NOTW: Luminous!

Hello!

This week's nails are a simple combination of OPI Don't Touch My Tutu and AEngland She Walks In Beauty. These were beyond gorgeous and full of light. I adored this look, and I definitely stared admiringly at my own hands quite often this week.

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I feel like pictures don't do this justice - it looks very luminous and ethereal in person. I need to do swatches this weekend, but I don't want to take this polish off!

Indoors, artificial light, with flash.

I started with one coat each of Duri Rejuvacote and Sinful Colors Nail Hardener. Then, I used three coats of OPI Don't Touch My Tutu. My middle finger, ring finger, and thumb each got one coat of AEngland She Walks In Beauty. I finished this off with one coat of Seche Vite.

More soon! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: Elevation Polish Stay Behind, Catch a Wave

Hello!!

Today's polish is a glitter topper from Elevation Polish. This is Stay Behind, Catch a Wave!

Elevation Polish Stay Behind, Catch a Wave. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Stay Behind, Catch a Wave has super shiny blue circles in two sizes, smaller satin blue circles, and iridescent flecks and shimmer. The metallic glitters are incredibly shiny, so shiny, in fact, that three people commented on that when I wore this out and about in one day. It's certainly eye-catching!

Elevation Polish Stay Behind, Catch a Wave. Indoors, artificial light, no flash. Those glitters are so shiny, they're reflecting my camer'a red exterior.

Swatches today are just one swiped on coat of Stay Behind, Catch a Wave over yesterday's OPI Toucan Do It If You Try swatch. I used two coats of topcoat for a smooth finish. I had no problems with this polish. I think one swiped coat provides a good amount of glitter, and it was easy to apply.

Elevation Polish Stay Behind, Catch a Wave. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Unfortunately, this lovely polish has been discontinued. I purchased my bottle over a year ago from Elevation Polish.

Elevation Polish Stay Behind, Catch a Wave. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: OPI Toucan Do It If You Try

Hello!!

I have OPI Toucan Do It If You Try swatched for today!

OPI Toucan Do It If You Try. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Toucan Do It If You Try is a very orange-leaning, coral creme. It's simple and bright.

OPI Toucan Do It If You Try. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Swatches today are one coat of Sinful Colors Base Coat, two coats of Toucan Do It If You Try, and one coat of NYC topcoat. This polish is fantastic. It applies nicely and is very pigmented. I've used it for stamping, and it does well.

OPI Toucan Do It If You Try. Outdoors, sunlight, no flash.

I purchased my bottle from Sally Beauty.

OPI Toucan Do It If You Try. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: Powder Perfect Fading Tapestry

Hello!

Today's polish is another from Powder Perfect's Abandoned Mansion collection. This one is Fading Tapestry.

Powder Perfect Fading Tapestry. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Honestly, I wore this about a month ago, and I thought I'd posted it already. Guess not, so here it is!

Powder Perfect Fading Tapestry. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Fading Tapestry is a gorgeous red holo with gold flecks. It is saturated and bright. You can't really go wrong with this one any time of the year. It is beautiful!

Powder Perfect Fading Tapestry. Outdoors, sunlight, no flash.

Swatches today started with one coat of Duri Rejuvacote plus one coat of Sinful Colors nail hardener. Then, I used two coats of Fading Tapestry topped with one coat of Seche Vite. This went on really nicely, and I didn't have any problems with it at all.

Powder Perfect Fading Tapestry. Outdoors, sunlight, no flash.

Like yesterday's polish, I purchased this bottle from Harlow & Co. So pretty!!

Powder Perfect Fading Tapestry. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: Powder Perfect Widow's Walk

Hello!

Today's swatch is Powder Perfect Widow's Walk from the Abandoned Mansion collection.

Powder Perfect Widow's Walk. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Widow's Walk is a gorgeous, deep, saturated purple with holo shimmer. I was lemming this from the first swatch I saw!

