Monthly Archives: January 2016

Swatch Sunday: Nicole by OPI’s Love Your Life

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Happy Sunday, reader! My swatch today is of a polish I’ve had for a long time. This was 2009 or so, long before indie polish came into my life. I had ten dollars to burn and I was at Ulta. I found a polish with heart glitter in it and the rest is history. This is Love Your Life from Nicole by OPI; I’m wearing one brushed coat over OPI’s Don’t Bossa Nova Me Around (taupe), Ciaté’s Sugar Plum (lavender), and Sally Hansen’s Kelp Yourself (green), as well as one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

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Love Your Life is a clear-based glitter topper with matte pastel pink heart glitters and a mix of fine iridescent hex glitters. Application was okay; the base is thick — unsure of whether this is due to formula or to age — and the bigger glitters tended to sink and had to be fished after. The iridescent glitters distribute well, at least. The hearts are a bit difficult to control with the brush; I kind of just brushed them on and left them where they landed. Though the product consistency was thick, it dried quickly, and with a glossy finish. I added top coat for protection and shine.

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You probably already have some fun dainty pink heart glitter polishes already from an indie, and if you do, you don’t need this polish. If you don’t, though, I do recommend it. It’s pretty simple, it’s just hearts and iridescent glitter, but I think it works. It’s annoying that the hearts are a little hard to get out, but it’s actually a good thing because you can control how many you want. You can make a mani as wild or as demure as you like. It also goes well over most colors, because it’s so light and pink. I actually really like it over these pastel cremes; when I swatch, I like to use some constrasting colors to make the swatch visually appealing, as well as show it some colors it might not normally be used over. I had to go for pastels this time, though, because it’s got that perfect Valentine’s candy vibe.

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Love Your Life and other Nicole by OPI polishes are available at Ulta and other stores nationwide.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s ‘Murica

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Welcome back to Swatch Saturday, reader! My swatch today is a real oldie, but a fun polish nevertheless. This polish, ‘Murica, was a patriotic polish released alongside another polish called Glory. Unfortunately, I missed out on Glory, but here’s Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s ‘Murica. This is three coats of ‘Murica with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

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‘Murica is a clear-based deep blue microglitter polish with red and blue star glitters and red shimmers. Application was easy, though while the base was clear, it took me many coats to achieve full opacity. The first coat went on almost like a glitter topper; the coverage was very thin and lots of bare nail was still visible. Of course, coverage built with each additional coat, so it ended up not being a huge problem. It was actually kind of interesting to find out, since I learned it could be worn as a fine glitter topper pretty easily. The polish took some time to dry since I put it on a bit thick, and it dried with a fine gritty texture. I added top coat for shine and smoothness.

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The glitter is super shiny, so there’s a lot of issues with focus and glare in these photos. I don’t think I did it a whole lot of justice. You’ll just have to take my word for it that this polish is beautiful. Even though it looks like it’s all one color, there’s so much going on in it; there’s enough variety in the glitter for the polish to have lots of dimension and depth. It’s not just blue, there’s cobalt blue, ocean blue, and navy blue, as well as the red glitters adding contrast. It’s a really cool look. I did mention that there are star glitters, but none of them made it into any of my photos; there were some, but they were covered by the final coat of polish. I like this polish because its inspiration are only obvious if one knows it. Otherwise, it’s a barely patriotic but totally wearable glitter. It’s beautifully done.

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‘Murica has been discontinued by Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer. Other BEGLs are available from their online shop.

I bought this polish myself.

HPB Presents Elevated Gradient!

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Hello, reader! This is a special post for the Hobby Polish Bloggers group on Facebook! Every month, we do themed manis, and January’s theme is the gradient. It doesn’t matter what kind of gradient we do, as long as it’s a gradient; we can make it as complex or as simple as we want. I decided to make mine a challenge and use four previously unused polishes. For this look, I used Sittin’ Pretty and Topless and Barefoot, both from Essie, as the base; I used Kilimanjaro and Salautay, both from Elevation Polish, as the glitter topper. All nails are topped with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

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It’s been a while since I’ve done a two-color gradient, so long, in fact, that I started to wonder whether or not I’d lost my touch. This is probably one of the hardest gradients I’ve ever done. I could not get light purples and nudes — not just these Essie two, I tried OPI as well — and I could just never get them to come together. Either a color would go bald from oversponging, or a color just wouldn’t turn opaque, no matter how much of it I used. It did finally come together, and it was amazing.

