My Mani Box Review - A Tangled Web November 2018

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Hey there!  Oh should I say Aloha since I'm currently enjoying my Maui vacation.  Everyone else is getting a good night's sleep to prepare for our Road To Hana trip tomorrow (which, as far as I understand it, is a full day drive around the island).  I get crazy motion sickness but I put an anti-motion sickness patch behind my ear and have a purse full of drugs so I'm hoping I won't be getting sick on the side of the road tomorrow.  But before that, I have another My Mani Box review for everyone.  My Mani Box is Beautometry's nail art subscription box, always with an indie polish, 2 MoYou London plates and more.  This box was packed with goodies.  Let's take a look!

My Mani Box Review - Fantastic Beasts (October 2018)

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Hey there!  Hope everyone had a great weekend!  Mine was busy but fun.  On Saturday I tie-dyed shirts with my family, went to a potluck at my friends', spent some time with another friend and on Sunday I met another friend's brand new baby and went and saw Captain Marvel.  By Sunday evening I was so tired!  I didn't even get any nail stuff done.  Luckily I have a few posts worth of stuff done already so I won't go AWOL this week.  Today I have a quick look at what was in October 2018's Fantastic Beasts My Mani Box.  This is the perfect time for me personally to be checking it out since I'm finally putting in the effort to watch the Harry Potter movies.  I got through the first two in the last few days so I expect, if I keep at it, I'll be watching Fantastic Beasts soon enough.

The Digit-al Dozen does Books - The Secret Life of Bees

Hey there!  It's time for a new Digit-al Dozen week!  Normally I'm so incredibly pumped but this week was HARD!  For March, we're doing a book theme.  I'm someone who loves reading but who has always found translating the books I love onto my nails to be a tough task.  But I did my best for this week.  Secretly, I modelled most of my manis after books that just happened to fit some plates I recently bought and wanted to use so they're not necessarily my favorite books but they are all books I've read.  I actually bought one of the plates just because I knew this week was coming up.  A lot of the plates I buy go unused because I tend to have a lot of plates to review but I'm happy to say that all the plates from my last Clear Jelly Stamper order have officially been used...woohoo!  I'm starting off this week with The Secret Life of Bees, a book from 2001 by Sue Monk Kidd.  I'm not going to lie.  I didn't really remember what this book was about so I started re-reading it when I did this mani.  I'm about halfway through re-reading it.  I hope it really is about "bee-ing kind"!

Maniology Fruit Deco Layers (M028 and M029) Stamping Plate Review

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Hey there!  Hope everyone is doing well today.  Personally I've been stuck in a basement at work all day today so it's good to be above ground and seeing the sky again!  Today I'm taking a look at two of the newer stamping plates from Maniology.  The Fruit Deco Layers plates were released last month as their first big leap into layered stamping plates.  The two plates released so far are quite unrelated; the first has a bunch of fruit images (kinda like a fruit bowl for your nails...yum!!) and the second has what they call "kitchen tile" images that are really pretty!  I did 5 manis so far with these plates (for the fifth, you'll need to scroll down since I didn't include it in the collage) and they're great.  If you've never tried layered stamping, now is your chance.  And don't forget to use the code COPY10 to save 10% off these already inexpensive plates!

My Mani Box - I Love Unicorns (August 2018)

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Hey there!  Last week I got the mother of all review packages from the lovely folks over at Beautometry, including a few months worth of My Mani Box collections.  For those that are unaware, My Mani Box is a monthly nail art box (which you can purchase monthly or at a reduced subscription rate) that always includes indie polish, 2 MoYou London stamping plates and some extras.  I'll have a look at all that I received over the next couple of weeks but for now I'm starting with August of last year.  It had the theme of I Love Unicorns so you better believe there was a ton of unicorn-related items in there.  While this theme is over, it gives you an idea of the type of items that you could expect in these boxes.  I'll have a look at a few of them over the next couple weeks which

UberChic Beauty Mini St. Patrick's Day Stamping Plates

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Hey there!  I know, I know, it's only February 5th so what am I doing showing St. Patrick's Day nails already?  Well, I do this for you guys, haha!  I was recently sent the brand new UberChic Beauty St. Patrick's Day 02 plate AND the original St. Patrick's Day plate which I didn't get last year and I figured it'd be a good idea to post them early in case anyone wanted to snatch them up in time for the big day this year.  For those of us outside of the US, packages can take a while to get to us so it's best to order early.  These are both mini plates, meaning they're a 6 x 12 cm plate so there's fewer images than her larger plates but the images are still a full sized 17 x 21 mm.  And the etching is still as wonderful as any of her other plates!  So here comes the green and gold manis (with one exception)!

