Author Archives: Stacie Wacie

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Dawn Breaks

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It’s Saturday, and it’s time for swatches! The lovely polish we’re looking at today is the penultimate polish in Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s Far From the Sun collection; it’s called Dawn Breaks, and I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite top coat. Also, because it’s been cloudy for five days straight, I wasn’t able to use sunlight as my lighting source, and had to rely on indoor lighting to get the holo effect to really show up. I apologize for any color inconsistencies that might have resulted.

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Dawn Breaks is a rose holo with pink and gold shimmers. Application was super smooth; the product consistency was like velvet, and the first coat was nearly opaque, with full opacity in two coats. It was on the thinner side of what BEGL usually produces, but was still very easy to control and apply. The holo effect is most powerful in sunlight, obviously, but still looks pretty good under the LED lights in my kitchen. In other conditions, the polish seems to have a metallic finish, due in part to the Spectraflair as well as the colored shimmers. The product dries quickly. I added top coat for extra shine and to embellish the holo effect.

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This polish is fantastic. The deep rose color is just magnificent, and the way it’s so well-pigmented without being goopy or sticky is just wonderful. The holo effect and shimmers are bonus; I would love this polish even without those things. It’s bright without being garish, so it’s kind of like a grown up hot pink. I love it to bits.

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Dawn Breaks is discontinued by Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer; other BEGL polishes can be found in their online shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Manicure Monday: Walk Through the Tulips

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It’s the first Manicure Monday of the year! We’re doing it up right today by wearing a very special polish, a custom polish made for me by Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer. This isn’t the first time it’s been on the blog, but I’m always excited to wear it. This is Walk Through the Tulips; I’m wearing two coats with one coat of Seche Vite and one coat of Ciate’s Mattenificent matte top coat.

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I did a proper swatch of Walk Through the Tulips way back in 2014, so if you want to know some of the particulars about the polish, take a look at that post. Not much has changed since then; I still cherish this polish because it reminds me of why I love indie polish and how much fun it can be to work with the person making my polish to ensure I get exactly what I want. That, and it’s still freaking pretty.

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This time around, I used only two coats instead of three, and I used a matte top coat to make it a little different from the swatch. I like it at two coats; it’s just shy of opaque. I can still see nail lines, but just barely. The glitter isn’t as dense as I would have liked, but it gives a cool speckled effect. The matte coat gives it a unique finish. I am having a ton of fun wearing this, and I’m not looking forward to taking it off.

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Walk Through the Tulips was custom-made for me by Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer; BEGL does not currently accept commissions for customs, but their full line of polishes is available from their online shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Sunday: Darling Diva Polish’s The Pumpkin Queen

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Happy Sunday, reader! 2016 is off to a great start, isn’t it? I hope you’re all having a fantasic weekend. Yesterday, we looked a summer polish, and today we’re looking at an autumn polish. From a destash mystery bag, the same one that yielded this beauty, this is Darling Diva Polish‘s The Pumpkin Queen. I’m wearing one coat of The Pumpkin Queen over Nails Inc.’s Eaton Terrace and Baker Street and OPI’s I Just Can’t Cope-acabana, as well as one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

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The Pumpkin Queen is a clear-based glitter topper with a mix of glitter that is predominantly matte and metallic orange hexes and metallic green hexes and squares. Though these colors are the focus of the polish, it’s actually quite colorful; there are glitters in red, yellow, and blue, as well as very large purple hexes. The glitters brushed on easily, though sparsely at first. The base consistency is good; it carries the glitter without goop. It dries quickly and with a smooth finish, though the purple hexes don’t lie flat on the nail.

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Though the glitter mix is inherently autumnal, wearing this polish in January doesn’t feel completely out of place. Because there aren’t any seasonally-shaped glitters, and because the mix is so colorful, it’s not strictly a fall polish, even though it’s intended as one. I like the blue glitters best; they stand out from the rest of the glitters, but they also make the orange bolder. I really love the purple hexes too, but they feel just a tad out of place. Overall though, I like this polish, even though it’s not something I would have bought myself.

