Nails by Kayla Shevonne: February 2012

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Hits - Lambada

Hey guys!

Today I have another Hits flakie shade to show you. This one is Lambada and it's a clear base with an array of different coloured flakies within. The flakes range from blue, green and teal to gold, yellow and orange.

I think this one is very similar to one of the Finger Paints flakies that was recently released - Twisted. So if you already have Twisted, I'd skip out on Lambada.

I wanted to do something different than just layer this over black so I decided to layer Lambada over Hits Hermes, which is the gold holo I showed you earlier this month. I ended up really disliking this combination but I'm still glad I tried it and it does still show off most of the colours of the flakies, especially the green and orange.

Take a look at this odd combo!

You can purchase Lambada along with the entire line of Hits flakes polishes from the US stockist llarowe. The flake polishes are $8 each and don't worry if you live outside the US/Canada because llarowe ships internationally.

Only a few more Hits polishes to show you! Stay tuned!

The product(s) in this post were provided by the above retailer in exchange for an honest review.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Spring Splatter Manicure

Hey guys!

Since I'm pretty sure I'm not going to get a chance to do a full review/swatch post for the OPI Holland Collection, I decided to utilize a few of my favourite shades from the collection in a nail art design.

The design I chose is a recreation of one of my older designs - Rainbow Splatter. I also have a tutorial for that design so if you like the look of today's mani and have these polishes, you can recreate this by using the tutorial.

I started with a base of Thanks a Windmillion, which is a dusty seafoam creme shade. It reminds me a lot of Mermaid's Tears from last year's Pirates of the Caribbean Collection, maybe just a touch darker. The formula was really nice and I only needed 2 coats for full coverage.

The splatters were made with Pedal Faster Suzi!, Dutch 'Ya Just Love OPI? and I Have a Herring Problem. Pedal Faster Suzi! is a light pink with heavy silver-white shimmer and let me just say, I absolutely LOVE this shade. I actually wish I had used this one as my base colour because I just want to use it more! Dutch 'Ya Just Love OPI? is a red-toned purple with gold and red shimmer and I Have a Herring Problem is a dusty blue with gold and silver shimmer.

These are my top 4 picks from the collection but there are a few others that I really like as well. And my #1 pick is surprisingly Pedal Faster Suzi!

Anyways, onto the mani that I created with these!

Products used:
CND Stickey Base Coat
OPI - Thanks a Windmillion (base)
OPI - Pedal Faster Suzi! (pink splatters)
OPI - Dutch 'Ya Just Love OPI? (purple splatters)
OPI - I Have a Herring Problem (blue splatters)
Seche Vite Top Coat

Monday, February 27, 2012

Review & Swatches - China Glaze Prismatic Collection

Good morning!

Ask and you shall receive! Since so many of you told me that you wanted to see swatches of the new China Glaze Prismatic Collection, that's what I have for you today.

I've heard that many people were expecting to see holographic colours with this collection, and I'm guessing that's because the word "prismatic" is often used to describe some of the scattered holographic finish polishes. Now, there's no holo in the Prismatic Collection but that doesn't mean the colours don't have a prismatic effect. To the contrary, many of the shades have colour-shifting bases and all of them contain the same multi-coloured glitter pieces.

To get an idea of what you're in for, the China Glaze Prismatics are similar to my favourite shade from the OPI Muppets Collection - Excuse Moi! They have that same small, multi-coloured glitter, except China Glaze took it one step further with the addition of the colour-shifting bases.

Anyways, enough rambling! Onto the swatches!

Keep reading for the swatches and full review!

Review - DRK-A Stamping Plate

Hey guys!

In my most recent haul post, I asked you what you're most interested in seeing a review for. You guys overwhelmingly want to see swatches of the new China Glaze Prismatic Collection and I promise, that'll be coming to you very soon.

In the meantime, several of you also wanted to know more about the DRK-A Stamping Plate that I received for review. So today I have a review of that for you!

Keep reading for the full review!

