Tutorial Thursdays! LVX Summer Leopard Spots Nail Art (+ Video Tutorial)

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It is Thursday already?! Right on! For this Tutorial Thursday I went with leopard spots. I adooore doing leopard spot manis. They are super easy and fun to do. For this leopard printed look I used all shades from the LVX Summer 2014 collection. The finished look kind of reminds me of old porcelain tea cups, but leopard printed :D. More details and tutorial after the jump.

Nicole by O.P.I Nude & Neon Stamped Gradient (+ Video Tutorial)

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 A while back Nicole by O.P.I shared this awesome gradient that went from nude to neon. This girl right here fell in love with the look pretty hard and decided I need to try the combination for myself :D. The contrasting geometric stamp was an impulse add. I had been wanting to play with this Red Angel plate. The design is really interesting and eye-catching. Tutorial after the jump ♥.

Tutorial Thursday! Colors by Llarowe Shimmering Color Drops Look (+ Video Tutorial)

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  Today I will be starting a new weekly installment called "Tutorial Thursdays"!! I am suuuper excited :D! I have so many ideas for all kinds of different nail art tutorials. For this first Tutorial Thursday I'm showing a variation of my Color Drops tutorial that I did for Kelly of Vampy Varnish early last year. 

 When I saw these new multi-chromatic shimmers from Colors by Llarowe I just KNEW I had to do this technique with them. More after the jump. 

Salon Perfect Neon POP Rainbow Ombre Nail Art (+ Video Tutorial)

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  Today I have something neon, colorful, holographic and exciting to share with you! So.. Salon Perfect is rocking my world with their Neon POP collection for this Summer season. I know I just shared a rainbow ombre just last week.... But I figured you guys would not mind one more... especially if it also came with a tutorial, right? 

 I could not resist bringing these beautiful, bright and summery shades together for a rainbow ombre because NEON RAINBOWS!!!!! More after the jump.

#NailArtSociety The Great Glitzy (Silver) Nail Art Look

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Happy Tuesday! 

  Today I want to share this super flashy look I did using Nail Art Society's "The Great Glitzy (Silver)" set. For those of you who may not be familiar with Nail Art Society, they are a monthly subscription box. Every month they provide you with a "curated" kit for a themed nail art look. It also looks like you can shop the sets individually without having to sign up for the monthly subscription. It is such a neat concept. There is such a wide range of kits for all different styles.

 The set featured here is "The Great Glitzy" in Silver, also comes in gold. This set is all about flash, bling, sparkle and extravagance. The featured polish is by Floss Gloss Dimepiece (lololol). The kit also includes a baggie of gems  and other apliques, as well as a small jar of huge Silver prismatic loose glitter. For this look I chose to play with the gems instead of the hexes. 

 I started with a sheer pink base using O.P.I Be Magentale because I wanted to do an exaggerated sparkling "french gradient". And also because my nails are hella stained and naked just would not have looked good. Using a piece of cosmetic wedge I dabbed on Floss Gloss Dimepiece just on the tips of my nails. This polish is SOOO sparkly and pretty and DENSE, it is a great thing. The particles are all holographic and on the smaller side, it twinkles a lot. 

  I worked on each nail individually since I was suing nail glue to apply the stones. There was absolutely no rhyme or reason behind the application of the decorations. I wanted it to look like I covered my nails in glue and dipped them in a vat of sparkling stuff. I think I definitely achieved my goal. I used O.P.I nail glue to keep the stones on my nails. I top coated with KBShimmer Clearly on Top. I am happy to report that I wore these for about Four days and didn't lose a single stone. 

 The Great Glitzy set is available from Nail Art Society for $11.95. It also comes in a Golden version, which is equally awesome. I am in LOOOVE with Floss Gloss polishes and their hipster vibe ;D. The bottles are just adorable. 

 Speaking of hipster... This is what I've been up to lately... When I am happy, sad, tired, sore... I spin. I needed something physical to channel some energy to and hooping became that thing. As you guys know I struggled with my health for a long time... Now things are so much better so I have to work on getting my body back in shape again. Hooping is the best physical activity I've ever picked up. It is so much fun :D. 

