Color Cues

Today's Color Cues post is inspired by a fabric square from a quilt my sister made. I was talking to her in her room when I noticed the pattern, and I instantly loved the mix of yellow-green with the pinks and lavender. It also helped that the shapes in the pattern were fairly organic and I thought it would transfer into an interesting nail design. I was especially inspired by the dots in dots effect by the flowers, and could imagine an accent nail covered in dots within dots. Maybe a water marble with the purple and pinks in the color scheme? Maybe hand painted teardrop shapes just as they appear in the fabric itself? Who knows. A wealth of ideas came to me for nail art when I was sitting on her bed with this quilt, so i figured the only proper thing to do was to come and share it with my lovely readers.

The polishes I chose to match with this scheme were OPI Houston We Have A Purple, Essie French Affair, MAC Little Girl Type, and Ginger + Liz Welcome To My Jungle. I picked WTMJ because I liked how the olive green base had the same mustard yellow-green shimmer running through it, and I thought it would add an interesting finish to the mix.

What are your opinions on today's color scheme? Did the fabric inspire you in the same way it did me? Do you think you could work these colors into nail art? Let me know in the comments! Thanks for reading!

OPI Sugarplum Yum

It's Tuesday, which means swatches! I know, you're super excited, but please, try to contain yourself.

Just kidding- I know swatch posts are a huge part of nail blogging, but I always feel a little lazy when I just do a swatch post. That's why I like mixing things up with nail art, color cues, and review Thursdays. But today I have a pretty special polish to show you, so hopefully it's a bit more exciting than just any old swatch. Today's post is about OPI's Sugarplum Yum, which is a gorgeously muted smokey pale purple duochrome with bold flashes of pastel pink. I came across this polish in a dusty (the same one where I found a ton of other old OPIs when I was on vacation), and I knew it was a little HTF so I picked it up in hopes of either loving it or swapping it. Good news was that I ended up really liking this color, and it's got a good home in my stash now. These pictures are Orly Bonder Base Coat, Sinful Colors Base Coat (I've been using it to even out my little ridges), three coats of Sugarplum Yum, and Poshe Top Coat. Be prepared for a lot of pictures ahead! (Please excuse the sad state of my cuticles in some of these pictures- my new job is not kind to my hands)

Do you own Sugarplum Yum? Have you ever purchased a polish just because of it's "status", and ended up loving it? Let me know in the comments!

Oh, and I'm gonna do a little rambling here too, so if you don't like personal stuff, you can skip this. I've started really trying to capitalize my "I"s in my posts. It's a bad habit that I usually just leave them lowercase, but I don't know if annoys any of you when I do. Also, I have two jobs now (yay money!), which means that if I don't get posts scheduled on Sunday afternoon, I have absolutely zero time to write them during the week. I'm working about 60 hours a week right now, so I'm insanely booked with my schedule- I only have about 4 hours a day where i'm not working or sleeping, and I have to use that time for family, eating meals, showering, and anything else I have to get done immediately. Although I love my jobs they don't leave me any time for blogging. The only day i'm not currently working is Sunday, so  I apologize if i miss a day of posting here or there. Ok, rambling over!

Thanks for reading!

Simple Nail Art

And a new week begins- Happy Monday everyone! Or a not so happy Monday, depending on if you like Mondays or not I suppose. I'm starting this week off with some fun and bright nail art full of green, blue, and lavender.

I wanted to do something without stamping because I've wanted to practice getting better at freehand nail art. I know this isn't anything original, but it was good practice for the basics- dots and stripes! I started by applying two coats of all the polishes- OPI Gargantuan Green Grape Matte to my index and ring fingers, MAC Little Girl Type to my pinky and thumb, and Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Model Behavior to my middle. Application on Little Girl Type and Model Behavior was easy, but GGGm was the problem child with dragging and patchiness. One coat of Seche Vite made everything glossy and smooth, and provided a good surface to begin the fun parts. I added vertical white stripes to my index and ring fingers, then took a dotting tool and made polka dots in white on my pinky, middle, and thumb. To finish things off i added a few rhinestones and pearls to my middle finger. Everything was topped off with a coat of Poshe.

