Tag Archives: China Glaze

Swatch Sunday: Nina Ultra Pro’s Solar Flare

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Hello reader! It’s still Sunday somewhere, so let’s a have a look at this Sunday’s swatch! This is Nina Ultra Pro’s Solar Flare; I’m wearing one coat of Solar Flare over a base of China Glaze’s White on White and with a coat of Seche Vite top coat.

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Solar Flare is a highlighter yellow neon polish. It’s one of those translucent neons; even at three coats, it never achieved full opacity, so a white base is imperative with this polish. Because it’s so translucent, one must take care to avoid streaks when applying; because it never becomes opaque, streaks and imperfections are never covered. Product consistency is thin yet manageable. It dried quickly and with a matte finish. I used top coat for shine and protection.

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Blogger’s note: Let me preface this by saying that since this is an older bottle, I may have an older formula. Newer bottles may have a newer, improved formula. However, since this is what I have, this is what I’ll review. I’ll just go ahead and say it: this is not my favorite neon. It was just really tricky to work with, and I’m not really happy with the result I got, even when being really careful and meticulous. Even over the white base, I still see streaks, though I didn’t notice them until after I was working through the photos. A second coat over a white base might have done some good. Even though the potential is there for a super neon look — this was way brighter in person, believe me — there are just so many better neons out there, neons that do reach opacity and do not require a white base, this polish is rendered obsolete.

For informational purposes, I’ve included photos without the white base. Here’s three coats of Solar Flare alone and without top coat. I’m not really a fan of this look; it really needs the white to pop and to cover the visible nail line. However, I won’t deny the potential for a neon jelly sandwich.

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Solar Flare and other Nina Ultra Pro polishes are sold at Sally Beauty Supply.

I bought these polishes myself.

Swatch Sunday: Nails Inc.’s Cornwall

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Welcome to Swatch Sunday! Today’s polish is Cornwall from Nails Inc. I’m wearing one coat over China Glaze’s Pelican Gray, Essie’s Good Morning Hope, and Julep’s Bess. All nails are topped with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

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Cornwall is a clear-based glitter topper with matte blue and white short bar glitters. Application was easy enough; the glitters stick to the brush well, and the base consistency is such that the polish doesn’t drip off the brush or pool on the nail. However, this means it also doesn’t spread evenly, which makes the glitter drag and clump on itself. This can result in a heavy application in some cases. The bar glitters are short, so they don’t lean off the edge of the nail like the longer ones do. The polish dries quickly and with a textured finish. I used top coat for smoothness and shine.

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I have to admit, I have a hard time calling this a glitter polish. I think that’s what made the feathered topper trend so successful, albeit short-lived. Even though there was nothing new about either glitter toppers or bar glitters, this was still a pretty unique look that anyone could achieve. I still think it’s a cool look. It’s a shame these polishes didn’t really make it past 2013.

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The sun’s been good to me; I’ve been able to get direct sun pictures for the past few posts. These photos were taken outdoors in the late afternoon. I’m grateful; it’s helping me improve my macro game.

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The shimmer you see here is from Pelican Gray, not Cornwall.

Cornwall and the other Feathers polishes seem to be discontinued by Nails Inc. Other Nails Inc. polishes are available at Sephora, which is where I got this one.

I bought this polish myself.

Manicure Monday Night: Plain White Tips

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Happy Monday (or Tuesday, east coast)! This week, I found myself doing something basic and absolutely shocked myself. The polish I wanted to use, Revlon’s Nude Nightie, is something that’s just so pretty and dimensional on its own that I didn’t want to cover it up with anything else. I just painted my tips and wore the polish alone. I’m wearing three coats of Nude Nightie, and I used China Glaze’s White on White for my tips. All nails are topped with one coat of Seche Vite.

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As you can see, Nude Nightie is a well-loved polish. Of all the bottles I have, very few are only half-full. Today, though, I’m seeing it in a new way. As I was editing these photos, I never realized just how bigthe shimmers are. They’re practically flakies! I’ve had this polish for the better part of a decade, and I’ve just noticed what makes this polish beautiful. Macro magic!

