Manicure Monday: Sweet Pink and Bold Glitter

Posted on June 23, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

Manicure Monday is good this week. Everything I love is here: pink, glitter, shine; I couldn’t hate this if I wanted to. For this manicure, I’m wearing two coats of Julep’s Carrie with two coats of China Glaze’s Razzle Me Dazzle Me on my accent nails. All nails are topped with one coat of Seche Vite.

Carrie is a sweet candy pink creme. It’sa really nice polish, though I wish I’d gone with three coats instead of two. Consistent with my Julep experience, the first coat was streaky and thin, and while the second coat did a lot to even out the color, there are still some bald spots. Other than that, I like it a lot. I have no other complaints than the coverage.

Razzle Me Dazzle Me is a graffiti-style glitter from China Glaze, filled with various shapes and sizes of black and pink glitters. At first, I didn’t notice the pink glitters were pink; they appear silver at first look, but are much rosier and smokier than silver. In any case, they give off a ton of shine. The black glitters are much more prominent, obviously, so much so that it overpowers the base color. I didn’t plan to use two coats of glitter, but the first coat was kind of lopsided, and I wanted to even it out. Mission accomplished, I guess.

This is an outdoor shot. It was cloudy out there, so I didn’t get many good shots, but I wanted to show you this one because of how shiny the glitter is. See how it looks green? I was standing in front of a tree. And in the other photos where it looks gold? That’s my yellow shirt.

I love this manicure. I don’t wear pink polish often enough.

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.

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: Gold and Glitter Magic

Posted on April 28, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

Manicure Monday this week was amazingly fun. I’ve got two polishes that, at first, don’t look like they would pair together well at all. Somehow, though, it works. I’ve got on three coats of Disney Villain Varnish Queen of Hearts, with Digital Nails’s When Life Gives You Lemons as an accent. Photos were taken in the studio and outdoors.

When I think of the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland, I don’t think of gold. Just saying. Regardless of what villain this polish was meant to evoke, it’s a beautiful rich, warm gold with tiny microglitters. It takes three coats of achieve full opacity, but the application is smooth and easy. I kind of feel bad that I don’t use it very often. This is the first time I’ve used it as the main color in a manicure, and I didn’t realize what a beauty it is. It’s totally gorgeous.

When Life Gives You Lemons is a Digital Nails glitter. I feel like that’s all I need to say. It’s a clear base with an impressive show of purple and gold glitters, yellow holo dots and stars, tiny bar glitter (which I actually didn’t notice until I was reviewing my photos), shreds, iridescents…. The sheer amount of glitter in this bottle should be overwhelming, but isn’t. It spreads smoothly and evenly, even the large shapes. It’s also incredible in the sunlight.

While I’m not sure where you can still find the Villains Varnish collection, Digital Nails still has a few bottles of When Life Gives You Lemons in their etsy store. (It feels really good to review something that’s still available, for once.) The price is a bit higher than usual, but it was created as a charity item, with the profits from each bottle going to Alex’s Lemonade Stand, and will fund cancer research. To date, this and its sister polish, I’m a Survivor, are the most expensive polishes I’ve ever bought, but I know I bought more than nail polish; I bought a little bit of hope.

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.

Manicure Tuesday: Harvest Glitter on Brown

Posted on April 15, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

I’m back! I had an unexpected hiatus last week; I underestimated my workload and didn’t have time to take photos of my nails. I did do a puzzle piece manicure that was in theme with my job, but I didn’t have the time to take proper photos of it. My thrice-a-week blogging schedule will resume this week. Due to exhaustion, this week’s manicure post is a little late. For Mani Tuesday, I’m wearing Pretty & Polished’s Hows About a Roll in the Hay over Julep’s Vera.