This nail art lasted for about three days with no tipwear or chips until I got bored and decided to change it. Obviously I tried changing my nail shape again when I shortened my nails, and I really like the look of squared tips. However, my new job quickly showed me that that was a dumb decision by promptly breaking a corner off one nail. *sigh* It's back to round for me! My nails seem to like growing in a round shape better than a square, and are always stronger. I'm just bummed because it means no super easy funky frenches. But how often do I do those anyway? 

Do you ever forgo the stamping and just do fun and simple nail art instead? Do you own any of the polishes i used? What do you think of them? Let me know in the comments! Thanks for reading!

Tuesday's Post: Chanel Peridot

I have to say that I wasn't entirely convinced when I first saw promotion shots of Chanel's Peridot that it was a color I couldn't live without. But after seeing gorgeous swatch after gorgeous swatch over on the nail board on MUA, I was hooked. I placed my first ever order for Chanel nail polish. Along with Peridot I also selected a bottle of Morning Rose, but that's another post. These two bottles are the official start of any "high end" section in my collection, and I have to admit that these two polishes were definitely worth the price tag to me. 

First off, Peridot is my birthstone. I knew I would have regretted not getting this polish simply because of the personal associations I have with the name. Second, it's stunning. The gold, green, and even blue duochromes are flattering on my skin tone and definitely garner a few compliments. But enough- I won't make you wait for the pictures any longer!

Chanel Peridot is a lovely warm golden green in most lighting. In low lighting it flashes more of the rich green you can see around the edges of my nails in some of the above pictures. And even more spectacular is when you immerse part of your nail in water and the beautiful blue duochrome comes out to play. These swatches are two easy coats of Peridot, which wasn't brush-strokey or frosty at all. Just a nice, easy to apply metallic.

Do you own any Chanel polishes? Is the brand and colors you have worth the $25 price tag, or are you thriftier and more patient and willing to wait for inexpensive dupes? Let me know in the comments! Thanks for reading!

Quick Update Post

I swear- every time I have all my ducks in a row and posts are ready for the week, something happens!

Sunday night we had terrible storms and pretty much everyone in the city lost power. We were lucky we didn't have any damage to our house, but we had four huge trees fall around our property. My last two days have been spent hauling brush and branches, and missing the electricity and most of all my blog! So yup- that's why there have been no posts. We got power back at 11:30 pm last night, and internet was restored this morning.

My plan is that when I get home from work this evening, i'll publish Monday's and Tuesday's posts today, Wednesday's and Thursday's posts tomorrow, and i'll be back on track for Friday's post! I understand posting has been fairly wonky and inconsistent on my blog lately, but please just be patient with me while i try to coordinate and organize everything.

Thanks for your understanding, and I hope you all had a better weekend than I did!

Ginger + Liz Polish Review

A lot of you asked that I include more product and brand reviews on my blog, so when I came across a nail polish brand i hadn't seen before, I thought I would share my experience with the polishes with my readers! Today i'll be reviewing three polishes i purchased from the brand Ginger + Liz. You can read more about the company and review the colors available on their website. What intrigued me most about the brand was that their polishes are vegan-friendly and cruelty free. I'm all for less toxic beauty products and of course supportive of any brand that is cruelty free. As a bonus, i purchased the polishes for less than retail, so i was able to afford doing a review! So basically, I hope you enjoy learning a bit about my experience with this brand, and maybe you'll find a new favorite polish after visiting their website and trying some out for yourself!

The official description of the polish, bottles, and brushes for this brand is as follows: 


"Our polishes include Control Top caps with a 380 strand flat brush for smooth application and brilliant coverage. Always keeping your health in mind, Ginger + Liz nail lacquers are vegan-friendly and free of harmful toxins (no toluene, formaldehyde, or DBP)."


I really enjoyed polishing with the "Control Top" on these bottles. The cap is slightly and smoothly rubberized so it has a no-slip grip in your fingers, and allows for easy maneuvering of the brush. The rubberized coating isn't as noticeable as Orly's rubberized cap (my favorite cap by far!). The bottle itself is a smooth rectangular glass bottle that holds 12.6 ml of polish, with the company's logo appearing on two opposite sides. I personally prefer square or rectangular bottles on polishes simply because it is easier to store them and they sit very snugly together in a drawer or bin.

