I Love Nail Polish - Purple Plasma

Hey all,

I've got an absolute stunner for you today!

Brace yourself for...

I Love Nail Polish - Purple Plasma

Purple Plasma is a gorgeous "electric" purple holographic polish full of red and gold sparkle.

This is two coats. 

No matter the lighting, it's beauty is intense!

The holo is to die for but it's the sparkle that really kills it.

I stamped with Essie - Good As Gold and used MoYou London Sci Fi Plate 2.

I couldn't bare to cover much of this up, so I picked a little robot that I'm totally in love with.

It's so damn cute, I want to stamp it on everything ^_^

Purple Plasma has quickly become a new favourite.

ILNP did a stellar job on this one. 

What are your favourite ILNP shades?

Have a good one!

jeebjeeb

Let's Get Tropical

Hey all,

I need to get into a better posting groove.

I have so many awesome summer manis just waiting for their day in the sun.

But all I want to do when I get home is work on friendship bracelets.

My art is tearing me apart!!!!! And I wouldn't have it any other way. :)

I'm never bored, that's for sure.

Anyhoo... I'll try to get my ass into gear.

Starting today! Let's get tropical! 

 I recently picked up a few MoYou London Tropical plates.So in love!! 

Looking at all the images I knew it was time for me to try stamping with multiple colours.

I don't know why I haven't gotten into that yet, but hello, this is my gateway drug!

Zoya - Purity is the base for this flora and fauna from Tropical Plate 04.

I stamped with Essie - Off The Shoulder (pink), Sally Hansen - Lickety-Split Lime (green, duh) & Lightening (yellow)

I really love how the colours bleed together. Makes me think of sun bleached Hawaiian shirts.

I'm smitten with this manicure. Fresh, bright and colourful. 

And the fact that the white base made my hands look SO tanned. ^_^

I think I'll be wearing white polish well into winter ;P

I'm on my lunch break right now, and the clock is ticking... Got to get back at it!

Have a great hump day y'all!

jeebjeeb

Fire Marble (with handy tips & tricks)

Hey all,
Today I have a super summer fantastic water marble for you!
But before I get into that a few of my blogger girlfriends have asked me for my tips & tricks.
By no means do I believe I have mastered this technique.
However, I try to learn a little something each time I try it out.

Ok, if you don't know the basic water marble procedure, or want to know how to make certain designs, go to youtube.
There are tons (TONS) of fantastic tutorials that will tell you everything you need to know.
My water marble musts are just little steps to make the process less stressful and more satisfying.

jeebjeeb's tips & tricks

Little cups work better!
The less your polish spreads the more intense the colour will be and the slower it will dry.
I heard about using shot glasses but I found them to be too small,
and often banged my nails against the side and ruined the design :(
Think Dixie cup size. What I use is about 2.5 inches in diameter and I find it perfect.

Use room temperature, not so fresh, water.
I've heard bottled is best... Filtered is best... Bah! Doesn't matter.
What's I find works best is water that has been sitting out for a day.
It's at the temperature you want and it's had time to let some of the crap in it evaporate.
If I don't think ahead and leave out a cup for myself, well... I use my cat's water! All good!

If it's summer, turn off your fans!
The more air blowing around, the faster you'll have to work.
I learned this one the hard way when I tried marbling underneath my overhead fan.
It just sucks. And you don't want to think that you're the one sucking when really it's your fan.

Tape your damn fingers!
Self explanatory. You will thank yourself for taking the extra time.

Organize your area.
Layout your work station before you start and make sure everything is within reach but not crowded.
Last thing you want is to knock things over while you're creating your marble.
Unscrew the caps of all your bottles, put your toothpicks in a good spot. Again, you will thank yourself.

Don't rush yourself.
You know what happens when you rush. You make mistakes and messes.
When you're playing around with the polish you have a lot more time to play than you think.
In some of the youtube videos I've watched they're manipulating their bulls eye for a good two minutes!
Think of it like yoga, be in the moment, breathe and concentrate.
Remember, you master the marble, the marble doesn't master you!

One finger at a time.
I've seen a youtuber do all four fingers at once.
And as amazing as that is, I've never been able to make that work for me.
All I got was a big mess and lots of frustration.
But I do believe in you dear reader, so if you figure out a great way to do it, TELL ME!!

