Swatch Sunday: L’Oreal’s Target Red

Posted on August 16, 2015 by Stacie Wacie

We’re seeing red this Swatch Sunday! L’Oreal’s Target Red is one of my favorite and most well-loved red cremes. I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite.

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Target Red is a red creme. Application was easy; because this is an old bottle, it was actually pretty dried out and I was able to create my perfect consistency with thinner. I used three coats, but I had really nice opacity after two. Drying times were good, and it dried with a very glossy finish. I added top coat for even more shine and protection. I had no issues with this polish, but during cleanup I did notice it gets really smudgy with acetone. Seriously, I looked like a murderer.

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Target Red was a Target-exclusive shade way back in 2010. There was a liquid lipstick, a traditional cream lipstick, and this nail color. This really is an old polish, and it’s been used a lot; there was a time when I used this polish — together with the liquid lipstick and a pair of matching red glasses — almost exclusively. As a result, and you can’t really tell this from the photos, it’s only about a quarter full. It’s been good to me. I ran out of the lipstick years ago, but I’m glad there’s still some of the polish left.

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Target Red appears to have been discontinued, but other L’Oreal polishes are available in stores.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer Prototype SLE 1.1

Posted on August 15, 2015 by Stacie Wacie

Happy weekend, reader! I’m excited to show today’s polish, a golden holo prototype from Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer. It’s the most summery polish I’ve worn this summer so far! This is Prototype SLE 1.1, and I’m wearing three coats of it with one coat of Seche Vite top coat. All photos are taken outdoors in direct sunlight.

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SLE 1.1 is a yellow linear holo with a golden flash and blue shimmer. Application was easy; though the product consistency was on the thinner side, it still went on smoothly. It did leave some brush-strokes, which are most apparent in the shimmer. The holo effect is subtle, and I can’t tell if it’s being overpowered by the gold or if there just isn’t much to begin with. Because of this, the polish really comes to life outdoors; indoors, the holo effect doesn’t really happen at all, it’s just the golden shimmer, which gives it a metallic look and is actually pretty cool. The polish dries quickly; I used top coat for shine.

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So yeah. I like this a lot, and I’m kind of mad I didn’t wear it sooner. It’s like sunshine in a bottle. Summer is nearly over — though in Florida it’s unofficially summer pretty much all the time — and I’m just discovering another perfect summer polish. Of course.

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This polish is a prototype and there are no other bottles. Other Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquers are available from their shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Manicure Monday: Jazzy Mint Glitter Gradient

Posted on August 10, 2015 by Stacie Wacie

Happy Monday, reader! Hope you had a good one. I present to you this weekend’s edition of Manicure Monday; I tried my hand at a glitter gradient for the first time in ages, and I’m pretty happy with the result. My base color is Sinful Colors’s Mint Apple, and my glitter is Essie’s Jazzy Jubilant. I also used one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

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A quick few words about the polishes I used: Mint Apple is a minty green with some silvery shimmer. It’s a very nice polish; I like the color and shimmer together, and I feel like it’s a unique piece in my collection, despite being so simple. Jazzy Jubilant is like the grown-up version of the classic rainbow glitter; the colors are muted and deeper, but each color is respresented well. I actually didn’t like it much when I first got it, but wearing it has totally changed my mind. It looks way better on the nail than in the bottle, especially over a base color like this one.

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I tried the gradient from the cuticle for the first time, and I like it. I just wish I had more nail real estate. I only wanted a smattering of glitter instead of the dense coverage I got. I applied the glitter with an eyeshadow applicator sponge, and while the sponge absorbed the excess lacquer, the dryness meant I couldn’t push the glitter around like I wanted to, and of course once there’s too much, I can’t take it off, so I got stuck with it. It’s not bad, and if my nails were longer, there would have been more room to fade out the gradient, so to speak, but I’m pretty happy with it as is.

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Mint Apple and other Sinful Colors products are sold in stores nationwide, as are Jazzy Jubilant and other Essie shades. I got mine from Walgreens.

I bought these polishes myself.

Swatch Sunday: Literary Lacquers’s Grey Cat/Grey Fence

Posted on August 9, 2015 by Stacie Wacie

Swatch Sunday is here again! Today I’m wearing one of the first indie polishes I ever bought, as well as one of my first Literary Lacquers. This is Grey Cat/Grey Fence; I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

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Grey Cat/Grey Fence is a gray crelly with black, white, and iridescent glitters in squares and hexes. Application was easy; though sheer, the crelly goes on evenly and without streaks or patches. The glitters also spread evenly and show nicely through many layers of polish. I had no issues at all with it. The product consistency was perfect; it supports the glitters without being thick or blobby. It dries quickly and to a glossy, somewhat smooth finish. I added top coat for extra shine and smoothness.

