Illamasqua Corset Nails!!

The other day I received a tempting email from Sephora and Illamasqua's PR agent. It said: "Illamasqua urges you to be daring this holiday season by embracing your alter ego with corset inspired nails. Taking a lead from the 1920s Berlin Boot Girls use the hottest nail shades of the season in this easy 4 step guide to get kinky corset nails that will be sure to turn heads at any holiday party."

Did I want to turn heads at a holiday party? YES! Kinky corset nails?? DOUBLE YES!!!! So, I gave it a go, following the instructions included in the email:

"Steps:

·         Start off with a base coat of Illamasqua’s Nail Varnish in Vice (burgundy). The Nail Varnishes are hardwearing, chip-resistant and one coat should give you that unique rubbery finish just like a boot.

·         Once the base coat is dry use Nail Varnish in Faux Pas (blue/violet) along both sides of the nail.

·         Using a Black Nail Pen create a lace up effect from one side of the Faux Pas color to the other. Depending on nail size three crosses should be enough.

·         When the nail has dried use Nail Rhinestones at each point of the criss-cross to give the nail a lace up corset look.

Products Needed:

·         Nail Varnish in Vice ($14, Sephora)

·         Nail Varnish in Faux Pas ($14, Sephora)

·         Black Nail Pen

·         Nail Rhinestones"

Above, you can see their very professionally done version of these corset nails. Below, you can see my version! I am usually a complete failure at nail art of any sort, so this actually looks pretty good for me!! I did mess up the ring finger. I got overconfident, went too quickly, and started to draw a line to the wrong place. Dumb!

I also decided to skip the rhinestones because the ones I have around are too large, and would have ruined/hidden the corset look. I followed Illamasqua's directions, although I used scotch tape to make the lines on the sides come out straight. If I had done those freehand, this would be a hot mess.

I used Sally Hansen's Nail Art Pen. I have never really loved that pen, as you can see it kind of bleeds, instead of making crisp lines. Any recommendations for a better nail art pen?

My pinkie nail was my favorite! Look at how crisp the lines look! I don't know how I managed that, but if I did it once, I'm sure that with practice, I could do it again!

Overall, this look was not super hard for a nail art noob like me. If you are more skilled with nail art, I bet you will rock this look out! If you are just starting with nail art, give this design a try. It's really not that difficult, and looks very cool!

Illamasqua Vice and Faux Pas are available now at Sephora.com and at a Sephora store near you.

Illamasqua Vice and Faux Pas were sent to me for review by a PR agent for Sephora. For more information, please read my Disclosure Policy.

Illamasqua Kink Makes My Heart Beat Faster!!!

I definitely saved the BEST (in my opinion) for last in the Illamasqua Theatre of the Nameless nail polish collection. Illamasqua Kink is a forest green polish with a rubberized finish. This is a perfect forest green in my opinion, not too dark or too bright, but bright enough to be obviously green. Kink also has a touch of blue to it, instead a yellow undertone that some greens tend to have.

I think the rubberized finish looks the best in this color. It's so smooth looking and really looks like rubber! This is three coats. I was a little nervous on the first coat, as it looked a bit sheer, but three coats really covered nicely and looks great. Application was very easy. I do find that it's best to put a bit more polish on your brush than you're used to for all four of these Illamasqua rubber-finish polishes. It helps the finish look smooth, not lumpy.

 I don't know if it's due to the holiday season, but I am REALLY feeling this color right now. I want to wear it all the time! And if you decide you want more of a true creme/glossy finish, just add a layer of shiny top coat. I do like the rubber look though for a change now and then!

Illamasqua Kink is available now on Sephora.com and at a Sephora near you.

This polish was sent to me for review by a PR agent for Sephora. For more information, please read my Disclosure Policy.

Illamasqua Faux Pas is NOT a Faux Pas!

How could wearing anything this pretty be a Faux Pas?? Only if it's Illamasqua Faux Pas from the Theatre of the Nameless collection!! This is such a pretty and unique shade of purple in my vast collection of purples. I actually have nothing exactly like this! It's nice and bright, without veering towards neon territory. It's brighter and more blue than China Glaze Grape Pop, more blue than Zoya Kieko and lighter/dustier than Zoya Mira. Plus, it has that cool rubber finish!

