Hey, Swatch It! - ILNP UltraChromes, pt 2

Hey y'all!

So yesterday we looked at the first half of the ILNP UltraChrome collection.  Today I'd like to look at the other half.  I think I've saved the best for last on this one. 

As I mentioned yesterday, I originally ordered 2 and loved them so much I had to go back and get the other two.  The original order was for Birefringence and My Little Glacier. After wearing each of those colors for like, an hour, I realized I had made a grave mistake not ordering the rest of the set.  I'm hemmed and hawed over it because I knew I'd have to have them shipped to me before we left Texas.  Finally on the Tuesday before we left, I broke down and placed my order in the morning.  I sent an inquiry email to make sure I had selected the proper shipping type to make sure the polishes would get to me on time.  Within an hour, I had a very lovely email back from Barbra saying that I'd managed to catch her just before she went to the post office, and that she would make sure my order went out that day!  I was over the moon on that one.  So often when you order things online, you're never sure how long it's going to take before they process and ship your order (born pretty store, I'm looking at you).  So frustrating!  However, ILNP's customer service is definitely as top rate as everything else that I've learned about this company.  Just cannot say enough how pleased I was with these two orders.

Enough faffing, let's get to the polishes!  Please meet Cygnus Loop and Birefringence.

Hey, Swatch It! - ILNP UltraChromes, pt 1

Hey y'all!

So as part of my MASSIVE haul when we were in Texas, I broke down and decided to order some of the GORGEOUS UltraChromes from Barbra at I Love Nail Polish. ILNP is an indie brand based in Las Vegas, and while it's only a little over a year old, she has truly created a great brand for herself.  First off, all of her polishes are 3-Free, so there's no nasty chemicals to worry about.  Secondly, all of her packaging, including the shipping boxes and even the TISSUE PAPER are branded to match!  Totally made it feel like I was receiving something special.  In fact, I WAS!

So my initial order was for 4 polishes- two UCs and two holos.  I loved the two UCs so much that I had to go back and order the other 2 before we left the States!  In total, that means I have 6 polishes to show you, so I'm going to break this down into 3 posts.

Today, let's take a look at Mutagen and My Little Glacier.

Both of these gorgeous polishes have a kind of rose-gold shift, so I thought they'd be appropriate to swatch together.  Let's start with a bottle shot, side by side.  I should say that none of my bottles looked as nice as the pics on the website, however, the polishes all came out stunning.  I assume temperature may have something to do with it, and also maybe I need to hurry up and finish my light tent for photos.

Mutagen on left, My Little Glacier on right.

Llama Nails Holiday Challenge week 3: Diwali

Hey y'all!

This week the Llama Nails Challenge theme was Diwali.  I had no idea what Diwali was, so I had to turn to the little magic box to provide answers.

Diwali, also called Divali and Deepavali is the Hindu "Festival of Lights" that runs for 5 days, usually between mid-October and mid-November.  From Wikipedia:

"Diwali involves the lighting of small clay lamps filled with oil to signify the triumph of good over evil.  These lamps are kept on during the night and one's house is cleaned, both done in order to make the goddess Lakshmi feel welcome.  Firecrackers are burst because it is believed that it drives away evil spirits.  During Diwali, all the celebrants wear new clothes and share sweets and snacks with family members and friends."

It is also celebrated by Sihks and Jains, though for different origins.  Over the course of my research, I learned that Diwali's spiritual significance is that it marks the triumph of one's inner light (higher awareness) over ignorance in order to bring about joy and peace.  This resonates with me because I have been on my own path towards this kind of joy and peace for a few years now.  The more I learn about Hinduism, the more it seems that I should learn, because though it is a very complicated religion, it seems more of a philosophy and way of life that closely aligns with some of my own personal beliefs.

One of the most iconic images of Diwali is that of the ghee lamp called a diya.  It was from this image that I derived the inspiration for today's challenge mani.

Llama Nails Holiday Challenge week 2: Halloween

Hey y'all,

Quick post to put up my Halloween mani.  This week's theme was Halloween, and I struggled a bit before I finally decided on something that I liked but wasn't too cliche.

Last month I picked up a couple of W7 crackle polishes at Poundland or somewhere similar (Americans: think Dollar Store) and hadn't really had a chance to use them yet, but one of them is a lovely cranberry purple and I thought it would make a nice Halloweeny hue.

To start, I put down a base color of elf Cranberry on my pinky, middle, and index fingers, and Maybelline Onyx Black on my ring and thumb.  Then I splotched on dabs and smears of Collections Scorched over all the nails, making sure I left some base color exposed.  I used Rimmel Black Graffiti over the pinky, middle, and index, and the W7 Crimson Crackle on the ring and thumb.

The effect was sort of wood-grainy, but in a dark and kind of vampy way.  I finished off the look by adding eyeballs with Fright Night Glow-in-the-Dark Claw Polish and added pupils with the Black Onyx. 

Llama Nails Holiday Challenge - Oktoberfest, plus some fantastic news!

Hey y'all!

I just got the best email and I'm so excited I have to share.   I just received my VIP invitation to the grand opening event of the European e.l.f. Cosmetics Store, which opened a couple of weeks ago in Cardiff!  I've been totally psyched about this store opening since I first heard the announcement just after I moved to England.  Cardiff is a little over an hour away, and I cannot WAIT to see the store!  I haven't really posted about it yet, but I'm a huge e.l.f. fan and about 90% of my cosmetics are e.l.f. brand.  In fact, part of my Texas haul was a huge e.l.f. order with a ginormous freebie inside, and I will be doing a post about that as well.

So the event is smart dress and I'm pretty sure I already know what I'm going to wear, but now I have to decide how to do hair, nails, and of course MAKEUP.  Squee!  Looking forward to rubbing elbows with some other beauty bloggers and maybe doing some networking while I'm there, as well.  I'm also sure Hubby will be bored to tears with me in yet another cosmetics shop, since he about had his fill of that while we were on vacation.

Either way... that's all I have to say about that.  Let's move on to some nails, shall we?

About a month ago, I joined a group on Facebook for nail bloggers called Llama Nails.  From what I can tell, this is a VERY talented group of girls and I'm very excited and happy to have been able to join them.  Like many other blogger groups, they do challenges, and I'm going to start my first challenge today.  Technically, I'm a week late, but since I was in Texas, I think I'm allowed.  Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to post week 2's challenge entry.  Anyway... here's the challenge schedule: