China Glaze - Stella and Nfu Oh - 50

Today I have a shining example of the phrase "know when to stop".  Stella is a medium reddish-purple shimmer.  Nfu Oh 50 is a pale purple jelly base with blue/purple/teal flakes.  Somehow I thought they'd go together.

Basecoat:  Salon Sciences Fiberglass Network (1 coat)

Color:  China Glaze Stella (3 coats)

Topcoat:  David (1 coat)

Color: Nfu Oh 50 (2 coats)

Topcoat:  Sally Hansen Insta Dri (1 coat)

Stella on its own is pretty but I felt like it was a little boring.  I initially stopped with just Stella and then a few hours later I had the bright idea to add flakes.  I should have gone with a different one like Hidden Treasure or Nubar 2010 but noooo, I looked at 50's base color and thought "that'll be perfect!" Well, it's not.  This combination is awful together.

Stella did apply nicely, though - it was a little thin and runny, but it cleaned up nicely.  I can't speak to wear because I hated this and took it off as soon as I got home from my dentist appointment.

Sally Hansen - Fairy Teal and Nfu Oh 39

Another layered mani today. Fairy Teal is a teal creme. Nfu Oh 39 is the blue-green version of 38, which flashes red/orange/yellow.

This is the first Salon Complete I've tried in this bottle. I think it will take some getting used to but I think I love the brush - almost complete coverage in one stroke.
This was two coats. If I work with the brush more, I'm pretty sure I can get this down to one coat. Texture was a little weird - the consistency was fine, but it... tended to stay where it was. It doesn't self-level at ALL, so if you miss a spot with one coat it's visible. You will want to use topcoat unless you are super awesome at application, which I'm not.


Basecoat: Salon Sciences Instant Artificials (1 coat)
Color: Sally Hansen Fairy Teal (2 coats)
Color: Nfu Oh 39 (2 coats)
Topcoat: David (1 coat)

I really like this combination, but when I went over to take photos, I saw my CND teal combo sitting there and it occurred to me that that's basically what I made here. Oh well, I still like this combination, and eventually I'm going to wear that combo, too, but it's going to be later :)

LA Colors - Atomic and Nfu Oh 54

Atomic is a pretty teal jelly.  Nfu Oh is a green-blue flake in a clear base.

This is two coats of Atomic.

If I were going to wear this alone I would use another coat.  I intended to layer Nfu Oh 54 over it so I didn't bother.  Atomic is a vibrant teal that dries shiny and is just short of neon.

Here is two coats of 54, layered on top of Atomic.

Basecoat:  NailTek Foundation II (2 coats)
Color:  LA Colors Atomic (2 coats)
Color:  Nfu Oh 54 (2 coats)
Topcoat:  David (1 coat)

Application for both colors was really good.  Atomic was smooth and flowed nicely.  54 applied like my other Nfu Oh flakes - a little jelly-like in consistency, but that makes it easier to apply and get even flake distribution.  Overall this is a really pretty combination and I will definitely be wearing this again.

Zoya - Nidhi and Nfu Oh 45

Originally I was just going to wear Nidhi.  I remember really liking this when I swatched it.

Nidhi is a slightly blue-toned red glitterbomb.

Basecoat:  Zoya Get Even Ridge Filler (1 coat)
Basecoat:  Zoya Anchor (1 coat)
Color:  Zoya Nidhi (3 coats)
Topcoat:  Zoya Armor (1 coat)

When I got this on, I just didn't like it that much.  I think it's the blue tone in the red - I would like it better in the winter, even though this came out in a summer collection.  I decided to slap a coat of Nfu Oh 45 on top.

Nfu Oh 45 is a yellow-toned red jelly base with red shimmer and flakes.

This is one coat (!) of 45 on top of Nidhi, followed by one coat of David topcoat.  45 completely changed the tone of Nidhi, which makes me think that I could probably wear 45 on its own.

The upshot - I still am not super thrilled with this mani, but flakes make anything bearable.

OPI - Jade is the New Black and Nfu Oh 55; Color Club Warhol

This is another layering mani to use up two untrieds at once. It actually turned out a LOT better than I expected, and I'll definitely wear this one again, but in the fall. It's not really a "summer" type color combo. OPI Jade is the New Black applied beautifully and the color is gorgeous. Here it is under halogen light:
This was three coats but if I had been careful it would have been a two-coater easily. Here it is with Nfu Oh 55 over the top, under halogen.
You can see that in the bottle that 55 is a green glitter with copper flakes. The base is either clear or very, very sheer green - Jade is the New Black is dark enough on its own that I can't really tell. Here it is next to a window on a sunny morning.
And here it is outside, in full sun.
Basecoat: OPI Ridge Filler (1 coat, could have gone with straight base coat, but I'm afraid this will stain)
Color: OPI Jade is the New Black (3 coats)
Color: Nfu Oh 55 (2 coats)
Topcoat: Seche Vite (1 coat)

I put this on last night. As of right now I only have the tiniest bit of tip wear, but my in-laws are coming over this afternoon, so I've been cleaning all morning.

My Rangers are home this week, starting on Tuesday. My tentative plan is to do a new mani and post on Monday night, and I will be working at home on Thursday, so I plan to do another Thursday. I already have my colors picked out, too.

On to Color Club Warhol.

I changed my pedi yesterday also. It is another one from the Poptastic collection - Warhol. This is a super bright, neon hot pink. I would say it is almost a creme but is just the slight bit jelly-ish. Indoors, the neon is not as obvious as it is outside. I only took outside pictures.

I had pulled out China Glaze Pool Party to wear on Monday, but as I was gathering my polishes I saw that it is almost identical to Warhol in the bottle. I will do a comparison swatch of these when I have time.

Have a great rest of the weekend!