Saturday, April 30, 2011

Pure Ice Cheatin

I love a good glitter and this one is seriously awesome.  I present to you Pure Ice Cheatin.  It's a clear base with purple, pink, and blue glitter.  It's not very opaque, so if you wear it alone you'll need several coats.  I put it over Essie Sexy Divide.  The formula was great and easy to apply.  I think there's just enough glitter in this one - not too much so you can't see the color underneath, but not too little that you need 2-3 coats to even notice it.


This is 2 coats of Sexy Divide and 1 coat of Cheatin.  I finished it with 2 coats of quick dry top coat.




As you know, I love matted glitter so I applied 1 coat of Essie Matte About You.




I prefer the matte version since it cuts down the shine and makes the glitter "pop" on the nail.  What do you think?  Do you like matted glitter?

Thanks for looking!

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Nebula Nails!

So tomorrow is the final launch of the space shuttle Endeavour.  To commemorate it, I decided to do what I call "Nebula Nails."  I've been seeing these gorgeous manicures called "Galaxy Nails", "Universe Nails", and "Space Nails," but I thought "nebula" was a better description for this particular manicure.  It was SO much fun and SO easy to do.  I used the tutorial on Asami's blog as a guide.  The girl is a genius!  I used different colors than she did in her tutorial, but the technique is basically the same.

Here's a quick photo tutorial so you can do it too!  :)

First, I started with a coat of Essie Feed Me, which is a hydrating base coat.

Then, I applied 1 coat of OPI DS Mystery.  I think it worked perfectly because it's such a dark purple with gold shimmers, which adds depth to the overall look.


Then, I took a small piece of paper towel, folded it, and dabbed a little bit of OPI DS Signature on it like this:


Then, I just blotted the polish in various designs on my nail like this:



Next, I did the same thing with Borghese Stellare Notte using a fresh piece of paper towel.  The nice thing about Stellare Notte is that it's a dark duochrome, so I was able to use it to soften the edges of the DS Signature to create a layered look.

Finally, I added a coat of Wet n Wild Kaleidoscope, which a holographic glitter top coat with 2 sizes of glitter.  So, I was able to get both small and large glitter in one shot. 

Then I just finished with 2 coats of quick dry top coat and viola!








I hope the tutorial was easy to understand.  If you have any questions please let me know.  Thanks for looking!  And godspeed tomorrow Endeavour!

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Designs With Stripes

Over the weekend I got some striping polishes (you know, the ones with the long skinny brush so you can make stripes).  I had never used these before, but had been wanting to try it.  It's so much fun!!!

This is 2 coats of LA Colors Tropical Breeze.  I used Kiss Silver Glitter for the design.




I can't wait to try out the other polishes and experiment with fun designs. Thanks for looking!

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Easter Manicure

Today has been busy and tomorrow will be even busier, so I'm posting photos of my Easter inspired manicure today.  I wanted something holographic, but also bright, so I chose this combo.  To get the striped effect I started by painting my nails with 2 coats of LA Colors Lightning.  Then, I cut 3 thin strips of tape per nail, laid them across each nail, then painted over it (quickly) with 2 thin coats of OPI DS Signature.




It reminds me of fruity candy.  What do you think?

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Essie Turquoise & Caicos

I have repeatedly passed Essie Turquoise & Caicos in the store and never purchased it.  I never even noticed it before and then I saw it and said, "Whaaaaa...?!  Where have you been all my life?"  Turquoise & Caicos is a perfect color for spring and summer because it's so bright and cheery.  It's a creme, which I usually love, but I think the consistency of this formula is too runny.  I needed 3 coats to get full coverage and to smooth everything out.  I also had a ridiculous amount of cuticle drag, and that's part of the reason I needed 3 coats.

This photo was taken in sunlight.


The following photos were taken indoors.



What do you think of this color?  Thanks for reading!

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Beautiful Blue

Finally, a blue nail polish that I adore AND doesn't give me the dreaded lobster hands!  (Lobster hands: the term used when a specific color of nail polish is applied and said color brings out the red undertones in one's skin, thus making the hands appear more red than they actually are.)  I found this little beauty at my local drug store and to be honest, I am a little sad that I didn't find it sooner.  I present to you Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Pacific Blue.

