Translate

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Disgusting Halloween Nails

I decided to try The Daily Nail halloween manicure
I only did on one hand It worked well it just isn't my thing too much texture for me.

I started with 2 coats of Le Chat Cherry Cosmo  I almost stopped there it was super pretty.

























But I persevered and quickly added 2 coats of the Princessa Taupe color (they aren't labled) followed by a thick coat of Seche Vite. I waited about a minute then started the smear. To do accent "blood" I used China Glaze Velvet bow. This is result, disgusting yes?
 

Holographic Disco Ball

I finally got my suspension polish so here are just a few gratuitous shots of my first glitter bomb that I have dubbed the Holographic Disco Ball 2 coats





Innocent Dotticure ... Dream on

I thought I'd try a dotticure I have seen so many out there on the internets :). I didn't want to commit to any one style I wanted to see what worked for me. I actually didn't match my left and right hands which bothers me a bit because I like them to match. I think it turned out well though.

I used Sinful Colors Innocent and Dream On. I love these colors Dream On is probably my favorite purple ever and Innocent is a nice yellowish green it reminds me of new grass. The base is 2 coats of Innocent and the dots are a mix of Innocent and Dream On. It is then topped off with Seche Vite.

Left Hand Painted by Right Hand
Right Hand Painted by Left Hand



I love these two colors separately as well as together. I really like  how my middle and ring finger look on my left hand and I  like my pinky on my right. I think I would like the index finger more if I had fused the dots and made the heart shape bigger.

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Metallic - Gone a Bit Overboard

I used Kleancolor Metallic Green and Boogie Nights Stripe Rite Gold the base of Color Club Editorial
This is 2 coats of Editorial as a base, then added a gradient of Metallic Green  using Boogie Nights  stamped BM19.  I used Gold striper to add the design to my ring finger and thumb over the stamp and a line down the middle of each nail.


























I think I got a little carried away here haha, you know what they say when you think you need one more thing stop.  Editorial is a really lovely duochrome it is mostly an olive gold that flashes to a teal-ish green  it helped make the gradient look really seamless, so much so I had a really hard time getting a good pic.

I really am working on my cuticles if any one has any suggestions please let me know



Thursday, October 25, 2012

Purple Paisley

This Is a photo I saved but I dont have this base polish or stamping plate any more I gave them to my mom. Igave them for the same reason they were too big. The polish is Wet N Wild  the formula was fantastic but the brush was very wide, the plate used was Cheeky Jumbo I all of the images were massive so since I have tiny hobbit hands they just didnt work for me.I stamped with L.A Colors Live on all my nails except my ring finger I used L.A.Colors Topaz to stamp. Topped off with Seche vite.
It was really hard to get a good pic the glare from the metallics was insane.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Mermaid Nails

For this look I used 2 coats of Misa Mermaid Dreams, 2 thick coats of Hit Polish (formerly D&R Apothacary) in Mermaid scales for my accent nail and Kleancolor Jazz Olive for the stamping. I used Red Angel plate RA-111 to stamp. I tried the Julep quick dry polish drops, I didn't notice it help the polish dry any quicker but it does smell pretty. I topped it all off with some Seche Vite









Sorry the stamping didn't show quite as well in the pictures. and my cuticals are still a mess, but have been using cuticle oil regularly lately so hope that works.  I was bit worried initially when I first put on mermaid dreams, I thought crap this is gonna take several coats but was glad to see it only took two the first coat was quite sheer but the second made it fairly opaque.

I do own quite a few polishes from hit polish, for me I have to shake it every few nails and do some fishing and dabbing to get even coverage.  This I don't care for one because I think polish should go on like polish with no fuss and two because dabbing usually makes polish go on thick, then it takes ages to dry. However, they do make some pretty glitter polishes.
As a side note ....  I have also discovered that a lot of glitter polishes are this way more so with people that have short nails. I have tried this on a polish wheel where the nails are longer and found it didn't require the dabbing and fishing so much but did require shaking every other nail or so to keep the application uniform-ish.

Monday, October 22, 2012

Popular Renee


I am really pleased with this manicure. I am getting better at getting  the stamps more centered and even on my nails. They aren't exact but they are close!
To do this look,  I started 2 coats of Julep Renee - 2220 and then I added Revlon Popular to the tips. I used Essie No place Like Chrome and Konad stamp M64. I mattified with Butter Matte Topcoat.

