Saturday, February 25, 2012

NOTD: OPI Kennebunk-port

So you know how they always say every woman should have a little black dress which serves as a staple in her wardrobe?  Well, I feel the same way about a red creme for every woman's nail polish stash.  It doesn't matter if you have 5 or 500 nail polishes.  A flattering red creme is a must because they're perfect for any occasion and look good on any nail shape or length.

Last night I was digging through my stash and couldn't decide on a good color for my nails (they're still short, by the way).  Then I saw OPI Kennebunk-port sitting there and decided to wear it.  It's a deep red creme that reminds me of the color red on wine bottles.  It's a favorite for me and I wear it a lot, but usually layered with something else. Then I realized that I've never actually showcased it on its own.  So, I decided to show you how pretty it is.

This is 1 coat of base coat, 2 coats of Kennebunk-port, and 1 coat of quick dry top coat.


Photo taken in natural light.

How can you argue with that gorgeousness?

Do you have a favorite red that you think belongs in every woman's stash?  What is it?

Thanks for reading! :)

Friday, February 24, 2012

Pretty Woman Magnetix

Happy Friday everyone!  I hope you're all having a great day!  I went to Rite Aid the other day and found the Pretty Woman Magnetix polishes and wanted to give them a try.  And I have pics to share with you!

Photo taken in artificial light.
Here's a photo of the display.  None of the bottles have names on them, so I can only describe the colors.  There was a silver, a magenta, a dusty rose (the one I purchased), a copper, and a bronze-gold color.  The display shows a purple but I didn't see one, which was sad because that's the color I would have purchased first.  Each bottle comes with 2 magnets, one with a striped design and one with a swirly design.


Now for the formula and application.  The polish itself was really thick and totally opaque in one coat.  It also dried pretty fast, so I ended up applying one coat of polish, letting it dry, and then applying a second coat.  I used the magnet on the second coat immediately after I applied it.  The magnets seem to work better on thicker coats of polish so I was sort of glopping it on.  But because the polish was so thick I had a hard time getting it smooth.  I will probably add some thinner.  Anyway, the box says to leave the magnets on for 15 seconds, but that's really not enough time since the magnets aren't very strong.  I ended up holding my finger as close to the magnet as possible for a good 30-45 seconds to get a relatively strong design.  I'm not entirely sure how the polish works, but it seems like holding the magnet over it to get the design and then leaving it there until the polish sets would be ideal.

The polish I bought, which doesn't have a name is a dusty rose shimmer.  The item number on the box says FH7751 if that helps. This polish is very interesting.  In most light it looks like a dusty rose shimmer with magenta flecks, but if you catch it in the right light it's actually slightly duochromatic and shifts to a copper, then gold color.  I'm pretty sure it's the iron particles in the polish that are shifting colors.  After the magnet is applied the magenta duochrome particles come to the surface, leaving a distinct pattern comprised of the pink shimmer in one line and the magenta in the other.  For $7.99 it's not a bad deal, but I wish the magnets were stronger.

 
Photo taken in natural light.



Photo taken in artificial light.
Can you see the gold shimmer in this one?

What do you all think?  Do you like the magnetic trend?  Do you think you'll embrace the trend or pass on it?

Thanks for reading and Happy Friday again! :)

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Sally Hansen Black Diamond Matted

Hello everyone!  Today I wanted to share a new love of mine: Sally Hansen Black Diamond.  Black Diamond has actually been around for a long time, but it was recently released with the new Diamond Strength Collection in a fancy new bottle.  It’s a black glass flecked polish and the flecks shimmer pink and green.  It’s pretty sheer and needs 2 coats minimum for opacity.

I purchased mine last year sometime and don’t really care for it.  I looked awesome in the bottle.  I swatched it and it’s so boring.  I can’t really say why I don’t like it.  I just don’t.  I haven’t touched it since, except for layering under better polishes.  Then today I was trying to decide on a color and I kept looking at that bottle of Black Diamond.  And it occurred to me: matte it!

