Color4Nails Crystalline Nail Veil Review

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  The other day I received a new product in the mail-- a bottle of Color4Nails Crystalline Nail Veil, one of a new generation of nail art cleanup products.  I admit to having a fairly elongated "Oooookaaaay....." moment as I realized what I was being asked to review because these products are primarily used to make water marbling and stamping cleanup a whole lot easier.  If you check out my label cloud in my lower right sidebar, you might note my experience and interest in such art... and, well, art in general.  

Color4Nails Crystalline Nail Veil

Pantone 2015 Color of the Year: Marsala Polish Picks

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Pantone Color of the Year 2015: Marsala

  I admit to initially being both underwhelmed and reminded of savory food when Pantone announced their 2015 Color of the Year.  Marsala, an elegant, complex shade with an air of lightness, has really grown on me, though, especially when I realized that a number of my favorite nail polishes easily fit the mold of that color.  I decided to do a little shopping and see if I could spot a few other polishes that work with the scheme, and I was mildly successful.  It turns out this rather "basic" color is anything but!

What I Wore-- Happy New Year!!

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  Happy New Year, four days late!  If you've been reading for a while you might have seen a few accessories posts interspersed here and there and the whole fashion thing is something I've wanted to expand upon.  Well, it being a new year and all, I've decided to just go for it, lol, so now I'm starting something completely different and trying an "outfit of the day" thing.  Savvy? :)

LLPT's Best Nails of 2014!!

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LLPT's Best Nails of 2014

  Ahhhh!!  I finally feel like I'm emerging from the tornado of activity and subsequent mini hibernation that has composed the last five days.  C and I are fortunate to have the next few days off so we slept in until 11ish yesterday and 10ish today (and I'm sure a nap is in order, again).  Hosting Christmas dinner is a LOT of work, especially when both of us have full time jobs and especially when I'm stubborn and insist on doing it all myself... Thankful for a mom who understands the work and brought over one of my favorite desserts and appetizers to supplement (as well as a Christmas chicken... thanks, Dad).  Anyhoo, time marches on, New Year's is imminent, and my nails are roached.  Sounds like a perfect opportunity to list my favorite nail polishes of 2014, no?

LVX Cliquot With LVX Graphite Accent

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  Hi everyone!!  In pondering what to do with my nails at 1am last night, I decided to go with another accent.  Now some of you are really adventurous and know how to have a lot of fun with color and do so on a regular basis.  This would mark the second time I've worn an accent nail in less than a week so that is as wiiiild and crazy as I've ever gotten, lol.  This time I decided to do a small variation on classic pink and grey with two gorgeous LVX polishes, Cliquot and Graphite.

LVX Cliquot With LVX Graphite Accent

LVX Fall 2014 Collection

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LVX Fall 2014

  Hi all!!  One of the many reasons I love autumn and autumn fashion is finally here-- the LVX Fall lacquer collection.  This year's set delivers, as always, with updated, perfectly wearable colors in that most classic of finishes and on point formulas.  Let's get started.

LVX D'Orsay (Inspired by Olivia Pope)

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  Hi everyone!!  I've been under the weather since Sunday and have since become completely obsessed with the tv show "Scandal" and its lead character, Olivia Pope's (actress Kerry Washington), spot-on perfect light neutral wardrobe and classic and utterly tasteful style.  My own style is a little flashier and leans dark rather than light, and I love any excuse to sport a nice, classic nail, usually in a crimson or wine shade.  After watching this show in marathon sessions for three days in a row, though, I found myself eager to try on some of the light, soft shades Olivia Pope wears and that I also love but seldom use, in favor of my reds. One of the first colors that came to my mind was {LVX D'Orsay}, a pale blushed peachy pink creme.

LVX D'Orsay

Transitional Metals

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Transitional Metals

  Hi all!!  I've been on a metallic kick since {Mommy Does Her Nails} mentioned how much she'd been loving them on her toes a couple weeks ago.  Their bright, shimmery glowiness feels perfect for August and the transition from summer to... well, late summer.  Fall can wait :) Here are a few of my favorites.

Sunday Swatch Spam (if you please)

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  Hi all!!  Summer is just so fabulous.  We were looking to get away to the coast this weekend but there were NO vacancies in our closest beach city, so C got busy turning our back yard into an oasis.  So we've spent much time outside this weekend, reading on our cots or lounging in our new little above ground pool with Blue Hawaiians in hand.  He even set up a sheet and projector so we could watch movies outside.  It's been so much fun.  Now, we're inside listening to thunder and waiting for the imminent downpour (can't wait!!!).  Suffice it to say, I haven't been thinking about much bloggy stuff (my mani's been chipping since yesterday and I don't care... too much, lol).  But before we do the inevitable and crawl back into bed for a couple hours, I thought I'd share some swatches of some of the stuff I've been wearing for the last few weeks.

LVX Caviar

LVX Caviar

Repin Any Of This and It's Curtains For Ya. Independence Day Manicure #3

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  Hi all!!  All these pretty Independence Day manicures all over the place, featuring, like, art and whatnot, made me want to try some new stuff, leopard print in particular.  THIS POST by Ruby's Nails pushed me over the edge to remove my nearly fresh Magical Pixie Dust manicure (no small feat, if you've ever worn one of those polishes) and give some red, white, and blue spots a try, especially upon reading how easy they are. 

