Monthly Archives: November 2015

Manicure Monday: Freehand Grey

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Welcome back to Manicure Monday! As you noticed, I took the holiday weekend off from swatching, so we have some nail art to check out this week. My base color is Wet ‘n Wild’s Gray’s Anatomy, and my freehand painting was done with a striping brush and OPI’s We’ll Always Have Paris. All nails are topped with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

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I’ll just get this out of the way: I don’t know how I feel about the freehand. I’m a little embarrassed that I still suck at hand-painting, but in a way, it’s sort of charming. I wanted something simple but uniform, but it’s a bit irregular. It doesn’t look as irregular in real life as it does in photos, so I feel a little weird about that. I never do this stuff, so it’s really no wonder it’s not perfect. Maybe it’s okay that it’s not perfect. It looks arty-crafty and like it was done by a real person.

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We’ll Always Have Paris lends a lot to the DIY mani look. These burgundy/wine polishes are always a little translucent, and I guess that’s why there’s a lot of unevenness. I just wanted a dark color, something that was as severe as black, that would complement the color shift in the base polish. I think this one worked pretty well.

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The shift in Gray’s Anatomy is the focus of this polish, as it should be. You can totally see past the wonky freehand painting and really enjoy the colors. The writing on the label wore off a long time ago, but I almost forgot this is a Wet ‘n Wild Polish. I paid two dollars for it at the most. Not bad for two dollars!

I bought these polishes myself.

Manicure Monday Night: Plain White Tips

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Happy Monday (or Tuesday, east coast)! This week, I found myself doing something basic and absolutely shocked myself. The polish I wanted to use, Revlon’s Nude Nightie, is something that’s just so pretty and dimensional on its own that I didn’t want to cover it up with anything else. I just painted my tips and wore the polish alone. I’m wearing three coats of Nude Nightie, and I used China Glaze’s White on White for my tips. All nails are topped with one coat of Seche Vite.

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As you can see, Nude Nightie is a well-loved polish. Of all the bottles I have, very few are only half-full. Today, though, I’m seeing it in a new way. As I was editing these photos, I never realized just how bigthe shimmers are. They’re practically flakies! I’ve had this polish for the better part of a decade, and I’ve just noticed what makes this polish beautiful. Macro magic!

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So my tips are kind of ugly. About half of them were done freehand, and that’s because those are the ones I messed up using the guide stickers. I’d just been seeing so many French acrylic sets on Instagram lately, and I’d kinda missed when I wore them, too. I can’t remember the last time I wore just a plain white tip with a natural color. This is seriously some 2006 throwbacks for me, in both the polish choice and the execution. I feel stylish, but also really basic. I don’t have much else to say about it, just hoping I get my mojo back for next week.

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Nude Nightie is discontinued; Revlon is stored in stores nationwide. My White on White is from Sally Beauty Supply.

I bought these polishes myself.

Swatch Sunday: Maybelline Mystery Red

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Hello, reader! For today’s Swatch Sunday, we’re looking at a very old polish from Maybelline. Its name has since been lost, but today, we’re immortalizing it in blog form. It’s also one of the polishes I used in my first-ever wacie.com post, so there’s that. I’m wearing three coats of this mystery polish with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

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This mystery polish is a red jelly with fine red and silver glitters. Application was easy, and pretty typical of a polish like this; the first coat was streaky, but additional coats deepened the color and built opacity. And, for a polish its age — it’s been about ten years since I got this bottle — it applied pretty well. I thinned it myself a few months ago, but there were still some issues with inconsistent thickness, which I believe is a sign of its age, not its formula. The glitters distributed easily. It dried quickly and with a glossy finish. I added top coat for extra shine and protection.

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I have a real soft spot for this polish. I’ve written time and again about how much I love red polishes, and this is a really special one. I’ve had it a long time, and though nothing beats a red creme for me, this may be an exception; it’s like a red creme but with more. It complements my skin tone so well, and it just makes me feel glamorous and sexy. I will truly be sad when it runs out.

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I do not know the name of this polish, nor do I know whether it’s still being made by Maybelline. Other Maybelline polishes are sold nationwide.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Intersecting Lines in the Sand

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Swatch Saturday, woo! This Saturday, I’m wearing Intersecting Lines in the Sand from Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer; I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite. This first set of photos were taken outdoors in partly cloudy lighting.

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This poor label. It looks like it’s been through hell.

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Intersecting Lines in the Sand is cool yellow linear holo polish with icy blue shimmers. Application was smooth; it began sheer but built coverage with additional coats. The holo effect, as always, is most beautiful outdoors in direct full sun, but is still pretty in lower lighting. Indoors, the polish is more metallic and the blue shimmers are most visible. It dried somewhat matte; I added top coat for shine and protection.

