First Holiday Swatch of 2014!!!: Finger Paints - Sparkle In The Sky

Let's get the party started 11 months early! Today I have an older Holiday polish, from way back in 2013.   It's Finger Paints Sparkle In The Sky, from their 2013 LE Enchanted Winter Holiday collection.  Also a near dupe for OPI's polish Alcatraz...Rocks.

Sparkle In The Sky is super, duper pretty.  It's a navy textured polish with what appears to be fine pieces of  light green and purple(maybe pink) glitter.  I used 2 coats and it dried quickly.  Although not as fast as her sister Snow Crystals.  I also added 2 coats of top coat after a day or so.  It didn't smooth it out completely, but it wasn't noticeably bumpy.  It was noticeably pretty.  It really was like a sparkly night sky.

Overall I love this polish and I'm really happy I picked it up.  Do you have any polish from this collection?  I honestly don't think I heard much talk of this polish online.

 W/ top coat

 In sunlight

First Holiday and Finger Paints Swatch of 2013 & The Holiday Manicure That Never Was. Plus I meet the creepiest man yet!

Creepy man story!  I haven't had a good one in a while eh?  So a couple days ago I was looking for an external hard drive for my laptop.  I was going to get one that was made for just Mac.  Instead I got one that was made for Mac and Pc, but it had to be reformatted to use with Macs.  In case reformatting it was too hard, or a pain due to my poopy laptop I knew I had to keep the receipt, just in case I had to go back and exchange it for the Mac specific hard drive.  I'm out of the store 30 second when I realized I dropped the receipt.  Since I wasn't far I decided to retrace my steps.  While looking for it I thought I saw a guy looking at me, but I was paying more attention to finding the receipt.  When I was directly in front of the store, I feel someone behind me, directly behind me.  I turn around and the guy I thought may have been looking at me was.  "Hi" he said.  He was close enough that I could feel, and smell his breath.  At that point I went into the store to try and shake him off.  As I walked into the store I turned around to see if he was still there.  He was.  And he said "Don't walk away pretty lady".  It's safe to say I walked away as fast as I could.

Now let's talk about something else!  Polish!  So this year I wasn't really crazy about any holiday polishes.  But when I got a coupon from Sally's I decided to try some of Finger Paints Polish.  This is from their LE Enchanted Winter Holiday collection.  Not only is this my first Finger Paints of the year, but it is one of my first Finger Paints of EVER!  

This is called Snow Crystals.  It's a textured sparkly, silver polish, with fine glitter and small pieces of silver hex glitter. Went on in 2 easy coat.  Unlike a lot of textured polishes it doesn't look that different when you add top coat.  I think it's because it's already so sparkly to begin with. It really does remind me of sparkling snow.  I can honestly say that I wasn't really into textured polish, but Finger Paints has for sure made me change my mind! Get it now from Sally's before it's gone!  Finger Paints retails for $5.29 USD.

Outdoor - No topcoat

 Indoor - Topcoat

Finally after wearing these for 4 days I decided to add a little Holiday Cheer to them.  I wanted to try Candy Cane nails again.  So I got out some striping tape and red polish and did my thumb.  And when I looked at it the first thing that jumped into my head was... "Eh."  I felt nothing.  It wasn't horrible or anything I just wasn't loving it.  So I decided just to take the whole thing off. 

Is there any one else out there who was on the fence about textured polish? Or are you someone who wont finish a mani, if you're not feeling it?  And I don't think I need to ask about creepy men.  I think we can all wish they didn't exist.

Cutest Water Decals Ever: I think this manicure would make Miley proud.

Have you ever fallen asleep in the clothing you were wearing that day?  I went out this weekend and ended up falling asleep in my clothing.  For some reason sleeping in jeans is really off putting.  You wake up feeling extra gross when you wake up in jeans.  Anyways today is my fathers birthday, so I have to make this quick.

Today I have these super cute animal decals from Born Pretty Store.  They are kitties, ducks, teddies and flowers.  They come with the instructions on the back.  I can honestly say I didn't follow most of them.  I painted my nails the base colour, I removed the film and cut the design I wanted, then dunked it in water for around 20 seconds.  For there I was able to peel the design of the paper and stick it to my non moist nail.  Also you don't need to blow dry it.  It will air dry on it's own in under a minute.  Finally I topped with topcoat and just let that dry.  My one complaint is that it says it comes in a 4 piece sheet.  The one I got as you can see is only 1 piece.

