Category Archives: Manicure Monday

Manicure Tuesday: Plum Opal

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Hello, reader! I had an awesome Fourth of July weekend, and that’s why I’m posting a mani in the middle of the week. I hope yours was just as good! I like this mani, so even if it is late, I’m excited to share it. I’m using one of the Chanels I treated myself to for my birthday and a gorgeous flakie topper! This is Chanel’s Provocation and Finger Paints’s Symmetrical Symphony mattefied with Essie’s Matte About You matte top coat.

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I loved the Finger Paints flakie collection from the other year. I was actually pretty lucky and scored most of them from the Sally Beauty Supply sale bin. It was the most exciting thing. I love this one because the colors contrast; some flakies glow golden, others glow blue-violet, and they bring out the best in each other. I had to mattify them for the full effect. The colors are very strong. I used two coats to get this much coverage.

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As beautiful as the flakies are, though, I’m the most excited about wearing Provocation. Deep plum polish always makes me feel glamorous, but having it be a Chanel polish really ups the glamour factor. There’s still a part of me that feels guilty for buying these, especially since there’s no real difference between mid-end and high-end polish. I just remember seeing Chanel’s Vamp in so many magazines as a young teen that I knew one day I’d have to own a Chanel polish. I might have a little buyer’s remorse, but I feel posh as hell with this polish on.

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In the sunlight, you can really see the opal effect the flakies have. It’s really mesmerizing! The matte coat makes it possible to see all the colors at once, and the colors are really vivid outdoors. Provocation looks red for some reason. These photos were taken in direct sunlight outdoors.

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Chanel polishes are available wherever Chanel cosmetics are sold; mine is from Nordstrom. Finger Paints is sold at Sally Beauty Supply.

I bought these polishes myself.

Manicure Monday: Orange Jello Sandwich

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It’s Manicure Monday again! Today’s look is a jelly sandwich, which is probably my favorite nail art technique. It always comes out so well! For this look, I used L’Oreal’s Mango Mamma over American Apparel’s Light Year, as well as Seche Vite top coat.

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Mango Mamma is the perfect jelly. The color is bold but the coverage always stays sheer. It has the appearance of orange gelatin. I badly wish I had an orange-scented top coat, but I feel like this polish also deserves to smell like orange gelatin. As it’s the perfect jelly, the jelly sandwich was basically the only thing I could do with it. I can’t believe something like this came from a mainstream brand.

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Light Year was maybe not the best glitter for this look, even though it turned out looking pretty cool. I knew brushing it on wasn’t the best application method because it’s liquidy, so I sponged it on. Even then, I got some holes in coverage, even though it didn’t look like it at the time. I guess it doesn’t matter, because what is on there sparkles wonderfully under Mango Mamma. Overall, the look feels flashy, stylish, and bold.

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For this look, outdoors in direct sunlight is where it’s at. The orange looks a little washed out, but the glitter comes alive and looks its best. It almost looks kind of autumnal, with the orange jelly and the warm shades coming through in the holographic glitter. It’s like Thanksgiving in June!

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Mango Mamma might be discontinued by L’Oreal; other L’Oreal polishes are sold in stores nationwide. American Apparel polishes have been discontinued as well.

I bought these polishes myself.

Manicure Monday: Floppy. Hoppy. BUNNIES!

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Welcome back to Manicure Monday! Today, I’m wearing a favorite from my collection, Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s Floppy. Hoppy. BUNNIES! I’m wearing three coats with Seche Vite top coat and Essie’s Matte About You matte top coat.

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I love this polish so much; it’s so whimiscal and cute I could die. It’s one of my favorite indies, and it’s one of the cutest polishes I own. I like to think it might also be pretty hard-to-find, and that kind of excites me. It was the gift with purchase the first time BEGL’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer-inspired collection came out, and when it was re-released a couple years ago, it was replaced with a holo that was actually pretty stunning. It’s kind of sad to think it might never come back; as much as I love having HTF polishes, I feel bad that so many people missed out.

