Let's Go Buf-falo!

Happy 2015, Phalange fans! I took an extended, unintentional hiatus to recharge my blogging batteries and enjoy the holiday season with my sister and my boyfriend. I received tons of new polishes that I can't wait to share with you guys, starting with tonight!

My sister and I went to a Buffalo Sabres game, last week and my lovely boyfriend gave me Gridlock Lacquer The Aud in my stocking. The Aud, short for Memorial Auditorium, was the original arena where the Sabres played. It also hosted concerts and I went to many showings of Disney on Ice with my family, when I was a kid. It was closed in 1997 and the First Niagara Center opened, not too far from the Aud. Demolition was completed on the Aud a couple years ago and a brand new open-air ice rink opened in it's place, with center ice of the rink over the location of center ice at the Aud. I decided that this game was the perfect place to use Gridlock Lacquer the Aud to add some extra sparkle. I also got to test out a new toy that the boyfriend gave me for Christmas.


Check it out!

To get this party started, I used NYX Ridge Filling basecoat. I used two coats of Sinful Colors Endless Blue and three coats of Sinful Colors Let's Meet! on my ring finger and topped my ring finger with two coats of Gridlock Lacquer The Aud. I topcoated and I was ready to roll.

And the new toy I got from Jeff was a clip-on macro lens for my iPhone 5c!! I was so excited!

 Gridlock Lacquer-The Aud (shade)

Gridlock Lacquer-The Aud (sunlight)

Just look at that!! This glitter has everything-different sizes of royal blue holographic glitters, and round, square AND hex holo glitters in different sizes. And it went on so easy! Just a little bit of dabbing and I got this great coverage. It just sparkled and shone. I'm in love. I can't wait to try more of Gridlock Lacquer's glitters under the macro lens. 

I've got some other things lined up for this space, so stay tuned. Now that I have this lens, I really feel like blogging and taking pictures and putting time into my  nails again.

xo, ali

Art-Deco Inspiration

Hey all! If you're reading this, we survived Monday! I'm back with another manicure for September's Nail Challenge Collaborative theme-Geometric.

When I first heard what the theme was, this month, my mind went to one of my favorite recent movies:

[source]

Baz Luhrmann's version of the Great Gatsby was everything I hoped it would be-a flashy, bright, tragic love story with Leonardo DiCaprio. 

Let's check it out.

I started with two coats of OPI All Sparkly and Gold, from the Holiday 2013 Mariah Carey collection. I actually wore it for a day, by itself, and I loved it!

I laid down striping tape and painted over it with NYC Black Lace Creme, one finger at a time, and pulled the tape up, leaving the ring finger and thumb as accent nails. The last step was to topcoat the whole thing for some extra shine.

This is what Cher Horowitz would call a Monet--good-looking from far away but once you get up close, it's a big ol' mess. The striping tape was near the end of the roll and I think it lost some of its stick. No matter what I did, it would not stay stuck around the edges and that caused the black to bleed a few times. I definitely would love to recreate this with some other color palettes. The possibilities are endless!

The color scheme was inspired by the Great Gatsby's logo and this is something I'd wear to a party at Gatsby's for a night of drinking, dancing, and debauchery!

I'm still thinking on my next two manicures for this month's theme, plus a few more posts for you guys!!

Be sure to check out the fine lines done by the rest of the NCC ladies, and thanks for reading!!

xo, ali

Tea for Two

Hello! It's me! The phantom blogger. I'm back with another installment of the Nail Challenge Collaborative. August's theme is Tea Party. I don't know about you but I didn't really play tea party that much as a kid. If you can believe it, I was a tomboy in my formative years. I loved hitting the ball with my dad, riding bikes, and swimming. Tea parties and Barbies were more of my younger sister's bag. However, once I grew up and started getting interested in boys, all that changed. And this theme definitely let me experience tea parties.

For my first mani, this month, I pulled inspiration from my "NCC Inspo" board on Pinterest (you can follow me here). The first picture that jumped out at me was this:

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Check out how I interpreted it in my skittlette:

For this mani, I really pulled inspiration from the tablecloth. After painting my base color of three coats of Pixi Luminous Lilac, a shimmery, pale, pink-toned lavender, I topcoated with a quick-drying topcoat and then pulled out my Bundle Monster Create Your Own stamping plates and chose BM-404 for my index and middle fingers. For my ring finger, I figured that ladies who had afternoon tea also kept songbirds so I used an image from BM-407. Everything was stamped with Color Club Pucci-Licious. For a little bling, because these ladies always wear their finest jewels, I used Sinful Colors Full Spectrum, a GORGEOUS, clear-based holographic microglitter with pale pink hexes.

