Basecoat: NailTek Foundation II (1 coat)
Color: Jessica Electric Teal (3 coats)
Topcoat: Revlon Quick Dry Top Coat (1 coat)
This was seriously on like the fourth day of wear or something ridiculous like that. And it's still overcast.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Jessica - Electric Teal
I actually pulled out China Glaze Aquadelic to wear the day I put this on, and then I decided I wanted something a little more vibrant. I compared Electric Teal to Turned up Turquoise and Sinful Rise and Shine, but I don't think I ever wore this on its own, so I'm still tagging this "indecision clouds my vision".
This was seriously on like the fourth day of wear or something ridiculous like that. And it's still overcast.
This was seriously on like the fourth day of wear or something ridiculous like that. And it's still overcast.
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Essie - Pretty Edgy, Kleancolor - Green With Envy, Color Club - Object of Envy
Slackity, slack slack. Actually I've been doing a LOT of knitting, and frequent polish changes and knitting don't really get along.
Anyway, here is my St Patrick's Day nails. I think the Color Club is "tried" - everything else is untried, and yes, I've had Pretty Edgy since I did that comparison WAY back at the beginning of this blog and it was STILL sitting in my untried drawer.
Anyway, here is my St Patrick's Day nails. I think the Color Club is "tried" - everything else is untried, and yes, I've had Pretty Edgy since I did that comparison WAY back at the beginning of this blog and it was STILL sitting in my untried drawer.
Basecoat: NailTek Foundation II (1 coat)
Color: Essie Pretty Edgy (3 coats)
Color: Kleancolor Green With Envy (1.5 coats)
Color: Color Club Object of Envy (1 coat)
Topcoat: Revlon Quick Dry Top Coat (1 coat)
Yes, that's a lot of coats, but I don't mind because this came out way better than I hoped it would. Pretty Edgy applied flawlessly. It was a tiny bit dustier than I expected, actually - I don't know if I'm just remembering it wrong, or it's changed slightly as it's been sitting untouched. Anyway, I knew I was glittering it up, so no big deal. Pretty Edgy was almost totally opaque in three coats.
Green With Envy has a very slightly green tinted base, or maybe the glitter is leaching out into the base a little. Whatever the cause, the end result was that it added just the perfect amount of yellow to Pretty Edge, making it the perfect St Patrick's Day green. It's a fairly chunky glitter - medium hex pieces, and a few tiny glitters, and of course I had trouble getting even distribution. So when I finished applying I wasn't totally happy with it, so I pulled out...
Object of Envy. I've worn this before and I think I felt like three coats would be reasonably opaque on its own. Anyway, I applied one coat over everything and it's PERFECT. The only thing I would do differently next year (and oh yeah, I'm definitely wearing this again) is apply Object of Envy before Green With Envy, so that the bigger glitter shines more.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Misa - Phazers on Stunning
Phazers on Stunning is a green/rose-beige duo chrome shimmer, and should also be spelled "Phasers", but that's neither here nor there.
Funny thing about these photos: When I was taking them, I was having trouble capturing the pink/rose color of this polish, but when I went to edit them I saw that even though all I could see was the green, all I got in the photos is the rose.
Anyway, this is a pretty thin and runny polish. It was fairly sheer - I needed four coats and I still have a bit of VNL. To be honest, I don't feel like this is a very exciting color, so I added a coat of the gold Northern Lights holo topcoat, and it didn't really help.
Basecoat: NailTek Foundation II (1 coat)
Color: Misa Phazers on Stunning (4 coats)
Topcoat: Northern Lights Gold Holo (1 coat)
Topcoat: Revlon Quick Dry (1 coat)
Funny thing about these photos: When I was taking them, I was having trouble capturing the pink/rose color of this polish, but when I went to edit them I saw that even though all I could see was the green, all I got in the photos is the rose.
Anyway, this is a pretty thin and runny polish. It was fairly sheer - I needed four coats and I still have a bit of VNL. To be honest, I don't feel like this is a very exciting color, so I added a coat of the gold Northern Lights holo topcoat, and it didn't really help.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
OPI - Meep-Meep-Meep
Meep-Meep-Meep is a pinkish red glass fleck. The bottle shows a little bit of gold flash but it is totally not visible on the nail. It is very similar to Ali's Big Break.
