Dino Spots!

I have recently returned from a trip to Indiana where Amanda and I got to spend 5 days together including a fun pool party at a family member's house for the 4th of July.  I got a fabulous haircut from my cousin, Marcia; and she was kind enough to send me a care package of some high end hair products in the mail last night.  So here's a shoutout to my awesome cuz!

I picked up Zoya Trixie several weeks ago at Ulta and have been wanting to use it since then but couldn't figure out what I wanted to do with it.  So as I was looking through my folder of nail stamps last night my eyes fell upon the dino spots design and I thought the contrast of black spots would look good with the silver polish.

As Amanda and I sat down to do our nails together over Skype, I highlighted a few of the spots with Zoya Charisma and Studio M neon green.  I'm wondering if I should have just left the spots all black.  Neons are notoriously sheer and I knew it would take more than one coat to cover the black.   It's kinda cool looking though - looks like nail stickers!

Trixie went on just beautifully.  Zoya rarely lets me down in the quality of their product.  I used two smooth coats here then waited for it to dry before stamping with Konad special polish in black and plate BM211. 

Tonight I'm off to the beach to a sand sculpting festival.  I hope to have picture for you by early next week!

A french affair with cocktails

I was intrigued when I saw the pic floating around Pinterest of the cocktail mani.  Presumably, the concept is that the thumb and first two fingers of your dominant hand are accented so the bling is visible when you hold your wine glass. 

So here's my take on it.  I wanted something bright and fresh for summer so I settled on pink.  The base color is Essie French Affair, which is a cool toned pink.  It went on surprisingly well considering I have so many application issues with Essie polishes.  This is two coats.  On top I layered two of my favorite glitterbombs.  First was Funky Fingers Sand & Stilettos.  S&S is a silver holographic glitter but I'm convinced it leans pink.  You can also substitute Studio M or Color Club Magic Attraction (which is the same polish).  Then on top I added OPI Teenage Dream which we all know is a pink base loaded with lots of holographic glitter.

What do you think of the "cocktail mani"?  My B/F's mom says she thinks it looks like I forgot to paint 2 of my fingernails.   Love it or leave it?

Studio M Nouveau Vintage

I picked this bottle up at a recent trip to Meijer.  I've seen some people swatching it and liked the uniqueness of the color.  As you may (or may not) know, Studio M is marketed by the same company that produces Color Club polishes, hence the identical name and color. 

So, anyway - I thought it looked unique.  But as you'll see in the comparison shots below - it's not really that unique at all! :)

You can't really tell by looking at the bottle or nail pictures, but Nouveau Vintage is actually gold and greenish glitter in a RED base.  Check out the neck of the bottle while you're applying it, you will see the hint of red.  You can't see the red base once it dries.  I think I applied 2 coats and coverage was good.  It's a nice antique brass-y looking shimmer and a good fall color. 

Now, on to the comparison photos.  I compared this color with others from my stash.  

Left to Right Studio M Nouveau Vintage, Nina Ultra Pro Mossy Britches, Revlon Insta Dri Bronze Ablaze and Butter London Wallis.  The closest match is the Sally Hansen Bronze Ablaze.  Mossy Britches and Wallis have a lot more olive in them with Wallis being more shimmery than the other swatches.  Can you see the hint of red in this comparison shot?

Nouveau Vintage, Mossy Britches

Bronze Ablaze, Wallis

So my final verdict is that if you already have one of the other shades pictured, you can pass on this color.  They are not dupes, but close enough that only another nail blogger could see any difference in color among them.

Cheers!

Robotic Neon Polka Dots

Hello ladies!
 

Today I have something super fun to show you guys. I saw this post by Deniz at Emerald Sparkled a while ago, and LOVED it! I just knew I had to try it.

I started off with two coats of China Glaze Cheers To You from their holiday 2010 collection. This is a perfect metallic silver foil. It applied wonderfully! I don't have many foils but I can live with just this one because it's just that good.

Then I used a dotting tool and made neon polka dots all over. The whole process was really simple but overall I'm really liking how this one looks. It might even stay on longer than two days! ;)

 

What do you all think? It's a little summery but I'm loving it!!

Retro neon stained glass

I used a base of Zoya Purity for this mani.  Purity is a really well pigmented white creme - it goes on smooth, it covers well and it dries relatively fast.

I took tiny bits of a cellulose sponge and sponged on various neon colors for the stained glass.  The colors I used were Studio M Neon Pink and Neon Greenlight, Sinful Colors Dream On (purple), and China Glaze Yellow Polka Dot Bikini and Sun Worshipper (orange). 
When the colors were dry I stamped over the top with Konad Special Black and BM plate 208.

I used a retro 60's style headband for my inspiration.  Groovy baby!

My mother would have referred to this as "loud".  Amanda called it "Fun!"  What do you think?

