Le Lacquer Hook Up Turns 4!: Revlon Plum Seduction + Essie Penny Talk

Self-purchased

Le Lacquer Hook Up turns 4 today! I can't believe how long this journey has been, and how long I've been doing this hobby! Though nowadays I've been destashing to achieve a more "normal"-sized collection, I'm still very much in love with nail polish: the array of colors, finishes, and endless possibilities that only exponentiate with nail decorations, stamping, and acrylic paints! Thank you for joining me on this journey. I hope to continue it as long as I enjoy it.

I've finally updated the blog's design to celebrate! I really like the minimalist/modern theme since it's the sharp, clean look I've been wanting.

Revlon Plum Seduction is a vibrant pinky plum crelly. It looks far pinker in the swatch since it's actually a bit of a deeper purple in real life. It's a very pretty berry shade, and was perfect for the holidays! 2 coats, but it was super close to being a one-coater. The formula was AMAZING. It was super easy to apply, very pigmented, and dried shiny. No top coat. I can say no more, except that I totally recommend this polish!

Essie Penny Talk (accent nail) is a rose gold chrome. 3 coats. Because it was a chrome, it was difficult to apply. I had to make sure not to go over areas more than once and to paint quickly because the paint would curl up and come off once it was partly dried. (Chromes dry fast!) Brush strokes also showed once it dried, though that could be remedied by sponging on the polish to blur the strokes. But the great thing with chromes is that they're wonderful as stamping polishes! I think I'll start using Penny Talk more for stamping, though I think it's still great for the occasional accent nail. With top coat.

Thanks for looking! Happy New Year!

Michelle

Les Nail Smiths: October 2015 - Halloween Fun & November 2015 - Plaid

I found my manicures for LNS October 2015 and November 2015! ^_^ I'm so happy!

October 2015 - Halloween Fun:

This manicure reminded me why I don't free-hand often... Sigh. So much potential in my mind, but a fail on my nails. Well, gold star for trying! :D

Nail polishes used:

OPI Don't Violet Me Down
LA Girl Uninhibited
Sinful Colors Citrine
Sinful Colors Snow Me White
Kiss Black Striper

Please be sure to check out Millie's Halloween Fun nails!

November 2015 - Plaid:

Stamping is fun, but quite the hassle to clean up. (Especially cleaning the plates!) I'm going to make it a New Year's blog resolution to stamp more, though, because I need the practice and it's such easy nail art.

Nail polishes used:

Innisfree #116
Essie Little Brown Dress

Supplies used:

Gold striping tape (Born Pretty Store)
Gold microbeads (Born Pretty Store)
Flat-back pearl (Born Pretty Store)
Brown and clear rhinestones (Born Pretty Store)
Moyou London Hipster Plate Collection 06

Please be sure to check out Millie's plaid nails!

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

Michelle

Les Nail Smiths: December 2015 - Glass Nails

Yes, finally another LNS installment on here! I couldn't post October and November's in time because of midterms and then studying for finals. And when I did, I misplaced the pictures. -_- I shall post them soon! But anyway, for this month's LNS, Millie and I decided to do glass nails. It was a huge trend in South Korea not too long ago, and then slowly trickled down here. Instead of using a mylar sheet to get this look, I used some tape from Hoop Supplies. I will make a separate review post soon (hopefully)!

Polishes used:

Essie Sugar Daddy
Essie Penny Talk (accent nail)

Decals:

Pearls
Gold microbeads
Pearlized in White 1-in Wide

Pro Tips: I recommend using small scissors (such as those for trimming long eyebrow hairs) to cut the pearlized tape into small shapes. Small pieces also conform to the nail better and wear longer. I learned both the hard way...

I really enjoyed wearing this look! The sheer pink added a great minimalist feel and balanced the look out. Additionally, Penny Talk is a beautiful rose gold polish. Please be sure to check out Millie's glass nails as well!

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

Michelle

KBShimmer Snow Much Fun

Self-Purchased

KBShimmer Snow Much Fun is a very pretty light blue jelly that has matte white snowflakes, circles, and hexes, along with holographic aqua hexes and holographic microglitter. 3 coats. The formula was thin and a bit runny. The snowflakes were hard to get out so I had to set the bottle upside-down. It dried a bit bumpy because the snowflakes wouldn't bend to match the curve of my nails so I used top coat to try to smooth it out.

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

Michelle

Neverland Lacquers Dreaming of a Pink Christmas + Oh My Christmas

Self-purchased

I admit, these are long overdue swatches. I was procrastinating on posting these because they're no longer available and Neverland Lacquers no longer makes polishes, but I think the world still deserves to see these beauties!

