The Random Act of Kindness Pledge-a-Thon

Hey guys!  It's been a while since I've posted anything on the blog and unfortunately today is not about nail polish (though I'll be getting back to that very soon!).  Instead, it's a plea for some help!

I'm part of a team for GISHWHES*, an intense, global scavenger hunt created by Misha Collins of Supernatural.  One of our goals this year is to break the world record for the "Most Pledges to Commit a Random Act of Kindness."

I'm not asking for any money, guys.  All you have to do is pledge to fulfill a random act of kindness before the end of the year.   It's FREE and you're not committing to a newsletter (unless you opt to).  Your random act can be pretty much anything kind under the sun.  The idea comes from the core belief that a little kindness spreads into more and more kindness, making the world a better place to live in.

What's my pledge for this event?  To donate unwanted nail polish and other items to a local women's shelter.  Totally applicable to my life and easy to do!  Kindness can be found in big or small things, in cheering someone up on a bad day or helping those affected by Hurricane Sandy!  The possibilities are endless!

To pledge, you can follow this link.  Please, please, please enter my email into the referral field.  (YSHISLEY@GMAIL.COM)  It's an item on the scavenger hunt to collect pledges!

*GISHWHES stands for the "Greatest International Scavenger Hunt the World Has Ever Seen."  This item is inspired by Misha's charity, Random Acts.  Aside from being an item on the scavenger hunt list, I am very passionate about its goals and mission, taking over the world with kindness.  Please pledge!

Thanks so much for taking the time to read and hopefully pledge!

-Yvonne
The Broad Stroke

Jade Holographics

Hi everyone!  I've been hanging around in the California sun lately, trying not to melt, but one thing I definitely appreciate is how great my polish looks lately!  And do you know what the perfect finish to wear in the sun is?  Well, holographic, of course!

Today, I have some swatches of most of the Jade Holographic line to dazzle you with rainbows.  I don't have all of the colors, eight out of ten, but as a whole line, they're amazing polishes.  The holographic finish in each one is very strong and visible and it isn't dulled by top coat.  Application is consistently flawless with every color too, something that can't be said about a lot of holos.  Overall, I adore everything about these polishes, so I won't talk much about each one individually to keep from being too repetitive.

Ready for pictures?  Let's take a look.

Energy is a bright turquoise holo.  These pictures show two coats.

Magia Negra is a dark charcoal/black holo.  These pictures show two coats.

Hypnose is a true blue holo.  These pictures show two coats.  I've compared this to Energy side by side on my nails and the difference is really hard to photograph!  In person, however, you can see that Energy is greener and actually has a stronger holo than Hypnose.

Deja Vu is a hot pink holo.  This one can be a one coater if you apply it a little thicker, but I used two thin coats for these pictures because I've had a lot of bubbling problems lately.

Mystic Gold is my favorite from this line.  I have a huge problem with gold holos--I love them so much, I buy nearly every one I find!  This one is so rich, I just adore it.  One of my favorite polishes all around actually!  These pictures show two coats.

Seducao Rosa is a lighter pink holo.  Compared to Deja Vu, it is just that, lighter.  They both seem to have a pretty similar holo strength to them.  These pictures show two coats, but it any of them may need a third coat, it is this one.  I did one thin and one thicker to make sure all visible nail line was hidden.

Vermelho Surreal is a bright red holo.  Red is something kind of tricky in the holo world, so this polish is a great one to add to your collection for that reason.  These pictures show two coats.

 Fascinio Violetta is a beautiful purple holo.  These pictures show two coats.

These polishes are from Brazil and can be purchased from both Llarowe and Ninja Polish.  They come in 8mL bottles.

Thanks for reading!

My BFF's Skirt--On My Nails!

Hi everyone!  Today I want to show you a mani I did a couple weeks ago for The Polish Well's fashion inspired nail art contest.  I, unfortunately, kept dragging my feet when it came to getting this done.  My BFF and I had planned to do several different manicures together to choose from, all inspired by her fabulous closet full of all kinds of vintage treasures.  Well, we tend to get sidetracked and I mucked up a few different ones...  I finally sat down, got to work and settled on this one.

I was kind of in a pickle when I picked this particular article of clothing.  I packed up only about a third of my collection to take with me to California this summer and I...well, I didn't bring any red nail polish.  I know, I know, definitely a foolish move on my part!  The only red I had was Nubar's Unfaithful Red.  I figured I would give it a shot before I went to borrow something from my BFF and it actually turned out beautifully!

Here's the shot of her skirt that I took for reference on my phone while we were planning!  Gorgeous, right? I actually have this picture set as the background on my phone now, that's how obsessed I am with her skirt.

I think the manicure would have looked good with the same bright red as the skirt itself, but the added spark from Unfaithful Red really turned out better than I had hoped.