I purchased Tough Luxe, Prima Donna, and Welcome To My Jungle. I picked these three polishes up on Hautelook where they were on special. Normal retail price for Ginger + Liz polishes is $12 US. Below are the official descriptions of each polish, followed by my personal description and swatch.


Prima Donna: "Prima Donna is our modern day take on old Hollywood glamour a la Dorothy Dandridge and Grace Kelly. Even without trying, she is grand in her personality. She is sexy and demands attention with little effort. A sister colour to Swagger, Prima Donna is a crisp pink metallic with lavender undertones that is perfect marriage of classy and sassy. PD is perfect for all looks: the Modern Luxe, Pretty Prepster, Bohemian Hipster, Casual Chic, Rock Glam...the whole G+L family!"


In the bottle Prima Donna is a pale pink leaning lilac metallic, with ribbons of silver running through it. On the nail it's a gorgeous soft, cool metallic that was very flattering for my skin tone. Application was smooth and easy with just two coats until it was opaque. There is no basecoat or topcoat in this swatch.

Tough Luxe: "Tough Luxe is army green with a feisty attitude…think Troop Beverly Hills. This deep dark forest green hue is infused with a beautiful shimmery gold that keeps the dark colour from looking drab. A favorite of the Bohemian Hipster and Rock Glam trendsetters, the colour lends a hint of rebellion to any ensemble. Who said luxe can’t be tough too?"


I would definitely describe Tough Luxe as a dusty army green. In the bottle you can see some various green shimmers and veins of soft gold shimmer throughout. If you forced me to choose a favorite color from these three polishes, it would have to be this one. The fantastic deep dusty olive base is accented by just the right amount of shimmer. This is two coats, no base or top coat.

Welcome To My Jungle: "Welcome To My Jungle is a mossy green metallic with mustard and gold undertones. Its earthy look softens the dark hue and the gold undertones create light. This shade is for the Bohemian Hipsters, Casual Chic, Modern Luxe, and Rock Glam."


Honestly, I think the official description for this polish is spot on. It's definitely a mossy golden green in person, and the swirls of dark golden shimmer are very evident in the bottle. This color... wow. So gorgeous! The shimmers in this polish don't stop at just gold undertones like the official description says- nope, it has a beautiful rusty orange hiding in it, and pictures don't do it justice. You can see a teeny hint of the orange on my pinky in the first picture, but it ultimately hides when the camera comes out. This is three coats, no base or top coat.

Overall, I am thoroughly impressed by Ginger + Liz polishes. The three colors I chose are all extremely gorgeous and full of little details that make them instantly shoot to some of my favorites in my collection. Application on all three colors was smooth and hassle free. In the future, I'll definitely keep a lookout for more of these polishes on sale! 

Have you tried Ginger + Liz polishes before? What do you think of the color variety? Do you think the $12.00 price tag is justified for the product? Let me know in the comments! Thanks for reading!

You can purchase Ginger + Liz polishes on GingerAndLiz.com for $12.00 US. The polishes are also available at select NY locations as listed on their website.  I am in no way affiliated with Ginger + Liz polishes. I purchased these polishes myself. All reviews on LovelyInLacquer.com are my honest and actual opinions. 

Color Cues

I apologize for missing a few days of posting. I had some things happen in my offline life, and although i absolutely hate missing posts, ultimately this blog is my hobby and there are things that are more important. I will post Wednesday's post today, Thursday's post on Saturday, and Friday's post on Sunday. Regularly scheduled posting will resume on Monday.

Finally, another Color Cues post! Have you missed them as much as I have? I really enjoy putting these together because I feel like it allows me to share a bit more of myself and what inspires me with you- my readers. I know nail polish isn't really considered an "art", but the amount of creativity and eye for color that goes into creating new polish colors, or the amazing mixture of colors in duochromes and multichromes definitely deserves some recognition. Therefore, in the ways that i'm inspired for my other artistic hobbies by the things I see during my day, the same goes for what i'm inspired by for my nails. Enough pointless rambling, I know. I'll hushup and get on with the rest of this Wednesday's post!