Powder Perfect Widow's Walk. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Swatches today are one coat of Sinful Colors Base Coat, two coats of Widow's Walk, and one coat of NYC topcoat. Formula is nice on this polish. It glides on smoothly and covers evenly in two quick coats.

Powder Perfect Widow's Walk. Outdoors, sunlight, no flash.

Powder Perfect is an Australian indie brand, so it was a little hard for me to find. I tried a few places with no luck (they only ship within Australia from their Etsy site, and a U.S.-based retailer I'd never heard of had website issues every time I attempted to buy this polish so I eventually gave up there). I ended up purchasing this bottle in a little haul from Harlow & Co where it was still in stock at the time of publishing this post!

Powder Perfect Widow's Walk. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon! ^_^

Copycat NOTW: Turquoise Stone Nails

Hello!

This week, I was smacked in the face by this awesomeness from the Nailasaurus, and I absolutely had to try it out!

I started withbase coat - Duri Rejuvacote plus Sinful Colors Nail Hardener. Then, two coats of China Glaze For Audrey, one coat of Zoya Gilty, and one coat of Seche Vite. Once dry, I used this tutorial's method for the black marbling.

I had some trouble with this method. Frustratingly, when I tested this over a bare nail, it worked perfectly the first time. By the time I had the rest of the mani done and dry, something must've changed, and the rest of this did not go as smoothly. I couldn't get the polish to spread out in the water, and once I did (by switching to a cheaper, thinner black), then it wouldn't do anything when spritzed. I ended up settling on Sally Hansen Black Out for my polish and a sample perfume for my spritzer. My little nail polish corner got mighty smelly, and I'm not sure I ever want to smell that perfume again!

More soon! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: OPI Magazine Cover Mouse

Hello!

This is OPI Magazine Cover Mouse!

OPI Magazine Cover Mouse. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Magazine Cover Mouse is a saturated red texture polish with a heavy gold and pink shimmer. It's gorgeous! It does give off a Christmas-y feel though.

OPI Magazine Cover Mouse. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Swatches today started with one coat of Duri Rejuvacote and one coat of Sinful Colors Nail Hardener. After that, I applied two easy coats of Magazine Cover Mouse and was on my way. I had no problems with this polish, and one coat was almost enough.

OPI Magazine Cover Mouse. Indoors, natural light, no flash.

I found my bottle dusty-hunting at K-mart recently.

OPI Magazine Cover Mouse. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: Dance Legend Albion

Hello!

Today's polish is Dance Legend Albion from their Mist Way collection.

Dance Legend Mist Way. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Albion is a sheer grey crelly with small translucent, gold flakies. The flakies are subtle and perfect for this stormy polish.

Dance Legend Mist Way. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Swatches today are three coats of Albion over my base coat (Sinful Colors Base Coat) plus one coat of NYC topcoat. Formula on this is a little finicky. It is sheer and will drag and bald if not dry enough before you start on the next coat. You'll see that's what happened to me on my thumb. Also, take care to use a thin final coat so the flakies will show up well.

Dance Legend Mist Way, matte. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I purchased my bottle from Llarowe.

Dance Legend Mist Way. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: Salon Perfect Flower Power

Hello!

Today I have a pretty glitter topper from Salon Perfect to show you called Flower Power.

Salon Perfect Flower Power. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Flower Power is a pastel glitter topper in a clear base. The glitter includes satin pink and yellow circles with some smaller satin pink, yellow, and turquoise hexes. It's a cheery combination.

Salon Perfect Flower Power. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Swatches today are one-to-two coats of Flower Power over yesterday's Milani Cupid's Touch swatch (which ended up looking more true to color than yesterday's pictures -- that glitter must have helped my camera 'see' the color better) plus two coats of topcoat. The dabbing method worked the best for me with this polish. The glitters are a little reluctant to come out of the bottle, so dabbing helped me to control where the glitter went and evenly apply it.