Eyegasm: Zoya Jacy + Studio M Purple Medallion

I'M IN LOVE I'M IN LOVE AND I DON'T CARE WHO KNOWS!!

I started with two coats of Zoya Jacy. This is a boooootiful color -- definitely one of my absolute favorites. It's a purpley berry color that applies wonderfully (as if you could expect any less from Zoya..).

Then I applied Studio M Purple Medallion. This puppy is perfection, seriously. It's a scattered holo glitter in a burgundy purple-ish base. It's GORGEOUS!! I really tried to capture the holo goodness but it was a bit cloudy today so I had to take the small amount of sun I could get.

 

I'm in love with this. I've had this polish for a long time and have never gotten around to using it. WHY OH WHY DID I WAIT SO LONG?!

omgomgomgomgomgomgomg

Studio M is very dense and a top coat sucker upper, so if you like your glitter bomb nails smooth you will want to do a couple coats of top coat. The grittiness doesn't bother me, so I only did one.

This one might actually stay on longer than a day! :)

Take care,

Amanda

Three days left to enter our giveaway!!

Orly Lunar Eclipse Cosmic Leopard

I've been really uninspired for my manis lately - partly because I haven't been feeling well.  But I think I like this one.

This is 3 coats of Orly Lunar Eclipse from their Cosmic FX collection.  The bottle color is a deep indigo blue/violet with very subtle blue and pink sparkle.  The color translates pretty accurately to the nail.  It went on very smooth, leveled well and I did not have any issues with dry time.

Once it was dry I stamped over it with the Konad leopard plate using Sally Hansen Silver Sweep and filled in the dots with Studio M Frenzy.  Here is the finished mani.

Oh, and one more thing - GO BRUINS!  :-)

Orly Haley's Comet and Studio M Covered in Diamonds

This mani was inspired by one that Siobhan posted over at The Nailphile.  When I saw her flakies over an aqua shimmer polish I had to try it.

This is 2-3 coats of Orly Haley's Comet.  It's a bright aqua shimmer with tiny aqua glitter particles.  The pictures don't really do it justice - its a very vibrant aqua that sparkles when it catches the light.  The application was very smooth and dried fast and bubble free.  I do like the rubberized brush a lot on the Orly polishes - it makes it easy to hold on to.

After it was dry I added a coat of Studio M Covered in Diamonds.  Covered in Diamonds is a multicolored flakie with fairly large particles.  You have to be mindful of any flakes that might be overhanging the free edge of your nail while the polish is wet.  I just push them back with an orange stick.

I think the finished product is reminiscent of a mermaid's tail the way the flakes simulate scales.  Incidentally - has anyone seen Pirates of the Caribbean - On Stranger Tides?  Those mermaids are definately NOT warm and fuzzy.

Summer Butterflies

This is a manicure I've wanted to do for a long time.  I've seen the idea on both Lacquerized's blog and Cutepolish's youtube channel.  I thought I could free hand it myself; but alas - I had to enlist Amanda's help.  She did a beautiful job with the painting.  When I type it looks like butterflies flitting over the keyboard.  I love this mani so much.

Orly - It's Up To Blue (thumb), Sally Hansen - Amazing Blaze (index), Studio M - Frenzy (middle), Sinful Colors - Courtney Orange (ring), Orly - Hook Up (pinky), KISS black striper for the black wing accents and Pure Ice Superstar for the dots.

LOVE.   LOVE.   And so much win!

Editor's note - The Orly Hook Up really stained my nails.

OPI DS Originals Coronation

Ok, I've wanted a polish in this collection for a long time but put it off because they are so expensive.  I finally decided to pick one up the other day and I chose the silver holo - Coronation. 

Like all OPI polishes it went on smooth and flawlessly and dried fast.  I needed 4 actual coats to achieve opacity..  And it's pretty - but I was disappointed in the holo-y-ness of it.  It really only showed as a holo if direct sunlight hit it, otherwise it masqueraded as a silver micro glitter.  So, I did the unthinkable.  I applied a $2 drugstore brand over the top and got the BLING! that I was looking for.   I know - a profanity, right?

Here are the pics of Coronation

And here is what it looked like when I put Studio M Magic Attraction over the top

Below pictures are intentionally blurry to show the holo effect.

Studio M Neon Pink

I used this polish last week for a french manicure and liked it so much I decided to do a full mani with it. I'm also using this color for my pedicure :)

What you see is what you get with this polish. The nail color is true to the bottle color. It covers well in one coat but you'll probably want to use 2 to get the color evened out. I think I actually ended up using 3 for complete saturation but I could have gotten away with 2 if I didn't mind VNL. As always, it's hard to photograph neon polishes. This pink is an eyeball blistering neon pink and I just love it. It's becoming one of my favorite polishes.

On day, 2 I konaded over it with Pure Ice Super Star and Konad M45. I'm still a noob at Konad but getting a smidge better at alignment.