Basecoat: NailTek Foundation II (1 coat)
Color: OPI Meep-Meep-Meep (3 coats)
Topcoat: Revlon Quick Dry Top Coat (1 coat)
I like this OK. It doesn't totally wow me, and it actually reads red a lot of the time, which I'm not a huge fan of. However, it applied nicely, and seems like it would sparkle in the sun - if we ever got any.
Basecoat: NailTek Foundation II (1 coat)
Color: OPI Meep-Meep-Meep (3 coats)
Topcoat: Revlon Quick Dry Top Coat (1 coat)
I like this OK. It doesn't totally wow me, and it actually reads red a lot of the time, which I'm not a huge fan of. However, it applied nicely, and seems like it would sparkle in the sun - if we ever got any.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Essie - Play Date
Play Date is a bright light, almost pastel purple.
Here's another one of those "I waited as long as I could to take pictures" posts. This is on the fourth day of wear, and I'd been doing dishes the day before, so I have some pretty good chips and tip wear.
I loved this color a lot more than I expected to. I am not sure it will go with my summer tan but I can see myself wearing this as a pedicure, absolutely.
Basecoat: NailTek Foundation II (1 coat)
Color: Essie Play Date (3 coats)
Topcoat: Revlon Quick Dry Top Coat (1 coat)
Here's another one of those "I waited as long as I could to take pictures" posts. This is on the fourth day of wear, and I'd been doing dishes the day before, so I have some pretty good chips and tip wear.
I loved this color a lot more than I expected to. I am not sure it will go with my summer tan but I can see myself wearing this as a pedicure, absolutely.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Revlon - Starry Pink
Starry Pink is a pale pink jelly with two sizes of silver glitter.
Even though I have a hate for visible nail line, I really like this. Also, my cuticles are super scary in these photos - our weather's been mostly overcast, and I keep waiting for sun to take photos and it never shows up, so I end up giving up and taking photos in the morning.
Anyway, about the only thing I would have changed about this polish is that I would have gone for white or opalescent glitter instead of silver. The glitter on the bottom two layers looks awesome, but the silver glitter in the top layer just looks weird and umatching.
Basecoat: NailTek Foundation II (1 coat)
Color: Revlon Starry Pink (3 coats)
Topcoat: Revlon Quick Dry Top Coat (1 coat)
Even though I have a hate for visible nail line, I really like this. Also, my cuticles are super scary in these photos - our weather's been mostly overcast, and I keep waiting for sun to take photos and it never shows up, so I end up giving up and taking photos in the morning.
Anyway, about the only thing I would have changed about this polish is that I would have gone for white or opalescent glitter instead of silver. The glitter on the bottom two layers looks awesome, but the silver glitter in the top layer just looks weird and umatching.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Zoya - Veruschka
Here's another swatch from long ago. Veruschka is a deep green polish with shimmer. This is a matte velvet polish.
Three coats, no basecoat. I used topcoat on my index and ring fingers, and wow, it is gorgeous with topcoat.
I do not know why this is, but I feel like the matte velvet Zoyas always have amazing application, and the straight matte polishes are awful. Is it just me?
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Models Own - Purple Blue
Purple Blue is a sparkly duochrome.
This polish was a little bit thin and runny. I had some bald-ish spots after three coats so I went for a fourth. Other than that, though, application was pretty good and cleanup was surprsingly easy for this much sparkle.
Initially I was disappointed in the lack of duochrome. Then I went into another room that had no lights on (to pet the cat) and whoa! Transformed from "meh" to "LOVE" just like that!
Basecoat: NailTek Foundation II (1 coat)
Color: Models Own Purple Blue (4 coats)
Topcoat: Revlon Quick Dry Top Coat (1 coat)
This polish was a little bit thin and runny. I had some bald-ish spots after three coats so I went for a fourth. Other than that, though, application was pretty good and cleanup was surprsingly easy for this much sparkle.
Initially I was disappointed in the lack of duochrome. Then I went into another room that had no lights on (to pet the cat) and whoa! Transformed from "meh" to "LOVE" just like that!
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Butter London - The Black Knight
The Black Knight is a black jelly base with tiny multicolored gliter (mostly magenta, blue, and either gold or silver).
Excuse the rough-looking fingers and cuticles - I'm almost midway through knitting a large blanket from super chunky 100% wool.
Let me start with the good, no - the great. The base is perfect. It is opaque enough to cover, and sheer enough that you don't lose any of the glitter, even at three coats - the glitter is way obvious even in inside light.
