NOTW: Orange Skittles

Hello! Happy Friday!

Finally, back to some nail art around here!

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

For this mani, I started with two coats of Zoya Cole over my go-to base combination of Duri Rejuvacote and Sinful Colors Nail Hardener on all my fingers except my middle finger, which got OPI Toucan Do It If You Try. Once dry, I stamped various bubble and swirly designs over Cole with OPI Toucan Do It If You Try. My index finger got the dry brush, distressed technique. It was my first time trying it out, and I really liked the look. Everything then got a quick coat of NYC In a New York Minute to seal the deal.

No promises for next week, you guys. It's my town's annual festival this weekend, and our social calendar is full! There's a carnival in town, fireworks, car show, parade, live music, adult beverage garden.... not to forget Father's Day and my mister's birthday! I'm not sure if I will get any nail time in or not. I've got some back-logged nail art sitting here, so I'll post what I can!

More soon! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: Rainbow Honey All My Stars

Hello!

Rainbow Honey All My Stars. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Today's swatch is Rainbow Honey All My Stars!

Rainbow Honey All My Stars. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

All My Stars is a fun glitter topper in a clear base. There's a lot of pastel, satin glitter in there -- pinks, blues, and yellows, but what takes this polish over the top is the addition of the brighter glitters. There are bright yellow, coral, and purple stars too. Rainbow Honey makes genius-level color combinations. I'd never, ever think to throw in some brights with pastels, but this polish really works. There is a gorgeous bit of purple shimmer in here as well.

Rainbow Honey All My Stars. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Swatches today are one heavily manipulated/dabbed coat over yesterday's Cirque Vaudeville swatch. I topped this off with one thick coat of Gelous plus one thick coat of Seche Vite to smooth out the glitter. My mani bubbled a bit, which I don't think is very apparent in these photos. This was my fault because I was impatient and had very important ice cream to go eat! ^_^ Anyway, you'll definitely want to dab this polish on and keep an orange stick handy to nudge the stars to where you want them.

Rainbow Honey All My Stars. Outdoors, sunlight light, no flash.

This is one of Rainbow Honey's Limited Editions -- but it's still available on their website!

Rainbow Honey All My Stars. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: Cirque Vaudeville

Hello!

Today's polish is Cirque Vaudeville!

Cirque Vaudeville. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Vaudeville is a muted lilac with pretty gold to green shifting shimmer. I mostly pick up on the gold shimmer, but in sunlight, I can see some green sparks as well. I think this is the translucent/iridescent type of shimmer because, in some light, it is barely there. It's not what I was expecting, which was a more solid, opaque gold shimmer. However, this made for a much more subtle, gorgeous look.

Cirque Vaudeville. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Swatches today are one coat of Duri Rejuvacote, one coat of Sinful Colors Nail Hardener, two coats of Vaudeville, and one coat of Seche Vite. This polish applies very nicely. It is smooth and even, so with just one coat, you can get a subtle lilac 'blush' of color on your tips.

Cirque Vaudeville. Outdoors, sunight, no flash.

I purchased my bottle directly from Cirque a while ago. Vaudeville was part of their debut collection, Dark Horse, and I see it still available on their website today.

Cirque Vaudeville. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: China Glaze Be More Pacific

Hello!

This is China Glaze Be More Pacific!

China Glaze Be More Pacific. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Be More Pacific is a crazy green creme. I'm not sure what to call this one -- I can see it as a pastel lime or a neon celery. The day I bought it, I thought it looked like the perfect 'celery' colored green, but once I put it on, it was much brighter yet retained the same hue.

China Glaze Be More Pacific. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Today's swatches are one coat of Duri Rejuvacote, one of Sinful Colors Nail Hardener, two coats of Be More Pacific, and one coat of Seche Vite. This polish has an excellent formula. It is very fluid and glides on smoothly.

China Glaze Be More Pacific. Indoors, natural light, no flash.

I purchased my bottle recently from Sally Beauty.

China Glaze Be More Pacific. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: Orly Naked Canvas

Hello!

Today I have Orly Naked Canvas swatched up!

Orly Naked Canvas. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Naked Canvas and is an off-white cream with fine purple shimmer. That shimmer is a little shy, so it'll take some nice, direct light to get it to shine. Once it does, it is beautiful!

Orly Naked Canvas. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Swatches today are one coat of Duri Rejuvacote, one coat of Sinful Colors Nail Hardener, two surprisingly opaque coats of Naked Canvas, and one coat of Seche Vite. The formula on this is nice -- much nicer than I expected. Whites and pastels can be streaky and hard to apply, but this was smooth and self-leveling. No streaking and easy going!

