Sunday, July 31, 2011

One Less Lonely Glitter with Shatter Accent

Today I used Nicole by OPI- One Less Lonely Glitter and an accent of OPI White Shatter.
This glitter is part of the Justin Bieber collaboration with Nicole by OPI. Everyone criticizes Justin Bieber for coming out with a line of nail polish, but it was actually a genius marketing move. Now he has perfume too! I will not be buying that though.

Here it is with the flash. There were small particles of glitter with larger ones. The consistency of this glitter was the purple equivalent of Orly's Here Comes Trouble. I'm glad I just decided to do the accent finger with the white shatter, because it covers up too much of the glitter. Glitters do look interesting under shatters though.

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Del Sol Heartbreaker

I cut my nails yesterday. They were long to the point where I couldn't stand it. Long nails look awesome on a lot of people, but I don't like the way they look on me at all. I always get them caught on things too. I put on Del Sol Heartbreaker. Del Sol polishes change color in the sun. I thought it would be neat because we've had some very hot, sunny weather lately.

This was a little difficult to capture. This color is supposed to turn purple in the sun. Unfortunately, we had thunderstorms today, so I wasn't able to get a color-changing picture. The name Heartbreaker reminds me of the Pat Benetar song.

Here it is without the flash. This is a really pretty red glitter. It kind of reminds me of China Glaze Ruby Pumps.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Blue and Fuchsia

It is my 23rd birthday today, so I decided to do something festive. Actually my boyfriend picked out the combination.

I layered Funky Fingers Fuchsia Scales over China Glaze Dorothy Who. I just LOVE the way these Funky Fingers polishes crackle! The blue looks really pretty peeking through. I used three coats of Dorothy Who, but I probably only should have done two because the crackle covers up so much of it.

Without the flash. At first glance, it almost looks purple. I have a feeling that the Fuchsia Scales will look much different over a lighter color, such as a pale pink. I am really enjoying this combination though!

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Zoya Mira with Crackle Accent

I have had this one for a while and had yet to try it:

I expected this to look a little bit more blue-toned, but it still looks okay on my skin tone. It was terrible to apply, and I've never had so much trouble applying a Zoya before. I think it was because I don't have AC and my apartment is blazing hot. The polish would get all sticky before I could even finish a coat! My Seche Vite has been bubbly too.. I think I thinned it too much and it's time to get a new bottle, or it may just be due to the heat. I'm thinking of investing in the professional size of SV because it's such a good deal. I also decided to do an accent nail of Funky Fingers- Black Scales

Without the flash. I'm glad I didn't do all the fingers in Black Scales because these two colors aren't contrasting enough. I already have the OPI and China Glaze crackles/shatters, but I picked up the Funky Fingers also because it was so inexpensive and the cracking effect looks slightly different to me. It seems to crack more.

Friday, July 22, 2011

Grey and Glitter

Today I decided to layer one of my new Kleancolors over something. I chose Sally Hansen- Grey by Grey and Kleancolor Starry Blue

This has a ton of air bubbles due to the Seche Vite. It was difficult to get the glitter out and evenly dispersed. I really like how this turned out!

Without the flash

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Kleancolor Haul!

Eventually I plan to post pictures up of my whole collection, but until I can do that, I'll be posting my hauls as I get them. http://beautyjoint.com  has Kleancolor nail lacquer for $1.75. I jumped at this opportunity! The only catch is that you have to pay an additional $1.00 processing fee per bottle and when I checked out it was mandatory to get Priority shipping, so it was additional $10.00. It probably just came to the same price if I would have ordered from the Kleancolor website. I chose some unique ones:

Top: Chunky Holo Bluebell, Chunky Holo Fuschia, Chunky Holo Black, Chunky Copper, Fashion Bug-Green
Bottom: Born to the Purple, Blue- Eyed Girl, Afternoon Picnic, Blind Date, Starry Blue

I picked up the Fashion Bug-Green on impulse when I went there to buy jewelry. The name is so original. It's hard to see, but it flashes blue and it has glitter particles in it.

Here's a much better picture of Chunky Holo Black. It's a rainbow in a bottle. The glitter flashes green and orange. I can't wait to layer this!

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

OPI Gliterally the Best Silver Ever and some past water marbles

Today I chose to use one of the ULTA OPI summer collection exclusives. This one is called Glitterally the Best Silver Ever.
 
