Heart Gradient Nails & Books I'm Reading.

I have not been to work since September 30th. October 1st is when the Government Shutdown started... so I have had a lot of time to paint my nails and read some books.

I did a gradient tonight with some light pink striper polish, OPI Suzi's Hungary Again and 1 coat of China Glaze Fairy Dust over the pink. I stamped with Winstonia Store plate W102 & Konad Black. 1 coat of Seche Vite topcoat.

These are the books I've read lately. I'm big on history, biographies, memoirs or historical fiction. I do read some regular fiction too. The books below, some I've purchased, some I've taken out from our local e-library and others I've gotten free on Amazon. I check the free categories in my favorite subjects on Amazon at least once a day, you can find paid books that are only free for a day or two. (Note: You may not be able to see the book widget below from a blog reader).

If you're having trouble viewing the book widget above, here's a text list of the books I've read lately:

1. My Story, By: Elizabeth Smart

2. One Light Still Shines: My Life Beyond the Shadow of the Amish Schoolhouse Shooting, By: Marie Monville

3. Orphan Train: A Novel, By: Christina Baker Kline

4. I'm No Angel: From Victoria's Secret Model to Role Model. By: Kylie Bisutti

5. The Language of Flowers: A Novel. By: Vanessa Diffenbaugh

6. The Fault in Our Stars, By: John Green

7. Sidonia's Thread: The Secrets of a Mother and Daughter Sewing a New Life in America, By: Hanna Perlstein Marcus

8. Eat Cake: A Novel, By: Jeanne Ray

9. Searching for Peanut Butter in Paris, By: Kat Sparks

10. Confessions of a Kidney Transplant Recipient, By: Mary Wu

(I do use Amazon Associates, but not because I've made any money- because I haven't! lol! But I like that I can show a picture/link with a product when I'm blogging. Plus I do recommend Amazon.com for their low prices. That or Ebay!)

L.A. Girl: Brilliant Blue

I picked up L.A. Girl Brilliant Blue a few months ago. It is from their 3D Effects line. (I also have Teal Dimension). I used 2 coats of Brilliant Blue, and I stamped with Sally Hansen Insta Dri in Silver Sweep using Winstonia Store plate W113. I also used 1 coat of Seche Vite. 

When Zoya released promos for their 2013 Holiday collection I was wondering if Zoya Dream was a dupe for Brilliant Blue. Refined & Polished swatched both Brilliant Blue & Zoya Dream. They are exact dupes. So if you picked up the L.A. Girl you don't really need Zoya Dream. (Vice Versa).

Post by Refined & Polished.

You can still find L.A. Girl 3D Effects for sale on CherryCulture.com. They are priced at $4, so it's a bargain if you don't want to spend $8 for Zoya Dream.

P.S. I just removed Brilliant Blue- with no staining. I love when dark blues don't stain!

PolishNV: Fe's Chameleon Thermal Polish

This is my very first thermal polish. I bought it from PolishNV on Etsy. It's called Fe's Chameleon. It starts off as a very pretty periwinkle blue when it's warm or room temperature. When cold it turns into a gorgeous deep purple. It has lot's of scattered holo sparkles in it.

I did 3 coats of the polish and 1 coat of Seche Vite. For photographing the polish, I had one bowl of warm water and one bowl filled with ice water so I could capture the thermal effect at it's best. It's the prettiest thermal I've come across so far when browsing on Etsy. And I love how thermal polishes give you a gradient look! (A thermal polish works best on long nails: the longer your nail tips the more gradient effect you'll have).

This is the polish when room temperature or warm:

 And this is the polish when it's cold:

 

P.S. If you're curious how I take my photos, check out my blog about my DIY Light Box.

Starbucks: Come Together Petition

Starbucks has created an online petition to send to Washington, to re-open the US Government. If you could take the time to sign it, as a furloughed federal worker who has now missed 80 hours of work/pay due to the Government shutdown, I would really appreciate it.

http://www.cometogetherpetition.com/ 

The link above also has a printable petition that you can sign & drop off at your local Starbucks! Thanks!

Indian Ocean by PinkDispyBulle

I am still out of work due to the Government Shutdown, so... I have a lot of time on my hands. I picked up this gorgeous indie polish on Etsy, with a little leftover eBay money I earned.

This is Indian Ocean by the shop Pink Dispy Bulle Franken Polish. It's a gorgeous purple with pink shimmer. I easily could have just done 2 coats, but I did 3 anyway. The formula was very easy to work with. I used 1 coat of Seche Vite.

(Note: Indian Ocean has been discontinued).

BEHIND THE SCENES:

 I positioned my DIY Light box lamps like this to get the above photos!

Winstonia & Cygnus Loop Halloween Nails

These are similar to the Halloween nails I did with Birefringence a few days ago. This time I used 2 coats of I Love Nail Polish Cygnus Loop. 1 coat of China Glaze Fairy Dust. I placed a few stars & moons from Revlon Celestial FX. Then I stamped with Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Silver Sweep and used Winstonia Store plate W116. I finished everything with 1 coat of Seche Vite topcoat.

The polishes I used:

 

 And.... FAN GIRL MOMENT!
I Love Nail Polish on Facebook shared my Birefringence Halloween Nails! It's got 1,200+ likes and over 100 shares! Insane! That's the most I've ever gotten! Woo hoo!

Winstonia Store: Pumpkin Nails

I used Winstonia Store stamping plate W116 for these nails. I tested the spooky face on one nail at first and it looked like a jack o' lantern's face to me. I got the idea to do pumpkin nails. I used Sally Hansen Insta Dri in Mint Sprint, 2 coats of Zoya Pixie Dust in Destiny. Konad black to stamp and a coat of Seche Vite over everything.

You can also check out the Halloween nails I did the other day, with I Love Nail Polish: Birefringence. They got the most re-pins I've had yet on my nail pictures on Pinterest. 84 re-pins. :-)

Random Nails

I've been posting a lot more recently, since I'm home from work, due to the Government Shutdown. Here are some gorgeous random pretties. :-)

First up is 3 coats of Maya Cosmetic's 'Sanctuary' with 1 coat of Philly Love's Laquer 'It's Always Sunny' holo topcoat. I did not do any other top coat besides the holo.

And I've re-visited Sindie Pop Golden Raspberries. Perfect Fall color! 3 coats, with Seche Vite topcoat. Now if only it would feel like fall instead of 80+ in Philadelphia! :-o