Jessica Fall Collection- a quick preview!

Enlarge this photo, it's worth it!

Wow!! I checked my mail a couple of days ago and was excited to find an unexpected box from Jessica Cosmetics. I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but I absolutely ADORE Jessica polishes. The range of colors is fabulous and the quality is unbeatable. I couldn't wait to tear into this box and see what was there!

I wasn't disappointed. In the box was a set of 12 polishes that included the Fall 2013 collection and the Jessica Effects- Glitzy collection. That's right, it was a collection of glitter polishes that made my eyes almost pop out!

Oh yea, that's a LOT of testing!!

I was so excited that I had to experiment immediately. I pulled out my favorite notebook and began swatching on paper, and I was absolutely in LOVE!! (This page also includes the swatches from the latest Zoya collections. Expect a post on that soon as well!)

Seeing all of these colors together just made my afternoon, and I fell in love with two of the polishes. Usually when I get a collection, I let it sit for a while to come up with ideas that work with the colors. But not this time...

No, this time I couldn't wait to tear into this set and start wearing them. I started with two coats of Jessica Overture, a rich coppery, sparkling orange. I topped that off with a coat of Jessica Sizzle, an absolutely amazingly beautiful red glitter. The glitter in Sizzle comes in three sizes- a moderately large hex, a smaller hex, and then tiny pieces that are still larger than the microglitter in a lot of polishes.

These colors go so well together! I wasn't sure if red glitter over orange/copper polish would work, but ZOMG it SO DOES!! This is one of those manicures that just keeps me looking at my nails, loving how the light plays across them.

Of course, all this sparkle and shimmer made these nails almost impossible to photograph. I'll try to get some better ones tomorrow, but I'm not promising anything.

I've got the nails painted, so hopefully I can get the review of all the polishes up soon. I was just so happy that I had to share this! Hope you like it too.

Til next time!

Polishes were provided by the brand for consideration.

See my disclosure statement for more information.

One Last Halloween Nail Design

I know this is last minute, but I love this design so much I had to share it. I wanted to do sort of a take on candy corn but with a twist. This bright beauty is what I came up with, and I am absolutely in love with it!

This one isn't difficult to do, but it is fiddly. First I painted the nail with pink, orange, and yellow. I went with vibrant, almost neon colors because I wanted a strong, graphic look to them. I also didn't worry about a neat line, since I wanted that sort of candy corn feel to it.

Once that layer was dry, I very precisely laid out stripes using three pieces of striping tape next to each other, then skipping around that much space and adding another three pieces side-by-side. This gave me much thicker lines than I would have had just using the single pieces of striping tape. However, you could use whatever size tape you like.

I then painted the entire nail with a black creme polish. I pulled the tape pieces off while the polish was still wet, being careful not to smear the still-wet black. I let this dry for several minutes before adding a coat of quick-dry topcoat. That sealed the colors together and let them look glassy and seamless.

Can I just say how much this design makes me smile?? Seriously, I want to do all my nails like this! The bright colors look all the more bright next to the black, and I think thinner lines of color contrasted with thicker lines of black could be a fun spin on this idea. Clearly, I have some experimenting to do!

Speaking of, I may have some nail sets up for sale soon, so if you're looking for some sparkly nails for the holidays I just might be able to help you out! Keep an eye on this space... :D

Some polishes were provided by the brand for consideration.

See my disclosure statement for more information.