Spring Fling: The Announcement!

Spring is here, my lovelies! Just in time to celebrate the Vernal Equinox, myself and Kelly at Tuxarina are happy to announce the Spring Fling Challenge. So far, we are being joined by Hayley at Polished at Heart and Lynette at Pink & Purple Dots. 

We would love to have you join in, too! Please leave a comment to enter or connect with Kelly (@Tuxarina) and I (@ECKlipse) on Twitter...

I'mPerfect-ly Mint: Illamasqua's Mottle

Blog silence has been broken! It has been a crazy two weeks, my lovelies...

Life had kicked into overdrive, along with Jes and I traveling to Charleston, SC, and now most recently this cold/curse/Ebola? thing that has been plaguing my general person. I do have to say I think it is twit-contagious because a large contingent of fellow nail bloggers, are currently afflicted. Love and well wishes to my dear Hayley, and also Amanda and Wes. If things don't turn around we will be blogging about tissues, cold remedies, and cough drop comparisons. Bleh.

So, Illamasqua is making it's debut on my corner of the net. Yeah... I'm smitten. This is the perfect Elena mainstream brand. It's sleek, it's edgy, it's controversial... ("It gets the people going...") They do not have the slogan "Make-up for Your Alter Ego", for no reason. Then there are the names of the polishes. Vice, Throb, Kink, Rampage, Monogamous, Faux Pas, Phallic, Load, Bacterium, Fragile and Scorn... Also, they have a full spectrum of varnish colors and finishes (creme, gloss, shimmer, rubber, speckle, glitter. )

In honor of St. Patrick's Day and my Godson, JJ's, Christening,  I selected Illamasqua's Speckle polish in Mottle. Mottle consists of glossy black micro glitter and hexes floating amid a fresh mint gloss base. The coats go on thin and evenly, allowing the "speckles" to distribute well. Full coverage is achieved in three coats. The final product gives the appearance of Cadbury Mini Eggs, the quintessential Easter candy. Easter, eggs, birth, rebirth- getting why I chose it for JJ's special day? Yes, there is a lot of meaning behind a color for me. I wouldn't have it any other way. 

Check out my lovely present from JJ and his parents, my Alex & Ani Godmother bracelet. So special. 

Also, exciting news... Kelly at Tuxarina and I are joining up again for a Spring Fling Challenge April 8th through the 12th. So far we are being joined by Hayley at Polished at Heart and Lynette at Pink & Purple Dots Come on and join us! I will be releasing the challenge graphic soon, but I am proud to preview that we are going to be kicking it off with some Indie polish love!!!

Come and join me on Twitter @ECKlipse...  also, fangirl moment achieved! Illamasqua follows me on Twitter, and its devastatingly awesome founder, Nina Rahmatallah, has taken time to answer my tweets. Thank you, a lot. Really. Wow.

Modern, Mercurial, and March: Essie's Mojito Madness & Beyond Cozy

Leave it to me to start March with a vocabulary lesson... First, I am going to give you a bit more insight into the loves of Elena. Contrary to popular belief, there is more to this chick than nail polish. I have shared my love of art and music on this blog. Music is such a part of my creative experience, that I do not write or draw without a soundtrack. ( There are some phat beats kickin' right now as we speak, lovelies...) Another major passion of mine is reading and words in general. I was the kid that my parents actually said, "Get the damn book out of your face, and do something already." I consume literature, magazines, anything... There is a beauty in the written word to me, so much so that I love fonts and can recognize an unhealthy amount of them. I can tell the difference between Helvetica and a modified Arial- so don't even try to pass that off on me. ( Graphic design geek humor- Jes more than appreciates it.) I even had a favorite font in high school- Bradley Hand ITC. One day I am going to break down the theory about my blog and personal branding.  I have something special that I am cooking up for that via some slick nail art.

