Manicure Tuesday: Harvest Glitter on Brown

Posted on April 15, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

I’m back! I had an unexpected hiatus last week; I underestimated my workload and didn’t have time to take photos of my nails. I did do a puzzle piece manicure that was in theme with my job, but I didn’t have the time to take proper photos of it. My thrice-a-week blogging schedule will resume this week. Due to exhaustion, this week’s manicure post is a little late. For Mani Tuesday, I’m wearing Pretty & Polished’s Hows About a Roll in the Hay over Julep’s Vera.

Vera isn’t such a bad polish, really. I have on three coats here, but I could have gotten away with two. The formula is typical of Julep polish: thin but easy to use, quick-drying and shiny. I just can’t get past it being the same color as chocolate milk. I actually forgot chocolate milk was a thing until I had to work early one morning, my friend had some in the fridge, and I had flashbacks about grade school cafeteria lunches the whole rest of the day. Now I can’t get past this polish being Yoo-Hoo brown.

I had really high hopes for Hows About a Roll in the Hay from Pretty & Polished. I ordered it as soon as I laid eyes on it and couldn’t wait to get it. I own many of the P&P thermal polishes and a few of their glitters; I’ve been very happy with them. In this one, the glitter sinks, leaving a quarter-inch layer of lacquer all around the top of the bottle. My first application attempt left me with a thick layer of polish with maybe two pieces of glitter. I had to leave the bottle turned upside-down for 15 minutes before I got a good glitter distribution. This is probably not a problem; there’s actually a ton of glitter in this bottle, and it’s probably perfectly reasonable for it to settle and sink a bit. I’ve never had this happen with any of my P&Ps, so that’s why I feel a bit annoyed by it.

Despite the trivial issues I have with the polishes, I’m happy with the look I got. I like the autumnal warmth of the color combination. It also reminds me of breakfast foods. And grandma couches.

Manicure Monday: Garnet Jelly Sandwich

Posted on April 7, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

This week’s Manicure Monday was so much fun! I know I’m going to hate taking this off in a couple of days. I rarely get to do jelly sandwiches, so I’m happy about having the chance, and doing something besides slapping glitter down on polish and calling it art. Today, I’m wearing two coats of OPI’s Which is Witch? between coats of Disney Villains Varnish Mother Gothel.

Mother Gothel is a deep burgundy, and when I got it, I had no idea it would make a jelly sandwich like this. I swatched it once and I put it away until I started playing with it, planning a future manicure with it. I don’t remember when or how I decided to see what it looked like over glitter, but after I saw it, I couldn’t not do it. To me, this is the perfect translucence for a jelly sandwich: you can still see the holo shine from the glitter, but not the glitter itself. This is a look I love a lot. On its own, Mother Gothel is very shiny, like it could do without a top coat shiny. With top coat, my nails just look like tiny little garnets.

OPI’s Which is Witch? is special to me because it’s one I had my friend in New York send me. She has a local salon that sells OPI for half the price Ulta does, and even after shipping, I still paid less than I would have at Ulta. Also, I don’t even think I knew what this one looked like when she bought it; I don’t remember asking for it, and I think it was comparable to something else I was looking for that they didn’t have. I love it, though; there are so many kinds of holographic silver glitter in it. A couple of the bar glitters didn’t want to play nice; you can probably still see a couple of them I couldn’t get off of my cuticles.

Regardless, I am amazed at how this turned out. Note to self: do this more often.

Manicure Monday: Pink Ice Gradient

Posted on March 31, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

It’s been a while since I’ve done any kind of nail art, so I did a gradient for Mani Monday. Gradients are my favorite; it’s such a cool look and so little effort. This gradient turned out way better than I expected.

My gradient colors are Julep’s Audrey and Sinful Colors’s Forget Now. Both colors have pretty shimmer, but are quite sheer; nail lines are visible under two coats of both. Audrey has a soft silvery shimmer; Forget Now’s shimmer is the same color as the polish, which is enough to give it some shine. I knew these would make a gorgeous gradient because they’re so much alike, and yet so different.

Then I got carried away. The baby holo glitter here is China Glaze’s Fairy Dust, and it was only supposed to be an accent on a couple of nails. I decided it looked funny on so few nails and just put it on all the rest. It’s even more glitter on top of an already really sparkly manicure, but I think it works. I don’t feel like there’s too much going on; the fine glitter adds something extra to a beautiful gemlike look.

Because I couldn’t resist, I added an outdoor photo. This is incredible in the sunlight. I can’t even tell you.