 Note: My cuticle on my index finger looks gross.  That's actually Seche Vite doing silly things.

If you would like some of these for some simple nail art/showing respect to Miley Cyrus's AMA performance head on over to the Born Pretty Store where these retail for $3.99 USD.  AND shipping is free.  AND they are having end of the year sales! AND you can use our 10% discount code 'EAL91'!

*Some products sent for honest review

The Cooling of the Embers - Flakie layering inspired by a song.

So like a lot of you, I've been following other bloggers doing the 30 day challenge, but I haven't been an active participant.  But then the other night I went to a concert and had an idea for an "inspired by a song" manicure.  I will also be doing a manicure inspired by my favourite movie, but I'm waiting til my nails are longer... So here we go!  Cookies if any of you have already recognised the title of the song......

So one of my favourite singers is Missy Higgins, a gorgeous Aussie lady with a voice like warm honey and milk(Anyone?  Just me?  Okay...).  She was in Toronto the other night with Katie Herzig and Butterfly Boucher.  Missy's latest album, The Ol' Razzle Dazzle, came out not long ago, and one of the songs, The Cooling Of The Embers, really struck me.  It's about dealing with dementia in a loved one, so not the cheeriest music in the world, but I love the beautiful imagery of a fire burning itself out, the embers cooling slowly.

I started with one coat of one of my favourite reds, OPI Big Apple Red, and then added one thin coat each of Cult Nails Seduction, Nubar 2010, and Finger Paints Twisted.  I do own the mythical Cult Nails Clairvoyant, but I decided to leave it out of this mani.  The three together really added to the "fire burning out" look.  The main colour shift is orange to yellow to red, with flashes of green and blue, like white hot embers.  I'm excited to see it in sunlight in the morning.

You might ask yourself, are 6 photos too many?  Not when a manicure is as magical as this!

And you're only half here 

like someone left a frail body and took the rest 

But I remember when you were strong 
Never wanted help from no-one

What you've become is not who I remember

Is this the cooling of the embers? 

Quickie post + PRIDE NAILS 2012!

So I have been conspicuously absent recently, and this will probably continue for another week and a half/two weeks.  You see, my family and I are moving shortly, and packing up our house is a busy, busy process.  Also I am still kind of in denial because I love my childhood home and moving is stupid.

BUT ANYWAY, enough of my wet-blanket-ness.  As you saw, Kas and I love Pride, and we attended two Prides this year.  In NYC I didn't do anything too exciting with my nails as they needed a bit of TLC.  So I waited til Toronto to really have fun with them.

I started with my favourite disco-ball sparkle nails: one thin coat of OPI Lucerne-tainly Look Marvellous with another coat of OPI Crown Me Already, but this time to add a bit of rainbow sparkle with a thin coat of Wet N Wild Kaleidoscope.

After that, I took a thin brush and used it to write HAPPY on my left hand and PRIDE on my right.  I blended the colours in each letter a little(though not as much as I would've liked, but hey, first shot) so I could have a fuller rainbow and not leave anything out.

For the lettering I used: Essie Too Too Hot, Finger Paints Outta Sight Orange, Kleancolor Neon Yellow, China Glaze I'm With The Lifeguard, OPI Dating a Royal, and Urban Outfitters Bandeau.

So what do you guys think?  Did any of you do Pride nails?

Flakie Love!

So, while Kas isn't a flakie fan, I most DEFINITELY am.  I love the interesting looks one can create by layering them with different things.  I snap up almost every nice flakie I come across, and I eas lucky enough to get my hands on a bottle of Cult Nails Clairvoyant, which I'm extremely careful with.  But far and away, my favourite flakie is Finger Paints Twisted.  It's such a crazy rainbow of colours that looks good with just about any base.  I'm in heaven!  I have a backup because I'm already about 1/4 of the way through my first bottle.  I don't know what I'll do if I run out!