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I did a little bit of homework on this polish; it’s a polish from 2012. I don’t even know if I have any others that old, because I didn’t get into indie polish until 2013. How cool, it’s vintage! I also love the printed label, it’s like a bootleg.

The Pumpkin Queen is no longer sold by Darling Diva Polish; other polishes are available from their shop.

I got this polish in a grab bag.

 

 

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Born of the Sea

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Happy new year, reader! We’re ringing in 2016 the same way we did 2015 — with a swatch from Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer! I’m looking forward to a new year full of beautiful polishes to try. From the Far From the Sun collection, this is Born of the Sea; I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite top coat. All photos were taken outdoors in partly cloudy conditions.

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Born of the Sea is a grassy green linear holo. Application was smooth; the product consistency was thick but workable. Coverage was good; I had full opacity in two coats. The linear holo effect was more subtle than some of the other polishes in the collection; of course, it’s most powerful in the sunlight. The polish dried with a matte finish. I added top coat for shine and protection.

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Of all the BEGLs I own, which is a lot, the greens are consistently some of my favorites. I originally overlooked this one in favor of some other polishes in this collection, but I really love the way this one looks on me. I usually don’t equate greens with summer, but there is something really tropical about this green; it reminds me of the bountiful foliage of summer, of long grass, fresh limes, full trees, the Florida backyard in general.

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Born of the Sea has been discontinued by Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer; other polishes are available in their shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Manicure Monday: Sundown

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Happy Monday, reader! This is the last Manicure Monday of 2015. I cannot believe another year has gone by and I’m still blogging. The wacie.com anniversary, as well as the anniversary of Wacie Nail Company, are coming up, and I have some really fun things planned, like new polishes! For now though, let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. For this final post of 2015, I’m wearing Pretty & Polished‘s Sundown; this is three coats with one coat of Seche Vite.

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Sundown, as you can see, is an orange-to-yellow thermal creme polish with glitters in orange, yellow, and pink. The polish coverage is on the opaque side, so glitters from previous coats don’t show up so well in the finished look. That’s especially true for the orange/cold stage; since the yellow/warm stage is much paler, and the darker glitters do actually show through a little. The transition occurs easily. Application was okay; the creme went on beautifully, but the glitters were few and took some manipulating to get them just right. The polish dries with a satin finish.

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I bought this polish in 2015, and I’m actually surprised it still transitions. I’m thrilled with it, really. A lot of the thermals I’ve had that long — even a few I bought more recently — have stopped altogether. I was really unsure of what to expect from it. It’s beautiful, though, isn’t it? It’s so strangely appropriate for this post, and in so many ways: obviously the name is appropriate, since the sun is setting on such an exciting year. Today’s high was 83 degrees, and so the colors are unseasonally seasonal. It’s not a NYE glitterbomb, but it’s a really cool polish to see me through the end of the year.

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Sundown is no longer made by Pretty & Polished, but you can find other polishes (thermals!) on both their etsy store and their official website.

I bought this polish myself.

 

Manicure Tuesday Morning: Winterland Hottie

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Happy Monday! My post is late tonight because I just got back from a Christmas party, where these wintry nails were a huge hit. I know I said I never do seasonal nails, but I had the opportunity today and I took it. For this look, I’m wearing Indigo Bananas‘s Klein Trink Wasser as my base and Sinful Colors’s Hottie on top. All nails are topped with Seche Vite top coat.

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So last week I talked a bit about drugstore glitters as a gateway drug; back in the ’90s, Sinful Colors was where it was at. I don’t know if you remember, but Walgreens used to sell it, and they came in indie-style bottles, the barrel ones with the black caps. My mother felt uncomfortable buying something “sinful”. I wanted every color. It’s fun how some things never change; I love these glitter polishes as much as I did when I was younger. The polishes haven’t changed much, either; they’re the same iridescent glitter mixes they always have been. There’s something really nice about that. It might be the same glitter, but it’s a ton of fun finding new and grown-up ways to wear it.