When Colours Collide - Dark Blue, Copper and White

Hey there!  Just popping in with a quick post today for this week's When Colours Collide prompt.  The color combo selected was dark blue, copper and white.  I instantly thought of my city's hockey team (Edmonton Oilers) but I feel like I do Oilers colors a lot so I went in a completely opposite direction.  Instead I did some simple lace stamping.  I'm not sure if I've used this image before but I'm sure it's the reason I bought this plate in the first place.  I love the flower/lace combination.

Maniology Negative Space Galaxy Stamping Plates

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Hey there!  To start off a new week, I'm sharing two brand new stamping plates from Maniology released just today!  I have to say, I think these plates were secretly made just for me so I'm ridiculously excited to be showing them today.  They are called the "Negative Space Galaxy" plates...which means they're spaced themed AND have a focus on negative space images (which I LOVE).  I'm sure these are going to be popular so if you're looking to grab them, I'd do it soon.  And don't forget to use the code COPY10 to save yourself 10% on your order.  Keep reading to see the plates in all their glory!

UberChic Beauty Art Deco Elegance and Collection 28 Stamping Plates

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Hey there!  I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend.  I sure did!  It was cold and snowy here so I stayed in all weekend and played with my newest UberChic Beauty stamping plates!  So today I'm sharing the UberChic Beauty Art Deco Elegance and Collection 28 plates.  Actually I did start testing them out last week but this weekend was the biggest part of it.  These plates were a joy to work with so this pretty much made an ideal weekend for me.  The plates themselves were flawless so the only frustration I had was when I felt like I had too many things I wanted to do with them.  Normally I do two mani's/plate when I'm doing a review but I did an extra one here because there was one mani I just HAD to do.  Now let's take a look!

Whats Up Nails B016 Hypnotic Illusions Stamping Plate

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Hey there!  And Happy New Year!  I'm starting out 2019 with a look at a stamping plate from Whats Up Nails.  This is the B016 Hypnotic Illusions.  And the name is pretty darn accurate.  I just looked at the website to grab the link and I swear the lines were moving...that's pretty darn freaky!  Hopefully the designs I did when them don't mess with your eyeballs too much.  The plate is great quality so I have no issues to report on it.  You really can't go wrong with any Whats Up plates, at least not the ones I've tried.  As you can see, I was a bit tired of winter-y nails so I went bright and fun to try this plate out.

The Digit-al Dozen does Holo/Nail Crazies Unite does Ribbons & Bows

Hey there!  Happy Friday!  It's the final day of this month's Digit-al Dozen theme.  It also happens to be the day the Nail Crazies Unite group is doing Ribbons/Bows so I combined the two into a sparkly holiday-ish design.  I actually did this exact mani twice.  After looking at my photos (after wearing it as a full mani for at least a day or two) I wasn't happy with my stamping so I redid it last weekend while binge watching The Final Table on Netflix...as in I watched the entire show in one sitting.  I clearly was not in the mood to accomplish much on Sunday.

The Digit-al Dozen does Look Up - Clocks

Hey there!  Continuing with this week's Digit-al Dozen theme of Look Up (The First Thing You See), I did some time-related stamping.  I realized that I am VERY uncomfortable when I don't know what time it is (which is somewhat ironic since I'm almost always late for everything).  The only time that doesn't apply is when I'm at the lake since that's the place where I'm relaxed and time has no meaning.  But at home, I've been wearing a watch since I was in grade 4, there's a clock in both my labs (and in the lab through the window where I frequently check their clock to make sure mine is correct), a clock in my bedroom, two in the kitchen and one in the living room.  Not to mention, my computer, my phone, my car and my PVR.  So, while none of my clocks are as fancy as this stamping image, I certainly look up and see the time almost constantly.

UberChic Beauty Give Thanks Stamping Plate

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Hey there!  As a Canadian, Thanksgiving has come and gone for the year and I didn't even do a mani to celebrate this year.  BUT American Thanksgiving is coming up in a couple weeks!  With the help of UberChic Beauty's Give Thanks stamping plate, I got to do a couple of Thanksgiving manis which will, hopefully, give some of my American friends out there some inspiration.

