Manicure Monday: Blue Nubs With Glitter Accents

Posted on August 4, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

This Manicure Monday has me trying to dress up my nubs a little. Actually, I paired these polishes months ago, and expected to see it on nails a little longer than this. Ah, well. On this lovely Blue Monday, I’m wearing three coats of Sinful Colors’s All Mighty, and my accent nails are three coats of Different Dimension‘s (blue) Da Ba Dee. All nails are topped with one coat of Seche Vite.

All Mighty is a deep turquoise polish with blue shimmer. It’s fairly typical of a Sinful Colors polish; I mean that in the best way possible. It’s opaque and dark from the first coat, the consistency is just right, and it dries quickly. I’m always surprised with Sinful Colors’s quality. Two-dollar polish should not be this nice.

(blue) Da Ba Dee is a blue jelly with different shapes and sizes of silver and blue holo glitters. Naturally, it steals the show in this mani. The larger glitters do sink, but they’re easy to grab when the bottle sits upside-down for a few minutes. It’s not too much of a problem. It’s also a teensy bit difficult to apply to these little nails; some of the large dot glitters are almost the size of my whole nail. I’m exaggerating, but you know what I mean. The jelly base is thin, so layering is very easy with it. It’s a very nice polish.

Not bad, nubs. Not bad at all.

Summer of Untrieds Day 27: Matte

Posted on July 27, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

We’re nearing the end of the Summer of Untrieds! Today’s theme is matte, so I went with Ciate’s Chalkboard Paint from the Chalkboard Manicure set. I’m wearing three coats of it with no top coat.

Chalkboard Paint is a matte black creme. I had some issues applying it; in some places, it cracked, showing my bare nail underneath, like a crackle polish. Check out my thumb nail, that’s where it’s the most apparent. It’s also unforgiving; I tried to cover the cracks, but they just show through the second coat. However, it does dry very matte. It has no shine whatsoever, so it has that going for it, which is nice.

The Chalkboard Manicure set also come with four chalk pens for nail art, so I got them out and doodled out a rough vintage roses design. Really rough.

Swatch Saturday: American Apparel’s Andromeda

Posted on July 26, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

It’s Swatch Saturday, and I’m wearing the last American Apparel polish I bought on vacation. It’s the only one of them that isn’t a neon. This is Andromeda, and I’m wearing three coats of it with one coat of Seche Vite.

Andromeda is a pretty unique polish; it’s a thin lavender jelly laden with metallic turquoise and iridescent purple glitter shreds. It’s like a purple counterpart to Sinful Colors’s Green Ocean. I decided to wear this polish alone because I wanted to see how opaque the jelly base would get. It’s still quite sheer, and my nail line is still visible, but the glitter covers the nail well.

Unfortunately, application with Andromeda is not easy. The lacquer consistency is very thick and takes quite a while to dry, even with quick-dry top coat. The glitters tend to stick together and clump on the nail, leaving thick bulges in the polish. Also, it doesn’t always sit flat on the nail, so even with top coat, there’s still glitter that sticks up and keeps the polish from being smooth to the touch. It’s beautiful, so I think it’s worth putting up with.

Outdoors, sunset

There you have it: I’m done with American Apparel polishes for a while, and I’m going to start up my weekly Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer swatches. I’ve missed them.

Wacie Wednesday: Euphorica

Posted on July 23, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

I am so excited to show you this week’s Wacie Wednesday! This is a momentous occasion, for I am showing you the first-ever Wacie Nail Company holo! This is Euphorica; I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite.

Euphorica is an ocean blue scattered holo. Unfortunately, the holo effect isn’t very strong indoors. This one has a rather delicate holo, and often the indoor lights will make the holo particles appear silver instead of presenting the usual rainbow effect. It’s still pretty though, it just looks like a shimmery icy blue. It’s still beautiful indoors, even without the holo.

In the sunshine is where this polish really shines (pun intended). My camera could not capture all the holo goodness.

This is such a perfect color for summer; it reminds me of the sky before the Florida summer storm clouds set in, the light playing in the water of a swimming pool, the shore on a foreign beach. I seriously cannot stop staring at these.

I’m totally a holo addict now. I see myself making a ton more like this.

