SpaRitual- Off the Grid

Hello everyone!

Today I have a gorgeous SpaRitual polish to share with you! Off the Grid is a gorgeous blue shimmer polish, that has hints of purple and teal in it. This polish reminds me of a mermaid every time that I look at it! When the light hits my nails, I can't help but stare!

This polish is somewhat sheer, so I used three coats. I think you can still see some visible nail line, even with three coats.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

XOXO
Rachel

Happy Easter! & Update!

Hello everyone!

I hope all of you are having a wonderful Easter Sunday! If you don't celebrate, then I hope you are having a great weekend! Today has been such a gorgeous day! I love the spring time and can't wait for it to be warm all the time.

Also, I think I should update you guys a little bit. I first want to apologize for not posting in over two weeks! I am kind of stuck in a rut, with no ideas and no motivation. With that said, I have no intentions to stop blogging or giving up nails. Blogging, nails, and the community surrounded by it would be way to hard to just leave. As with everything else in life, sometimes a break is just needed. I hope you all understand! I should be back on track soon! If you have any requests or ideas, definitely let me know! I'm thinking of starting some sort of series, but I'm just not sure what it would be. Anyways, I can't wait to be back full time!

Thank you for sticking around!
Rachel

Crows Toes Nail Lacquer- Tequila Sunrise

Hello everyone!

A while ago I ordered my first Crows Toes polish that I was completely in love with. Sadly, when I got it, it was shoved into the background and I never wore it. I picked it up recently and I fell in love with it all over again. Tequila Sunrise is the prettiest color shifting polish. It is a hot pink polish that shifts from pink to a yellow-green to gold.

I had no problems with the formula, but I did use three coats. The polish is somewhat sheer, but can easily be layered. I love the way the polish looks when light hits it!

Thank you for stopping by! I hope you have a wonderful week and a great weekend!

XOXO
Rachel

Blue Swirl Mani

Hello everyone!

Today I have a simple blue mani for you guys! I'm not quite sure what the actual pattern is called, but I am going to call it swirls! I used Essie Where's My Chauffeur and Julie G Rock Candy. The swirls were made with a small detail brush.

I really like how the pattern turned out! I will definitely be doing it again sometime in the future! I also like the element of a textured polish! What do you think of this mani? Do you like textured polishes? I hope you all have a great day! Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO
Rachel

Spring Mani: Purple Flowers

Hello everyone!

Sorry it has been so long! I have so many designs that I am itching to paint! Today, I decided to go with some purple themed nails. Nothing too extravagant, but I like the simplicity of it!

On all my nails except the ring finger, I started with a base of Pure Ice Fairy Godmother. Then on my ring finger, I added some studs from Winstonia Store and some small silver hex glitters. I started with two coats of Sinful Colors Snow Me White on my ring finger. The small flowers were made using a detail brush and Pure Ice Fairy Godmother, Essie Go Ginza, and Sinful Colors Sweet Tooth. I added some leaves using an unnamed green polish from Garage.

This was my very first attempt at flowers, and I think they turned out ok for a beginner. I definitely want to do more flower designs for spring! What are your favorite kind of flower nails? Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO
Rachel

St. Patrick's Day Nails

Hello everyone!

Happy St. Patty's Day! I hope everyone has and a wonderful day! There are so many endless possibilities for green nails, so I knew I had to do some! I figured I would branch out and go with a little bit of nail art today! I used so many colors but I will list them all for you!

I thought mix and match nails were perfect! Now onto the colors!

Thumb: Julie G Metallic Heels
Index: Base of OPI Jade is the New Black. Stamped using Winstonia Store plate W105 and OPI Alpine Snow, filled in with Wet N' Wild Stand the Test of Lime.
Middle: Base of OPI Alpine Snow. Dots using Ciate Boudoir, Sally Hansen Sun Kissed, Sally Hansen Mellow Yellow, OPI Jade is the New Black, Wet N' Wild Listening to Blue Reed, Wet N' Wild Who is Ultra Violet?, and Wet N' Wild Black Creme.
Ring: Base of Julie G Metallic Heels. Winstonia Store plate W105 and reverse stamping technique.
Pinkie: OPI Jade is the New Black.

Wow that was a lot! Anyways, if you want to purchase the set of stamping plates that I used, you can go to the Winstonia Store site, or click here. Thank you for stopping by! Have a safe holiday!

XOXO
Rachel

Wet N' Wild - Teal Slowly and See

Hey everyone!

Today I have just a little snippet for you all. Wet N' Wild Teal Slowly and See is such a gorgeous blue and I don't know why I didn't wear it sooner! This was a limited edition color from the Pop Art Craze collection.

This was so easy to work with and took two coats to reach opacity. I love how smooth and shiny they look!

