Today is the last day of my Holiday Designs!

These ones were probably my favorite out of all four designs. I used I Love Nail Polish: Absolute Zero, (limited edition polish), with one coat of China Glaze Fairy Dust. Then I stamped using Konad Special Polish in White, with Winstonia Store stamp plate W120. One coat of Seche Vite dry fast topcoat. They are so sparkly. I just love them!

Today is Day Three, of my Holiday Nail Designs!

Today, I have some simple snowflakes stamped over China Glaze I'm Not Lion. I used Konad Special Polish in White and stamped using Winstonia Store plate W120. One coat of Seche Vite dry fast topcoat. These turned out very glitzy!

Today is Day Two of my Holiday Nail Designs!

These turned out really pretty. :-) I started with a base of Zoya Jacqueline. Then I stamped with Maybelline Metallics in Bold Gold using Konad stamp plate M57. After that I stamped with Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Mint Sprint using Winstonia Store plate W120. I filled in the little berries on the holly leaves with Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Cherry Red. One coat of Seche Vite topcoat.

I've been busy working on some Holiday Designs to share over the next four days. Today is day one and I really loved how these turned out. They remind me of Christmas Poinsettias. 
I used Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Cherry Red and Cult Nails in Grunge. I stamped with Maybelline Metallics in Bold Gold and topped everything with one coat of Seche Vite dry fast topcoat.The design is stamped with Messy Mansion plate MM20.

I'm stuck taking photos with my left hand this week. I had a bad break on the middle nail, on my right hand- which is the hand I usually use for photos. It feels really awkward to take photos in my lightbox using my left hand. I'm just not used to it.

These are my nails for the work week. :-) I used I Love Nail Polish: Birefringence and Washing Ashore, plus China Glaze Fairy Dust. I started with Washing Ashore at the top of my nails and Birefringence at the tips. Then I dabbed both colors around here and there.

I stamped with Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Silver Sweep, plus one coat of Seche Vite topcoat. The stamp is Messy Mansion plate MM14. I love how they turned out. You can see so many different colors.

I started getting into nail polish in late 2010, after a back injury left me on bed rest for a whole week and I had nothing better to do then read nail polish blogs & paint my nails. I now own 183 polishes and I wanted to share my top favorites out of my collection.


1. Butter London: Two Fingered Salute


2. Zoya Aurora


3. I Love Nail Polish: Birefringence (H)


6. Layla Hologram: Mercury Twilight


7. SindiePop: Golden Raspberries

My Thanksgiving nails chipped with all of the cooking... so I decided I would stamp over Zoya Carter with some of my bird cage stamps. 

I used Moyou London Kitty 11 for my pinky & ring finger. And I used Messy Mansion MM14 for my middle and pointer finger. 2 coats of Zoya Carter and I stamped with Maybelline Bold Gold. No topcoat.

*Disclaimer*

Edited on 3/1/14: I've owned my bottle of Poison Apple almost 4 months and I've only worn it twice. Recently I noticed most of the pigments had separated badly in the bottle and no amount of shaking seems to mix them back together.

Last week another blogger mentioned they had just purchased Poison Apple and when she received the bottle hers was already separated (though not as bad as mine). According to another Indie polish maker it appears the thermal pigments either haven't been dissolved properly or the base is not thick enough to support the thermal pigments (thermal pigments are heavier), thus causing everything to separate and become unusable.

The thermal pigments have sunken to the bottom in my bottle and have become one mass that cannot be shaken back together. I also think maybe they were made too far in advance of orders? Thermal polishes in general have a fairly short shelf life. It's a gorgeous polish... but keep in mind if you purchase it, it probably won't last very long... this is what my bottle currently looks like:


I picked up this beauty back in October when Black Cat Lacquer was having a Halloween sale. I never got to properly swatch it because my old laptop died a few days later. I finally got around to editing the photos I took in the beginning of November.

I love this polish! I don't normally go for red polish, but I absolutely love this. Poison Apple is a red scattered holo thermal polish. It's bright red when warm, and a dark brownish red when cold. To show off the thermal effect better, I used hot/cold water. But with normal wear, the tips of my nails do stay darker. The longer your nails are, the more thermal effect you will have.

I decided to do Thanksgiving nails for the upcoming holiday week. I used China Glaze Riveting and L.A. Girl DIY in dark brown. I stamped with Maybelline Metallics Bold Gold, plus one coat of Seche Vite topcoat. Winstonia Store stamp plate W119 for my pinkie & ring finger and Messy Mansion MM19 for my middle and pointer finger.

Emily De Molly: Comic Forces, was the last polish I purchased before my 'No Buy' went into effect 3 weeks ago. I was browsing Llarowe one night and was so excited to see it in stock! I've been wanting Cosmic Forces for a good while now. It's super hard to find in stock in the USA, since Emily De Molly polish is made in Australia. You can find it selling for $30 on eBay... but I'm not crazy enough to pay that. It was $13 on Llarowe.com.

Cosmic Forces is a dark purple jelly polish with pink and purple glitter and holographic circle glitter. The circles almost look like planets suspended in the jelly base. It's even prettier in person! This is 3 coats and 2 coats of Seche Vite topcoat to get that glossy look.


 A few months ago I purchased a similar polish from Nire's Desire called Bubble Berries. I wanted to do a comparsion with Bubble Berries & Cosmic Forces. Cosmic Forces is a darker purple and Bubble Berries is lighter. Bubble Berries has more silver glitter & other shapes, than Cosmic Forces. If you're having a hard time trying to get Cosmic Forces, Bubble Berries is a good alternative.

Every year since the original Kindle Fire came out in 2011, I've upgraded to the latest version. I've owned three generations of the Kindle Fire now. (Though I always sell the previous model). The latest is the Kindle Fire HDX 8.9" 16GB. It's faster and lighter than last years Kindle Fire HD. There's also a rear camera now besides the front camera and Amazon has made better placement and size of the power & volume buttons on the HDX.




The good features are the power and volume buttons. They are huge on the HDX now. They are located on the back instead of the sides like HD. The rear camera also has a flash. The response time for apps is so much quicker now because of the faster processor and ram. There's literally no lag time switching apps. Typing on the keyboard is more realistic because there's no delay anymore. It's lightning fast. The screen is a little cooler in color than Kindle Fire HD which had a warmer display- that's taking some getting used to for me. But pictures and videos are gorgeous.

As always it takes some getting used to when you upgrade. I really do love the Kindle Fire HDX, there's just minor changes from Kindle Fire HD, some good, some different. But all in all I'm pleased with it.


App wise: You would think the Amazon App store would have added Instagram since Kindle Fire HDX now has a rear camera... but nope. That still takes some fanangling, but you CAN install Instagram and other Android apps that the Amazon App store might not have.

For Kindle Fire HDX models: 

Step 1: Download APK Installer free from the Amazon App store.

Step 2: Go to SETTINGS: APPLICATIONS: Then for 'Allow Apps From Unknown Sources' select: ON.

Step 3: Go to Silk Browser go to website: www.1mobile.com/app/market/ and download 1MobileMarket store app for free.

Step 4: Install 1MobileMarket with an APK installer App.

Step 5: Use the 1MobileMarket App to find and install Instagram & other Android apps to your Kindle Fire HDX.


Other Kindle Fire Blog Posts: 

(1st Generation) Jan 2012: I ♥ ♥ ♥ my Kindle Fire!

(2nd Generation) Nov 2012: My Kindle Fire HD 8.9 arrived a week early! Yay!