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Grey Cat/Grey Fence is inspired by a passage from O. Henry’s Gift of the Magi. As quoted by the maker:

“Della finished her cry and attended to her cheeks with the powder rag. She stood by the window and looked out dully at a gray cat walking a gray fence in a gray backyard. Tomorrow would be Christmas Day, and she had only $1.87 with which to buy Jim a present. She had been saving every penny she could for months, with this result. Twenty dollars a week doesn’t go far. Expenses had been greater than she had calculated. They always are. Only $1.87 to buy a present for Jim. Her Jim. Many a happy hour she had spent planning for something nice for him.”

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I’ve had this polish for two years now, and I’ve only worn it once before. Even though Literary Lacquers makes some breathtaking holo polishes, there’s a special place in my heart for this polish, and it might be my favorite LitLacq to date. It’s simple by today’s indie polish standards, but two years ago, when I was new to indie polish, this was unlike anything I’d ever seen before, and the fact that someone was making polish inspired by books was pretty much the greatest thing I’d ever heard.

Grey Cat/Grey Fence has been discontinued, but other Literary Lacquers are available from their etsy shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Get Too Close to the Flame

Posted on August 8, 2015 by Stacie Wacie

Happy Saturday! We’re finally caught up on swatches from last week, so let’s look at some new ones! Today’s swatch is a special-edition glitter topper from Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer called Get Too Close to the Flame. I’m wearing one coat over Revlon’s Bare Bones, Essie’s Good Morning Hope, and Sally Hansen’s Kelp Yourself, as well as one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

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Get Too Close to the Flame is a clear-based topper with glitters in shades of pink and orange and various sizes (including stars), as well as a fine pink shimmer throughout. Application went well; the glitters spread evenly, though I did employ a bit of dabbing/placing to cover bare spots and spread out the glitters that clumped together. There was no extra cuticle-flooding lacquer, and the base was the right consistency to support the glitter without being too thick or goopy. Drying times were quick, and it dried with a smooth texture and glossy finish. I added top coat for extra smoothness and shine.

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This is a summer polish for sure. The color is bright and bold, even if it’s not that colorful, and the variety of shapes and sizes make it interesting to look at. I love the big dots and tiny stars, the hexes large and small. I love the pink shimmer and its perfect amount of sparkle. I love that it looks fantastic over any polish, soft or bright. This is the first BEGL topper I’ve worn in months, and I forgot how nice they are.

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Get Too Close to the Flame was a limited edition and is no longer for sale. Other Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer polishes are for sale in the BEGL shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Weekday Swatch: Lavish Polish’s Mint to Be

Posted on August 6, 2015 by Stacie Wacie

Happy Thursday, reader! Today’s post would have been this week’s Swatch Sunday if I hadn’t gone out of town. This is Lavish Polish‘s Mint to Be. I’m wearing three coats of Mint to Be with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

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Mint to Be is a mint green crelly with sky blue, fuchsia, white, and baby pink glitters, as well as hot pink and white heart glitters. Application was challenging; the product consistency is quite thin and didn’t really stay put on the nail. It also didn’t seem to be able to support the glitters, because they didn’t distribute well inside the bottle, no matter how much I rolled, shook, or stirred it. This is especially true for the large glitters; I just could not get them out on the brush and really had to dig for them. On a positive note, the crelly looks fabulous with the bright matte glitters; the translucence is perfect for the layered glitter effect. This polish dried pretty quickly, about five minutes per coat, and dried with a semi-glossy finish. I added top coat to smooth out the glitters and add shine.

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Even though I had a tough time applying it, I really like the look I got. This is part of a Valentine’s Day trio, but it’s not overtly, obviously lovey-dovey. It’s colorful and cheerful, it’s perfect for springtime, and it’s not mawkish or over the top romantic. It’s adorable. This is my first Lavish Polish, and I’m looking forward to trying some new ones.

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Mint to Be may be discontinued, as it’s no longer listed in their inventory. Other Lavish Polishes are available from their shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Wacie Nail Company Release: Whitewash

Posted on August 5, 2015 by Stacie Wacie

Surprise! There’s a Wacie Nail Company release today! I wanted to do it sooner; a couple of weeks ago, I showed you a manicure featuring Whitewash, a white jelly polish, as part of a jelly sandwich. I wanted to release it then, but as I’d just cut my nails back, I wanted to wait until I had a little more growth. Whitewash is being released on the Wacie Nail Company etsy shop when this blog goes live. I’m wearing two coats of Whitewash with one coat of Seche Vite.