Right Hand Stamped by Left Hand

Left Hand Stamped by Right Hand






























Renee and Popular are very similar in the photo but Renee is more a lavender and Popular is pink with silver glitter. I didn't like this shiny but I do love it matte and I have to say the Butter matte topcoat is fairly awesome, it dries super quick too. I have used other matte top coats and usually they were thick and took forever to dry but Butter doesn't.

I know I know I keep promising to fix my cuticles but I still haven't. I am working on it really!



I do not like Candy Corn

I was not sure if I wanted to blog about this polish. I won it in a give away done by The Trace Face Philes. Really it is my own fault I was given my choice of polish from the The Nail Junkie.  I should have gone with Apple,  it was my gut choice, but instead I chose Candy Corn.  I loved this polish when every other blogger posted swatches it was so pretty. It was beautifully packaged and I was just so excited to get but this polish just falls flat for me.
I tried it on its own and I tried it layered over Misa Psychedelic Scene and then lastly over Sally Hansen Hard Lemonade. In Pic is 2 coats Hard lemonade with 2 thick coats of Candy Corn.



It just couldn't live up to my own hype in my head the first time 2 times I tried it I took it off right away.  They say third time is charm but no charm here. I really had a hard time getting the glitter to be even and spread, I had to play around with it quite a bit. I also just really disliked how it looked on my nails.  I've heard nothing but good things about this polish maker but this particular polish isn't for me. I was planning to buy it if I had not won it. I am so glad I won it, I'd be even more disappointed had I bought it. I hate it that I didn't like this, does this happen to anyone else? Have you ever had a polish you lusted after then once you finally had you just didn't like it?

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Duplication is not Allowed

Hi
I have accidentally bought more than one bottle of the same polish, actually I have done it a few times, so I thought I'd try a giveaway. It seems like an opportunity to meet who is out there on the internet and see what you think. I'll go ahead and make it international, but please keep in mind if your country doesn't allow polish to be mailed and it gets confiscated I can not do anything about that. I do have GFC but I haven't made it a mandatory thing if you want to follow, follow if not that is okay too :)

The Prize
The Color Club LuminICCEnt, I bought in a set, I knew I already had this one but I did not have the others It is full size. The China Glaze Optical Illusion,  I just didn't think I had already, it is also full size bottle.
Heh, you know you have too many polishes when you cant remember what you have.  I keep an excel sheet for this now :D



a Rafflecopter giveaway





Holographic Disco Ball - My first Franken


I was gonna post about something different but I hated so much I just took it off right away without pics. It was an indie polish that I received recently. I really loved it in the swatches other bloggers have done, but hated in real life. I won it in a contest so I am not sure if I will do a post on it especially as it isn't a positive evaluation. The glitter had settled to the side I had to shake it up quite a bit and it didn't apply evenly I was super disappointed and just really happy I won it and didn't pay for it.


I saw this in the store next to the Wet n Wild Fantasy Makers Polish its called Confetti Shimmer Dust - Glitz 
 It looks like this It is a tiny tiny bottle I didn't know what I was gonna do with it  when I bought it. Then one day,  I was looking at a bottle of clear coat  next to this jar and was thinking that would make an awesome polish and It did. This is about half a jar of glitter in 1 full bottle of clear coat. Painted in 1 thick coat over a black nail, its gorgeous.





















I am gonna get another bottle of glitter and some suspension polish. Because we all know how I feel about polishes that you have to shake. but I totally love this it is like a holographic disco ball. :D

Friday, October 19, 2012

Dr Finklestein and Fallen Angel

Two indie polishes in one manicure :)
I used 2 coats of LynBDesigns Dr. Finklestein, which was layered over 2 coats of Above the Curve Fallen Angel. I then Stamped with my Snoopy stamp LO06 using 17 Teal.







Dr. Finklestein is described as a sheer blue base with a hint of green loaded with teal diamonds, blue hearts, small pale green and silver hexagons, and silver holographic glitters. As we all know I am in favor of polishes that apply like polishes.  Let me just say I did no fishing at all for those blue hearts, they came right out and went onto my nails with no problem what so ever. I love that so much about this polish. It looks almost exactly the same in the bottle as it does on your nails which is super nice. As I have said before it may have been the bottle that attracted me but it was the formula that kept me.