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So my tips are kind of ugly. About half of them were done freehand, and that’s because those are the ones I messed up using the guide stickers. I’d just been seeing so many French acrylic sets on Instagram lately, and I’d kinda missed when I wore them, too. I can’t remember the last time I wore just a plain white tip with a natural color. This is seriously some 2006 throwbacks for me, in both the polish choice and the execution. I feel stylish, but also really basic. I don’t have much else to say about it, just hoping I get my mojo back for next week.

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Nude Nightie is discontinued; Revlon is stored in stores nationwide. My White on White is from Sally Beauty Supply.

I bought these polishes myself.

Manicure Monday: Neon Sunset Gradient

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Happy Monday, reader! I adore today’s manicure because it’s so bright and busy. The gradient you see was done with Color Club’s Wham! Pow! and Sally Hansen’s Magenta Moves; the glitter topper is China Glaze’s Whirled Away. All nails are topped with Seche Vite top coat. I had a ton of fun doing this look today, so I hope you love it!

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Wham! Pow! is one of the best neons I’ve used in recent memory. It was opaque in two coats, dried with a satin finish, and — the best part — did not require a white base for the full effect. It’s almost painful to look at, it’s so bright. This is a seriously fantastic neon and I definitely recommend it to everyone. Magenta Moves, though a bright color, isn’t as neon as Wham! Pow!, so it kind of keeps the gradient from being too loud and creates the smoky-but-still-bright sunset effect.

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I fell in love with Whirled Away the first time I saw it. This was back when those black and white glitter toppers were at the height of their popluarity; this was the first one I got, probably also the first one I ever used. My favorite thing — simultaneously the best and worst thing about this polish — is that it sets itself apart from the others by using much larger glitters. I love big glitters, cannot lie, etc., but I feel like it makes the polish go faster. I’ve only used it twice, but the bottle is already half empty. It’s so sad. It’s also kind of a pain to apply, because the slice/bar glitters are so long they sometimes hang off the nail like eyelashes, and sometimes it was hard to get the glitters to spread evenly over the nail, but it still looks cool even when it’s a little lopsided.

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Unrelated: I miss swatching! I noticed today that it’s been two months since my Canon broke; I thought it would only be in the shop a few days and now I have no idea when I’m getting it back. I’m so sad, I really miss wearing all those new polishes! I’m kind of afraid to use things now because I can’t document it as easily. Here’s hoping it’ll come back someday soon.

I bought these polishes myself.

Manicure Monday: Autumn Moons

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Happy Monday, reader! Today’s Manicure Monday finds me with very short nails; I went bowling on Saturday night and kind of trashed them. At least they grow back. I went for a mature yet cute look today to remind myself that these are, in fact, not a child’s hands. I used Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s Newborn Solstice Sun, Essie’s As Gold As It Gets, and China Glaze’s Angel Wings. All nails are topped with one coat of Seche Vite.

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I wore Newborn Solstice Sun on its own quite some time ago when I swatched it. Even though it’s gorgeous on its own, I wanted to try something new with it. I went through the bag of tricks: rhinestones and loose glitters, vinyls and striping tapes. I wanted to get really crazy with it. Once my nails were unexpectedly cut down, though, I decided to keep it simple. I’m wearing Newborn Solstice Sun alone on two nails, as well as the darker shade in the half-moon. It’s a beautiful polish; the color is so deep, and the glitters add depth and sparkle. This is a huge BEGL favorite for sure.

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I used Essie’s As Gold As It Gets as the undies for my half-moon. It’s so soft, you can barely tell I used anything there. I wanted just a hint of sparkle, and that’s exactly what I got. I used China Glaze’s Angel Wings as an afterthought; I actually had an accent ring finger nail that was just covered with red and gold rhinestones, but it looked too Gryffindor, so I took it off and just used the gold glitter instead. It still looks out of place to me, but at least it’s not as ridiculous as the rhinestones were.

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Newborn Solstice Sun was a limited edition polish; other BEGLs can be purchased from the BEGL shop. As Gold As It Gets and Angel Wings are available wherever Essie and China Glaze are sold. I got my rhinestones from Amazon. The red bow vinyl is from Monster Polish as part of their Doctor Who collaboration with BEGL. I always associate the red bowtie with Pee-Wee Herman, though.

I bought these polishes myself.