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I love that indie cremes are becoming a thing. That’s not to say Klein Trink Wasser is a new polish; I actually bought it last year, and this is the first time I’m wearing it. I just mean that, even with a seemingly basic color like this one, you’d think that there’d be no more creme colors left without mass market dupes. As surprising as it seems, I don’t have anything like this polish in my collection. All my dark blue cremes are really dark, and all my dark blues are shimmery or glittery. It took me a long time to find a creme in this particular shade. Anyway, I think that the indie creme trend is amazing. Between the Creme a la Mode box and the Pipe Dream neons and brights, there are a ton of exciting cremes without mass market dupes. It’s really cool.

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I’m not sure I’ve ever worn striping tape on its own on the blog; usually I just use it like a vinyl strip. I’ve definitely never worn loose glitter, and that’s fun, too. The snowflakes were bigger than I wanted and they’ve been getting snagged on things. It also feels a little weird wearing snowflakes on my nails when I’m wearing a tube top and shorts. One more thing: I made a scented top coat to wear with this mani. I had a little vial of winter gardenia fragrance oil, so I made a top coat with it because it seemed appropriate. I’ll have these listed in the shop soon, along with a new Wacie Nail Co. collection.

Klein Trink Wasser and other Indigo Bananas polishes are sold on their website. Hottie and Sinful Colors are sold in stores nationwide.

I bought these polishes myself.

Swatch Sunday: Anna Gorelova by Dance Legend’s Кот Баю

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Hello reader! We’re looking at yet another polish from a destash sale. I’m really excited about this one; I’ve seen Dance Legend polishes everywhere, and I finally have one! This is a polish from the Anna Gorelova by Dance Legend collaboration; it’s called Кот Баю (Kot Bajun) and I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite.

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Kot Bajun is a sheer nude with fine holographic silver glitter. Application was easy; the product consistency was on the thinner side, but still held onto the brush and applied evenly. As you can see, after three coats, there’s no such thing as full opacity when wearing it alone. The glitter shines nicely through the sheer polish; it distributes well and lays flat on the nail, leaving no texture behind. It dries quickly and with a smooth satin finish. I added top coat for extra shine.

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I admit, I had to do some homework on this polish. There’s no shade name on the bottom on the bottle, only a number. The destash shop I bought it from called it Кот Баю, which also turns up in a Google search. It also turns out that this polish shares a name with an animal from a Russian folk legend; Kot Bajun is apparently a giant cat that lives in the forests of Siberia. I couldn’t find much about it in English. I just love the international appeal of this, though. I’m a huge fan of  products from other countries; my kitchen pantry is a mishmash of international foods, but I only have a few polishes that aren’t from the United States.

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I love this polish. It’s another soft neutral that’s both sparkly and work-appropriate. It’s weird how many of these I’ve been wearing lately. The glitter is a lot like the same stuff that’s in Fairy Dust; it’s the same single-serve portion of sparkle, even with three coats. This would definitely pair well with a white tip or over a nude base.

Кот Баю seems to be discontinued. Check Dance Legend’s site for international stockist info.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Saturday: A England’s Her Rose Adagio

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It’s Saturday, and it’s time for swatches! As I mentioned last week, I’ve been shopping a lot of destash sales, and that’s how this beauty came into my life. This is A England‘s Her Rose Adagio; I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite top coat. All photos were taken outdoors in partly cloudy conditions.

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Her Rose Adagio is a rosy champagne scattered holo polish. Application was a breeze; the formula is thick but potent; I had an opaque first coat. The scattered holo effect occurs both indoors and outdoors, but is stronger outdoors, though it’s still quite muted. The polish dried quickly and with a smooth holo finish. I added top coat for shine and to emphasize the holo effect.