The formula was thick and could easily be a one-coater, but I applied 2 for good measure.  It was actually bordering on annoying because it was so thick, and I ended up scraping off an entire nail and starting over.  (Don't be like me, don't scrape off your nail polish.)  This color reminds me of summer for some reason.  It makes me happy.




I found a random assortment of Wet n Wild nail polishes at my local discount store this past weekend for only $3.99 so I picked them up for frankens or to use for layering.  There were 5 in the box and they're not even labeled, but apparently they are part of a set called Nail Expressions.  There was one polish in particular which has a clearish-yellowish base with tiny silver shimmers.  A perfect top coat for spicing up any color.  I used it here.



I hope you enjoyed this insanely gorgeous shade of blue.  It's so bright and really is an eye-catcher.  Thanks for looking!!

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Dollar Store Success!

So I have been hearing legends about discontinued, yet stunningly beautiful, Sally Hansens popping up at dollar stores.  Mostly I've heard about Nail Prisms, a line of holographic polishes that are coveted by holo lovers, although a few other lines are known to appear mysteriously.  So over the weekend I decided to try my luck at my local dollar store.  I was so anxious on my way over there, but kept reminding myself not to get too excited, I probably wouldn't find anything.  As I made my way over to the nail polish rack I only saw some cream colored polishes, nothing good.  Then, as I checked behind the ugly cream colored polishes, I noticed they were actually mixed up on the rack, and in the back were 2 packs of Nail Prisms in Golden Tourmaline!!!  I went into a frenzy and cleared the shelf.  I couldn't believe I actually found some!  Okay, ready to see the little beauty?!

Golden Tourmaline is a pinky-coral color.  It's hard to describe, but it's very bright and really pretty.  The holographic qualities in this polish are pretty subtle.  It applies like a dream, and seems to be highly pigmented.  One coat was actually plenty but I applied 2 coats anyway, then a quick dry top coat.

In fluorescent light:


In sunlight:





I also found a gorgeous Sally Hansen No Chip 10 Day Nail Color while at the dollar store.  It's called Endless Night and this little beauty is a trickster.  In low light it just looks really dark maroon.  While at the store I thought I saw a slight shimmer, but wasn't sure, and figured for $1 why not take a shot at it?  I am so glad I did!

Now see how it looks black right here?



Wait for it... wait for it...


Red shimmers!!!


It's so pretty in the sunlight.  I love it!  And only a dollar!



So remember to check out your local dollar store, you never know what little treasures you might find!  Thanks for reading!

Friday, April 15, 2011

Essie Sexy Divide

For the past few weeks I've been wanting a nice, deep purple.  I started on this trend because while browsing at the store I found Nicole by OPI's Prized Possession Purple.  It's truly a gorgeous color, and after waffling for a few days I spotted Sexy Divide.  I decided I liked it better than PPP (in the bottle at least), so I purchased it.  I'm so happy I did!  The day I swatched it was so sunny and it worked out perfectly.  I really think these pictures are a true representation of how stunning the color is.  I also got a compliment on the color the other day, and we were in low light.  So that goes to show how amazing it is in bright or low light.

This is 2 coats plus a coat of quick dry top coat.

In sunlight:





You can actually see the red and blue shimmers in the photo above.  It has so much depth in the sunlight.


In low light:


It almost looks navy blue in low light.


Thanks for looking!  Hope you liked them!

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Hard Candy Beetle - My New Obsession

I wasn't planning on posting this one yet, but I just tried it for the first time today and I LOVE it.  I'm so excited that I had to show it off!  Beetle is a gorgeous multichrome color that flashes green, gold, copper, pink, and a little bit of red, but most of the red is inside the bottle.  It's really tricky to photograph but I think you'll get the idea.

I applied 3 coats to get full coverage.  Next time I'll try layering it to see what the overall effect is.  I cannot stop admiring this manicure because when the light hits it a rainbow is displayed.  It's total eye candy!  Enjoy!









Thanks for looking!