Nail Art: FingerFood's Theme Buffet #17 - Something New

So, it looks as though I might actually have this week's contribution to FingerFood's Theme Buffet done a little earlier than usual! No last minute flailing about to try to get things in before the InLinkz expires.

The funny thing is that when I started doing this manicure, I hadn't actually intened it to be for the Theme Buffet...Yet somehow it just happened to fit all of the criteria for this week - Something New! New polish, new stamping plate, new nail accessories/accents, first time using said acccents.... Somehow the pieces all fell in place.

Swatches and Reviews: Indigo Bananas - With a Spoon in It

As I've come to be more and more immersed in the world of nail polish, there are a few indie brands that have stood out. One of those which I've heard only amazing things about is Indigo Bananas. Amazing holos, multichromes and glitters,  wonderful formulas and - truly - an artisan among indie nail polish crafters.

Today I received my first Indigo Bananas polishes and figured I might as well throw it on and take photos for the Monday Indie Spotlight.  Of the five polishes that I bought, this is the one that called out for me to try - With a Spoon in It

Nail Art: FingerFood's Theme Buffet #16 - Gothic

When all of the members of the Theme Buffet were throwing around ideas on the Facebook group for the upcoming months, I was excited to see Sarah of Penny Pinching Polish suggest a gothic theme. I had a whole bunch of ideas that I would have loved to try out.

And here I am, two hours before this week's deadline, trying to throw together a mani really quick - one which was none of the things I really had in mind. This was one of the weeks I was most looking forward too...and of course it would turn out to be the one where I had little to no free time.

Reviews and Swatches: Enchanted Polish - March 2014

Wow, it's been a crazy busy week thusfar. I started a new job on Tuesday, which  meant that my whole posting schedule got out of whack. I'm going to be using this weekend to write up some posts so you don't have to deal with the unplanned breaks from here on in.

Today I'm bringing you what was originially meant to be my Monday Indie Spotlight polish. This amazingly gorgeous polish is from Enchanted Polish, and is the March 2014 addition to the company's monthly mystery polish releass.

Nail Art: FingerFood's Theme Buffet #15 - Fishtail

The prompt for this week's Theme Buffet was "fishtail," and I have to admit that I was a bit apprehensive when I first saw the theme. If you're not aware, "fishtail" refers to the technique/design that creates a braid-like effect on the nail. (well, I guess you could have gone with LITERAL fish tails, too, as some clever people did!)

This was my first time trying to do the fishtail braid technique,  and overall, I suppose it didn't come out that bad! Read more to see how I put this look together.

Reviews and Swatches: Butter London - Cuppa

I just can't bring myself to remove the nail art currently on my fingers to swatch a new Budget Friendly polish, so I'm reaching into my pile of swatched-but-not-yet-posted nail polish photos to bring you today's post.

I used this polish as the base for my apple manicure last week, and it's a beauty of a neutral and surprised me with how easy it went on and how good it looked. So, for today's swatch, let's take a look at Cuppa, a creamy pale beige/tan from Butter London.

Nail Art: Enchanted Polish Green and Blue Feathers

Have you ever gotten a nail polish and immediately thought, "I HAVE to do something with this polish as soon as possible"? Well, the moment I got my new polishes from Enchanted Polish last week, I KNEW I had to put one or both of them to good use in a new manicure.

In the end, it was the insane holographic effect that March 2014 puts off that made me chose that polish. I've been wanting to use this feather-patterned stamp for ages. Put the two together, and this is what you get!

Guest Post: Laura Reviews Ipsy Glam Bag - April 2014

Note from Amanda: Periodically, I'm going to be sharing guest posts from my good friend Laura on this blog. She's an amazing person, and will be bringing you reviews on subscription boxes like Julep and Ipsy. I hope you enjoy her first review!

Ok, so today you are stuck with me for a guest post. I'm Laura, Manda's good friend. I hail from New Zealand but am currently living as the token foreigner in small town Ohio. Beauty subscription boxes are pretty much the best thing about living in the USA.

Today was pretty much the most exciting morning of my life. Bar the whole getting married and finding out I'm pregnant days, but those don't really count. After being on the waitlist for 3 months, I finally received my first Ipsy glam bag.

Reviews and Swatches: Love, Angeline - Quick Change

After a two week hiatus, the Monday Indie Spotlight is back! Each week, I take a look at a different indie nail polish, swatch and review it.