Hits - Cha Cha Cha

Hey guys!

I still have a few more Hits polishes to show you and luckily, I still have a couple of swatches from before my nasty nail break. So, today I'll be showing you Hits Cha Cha Cha, which is a clear base with gold/orange flakies that sometimes flash green.

I decided to layer Cha Cha Cha on top of Hits Deméter which is the orange holo that I showed you a couple of weeks ago.

Deméter is already bright orange so it's not like it needs anything extra, but the addition of Cha Cha Cha just gives it a bit of texture and lightness that looks super cool. I love this combination!

You can purchase Cha Cha Cha along with the entire line of Hits flakes polishes from the US stockist llarowe. The flake polishes are $8 each and don't worry if you live outside the US/Canada because llarowe ships internationally.

Only a few more Hits polishes to show you! Stay tuned!

The product(s) in this post were provided by the above retailer in exchange for an honest review.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Pastel Polka Dots

Hey guys!

Today I actually have some nail art for you! I wasn't planning to show any photos of my nails until my broken index nail grows out, but I liked these nails so much that I just had to share. I did include a photo that hides the index nail since I hate the inconsistency in length, haha.

Anyways, hope you like it!

Products:
CND Stickey Base Coat
China Glaze - Re-fresh Mint (base)
China Glaze - Kinetic Candy (teal dots)
China Glaze - Agent Lavender (purple dots)
China Glaze - Something Sweet (pink dots)
Seche Vite Top Coat

P.S. The first two photos are taken using my old method and the last two are taken using my new light box. Since you guys are the ones who're going to be looking at my photos all the time, I'd like to know which you prefer. Let me know in the comments!

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Haul - OPI, China Glaze, DRK-A Stamping Plate

Hey guys!

I'm back! And today I have a haul post for you that consists of polishes that I've accumulated during the period that I've been waiting for my little nubbin to grow out.

You may notice that the background for my photos has changed. That's because I'm now using a light box to take photos. You see, at my old house, I took all of my photos in my bathroom, and because it had a neutral colour paint on the walls, my photos were pretty good there. However, in my new house, the bathroom is a BRIGHT yellow and so even when I tried to put a black sheet up to use as a background, the yellow still washed everything out (as you can see in this photo, for example).

So, after testing out the lighting in the other rooms of my house and not being satisfied, I decided to build a light box. I'm still working with it to try and get the best photos possible, but I'm glad I'm starting with a haul post because colour accuracy doesn't need to be perfect here (although it's actually pretty good for most of these photos).

Anyways, what I'm trying to say is: please bear with me while I figure everything out and try to get the best possible photos for you.

Now, onto the haul!

OPI Holland Collection: Vampsterdam, Red Lights Ahead...Where?, Did You 'Ear About Van Gogh?, A Roll in the Hague, Thanks A Windmillion, Kiss Me On My Tulips

OPI Holland Collection: I Have A Herring Problem, Wooden Show Like To Know?, Pedal Faster Suzi!, Dutch 'Ya Just Love OPI?, I Don't Give A Rotterdam!, Gouda Gouda Two Shoes
Ok, is it just me or do some of these polishes have possibly the best names ever? I mean, some of them I wanted just for the name and not even as much for the polish!

China Glaze Magnetix Collection: Attraction, Drawn To You, Cling On, Pull Me Close, You Move Me, Instant Chemistry
It's looking like magnetic polishes are going to be the crackle of 2012. Let's see how many other companies release magnetic polishes!

China Glaze Prismatics Collection: Ray-Diant, Full Spectrum, Optical Illusion, Liquid Crystal, Polarized, Prism
These polishes look freaking awesome in the bottles so I have a lot of hope for them. Can't wait to try them!

DRK-A Stamping Plate
I received this plate for review and I'm really excited to try it! There's some really unique images on it and a huge plus is that the images are really big, so they're great for anyone with longer/wider nails. I'll do a full review on this asap.

I hope to have swatches of most of these polishes for you, but I can't promise anything because I'm so backlogged with swatching/reviews! How about you all tell me what you're most interested in seeing swatches/a review of?