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This polish is gorgeous. The color is mostly neutral with just a hint of coolness. It’s perfect for those of us who need professional or career colors, but still want a bit of sparkle. It’s delicate, elegant, and I think it would flatter any skintone. It really captures the essence of the dance. Definitely go for this one.

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Her Rose Adagio and other A England polishes are sold on their website and through other international distributors.

I bought this polish myself.

Manicure Monday: Confetti Dreams

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Happy Monday, reader! This week has all the hallmarks of being a holiday mani without actually being one, and might just be the closest I get to one all year. For this look, I used Julep’s Alexandra as the base color, Octopus Party‘s Universal Loner as the tip color, and LA Colors’s Confetti as the glitter topper, all with one coat of Seche Vite. Here we go!

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I think that, until this mani, I forgot drugstore glitter toppers were a thing. I mean, how could I; after all, they were my gateway to glitter addiction. Even now, I have tubs of them. It’s just that every glitter topper I’ve worn for the past year or so (at least) has been an indie polish, and I’ve gotten used to that sort of polish. Indie glitters just have so much going on: big glitters, small glitters, shimmer, flakies, crazy shapes. This one, though it was a pretty cool polish when I bought it, I’m having a hard time finding a word other than quaint to describe it. I’m not trying to say it’s bad, I’m really not, it’s just that glitter polish has come a long way since this one. This is two coats of glitter, by the way.

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I chose Alexandra for the base because it was neutral, and I needed a color that wouldn’t interfere with any of the glitter colors. I ended up adding the red tips as an afterthought, hoping to tie everything together. That, and I already had it out to put on my toes. Both of these polishes performed very well; Alexandria had a bit of streakiness left after two coats, but the glitter hides it well. Universal Loner went on really easily; I didn’t have to deal with any coverage problems. It’s my first OPNL, too, yay.

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I think it all came together really nicely. Like I said, red and glitter usually means a holiday mani. I actually plan my manicure combinations out way in advance, so it’s lucky it landed on a day so as to be seasonal as well as pretty.

LA Colors is sold nationwide, as is Julep. Octopus Party Nail Lacquers are sold from their etsy store.

I bought these polishes myself.

Swatch Sunday: CrowsToes Nail Color’s That Boy is a P-I-G Pig

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Welcome to Swatch Sunday! I’m really excited to show you this week’s polish. I’ve been shopping a lot of destash sales lately on Facebook, and about a week ago, I bought my very first mystery bag, which means I got a lot of new polishes I wouldn’t normally have bought. It was a really fun experience! Today’s polish is one from that set. This is That Boy is a P-I-G Pig from CrowsToes Nail Color; I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

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That Boy is a P-I-G Pig is a sheer pale pink with blue-to-pink shifting shimmer and pearly white flakies. Application was easy; the polish went on smoothly and evenly. The product consistency is very easy to work with; it stays on the brush quite well, but isn’t thick. The coverage is very sheer; at three coats, you can still my nail bed through the polish. The shimmer is visible in nearly every lighting level, though more powerful in some than others. The polish dries with a smooth finish; I used top coat for shine and protection.

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I didn’t know anything about this polish when I got it, so I did a little Internet homework; it turns out this was in an A Box Indied box last year. I feel pretty lucky to have gotten a box-exclusive polish on accident, and one this pretty to boot.

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For the shift!

For the shift!

This is the daintiest polish I have ever worn. I think I say that every time I wear a pale pink, but this time I mean it. This is gloriously dainty. It’s so pink and soft and girly. The strong blue shimmer and flakies set it apart from every other sheer pale pink in my collection. I feel a little exposed with my visible nail lines for everyone to see, but overall, this polish gives a clean and elegant look to my nails.

That Boy is a P-I-G Pig is no longer in production. Other CrowsToes polishes are available from their shop.

I bought this polish myself.