Lacquered Lover Nail Art Extravaganza!

Good morning my fellow lacquered lovers!  Happy Wednesday to you all!  I'm in a fantastic mood today because thanks to all of you, my Lacquered Lover Facebook page his over 5,000 likes yesterday!  Thank you to everyone for all of your continued support!  So, to celebrate, I thought it would be fun to go back and post up some of my nail art over the last few months while I was on hiatus from the blog but still posting on social media in case you missed it!  

There are dotticures, penguins, gold leaf, gradients, and more! Now, without further ado, on to the polish!

 Above - American Apparel Neon Gradient

 Above:  China Glaze Neon Rainbow Gradient

I did this manicure twice, in two different ways, over the course of 2 weeks last summer!  The first one I did for Pride in NYC and did it as I usually do a gradient.  Then for the Color Run, I decided to try a sideways gradient and absolutely fell in love with it!  Just adore these bright shades!

 Above:  Ciate Feather Manicure Kit

Yes, I put actual feathers on my nails.  I actually loved this manicure, it was a lot easier than I expected!  You paint your nails, put on a clear coat, gently place the feather on the nail, top coat again, and then just file off the excess!  Pretty neat idea!

Above:  CND Nail Art

I was lucky enough during NYFW last September to be invited up to the CND Design Lab to have one of their master manicurists do a nail art look on me!  On my thumbs, she used shellac to recreate the Red Rum look from the Blondes AW2013 show and the rest was the silver foil manicure from the Michael Van Der Ham London shows!  Such a fun look!

 Above:  Deborah Lippmann Mermaid Gradient

 Above:  Illamasqua Textured Dotticure

 Above:  Jesse's  Girl Julie G Frosted Gumdrops Gradient

 Above:  Jin Soon Epidote and Gold Flake Nail Art

Above:  Nails Inc. Leather and Denim

 Above:  Nails Inc Nail Wraps in Fowl Play and Emerald Bay nail polish

 Above:  Nails Inc. My Dad Invented That and Clueless Nail Wrap

 Above:  OPI James Bond Gradiant

 Above:  OPI Alcatraz Rocks and Solitaire Gradiant

 Above:  Penguin Nail Art

 Above:  Zoya Casey and Gilty

 Above:  Zoya Hunter and Gilty

 Above:  Zoya Fall Gradiant

Above:  Zoya Texture Dotticure

So there you have it!  A LOT of nail art!  This is making me want to do an epic manicure coming up this weekend!


What did you think of these manicures?  Which is your favorite?

Some of the products in this post were sent to me for my unbiased review. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.

A China Glaze Neon Gradient and the Color Run Brooklyn!

Good morning my fellow lacquered lovers!  Happy Wednesday to you all!  I hope you're all having a lovely week so far!  This past weekend, I participated in The Color Run Brooklyn with a few friends and had a blast!  For those of you who don't know, the Color Run is a 5k to which you wear white, where along the way, volunteers throw cornmeal that's dyed at you so you end up all colorful!  At the end, there is a huge dance party with a DJ and they give everyone more color packets and basically, you end up an awesome, colorful disaster.  Obviously I had to do some amazing nails for it as well so now, without further ado, on to the polish!

This was my awesome China Glaze Neon Gradient I did for the Color Run.  The colors I used were Surfin' For The Boys, Japanese Koi, Celtic Sun, I'm With The Lifeguard, Towel Boy Toy and Flying Dragon!  I did a layer of white and then sponged on the neons on top to really make them pop.  I LOVED how this came out!

Check out some photos of my Color Run below and even a video my awesome friends Caitlin and Salome  made!

Above:  Amazing signs before the race

 Above:  Me pre-race, yes I'm wearing a Tutu

Above:  Cait and Me after the race but before the color party began

 Above:  Color Explosions

Above:  The Full Aftermath of the Color Run

And now, a video of our experience:

So there you have it!  An awesome manicure and The Color Run!  What did you think of the manicure?  Have you ever done the Color Run?  Would You?

