The Walking Dead Trio by Cinema Swatch Lacquers!

Let's Catch Up A Bit!

Hey y'all! I know it's been a LONG while since I have actually written on my blog here, and for that I apologize! Life just kept getting in the way! First it was one of my dogs that had chewed our phone jack out of the wall, so we didn't have internet for like a week until someone could come fix it! Then it was that my internet was just sooo slow! AND THEN I got a job, and have been working A LOT this month! Phew! Just one thing after the other! And now that I have a job, I have to balance out time to do my nails, time for work, time for my FOUR (yes 4 animals!), and time for my wonderful boyfriend! Eating, sleeping, and working out aren't even in my priorities anymore! >_< So I hope y'all can bear with me until I get used to actually being busy! But let's jump into my review for this AMAZING collection by Cinema Swatch Lacquers!

The Walking Dead Trio!

Let me start off by saying I got extremely lucky to be chosen as a new nail artist/swatcher lady for CSL! I love their polishes (not to mention their adorable bottles!), and was so excited to start off my new nail relationship with The Walking Dead Trio! I am a HUGE fan of the show, and have been since the first season! So this was just absolutely perfect for me!

Left - Right
Ricktatorship/Katanas & Hugs/Last Man Standing

 Just how adorable are these dang bottles!? I LOVE THEM!

Left - Right
Ricktatorship/Katanas & Hugs/Last Man Standing

Last Man Standing

Ok, so I don't know about y'all, but as soon as I got this polish, I just knew that I had to do a Daryl Dixon inspired mani with it. Because let's be real y'all...IF there's only going to be ONE man left standing, it's so gonna be Daryl! And if it's not...then the entire world will be overcome with rage! You hear that AMC!? If Daryl dies, WE WILL RAGE!

Last Man Standing is this gorgeous "deep blood-like red/black jelly with orange, red, and silver micro glitters". I had such a fun time working with this polish. It was very easy to work with, and went on the nail nicely. And it definitely pictured beautifully in my light box(:

Gorgeous!!!

This picture is what inspired my mani! Isn't he just...YUM! ;P

Yep, that is Daryl's middle finger on my ring finger!

After posting this pic, and such, I started to think that maybe I should've put Daryl's middle finger on MY middle finger instead of my ring...oh well! I still loved the outcome!

And of course with a matte TC!

Ricktatorship

How cute is the name for this polish!? "Ricktatorship"...I love that! Because it kind of is a Ricktatorship in the show. But we all know that wasn't necessarily by his own choice. He's just a great leader, and a total badass when he needs to be. I knew that I needed to, somehow, incorporate Rick's Sheriff badge in my mani, and though it WAS tough, I prevailed!

Ricktatorship is a "bronze glitter polish with flecks of red, and antique gold".

Stunning!

My inspiration!

Obviously not as great as the inspiration, but a 7 pointed star is hard y'all!!!

I included a tape mani nail just because I thought it would look really pretty with this polish. Hehe.

I can never resist seeing all of my manis with a matte TC! ;P

Katanas & Hugs

***SPOILER ALERT IF YOU'RE NOT CAUGHT UP***

Who else is upset that Michonne doesn't have her katana anymore!? I know I am!!! She was a one woman army with that thing! And seeing her with a gun is just strange to me! I am hoping she finds another one, or somehow magically gets hers back! Lol.

Katanas & Hugs is a "silver chrome base with an array of ruby, and fire red holo glitters".

Captivating!

My inspiration!

The Holy Trinity accent nail from Michonne's katana!

I've already explained myself for all the matte TC pics. Hehe.

All In All

I am so blown away by this entire collection! Every polish was wonderful to work with, and is just absolutely beautiful. I think they really capture the characters, and the show well. If you have the chance to get your hands on this entire collection, or even just part of it, consider yourself one lucky duck! I don't have one bad thing to say about these polishes! Cinema Swatch Lacquers has outdone themselves!

@BornPrettyStore Water Decals

This Photo Was Taken From BornPrettyStore.Com
Product #15072 C066

Ok, let me start off by saying that I love how adorable all of these flower decals are! I was super stoked when I received them in the mail. But applying them was a whole different story! Amateur hour over here, ladies! Haha.