Faux Pas was the most pigmented of the four Illamasqua Theatre of the Nameless polishes. It only required two coats for complete coverage and opacity. The formula was excellent to work with, no streaks or lumps. If you've used matte polishes and found them hard to use, don't fear these, they are much MUCH more user-friendly. For one thing, they don't dry as instantly as mattes, so that gives you more time to apply three solid strokes to the nail.

Purple is my favorite colors and I never get tired of purple polish. Illamasqua Faux Pas is an excellent purple polish with a different look than many purples out there. If you love the color, but aren't feeling the rubber finish, just add a coat of shiny or matte top coat. The rubber finish is growing on me, especially with Faux Pas. I think this finish looks best on Faux Pas and the polish I'll be showing you tomorrow, Kink.

Illamasqua Faux Pas is available now online at Sephora and at a Sephora store near you.

This polish was sent to me for review by a PR agent for Sephora. For more information, please read my Disclosure Policy.

Illamasqua Taint

Illamasqua Taint is a really neat shade of putty/mushroom brown. It's appearance is made cooler by the rubberized finish Illamasqua chose for the four polishes from the Theatre of the Nameless collection. I think Taint looks even more rubbery than Vice and in this particular shade, I really like it. Today's weather is a disgusting foggy gray sky and it looks like it's 4 p.m. at 11 a.m., so these pictures are not the sharpest. The first one is pretty color accurate though.

When I took this picture, I was standing under a very bright cloud. I hate cloudy weather for nail pictures. The clouds make the colors weird. But, I guess this is what Taint would look like if you were in brighter light. I think the formula of Taint was about the same as Vice. These really require three coats for evenness. Just to show you this, I did three coats on my pointer and middle finger and two on the ring and pinkie. See the difference? Three coats doesn't really bother me, especially since these dry relatively fast. BUT, the press release did say "you only need one coat until you're ready to try your next favorite in the collection". So, that's not so accurate. Otherwise, I really am enjoying these polishes!!

Illamasqua Taint and the rest of the Theatre of the Nameless collections is available now on Sephora.com or at a Sephora near you.

Speaking of Sephora, I have yet to spend my $20 VIB gift card. I always have a long list of things to order from Sephora, but I seem to be having trouble deciding this time. Any suggestions??

This polish was sent to me for review by a PR agent for Sephora. For more information, please read my Disclosure Policy.

Illamasqua Theatre of the Nameless Vice

Today's beautiful polish comes from Illamasqua's fall Theatre of the Nameless collection. Illamasqua Vice is a gorgeous deep cranberry red polish with a different finish. For the Theatre of the Nameless polishes, Illamasqua went with a rubber finish for all four polishes. The rubber finish is something kind of in between a matte and a glossy finish. It's not all the way matte, but it is not a usual shiny creme finish either. This is my first experience with this finish, although we've seen it before in the Orly Plastix collection. I didn't like the Plastix colors, so I skipped those.

I do LOVE the colors Illamasqua picked for this collection, however. This deep red berry looks amazing in the rubber finish. I quite enjoyed wearing this. It was kinda sexy-feeling really. A vampy red in a rubberized texture, oh my!!

Vice applied easily, although I did use three coats. It dried quickly, but not as quickly as a traditional matte polish. Obviously, with this special finish, you do not use a top coat. I did use a matte top coat as a base coat though, as I was afraid of staining from the deep color. The rubber finish also lessens the wear time a bit, but I got a solid two days from this with one tiny chip. I most likely would have gotten more, but I removed it to review something else.

I have the three other lovely polishes in this collection to show you shortly. I can't decide if I am most excited about the green or the purple!!! I guess we'll see!

Illamasqua Vice and the Theatre of the Nameless collection is available now on Sephora.com and in Sephora stores.

This polish was sent to me for review by a PR agent for Sephora. For more information, please see my Disclosure Policy.