Now for the not so good: Application was AWFUL. Easily one of the worst polishes I've ever worn. I don't know if it's the consistency of the polish (thick and a bit gritty), or the long-bristled brush (that I normally adore), but I could not control this, at ALL. I really had to glop it on to make sure I got coverage where I needed it. Maybe it's the combination of the brush and the consistency. I don't know. Needless to say, this went everywhere, and while the base color cleaned up easily I am still picking glitter off (I'm writing this before I take photos).
I actually looked through my stash and ruled out some Nubar glitters because I didn't want to deal with the layers of topcoat. I figured Black Knight wouldn't have this issue, but surprise - it so did. It was so gritty after just one coat that I knew I'd have to pull out the Gelous.
I think I will try this again, but over black. I'll try not to get my hopes up.
Basecoat: NailTek Foundation II (1 coat)
Color: Butter London The Black Knight (3 coats)
Topcoat: Gelous (1 coat)
Topcoat: Seche Vite (1 coat)
Excuse the rough-looking fingers and cuticles - I'm almost midway through knitting a large blanket from super chunky 100% wool.
Let me start with the good, no - the great. The base is perfect. It is opaque enough to cover, and sheer enough that you don't lose any of the glitter, even at three coats - the glitter is way obvious even in inside light.
Now for the not so good: Application was AWFUL. Easily one of the worst polishes I've ever worn. I don't know if it's the consistency of the polish (thick and a bit gritty), or the long-bristled brush (that I normally adore), but I could not control this, at ALL. I really had to glop it on to make sure I got coverage where I needed it. Maybe it's the combination of the brush and the consistency. I don't know. Needless to say, this went everywhere, and while the base color cleaned up easily I am still picking glitter off (I'm writing this before I take photos).
I actually looked through my stash and ruled out some Nubar glitters because I didn't want to deal with the layers of topcoat. I figured Black Knight wouldn't have this issue, but surprise - it so did. It was so gritty after just one coat that I knew I'd have to pull out the Gelous.
I think I will try this again, but over black. I'll try not to get my hopes up.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Color Club - Nomadic in Nude
Nomadic in Nude is a beigey-grey creme.
Again, I got this one a boxed set - I would not have purchased this color on my own. Three coats, no top or base coat. I don't totally hate this color on me, it's just not my thing.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Zoya - Dita
Dita is a bright berry pink creme.
However, these photos are literally the only place where it doesn't read as red. So disappointed. I was hoping this would be my go-to pedi color, but once it's applied... I had to try to get it to show as pink, and the huge majority of the time it just read as red. Too bad.
Application was good, no problems with cleanup. Minimal stainy-ness on the cuticles, even though this is a pretty pigmented polish. I do want to note that there is a bit of VNL, both in photos and in real life, which is a shame. I actually think it's a little more evident in real life.
Basecoat: Zoya Ridge Filler (1 coat)
Color: Zoya Dita (3 coats)
Topcoat: David (1 coat)
However, these photos are literally the only place where it doesn't read as red. So disappointed. I was hoping this would be my go-to pedi color, but once it's applied... I had to try to get it to show as pink, and the huge majority of the time it just read as red. Too bad.
Application was good, no problems with cleanup. Minimal stainy-ness on the cuticles, even though this is a pretty pigmented polish. I do want to note that there is a bit of VNL, both in photos and in real life, which is a shame. I actually think it's a little more evident in real life.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Color Club - Hot Like Lava
Yep, another "NO TIME!" foil. This is the hot pink from the Foiled collection. (I'm wearing the paler pink on my toes - weather suddenly got really warm - like sandals weather - and this is my first pedi of the season. I don't recommend foils on your toes unless they are PERFECT, or you have an AWESOME ridge filler base coat.)
Basecoat: NailTek Foundation II
Color: Hot Like Lava (2 coats)
Topcoat: David (1 coat)
I wish this was a tiny bit brighter, but I'm totally pleased with this. Please to ignore my awesome paper cut on my ring finger. Ouch.
Application was awesome as usual, cleanup was minimal.
You know what I'd love to see? A screaming neon foil. That would be cool.
Basecoat: NailTek Foundation II
Color: Hot Like Lava (2 coats)
Topcoat: David (1 coat)
I wish this was a tiny bit brighter, but I'm totally pleased with this. Please to ignore my awesome paper cut on my ring finger. Ouch.
