Happy Birthday, Leviosa Lacquer!

It's official! As of January 2nd, my blog is one year old. Last year on New Year's Eve I made a commitment to start this blog and post weekly for a whole year, and I am proud to have stuck to that commitment.

This blog didn't get as big as I hoped it would in one year, but it also got much bigger than I thought it would. While the number of readers I receive is typically low, I am constantly blown away by the steady audience I have all over the world. My blog is based in the United States, but I have loyal readers in China, Germany, Thailand, Poland, Ireland, and much, much more. It's hard to fathom that my website gets that much global reach. 

For this next upcoming year, I have some goals and changes that I would like to see happen. I would love to host my first giveaway. Also, after my January edition, I will be doing away with my Color of the Month feature. It did not pull as many views as I would have liked, and honestly the thought of coming up with 12 new birthstone themed manicures makes me want to scratch my eyes out ;P

I'd really like to get more feedback from YOU! I'd like a more interactive blog experience, so I'm going to try to post more questions for you guys to answer in the comments. So, to kick that off, what would you like to see more of on here in 2015? What would you like to see less of? As of now, the only way I can gauge what people like is by view count. I'd really love some more insight on what I can do better to make this more entertaining/informative. 

Finally, I made a little collage of my favorite 12 manicures of 2014. Are there any that you particularly loved that I didn't include? 

Thank you all for your continued support, and don't forget to comment below if you have any suggestions! 

Color of the Month: Peridot

Quick blog post today! The birthstone for August babies is peridot, which is said to "host magical powers and healing properties to protect against nightmares and to bring the wearer power, influence, and a wonderful year", according to American Gem Society. 

I also found it interesting that most of the world's supply of peridot is found right here in our own country, specifically in Arizona. Cool!

To capture that perfect peridot green, I used Zoya in "Tilda" as my base color. Then I created the lightning bolts using Nail Vinyls and Zoya's "Stassi". 

Happy birthday to all you August babies this month!

Kisses and Candy Mani and Nail Vinyls Review!

Happy Valentine's Day! Normally, I like to write new blog posts on Monday, but by then nobody will care about my themed nails. So I figured I would post a little earlier this week. 

Zoya lovin'

I'm a big 'ol romantic softie. I love V-Day, and to be honest, I don't understand why some people get so butthurt and defensive about it. It's gotten to the point where people who are celebrating valentine's day borderline have to apologize for it. Hey, listen: If you don't want couples to use a commercial Hallmark holiday to showcase their love for each other, why do YOU use it to go out of your way to shit all over the holiday? Although, I am in no way encouraging you to be a cynical grinch all the time. 

The bottom line is, whether you have a significant other or not, Valentine's Day is a great day to take the time in our busy SnapChat, Insta, Need-It-Now life to tell someone you care about that you appreciate them. Have a best friend? Go grab dinner together. Get your mom a bouquet of flowers. Go catch a game with your dad. Take your dog for a walk to get some heart shaped donuts. Volunteer your time at a retirement home. Literally do anything but sit online and be a big love grouch. 

Anyway, like I said, I love Valentine's Day. So I took the time to do a themed manicure using Nail Vinyls. Linda, the inventor of Nail Vinyls, made these ingenious little guys to make nail art a hell of a lot easier for just about anyone. So what are Nail Vinyls? They are sheets of vinyl cut into different shapes (chevrons, half moons, zebra pattern, French tips, etc) that you place on your nail, paint over, and then remove to create the desired effect. This is basically like a way better and easier version of a tape manicure. The vinyls are re-stickable, and leave no residue on the nail, unlike regular tape. Here's how they work:

Step 1: Paint a base color on your nails. Let it dry completely. 

Step 2: Apply Nail Vinyls, making sure that all edges and spaces around your cuticles are sealed (lifted edges = polish bleeding!)

Step 3: Paint over the stencil

Step 4: Carefully remove vinyls while polish is still wet. Clean up. Top coat. You're done!

I did some hand painted candy hearts on my ring finger just for fun. I love the way the whole thing turned out. Also, the heart midi rings I got at Forever 21 are so cute!

 

This past week I also painted my friend Jess's nails. I thought this fun Scrabble themed mani would also be appropriate to post this week...

I practiced those letters so hard. 

So that's it! I hope that no matter what, you had a lovely Valentine's Day. And make sure to check out that Nail Vinyls link I posted above! At $5 and up a sheet, it's a total steal to get artsy nails the easy way. Her IG is @teismom too, and she always posts new designs and sales! 

Color of the Month: Amythyst

There wasn't a lot going on this past week, besides a rowdy night in AC that I'd rather not go into detail about. So I figured that maybe as a monthly addition to the blog I would do a spotlight on that month's gemstone and do a manicure featuring that color. 

For all you Februay babies, this week's manicure is inspired by amethysts. I did a simple purple gradient/ombre manicure with an ombre chevron accent nail. 

For the chevrons I used @teismom's Nail Vinyls, which have become an almost overnight sensation in the nail art community. I'll be doing a full review of her Nail Vinyls in next week's posting, so definitely look out for that!

I also forgot to take a picture of the polishes I used, but if any of you are truly curious feel free to ask in the comments. 