This is a very unique polish in my collection. I have heard that the Nicole by OPI Gossip Girl collection pretty much has identical shades to the ULTA OPI Summer collection, but I don't own any of them. This is three coats. The base is a really sheer silver so I needed three to completely cover up the nail. This was VERY hard to photograph without just looking gray. The photos don't do it justice. I have a feeling that I will be using foil and acetone to remove this one. Every time I use glitters, no matter how much I clean up, I always end up with random pieces of glitter on my hands.
No flash


A reader asked if I have ever tried water marbling. I have twice and unfortunately both times were before I had a decent camera, so these are iPhone pictures.

First attempt MESSY MESSY MESSY. The thumb was the one that turned out the best, and of course you can barely see it.

I did this one when the Steelers went to the Superbowl. This one was amazing and I didn't want to take it off. My second attempt was much better than the first. Perhaps when I have more time, I'll work on perfecting it.

I am thinking about doing a small giveaway when I reach 50 followers *hint hint*. It won't be anything too lavish, since I am unemployed and spend more money than I probably should on nail polish. I'll figure out what it will be when I get closer to that number of followers, so refer your friends!

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Teal and Glitter

I loved my last mani so much, I decided to do another creme color with glitter on top. I chose Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Fairy Teal and put ULTA Pinata-Yada-Yada on top of it.
This reminds me of a more green version of Zoya Breezi. It went on in two coats and then I put one coat of the ULTA Pinata-Yada-Yada on top.

Without the flash, you can see more of the green hue in this polish. I just love oversized glitter! Especially ones with different colors/sizes!

Thursday, July 14, 2011

ULTA Bam-Blue-Zled and China Glaze Dollhouse

Today I layered China Glaze Dollhouse over ULTA Bam-Blue-Zled. Here it is with the flash: 
This looks so much lighter than it actually is. The ULTA color was kind if thick but it went on easily with two coats. I wasn't expecting it to be opaque in two coats. It's a very pretty periwinkle color.

Here it is without the flash. This is so much more accurate. I love how the big pink glitter looks like polka dots. The hardest part was getting the glitter to be evenly dispersed.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Haul and Zoya Apple

I picked up a medium-sized haul today at Walgreens. This is what happens when I go there just to buy shampoo and foundation. Oops!
Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicures: Fairy Teal and Grey by Grey, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wears: Strobe Light and Going Green; Wet n Wild FastDry: Buffy the Violet Slayer (NEEDED this for the name), SaGreena the Teenage Witch, and Hannah Pinktana. And I also picked up one of the Pure Ice Crackles. It looks like a light lime green. I have been lemming a green crackle for a while. I was pleased to find Sally Hansen Grey by Grey. I've been searching for it for a while, and was almost going to order it off of the internet. Luckily I found it hiding behind the new summer shades!

I really like Zoya Apple. This is from their recent Sunshine collection. I love green polishes, and this one is a little bit more light and toned-down Ivanka.

I think it looks cooler without the flash!

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Essie Hard to get

In one of  my earlier posts, I realized that I had two different versions of Essie Hard to get: http://thenailpolishrehabcandidate.blogspot.com/2011/06/two-versions-of-essie-hard-to-get.html

I decided to wear the pinker looking one. I don't really own a lot of pinks but I stocked up when Trade Secret had $2 Essies. OPI Sparrow me the Drama is kind of similar to this, but I haven't seen a comparison of the two. This one was definitely harder to get opaque. It needed three coats. Pinks are gradually growing on me though!

Friday, July 8, 2011

Green and Turquoise

I've been wearing a lot of shatter lately. My boyfriend always picks out combinations with shatter! Also today I was shopping at the grocery store and I found the OPI turquoise shatter there. It was the last one that I had yet to find.
I put the shatter over OPI Who the Shrek are You? and it looked AMAZING!

Here it is with the flash. You can really see the turquoise. I also cut my index finger while unloading groceries. I'm clumsy :(

Without the flash. The turquoise almost looks like a dark green. This picture is more accurate to how it really looks since my apartment is kind of dim. I hope they make a green shatter soon!

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

some bling with two unnamed polishes

I was sad to take off the Electra Magenta, but I had to take down a bulletin board display today. Pulling off staples caused it to chip :(  I picked two unnamed polishes to do a layering combo today:

A sheer green glitter from Forever 21 and a mini purple Sally Hansen without a name
I used two coats of purple and put two coats of glitter on top of it and topped it off with Seche Vite. I took a few pictures because this one was rather difficult to capture.

