Author Archives: Stacie Wacie

Manicure Monday Night/Tuesday Morning: Orange Sherbet Birthday Warm-Up

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Happy Monday, reader! Happy Tuesday as well, if applicable. My look today is one I’ve been looking to try for a while: matte glitter sandwich with glow in the dark polish! It doesn’t translate well to photos, and looks a bit weird. I really regret that, but it looks cool in person, so I’ll need you to trust me on that. Also, this is probably the last manicure of my twenties. Yeah. I turn 30 on Saturday, and I’ll do a birthday mani then. Until then, this will carry me through the rest of the week. The last week of my twenties. I already feel as though the sun is setting.

Anyway, the sandwich I have here is made with Formula X for Sephora’s Firecracker and American Apparel’s Jupiter, topped with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

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The first thing you’ll notice about this manicure is that’s really orange. The color comes mostly from the glitter. Jupiter has some color of its own, but it’s sheer and not immediately visible. What Jupiter does here, though, is assimilate each individual speck of glitter into one orange entity. Only the large glitters still have definition; the finer glitters look like grit or bubbles in the color, at least in photos. It’s not that bad without the bright studio lights bearing down on it.

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You may also notice the polish looks quite thick. That’s very accurate. In all, I have seven coats of stuff on my nails. Apart from base coat and top coat, I have two layers of Jupiter, the glitter, which is about as thick as two coats, and two more coats of Jupiter. Firecracker is a pretty chunky glitter, so Jupiter acts as a smoother here as well as a color; my nails are totally smooth to the touch. They are, however, one step away from being gumballs, and I acknowledge that.

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One last thing: I tried a real macro shot! I got a new phone with a pretty nice camera, and thought it was worth a shot. If you’re reading this, you’ve scrolled past it, but there it is. You can really see what I mean about the glitter losing its definition. It looks like it’s out of focus because the lines of the glitters are blurry, but it’s really just the sandwich blending it in.

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Firecracker is from Sephora. Jupiter is from American Apparel.

I bought these polishes myself.

Manicure Monday: Nighttime Blizzard

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Happy Monday, reader! Welcome to this week’s manicure. My look this week is simple but striking. I used Sally Hansen’s Blazing Blue as the base, Digital Nails‘s Winter is Coming for the glitter accents, and one coat of Seche Vite to finish it off.

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Blazing Blue is a polish I’ve had a long time. You can’t tell from the photos, but this bottle is about half-full. Of course, this was a well-loved polish back when I only had 20 bottles or so; this is one of the stalwart veterans from when I first started my collection. This is actually the first time I’ve used it in a couple of years. I must admit, however, I hated using it today. First, I had to thin it, because it was a goopy mess when I first opened it. I also hate the Insta-Dry brush; it’s too wide for my small nails, and so I didn’t get a good application. Even worse, the formula is really smudgy; when I applied the glitter, some blue came off on the brush and left some holes in the color. Some smudged on the glitter, too. When I cleaned up my cuticles, I had so much smeared blue on my hands it looked like a pen exploded. I still couldn’t get some of it off, and my cuticles are still a mess. Cleanup took ages. I love this color, but it was such a hassle to use today.

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Winter is Coming is amazing. It is packed with white and various colors of blue glitters in a myriad of shapes. There are also some rose-gold glitters in there that I didn’t notice until today. It all comes together in a light blue jelly base. Some of the glitters are the same color as the base, but that’s kinda cool; you see the glint without being able to see where it comes from. The lighter ones stand out very well. It’s a great glitter topper and I suspect it would look fantastic over anything.

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You guessed it — my DSLR is still out for repairs. I took it to a local repair shop, and they ended up having to send it to Canon. So yeah. I do apologize; I had no idea it would be gone this long, and I’m dying to start swatching again. I’ve got so many polishes I want to use, and so many I thought I would have gotten to by now that are just sitting on my desk. Hopefully it won’t be too much longer.

I bought all these polishes myself.

Manicure Monday: Autumn Moons

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Happy Monday, reader! Today’s Manicure Monday finds me with very short nails; I went bowling on Saturday night and kind of trashed them. At least they grow back. I went for a mature yet cute look today to remind myself that these are, in fact, not a child’s hands. I used Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s Newborn Solstice Sun, Essie’s As Gold As It Gets, and China Glaze’s Angel Wings. All nails are topped with one coat of Seche Vite.

