My 4th of July Mani!

Hi Everyone!

I hope all of you who celebrate the holiday had a Happy 4th of July yesterday!

I spent my 4th at work as usual, but I was able to sneak out for a break just in time to catch a bit of the gorgeous fireworks display over Puget Sound. I hadn't intended to do a manicure for the occasion because I really had nothing special planned for the day, but a co-worker shamed me for not rocking some red, white and blue on my nails as I used to. I promised her I'd get my act together at least for 4th! So that's how I ended up with some nail art for the first time in months! Just slightly ironic that on independence day, I gave up my freedom of sleeping in late to get up and do some nail art ;)

UberChic Collection 2 Stamping Plates Reivew

Hi Everyone! Today I'll be sharing with you my long overdue review of the UberChic Collection 2 stamping plates. Long overdue is something I'll be saying a lot in the coming posts as I try to wrap my head around and make time for blogging again. Hopefully as they say though, it is better late than never. These plates were kindly sent to me by Brittany, the creator of these gorgeous designs. It didn't take long for me to fall head over heals for these gorgeous large yet very delicate patterns...

Delicate Stamping

Hi Everyone! Happy Friday! Today I would like to show you a manicure that I wore for a solid week after swatching the Glam Polish beauties which I posted about earlier this week. If the manicure hadn't started growing out and driving me nuts, I would have happily continued to wear it. It is rather 'simple' as far as some of my manicures go, but somehow it didn't seem to call for added embellishments. Sweet and delicate was just what I needed...

Wish Upon a Star

Hi Everyone! Today I would like to show you a manicure that I created shortly before my blogging break. I had been playing around with UberChic plates and preparing my review of them (which is still in the works) when I came up with this. One of the images that I really loved is this skyline with stars. I can see it used in may different ways and right now I imagine it over a sunset gradient with black stamping. At the time that I wore this, it was still winter and somehow the black night sky was more my mood than a warm spring/summer sunset...

Review and Swatches of Select Glam Polish Cast A Spell Part 3: The White Witch Collection Shades

Hi Everyone! Remember me? It has been nearly two months since I last sat down to write a post. First, let me start out by apologizing for my sudden disappearance. Someone very close to me passed away leaving me feeling empty and wanting to spend time surrounded by family and friends. Something as simple as cuddling on the couch with my bf to watch TV suddenly became a bigger priority than making one more swatch or writing one more post. I realized just how much time I had been sacrificing for this hobby instead of making time for people in my life. I couldn't even bring myself to go into my polish room and simply paint my nails. They were 'naked' for more than a month and believe it or not, that somehow feels like an accomplishment. Each day I kept telling myself that tomorrow I would get back to swatching/blogging, but the days came and went and my nails remained bare. I finally started going back into the polish room a few weeks ago, first to file/reshape and recondition by then broken and dry nails. Then I would go in, look at some gorgeous polish and walk out. The next day I went just to look through the stamping plates. Baby steps! Finally I had the guts to not only polish, but also photograph my shaky hand. Today I sit here writing this post and trying to decide if I've said too much, but hoping it will explain my disappearance. Does this mean I'm back to full time blogging? No, and I don't think I ever will be, but hopefully some blogging is better than none!

To say that this review is overdue is quite an understatement. The beautiful Glam Polish Cast a Spell Part 3: The White Witch collection launched in early March with perfect glittery pastel shades. Rachel, the mastermind behind Glam Polish, has been incredibly understanding about the delay although my feeling of guilt remain. Hopefully you will also forgive the delay and enjoy these swatches as much as I've been enjoying wearing these lacquers and making them my foray back into the world of polish...

Zoya Wishes Collection Swatches and Review

Hello Lovelies! I'm super late in reviewing the Zoya Wishes collection for Winter 2014, but at least it is still Winter and that has to count for something, right? Hopefully you will forgive me because I'm really excited to show you this beautiful collection. It consists of three textured PixieDust shades and three cream/shimmer shades in coordinating colors...

