I've been wanting to attempt leadlight stamping for awhile. Leadlight stamping is a technique that was created by Julia from Messy Mansion. (Yes she makes those awesome stamping plates!) Leadlighting is basically just filling in a stamped design with sheer jelly polishes for a colorful artistic effect.

So for my first ever leadlight design I used Winstonia Store W216.I started with OPI Alpine Snow, stamped with Konad black, and then filled in the blank spots with my mini set of OPI Sheer Tints. I didn't use any special brushes. And of course a little China Glaze Fairy Dust! (Can never have enough of that!) I also used Seche Vite topcoat. I really like how colorful these turned out! I can't wait to try some other designs with this technique. My husband said they could hypnotize you! :-p

Edited to add: Speaking of honest blogging! I forgot to mention, the aqua OPI Sheer Tint- STAINS your skin. So be careful when using it. 

✯ PR Sample ✯

Today I have the Zoya Naturel Deux Collection. This collection is meant as a palette cleanser as we transition from summer into fall. The Naturel Deux Collection is darker than the first collection. (Click here to see last years Naturel Collection). All of the colors in this collection go on smoothly and evenly in two coats. I used Seche Vite topcoat on all the swatches below.

✯ PR Sample ✯

So... who is ready for fall? I know I am! (If I could hibernate during the summer I would, I'm so over summer humidity and heat!) :-p Today I have a sneak peek of colors from SpaRituals upcoming fall collection, Wander. These will be available for pre-order starting: August 1st.


All of these polishes have a satin matte finish, so you don't have to use a topcoat with them. But personally, I think the shimmer comes out better when you use a topcoat. (I used Seche Vite). It's your preference really. These polishes are quite pigmented, and go on smoothly. I only needed two coats for each color below.

Oasis: Really gorgeous deep dark navy blue. With topcoat the shimmer in this really comes out. I stamped with Messy Mansion stamp MM44 and Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Silver Sweep.



Starry Bright: Such a funny name for a rich brown with gold shimmer. It literally reminds me of coffee, or leaves in the fall. I used Messy Mansion stamp MM19, and Maybelline Bold Gold.


More after the jump below...

✯ PR Samples Mentioned ✯

If you haven't guessed, my little blogging break is over. ;-) It was nice to chill out and take a break. Not worry about scheduling posts, getting things swatched every weekend. I noticed by taking a break, my creativity for nail polish came back. Since I was usually only creating one look to wear for the entire week, I was able to better plan out my designs and put more thought into them.

I love blogging about nail polish and I love doing reviews, but I'm no longer going to push myself to get several posts up a week. It was draining me out and I was starting to become frustrated with blogging. Instead I'm going to blog when I want. If I only get one post up a week, so be it. If I get on a stretch of posting a few times a week, so be that. I want blogging to be fun for me, and I want to be excited about sharing things with you all.

I have a few reviews coming up. Look for a review of two stunning polishes by Ice Polish and another review of Winstonia Store nail strips!

Today I wanted to share with you some of the looks I created while on break. Some of these were taken with my regular camera and others are cell phone photos.

Zoya Wendy with Zoya Jesy, and Winstonia stamp plate W-04.




 

✯ PR Sample ✯ 

Today I have 3 pretty spring colors from Nie-cy Polish to share with you today! I was sent Pace Mates, You are my Lady, and Le'le girl.


Le'le girl: a pretty pastel pink. It reminds me of ballet slippers. Even though it's such a light color application was no issue. Formula is quite nice, not runny at all. I used 3 coats, plus topcoat. Personally- you could probably even use 1 coat of this if you wanted a nice sheer nail color. I used Messy Mansion stamp plate MM18.


You are my Lady: Nice light green color. I thought it leaned towards aqua in the bottle, but it's more green on my nails. Again, application was great- I used 3 coats, plus topcoat. I used Emily De Molly stamp plate EDM04, and topped it with a bit of China Glaze Fairy dust on my accent nails.


Pace Mates: is a bright colorful yellow. I ended up using 4 coats with this one, it was a bit streaky, but no other issues. I used Emily De Molly stamp plate, EDM05. I stamped with Rimmel 60 seconds- Hot Chili Pepper.


 

I got a new case for my Samsung Galaxy SIII. Aqua & Chevron's! I ordered it online on Amazon.com from a store called Heartstore. The only thing I didn't realize was that it ships from China, so it took two long weeks to get here. But it was cheap & it's pretty cute. (They have plenty of similar chevron ones for different phones).