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I wore Newborn Solstice Sun on its own quite some time ago when I swatched it. Even though it’s gorgeous on its own, I wanted to try something new with it. I went through the bag of tricks: rhinestones and loose glitters, vinyls and striping tapes. I wanted to get really crazy with it. Once my nails were unexpectedly cut down, though, I decided to keep it simple. I’m wearing Newborn Solstice Sun alone on two nails, as well as the darker shade in the half-moon. It’s a beautiful polish; the color is so deep, and the glitters add depth and sparkle. This is a huge BEGL favorite for sure.

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I used Essie’s As Gold As It Gets as the undies for my half-moon. It’s so soft, you can barely tell I used anything there. I wanted just a hint of sparkle, and that’s exactly what I got. I used China Glaze’s Angel Wings as an afterthought; I actually had an accent ring finger nail that was just covered with red and gold rhinestones, but it looked too Gryffindor, so I took it off and just used the gold glitter instead. It still looks out of place to me, but at least it’s not as ridiculous as the rhinestones were.

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Newborn Solstice Sun was a limited edition polish; other BEGLs can be purchased from the BEGL shop. As Gold As It Gets and Angel Wings are available wherever Essie and China Glaze are sold. I got my rhinestones from Amazon. The red bow vinyl is from Monster Polish as part of their Doctor Who collaboration with BEGL. I always associate the red bowtie with Pee-Wee Herman, though.

I bought these polishes myself.

Manicure Monday: Lemon Butterfly Fizz

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Happy Monday! It’s still Monday somewhere, so let’s take a look at my mani this week. For this look, I used Color Club’s Daisy Does It and Ellagee‘s Chronic Badass. I’m pretty chuffed with it. I’m also thrilled with the photos, since I’m still on my backup camera; I can’t believe this is the same camera that took last week’s sad photos.

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Daisy Does It is gorgeous, and I was afraid I — or the backup camera — would fail to do it justice. It’s a sheer yellow with yellow-to-gold shifting flecks, but I couldn’t get the shift to show up in the studio. Everything else is accurate, though: the lemon yellow, the barely-there nail line, the tons of shimmer that make it almost metallic. I love this polish and the rest of the collection; the shades are pretty simple but have tons of dimension and personality.

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I’ve loved Chronic Badass ever since I swatched it earlier this year. I picked it to go with Daisy Does It because I just love purple and yellow together. Before I put it on, though, I had my doubts. I didn’t want the pink and purple glitters to interfere colorwise with the green shift, but it actually looks pretty cool. The shift only shows up in certain lighting conditions anyway, so I worried over nothing. The shimmer itself is really powerful and seems especially so on the accent nails. The topper makes it seem much glassier than the nails without it. It’s gorgeous.

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I hope to have the camera fixed in time to start weekend swatches again; the camera place nearest me is only open 8 to 5 Monday through Friday, so finding the time to get there will be a challenge. I’ve missed my blog, though. I miss my camera.

I bought these polishes myself.

Manicure Monday: Arctic Circle Marble

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Hey guys! I’ve got a few minutes to post my Labor Dabor post before it turns Tuesday. I actually had a post typed up and then my new keyboard, whose CTRL button only works if you mash it so hard your finger turns white, did not work and ate my post. We’re also stuck looking at pictures from the backup camera this week, so these photos are not up to my usual standards. For this look, I used OPI’s I Vant to Be a Lone Star, Elevation Polish‘s Pitaraq, Essie’s Blue Rhapsody, and Lynderella‘s Something Blue, all topped with one to two coats of Seche Vite top coat.

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For my watermarble, I used clear polish between drops of Blue Rhapsody and I Vant to Be a Lone Star. My base was two coat of Pitaraq. This was my first time doing a negative space watermarble, and I envisioned frosty silver and blue rings over the icy metallic shimmer. The marbling process, however, wasn’t as painless as it could have been. It dried on the water before I could swirl it and tore my design a little. The rings are also so wide it hides the base glitter. I still like it, but it was better in my head.

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Something Blue as a glitter accent was a bit of an afterthought. I was shopping my stash, found Something Blue, and tried it over I Vant to Be a Lone Star. It was a perfect match; the silvery blues blend in beautifully. Of course, since this camera sucks, you can’t see the fine details, but the blue glitters are nearly but not quite the same color, and adds a bit of shimmer as well. I love Lynnderella polishes, even though they’re quite new to me, and it’s especially satisfying to use one I had to fight on eBay for. It was the last bottle! Shop victoriously, indeed.