Manicure Monday: Green Green Ocean

Posted on March 24, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

It’s Manicure Monday again! This week I’m wearing Green Ocean from Sinful colors over various greens. At least, they were green before I started. This is one coat of Green Ocean over two coats of Julep’s Fiona, Revlon’s Posh, and Zoya’s Envy.

Green Ocean is a ton of iridescent shred and hex glitter floating in a green-tinted base. As you can see, depending on the color it’s layered over, the glitter looks different, as is the case with most iridescent glitter. Over the yellow-green Fiona, the blue color is the most obvious. Over Posh, it’s the darker blue-to-purple. Over the dark Envy, the shape of the glitters is more defined. Shredded glitter sometimes stands up and doesn’t lay flat on the nail; I used two coats of Seche Vite to smooth it down, but I still have some bumps and points from it. Despite that, this is still one of my favorite glitters. You can tell by looking at the bottle; I’ve had this bottle for years, and even though this is it’s first time on the blog, it’s a pretty well-loved polish.

A quick word to the other polishes I used: Julep’s Fiona is a yellow-green with good coverage; it dries to satiny finish. Revlon’s Posh dries with a beautiful shine, but remains still a bit translucent after two coats. Zoya’s Envy is so dark it may as well be black, but it looks great after two coats .The colors do appear a little different after applying the glitter coat, and I can’t tell if the green tint of Green Ocean is strong enough to change it, or if it just looks different because of the glitter. Either way, these nails are totally blinding in the sunlight, and they’re a ton of fun to wear.

I know the last day of spring was last week, but this is probably the best spring manicure I could have hoped for.

Manicure Monday: Get Carried Away

Posted on March 17, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

For Manicure Monday this week, I’m wearing China Glaze’s Get Carried Away, a black jelly with silver and copper hexes, black bar glitter, and very fine black hexes. I’m wearing three coats of it here, no undies, under two coats of Seche Vite.

I had high hopes for this polish in the beginning. When I first saw it, I’d likened it to a goth older sister of It’s a Trap-eze!, and I had to have it. After three coats, it looks exactly like it does in the bottle; I got a full, even coverage with good glitter distribution. However, cuticle cleanup was awful. You can see I have a lot of jagged lines and pointy bits. I went over my cuticle with the brush and just got the fine black glitter all over me. The bar glitter didn’t play nice; it extended over the tips of my nails like eyelashes and I couldn’t get them off, so I ended up trimming them with my cuticle nippers. Same with the large hexes; when I couldn’t get them off, I cut them down. They’re not as smooth as they could be, but I did well enough.

Protip: Don’t do three coats of this. You’ll hate yourself. You’ll get the same effect by using black undies and one coat of Get Carried Away. It’s not worth it.

Manicure Monday: Neutrals and Glitter

Posted on March 10, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

This week’s Manicure Monday is a masterpiece. No really, I am way too excited about how this turned out. I had my doubts about pairing these two polishes, but they look so fantastic together that I can’t believe I didn’t do this sooner. We’re looking at Sally Hansen’s Natural Sienna and Digital Nails’s Xiao Mei Mei. I have on two coats of each, topped by two coats of Seche Vite top coat.

Natural Sienna is a shimmery, chocolatey brown that I like a lot more than I thought I would. I always skip over browns and neutrals because they’re not bold enough for me. I grabbed this one out of a sale bin thinking “Meh, why not”, and I like it a lot. The formula is thin but covers well. My only complaint here is the brush; it’s one of those wide brushes that’s almost as wide as my whole nail, and I tend to make a mess with those. Otherwise, this one is totally worth the two dollars I paid for it.

Digital Nails’s Xiao Mei Mei kind of steals the show here. Xiao Mei Mei is a nude crelly with orange, pink, and brown glitters. As you can see, it’s very sheer; my nail line is visible if you’re looking for it. I don’t even care about that. What I love about this is its simplicity; there’s just enough color to support the glitter, and it never detracts from it. Bonus: the nude would be my perfect nude if it didn’t have any glitter in it. It blends perfectly with my natural nail color.

My favorite thing, though, is how well these colors pair. The neutrals, the deep colors, the glitters, they all complement each other so well. Totally gorgeous.

I didn’t see Natural Sienna on Sally Hansen’s website, so it may be discontinued. However, Digital Nails has Xiao Mei Mei in stock, so grab it while you can.

Manicure Monday: It’s a Trap-eze!