Orly Naked Canvas. Indoors, artificial light, with flash.

I purchased my bottle from Sally Beauty.

Orly Naked Canvas. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon! ^_^

NOTW: Flashback to March - Square Experiment

Hello!

We're going to be playing catch-up around here for the next few weeks. These manis are from early March... when I wanted to do some awesome black french tips, but was disappointed with the following look.

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

So... I squared them up and tried again!

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Much better, but I wasn't in love with the shape. They felt weird.

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

But, I committed to one more look for, this time, for St. Patrick's Day before rounding them off again.

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

This was a combination of China Glaze Glittering Garland, Zoya Gilty, OPI Love.Angel.Music.Baby, China Glaze Agro, and Pure Ice I'll Behave.

Squares never again! Haha!

More soon!

Stash Swatch Initiative: Nerdlacquer Cyance Friction

Hello!

Today I have my other Nerdlacquer swatched up for you! This is Cyance Friction!

Nerdlacquer Cyance Friction. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Cyance Friction is a gorgeous turquoise polish loaded with purple shimmer and copper and teal glitters.

Nerdlacquer Cyance Friction. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Swatches today are one coat of Duri Rejuvacote, one coat of Sinful Colors Nail Hardener, two coats of Cyance Friction, and one coat of Seche Vite. Formula was good, and application went smoothly.

Nerdlacquer Cyance Friction. Indoors, direct sunlight light, no flash.

I purchased my bottle almost a year ago now from Nerdlacquer's website. Keep an eye on her Google+ page for restocks and updates!

Nerdlacquer Cyance Friction. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: OPI Don't Bossa Nova Me Around

Hello!

Another OPI polish is up on the blog today. This is Don't Bossa Nova Me Around from the Brazil Collection!

OPI Don't Bossa Nova Me Around. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Don't Bossa Nova Me Around is neutral creme polish. This one looks like a grayed-out pink to me. It was one of those polishes that I just had to have after I saw swatches of it. I love it!

OPI Don't Bossa Nova Me Around. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Swatches today are one coat of Duri Rejuvacote, one coat of Sinful Colors Nail Hardener, two coats of Don't Bossa Nova Me Around, and one coat of Seche Vite. I didn't have any issues with application.

OPI Don't Bossa Nova Me Around. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

For such a simple polish, the color is unique and lovely! I bought this bottle from Sally Beauty, where it is still for sale!

More soon! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: OPI Push and Shove

Hello!

Today I have OPI Push and Shove! Push and Shove is a super-metallic silver polish. It was from the Gwen Stefani Collection, and it comes with a special base coat called Lay Down That Base. Even with using that base coat, this polish only lasts about 24 hours.

OPI Push and Shove. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Swatches today are one coat of Lay Down That Base, two coats of Push and Shove, and one coat of Seche Vite (I think... I wore this sometime in March and didn't take notes...). I found this to be fairly easy to work with, but you do need to be careful with brush strokes.

OPI Push and Shove. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

The effect is crazy-metallic! It's almost mirror-like in that I can see blurry reflections in my nails. The trade-off for the awesome finish, however, is the wear time. This will start showing tipwear surprisingly soon, and in a day, be flaking off almost like the silver stuff on a scratch-off.

OPI Push and Shove. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I purchased my bottle on clearance at Sally Beauty, where I still saw a few bottles left on the clearance shelf about a week ago. It's a novelty polish, and definitely not for everyone, but if you're at all interested in it, I think you can probably still find it. I'm going to guess that this one might become one of those coveted, hard-to-find polishes some day.

OPI Push and Shove. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: Dollish Polish Have a Berry Good Day

Hello!

We're picking up right where we left off in March. This is Dollish Polish Have a Berry Good Day!

Dollish Polish Have a Berry Good Day. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Have a Berry Good Day is sweet mix of candy-colored glitter in a light pink base. I see strawberry pink, satin and matte hexes, squares, and flowers; pastel, satin pink squares; lime green hexes; tiny, pastel yellow and pink hexes; tiny, red hexes; and grass green shards. There is also a bit of pink shimmer in there as well.

Dollish Polish Have a Berry Good Day. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

This is two dabbed on coats over Revlon Pink Pineapple plus one coat of Gelous and one of Seche Vite. This polish had sparser coverage than I expected, and the glitters were a little reluctant to come out of the bottle. The dabbing method provided the best coverage.

Dollish Polish Have a Berry Good Day. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Have a Berry Good Day is cute and springy. I love the green shreds. They add the perfect touch to the overall look. I purchased my bottle some time ago from Llarowe. Unfortunately, it is no longer available. Sorry!

Dollish Polish Have a Berry Good Day. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon! ^_^