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I’ve really missed doing my weekly swatches. I bought a new battery for my main camera and I hope that fixes it. If not, I’ll have it serviced soon so I can get back to them. I have enjoyed my time, though. I’ve been wear-testing a few new Wacie Nail Company polishes, including the one I hope to release for my birthday. I’ve also been playing Dragon Age: Inquisition and I’m so absorbed in it I can barely pull myself out. Hope to see you this weekend with new swatches, and if not, see you Monday!

I bought these polishes myself.

Manicure Monday: Glitter in Backup Camera Hell

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To begin this post, I must first apologize. My regular camera has decided it wants a vacation and has so far refused to turn on. This is the reason my weekend swatches were not posted, and it’s the reason I had to fall back on my — shudder — backup camera. I apologize for the missed posts, and I apologize for the low quality of this one. Until the camera is fixed, my Manicure Monday posts are going to look like this, and I will not do swatches.

Anyway, this mani is gorgeous in real life, and it is an absolute tragedy what this camera did to it. My polishes today are Revlon’s Bare Bones and Digital Nails‘s Timey Wimey, all topped with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

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Bare Bones is a pretty run-of-the-mill nude. In person, it’s on the cooler side of nude; some of these photos are color-accurate, some are not. The formula is okay; it was on the sheer side and though I did reach full opacity, it still leaves something to be desired. It’s not as smooth as it could be. It doesn’t quite level itself and some brush-strokes were left behind, though a top coat did help some to resolve that.

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The real star here is Timey Wimey, one of my oldest indie polishes. When I chose a nude as the base, I started combing through the glitter toppers, thinking what this polish needed to carry it through the week was the craziest glitter I had. I found poor Timey Wimey at the bottom of the Helmer and that was that. I used an eyeshadow applicator sponge to apply it to my nail; I brushed the glitter onto the end of the sponge, then dabbed it on. I’m really happy with how it came out. Even when it’s a little dense or clumpy, it’s still gradual. I’m glad some of the nude base can be seen through it.

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Revlon polishes are sold in stores; I got this one from Big Lots. Timey Wimey and other Digital Nails polishes are available in their etsy shop.

I bought these polishes myself.

Manicure Monday: Polka.com/thermal

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Happy Monday! It’s late, but here’s this week’s Manicure Monday post. I’m wearing OPI’s Polka.com over Digital Nails‘s Nox with one coat of Seche Vite top coat. I love this mani, let’s get started!

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I love thermals. I have so few and I don’t wear them often, but I adore them. Nox is especially beautiful; it morphs from a pale periwinkle to a deep indigo and dries with a matte finish. Unforunately though, because it’s been so warm here, I’ve rarely seen it in its cold state. It goes right back to the warm state pretty much instantly. I had a glass of ice water in the studio while I was taking these photos for a quick dip, and I got one photo where you can see the transition. One thing that’s constant, though, is the shift in this polish. This delicious shimmer shifts from blue to pink, and it’s amazing. It’s definitely the best part of this manicure.

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Polka.com is a pretty simple topper; while colorful, there aren’t a ton of crazy shapes and the colors are muted. This is pretty typical for an OPI topper; there’s a bit of excess lacquer, so without dabbing or sponging the glitter on, there isn’t much coverage. I usually hate this, but today I’m thankful for it, because I didn’t want to cover up the thermal. I could have done with more, but I didn’t want to risk another coat and then having too much.

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My one photo of Nox doing thermal things.

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I’m really happy with how they look together. I thought the glitter would overpower the shimmer in Nox, but they work together well. The darker glitters blend into the thermal when it’s in its cold state, but that’s forgivable, especially since the cold state is unlikely to happen. I really want to try this look in the winter, when the thermal effect will actually get some play.

I bought these polishes myself.

Swatch Sunday: Love, Angeline’s Emeralds Are a Girl’s Best Friend

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Welcome to this week’s Swatch Sunday! I’m excited to show you a polish from a new-to-me brand called Love, Angeline. This polish, Emeralds Are a Girl’s Best Friend, was a Beauty Quartet Box exclusive, so it’s also not a common one. I’m wearing three coats of Emeralds Are a Girl’s Best Friend with one coat of Seche Vite top coat. All photos were taken outdoors in direct sunlight.

