Category: Aco by Ardene

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SWATCH POST — Mirage by ACO by Ardene

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Today, I’m sharing with you a gorgeous polish I’m absolutely in love with. This is ACO by Ardene’s Mirage which is an absolutely stunning multi-crome polish which–depending on the light–flashes anywhere from purple, to gold, to green, to blue, to pink. You’ll remember before I mentioned that Ardene has been stepping up their nail polish game, and Mirage is a perfect example of that. For my swatches, I applied the polish over black undies, as it brings out the multi-crome aspect of the polish best. (I also applied Nutra-nail Quick Dry Top Coat for extra shine.)

 

 

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I really, really tried my best to try and capture all the different flashes of color this polish has to offer. It was not easy. I did my best, and the different colors definitely come through well. Even still, I kept looking at my nails all day, moving them around and staring in awe of them.

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See the flashes of gold and green? So, so, so pretty.

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Mirage is from ACO by Ardene’s fall 2013 collection of nail polish, although depending on the store you may still be able to find old bottles (mine doesn’t have any, but we do have other fall 2013 polishes remaining). ACO by Ardene polishes retail for $3.50 on their own, but can usually be combined in some kind of promotion that will save you a little bit overall. I think my next polish I’ll be picking up from work will be Mirage’s multi-crome sister, named Twilight Zone, so keep an eye out for that beauty coming up soon. =)

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Rose-y bridesmaid nails.

 

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So my sister came over the other day for me to do her nails for a wedding she is in this weekend. She was telling me how all the other bridesmaids had gotten their nails professionally done, and she was bummed because she just couldn’t afford to do that. I didn’t want her to feel left out, so I told her she should come over because I wanted to make them pretty for her! =) So while the boyfriend distracted my nephew, I got her to sit down, and came up with some gorgeous nails for her to rock. She told me the wedding colors were rose pink, white, and black so I brain stormed for a while and figured that roses would be the most perfect bridesmaid nails. =)

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The polishes I used for this manicure were:

  • Icing Beach Barbie — thumb and middle finger.
  • Bourjois Cendres de Roses — pointer and pinky fingers base color (and roses).
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Grey Area — pointer and pinky fingers polka dots.
  • OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls — ring finger base color.
  • Bourjois Le Rouge fidele — roses.
  • Bourjois Mais Oui! — roses.
  • Mariposa shimmery pink — roses.
  • ACO by Ardene Green Peace — leaves.
  • ACO by Ardene Techno Green — leaves
  • LA Colors Palm Tree — leaves.
  • Seche Vite Quick Dry top coat.

 

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I thought the end result turned out really pretty. It just so happened I had a dusty rose pink (Bourjois Cendres de Roses) that perfectly matched the pink in the wedding colors! I went with dark grey polka dots, instead of black, just because I thought it would be a little more subtle–and would compliment the rose color. My sister was really excited for her nails, which made me so happy. =) I also lent her my Icing Beach Barbie so she could paint her toes sparkly to match, since they have opened toe shoes. So she’ll look pretty from head to toe. =)

 

So what do you think of this rose and polka dot manicure? Do you ever do other people’s nails? I’m still not 100% used to doing them, but it is fun playing around on someone else–even if she has the tiniest little nails compared to my own.

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Sometimes you just need to go simple.

Okay, so I’ve been really obsessed with polka dots lately. They’re just so easy, fun and pretty. I tried doing my nails about 15 times the other day, and just didn’t like anything I came up with. Finally, I went with some more polka dots and was very happy with the outcome. I still haven’t figured out how I want to do my own nails for the wedding (which.. oh my… is tomorrow), but I’ve figured out what I’m doing for everyone else’s nails. In fact, my other best friend will be rocking a manicure very similar to the one below since she was so in love with what I had done.

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The polishes I used for this manicure were:

  • Revlon Dreamer.
  • Maybelline Sapphire Siren.
  • ACO by Ardene Kiss by a Ross.
  • OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls.
  • Essie Good to Go top coat.

I found Revlon Dreamer in my stash, which I picked up a little while ago and only used once. I forgot what a pretty blue it is. I’m a huge fan of a soft blue polish… which is probably why I own so many!

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Tomorrow’s going to be a busy day, so I won’t be able to make any updates. But on Saturday (or… depending on how much we party Friday night… Sunday) I will have all the wedding manicure’s I’m creating to share with you. I’m doing the Bride’s, the maid of honor, our other best friend (and of course my own) nails for the wedding! You think doing that many manicures would be stressful, but I’m so excited for our girlie pre-wedding sleepover.

Now I’m going to go get ready. We’ve got the rehearsal this morning, and then I’ve got a TON of running around to do. I am going to need a coffee the size of my head, that’s for sure.

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Nautical themed Bridal Shower Nails.

So I totally misjudged being on vacation. I am a lot busier than I thought I would be, but I guess that goes a long with being a bridesmaid. But I’m still managing to get some nail art time in! I decided to do something fun and nautical themed for my besties Bridal Shower (using her wedding colors, obviously), and this is what I ended up coming with.

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The polishes I used for this manicure were:

  • Maybelline Sapphire Siren.
  • ACO by Ardene Kiss by a Rose.
  • China Glaze Metro Pollen-tin.
  • ACO by Ardene Golden Luxery.
  • Mariposa Nail Design Striper in White.
  • Essie Good to Go Top Coat.

I’ve been browsing a lot of nautical themed nails on Pinterest, so I wanted to give it a quick try. I created my lines freehand, (and on the go) which is why some of them aren’t as straight as I hoped they would be. But they’re not so bad, and they went great with the dress I wore to the bridal shower!

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I can’t believe my best friend is getting married in 2 days! We used to make Spice Girl videos in my backyard way, way back in the day, and now she’s going to walk down the isle. If I don’t cry, I will be absolutely shocked.

Now, time to go play with some polish. I’m feeling some swatching today. I bought a bunch of new polishes in July I haven’t yet had time to share with you, so I figured now is a good time. With the exception of a little bridal lingerie shopping tonight with the bride to be, I’ve got the whole day to myself. And my stash is calling my name!

Have a great day lovelies!

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Polka Dots and Roses and Pink… oh my!

It’s official.

I am on vacation.

Today’s nail art is some fun floral. Originally when I started these I was just thinking of doing some pretty simple floral accent nails, and then I pulled out my dotting tools and ending up getting a little dot happy. But then end result I think is fun.

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The polishes I used for this manicure were:

  • Mary Kay Signature Hot Pink Fuchsia.
  • ACO by Ardene Bridezilla.
  • Sinful Colors Island Coral.
  • Bourjois Paris  in 1995 Grains de beauté.
  • Bourjois Paris in 1913 Cendres ds Roses.
  • OPI Pinking of You.
  • ACO by Ardene Green Peace.
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Kiwi Bikini.
  • Essence Gel Look Top Coat.
  • Essie Good to Go Top Coat.

Aren’t they pretty? Even though purple is my favorite color, I am partial to pink nail polish… especially when it involves a floral. (And polka dots!)

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So what do you think of this NOTD? I ended up muddling my roses on my pinkies, which was a little disappointing, but other than that they look great. =)

And now that I’m on vacation, I’m going to go through and start thinking up some fun wedding nail art to share with you guys. I haven’t quite figured out what I’m doing for my friend’s wedding on Friday, but I’ve got a couple days to figure it out. I have a bridal shower to go to tonight, so I’m going to figure out something pretty to wear on my nails for that.