Pretty reminiscent of my salon wall, right?

I really loved this manicure. Simple, with just the right splash of fun. 

Next week will be much more exciting, with a write up on my Valentine's Day themed nails that I'll be doing later in the week, as well as a feature of a girlfriend's Scrabble nails that I did for her and the Nail Vinyl review. Lots of exciting things! 

All I Wanna Get is a Little Bit Closer...

Hey everybody! So today my final two Amazon orders from Christmas came in the mail, so I obviously had to try them both out right away. The first was a macro lens for my iPhone. The second was a pack of four nail stud wheels from Wistonia. 

First, let me go into some depth about this macro lens. I did a lot of research on lenses before I decided on this one, called the Easy-Macro. 

The premise is pretty simple, and actually kind of brilliant. Take a mini magnifying glass, slap it on a rubber band, and vóila! Instant macro lens. There are a few benefits to this rubber band style lens... 

One is that it can stretch to fit any model and size of cell phone or camera, with or without a case, so you don't have to pop your case on and off every time you want to snap a super detailed photo.

Another benefit is that the card it comes on also doubles as storage for the lens. Just stretch it back around the card and pop it in your pocket, wallet, wherever. Convenient, right? 

Lastly, this little gem only cost me $15. 

There are a ton of macro lenses for iPhones/Androids on the market ranging anywhere from $3 to $70 or more, but this had fantastic reviews, and the price was right. So far, it works great for what I'm using it for. 

Right about now you may be wondering why anyone would want/need a macro lens to begin with. The simple answer is this: incredible detail. Exhibit A:

I know, right? 

Here's a few other photos I snapped today while testing it out:

My new betta fish, Luna

My engagement ring

A close up of Zoya's "Dream" from last week's manicure

The downside is also the incredible detail.  It means that any jagged cuticle, any missed spot of clean up, any little ding in the lacquer, is now in the spotlight 👀 I guess that just means I have to get better at what I do! 

Now for the part you likely came here for: this week's manicure.

 As I previously stated, I got a ton of nail studs in the mail today so I figured I would play around with them. I also realized that crazy hand painted nail designs are not everybody's bag, so this simplistic mani is for you traditionalists out there who enjoy cleaner desins (and, let's be honest, I didn't want my hand-painting scrutinized under that macro lens yet!).

 For this manicure, I used China Glaze's "For Audrey" topped with "Fairy Dust" by the same brand. I then took those pretty little silver almond studs and placed them at the base of the nail. A little top coat, a little clean up, and BOOM! Super chic design that still has tons of sparkle and flair to it. 

 

What do you folks prefer? Simple, clean manicures, or crazy detailed works of art?

Don't forget to follow me on Instagram (astoldbyadri) and Twitter (@astoldbyadri)!

My Nails Can Predict the Weather...

...It's like I have a 5th sense.

So last night I decided to attempt my first ever snowflake nails, which is funny because tonight there's supposed to be this huge "snow storm". I use that term loosely, since, living in Buffalo for the first half of my life, I wouldn't call 3-6 inches a cause for a state of emergency, but I have a long weekend now, so I'm not complaining!

 Anyway, the snowflake design is something I've been wanting to try for about a year, but last year I got so caught up in Christmas nail art I never got the chance. I recently went to Ulta and purchased Zoya's "Dream", and I knew that it would be the perfect base color for the snowflakes. The shade just screams winter evening.

Side note: Zoya is quickly becoming my favorite commercial nail polish brand. Let me drop some knowledge bombs on you and explain why. First, their products are vegan friendly and 5-free (meaning they are free of the 5 harshest chemicals normally used to make nail polish). Secondly, their polishes are amazing quality. Out of the brands I own, Zoya always goes on smooth and lasts the longest, even when my hands take a beating. Finally, their customer service and loyalty to their customers is AWESOME.

For instance, if you follow @zoyanailpolish on twitter, every Tuesday they host a game they call "Tune Tuesday". They ask a question about a song, usually using the lyrics as a clue, and the answer is the name of a Zoya polish (ex. "This Zoya Polish is a show girl with yellow feathers in her hair" answer: Lola). If you guess correctly, you have the chance to be one of 3 winners per round (there are usually 4 rounds a day). For your prize you get the polish from that round as well as one of your choice, FREE! Plus, they have incredible promotions, especially during their flash promos around the holidays. I honestly cannot speak highly enough of this company. BUT I DIGRESS.

Here is "Dream" on it's own:

Still waiting on my macro lens to ship, so hang in there for more detailed photos. 

After using 2 coats of Dream, I used Kiss silver striper and OPI in "Alpine Snow" and my Wistonia nail art brushes to paint on some snowflakes. 

L to R: Zoya "Dream", Kiss Silver Striper, OPI "Alpine Snow"

Finally, I placed some clear rhinestones at the center of each snowflake for a little extra sparkle. You'll soon learn that I have a very hard time doing a manicure with no glitter or sparkle. 

Here is the end result!

It was a tedious process but I like the result! I only did my left hand (or as I like to call it, my "photo hand") last night, so tomorrow I'm going to use my day off to jazz up my right hand and wear this manicure for a while. 

I hope everybody who has snow coming their way stays safe out there and enjoys their day off of school/work!