About Me

I have long been interested in gorgeous nails, and just decided to start sharing photos of what I do! Please be kind! :) Also, if you just like mug and polish photos, check out the tumblr version! morningnailspiration.tumblr.com If you would be interested in having me review your products, send me an email at morningnailspiration (at) gmail (dot) com. When I review products, I usually do 1-2 polishes in a post and wear them for at least 24 hours (for wear tests) before snapping photos. My turn around time on polishes is currently under a week!

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Liquid Lacquer Dazed and Confused



“I always wonder about raindrops. I wonder about how they're always falling down, tripping over their own feet, breaking their legs and forgetting their parachutes as they tumble right out of the sky toward an uncertain end. It's like someone is emptying their pockets over the earth and doesn't seem to care where the contents fall, doesn't seem to care that the raindrops burst when they hit the ground, that they shatter when they fall to the floor, that people curse the days the drops dare to tap on their doors. I am a raindrop."

-Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Polish Information: This is Liquid Lacquer Dazed and Confused, which is described as "A light grey with a subtle holo shimmer."




I love the gray color- it's really pretty and unique.  It appears to have dark gray and white shimmers to it (I can't get the holo to show up outside today or under my bright lamp).  Here's an up-close bottle shot:



And here's some pic spam of it on my nails! It applied really easily- I did two coats. The first coat was a little streaky, but with the second, it was even and gorgeous! I used one coat of Butter London topcoat over it, but it didn't really need it- it was shiny on its own!




Under my bright lamp, not as real world color accurate, but shows a bit more of the shimmer, I think.


Final thoughts: This is becoming one of my all-time favorite shades! It is so gorgeous, and really a unique color! As a note, I bought this polish with my own money and decided to review it for fun!

“Music? Music is life! It’s physical emotion - you can touch it! It’s neon ecto-energy sucked out of spirits and switched into sound waves for your ears to swallow. Are you telling me, what, that it’s boring? You don’t have time for it?”

-Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion [Lovely photo courtesy of Bec- check out her blog here!]

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Blue Polka Dots!


“Men have called me mad; but the question is not yet settled, whether madness is or is not the loftiest intelligence– whether much that is glorious– whether all that is profound– does not spring from disease of thought– from moods of mind exalted at the expense of the general intellect.”

-Complete Tales and Poems by Edgar Allen Poe

Polish Information: I mentioned before that I love polka dots! This time, I used Girly Bits Stormy Skies (3 coats) as a base and Julep Millie for the spots! I topped it with 2 coats of Butter London top coat since I wanted it to be shiny and GB SS was almost matte when it dried and the shimmer was a bit "hungry." GB Stormy Skies has a gorgeous shimmer to it that I tried to capture in the photos. The rest of this will just be pic spam! :)



 




Monday, May 13, 2013

Striping Tape Nail Art and Fun with Square Hues!

I have been subscribing to Square Hue for a while! I am not one of their bloggers, but I began to subscribe in January. It's a pretty fun service, and last month was a huge hit for me! This month, not so much. In the last 4 months, they've had two that were pretty much 3 pinks. This month, I did like "Day Glow"- it's a fuchsia jelly! I decided to give some striping tape a try for chevrons (which are so in right now)!

First of all, here is Square Hue's Yellow Submarine by itself. I had to do 3 thick coats to get it to be opaque, and it's a great highlighter yellow (from April's box):

Square Hue Yellow Submarine

Then, I put striping tape on my thumb, middle and pinkie fingers. This was the tricky part. The base color has to be completely dry first. Then, you have to cut it into the right lengths and lay it on the finger the right way. It did not stick to my finger itself, just the nail.

Square Hue Yellow Submarine with striping tape
Then, you just paint over the whole nail! I chose to paint over it with one coat of Square Hue Day Glow!

Painting over the striping tape with Square Hue Day Glow

Painting over the striping tape with Square Hue Day Glow
Then I used tweezers to pull off the striping tape once the pink was tacky (about 80% dry) from the outside inwards.

Ta-da! Peeled it off!

And the pinkie!
Finally, I sealed with three coats of Butter London Top Coat to even it all out!

End Nail Art result!

What do you think? Do you like this look? Would you try it yourself?

These polishes were purchased by me as part of my membership in Square Hue's subscription program.



