Summer of Untrieds Post-Mortem

Posted on July 31, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

The Summer of Untrieds Challenge is now over, and I thought I’d present some final numbers and statistics to show how it turned out.

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from Wishes of a Blue-Eyed Girl

The objective of the challenge was to use at least one untried polish per day that fit the theme, which means that, at minimum, one would use 31 previously untried or unused polishes. I did not adhere to the challenge guidlines every single day; 17 out of the 31 manicures I did this month were done for the challenge. The others were previously scheduled regular posts. However, even on the days I didn’t follow the challenge, I still used one untried per day. I used 34 untried polishes total.

The following stats include all the manicures done in July:

Wacie Nail Company was the brand I used most often, and that’s because I have those posts scheduled each week. American Apparel and Ciate tied with four, and China Glaze had three.

Purple was the most frequently used color with six manicures. Green saw five, Silver and gray had four, red and pink each had three.

Some other numbers:
Glitter played a part in eight July manicures.
Four polishes were neons. Three were holos. Only one was crackle.
Dinner was late due to the challege about 50% of the time. Boyfriend was annoyed with me 100% of the time.
I would do this challenge again.

A big thanks, again, to Julie at Wishes of a Blue-Eyed Girl. I had so much fun trying out all these amazing polishes, some of which I forgot I even had. Thank you so much for creating this challenge; I hope you do another for fall!

Summer of Untrieds Day 31: Metallic

Posted on July 31, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

It’s the final day of the Summer of Untrieds Challenge! I cannot believe I’ve actually painted my nails for 31 straight days. On this final day, the theme du jour is metallic, and I went with Essie’s No Place Like Chrome. I’m wearing three coats without top coat.

No Place Like Chrome is a metallic silver polish that dries to a matte mirror-like finish. From the first coat, it goes on smooth and opaque, but sometimes it seems to pull away from itself, leaving holes in the coverage. This is easily remedied by a second coat. Other issues with application include bumps, brush strokes, and visible ridges or nail imperfections. It’s totally possible that these problems are in my application and not part of the polish itself. Despite everything, though, I really love of the look of this. I feel a little like a robot.

I fell in love with the Essie Mirror Metallics line quite some time ago, when I wore Penny Talk for the first time. I went out and bought them all after that. So far, though, these are the only two I’ve worn.

I didn’t really need to take pictures of this in the sun, because you can already see how shiny it is. Just look at it, though. Look. Shiny.

And there you have it: 31 days of untried polishes. Here’s a quick shout-out to Julie at Wishes of a Blue-Eyed Girl for devising this insanely fun, weirdly useful challenge, and awesome job to everyone who took part. For more photos of the challenge, check Instagram hashtags #summerofuntrieds and #julyuntriedschallenge. There’s a nerdy stats post coming up, so stay tuned!

Wacie Wednesday: Maneater

Posted on July 30, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

For Wacie Wednesday this week, I’m wearing a little polish called Maneater. I was trying to get a sultry red with a strong gold shimmer; I didn’t quite get there, but I love the result regardless. I’m wearing three coats of it with one coat of Seche Vite.

Maneater is awesome, if I may say so. It applies super-easily, dries quickly, and achieves a rich opacity in two coats. The only drawback for me is that it dries a bit matte. Top coat is definitely necessary for this one, because the shimmer doesn’t shimmer without it.

It’s no secret that I love red polish. My desert-island polish would probably be a red creme. I made this knowing that my eventual Wacie Nail Company lineup would need a good solid red polish. As I said, it’s not quite what I wanted; the shimmer is much too subtle. However, I’m happy with it. It’s still sexy, bold, and confident, as red polish should be.

Outdoors, direct sun. The shimmer looks great here.

I’ve actually been on a red streak in the workshop, too. I’ve got tons of red prototypes I can’t wait to show you guys.

Summer of Untrieds Day 29: Rainbow Honey (Not)

Posted on July 29, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

Day 29 of the Summer of Untrieds Challenge calls for Rainbow Honey, but unfortunately, I don’t have any Rainbow Honey polishes. I know, I’m totally missing out. I would die for their Summer of 199X collection. To fulfill the requirement for the challenge, I chose both a polish and a brand I’ve never tried before. This is Beige Shimmer from Clarins, and I found this in a thrift store for a dollar. I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite.

Beige Shimmer is a sheer pale yellow creme. It has a very thin consistency; it’s not at all viscous, and it doesn’t cling to the bottle like polish normally does. Take a look at the bottle shots, you can definitely get a feel for how thin it is. It sloshes around in the bottle like water. Naturally, a polish like this can never achieve opacity, so I didn’t try. I knew what I was getting.

I pride myself on being able to pull off any color; there isn’t much that doesn’t look good on me. This, though, I don’t think it’s working for me. I don’t know if adding a white tip and making it a French would have improved it any, or if it’s just way too yellow for my skin tone, but I’m not quite feeling this.

At least I only paid a dollar for it.

Manicure Monday: Opulent Gold and Crimson

Posted on July 28, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

Manicure Monday is awesome this week! I have on two great polishes, a unique red and a real gold flake top coat. It’s bold, warm, and opulent. For this look, I used three coats of Julep’s Nan, two coats of Zoya’s Gilty 18k top coat, and one coat of Seche Vite.