So I tried mattifying Black Diamond and now I LOVE it!  A lot.  It’s funny how that works out sometimes.

Black Diamond alone:

Photo taken in natural light.

Black Diamond under Essie Matte About You:

Photo taken in natural light.

So what do you think?  Do you like it better alone or matted?

Thanks for reading!! :)  Have a great day!

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day lovelies!  I was feeling inspired this morning and decided to do a quick, impromptu Valentine's manicure.  I'm sporting nubbins (again).  They make my fingers look stubby, but they're super low maintenance, which I'm loving.  Side note - whenever I hear someone say, "Happy Valentine's!" I always think of the episode of 30 Rock  where Rachel Dratch plays the prostitute and keeps yelling, "Happy ValenTIME's!"  It's ridiculously funny.  Yeah, I know, what a totally random thing to remember, but hey... that's me!  (End side note.)

For this manicure, I used 2 super thin coats of Revlon Plum Seduction, a berry pink jelly.  I used Sally Hansen Wined Up and Shany plate SH20 for the design. I finished with a coat of quick dry top coat.  What I loved about this manicure is that I could just overlap the design and be messy, and it still turned out.

Photo taken in artificial light.


Photo taken in artificial light.

As always, thank you for stopping by!  Happy ValenTIME's! :)

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Valentine's Manicure

Hello everyone!  Valentine's Day is right around the corner and I figured I'd better hurry up and post something while I have a chance.  It was actually sunny for a few days, which makes photographing my nails a breeze, so I always try to take advantage.  I'm also completely swamped with homework, big surprise.  One of my professors has no problem just piling the work on, then more, and more.  Right now I'm in the middle of writing 3 papers and helping with 2 group projects.  It's hard to stay motivated when the amount of work is so excessive that it seems impossible to finish.  So, I made a deal with myself that if I wrote half of my paper last night I could "play", which means make a franken.  That might seem odd considering the amount of work I have to do, but I've found that if I just keep working non-stop I get burned out.  I'll post photos of the franken in a little bit. :)

Now for the Valentine's Mani.  I started with 2 coats of Sally Hansen Shell We Dance (my go-to french manicure/neutral polish).  I used LA Colors Art Deco Intense Pink for the tips, and LA Colors Art Deco Red Glitter for the lines.  Then, I used Konad Special Red and Konad plates m2 and m3 to stamp the hearts.  Some of the design didn't transfer completely, which was disappointing, but that's Konad.  It's definitely a test of patience.  I waited until everything was very dry and carefully applied 1 coat of quick dry top coat.

Photo taken in sunlight.


Photo taken in sunlight.

Do you have a Valentine's manicure planned, or an anti-Valentine's manicure?

Thanks for reading! :)

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Tiger Stripes

Hello!  I have another animal print manicure to share today: tiger stripes!  I was experimenting with the Sally Hansen HD collection and came up with this.

This is 3 coats of both Byte and Spectrum, applied horizontally on the nail in 3 thick bands (Byte, Spectrum, Byte).  I used LA Colors Art Deco in black and Shany plate SH22 for the tiger stripes. I finished the look with quick dry top coat.

Photo taken in artificial light.


Photo taken in artificial light.


Photo taken in artificial light.

I don't have the black Konad Special polish, so I have been using the LA Colors Art Deco black since it's highly pigmented and seems to work pretty well.  I worked great on this manicure, but then I tried using it again for tiger stripes on a different manicure and it didn't work at all.  It transferred, but it was super thick and goopy (even after adding 6 drops of thinner), and there were pieces sticking up off the nail.  After applying top coat the pieces laid flat on the nail, creating a smeared look.  So, I don't know how much longer I will rely on the nail art polish for stamping.  Obviously that's not what it's for, but at $1 a bottle I couldn't pass up the opportunity to at least try it.  Maybe I'll buy a fresh bottle and let you know how it goes.

That's everything for today.  Thanks for reading! :)