Stash Swatch Initiative: OPI Got the Blues for Red

Hello!

OPI Got the Blues for Red. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Here's an oldie but goodie! This is OPI Got the Blues for Red. I don't even know how old this polish, to be honest. This was part of my 'original' stash, which was anything I had before I started following nail blogs. And as you can see, it's been used quite a bit -- down a quarter of the bottle!

OPI Got the Blues for Red. Outdoors, sunlight, no flash.

Got the Blues for Red is a deep red jelly/creme hybrid. It is well-pigmented, but it retains that 'squishy' finish. You could even get away with this at one coat. I did use two coats for swatches today over a base of Seche Clear. No topcoat here, this was wonderfully shiny alone.

OPI Got the Blues for Red. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

This polish has great formula. It flows easily onto the nail and is self-leveling. It was my go-to red for a long while, and perfect for certain nail art applications!

  

OPI Got the Blues for Red. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon!! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: OPI DS Extravagance

Hello!

Today I'd like to show you OPI DS Extravagance!

OPI DS Extravagance. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

This was a big lemming of mine about a year ago. I was excited when I found the display during one of my first trips to Ulta, but of course, I ended up disappointed because the space for Extravagance was empty. I picked up DS Reflection instead, which you'll see soon. It wasn't until a month or so later that I found my bottle. Exciting!



OPI DS Extravagance. Outdoors, sunlight, no flash.

I'd say that after all that anticipation, Extravagance was worth it. It is a gorgeous raspberry polish with holo shimmer. It's not a linear holo, but it is very pretty anyway.

OPI DS Extravagance. Outdoors, sunlight, no flash.

Swatches today are a base of Seche Clear, two coats of Extravagance, and one coat of Seche Vite. Formula was great, and caused zero issues.



OPI DS Extravagance. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

This is a stunning polish! Not much else to discuss!

OPI DS Extravagance. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon! ^_^

Crumpet's Laid-Back 31DC: Duochrome, Flakie, or Holo

Hello!

Outdoors, shade, no flash.

I am unashamedly copy-cating someone else's manicure today. I saw this linked on the Crumpet's Nail Tarts Facebook Group's page, I thought it was so awesome that I had to try it for myself! And as soon as possible! Go see the original on Caitlin's blog, it's great! I'll wait.....

Outdoors, sunlight, no flash.

Okay! So, I didn't have the same polishes, so I went with what I did have. As a result, my version ended up a darker, less Rainbow Fish, and more Dragon! I started with a base of Seche Clear, two coats of the gorgeous OPI Every Month Is Oktoberfest!, and Seche Vite. On top of that I layered one coat each of Nubar 2010, Zoya Maisie, and Zoya Chloe. After more Seche Vite and some time, I used AEngland St. George to stamp the closest image I had to scales, the fishnet design from Bundle Monster plate BM-209. The stamping was very subtle over this dark and brooding mani, maybe too subtle, so you may have to look closely--it's there! I may revisit this someday with different base polishes so the stamping will show up better.

Outdoors, sunlight, no flash.

While not bright and awesome as my inspiration, I was enthralled with this version too. What a great idea! Thanks for inspiration, Caitlin!!

Check out the other challenge participants below! More soon!! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: Milani Digital

Hello~!

Milani Digital. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

A quick post today to show you Milani Digital, part of their 3D Holographic line.

Milani Digital. Outdoors, sunlight, no flash.

Digital is a jelly-like pink based polish with large, holographic particles that produce a scattered holographic effect in the sun.

Milani Digital. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Swatches today are a base coat of Sinful Colors Nail Hardener, two coats of Digital, and one coat of Seche Vite on all my fingers but the middle and pointer fingers, which do not have topcoat. I was experimenting -- trying to see if topcoat has any effect on the holo. I don't see any difference in these photos. No issues with formula. This was opaque in two coats.

Milani Digital. Outdoors, sunlight, no flash.

