Nail Art

   Hello!  This is a big post for me, and I don't just say that because it's image heavy!  This is my first-ever "galaxy nails" attempt!  Which turned out quite nicely... for a first attempt, at least!  I've been inspired by all the beautiful galaxy and nebula manicures, in particular the ones that play around with colors beyond the typical spacey black, blue and green.  Thus my choice of a deep burgundy and pink scheme!

   Read on if you'd like to see a bunch more pictures (including glowing ones!) and hear about what I used.  I was surprised by how easy this ended up being, though I didn't take a picture of what  used, it was a combination of dotting tools, make-up sponges and a thin nail art brush.

Nail Art

   Oh, readers, this post is a fun one for me to share!  You may think that with all the pastel colors around here that I am simply a girly-girl.  Not true!  Beneath my frilly, lacy outer layer you will find a cold, hard nerdy comic book geek.  Hey, sometimes your knight in shining armor is actually a knight in really tight spandex.  Don't complain, fellow princesses, you know a spandex spidey-suit is easier to clean than a full suit of armor.  Yay for wash-and-wear!  ...Moving on!


   See what I did here, channeling the vintage comic book cover style?  I'm pretty proud of it... not nearly as proud as I am of these nails, though!!  I painted them on May 3rd, in preparation of my my 2nd wedding anniversary day-early dinner & movie celebration.  (What a mouthful.)  See, I really am a geek - I totally felt this was a sufficient romantic date for an important occasion.

   So yes, this was nail art for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 movie - wait 'til you see the other hand! - but  promise that I will reveal no spoilers.  I hate spoilers!

Swatch & Review

   I have several polishes to share today, princesses!  Prepare your eyes for a feast of sparkly goodness!  If you were a fan of the jelly-with-holographic-microshards beauties Aurora, Blaze and Storm that Zoya released you will like these, too!  I couldn't resist trying these new L.A. Girl polishes, and seeing how they compare...

From left to right: L.A Girl 3D Silver, Teal Dimension, Brilliant Blue, Sparkle Ruby, and Dazzling Pink

   The 3D Effect collection has 3 more polishes that I did not pick up: Electric Coral (I'm not really a coral-wearing girl), Purple Effect (looks like an exact dupe of Zoya Aurora, which I already own), and Black Illusion (a dupe for Zoya Storm, again I already own that polish).  All of them include the same silver holographic microshard glitter in a jelly base, except for 3D Silver, which is a clear-based glitter.  On to the swatches!

Top to bottom: Teal Dimension, Brilliant Blue, Sparkle Ruby, Dazzling Pink

Teal Dimension 

   I used 2 coats, no topcoat.  This is a true, deep teal color.  It reminds me of jewels and peacock feathers!  The jelly coverage is fantastic while still being sheer enough to show off a lot of holographic sparkle.  Very beautiful and a great color for heading into fall and winter.

Brilliant Blue 

   I used 2 coats, no topcoat.  Deep sapphire blue.  It brings to mind the night sky or ocean depths.  Not normally a color I would grab but the finish and look of this is irresistible!  It should be perfect as a base for nail art or sponged into a galaxy manicure.  I think the darker jelly base gives an illusion of less or smaller pinpricks glitters.

Sparkle Ruby 

   I used 2 coats, no topcoat.  Deep burgundy-red.  I absolutely love this color and was really surprised not to find any swatches of it while picking colors to buy from this collection!  The darker base makes it look less glitter-packed, but it sparkles beautifully.  And yes, Sparkle Ruby seems to be an exact dupe for Zoya Blaze!

Dazzling Pink 

   I used 2 coats, no topcoat.  Fun, flamingo-ish, warm toned pink.  This color was the most sheer and could probably use 3 coats.  It really shows the glitter!  I was on the fence about ordering this color because I'm picky about pinks, and sadly I don't think this one is the right shade for me.