Check out the macro shots:

I have been tossing around so many ideas for this theme and I definitely will be paying tribute to the craziest tea party of all-time ;)

Hopefully once the next couple weeks are over, I'll be able to get some swatches and more nail art up for you guys. I just received my package from Rach over at stuff i (s)watched for winning her 3rd blogiversary giveway. A package of six gorgeous polishes and the first season of Friday Night Lights. I was a happy girl!

Be sure to stop by the other parties, below!

until next time-ali

Gridlock Lacquer Mini-Spam

Happy Wednesday, everyone! We are halfway through the week...and I can't wait for the weekend.
Today, I'd like to share with you a great indie polish line that is mixed and sold right in my home city of Buffalo, NY! Most of the polishes from Gridlock Lacquer take inspiration from many places and things that can only be found in our fair city from The Aud (where my beloved Sabres got their start and I saw many a Disney on Ice performance) to Loganberry and Beef on Weck inspired polishes. As soon as I heard about the brand, I made plans to find Gridlock's booth at the Broadway Market in Buffalo.

Today I'm going to share three lacquers with you-Delaware Park, Loganberry, and Pussy Willow.  And, so you can feel like you're a true Buffalonian, I'll tell you why these places are so truly Buffalo.

First up is Delaware Park.

Delaware Park is basically the city's playground. It's home to an 18-hole golf course, numerous playgrounds, basketball courts, Hoyt Lake, grassy knolls, and the Buffalo Zoo! Plus, Albright-Knox art gallery is right across the street. I attended college just a few minutes, walking distance, from Delaware Park and Hoyt Lake (pictured) was one of my favorite thinking spots.

Delaware Park is a yellow-toned green with a slight duochrome effect and some scattered holo shimmer. For application, I used 3 1/2 coats. I added an extra coat to the ring and pinky fingers to even out some sheer spots. While the formula is great, it is a little sheer and careful application is a necessity. This color is truly unique to my collection. The spring green to gold-green duochrome is gorgeous and I don't have any other greens like this. It reminds me of the way the park looks in late summer when we hit our dry season. Perfect!


Next, I have Loganberry. Loganberry is a locally loved beverage that accompanies our wings, beef on weck, and Mighty Taco.

(source)

Loganberries are actually a thing and they are a cross between a raspberry and a blackberry. The drink itself is an uncarbonated soft drink that you can only be found in Buffalo. I grew up drinking Aunt Rosie's Loganberry because my brother loved it. Every now and again, I get a hankering for a glass. Luckily, the pop fountain in the cafeteria at work has it :) The nail polish is just as addicting.

Loganberry went on in two easy coats, with the perfect consistency. It's a gorgeous brick red with eye-catching shimmer. However, those two easy coats need to be applied with a little TLC to avoid brush strokes. This is not your typical red. It's a little brown around the edges that gives it a sophisticated twist.

Finally, I have Pussy Willow. 

(source)

Pussy Willows are a sure sign of spring in Buffalo and they are used in one of our favorite holidays-Dyngus Day. There is a HUGE Polish population Western New York and our fair city is the Dyngus Day Capital of the World, despite what Anderson Cooper might think. As legend goes, pussy willows are brandished by Polish girls and used to spank the boys they like. Polish boys reciprocate by squirting the girls with water. We celebrate hard, here in Buffalo, and it's a blast. 

Pussy Willow is a mix of copper hex and micro glitters, white satin square glitter, iridescent hexes, and small and large white satin hexes. The formula was a little thick so I added a few drops of thinner and that cleared right up. I layered one coat of Pussy Willow over Loganberry. For the most part, the glitter spread easily but I did have to fish a little bit for the large white hexes. And interestingly, the base didn't have the typical nail polish smell. It smelled like bananas! This perfectly captures the essence of the pussy willow. I can't wait to wear this combo for Dyngus Day, next year!

To purchase Gridlock Lacquer, you can visit her website: Gridlock Lacquer.

The polishes retail for $6.00. You can also purchase Buffalo-themed soaps and synchronized swimming themed lacquers.

You can also keep up with all the new happenings, like the soon-to-be released summer collection on social media:

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

Pinterest

I hope you guys enjoyed these as much as I did! I still have two more Gridlock glitters to swatch for you guys, so watch this space!

xo, ali

The Luck of the Irish

Hello! Happy Tuesday! Sorry I went MIA for a little bit--my seasonal allergies kicked in and I was dealing with some thyroid stuff, which is getting figured out :)

I couldn't let this week pass by without doing some green manis for you guys. Green used to be a color that I didn't have any interest in but I've started opening up and giving them a chance. 

After all, it's not easy

Hi-Ho

Tonight, I'm sharing a quick, glitzy mani that is perfect for the wearin' o' the green.

