Manicure Monday: Plum and Glitter Surprise

Posted on July 21, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

It feels like forever since I’ve done a real Manicure Monday post. For this week, I’m wearing The Golden Age from Sephora by OPI over Essie’s Devil’s Advocate, topped with one coat of Seche Vite.

I really like Devil’s Advocate. Like really. I adore these dark, dramatic, vampy colors because you can never quite tell what color they really are. You can’t tell this is a deep plum unless you look at the very edges of it. If I didn’t know better, I’d assume it’s black. Devil’s Advocate goes on a little thin on the first coat, but evens out to full opacity on the second, and dries with a beautiful shine. It’s really easy to apply.

Unrelated: I put Devil’s Advocate on my toes when I wore Vesper earlier in the month. They’re very similar in color and I really didn’t want to experience the joys of taking Liquid Sand off my toenails.

The real star of this manicure is The Golden Age. It’s a clear glitter topper with various sizes of metallic gold and silver hex glitters. The distinction between the colors is pretty difficult to see in some lighting conditions; in my office it’s impossible to tell, but in the studio and in the sun, it’s clearly visible. It’s also very easy to apply; the consistency is thick so as to accommodate all that glitter. Also, I think this polish has my perfect glitter-to-lacquer ratio: one brushed coat is all I needed for full, even glitter coverage. It’s so easy to work with. I love it.

Sunlight! The sun came out long enough for me to take these photos. The clouds came back when I went inside.

So, there you have it: a glitter topper with secret differently-colored glitters over a black that’s really purple. I love surprises.

Manicure Monday: Red Glitter on Green

Posted on May 5, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

It’s another crazy Manicure Monday glitter feast! Today I’m wearing Wet ‘n Wild’s Club Cabaret over Essie’s Navigate Her. It looked different in my head for sure, but I’m still into it.

First I put down two coats of Navigate Her. This is a shade I’ve worn a lot lately for various swatches and things; it’s so soft that it looks good as undies for any glitter. I chose it for this mani because I wanted a green to complement the red in Club Cabaret, and this was the only green that didn’t challenge the darker colors for dominance. It also seems to look different at different angles; in the photo where I leaned my nails back, you can see it looks a bit more yellow there than in the others, and I’m not sure why.

Club Cabaret is a lightly tinted base with black, silver, and red hexes of various sizes. I’m not sure if it’s tinted on purpose, or if the red glitters bled a little, but it seems kind of suspicious. I didn’t get much of a payoff; these W&W bottles have these really wide brushes, and while they pick up a lot of glitter, I don’t get much of it on my nails. Instead I just get clear polish flooding my cuticles. To achieve this look, I brushed the glitter onto the end of a makeup wedge and rolled it on, the way one might roll on a stamped design. I could have gotten this look trying to brush or dab it on, but it would have taken a long time to do, and there’s no guarantee it would have been applied this evenly or cleanly. Cleanup was a pain, but it was worth it.

Seeing as I planned this manicure months ago, it’s accidentally festive for Cinco de Mayo. I love it when that happens.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Watch the Walls

Posted on May 3, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

For Swatch Saturday this week, I’m wearing a neon glitter explosion from Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer called Watch the Walls. I’ve got one thick coat of it over Essie’s Fiji, Navigate Her, and Mint Candy Apple. It’s like there’s a party on my nails, we invited the president for funsies, and he actually showed up. I absolutely adore BEGL glitter toppers because they’re so fun. They really are like dance parties.

I think my cuticle oil melted the logo off the bottle. 🙁

The blue-to-pink shift in the shimmer is the most evident here. Look at it!

Watch the Walls is a clear glitter topper with loads of different glitters; there are so many I can’t list them all. There are stars and butterflies, dots and squares, hexes big and small. There’s even a blue-to-pink-shifting shimmer that adds the right amount of sparkle to an already visually stunning polish. While this polish wasn’t made for me, I almost feel like it was, because it has everything I love: bright colors, big shapes, tons of things going on at once. It’s perfect for me. I felt a little weird putting it on over pastels, though, but I think it works. It definitely looks great over Mint Candy Apple.

