Monthly Archives: May 2015

Manicure Monday: Wanna Be Your Boyfriend

Posted on by

Happy Monday night! After a long day and a busy weekend, I’m finally getting around to sharing some new manicures. For this installment of Manicure Monday, I’m wearing Wanna Be Your Boyfriend from Model City Polish. I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Rica‘s Glossy Glam top coat.

IMG_81842

IMG_81882

Wanna Be Your Boyfriend is a black jelly polish with blue metallic dot and fine teal holographic hex glitters. Application was pretty standard for a glitter jelly polish: it was thin on the first coat, but the other two coats evened out the opacity and created a beautiful dimensional layered effect with the glitter. Drying times were good, and the jelly dries with a glossy finish, though also with a texture from all the glitter. I used a top coat to smooth it out as well as make it extra shiny.

IMG_81932

IMG_82042

So uh, I love The Ramones. In the summer of 2013, I was first discovering indie polish, and when I saw Model City had a little Ramones collection, I was all over it. At the time, these three polishes were unique little gems in my collection, and the fact that they were named after some of my favorite songs were a total bonus. It’s been almost two years since I bought this polish, and even though it’s simple, it’s still special to me and I still don’t have anything quite like it.

IMG_82082

IMG_82132

I wanted a little extra punk, so I got the studs out. I actually ordered some real metal spike charms to put on; they were set to arrive today but didn’t. I had to get the lame-o Claire’s studs out instead. They’re plastic with silver paint, and you can see that the paint is coming off the points. One of the studs on my right hand is entirely black by now. Oh well, I still think it’s cool.

Wanna Be Your Boyfriend has been discontinued by Model City, but you can find their other polishes in their etsy shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Manicure Monday: Brown and Color

Posted on by

Another week, another Manicure Monday! Today’s mani is interesting — to me — because both of the polishes I used are ones I’ve used before. Since I have well over 1,100 bottles of nail polish, it’s rare for me to go a Monday without using something new. LA Colors’s Twisted Affair and Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s Prototype PFCS 1.0 have been featured on the blog, but not together. I love how well they pair! I’m wearing two coats of Twisted Affair and one generous coat of PCFS 1.0 on my accent nails, all with one coat of Rica‘s Glossy Glam top coat. Also, to explain the exposed tip on my middle nail, an emergency occurred that required me to don a pair of gloves right after finishing the manicure. Thankfully all the other nails escaped unscathed.

IMG_80572

IMG_80662

So yes, the manicure. Twisted Affair is a color I like a lot, even though it’s a bit odd. In the bottle it looks like a cool milk chocolate, but in certain lighting conditions t looks bruised and sickly. I don’t mind that it’s occasionally ugly, but when it does, it needs a little help. This is why I chose PCFS 1.0 as the accent; it’s just so complex and colorful. I love looks that are colorful and neutral simultaneously.

IMG_80722

IMG_80772

Twisted Affair applies easily and with good color: I expected it to be streaky and thin until the third coat, but I got full opacity in just two. The drying times were nice as well; I definitely bumped a nail on my desk a couple of minutes after I finished painting it and it didn’t dent or smudge. PFCS 1.0 took a little more work; I had to let the bottle sit upside-down for a while to get all the sunken glitters out, and really went at it to get good coverage. This manicure looks exactly as I imagined it would, but I am a little upset by the one that got messed up.

IMG_80842

IMG_80852

Twisted Affair and other LA Colors polishes are available all over the place; I got mine from Dollar General. Prototype PCFS 1.0 was a one-off and is not available, but other Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquers can be purchased from their shop.

I bought these polishes myself.

Swatch Sunday: Hard Candy’s So-So Sequin

Posted on by

Here comes Swatch Sunday! I’m wearing another polish I bought while I was on vacation last year. This is Hard Candy’s So-So Sequin; I’m wearing three coats with two coats of Rica‘s Glossy Glam top coat. All photos are taken outdoors in direct sunlight.

IMG_80052

IMG_80112

IMG_80122

IMG_80202

So-So Sequin is a full-coverage glitter polish with fine lilac holographic hex and larger metallic teal hex glitters. The glitter is pretty dense, so I don’t recommend it as a topper. Because it’s so dense, the consistency of the lacquer is thick and was difficult to apply to my smaller nails. The coverage is pretty even, as is the glitter distribution; both glitters brush on easily with no fuss. The drying times were fantastic, and it did dry with a gritty texture, which is why I used two coats of top coat. Even then, it wasn’t entirely smooth, but it did help quite a lot.

IMG_80252

IMG_80272

Story time: Like with last week’s story about Greed, I forgot a lot of stuff when I went on vacation last year, and while I was buying the essentials, I was also buying nail polish. This purchase happened on the second day of the trip; we were driving through some forgettable small town in North Carolina, and we passed by a Wal-Mart. I never go to Wal-Mart, but I needed a toothbrush and deodorant, so we stopped. I also took this opportunity to grab a few Hard Candy polishes. Black Tie Optional and its cohorts have been all over the nail polish internet for years, but since I don’t really shop at Wal-Mart, I hadn’t had the chance to try any of them out. I bought this one and three others. I also left my phone in the bathroom and had to go back inside to grab it.

IMG_80372

IMG_80442

Now that it’s consistently sunny here, I knew I had to take these photos outside. This polish is definitely shiny, and the photos don’t really convey that. Maybe the glitters throw too much light, but there’s a very strong holographic effect from the glitter; it even makes a linear effect like Spectraflair does. It’s amazing. And blinding. I love it.

So-So Sequin and other Hard Candy polishes are available from Wal-Mart stores and walmart.com.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Lady Slipper

Posted on by

Swatch Saturday is going strong! With this swatch, we’re halfway through Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s April Showers collection. I love this collection; I love each polish more than the last. My latest favorite is Lady Slipper; I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Rica‘s Glossy Glam top coat.

IMG_79462

IMG_79502

IMG_79562

lsshift

Lady Slipper is a mint green creme with blue-to-purple shifting shimmer. Application was very nice; the consistency was on the thicker side, as BEGLs tend to be, but it was still quite easy to work with. It took all three coats to get even, streak-free color. However, since the creme opacity is quite full, the shimmers aren’t as potent as they appear to be in the bottle. Drying times were good, and the polish dries to a semi-glossy satiny finish.

IMG_79702

IMG_79762

I’m really impressed by this polish. As with Peruvian Lily, I don’t even mind that the shimmers aren’t very strong, because the base color is just so beautiful. I’ve worn a lot of nail colors over the years, and whenever I find one I haven’t tried yet, I’m really in awe. Also, pastels tend of be outside my comfort zone, as odd as that sounds. They’re so soft and ladylike, completely not my style. Whenever I wear them, I always wonder if I’m doing them justice. I hope I’m doing Lady Slipper justice. I think she might be too good for me.

IMG_79812

IMG_79872

I did get a good glimpse of the shimmers, oddly, when I was swimming. Under the water in direct sunlight, they jump right out.

Lady Slipper is unfortunately discontinued, but other Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquers are available from their shop.