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I had to use purple and nude, though, because I had to use Kilimajaro and Salautay. I knew that as soon as I got these polishes that I had to put them together, because they have so many similarities: they both employ the use of round glitters and the color silver. After I finished the base gradient, I made a gradient with the glitters, flipping the colors so that the purple was over the nude and vice versa. Of course, after I sponged it on, they kind of bled into each other, which is actually pretty cool. My index fingernail got a little too much glitter, but aside from that, I totally got the result I wanted and I’m so happy.

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This is the most intensive nail art work I’ve done in a while, so I’m really proud of it! Also, because this is a group effort, there’s an InLinkz widget here with everyone else’s gradient manis, so be sure to have a look at them! They’re just as proud of their work as I am with mine.

Sittin’ Pretty, Topless and Barefoot, and other Essie polishes are sold in most stores; I got mine from Walgreens. Kilimanjaro and Salautay are discontinued by Elevation Polishes, other Elevations are sold in their online shop.

I bought these polishes myself.

Manicure Monday: Green Glass Gold

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Happy Monday, reader! I have to admit, I’m not all that pleased with the way my mani turned out today. Have you ever paired two polishes together thinking they’ll look great together, but then they don’t? That’s exactly what happened today. For this Manicure Monday, I’m wearing Color Club’s Fly With Me with The New Black’s Textured Gold Leaf Foil. All nails are topped with Seche Vite top coat.

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Fly With Me is gorgeous, right? It’s a translucent green with green-to-gold shifting flecks. I really loved this collection because the shifty flecks give these polishes a finish all their own. I don’t have anything else like them. The end result is part metallic, part shift, all shine and glamour. I love it.

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You can see the green shift best here.

You can see the green shift best here.

It’s the Textured Gold Leaf Foil that I don’t love. I mean, there are things about it I love: I really love that the glitter pieces are inconsistent; some are really chunky, some are fine. I love how reflective it is; I can see myself in that really huge piece on my middle nail. However, when it says it’s textured, it means the chunky pieces, either due to the pieces piling up on themselves or to just plain being chunky, tend to stick up in places, leaving bumps on the surface of the mostly-smooth nail. Even two coats of Seche Vite wasn’t enough to smooth it down. It also doesn’t stand out enough from the gold flecks in Fly With Me, that’s really the problem I have with it here. It blends in too well and just looks odd. I shouldn’t blame the polish for my mistake, I suppose. Not every combination can be a hit, and sometimes we don’t learn that until it’s too late.

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Sunlight photos! You can really see the translucence of Fly With Me here; note the visible nail line on the index finger. Also, the Gold Foil is really shiny here. You can see my striped sweatshirt.

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Fly With Me is discontinued by Color Club; other Color Club polishes are sold on colorclub.com. The Textured Gold Leaf Foil is sold as part of the Shattered Demi Lovato set; that’s available at the-new-black.com.

I bought these polishes myself.

Swatch Sunday: Nails Inc.’s Cornwall

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Welcome to Swatch Sunday! Today’s polish is Cornwall from Nails Inc. I’m wearing one coat over China Glaze’s Pelican Gray, Essie’s Good Morning Hope, and Julep’s Bess. All nails are topped with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

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Cornwall is a clear-based glitter topper with matte blue and white short bar glitters. Application was easy enough; the glitters stick to the brush well, and the base consistency is such that the polish doesn’t drip off the brush or pool on the nail. However, this means it also doesn’t spread evenly, which makes the glitter drag and clump on itself. This can result in a heavy application in some cases. The bar glitters are short, so they don’t lean off the edge of the nail like the longer ones do. The polish dries quickly and with a textured finish. I used top coat for smoothness and shine.