Posted on March 3, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

For this week’s Mani Monday, I’m wearing one of my most loved polishes, China Glaze’s It’s a Trap-eze!. A nail friend peer-pressured me into buying it, and I have not regretted it once. This is the first time I’ve ever worn it on its own; you may remember it from this bad mani I did almost a year ago. This is a gorgeous polish in the bottle, but I was totally unprepared for how it came out on my nails.

It’s a Trap-eze! is a white jelly loaded down with metallic rainbow glitters. I’m wearing three coats of it here, but I could have gotten away with two. As it dries, the glitter makes it textured and gritty; I put down three coats of Seche Vite, and it’s still a little bumpy. Also, cleanup was a bit of a pain; I didn’t get my cuticles as clean as I wanted them, but I’m lucky to have done this well.

This polish is just unbelievable. Look at that glitter! I am completely hypnotized by it. Whenever I happen to look down at my hands, I end up staring. Also, it’s always amazing how the macro setting on my camera picks up the individual shapes of the glitters. Man. It’s unbelievable.

Manicure Monday: Orange and Monochrome Glitter

Posted on February 24, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

Today’s mani combines two of my favorite things: orange and glitter chaos.

I have on this week Courtney Orange from Sinful Colors, an orange with gold shimmer. I like orange polishes in general, but I like this one in particular; the golden aura gives it so much more. I’m wearing two coats of it here. I’m also wearing two coats of Sally Hansen’s Strobe Flash. I know I’m late to the black and white glitter party (again), but this is a look I still like, even if it’s a bit passe.

This is a look I’m not likely to get tired of. I love glitter, and I love how unpredictably this glitter applies and spreads. I just feel kind of bad that I covered up such a beautiful color.

Sinful Colors’s Courtney Orange, Sally Hansen’s Strobe Flash

Anyway, look forward to more of this sort of thing. I made my own take on the black and white glitter polish, as well as others with more color. I’m not letting this trend go away so easily.

Manicure Monday: Turquoise Hologram

Posted on February 17, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

This week’s Manicure Monday is an oldie, but a goodie. I admit I hated this polish when I bought it last decade, but now I’m in a place where I can appreciate it. This is three coats of Turquoise Hologram from Claire’s.

Turquoise Hologram is a light blue jelly with fine holographic glitter. When I bought it, I was just looking for a nice blue polish that would match this light blue eyeliner I was into. I liked the glitter in this one, so I grabbed it, and when I put it on, I thought it was horrible. It took six coats to achieve total opacity and I couldn’t stand it. I put it away and never used it again until now, now that I know what jellies are.

I think I might still have hated it on longer nails. Because they’re not very long, you don’t see much of a nail line, because I barely have one. I must have smudged it with top coat on the index finger because of that bald spot, and the Seche Vite must have shrunk the edges. I’m not very happy with this manicure in particular, but there is hope for this polish after all.

It’s kind of satisfying using one of the oldest polishes I own. It was probably 2008 when I bought this one, seeing it was about that time I stopped biting my nails and put some effort into nail care. I’d been painting my nails since before then, but growing up, we always had family bottles; my mom, sisters and I all shared one collection. I left home in 2005, but didn’t really bother with my nails much, since I was still a raging nailbiter. I had a handful of polishes for myself then, and maybe a hundred when my boyfriend moved out in 2012. Now I’m hoarding it. I don’t know how I survived with only a hundred bottles of nail polish.

Manicure Monday: Scattered Glitter Over Khaki

Posted on February 10, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

This week’s manicure is a gorgeous one. I have on Julep’s Kennedy and China Glaze’s Scattered and Tattered. Note to self: do more glitter and nude pairings.

Kennedy is a khaki creme. The last time I used it, I compared it to unblended foundation. There’s just not a lot to say about this one. It’s far too yellow to be a nude, at least not on me; I’m sure this is a perfect nude for someone. The formula is standard Julep fare; the first coat was thin and streaky, but the second evened everything out. I think I still had a slightly visible nail line, but the glitter covers it well. Overall, despite the odd choice khaki is for a nail color, I like it. Before I put the glitter over it, my nails look lengthened and smooth. It’s like nail mascara.

The real star here is Scattered and Tattered. This is a clear base full of black and red hexes and slices. I’m wearing one coat here, and you can see that it applies well and the glitter spreads evenly. I love these China Glaze glitters so much that I bought as many as my boyfriend would let me. I think there’s only one I’m missing, and once I figure out which one it is, I’m going to grab it. I just really love this look. It’s part pop art, part graffiti, part granite countertop. I definitely want to do this again.

Julep’s Kennedy and China Glaze’s Scattered and Tattered

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