Gradient Nails for the #31DC2018Weekly

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People...I will catch up with the challenge.  I am currently still a week behind but I will remedy that this week.  Pinkie swear!  but I do have my gradient nails for you today.  And I love them!  My fellow nail art pal, Gianna, recently did this amazing muted neutral toned gradient floral  manicure and I knew I needed to recreate it.  It spoke to me!  See the original mani on Nailstorming's IG page.  I took her idea and changes it up slightly.  But it is very similar.  Not as perfect as hers but I still dig it.

Honor Nails you Love for the #31DC2017Weekly

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It's the last day of the challenge!!  I just want to give a huge high five to all of the ladies that was continued with the challenge all of these 31 weeks.  I especially want to give a shout out to Lotte from marzipany.blogspot.com.  Not only has she done each of the challenges on time and perfectly, she is also hosting me in her home this week while I am on a Euro vacation.  She is amazing and if you are not following her by now...what are you waiting for?!?

For this last prompt of the challenge, we are supposed to honor nails that we love.  This can be recreating a manicure that you love, creating a nail art look inspired by another nail artist or just generally being inspired by another nail artists aesthetics.  For me, I have been obsessed with this one nail art look by Nina Nailed It.  It is fun and abstract and uses some of my favorite color combinations.  Plus, it is super easy but looks complicated.  My favorite!  Let't take a look :)

Inspired by Art for the #31DC2017Weekly

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So I messed up.  I miss the Inspired by Art prompt!  I thought I was caught up yesterday until I realized that I missed a step.  Oopsies.  Well, here we have a mani with the inspiration of 80s poster artists.  Actually, this was more a reversed inspiration.  When I was these nail wraps by ThumpsUp Nails, they made me think of old posters of cartoon/pop art style women in the 80s with big hair and animal print.  If you don't know what I am talking about, google art posters by Patrick Nagel and Dennis Mukai to see the awesome of the 80s.  This manicure just gave me that 80s vibe.

Half Moon Nails for the #31DC2017Weekly

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Today, for the half moon prompt of the weekly version of the 31 Day Nail Art Challenge, I did some half moon nails.  Haha.  But seriously, these are just some simple half moon nails with embellishments.   I always enjoy seeing manicures with negative space half moons.  They always look very classy and simple which is what I like in nail art.  You can use any color of finish and it looks good.  I swear!

Delicate Print Nails for the #31DC2017Weekly

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I am loving my mani for this week's challenge prompt!  Usually, I end up picking some delicate floral design to stamp on my nails for this theme.  Which I originally did but hated the way the manicure photographed and decided to redo it.  I am glad I chose an edgier delicate print the second time around!  My mani is inspired by motherboards.  They are neat little items.  They are very structured and precise but all of the teeny tiny parts welded together in an intricate detailed pattern make it quite delicate.  Do you agree?

Cirque Colors - Facets Collection

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Oh boy, do I have some pretty polishes to share with you today!  The Cirque Colors Facets Collection has a finish that I just love.  They are all jelly bases packed with holographic flakes.  The finish is very similar to Zoya's holographic shades and piCture pOlish Bijou holographics.  The glitters in these are delicate and flat.  The do not stick up out of the polish and are very easy to remove.  Nothing like a traditional glitter.  I just love this type of polish.  It always looks gorgeous, no matter what the color or occasion is.  Let's take a look at these six little beauties!

Inspired by a Color for the #31DC2016Weekly

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We are in the final stretch of the challenge!  This is the part of the 31 Day Nail Art Challenge that I typically fizzle out.  For the last 10 days of the challenge, you are supposed to do manicure inspired by colors and movies and fashion.  It was always difficult for me to come up with something new and exciting every day.  Now that I am doing the challenge weekly, I will have more time to come up with cool nail art looks for these tougher prompts!  This week, we are doing manicures inspired by a color.  I chose a color of manicure that is classic and traditional.  My mani today is inspired by pinky nudes.  Pink toned nude polishes are so classic and work appropriate.  People may say they are boring but I love wearing them.  Plus, they can be jazzed up in so many ways.  So that is what I did...jazzed them up :)

I started with a base of a soft gradient of pinky nude cremes from Cirque Colors.  The darker pink is "Jane on Jane St." and the lighter pink is "Whitney".  They are both delicious creme colors with amazing formulas.  All of the Cirque Colors Metropolis Collection cremes are fantastic.

