Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Fun with Photoshop in February

For my first official Photographic Interlude post I wanted to explore some Photoshop pieces I did a few years ago.  While I was never without Photoshop it felt like I was.  The laptop that it was on, is old and on it's way out.  When I got my new copy, I immediately looked through all of my old PSD files. That being said, here are a few of my favorites.

It also bears mentioning that these are all just the work of a very amateur photographer having fun. :)

I love this one so much, it's on my bedroom wall. I have no idea who this guy is, but without him this would just be another picture of a bonfire.


When I was in school there were always mannequins lying around and no one ever used them for anything.  I one in particular was so lifelike it freaked me out on several occasions.  Why I didn't question a naked dude sitting on the floor of the studio, I have no idea. I have found that if I stare at this one for long enough, it starts to hurt my eyes. 


Here's another in the mannequin series, there are several.  It was a phase I went through. I took this photo I think on my second day ever of college.  Using my super old digital camera, that I'm fairly certain had less than a megapixel.  I carried that fedora and tie around in my bag all day just waiting to get to photography so I could get my shot.


Who doesn't love a good cow photo? I think this one explains itself. :)


This was taken the same day as the fire photo, and if I knew where it was, it would be on my wall too.  I know I have a print, but since I moved some of my photos seem to have disappeared. 


I didn't take this photo, but I did edit it and mess around with it.  I do have this one hanging on my wall.  Right where I can see it.  There were other versions of this, but this is the only one that made it this long.  

So, that's my first really photo blog entry.  I'm not planning on having a theme every month, this month just worked out that way.  Let me know what you think.






Friday, February 15, 2013

It's a Mod Lacquer Kind of Day

During one of my late night Etsy sprees I can across a new polish seller.  Mod Lacquer. I have four of her minis to review for you.

First off, Lightning Lime-
Just two coats
So, this polish is stunning and I'm so happy my camera captured it.  It's a bright green color with golden and yellow shimmer.  It only took two coats to have full coverage, but it did dry a bit matte.  So a top coat was in order.

This polish went on like a dream and removal was just as easy.

Overall Lightning Lime is a great color, and I will be wearing it again and again.

Nonpareils-

Three Coats
This is a gorgeous polish.  It's a sheer white crelly base loaded with all colors and shapes and sizes of matte glitters.  

Application was great, but even with three coats he polish was a little sheer,  This would look amazing over a creme white polish.

I do love a good white crelly polish, there's just so much depth to it.  Overall, this color was gorgeous and I will be wearing it again in many different ways.

Elemental Embers-
Two Coats
This is a gorgeous clear based polishes loaded with red, gold, and even some orange small glitters.  I love a good small glitter polish.  For this manicure I did two coats over Wet n Wild's Red Red.  It was the perfect base color for this polish.

Application was great, a tad thick, but not bad.  This is a great topper for over any color.  It just adds a pop of sparkle.  It really reminds me of Autumn and falling leaves.

Overall, this color was a great addition to my collection.  I can see me wearing this all through the fall.

Last but not least UT-opia-
Three Coats on a Cloudy Day
This color is an interesting one.  It's a reddish orange with a hint of shimmer.  Sadly, the clouds took the shimmer away, but the color still looks great. I'd even venture to say that this color would make great undies for Elemental Embers.

Application was good, but like Lightning Lime it dries to a more matte finish.  One coat of Seche took care of that.  I used three coats just to ensure full opacity, but two was pretty close to perfect. Removal was a breeze, and I was pleased to see that there was no staining.

Overall, this polish was great, and again I could see myself wearing it through the fall. It's a perfect burnt orange.

Mod Lacquer can be found here, and her polishes are listed for 9.50 for a 15ml bottle. 

Disclaimer: I was sent these polishes for review, and all opinions are my own.








Monday, February 11, 2013

Mentality Holo Topcoat

I've wanted a holo topcoat for months, but never wanted to spend a ton.  Enter Mentality, they're inexpensive and make great polish.  What more can a girl ask for?
Are you weak in the knees yet?
Oh let me count the ways that I love this polish.  So many good things.  Now I can turn any polish into an amazing holo masterpiece.  Can you tell I love holo polishes?  
All the holo prettiness.
This manicure is three coats of Funky Fingers Pop Artist and one coat of Mentality Holo.  The Funky Fingers while gorgeous didn't cover the way I wanted it to.  It was a little sheer even in three coats.  You'll see that in later pics.  The Holo on the other hand is stunning.  There are no bad things I can say.  The application is amazing, the effect is stunning, and the cost is budget friendly.
Actual Sunlight! Oh Happy Day, Mama.
A mentioned the cost.  Mentality's polishes all have shipping worked into the cost, which is amazing.  They are also reasonably priced.  This baby, only 7 dollars.  They have also made it a point to always have polishes in stock, no restocks, or flash openings. As a fellow indie maker, I really appreciate that they're putting forth the effort to have a fully stocked store.
See what I mean... A little VNL.
After wearing this polish over hot pink, I realized I wasn't done.  I wanted to wear it with ALL THE COLORS. So, here it is, over black.
My camera chose to interpret holo as blur.
So, this manicure is two coats of Quoth the Raven found here and one coat of holo.  The above picture was taken on a rather cloudy day, and you can still see the awesomeness.
So pretty
Overall, there are no bad things I can say about this polish.  I am so pleased with it, that I might have to buy another for when this one runs out.  
One more for fun
Mentality has a facebook page that can be found here. An Etsy store that can be found here. Also, they have a Big Catrel store that can be found here.