Shimmer Polish Anna, Courtney, Crystal and Gerry

Hi Everyone! It is fun how sometimes ideas just seem to mash up. One of my lovely readers, Arathael, suggested just the other day that thermal creams make great bases under glitter. Little did she know, I had been working on this post at the time. As it so happens, this is the first time (at least that I can remember) that I decided to try layering glitter over a thermal so great minds think alike I guess ;)

A little while ago, Cindy of Shimmer Polish sent me a bunch of her beauties to play around with. I will show them to you in the coming weeks a few at a time. Starting today with Anna, Courtney, Crystal and Gerry...

Anchored on a Breeze

Hello Lovelies! I've got a bit of nail art for you today, once again playing with the new UberChic stamping plates and featuring one of the beautiful Polished by KPT thermals from the Basic Series. The Basic Series thermals make the perfect base for stamping and lend themselves beautifully to creating nail art...

Polished by KPT The Basic Series Collection

Hi Everyone! Today I have a post for you which is a few days late, but hopefully better late than never. The Polished by KPT Basic Series Collection launched on Saturday and try as I might I could not find the time to post before the release and give these beauties justice they deserve. The collection features five creamy pastel thermals which are perfect for Spring. Don't let the collection name fool you, there is nothing basic about these thermals. The name implies that they purposefully lack any added glitter, shimmer or glass flecks to let your imagination roam and decorate as you please. I happen to think they are simply beautiful on their own...

Diamond Rows

Hi Everyone! Today I have some stamping nail art to show you. I recently received a few gorgeous UberChic Beauty stamping plates for review and I've been playing around with them whenever I can. UberChic Beauty is the newest brand to enter the stamping plate game and they came out with a bang. Gorgeous, well thought out images that I find myself completely drawn to. I'll show you a few manis that I created before I give you my full review soon...

Glam Polish Knockout Collection

Hi Everyone! Today I'm excited to show you a few swatches from the upcoming Glam Polish Knockout Collection. The collection, which releases tomorrow, contains 6 gorgeous holo and ultra holo glitter shades. I've got four beauties to tease you with and I think you're going to love them...

Go Hawks!

Hi Everyone!

Although I must confess that I'm not a football fan by any means, living in Seattle it is difficult not to catch a bit of Superbowl fever. Everywhere I turn, I see blue and neon green and it appears that I've grown quite fond of the color combination. That is precisely why when I sat down to swatch the upcoming Glam Polish Knockout collection, I couldn't help but gravitate toward the lime green and sparkly blue. They are not a exact match for the team color (nor were they intended to be), but never the less, it seemed fitting to create a manicure with the two of them on Superbowl Sunday. Maybe I can fit in around here after all? Go Hawks!

(Side note, I got a new macro lens to play with so please let me know what you think of these photos!!)

Born Pretty Store Stamping Plate Review

Hi Everyone! I'm feeling sleepless in Seattle right now with lots of stuff on my mind that I would rather not think about, so I decided to write this post as a distraction. So far I am managing to keep up with my New Year's resolution of little by little showing you my stamping plate collection. Today I would like to show you Born Pretty stamping plates. Born Pretty Store has long been know to sell a variety of stamping plates from other lines, but it wasn't until late last year that they released their own branded plates. And speaking of random plates from Born Pretty Store, it seems so long ago now, but it was a promo offer of a free stamping plate from the Born Pretty Store that started my stamping addiction. Oh how time flies! Check out my first attempt at stamping here!

Born Pretty Store originally released 25 plates, then added another 10 around Thanksgiving and just a few days ago released another 20 for a total of 55 BP plates available right now. I've got the first 35 to show you today and more are on the way for a future post. With the success that they are having over these stamping plates, I expect to see more releases in the future!

Now on to the plates themselves. They measure 5.6 cm in diameter, which is the most common size for stamping plates. Each of the stamping plates comes with the standard blue protective film which must be removed prior to use. That is a 'tip' that I learned early on and as evidenced by that 1st stamping attempt linked above. Still rolling my eyes on that one. These plates come with a plastic backing to avoid sharp edges and include the Born Pretty name and website.

