Savina - Neon Yellow

This is probably the last summer neon mani. It's finally starting to feel like fall in Texas - even though the temperature is still in the high 80s, it actually gets cool at night now. Neon Yellow is... well, it's a neon yellow.
This is a tiny bit less vivid than the usual neon yellow (such as Funky Limelight). This also has a shimmer to it that isn't very evident. It's very subtle and reminds me of the shimmer in Sew Psyched.

Basecoat: NailTek Foundation II (2 coats)
Color: Savina Neon Yellow (3.5 coats)
Topcoat: David (1 coat)

Application was weird for this one. I might add some thinner to see if that helps. The texture was thick but not too gloppy. Opacity was nice, but I had some streaking because it was so thick. I didn't need to use a white basecoat, either.

Next post is going to be a bit of a cheat: I am going to add a polish on top of this one and wear that as well.

Sally Hansen - Lightening

I applied this on Wednesday night and wore it Thursday.  Lightening is a buttery yellow creme.

This applied well, as have my other Insta-Dri polishes.

Basecoat:  Gelous (2 coats)
Color:  Sally Hansen Lightening (3 coats)
Topcoat:  David (1 coat)

This was a little harder to apply than the previous Mint Sprint Insta-Dri.  It was a little thicker but it really wasn't too bad.   It looks like there is VNL in the photo but in real life, there isn't.

Skittles

Today I decided to wear skittles. I've never worn skittles for longer than a comparison, but I'm planing to wear this one until Friday. I was originally going to do funky French tips but I have so much trouble using those stupid tip guides. I thought I might have magically gotten better since I've really gotten into polish, but nope.
I'm not going to have time to change polish at all this week, and I couldn't think of anything I wanted to wear all week long, and hey, five untrieds done, right there.

This is two coats of Fiberglass Network, 3 coats of color, and one coat of Out the Door. From thumb to pinky, I am wearing:

Sally Girl neon pink
China Glaze Happy Go Lucky
Claire's itty bitty teeny tiny neon green mini
Savina Marine Life
Sinful Dream On

These all dried matte except for Happy Go Lucky. Happy Go Lucky and Marine Life were pretty much two-coaters, but I did three anyway. Marine Life is a gorgeous, vibrant teal, but it stained in the short time I had it on for my "do I need a white basecoat" mini-swatch. Dream On is a beautiful neon purple.

The Claire's mini.... the set I bought this in is a direct copy of the China Glaze Poolside collection. Right down to the shimmery blue. Their version of Flip Flop Fantasy has shimmer too, but otherwise they're identical. I own Kiwi Cool-Ada, and I did a mini-swatch of it for this mani and decided not to use it because it would have needed a white base. This mini isn't quite opaque either, but it's much more opaque than Kiwi Cool-Ada.

I didn't really have any application problems with any of these. Cleanup was relatively easy, also.

No new posts until Friday, so have a great week!

Color Club - Almost Famous

Today I have Color Club Almost Famous. This is a bright primary yellow.
This applied about like you would expect from a yellow creme.
Basecoat: Salon Sciences Fiberglass Network (2 coats)
Color: Color Club Almost Famous (3.5 coats)
Topcoat: Seche Vite (1 coat)

This was a little streaky but not horrible. The formula for this wasn't as nice as Color Club usually is - it was a bit thicker and a little more goopy. So, I had a little more trouble controlling it than I usually do with Color Club polishes. The last photo shows VNL but there is none visible in real life.

I am still playing with my nail length - I'm not sure how much I want to grow them. Tomorrow will be the second week of no filing. I used to wear my nails longer than this but I started wearing them much shorter right before I really got into polish. I think the breaking point is going to be either when they all start breaking, or I can't stand it anymore.

Have a great weekend!

Color Club - Explosive

This is more like it for a summer mani.
Explosive reminds me of China Glaze Sun Worshipper, except I think Sun Worshipper is a little more neon. If I have time I'll compare them this weekend. Explosive is one of my older untried Color Clubs. I did a swatch of this and determined that I needed to use a white base, but I'm not sure that I would do it again - I have major tip pulling that was evident before I even went to bed. I might just live with the VNL next time.