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I needed a new matte top coat, so I finally decided to try Essie’s. The last time I looked for this, I was buying my first matte top coat ever, and they were just becoming popular. I ended up with the Revlon one because it was the only one my Walgreen’s had. I’m still struggling to embrace the matte finish, but I really like how it looks with this polish. The glitters still shine despite not being glossy, and the milky blue crelly looks like porcelain. I actually do have a few matte looks planned in the coming weeks, and I feel weird that I’m looking forward to them.

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Sunlight photos! The pale blue got washed out in direct sunlight, looking more like a cool white in some photos. The glitters stand out very well though!

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Floppy. Hoppy. BUNNIES! has been discontinued by Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer; other BEGL polishes are available from their online shop. My bow charm is from Claire’s.

This is also one of my most frequently used polishes, as you can see.

This is also one of my most frequently used polishes, as you can see.

This polish was a gift, but was not sent for review.

Manicure Monday: Toggle to the Top

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Happy Monday! This week’s look is just one polish, Essie’s Toggle to the Top! I’m wearing three coats of Toggle to the Top with one coat of Seche Vite.

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Toggle to the Top is a fairly unique polish in the Essie lineup. I can’t think of too many others in their core line that have glitter in them. It’s a rich and deep red, gorgeous on its own, but the glitter adds edge and dimension. It makes me feel super sexy.

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I kind of messed this mani up with my new brush. The old brush I used to clean my cuticles with eventually became so ragged I had to toss it, and I’m still learning how to work with my replacement. As sexy as I feel in this polish, I can’t stop looking at the mile between my cuticle and the polish.

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But yeah, I love this polish, and I wish Essie did more like it. I know they (re)released Starry Starry Night, and I failed to get in on that because I couldn’t find it anywhere. I don’t buy too much polish anymore, but that’s definitely one I’d snatch up if I had the chance. I’ve never understood why they shy away from glitter. The LuxEffects collection, while they still have a place in my heart, and kind of old and boring now. Toggle to the Top is a perfect example of an elegant glitter polish that isn’t overdone or tacky.

Toggle to the Top and other Essie polishes are sold nationwide. My bow charm is from Daily Charme.

I bought these products myself.

Manicure Monday: Lemon Lolly

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Happy Monday! I’m excited to be wearing a textured polish this week. I know everyone else has moved on from them, but I still think they’re cool. This is Lemon Lolly from Nicole by OPI; I’m wearing three coats alone.

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Lemon Lolly brings a bit of brightness to my Monday. As of this writing, Tropical Storm Colin is on its way to my house, and as such, it’s been gray, stormy, and foreboding. It’s the perfect day for yellow! I am a fan (to a point) of inclement weather, so it’s kind of fun to listen to it. If you’re reading this from Florida, stay safe!

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I wear textured polishes so infrequently that I haven’t had time to get sick of them, and honestly, I don’t know if I ever could. I mean, I know it is kind of gimmicky, but this one is just so golden, so sparkly, and so cheerful. I don’t think I could wear this polish and be in a bad mood. It’s a look that could only come from a textured polish.

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On a somewhat unrelated note, I used to have the perfect clutch. It was bright yellow, leatherette, and studded with silver spike studs. I went through a yellow phase a few years ago and it was absolutely perfect for me then. My cat peed on it and ruined it. Today I got nostalgic for it, and that’s why I used the spike studs on my accent nail. I miss that bag so much, and this is my dumb little homage to it.

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Lemon Lolly has been discontinued by Nicole by OPI; other NOPIs are available in stores nationwide. I got mine at Target. My spike studs are from Daily Charme.

I bought these products myself.

Manicure Monday: Post-Vacation Drama

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Happy Monday, dudes! It’s actually Tuesday where I am, and I’m just getting around to posting this because I spent my Monday partying for Memorial Day. I’m finally back from Hawaii, and this is the first mani I’ve done since I got back. It feels good to be back at my mani station; I’ve felt like half a person without having polish on for the past week. Do my hands look tanner? I shopped a lot in Hawaii, so I might do a Hawaiian beauty haul post in a bit, as well as some Island Girl polish swatches. Keep an eye out for those!

