Nail Art

   Here is a manicure I created using the new Sally Hansen Color Foil polishes.  They were perfect for this technique, which is much simpler to create than you might think!  Yes, this is the art that was originally meant to go over Raven.  But this base color was more fun - it glows in the dark!

Swatch & Review

   This was meant to be a base for nail art that never happened.  Well, it did happen, but this manicure didn't last until the time I was ready to do it, and I used a different base color for the art, haha.  So I ended up just swatching Raven, basically!

   Raven is one of my first Zoya polishes, and I realized that I don't remember ever wearing it.  It's a really pretty black with a super-fine shimmer.  However my bottle seems to have some issues, like it wasn't capped tightly.  The formula was off compared my other Zoya pretties, namely in that it did not want to level itself out and didn't wear as well.  I also has some odd bubbles when I added topcoat.  I don't know if that should be attributed to Raven or not.

Swatch & Review Manicure

And says her prayers
In awe of what she sees
I could never see the things she sees

And she's always far away
In some other place
She likes to make believe
I can't stand to see her in such pain

Even when the world is pushing down
She stands so tall she can almost touch the clouds

Swatch & Review

   Still plowing through nail pictures taken before Freya was born, here is a manicure that nicely used 3 untried polishes.  The blue creme on my center fingers is China Glaze Fade Into Hue, a perfect periwinkle tone.  Love it!  The glitter over it is the same sauce in the bottle I'm holding; L'oréal The Bigger The Better.  In the bottle it looks uninteresting but it turned out to be black and silver tiny & micro glitter in a clear base.  The coverage was great - my swatch shows 1 coat.  And the outermost black nails are L'oréal Drop Dead Gorgeous, a black polish filled with silvery-white flecks.  In the bottle it looked like these might have some iridescence but it was lost on the nail.  Still, the coverage was great, so I'll keep it for my stash of black-with-something-extra polishes, since I love those entirely too much.  ♥

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.  =)

Nail Art / Swatch & Review

   I was about to swatch Color Club Beyond when I realized that I never shared Harp On It on my blog, and realized they would pair very well.  Here they are swatched together, with a bit of nail art!

   I'm wearing these polishes without any base or top coat, so you can see how they have a smooth finish and nice shine all on their own.  Harp On It is Color Club's silver linear holographic polish from their first Halo Hues collection.  It took 2 coats for opacity, but the formula is very good.  So long as you keep your brush movements gentle and wait a little while in between coats you won't have any issues with dragging.  Beyond, the linear black holo, is fantastic.  I can't say enough good things about this polish!  I only needed 1 coat and it was totally opaque!  The formula is super-smooth and the rainbow effect is very strong.  I definitely recommend this polish if you're hunting for the ever-elusive perfect black holo, and don't want to spend a fortune.

   The lightning bolt accent nail makes me feel like my nails should be super-powered, haha.  My husband liked it and it was really easy to do!  All you need is a bit of tape and a pair of scissors.  First, start with your completely-dry base color.  This is important, otherwise your polish could be pulled off by your tape.

   Cut a zigzag into a piece of tape and place each piece on your nail to create your desired bolt shape.  Make sure the edges are smoothed down so no polish will seep under.  I'm using painter's tape.

   Paint the open area, and quickly but gently peel the tape off before your polish dries.  That's it!  Enjoy your snazzy nail design!

Swatch & Review / NotD

   Here is a quick swatch post of my nails from this weekend.  I did them in our hotel room so I didn't have my usual lighting setup.  Not the best photos but this was a really simple combo, so I'm letting them pass.  I used 2 coats of My Pointe Exactly from the OPI NYC Ballet collection, which is a sheer grey jelly.  My nails were more grey-toned than they appear here.  Then I used 2 coats of I♥NP Silver Spoons, and I used one more coat of My Pointe Exactly on my ring finger to create a jelly sandwich.  These nails were subtle but very shiny!

   My Pointe Exactly is a very good neutral jelly that I am so glad to have finally found in stock on Drugstore.com.  Glad I picked it up because it will definitely see more use in both French manicures and layering for "jelly sandwiches".  Coverage is quite good.  Also, I think I have finally made peace with OPI's wide brushes; we didn't get along before this.  The above photo shows my results without any clean-up!

   Silver Spoons is unique among silver glitter topcoats thanks to those awesome little silver shards!  They aren't gigantic, lay flat and don't create texture on the nail.  (If I could find a topper of just these well-behaved silver shreds I'd be quite pleased!)  The silver microshimmer also has a wonderful sparkle that I love.  I was surprised at needing two coats for good coverage, however.  Sadly this polish is discontinued and gone forever... sorry!

   I wish I could have better captured the sparkle and shine of these nails - you'll just have to imagine it!  The look reminds me of Cinderella for some reason...  What do you think?