Use newer/ less used polish
Unlike stamping, marbles don't work with thick polish.
Brand new polish has the perfect consistency, but who wants to buy new polish every time they marble?
I don't! So my rule of thumb is, pick polishes you haven't used very often.
Like the orange I used below. I've had it for over a year, but only used it once.
It's still fresh as the day I got it, and works great!
That being said, not every polish will work for marbling, no matter how new.
Be prepared to improvise a bit.

Blow baby blow! 
(maybe my most important tip)
I used to be plagued by little bubbles of air that would get trapped between the marble and my base colour.
And if you touch the bubbles they pop and expose the colour underneath. >:(
Not what I want after putting in all that effort.
The solution - blow them away!
Once your nail comes out of the cup - blow on it like you're 2 and it's a birthday candle.
For at least 30 seconds, huff, puff, blow that house down!
I promise you will never have a problem with those pesky bubbles again!

And that's pretty much it (for now) I'm probably forgetting something.
I hope this is somewhat helpful next time you try the technique.

Alrighty, on to the water marble! Or fire marble in this case...

left hand

As usual I laid down a base of white (Zoya - Purity) 

then marbled with Nicka K - Ripe Apple, Essie - Orange, It's Obvious & Sally Hansen - Lightening

right hand

After cleanup I covered it all in a generous layer of Model City Polish - Seize the Rainbow.

Because every mani needs some of this Rainbow love!

Marble practice is definitely making perfect. 

I think this may be my favorite so far, but I say that every time ;P

I love how flamin beautiful this is! Lava lamp meets psychedelic 60's concert background.

Wow. I feel like I've been typing up a storm! And now I need a nap!

But all for the purposes of education! 

I really hope this has been helpful. And if not, well dammit, some of you asked for this, so it's your fault!!

And if it is, and it makes you marble, SHOW ME!! Because I love me some water marbles :)

Have a great Friday night!!

jeebjeeb

summertime and the living is easy

Hey all!

I'm baaaacck....*Poltergeist style* 

My week away was cloud free and fantastic.

Days full of reading, swimming and bracelet making. Heaven!

Lucas brought his bb gun and I tried it for the first time. Surprisingly, I'm not bad at it!

Definitely something I want to play with more.

So I gave my Dad hell for not getting me one a as a kid. What the hell Dad??

I couldn't been a sharp shooter by now!

Would have been used way more than the fishing rod he got me.

 

I've got two simple stamping manis for you today.

Featuring two very lovely indie polishes.

First up...

ILNP - Charmingly Purple

A super sweet bright purple holo

 

 

I stamped with Sally Hansen - Lickety Split Lime using MoYou London Suki Plate 09

On a few nails I used Sally Hansen - Lightening and did a little dotting.

 

I really love the Dragonflies. Especially after spending a week surrounded by them.

Did you know they eat mosquitoes, flies and wasps? Best insects ever!

 

-----

 

Cult Nails - Radiance

A beautiful berry creme, Cult Nail's nod to the colour of the year

 

This polish was just begging for some gold accents, so I used Essie - Good As Gold

and stamped with Messy Mansion Plate MM32

 

 

As usual with Messy Mansion the detail is insane and the end result is gorgeous.

I am so in love with this hieroglyph stamp!

 

So I didn't get a sunburn the entire trip.

But I went to the beach with my parents yesterday and burnt my back.

Lame!

So I'm going to moisturize and take a nap now. I'm a bit zonked.

Have a good one!

jeebjeeb

 

Indigo Bananas - Acid Ocean

Hey all,

 I'm getting pretty excited and anxious over here.

On Friday night I'm leaving for a holiday with Lucas & my Dad.

We're going up to a giant lake and will stay in a houseboat for a week!

Who needs lakefront when you can be right on the lake?

It was my Dad's idea, and it'll be the first vacation we've taken together since 2005!

Which is pretty crazy.

Dad & I used to go camping every year. 

I had the most fun as a child when starting camp fires, hunting down sticks for marshmellows,

 tearing through campsites on my bike, and scarfing down beans and hot dogs in my plaid flannel jacket.

That was the good life.

Then growing up and bullshit got in the way.

