Twinsie Tuesday, Gifted Polish

Good morning fellow polish lovers! Happy Tuesday! I'm so happy to be back to almost normal... hopefully I'll be posting regularly very soon. I'm feeling better, just sleepy and a little sore from surgery, but much better. So today's post will be short. (And I actually mean it this time.:))

For my gifted polish choice I picked a handmade "franken" polish that the lovely Elena from ecklipsedbycolor made for me. This was one of 2 colors that she was sweet enough to make for me for Christmas. I'm sad that I haven't had a chance to try it until now! 

This polish is called First Frost. There is a cute label on the front with the name, but I didn't get a pic of it. For those of you that don't know, a Franken polish is a polish that is made by mixing other polishes, glitters, and pigments to get just what you want. I don't know how Elena does it, although I suspect there is some sort of magic involved. 

I treasure all 3 of these polishes, even though I haven't been able to wear them much. It's amazing to think about Elena sitting in her home concocting polishes together until she comes up with something that makes her think of me. And they're one of a kind! 

Be sure to follow Elena on Instagram to see all of her awesomeness! 

Also please be sure to check out the other Twinsie's blogs below for more gifted polishes!!!!

Thanks for reading!

~casey

Alaina at The Little Canvas

Amanda at Amandalandish

Amber at Nails Like Lace

Anna at Going to the Showing

Anne at Grape Fizz Nails

Casey at CaseyLane Loves Polish

Chelsea at Nailed Blog

ChiChi at I'm Just Me...ChiChi

Elizabeth at Did My Nails

Erin at Paint Those Piggies

Kelly at Tuxarina

Lakeisha at Refined and Polished

Maribeth at Obsessive Cosmetic Hoarders Unite

Marisa at Polish Obsession

Rachel at Top Coat It

Róisín at Cuti-CLUE-les

Stephanie at A Little Polish

Tiffany at Polished To Precision

Traci at DrinkCitra

Casey Lane Loves Hogsmeade's Honeydukes

Good morning everyone! Today I have one of the most perfect polishes ever for you! And a little lesson in polish terminology.

The beautiful Elena over at Ecklipsed By Color is one of the very sweet friends that I've made since falling into this nail community. She has a great sense of style (that I seriously envy), a great attitude, and as I've recently learned a gift for frankening polishes.

So here is the lesson part: What is the difference between and Indie and a Franken? An Indie is a polish that is hand made using suspension base, pigments, glitters, and all kinds of other magic that I can't come close to understanding. There is no magic formula or recipe out there for it, the people that make these polishes experiment and build recipes until they find the formula they like. Frankening on the other hand is mixing polishes together. You take polishes that you already have, maybe add in some glitter (like Elena did) and keep blending until you get what you want. See the difference?

Personally I've never done either, both seem daunting to me. I stick with polish as it comes and just go with with that. But the lovely Elena made me my very own special Franken, just for me. It's truly one of a kind and I love it. She told me that it is Casey in polish form, and she is totally right. How about some pictures?

Elena named my polish Casey Lane Loves Hogsmeade's Honeydukes. She knows of my deep and intense love of all things Harry Potter, so the name is perfect. 

Elena mixed colors, glitters, and love in this bottle and it turned out a lovely polish. 

And seriously, check out how adorable these labels are!

Elena successfully made the first bar glitter polish that I actually like, so another win!!!

Isn't this great? I love having this special polish that was made just for me. Its so pretty and it wore really well! 

You should all head over to Elenas blog (here) and her Instagram (here). Did I mention how awesome she is? Because she really is. I've made so many great friends through this community, it's amazing.

I hope everyone is having a good week!

Talk to you soon!

~casey

Birthday Bash

Good morning everyone! 

Today I have a swatch of one of the polishes that the lovely Elena (check out her blog and Instagram, she's great) sent to me for my birthday. It is an indie brand called 365 Days of Color and the color is Birthday Bash. How perfect is that?!? Elena is seriously one of the most generous people I've met through this nail blog business, and I am so thankful for her friendship. And, she sends me great polish!!! 

Full Sun

Natural Light, Shade

Natural Light, Shade

Natural Light, Shade

This glitter polish is made up of a white base with shredded glitter in various colors and fine turquoise glitter. Normally I'm not a huge fan of shredded glitter, but it works in this polish. And really what is a birthday bash without a little confetti?!? Although there were a few stubborn pieces that wouldn't lay flat, I just picked those out and it was no big deal. 

This is 3 coats of Birthday Bash topped with 1 coat of Glossy glam. 

I really like this one, I can see myself pulling it out in the future anytime I've got something festive to go to. I'm glad that Elena sent me some new indie (and mainstream) brands to try for my birthday. She's branching me out and I love it! 

Birthday Bash can be purchased on 365 Days of Color's website here. 

Glossy Glam can be purchased on Just Ricarda's Etsy shop here. 

What do you all think? You can't really go wrong with glitter in a white base in my book. This one is a definite keeper!

Thanks for reading! Happy Wednesday!

~casey

**The polishes in this purchase were sent to me as a gift by a sweet sweet friend. :) **

Guest Post from Ecklipsed By Color

Good morning everyone! I hope you're having a great week! Today's guest post is from my sweet friend Elena from Ecklipsed by Color. Elena and I met through this wonderful nail community and have become great friends. She is super sweet, funny, supportive, and always encouraging. And she sent me nail mail for my birthday! Doesn't get much better than that.

Now, on to her post. :)

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Border manis, pinstripes, and weekend living

Hello lovelies, it's been a while...
This is Elena from ecklipsed by color and I have been graciously asked by Miss Case herself to watch the blog while she is off causing chaos.

I wanted to take a bit of a departure from my vast world of indies. I am currently participating along side many of you in the 31 Day Nail Challenge.
I have vowed to use indies, artisan, or small batch lacquers in every mani. This is a great way to test your untrieds, brush up on your nail art, and expose people to independent brands.

Today's mani is a inspired by one of my other loves- fashion. Color, texture, pattern, and contrast draw us to develop our own style independent but yet inclusive of what's on trend. Classic cuts and silhouettes are appearing not only in many designers pret-a-porter (ready to wear) lines but also their couture and runway lines. I am a lover of color and splash, but crisp graphic contrast will always have a hold on me. I have said it on my blog, but it bares repeating- there's nothing like a pinstripe. It's an arresting pattern on the nails. It can convey a lovely statement on an accent nail or a bold takeover as a full manicure.

As a tribute to not only the pinstripe, but also a nod to Chanel, whatever it was that JT was wearing at the MTV music awards, my new Tahari black and white silk shift, and the deity of your choice I present this look...
Using Essie's Licorice and Sally Hansen's Complete Salon Manicure in White Out (a 2012 New York Fashion Week Limited Edition shade), I constructed a border mani with a twist. This look was all the rage last year when Chanel debuted this look on their models. I find this look a sexy alternative to the standard French. It is easy to accomplish with the specially curved brush on the Complete Salon Manicures. Though I am featuring black and white, this is a look that can kill as we enter Fall and the holidays. Pair metallics, cremes, textures, and crellies- the possibilities are endless. I promise to grab a picture while sipping on a Black Russian or a glass of Pinot Noir tonight, it makes me feel so fancy...

Thank you to Casey for her support of my blog, Instagram feed, and most of all me.
It has been a pleasure to assist while she is away, now to get back to my poor neglected blog.

Remember lovelies, share the love...


xoxo, Elena

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Elena this mani is beautiful! And you have a serious gift with words. ;) 

Everyone you need to go check out Elena's blog and Instagram. Just check her out. She's fantastic!

Elena thank you for your help!

~casey