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Guest Post - Amber's Spring Birds and Flowers Nail Art

Hey guys!

Welcome to today's guest post! Today will actually be the final guest post (for now, as I will still welcome them from time to time), which means that I'll be returning to my regular posting tomorrow!

My nailtastrophe nail is still not fully grown out enough to be consistent with the rest of my nails (one side of the break was really far down so it hasn't grown out evenly enough to file it down yet) but I'm going to work on some posts that don't necessarily require any photos of my current nails (such as nail art tutorials, Manicuring 101, hauls, etc).

In the meantime, today's guest poster is Amber from The Polished Momma. Amber actually came up with two nail art designs for me to choose from for her guest post and although both were awesome, I chose this super cute springtime birds and flowers design for her post.

Enjoy!
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Hey from The Polished Momma! I'm honored to be doing a guest post for the lovely Miss Kayla!

I am in the mood for spring, as I'm sure most of us are by now, and my yard just helps me want it even more! Tulips have started to bloom in my flower beds, which inspired me to order some new spring colors from Julep.

I started with two coats of Taylor, then using dotting tools I made the birds and flowers. The yellow bird is Blake, the pink bird is Mandy, the purple flowers are Anne, and the green are Emilie. I am so excited about these! They made my day, and are perfect for spring time. Not only that but super easy to do as well!

What do you guys think of them? I might have to do these again at a later time with the colors switched, and now it's your turn!

Thanks again, and until next time, happy painting!
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Thanks for this great post Amber! The little birds are adorable!

Thanks once again and you're welcome back anytime to do another guest post!

Monday, February 20, 2012

Kayla Shevonne's 2500 Follower Giveaway - Winners Announced!

Hey guys!

Sorry for being a bad blogger and not announcing the winner of this giveaway sooner. I really meant to announce this long ago but life has just been getting in the way! I really need to come up with a better blogging schedule so that I'm not always getting behind on this like this.

Anyways, remember that for this giveaway there are going to be 3 winners and each of them is going to be getting an awesome prize.

I don't want to keep you waiting any longer than you already have been so without further adieu, the winners are...

Guest Post - Briana's Bling Cherry and Crackle Nails

Hey guys!

I still have a couple of more guest posts for you before I return to posting myself. Today's guest poster is Briana from Nail A College Drop Out and she'll be showing you her

Enjoy!
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Hey guys! I'm Briana from Nail A College Drop Out and I'll be your guest blogger today.

Every so often I'll order some miscellaneous nail goodies to try out. They arrive, I get excited, I ogle my new bounty, and then I finally find something to do with them.

This little mani is no different.

For the finger on the left I used Nina Ultra Pro Sailor and a combination of beads and rhinestones from maytheps-au.com.

And Sally Hansen Extreme Wear Mint Sorbet and Icing Shattered Glass for the other nail.

I hope you guys enjoyed this short and sweet guest post of mine and a big thanks to Kayla for posting it!

Thank you for the opportunity.

Briana
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Thanks for this great post Briana! The bling cherry nail is really cool and those colours on the crackle nail go really well together!

Thanks once again and you're welcome back anytime to do another guest post!

Friday, February 17, 2012

Guest Post - Carly Reviews Deborah Lippmann Forget You & Candy Shop

Hey guys!

Welcome to another guest post! Today's guest poster is Carly from Lacquered Lover.

Today Carly will be reviewing and swatching two Deborah Lippmann polishes - Forget You and Candy Shop. I've wanted these shades for a while now so I can only imagine that Carly's post is going to make me want them even more!

Enjoy!
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Hello my fellow lacquered lovers!

I’m so excited to be doing a guest post for the lovely Kayla! She’s my go to for nail art and tutorials so I feel very lucky to get to write a guest post for her page!

