Tag Archives: accent nails

Manicure Monday: Pre-Valentine’s Pretties

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My Manicure Monday post this week is accidentally romantic! I’d paired these two polishes together because I just liked the way they looked. Then it turned out their names were funny together. Then it just happened to be the Monday before Valentine’s Day! I actually really hate Valentine’s Day, but I never turn down an excuse to dress up and be pretty. I’m wearing three coats of OPI’s Sprung, one brushed coat of Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s Idealistic Future, and one coat of Digital Nails’s Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That top coat.

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Sprung is a lovely metallic copper with gold and cinnamon shimmers. It’s very shiny and reflective; if you look at the photo where I’m holding the bottle, you can see the reflection of my fingers on the polish. How crazy is that? I’m not sure I’ve ever used a polish that metallic. I didn’t notice it until I put it on. I almost feel a little bad about covering up all that shimmer with glitter, but it shines right through it. It’s awesome.

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I used these two polishes together because I felt like Idealistic Future was the only glitter topper I had that could stand up to Sprung. Sprung has so much going on in it; there’s so much shimmer and color that any glitter I chose either competed with it or demanded too much attention. This was the only glitter that coexisted with it.Even though this look is perfect for the Valentine’s Day weekend, I’m probably not going to wear it that long. I have some super-awesome swatches lined up.

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Sprung is discontinued by OPI, but it looks like a few are still available online. I get my other OPI polishes at Ulta. Idealistic Future has been discontinued by Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer, but you can purchase other BEGLs from their shop.

I bought these polishes myself.

Manicure Monday: Complementary Glitter

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Manicure Monday!! I love my mani today. I’m wearing three coats of Color Club’s Sparkle and Soar, one brushed coat of Digital Nails‘s Aguamenti, and one coat of Ciate’s Speed Coat Pro top coat.

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Sparkle and Soar is a shimmery orange polish with golden glass flecks and a hint of gold-to-green duochrome. Application was pretty easy, I didn’t have any problems with it. The consistency is fine; it’s thick due to the amount of shimmer/superfine glitters, but it’s easy to control. It dried pretty quickly, and to a satin finish. With a top coat, the shimmer becomes that much more vibrant.

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Aguamenti is a glitter topper with a truckload of metallic and holographic glitters in various shapes and colors. There are dots, hexes, squares, and bar glitters in blue, aqua, teal, and green. The maker says the base is slightly tinted, but I can’t tell. The application here was super easy for a glitter like this; the large glitters were easy to find and brush on, never getting lost in the smaller glitters. Also, sometimes it’s really hard to get good and even coverage with a polish like this, and that’s definitely not the case with Aguamenti. I could just brush it on and get this without any manipulation or glitter-placing at all. It’s awesome.

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I really like the way this paired together. I was going for something complementary; I wanted a glitter that would make the color pop a little more, and vice versa. The gilded orange is so rich and bright; the glitter glistens like jewels. I knew I would love this look, but I really surprised myself with how much I like it.

Sparkle and Soar is sold on the Color Club website, and wherever else Color Club is sold. Aguamenti is currently in stock in the Digital Nails shop, but has been discontinued. Definitely be on the lookout for these polishes.

I bought these polishes myself.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Idealistic Future

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My swatch this Swatch Saturday features the gorgeous glitter topper from Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s 2014 Valentine’s Day collection. I’m wearing one coat of Idealistic Future over L’Oreal’s Broadway Boogie, Julep’s Martha, and Essie’s Navigate Her, as well as one coat of Ciate’s Speed Coat Pro top coat.

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BEGL describes Idealistic Future as a clear glitter topper “packed with gold, pink, purple, and red glitters in hexes, squares, glass dots, diamonds, and hearts.” These glitters, even the big shapes, were easy to get out of the bottle and spread well over the nail. Drying time was about what I expect now from a BEGL, about five minutes, even where it’s applied thickly. It was really easy to put on and wear.

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I love BEGL glitter toppers, and I really love this one. I love the colors in it: romantic pink, soft lilac, rich gold, fiery red. I especially love the glass dot glitters. This was the first time I’d ever seen them in a polish, and though they’re elusive, it’s so much fun to see one on the nail when you finally discover it. Can you see the one I got on my middle finger? I didn’t notice it myself until I was looking at the photos. It just looks like a round clear circle in the photo, but in real life it’s about the same color as my undies polish. Fun, right? I think it’s fun.

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The very last bottle of Idealistic Future sold out a couple days ago, so unfortunately, this one is no longer for sale. As of this publication, one of the My Indecisive Valentine polishes is still available, and supplies are limited. That polish is Newly Impassioned Soul; we’ll see it next week on Swatch Saturday.

I bought this polish myself.

Manicure Monday: January Flowers

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It’s the first Manicure Monday of 2015! However, I don’t think I’m totally pleased with this mani. It was cuter in my head. I’m wearing three coats of LA Colors’s Daisy, two dabbed coats of Claire’s Hippie Chick on my accent nails, and one coat of Ciate’s Speed Coat Pro top coat.