17 Teal Colour Switch- Feather Fail

I saw a manicure using feathers on the web I forget where exactly and I thought I'll try that. Well it didnt turn out so great but I think it will look better with some practice.

I started with 2 coats  of 17 Colour Switch polish in Teal  I then added Some Seche Vite to my ring finger Applied the feather (A blue one) then trimmed the feather to my nail and topped with more Seche Vite.  Whats that you say, it looks like you have 2 colors on your nails. Well, this polish changes colors with application of a top coat. So I applied Seche Vite in different manners to my other nails. It starts off a very dark teal and changes to a navy color with top coat, very cool right!


Above the Curve - Fallen Angel

I just received my order from Above the Curve, all the polishes were lovely but my favorite was Fallen Angel. 
Fallen Angel is described as a holographic with pink/purple/blue color shifting shimmer in a black base. It is really very pretty the pics just do not do it justice. These pics are 2 coats and it applied really very well. Now unless you put it over a black base I am sure you wont ever get an actual black color no matter how many coats. Its a very lovely scattered holographic polish that is  light to dark grey on its own. Its particularly beautiful outside but it is no slouch inside either. 



Bottle shot

Close up





















Now I know with my shoddy camera skills it almost looks like salt and pepper glitter polish but I assure you it is not so. First it was way too easy to remove to be a glitter, and second it is not grainy at all it has a very smooth finish. 

Best of all when you buy this polish $1.00 from each bottle sold will be donated to Shriners Hospitals for Children. Polish and a gift to charity YOU CANNOT BEAT THAT!. 

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Heat Stroke on Spring Street


I just got my order of Jindie Nails goodies and a package from my Adopt a Pal exchange group. I am super excited! 
I decided to use one polish from each package for my manicure. I started with 2 coats of NYC in Spring Street that my lovely pal sent, I added 2 coats of  Jindie Nails Heat Stroke, then topped it off with Seche Vite. 
Spring Street is a lovely bright red-orange colour and Heat Stroke a clear based glitter polish with   neon green UV reactive glitter, neon yellow and neon hot orange glitter. They match very well with each other.

 I wasn't planning to do any Nail art this was very pretty on its own but I was Halloween inspired.  I was looking at my nail plates and I ran across BM-305 again the plate with the little devils and I though, how perfect. I decided to add some flames first I used Stripe Rite Hot Orange, Red and Yellow to make flames then I stamped the little devils using Sinful Colors Black on Black. On my left hand I used the Black striper to fill in as my stamping didn't quite work out on that hand. I then added a bit more flame :)


Left Hand Done by Right Hand

Right Hand Done by Left Hand

























I am really very happy with the way this turned out it is super cute. I like that it looks good on both hands Some times I'll do something  I love on one hand but then can't duplicate it on the other so I am pleased.

Neon with Stars and Arrows

For this I used a KandNail stamping plate. This is some knock off plate of other brand's designs I know this because I saw some of the bundle monster ones in these plates, only smaller. Which is great for me because I have hobbit nails. Some of the designs I liked in other collections but couldn't fit  on my nails are here only smaller so works out well for me. These are a great deal on ebay for smaller nails you get 8 jumbo-ish plates for 32$ shipped, not all of the designs stamp most of them do well though. But if you have large nails its probably not for you. Would be great for kids though.

To do this look I used 2 coats of  Klean Color Neon Pink  and Beach Blue (thumb and ring fingers). I stamped with konad special white using KandNail Plate CK-04 then topped with Seche Vite



Now I have had some people ask me about stamping. Its really easy it goes on in a flash and looks awesome IMHO. Some things to keep in mind the stamper matters it should have a lot of give and be fairly soft. Some of the cheaper starter sets have crappy stampers.
Now I'm a cheapskate I think that most of Konad stuff is so over priced but the stampers are great get the stampers. The stamping polishes for the most part are optional(the white is almost a must though) just about any black polish works well. (The gold and silver konad polishes I think are a joke) I've found if a color is opaque in 1 coat it works for stamping :).
Now keep in mind when stamping you need to work quickly you can use a slower drying polish but you still need to work fairly quick. So work out how you want it on your nail before even putting polish on the plate. Once you add polish to the plate scrape and stamp right away.
Try not to wiggle the stamper or press too hard it distorts the image, and even though it is pain its best to clean plate after every stamp it makes the image crisper.