Friday, May 10, 2013

Liquid Lacquer- Collide into You


"I find parallels in nature to be a beautiful reflection of grand orchestration. One of these parallels is of snowflakes and us. We, too, are all headed in the same direction. We are being driven by a universal force to the same destination. We are all individuals taking different journeys and along our journey, we sometimes bump into each other, we cross paths, we become altered... we take different physical forms. But at all times we too are 100% perfectly imperfect. At every given moment we are absolutely perfect for what is required for our journey. I’m not perfect for your journey and you’re not perfect for my journey, but I’m perfect for my journey and you’re perfect for your journey. We’re heading to the same place, we’re taking different routes, but we’re both exactly perfect the way we are."

- Life, the Truth, and Being Free by Steve Maraboli

Polish information: This gorgeous masterpiece is Liquid Lacquer Collide Into You (CIY).

Liquid Lacquer Collide Into You (CIY)
Liquid Lacquer Collide Into You (CIY)

It is described as "An awesome turquoise jelly with pink and gold circles and scattered gold micro flakes." It does not lie! Application was pretty easy, but I noticed it was very sheer, so I put on an undie of Sally Hansen Ivory Skull (a white) before 3 thick coats of CIY. It applied very easily, and the glitter came out without any struggle at all. I LOVE this color!!

Liquid Lacquer CIY (3 coats) over white
Liquid Lacquer CIY (3 coats) over white
Liquid Lacquer CIY (3 coats) over white
Close Up on Liquid Lacquer CIY (3 coats) over white

Final thoughts: This polish is destined to be one of my favorites! I LOVE this color and I love the glitters in it. Application was a DREAM. LOVE LOVE LOVE!!

If you want to buy some of Liquid Lacquers gorgeous creations, go here! As a note, this polish was provided as part of a blogger package that I purchased at a discount for my honest review.

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Liquid Lacquer- What Happens in Vegas...

Liquid Lacquer What Happens in Vegas... (WHIV) over Julep Lena around a DSW mug!

“No sympathy for the devil; keep that in mind. Buy the ticket, take the ride...and if it occasionally gets a little heavier than what you had in mind, well...maybe chalk it off to forced conscious expansion: Tune in, freak out, get beaten.”

-Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson

Liquid Lacquer What Happens in Vegas... (WHIV)

Liquid Lacquer What Happens in Vegas... (WHIV) bottle shot


Polish information/review: This is Liquid Lacquer's "What Happens in Vegas..." which is described as "A mix of gold, magenta, cyan, black, and brown glitter in a clear base." It's a fairly neutral topper with small glitters.  It applied really smoothly and easily, and the brush was perfectly sized for such a job! As a tiny topper, I decided to try it over a white, a black, and a teal (just because I love teals!).  This is two coats of WHIV over Julep Lena, Zoya Raven, and Zoya Purity:

Liquid Lacquer WHIV (2 thick coats) over (L-R): Julep Lena, Zoya Raven, Zoya Purity

Liquid Lacquer WHIV (2 thick coats) over (L-R): Julep Lena, Zoya Raven, Zoya Purity


I REALLY loved it over turquoise, so I ended up painting all my nails with Julep Lena and What Happens in Vegas... over the top (2 thick coats).

Liquid Lacquer WHIV 2 thick coats over one coat of Julep Lena

Liquid Lacquer WHIV 2 thick coats over one coat of Julep Lena


Final thoughts: It actually surprised me out of the bottle- it looked kind of dull in the bottle, but was so fun and sparkly on my nails! I imagine it would also look great over a hot pink! It's a really easy to use and colorful topper! I'd definitely recommend this one for use! If this is what happens in Vegas, I definitely wouldn't want it to stay in Vegas! ;)

If you want to buy Liquid Lacquer, go to her shop here! As a note: I purchased these polishes at a discount for review! Thanks for stopping by!

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Liquid Lacquer Halfway Gemini



“Two thousand years ago the night sky looked completely different, and so when you get right down to it, the Greek conceptions of star signs as related to birth dates are grossly inaccurate for today's day and age. It's called the Line of Procession: back then the sun didn't set in Taurus, but in Gemini. A September 24 birthday didn't mean you were a Libra, but a Virgo. And there was a thirteenth zodiac constellation, Ophiuchus the Serpent Bearer, which rose between Sagittarius and Scorpio for only four days.

The reason it's all off kilter? The earth's axis wobbles. Life isn't nearly as stable as we want it to be.”

-My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Piccoult

Polish information: I used Liquid Lacquer Halfway Gemini for these manicures- two light coats and one very thick coat (3 coats total). I used an Elmer's basecoat and Butter London topcoat. It is described as: "A vibrant blue jelly with rose gold and pink circles and scattered silver dust." Mine looked to be more of a deeper blue- until I got it into the light. These photos are taken under a normal house lamp.