So for me, March is always the switch up after a challenging month- February. February is dead of Winter in New England, insanely busy, typically transient, and only 28 to 29 days to pack that all into. Welcome, March! Really, I sincerely mean that. Spring 2013 is trending a modern look to soft color. Pastels aren't just for your grandmother, the country club set, and Kanye West anymore. I want to actually rock pink and mint green with edgy hematite jewelry and studded high heels. This brings me to the mercurial portion of the title. Mercurial is defined as "having qualities of ingenuity, eloquence, or thievishness attributed to the god Mercury or to the influence of the planet Mercury." I have always felt March to be a transitional month. In my opinion, in order to embrace change one must have a lot of ingenuity and eloquence.  

On to the business at hand- the polish.  I wanted something that was clean visual transition from Winter to Spring and I found that in Essie's Mojito Madness and Beyond Cozy. Mojito Madness, is my favorite Essie bright creme. A stunning rich Jade tone that evokes sipping on its namesake on a temperate night, it is perfection in two coats. Mojito Madness was released as a part of Essie's Summer 2012 "Bikini So Teeny" Collection. Beyond Cozy is a stellar silver-gold hybrid microglitter. It achieves full coverage in two coats. This is an amazing glitter to gradient with. Beyond Cozy was released with Essie's Winter 2012 "Leading Lady" Collection.

  I am so excited for this month! My first Illamasquas will be debuted next week, I have a special seasonal KB Shimmer, my new Julep Maven box for March is dying to be shown, and I still have Whimisical Ideas by Pam to feature ( there will be spam)...

Thank you so much to all of my new followers on here and Twitter! I am averaging between 1500 to 2000 views a month internationally! 

Merci, Gracias, Grazie, σας ευχαριστώ...

From Italy With Love: LAYLA Ceramic Effects' The Butterfly Effect

Ciao bella!

I have been very fortunate to meet so may wonderful people since September! During this time I have received a few special packages, but the one I am about to show you did quite a bit of traveling. My friend, Ghila from Nails Noob, sent me a lovely package all the way from her home country of Italy. I was super excited to get it, and I can definitely tell all the love that was put into sending it stateside!

She sent me quite a few amazing things. Before I get into sharing the package contents, I wanted to feature one of the polishes she sent. LAYLA is a cosmetics company based out of Milan, Italy that has been getting a lot of attention over in the US for the past year or so. They have a great 3-free line, of many finishes and shades. The Butterfly Effect ( a dupe of Nfu Oh 51 and cousin of Cult Nails Clairvoyant, distant relative of Clarins 230 and Max Factor Fantasy Fire) is pretty amazingly awesome. The polish itself is a luscious royal purple jelly with iridescent multicolor flakies. The color shift from ruby red to emerald green ( and every color in the spectrum) is noticeable and stunning. I was in Sephora and one of the girls grabbed my hand to see what I was wearing. It's that cool. It was a smooth application and opaque in three coats.

In addition, Ghila also sent me two other polishes that I will be featuring soon. First up is LAYLA Softouch in Golden Touch. The Softouch line features a sueded matte metallic finish. It's very elegant. She also sent Lady Venezia in Oro/ No. 22. This is a delightfully sunny gold microglitter in a golden tinted base. 

In addition she sent me some wonderful natural and cruelty free products, Ghila has taken a firm commitment on her blog and in her life to support this great cause. ( Way to go, sista!) She sent me a handcrafted soap with herbs from her garden, honey manicure creme, lemon extract for baking, and some samples of hair and skin products. What a stellar introduction to Italian health and beauty products!

I can't thank Ghila enough for her generosity, hopefully my package to her will be making it's way soon... 

Takko Lacquer's Glittergasm & We're All Mad Here: Guest Post at Imperfectly Painted!

Hello, lovelies! Today I was invited to post for the amazing Stephanie at Imperfectly Painted. It is a total ode to Florida! Stephanie is a part of the Beauty Bloggers of Central Florida and Sheryl and her lovely Takko Lacquers also originate from there. I hope you enjoy and if you don't already follow Steph, go over there and share the love!

