modern nail color: April 2013

Lacquer Lust - A Stroke of Good Luck - Thermal Nail Polish - Swatches & Review

Hello Dear Readers!

Today I want to show you this awesome nail polish. It's called "A Stroke of Good Luck" by Lacquer Lust. The first time I saw swatches of this indie brand line of thermal polishes, I knew I had to have them. Lacquer Lust has created the most beautiful thermal nail polishes I've seen so far...

Thermal, transition or mood nail polishes change color to the temperature of the body. In this case, A Stroke of Good Luck is gold color when warm and turns green when cold. It also has a scattered holographic finish, which adds more to the beauty of this nail polish.

Here in the picture you can see the transition from gold (at the nail bed) to green (on the free edge).

Here is the nail polish when warm...

And green when cold...

Formula-wise, this nail polish was very easy to apply, no streaks whatsoever. And it's pigmented enough to wear with one coat, but in this case, I applied 2 coats which makes the transition effect more visible.

Lacquer Lust nail polishes are available here. In case they are unavailable, Jo restocks regularly.

You can find out about her next restock date or nail polish releases by liking her Facebook here.

*This nail polish was purchased by me. The opinion expressed of this product is solely my own.

What do you think of this nail polish? Have you tried a thermal nail polish?

♥♥Thank you for reading♥♥

Fashionable Professional Nail Artist

Fashionable Professional Nail Artist Images Collection

Amazing!! I'm very picky when it comes to beauty services and I have to say that Mia delivers. She is a true artist and her work is impeccable. Definitely the BEST nail artist I have ever been to! I feel like I could go to her with pretty much any idea or theme and and she could work her magic and make it happen. Gorgeous nails, meticulous execution! i think mia is a really great artist, who understands and executes ideas for nails extremely well. she does have a talent for this craft, and i would blindly recommend her to anyone. with that being said, however, my last appointment made me think that we may have to part ways.

Fashionable Professional Nail Artist Images Collection

i got my usual fake nails, because my natural nails are below even lackluster. when i got my nails done with her before, she was using the gel extensions. they were amazing, sturdy & looked extremely natural. i was more than pleased. however, this time around, she used fake tips with some sort of gel powder. i was worried at first, but i figured she's the professional, not me. again, i walk out of her shop feeling good, and a few days later, i was leaving for hawaii. not much could get me down.

Fashionable Professional Nail Artist Images Collection

i'm one week deep in hawaii, & my nails start to fall off. i wasn't doing anything extreme, and i didn't even make it to the ocean yet; my nails just could not last. i was pretty upset, considering i was in kauai (not a place of nail art) so i couldn't to get them fixed or anything. i remember the extensions lasted a good 2 weeks. sigh again. i'm really bummed out that i still paid the price for the higher quality extensions but still ended up having them fall off not even a week later.

Fashionable Professional Nail Artist Images Collection

Trendy Celebrity Nails 2013 Typical

Trendy Celebrity Nails 2013 Typical Images Collection

Mia is so talented, creative and a sweetheart. You will be guaranteed endless compliments on your nail art. Mia is a testament of doing what you love and it translates to highly satisfied clients. MIA, nail artist extraordinaire!! Ive gone handful of times wanting completely different things every time, and leave smiling with exactly what i wanted. She is a super cool girl with a comfortable and clean salon. I feel so luckly the best nail shop in SF has moved in a few doors down from me!! Thanks MIA!!

Trendy Celebrity Nails 2013 Typical Images Collection

I visited Mia at Sparkle SF back in July and fell in love with her creativity. I loved how Mia can make nails look like masterpieces. I haven't been back due to time constricts but I def will be back soon. Mia is god's gift to the soma/mission tech nerd who works 12 hour days with no time to cut out early for a polish or tan. With appointments at 7 pm, I barely felt bad leaving the office at 6:55 to get there on time. She even got me to go sparkly. She's like a magician with gels and glitter. And she makes a mean vodka lemonade! Very reasonable prices and fixed a small problem quickly and free of charge. She's a delight and so is her art!