Manicure Monday: Bedspiration

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It’s Monday again, and you know what that means! My nails this Manicure Monday were inspired by the bedding set in one of my guest rooms. I’m wearing Julep’s Korin and China Glaze’s Recycle with OPI’s White Shatter, all with one coat of Rica‘s Glossy Glam top coat.

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I know lots of you look at something and can automatically translate it to nail art. It’s impressive and I’m totally envious. I’m not as big into intricate nail art as I used to be (even when I was, I was awful at it), so it’s rare that I look at something and think “Yes, I want my nails to look like this”. It’s even rarer that I act on it. When I saw this comforter, even before I realized it, I knew I could do a quick-and-dirty nail art version. Green polish, gray polish, and white crackle. It could be done. When I grabbed Korin out of the storage container, I knew I had to try it out.

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Unfortunately, I think it looked better in my head. Crackle polish is unpredictable sometimes, and though that’s the one thing I love about crackle polish, I really didn’t think it would cover up most of my nail. It defeats the purpose of the whole thing. I was hoping for a jagged but even grid of crackle, leaving the colors beneath somewhat visible. Oh, well. I still like it, even if it’s not what I was going for at all.

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I got Korin from julep.com, Recycle from Sally Beauty Supply, and White Shatter from Publix. If you’re curious, the bedding is from Target.

I bought these polishes myself.

Manicure Monday: Island Diamond Sunset

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Who likes glitter and thermals? I do! For this Manicure Monday, I’m wearing a fun double-thermal and an opal glitter. This is three coats of Digital Nails‘s Island Sunset with one brushed coat of China Glaze’s Luxe and Lush, as well as one coat of Rica‘s Glossy Glam top coat.

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Island Sunset is such a fun thermal polish. Thermals are always fun when they change colors with heat, but this one is double the fun because it changes at cool temperatures as well. It goes both ways! At its most neutral state, Island Sunset is a cool peach. Dipped in ice water, it turns a deep pink. Dipped in tea, it turns a warm yellow. I’ve been playing with my nails all day, submerging them into whatever liquids are near to see what color they turn. I have quite a few thermals in my collection, but this is the only three-way thermal. I love it.

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Luxe and Lush is the perfect glitter for this polish. It’s made up entirely of iridescent shredded glitters. Depending on the light, the glitter reflects the warm peach and cool rose tones in the polish itself, which I think is really cool. In other lighting conditions, the glitter turns greenish-blue. It has every color I could want, but it doesn’t interefere in any way with the thermal polish; as the color changes in the thermal, the glitter and its many colors offers just enough glint and sparkle.

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Seriously, how great is this look? I’m so excited about both of these polishes and I want to wear this combination forever. Also, I just got my pool cleaned and I can’t wait to see what it looks like underwater. It’s sparkly, summery, and just a ton of fun.

Island Sunset isn’t currently in stock, but you can buy other Digital Nails polishes in their etsy shop. I got my bottle of Luxe and Lush from Sally Beauty Supply.

I bought these polishes myself.

Manicure Monday: Cracked Blue Frost

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Hello, readers! It’s Monday again, and I have another mani to show you. I’m wearing China Glaze’s Crackle Glaze in Oxidized Aqua over Julep’s Char, topped with one coat of Rica‘s Glossy Glam top coat.

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For a Julep polish, Char, a deep blue creme, is pretty good. I had almost-opaque coverage in one coat; I guess these darker colors use more pigment, because I never have to struggle with the darker colors, only the light ones. It dries with a beautiful gloss. One thing I do notice, however, is the smell; Julep polishes generally have a mild smell, but this one is way different and much stronger. I suspect the pigment is the culprit; I have a similar shade from OPI that has the same odd scent. I’m looking forward to wearing Char on its own.

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Over Char is Oxidized Aqua, an icy blue crackle polish. This is the part of the mani I don’t like so much. You know how it is with crackle polishes; you sacrifice many tiny cracks for good coverage. I wanted good coverage, and so I have one or two cracks on each nail, which looks pretty silly. Also, I had to redo some nails because the crackening never took place. Overall, I guess it isn’t that bad. I can talk about how lame the polish is, but I only have myself to blame. I didn’t have to use it.