China Glaze Avant Garden Collection for Spring 2013 Swatches and Review!

Good afternoon my fellow lacquered lovers!  Happy Friday!  I hope you have all had a wonderful week and are looking forward to the weekend!  I will be swatching like a mad woman in anticipation of NYFW starting next week!  But first, I have an amazing new Spring Collection to show you all!

The China Glaze Avant Garden collection consists of 6 shimmers and 6 cremes that are gorgeous for the Spring!  Now, without further ado, on to the polish!

 Above:  3 coats of Dandy Lyin' Around

First up is Dandy Lyin' Around.  I really love this polish!  This is a soft white that's full of tiny iridescent shimmer that's just beautiful on the nail.  The shimmer gives it a really gorgeous glow that whites don't usually have so it's not too harsh.  The formula was a bit streaky but three thin coats evened it out well.

 Above:  2 coats of Tart-y for the Party

Tart-y For the Party is a really nice bright lavender creme.  It's coming out a tad more blue toned in these pictures than it is in real life.  The formula was good, opaque in two coats and easy to use.

Above:  3 coats of Keep Calm, Paint On

Keep Calm, Paint on is a gorgeous iced mint green with a hint of silver shimmer.  I was afraid this would give me lobster hands but it's perfect!  I seriously love this shade!  The formula was a bit streaky but three thin coats evened it out perfectly!

 Above:  2 coats of Pink-ie Promise

Pink-ie Promise is a warm baby pink that has a subtle bright pink shimmer to it.  The shimmer isn't that noticeable on the nail unless you are in direct light.  The formula was a bit thick but 2 coats were fine.

 Above:  2 coats of Fade into Hue

Fade into Hue is a nice bright cornflower blue creme.  There is a hint of dustiness to it that stops it from being neon.  The formula was really nice, opaque in two coats and easy to use.

Above:  2 coats of Mimosa's before Manis

This was a surprise love of mine!  Mimosa's Before Manis is a gorgeous bright coral with a hint of shimmer to it that's really fun for Spring!  I see this being a fabulous pedicure color!  The formula was great, opaque in 2 coats and easy to work with.

 Above:  2 coats of Life is Rosy

Life is Rosy is a pink toned dusky mauve.  Not really a color I would wear but a good polish for pink lovers.  The formula was good, easy to work with and opaque in 2 coats.

 Above:  2 coats of Passion for Petals

Passion for Petals is a nice bright pink creme.  I feel like I probably have dupes for this although I can't think of any off the top of my head.  The application was good, opaque in two coats and easy to use.

Above:  2 coats of Snap My Dragon

I apologize, my camera and computer want to make this a hot pink when really it's a bright red with hot pink shimmer!  It's gorgeous!  The formula was good, opaque in 2 coats!

 Above:  2 coats of Sunday Funday

First of all, I love this name.  Sunday Funday is a gorgeous BRIGHT blue creme!  I love it!  It's perfect for Spring!  the formula was great, opaque in 2 coats and easy to use!

 Above:  2 coats of Budding Romance

Ok honestly, I thought I was going to hate this color but I actually LOVE it!  Budding Romance is a kind of mossy green but the finish is halfway between a creme and a jelly!  the formula was a bit thick but two thin coats were easy to use!

Above:  2 coats of Fancy Pants

Fancy Pants (gotta love that name) is a deep indigo/blurple with light purple shimmer to it.  It's complex and gorgeous and changes depending on the light!  I love it!  The formula was great, opaque in two coats!

All in all, I really liked this collection by China Glaze!  There were no boring pastels, lots of cool hidden shimmers and some great brights!  I really loved the coral, white and blues, they were all really interesting while still being wearable!  The launch date of this collection is March, 2013. 

What did you think of these polishes? Must have? Any dupes?

The products in this post were sent to me for my unbiased review. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.