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Emeralds Are a Girl’s Best Friend is a deep emerald green holo with fine emerald glitter throughout. The holo effect is pretty subtle; indoors, it’s basically invisible, but outdoors it’s much more potent. The glitters are visible in any light and give the polish a jewel-like finish. Application was easy; the product consistency was on the thicker side, but I had no problems with it. It dried quickly and with a somewhat glossy but smooth finish. I added top coat to really bring out the glitter shine.

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This is a really lovely polish. The jeweltone effect is really cool. The holo isn’t the focus of this polish, and I think that’s really interesting; there’s just enough of it to be pretty, but the glitter is the real star of the show. It makes the polish.

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Emeralds Are a Girl’s Best Friend was a box exclusive polish and is no longer sold new. Other Love, Angeline polishes are available in their shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Siren Seashore

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Happy Saturday! I’m excited to bring you today’s swatch, because it’s the first of a small-batch series by Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer. Each month since August 2014, BEGL has released one Siren polish, and more often than not, they sell out in minutes. Siren Seashore, the oldest Siren, is the one I’m wearing today. I’m wearing three coats of Siren Seashore with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

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Siren Seashore is a sheer nude crelly with gold, copper and blue glitters in various sizes and finishes, as well as a fine shimmer throughout. The product consistency was really nice; the lacquer is thin, but supports the glitters well. The glitters spread easily and evenly over the nail. It’s quite sheer; even after three coats, my nail line is still visible. This also means it layers beautifully over the glitter. The polish dries with a glossy, smooth finish; I added top coat for extra shine.

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I think the Siren series polishes are among BEGL’s best work. Siren Seashore is my favorite of the recent BEGLs I’ve worn. I really love the nude crelly, because it blends right in with my nail. The glitter really stands out from it. It’s a soft neutral look with just a bit of color and lots of sparkle. It’s absolutely beautiful.

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Siren Seashore is no longer available from BEGL, and the BEGL shop is currently on hiatus.

I bought this polish myself.

Manicure Monday: Pink Moons and Glitter Crowns

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Welcome back, reader! I hope your Monday treated you well. I had some Monday mishaps with my manicure today, but overall, I really love how it turned out. For this look, I used a deep pink Maybelline polish with Nails Inc.’s Princes Arcade for my glitter accents. All nails are topped with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

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So this Maybelline polish is one I’ve had for probably a decade and a half. It’s a formula that’s not sold anymore, the color label has long since been peeled off, and the print on the label was wearing away. These aren’t necessarily signs of a bad polish, just an old one. Here’s the kicker, though: the brush was disintegrating. Strands of the brush — sometimes in whole, long fibers, others broken off into centimeter-long pieces — were coming off and getting stuck on the nail as I was applying the polish. At first I thought I could just pick it off, since I’ve had brushes like this before; they lose one or two hairs, I tweeze them off, and no harm done. This was not that. The more I brushed, the more came off. It was shedding like a cat. By the second coat I had to give up. I got a mini bottle from my workshop, poured the polish into it, and started working with the new brush. It was a vast improvement, but unfortunately some of the strands were left floating in the polish and found their way into my manicure anyway. You can see a couple in there. I probably should have thrown it out, but it seemed like such a waste; it’s really a great polish; I got perfect opacity in two coats, and it dried with a really glossy finish, albeit a bit slowly. I had to save what I could.

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So I do the half-moon thing pretty often, but usually with two polishes, a base coat and then a second color brushed over. I’ve never done it with the natural nail exposed, so I decided to give it a shot. Really, I just wanted to do something other than the usual creme-and-glitter-accents I usually do. I really love this glitter — Princes Arcade from Nails Inc. — because it and the mystery color kind of complete each other. I’m not sure that Princes Arcade is dense enough to be worn on its own, but it looks full and lush over the base color. I also tried it as a gradient along the half-moon — a crown, if you will — just as a glitter accent but also trying something different. I like the look, but I think I got a bit too much on the index finger. The middle finger’s got the right idea though. They just work together so beautifully.

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I got my bottle of Princes Arcade from Sephora. I don’t even know how to tell you to find this Maybelline polish, even if you wanted it. The bow is from Daily Charme.

I bought these products myself.