Trendy Celebrity Nails 2013 Typical Images Collection

Mia is super creative and meticulous with her designs, plus reasonably priced! She can handle any crazy requests, or offer up great suggestions if you don't know what you want. (Today I have a great combo of glitter, polka dots and silver studs.) She has an impressive array of polish and gel colours. And make sure to follow here on Instagram to see all of her latest creations. Going to Sparkle San Francisco has stepped my nail game up light years! As a mama of 3 my past mani/pedis have lasted about 24 hours before falling apart but Mia knows how to give me nail art that stays looking good for weeks! Her creativity and talent make for unique, one of a kind designs that you can be sure no one will have! When ever I am rocking a Sparkle San Francisco manicure, I get tons of compliments. Mia is a true artist in the nail game and this salon is definitely not your average neighborhood shop.

Trendy Celebrity Nails 2013 Typical Images Collection

OPI Venus Di Violet - Swatches and Review

Hello dear readers!

I want to show you a few swatches of OPI Venus Di violet. This nail polish was part of the Italian Collection and then re-released as part of the OPI Colorcopia Collection.

Venus Di Violet is a nail polish that I got from a blog sale.

(Click here for a post about this haul)

As you can see, it is a light pink color with pearl finish. It has a subtle violet duo chrome shimmer.

For the swatches, I used 2 coats for opacity. In the picture it shows a bit of streaks, but not in person. The formula is sheer, 2-3 coats are necessary for opacity.

As far as I know, this color has been discontinued by OPI, but is still easy to find online.

I used this nail color as the base for my Bunny & Cherry Blossom nails.

(Click here to access the post about this nail art)

Would you wear Venus Di Violet by itself or would you add some nail art as well?

If so, which type of nail art would you do?

♥♥Thank you so much for reading♥♥

Update + Franken Fail

I am suchhhh a terrible blogger for not posting as regularly as I wished. The past two weeks have been crazy for me. My cousin fell quite ill and was warded for a few days. Then, my sister went for an operation because she tore her ACL and meniscus in her knee. Thankfully, they are both discharged from the hospital now and are recovering at home.

Just when I thought I could do some swatching over the weekend, it had to rain so I had to ditch my plan :(

Instead, I spent some time rushing out the orders that have been placed so far. I've shipped out more than half of the orders (check your email for shipping notification!) and plan to ship the rest of the orders out this week. Please accept my sincerest apologies for the terrible delay. ><

As I was filling up the orders, I had a sudden urge to try duping Butter London's Two Fingered Salute and this is what I've got:

Clearly I am a long way off. The color is not exactly right and the flecks are definitely not as copper as I would like. Oh wells. I wish I could get my hands on some TFS naoooooooooo!! *sad panda*

What about you? Are you the lucky owner of BL's Two Fingered Salute?

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Celebrity Nail Artist in Style

Celebrity Nail Artist in Style Images Collection

My daughter and I came for the first before taking off to Mexico. Mia's talent is amazing. She's professional, very clean, and creative like no other. It's only a matter of time before some superstar is going to snatch her up to their nails full time! And to top it off she's a real SF native! My go to for tricked out nails. Mia doesn't do my nails but Shakira does! Woowzers!! Between the atmosphere and they work those ladies do I am sold on gel only at Sparkle.

Celebrity Nail Artist in Style Images Collection

Absolutely love this nail salon! Her place is cute, clean, and she does amazing work! It's literally art on your nails. I cannot recommend Mia enough. I'm loving my new nails and have received several complements. If you're able to get an appointment - you won't be disappointed. Sweet, talented & beautiful woman doing what she loves and tallying up the very satisfied clients! So glad the gals at Pretty Parlor referred me. Can't wait until my next appt!

Celebrity Nail Artist in Style Images Collection

This is a review I'm afraid to give because once people know how awesome Mia and her nail care are, I'll never get an appointment. I have great nails, but now I get compliments daily on how unique and great they are. Mia created a special design for my trip to New Orleans for Mardi Gras and I got compliments everywhere. She introduced me to the joys of the gel manicure, mine have gone a month with no chips! She's a blast to talk to, the tunes are great, the space is warm and intimate. The prices are fair and I'm now a permanent customer!