Summer of Untrieds Day 22: Teal

Posted on July 22, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

This is the 22nd day in a row I’ve worn a polish I’ve never tried. I still can’t believe I was crazy enough to do this. I’ve never changed my nail color this often, and I’m not sure yet if I like it. Anyway, this 22nd day has a teal theme, so I’m wearing a teal I’ve had for a long time, Marine Blue from Claire’s. I bought this as a birthday gift for my sister that I ended up keeping for myself because I’m an awful, awful person. I am wearing three coats of Marine Blue with one coat of Seche Vite.

So I’ve been dealing with a lot of chameleon polishes lately, it seems, because I’ve had a recent string of polishes that seem to change color when I take photos of them (alternate theory: I suck at my camera). In reality, Marine Blue is a dark, rich peacock blue-green, but in every photo I took, it’s much lighter, much bluer. I am so frustrated that I can’t capture how beautiful it really is. It’s such a deep, enigmatic, dramatic color, and it totally does not look like it here.

Aside from that problem, I rather like wearing it. Marine Blue was easy to put on; it dries quickly, but with a matte finish. This may not be a problem for you, but I don’t like the matte finish right off; I tend to associate it with cheap or low-quality polish. Thankfully, Seche Vite can make even the cheapest polish look incredible. I have to give the topcoat most of the credit for making this look so fantastic.

Outdoors, full sun

I don’t like to post cell-quality photos here, but I will, because my phone actually took a photo where the color is actually pretty close to what it’s really like. It’s greener here than in the others, though it’s still a bit too light. It’s still a lovely color regardless of how you look at it, I suppose.

Indoors (CFL lighting), cell phone

Summer of Untrieds Day 20: Multichrome/Shifter

Posted on July 20, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

Day 20 of the Summer of Untrieds calls for multichromes and shifters, and I decided to use Yes, Master from Digital Nails. It’s a magical dark teal duochrome that goes all the way from green to pink. I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite.

Yes, Master is easy to apply, though the consistency is a little thick, probably due to all the shimmer and fine little sparkles in it. It does dry quickly though, which is definitely a plus. Cleanup is easy, too; usually polishes with teeny little sprinkle glitters are a pain to clean up with a brush. Overall, this is a really well made polish as well as beautiful.

Man, this is gorgeous! That shine, that shimmer, all those colors… It’s magnificent. That’s all I’ve got. Just… man.

Summer of Untrieds Day Four: Red, White, and Blue

Posted on July 4, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

When I saw the order of the day today, I knew exactly what polish I had to use. 1776 by Different Dimension is a patriotic-as-hell glitter topper with red, white, and blue stars, white bars, red dots, and tiny white glitters throughout. I bought this on sale last year, and it’s my first-ever Different Dimension polish, so I’m excited to be using it today. I feel like I cheated a bit on the challenge today, because I’m seeing a lot of intricate and ornate nail art pieces for this day of the challenge, and I just put glitter over yesterday’s creme polish. This is two coats of 1776 over three coats of Butter London’s Bumster, with one coat of Seche Vite.

I did a pretty poor job applying this. I put it on in a hurry and didn’t expect the star glitters to be so tough to get out. I managed to get one star on my left hand, but it looks great there, so it’s got that going for it. Next time, I will definitely turn this bottle over and let the glitters redistribute themselves a bit better.

It looks crazy awesome over Bumster, too. I loved Bumster on its own, and I felt a little bad painting over it, but I think these polishes compliment each other well. I love glitter over nudes, it’s such a simple look.

I thought I did a pretty good job cleaning up my cuticles, and then I went into the sun and took some photos. Nope!

Now that I’ve done this, it’s time to dive into July 4th festivities.

Wacie Wednesday on Thursday: Purity

Posted on June 12, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

Wacie Wednesday is happening on Thursday today because I really struggled with whether I wanted to post it or not. I’ve been developing this color, called Purity, for quite a while now, and I’ve just never been able to get it right. I can’t get the blue jelly squishy enough, and it dulls the larger holographic glitter. I didn’t want to post it this week because it’s still not right, but I like how it looks anyway, so I’m going for it. Also, I’m in this post-vacation funk where nothing is interesting, so I’m kind of doing this just because I need something to do. This is three coats of Purity with one coat of Seche Vite.