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I really love this polish. I’m pretty sure it’s my favorite from the Far From the Sun collection. I love the golden-ness of it; it’s like the beach and the sun and pineapples cooked down into polish. It’s summery, warm and cool simultaneously, depending on whether you’re inside or outside. It’s perfect. The following photos were taken indoors in the studio; you can see how the color changes and the shimmers become the focus.

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Intersecting Lines in the Sand has been discontinued, but other Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquers are available in their shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Manicure Monday: Violet Gradient with Violet Glitter

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Happy Manicure Monday! I don’t feel like this mani is my best work, but I still rather like it. For this look, I used Essie’s She’s Picture Perfect, Revlon’s Amethyst, and Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s Might Not Recover, all with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

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I put She’s Picture Perfect and Amethyst together for their similarities: they’re both shades of purple and they both have a strong pink/purple flash. I thought it would be great to see that pink/purple flash show up in both colors of the gradient, like this unifying shimmer that really pulls everything together. Unfortunately, it’s not easily seen in the gradient, either in photos or in real life. Also, the colors didn’t blend as easily as I expected them to; the deep purple just looks so sponged-on, even after three rounds with the sponge. It’s still pretty, but it’s really not my best work.

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I added Might Not Recover as an accent nail at the last minute, and I gotta tell you, I’m stunned. I just can’t believe how much it sparkles. Like it was sparkly in the bottle, but damn. I also chose this polish for its similarities in color, but I like that it stands apart from the rest of the mani while complimenting it. The bling is just a tad bit overwhelming, which means it’s just the right amount (like there’s a such thing as too much). I always have an issue with microglitters still having some texture after I put down top coat, but this one has stayed nice and smooth, and I love it.

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In the end, everthing goes together really well, yeah?

I got She’s Picture Perfect from Walgreens and Amethyst from Big Lots, though both brands are sold nationwide. Might Not Recover and other Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquers are available in their shop (which is temporarily closed). The Fimo bow is from Claire’s.

I bought these polishes myself.

Swatch Sunday: Marc Jacobs Enamored in Lux

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Hey reader! Welcome to Swatch Sunday! I might have been looking forward to this swatch since I bought this polish, but it’s been a long time coming; I’ve had this polish sitting on my desk since before my camera broke, and for months I was looking at it and dying to wear it. This is Marc Jacobs’s Enamored in Lux; I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite.

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Lux is a yellow chartreuse creme polish. In some lighting conditions it looks more green than yellow. Application was okay; the polish went on thinly; there was barely any color on the first, okay coverage but some streaky spots left on the second, but by the third, everything had come together for full opacity. I’m actually unsure whether I should be blaming the formula or the brush, because I wasn’t completely fond of the brush, either. It felt short, like there wasn’t enough brush to carry the lacquer. It did, however, dry quickly and with a very glossy finish. Top coat wasn’t necessary at all for shine, but I still used it for extra protection.

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Despite the application woes, I really like the polish. It seems like I should have a hundred dupes for it already, but I don’t think I do. It’s not the run-of-the-mill yellowish-green we all have in our stash; it’s too yellow to be a true green and too green to be a true yellow. It’s a perfect blend of both colors. That said, there probably is a cheaper alternative if paying $18 for a bottle of polish isn’t your thing. For this polish, I don’t feel like the quality is completely worth the $18, but I still feel like a Fancy Nancy with it on.

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Lux and other Marc Jacobs Enamored polishes are sold at Sephora.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s If You’re a Seascape

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Hi, reader! Welcome to Swatch Saturday. We’re really back in the swing of things now that we’re back to our regularly scheduled Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer polishes. This beauty from the Far From the Sun collection from 2014, is called If You’re a Seascape. I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite. All photos were taken outdoors in direct sunlight.

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If You’re a Seascape is a coral pink linear holo polish with hot pink shimmers. Application was super-smooth; I had perfect opacity at one(!) coat. The consistency is thick, but workable; it’s thick enough that I get super-awesome coverage in one coat, but not goopy or clumpy thick. The shimmers give the polish a metallic finish on top of the holo effect. The color also seems much cooler and more mauvey in real life than in the photos, but I can’t tell if the color just changes in lighting, or if the shimmers make it appear cooler than it is. This polish dries with a satin finish; I used top coat for extra shine and sparkle.

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This is beautiful shade. It’s cool, it’s warm, it’s summery and shimmery. It’s soft, but it holds its own. This is a perfect fall shade, but it’s also a really nice transition shade, too, especially for work.