Today I have two of my favorite polishes to share with you, Deborah Lippmann’s Forget You and Candy Shop. I’m a bit of a Deborah Lippmann hoarder (I now own over 40 of them, yikes!) and I just think she makes incredible polishes! So, I’ve resorted to combining them into a manicure so I can get a lot of use out of all of them! Now, without further ado, on to the polish!

This was sort of my “I feel like my manicure needs some pink to it for Valentine’s Day but don’t want to do a full on Valentine’s Day manicure” look that I was wearing on February 14th!

I absolutely adore Forget You which is a black jelly full of multi colored glitters. I’ve seriously used about 1/4 of my bottle, which for someone with as many nail polishes as I have, is a lot! It’s just so pretty and fun on and fully opaque in 2 coats!

Then I did two coats of Candy Shop on my ring finger, which is a bubblegum pink jelly that’s packed full of the same glitters in Forget You. I just love how these two look together and for being a jelly with glitter in it, both of them are super easy to work with and easily made opaque!

When these polishes were first released, they were only part of a set of 3 polishes for Nordstrom called Get This Party Started that also included Happy Birthday which uses the same glitters as Candy Shop and Forget You, just in a clear base. However now they are finally being sold separately! So if you are just looking for one or two of the polishes, fear not! You can get them at several department stores or online retailers where Deborah Lippmann is sold!

Once again, a huge thank you to Kayla for letting me write up this guest post! I hope you all enjoyed seeing one of my favorite Deborah Lippmann combinations!
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Thanks for this great post Carly! I want these shades more than ever now, especially Candy Shop!

Thanks once again and you're welcome back anytime to do another guest post!

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Guest Post - Michelle's Bamboo Nail Art

Hey guys!

Welcome to another guest post! Today's guest poster is the very talented Michelle from Sonoma Nail Art.

Michelle does really amazing freehand work and she makes me want to try my hand at nail art using acrylic paints. If you haven't been to her site before, I urge you to check it out.

Enjoy Michelle's bamboo nail art!
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Hi everyone!

I am thrilled to be providing a guest post while Kayla’s poor nails recover from the “Closet Door Incident.” I think we have all learned a valuable lesson from this tragedy: make other people open doors for you.

I was inspired to do this manicure by a picture of a bamboo forest. I give you: Bamboo Nails!

I used two different green polishes as well as acrylic paints to create this manicure.

I started with this green shade from OPI “Who The Shrek Are You?” This is three coats, excuse the mess, I waited for the next layer before cleaning up.

Next I layered two coats of butter LONDON “Dosh” – a gorgeous green glass fleck polish with bits of gold and yellow in it. I picked up this polish on a recent trip to Seattle. Did you know there is a butter LONDON shop in the Sea-Tac airport?! I always stop there when I fly into Seattle. Ha ha!

I added the bamboo stalks using green, yellow, and brown acrylic paints. I mix and thin the paints with water to make sure they are very thin. That gives me lots of control and allows me to fix any mess ups if I have to. At this point in the mani, I was a little worried that this would not look good, but I kept going.

To add definition between the bamboo stalks and to make this actually recognizable as bamboo, I added black and gold stripes along each stalk. I started with gold acrylic paint mixed with brown acrylic paint, and then added the black acrylic paint mixed with gold acrylic paint as a shade under each segment. A coat of quick dry topcoat and it was done! In retrospect, I could have added a little panda bear to this mani, but I think this look is really elegant, and actually fairly easy to do. Just lines really!

Thanks for reading and I hope you take a moment to check out my blog at http://www.sonomanailart.com
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Thanks for this great post Michelle! This is really original and well executed - I love it! And your step-by-step photos and explanations are super helpful.

Thanks once again and you're welcome back anytime to do another guest post!

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Guest Post - Taylor Reviews Nicole by OPI One Big Happy Fame-ily

Hey guys!

Welcome to today's guest post! Today's guest poster is Taylor from Nailed to the T. Taylor is another polish friend and nail blogger who was kind enough to spare some time to do a post for my blog.

Below Taylor will be reviewing one of the new additions to the Nicole by OPI Kardashian line of polishes.

