Cool Mari Moon

 Cool!  Yeah, that's the name.  Cool surprised me by being awesomely pigmented.
 These swatches are shown at two coats over a clear base and with no top coat.  I would definitely wear this as a mani with just two coats!
 This is probably my second favorite of the Mari Moons!  I really like the richness and depth.
Want to know my very favorite?  You'll have to wait a little longer!

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Cutie Pie Mari Moon

 This is two coats of Cutie Pie, shown over a clear base coat with no top coat.
 Are you wondering what the heck Mari Moon means, like I am?  Well, apparently it's the stage name of a VJ on Brazilian MTV!  It looks like Mariana sells clothes, has vibrantly colored hair, and that the actual name "Mari Moon" was inspired by the Japanese Sailor Moon.  Cool!
 To my dear Brazilian readers, feel free to add any pertinent or fun information in the comments!  :)
 Cutie Pie is just lovely.  Blue, pink, and purple make me swoon.
Again, I would probably opt for three coats or to layer this over black for an actual manicure.  It looks just fine at two coats for these quick swatch pics, though.  Another beautiful Mari Moon awaits you tomorrow!

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Artsy Mari Moon

 Greetings, Nation!!  I have Mari Moon swatches for you!
 Yesterday was overcast and gloomy out (which is perfect for multichrome pictures, by the way), plus I was coming off of the week wearing Sally Hansen heart stickers, so, I figured a little swatch sesh was in order!  I've had the Hits Mari Moons for a while, I just haven't gotten around to trying them out until now.
 This here is two coats of Artsy shown over clear base coat and without top coat.  If I was wearing this as a mani I probably would've added a third coat just to be sure there weren't any translucent areas.  That, or layered it over black.
The brush on Artsy (along with every Mari Moon I have, save for one) was no fun and a challenge to work with.  I find the shape to be difficult for getting close to the cuticle area.  Also, there were splayed out bits and pieces.  I trimmed off the offending bits with my trusty Tweezerman cuticle nippers, which helped.

Instead of showing you all the swatches at once, in one ginormous post, I'm going to stretch it out.  :)  Stay tuned for all the others!

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A Week of Hearts

 These are Sally Hansen Salon Salon Effects Nail Polish Strips in "Speed Dating."  These first two pictures were taken the morning after I applied them.
 The hearts have a cool gradient effect with red and orange.  It's subtle, but nice.  I was pleased with my fit and application.  I've picked up a few tricks having done these several times now!  :)
 This is the first time I have not used any top coat during the process of wearing these stickers.  Here, above and below, are the gratuitous pictures taken this morning, on the beginning of day seven!  I did buff them quickly with the Revlon Crazy Shine buffer, just to perk them up.
I have some tip wear, yes, some out-growth, yes, but they are still looking gosh darn good, I'd say!  While I have so many fantastical polishes I'm eager to wear, I will confess that it's been sweet not changing my polish at all this week.  What a nice break!  I plan on wearing these strips in the beginning of March when I take a week long trip to visit my grandparents.  Then I won't have to worry about packing polish and that sort of thing.  :)

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One More Liquid Valentine!

 I recently wore this combination:  NerdLacquer I Aim to Misbehave with Lynnderella Liquid Valentine.
 I started with two coats of I Aim to Misbehave.  Then I added one coat of Lynnderella's Liquid Valentine.

 I had a horrible time using Glitter Tamer (which has happened to me before), so I ultimately did not wear this for long at all.  As it was drying more fully, there were very noticeable streak marks.  :(
 I'm not exactly sure why this happens and why only sometimes, but I know I am not alone in finding Glitter Tamer very tricky to work with.  It is awesome for lots of people, though, so I'm not knocking it.  I just think for my own sanity, I should be using it much less (if at all!).
 At least I managed to get these beautiful pictures before everything went yucko!  :)  I think the two polishes looked so perfect together.
 Here are some indoor pictures of I Aim to Misbehave all by itself, two coats with top coat.  It's a top coat hungry glitter, but so ridiculously pretty and complex.  The thing that surprised me about this one is how it's amazingly complicated and enchanting to look at yet so seemingly simple, all at the same time!
 Just look at everything going on in that bottle.  It's a crazy mess of wonderful glitters and shimmers.  I think it ends up looking slightly more plummy on the nail where it seems a bit more maroon in the bottle.
It's absolutely lovely to look at and wear.  I highly recommend NerdLacquer!  Color me obsessed.  I must continue to have them all.

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My Valentine in a Bottle

 Truth be told, I wore this manicure about two weeks ago.
 I started with two coats of Sally Hansen Smooth and Perfect Satin.
 Satin is a slightly pearly (I almost say frosty, but that's not the best word for it) light peachy pink color. The brush is quite large, which is not my favorite, but I made it work.
 Then I added the magic!  Two coats of Lynnderella's very special Liquid Valentine.
 Liquid Valentine has tons of beautiful tiny blue shimmers and then various sizes and shapes of red, pink, purple, and holo glitters.  I think there is silver, too...it's hard to tell/remember!  :)
 I love the hearts, diamonds, and squares.  Heck, I love it ALL.

 I didn't even have to fish out the hearts, so that was pretty awesome.
 I was thrilled to receive this polish as a gift from the wonderfully talented Lynn.  Thank you so very, very much, Lynn!  You continue to amaze me with your insanely beautiful, fun, and funky works of art.
Liquid Valentine is not for sale at this time, but you can learn more about Lynnderella polishes at both her blog site here, as well as Llarowe's shop here.

I have more heart-tastic manis in store for you, my lovelies!  Stay tuned.  :)

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Heck Yeah, Glitter Party!

 I started with two coats of OPI Save Me.  Then I added a coat of Lynnderella Boy-Girl Party, because, why the heck not?!
 Well, let me go back...because after Save Me, I used a coat of Glitter Tamer and a coat of Poshe.
 Then, a coat of Boy-Girl Party, followed by another coat of Glitter Tamer and Poshe.  It was actually quite smooth!
 It reminds me of fireworks and New Year's, which is not very creative thinking on my part.  My friend at work told me that it reminded her of "unicorn-ness," or something like that.  I was thrilled and much prefer her idea!  We both reminisced about loving unicorns, Rainbow Brite, and Punky Brewster as little kids.
This last picture is probably my favorite.  I wore this for a just over two glorious days and I was sad to take it off last night (it started chipping).  And you know what else?  Removal with my beloved scrubby tub was shockingly NOT atrocious or hard!  Major win!

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My Funfetti Mani

 This mani took more time and patience than most do, however, I am well pleased with the results!
 I used three coats of Essie Marshmallow for my underwear.
 Next, I added one and a half coats of Lynnderella Sweets to the Sweet.  I say one and a half because several nails only need one coat but some others I dabbed on a bit more (up to two coats of it in total).
 I finished everything with two coats of Gelous and then a coat of Seche Vite.
 It was not perfectly glassy smooth, but still smooth enough for me to enjoy.  I actually did a close variation of this combo right before this mani and I had trouble that time around with the white glitters in Sweets to the Sweet bunching up on each other and in little heaps.  I would say that this polish requires more patience and skill in application than many glitters...but then again, this is so delightfully delicious that I am more than happy to put up with some glitter shenanigans!
It looks like tasty funfetti cupcakes and I definitely had a few friends telling me that they wanted to lick my nails!  :)

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