I think that these decals are amazing...for the most part. I'm not sure if it's because I have never used any water decals before for my nails, or what, but I had the most difficult time ever getting these on my nails! It took forever, and for just the few roses I have on my nails, I think I used up like the entire 4th line of roses trying to get my nails how they are! Which makes me sad, because these red roses are to die for cute! But again, I chalk it up to inexperience with this technique. I believe I can get better with a little more practice with the rest of my sheet(: I mean, my nails look so cute with these on, how could I not want to use up the rest in upcoming manis!?

I think the only real problem I have with this sheet of water decals, is that everything is so close together. I would've been ok with less decals, and more room in between the roses for easier access. I think that was my biggest struggle as well. Cutting them up, they get so small sometimes, that it was just almost impossible to manage. But then again...maybe I'm doing it wrong!

I don't think there's really a wrong way to choose how you want to arrange decals on your nails. Hell, it's your nails! Take my thumb for example; The cluster of roses in the middle were one decal I had cut out, and applied just fine. But I also wanted those 2 tiny roses next to it for a kind of symmetry. But let me tell you...cutting out, and trying to make sure they were right side up, and to get them to quit sticking to my tweezers was a pain! But obviously, I was able to manage it, and ended up with a darling mani!

Overall

I believe that these water decals are great (aside from the clutter), and I would definitely love to use them in the future. For those times when you want super cute, super detailed nails, but don't have the time or patience to do nail art, water decals are so the way to go! It's just dip, peel, stick, top coat, done. Simple! Well, simple if you know how to work them better than I do. Haha.

If you've never used water decals before, I would suggest still checking BornPrettyStore out. But if it's your first time, maybe looking for a decal sheet that has more space in between so you can cut, and get the hang of it easier. But definitely worth the buy if you ask me!

For 10% OFF at check out, use DISCOUNT CODE: ERTX31

Real Snake Skin from @NailsAndTrees

No Filter

Yes, this is REAL snake skin, and you can purchase your very own by clicking here! Some may think it's "creepy" (as per my best friend), but I love it! I hate snakes, but I am really loving my #RealSnakeSkinMani.

I mean, am I right!? It's totally awesome! @Sloteazzy is the one who inspired me into buying the snake skin in the first place, and I am glad I did!

Working With The Snake Skin

I won't lie, it was kinda weird at first when I thought about wearing snake skin on my nails, but after a minute or two, I got over it, and moved on. @Sloteazzy has a great tutorial for her #RealSnakeSkinMani on her Instagram page (just scroll down, its a black & red mani). I would've recorded a tutorial, but I wasn't even sure if I was going to accomplish it! It feels so incredibly fragile, like it's going to tear if I barely grab it with the tweezers. But that's not the case. Yes, it can be torn pretty easily, but it's not as fragile as you will first think.

Placing the skin on my nails was another tricky feat I came across. I'm not a pro at putting on jelly polishes, so I didn't want to put an entire layer of polish before placing the skin. So all I did was simply do a sort of "dry brush technique", just putting a little bit of the polish onto the nail, just enough to get the skin to stay in place. That worked perfectly because when I pressed the skin to the nail, there wasn't any overflow from too much polish.

Cutting it was the most difficult part of it all for me. I definitely should have precut them, but hey, it was my first time. Lol. So the pieces that I did cut were bigger than my actual nail, so I took my cuticle "nippers" to cut off the excess. Well apparently my nippers aren't as sharp as I thought they were. It was a pain to cut instead of tear the excess skin off. But don't worry, it's not the snake skins fault in the slightest. If you have a properly sharpened nipper or tiny scissors, you will be fine. The excess that was hanging off my free edge wasn't enough for me to cut, so I waited until my nails were dried after the top jelly layer, and a top coat, and I just filed the free edge a bit, and the excess fell off.

Overall

This is a wonderful product! Even though I had such a hassle with this mani, it was all on me, and my inexperience. Lol. If you are wanting to try this mani out for yourself, be sure to visit @Nailsandtrees shop, and buy some for yourself! They are very cheap, and arrive in a very timely fashion. I will probably end up buying more in the future so I can get better at these manis(; Paint on lovies!

Bliss Kiss Pure Nail Oil

Hello lovely people! I am here to tell you how Bliss Kiss Pure Nail Oil has changed my life in just 3 DAYS! Yes, days!!! Along with how the Simply Sealed Lotion Stick changed my life! Yes, they both have been absolutely wonderful the past 3 days! Well, first, let me start out with the package I received, as a very generous and thoughtful gift from my friend @Janeefermin. :)

Products Found Here

The Starter/Refill Kit (only includes oil pen, & refill bottle)

One 2ml Nail Oil Pen

One 15ml Dropper Bottle (to refill 7 times!)