The squishy pink base of this polish is very pretty and easy to wear. The added rainbow effect of the holographic shimmer is gorgeous. I found this bottle quite awhile ago at CVS, but I don't recall seeing them recently.

Milani Digital. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon! ^_^

Crumpet's Laid-Back 31DC: Ombre or Skittle

Hello!

Today's prompt is "Ombre or Skittle". I picked skittles!

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Since spring is right around the corner, I chose five pastels out of my stash. From pinkie to thumb, we have Nicole by OPI Kim-pletely in Love, China Glaze Refresh Mint, China Glaze Sweet Hook, Sinful Colors Unicorn, and Revlon Blue Lagoon. I added one dabbed coat of Candy Lacquer Fluttershy on top of that to tie the look together. I finished it off with a coat of Gelous followed by a coat of Seche Vite.

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I am loving this sweet spring-time look! Let's see what the others did! More soon~! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: Black Cat Lacquer Discotraxx

Hello!

Black Cat Lacquer Discotraxx. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

This is Black Cat Lacquer Discotraxx.

Black Cat Lacquer Discotraxx. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Discotraxx has a plethora of holographic glitter shapes in a clear base. I see squares, starts, bars, diamonds, and multiples sizes of hex glitter.

Black Cat Lacquer Discotraxx. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

For these swatches, I layered one dabbed coat over Color Club Wildflower plus a coat of Gelous and Seche Vite. I didn't have any issues with this one formula-wise. I didn't have to fight to get the glitter out of the bottle and one easy coat gave me my desired glitter coverage.

Black Cat Lacquer Discotraxx. Outdoors, sunlight, no flash.

Black Cat Lacquer has yet to disappoint me. You can find this polish over at the Black Cat Lacquer Etsy store along with some other really great polishes.

Black Cat Lacquer Discotraxx. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: Cult Nails Charlatan

Hello!

This Cult Nails Charlatan.

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

So, this is a super fun layering polish. It is loaded with duochrome flecks, which cause a different effect depending on what you layer it over. Over dark polish, Charlatan creates a pink to purple to blue duochrome shimmer.

Outdoors, sunlight, no flash.

I chose to show this over the Cult Nails Vicious swatch from last week. This is just one coat of Charlatan plus Seche Vite over the base purple of Vicious. It's so shimmery, it almost looks metallic to me.

Indoors, artificial light, no flash./

Charlatan completely transforms that creme polish into something else! I'm so excited about this because it's sort of like doubling your stash--what other looks can I create when I layer this over other polish?

Charlatan is a limited edition shade along with it's sisters in the Deceptive Collection. All of which are topcoats of this nature. I couldn't resist getting four of the five, so look for those swatches here in the future. In the meantime, check out Cult Nails here!

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon!! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: Color Club Wild at Heart

Hello!

This lovely is Color Club Wild at Heart!

Color Club Wild at Heart. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Wild at Heart is a super saturated purple with linear holographic effect. The holo shine has a pinkish cast to my eye, which I love. How gorgeous is this in the sun?

Color Club Wild at Heart. Outdoors, sunlight, no flash.

Swatches today are a base coat of Seche Clear, two coats of Wild at Heart, and one coat of Seche Vite.

Color Club Wild at Heart. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Wild at Heart has a great formula. It is well-pigmented, and can be used as a stamping polish. It flows onto the nail easily.

Color Club Wild at Heart. Outdoors, sunlight, no flash.

This was the namesake polish for Color Club's Wild at Heart Collection. As usual, I was able to find this older release over at Head2Toe Beauty for a fantastic price ($3!! -- looks like prices have gone up just a tad, it's $3.10 now). Happy shopping!

Color Club Wild at Heart. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon!! ^_^

Crumpet's Laid-Back 31DC: Favorite Color

Hello!

My favorite polish color is PINK! So for today's prompt, I used three pink shades from Zoya's Beach and Surf Collection from last summer to try my hand at another Nailside creation. I'd seen this really neat cloud mani tutorial over on Jane's blog some time ago and decided that this was the perfect time to try it out. It was quick and easy, and I love the end result.