Dreaming of a Pink Christmas

Dreaming of a Pink Christmas is a darling mix of pink-gold shimmer and iridescent square, holo and matte hex, dot, and snowflake glitters in pink, silver, and white in a white crelly base. It's BRIMMING with shimmer, which makes me so so happy! :) I used 3 coats. The formula was good and easy to apply, though I found it easier to dab on the snowflakes and medium-sized hexes and dots. I set the bottle upside-down before swatching, which made application easy since I didn't have to fish for the snowflakes. It dried bumpy so I used top coat to smooth it out.

Dreaming of a Pink Christmas was released under Neverland Lacquers' former name, Pop Culture Cosmetics.

Oh My Christmas

Oh My Christmas has star, snowflake, bell, snowmen, pine tree, candy cane, dot, and hex glitters in red, green, white, gold, and silver metallic and holo glitters in a clear base. Talk about a jolly ole glitterbomb! 8D I used 1 coat over Maybelline Walk in the Park. The formula was good and really jam-packed with glitter. I found it easiest to lay down a coat of the small glitters and then use a wooden stick to pick off the large glitters from the brush and place them onto the nail. While I was able to get a majority of the large glitters, the snowmen glitter proved elusive. :( It dried bumpy and some of the large glitters wouldn't lay flatly so I used a top coat to smooth everything out.

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

Michelle

Nails Inc. Porchester Square

Self-purchased

Nails Inc. Porchester Square is a pink-toned taupe creme. You can see the shades of beige, lilac, and grey that come together to create this particular taupe in certain lighting. 2 coats. The formula was superb - very creamy and easy to apply. With top coat, although it was shiny on its own.

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

Michelle

Essie Delicacy

Gift

Essie Delicacy is a sheer, yellow-toned peach with very subtle blue or pale lilac shimmer. I didn't expect to like this color so much, but there you go! I used 1 coat to make my nails look clean and maintained. I think it would need 3-4 coats to become opaque. The formula was good, but a bit thin. I didn't find it hard to apply though. It dried very shiny, but it didn't look "smooth" because of the shimmer. With top coat. (Pardon the smudge on my pinky. I didn't realize until it was too late.)

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

Michelle

How I Destashed My Once-Huge Collection

For the past several months, I have been destashing my once-huge collection and selling the destashed polishes at school. I once had 500+, but have dwindled it considerably to 200+. My end goal is to reach the double digits. I'd say 50 is a good number, but 20 is my ideal number. (Yup, never going to happen! I just know it.) A while ago, a few ladies in a facebook group I'm in requested that I should do a post on how I was able to declutter so many polishes. Since then, I have been writing this post. I wanted to make sure I hit all the points I needed to and provide actually good tips, along with my thought process throughout the decluttering. Get ready because this is going to be a long post!

Firstly, I started (and still am) watched dozens of youtube videos of people destashing polishes. The best videos are ones in which the youtuber destashed a large portion of her collection, and had no qualms about doing so. This is the most important part of destashing. You cannot be attached to your polishes if you want to downsize your collection. This is why it has literally taken me months to destash. Another thing that helped me was that destashing became easier as the process continued over time. Not to mention I felt very gratified and was earning money as I destashed.

My favorite destash video, which I have watched twice now:

My second favorite. She really goes all out, and has no regrets doing so!:

Secondly, figure out WHY you want to destash and what questions you need to ask yourself as you're picking out polishes to get rid of. It's important to also have the motivation to destash. (This may be obvious to some, but I just wanted to mention it for those who are really having a difficult time destashing.) Also, shoutout to my polish-addicted friend, Millie, for helping me remain determined throughout the process!

These were the questions I asked myself as I was going through my polishes, one by one:

1. Do I like the color?
2. Is it a good formula?
3. Will I wear it more than twice?
4. Does it give off the same effect as another polish I have, but like more?
5. Does it have any kind of significance? (i.e. was a gift or a remembrance of a day, outing, or period of time)

For polishes I ended up giving away even though I thought it was really pretty or had some kind of significance, I made cabochons out of them. I'm going to display them in a glass container once I have my own place. So, it's like I still have those polishes with me. (I bought the cabochons from etsy.)

Thirdly, give yourself time. This is not something you can rush into and finish quickly. I've decluttered before with this mindset, but it has never worked (for me at least). I always ended up restashing many or all of the polishes I destashed.

Finally, accept yourself for wanting to destash and every destashing decision you make. Otherwise, all is for naught.