Thank you for stopping by! Have a great weekend!

XOXO
Rachel

Essie - Cute as a Button

Hello everyone!

The weather has been a tease the past couple of weeks, going from warm to cold and over again. The days that are warm make me want Spring and Summer so much more! To keep my spirits up, I decided to paint my nails a nice springy color! Essie Cute as a Button is the perfect color for spring!

Shown here is two coats. The formula was very easy to work with and went on so smooth. Some Essie formulas are quite questionable, but this is one I like.

So pretty! Are you ready for spring to be here? Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO
Rachel

Zoya - Aurora

Hello everyone!

So sorry that I kind of went on a hiatus the past couple of weeks! Life happens I guess, and hopefully I can be back on track for the month of March!

Today I decided to finally wear Zoya Aurora. Let me just say, I have had this polish for almost a year, and I have never worn it. What a mistake! This polish is absolutely stunning! Application is super smooth and the polish is super shiny!

Just look at that holo! This polish is a little more sheer than I though it would be. Shown is three thin coats. I am constantly staring at my nails! Aurora can be super fun but also sophisticated.

I am so glad to finally be blogging again! I might need some inspiration though, so if you have any suggestions, let me know below! Thank you for stopping by!

XOXO
Rachel

Red Flakie Skittlette

Hey everyone! 

So lately it seems as if I have been stuck on doing mix n' match/skittlette manis! Today, I have yet another one for you! I really do love these types of manis, but I want to do more nail art! I have been in a rut recently, and I am feeling zero inspiration! If you have any suggestions, let me know!

For these nails, I chose a color scheme of red (which I also feel as if I am overusing) and black. I decided on Ciate Boudoir and Wet n' Wild Black Creme. 

On my middle finger I used some gorgeous red flakies. Lacey from Nail Glitter Princess on Etsy sent me a few glitters to play with (Thanks again!). She is super sweet and has great customer service! Shown is Fire Red Flakies that can be purchased here! Make sure and go check her out!!

Then on my ring finger and thumb I used some black nail studs from Winstonia Store.

I really love how classic black and red look together! What do you think? Thanks for stopping by!!

XOXO

Rachel

Valentine's Day Mani 2014

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

I hope every one of you have a wonderful day!! Wether it be with you special someone, or just a group of friends, have fun today!! I have another mani for you all, as I said I would in my last post. This is sort of a mix and match pink and glitter mani!!

They are so simple yet I could stare at them all day!! The pink is two coats of Sinful Colors Boom Boom. On my ring finger I have two coats of Salon Perfect Diamond Dust topped with one coat of OPI Which Is Witch. I also used Which Is Witch for the glitter gradient. The little diamond studs are from Winstonia Store.

Every time these catch the sun, the holo glitters just go crazy! What do you think of this mani? Thanks for stopping by! I hope you all have a fantastic heart day!

XOXO
Rachel

Valentine's Day Nails!

Hello everyone!

It has been a few days since I have blogged, but I am back with a cute Valentine's Day nail design!  I think I might do one more themed mani before Friday, so be on the look out for that! I decided to keep it fairly simple, and took inspiration from my nautical mani that I did a little while ago!

I'm really happy with the way my stripes turned out! For the base of my accent nails I used OPI Alpine Snow. The gold is Julie G Metallic Heels. For the pink I used Sinful Colors Cotton Candy and the red is Revlon Revlon Red.

I am super happy with the way these turned out. I think the colors go together so well! What mani are you going to be wearing this Valentines Day? Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO
Rachel

Blue Dotticure!

Hello everyone!!

I was browsing through Instagram the other day and I came across a gorgeous mani by @ermahgerdperlish who is ever so talented! I knew that I just had to try and recreate it! I haven't really used a dotting tool much lately, and so I thought this would be great practice!

Aren't they super cute!? For the base I used two coats of OPI Alpine Snow. The accent nail is two coats of Nails Inc. Baker Street, THE most beautiful blue ever! The black dots are Wet N' Wild Black Creme and the glitter dots are Salon Perfect Diamond Dust. Surprisingly, this didn't take very long at all and I am super happy with the way they turned out!

Go check Kristin out on Instagram to see her stunning mani! I think that if I used pinks and reds, these could be super cute valentines nails! What do you all think about them? Thank you so much for stopping by!

XOXO
Rachel

Super Bowl Sunday - Broncos Nails!

Happy Super Bowl Sunday everyone!!

I am so excited to watch the Super Bowl! Tonight I am going to a party to watch the game! I'm a big football fan, so I thought why not do some nails for the occasion! I will be pulling for the Broncos tonight, and I hope that they can pull it off! I have faith that they will! I decided to stick to something simple and basic for my nails. Nothing too fancy, but they are still cute!!

