Layering Nail Art / Swatch

Nail Art / Swatch & Review

   These weren't supposed to look like snowy, winter nails, I promise!  If you're having flashbacks to negative temperatures I give you my whole-hearted apology.  After wearing Color Club Over the Moon for a day and enjoying it's sunny-sky hue I thought puffy cloud tips would be pretty cute.  So I free-handed cloud tips using Zoya Purity.

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 / 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?

Nail Art

   Quite often when I do nail art my hands don't match.  Partly from "creativity", partly from getting to experiment more per manicure!  So after finishing my right hand in a rainbow gradient I decided to use a mix of all those colors for my left hand.  In case you missed all the water marble fun in my last post, here is the right hand design:

  I'm getting a little better at making the designs and figuring out placement on my nails.  I'm really happy with how my thumb turned out as I didn't think I'd get that much of the design on my nail.  =)  The colors I used were China Glaze Light As Air, Something Sweet, Peachy Keen, Lemon Fizz, Re-fresh Mint, and Bahamian Escape.  I had already painted my nails with two coats of Zoya Purity to give them a nice blank canvas, so they came out true to bottle color.

   Anyway, back to my left hand!

   It was pretty easy deciding which colors to pair up on my nails.  Index finger got the secondaries: purple, orange, green.  Middle finger had pink, yellow, and blue, though yellow and blue tried to create green.  My pinky was done in green, purple, yellow and pink.  Love it!  I was brave and tried to use all the colors on my thumb.

   All the colors are there, but sadly Bahamian Escape blurred into an odd dusty color between Lemon Fizz and Peachy Keen.  Also, a piece of fuzz stuck into my nail!  Bummer!  Six colors in one marbled nail is a bit much, four or less works better.

   As an accent nail I used my new unnamed Claire's polish over the white base.  (See swatches of the collection it came from.)  I did two coats and this ultra-cheap glitter did not disappoint!  It has a perfect rainbowy mix of colors over white.  I'll definitely be using this glitter polish again.  Anyone know of a dupe for it?

   This is my favorite water marble so far, and I really enjoyed wearing it this week!

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 & Review

   Hello, princesses!  Last week I had very little energy and motivation for painting my nails.  Fortunately there was a side benefit to that; I picked a manicure that I could wear all weekend.  I think this resulted in an awesome combination!  This is one coat of Lush Lacquer Pink Panther over Zoya Wednesday.  Both were sitting in my untrieds - don't they look great together?

   Zoya Wednesday is my kind of green, so I love this creme polish, which does dry a little darker than it looks in the bottle.  It dries shiny without a topcoat but it had a few bubbles in it - odd!  It seemed a wee bit thick so maybe some thinner is all it needs.  It's super opaque at two coats and wears like iron.  The only downside is during removal my skin was stained green, and the "green thumb!" I ended up with wasn't nearly as beneficial as you'd think.

   Pink Panther is a really nice glitter polish for layering.  I was feeling a bit glittered-out, but the combination of matte hexes ended up being a good palette refresher.  It is a fairly simple polish but the mixture and colors are just right.  Coverage was very good at one coat, it was completely smooth under regular topcoat and removal was easy.  I'm really glad that I bought it!

Swatch & Review

   Today I'm sharing another polish that Missi from Different Dimension sent me for review: Vervain.  I didn't actually name this one, but it reminded me of the same flower that she did name it after!  I was browsing the Internet looking at flowers for spring time polish name inspiration when I saw this picture:

   Verbena and vervain flowers come is several colors, but I think this white and purple type is the prettiest.  Let's take a look at a bottle shot of this polish!

   It contains small purple holographic hexes and large purple hexes.  The large size glitters are more sparse and you won't end up with as many on your nails as they appear in the bottle, but they are there.  Most of mine ended up buried in the layers of polish.  The milky white base is hiding a very beautiful purple micro-fleck shimmer.  This likes to hide and I couldn't see it on the nail at all, but if you enlarge this bottle shot you can see it in about the middle-right area.