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I have to admit, I have a hard time calling this a glitter polish. I think that’s what made the feathered topper trend so successful, albeit short-lived. Even though there was nothing new about either glitter toppers or bar glitters, this was still a pretty unique look that anyone could achieve. I still think it’s a cool look. It’s a shame these polishes didn’t really make it past 2013.

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The sun’s been good to me; I’ve been able to get direct sun pictures for the past few posts. These photos were taken outdoors in the late afternoon. I’m grateful; it’s helping me improve my macro game.

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The shimmer you see here is from Pelican Gray, not Cornwall.

Cornwall and the other Feathers polishes seem to be discontinued by Nails Inc. Other Nails Inc. polishes are available at Sephora, which is where I got this one.

I bought this polish myself.

Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Sunburned Siren

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It’s Saturday, and you know what that means: it’s time for a BEGL swatch! I’m excited about today’s swatch, because it’s an installment in Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s Siren series. These limited edition polishes are some of the most-sought after BEGLs because they’re as scarce as they are gorgeous. This was also supposed to be swatched when my camera broke over the summer, so I’m happy to finally be wearing it! This is the second-ever Siren, Sunburned Siren. I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite.

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Sunburned Siren is a creamy orange polish with gold shimmers. Application was really easy; the first coat was sheer, but even, without patches or streaks. I had full opacity in two coats. The golden shimmers appear in every lighting condition, though some do appear orange, given the sheer nature of the base. The polish dries quickly and with a glossy finish; I used top coat for extra shine and protection.

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Sunburned Siren made her debut in September 2014, but she’s still very summery. The color itself is beautiful; I love orange and I think it doesn’t get enough play. The gold shimmer breathes life into it. The pigmentation is sheer enough that the shimmers from previous coats shine through, adding dimension. This polish is amazing. I’m always impressed when I remember the little details like this were planned, not created by accident.

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I took some photos in the sunlight, just to see how to shimmers play in direct sunlight. The shimmer is pretty versatile in this regard; there are a few more shimmers than usual visible, but it’s not that big of a change. Also, I got an okay macro there. Sorry my pool is green.

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Sunburned Siren is, unfortunately, no longer available, as it was a numbered limited edition. Other BEGL polishes are available from their online shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Manicure Monday: Virgo Supercluster

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Happy Monday again, reader! This week’s Manicure Monday is also a Wacie Nail Company release! One of the first polishes I ever made found itself in my polish queue, and it felt appropriate to do a mani with it and a release at the same time. This polish is called Virgo Supercluster, and I’m wearing it at three coats without top coat. Photos were taken both indoors and outdoors in direct sunlight.

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So if you’re a longtime reader of wacie.com, you’ll might remember a Wacie Wednesday feature, when I wore a new prototype I made every week. Virgo Supercluster was one of the first Wacies to make their debut there, so check out that post as well. In that post, you can see what this polish looks like with top coat; this week I decided not to use top coat to capture its gritty textured finish. Whether you choose to wear top coat or not, this polish is still insanely sparkly, and even without top coat, it does still have some gloss.

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Every time I write a post like this, I’m just so excited. I’m not only writing a blog post about a nail polish, but I’m bringing a new polish into the world. I’m putting a part of myself out there. And, should it ever make its way into someone else’s hands, I hope they love it as much as I do.

 

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Though most of the photos I took were indoors, I did get out for a bit this afternoon to take some in the sun. This polish absolutely looks best in the sunshine, because you can see every bit of the holo glitter shine. Indoors, it’s still pretty, but it’s muted. In the sun, the colors are brighter and richer, and just make the polish. I think the texture pops more out there, too.

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Virgo Supercluster is available from the Wacie Nail Company etsy shop. My bow is from Daily Charme.

I made this polish.