 Anyways, yeah.. Painting and spinning <3 guys="" nbsp="" p="" see="" soon="" you="">

KBShimmer Winter 2013 Multichromes Swatches & Video

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Oh Multichromes ♥!! 

 Can KBShimmer make polishes or what?! Seriously, this girl has such immense talent for her craft. Back in winter of 2013 Christy released Seven new multichrome polishes. Three of these are smooth shifters and some have an added flash of holographic sparkle. There is also a Blue based shifting glassfleck. 

 I will warn you now... My skin tone looks awful in all these photos. My ultimate goal with these photos was to capture as much of the shift as possible. I was not concerned with my skin color. All photos were taken in the shade so that the shift would come through a bit stronger in photos.

 But, that said.. I did make this quick video which shows these babies in action. It was the best way I could think of to try and capture as much of the shift as possible. 

 To see close up swatches of these beauties just continue reading. 

Truffle Thursday! Bettina Watermelon- Swatch & Nail Art

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Happy Thursday! 

  And today it is a Truffle kind of Thursday. I'm severely "out of it" as I am trying to type up this post, so I will keep it short and sweet today.Truffle refused to pick a color, so I went with the shade that the husband kept wanting her to pick. He kept telling het to pick the Pink one lol. This look features Bettina Watermelon. 

 This look started with a base of Two coats of Watermelon. Then I did some tri-colored clouds a'la Nailside. For the clouds I used all Bettina shades as well. The Blue is Pond, the Purple is Butterfly and the Teal is Sparkle. I finished the look with a coat of Seche Vite to smooth the surface and bring out shine. 

 Cat-stacking level: nail polish.

Bettina Watermelon

 This shade is a hawt shade of hot Coraly- Pink creme with strong Pink and coral micro shimmer. The formula on this shade is really saturated and creamy. I used Two easy coats for my base.

Oh and here is a quick vid to show how I paint my nails :D.

Thanks for stopping by today my loves! I'm off to work on swatching a ton of Fall collections! 

LTHP FAQ's: Which top coats do I use?

Hi loves!!

 This is a quick post to share an updated version of my Top Coat video. This is probably the most frequently asked question by you guys. About time I made an up-to-date version of this!!

 As always, of you guys have any questions, suggestions etc feel free to leave em in the comments or email me! 

It's my Birthday (and I'll slack if I want to) :D!

LOLOL!

  So! It is indeed my birthday today. I am turning 26. I shall keep things short and sweet today, cuz what the title says lol. I decided to spend my day in Two of my favorite colors EVARRRR! I was having trouble deciding between A England Dragon and A England St. George. Then I had an "Old El Paso Moment" and decided, Why not both? lolol

  I just did basic alternating nails in St.George (Holo Teal) and Dragon(Sage Green/Gold Holo). I also thought it would be nice to update you on the current status of my nubs. They are coming in nicely and the shapes are finally starting to look somewhat even. After I had the break on my Middle nail, my Index went too :(. So once again, I nubbed them all out. I'm glad they are at least pretty even on length now.

 Also, I did some updates on my Let them have Polish You Tube channel last nite! Head on over there to see my makeup stash and storage!

  I can't be too bummed out at my nubs when they look so pretty in these Two amazing polishes. A England shall get me through this growth time haha! I'm off to celebrate my 26th B-Day now!!!! I might take tomorrow off depending on how much fun I have today hahahha!

SOB, Cry and Rage... Oh and Floam!

(*^IYWI@^@)%#!(#_!!

  SO mad :(. I have not had a "bad" nail break since I first went to shorty nails. I think back in 2011 was when I decided to go to shorties. So, I had not experienced a "devastating" nail break for over a year. Yesterday, as I was prepping for a swatchathon, I snagged my middle nail on something and it broke in a bad way. I wanted to cry lolol.. If you have been following my recent shenanigans on You Tube you know that I have A LOT of product that needs to be swatched/ and or nail arted with lol. I SO do not need my nails looking like THIS... I know I LOVE me some nubbies.... But this is TOO nubby for me lolol!