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I’ve always loved the look of whitewash over wood; wood, especially when battered and weathered, has a wonderful amount of character. Whitewash emphasizes it; it covers yet highlights every splintery, grainy detail. I wanted to see if this applied to nails as well. I mixed a very small amount of white polish into clear lacquer base, and I got a result that was creamy and pleasantly sheer, just like a good whitewash. It covers the imperfections while highlighting what’s beautiful beneath.

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Whitewash and other Wacie Nail Company polishes are for sale in the Wacie Nail Company etsy shop.

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Also, just for fun, I’ve decided to give a bottle of Whitewash away to a lucky giveaway winner. Contest is open to US residents 18 years or older. No giveaway accounts, please. Entrants outside the US or under 18 years of age will be disqualified. Contest ends Saturday, August 8, at 11:59 PM. Winners will be notified on Sunday, August 9. Good luck, players!

Manicure Monday: Black Holo Marble

Posted on August 3, 2015 by Stacie Wacie

Hello, reader! This week’s Manicure Monday is a doozy, if I may say so myself. Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s Discontinued Limited Edition makes a beautiful watermarble and I can’t stop staring at it. The watermarble was done with Sally Hansen’s Black Out. Other nails show Discontinued Limited Edition alone at two coats. All nails are topped with Seche Vite top coat.

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I’ve swatched Discontinued Limited Edition in the past, so be sure to check out that post if you want to know the details. What I didn’t expect then was that it would work so well for watermarbling. It spreads easily and quickly, even better than the black creme polish. The Spectraflair and orange shimmers mingle with the creme, which gives an all-over holo effect. I planned to use a Spectraflair top coat and ended up not needing it. This, with Black Out’s perfect opacity and consistency, made for a painless and gorgeous watermarble.

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I hadn’t even planned the watermarble today. I was going to try my hand at galaxy nails for the first time, and I couldn’t get it right. It was terrible! I either got too much polish or not enough, got too much coverage or not enough, and just made a big mess. After three misfires, I give up and did a watermarble because it was easier. Easier! What universe is this?

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And of course it’s pouring down rain today, because why wouldn’t it be? The holo effect is a little dull in these first few photos. I used the flash in the next few, because I really needed to show you the full holo effect. It shines right through the black marbling and I cant. stop. staring.

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I’ve got to do this more often. I try not to use the polishes I love, especially when they’re as aptly-named as this one. I thought I was going to use a lot more polish, but because I only marbled two nails on each hand, I lost way less than I expected. I can’t get over how well it spread in the water, also. I want to see how other indie holos, BEGLs in particular, marble with cremes. Have I been bitten by the watermarbling bug again? Perhaps!

I bought these polishes myself.

Manicure Monday: Cinna-man of My Dreams

Posted on July 27, 2015 by Stacie Wacie

Welcome back! We’ve got another simple manicure done with a textured polish for this week’s Manicure Monday. This is Cinna-man of My Dreams from Nicole by OPI. I’m wearing three coats without top coat.

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Cinna-man of My Dreams is a cool rosy bronze textured polish. Application went well; the glitter was dense and evenly-distributed. I reached full opacity in two coats. The texture isn’t as coarse as some texture polishes are; as this is part of the Gumdrops collection, I suspect they were going for a fine sugar texture rather than the chunky glitter one the Liquid Sands have. The drying times were good; my nails were dry to the touch in about five minutes.

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A surprise in this polish in the shifting shimmer. I’m not sure what color it is in its natural state, probably bronze or rose, but when it’s front-lit, it turns a rich gold. It’s evident both on the nail and in the bottle. It’s my favorite part of this polish, just because it was so unexpected. It makes me wonder if I’ve just overlooked it in all my other textured polishes. I love it.

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The Gumdrops collection may be discontinued. Nicole by OPI is sold in stores nationwide; I got mine from Target. My bow charm is from Daily Charme.

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Author Archives: Stacie Wacie

Swatch Sunday: L’Oreal’s Target Red

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer Prototype SLE 1.1

I bought this polish myself.

Manicure Monday: Jazzy Mint Glitter Gradient

I bought these polishes myself.

Swatch Sunday: Literary Lacquers’s Grey Cat/Grey Fence

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Get Too Close to the Flame

I bought this polish myself.

Weekday Swatch: Lavish Polish’s Mint to Be

I bought this polish myself.

Wacie Nail Company Release: Whitewash

Manicure Monday: Black Holo Marble

I bought these polishes myself.

Manicure Monday: Cinna-man of My Dreams

I bought this polish myself.