This is three coats of NY&Co Inverness followed by one dabbed on coat of Ulta Starry Starry Night.

Inverness is a dusty forest green crelly. I really love how rich the color is and how saturated it is after three coats. It went on really smooth, too. I have a few more polishes from NY&Co that I hope to show you eventually :)
Starry Starry Night is a beautiful glitter topper with silver and pale gold holographic hexes and silver holographic micro-glitters. Your best bet to apply this one is to do a swipe like you would with a regular polish and then dab some more of the larger glitters on.

I hope to have another green manicure on Thursday!

xo, ali

Sparkling Mimosas

Happy Tuesday! Just a quick swatch post for your viewing pleasure, tonight. From the "vault," which is very tiny. We've got two polishes from China Glaze.

This is three coats of China Glaze Mimosas Before Mani's from Spring 2013's Avant Garden collection. MBM is an orange-toned coral with a golden shimmer all throughout it. Application on this one was streaky and uneven. It definitely needed the three coats to even it out. This is shown with flash to display the true color.

To add a little sparkle, I added one coat of China Glaze Glitter Goblin, from the Halloween Collection that came out in 2012. I won this in a giveaway from the amazingly talented and sweet Heather at Peace, Love, and Polish.

Glitter Goblin is a mixture of silver holo and orange micro-glitters suspended in a clear base and is a a really fun, festive way to add some glitz and sparkle to a mani :)

What do you think? I'd love to hear your thoughts!!

xo, ali

Once Upon a Dream

Hey! Happy Tuesday! I hope it finds you all well and warm. I wish Spring would hurry up and get here!

I have a manicure that I really loved to share with you tonight, so let's look!

ooh there's a little sneak peek of one of my tattoos...my heart on my sleeve ;)

Sorry about the janky cuticles! I had to be quick to get the natural day light!

This is three coats of a polish I picked up from Forever 21's revamped polish line. They have a lot of unique colors this time around, but the names are still terrible. This was called "Blue/Pink" but, being a Disney fan, I've dubbed this:

Once Upon a Dream.

Sleeping Beauty is my favorite Disney movie, with the Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast second and third.

This polish is a baby blue creme flecked with magenta and iridescent hexes and iridescent bar glitters. Props to Forever 21 for picking up on the indie polish trend. I absolutely love this and definitely look forward to wearing it again.

Once it was dry (thanks to Color Club 0-60), I used Cult Nails Time Traveler (inspired by a certain Doctor) and one of my best friend's Mash plates to stamp the swirly design. 

I really loved this. Once Upon A Dream applied well but it didn't last long, which might not be a bad thing when you have polish ADD like me!

What do you think? What's your favorite Disney movie, or polish inspired by it?

xo, ali

Tape Mani Thursday!

Goooood evening lovelies!

I hope you are all having a great week. We're almost to the weekend and Christmas. My next post after this one will be on Christmas Eve! I'm so excited to spend time with family and open presents :)

Tonight, I have a really quick, really sparkly mani for you. I don't know if Tape Mani Thursday will become a thing but this manicure is a great starting point!

I recently joined the Julep Maven program and I love it. I did the free box offer and my style quiz showed that I was an "It Girl," which is fitting ;)

I loved it so much that did December's box, but in Boho Glam.

If you are unfamiliar with the Julep Maven program, I'll give you a little rundown.

For about $20 a month, you get up to three polishes, depending on your style profile. The boxes to choose from are It Girl, Boho Glam, Bombshell, Classic With A Twist, and Modern Beauty. If you don't like your style profile's box for the month, they give you an option to choose one of the other boxes, or you can skip the month entirely. Isn't that awesome?!

If you're interested in joining from just that description, you can join up here.

Now, onto the polishes!

 In the Boho Glam box, there were two polishes and a neutral eyeshadow palette. Plus, they threw in two twistband hair ties, which I love.

For this mani, I started with my usual Orly Nail Armor base coat and then three coats of Julep Misti

Misti is a dusty teal green. It reminds me of the Atlantic Ocean.

The formula was decent on this. Because of the shape of the Julep polish bottles, you really have to make sure that you wipe the brush off on the mouth of the bottle so you don't get too much on your brush. Other than that--three coats and you're good.

I topcoated this with Beauty Plus Salon top coat.

After that dried, I took my roll of striping tape and made X's on each finger and took a thin nail art brush with Julep Joelle to make sure that I got my points exact.

Joelle is just gorgeous. Holo microglitter and slightly larger silver glitters, suspended in a clear base. It just sparkles at any angle. It's a great glitter for the holidays!

I can't wait to see what Julep has in store for next month!

What you do think about this simple, sparkly mani?

Tell me about it!

xo, ali