..... Ugh.... So I figured, might as well actually enjoy wearing my Floam. I had only gotten to swatch it once, a long time ago. My bottle is pretty "old" and it had thickened up a little bit, this was not an issue though. I just added a few drops of nail polish thinner and shook it really well. The consistency was fine after I thinned it a bit. I used Three easy, thin coats to get my nail fully covered in Floamy bits. I top coated it with Two coats of Cult Nail Wicked Fast. Even though my nails are SUPER short I am still loving the Floam-y goodness!

  Also! Here is another You Tube vid! This one covers the contents of my Ikea Helmers :D

 I will be posting stashed swatches until my nails grow to an acceptable length :(. I really need to/can't wait get into my swatches and nail art again! I totally want get stuff done and then shiz like this keeps happenin lolol!!! In the meantime I will continue to focus on my FAQ video series and taking my vitamins to make sure my nails grow out fast :D!! 

Etsy Mania!! Swatch Spam Edition

Happy Humpday!! 

  Today I am doing a handmade edition of Swatchy Spamalama! I am keeping things short and sweet today because it is pretty late and I am pretty tired. I spent the day in a cleaning fit lol! So! Today's polishes are all handmade!

ANDDDD Yay!!! I finally have an updated tour of my polish room on You Tube!! Check it!! 

To see closeup shots of the pretty handmade polishes just continue reading!

Fun with @SugarpillMakeup and The Story of LTHP's Origin!

Good morning!! 

  I am so excited about this post because SUGARPILL!!! I've never been one for lemmings when it comes to nail polish. Which is ironic, considering the origin of my blog lol. I.LOVE.POLISH. That is a plain and simple fact. Lately though... I've been loving on some makeup as well. More like obsessing over it. I find myself watching countless hours of tutorials from my favorite gurus and lusting after the beautiful makeup they use. 

  Sugarpill shadows have been my most hardcore lemming EVER. I've lusted after Sugarpill shadows longer and harder than I ever have any polish o.O (True story). I practically want everything they produce. Have you seen their matte palettes (what a silly question lololol)? Sooooooon, sooon they shall be mineee!!! But anywho, for Christmas, my husband got me the Zillionaire Chromalust Pigment Trio. Quite frankly I wanted it just for the epicness that is Goldilux. I am SOOO happy that I got the trio because Hysteric has me in hysterics over how beautiful it is and Junebug is all kinds of sexy. I am aware they sell the pigments separately as well but I figured they would be like potato chips... Can't get just one. I was right. The husband did fantastic this Christmas!! 

 Last night I shot a quick vid on the origins of my blog. This is one of the questions I get asked most often so I thought it would be fun to share my story with my awesome readers. I'm really excited to finally be doing these videos and answering questions and such. I also have some tutorials planned!! Soon, soonn!!

To see close-up pics of my makeup look just keep on reading after the jump.

Random Sunday Spam and an Update on YouTube!

Spam! 

  It's what's for breakfast!

To see some spamalama just continue reading ♥.

 Also here is a quick You Tube update!!

Muffin Monday!! Bettina #138

Hello!!

  Happy late Muffin Monday!! For today I just have a simple swatch of Muffin's pick. I've been really down and struggling with some new meds that knock me out most of the day. I hope to get used to them soon so I can get back in the swing of things.

#138 is a pretty Salmon Pink creme with a subtle hidden Silver shimmer. This color has the most amazing buttery smooth formula and is so flattering. For this mani I did Two coats of color.

And here is Miss Muffin making her very quick pick lol!

Sorry for the very late and plain post :(. Stupid pills ...

♥ Cristina

Bettina Jeans Over Dyed - Acid Wash Denim Nail Art Tutorial

Hi loves!!

  Today I have a neat little look featuring some Bettina Blues and a stamp I've never used before. This look also features some sponging but for this look I did something a little more random and different, sponging all over the nail instead of just the tip to create a distressed denim look of sorts.

So, for this look I started with a base of Bettina's Over Dyed. I then sponged with a mix of Bettina's Vintage Jean and  Sand Blast, all colors from their Jeans Collection. For the stamp I used Konad Plate M9 and Konad Special White Polish.

Here is a swatch of Over Dyed. This is much darker in person and really pretty. This is what I like to call Cadet Blue, I guess. It's a hard shade to describe because it's Blue but not just Blue. Two coats.

Sooo flippin' shiny!

And of course [HERE] is a tutorial to go along with this look. It's is fairly simple but I thought I'd share :).

