takes up half of the room on the dresser. Actual size of my plate holder is 43" long, 12" wide and 6" high. Note the profile in the third picture...I needed to do a lot in a small space and the doors to my hutch could not be blocked. By angling the base for each track I was able to keep this low so the doors swing without obstruction. The angling also allowed for more tracks WITHOUT sacrificing the ability to see each additional row of plates!
Before I installed the lattice tracks, I cut 3/8ths of an inch off 1 side so the images on my plates could be seen without picking them out of the track. I did this with a heavy duty cut-off wheel on my Dremel.

My old plate holder sat on the shelf where the random polishes and three baskets are located.( I'm going to install those baskets up at the side of the hutch)

Did you happen to notice my new tool?

It's the Medicool Pro Power 30K Professional File!!!
This is going to make the most of my time in doing my own acrylics. No more cuticle wounds from aggressive hand filing, and less hours spent overall!!!

I purchased this file on 5/14 from 8ty8 Beauty Supply for an amazing price- $218.00 USD!
It arrived yesterday, 5/18.
Based on my first experience with 8ty8 last year, I was thinking that it might take up to 2 weeks, and was a bit reluctant to place an order. I could not find another e-tailer to beat the price, so I ordered-but had reservations.  A day or two after, I was surprised to find an invoice in my email, and even more surprised that it had already shipped, and was almost here!

When I make up my mind to purchase a higher ticket item, I want it "now- or yesterday". In this instance- with 8ty8, I feel as though they did just that! In the past, they were the last e-tailer I'd consider for an online purchase. You can bet 8ty8 Beauty Supply is going to get dibs on my online purchases from now on!

Industrial gears layered fauxnad

Hi Kids!
I am super excited to post this fauxnadicure! I used Claire's Mood Nail Polish in Daring/Innocent. These show very well on my nails and the goldenrod to gray gradient going on under my stamps just makes this mani very cool in real life! And to think- I originally had SH Wet Cement as the base and changed it because it was goopy, resulting in sub-par application. I am so glad I changed it, even though at the time, I thought it a huge pain in the butt!

The outcome of this fauxnadicure is quite different from my usual nature/garden themed manis. I like how it all came together...especially since I had 2 fails before this. With all the new plate I have, I'm more than a little amped out with image overload. So many images...never enough time. I wish I had it in me to call off work just so's I can stamp all night. :(

All pictures taken outside sun, shade, and different locations so as to bring out the many "moods" of this polish. Be warned...I had an awful time cleaning up the Konad Black Special Polish. It stained my cuticles something fierce. I don't usually use the Konad polish, however, the circuitry stamp on Konad M70 wasn't playing nice with my usual black stamping polish, Color Club, Where's The Soiree?.
Anyway, as usual, all pictures are clickable for giant view.

3 coats Claire's Mood Polish, Daring/Innocent
fauxnad plates- T30, T04, P07
BM plates- BM12, BM15, BM03
Konad plates- M70, M73
dotting tool 

Stamping Polishes- Konad Black Special, Sally Hansen Aqua and Gold Chrome, China Glaze Millennium and  ChG 2030 frankened to a warm peach pink.

The "gears" you see are actually stylized flowers from the Bundle Monster plate BM03. If you're wondering how I used Konad plate M73... I used a partial image from the musical stamp, specifically- the piano keys. haha!
Anyway...am I posting too many pictures?

New email address

Hi Kids!
I am changing my email address. Those of you who are in current correspondence with me, please take note!!!!
I should have done this before, but I never anticipated that anyone would be interested enough in my blog to email me. I now have almost 7,000 pieces of unread email in my primary hard_core.corsets account, most of which are related to my corset business. Your emails are getting lost and sandwiched between many sewing groups/messages I am subscribed to.