For once, I’m reviewing a BEGL that, as of my writing this, is still in stock in the BEGL store. Not only is it in stock, but it’s on sale! Grab it before it’s gone.

Manicure Monday: Soft Steel Shimmer

Posted on April 21, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

Today’s Manicure Monday is softer and simpler than I usually like to be. I feel strange when I do these simple manicures and actually like them; it’s like I’m growing up or something. I’ve heard my mother dismiss colors with the phrase “Maybe if I was younger”, and I’d think “Who cares?” When I do subdued manis like these, I feel like I’m becoming my mother. Here, I’m wearing three coats of China Glaze’s Recycle, with Essie’s Pure Pearlfection on the accents.

Recycle is a color I’ve liked for a while. I’ve been using it a long time; this is actually my second bottle of it. It’s a nice neutral, and it’s so versatile; nearly every glitter or effect topper works well with it, and it looks good alongside any color in a gradient or dotticure. I bought it for the first time a couple of years ago because I needed a soft gray for a look and could never find the right one. It goes on well, it wears well, and I’ll probably buy it until I die.

Sunlight shot!

Pure Pearlfection was one of the first Essie polishes I ever bought, and this is the first time I’ve ever used it. I feel like this is the weakest entry in the LuxEffects line; it’s pretty, but it’s no Shine of the Times. However, I feel like maybe these polishes were made for each other; on their own, they’re subtle. Together, they are magical.

Wacie Wednesday: Dang

Posted on April 16, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

It’s Wednesday, and right on schedule, we’re looking at something new from Wacie Nail Company. This is Dang, a blinding glitter topper, named for the first thing I said after I created it. I’m wearing one coat of it over The New Black’s Black, e.l.f.’s Smokin Hot, and Essie’s Aruba Blue.

Dang is another happy accident; it’s the result of mixing glitters together without intention. It’s a clear base with various sizes of holo silver hexes and holo silver hearts. Because there’s so much glitter in it, it’s impossible to not get a good glitter payoff. However, the hearts don’t come out very frequently; as you can see, I didn’t get one on every nail. It doesn’t even matter if the hearts are scarce, though. There’s tons of glitter to make up for it.

Something I like about this mixture is that it’s sparkly (to the point of blindness in the sunlight), but it’s not trying too hard for it. There’s not a ton of different shapes and colors and craziness jumping out at you for attention. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with that kind of polish; those kinds of polishes are what drew me to indies in the first place. No, this is a glitter that glitters. It’s like a formal gown for your nails. Like diamond earrings for your nails. They’re your nails, but glitterier. I actually wore this to a red carpet party during awards season. My nails were dressed better than anybody.

Outdoors, shade

Outdoors, sunlight

I admit, I thought Wacie Nail Co. would have launched by now. Other projects I’m involved with are taking priority over my nail polish business, and it might be a while before I have a chance to reclaim all the time and money I’m putting into other things. My time is going to schoolwork and other entrepreneurial things; my money is all going to the vacation I’m taking next month. I’d planned eight polishes for the Wacie Nail Co. first-ever spring line, but as of right now, there are only seven; I haven’t had the time or means to save one from prototype limbo. Hopefully, there will be a launch before summer. If not, the spring line will become the summer line, which actually works out since I don’t have plans for a summer line. Either way, it will be soon. Please continue to watch this space for more Wacie Nail Co. news.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s The Scoobies

Posted on April 5, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

Today’s Swatch Saturday is all about The Scoobies, a glitter topper from Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer. I’m wearing two coats of it over two coats of Essie’s Sand Tropez, I Am Strong, and Navigate Her.