Takko Lacquers are available for sale at Etsy and Mei Mei's Signatures. They range from $9-$15 USD and ship both domestically and internationally depending on the stockist.

In the words of Sheryl..."Peace, Love, & Polish!"

Perfectly Preppy and Presidential: Zoya's Indigo & Tosca

Here is to a fabulous three day weekend for my US followers! Monday is the observation of Presidents' Day. My manicure is both a nod to the day and a bit of a palate cleanse after two weeks of intensive nail art.

Today is also a bit of a first, since I have not yet worn a full Zoya mani before. As a part of a Zoya promotion, I purchased three full sized lacquers for $10. Indigo, Tosca, and FeiFei (the OPI On Her Majesty's Secret Service dupe- yes, it's my polish crush.) On to the exciting part...

Indigo is a deep Prussian blue shimmer with a dash of holographic microglitter. It is an exotic and intense shade that captures the beauty of the night sky. This shade originally debuted with Zoya's Downtown collection. This polish is a perfect two coat application that glides on without a hitch. Pure perfection.

Tosca is a luminescent and fresh strawberry red with a flash of golden shimmer. It is the equivalent of eating watermelon on a warm July day in New England. Summery bliss. This shade is a part of the Classic Zoya collection. Like Indigo, the application was wonderful in two coats.

Similar to Julep, Zoya's shades have feminine names. Kelly at Tuxarina just purchased her namesake and declared that every nail blogger should do so. I think it's a fabulous idea. Wait, there is no Elena. There is a Lana and Laney, but no Elena. I would be truly appreciative if the lovely people at Zoya could amend that for me... as long its a stellar shade of teal or blue. (I do give them props for having a shade called Marina, like my mom.)

Stay tuned on Wednesday, I will be guest posting for the fabulous Stephanie at Imperfectly Painted. A bit of a preview... there will be Takkos!

Valentine's Day Nail Art Challenge: My Choice!

I don't know if anyone else has been keeping watch, but haven't every mani "Elena's choice" so far... hehehe. What can I say, it's my need to go beyond the typical and usual shining through. Before I get into the post itself. Thanks to Erin for putting this together, and love to Lynette for joining us. Both of you ladies are amazing bloggers and artists! Happy Valentine's Day to both of you lovelies...

Valentine's Day is day where the most grand romantic gestures seem status quo. I figured that I had to get a bit bold and sassy. Also, thanks to Julep's winter collection neon has not died down and that is fine by me. I am still a fan of neutrals with a neon pop in fashion- a great hint of the unexpected. Well as with Valentine's Day, there is no hinting, we are full on neon, baby! I also wanted to celebrate my love of music, I constantly have it playing. I do have a soundtrack to my life.

Since I declared this the season of the trigger mani, I started with a coat of Julep's Fiona (neon green creme) and Madison (neon pink creme) for the base. With Stripe Rite in white, I painted the musical notes. On my index finger and thumb, I accented with two coats of Nicole by OPI's Love Your Life. ( a fishing expedition for those hearts...). I affectionately call this mani, "The Music of My Heart."

Now onto the dedication... this one is dedicated to someone I follow on Twitter, recording artist, record label owner, lover of neon, and 80s culture aficionado, Bylli Crayone. He has such love for his fans, it's incredible. I always have respect for someone who makes the time for others to feel special. You know how I feel about "sharing the love", so that is why I am sending this one off... Happy Valentine's Day, Bylli!

Happy Valentine's to Jes, my Mom & Dad, my best friends, my lovely bloggers-in-crime, and all of you who read and follow ECKlipsed by Color. *kiss*
 

 

Now go on and check out the amazing Erin at LovelyLacqueredLife and the lovely Lynette at Pink & Purple Dots. These girls are beyond fantastic with their nail art... Remember, share the comments, share the love!

Just a preview of what is to come... more Whimisical Ideas by Pam! I finally got my hands on some Takko Lacquers! Essie's Mojito Madness is all mine! Thanks to an awesome chick, there are some Laylas on the way...