L.A. Girl 3D Silver, 2 coats alone and 1 coat over black

3D Silver 

  Again, no topcoat used.  If you love the glitter but don't like any of the colors in this collection, this would be the polish to get.  It isn't going to have quite the same depth as the jelly-based colors, but it layers over any color to create an effect that looks the same from arm's-length away.  This is definitely a topper, I imagine it would take 5 coats to try to get the glitter opaque by itself.

   I'm going to talk about formula now because these all had the same formula!  In most reviews I found the swatcher said the polishes were thick, but that was not the case for me.  They aren't thin and runny, but they are very easy to use.  I didn't have any issues with pooling, dragging, or glitter being uneven.  Also, they dried fast.  I didn't use topcoat because they dried to a perfectly smooth, glassy finish all on their own.  Durability was good; I only had minor tip wear after a full workday.  Removal was a breeze, as well.  In my opinion these are all real winners.

   As for the glitter particles themselves, they are fantastic.  The fact that they are tiny irregular shapes makes the polishes interesting and unique.  The rainbow sparkle is hard to capture in photographs, so please believe me when I say it is there!  And in some lighting these polishes give a very faint linear holographic effect.  Otherwise I would classify these as scattered holo nail polishes.

   While this collection may not be L.A. Girl's most original batch of creations, it worth noticing.  If you were left wanting more by Zoya's holographic jellies last year, take a look at these.  (Don't bother buying repeats of the identical colors, though.)  If you like delicate sparkly toppers, pick up 3D Silver.  If you like solid-performing polishes that can be found for $5 a bottle or less, definitely hunt these down!  Here is the official webpage for this 8-polish collection.  I hope you found my swatches helpful.  =)

Swatch & Review

   I was sorting through my Indie polishes when I came across a special bottle that I used but never got around to sharing on my blog - shame on me!  Released at the start of 2013, this is Different Dimension Aorta Miss You But I Don't.  The name makes me giggle, and I'm the one who named it!  This lovely blend of glitters was all Missi's doing, though.  So I feel honored that she thought the name was fitting for it!

   For this quickie swatch I layered one coat of Aorta Miss You But I Don't over Zoya Purity, any I love how it pops on the white base!  There are all sort of pretty glitters floating in a clear base.  The name-inspiring purple hearts, of course, but also magenta circles and larger holographic hexes in pink and red.  What really does it for me is all the pretty microglitter, though!  There is magenta, silver, and even lavender, and it looks sooo lovely together!

   I'm a huge fan of Missi's Different Dimension polish formula.  I ended up wearing this for a couple of days without topcoat. Despite the larger glitters it dries quite smooth; my nails weren't snaggy at all.  A couple larger glitters chipped off but that heart stayed on!  Really impressive all around.  Different Dimension polishes are available on Etsy.  =)

Nail Art / Review

   This was actually a practice session that I felt turned out well enough to share.  I love glitter gradient nail art, but I'm not very good at doing them!  In particular the gradients that start at the cuticle and fade out.  Different Dimension All Red-y In Love is packed with glitter and easy to work with, so I think I did okay this time!  My base was two coats of China Glaze Frosty, a pretty white shimmer that is quite sheer.

   This macro shot of All Red-y In Love shows off the glitter, but none of my pictures is showing just how extremely sparkly it is!  A mix of red, pink, and silver holo glitters, including a dash of holographic red hearts.  I had left my bottle upside-down overnight before using it and had no trouble getting to the hearts that way.

   All Red-y In Love is one of the nail polishes I named!   If you'd like a bottle you can find it in the Different Dimension etsy shop.  =)

Swatch / NotD

   The polish I'm showing off today was actually a bonus included with a giveaway prize (way back when) from Shally at The Polished Pixie, so thank-you again to her for picking something that I love so much!  This color is called Galaxy and is from the Petites Color Fever line.