Nail Crazies Unite - Plaid

Hey there!  Now that Halloween is over I'm back to posting non-holiday nails.  Today's Nail Crazies Unite prompt is Plaid.  I happened to do these before I even know UberChic was coming out with a plaid plate (which ended up being AMAZING).  Luckily, I do have other plaid plates.  UberChic's is great because the layering ideas are obvious and plentiful.  I had to make do layering plaid off a different plate with images that made it a bit more challenging but I still like the outcome.

Hit The Bottle Bottoms Up Base/Top Coat and Keepin' It Peel Base Coat Review

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Hey there!  Today I have something a bit different than usual...a look at Hit The Bottle's Bottoms Up and Keepin' It Peel, sent to me by Beautometry to try out.  Bottoms Up in a 2-in-1 base and top coat while Keepin' It Peel is, as you'd guess, Hit The Bottle's water-based peel off base coat.  I've put both of these into regular rotation, for different reasons, over the last couple months.  I have a positive opinion of both though I did learn that I do my nails too late at night and/or I'm too impatient to use non-quick dry top coats now like Bottoms Up.  But I've been using it for other purposes instead of only as top coat so it definitely has a place in my life.  

UberChic Beauty Art Deco Flair and Moroccan Delight Stamping Plates

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Hey there!  Today I'm pretty much sharing my last few days with you guys.  On Saturday I got the latest UberChic Beauty plates, Art Deco Flair and Moroccan Delight and pretty much haven't stopped trying them out since.  I've done 3 manis with each (plus one big fail).  Usually I try to do two full manis per plate when I'm sent something to review but I clearly like these ones since I did some extra.  I feel like I don't even need to say anything about UberChic's plates since I'm so consistently impressed by their quality.  But I will...if you haven't tried this brand, you should.  The etching is great and the images are gorgeous.  What else do you need?

Hit The Bottle Stamping Polish Swatches

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Hey there!  Today I have a monstrous Hit The Bottle swatch post to share with you guys which I think will be useful for any of you trying to pick a stamping polish.  Between purchases and press samples from Beautometry (an international stockist for Hit The Bottle), I have most of the stamping polishes released to date.  The swatches might look a tad different since they were used at different times over the last year or so and sometimes I adjust the lighting or white balance to get them as color accurate as possible.  There are a few I'm missing (including the newest ones) but hopefully this will still be a  helpful reference.  I debated (and polled) whether to split this into numerous posts but decided on doing one giant blog post.  But, to make it easier, I'll attempt to link to the different color families so, if you're looking for a single color, you can jump to that section.  But feel free to look around.  A few of the colors could belong in different sections.

Jump to Section

Red
Pink
Orange
Yellow and Gold
Green
Blue
Purple
Brown
Grey and Silver
Black and White

My Mani Box May and June 2018 Review

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Hey there!  Today I have a look at what the nail art subscription box, My Mani Box, has to offer.  The boxes I'm checking out today were from May and June of this year so they've moved on since them but it should give you an idea of what kind of products you could receive.  There's always 2 MoYou London plates (you just let them know if you prefer the regular size or the XL size), indie polish and/or nail art and stamping accessories.  May's theme was Dinosaurs and June's was Passport to Polish.  You can see in the photos below what items came with each box and how much fun I had with them.  The next theme appears to be Fantastic Beasts.  Having just re-read the Harry Potter series this summer, that sounds like a good one to me!

May 2018 My Mani Box

June 2018 My Mani Box

The Digit-al Dozen does Recreating Your First Blog Posts - Layered Fire Stamping

Hey there!  We've come to the end of The Digit-al Dozen's week of recreating our first blog posts.  Since it's also 26 Great Nail Art Ideas day for Fire and/or Ice nails, I decided to combine them by redoing the first fire nail stamping I tried.  However I made some appropriate modifications as you'll see below...

Hit The Bottle Fantasy Feathers Multichrome Swatches and Review

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Hey there!  Tonight I have one of my favourite brands, Hit The Bottle (available internationally from the US distributor Beautometry who provided me with these samples), but with a little something different from what they normally do.  I've known Michelle online from her blogging days when she decided to start making stamping polish.  And she does make AMAZING stamping polish but she's branched out into regular polish for this Fantasy Feathers multichrome line of polishes.  They prove to me she certainly isn't just a stamping expert.  These polishes were pretty flawless to work with.  Now onto the swatches...