Application was awesome as usual, cleanup was minimal.
You know what I'd love to see? A screaming neon foil. That would be cool.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Models Own - Aqua Violet
I caved and ordered the entire Beetle Juice collection when it was on sale. This was my first experience with Models Own. It took over a month to arrive - it was so long that I scoured other nail blogs to see how long theirs had taken to arrive. I got the impression that bigger blogs got faster shipping, which frankly turns me off of ordering from Models Own again.
Anyway, Aqua Violet is pretty much just what it says - an aqua/violet duochrome. It was pretty sheer on my nail wheel swatch, so I layered it over Wet N Wild Black Creme.
I took a ton of photos trying to capture the purple here, but I couldn't do it. I'll try again later in the day or I might try at night to see if that helps.
Anyway, the application was pretty good - it was a little bit soupy but not too bad at all. I do have a little bit of bubbling that's not visible in the photos (and hardly visible in real life), but I'm not sure I blame the polish - I know I applied with too much polish on my brush a couple of times. This polish is a little bit brush-stroke-y but not enough to really bother me.
Anyway, Aqua Violet is pretty much just what it says - an aqua/violet duochrome. It was pretty sheer on my nail wheel swatch, so I layered it over Wet N Wild Black Creme.
Basecoat: NailTek Foundation II (1 coat)
Color: Wet N Wild Black Creme (1.5 coats)
Color: Models Own Aqua Violet (2 coats)
Topcoat: David (1 coat)
I took a ton of photos trying to capture the purple here, but I couldn't do it. I'll try again later in the day or I might try at night to see if that helps.
Anyway, the application was pretty good - it was a little bit soupy but not too bad at all. I do have a little bit of bubbling that's not visible in the photos (and hardly visible in real life), but I'm not sure I blame the polish - I know I applied with too much polish on my brush a couple of times. This polish is a little bit brush-stroke-y but not enough to really bother me.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
China Glaze - LOL
Here's an oldie but goodie. I was just recovering from being basically in bed sick for an entire week, but my mom wanted to go do some shopping. My darling husband graciously allowed it on the condition that he drive me to meet my mom and pick me up (what actually happened: He drove me, halfway through he met us at the mall and carried all our bags, then drove me home). Anyway, I still felt awful, and purple is my mom's favorite color, so I picked this out of my stash.
LOL is a dark purple, linear holographic polish.
Basecoat: NailTek Foundation II (1 coat)
Color: China Glaze LOL (3 coats)
Topcoat: Nubar Diamont (1 coat)
Love.
LOL is a dark purple, linear holographic polish.
Basecoat: NailTek Foundation II (1 coat)
Color: China Glaze LOL (3 coats)
Topcoat: Nubar Diamont (1 coat)
Love.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
OPI - Road House Blues and Finger Paints - Twisted
I've had Road House Blues sitting in my untrieds for a while (I think it's the only polish I bought from the road trip collection). Twisted was one I just picked up - I still haven't even swatched it on my nail wheels yet. Road House Blues is a deep blue creme, and Twisted is a multicolored flake topcoat.
I adore this combination.
Road House Blues was beautiful on its own, and applied well even though I still hate the Pro Wide brush. I might have tried to be too careful, which explains the HUGE gap at the cuticle of my ring finger. This would definitely be a two coater on its own.
Twisted is AMAZING. I picked up both Twisted and Asylum from this collection (I have almost all of the Nfu Oh flakes, so I didn't feel like I needed the others). I did need two coats of Twisted for this density of flakes, but this polish isn't all thick and goopy like some other flake topcoats can be.
If you don't have it yet, you need Twisted.
Basecoat: Salon Sciences Instant Artificials (1 coat)
Color: OPI Road House Blues (2 coats)
Topcoat: Finger Paints Twisted (2 coats)
Topcoat: David (1 coat)
I adore this combination.
Road House Blues was beautiful on its own, and applied well even though I still hate the Pro Wide brush. I might have tried to be too careful, which explains the HUGE gap at the cuticle of my ring finger. This would definitely be a two coater on its own.
Twisted is AMAZING. I picked up both Twisted and Asylum from this collection (I have almost all of the Nfu Oh flakes, so I didn't feel like I needed the others). I did need two coats of Twisted for this density of flakes, but this polish isn't all thick and goopy like some other flake topcoats can be.
If you don't have it yet, you need Twisted.
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