   It might not be what jumps to mind when you then of space, on the nail it does have a sort of galactic quality to it.  The deep red jelly has a slight brownish tint to it, and is filled with light pink microglitter.    It was very easy to work with and fully opaque at 2 coats.  Removal was easy and it didn't leave any stains!  I'd recommend this polish if you like dark colors and subtle sparkle.

   Galaxy was pretty enough on it's own but even better when I added a few nail art stickers.  The effect was very striking and I'm super pleased with the way it turned out.  The two stickers I placed side-by-side created an interesting central accent.  Best of all it was super quick and easy-peasy!



   I used to think that nail art stickers were a kiddy thing to work with, but not anymore!  My hands were feeling pretty regal and fancy in this so-cheap-it's-nearly-free manicure!  =)

   I finally have some Glitter Gal goodness in my collection!  I've actually had a few for awhile now, but with the lack of sun I haven't been reaching for my holos very often.  I decided to try Not Another Red by Glitter Gal earlier this week.  Here it is at just one coat.  I must apologize because my nails were extremely shaky when I painted my nails and also while I was taking pictures.  Low blood sugar & pressure issues, I believe.  =(

   Lookit how pretty it is anyway, though!  This is one of their discontinued colors, and I'm so glad I grabbed it.  It is a very saturated pink-red.  Under yellow lighting it had a coral tone to it.  The holographic effect was amazing under intense light, but it was visible under regular lights, too.  The orange and purple stood out most then.  And under low light conditions it became a lovely red creme polish with fine silver shimmer showing in it.  I loved wearing this!

   Hello all!  I don't generally put up two posts in one day but this is related to my previous post about the Icing magnetics - it's the polishes on my nails!  If I had added my manicure the post would have been too huge, I think.  So, here are some additional pictures and thoughts about my nails... and some exciting news - I have a new camera!

   The colors are Rose Sparkle, Antique Brass Sparkle, Black Sparkle, and then Rose Sparkle again.  I skipped out on using Blue Shimmer because it doesn't have a glittery finish like these do.  I'll do that one another time.  There is top coat in these pictures,  but not a very shiny one.

   I think the magnetic designs came out better on my right hand.  I used the wavy-design magnet on all my nails save for the black ones.  I used my LCN star-pattern magnet for those.  I love the wavy magnets.  It looks like ribbons running down my nails!  And each ring finger got a holographic silver star paillette applied to one side.  The magnetic pattern looks like shine rays coming from the stars.  =)

   I just have to say it's so much easier using magnetics on my own nails, rather than swatching a nail wheel.  Having to hold both the wheel and the magnet - carefully! is just about as much as my shaky hands can muster.

   I just got my camera a couple days ago, it's a Canon which I never thought I would buy.  My boyfriend has a Canon and while it takes great pictures I never liked using it myself.  This one has the kind of controls I like, though.  In fact, it mostly done by touchscreen.  Anyway, I'm still getting used to it and what settings I should use.  I'll probably make a separate post about my camera when I have less awesome nail polish to blog about.  ;P  But I have to ask: can you notice a difference for the better?

   My kitty was in my lap during my Nail-of-the-Day pictures.  So, here are my nails, on her pretty fur!  This actually came out really well-focused (click to see larger).  I don't know about you but I think she looks great with these polish colors, too.  Good thing cats don't have fingernails.  =P

   One more picture of my nails for the road!  Thank you so much for reading and if you have any thoughts please share them.  =)

   When it was time to paint my nails again I asked the boyfriend what he'd like to see.  Another magnetic polish!  He had me list off the other colors I have (since we already did blue) and requested red.  I'm not really a red nail polish girl, and I was in fact really wanting to try one of my new Nyx glitters, but relationships are about compromises, so I came up with this:

   I decided to try two "accent nails" - both the ring fingers and thumbs.  I like it!  Feels more tied in somehow.  Also I used the star magnet to keep with the intergalactic feel of Frizz Spots.  Because I took several pictures I'll share more after the jump!  (Click pictures to see them larger.)