TL;DR:

1. Mentally prepare yourself to destash by watching people destash.
2. It can help to have a friend who understands the addiction of nail polish and can keep you motivated throughout the process.
3. Figure out your own requirements on whether or not a polish stays.
4. Take your time. I cannot stress this enough. Time plays a huge factor in loosening your attachments and increasing the ease and need (the "mindset") of destashing.
5. Be okay with yourself and your decisions. Throughout my destash I have restashed and destashed, sometimes the same polishes too. And that's okay. You just need to constantly keep your end goal in mind.

I really hope this helps you if you're on a destashing journey!

As always, thanks for reading! See you on the other side of the day!

Michelle

My Picks for Winter

Ho ho ho, here comes my picks for winter! (Sorry, I couldn't resist.) Many of my picks are blue or berry-toned, which makes sense as I always think of silvery blue icicles and cranberry juice this time of year.

Left to right in first photo:

Misa A Sin Worth Committing // deep blue shimmer

Butter London No More Waity, Katie // grey jelly with lavender glitter

Essie Leading Lady // deep, berry red with magenta glitter

Modi #203 // pale blue glitter texture

Revlon Midnight Sparkle // navy blue jelly with silver glitter

Zoya Dove // pale grey creme

Colors by Llarowe The Mighty Red Baron // intense red with subtle holo

Daiso Plum Red // berry creme
Revlon Cherries in the Snow // deep, pinky red creme

Zoya Stevie // pale violet glitter texture - reminiscent of sugared plums

Sephora by OPI Step Off, Sister! // silver and blue glitter

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

Michelle

My Favorite Nudes

The right nude polish is always hard to find because there's so many variations in tones and opacity. So, here are my favorite nudes in my collection. There's a good mix of tones and variations here - peachy, pink and yellow tones; opacity; and finishes.

Deborah Lippmann Naked, Rescue Beauty Lounge Oh Slap!, Elle Vintage Charm, Julep Phyllis

Barry M Ballerina, Daiso Nude Base, Essence Sweet as Candy, Wet 'n Wild 2% Milk, Formula X Marvelous

Essie Sugar Daddy, Delicacy, Topless & Barefoot, and Lion Around

OPI Samoan Sand, Tickle My France-y, and Don't Burst My Bubble

What are your favorite nudes in your collection?

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

Michelle

My Top 10 (2015)

For fun, I decided to find out what my top 10 were! Unsurprisingly, many are cool colors and cremes because they now make up the majority of my collection after a major destash. I listed my top 10 in no particular order. And, honestly, I don't think I ever could!

Left to right:

Avon Don't Be Jaded // jade creme
Barry M Prickly Pear // lilac creme
Chanel #583 Taboo // deep blue brimming with red-to-gold shimmer and blue-to-pink flakie shimmer
China Glaze For Audrey // iconic Tiffany blue creme
Essence Irreplaceable // pale taupe creme packed with gold flakie-shimmer
Essie Shine of the Times // opalescent flakie top coat
Essie Fashion Playground // medium-toned mint creme with hidden silver shimmer
Essie Turquoise & Caicos // green-toned turquoise creme
L'Oreal Walk on the Beach // pale taupe creme
Revlon Vixen // oxblood creme

So what are your current top 10 polishes? Let me know! :)

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

Michelle

My Picks for Fall

For funsies, I decided to do a "My Picks" mini series. In each, I will choose 10 shades, along with a glitter, that I believe would complement the corresponding season. Please look forward to the ones coming in winter, spring, and summer! :)

I chose a lot of jewel-toned and dusty shades this round. My fall picks will probably have the most variation in shades because my collection predominantly consists of autumnal colors. I'm such a sucker for them!

Left to right in first photo:

Butter London Wallis // golden olive shimmer

Illamasqua Viridian // blackened emerald shimmer

Revlon Vixen // oxblood creme

Nails Inc. Porchester Square // pinky taupe creme 

Etude House #284 Trudged Turtle // army green creme

Sally Hansen Mauve Over // dusty marsala creme

Rescue Beauty Lounge Turn It Around // olive jelly with copper-pink glitter

Innisfree 116 // butterscotch creme

Nubar Caramello // rich copper shimmer

Models Own Oval Plum // red-violet creme with red shimmer
Essie As Gold As It Gets // gold flakie top coat

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

Michelle

ILNP Mega (X)

Self-Purchased

ILNP Mega (X)  is a silver with strong linear holo and small holo flakie-glitter, which makes the polish look a bit rough. I used 3 coats for full opacity, though I think you can do one thin coat if you would like to use it as a topper. The formula was wonderful and a breeze to apply. I used top coat on my middle and ring fingers because I accidentally smudged them and needed to smooth the fixer coats out. Top coat will not weaken the holo flame. Instead, it makes Mega (X) look smoother.

