Review: Sally Hansen "Blue Me Away".

Hello My Gorgeous People!

Today I am reviewing Sally Hansen "Blue Me Away".

  

I used "Blue Me Away" as part of the above tape manicure with Orly "Honey Ryder".

This polish is a vibrant, bold blue that is perfect for a summer manicure that is a little bit different. The application is really smooth and even, it is a strong colour and only needed 2 coats to become completely even and opaque. The drying time is really impressive as I found it dried a lot faster than some of my other Xtreme Wear Sally Hansen polishes.

One problem that I had with this colour is that even though the polish was completely dry when I applied my tape some of the polish ripped off when I was removing the tape. I'm not sure if this problem was user error on my behalf or due to the polish.

**Update**

Now that I have removed the polish I have noticed that it unfortunately permanently stains the nails, surrounding cuticles and skin. (Please excuse the crappy condition that my nails are in, these were taken pre nail care ritual)

Talk to you all later!

xoxo
Queen Bee

Midnight Manicure Madness!

Hello Lovely People!

As you would have seen in a previous post, I am currently on doctor-enforced bed rest. Now, you would think that being stuck in a bed would be awesome! Staying in your PJ's until mid-afternoon, being able to nap whenever you want, having people wait on you hand and foot... I'm here to burst your bubble... It SUCKS! Yeah, those things are entertaining for a few days but this has been forced on me for a 5th time in 2 years, I would give anything to go for a walk!

Anyway, back to the subject, bed rest also means that your body clock is all upside down... so I found myself painting my nails while deliriously tired at 3am a few weeks ago. This is the outcome:

The main thing I see when I look back at this manicure is "who needs to have matching hands anyway?" in fact, I believe that was the caption written under this image when I posted to my personal Instagram (@princesslea89).

The main thoughts that I had when coming up with the design was that I wanted something bright, which I got from Ulta3: "Fruit Tingle" an incredibly bright and gorgeous hot pink. I was also wanting to mess around with various geometric designs that I had seen on other polish blog pages. I am the first to admit that when it comes to the intricate, detailed nail art that I have absolutely no hopes or skills to speak of, so I tend to stick to the abstract, geometric and simple designs.

The left hand (top hand) in the image was created by using the tape manicure method, where you paint your base colour, wait for it to dry completely, tape up the areas you wish to keep that colour and then paint over the exposed areas with the alternate colour you want in your design. After you have done this, peel off the tape covering the base colour and 'hey presto!" you have a tape manicure! 

I also used a black striper polish by Jordana called "Black Mark" to clean up the edges between the colours and to make the pink stand out brighter.

The right hand (bottom hand in the image) was made by simply painting the whole of the nail in white (Sally Hansen: "Whirlwind White"), waiting for it to dry, painting the fruit tingle over the top (the white gives the neon a stronger 'POP!") and then painting a diagonal white stripe across each nail using another Jordana striper polish called "Contemporary White" and lining along each side of the white with the Jordana black striper.

I then topped everything off with a coat of Essence Quick Dry Topcoat to seal in the colour and prevent chipping and I was done!

I really like this manicure and I was complemented on it quite a few times during the time that I wore it, many people found it comical that my hands didn't match. So I say, if you have something completely weird that you want to give a go, DO IT! you never know how the results will come out, you may love it, you may hate it and want to take it off immediately, but that is the great thing about polish. A cotton ball, some polish remover and you are ready for your next design!

I would love to see some of your designs out there so link me on Instagram with both @princesslea89 and @queenbeepolishes and I will take a look, who knows, you may just inspire one of my new projects!

xoxo
Queen Bee

Springtime Pastels Manicure.

Hey lovely people!

As I promised, here is the outcome of all those polishes that I posted last night...

 

Ta Da!

Okay the list of polishes I used were the following:

- Sally Hansen "Whirlwind White"
- Sinful Colours "Be Happy"
- OPI "You're Such A Budapest"
- Essie "Cascade Cool" (pictured)
- Essie "Navigate Her"
- Essie "Bikini So Teeny"
- Essence "Via Airmail!"
- Essence "Destination Sunshine"

You will also need the following tools:

- Acetone polish remover (for washing out the stippling brush between colours)
- A stippling brush (these can be found at any arts and crafts store that sells painting brushes)
- A cleanup brush (for cleaning around the cuticles)
- A painting palette or a plastic lid (for depositing drops of the polishes onto)

I wanted a look that would match the amazing, sunny spring weather we are getting in Australia and I wanted to try a different method other than the colour blocking, alternating white and pastel stripes.
I use this technique to give a distressed, patchy look on the collectable models that my husband and I create and paint (I'm a geek and proud of it). So I decided to give it a go with polishes instead of acrylics.

Firstly, I applied the clear base coat to protect my nails and give the polish something strong to adhere to. I followed this up by painting two coats of the fast drying "Whirlwind White: as my undies

After the base white was completely dry (this is REALLY important because if the polish is still even slightly wet it will move around and may come off the nail when you start stippling the coloured polishes over the top) I started with my first colour, depositing a small amount of the polish onto my palette and dipped my stippling brush into it and then dabbed it a few times to make sure that there isn't too much of the polish of the brush (if there is too much the polish will turn out as a big blob rather than the watery and textured look that is needed to achieve this manicure).

Next, I gently started stippling the polish in small sections on to each nail until I was happy with the look. I repeated steps one and  two for each colour, sometimes twice in the same spot to crate a stronger pigmentation on some areas, ensuring that there were no white gaps and I was happy with the look I waited for it to dry completely (to prevent any streaking between colours) and then applied a gel-look top coat and quick dry topcoat (both by Essence) and ta da! the manicure was complete!

If you have any questions about this post, please post a comment below and I will do my best to answer it.

Goodnight my lovely ones!

xoxo
Queen Bee