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If You’re a Seascape and other Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquers are available from their shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Manicure Monday: Dainty Pink Water-Marble

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Happy Monday! This Manicure Monday’s secret word is dainty. We’re like baby princesses over here. My main polish in this mani is Model City‘s Fairy Godmother; I’m wearing it alone at three coats on my thumb and pinky, as well as in a watermarble with Elevation Polish‘s Hitsujiyama Park and under MAC’s Just Jewels. All nails are topped with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

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Perhaps the most unique thing about this polish, as well as the most obvious, is the strong pink pearl flash. This is what really sets it apart from the other pale pinks in my collection. There’s also a hint of holo; unfortunately it’s nasty cloudy outside, so I can’t demonstrate the pretty holo effect properly.

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I decided on a water-marble pretty last-minute, and it was hard choosing the right color to contrast with the pale pink. I wanted one that was still pale so as to be dainty (ahhhh!) but dark enough to contrast with what I was already using. Hitsujiyama Park is just a shade or two darker, and has about the same amount of holo and lacks the pink flash, so I went with it. In the end, I wish I’d gone with something just a tad darker, but I really like the result I got. I bet there’s a sub-species of unicorn with stripes like these. A Zebracorn, if you will.

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Finally, I used some glitter. MAC’s Just Jewels is a sheer but powerful shimmery topper with some multi-colored metallic glitters mixed in. It’s a little too strong for the watermarble, but I think it pairs really nicely with Fairy Godmother. The heavy pink shimmer is just what Fairy Godmother needs.

Fairy Godmother is discontinued; you can get other Model City polishes from their shop. Hitsujiyama Park and other Elevation Polishes can be purchased from their shop. Just Jewels is discontinued; other MAC polishes can be found wherever MAC products are sold. My bow charm is from Claire’s.

I bought two of these polishes. One polish was sent for review; my opinions are not influenced in any way.

Swatch Sunday: MAC’s Neptune

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Happy Sunday! I’m excited to show you today’s polish; it’s a souvenir from one of the coolest vacations I’ve ever taken. This is MAC’s Neptune, and it was purchased from the Macy’s flagship store in New York City. I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

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Neptune is a metallic burnished gold polish. Application was easy; coverage was buildable, and it took me all of three coats to achieve this level of opacity. The consistency was thin but smooth and cooperative. It dries quickly and to a semi-glossy finish. There’s a slight duochrome effect to this polish; it leans slightly green when in certain lighting conditions. I used top coat for shine and to accentuate the shimmery finish.

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I mentioned before that this polish is a souvenir, and it is. Last year, I had the opportunity to tag along on a road trip from Jacksonville, FL to Niagara Falls. We passed through New York City, and being sentimental and a shopaholic, I stopped in every flagship store and bought at least one thing, just so I could say “Yeah, I got this from the Herald Square Macy’s”. I almost wonder if that wasn’t the whole reason I wanted to go to New York.

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I really like this polish. Apart from its being a vacation buy, it was one of my first MAC polishes, and probably also one of my first makeup-brand polishes. I tend not to buy those since they’re so easily dupeable, but this had been a special occasion, and sometimes it feels good to overpay for something. It feels like a luxury.

Neptune was part of MAC’s long-gone Aquatic Allure collection and is discontinued. Other MAC polishes are sold at counters and stores nationwide.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Saturday: A Rhyming Dictionary Polish’s Heathendom

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Hi reader! This is the first new swatch I’ve done since I got the camera back. It feels so good to be doing this again! This Saturday, I’m wearing a new-to-me brand called A Rhyming Dictionary Polish. This is Heathendom; I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite. All photos were taken outdoors in direct sunlight.

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Heathendom is a medium blue linear holo with silver flakies. Application was a breeze; my first coat was sheer, the second evened out the color, and the third achieved full opacity. The holo effect is most visible outdoors, though it does appear in any lighting condition. The silver flakes are more easily seen indoors. It also seems to have a purple shift in some lower lighting conditions. Drying times were very fast, and the polish dried with a satin finish. I used top coat for extra shine and smoothness.

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Heathendom was released as an installment of Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s Destination Duo collaboration series. It and its sister polish, Foss Idols from BEGL, were inspired by the spectacular Goðafoss, or Waterfall of the Gods, in northern Iceland. Both polishes do a very nice job of evoking images of clear, deep, cool water, but I think this is my favorite of the two. The fact that it’s a holo helps a bit. I’m also really impressed with the formula and the presentation, so I’m also pretty likely to check out A Rhyming Dictionary’s other polishes.

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The Goðafoss Destination Duo is available from the Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer shop. Other A Rhyming Dictionary polishes are available from their shop.

I bought this polish myself.