Le Lacquer Hook Up Turns 3!

Le Lacquer Hook Up turns 3 today!

I am both surprised and happy that my blog has lasted so long. Even though it didn't grow much this year, I treasure the fact that I'm able to make LLHU into something that I enjoy. I love that I'm not met with the unrealistic demands and pressures that big blogs face.

I have a few things for LLHU next year in mind. However, nothing is promised yet. I will most likely be taking the next huge step in my life (provided that I don't suddenly decide to minor in something). It's going to be an enormous change, one that I'm not sure I'm ready for yet. (Then again, how many people are for this kind of change?) I'm not sure what route I'll be taking on this journey, but I'm thinking going with the flow may be my best option right now. (Along with beefing up my resume... Ahem.) Anyway, I definitely plan on swatching more of my collection next year, which has steadied over the past month or so. I'm really glad because I'd really like to play with the polishes I already have.

Goals I have in mind for LLHU for the new year (Can you believe it's already 2015?!) :

1. Do my best to swatch more of my collection.
2. Only buy polishes I really like and will wear more than twice.
3. Don't pressure myself to swatch and review. Remember to take my time and enjoy life.
4. Settle on a nail shape. I'm always changing between rounds and squovals. It's annoying.
5. Turn to painting my nails (and playing with my precious cat baby) when I need to destress or distract myself from what life throws my way. Because we all need something to do as therapy.

That's really all, honestly.

I hope to continue this journey with you all! Happy New Year!

See you on the other side of the day!

Michelle

Sinful Colors Ruby Ruby (Revisited) + KBShimmer Kringle All the Way

Self-purchased

Sinful Colors Ruby Ruby (index and pinky fingers) is a lively cherry red jelly. Even though it was a one-coater on my short nails, I used 2 coats to deepen the color. The formula was just as amazing as I remembered. It was extremely pigmented and a breeze to apply. No cleanup necessary! It dried shiny, but I still used top coat.  Ruby Ruby is a solid red polish that I definitely recommend. You can do jelly sandiwches with it too!

KBShimmer Kringle All the Way (middle and ring fingers) is a jolly mix of silver holo shimmer, red and green metallic dots, and silver holo dots in a clear base. I dabbed 1 coat onto my bare nails so I could properly show this wonderful Christmas glitter mix. (I overdabbed on my fingers on my left hand though... But is there such a thing as too much glitter?) This polish has me in the holiday spirit! :D I placed the bottle upside-down for a while before I painted my nails. Just as I thought, there was too much clear base so I had to dab on and maneuver the glitters to evenly distribute them. The large green dots were harder to get out than the red and silver ones. Despite the tricky application, I still love this polish! In the future, I'll use a makeup sponge to soak up the excess clear base and then dab the glitter onto my nails. It dried a bit bumpy because of the large dot glitters so I used top coat to smooth it out.

Kringle All the Way was KBShimmer's 2013 Toys for Tots polish and is now back again for a limited run! Definitely get it while you still can! ;)

Thanks for looking! See you on the other side of the day!

Michelle

Les Nail Smiths: December 2014 - Kaleidoscope/Leadlighting

Apologies for the late Les Nail Smiths post! While Millie has already graduated (with a B.S. in Chemistry no less!), I am still in college (currently a senior - the final stretch!) so I had to focus on finals before my winter break. Now, I am back and blogging! I realized how much I missed painting my nails as it's extremely therapeutic to me.

I have always wanted to do leadlighting ever since I found out about this interesting technique. Leadlighting is when you stamp an image using black (usually) onto a white base, filling in the image with jelly polishes. You can also make your own tinted polishes using clear polish and a few drops of colored polishes! :D

First, I applied a white base and then used black to stamp an image from Moyou Kaleidoscope Plate 05 (which is actually better for those with long/big nails). I'm still a stamping novice so please be kind to me about the terrible image placement. :P I'm doing my best and slowly improving! :) Coincidentally, Millie also used a plate from the same Moyou Kaleidoscope collection! I guess great minds think alike, huh? ;) Anyway, after the stamping was dry, I randomly splotched on the OPI Sheer Tints, making sure that the colors overlapped each other so I could create gradients. The sheer tints were thick and stringy and the brushes were TINY. I had a difficult time using them, but I got the effect I wanted so I guess it's fine. Feeling unsure of the mani because it didn't turn out as I imagined it, I topped it off with China Glaze Fairy Dust. It seriously makes everything magical!

Thanks for looking! See you on the other side of the day!

Michelle