2 Curtsy or Not a Rose Princess

Hi Lovelies! I know, that is a rather cheesy title for this post, but I just could not resist mashing up the names of the two Dazzle Dry beauties used for this manicure. I was even tempted to throw in a third, but "2 Curtsy or Not a Rose Princess and Her Majesty" seemed like overkill. Right? Silly title aside, I really like this tone on tone floral manicure and I hope you enjoy it as well...

Geometric Color Block

Hi Lovelies! I really debated long and hard whether to show you this manicure or not. I totally loved the idea and how it came together, but then I made the mistake of putting my topcoat over fresh, wet polish and everything shrank away from my cuticles, but worst of all from the tips. Ugh, it was so sad to actually watch it shrink right in front of my eyes as I was trying to take photos. I will definitely have to try this one again at some point...

Flakie Firebird!

Hi Lovelies! Today I have more flakie nail art for you. This is another manicure that I created and wore a while back because I simply couldn't swatch the flakies and not enjoy wearing each of them at least for a little bit.

Review of CICI&SISI Jumbo Series 2 Stamping Plates

Hi Lovelies! Last week I showed you the CICI&SISI Series 1 stamping plates and now I would like to continue by showing you the 2nd series. The CICI&SISI brand currently has four series of six plates each plus a few single plates. I've only have the first two sets and the rest are firmly on my never ending wish list.

Dreamy Scrolls

Hi There! I'm getting ready to write my review for the 2nd series of CICI & SISI plates, so I thought I would take the time to sneak in one more manicure featuring a plate from that set. I wore this manicure back in October and absolutely loved it. It features one of my favorite thermals from the winter Polished by KPT collection. This thermal switches colors so easily and I adore both the warm and cold states. A touch of golden scrolls was all that I needed for this elegant look...

Flakie Gradient!

Hi Lovlies! Are you as obsessed with all the gorgeous new flakie lacquers as I am? I had a lot of fun playing around with Glam Polish Fantasia Flakies last month. One manicure in particular that I was crazy about and will likely have to recreate soon is this gradient...

Nail Art Tutorial: Interlock

Hi Lovelies! As promised, I have a tutorial to share with you for the manicure that I posted yesterday. You may have seen this technique before, but I had a request for it a while ago, so I went ahead a created the tutorial. Somehow life got in the way between then and now so I didn't get around to writing it all up. Let's just chalk this one up to me being a bad blogger. Hopefully it is still better late than never.

Supplies:

• 2 polishes. I used Nicole by OPI My Sol Shines Brighter and Live in the Momentum
• Dotting tool. Don't have a dotting tool? Check out these dotting tool alternatives

Steps:

Instructions:

1. Start out with a base of 1-2 coats of your lighter shade.
   (The coral Nicole by OPI My Sol Shines Brighter is shown here)
2. Using the second shade, paint a diagonal line across your nail and fill in toward the tips. Don't worry if this is not perfectly straight because it will be covered up by dots.
   (The blue shown here is Nicole by OPI Live in the Momentum)
3. With a dotting tool dipped into your second color (ie. blue), add dots along the edge of the diagonal. Leave some space in between the dots as shown above.
4. Dip the dotting tool into your first color (ie. coral) and place a dot on your second color between two of the dots created in step 3.
5. Repeat step 4 to add dots along the edge of your second color, in between the dots of the second color created in step 3. 
6. Add a top coat and enjoy!

I think my instructions might be a bit confusing, but it is really easy once you actually do it, so don't let them intimidate you! Give it a try and I would love to see how it turns out! If you post on Instagram, tag me #lookwackylaki and I will be sure to see your creations.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!

P.S. You can find lots of my other tutorials here!

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

** Polishes were provided to me for review by the manufacturer or their PR. **

** For more information please see the disclosure policy **

Interlock!

Hi Lovelies! Today I have a manicure from waaay back in the archives! Just look at that black background. It has been ages since I've switched to white. Kind of miss the black at times though. Anyway, my weekend was filled with housework and home repairs. There is still a ton to do and soaking wet boxes to go through in the garage. I'll be hiding for a bit while I take care of that, but I've got lots of manis that I haven't shared yet, so this will be the perfect time to unload the archives, right?
.

