Lacquistry's Custom "Hawaiian Sunset"

So, if you've followed my FB page at all, you know that I LOVE Jenna at Lacquistry!  I actually got hooked into this polish underworld when I stumbled upon a bottle of Lacquistry "Autumn Flurries" in an Etsy treasury.  I was amazed that people could make their own nail polish!!??!!  And it was so beautiful!!  So I bought a bunch of her polishes.  And then another 6 a few weeks later.  This was in Feb/March, 2012, back when she actually had stock sitting in her shop.  Trying to get a Lacquistry now-a-days is nigh on impossible.  But I've grown my collection to a respectable 17. :-)

So when Jenna announced she was taking custom orders, I jumped right on it!  I requested 3 polishes, and felt all star-struck when I made my request, like I was talking to a rock star!  But Jenna's the sweetest person ever!!  Anyway, my polishes were all based on the beach, as I am enamored by the sand and the sea...it recharges me to sit on a blanket on the sand and listen to the waves crash.  Nothin' like it on earth! 

This polish is inspired by my birth-state and is based on a description I gave her of a...Hawaiian sunset!  Here's what Jenna said went into this lovely creation:  "a raspberry base with orange, gold, pink, red, and purple. I used 10 different glitters in varying sizes in the requested colors to come up with something that really glows, and almost reminds me of some kind of fruity tropical cocktail..."

  This is the pic she sent me!

Fan-friggin'-tastic, right?  So, after my recent black & white marble mani, I was ready for some glitter and color on my fingers!  I dove into my stash, and found 4 Zoyas that match my HS perfectly!

From bottom to top: "Arizona", "Myrta", "Reagan", "Valerie".  Gorgeousness!

I did a gradient with my Zoyas to mimic a sunset on 4 fingers, and layered "Hawaiian Sunset" over Reagan on my ring finger.

Then, of course, I had to add a palm tree shadow.  But not just any palm tree...a coconut palm!  I live in Southern California, so I see a myriad of palm trees every day.  But never coconut palms...it gets too cold here for them at night in the winter.  So, to me, coconut palms scream "tropical, gorgeous, warm, fantastic Hawaii" ;-)  It was at this stage in the game that I realized that I had done my gradient upside down!!  So, my trees will have to face ME...which I guess isn't that bad after all ;-)

I'm most-proud of my thumb tree...it was my very first, and I think it looks the best.  I LOVE this manicure!  And look at how awesome it matches my Lacquistry!!  It makes me soooo happy, I'll be keeping this on one for many days to come!!

You can follow Lacquistry's FaceBook page HERE, and her Etsy shop is HERE.  She recently announced on FB that once she's done with her list of customs, she will be stocking her shop again...I can't wait!! :-D

Plasma Plays in 21 Ways: "10. Ombre"

As I mentioned in the post about #7 in Plasma Plays in 21 Ways, I'm still not clear on the difference between a "gradient" and an "ombre".  So, I'm going with "gradient" is with different shades of the same color, and "ombre" is different colors. 

As I also mentioned previously, I'm not so crazy about the whole sponging process to get the polishes to fade into one another.  It results in TONS of layers that don't dry.  WELL, in doing my research (aka drooling over gorgeous nail art pics on the net), I found two things that made me feel better about this whole process:

1. I saw the Eastern Night Cocktail's pic
2. I figured out that the sponge should be WET

That last bit of news was a total "DUH" moment.  My sponge kept soaking up my polish, rather than patting onto my nail like everyone else's, and I couldn't figure it out.  Thank God for YouTube!  :-)

So, that mani is like, totally gorgeous, right?  And I am loving the matte finish more than I should.  So, here's my version:

The first and last are without flash.  I really like the gradient effect under the matte finish!  This mani looks waaaay better in person.  I used China Glaze "Seduce Me" and Sinful Colors "Let's Talk" topped with NYC Matte Top Coat.  After I added the normal top coat dots, I regretted them, and I should have left them off...I need more dotting practice!  Live & learn!

Speaking of learning, this time after I polished my nails with the red, I polished a layer of purple on the top part of my nail and let it dry.  Then I sponged (with a WET sponge) purple a little further into the red.  Then I took a little polish on my polish brush and "pounced" on the obvious line between the polished-on purple, and the sponged-on purple to even things out.  This technique worked MUCH better for me, and made the whole process bearable.

YAY for matte ombres!!

Plasma Plays in 21 Ways: "7. Do a Gradient of 2 Colors or More"

I've never done a gradient, although I've seen some on YouTube.  I've tried sponging before, and I didn't like it because it seems as though the sponge soaks up all the polish, and I have to tap forever to get any results.  Not worth it.

So, I figured I'll try it again.  I watched videos, and I was all ready to try my gradient.  But then I noticed that "gradient" and "ombre" were sometimes used interchangeably in a lot of the videos.  And "gradient nails" and "ombre nails" look suspiciously similar.  Hmmm...Well #10 on Plasma Plays in 21 Ways, it says "Ombre Nails".  So what's the difference? 

I couldn't figure it out.  So, I'm going with "gradient=same shades" & "ombre=different colors".  So here are my nails:

Cult Nails "Sandbourne" & "Tulum", tipped with Sinful Colors "This Is It".  I know the gold doesn't look like it's part of the same shade, but it is!  "Sanbourne" & "Tulum" have golden shimmers in them! 

I still don't like this method.  My tips took FOREVER to dry, even with Seche Vite...I guess that's because there were at least 8 layers of polish there!  And they still got a little ruined cuz I had to use the restroom when they weren't completely set!  Ugh!!!!

So, if you know the difference between gradient & ombre, please share!!!