What do you think of Mentality? Have you tried any of their polishes?

Disclaimer: I purchased this polish with my own money and all opinions are my own.








Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Why Its Inconceivable!

I do love glitter polishes, but sometimes big glitters dive me nuts.  That's one of the many reasons I love Its Inconceivable.  This is another polish form my Dweam Wiffim a Dweam collection and it's one of those unique polishes that can be used as a topper and a full coverage glitter. 
Ooh the sparkle!
I chose to wear it over a yet to be named dark green that I'm testing for future release,  My ring finger features two coats while the rest just feature one.  I really wanted to showcase that this can be worn either way.  I wanted some of the green to show through, so I kept it at one.
Again with the sparkle.
My camera seems to really not like the color green.  It used to be pinks, but it's moved onto green.  So, I apologize if these look a little washed out.  Its Inconceivable features pink, blue, red, silver, aqua, and green metallic glitters.  I wanted it to be a celebration of all things inconceivable.  
I apologize for my sad cuticles...
You can find It's Inconceivable here, and right now I have a sale running.  Everything is 25% off with the code FLASHY and all my full size polishes are buy two get a third free.  I was feeling super festive.
I'm mesmerized by the sparkle.
I made this polish, but I'm being objective, so all opinions are honest.



Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Winter Lips

I've never really been a fan of lipstick.  I much prefer a gloss or a balm.  That being said, I've been eyeing up this Etsy store for months.  The Petite Threla makes all natural face and body products, and she has a really great philosophy behind what she does. You can read all about her here.

I ordered four Lip Glacés just to try them out. I had been looking for a new lip product that was more than a balm, but not quite a gloss.  I hadn't found anything good in the drug stores, so I turned to Etsy.
Look at the fancy tubes! 
You can clearly see the four flavors I chose, but I should mention I'm very partial to the Earl Grey and the Peppermint.  When I got them I was somewhat expecting them to be lip standard lip balms that are sweet and highly flavored.  I was pleasantly surprised.  They aren't sweet at all, and the scent isn't over powering.  When it comes to smells, I do worry a little because one sniff of the wrong one and it's an instant headache for me.

Shipping was fast and customer service was amazing.  I even got a free sample a rose scented face mask that I can't wait to try. 

Now on to the review!

Peppermint Candy-

I loves me some mint.
I know it looks imposing in the tube, but it's far from it.  The reality is that it's a sheer wash of color.  This one is reddish with just a hint of brown and some shimmer.  Not my usual color, but surprisingly gorgeous on my lips.

Macro shot to show color.


Watermelon-
Nice and Summery
This one was the most disappointing in the smell category.  It didn't seem to have one, not that that's a bad thing. Again, this has an imposing color, but sheers out to a nice bright orange tinted red with shimmer. I do wish it had a little more color on, but that might just be my pigmented lips.
Macro for the color
Grapefruit-
I love Pink Grapefruit
This smells fantastic.  I love grapefruit scented things, and this did not disappoint.  It did however lack color.  I tried applying this in anyway I could think of, and there just wasn't any color.  It was a sad moment, but it was short lived.  Even if there's no color payoff, its still a great balm, with an even better scent.  The color on this is supposed to be a bright pink with just a little shimmer.
Again, Macro color shot
Earl Grey-
It makes me feel all sorts of proper.
This wound up being my favorite by far.  I love Earl Grey tea, which this smells just like.  I also love the color.  It's the perfect pink with golden shimmer.  It did apply quite sheer, but you can see it on your lips.  The scent might be an acquired taste, but I think it's one worth having. I used to HATE Earl Grey tea, but after trying several different versions, I found one that I can't live without.
Love this color
Overall, these are all great and I would love to try more of her products.  Her prices are reasonable, and I always love supporting fellow indie businesses.

Check out her Etsy store here, and her Facebook page here. She even had a website.

Let me know what you guys think if you've already tried some of her products.