Vera isn’t such a bad polish, really. I have on three coats here, but I could have gotten away with two. The formula is typical of Julep polish: thin but easy to use, quick-drying and shiny. I just can’t get past it being the same color as chocolate milk. I actually forgot chocolate milk was a thing until I had to work early one morning, my friend had some in the fridge, and I had flashbacks about grade school cafeteria lunches the whole rest of the day. Now I can’t get past this polish being Yoo-Hoo brown.

I had really high hopes for Hows About a Roll in the Hay from Pretty & Polished. I ordered it as soon as I laid eyes on it and couldn’t wait to get it. I own many of the P&P thermal polishes and a few of their glitters; I’ve been very happy with them. In this one, the glitter sinks, leaving a quarter-inch layer of lacquer all around the top of the bottle. My first application attempt left me with a thick layer of polish with maybe two pieces of glitter. I had to leave the bottle turned upside-down for 15 minutes before I got a good glitter distribution. This is probably not a problem; there’s actually a ton of glitter in this bottle, and it’s probably perfectly reasonable for it to settle and sink a bit. I’ve never had this happen with any of my P&Ps, so that’s why I feel a bit annoyed by it.

Despite the trivial issues I have with the polishes, I’m happy with the look I got. I like the autumnal warmth of the color combination. It also reminds me of breakfast foods. And grandma couches.

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.

Manicure Monday: Pink Ice Gradient

Posted on March 31, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

It’s been a while since I’ve done any kind of nail art, so I did a gradient for Mani Monday. Gradients are my favorite; it’s such a cool look and so little effort. This gradient turned out way better than I expected.

My gradient colors are Julep’s Audrey and Sinful Colors’s Forget Now. Both colors have pretty shimmer, but are quite sheer; nail lines are visible under two coats of both. Audrey has a soft silvery shimmer; Forget Now’s shimmer is the same color as the polish, which is enough to give it some shine. I knew these would make a gorgeous gradient because they’re so much alike, and yet so different.

Then I got carried away. The baby holo glitter here is China Glaze’s Fairy Dust, and it was only supposed to be an accent on a couple of nails. I decided it looked funny on so few nails and just put it on all the rest. It’s even more glitter on top of an already really sparkly manicure, but I think it works. I don’t feel like there’s too much going on; the fine glitter adds something extra to a beautiful gemlike look.

Because I couldn’t resist, I added an outdoor photo. This is incredible in the sunlight. I can’t even tell you.

Manicure Monday: Green Green Ocean

Posted on March 24, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

It’s Manicure Monday again! This week I’m wearing Green Ocean from Sinful colors over various greens. At least, they were green before I started. This is one coat of Green Ocean over two coats of Julep’s Fiona, Revlon’s Posh, and Zoya’s Envy.

Green Ocean is a ton of iridescent shred and hex glitter floating in a green-tinted base. As you can see, depending on the color it’s layered over, the glitter looks different, as is the case with most iridescent glitter. Over the yellow-green Fiona, the blue color is the most obvious. Over Posh, it’s the darker blue-to-purple. Over the dark Envy, the shape of the glitters is more defined. Shredded glitter sometimes stands up and doesn’t lay flat on the nail; I used two coats of Seche Vite to smooth it down, but I still have some bumps and points from it. Despite that, this is still one of my favorite glitters. You can tell by looking at the bottle; I’ve had this bottle for years, and even though this is it’s first time on the blog, it’s a pretty well-loved polish.

A quick word to the other polishes I used: Julep’s Fiona is a yellow-green with good coverage; it dries to satiny finish. Revlon’s Posh dries with a beautiful shine, but remains still a bit translucent after two coats. Zoya’s Envy is so dark it may as well be black, but it looks great after two coats .The colors do appear a little different after applying the glitter coat, and I can’t tell if the green tint of Green Ocean is strong enough to change it, or if it just looks different because of the glitter. Either way, these nails are totally blinding in the sunlight, and they’re a ton of fun to wear.

I know the last day of spring was last week, but this is probably the best spring manicure I could have hoped for.

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