See you guys tomorrow!

♥ Cristina

Pink Wednesday!! China Glaze Strawberry Fields Golden Gradient and a Sponging Tutorial

Hi loves and happy Pink Wednesday!

  For today I decided to revisit one of my very favorite Pinks. For some reason I've only worn it once before and that's a shame because Strawberry Fields is just soo pretty and classic! I think just about everyone is familiar with this color because it's just so special and China Glaze at it's shimmery best!

  So for this simple look I started with Two coats of Strawberry Fields and then I sponged the tips with China Glaze's Midnight Kiss. I really love how the Golden sparkle in Midnight Kiss blends into the sparkle in Strawberry Fields. I love how simple this look is but it really makes a statement.

And here is Strawberry Fields on her own. Do I need to say much or should I just let the pics do the talking?

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

And [HERE] is a tutorial on how I did this look. Also!! I got a new camera to be able to do proper tutorials soon!! 

Happy Pink Wednesday and thanks for stopping by!

♥ Cristina

Muffin Monday!! Sinful Colors See you Soon

Hiiii!!! Eeeeeeeee

   I am back! I'm sorry for the being kinda absent this past week but things were a little too hectic and I just needed a minute to catch up and take care of some things "in my real life". Many of you guys know my health has not been great and that's mainly been the cause of my erratic posting lately and the lack of inspiration. I am soo happy to be back though and I hope to continue feeling better. Over the weekend I filmed a tutorial I promised you guys last week on one of my sponging techniques and I will be sharing that with you guys later this week. I'm getting excited about filming more tutorials for you guys and I even found a kickass cam that will work with my Mac, so Yay for that!!

  Shall me go onto Muffin's pick for the week?

So for this simple look I started with Two coats of Sinful Colors See you Soon. I then I wanted to add a subtle design and I was inspired by a mani I saw on the lovely Polish Vixen Marissa's blog. She basically used one of the Bundle Monster French tip designs but flipped it on it's side. I really liked the look it created and it gave me a way to use these stamps because I absolutely suck at using the French tip stamps correctly. For this particular design I used Petites Twilight as my stamping color and BM plate 218.

Here is a swatch of See you Soon. This is an amazing Blackened Denim Blue shimmer. The formula on this color is a little tricky and draggy but with a patient hand and a light touch it becomes fully opaque in two coats. This is also a dupe of Nicole by O.PI's Too Rich for You from the Gossip Girl Collection.

And of course!! Here is a vid of Muffin making her pick!

 And once again I am really loving how the sparkle shows up in this pic. This color really comes to life in Sunlight too. It's soo pretty and sophisticated.

I am so happy to be back!!!! I will be coming back a little later to post the Giveaway winners!!! I'm very excited about that as well!!! Good luck to everyone who entered!!!!

♥ Cristina

LTHP FAQ's: All About Top Coats Video

Hi loves!!

  For today I have a video I made about my favorite top coats. My lazy bum didn't feel like typing all of this out so please enjoy my ramblings about awesome top coats :)!

Don't mind my silly face lool!! I will be back for Muffin Monday and I will also announce the GIVEAWAY winners on Monday :)!

<3<3<3

♥ Cristina!

Muffin Monday Video!!

Hi loves!!

  By popular request... Here is a video of Muffin making her pick for the day. I swear it is not normally this easy lol. But it should be fun to show you guys this process every week :). This particular pick she made very easily and I can see why.. I mean even Muffin know an awesome color when she sees it...

Stay tuned later on for my look featuring Cult Nails Let me Fly. I will try to have a tutorial to go along with the look as well. I went to look at cameras this weekend but I really want to keep practicing with iMovie so I hope you guys don't mind the crappy video quality for a little bit. Practice makes perfect right? ;)

I hope to see you guys later :)!

♥ Cristina

Chip Skip Experiment part Deux, Trois and Quatre

Hello Darlings,

  Here is the final three days of my experiment with the "Chip Skip" by O.P.I. This stuff is really great. I'm glad I decided to try it, the results were what I expected. Long lasting, flawless looking nails for for longer time? Yes please!!

Whatch what happened below:


Thanks for reading and as always Much Love
<3 Cristina