I am hoping that with this email change I will suck less at getting back to all of you! I am not intentionally ignoring anyone...it's just that I'm so busy at my job. I have the weight of a busy restaurant on my shoulders.
If I do not get back to you right away, please be patient.

glammed_upblog  at yahoo dot com

My Precious, Zoya Charla

Hi Kids!
I have no nail art to show you today. I'm trying to recuperate from what is the busiest Day of the year at the Restaurant- Mother's Day. As a consolation I'm bringing you my Mother's Day mani;
Zoya, Charla
In the shade-

In full sun-

If you don't have Zoya, Charla, *RUN*, do not walk, to the Zoya website and order it STAT!!! Better yet, participate in their Nail Polish Exchange, and swap for it!
Zoya, Charla is beyond gorgeous. I have yet to see a swatch that comes close to how utterly spectacular this polish truly is!  Looking amazing in all light conditions, Charla is, in my opinion, the Superstar of bling polishes.
My only gripe is the name...it does not match the beauty of this polish. I wonder... how do the people at Zoya go about choosing names? I associate the name Charla with Charla Nash , the woman who got her face mauled by a friend's monkey. (WARNING!- Link takes you to the Google Image search page results for Charla Nash. If you're squeamish, please do not click.)
A big "F" to whoever was responsible for naming this glorious polish Charla.

Anyway...a BIG thank you to all who left comments on my last few posts!!! After today, I'm hoping to get back into the swing of things with replies and my own comments to Blog posts.

I'm going to spend the rest of my day doing some chores. Later on, I'm going to spend some time looking through my 23, new fauxnad plates from Chez-delaney!!!

Wildflowers, layered fauxnad

Hi Kids!
I said I'd be back...just *much* later than anticipated.
I get a lot of emails asking how I create my layered fauxnadicures. The only way I could do this would be with a video. And that takes time...seeings how I don't know a thing about working my Vcam ...and there is the uploading stuff. At present, what I can do is snap a pic or two as I go along the phases.

Speaking of...there is always a phase where I think the fauxnadicure will not work. I have taken a picture of such a phase with this particular mani that I'll post at the end. It's really ugly! I started it yesterday thinking that I could finish it before work- and I couldn't. I wore it unfinished and hated the look of it so much, I almost removed it this morning.
I stuck with it, and kept adding stamps, and you know what? I love how it turned out!

My camera picked up way too much detail in these pictures. Pull away from your monitor and view these at a distance.

The dots located at the bottom third of my nails were done with Color Club, Explosive. In order to balance out color, warmth and intensity, I "picked up" one of the colors in the flower decals. Working one nail at a time and at a distance, I applied each dot in the areas that needed them. They are *not* as sheer as pictures show.I'm mentioning this because in the pictures they look like scattered blobs.



This is what it looked like yesterday;

Base color- 2 coats U.S. Maxim, Shine Green
Konad plates- M21, M66, M8
Chez-delaney fauxnad- A07
Bundle Monster fauxnad- BM04, BM06
Stamping polishes- Sally Hansen Insta-Dri, Speedy Sunburst, Snappy Sorbet, Presto Pink, Whirlwind White
Claire's, Kelly Green, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Going Green & a green franken
Wet n Wild, Nocturnal
Dots- Color Club, Explosive
Flower decals
2 coats Seche

Bundle Monster fauxnad plates- review

Hi Kids!
This is a review post. Later on I'll be posting my layered fauxnad over the U.S. Maxim, Shine Green I showed you yesterday.

On April 23rd I placed an order for THESE nail stamping plates/fauxnad from Bundle Monster, 21 nail art plates for 17.99+. I received them on Tuesday, 11 days after my order.
(I also placed and order with chez-delaney for an assortment of European fauxnad plates- to which I am *still* waiting to receive.)

Most of my nail stamping art is done with fauxnad plates. Last year, I did a  Konad vs fauxnad comparison post that I'd love to link to, but because I suck at tagging my posts, I have no idea where it's at.
I don't dislike Konad at all...it's just that with fauxnad plates I get more variety, co-ordinating images on each plate & across multiple plates, mirror images, full images on European plates that are much larger, & I get more images per plate. The downside of fauxnad is inconsistency. Some images don't transfer well, some need a lot of stamp pressure, some need light. Sometimes I have to thin my stamping polish and sometimes only a jelly polish will work. There are some fauxnad images that I love but haven't found the right technique or polish for a good stamp.