The stripes were done freehand with a striping brush and then the dots were added with a dotting tool.  I used China Glaze Liquid Leather as for the black.  It was really quite simple to do!

Thanks for reading!

Essie Armed and Ready and Orly Solid Gold

Hi everyone!  Today I have a simple and fun mani to show you.  I've been pretty rough on my nails lately unfortunately.  I filed them down pretty short and still managed to have more chips and breaks in the last three weeks than the last six months!

Let's not dwell on that though!  On to the manicure!

Essie's Armed and Ready is another one of those shades that I resisted buying for a long time.  Though I definitely liked it every time I saw it in the store, I didn't buy it!  I ended up caving in and picking it up when I went to a discount beauty supply store with my BFFs last week.  It's a great olive green with a slight golden shimmer to it, which was being shy in these photographs.  In any case, I thought it would be a fun pairing with my new bottle of Orly's Solid Gold.

Both polishes are super easy to work with and apply.  I put down two coats of Armed and Ready.  It was a nice consistency and covered well, leveling nicely.  I did the stripe with the regular polish brush from Solid Gold.  It's such a great matte!  Not only is it gorgeous, but the formula is pretty darn amazing.  It dries quickly as mattes normally do, but it is really easy to get even coverage without streaking or getting too thick.  I had to do two coats of each stripe.  I then threw on a coat of top coat and called it good.

Thanks for reading!

Lacquer Convention: Swinging London Collection

Hi guys!  Over the last few weeks, I've been super busy tending to my Lacquer Convention Etsy store and all the problems of moving a business across a couple states.  Part of it has been dedicated to trying to finally release some new colors.  Today, I'm going to show you the Swinging London Collection.

Above (Left to Right): Oh My Mod!, Mondrian, Double Decker Bus and Go Go Boots.

Double Decker Bus

First up, we have Double Decker Bus, red glitter of various sizes in a clear base with accents of steel silver, white and black hexagons.  These pictures show one coat over Zoya Carey.

  

Go Go Boots

Next, we have Go Go Boots, a white glitter polish in a clear base with multi-colored iridescent shimmer.  There are diamonds, hexagons, squares and bars in this fun polish.  It is pictured here in one coat over China Glaze Concrete Catwalk.

These pictures show one coat of Go Go Boots on the tips of the nail over Color Club Pucci-licious. 

Mondrian

This is Mondrian, inspired by the classic color blocking painting that showcases the three primary colors.  This polish is a clear base filled with gold, red and blue hexagons with white squares and black bar glitter.  These pictures show one coat over American Apparel's Lopez Canyon.

 

Here we have Mondrian over Zoya Trixie in one coat.

 Oh My Mod

Oh My Mod! is a wild and crazy mix of many different shapes, sizes and colors, including squares, hexagons, bars and stars in a clear base.  Pictured here, it is layered over some basic cremes in one thick coat.

 This collection will be available on Tuesday, July 31st in the Lacquer Convention shop on Etsy.  For more information, you can also follow Lacquer Convention on Facebook.

Additionally, we're doing a giveaway to win the entire collection here for our Facebook fans, so be sure to enter!

Thanks for reading!

Nail Art: Sailor Moon!

Hi guys!  It's been a while since I did some real complicated nail art, so I'm a liiiittle rusty.  However, I just couldn't resist doing a celebratory manicure for the announcement that there will be another Sailor Moon anime released next year!  I'm a huge Sailor Moon fan.  In case you were wondering or had any doubts.  I think I mention how excited I am about this at least once a day to my family and friends.  I do wonder how long before they get tired of it, but until then, I'm going to keep fangirling and doing SM manicures =D

I forgot just how much it stinks to photograph nail art that may have gotten a little bit messy while I painted it.  I apologize for not completely cleaning it up!  The background was done with China Glaze Splish Splash from the recent summer neon collection.  I put down a coat of white, then blended in Splish Splash.  I added the pink with Zoya Lara and the mint is a blend of Zoya Tracie, Wednesday and a little white.  Unfortunately, I don't have a good picture of it on its own, but it was actually really lovely!

I based this manicure on this clip because I LOVED the transformation scene when I was a kid.  Sailor Moon meant so much to me.  I watched the first season when I was in third grade every morning before I went to school.  Yep, this was before Toonami aired it.  I cried my eyes out the morning that they stopped playing it and started playing Samurai Pizza Cats.  (A show I could never love after it robbed me of Sailor Moon.)  She is seriously the best super hero ever!  

I had to make a stencil for the moon on my index finger after trying and failing to make it look like a moon the first couple times.  Everything else was freehanded with nail art brushes.  I also forgot how tiny I needed my brushes to be to work with.  I ended up trimming a junky one down to about half its size and it was still hard to work with.  But now I'm in the mood for nail art again, so stay tuned!

Thanks for reading!