Morgan Taylor Ooh La La! Collection Swatches & Review

Press Sample

This new Ooh La La! collection from Morgan Taylor screams spring in Paris to me. I feel like they absolutely nailed it. (Pun intended) Though the closest I've ever been to Paris is Charles De Gaulle airport, I feel like it is a great color story to match photos I've seen of Paris. It feels like a romantic collection with a twist, and I like that. I had some unexpected love for a particular polish in this collection, hit the jump to find out which one, and see my swatches & review! :)

Island Floral Fun

 Press Sample

The other day a great thing happened–I had a package on my doorstep! I mean everyone loves mail, but this wasn't just ANY mail, this was the new Zoya Summer 2015 collection! I barely got in the door before it was ripped open. The dogs were staring at me like I was a crazy person (I am), but I didn't care, I needed to see them! I have to say, I was not disappointed–I think that this is honestly one of my favorite collections from Zoya in a long time. I immediately swatched them on a nail wheel, and fell in love with Jace, Cecelia, and Talia especially. They complement each other extremely well, and eventually I want to do some nail art with them, but for today, I used Jace, Cecelia, and Nana! (Fun fact: my nickname at my old job in Michigan is Nana. It started out as Grandma, but evolved/shortened into Nana and stuck!)

I used:

Green: Zoya Jace
Teal: Zoya Cecelia
Pink: Zoya Nana

Topcoat: KB Shimmer Clearly On Top Quick Dry Top Coat


Zoya nail polishes, as always, are free of formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, toluene, dibutyl phthalate, and camphor and can be purchased at zoya.com and Ulta and Ulta.com for $9. 

Disclosure: Products in this post were provided for review by the manufacturer. See the legal page disclosure for more information

Radiant LVXury

Press Sample

So I feel like a total jerk. I've had these polishes for a while. I got them right before I went into the ICU at the hospital, and actually I used them for a design right away that I never got to post because I DID go into the hospital. These polishes are fantastic! Along with the LVX topcoat, the manicure I did when I first got them lasted over THREE WEEKS. (I was extremely impressed, and with good reason!)

This nail art is a recreation of the nail art I had back when I first got them. I think Oyster is my favorite; it's a light grey that is so opaque that I could've probably gotten away with one coat, but did two to be on the safe side. I love how pigmented these polishes are, and I haven't found a grey yet that I don't love! (Especially if it's a creamy, delightful grey!!)

I'll be reviewing the polishes soon as well, but wanted to share this nail art with you!

I used:

Light Grey: LVX Oyster
Dark Grey: LVX Anthracite
Bright Pink: LVX Cerise

LVX polishes are available at www.shoplvx.com for $16.00

Disclosure: Products in this post were provided for review by the manufacturer. See the legal page disclosure for more information.

Turn on the Water(color)works!

Nothing to Disclose Press Sample

I love finding inspiration in clothing and fabric patterns. I love their repetitive nature, and they often lend themselves well to nail art. :) A while back, they had a sale at work, and I bought this dress with the most beautiful design on the hem of the dress. Not only was the dress only $5, but I had nail inspiration too?! Total twofer! To get the watercolor effect, I painted the shape I wanted, and then while it was still wet, I dabbed it with a q-tip that was soaked in acetone. I'm super excited that the design turned out pretty much exactly how it looked in my head! :)

What's your favorite go-to for nail inspiration? Tell me in the comments below! :)

The actual dress I bought is no longer in stock, but here is a picture of it. It's the StyleStalker Aura dress in Lilac: 

I used:

White: Zoya Purity

Black: American Apparel Hassid

Various shades of purples/blues: 

Zoya Pinta

Zoya Mira

Morgan Taylor Making Waves

Morgan Taylor P.S. I Love You

Dermelect Phenom

Nails Inc Green Park

Topcoat: KB Shimmer Clearly On Top Quick Dry Top Coat

 

Disclosure: Some products in this post were provided for review by the manufacturer. Most were purchased by me. See the legal page disclosure for more information

The Daily Nail Dog!

