a england Ascalon

Happy Friday! I hope everyone has been enjoying their summer so far and Fridays during the summer are by far the best kind. Especially when your job has summer Fridays like mine does. I get out at 1:30 pm, which is awesome! This weekend I'm going to see "Magic Mike". *blush* I can't help it, I've been looking forward to this movie since I first heard about it months ago. Can't wait!

The polish I have for you today is a england Ascalon. I received my first a englands a while ago and this swatch has been patiently waiting in my Picasa albums to be posted.

Ascalon is part of The Legend collection. Adina is so poetic and has such a strong vision with her whole nail polish line. On her website, Adina describes Ascalon as, "Forged by magic and guided by our hero's sainted hand, the steely grey of his spire is alive with a swirling heart of lavender fire." See? I doubt I could do any better than that.

Multi-dimensional or multi-hued polishes are by far my favorite and Ascalon is that. It's grey with a hint of lavender and holograpic shimmer. It is absolutely gorgeous in the sunlight and I couldn't stop staring at my hands the whole time I had it on. 

I actually don't remember how many coats I used since these swatches were taken over a month ago. But I didn't have any major issues with application or coverage. This polish is pretty much perfect in my book.

What do you think of Ascalon? What's your favorite part of Adina's a england? And last but not least, are you going to see "Magic Mike" this weekend? 

We Are Family! KelBel Cosmetics Ava and Amanda

I'm baacckkkk! May was just not my month for blogging. I had one post the whole month. ONE! That's so sad. As always, life gets in the way or there are just times when I just don't want to sit down and edit photos. It is probably my least favorite part of nail blogging. I'm considering just getting rid of the watermark all together to make it easier. People out there seem to just crop out watermarks anyway if they really want to steal photos.

But aside from that, life is good. I just spent the weekend at my annual family reunion in the New York Catskills. We've been going to the same resort for 29 years and I've been there every year of my life except for two years for my high school graduation and for my brother's. My mom went when she was pregnant with me, so I count that "in the womb" year, haha. Basically, I think of it as the greatest place on earth. I'd rather go to Sunny Hill (the resort where we hold the reunion) than Disney World! I love my family and we always have such a great time.

The reason for the story is that it inspired today's post. My older brother and his family moved to Atlanta, GA about two years ago. Luckily, they haven't missed a Sunny Hill reunion since! In April is my niece Amanda's birthday and this year (she just turned 5) as part of her present, I created two nail polish colors and named them after Amanda and her sister, Ava. I love my nieces and miss them a lot now that they live so far away. I was able to see them this weekend and I'm always thankful for that.

Here are the bottle shots of the colors I created. I didn't swatch them since they were gifts. I have a feeling I'll recreate the colors though so I can wear them myself.

Since Amanda is only 5 years old, I went with an age-appropriate color, light pink. Once she gets older she can wear any crazy color she wants, like her Aunt. But for now, I thought it was best to stick to a classic. Plus, Amanda is a girly girl that loves anything princess related. It's the perfect color for her namesake.

My niece Ava is the big sister. I wanted something a little older, yet still fun. The color is a blurple and in real life has a subtle duo-chrome effect. I think it also matches Ava's personality. 

I had a lot of fun creating these colors as gifts for my nieces! I can't wait until I see them next. 

Have you created any custom colors for people you know as gifts? Does your family have an annual reunion?