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I started with two coats of Zoya Shelby. Then I used three careful strokes of Zoya Rory to start my cloud design. The final color is Zoya Reagan. This got topped with Seche Vite.

My second favorite color, you could say, is holo. So, naturally, INM Northern Lights finished this off perfectly.

Indoors, artificial light, with flash.

Check out the other participants! More soon! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: China Glaze Flirty Tankini

Hi there! I still have polishes from collections released last year to swatch... my little stash has grown so much! Today China Glaze Flirty Tankini is up from the Summer Neons collection from last summer.

China Glaze Flirty Tankini. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Flirty Tankini is a cute, neon coral with matching shimmer. The color is gorgeous, evoking thoughts of sunsets and umbrella drinks. This was really flattering on me, and I enjoyed wearing it.

China Glaze Flirty Tankini. Outdoors, sunlight, no flash.

Swatches today are a base of Seche Clear, two coats of Flirty Tankini, and one coat of Seche Vite. The formula is nice and easy to work with. As with most neon polishes, this dries matte, so a nice glossy topcoat is needed. My only complaint about this polish is that it stains. I wore this for about 12 hours and my nails were stained a bit once I took it off. :[

China Glaze Flirty Tankini. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

This one was hard for my camera or my photography skills to capture. I ended up using flash in a completely dark room to get this one.

China Glaze Flirty Tankini. Indoors, dark room, flash only.

Head2Toe Beauty still has this one for sale, which is where I think I got this bottle.. .hmm... It's been so long, I can't quite remember!

China Glaze Flirty Tankini. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon!! ^_^

Crumpet's Laid-Back 31DC: Purple

Hello!!

Outdoors, sunlight, no flash.

Today's prompt for the challenge I'm participating in is "Purple". I took inspiration from a newly acquired polish -- OPI Care to Danse? It's a pretty lilac shade, so I went the lilac route for this one.

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

So, I started with my usual base of Sinful Colors Nail Hardener, and layered up four coats of OPI Care to Danse?, which is a very sheer, pretty lilac jelly. I topped that with Seche Vite to speed up dry time, and waited before adding one coat of OPI Pirouette My Whistle, which is a dainty glitter topper of soft satin hexes and silver shimmer. I wasn't happy with the amount of purple I had going yet, so I added one coat of Milani Jewel FX in Lavender. I topped all of that with one more coat of Care to Danse? and more Seche Vite to create this squishy glitter sandwich.

Outdoors, natural light, no flash.

I then used Essie Nothing Else Metals to stamp the wavy lines from Bundle Monster plate BM-209. That got sealed with a quick coat of NYC's In a New York Minute. Here's the final, finished mani.

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I took my time with this mani. I waited quite a bit for things to dry before moving on to the next step or layer. Stamping didn't give me any problems this time. I guess my biggest lesson was the one about patience during the first day of the challenge. The only minor thing to note is that the lines on this image peeled up a bit at the edges. I had to tamp them down with a light touch. I did lose a few pieces, especially near the tip, but otherwise, this was a breeze.

Let's see what everyone else did! More soon!! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: Cult Nails Vicious

Hello!

Cult Nails Vicious. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I have another lovely Cult Nails creation today. This is Vicious!

Cult Nails Vicious. Outdoors, sunlight, no flash.

Vicious is a vampy, deep purple creme. This is really dark but never looks black. It is a solid, basic color to have, and even though, I didn't intend to purchase it in December's haul, I'm really glad I did. Best mistake ever! :]

Cult Nails Vicious. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Swatches today are a base coat of Seche Clear, two coats of Vicious, and one coat of Seche Vite. Let's talk formula. This is fantastic. It self levels in two easy coats. It's great! We couldn't ask for better.

Cult Nails Vicious. Outdoors, sunlight, no flash.

Cult Nails can be found right here! Happy shopping!

Cult Nails Vicious. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon!! ^_^