Next, I applied these cute water decals from Nicole Diary in a delicate black floral pattern.  I have been really impressed with the water decals from this brand.  They are so easy to apply and smooth onto the nail flawlessly.  They are super thin and even stretch a little to fit around even the curviest nail beds.  They don't wrinkle when you apply a glossy top coat either.  You should definitely check them out!

I did this mani on both a glossy top coat and then a satin matte top coat just to see which I liked best.  I like them both!  Which do you like best?

I am really happy with out this manicure turned out.  It is very delicate and girly but still appropriate for work.  I am excited to see what everyone else doing the challenge has come up with this week,  Be sure to check out the #31DC2016Weekly tag on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook to see more awesome nail art!  Have you been enjoying this weekly challenge?

Thanks for stopping by!

 - Amy 'McPolish' McG

*polish purchased by me and water decals sent by the maker/stockist for honest review*

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Rose Gold Bling

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I have a easy but beautiful manicure to share with you all today!  I have been super into rose gold nails and jewelry over the past few years.  It's girly but still sophisticated.  When I received some dainty rose gold jewels from Born Pretty Store, I knew I wanted to do a super blingy manicure.  I have always liked seeing nail artists to those jewel encrusted accent nails with acrylics or gels.  It looks like jewelry on the nail!  So, I wanted to give it a try.  I chose a metallic rose gold base that has a linear holographic shimmer, Himalayan Pink by Cirque Colors.  Once that was dry, I applied a thick layer of glossy top coat and pressed in the tiny rose gold jewels.  I chose a non-quick dry top coat for this because I wanted it to stay a little wet so I could move around the jewels if needed.  If filled in some sparse spaces on the nail to make sure it was nice and uniform.  If you want a more long lasting jewel encrusted nail, use a gel coat to hold the gems on.  I really liked how this turned out!

Here are how the gems come to you from Born Pretty Store.  They are shaped like traditional solitaire gems with a pointed base.  They appear to be acetone resistant because I was able to clean all of the polish off of them without dulling the finish.  The amount in this container is what was left over after doing my accent nail.  So you get a pretty good amount!

And how about a look at Himalayan Pink on it's own!  This is two coats of this rose gold shade with a glossy top coat.  This was from the Cirque Colors Speckled and Sparkle Collection.

I hope you enjoyed this simple accent nail.  You can get these exact gems (micro zircon rhinestones) from the Born Pretty Store here.  Use my code 'AVAW10' for 10% off of your BPS order.  It is not an affiliate code, just a coupon for you to use :)

Thanks for stopping by!

 - Amy McG (McPolish)

*gems provided for review, polish purchased by me*

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Floral Nails for the #31DC2016Weekly

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This week for the floral nails prompt, I wanted to do some more hand painting.  I got my inspiration for this mani from an incredible nail artist on Instagram, Katharina at @cottonconey.  She does such cute floral and cartoon designs and I just love them.  Mine did not turn out as perfect and tiny as hers do but I was happy enough with them to share with you today.

Green Nails for the #31DC2016Weekly

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For this week's prompt, I decided to use some new nail art supplies that I have been itching to try out for a while.  Nail Foils!  I purchased a little starter kit from Ciaté called The Very Colorfoil Manicure in Wonderland from Sephora a few months ago.  I used the green metallic and holographic gold foils along with the foil glue from the kit.  It comes with a base color as well, but I used my own.  I also tried this with different top coats for different effects.  Let me know which one you like the best!

Click through for more pics!

