MASH Nail Art Pens Review

Hi all!

I know I never shared any Valentine's day manis on here because I'm just not that into that particular holiday but today I have some nail art that would be perfect for VDay or an anniversary or whenever you feel like wearing cute hearts. Got a lot to say so I'll get right into it.

I started with two coats of Orly Boho Bonnet from their Spring 2013 collection. Formula on this was weird, it seemed to thicken with use and wouldn't spread to the edges or self-level but it still looked good at two coats. It's also a close dupe of Zoya Kristen, not exact but enough for me since I can't get Zoya here.

After that was mostly dry, I used my pink MASH Nail Art Pen for the hearts and the black pen for the outlines. The consistency of the pink pen was great though it was a touch sheerer than the black one, I went over the big hearts twice for that bright pop of color and left the little hearts with just one 'coat'. If my base color had been white or lighter,  I doubt I would have needed the second coat. Finally, a little flick of white acrylic paint and topcoat finishes the look.

My favorite heart was on my thumb.

You'll notice I said the base polish has to be mostly dry to use these pens and that is because the tip of the pen is plastic and could dent the polish if it's too fresh. Also, if you're going to go over a part of your design twice to either deepen the color or make a line cleaner, it's best to wait for it to be mostly dry as well so you're not pulling up parts of the design or making grooves in it.

Aside from those tips, I found these SUPER easy to use and I'm in love with them already. I've always been mediocre with a nail art brush because of the abnormal way I hold them but with these pens I can make it work! I'm sure someone more talented than I would make amazing art with them but they're also great for beginners. They do take a couple of tries to get them going when they're new though. Nothing major, but worth mentioning.

These nail art pens can be found HERE on the MASH website and you can see the different colors they have (I'm dying to try the silver one now). Also follow MASH on Twitter or like them on Facebook for info, ideas or special promotions!

Product featured was sent for review, all opinions are my own. For more information, refer to my Disclosure policy.

Rainbow Over Blurple

Heeey everybodah! IT IS FRIDAY.

I am very excited about today's post because it is one of my favorite manis that I have done in recent memory. Truth be told, when I get inspired I end up with things I really like, its only when I force myself to come up with something that I find they're lackluster. Now, if you follow me on Instagram (@hookedonpolish) then you've already seen it but now you get better pictures. If you don't, then you totally should because I post manis on there that never make it to the blog and I have a really cute dog.

I used two buttery coats of KIKO 337 (courtesy of mom, as you may have seen on my last post). KIKO 337 is a bright periwinkle/violet color that is an absolute pain to photograph. I *think* I got color accurate pictures by messing with the camera settings but it's so in between blue and purple and so bright that it really just confused the hell out of my poor camera. Next, I stamped with Mash-47 and Color Club Harp On It from their 2012 Halo Hues.

Obviously, this was way more holo-y than I could capture but you can see a tiny rainbow in that last picture. I really loved wearing this mani. Even as I type, I feel like recreating it. I won't because I have about a bajillion untrieds sitting there but I think it's very representative of my style and it was such a clean stamping job for me that I can't help but love it.


How about you guys? Any plans for the weekend?

Have a great day and I'm off to respond to comments on my last posts! *flies away*

ABC Challenge 'I' - Barielle Island Breeze

Hi all!

For today's challenge I planned to do a quickie Illamasqua swatch but I found all my Illamasqua shades have been featured here already (some more than once). So, I went through my untrieds and found this little gem, Barielle Island Breeze! I don't have very many Barielles, just a few here and there that I've picked up at TJ Maxx (and the elusive Falling Star, which I totally should have posted for F day of the challenge but just figured it out now. GRR) but they really have some lovely colors.

Onto the polish! Island Breeze has a steely blue base between turquoise and aqua with a greenish shimmer that makes the polish look lit from within (I am really, epically bad at describing polish colors). I used three coats of Island Breeze, though it looked great at two I just wanted a third coat to saturate the color and shimmer. Then I did my very first glitter gradient with Jordana Cosmos.