I have recently been loving dotted gradients, so I decided to do one on my pinkie and pointer fingers! For my middle finger and thumb, I did orange on one side, navy on the other, and a white stripe down the middle! For both of these designs I used Wet N' Wild A Blank Canvas, OPI I Saw... U Saw... We Saw... Warsaw! (what a name!), and Sally Hansen Sun Kissed. On my ring finger I made a football! For the base I used Zoya Louise and for the laces I used A Blank Canvas again.

What do you guys think of this mani? Who will you be going for tonight?! I am so excited to get the festivities started! Thank you so much for stopping by! Have fun tonight and be safe!!

XOXO
Rachel

The Fault In Our Stars

Hello everyone!

I am so excited to share this nail art with you today!! Recently, I was on Pinterest browsing through. I came across a few manis inspired by the New York's #1 Bestseller, The Fault In Our Stars. I just finished the book a couple days ago, which I HIGHLY recommend. The writing in this book is absolutely phenomenal, full of intelligence and thought provoking statements. John Green, is an excellent author, who also takes part in a Youtube channel, VlogBrothers.

In honor of the trailer coming out today, I decided to take my shot at some nails! I decided to use two symbols, that play a big part in the book. If you haven't read it, you may not understand. Just enjoy the nail art!

So I know this probably isn't the best writing ever, but I tried. I am super proud of the way they turned out! For the base I used Sally Hansen Blue Me Away. For the polka dot gradient, I used Wet N' Wild Black Creme and A Blank Canvas. The rest is black and white acrylic paint.

I think they turned out pretty well! I really love how the dotted gradient came out too! What do you all think of these? Have you read the book!?

Lust Nail Lacquer- T.N.T., Halo, and Supernova!

Hello everyone!!

As I type this, I am watching The 56th Grammy Awards! I absolutely love seeing everyone's beautiful dresses! Ok, onto the polish!

Recently I found a newer indie polish called Lust Nail Lacquer! Her polishes looked beautiful and I new I had to have a few! I decided to pick up T.N.T., Halo, and Supernova, all beautiful glitter polishes! I love the formula of these polishes, not too thick but not too thin. All of them also dry in a pretty good amount of time! I'll have to say, I really do love these!

T.N.T. is a beautiful glitter packed polish! The description of this polish reads, "Explosive holographic glitter bomb. Purple , pink, gold, silver and teal holo glitters make up this wonderfully sparkling polish." I started with a base of Sinful Colors Sugar N' Spice and then used two coats of T.N.T. on top. Words can't even explain how beautiful this polish is! 

Next up is Halo! This polish is a gorgeous gold glitter topper with small gold hexes and micro gold holographic glitters! I decided to layer this polish over Color Club Blue Ming.

Last but not least is Supernova! This holographic glitter topper is filled with small silver holographic glitters! I layered one coat of Supernova over Essie Go Ginza. This was hard to capture on camera, but it super pretty!

I would highly recommend Lust Nail Lacquer! You can visit her site at lustpolish.com or go directly to her shop to purchase some of her polishes! Super great customer service and I am super happy with my polishes! 

Thank you so much for stopping by!! 

XOXO
Rachel

Ciate- Pepperminty and Members Only

Hello everyone!!

So today I have one of the last few posts of my little Ciate series for you! Pepperminty and Members Only were my polishes of choice! I didn't know if these two would make a good combination, but I went for it anyway.

First up I have Pepperminty! I absolutely love blue polishes, especially teal polishes like this one! For full opacity I used three coats.

I decided to layer Members Only over Pepperminty. I didn't really know how they would look together, but I think I like the way they turned out!

What do you think of this combo? Thank you so much for stopping by!

XOXO
Rachel

Ciate- Fit For A Queen and Sugar Plum

Hey dolls!

I love swatching polishes, but after swatching for so long, one can only get tired of it! For today's two  Ciate polishes I decided to do some simple nail art with them! Fit For A Queen and Sugar Plum go beautifully together!

Sugar Plum is the beautiful purple! This went on so smoothly and only took two coats! Fit For A Queen is a silver polish that almost looks metallic. It also only required two coats! To make the lines, I just used a few pieces of striping tape that I bought on Amazon.

I am in love with this combo!! What do you think about it?

Recently on Instagram, I have been seeing SO many nail art posts. I have been so inspired lately, and no time to put it on my nails! I have a running list of ideas, so watch out for some of those coming up!

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO
Rachel

Ciate- Boudoir, Snow Globe, and Christmas Tree Caviar!

Hello everyone!

I hope all of you are having an excellent week so far! Thank goodness it is almost Friday! Today I have two polishes and one caviar to share with you all! These colors should have probably been worn in December, as they all can be Christmas colors!!