Two Simply Grips Grippy Pads (to pull nail oil pen apart for refills)

One .15oz Simply Sealed Lotion Stick

Bliss Kiss Pure Nail Oil Pen

Ok so this product is absolutely amazing! I LOVE the pen! Let me brag on it for a minute...it makes for crazy easy application! Before I received this package I was using Nailtiques Cuticle Care Oil with a rollerball applicator, and I thought that was easy. HA! This pen really one upped the rollerball applicator, for sure! Just a few clicks, and bam! Ready to go. The rollerball used to frustrate me, because sometimes oil just would not come out, especially if it was in a cold room. I definitely don't run into that problem with this pen. I don't think I could ever go back to using any other applicator, or cuticle oil!

Ana's 3 Day Hydration Treatment

I definitely did Ana's 3 Day Hydration Treatment (which was REALLY hard not to paint my nails for 3 days!). Here is a picture of what my cuticles, and such looked like during the day when I hadn't put any of my Nailtiques cuticle oil on for a few hours:

Yes, My Watermark Is Higher Up So You Can See My Dry Cuticles

If I didn't constantly apply the oil, they looked like this. >_< So dry!!! The Nailtiques CO (cuticle oil) didn't keep my cuticles hydrated for more than an hour or so. So once it was all soaked in to my cuticles, they would begin to dry out. Now 3 days after only using Pure Nail Oil, my cuticles look like this 4 HOURS AFTER application:

Yes, My Watermark Is Higher Up So You Can See My Hydrated Cuticles

Just look at the mind blowing difference!!!

*Yes, I realize that my "before" picture was taken indoors, and so the lighting is not that great, but it was a gloomy day, so I did what I could. If anything, taking my "before" picture out in the sun would only show more dryness. lol.*

I am so excited that my cuticles are in the best condition they have ever been in in my life! I honestly haven't been able to quit staring at them! haha. I know this may sound weird, but they actually feel so much better! I haven't seen any painful hang nails the past 3 days, and no rogue cuticles so far! This is like a miracle oil!

Simply Sealed Lotion Stick

HALLELUJAH! HALLELUJAH! Lotion in stick form! Not only is the lotion just as amazing as the Pure Nail Oil, but this no mess "chapstick-like" tube they've got for this is just a winner all around. I have extremely dry skin in between my "girls" on my chest (sorry if that's TMI for you, but I gotta tell y'all about this amazing product!). It's so dry on my chest, that it itches like crazy, and is really painful most of the time. I've tried all the lotions, and oils out there (that I could afford) to try to help me, because this problem would keep me up at night, or even wake me up! It was killing me, and I complained way too often about it to my boyfriend. But when I was lucky enough that @Janeefermin included this in the package she sent, I was hoping my prayers had been answered, and I was saved! And let me tell you...I AM SAVED! I apply this lotion 2-3 times a day (definitely after every shower), and it has not itched, hurt, or have been dry AT ALL the past 3 days! It's seriously a miracle y'all. I am so thankful.

Overall

I would recommend these products to anyone I know. The oil is perfect for your nails, and cuticles, and the lotion works on the toughest of dry skin. I'm telling y'all...I will never ever use any other cuticle oil, or lotion again! Well, I can't use the stick on my whole body (I would if i had enough!), but I will definitely continue to use it for problem areas. Thank you again @Janeefermin for all these wonderful goodies! Life is so much better!!! ;)

Spring Fling BlackBox

These colors are absolutely stunning! My favorite color is pink, and I really love this one! And the blue iridescent polish is just...to die for!

The Polishes

Y'all...this polish...this polish right here...omg. I absolutely love it! It is so flakey, and beautiful. It's a very blue iridescent over a black base, but every now and then I catch a glimpse of yellow, or purple, or even green! I've recently discovered a great way to build up a glitter/flakey polish on your nail if it's in a clear base on your nail without needing 3-4 layers, and it's this: put a little on a makeup sponge, and just sponge it on your nails! That's what I did for my pointer, and pinky fingernails in this mani! Usually to get opacity like what's pictured above, you would need about 3, maybe even a 4th coat, and then your nail would be so tall from all the polish. But not with the sponging technique! I wish I could remember where I first saw it!