I saw this particular grouping of colors when I was browsing tumblr, and I immediately thought of it being a fantastic spring or summer polish color scheme. I especially like the mixing of the bright fuschia, mustard gold, and pale aqua. The lavender, white, and darker aqua act as accents to the three stronger colors.

Source: DesignedInteriors

The polishes I picked out for this week's coordinating scheme were OPI Done Out In Deco, Essie A Day Without Blues (Coat Azure), Essie Jamaica Me Crazy, and China Glaze For Audrey. I sadly didn't have a polish in my collection that matched the gorgeous dark gold or dark teal (I substituted a soft blue) in the image. Any suggestions for polishes of those colors?

What inspired you this week? Does this color scheme or manicure idea appeal to you? Let me know in the comments! If you create a manicure using one of my Color Cue posts, feel free to share it below. Thanks for reading!

Orly Galaxy Girl

I hope everyone who lives in America had a lovely and safe holiday weekend, and enjoyed the Fourth's festivities! I took the day to spend with my family, so please excuse the lack of a post yesterday. I'm back at it again though, starting the week off with one of my personal favorite polishes, Orly's Galaxy Girl. I know i'm not the only polish addict who is in love with this color! 

Orly Galaxy Girl is a darkened plum red base with gorgeous icy pale blue shimmer that is very evident in both the bottle, and on the nail. The shimmer flashes the bright ice blue, a hint of teal, and the occasional warm reddish purple. I didn't have any issue with application, and the following swatches are three coats with base coat. 

Galaxy Girly is definitely a unique polish in my collection, and I really like how it appeals to both my vampy polish and out-of-the-ordinary polish desires. I feel like I can put this color on and I won't see anyone else wearing anything quite like it. 

I apologize for the lack of length and detail in this post. I honestly wanted to give this polish a much more thorough review, but i've been writing some pretty big and wonderful posts for later this week, and i'm all written out! Hopefully Galaxy Girl does a good enough job of speaking for itself!

Speaking of this week's posts, I'm trying really hard to up the overall variety and quality of my posts (apparently not this one though...) so look forward to some in-depth reviews and more detailed Color Cues posts! I'll also be updating some of my pages, so if you're interested in any of those, be sure to check them out at the end of the week. I'll also be having some new opportunities for my fellow nail bloggers (if they choose to partake) in the near future to help promote your blogs! 

So readers, do you own Orly Galaxy Girl, or do you wish you did? If you do, is it one of your favorite polishes as well, or does it not live up to the hype as you expected it would? Let me know in the comments! Thanks for reading!

Orly nail polishes can be purchased from various beauty e-tailers, Amazon, and ebay, along with beauty supplies or salons in most areas. US retail price for Orly Comic FX polishes is $10.00 US. Galaxy Girl is from the Fall 2010 Cosmic FX Collection. Availability depends on where you purchase and stock in your area.

Franken Friday: Minxy Mitzi + Giveaway Winner!

Happy Friday everyone! I've been putting this post off all day because i haven't been 100% sure about sharing this franken with you. I still don't know how i feel about it- i think it's missing something, or it's just not my style. But alas, that's part of frankening- you get hits, and you get misses! I'm having a ton of fun with it though and learning lots along the way. Hopefully i'll have another franken next week that i'm actually proud to share!

This franken's name is Minxy Mitzi, a light purple with blue undertones that is packed with blue, purple, silver, and pink glitters. These swatches are three coats with no base or top coat. 

And now the moment you've been waiting for, the announcement of who the winner of my 100 Follower Giveaway is! I emailed the winner earlier today and she already accepted, so i can now share with you all!

Congratulations Elsa!

After all the entries were verified, totaled, and spreadsheet-ed, Random.org picked lucky number 34, who happened to be Elsa! I was SO excited because not only is Elsa from Italy (so cool right?!), but she's a nail blogger too!! 

I want to thank every single one of you that entered and gave me feedback, or told me your favorite polish, or shared something related to nails. I really enjoyed reading each and every entry, and you made my first giveaway experience a great one! As always, have a great weekend and Thanks for reading!