9 years later... I want some of that magic back.

Break out the propane lantern (still works perfectly!)

load up on the sunscreen, bug spray and air mattresses, and bring it on!

It's a jeebjeeb summer revival!

Indigo Bananas - Acid Ocean

Acid Ocean is a deep blue/green base full of aqua and green colour shifting flakies (love!)

and bronze to green shifting shimmer! Yep, flakies and shimmer, what's not to love?

As per usual with Indigo Bananas, the formula is exquisite! This is two coats.

It applied like a dream and despite the jelly look of this polish, there is no visible nail line.

I don't know what I love more, the shimmer or the flakies. Together they work such wonderful magic.

After seeing how beautiful The Mercurial Magpie's swatches were in matte,

I had to bust out my trusty matte topcoat for this one.

(Poor thing is about 2 years old, I think this will be it's last mani, time for it to see greener pastures )

And viola! Matte perfection! I fricken love it!

Look at how wonderfully the flakies pop. Mmmmm... Colour shifting goodness...

What do you prefer, shiny or matte?

I stamped with MoYou London Fairytale Plate 06 using Essie - Good As Gold

I'm so into the jellyfish, it's not even funny.

And on my thumb, I have the face of a mermaid! If only I could fit her on my other nails...

I'll be spending the rest of the week deciding what to bring with me.

No nail polish. No computer. And maybe no crochet. 

(I think I just heard all of you collectively gasp)

What the hell am I going to do?

Friendship bracelets!! The best summer activity around!

That is, until you screw something up and have to undo your knots (._.)

Course, I have a lot of practise at that now :P

I'm a huge success at failing. But apparently it's the only way I learn.

And I'm quite learned ;)

Have a good one!

jeebjeeb

Sensory Deprivation

Hey all,

I tried something new on the weekend.

Lucas & I spent some time in a deprivation tank.

An hour and a half to be exact, but time escapes you.

Floating on incredibly salty water inside a lightproof and soundproof tank.

Is this your idea of heaven or hell?

For me it was absolute joy.

So relaxing.

The water is silky amazing and it doesn't make you pruney!!

It's like a wonderful bath in nothingness.

Not half as claustrophobic as it sounds.

I tend to be an easily over stimulated type.

I don't like loud talkers... TV's turned up to high give me headaches...

This was such a wonderful respite.

If you're into consciousness expansion, I definitely recommend checking out a place like Floathouse.

 

What with all this water talk,

I thought now would be the perfect time to show you this watermarble.

I used Zoya - Sailor (which I bought with my Nail Polish Canada reward points! Booya!)

Sally Hansen - Water Color & Essie - Blanc

Best watermarble yet! I really liked all ten lf my fingers this time too.

Only one got a little dinged! No disappointments. All win here.

Practising is paying off. 

 

Give me two more tries at this and I swear I'll do a post with all the tips and tricks I've learned.

It really is the little things with watermarbles that make a huge difference.

That and patience, ahhhhh!! ~_~

So would you ever try floating in a deprivation tank?

You have nothing to fear but fear itself. :)

 

Have a great night!

jeebjeeb

 

Guacamole, Sour Cream & Salsa

Hey all,

Hope you enjoyed the solstice yesterday.

I experiences a miracle!

I actually tanned a bit without burning!

No forgotten strips on my shoulders. None of my "what do you mean I didn't put sunscreen on my kneecaps?"

 I'm finally getting better at this.

 

 To celebrate the new season I've got a manicure that I think is super summery.

I call it Guacamole, Sour Cream & Salsa

 

 

 I used a base of KBShimmer - Honeydew List

Splattered with Zoya - Purity and Nubar - On The Radar

And topped it with the ever amazing Model City Polish - Seize The Rainbow

 

 

Maybe it's just me, but this mani seriously makes me crave nachos or a burrito.

And a margarita on a patio...

 

I love the spots on my index finger of this hand.

I think it's a little vampirey. ;[

 

Ahh, just look at that magical twinkle.

 

Have a good one.

jeebjeeb

 

 

 

Happy Hearts

 Hey all,

I took the week off work and am on vacation at the moment.

Just a little getaway to celebrate my anniversary tomorrow.

Lucas and I have been together for ten years now.