Review of CICI&SISI Jumbo Series 1 Stamping Plates

Hi Lovelies! Although a day late, I'm still in keeping with the New Year's resolution to show my stamping plate collection on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. Today I would like to review the CICI&SISI Jumbo Series 1 stamping plates. There are now 4 series plus a few single plates available from the CICI&SISI brand. I only own the first two series, the second of which I will show you next weekend...

Glitter Removal with Nail Clips

Hi Lovelies! I finally found a solution to my glitter removing woes! It seems that every year I end up with some sort of post about glitter removal. Just like a lot of you, I love glitter, but hate hate hate the removal. In 2011, I was excited to discover the foil removal method. The method still works perfectly, but I find myself dreading the whole foil wrapping process. In 2012, I learned about the DIY PVC peel-off base coat (aka Elmer's glue) and was convinced I would use it with every glitter manicure. Well that also didn't quite work out because I often add glitter to my manicure as an afterthought to spice it up and starting with a peel-off base takes planning. Turns out I'm just not much of a planner when it comes to manicures. In 2013, I tried gel-off clips from the Born Pretty Store which were a great concept, but failed miserably because they were not acetone resistant. Into the trash they quickly went.

I finally recovered from the failed gel-off clips and decided to try my luck with another brand. The price is just right and I figured I wouldn't loose much if they also failed. I have been using these for the past few months and find myself reaching for them time and time again!

Glam Polish Hairspray Collection Swatches and Review

Hi Lovelies! I'm such a ditz lately. I have started working nights and got my days all confused. I meant to post my review of this gorgeous Glam Polish Hairspray collection yesterday, with time to spare before the release, but instead I'm sneaking in right under the gun with just a few hours left before the release. Please pardon my blunder and the enjoy swatches.

The Glam Polish Hairspray collection is a limited edition release, inspired by the musical of the same name. Hairspray is one of my favorite musicals, which I actually got to see on Broadway, so I was super excited for this collection. It contains nine gorgeous shades and I've got six of them to show you today!

Royal Tigress!

Hi! Well this Monday is off to a wild start. My night shift at work was crazy and this morning hasn't improved. As I sit here trying to write this post before heading to sleep, the thought "it must have been a full moon or something" crossed my mind. Of course I just had to look it up and surprise, surprise! It was a full moon last night! That really explains so much...

Anyway, since the night has been so wild, I thought it might be appropriate to show you an animal print manicure that has been hanging out in my "to blog" folder for way too long...

Review of Select MoYou Stamping Plates

Hi Lovelies! As 2015 sets off to what I'm sure will be another fast paced adventure, I've got a few blog related New Year's resolutions in mind. I debated telling you what they all are, but I will hold off on that for now since they are still not well defined at this point.

One resolution that I can tell you about, is my goal to review all of my stamping plates. I've purchased oh so many stamping plates over the last couple of years and somehow I never find the time to review them. Most often I get delayed in hopes of creating a few manicures before writing a review and then end up not posting at all.

My goal this year is to post a stamping plate review every Saturday or every other Saturday as time allows. Hopefully this will be one resolution I can stick to! Once I get a few reviews under my belt, I plan to add a tab at the top of the page for reference and to show what's to come. I'm really excited about this feature and I hope you will enjoy it as well!

I'll start today with a review of the most recent MoYou plates to join my collection. You can see the rest of my MoYou plates here.

If you are not familiar with MoYou London stamping plates, they are 6x12cm (edge to edge, not including the plastic backing). They have a protective blue plastic cover which needs to be removed prior to stamping...

Reindeer Sweater

Hi! Today is a manicure that I should have shown you a long, long time ago. Well most certainly last year! I have been pre-occupied with personal and family issues very recently and while I will try to keep up with the blog, it is going to take a backseat for a bit. Now on that 'happy' note, I'd like to show you a manicure that I created when I was in a festive mood, inspired by everyone's holiday sweater creations...