The shimmer wasn't as apparent on the nail as on the bottle but it's definitely more shimmery than my camera captured. Looking back now, maybe the third coat was counterproductive and hid the shimmer. I have to add that the formula on this polish was just wonderful. Not too thick or runny but buttery and amazing. Also, I'm pretty happy with the glitter gradient! It still doesn't look as amazing as other ladies make them look but it's not bad for a first try.

What do you think? Any tips on how to do glitter gradients?

Have a great day!

It's a Blue Anniversary!

Hi all!

About two weeks ago, a very exciting day happened, my one year blogaversary! Yeah, I did this mani in honor of the event and just got around to posting it now. My suckiness has been discussed.

Let's go straight into the mani, then we'll get to the mushy stuff. Recently, my mom went on a work trip to Spain and Morocco (lucky, right?) so when she asked what I wanted her to bring for me, my answer was "Um, I dunno. Stuff, I guess?". I'm very eloquent. Anyway, then I found out/remembered they sell KIKO in Spain and I quickly drafted a list of all the Kiko's I wanted and this baby was at the top of the list.

KIKO 336 is a electric cobalt blue polish that had my heart when I first saw Nail Stories' swatches of it a while back. I used two gloriously blue coats and then added Ninja Polish Sticks 'N Stones on pinky, ring and thumb and added studs and rhinestones from the Born Pretty Store on my pointer and ring finger.

Ignore the missing polish by the cuticles on the pointer finger, I added topcoat before taking pics and effed up the cleanup.

Now, mushy stuff. I know everybody says this in these kinds of posts, but I truly never expected such great feedback when I started the blog. I mean, my pictures were dreadful for those first couple of posts and I'll never forget that first person that followed my blog. Mostly because I felt flattered yet slightly ashamed she followed and I had such crappy pictures, so I tried and tried until they got better. I still don't think they're perfect, in fact you're going to be seeing some changes soon, but I'm ok with where they are now. I'll also never forget people who helped me in the beginning, like Kimber who answered my annoying emails on how to take pictures. I've met some truly great people through this blog and I'm just excited about continuing with it and seeing what can happen. I'm a person that never finishes what she started so to still be here and still love it after a year is a great success in my eyes.

So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for reading my blabbering and still being here even when I disappear for a couple of days. 

See you tomorrow Thursday with an ABC Challenge post!

KBShimmer No Whine Left and Clearly on Top Quick Dry Topcoat Swatches and Review

Hi all! That title was a mouthful. (That's what she said) (Yes, I set myself up for a joke. I get lonely)

A while back, KBShimmer debuted a new quick dry topcoat they developed to avoid the common problem with Seche Vite, the dreaded shrinkage. It's also meant to smooth over glitters so you no longer have a bumpy surface without having to add multiple coats of top coat. In the images they shared on their facebook page, they showed the top coat over No Whine Left (which was a huge lemming for me) so as soon as the top coat was available I snapped it up and No Whine Left came home with me too. So today I'm sharing a mini review of the top coat and swatches of No Whine Left

First, let's start with the swatches. No Whine Left is a really unique color combo, it has a plummy base with bright blue and pink glitters in various sizes. It applied easily and it was opaque in two coats with no clumping or gooping.

After painting my nails, I topped all my nails with Gelous + another top coat except one nail that had two coats of the KBShimmer top coat. How did the KBShimmer fare against the glitter taming powers of Gelous?

It's exactly the same! Unfortunately, two coats of top coat or Gelous + top coat weren't enough to completely smooth No Whine Left, which was unexpected since it didn't look like it was going to be a hungry glitter but there you have it. The KBShimmer also dries super quick. I'm still collecting new top coats for part 3 of the top coat comparisons but I can tell you it's close to Seche Vite and no shrinkage at all. The only thing I still have to see is if turns all goopy like Seche at the halfway mark. Rest assured, I'll let you know if anything turns sour but as of now, me + KBShimmer top coat = <3.

You can find KBShimmer polishes and their top coat on their site here. For international buyers, you can buy through Harlow & Co, though I believe they still don't have the top coat available.

Have a great weekend loves!