The Scoobies contains a ton of glitter: various sizes and shapes of red, copper, silver, and black hexes, red squares, holographic silver moons, red hearts, black stars, and shiny, tiny pink/purple sparkles. There’s a lot of fun in this bottle. As you can see, it’s only about half full. I’ve enjoyed this one many times since I bought it. I love the eclectic mix of glitter, the texture created by the fine sparkles, and the edgy color combination. I’m sad that I’m already running so low on it; I knew I should have bought a backup bottle when it was on sale.

The Scoobies was part of BEGL’s Once More With Feeling collection, a set of polishes inspired by Buffy the Vampire Slayer. As the collection was mostly holos, I admit I didn’t grab too many of those colors. I kinda regret it now. As you might guess, this collection has been discontinued, and the last bottle of The Scoobies sold a month or so ago. Check the BEGL store anyway, you might see something you’ll like.

Wacie Wednesday: White Noise

Posted on February 26, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

This week on Wacie Wednesday, we’re taking the black and white glitter topper a little farther. I told you I would. White Noise is the newest Wacie Nail Company polish; I’m wearing two coats of it over China Glaze’s Recycle and For Audrey, and Essie’s Check-Up.

White Noise is a glitter topper with black and white shreds and tiny gray hexes. It was designed to evoke an earlier time in technology, a time when you were more likely to encounter it on your TV instead of the black, quiet HDMI mode screen. Originally called “Static”, it was inspired by the sound that greeted us after we turned off the Nintendo to change games. It was sometimes alarmingly loud, always unpleasant to hear. Despite that, turning off the Nintendo to change games and hearing silence isn’t the same.

As you can see, I went a little overboard with the glitter. I probably didn’t need two coats of it, because it covered up the color more than I wanted it to. I believe that’s a fault in my application, not the polish. I wanted to demonstrate the versatility of it by putting it over the light blue and pink. It looks right at home over gray, but it can do so much more over other colors. I’m really pleased with how it turned out.

I’m still looking at labelling samples, and then I’ll start figuring out shipping logistics. I hope that if you like White Noise or some of the other Wacie Nail shades, you’ll be able to purchase them soon.

Wacie Wednesday: Bridal Bouquet

Posted on January 29, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

It’s the first-ever Wacie Wednesday! This is the part of the week where, if I have a new product to share, you’ll get to see it. Yeah, I told you I was serious about making my own polish. This first entry is a little rough, since I’m still missing things like branding, labelling, and a way for you to actually buy it. I’ll get on that soon, I promise. In the meantime, have a look at the very first Wacie Nail Company polish, Bridal Bouquet. It’s awesome, but don’t take my word for it.

Bridal Bouquet is a glitter toppper in a clear base; it contains pink flowers, green shreds, and iridescent hexes. I’m wearing one coat over The New Black’s Black, Essie’s Fiji and Navigate Her. It dries quickly and is easily smoothed down by top coat. I don’t really know what to say about it, other than it’s awesome and I love it. I can’t stop staring at it. The green-to-gold iridescent glitters really stand out on the black polish, and the flowers look great over the green. The light pink flowers blend in a little, but I think that’s okay. I think it still evokes the image of its namesake: soft petals, soft colors, fragrance and beauty. I think I started a nail company just to make this polish.

It’s really exciting to be one step closer, you know? I had the time of my life making this, and I hope I’ll be able to keep doing it for a long while. It would be amazing to have a career where I get to sit in a room with glitter and sparkles and just create things. I almost don’t even care if I make my investment back, just the satisfaction of doing it was, to me, worth the money.

I did a test to see what it looked like over blue. The verdict: awesome! From left to right: Sinful Colors’s Midnight Blue, Essie’s After School Boy Blazer, Julep’s Bess, Color Club’s Chelsea Girl, China Glaze’s For Audrey, Essie’s Turquoise & Caicos, and Bridal Bouquet worn alone.

