July-August Mani Round-Up

Purchased By Shelby Lou 
Press Samples

I have come to the harsh realization I just don't have the time to really blog about nails and stay sane. Some of my supportive bloggy friends suggested I try still sharing manis (because I love sharing manis!) on instagram though and rounding them up in a monthly blog post. So here are my instagram manis from the end of July and August!

Pahlish Duo for June 2015: Through Tugley Wood

Very Good Advice topped with Mome Raths

Hare Polish - Dreams Under A Microscope 

 Baroness X - Maracaibo

"Girly Stuff"

Zoya Genesis, Nana, & Serenity

MoYou London Tropical 05

KBShimmer Dust In The Bottle

Darling Diva Polish Choking On Swan Gas

Daily Charme Bow Charm

Pahlish Duo for July 2015: Mirror Images

Such Great Heights topped with Freckles In Our Eyes

Check out a macro here!

Pahlish Quite Ribbiting

Check out a macro here!

Quite Ribbing topped with I Love Nail Polish Neon Rosebud

Check out a macro here!

Hare Polish Sea Bunny

Check out a macro here!

I hope you enjoyed this round-up! I have more fun with my polish when I actually get to wear it and don't have to be brilliant with words, too. This will be a monthly feature for a little while. I started blogging almost two years ago and I've had to rethink it a little, but I like the idea of having a permanent place to have my manis. I  Have you loved your cuticles today?

HPB Presents: Twin Galaxy Nails With Polished Lifting

Purchased By Shelby Lou

Today's post is pulling double-duty as my Hobby Polish Bloggers mani and a twinsies mani with one of my friends, Courtney from Polished Lifting! Courtney and I had talked about doing a twin galaxy mani since we have never done one before. It was a serendipitous bonus that this month's HPB theme is Starry Night Sky. I love multitasking and that extends to my nail polish arts-ing.

I have seen probably thousands of galaxy manis and hundreds of ways to do them, so I didn't follow any one person's tutorial in particular. I just ripped little 1/4 inch chunks off of a make-up sponge, dabbed some polish on it, dabbed the sponge a few times on paper, then dabbed the polish on nail. That is literally it. Why have I never done this before?!

Shelby Lou Nails
The Milky Way

Courtney finished her mani first and I loved it so much that I tried to make mine like hers (and ended up with something really different, but anyway...). She started with a black creme then dabbled a bright blue and red-pink shimmer. I never would have thought of this combination without her experiment first! So, I started with a base of KBShimmer Eclipse, which went on in two luscious coats by the way. I dabbled on KBShimmer Sky Jinks followed by Emily de Molly Lace Man. Lastly I dry-brushed on a smattering of Darling Diva Hank! because I needed some bling in my world.

Shelby Lou Nails
The Milky Way

My galaxy became quite linear rather than nebulous as I had envisioned. Once I saw proper photos I totally saw the Milky Way on my nails! I grew up in "the country" and I always loved looking at the stars. I could easily see the shimmery band of the Milky Way all the way across the sky, especially on a cold, clear night. Being in the middle of a city or a stadium full of people doesn't even give me that feeling of vastness that seeing the stars does.

Check out Courtney's galaxy mani on Polished Lifting here! I just love her art and her long nails, more to love. On Courtney's blog you will find swatches, indies, and nail art to die for. I hope you give her a follow! Have you loved your cuticles today?

An InLinkz Link-up

First Blogiversary Celebration!

All items and prizes were purchased By Shelby Lou 

One year ago today I finally started my blog and posted my first manicure. It has been one exciting, scary, crazy, and fun year! I've met some lovely people and learned so much from so many. I have a lot of plans for the next year and I hope you will stick with me. I love connecting with other polish-aholics and escaping reality through pretty polish! Every like and follow still makes me smile and I thank you from the bottom of my Pretty & Polished Swift Sparkle topcoat ;-)

I will be continuing to have guest posts all month long in celebration, but for today I decided to recreate my Queen Skittlette from this day last year. It's almost exactly the same, just a few updates (hello, triangle studs!).

Darling Diva - We Will Rock You
Dance Legend - Argentum with one coat TC
Stamp - Vivid Lacquer
Stamping Polish - Pure Ice Silver Star

I am pleased that my photography and poses have improved, but there are still a lot of things I'd like to get better with. Check out We Will Rock You with flash--rainbows! That multichrome shift though...

Rainbows and shift, oh my!
Darling Diva - We Will Rock You
(with flash)

So you know I can't celebrate a first blogiversary without having a giveaway! I have been hanging on to a few special polishes for a couple months now. There will be three lucky winners! Check out the photo captions for more details about prize packages. And yes, I had to track down some Dollar Tree Essie Sleek Sticks.

Three prize packages will each include:

1 feature polish

1 of my favorite mani must-haves

3 sheets of Love, Angeline Nail Shields/Stickers

2 Essie Sleek Sticks
Paper stars made by me, inspired by Chaos & Crocodiles!

A closer look at the feature polishes:
Pahlish Bespoke Batches: One Billion Day Funeral & Favorite Kind of Smile
Hare Polish For the Love of Lisa

Giveaway begins NOW and will end at 11:59pm Eastern on November 1st--Note that the rafflecopter says November 2nd at 12am, I'm just making it easier since 12am always confuses me. Must be able to supply a US address and be 18 or older to enter. For more specifics check out the terms and conditions on the rafflecopter form. Good luck and thank you for your support!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Have you loved your cuticles today?

Darling Diva Polish Queen Collection: We Will Rock You Skittlette

Darling Diva has recently come out with an epic nail polish collection inspired by Queen. Because, well, QUEEN. What can I say, my father instilled in me a healthy love and respect for awesome classic rock. Here is my skittlette homage to Queen.

Darling Diva Polish

We Will Rock You

Holographic Super Multi Chrome

I used two coats (yes, just two), no undies needed. I actually tried black undies for another polish in this collection and it did not look as nice at all. Anyway, imagine this even more epic in real life, there were so many colors and people noticed without me waving my nails in their face. I see blue, teal, purple, magenta, and rainbows. I stared at my nails all day. 

I think Queen would have approved of my studs and skull stamping, using Vivid Lacquer plate 001 and Pure Ice Silver Star. The silver pinky is textued using dance Legend Argentum. I am quite proud of these nails. Darling Diva even shared them on their facebook wall!

You can purchase Darling Diva Polish here. Hurry before the Queen polishes are gone! I promise they are worth every penny... I've already purchased them all.

You can purchase Vivid Lacquer plates and polish here. You will notice I use a lot of Vivid Lacquer plates, they are my favorite.

Have you loved your cuticles today?
What do you think of my Queen skittlette?