UPDATE: I found out that the mini Sally Hansen is named Purple Potion. The label just fell off of it. The poor Forever 21 one never had a name though :(

With the flash, this doesn't look accurate at all. The flash picks more of the blue tones up in the purple and you can't really see the glitter at all.

Now you can see the glitter more accurately, but the purple looks too red.

Here's a blurry picture to show the glitter.

This was the most accurate picture that I could get of the purple. The pictures do not do this combination justice.


Tuesday, July 5, 2011

China Glaze Electra Magenta


I decided to go with a holo today!

This is China Glaze Electra Magenta from the Tronica collection. I really wish I got every one from this collection because they're pretty hard to find now for the original price. I think I bought around six of them. I LOVE holos! Originally I was thinking about putting a crackle/shatter over this, but figured that would overpower the holo goodness. I have to study for a math midterm tonight, so I didn't have too much time to clean up around the cuticles, but this color is so gorgeous! WOW!

Also, I'd like to say that I appreciate all of the recent followers! I'm happy to share my hobby with everyone and I'm glad that people are reading :)

Monday, July 4, 2011

Zoya Savita

Well, since the holiday is over, I used Zoya Savita.

I always feel like I'm so sloppy when I wear mattes. I found that loading the brush up more than with a regular polish works well; the trick is making sure it's not TOO much. If there's too little on the brush, then it just ends up drying fast and getting streaky. I love the look and feel of mattes.

Wedding Reception Mani Plus 4th of July Mani!

My boyfriend and I went to his cousin's wedding reception. I wore a yellow and black dress, so I wanted something bright to pair with it. I chose Essie-Status Symbol

This reminds me of Barbie pink.

Coincidentally, my boyfriend's grandmother was wearing a similar shade of pink. She was being mischievous and eating the chocolates in the favor bags!

4th of July Mani: Alternating fingers with white shatter on red and red shatter on white with an accent of Navy and some glittery bling. The shades used were all OPI: Alpine Snow, Big Apple Red, White and Red Shatter, Russian Navy, and Servin' up Sparkle.

The right hand. I love the alternating looks with the shatter!

Friday, July 1, 2011

Some Forever 21 Nail Polish Swatches

Today I went to Forever 21 to buy a dress for a wedding that I have to go to. Of course, I stumbled upon the nail polish. The prices ranged from $1.80-$2.80, so I bought seven of them! I figured that I would swatch them because I haven't had too much luck finding swatches of these online. None of them have unique names either.

Here is the haul picture:

Don't you just love those rose petal-shaped bottles? They were so adorable I just couldn't resist! On to the swatches. Also, I apologize that my nails look really stained/dirty from wearing a lot of reds lately. The stains have gotten progressively worse the more I swatched. The rose shaped bottles were also really awkward to hold. The middle finger has 3 coats, ring has 2, and the pinky has one. I found that the majority of these colors are probably better for layering over darker polishes. I also didn't use any base or top coat when swatching these.
This didn't have a name but it has a really sheer green base with different sizes of glitter.

This one looked so much darker in the bottle than it actually it. It's a sheer gray jelly with holographic glitter. You can even see that 3 coats of this is probably not enough. This probably needs four or five.

This one was more pigmented than the other two rose petal polishes but I still think it may have needed more than three coats. This one was really pretty and packed with glitter!

This one was named "light green". I knew the green wouldn't show up, but I picked it up because of the flakies. Flakies are so difficult to capture in photos! This would probably be ideal to layer over a darker color or an existing mani to give it something extra.

Without the flash, you can see the shimmer in the base.

This one was called "clear". I think it is more than clear. The formula was very think and it reminded me immediately of Essence-Space Queen. I would like to try this over a darker color.

Without the flash

This one was called "gold". I really enjoy the bar glitter in it. The yellowy/gold base makes my fingers look dirty, so I would want to wear this over a darker color. It was very difficult to evenly distribute the glitter.

Without the flash

This was called "teal/black". In one coat, it's like a sheer dark gray. Some people could probably get away with wearing two coats of this, but I did three just to make it completely evened out. It looks more black than teal though.

Without the flash. That one with one coat looks so gross haha