Salon Perfect Flower Power. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

This created a super cute look. I'm excited to see a readily accessible brand offering a very reasonably priced glitter like this that feels like it came from an indie brand. Nice job, Salon Perfect!

Salon Perfect Flower Power. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I purchased my bottle at Walmart.

More soon! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: Milani Cupid's Touch

Hello!

Today I have Milani Cupid's Touch swatched up for you!

Milani Cupid's Touch. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Cupid's Touch is my ideal Radiant Orchid shade. It's exactly what I was expecting when I read about this year's Pantone Color of the Year nomination. That being said, my pictures turned out a bit more vibrant and more pink than this is in person. It is a more soft and muted shade.

Milani Cupid's Touch. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Swatches today started with Sinful Colors Base Coat, one coat of Cupid's Touch, and one coat of NYC In a New York Minute. This has an excellent formula, and I was able to get away with one careful coat of this beauty.

Milani Cupid's Touch. Indoors, natural light, no flash.

I purchased my bottle at K-mart.

Milani Cupid's Touch. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon! ^_^

NOTD: Green on Green

Hello!

Here's a quick mani I did in the middle of the week after I removed my Jamberry wear test mani.

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

After my base coat, I used three coats of Fing'rs Meet me in the Green Room, a bright green jelly, with one coat of Sally Hansen Galaxy Green over the top. I topped it off with one coat of Seche Vite. Bright and fun!

More soon! ^_^

Jamberry Thoughts

Hello again!

I've been a bit quiet here lately, which was partly due to my poor planning. I wanted to wear-test my Jamberry sample from this post, but I didn't think to swatch up enough polishes to post while I did so. Once I finally took that off, it was in the middle of the week, and I was too busy for swatching. Onward with the swatches next week, but for now here are some of my thoughts on Jamberry nail wraps.

I think these are a fun way to do a long-lasting mani in a hurry, but they're kind of expensive. Each packet is $15, and they offer a lot of very basic looks. I made sure to pick out very complicated art styles that I wouldn't be able to recreate using nail polish myself. I love how shiny these are on their own - they look like topcoated polish, as far as shine goes. I didn't put anything over mine, and they stayed shiny the entire time I had them on my nails.

Day 8. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I took this picture on Day 8. The wrap still looks pretty good, as does the polish. What you can't see well in the photo is that the polish was starting to crack and was about to chip, but eight days was really great wear on that too. I had mine on for well over a week, so they'll be great for my next vacation. I'm curious to know how they'd hold up on a beach vacation where they'll be in water a lot of the time.

I definitely feel like I need to make these last, so I will probably use them as accent nails, reserving an entire mani's worth for a special occasion. Overall, it's a nice system if they're your thing, but if you have a lot of polish and a little nail art skill, I think they're only a novelty at best and a waste at worst.

More soon! ^_^

Haul: August!

Hello!

August started off with Rainbow Honey's monthly Mystery Bag. This month's signature scent was Royal Fruits, which has a nice bright fruit smell at first then mellows down to a vanilla-esque warmth that I quite like. This bag came with a mini roller ball and large cuticle balm in the Royal Fruits scent; a nice-sized body spray in their fan-favorite scent, Summer Juice; and three mini-size polishes. The polishes are 488nm, a turquoise creme; Modern Hearts, a neon glitter topper; and a Royal Fruits scented topcoat.

Rainbow Honey August Mystery Bag.

My husband surprised me with a few things he found on clearance at Shopko - Studded Nail Art Kit from a brand I'd never noticed before (Fing'rs), Fingr's Heart 2 Art Meet me in the Green Room, and Sally Hansen Galactic Green. I picked up a pretty, pastel glitter polish from Salon Perfect at Walmart. And, lastly, my sister's friend became a Jamberry consultant, so I ordered a couple of packets to try - Lollipop Chevron and Cup of Tea.

Random August Loot!

Quiet around here this month! More soon! ^_^