Cirque Colors Icon Duos from Pop-In@Nordstrom

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I have some gorgeous little Cirque Colors duos to share with you tonight!  Cirque Colors has teamed up with Nordstrom's Pop-In Shops again this month.  These are small little "shops" curated by Olivia Kim that pop up in select stores and online.  The items sold in the shops are all themed and for a limited time only.  Currently, the Pop-In Shop is in collaboration with NYC fashion brand Opening Ceremony.  Inspired by the colors of these fashions, Annie has created three gift sets, each including one creme and on holographic polish that is exclusive to this event.  I was able to snag all three sets to share with you all.  I thought it would be fun to do some double side dots which each of the duos to show off the different shades.  These Cirque Colors Icon Duos will only be available to purchase through Nordstrom until Jan 3rd.  So if you like them...grab them quick!

Cirque Colors - Holiday 2015 Collection

Hello lovelies!

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Today, I have some super special polishes to share with you.  Everyone loves Cirque Colors, right?  They always have the coolest colors and the smoothest application.  Well, their holiday collection this year is no exception.  It is small but it is mighty.  There are only four polishes in this collection.  One will be a permanent shade, two are limited edition and one is a return of a classic holiday topper.  I have all four to share with you today and just a warning, this will be a picture heavy post.  The two super reflective polishes in this set are so difficult to photograph, I included several different shots of them both.  So let's get into the blingy goodness!

*Click through for all the fun!*

Cirque Colors - The Meta Collection

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Tonight, I have some color shifty awesomeness to share with you!  This month, Cirque Colors released a limited edition collection of multichrome polishes all packed with some shifty microflakies.  I was having major issues trying to choose which photos to use in this post.  There were just so many to choose from!  Some with direct lighting, some with dual lighting, macros, bottle shots....so many!  I picked out a few that I thought displayed the shiftiness of these polishes.  I used two different light sources at different angles to get all of the colors to shine.  Let's take a look!

Click through for all the shiftiness!

#31DC2015 Recap: Day 1 thru Day 5

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I have been keeping up with the 31 Day Nail Art Challenge but I haven't had time to post everything here.  So to make up for that, I am going to do 5 days recaps of the prompts to share with you here.  Don't forget, you can stay up to date each day on my Instagram account if you like.  Since I will be showing many different polishes and nail art supplies in this post, I will note which items I received for review in each mani description if indicated.  The first 10 days of the challenge are prompts based on colors and are the easiest to complete in my opinion.  Let me know which looks are your favorite!

Click through for a closer look at each mani!

Day 2: Orange Nails of the #31dc2015

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I have a quick and dirty post tonight to share my manicure for the Orange prompt of the 31 Day Nail Art Challenge.  I wanted to do an orange blobbicure for this prompt and tried several different color and polish combos.  I was failing so hard!  But I finally found a combo that worked and I love it!  I used two Cirque Colors holographic for this.  The orange base is "Valencia" and the blue is "Twilight".  Go Gators! :)  I did a blobbicure last year for the challenge and I feel this attempt was way better.

Have you tried this nail art technique before?  It's very easy.  You just put on a thick wet coat of polish and blob on another color right on top while it is still very wet.  Let me know if you try it!

You can keep up to date with all of the 31 Day Nail Art Challenge fun by following the #31dc2015 tags on your favorite social media platform (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest).  I always end up finding great new nail artist  to stalk during this challenge


Thanks for stopping by!
-Amy 'McPolish' McG

*products were purchased by me*

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Cirque Colors - The Warby Parker Collection

Good evening folks!

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Have you guys been loving the collections that Cirque Colors have been doing for Nordstrom as much as I have?  Well...this month is no exception!  Each month, Olivia Kim curates a special Pop-In Shop at select Nordstrom stores and online highlighting independent designers.  For the month of August, Warby Parker has brought some of his awesome eyewear to the shop.  Cirque Colors has taken inspiration from his collection to create polishes that compliment the colors and feel of the Warby Parker.  There are 5 polishes in this limited edition collection that are combination of cool blues and grays.  Gray polish is my most favorite color of polish.  So you can imagine just how much I squealed in excitement when I saw these polishes.  I love every single one of them!  No lie.  This collection from Cirque is only available from Nordstrom and will go away on September 6th.  So get it while you can!  Let's get into some swatches :)

Click through for all the photos!