Pretty crazy. I was 17, he was 15.

I traded in a dozen fake friends in the hopes of something more.

And I have no regrets.

 

I thought now would be the perfect time to show off a mani using

Painted Sabotage - Happy Hearts and Hooves Day

 

 

HHHD is a soft pink base full of rose gold glitter, gold squares and a wonderful gold shimmer.

It's incredibly whimsical, like fairy tale cake icing, something I would have died over as a little girl.

Well, this polish was inspired by and co-created by Painted Sabotage's daughter

and her love of My Little Pony ^_^  (I used to love them in the late 80's)

 

 I decided to keep it cute and fun with my stamping, something a little girl would like.

Bubbles and hearts. Cute, right?

I used Essie - Off the Shoulder and Pueen Buffet plate 51

oh yes, and for HHHD I used three coats for optimum gorgeousness.

I really love the mix of glitter in this. The gold squares are my favourite.

And the little rose gold pieces make me think of strawberry poptarts.

mmmm.... I haven't had a poptart in years.

 

We haven't been doing a lot of shopping on this trip, but we have been doing a lot of eating,

Amazing breakfasts. Waffles yesterday. Eggs Benny today. On cornbread!! It was so delicious.

And for dinner we've been pubbing it. Live music and Killer Koolades with dinner last night.

But tonight it's Chinese all the way. Fried rice and chow mein here I come!

Just need to make some room first.

 

Hope you're having a great week!

Don't forget to check out the Spring Spectacular Giveaway!!

jeebjeeb

 

 



Conquering the Sugar Spun

Hey all,

 My friend Shade recently told me "I bought a polish for you. It's so ugly!"

And I'm like "bring it bitch! I'll make it work!"

Or at least make a manicure ugly enough to warrant a laugh.

To my surprise he gave me Essie - Lovey Dovie

Not nearly as ugly as expected. A medium pink crème. Sweet!

To his disappointment I can actually do a lot with it.

Better luck next time!

 

After seeing Tunay Na Mahal's Sugar Spun looks (so awsome!) I had the urge to try the technique again.

I hated it the first time but I had a feeling that this time would be different.

This time I would use a nail artists best friend! Sally Hansen Insta-Dr!

And wouldn't you know, it worked out.

 

I used Lightening & Lickety-Split Lime for my candy coated confection.

 I'm so happy with it and it was a lot of fun.

Patience is the biggest factor.

 

 



 What do you think of sugar spun? Have you tried it before?

 

Oh man, I came down with a cold last night and now I'm getting more congested by the minute.

Time for some myrtle tea and crochet. Need to zonk out.

Have a good night!

jeebjeeb

the beautiful girls who are shly brave...

Hey all,

This week I'm going on a Cult Nails bender. （￣ー￣） 

I got pretty pretties from them ages ago that I still haven't worn!

I don't know about you, but I get really antsy with my untrieds.

It's as if I feel like I'm letting the polish down by not using it sooner.

And the longer I hold off, the more of a grudge it has. 

Yes. I was one of those kids that thought my toys had feelings.

So I would try to play with everything equally.

I still do this, and not just with nail polish.

It's ridiculous the amount of empathy I have for the inanimate.

To start off the binge I give you...

Masquerade

Masquerade is a green jelly base full of duochrome pink/gold shimmer.

This was part of the Limited Edition Midnight Masquerade Collection.

It's been on at least 3 bloggers Best of 2013 lists, and it's easy to see why.

I wish I only stamped my accent finger, but oh well.

I used MoYou The Artist Plate 11 & Essie - Good As Gold

Although Masquerade is similar to Orly - Space Cadet, they're not the same.

Space Cadet has a stronger shimmer going on, whereas this is more about the base colour.

I was worried after I ordered this that it would be a dupe.

Which makes me a dope. (~_~;)

Even if they were, you can never have enough Space Cadet!

Don't forget to enter the Janurary Jambouree Giveaway!

Runs until the 20th with daily entries!

(You know you want my earrings ∩( ・ω・)∩  )

Today for your listening pleasure I give you Liz Phair.

"it's cold out there and rough" That's for sure.

It's the usual wet and windy west coast winter over here,

 but my thoughts are with those of you dealing with the sub zero insanity.