  I looked up a tutorial first (not doing so being a mistake I've made in the past that I wasn't interested in replicating).  Jezebel.com was the first link I clicked on, and indeed, the technique looked simple enough.

June Favorites!!

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  Hi everyone!!  I just started an instagram challenge for the month of July, and the first task was to post our June favorites, and I decided to do a full blog spot on them, since I haven't done that for a while (welcome to my stream of consciousness).

  I've really been having fun playing around with accessories and I found myself drawn to chunky necklaces and menswear inspired watches.

LVX Summer 2014 Collection

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LVX Summer 2014

  Hi friends!!  I don't pay a lot of attention to seasonal trends in nail polish (though since I have this blog, perhaps I should start) but it recently struck me that this summer is one of softer toned creme palettes in various themes-- Maybelline's Bleached Neons, Zoya's country garden-esque Tickled collection, and this lovely and surprising set of Cape Coddish lights (and one apt and striking bright) from LVX.  Let's dive right in.

Cult Nails Feedback + LVX Dahlia

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  Hi everyone!!  Happy Saint Patrick's Day!  I honestly forgot all about it as I was doing my nails last night, so here is my decidedly un-St. Paddy's Day-like manicure.  I will be wearing green elsewhere.

  I'm pretty much in absolute love with Cult Nails Feedback and I really want to wear it over every creme and jelly I own.  Part of Cult Nails' fall 2013 All Access collection, Feedback is a highly irregular pink and gold mylar flakie suspended in a clear base.  One of my favorite duos from that collection is Feedback over the burgundy jelly Lamestain.  I don't have Lamestain, so I grabbed one of my own favorite vampy jellies, LVX Dahlia.  Observe.

LVX Spring 2014 Collection

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  Hi everyone!!  LVX's spring collection is a gorgeous as usual but completely incongruent set of six creme lacquers.  It's a hodgepodge of something for everybody, from a basic putty grey to a slightly out of its season coral to a dark and juicy berry.  Each color is uniquely beautiful, but taken in as a whole, the set is a little challenging; even so, if I came across a dress or blouse in a print of these colors, I wouldn't hesitate to buy it.  The difficulty of this combination is part of what makes it so lovely.

  First up is Truffle, the earthy, putty grey that bears no resemblance to its prolific taupe cousins because there isn't a trace of purple here.  It's a pretty straightforward muddy cement shade and, while it's my least favorite, surprisingly chic.  Why don't I own a pair of slacks or cargos in this shade?  I used two coats and one layer of topcoat.

LLPT's Best Of 2013!! Mainstream Polishes

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HI everybody!!  It's that time of year again, New Year's is imminent and Best Of compilations abound.  My list loving self has been eating all this up with a spoon, both checking out my fellow bloggers' choices and compiling my own selections.

It's been a pretty freaking fantastic year for a lot of reasons but narrowing my choices down to a top 15 ended up being a fairly easy task once I thought about the ones Ive reached for the most and the ones that have truly wowed me.  So, let's jump right in (and please enjoy the continuing evolution of my nails; it seems inconsistency is my signature), in order of release.

LVX Winter Resort 2014

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Good morning, everyone!!  I hope your holidays have been wonderful so far.  I'm sitting here wishing I'd have requested today off to recover from all the Christmas festivities, lol.
So now that the Big Day is over and New Year's and the depths of winter are imminent, I feel like this new collection is highly appropriate-- it's LVX's Winter Resort 2014.  Winter Resort says complete luxury to me, speaking of those for whom "holiday" is a verb and December swimsuit shopping is necessity.  This collection is firmly grounded in the here and now, though-- it's a set of five deep and luxurious shades and one onyx-black texture that are easily taken from New Year's Eve through the chill of February and beyond.

LVX Comparison Post! Taupe and Blue

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Happy Caturday, guys and gals :) I had a couple requests for comparisons of a couple LVX colors from yesterday's post, so I thought I'd just get on it, lol.  The last time I did a post like this was two weeks after I started this thing so fortunately, I've learned a thing or two about presentation but this is still highly experimental.

Okay, first up, as the request of Lacqueerisa, is a comparison of taupes.

I tried to do some staging, lol, so I strategically placed some lapis earrings in with the bottle shot.  I don't think it works but I'm too lazy to go take another photo without.  So left to right we've got Sinful Colors Graine de Poivre, LVX Relique, and OPI You Don't Know Jacques.  They all look pretty different in the bottle.

LVX Fall 2013 Collection

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Hi everyone!!  I've got a few full collections on deck for the coming week, and first off, it's my pleasure to bring you my favorite fall collection of polishes this year.

LVX (pronounced Lux, Latin for Light) is a high end company that draws its color inspiration straight from the runways and executes that vision in a most elegant fashion.  This fall's collection of six are red-hot colors in that most classic and elegant finish, creme.  I've been almost giddily excited about this set since I first laid eyes on it.