Cirque Colors Metropolis Collection June - Golightly and Nolita Lolita

Howdy!

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What is this craziness?  Posts up every day this week!  I am on a roll and I am going to try and keep up a regular posting schedule for you all.  Wish me luck!

Tonight, I have the two new creme polishes from Cirque Color's Metropolis Collection.  For the month of June, we are introduced to "Nolita Lolita" and "Golightly".  Both of these have the perfectly creamy formula that we have grown to expect from Cirque.  I used two coats with a glossy top coat for each of the swatches.  I also did a little nail art with these two polishes.  The double side dot is my new favorite quick and easy nail art to do.  I just put two little dots of polish (or studs or rhinestones) on the sides of each nail.  I really like to use contrasting colors for the most dramatic effect.  If you want to see a bunch of recreations of this mani, browse the #doublesidedots tag on Instagram.  Let's look at the pretties!

Here is "Golightly" which is a blue leaning teal creme polish.  With a name like Golightly, I was expecting this to be more of a Tiffany blue but it was much more teal in person.  Excellent formula as per usual.

"Nolita Lolita" is the other polish released this month.  It is a bright raspberry pink creme with an excellent formula.  Nice and easy application and a great summer color.

These two polishes for June are going to be the last ones in the Metropolis Collection for a few months.  The monthly release of signature creme polishes will start up again in  September.  You can purchase these polishes directly from the Cirque Colors site or from their many stockists.

Cirque Colors online store
Cirque Colors stockists

Smooches!
Amy McG (McPolish)

*products provided by the maker for honest review*

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Cirque Colors - Poolside Collection

Hello there!

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Today, I have a lovely collection to share with you.  If you read my last Cirque Colors post (here), you would have heard about their collaboration with Nordstrom to create polishes for the monthly Pop-In shops.  Each month, Olivia Kim curates a selection of items for a themed sale.  There are clothing, accessories, shoes and beauty products.  This month's theme is Poolside and Cirque Colors created 6 nail polished exclusively for sale through the Pop-In shops.  There are a handful of Nordstrom stores that have an actual shop but the rest of us can purchase them online.  

The Poolside Collection is lovely and I know there will be a few of these beauties you will add to your want list.  There are 3 cremes, 2 holos and 1 glitter topper.  Want to see them!?!?

* Click through for all the photos*

Cirque Colors - Magic Hour holos

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It's warming up out there and starting to feel a lot more like summer!  I will miss spring but I am excited for summer colors.  And what so we wear in the summer on our nails??  Neons!  And what type of polish is the most fun to wear in the sunshine?  Holographics!  So, put those two together and you have a winning combo.  Today, I have four limited edition holographic polishes from Cirque Colors to share with you from the Magic Hour collection.  This collection is exclusive to Nordstrom's Magic Hour pop-in shops curated by Olivia Kim.  These small shops are only in a select number of Nordstrom stores.  But you can purchase any of the limited edition products online like I did.  I snagged the four holographic polishes in this collection the moment they were available online and I can't wait to share them with you!

Click through for all the holo goodness!

Cirque Colors - The Metropolis Collection for April 2015

Hello April!

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Today, I have two lovely creme polishes being released by Cirque Colors this month.  Cirque started releasing creme shades of polishes every month as part of their Metropolis Collection.  Each of the polishes are inspired by places around New York City.  For April, we have two brightly colored cremes that are perfect for not only spring, but transitioning into summer too!  The polishes released each month as part of the Metropolis Collection are not limited edition.  You will be able to get these polishes at any time until they retire the shade.  I really enjoy this type of monthly release.  We are always looking forward to new colors and our pocket books are not severely damaged but the release of a big collection all at once.  Want to see the pretty polishes!?!?