Swatch & Review / NotD

   Good evening, princesses!  Here is a manicure that is sure to give you sweet dreams about polish.  ;P  I was fortunate enough to snag Once Upon A Starry Night during I♥NP's clearance sale, and found the limited edition Pure Ice color Fairy Godmother, which pairs wonderfully as a base color.  Also, I think I may have found my "pose" for pictures.  Holding my hand at an angle seems most comfortable.

   I used one coat of I♥NP (I Love Nail Polish - what a great brand name!) of Once Upon A Starry Night, which is a clear-based glitter with a really nice density for using as a topcoat.  The glitters in it are prismatic, silver, blue, and matte white.  It contains holographic silver stars but not very many of them.  Getting one of the stars is a treat, and the nails without stars don't look like they are lacking.  I've had this polish on my wishlist since I first saw it announced last year!  Sadly this shade is now discontinued - sorry!

   ILNP definitely earns their tagline of "boutique nail lacquer": the super cute packaging, the wonderful brush and good formula...  I'm not sure if this bottle is made with the original or reformulated glitter base.  (The suspension base was changed after complaints that the polishes were great but smelled horrible.)  I can say that this does have a polish smell but it is not at all offensive!

   Pure Ice Fairy Godmother is a perfect amethyst shade that will. not. photograph. accurately.  I tried color-correcting the photos and gave up, because by the time the polish was looking right my hands looked fiery.  Yes, this is a cool-toned purple, but it is more red than this.  It's a medium type of purple that isn't too bright, too dark, too pastel or dusty.  It also seems to have a faint hidden shimmer.  I used two coats, and coverage was very good.  The formula is on the slightly thick side.

   These are two really pretty polishes that work great together!  Pure Ice is sold at Walmart, and you can find I♥NP shades at their website:

Nail Art / Swatch & Review

   I'm wearing an extremely princess-y manicure today!  I did these nails Saturday after deciding I wanted something holographic and was inspired by some pretty glitter gradients on other blogs.  Then I realized that all the polishes I used were essentially untrieds - swatched but never used in a manicure.  So I'll be talking a bit about them, too.

   So pink, so girly, so great!  For as much as I love pink I don't do pink nails that often.  I have a hard time finding the right pinks for my skintone.  These are the polishes I used:

Color Club Halo-graphic, Milani Pink Flare, Nyx Girls Dynamic Glitter and Salon Perfect Silver Sparkler.

   First let's talk about Color Club Halo-graphic.  How did I let this go for so long without doing a proper manicure with it?  From the 2012 Halo Hues collection, this pink is gorgeous in the bottle and cool-toned enough that I find it wearable.  I used two coats on my thumbs, index and pinky fingers, then my regular Poshe topcoat.  Once the manicure is totally dry the holographic effect comes back 100%.  Application is good for a holographic polish, but isn't very self-leveling.

   Milani Pink Flare is part of the One Coat Glitter line, but it is most certainly not opaque in one coat.  My right hand, pictured above, shows this polish at one coat on my ring finger and at two on my middle finger.  Both have one coat of Halo-graphic as a base/underwear color.  I must say I love this glitter, it is the perfect combination of soft and sparkly.  Different from my expectations but I don't like it any less.

   The photos below show my left hand.  I had the good sense to wrap my tips with Halo-graphic before putting on a coat of Pink Flare, so the sheerness isn't noticeable unless you're really looking.  My middle finger (three flower-shape paillettes) is wearing 4 coats of Milani Pink Flare, and if you look closely you can still see some VNL.  As soon as I saw how sheer it was I put a base coat of Color Club Halo-Graphic down on my ring finger, and only used two coats of Pink Flare.

   For the gradients I used a combination of Nyx Dynamic Glitter and Salon Perfect Silver Sparkler.  I started off by dabbing Dynamic glitter at the cuticles and then placed individual glitters from Silver Sparkler to fill in spaces that needed it.  I also used loose flower paillettes to enhance the gradient nails.  These nails would have had a lot of texture so I used extra topcoat until they were smooth and super glossy!


   The only negative thing about this manicure is that it is SO sparkly that it is hard to photograph!  There is so much glitz that my camera seems to be at a loss about which nail to focus on.  Of course, that quality is also what makes it so fantastic.  I'm really enjoying this glittery, rainbow-filled manicure!  =)

Nail Art / NotD

   I'm sharing the manicure I just did today.  This is the result of getting an idea in my head and not being willing to let it go even when I got my first clue that it might not be the best idea with color I chose.  Ever have one of those stubborn moments?  I just did; at least it didn't turn out too badly.

   The idea for this manicure happened when I picked up Zoya Simone from my Mom's sales.  The pinkish hue held nuances of vintage, lady-like, and sophisticated.  Wouldn't it be neat to do a patchwork/quilt square manicure with this color and white?  Well, that was a nice idea until I started using Simone and realized that it really isn't a good color for nail art.  While two coats were good on a plastic swatch nail, it took three to get rid of VNL on my own nails.  The formula is a bit runny, as well.  Simone really doesn't get along with taping methods.  My poor middle finger looks sad because I had to use two coats of Simone on my white base, and I tried to be quick about pulling the striping tape up but it was gloopy anyway... blah.