I am more than happy with my Bundle Monster fauxnad plates (BM from here on). The images are cut with thicker lines and are a bit deeper and crisper than my European plates. This is a huge plus for layered stamping. Thicker lines = beefier images=perfect for images at the forefront of my designs!
I was pleasantly surprised to find that this set has lots of co-ordinating images across plates. For example, these ballz on sticks;
Tip image, 3 full nail images and 1 solo image. 5 matching images!

A variety of co-ordinating images allows for better mix and match options. If you piece together images for a full nail design, the variety on this set of plates allows for less repetition. I like that. And I love, love, love these plates!
Depending on how you look at it, the only other downside to this BM set is the full images. They are about the size of little girl nails...very petite. If you're like me, with long and wide nails, these will never work full nail- even if they were turned horizontal and double stamped...yes, they are that small!
The good thing I can find with these full nail images- they are scaled to size. What this means that the image itself is in good proportion to the area it occupies. These "full nail" images are perfect for use as french tips for long nails.

I would definitely recommend these plates! If you're thinking about trying your hand at nail stamping, these BM plates are a great first set. They are easy to use, have a good variety of workable images and they are much cheaper than Konad.
If you already own plate, this set of 21 image plates will make a fantastic addition to what you have.

**I paid for these 21 plates. This review  is my own opinion of my experience with Bundle Monster nail art plates. I have no affiliation with Bundle Monster. I have not been paid or compensated for my review.

Neon mint- U.S. Maxim, Shine Green

Hi Kids!
I was all set for this mani to be Zoya, Charla, but after swatching one of my nails with U.S. Maxim, Shine Green, I changed my mind.
I Purchased this polish for $.99 at the U.S. Maxim Beauty Supply Store in Philadelphia several weeks ago. If I hadn't seen this at a popular nail salon on Tuesday in Delaware, it would have stayed in my Frankening drawer. I figured no one would be interested in a virtually unknown polish.

Anyway, I really love this polish! It's bright,pearly, crisp and fresh. Shine Green looks like how spearmint gum tastes...minty. Having swatched this on a fake nail when I brought it home, I already knew this polish was nicely pigmented. Two thin coats and it was opaque.

Excuse the faint sheet marks...this will be covered with some fauxnad stamping!

I had to decant this...look at the brush in the original bottle...wtf?

The haul this came from.

Layered fauxnad- BB Couture, Horned Devil

Hi Kids!
I'm in such a rush, and have so much to say!!!
I really should delay this post until I have enough time, but I figure you all are here mostly for the pictures and not my ramblings.
Before I move on to the pictures, I think it's important for all my Readers to know that I despise the color red on my nails. All of the red polishes I buy are for my daughter, Amber- who, by the way, loves red on her tips.
It's really surprising that I should want a red for myself...I don't lem reds, ever. When I fell in love with swatches of BB Couture, Horned Devil, I knew it was pretty darn special, and I had better order it.

I have no idea where to begin describing this color, except to say that it is beyond gorgeous! It reminds me of the old fashioned corn starch lollypops my grandfather sold in his General Store. They were in the shapes of animals, and although they looked like jello on sticks, they were rock hard and lasted forever.

I will be buying a back-up of Horned Devil...maybe even 2.

All pictures taken outside, sun and shade... All are click-able.

This mani was done to match my skirt...

First fauxnad layer

3 coats BBC Horned Devil
2 coats BBC Dragons Breath on tips
fauxnad plates- H29, stamped with Konad Special Polish, Wine Red
Plates BM02, BM14 & BM21 stamped ith Sally Hansen, Violet Sapphire Chrome
1 coat seche
1 coat Barielle extender