Happy New Year! with some Color Club Bling!

Am I right when I say that all of us were anxiously awaiting the end of 2016? It seems like it was just the craziest year for so many people. We lost some amazing people as well- literal icons. I'm still thankful that Betty White made it out unscathed.

I am not huge on New Year's celebrations since have never believed that the flip of a calendar pagec has the power the change more than the date. It certainly has never miraculously changed me into someone who was suddenly the opposite of how I am now, so no resolutions from me. I'm heading into the New Year the same way I went out, fighting a tremendous amount of grief and just trying to be the best me I can be.

Having said that, any excuse to wear blingy polish is a good excuse, so I broke out one of my fave sparklies, Color Club Sugarplum Fairy from the 2011 Beyond The Mistletoe Collection. This is one of those glitters that will literally blind you in sunlight, so it's obviously perfect to turn one's fingers into little disco balls for NYE, right? It's a mix of sparkly silver and holographic glitters in a clear base, and is definitely packed enough to be opaque in 2 coats.

I did add some accent nail stamping to this mani, however the glitter and holo is so overwhelming that you couldn't even make out the little champagne glasses and hearts in the image. I do have 10 new double sided stamping plates and a new stamper to play with, so you'll be seeing more stamping than you know what to do with soon enough. Literally as soon as my liquid latex arrives, cause I am not going back to acetone to clean up stamping Nu uh!

This is 2 sponged on coats of Sugarplum Fairy topped with Gelous and SV.

(Do you guys prefer the pics to be this big or smaller and clickable to enlarge? Let me know cause I am kind of going back and forth on it. )

Wanna see some close-up, macro-y goodness? I'm still getting used to my camera, but not a bad shot for a newb. :)

Despite this polish being 6 years old, I still adore it. Some thing are just timeless and silver and holo definitely fall into that category for me. What is your favorite timeless polish? Share with me!

I did use a peel off base coat with this, UNT peel off, and man! They are not kidding with that stuff. I had to fix a few nails within hours since I didn't wrap  my edges well enough and the started to peel off. I've used many a peel off base coat, but this stuff is amazing. I have definitely found a new holy grail.

I am itching to change my mani now so I think I'll go see what I can play with. I'll have more from IAMCCC of course so check back for those.

Hope to see you all soon!

IAMCCC Moon Mythos Mani and an update!

Hello my loves. It's been awhile, I know. Life can get in the way of polish sometimes. It's a well known fact that I lost my Mom to cancer in 2014 and that it took until about 6 months ago for me to start to heal. I had just come back to swatching and nail art. I started new medication. My dad was doing amazing and was close to self-sufficient again. I was starting to come back from the black hole of major depression that I had spent almost 2 years lost inside.

Over Thanksgiving my Dad's lungs failed and we almost lost him. But he fought to stay and he came home. Weak, but home. Then on 12/5 he went to his doctor because he wasn't breathing well. He was transferred to hospital and admitted. The morning of 12/6 we were called to the hospital. My father was awake, but could no longer even get out of bed. Without the CPAP he couldn't breathe at all. He told us he was tired and missed my Mom. He didn't want to live like that, tied to a machine, barely able to speak, unable to function. He asked to be removed from the CPAP. My Father passed away peacefully at 5:40pm on December 6, holding my hand and with my sister and niece present as well.

I am now an adult orphan. My world has been destroyed and I carry so much pain that I have times where I can barely breathe. I don't have the strength to write out how much my Dad meant to me, suffice it to say that in my eyes he was my personal Superman. I am shattered. Everything in my life is changing and I have no idea where to begin. I have days where I am optimistic, but most days I am just trying to find my place in this world without my parents.

So, there ya have it. I'm back now because polish makes me happy and I need to have something that brings me joy. IAMCCC is also a personal passion for me because Ashlie puts her heart and soul into her brand and is one of the most real people around. She has come under fire lately and so Charity and I have jumped in to help with Facebook and Instagram so Ashlie can focus on the brand and take some much needed time to decompress. I have already seen and heard all the arguments and am appalled at how childish some people are acting. Ashlie's words were taken out of context by someone that was intent on picking a fight. That is the bottom line. I will not tolerate anyone talking trash about Ashlie personally, period. If anyone has an actual product issue then please feel free to contact me and I will make sure it gets to Ashlie. I will follow up on any product issues and you will need to supply proof, since there have been some fake reviews and the like. Issues with giveaways are not a customer service issue, since complaining about something that you received free of charge is so low I can't even find the words. Giveaway prizes also ship after paid orders, and that should be obvious.

Okay, having said all that, let's see something pretty.

I have some older swatches that I need to share here as well, but I am starting out with a gorgeous, sparkly, soothing polish today. I recently changed my nail shape and wanted something chic as well as sexy. After deliberating over several IAMCCC beauties, I decided Mani was exactly what I needed.

Mani is a Champagne holo with blue shimmers and real silver flakes. She is subtle enough for work, yet shimmery enough for a night out. The ultimate neutral! The holo in this polish is so pretty, yet it doesn't overwhelm the soft Champagne color.

This is 2 coats of Mani plus top coat. Still adjusting the camera settings, so you may want to click to enlarge.

Ah, look at that macro shot. This polish is really just beautiful. I always feel like neutrals need to be seen in person to really appreciate all the subtle nuances, and this is no exception.  A must have polish, IMHO.

The formula on this one was thinner than I expected, but was still perfectly opaque in 2 easy coats. At first glace it looks like it will dry streaky, but it evens out beautifully. It does dry just slightly matte, but is still just as sparkly. I added topcoat because I am impatient.

You can check out Mani and the rest of the Moon Mythos at I, A.M. Custom Color. You can find me on Facebook here and Instagram here. (Can I just say that FB keeps rejecting my name change as suggestive?? Ugh!)

I'll be sharing much more from IAMCCC as well as more nail art. I went a little stamping plate happy and have 11 new plates to play with.

Happy polishing, loves!

*Press Sample. All opinions are my own with no outside influence regardless of cost.**