The first color that I have is a gorgeous red,  Boudoir! This went on so smoothly, and had great coverage! I don't think anyone can have enough reds!

Next I decided to add Snow Globe on top of Boudoir! I had to fish a bit to get some of the iridescent flakes. This was super hard to capture on camera!

I have never tried a caviar polish/glitter before! I didn't really know how it was going to turn out, but overall I like the way it looks! I don't think I would wear this for everyday purposes, just for the fact that the little pearls would most likely fall off during the day! This Christmas Tree Caviar would have been perfect for Christmas, hence the name!

I think it looks super cool! What do you all think about it!? Thank you all so much for stopping by!

XOXO
Rachel

Ciate- Hopscotch and Encore!

Hello everyone!

Today I have two gorgeous orange shades from Ciate to show you! These polishes are very similar, and I mean like one is only a few shades darker!!

Hopscotch is almost like a neon orange, but not quite. It is a very intense orange though! This is two coats plus topcoat!

Encore! is a darker more burnt orange. This polish was super thick, but it also made for a great one coater!!

I'm not a big fan of oranges, but I do really like these two polishes!!

Thanks for stopping by!!

XOXO
Rachel

Ciate- Pillow Fight and Party Shoes

Hello everyone!!

Today I have two more Ciate polishes to show you guys!! I picked a creme and a glitter that I think go somewhat well together!!

First up is Pillow Fight! I really really like this grey! It kind of leans more toward a dark grey, but not too dark. Shown is two coats and top coat.

I think this glitter is really unique!This one is called Party Shoes! I didn't really know what it would look good over, but I decided to just put it over Pillow Fight! It has gold glitters and blue-ish purple iridescent glitters in a clear base! This is one coat.

How are you all liking these swatches? I'm having fun doing them!! Thanks so much for reading!

XOXO
Rachel

Ciate- Locket and Ferris Wheel

Hey everyone!!

So this is the second installment in my little Ciate series!! Today I have two polishes to show you all, Locket and Ferris Wheel! Let's jump right in!!

Locket is a silver polish with little silver glitters in it! Im not really a fan of the way this looks, and it was hard to apply. over all I would give it a 3 out of 5. By the time cleanup rolled around I was over it, hence the uneven cuticle! Shown is 2 coats with a thick topcoat.

Next up is Ferris Wheel. Whenever I saw the bottle I thought the polish was going to be a little darker, but I like the pastel blue! For full opacity I used 3 coats. The formula is pretty nice and is easy to apply!

Thank you all so much for stopping by!

XOXO
Rachel

Red and Gold Classic

Hello Everyone!

I hope everyone is doing fine! I also hope that everyone who is currently in the midst of the snow storms is ok!! Temperatures are dropping rapidly here, with expected snow! I love snow and all its beauty, don't get me wrong, but the temperatures are just biting!

Ok, any who! I sat down, not knowing what to paint, and came up with this classic red, gold, and black combination! I think this look is perfect for a night out!

For the red, I used Revlon Revlon Red. The stunning gold glitter is China Glaze I'm Not Lion. Then I just used different sized dotting tools to make the dots over Wet N' Wild Black Creme.

Thank you all so much for stopping by! If you haven't already, go check out my Instagram! @polishedbyrachel

XOXO,
Rachel

Ciate- Kiss Chase, Jingle Belle, & Serendipity

Hello everyone!

I can't believe that 2014 is here! 2013 went by in a flash! I hope everyone had a fun and safe New Years!

So as most of you know, in December I did the 12 Days of Christmas Challenge! Having a schedule and something to go by kept me posting regularly! Since posting went so well, I have decided to do another "scheduled" type event! Ciate did another Mini Mani Month advent calendar this year! I was in the mall after Christmas, I saw that it was half off, and I knew I could do something with it!!

I have decided to swatch two polishes every Tuesday and Thursday for the month of January! Luckily it divides evenly and I'll have two Ciate swatches every Tuesday and Thursday! The colors that came in this advent calendar are super pretty and I am excited to wear them!! Ok, on to the first two polishes!!

First up is Kiss Chase! This pink is absolutely stunning! I think it would look really good during the summer with a tan! Shown is two coats.

The calendar comes with a few glitters and caviar beads, so those will be randomly incorporated in some posts! Jingle Belle is sort of a pinkish iridescent glitter! I'm not that big of a fan, but it is pretty!

And last but not least, Serendipity! This pink glitter is almost completely opaque in one coat. It dries SUPER quick though, like within just a few seconds of a brush stroke. Shown is one coat over Kiss Chase.

Thanks so much for reading!! Stay tuned to see more Ciate swatches this month!

XOXO
Rachel