   I wore 4 coats of Vervain for these swatches.  The formula was a bit more tricky that usual for Differnent Dimension.  It was also sheer and that is what it took to get rid of my VNL, but if you're okay with some VNL it was looking good at 3 coats.  If you're totally obsessive over opaque nails or "saving" on your glitter polish you could layer 1-2 coats over white.  That would (probably) still end up being 4 coats of polish, though.  I really like the depth of all the glitter.  I just wish you could see the pretty shimmer!  I have a hunch that you could layer it over another color to get that shimmer to be seen - any suggestions?

   As always Different Dimension polishes are available on etsy!

Swatch & Review

   Of the three Laquerlicious mini polishes I received to review, Tart Taffy has to be my favorite.  A metallic rainbow and matte white glitter polish in a clear base, it hits all the right notes.  I chose to layer it over Wet 'n Wild Black Creme to really make it pop.  I can't figure out what this combination reminds me of, but I love it!

   I only used one coat on my nails except for my ring finger, which got two.  This glitter spreads very well and I didn't have issues with it clumping or dragging to the edge.  It's like a paint splatter manicure without all the mess!

   The mix of glitters are so perfect, too.  The matte white comes in tiny hexes, small and medium squares, and medium hexes.  The rainbow colors are all medium size, and they come in hexes, squares, and circles!  Yes, circles!  I can't get enough of how nicely this has been blended.

   I wouldn't have thought this glitter was so great from the bottle picture Online; getting a mini to swatch was my eye-opener.  I hope my swatches were able to do the same for you!  This glitter is a stunner and I recommend it to any fan of rainbow glitter, white glitter, and rainbow-and-white glitter!  As always Laquerlicious polishes are sold on etsy - go check them out!

Swatch & Review

   When my nail mail from Different Dimension arrived, chocked-full of nail polishes that I helped name (still in a slight state of disbelief on that), I didn't know where to start.  I felt like I needed more hands right away!  I finally settled on Love Her? I Don't Even Lacquer! for my first mani, since it is the polish that got the ball rolling.

   First off, take a look at the pretty bottle macro!  You might want to click to see larger.  LH?IDEL! is a black and white glitter with a little something extra in the form of holographic microglitter and blue-purple sparks.  You'll find white hearts and tiny glitters, sheer white squares and hexes, and black hearts, squares, and hexes.  This is all floating in a clear base for maximum versatility!

   My base was two coats of Zoya Layla, an insanely-bright-yet-not-neon color that dries to a rubbery finish as seen above.  I don't often reach for such a bright color but I was pleased with how wearable Layla was!  This plain swatch is more accurate of the pink color, as well.

   Now, I know that not everyone likes large glitter on their tips, so the above nails are for those people!  I managed to avoid the hearts not not shaking the bottle at all and using one thin coat of LH?IDEL!  I really liked this look!  Sort of Lisa Frank dalmatian puppy.  Otherwise just leave your bottle upside down for a bit before using to help the heavy heart pieces mix in better.  There are a lot in there, and using that method I ended up with plenty of hearts on my other nails.

   I used the tip of an orange stick to poke some of the unruly hearts into a better place on my nails.  I used one coat of Poshe topcoat on the nails that had no hearts or hearts that laid flat, and two coats for the ones that had more texture.  This polish wore really well and I didn't get a single chip, even when I started picking at it!

   You can get your own bottle of Love Her? I Don't Even Lacquer! from the Different Dimension etsy shop.  What will you wear it with?
   Zoya Layla can be bought from the brand's Online shop.

   Thanks for letting me share this extra-special polish with you!

Swatch & Review

   Today I'm showing my first KBShimmer polish: Oh Splat!  They make so many amazing glitter blends, it was hard to pick one as a favorite but in the end Oh Splat! stayed at the top of my wish list.  This polish is extra special to me because it was given to me by one of my favorite nail bloggers, Jen from The Nail Polish Project.  You should go check out her blog once you're done reading here!

   Oh Splat! is a white creme polish with a rainbow of glitter inside it.  Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple: they're all there!  And in four different sizes.  I used three coats by itself for my manicure.  The formula was a little bit thick so I will try adding some polish thinner before I use it the next time.  I finished my nails with one coat of Poshe and it leveled the polish out just fine.  Also, my nails were smooth and texture free.