Nothing to Disclose

APRIL FOOLS! ;)

As you guys may have noticed, I've been a little lax in my posting the past year or so. Because of that, I've decided to take the blog in another direction. If you follow my Instagram, you know that I just adopted a new little fur monster...her name is Molly, and she's a 4 year old deer chihuahua! Because I could never paint Homer's nails, I was so excited to get a girl dog so I could paint hers!

The new focus of the blog is going to be nail art painted on puppy toes!! I've changed the name of the blog ever so slightly from 'The Daily Nail' or 'The Daily Nail Blog' to 'The Daily Nail Dog'! :)

I decided to test out a spinoff one of my favorite designs, Reverse Rockabilly, which is perfect for this weekend here in Las Vegas! It's Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend here this weekend! She was so patient, and such a sweetheart through the whole painting process! Homer hates when I touch his toes, but she just looked at me with her weeping, bulbous eyes. She's so cute, and a total spitfire! She and Homer are CONSTANTLY playing, we're so glad we found her! You can click on the photo below to enlarge it! :)

Disclosure: No animals were harmed in the making of this post! 

She is an extremely spoiled little worm! :)

Zoya Delight Spring 2015 Swatches & Review

Press Sample

When I was younger, my favorite part of Easter (aside from dyeing eggs) was eating the royal icing eyeball off my chocolate bunny, then following with the ears, naturally. As I've grown older, my taste buds yearn for the deliciousness off Cadbury Mini Eggs. They're SO. DAMN. GOOD! I'm not a jellybean girl, though. I mean, I love sugar, but there is something about the sickeningly sweet jelly consistency that I just can't get behind. Bleck! The latest collection from Zoya evokes memories of spring and Easters past. They make me think of dyed eggs in bright green cellophane grass and, for some reason... daffodils. Those are like the universal flower of spring, right? Hit the jump for the photos and review! :)

Yes! Yes! Yes!

Nothing to Disclose

I love Jason Mraz. Not in the creepy, stalker, 'one day we might end up together' kinda way, though he is totally adorable. No, just the 'he's awesome', 'his music makes me happy', and 'he's so damn charismatic' kinda way. I've been a fan since my friend Jacquie introduced me to his music my junior year of college. Fast forward to 13 or 14 years later, and I'm heading to the Jason Mraz with Raining Jane concert to see him for the 5th time with my friend Ashley. I'll be perfectly honest, I wasn't sure how I would like this show because I had never really heard any of Raining Jane's stuff outside the most recent Mraz album. Man, was I blown away! They were AWESOME, and my face still hurts from smiling through the show! Those women are talented and highly entertaining, there were even times that Mona Tavakoli (the drummer) stole the show from Jason himself! Jason was fantastic as usual, his sense of humor is always a laugh because his jokes are totally cheesy in the best way. When he first came out on stage he started thanking people individually for attending...those are the kind of silly things he does. I've been to plenty of concerts, and this one ranked waaaaay up there in awesomeness! I can't remember when I enjoyed a show so much. Opening for Jason and Raining Jane was Cody Lovaas, a 16-year-old Singer/Songwriter that had a great voice, and dimples for days.

In true Melissa style, I of course had to do some Mraz nail art for the occasion. I chose to replicate the cover of his latest album, 'YES!' on my fingertips! I actually used gel polishes for everything except the nail art on these, both Gelaze by China Glaze and a gel polish I didn't know even existed...GLOW IN THE DARK from Gel II!! I was so excited when I saw it at Discount Beauty Supply here in Vegas. I was like 'Is this real life?'

A few more pictures from the show (click to enlarge):

I used:

For the base color:

CND Shellac Basecoat

CND Shellac Topcoat

Gelaze by China Glaze White on White

Gel II Rave Glow in the Dark

For the nail art:

Black: American Apparel Hassid

Yellow: American Apparel Manilla

Teal: American Apparel Peacock

Navy: American Apparel Passport Blue

Aqua: American Apparel The Valley

Brown: Revlon Brilliant Strength Dominate