Anyway, this post-vacation look was done with Sonia Kashuk’s Smoke and Mirrors and Digital Nails‘s So Sparkle.

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Smoke and Mirrors is a classic shimmer silver polish. This shade has been around forever and every brand has one. I even remember my mother rocking this silver back in the day. It’s shimmery, sparkly, and foil-like; it’s not as foily as something like Essie’s No Place Like Chrome, but it’s still very reflective. This polish is one that shows brush strokes pretty prominiently, and I can’t really see them in this one, which is really nice.

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So Sparkly is amazing, and is easily the star of this manicure. Someone at my cookout today it looked like dreamy space glitter, and that’s the best way I can describe this polish. It’s got a teal to purple shift, red and blue glitters, silver flakies, and a holo effect throughout, though I can’t tell if it’s Spectraflair or fine holo glitters. I’ve been staring at my polish all day, and mostly the two with So Sparkle on. This polish is dramatic and gorgeous and everyone should have it.

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I put the two together because I wanted a simple metallic look to help me ease back into my manicure and blogging routines. I thought about adding the usual 3D elements and opted not to. I didn’t want to do anything very complicated today, what with holiday barbecues and swimming, and I’m still pretty jet-lagged. I also have other things I need to do today. Like unpack.

Sonia Kashuk polishes are sold at Target. Digital Nails is sold on etsy.

I bought these polishes myself.

Manicure Monday: Minty Fresh and Clean

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Happy Monday, reader! Today’s look is a pretty simple one. I had a nail break — my nails were already pretty short — so I felt a simple look was best for nails this short. Today’s look was done with a vintage Maybelline mystery color, Lynnderella‘s The Full Minty, and rhinestones.

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As you can see, this Maybelline polish is at least ten years old. That’s as long as I’ve had it, anyway. I don’t know anything about it; its name and other labels got peeled off, leaving its identity lost forever. It’s a really nice polish besides being old; it’s a warm nude with a subtle shimmer, it dries pretty quickly, and application was easy, even though I remember one of the last times I used it the brush dropped a strand in the wet polish. I’m always impressed by how long a polish can live.

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I never know what to pair nude polishes with. Nudes are a great base for anything, and I couldn’t decide what to use with it, so what I did this week was pick a random Helmer drawer, shut my eyes, and grabbed a polish out. It was this one, Lynnderella’s The Full Minty. This was one of the first Lynnderellas I ever bought, and I’ve had it at least a year now, so I’m happy to be trying it out. At first I wasn’t sure about it; I thought the green would overwhelm the nude, and it kind of does, but I like it. The rhinestones, the final afterthought, pulls it together.

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In the sun, this is really nice; you can see the full variety of glitters in The Fully Minty, as well as the subtle nude shimmer in the base.

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As the Maybelline mystery color is old and likely discontinued, I can’t offer any buying notes for it. The Fully Minty and other Lynnderella polishes are available on both eBay and Storenvy. My rhinestones are from Amazon.

I bought these products myself.

Manicure Monday: Whack With Poo Brain

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Happy Monday! I did a simple look with a fun polish this week. This is Whack With Poo Brain from Digital Nails; I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite and the Infinity Loop Bow from Daily Charme.

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When Whack With Poo Brain was released, it was one of a special edition polish duo. Poo Brain and its sister polish, Ellagee’s Chronic Badass. The duo was created to raise awareness for fibromyalgia and other chronic illnesses. May 12 is actually Fibromyalgia Awareness Day, and I’ve been planning to wear this polish for like a year, so that’s kind of lucky.

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I love this polish because it’s just quirky enough. The milky purple crelly is a beautiful color, and the glitter just adds personality. Of course, in true Digital Nails fasion, this polish was inspired in part by Adventure Time and its whimsical silliness, and I feel like that really comes through in the glitter. It’s not an ostentatious mix; the colors are basic, the iridescence gives it a little sparkle, and the circle and square shapes make it fun. It’s cute. That’s really the best word. Cute.