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

Michelle

Essie Smokin' Hot

Gift

Essie Smokin' Hot is, in my eyes, a purple creme with grey and brown tones. It's very hard to pinpoint the color since it never quite stays the same depending on lighting. I used 2 coats. The formula was wonderful - so easy to apply and control! Essie has really improved their formula. I'm seriously impressed! It dried shiny, but I still used a top coat.

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

Michelle

Les Nail Smiths: September 2015 - Double-Processed Stamping

Unfortunately, I couldn't participate in this month's LNS. Next month is midterm month (a.k.a hell month) so I'm busy trying not to procrastinate and studying. I will revisit this prompt on my own in the future.

Make sure to check out Millie's mani and find out what double-processed stamping is! :)

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

Michelle

Les Nail Smiths: August 2015 - Mermaid

Can you believe it's LNS' First Anniversary?! I can hardly believe Millie and I have been doing LNS together for that long, not to mention it's been one year of my life that passed by in a blink of an eye! (Ok, so maybe some days were much, much slower than others, but...) I chose "mermaid" for this month's prompt. When I think of mermaids, I think of blues, greens, and sparkles so that's exactly what I did!

And just to clear things up to avoid misunderstandings, I will do LNS whenever I can and want to. As I've said before, my school, future, and life are my priority now. (Trying to "adult" is a very lengthy and difficult process!)

I've always wanted to do a syrup gradient mani so I decided to use OPI I Can Teal You Like Me, a sheer blue tint, for the base. I first applied one coat of the OPI and then some light blue iridescent glitter with a fan nail art brush, both of which are from Born Pretty Store. Then, I followed up with multiple coats of the OPI on the middle and tip parts of my nail to create a gradient. Finally, I topped the tips off with China Glaze Fairy Dust for a dusting of its magical properties. I finished the mani off with a top coat. The whole look makes me think of mermaids swimming through a hidden, pristine lagoon with its seaweed caressing them as they pass through.

Make sure to check out Millie's awesome LNS mani too!

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

Michelle

Deborah Lippmann Naked

Self-purchased

Deborah Lippmann Naked is a pinky beige sheer nude. I used 3 coats. Surprisingly, Naked wasn't as sheer as I thought it'd be, despite needing so many coats to become opaque. The formula was wonderful because it was very easy to apply, making Naked now one of my go-to nude shades. It's perfect for work and palate cleansing so I can see why it's so popular. It dried shiny, but I still used top coat.

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

Michelle

Seoul/Hong Kong/Macau Vacation Mani

Here are my and my mom's manis for our vacation a few weeks ago! Mine is inspired by one from @dayofdays_ from Instagram. As for my mom's mani, my mom wanted to use some nail stickers she got from Daiso. These pictures were taken in Ihwa Mural Village in South Korea. I think the humidity made these pictures blurry since it fogged up the camera lens.

My mani:

Sally Hansen Pacific Blue

Deborah Lippmann Boom Boom Pow

My mom's mani:

Essie Topless & Barefoot

Daiso Nail Stickers

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

Michelle

Important Notice

Hello, everyone! I was on vacation the past two weeks, but I made sure to schedule posts during my absence. After my vacation, I realized that I didn't enjoy blogging as much anymore. I was doing the ABC Challenge in order to have material and force myself to post at least once a week. I've decided to cut back on everything beauty-related; I've even started a major destash of my polish collection today. Blogging just isn't a priority anymore, though painting my nails and posting the occasional swatch or nail art will continue to be my hobby. Hence, the ABC Challenge will be suspended. Les Nail Smiths will still continue, though I didn't have the time and energy to do this month's.

As you all know, I'm going to graduate school next school year. Therefore, everything I've been doing as a hobby or as a way to relax will take the backseat. I'm going to focus my energy on doing well in my program, doing extracurriculars, volunteering, searching for a job, and other important tasks.

Thank you for this journey. It has almost been 4 years! I will come by every once in a while.

See you guys on the other side of the day!

Michelle

ABC Challenge: C - Black Cat Lacquer Celestica

Self-purchased

Black Cat Lacquer Celestica is an ethereal pale grey crelly with iridescent square and hex glitters and holographic microglitter dust. I used 3 coats. The formula was great because it was easy to apply and I didn't have any trouble getting out the glitters. As a habit when dealing with glitter-infused polishes, I left the bottle upside-down before polishing. When dried, it looked unflattering because the the crelly base sunk while the glitter protruded so I used top coat to smooth it out.

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

Michelle