Basecoat: Salon Science Instant Artificials (1 coat)
Color: Wet N Wild French White (2 coats)
Color: Color Club Explosive (3 coats)
Topcoat: Color Club Vivid Color Intensifying Topcoat (1 coat, worthless - would skip it next time)
Topcoat: Seche Vite (1 coat)

Application was pretty difficult - Explosive was thin and runny. I had a hard time controlling it well. Lots of cleanup was needed. As I said earlier, I have major tip pulling with this and I'm probably going to take it off tonight. I do like the color, though I think it is a little streakier than Sun Worshipper. I accidentally applied it pretty thick in a few spots, but I don't have any bubbles at all, so that's pretty nice.

Sinful - Neon Melon

This is one of the oldest Sinfuls I have in my stash. I used to have two old boring nude shimmer Sinfuls but I sent those in during last year's Zoya exchange. I saw Neon Melon in a neon display a couple of months ago, but Neon Melon is definitely not new. I think I got this last fall.
I did a little test swatch when I took of Kiki, so I knew I'd have to do an opaque base coat. Here is the finished product:
My hands are not really this red in real life. Here's another one that is a little more color accurate.
Basecoat: Orly Ridge Filler (2 coats, for opacity)
Color: Orly White Tips (2 coats)
Color: Sinful Neon Melon (3 coats)
Topcoat: Seche Vite (1 coat)

This is a pretty standard neon yellow. It is a little less streaky than most and a little more opaque than most, but it's still streaky and sheer. If I look closely I can still see streaks. I plan to change it tomorrow, probably back to another Zoya with Color Lock.

I finally couldn't stand Kiki any more. I could still dent it when I got home from the office this evening. I'm not writing off Color Lock altogether, because Kiki's texture was not the typical Zoya smooth formula - it was a little thick and slightly goopy. Tomorrow I'll pick up another color and try again.

OPI - Fiercely Fiona and Orly - Live Wire

Here is the yellow combination I was going to wear earlier before I remembered I'd worn Sun Worshipper last week. Orly Live Wire is the older one in my stash - I've never work it because it's visibly sheer in the bottle. I was looking for another layer combo to use up some polish, and these seemed to go well.

OPI Fiercely Fiona is from this summer's Shrek collection. I'm very "meh" on it. The color looks almost straight yellow on me - I'm half-Mexican, and though I'm usually pretty pale, I have a tan right now. I am guessing it's the olive undertones in my skin. Here is Fiercely Fiona alone, under halogen:
This was three coats. The consistency was thin and runny - there is still quite a bit of VNL and it is streaky, streaky, streaky. This would take at least four but probably five coats to be opaque.

Orly Live Wire is a pretty, sparkly lemon yellow. As I said before, you can tell it's sheer in the bottle, and this is probably best as a layering polish. This is the finished mani, under halogen:


The shimmer is not very obvious here, but here is a photo taken with my phone, under incandescent light. This one shows off the sparkle, but is less color accurate:

The sheerness is still pretty visible in this photo but it's not nearly as streaky. Here is the total damage - are you ready for this?

Basecoat: OPI Ridge Filler (1 coat)
Color: OPI Fiercely Fiona (3 coats)
Color: Orly Live Wire (2 coats)
Topcoat: OPI Top Coat (1 coat)
Topcoat: Seche Vite (1 coat)

I went with a regular topcoat under Seche Vite because I wanted to avoid tip pulling. I haven't worn an OPI under an Orly before, so I'm not sure how it will react. I would never wear this many coats on a mani I planned to wear for more than two days or so. I know I'll be taking this off on Saturday, when I plan to change my pedi, so it's not a big deal.

Overall, this combination is really pretty and sparkly. It's bright but not neon yellow.

Have a great rest of the week!