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Daisy is a cheerful yellow creme polish. The first coat was streaky and worrisome, but the color evened out after three coats. The consistency was a bit thick, because apparently my bottle doesn’t close tightly; it just spins around and opens again if you turn it too far. I had to thin it out to make it usable. It dries quickly, I’ll give it that, and takes on a nice satin finish. It’s not bad to use, but it’s not great.

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The same is true for Hippie Chick. Hippie Chick is a clear-based glitter topper with lavender and purple flowers and fine iridescent glitters. It looks way cute in the bottle, but there are very few large glitters in it. I spent most of my manicure time fishing them out of the bottle without getting tons of lacquer on the brush. I think it dried pretty quickly, so there’s that.

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Forgive my gross dry hands. Winter SUCKS.

 

I put these two together because I love complementary colors; I thought the purple and yellow would make a much bolder statement than they do. It didn’t occur to me until just now that the polish names work together. That’s fun.

As I said, I don’t feel too jazzed about this manicure. I definitely should have gone with another glitter. It just needs more.

Swatch Sunday: Deborah Lippmann’s Happy Birthday

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It’s time for another Swatch Saturday. For this edition, I’m wearing one dabbed coat of Deborah Lippmann’s Happy Birthday over two coats each of Disney Villains Cruella de Vil, Color Club’s Almost Famous, and Ciate’s Offshore, along with one coat of Ciate’s Speed Coat Pro top coat.

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Happy Birthday is a clear-based glitter topper with a rainbow mix of metallic glitters. The glitters didn’t spread well just brushing them on, but dabbing gave me much more coverage. There’s a ton of glitter on each nail, but you can still see the undies. The glitters are very shiny, and very much so with top coat. Drying times were very fast. I’m pretty happy with it.

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I am still a huge fan of these rainbow glitter polishes. Remember when OPI had that Muppets collection with Rainbow Connection? Would you believe I don’t have it? Would you believe that I had gone to Ulta, picked it up, held it in my hands, and then PUT IT BACK because I “didn’t need it”? That was the biggest mistake of my life. Somewhat luckily, the rainbow glitter fad caught on, and every brand had their own version of it. Deborah Lippmann’s take on it is pretty nice. It’s a good consolation prize.

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I got my mini bottle of Happy Birthday in a set with She-Bop. I don’t think this set is around anymore, but you can buy full sized bottles at Sephora, Ulta, and (I think) Nordstrom. The good news is, as I mentioned, every brand has their version of this polish now, so you don’t have to drop twenty dollars on this particular one.

Also, quick apology for my cuticles. Every undies polish I used for this mani stained the crap out of my cuticles, and I didn’t notice just how bad it was until I was processing photos. I do apologize. I’m quite embarrassed by them.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer Prototype PCFS 1.0

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Happy new year, readers! My first mani of the year is a Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer prototype. I’m wearing one coat of PCFS 1.0 over China Glaze’s Pelican Gray, Julep’s Martha, and Essie’s Mint Candy Apple, as well as a coat of Ciate’s Speed Coat Pro top coat.

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PCFS 1.0 is a clear glitter topper with glitters in matte white, royal blue, pink, and holographic turquoise. Shapes include pink hearts, holographic turquoise stars and shreds, white rectangles and dots. There are also some iridescent glitters. Most of the glitters spread out evenly; rectangles and shreds came out easily, but the hearts and stars eluded me. Regardless, I still got a fun look and good glitter coverage. Drying times were fast. Application was easy. This was a pretty nice polish to use and wear.

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Because this is a prototype with a prototypey name, I gave it a nickname: RETROLOVE. I don’t know why it’s all caps, but it is. These colors together just scream Miami Vice to me.

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As this is a prototype, it’s a one-of-a-kind polish and there aren’t anymore in existence. Sorry! The BEGL shop will reopen on the ninth of January, with a new winter collection launching on the 12th.

Manicure Monday: Love in Silver

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Here’s this week’s Manicure Monday, and possibly my last mani before Christmas. I’m accidentally festive, too! For this mani, I’m wearing two coats of Julep’s Zelda, one coat of Model City‘s Love Hurts, and one coat of Ciate’s Speed Coat Pro top coat.

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Zelda is a cool champagne metallic polish. It is probably the best Julep polish I’ve ever used. I got opaque and even coverage in one coat, and it was dry to the touch in about five minutes. The consistency was perfect, and it dried with a shiny foil finish. I wish every Julep polish was like this. It’s so easy to apply and wear.

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Love Hurts is a clear glitter topper with black glitters, some fine silver glitters, and holographic red hearts. The glitter distribution with this one is really nice; I got tons of hearts on the brush when I dip in, way more than I wanted, which rarely happens. I had to dip in a few times, just to get the black and silvers. The consistency is pretty nice; it wasn’t too thin or too thick, and it dried pretty quickly. My one issue here is that the heart glitters seem to be losing their color. It’s not bleeding into the lacquer, but it looks like some came off onto my nail. It’s too bad, but it’s kind of cool, like stylishly distressed jeans.

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You can get Zelda from Julep.com, or from anywhere Julep is sold. Unfortunately, Love Hurts has been discontinued by Model City and is no longer available.