Stay warm!

Have a great night and an awesome manicure.

jeebjeeb

the weather outside is frightful

We have reached the darkest of days. And I yearn to hibernate.

Once it gets close to nine in the evening I'm much too out of it to do anything. 

Crochet puts me to sleep. German? Forget about it.

Feels like lost time.

But I always try to look on the bright side.

In a week it will all be in reversal. 

This moment is fleeting.

I finally tried out my first half moon manicure after being inspired by the mercurial magpie.

 One word of caution though, don't use the plastic binder reinforcements, pain in the ass!

That's what I get for pinching work supplies (；一_一) 

It all worked out so wonderfully in the end though.

Essie - Gold as Gold & OPI - Incognito in Sausalito 

----

This mani I actually named - Snowfall at Twilight

Nail Pattern Boldness - Texas Tea is AMAZING!! 

This is only TWO coats of a glitter sensation. There is zero pigment in the base. Mind blown.

The colours remind me of Christmas lights, and the iridescent blue flakies lend the perfect glow.

Completely and utterly in love. 

I stamped with Bundle Monster & A-England Excalibur.

I think snowflakes have to be my favourite Christmasy theme. 

I'm not a big Christmas person. Every year that goes by it feels less and less special.

What I wouldn't do just to be able to sleep until the new year.

Ipsy December Glam Bag

I recently signed up with Ipsy , a monthly make up subscription box. 

For $15 ($10 in the US) you get 5 items picked out for you in a cute little bag. 

I didn't exactly know what to expect, but I'm impressed.

Now I'm not a beauty blogger, nor do I aspire to be, so I just have a couple photos and that's it.

In my bag...

Nicka K New York - Ripe Apple

Pop Bauty - Brighten Up Your Life (ha!) Eye Shadow Trio in Naturally Bare

Be A Bombshell - The One Stick in Girl Crush

Nxy - Extra Creamy Round Lipstick in B52

Demeter - Perfume Oil Roll On in Snow

Well I love the eye shadow that will brighten up my life. 

Still waiting for that, but the copper tones look great with my green eyes. Score!

The One Stick I will NEVER use on my lips, since it's frosted bright pink. 

However it's a very natural blush on my fair face. Score!

The lipstick is nice and subtle, creamy understated sophistication. Hat trick!

The roll on oil in Snow wasn't my thing at first. But after wearing it for a few hours it really grew on me.

The oil is such a wonderful, mellow scent experience, I like it a lot. 

In fact... I've already ordered another one of their scents. Major score!

And the Nicka K Nail Polish? (Have you ever heard of them before??)

Well here's a swatch for you. 

Perfect shade for the holidays!

I did another snowy-ish stamp job with it and some Northern Lights Topcoat.

I must have tempted fate because a day after painting this it snowed.

And it doesn't do that all the time here. I'm loving it, it's so beautiful.

But soon enough it will all be slushy disgusting. Yay. (._.)

Puddle jumping my way to my Saturday overtime.

What fun.

jeebjeeb

Opulence

Hey all,

How's your weekend going?

At nine o'clock last night I had a totally random urge to bake cookies.

And I'm proud to say by 10:15 I was scarfing down! 

Since I didn't have any nuts or chocolate chips, I went with an easy peanut butter cookie recipe.

It was probably the fastest batch of cookies I've ever made. Highly recommended.

The hardest part is not eating them all at once, they're so crazy good fresh out of the oven.

Next time I'll be adding peanut butter chips, my ultimate weakness.

But on to nail polish.

I have another recipe that went together even more perfectly...

Zoya - Carter stamped with gold

Oh...My...Gorgeous. Just perfection.

Two coats of Carter, no base or topcoats, for the ultimate in textured sparkle.

I used Essie - Good as Gold and stamped with MoYou London Suki Plate 06.

It stamped so fantastically well, look at that awesome coverage. 

I can't get over how amazing this combo is. What do you think? 

Purple and gold are just made for each other, especially with texture and sparkle thrown in the mix.

It's another foggy day here in Lotusland. Dreamy and cottony.

Not inspiring any kind of activity within me. 

What do you have planned this Sunday?

I'm off to make my third cup of tea and to start crocheting like crazy.