Purity is (or is meant to be) a blue jelly with holographic silver glitters. They’re a bit hard to see in the polish; the holographic effect tends not to show up too well in the studio, and the unintended crelly effect of the blue base dulls them. As a result, it just looks like a pretty but unremarkable blue. Not to say there’s anything wrong with that, it’s beautiful color in itself and I love how it looks on me. It’s just not what I was going for. See how it looks in the bottle? That’s what I want, and I’ve been trying like hell to get it. I just can’t make it work.

It’s been cloudy and blah outside for a few days, so unfortunately, I couldn’t get any great photos in the sunlight. Sunlight usually saves my so-so glitter photos; couldn’t make that happen today. I actually took the studio shots last night, a few hours after I’d done the manicure. I took the outdoor shots this morning, but I just ended up getting great shots of sad cuticles. I’m a little embarrassed of these, actually.

Sad cuticles are sad.

Outdoors, cloudy as eff.

I love Purity, and I guess I’ll be taking it back to the workshop yet again for another reformulation.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Birthday Wishes

Posted on June 7, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

Swatch Saturday is back! This weekend I’m wearing Birthday Wishes from Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer, a royal blue with pink shimmer. As usual, I’m wearing three coats with top coat. Photos were taken in both indoors and outdoors. I’ve wanted to try this one for a long while now, so let’s take a look.

I love how this turned out. In the bottle, especially in my office where the lighting is lower, the blue polish with the pink shimmer makes it look purple. I don’t get that effect on my nails in the studio, but I definitely do in other lighting conditions. In the studio, the shimmer isn’t as potent, but outside it’s vibrant and strong. It’s a really cool effect; my nails look different everywhere I go.

The formula was a little worrisome at first; the first coat was barely-there thin, and I wasn’t totally sure I was going to get even coverage. It looks fantastic in three coats, though. It’s even and opaque. I love wearing this.

On a side note, I bought a ton of polish while I was on vacation. I had to visit drugstores a lot during the trip, and grabbed one or two whenever I stopped in, especially if I saw some things I’d never seen anywhere else. I got a few new brands, shopped at stores for the sake of shopping there, and did some indie shopping while I was bored in train stations. I think I ended up with about 60 bottles by the time I got home. As a result, I may be taking a quick break from my BEGL swatch streak, just to fill in the gaps in the Polish List. I’ve got a couple more BEGLs in the pipeline, but I’ve also got these American Apparel neons I can’t wait to try. See you next week!

Manicure Monday on Tuesday: Pre-Vacation Celebration in Blue

Posted on May 13, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

Manicure Monday is a little late this week, what with the craziness of work, upcoming boyfriend’s birthday, and packing for vacation. I’m also going to have to re-learn how to stick with the same manicure for seven days. Anyway, I’m wearing Wet ‘n Wild’s I Saw A Comet over Sephora by OPI’s Mermaid to Order; I’ve got on two coats of each with two coats of Seche Vite.

Mermaid to Order is a gorgeous shimmery turquoise. Actually, I hesitate to call it a turquoise, because it leans either blue or green, depending on the viewing angle and lighting conditions. It goes on easily and smoothly, but with very visible brush strokes. Even adding the glitter to it wasn’t enough to hide the brush strokes. I chose this polish as an under coat because it’s the same color as the jelly base in I Saw A Comet. I wish I’d chosen a creme polish for this, though, so that the glitter can stand on its own without added effects from the base color.

I Saw A Comet is a faint teal jelly with fine iridescent glitters. As gorgeous as it is in the bottle (I admit I bought it because I was totally hypnotized by the glitter), I expected a little more of that look to transfer to the nail. Last week I encountered the extra-wide W&W brush, which gave me a horrible glitter payoff and just made a clear polish mess on my fingers. This week, I tried it again, and my results weren’t too much better. The brush is actually wider than a few of my nails, which left a lot of glitter stuck in my cuticle; you can see there are still a few bits of it I just couldn’t get off. For the minimal glitter look I got, the cleanup effort wasn’t really worth it.

Outdoors, sunlight

I’m going to try to keep up with Manicure Monday while I’m travelling, whenever I can find the time to actually paint my nails. We’ll see how it goes.

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