So today I have for you the manicure I put on once we returned from out trip, which is two THIN coats of Finger Paints Twisted layered over one coat of OPI Pompeii Purple and one coat of OPI Too Hot Pink To Hold Em. The two underneath made a really squishy, gorgeous pink base, and the flakies really popped on top.  Even my mom, who usually rolls her eyes at my nails, noticed and said how pretty it looked.


(And yes, I cut my nails again!  I managed to break them on my luggage twice so I'm giving them the chance to grow again.  Also I apologise for the state of my hands.  YUCK, right?  Don't worry, I did a little blurring to cancel out my gnarly cutlicles)


Check it out!

Blurred so you can see the COLOURS! 

Our 100th post! Have some cake and body painting!

HAPPY 100 POSTS!

So I knew this post was coming when I had it done about 10 days ago, but when I noticed we were close to 100 posts yesterday, I thought that maybe I'd do it then to make it kind of special.  So yeah, happy 100 post-iversary, Valkyries!  We're so glad to have you all with us and we thank you for following!

So this started when my good friend from school, Matti, asked me to be a part of an art project he's doing, where he blends music and painting to create human canvasses of people he meets/knows/loves.  I thought it sounded cool and I was really excited to be a part of it.  I was an art model in college(and occasionally still am) and it was always a TON of fun and a great challenge for both mind and body.  Until you can say you've fainted, naked, in front of a roomful of strangers, you haven't really had a rough day at work :P

So for Matti's project he has you pick out 10 songs or pieces of music and 5 colours that you feel represent you and then he hits play and starts painting.  I chose bright pink, leaf green, sunshine yellow, bright turquoise, and a royal blue.  He posts a blog about each experience afterward, so here's mine!. (If you look closely in the "before" picture, you can see my spectraflair holo nails!)

As he painted, the colours started to blend together and we had purple, orange, and all sorts of other bright, happy things.  Matti thought I looked like a tropical fish, and I have to say I kind of agree.  And no, he didn't watch the Gotye(is that how you spell it?) video first,

So enough talk, let's get to the pictures!

The inspiration:

The polishes I used:

L-R:  Essie Good To Go top coat, China Glaze Surfin' For Boys, Finger Paints Outta Sight Orange, Kleancolor Neon Yellow, OPI Did It On Em, China Glaze I'm With The Lifeguard, OPI Green-Wich Village, OPI Fly, Orly Royal Navy, Urban Outfitters Bandeau, and OPI Pompeii Purple.

Instagram pic - Left Hand.  Any of you on instagram?  

Feel free to leave your name or follow me @likeyoursilence.

Left Hand: Indoor lighting.

Left hand: Outdoor, natural light. 

Right Hand: Both pictures show outdoor lighting.  

For some reason my middle finger photographed horribly.  I promise it looks good IRL!

Happy 100 posts :)  To celebrate(or, you know, because I've had tickets for months...) I'm going to a Parlotones concert!  Can't wait :D

Queen Street subway nails!

So I also decided to enter the contest over at More Nail Polish.  Thanks to the wonderful who suggested it, I had a lot of fun doing these nails and I wore them for three days!

I decided to base mine on something from home, which is the Queen Street subway station in Toronto, Ontario.  If you've never been, there are some large murals in the subway that are done in beautiful, bright colours.  I've always thought they were really neat, so I decided that I would base my nails on the murals.

They're not terribly amazing or exciting, but I did have a few customers at work notice and recognise the art, so that was kind of neat!  Really I just had fun doing them, and I hope you guys like them as much as I did!

So we'll start with the inspiration pictures and move on to the nails! 

Polishes used: 

Urban Outfitters Bandeau

Essie Too Too Hot

Finger Paints Outta Sight Orange

Sinful Colors Let's Meet

OPI Strawberry Margarita

OPI Suzi Loves Cowboys
White striper(missing label)

China Glaze Dress Me Up

OPI Did It On Em

OPI Green-Wich Village

Fashion Bug Shamrock

China Glaze Mediterranean Charm

Essie Borrowed and Blue

Illamasqua Kink

OPI Dating a Royal

China Glaze White on White
China Glaze Pelican Grey

Enjoy!