Have a great day and an awesome manicure.

jeebjeeb

Candy Stripes and Questions

Hey all,

Happy last day of summer!

I've had a couple busy days with my brother, and I tell you, I'm pooped.

Went downtown last night to get GTA V, which he's been playing non-stop since last night.

Then today we re-organized his bedroom, made it more tween appropriate.

He's super happy with how it turned out, and so am I. 

And it didn't take long, but holy crap.

I need a nap.

Here's a little something I meant to share weeks ago.

First I made a gradient with Enchanted Polish - Kids & Zoya - Sari

Then I made some stripes with Essie - Off the Shoulder & Sally Hansen - Lickety-Split Lime

I think it turned out quite nicely. Super beachy, candy coated fun.

What do you think?

I was recently nominated for the Liebster award by The Mercurial Magpie. 

Although I have already taken part in the awards I wanted to answer her fun questions.

1) What inspired your blog name?
               Well, one of my nicknames is jeebjeeb. And for a long time I was thinking about getting into graffiti. I wanted to use jeeb as my artist name and tag. But I didn't want to just tag "jeeb" everywhere. I started coming up with lines to insert jeeb into. Whatever Happened to Baby Jeeb? Fight for your right to Jeeb. Jeeb will tear us apart, etc. The best one I came up with, the one that kept popping into my mind, was In Jeeb We Trust. So when I decided to start a blog, it was the only name I wanted. And I never ended up doing any graffiti. Not really interested in creating illegal art late at night. Too much stress. My nails are my personal graffiti ;)

2) What nail polish colour can you not resist buying?
              Oh lord. Green every time. I'm a green freak. And following closely in second, blue.

3) You're rushing out the door and have 10 minutes to do your nails, what polish do you grab?
            Well, honestly, if I have only 10 minutes to paint my nails, it ain't happening! But, if I'm short on time but want something fun I lean towards an interesting indie polish. Like a jelly filled with glitter. Think Model City Polish - Hey Ho Lets Go. Or! A thermo polish! Like Pretty & Polished - April Showers.

4) Your house is burning down/ you're on a deserted island/ you're being abducted by aliens, etc... which 5 polishes would you take with you?
               Oh no, this one's hard. Don't make me pick! Every two seconds I change my mind. And does base & topcoat count? No matter what I pick, five would just not suffice. :P

5) What inspired you to get into nail polish in the first place?
            Hmmm... well I don't really know. One day I walked into a drug store, saw some Essie, bought two bottles and never looked back. I used to do my nails often as a child. But the horrors of teen life made me stop. I was 24 when I started again and I guess I realized it's now or never. If you want to do it, just do it. So here I am.

6) What technique have you struggled with in the past and now mastered?
            Striping tape and normal tape manis. It takes a lot of patience. The first striping tape I had was just garbage, so proper materials really do help. Sometimes I still have problems, like holos melting my normal tape :S (anyone else have that problem?) but other than that, I think I've mastered the tape.

7) What technique do you still struggle with?
             Argh. Watermarble. The first times I tried it it worked out really well. I thought I had it down. But the more I attempt it, the worse I get. I think I'm probably just psyching myself out. I was great at the beginning because I had no expectations Need to get back there..

8) What is your favourite type of manicure to do?
               Well I love gradients because they're so simple and visually stunning. And I also love stamping because, with all the image plates out there, what's not to love? So maybe my absolute fav would be a gradient with stamp on top? Oh! And splatter. LOVE splatter big time. Don't make me pick just one!

9) How do you organize/ keep track of your polish?
              I have two wooden boxes my boyfriend made specifically for polish. And  I organize by brand. I find it easiest that way. All my assorted indies are in the top box. And the mainstream brands are in the bottom.

10) What commercial brand is your favourite?
              Zoya. My life hasn't been the same since their Gloss collection.

11) What indie brand is your favourite?
              Right now I'm super into Smitten Polish. Her holos are to die for! I'm especially looking forward to the fall collection. So amazing!

Oh man. Not even the evening yet and I feel totally brain dead and want to go to sleep.

I can't even get excited about painting my nails...

Woah. I just figured it out! I haven't had any tea today!! :O

I've got to fix that pronto!

Have a great weekend and an awesome maincure!

jeebjeeb