 

Swatch Sunday: My True Love Creations’s Apple Crush

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Swatch Sunday, at last! The polish I’m wearing this week is something new and interesting to me; I actually got this little mini as a gift-with-purchase from another blogger’s destash sale. After a little bit of homework, I found out that it’s from a new-to-me brand called My True Love Creations. I’m excited to learn about them! The polish I’m sharing today is called Apple Crush; I’m wearing three coats of Apple Crush with one coat of Seche Vite. All photos are taken outdoors in direct sunlight.

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You may also notice my nails took a trip to Chopsville this weekend. Yep. So sad.

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Apple Crush is a orange-leaning red polish with holographic shimmer. Application was easy: the product consistency is good; it’s a little on the thin side, but doesn’t have any thin-polish problems like flooding or streaking. It is on the sheer side; it took me all three coats to achieve this opacity. It dries quickly and with a semi-glossy finish. I added top coat for extra shine and protection.

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I’m pretty impressed with this little polish. I have to confess, I didn’t expect much since I didn’t know too much about it, but I’m really pleasantly surprised. The polish is gorgeous in its sparkly simplicity; while holos these days are these intense sparklers, this one takes a step back and offers just enough. It’s kind of refreshing actually.

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Apple Crush and other My True Love Creations polishes are available from their etsy shop.

I did not buy this polish, but it was not sent by the maker for review.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Chlorine Light

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Happy Saturday, reader! I feel like this weekend was a long time coming. My swatch this week is Chlorine Light from Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer. With this polish, we finish the 2014 Far From the Sun collection! I’m wearing three coats of Chlorine Light with one coat of Seche Vite top coat. All photos were taken outdoors in direct sunlight.

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Chlorine Light is a deep blue linear holo polish with rainbow flakies. Application was smooth: the product consistency is just right, and the pigmentation is extraordinary. My first coat was nearly opaque. As you can see, the holo effect is strong in the sunlight, but this one is actually pretty strong indoors as well. It dried quickly. I used top coat to embellish the holo effect as well as to protect the color.

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I can’t tell you how much I loved wearing this blue. I actually kept it on for a couple of days, even though I had other things I needed to swatch. I just could not bring myself to take it off. It’s such a vibrant and decadent blue, so perfect for this part of the year; it’s like a silent motivator to keep on keepin’ on until the summer, when everything in the world is the same gorgeous color. Until then, I must keep thinking summery thoughts. I also enjoyed this collection as a whole. These are BEGL holos at their finest.

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Chlorine Light has been discontinued by Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer. Other BEGL polishes are available from their online shop.

I bought this polish myself.

 

 

Brag Post: Lynnderella’s Make a Mint in 2016

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Welcome to a special wacie.com post! As you may know, I don’t usually wear polishes as soon as I get them; I like to try older ones before I get to the new ones. However, sometimes I just get so excited about a polish that I have to try it out right away. Today, that polish is Make a Mint in 2016 from Lynnderella. I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

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My cuticles look dreadful! I swear they’re not dry, my hands are just really really cold.

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Make a Mint in 2016 is a translucent mint green with shimmers in various colors. Application was easy; the product consistency was neither thick nor thin, and was easy to work with. The first coat is sheer and coverage builds with additional coats. The shimmers are very visible in every lightning condition. The polishes dries with a glossy finish; I used top coat for extra shine.

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Make a Mint in 2016 is a Lynnderella small-batch polish; only six bottles were made. After watching bottles of another small-batch polish, Bridal Beach Party, sell for hundreds of dollars per bottle, I was intimidated. I mean, I’ve spent some ridiculous money on polish, but I couldn’t justify getting my own bottle of that gorgeousness. I thought the same thing would happen with Make a Mint; the first bottle did sell for about a hundred dollars. When this one was still low and had a few minutes left, I decided I’d go for it. In the end, I paid 53 dollars for this polish. I can’t decide if I got it for a good price, or if I’m just really foolish.

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As of the date this post was published, there are two bottles left of Make a Mint in 2016. If you’ve already got one, congrats! If you’re still watching auctions, good luck! Other Lynnderella polishes are available via their eBay store and their Storenvy shop.

I bought this polish myself.