   Oh well!  My other two colors were Zoya Purity and Pure Ice Silver Mercedes.  I tried two new techniques - a ruffle nail (thumb) and bubbles (index) - both dotting-tool designs.  The butterfly nail is done with stickers and my pinky is a cloud nail - super easy!  What about the other hand?  Well... I'm not sure what I'm doing with that yet.  Maybe just a solid color, to give myself a break.  ;P  What do you think?

Swatch / NotD

   This is a simple manicure but I really like it.  When I did my Blue Midnight jewelry nail art I ended up painting my left hand in Pure Ice Ruffled Sheets.  I love silver polish but it was feeling washed out with my other hand being so colorful and fancy.  Here is Ruffled Sheets on it's own at two coats, with no top coat.  As you can see it dries shimmery-matte.  (You can enter to win a bottle, along with two more shades!)

   A very nice type of brushed-steel metallic and it stands out as unique in my collection of silvers.  My eyes kept wandering to my new bottle of Orly Miss Conduct, though.  I considered taking Ruffled Sheets off and redoing my nails with the Orly, but instead I layered it.  This way I only needed one coat of Miss Conduct, which has a jelly-type base that let the metallic of Ruffled Sheets shine through.  It was hard to capture the effect...

   Miss Conduct dries shiny and with Poshe topcoat added my nails turned into little glass jewels.  The glitter is fantastic: holographic microshards such as found in the Milani 3D polishes and Zoya Aurora and Storm.  It helped bring out the Ruffled Sheets accent nail made shiny with topcoat.  Miss Conduct is now among my favorite pink polishes because of the awesome color and perfect formula.  Ruffled Sheets has proven itself to be good for nail art and good for layering.  So, I'd call this left-hand-mani a success!

Nail Art / Swatch

   Today's post is a look I did with Pure Ice Blue Midnight as a base and Ruffled Sheets for the nail art.  The only tools used were dotting tools!  This is my first try at a jewelry draped manicure, and these were perfect polishes for it.

   My base coat for this manicure was Orly Bonder.  Polishes that dry matte tend to be chip-prone, but I only experienced tip wear and tiny chips on my pinky nail, so I was impressed.  I used two coats of Blue Midnight for my base, which is a lovely sapphire blue.

   Generally matte polishes aren't my thing but the shimmer in this makes it look great!  It definitely reminded me of rich blue velvet or even denim.  It dried fast and smooth.  TIP:  Matte polishes will get goopy faster than others as you use them.  Recap and shake your bottle every 5 nails to keep it flowing smoothly.

   Then I dotted on Ruffled Sheets using three different sizes of dotting tools.  I tried to "connect" the art on my index and middle fingernails but I'm not sure that it ended up being as obvious as I wanted it to be.

   For the pendant on my ring finger I used Blue Midnight again and created a vaguely heart-shaped gem.  I went over the gem with shiny topcoat which made it stand out more.  Very "Heart of the Ocean", eh?

   After wearing this for a day I was impressed with how it held up with no topcoat, but decided that for going to work I wanted the extra protection from a coat of Poshe.  Plus I wanted to see how it would change the look!  So here is the manicure again, but in shiny form.  (Which you only have a 1 in 8,192 chance of finding!)

   What do you think?  Remember that Ruffled Sheets is one of the polishes in my giveaway!  Because it's a set of gold, silver, and copper I hope that I've inspired whoever will win to try something like this.  Wouldn't it be awesome with those three colors as the chains, overlapping each other on a glossy black or white background?

NotD / Swatch

   I hardly knew what to put on my nails today.  I knew I wanted something sparkly, and I knew I wanted to use some of my untrieds... so I paired Zoya Storm with China Glaze Glistening Snow.  I think they play nicely together!  I suggest clicking the pictures to see them larger!  I recently bought an OttLite, so I used that for lighting today.

   Zoya Storm is a nice glossy black filled with holographic microshards.  I absolutely love this combination!  And I had perfect coverage at 2 coats.  So, this polish is definitely a keeper!

   China Glaze Glistening Snow is very interesting.  I used 3 coats by itself and no topcoat - it has a sand finish!  This might look a little bit like CG Fairy Dust in the bottle, but it is a denser mix of slightly larger (but still micro) glitter in both silver and holo silver.  The multicolor sparkle didn't want to show up in pictures, but it was there!

   This polish looks opaque at 3 coats but my macro shot above reveals some patchiness.  The texture is interesting, matte and gritty, but not sandpaper gritty...  It's different.  This polish dries incredibly fast, being a clear matte.  I had my third coat done after doing my first of Storm on the same hand!

   So, this is my black and silver "rainbow" manicure.  What do you think of it?  =)