Enjoy!
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First of all I would love to say hello to all of you, Kayla's readers, "Hello, everyone!". Secondly, I would love to thank Kayla for letting me do a guest post for her while her nails take a bit of a break. Last, but not least, onto the nail polish!!!

Many of you may have heard that Nicole by OPI was releasing Kardashian Kolors for the 2011 holiday season, well recently they have also released and added new colors to the NOPI Kardashian line. There were a few that stood out from this release and one was NOPI One Big Happy Fame-ily.

This color is a gorgeous lavender shimmer nail polish. Although this color is rather sheer, once you build up the application with it, the light lavender flecks really shine! In the sun the light lavender flecks also reflect a bit of blue and purple, but not too much.

As you can see the shimmer really shines through! As far as the pictures, the second one is the best at showing the depth the flecks give, while the last picture shows the most color accurate. Overall I think this is a great color which is perfect for spring.

The wear on these are also really good, these pictures were taken 4 days after I applied this color. I really recommend adding this one to your collection or wish list!
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Thanks for this great post Taylor! I tend to stay away from Nicole by OPI polishes as much as I can, simply because I find them too expensive. However, you've sold me on this colour and I think I'll be adding this to my wishlist!

Thanks once again and you're welcome back anytime to do another guest post!

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Bonus Giveaway - Winner Announced!

Hey guys!

Today I'll be announcing the winner of my Bonus Giveaway! Sorry it's taken so long with this but like I said earlier in the week, I've got a lot going on right now.

And for those wondering, I'll be announcing the winners of my 2500 Follower Giveaway very soon. The winner of the Bones Giveaway had to be announced first because Nail Polish Canada is holding a separate giveaway for all the winners of the Konad Starter Kits and that's happening tomorrow!

Before I announce the winner, I want to say another thank you to Nail Polish Canada for generously hosting this giveaway.

I'd also like to thank everyone who participated in the giveaway!

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Thanks so much for this awesome and flattering post Laurie! And your dots looks awesome, by the way!

Thanks once again and you're welcome back anytime to do another guest post!

Monday, February 13, 2012

Guest Post - Julia Recreates Kayla Shevonne Nail Art Designs!

Hey guys!

So, as I wait for my nubbin nail to grow out, I've asked a few of my fellow polish friends/bloggers to write up some guest posts for my blog! I'm really excited about this as it's a way to keep content going while I'm out of commission (because I'm overdramatic about my broken nail), as well as a great way to introduce you to some of the people who inspire me on a daily basis.

Today's guest post is by the lovely Julia from Le Vernis. Julia is a Brazilian friend and fellow nail blogger and you can check out her blog here. But be sure to hit the translate button to read her posts in English!

In her post below, she's showing you a few nail art designs that she's done. But they're not just any designs, they're recreations of a few of my nail art designs! It's super flattering to see my designs recreated and I'm really excited to be able to share Julia's post with you here.

Enjoy!
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Hello polish friends!

First of all, I’d like to thank Kayla for inviting me to do a guest post! I’m so excited! Being asked to write a guest post is always an honor. But I have to admit I was a ~~bit~~ a lot nervous too. After all, this post appears on one of my favorite nail blogs → ♥ u Kayla (yes, I’m a groupie!).

As I’m a huge fan, I often attempt to do her great nail designs, so I thought it would be nice to show you how my copycat nails turned out, like a special tribute. I gathered a few of my best tries, but please keep in mind that they don't always come out quite as perfectly as I’d like, but I think it still looks pretty great!

The first one is actually my favorite! I did it last year during Halloween – using Kayla’s Vampire Bite tutorial and I even did Halloween makeup to go with it. I love it so much that it’s in my Top 15 of 2011!

Review - OPI Matte Top Coat

Manicuring 101 - The Different Nail Shapes and How to Achieve Them

I Don't Think You're Ready for this Jelly Floral Mani

Nails of the Day - Neon Zebra Print

A Very Special Valentine's Day Post - Nails by ... David?