Yeah, this is the best thing I ever did. If you’re interested in buying a bottle, or just interested in reviewing it, I’ll get the store and press form ready soon. I am absolutely dying to share this with everyone.

Swatch Saturday: Blue Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Morning Light

Posted on January 25, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

Okay, I’ve been really excited about this for a while now. I’m going to start swatching all my Blue Eyed Girl Lacquers! I should probably just rename Swatch Saturday to BEGL Saturday because I’m probably going to spend the rest of this year’s Saturdays on them. My first BEGL swatch, one of the first ones I ever bought, is a shade called Morning Light. I’m wearing three coats of it here with three coats of Seche Vite top coat. All photos were taken indoors with natural outdoor light. Also, given the relationship between bloggers and indie polish brands, I should note that I was not compensated for this post. I purchased this polish myself, and even if I hadn’t, that would not affect my opinions in any way. That said, let’s go!

As you can see, Morning Light is a very sheer pink with a red to green shifting shimmer. There’s a big variety of glitter in here: red stars, aqua butterflies, red squares, purple, gold, and holo hexes, and more. Worn on its own, Morning Light is soft and natural. When layered, you only see the shimmer and glitter. While I haven’t experimented much with layering, I expect it would look good over anything.

Here you’ll see it worn over Essie’s Fiji and The New Black’s Black. This is one quick coat of Morning Light over two coats of color. Note the green shimmer; it’s much more pronounced over the black than over the pink. However, over the pink, the glitters are more visible and more prominent.

This polish came to me at a time when I was new to indies and everything was exciting. I bought this for one reason: butterfly glitter. How awesome is that? I know butterfly glitter is everywhere now, but for me, this was big. It completely changed the way I thought about nail polish, and what nail polish could be. Unfortunately, Morning Light is discontinued. Sorry! If you liked this, you should check out the Blue Eyed Girl Lacquer store and grab the BEGL Winter Collection before it’s gone. Also, let me leave you with one last photo of my BEGL collection. Yeah, when I said it might take me all year, I wasn’t exaggerating.

Plus like five more.

Manicure Monday: Matte Pink Glitter

Posted on January 6, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

New year, new glitter! Here’s my first manicure of 2014. I’ve decided to try out a matte coat over glitter, and I’m not sure how much I like the result, but here it is.

A Cut Above is a fantastic glitter topper made up of various sizes of pink glitter. It applies evenly with the brush, which means I didn’t have to flood my cuticles and waste a lot of polish to get this look. It went on very easily. When I put the matte top coat on, I felt like I was taking something away from it, but maybe I got something in return. The glitter still shines, but has a softer quality. It’s pretty and it’s interesting, but I’m not sure if I’ll do it again. I want my glitter to shine.

Also, I seem to have this problem with matte topcoats; the tips wear down more easily. Do you see those exposed tips? I just did these, and somewhere between applying the topcoat and taking the photos, the tips are worn down. That’s embarrassing. I feel dirty posting them, they’re so bad. Maybe it’s just this topcoat, but every time I use it, I have the same problem. I hate it.

Sally Hansen’s Black Out, Essie’s A Cut Above

I’ll mention this on the side: About a year ago, when I was living alone, I needed acetone. The store nearest me, which was about a half mile away, was perpetually out of acetone, so I sucked it up and went the extra mile (literally) to Walgreens. Meanwhile, I had some Christmas money burning a hole in my pocket, and I didn’t yet own any Essie polishes, so I knew I’d leave with a few of those, too. It took me ages to find the acetone; it ended up being on some hidden aisle endcap outside of the cosmetics department. As I walked around looking for it, I’d found tons of other things to buy, and I spent literally every cent I had on my wallet. I felt a little guilty (and a little relieved I didn’t have to put things back), but I did what I went to do. I bought acetone (at least I didn’t forget that) and I got my first Essies. Also, I walked three miles just to buy them, which says quite a lot about my dedication and/or insanity.

The haul from that fateful day.

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