This week, I'm taking a look at Quick Change, a grey crelly from Love, Angeline.

This is the third Love, Angeline nail polish that I've reviewed (the other two being Strawberry Fields  and Card Trick) and as much as I love the brand, I wish I could have loved this particular polish.

Nail Art: Speckled Green, Black and White Chevrons

This past week, after I swatched Julep - Felicia for review, I fell in love with this speckled green nail polish and didn't want to take it off.

But I was torn! I had some free time....would I pass up an opportunity to create nail art? But I didn't want to remove this polish!

What I came up with was a way to use the polish by incorporating my already-painted nails into a chevron manicure.

Nail Art: FingerFood's Theme Buffet #14 - Delicious - Apples

The theme for this week's FingerFood's Theme Buffet was "Delicious,"  and I was stuck all week on what I should do. The problem really wasn't a lack of ideas.... but too many! There's so many ways you can fulfill the "delicious" theme. I had started off thinking I might do a coffee-inspired theme....but the beautiful, warm weather here inspired me to do something a bit more "fresh" feeling.

I hope you enjoy the crisp and refreshing look of this apple-themed manicure!

Swatches and Reviews: Pure Ice - Wild Thing

Last week, I reviewed Pure Ice - Excuse Me for my Budget-Friendly feature and was pretty disappointed with the polish. This time, Budget-Friendly Polishes returns to its normal Friday schedule, and I'm going to give Pure Ice another try.

Just as last week, this nail polish was a gift from my mom (though why she chose this one for herself, I have no idea). This time, though, the polish is definitely a bit more to my liking - a bright green creme called "Wild Thing."

Reviews and Swatches: Julep - Felicia

Everywhere you look this season, you see speckled nail polishes. I think this trend started with offerings from  Illamasqua and Deborah Lippmann, but it's spread beyond and into every little nook of the nail polish world.

Julep seems to be the latest to jump on this bandwagon. While it WOULD be nice to see an original polish from them, I just can't hate on such a pretty nail polish

Nail Art: Tri Polish Tuesday - Pastel Mosaic / Lattice (Pink, Yellow, Blue)

Look at this! It's two weeks in a row that I'm actually posting my Tri Polish Tuesday nail art actually on a Tuesday! (Well, it's just BARELY Tuesday, here. I really need to get ahead of these posts and try to schedule them for earlier in the day)

This is the second pink, yellow and blue look of the month, and I obviously went with a much softer look than I did last week. The nail art design that I came up with this week is a sort of pastel mosaic/lattice design (complete with bonus fuzz in the paint on my ring finger)

Swatches and Reviews: Pure Ice - Excuse Me

I know it seems like a lot of my reviews tend to rave and praise the nail polishes that I'm trying out. But, as I try to provide my open and unbiased opinion when reviewing products, I occasionally come across some things that I genuinely don't care for.

The subject of today's (belated)  Budget Friendly Polish feature is Excuse Me from Pure Ice. This is a bright yellow frosty nail polish that I honestly wish I could have liked more than I did.

Nail Art: FingerFood's Theme Buffet #13 - Monochrome - Deep Blue Sea

So, March ended and we reached the end of our first set of Theme Buffet themes. The group put together a new list of themes to last us through the end of June, and the first of those themes begins today!

There was actually a bit of a mixup and we wound up with TWO themes - Monochrome and Mother's Day (apparently it's Mother's Day earlier in the UK. Never knew that!). Since Mother's Day here in the US isn't until May, I decided to go with the monochrome theme.

Reviews and Swatches: Nfu-Oh - 51 (Flakie)

Oh, this polish. This beautiful, beautiful darling of a polish. I believe this may have been my very first lemming. I keep staring into the lacquer on my nails and feel like I'm downing in this beautiful opal-flecked abyss.

Creme polishes may be my favorites to use on an everyday basis, particularly for nail art, but flakies are like that decadent treat that I allow myself to have once in a while.

Let me introduce you to this beautiful flakie polish: Nfu-Oh's flakie #51

Nail Art: Tri Polish Tuesday - Bold Stripes (Pink, Yellow, Blue)

Well, it's April 1st. April Fools Day. I would warn all of you to take anything you read or see online today with a grain of salt.  You never know who might be making a fool of you!

It's a new month, though, which also means there's a new set of colors for the Tri Polish Challenge. The colors for April are Pink, Yellow and Blue. I threw together this simple, bold, striped look that would be easy for anyone to try!