What can I really say about Belmont Shore? It's a gorgeous bubble gum pink! And I'm a total sucker for pink polishes. lol. But I think it may be a close dupe with an Essie I have. I'll do a comparison swatch soon(: I used 2 coats in my mani above. I could still see my VNL with just a single coat, and y'all know me, I'm not too big on my own VNLs.

The Extras

So also included in this darling little BlackBox is a set of 7 brushes in a cute little leather folding case, and a BH Cosmetics Waterproof Eye Crayon.

The brushes are great as far as I can tell. I don't do my makeup often right now being unemployed, but the brushes seem to be of good quality. I do however prefer "fluffy" brushes as opposed to the more "dense" brushes? I'm not sure if that makes sense to y'all, but it does in my head. I wear my makeup a certain way majority of the time, and it require me to usually blend two eye shadows, and that's easily accomplished with a fluffy brush. I would use these brushes if I wanted to pack on some pigment(;

The BH Cosmetics Waterproof Eye Crayon came in the perfect color for me, Crystal. It's this bright white shimmery color, and it is practically a dupe for the color I use at the inner corner of my eyes to make them pop. This being in a crayon makes it so much easier for application.

Final Thoughts

The polishes alone make this BlackBox worth the buy for me. The brushes, and eye crayon are just a pleasant bonus. The formula for these polishes are on point, and the colors are just so beautiful! I have been using Hollywood Forever for quite a few manis recently(;

Galaxy Pictorial Using CULT Cosmetics Polishes!

Hey y'all! So it's been a while since I've had a pictorial for y'all, and I apologize! I always forget to take a picture in between every step! But I've got a great pictorial for y'all today! Every polish I used (excluding my black base) are CULT Cosmetic polishes! Just click their names in the following steps, and it will take you to their location on the CULT Cosmetics website!

Now, this is my first time EVER doing galaxy nails, so be nice! I hope y'all like them! Let me know what you think in the comments below!

1. After applying a base coat (to protect your natural nails), and 1 coat of a black polish, Apply 1-2 coats of Hollywood Forever (this layer will peak through some of the sponged on polish in the next steps).
2. Randomly sponge on El Porto (white).
3. Sponge on Dogtown (dark purple) towards one side of the white.
4. Randomly sponge on Laguna (coral) to make your galaxy pop!
5. Apply 1 coat of Hollywood Forever for an extra sparkle to top it all off, let dry, and apply your favorite top coat, and your done!

I hope this helps anyone who is wanting to try out this design, but not knowing where to start. Be sure to tag #w0nderlandbby on instagram if you decide to try it out! That way I'll be able to see it! Paint on ladies!

Modern Classic BlackBox

This BlackBox has the perfect name, in my opinion. These 3 colors are so classic, you just can't go wrong with them!!!

The Polishes

I have seriously been searching for the perfect gold glitter bomb, but I've never been able to find it. Either the glitters are different sizes (which is not what I've been wanting), or the formula is goopy. But this. This beautiful gold glitter bomb is just...perfect! It took me 4 THIN coats of this for it to be completely opaque (as seen on my pinky above). I would've been fine with just 3 thin coats, but I like to be extra sure. haha.

Boneyards is a beautiful deep grey. My first real grey polish (I've been making my own when need be). This is definitely a one coat polish, as pictured above. I only used a single coat, and BAM! Opaqueness! It really is beautiful. And even though it's summer time, I've got this color on my toes right now! hehe. It's just amazing!

This beautiful creamy red polish COULD be a one coat polish, but only if you're ok with VNL's (visible nail lines). I'm not really a fan of VNL's, so I used 2 coats to cover them up. Like majority of the red polishes out there, this baby does stain your skin! So be cautious. lol. Even though I do have an OPI that is very similar to this shade, I do enjoy it. It looks really bright in the bottle on the right, but IRL (in real life) it's just a little darker. Not too much though, and it is still very pretty.

The Dotting Tools

I am a sucker for dotting tools, especially if they are really pretty like these! These 5 are included in the Modern Classic BlackBox, and are double sided. As far as I can tell, these are absolutely wonderful. My old set of dotting tools I had to super glue the actual dotting end back into the handle, but I haven't had any problems with these yet. And I really do love these colors. So gorgeous!

Final Thoughts

This BlackBox is definitely worth the buy for me. The polishes are beautiful, and work so well together. The dotting tools are of good quality, just like the polishes, and is just even more reasoning to buy this BlackBox! I hope y'all have enjoyed this little review over this amazing product that CULT Cosmetics has provided for me. Paint on my lovely nail ladies!!!