Indie Spotlight: Nerd Lacquer Warrior Ethos

I hope everyone is having a great and wonderful week so far.  I've been kinda on the tired side adjusting to my new work schedule, but I do  love my new job.

For those that read my original post on my first day of work nails, I am pleased to announce that I can pretty much whatever I want at work. I'm so happy about that. I do really feel for those of you that are not allowed to wear polish at work. I'm not sure I could stay there if I wasn't allowed to use polish LOL.

On to today's nails...

I'm wearing Nerd Lacquers - Warrior Ethos. Most of you are aware that these polishes are no longer being made, which makes me very sad. I got lucky enough to grab this one off the Nerd Lacquer Etsy site just before it closed down. I had so many more on my wishlist, and I hold out hope that one day they return. Here is the beautiful Warrior Ethos.

This polish is GORGEOUS to say the least. This is 3 coats alone.

I love the dense black micro and hex glitter that is mixed in this.

I filed all my nails down again this evening. I really do like to keep them short as possible. I can only nubinize in stages though because the skin that grows under the nail on the free edge needs to recede for me in stages. I hope that makes sense lol. 

The bottle is so pretty I had to include it in this shot.

What do you guys think? I appreciate everyone stopping by to visit today.

Sticks and Stones take 2 with Matte added

Today I added a Matte coat to my Mani from yesterday.  I have not been able to leave a Mani alone and not mess with beauty lol. It's very difficult not to add a glitter top coat, matte, etc to a plain base color.

How much does Cover Bands Sticks 'n Stones rock. This stuff blows my mind and I want to put it on everything lol!

Click the 'read more' below left for more pictures and deets.

Indie Spotlight: Pure Ice and Sticks and Stones

Lately I have been on a serious Indie Polish kick. I just can not help myself, they are all so beautiful lol. My money has been going to Etsy instead of the big companies :) 

Today I have an awesome combination. The base polish is Pure Ice Free Fall. Let me say this polish is gorgeousness! It's a pink shimmer, and has flashes of purple in it. In some lights it almost looks like I have a gradient on my nails. I love it!

I topped it with Cover Band's Sticks and Stones. I was lucky enough to snatch one up on Ninja Polish. This polish totally rocks! The application on this was so easy. The formula is not thick at all and it really just glides onto the nail. The glitters are easy to randomly brush on. I do own Lynderella's Connect the Dots, but I like Sticks and Stones much better.

I love this Barbie Doll Look :) 

If you look really close you can see the 'purple' flash in Free Fall.

With 2 coats of Seche Vite this glitter sits down perfectly. There was a time when I despised bar glitter and hated it with a passion, and now I LOVE IT and can't get enough if it.

What do you guys think? Thanks so much for visiting and have a great weekend!

EDIT/UPDATE: I ended up using a Matte top coat on this. See it HERE.

Indie Spotlight: Fourth of July Candy Lacquer's Stars and Bars #2

For those that celebrate it. I hope everyone has a happy and very safe 4th of July.

Today I wanted to do something a little more wild for the 4th lol. I choose Indie Polish maker Candy Lacquer. This is my second polish by her and I'm in love! Random happiness is what I call it :) I am really impressed with Candy Lacquer so far, and I will be purchasing more from her. I like that my money can go to someone where it really makes a difference, versus into the hands of a big company. I'm glad I choose to go indie for the 4th!

Now I know a lot of you are running for the hills when you hear bar glitter, but I love it. I never have issues working with it, so it's pure enjoyment for me. How do you guys feel about bar glitter? Leave your comments below, I would love to hear everyone's thoughts on bar glitter.

 I did have to place the stars in this, but that's all part of the fun. You can be creative and make it look the way you want. Nothing better than a polish you can customize the look of, so versatile.

The base color in this is Essie: A-List, I just felt it was the perfect red I was looking for. Then I added one coat of Candy Lacquer's Stars and Bars #2. I finished it off with one coat of SV and one coat of Barielle Manicure Extender. There is a previous version of this polish called Stars and Bars, so keep that in mind and  be aware if purchasing it  -  it is a different polish. The first version has opposite color stars and bars.

I will be wearing this for the entire day of the 4th. A perfect Mani for viewing the fireworks display that I have planned for the evenings celebrations.

Now if you missed out on this for the 4th, this would also be a great polish to celebrate the Olympics. No better way then to support Team USA with the red white and blue - stars and stripes.

Thank you for visiting and feel free to leave links of your 4th nails. I would love to see them.

Montagne Jeunesse Masks Series - #2 Crystal Masque

Today I was feeling really dry and wanted to do a scrub/mask to maybe calm things down a bit. I decided on Montagne Jeunesse Crystal Masque to continue my mud mask series.  Check my labels below left to see other masks I have reviewed.

I picked this one because the labels says that it smoothes, softens & conditions skin. I figured this conditioning would be perfect for my dry skin.

 

The mask is a clear pale pink, and the instant I opened the package I was hit with the sweet smell of honey.  It really was yum! I was expecting a heavy floral smell, and was pleasantly surprised that there was not a heavy floral scent at all. I am not a fan of heavy floral scents on my face. 

  

I soaked the package prior to opening in a hot water bath for a few minutes as directed (a plastic cup filled with hot water lol).

I expected this to feel smooth going on my face, but there was distinctive exfoliating scrub beads in this. It was not overwhelming, just barely there scrub beads perfectly spread throughout the formula.

I left it on for 10 minutes, as directed. It did not tighten up like a clay mask, and was very pliable and soft feeling on the face. When I washed it off it did not foam, but was was more of a cream wash. It felt and smelled wonderful. It was very easy to rinse off.

 Unfortunately, it didn't feel like it did much for my skin.  I was hoping for a really hydrated feeling, and instead my face looked more flaky and dry :( I had to use moisturizer in overload to get back to a normal feeling. It was not what I expected at all for my dry skin. I felt this mask would be better suited for someone with oily skin. 

I will be giving this another go, and I will add it in my next mask post to let you all know how it went a second time around. 

On a side note, I sent an email to MJ for some questions, and they were very helpful and pleasant in their response. Great customer service for me.

Thanks for visiting!