I'm not an expert but this is what works for me.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Fimo Flowers

This is just a simple french nails with some pre-sliced fimo I got off ebay.
I used 3 coats of China Glaze Coy for the base and to do tips I used Sally Hansen French Manicure White Tip Pen. It is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Be careful when buying though they have a pearl version I picked up on accident I hated it. I topped with Seche vite.

Why yes my cuticles are horrid ignore them. I liked how this looked I tried hanging on to something other than a nail polish bottle. That was beyond awkward.

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Polish Corrector Pen

This is my new favorite nail tool ever (well so far) It is a nail polish corrector pen I bought it from Head 2 Toe Beauty. It has a chisel tip. I dip it in acetone and use it to clean up around my nails after stamping and for mess ups. I found this easier than a q tip(even the pointed ones)or a stiff brush I just feel like it gave me more control. I tried those ones off ebay the big round ones with the 5 extra tips but the aren't as good for around the cuticles in my opinion. Plus if you keep the tip free of polish when you finish with it it lasts ages. I used my last one until it fell apart.

As an aside I find some of the polish and such reasonably priced and shipping to the US is also reasonable they pack everything really well too.

Retro Nails- Stamps

See I do non-neon nails :)
I used LA Colors Shock for my nails for the accent nail I used Sally Hansen Limestone on my ring finger. I stamped and Added the tip with Julep Hoch I tired with Limestone but It was bit light :). I added Seche Vite as a top coat to finish.
I used  Image from Cheeky Plate B for the stamping. I really Liked the tone on tone green. So I'll probably use a similar combo again :)

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Jindie Nails - Zomboy

I don't know about you all but when I order or buy polish it is almost always several bottles at a time. I am almost same by eye make up  my stock of liners, shadows and mascara is almost as bad as my polishes.

I got this polish from Jindie Nails at the same time I bought Check the Candy. I have swatched all of the polishes I have because I'm anal and that's the first thing I do when I get a new polish. I swatch it on a sticker then stick it to the bottle. But I don't really like to blog about the polish until I've worn it.  Ordinarily I'd just put this in the queue but since it is an Indie polish I try to post those right away because if you do read about it I hope it's still available to buy. 
Zomboy polish went on like a dream and spread evenly like all of the polishes I have gotten from Jindie Nails. This is important because I've a lot of glitter polishes and several indie polishes and not all are equal. I don't want to dab or fish or have to shake the bottle every other nail to get even coverage. It is nail polish and as such should go on in same way as any other nail polish. End rant on the way polish should work 

This is 2 medum -thick coats of Zomboy with Seche Vite over the top.




Now Zomboy is a beautiful purple polish with pink and blue glitter, the pics really do not do it justice. One thing I love so far about this polish and Check the candy is the polish looks exactly like what you see in the bottle which is awesome so no surprises. I did stamp on Zomboy as well and had no problems with stamping over it either but I forgot to take a pic of that. So far I'm loving this company, and I have been impressed with every polish I have gotten from them so far which is saying a bit actually because I'm a bit picky. 

Friday, October 12, 2012

Bundle Monster Entry-Halloween Stamping

I decided to enter the Bundle Monster stamping contest to be honest I am not really happy with my entry. I tried on dark background and a light background . I submitted the one with the white background. I had some problems with my stamper picking up and the scraper clearing well, which is a new issue for me. Usually I do not have any issues with that.

This is the dark design, I had to go over most of the stamps with a striper because they we not quite dark enough. I'll rant about stamping polishes in a moment :)  the items that came out the best here weren't done with stamping polish.






































I'm really happy with the bat blood one, pumpkin and the skull one on the dark polish
Here is what I did submit to bundle monster contest. the topcoat sorta smeared some of the designs.



























I like the bats and the skull the devil  turned out well I think.