Liquid Lacquer Halfway Gemini

Liquid Lacquer Halfway Gemini

As far as usage, it went on really smoothly- the jelly base anyway. The bigger glitters were very sparse in my bottle so I had to dig to get them out and onto my nails at all.  The sparse look wasn't too bad (and will probably make for easier removal).  I wish there were more of the bigger circle glitters in it though!! Also, even with 3 coats, I still had some visible nail line, which you can see in the photos- but I ended up liking the look. The color reminded me of looking at my nails under a deep ocean, and I LOVED that effect anyway!

The only problem is that as it dried, it smelled really foul to me- like sulfur. This effect was worse with a glue base coat for some reason (I ended up trying a few to see if it was a chemical reaction). I'm not sure if it was just my bottle (but the GREAT news is that Liquid Lacquer has fantastic customer service and is taking it back- and paying for the shipping to get it back)! It may be that I am overly sensitive to this kind of smell and it wouldn't bother any one else. No one else who has purchased this color has noticed it, so most likely, it is either my specific bottle or me. I have to commend Liquid Lacquer on the amazing customer service because of it though! Really stellar!

Anyway, on to the swatches!!

Liquid Lacquer Halfway Gemini (3 coats)

Liquid Lacquer Halfway Gemini (3 coats)

Liquid Lacquer Halfway Gemini (3 coats)


Final thoughts: Overall, I think it's a gorgeous color, and I really like it!  I wish it was a bit more opaque, but the jelly effect gave it an "ocean" look- and I love those circle glitters- wish there was more of 'em! The only thing I didn't like was the smell- but the customer service was FABULOUS as a result! I do also love the name though- Halfway Gemini! My birthday is on the border of Gemini and Cancer. Some years they say Gemini finishes on my birthday and others, Cancer begins with my birthday, so I also feel like a halfway Gemini! :)

If you want to buy some of Liquid Lacquers gorgeous creations, go here! As a note, this polish was provided as part of a blogger package that I purchased at a discount for my honest review.

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Liquid Lacquer Quarter Life Crisis



“A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”

-Albert Einstein

Polish Information: This post features Liquid Lacquer Quarter Life Crisis- a glitter topper composed of pink circles, black circles, green holo circles, and bright green and gun metal hexes. As far as working with it, it was a bit difficult to get the larger glitters out, and they all seemed to want to stay in the same place, so I had to bring out a toothpick to push them into slightly better configurations. The best part was that they did not sink at all in the bottle- her base holds the glitter up really well!


I also LOVE the name. (Happy late birthday, Melissa!!) I had a "quarter life crisis" when I turned 25 as well. I spent months freaking out about it. 25 sounds so old!! The only good thing about turning 25 is that you no longer have to pay a huge fee to rent a car- but you also no longer volunteer information about your age after that point either! :-P Alright, onto the polish pics!

First, I want to show you the colors I tried it over. From L-R: Zoya Raven, Julep Lena, Julep Abbie, and Zoya Purity. I wanted to try a few different options.


Undies (L-R): Zoya Raven; Julep Lena, Julep Abbie, Zoya Purity.

Then I added two very thick coats of Quarter Life Crisis:


Polishes from above with QLC over them.

Again, 2 coats of QLC over the colors from before!

I LOVED the pointer finger with the black the most, so I ended up taking off the others and doing them all over 2 coats of Zoya Raven.

2 coats Zoya Raven with 2 very thick coats QLC.

2 coats Zoya Raven with 2 very thick coats QLC.

Single finger zoom in of 2 coats Zoya Raven with 2 very thick coats QLC.

Finally, I'm going to show what happened when I moved my hand a little as I was taking a photo. The colors seemed just right enough to remind me of Star Trek space travel. Maybe it's just me- and maybe Star Trek is just on my mind since the new movie is being released this weekend (and someone is really excited about it!!).  Anyway, do you see it too?

Star Trek anyone?

Final thoughts: Although I am not a huge glitter topper fan, I really enjoyed this one over black! It was pretty and a hit for me! It was a little difficult to spread, but not too bad, and the end result was super-fun! Which colors would you wear it over? Would you do it in a jelly sandwich?

If you want to buy Liquid Lacquer, go to her shop here! As a note: I purchased these polishes at a discount for review! Thanks for stopping by!