Nan is an interesting color for sure. It’s a soft, faded crimson creme that reminds me of old fire hydrants and flaky paint. Application was pretty nice for a Julep polish; I usually have coverage issues on the first couple of coats, but this one covered pretty well on the first go. It dries with a smooth, shiny finish. This is a softer color than I like to wear, but I don’t think I have another color quite like this one, and I like that.

I love gold top coats. Gilty gives any polish luxury and shine. I wish there was just a little more gold floating in my bottle, because I got fewer flakes than I wanted, which is why I used two coats. In any case, it makes for a fantastic look, and is amazing over a warm red like this one. And what’s better than looking at these gold flakes shimmer in the sun? Nothing. Maybe pizza.

I have to take this off tomorrow. I’m totally going to do this manicure again when July is over.

Summer of Untrieds Day 27: Matte

Posted on July 27, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

We’re nearing the end of the Summer of Untrieds! Today’s theme is matte, so I went with Ciate’s Chalkboard Paint from the Chalkboard Manicure set. I’m wearing three coats of it with no top coat.

Chalkboard Paint is a matte black creme. I had some issues applying it; in some places, it cracked, showing my bare nail underneath, like a crackle polish. Check out my thumb nail, that’s where it’s the most apparent. It’s also unforgiving; I tried to cover the cracks, but they just show through the second coat. However, it does dry very matte. It has no shine whatsoever, so it has that going for it, which is nice.

The Chalkboard Manicure set also come with four chalk pens for nail art, so I got them out and doodled out a rough vintage roses design. Really rough.

Swatch Saturday: American Apparel’s Andromeda

Posted on July 26, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

It’s Swatch Saturday, and I’m wearing the last American Apparel polish I bought on vacation. It’s the only one of them that isn’t a neon. This is Andromeda, and I’m wearing three coats of it with one coat of Seche Vite.

Andromeda is a pretty unique polish; it’s a thin lavender jelly laden with metallic turquoise and iridescent purple glitter shreds. It’s like a purple counterpart to Sinful Colors’s Green Ocean. I decided to wear this polish alone because I wanted to see how opaque the jelly base would get. It’s still quite sheer, and my nail line is still visible, but the glitter covers the nail well.

Unfortunately, application with Andromeda is not easy. The lacquer consistency is very thick and takes quite a while to dry, even with quick-dry top coat. The glitters tend to stick together and clump on the nail, leaving thick bulges in the polish. Also, it doesn’t always sit flat on the nail, so even with top coat, there’s still glitter that sticks up and keeps the polish from being smooth to the touch. It’s beautiful, so I think it’s worth putting up with.

Outdoors, sunset

There you have it: I’m done with American Apparel polishes for a while, and I’m going to start up my weekly Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer swatches. I’ve missed them.

Summer of Untrieds Day 25: Zoya

Posted on July 25, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

Zoya is the name of the game for the challenge today, so I’m wearing my first-ever Zoya, Odilia. I got this in a swap from someone who didn’t like it. Here it is at three coats with one coat of Seche Vite.

Odilia (spelled Odeilia on the Zoya site for some reason) is a reddish-copper shimmer. It’s a soft color reminiscent of autumn leaves, pumpkin spice, etc. It’s a softer red than I like to wear, but it’s quite pretty in its own right. I’m neutral to this polish. I don’t love it, but I don’t hate it either. I can see why my friend wanted to get rid of it.

Application with this polish was smooth and easy; I had no problems whatever with it. It’s a bit on the sheer side, and so my tips didn’t get covered well. I don’t know whether to blame the polish or myself for that. Apart from that, I got really nice coverage with it. It was very nice to work with.

Outdoors, full sun

There are six more days of this challenge. I can’t wait!

Summer of Untrieds Day 24: Holographic

Posted on July 24, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

Holographic polish is today’s Summer of Untrieds theme, and I’m visiting one of my first holo polishes, China Glaze’s Cosmic Dust. This might even be my first-ever, I’m not sure. After putting it on, though, I regret not buying more than this one. I’m wearing three coats of Cosmic Dust with one coat of Seche Vite.

Cosmic Dust is an intriguing color. The holo rainbow effect is pretty strong, even indoors. In the studio it’s a bit faint, but in my office and other parts of the house, it’s quite obvious. When it’s not, Cosmic Dust is a futuristic steel gray. It’s always sleek and smooth.

In the sunshine, though, oh mama. This is blinding! I just stood outside and admired my nails for a good five minutes before I took any pictures. I kept hearing how disappointing these China Glaze holos were, so I wasn’t expecting much from this. I am completely blown away. This could be the best holo I’ve ever worn yet.

I have to take this off tomorrow. I don’t want to.

Wacie Wednesday: Euphorica

Posted on July 23, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

I am so excited to show you this week’s Wacie Wednesday! This is a momentous occasion, for I am showing you the first-ever Wacie Nail Company holo! This is Euphorica; I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite.

Euphorica is an ocean blue scattered holo. Unfortunately, the holo effect isn’t very strong indoors. This one has a rather delicate holo, and often the indoor lights will make the holo particles appear silver instead of presenting the usual rainbow effect. It’s still pretty though, it just looks like a shimmery icy blue. It’s still beautiful indoors, even without the holo.

In the sunshine is where this polish really shines (pun intended). My camera could not capture all the holo goodness.

This is such a perfect color for summer; it reminds me of the sky before the Florida summer storm clouds set in, the light playing in the water of a swimming pool, the shore on a foreign beach. I seriously cannot stop staring at these.

I’m totally a holo addict now. I see myself making a ton more like this.

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Monthly Archives: July 2014