   The glitters are metallic but appear matte in the polish when they get covered by the white base.  The glitter in the "top layer" is more shiny and sparkly than it appears in pictures.  It makes for interesting depth!  =)


   I had to take pictures of both hands to show off the variety in this manicure!  It was really eye-catching.  The white is surprisingly bright, definitely a creme formula.  It looks best at 3 coats, because it has a lot of depth and glitter while being perfectly opaque.  Sadly this manicure wasn't very durable, though.  Despite not having any glitter texture the large hexes were flaking off my nails, and it started chipping after a day.  Hopefully it was just a fluke!


   KBShimmer polishes are $8.75 for a full-size bottle.  You can buy them from their website or on etsy.  Thanks for looking!

Swatch & Review

   Channeling my inner summertime was very easy yesterday.  I ate lunch outside sitting in sunny 52° weather, completely atypical of December 3rd in any other year of my life.  And with China Glaze Sunshine Pop and Naild'It Summer Lovin' Melon on my tips, it still doesn't feel like winter at all.


   This was my first time using Sunshine Pop.  It is a bright yellow with silver-white shimmer.  Basically China Glaze Happy-Go-Lucky with a slight frost.  The bright yellow isn't the kindest to my skintone but I love it anyway!  My first coat of Sunshine Pop was was a thick, streaky mess.  It had issues with bubbling and I was almost ready to call it quits right there.  I kept my wits about me, dropped some polish thinner into the bottle, shook it again, and was able to continue without bubbles, fortunately.  It still took two more coats to be decently opaque, and then it had more frosty brushstrokes than I liked.  I immediately followed with my fast drying topcoat and that evened it out wonderfully.  In the end I love it!


   What do you think?  It isn't the best formula I've had to work with, but I think it is worth the three coats.  Topcoat made all the difference in my attitude going from "meh, it's so-so" to "wow, candy-colored-sunny-bright-goodness!"  And I knew it would also be a protective barrier between the glitter that was about to go over top.

   I was fortunate to win a bottle of Naild'It polish from Kim at OverallBeauty.  She offered it as a prize in a water marble contest. Summer Lovin' Melon is my first bottle from the brand.  It is full size (15ml) and has silver printed labels, but some words aren't easy to read.  I really like the sturdy bottle shape, but at first the stubby handle looked goofy to me.  The brush and handle are perfectly good, though.  Now I love how the handle is flat on top.  All I had to do was turn the bottle upside down (I think I left it for a half hour?) before using it and I had no issues getting the glitter out!

   In fact, a lot of times I was wiping glitter back in.  The formula is very thick.  This helps the glitters not to slide around when applied but you do need to watch out for brush overload!  Looking at the bottle it can be hard to tell what is hiding in there.  I didn't realize that it includes black circle glitter until one came out on my brush, and then another, and another!

   I used two coats of Summer Lovin' Melon, but would be happy with one, as well.   The glitter is easy to apply and only needs dabbing to cover thin spots.  The large black hearts and circles were often on the brush without me realizing.  There are black squares as well, but these seem more sparse in the formula.  The other colors are large pink and orange hexes, white bars, striped matte red hexes, satin green, purple, light pink and white hexes.  Microglitter comes in red, too.  I chose a yellow base to show everything off, but next time I'll try a watermelon pink to get it's namesake look.


   I had to photograph both of my hands to show how colorfully my nails turned out.  Yes, this is a chaotic polish, but it is fun and eye-catching.  I just wish I would have had sunshine when it came time to do these pictures!


    A word on topcoat.  I used two coats of Gelous and then a coat of my thickened fast-dry top coat.  While not a topcoat-thirsty glitter the larger pieces will stick out.  I sealed them in this way and there are only a couple spots that have a bump.  This doesn't bother me any, but it is worth noting.  This ended up being a very thick manicure but that is what I was going for - my nails have been "tough as nails" since applying it.  (From start to finish I did 10 coats of my nail polishes on each nail...)

  In the end I have been pleasantly surprised by this busy glitter polish.  Judging by other swatches Online I thought it would apply as small glitter with a stray heart here or there, but that wasn't the case.  It was easy to work with, and is my first polish to contain those awesome circles.  Right now the Naild'it etsy shop is closed, but you can buy these from various indie polish e-tailers.  They go for about $10-$11 from what I've seen.  Honestly that is steep for me so I'll probably hold off on these unless I really love the color.