Manicure Monday: Springtime in December

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On this Manicure Monday, my manicure is all the things a December mani should not be. Not that I care. Pastels in December are totally cool. It’s warm somewhere. For this spring-forward mani, I’m wearing three coats of Sally Hansen’s No Hard Feelings, two coats of Formula X for Sephora’s Demolition, one coat of Ciate’s Speed Coat Pro top coat, and one coat of Hard Candy’s Mattely in Love matte top coat.

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No Hard Feelings is a lavender creme polish. It sounds boring, but it’s actually pretty nice. The formula is very nice; it dries in about five minutes, reaches opacity in two coats, and dries with a glossy finish. It’s a lovely color, and I felt a little bad dulling it with the matte top coat.

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Demolition is the first Formula X for Sephora polish on the blog. It was also the first Formula X I ever bought; it caught my eye immediately because I thought it was an indie polish. No foolin! I don’t see many mass market glitter toppers like this, especially with hexes this big. Demolition has large hexes in pink and blue, and smaller ones in pink, green, and blue, and even finer ones in the same colors. It’s such a cool look. Of course, with glitter this large, there’s a bit of texture, even after adding top coat, especially since the bigger glitters stuck together and piled up on itself. It still looks awesome.

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So in all, not bad. I am still not a fan of matte polish, but I think with the satin glitters, it’s okay. At least it’s colorful.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Prototype AG 1.1

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Today’s Swatch Saturday polish is no stranger! We took a brief look at Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s Prototype AG 1.1 on Manicure Monday, when I paired it with China Glaze’s Exotic Encounters. Today, it gets its own manicure! I’m wearing AG 1.1 over Raspberry Cordial from Ciate, and Black Out and Hard to Get, both from Sally Hansen. All nails are topped with one coat of Speed Coat Pro, also from Ciate.

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Prototype AG 1.1, as we discussed before, is a glitter topper with blue-to-purple shifting pigment and white hexes, stars, moons, squares, rectangles, dots, and diamonds. As I mentioned before, the consistency is rather thick, but because there’s so much stuff in this bottle, it’s natural for it to be that way. Despite its viscosity, it does dry quickly, and with a satin finish. The glitter does spread well over the nail, but because the glitters are so large, they do tend to clump a little bit.

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How gorgeous is this! I included a before shot of the black, white, and pink, just so you can see how this polish transforms a color. These are some pretty basic cremes in pretty bold shades. The shifting pigment comes along and softens them, making them pearly and delicate. It’s absolutely amazing. It’s probably the most beautiful the darker colors; on the black, you can see everything, like looking up at the sky on a dark night. You get the maximum shifting effect as well as glitter contrast.

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You probably think I’m crazy to put a polish like this over white. Yeah, maybe I am, but I really love the way it turned out. The glitters are not immediately visible, but the shift looks incredible. I am a huge fan of this color-on-color combination. It’s intricate and dainty, like tatted lace. I think it’s astoundingly beautiful.

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While this is a statement polish for sure, I also feel like it’s very simple as well. There aren’t a ton of colors competing for attention, there isn’t a crazy sparkly melange of glitter. Everything is consistent and and homogeneous, and I like that about it. It’s elegant without being over the top; it demands attention but isn’t loud or obnoxious. It is truly stunning. Unfortunately, this is a one-of-a-kind polish prototype and is currently unavailable. Sorry! In the BEGL shop, however, there is one OOAK prototype for sale. Grab it before it’s gone!

Manicure Monday: Green and Galaxy Glitter

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Thanksgiving is over, and we’re back on schedule! I missed you guys! For this week’s Manicure Monday, we’re sticking with the usual glitter accent nails, but I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. I’m wearing three coats of China Glaze’s Exotic Encounters, with one coat of Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Prototype AG 1.1 on my accent nails. All nails are topped Ciate’s Speed Coat Pro top coat.

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Exotic Encounters is a deep jungle green creme. It’s rather dramatic; it dries so smoothly and with such a high gloss that it makes top coat nearly unnecessary. It does dry quickly, and achieves opacity in two coats. The consistency is just right, and application was perfectly easy. This polish was a total win for me. It’s an absolutely gorgeous shade of green, and it’s so shiny!

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Prototype AG 1.1 kind of steals the spotlight. It guess it kind of deserves it. AG 1.1 is an icy blue-to-warm violet shifting polish with white glitters in various shapes and sizes. Each fun shape is in here: moons, stars, diamonds, rectangles, dots, and squares, along with some smallers dots and hexes. There are no hearts, but I’ll let it slide. It’s a bit thick, but it’s so loaded up with glitter and pigment that it’s expected. It goes on easily and is so much fun to wear. I’m very surprised by how it transforms a creme polish. It doesn’t even look like the same color with this shifty glitter madness on top of it. It’s amazing. I actually call it SPACELINGERIE in my own personal files, because it’s celestial, sultry, and leaves just enough to the imagination.

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I almost feel like this look is a bit dull, since it looks like all the accent nails are having all the fun. That might be true. I love it, though. I simply cannot get enough of AG 1.1. It’s also my Swatch Saturday this week — surprise! — so look forward to it. It’s amazing.