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Outdoor photo time! You can see the dimension in the crelly pretty well out here, as well as some of the iridescent glitters.

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Whack With Poo Brain was a limited edition and is no longer for sale. Other Digital Nails polishes are available in their etsy shop. The infinity loop bow and other charms are sold at Daily Charme.

I bought these products myself.

Manicure Monday: Cool Raspberry Swirl With Sprinkles

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Happy Monday, reader! Today’s look was done because I realized I don’t do watermarbles as often as I should. I used Sinful Colors’s Timbleberry (pink) as the base, Essie’s I’m Addicted (darker blue) and Mint Candy Apple (lighter blue) in the marble, and Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer Prototype PCFS 1.0 as the glitter accent.

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In a future post, you’ll read about the lack of watermarbling on the blog; basically, when I plan a mani, I’m thinking about what glitters will pair best with cremes, and other cremes are rarely considered. The fact is, I love watermarbling, and sometimes it’s just so hard to find a cool color combination, and also formulas that lend themselves to the process; nothing’s worse than discovering a polish doesn’t spread over the water and knowing I’ve wasted polish. I’d been planning to use Timbleberry for a while, and I had a Lynnderella topper set aside for it. At the last minute, I decided that I was going to watermarble instead.

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Mint Candy Apple and I’m Addicted were chosen because they just happened to be on my desk. I have them set aside for swatching some glitter toppers in the future. I saw them alongside Timbleberry and thought “Why not?”. The final outcome looks a little like a rocket pop, and more than a little like toothpaste, but I’m really happy with how it came out. My top coat smudged it a bit, but this is barely visible in real life.

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The glitter was the very last piece the look needed, and to me, it brings the whole thing together. I couldn’t stand the thought of not using any glitter, so I picked this one. The colors aren’t a spot-on match, but it’s pretty close. Overall, I think this ended up being a pretty cool look; you’ve got the bright-but-not-totally-neon bright pink, the cool blues, and a tiny bit of sparkle. I also lucked out having the bow be the exact same color as the blue in the mani.

Outdoor photo time! There’s no large difference among the colors here, but I got some okay macros. Try to see past the smudges. I also got a photo of a nail on my right hand; I always get the best swirls on the nails on the other side of the camera.

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Timbleberry might be discontinued by Sinful Colors. I’m Addicted also may have been discontinued by Essie. Both brands are sold in stores nationwide. Prototype PCFS 1.0 is a Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer one-off; other BEGL polishes are sold in their online shop. My bow charm is from Claire’s.

I bought these products myself.

Manicure Monday: California Pearl

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Happy Monday, reader! Today’s mani was done with Sinful Colors’s San Francisco and Lynnderella‘s Chef Kitty. I was a little disappointed with how sheer San Francisco went on, but I still I got a pretty cool look. More photos below!

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San Francisco is a polish I’ve had a long time; you can tell in the photos that the bottle is only about half full. I’ve had it for many years, and it was one of the first few I bought when I was just starting my collection. That said, I knew to expect sheer coverage from this polish, but I forgot just how sheer it gets. The color is a deep and rich shimmering emerald, but the nail line is still very visible, even after three coats. This is especially true in bright lighting conditions; see the outdoor photos.

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Chef Kitty is such a fun polish. It was my introduction to Lynnderella, and set me off on an exciting and financially draining journey. I think it’s a great addition to San Francisco; the green glitters are a little invisible over the green base, but the whites and the other colors stand out very well. It’s a great polish for adding a little extra color and sparkle without having it take over the whole manicure.

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Here are some outdoor photos. You can see how sheer San Francisco is, but you can also see how lovely its shimmer is. The glitter in Chef Kitty is a lot more defined. The pearls I stuck on to finish the look are much smaller than they appear in these photos.

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San Francisco and other Sinful Colors polishes are sold in stores; I got mine from Walgreens. Chef Kitty and other Lynnderella polishes are available on eBay and in their Storenvy shop. My pearls were purchased on Amazon, and my bow charm is from Claire’s.

I bought these products myself.