Since I also own a Chevron stamp plate from Messy Mansion. I thought I would do matching nails! I used China Glaze For Audrey & white Konad stamp polish, with my MM12 plate, and Seche Vite topcoat. :-)


 

I'm so excited I was able to get a hold of Zoya Savita. It's one of the discontinued Matte Velvet's. I pretty much needed it after seeing a post on Painted Nubb's. Luckily after a few weeks I found it on eBay for $11 + free shipping. (Some of the sellers want to charge $20+). Savita is a royal purple matte polish. It's gorgeous! It came packaged in a cute little black velvet Zoya box.

✯ PR Sample ✯

I have some NYC Color polishes to share with you today! These polishes were sent to me for review. I have some colors from the Long Wearing line and the Quick Dry Line.


NYC Colors, in A New York Minute: Prince Street is a beautiful royal purple with a metallic finish. The formula is nice and thick (but not goopy) and you could get away with 2 coats, though I did 3 for the photos below. It also dries with a nice shiny finish. I did not have to use a topcoat.

NYC Colors in A New York Minute: Big City Dazzle is on my ring finger, it's a really pretty glitter with pink, blue and silver. 3 coats of the glitter.


NYC Matte Topcoat: Matte Me Crazy. I was impressed with this matte coat. It applies evenly with the wide brush and it doesn't have a strong odor. The matte effect is really nice. Matte About You, retails for $1.99.


NYC Long Wearing: Lexington Lilac is a gorgeous lilac. The formula was a bit thin, you have to apply carefully so you don't flood your cuticles. I used 3 coats. This polish dries with a high shine finish, I'm not wearing a topcoat in the photo below.

NYC Long Wearing: Pink Bling is on my ring finger. It has pink and silver glitter. I did 3 coats of the glitter.


This is Lexington Lilac & Pink Bling with the Matte Topcoat.

NYC In A New York Minute: Precious Peacock is a lovely dark turquoise with a metallic finish. I absolutely love the color, but I had a lot of trouble applying this. It's incredibly sheer. I needed 4-5 coats to make it opaque. Also, whenever I would try to put on another coat, I would swipe off some of the polish underneath, so it was very frustrating. Since I was stamping over this I used Seche Vite Topcoat. I used Messy Mansion plate MM21 & Sally Hansen Insta Dri in Style Steel to stamp with. The color was perfect for my dragon scale nails!


Now, I did do a test on my thumb. If you put a coat of black polish first, you can get away with just 2 coats of Precious Peacock and it will look like the color in the bottle! It really is a beautiful color, and that makes it much easier to work with!


NYC In A New York Minute Quick Dry: Spring Street is a bright, almost neon orange. The formula is thick, but you still have to be careful not to flood your cuticles. I could have done two coats, but for pictures I did three. I did use Seche Vite topcoat since I was stamping, but this polish normally dries with a shiny finish on it's own. I used Messy Mansion Chevron plate MM12 & Konad Special White stamping polish.


What do you think of these colors? NYC Color nail polishes can be found for retail at: Rite Aid, CVS, Walmart, Target, K-Mart.

 

✯ PR Sample ✯

I was recently sent the Zoya Naturel's collection. This is my first official press sample from a company and I'm super excited to share the collection with you today. The Zoya Naturel's collection is six neutral colors. They retail for $9 each. These also seem like they would be nice work appropriate colors, if your office has a dress code. My favorites from this collection are Rue, Bridgette & Odette. What do you think of the new collection?

 Taylor is just a shade darker than Chantal. More of a beige, I find it a little more flattering. It's described as a toffee cream color on Zoya.com. I also needed 3 coats for this shade.

Rue is a gorgeous blush pink. It reminds me of ballet slippers. I've actually never worn a pink this color, but it's become one of my favorites out of the collection. I needed two coats.

Bridgette is a pink mauve rose color. This is another of my favorites. I only needed two coats.

 Odette is my favorite out of the entire collection, but I have a thing for purple. This color is described as an orchid maroon. I needed two coats.

Normani is a sable mauve color. Sometimes it looks brown, and other times it has a hint of purple gray. I needed three coats for this polish.

I also did nail art with the entire collection. 

I used Bridgette as a base and stamped with Taylor.

I used the Chevron stamping plate from Messy Mansion, MM12.

I used Odette as the base and stamped with Taylor using Messy Mansion plate MM06. The rhinestones are from the new I Heart Nail Art collection from Sally Hansen.

Rue was the base for this and I used Normani to stamp using Messy Mansion plate MM18.

Normani is the base and I stamped with Chantal using Messy Mansion plate MM14.

I used Odette as the base and stamped with Taylor using MM12. The gold studs are from the new I Heart Nail Art collection from Sally Hansen.

And last but not least, I used Rue as a base and Normani to stamp with Messy Mansion plate MM20. The rhinestones are from the new I Heart Nail Art collection from Sally Hansen.