Swatch: Finger Paints’s Psychedelic Hue

Welcome back, reader! Even though I’m swatching a lot of new stuff from The Indie Shop Atlanta, I still have some swatches in the slush pile waiting to be published, and this is one of them. This is Finger Paints’s Psychedelic Hue; I’m wearing one coat over Sally Hansen’s Grey Area (gray), Deborah Lippmann’s She Bop (pink), and Zoya’s Chantal (nude), as well as a coat of Seche Vite top coat.

Psychedelic Hue is a clear-based flakie topper with green-to-blue shifting flakies. Application was good; the flakies distribute very easily over the nail when brushing it on. The product consistency is on the thin side, but the flakies suspend very well. Drying times were good, and the polish dries smooth to the touch. I used top coat for extra shine.

I adore flakie top coats. This one’s pretty basic as far as flakie toppers go; of course, this one’s been around a while and they’ve come a good way since then. I wanted to show this one over a few different colors, and unfortunately, the bright natural sunshine kind of washed it out over the lighter colors. With the lighter shades, the individual flakies aren’t as defined, but the shine and iridescence are still visible. Over the darker color, it looks fantastic; everything is nicely defined and exciting. The following photos were taken in the shade, attempting to show off the color better over the lighter colors.

I believe Psychedelic Hue was discontinued by Finger Paints; other Finger Paints polishes are available at Sally Beauty Supply.

I bought these polishes myself.

Manicure Tuesday: Plum Opal

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.

Swatch Sunday: Finger Paints’s Sugar Cookie for Two

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.