Now for the stamp rant or rather stamping polish rant. I really wonder what makes something a special stamping polish. Most of the ones that came out really well I ended up using regular polish to stamp. What really annoys me is that you can't really stamp over a dark color and use anything other than a light colored stamping polish.  Konad white/pastels are the only stamping polish I have noted to be any better than most regular polishes and that too only for dark colors. Its irritating to me that Konad's other colors like the blue or the red they really only stamp well on light colors. I was really hoping for some thing that would stand out more on my darker polishes I can say Kleancolor Metallics stamp on a darker color fairly well but I dont always want something metallic. I found Konad's gold and silver to be not better at all and felt I wasted my money.  Does any one else feel this way or am I the only person who things stamping polish seems to be a bit of a sham. 


Thursday, October 11, 2012

Dripping Nails

When I first saw this look online I wanted it right away it was soo cool. Mine still needs a bit of work but I still loved it.
I started Out With 3 coats of China Glaze Snow. for the paint drips I used L.A. Colors in Splash, Fun in the Sun and Exotic Pink.  I topped it with China glaze Snow Cap.Yes I like the neon colors haha

Now pay no attention the the raggedy cuticles. I did this by using a dotting tool to choose end point for my drips then used a detail paint brush to connect it to the top(I followed This Tutorial by Juliatmll). I used Seche vite as top coat but then decided I wanted a little sparkle so added snow cap on top .

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Inspiration- Color Combinations

This post it was inspired by a nail design I saw on Gorgeois (cosmic cranberry post). You know you see someones nail art you you are all I love that I must do that or if like me I love that I wish I could do that :) This one seemed simple enough so I thought I'd give it a go.

Its a different color combo an orange-y red with a teal-ish color. Most people do not like those two colors together but I do. I used 3 coats of Haute Nails polish in a neon coral (I have a set of 5  polishes from this brand none are labeled tried contacting the company but no love, so I named them myself) I could have done in 2 coats but used 3. I used stripe right in Sea Green Metallic Kiss White for the art, then topped with Seche Vite. The design turned out ok there are mistakes but I hope to improve. I combined a pic of my left and right hands, because If you are like me you are all yeah looks fine on your right but how is your other hand looking :). The pics didn't pick up the teal color very well but the other is very true to life.



I made fewer mistakes on the Left hand but they both look ok  to me I've improved some from past efforts but I still have a ways to go.

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Jindie Nails-Check the Candy

First I just have to say I love to try new polish. If its name brand polish of a major manufacturer I will rarely pay over 5$ for it and then only if I just love it because I'm way cheap. However Indie polishes I'll pay double maybe more if I love it.  I'd rather support an individual's creativity than a corporation. Yet sometimes I'm hesitant some times It looks really great, but then you get it and you are totally bummed. I'm happy to say not this time. I can not tell you just how much I love love love this polish. I saw the swatches and to be honest I was so skeptical. But its beautiful and better yet you don't have to shake it or manipulate it to death to get it to spread the glitter evenly. What Polish you ask Well its Jindie Nail's Check the Candy and its fabulous.

This is 2 coats of Check the Candy layered over 2 coats of Princessa White then topped with some Seche Vite and a cute little Fimo Birdie on my thumb and ring fingers.
  
Again Pardon the cuticles and my dry hands Should have lotion-ed up first :)

Now I can say a lot of people who have longer or wider nails do not have the problem I sometimes have with nail polishes. Because the surface area of my nails is so small even when I grow them out a bit Glitters especially large glitters just don't spread well. I also have very curved nails so large glitters tend to not lay well on my nails :( *sniff* *sniff* so sad.

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Neon Nails-Punk'd Up Kicks


Ok this is my very first blog post, well about nail polish anyhow :)
so I am just gonna start with a simple swatch  review sort of post.

What we have here Is a base of Kleancolor Neon Aqua, My ring finger as accent nail with Kleancolor Neon pink. One Coat of each I know A Lot of people  dont care for  Kleancolor but it almost always goes on opaque in 1-2 coats for me. Over that I have 2 coats of D and R Apothecary(now known as HitPolish) Punk'd Up Kicks.




 
 Now this is the mini bottle I actually loved this so much I bought the full size one . It is just so much more awesome looking in person. I love the neon brightness of this :)