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Let’s talk about the new top coat! I got a bottle of Rica’s Glossy Glam in the March/April Beauty Quartet Box. I’ve heard so many good things about this top coat and I see it everywhere, so I’m excited to have the chance to try it out myself. I’ve used it in two manis now (the first is one you’ll see later this week) and I’m pretty happy with it so far. It doesn’t feel totally dry after five minutes, so I’ll have to remember to give it ten. The shine is beautiful, and my nails are so smooth; I don’t feel any of the cracks or ridges from the crackle polish when I touch my nails. I find that impressive.

Char is available wherever Julep polishes are sold; I got mine from their website. Crackle Glaze appears to be discontinued by China Glaze; I got mine at Big Lots. Glossy Glam is available from their etsy shop.

I bought these polishes myself.

Swatch Sunday: Finger Paints’s Sugar Cookie for Two

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Swatch Sunday is fun today, because I’m using a brand I’ve never worn before. I’ve gotten a few Finger Paints polishes here and there at Sally Beauty sales, but this is my first time working with one. I’m wearing one coat of Finger Paints’s Sugar Cookie for two over China Glaze’s Pelican Gray and OPI’s I just Can’t Cope-acabana, as well as one coat of Alter Ego‘s She Shines top coat.

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Sugar Cookie for Two is a clear glitter topper with metallic bar glitters in gold, silver, and black. Application wasn’t as easy as I’d have liked it to be. I don’t know if the brush was just thin or the glitters just slip off the brush back into the bottle, but I had a hard time getting the glitter onto my nail. It didn’t spread well at all. I had to dip back into the bottle two or three times just to cover one nail. As a result, the glitter is really sparse in some places and clumpy in others. Overall, I got pretty good coverage with it, but I would have liked it to be more even. On the plus side, drying times were good, and the glitters feel smooth to the touch when dry. Also, the glitters are short bars, so they’re easy to work with. The longer ones want to hang off my nail like eyelashes, and I didn’t have that problem with these.

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I really like this look, all complaints aside. The glitters are super shiny and reflect tons of light and color. The combo is a little jarring, maybe, but I think it makes my nails look like luxurious little cupcakes. I’m a little curious to know what it would look like as a full-coverage glitter; I’ve worked with all-bar glitter polishes before, like the Nails Inc. Feather ones, and three coats covers up pretty much everything. This might look really nice at three full coats, though I do wonder with how this one applies whether it could achieve full coverage at all.

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Since I found Sugar Cookie for Two in a sale bin, it’s possible that it has been discontinued. Other Finger Paints polishes are sold at Sally Beauty Supply.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Sunday: Ellagee’s Chronic Badass

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For this Swatch Sunday, I’m wearing my first-ever polish from Ellagee! This is Chronic Badass; I have on one brushed coat over China Glaze’s Pelican Gray, Essie’s Pilates Hottie, and LA Colors’s Daisy, topped with Digital Nails‘s Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That top coat.

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Chronic Badass is a clear glitter topper with black matte and holo glitters, metallic pink dots, black holo stars, and purple and holo silver butterflies. It was really easy to put on; the glitters brushed right on, and I didn’t have to fish for the stars or butterflies. All the glitters lay flat on the nail — even the butterflies — and are perfectly smooth with one coat of top coat. Drying times were good; I had no issues with prolonged tackiness. It has a really great formula.

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Chronic Badass was part of a fibromyalgia-themed duo collaboration with Digital Nails. Both polishes were made with purple, the color for fibromyalgia awareness. Chronic Badass also makes use of the butterfly, a symbol embraced by fibro patients. Both polish makers have fibromyalgia and made this cool little polish box to raise awareness of this and other invisible illnesses. I admit I didn’t know a whole lot about it until this box went for sale last spring. It was an awesome thing for them to do; it makes me so happy to see polish makers use their time and materials (and glitter) to educate people and make the world just a little better.

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I have some sunlight photos! The holo glitters love the sunshine, and shine a lot brighter than they do indoors. I really love this look; it’s so colorful and cheerful.

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Originally, both polish makers had this duo box in their shops; Digital Nails no longer carries it, but it looks like Ellagee still has it in stock.

I bought these polishes myself.