King of the Forest with China Glaze Harvest Moon

Hello everyone! The last couple posts for my Alice series have been short and to the point, but I miss interacting with you guys. I also really wanted to do a tutorial, since I haven't done one in a long while. Hope you like this!

I have been dying to do a fall manicure ever since the weather started getting cooler. While I'll miss the sunshine and pastels of summer, I am super excited for the rich colours and fashion of fall. Bring on the scarves and fuzzy sweaters! Today, I recreated a deer pattern from a sweater that I recently purchased.

sweater from Forever 21

China Glaze Harvest Moon is a shiny, metallic copper filled with tiny red and gold shimmer. If this doesn't scream fall, I don't know what does. And I love the name! I painted two smooth coats here.

Polishes:

Left to right: China Glaze "Harvest Moon", Sally Hansen "Black Out", L.A. Colors striper in black

Directions:
Base: start off with two coats of Harvest Moon

For the stripes on my thumb and pinky, I used the bottle brush to make a stripe at the tip, and then a black striper for the stripe a little further up.

Finished!

What are you excited about for fall? Which colours will you be wearing? I still have a couple untried fall colours that I'm excited to use. Have a great weekend!

I Found My Nude!

So my second nude/neutral polish purchase turns out to be a winner! And for a mere $4 at CNE (Canadian National Exhibit). Sweet! This is two coats of Sally Hansen "Malt" and Essie "Penny Talk" sponged on the tips, with a little bit painted directly on. The sponge texture almost gives it a burnished copper look. Subtle and classy, I like it!

 

Malt reminds me of foundation. I suppose all nude polishes would have that quality. If it was a shade or two lighter, it would have been an even better match for my skin. The formula was awesome and opaque in two easy coats.

Here was my first attempt with a nude and I have a swatch of Penny Talk here. I'm so happy to have found a great nude! Not exactly mannequin hands, but great nonetheless. What gives you mannequin hands (if that's your thing)?

Essie Mirror Metallics: Blue Rhapsody and Penny Talk Swatches & Review (with a little nail art)

I used to think metallic finishes were totally not my thing (hence the lack of them in my collection), but when I saw the promo pics for the Essie: Mirror Metallics Collection, I thought,  well, maybe they can be my thing after all.

Went out to my local Trade Secrets and picked up two of my favourites from the collection. Blue Rhapsody and Penny Talk.

The thing with metallics is, they show every bump and ridge on your nail. Either use a ridge filling base coat, or just skip it altogether if you already have smooth nails. The formula can be a little tricky to work. It's smooth, but also drags quite easily, so keep brushstrokes to a minimum. The colours themselves are amazingly reflective, and it is just like having brushed metal on your nails. Full opacity in just one coat, and I recommend to keep it at one, since the more coats, the easier for bumps to show.     

 Blue Rhapsody is a silvery, light metallic blue. Very cool colour.

Penny Talk a coppery rose gold. It has the perfect mix of both pink and gold that I think would be universally flattering on any skin tone.

I love it with some black Chevron tips to break up some of the shininess.