Guest Post: Hubby's Picks Ikat print (HP31)

*I'm still on vacation, but I KNOW you are dying for the reveal of Constantly Redone's Hubby's Picks. Did she succeed in combining her hubby's picks into a stunning manicure. Oh my did she! I love it!!!*

 

After ditching the initial urge to run with the Army theme I picked up in the polishes my military man chose, I spent some time pondering what manicure I should attempt.  I've been seeing a lot of the ikat manicure around, so I decided to run with it.  The first time I saw the ikat print, I honestly hated it - but a lot of my eventual loves start out that way.  Toms for example.  And Starbucks.  Mmm...coffeee.....*shiny eyes*

Sorry, I digress.  The base color is Zoya "Tao", a metallic pewter colored polish, and then I used my China Glaze "Matte Magic" to add some texture dimension to the look. I followed Kayla Shevonne's ikat tutorial found here (http://www.kaylashevonne.com/2013/01/nail-art-tutorial-ikat-print-design.html), which is excellently done.  Zoya "Purity" in all her stark white wonder worked perfectly for the base of the ikat print, and I think Zoya "Shawn" really pops as the only "color" in the look.  Finger Paints "Black Expressionism" finishes off the look - which I went ahead and fell in love with!  I added a bit of seche over the pattern itself, making sure to leave the background in all it's matte glory.  What's with this love/hate pattern to my interests anyhow?

 

As a nice bonus, this mani totally matches the view of my yard.  My grey porch and green grass were just made to be a backdrop to these photos.  I hope you enjoyed the look, and the guest post.  I know we all look forward to Candice's return - but I personally hope she has a great time on her vacation.  That, and avoids tornadoes, because I desperately need her to return so I keep what little sanity I have left.

xoxo

Constantly Undone (Frankie)

Guest Post from Liesl Loves Pretty Things

*I'm on vacation and asked a couple of friends I adore to do a post for me. I am incredibly honored that Liesl agreed and came back with this STUNNING post filled with beautiful photos, wonderful descriptions, and incredibly touching words. Enjoy everyone!*

Hello!!  I'm Liesl and I run Liesl Loves Pretty Things.  Candice asking me to guest post for her is super exciting for me.  Everyone who starts a blog does so with inspiration, and it was Candice who inspired mine. So I'm sure she won't mind as I have a bit of a fangirl moment that I get to do this, despite the fact that we're friends in real life and have coffee together on a regular basis <3 <3 But on to the show....

I adore dark polishes and when a summer collection includes one, I get a little excited.  I like to follow the seasons with my polish choices and lately, the slightly discordant colors have really been jumping out at me.  L'Oreal's summer collection is one of gorgeous, syrupy jellies and Berry Nice is the darkest of the bunch.  I'm currently loving sparkly, delicate toppers, too, and I thought Essence Holo Topping, Please! would make some fun accents to this grape popsicle hue.  Observe.

I used four coats of L'Oreal Berry Nice.  Each coat is very thin and like all true jellies, this one is very buildable.  There is still visible nail line, but that's the cool thing about dark jellies-- you get a certain amount of drama combined with the light, sheer, super glossy, sunshine-ready finish.  Add one coat of a holo topper and-- well, holos just speak for themselves.  Essence Holo Topping, Please! is filled with soft mauve sihmmers to bring the scattered holo effect to a beautifully delicate level.

Mmmm, holo on a sunny day.  Essence Holo Topping, Please! is available where Essence products are sold, though I received mine from a dear friend overseas.  L'Oreal Berry Nice is currently available in most major drugstores, as part of this summer's Limited Edition Miss Candy collection.  If you're interested, snag it while you can.

Thank you again for the honor of guest posting for you, Candice!

You all have an amazing day. <3

Guest Post: Hubby's Picks by Constantly Redone (HP31)

*I'm on vacation!!! So my sweet friend and the instigator of my addiction over at Constantly Redone has graciously agreed to guest post. THEN she goes, "Could I do Hubby's Picks?" I was soooo overjoyed!!! Loving words and amazing posts. You are all in for a treat!*

Hubby's picks...guest edition!

Hey polish fiends, it's Frankie from Constantly Redone filling in for Candice today!  When she asked me to guest post, I naturally jumped on the opportunity.  Besides being one of my best friends, Candice is an inspiration and endless source of support.  Not to mention, we've just got tons in common - coffee, polish, mugs, hubbies and boatloads of children.  We've spent many a weekday bonding over caffeine and sharing sacred items from our polish collections.  We even got started on the same Zoya promo. 

I thought it would be a lot of fun to do a guest "Hubby's Picks" post...as much as we have in common, our husbands are pretty different.  Mine wouldn't let me paint his nails if it would keep them from falling off...and hers likes to swatch her collection and dream up customs of his own.  They're both great men, who've saved our respective lives and whatever is left of our sanity.  My man's man, soldier, and organization loving hero picked out the following lovely polishes for this week's challenge. 

Fingerpaints Black Expressionism, Zoya Tao, Zoya Shawn, Zoya Purity

He spent an impressive amount of time considering my polishes as he picked them out, and told me with a devious tone in his voice "I think I've got a challenge here for you!".  I'm not the least bit surprised that they were mostly the same brand, nor that they were practically military themed!   Army green, black, white, and a touch of "metallic silver"...hmm.   What do you think...might I be up to the challenge?