Tag Archives: glitter

Manicure Monday: Pastel Belle

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Happy Monday!! My Manicure Monday look today is a pastel wonder. This is Lynnderella‘s Custard Candy Cake and Literary Lacquers‘s My Secret Garden. This look is easy and cute.

It’s overcast today, so the photos are a bit dark.

So I was hoping Custard Candy Cake was just a tad more opaque. In the bottle, you can see it’s a cool pale yellow, but it brushes on very sheer, leaving lots of shimmer but not a lot of color. I’m wearing three coats here, and while the opacity increased a bit, it’s still very sheer and pale. It’s not what I wanted, but it’s still kind of chic, so I like it.

My Secret Garden was one of the first LitLacs I ever bought, and it’s still one of my favorites. It’s a pretty basic topper with lots of color and just a bit of sparkle. The colors are a little too bright for the base, and I feel like that might be washing out whatever color is there, but you don’t want to hear me say negative things about nail polish, do you? No. I’m sorry I focus on the negatives a lot, but I just write about what I see and I should probably try to stop that.

Custard Candy Cake might have been a Lynnderella limited edition because I don’t see it in stock; other Lynnderellas are available on their website and eBay. My Secret Garden isn’t currently stocked, but other Literary Lacquers are for sale on etsy.

I bought these polishes myself.

Swatch Sunday: Chaotic Glitz’s The Dryad

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It’s Swatch Sunday!! Yes, it’s another Indie Shop Atlanta exclusive. I’m sorry. I feel so bad teasing polishes you can’t buy without hunting it down. I’m pretty excited about trying out a new-to-me brand, though! This is The Dryad from Chaotic Glitz. I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite.

 

I’ll admit it, I have no idea what color The Dryad is. In the bottle, it looks like a blackened shimmery plum with holo glitter, but on the nail, it’s more of a gunmetal, or just a shimmery black. In any case, I am so into it. The product consistency was lovely; it was super easy to work with and I had complete opacity in two coats. It dries with a satin finish. The brush is also one that delivers a lot of polish on the nail, I’ll let you decide if that’s a plus or not.

There’s a brush-stroke there that didn’t quite level itself out.

The Dryad is a pretty great polish, and I’m happy it’s one of my first CGs. It’s a dark and sultry polish. It has an edge. Unfortunately, it was shady outside when I took these photos, and the glitter isn’t as shiny as it should be, but it’s definitely got some sparkle, too. It’s beautiful.

The Dryad was an Indie Polish Atlanta exclusive. Other Chaotic Glitz products are available from their etsy shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Manicure Monday: Glitter Shapes on Nude

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Welcome back! I had swatches to show you this weekend, and I had this fantasy that I could write and promote two blog posts while also cleaning my house for my birthday party, attending my birthday party, and then cleaning up after my birthday party. I will be getting you the swatches this weekend, at least. If you missed my birthday manicure on Instagram, you should check it out. I’m pretty happy with how it turned out, even if it’s a little more Christmas than I wanted it to be. Anyway, Monday’s here again, and here’s a new mani! This is Julep’s Alexandra, mattified, with a shiny dollop of Lynnderella‘s Golden Lining.

I don’t often like the look of matte nails. I like them on other people, of course, but I always feel like I’m sucking the life out of the polish when I mattify it. Alexandra, though, looks amazing mattified. The pale almond is great on its own, but it’s even more stylish with the matte finish.

Trying to capture the matte/shiny here, just got glare

I didn’t like Golden Lining mattified, so I used an extra bit of top coat over the — I don’t know what to call this shape. Ruffles? Dollops? Scoops? — to make the glitter sparkle. It’s still not as shiny as I hoped it would be, like the contrast between the matte creme and the shiny glitter isn’t as dramatic as I imagined it would be, but I still rather like it. Golden Lining is a beautiful polish and it pairs wonderfully with Alexandra. I’m probably going to use it again this weekend.

I can’t find Alexandra on the Julep site, so it might be discontinued. Golden Lining may also be discontinued, I don’t see it on the Lynnderella site. I also used Essie’s mattifying top coat and Seche Vite.

I bought all of these products myself.

Manicure Monday: Purple and Radioactive

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Happy Monday, Reader! I’m so glad to be back, and your reception to the new posts has been absolutely wonderful. It’s almost like I never took a break! For this week’s Manicure Monday, I’m wearing Digital Nails‘s Curie-oser and Curiouser over Sinful Colors’s Verbena.

Curie-oser and Curiouser is, of course, a polish made in honor of Marie Curie, the scientist most known for her pioneering research on radioactivity. The polish name is an Alice in Wonderland reference. This is truly a Digital Nails polish. The white and black glitters are the most obvious and true-to-life in these photos, but the finer glitters, the fuchsia and aqua, definitely look bigger in the photos. It’s not a wild indie glitter mix, but it’s very pretty and has quite a lot of dimension thanks to the finer glitters.

Verbena is the perfect companion to the glitter topper. I really agonized over what purple polish to pair with the glitter, and had my regular reminder that no matter how much polish I have, I’m never going to have every single one I need. Luckily, I found Verbena at the bottom of the stash drawer; my friend had given me a bag of polish she didn’t want, I just tucked it away, and rediscovered it while I was putting this manicure together. These two colors couldn’t go better together, and I’m so happy I found it, and grateful to my friend for giving it to me.

One more word about Curie-oser and Curiouser: it glows in the dark. I mean, if you’re going to make a polish for Marie Curie, you’re basically required to glow in the dark. I’m wearing two coats of it here, so there’s a very strong glow. I can’t wait to go to bed an annoy my boyfriend with my nails!

Verbena looks like it might have been discontinued by Sinful Colors. Digital Nails is currently on a break.

I bought these polishes myself. One with money, and one with friendship.

Manicure Monday: Pink Dreams and Real Talk

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Hello there. After six months without new content, wacie.com has returned! I have to admit, it’s a little strange to go through this process again. I don’t quite remember how WordPress works. I don’t quite remember how I used to go about taking the photographs. I got a little less meticulous with nail care since I stopped blogging and I don’t quite remember how to avoid ugly cuticles. I hope you’ll bear with me while I readjust to all this.

I burned my finger making crepes. It’s healing up!

Look how empty this bottle is. I’ve only used this polish like twice.

So, for the first time in six months, here’s Manicure Monday. I’m wearing Lynnderella‘s A Whiter Shade of Maybe over Julep’s Audrey with two coats of Seche Vite. Photos were taken indoors and in direct natural sunlight.

I have missed sharing my nails with you, reader. I still painted my nails a few times a week while I was on my break, but I stuck to some pretty basic looks like this one: one shade, one glitter, very little nail art. I didn’t do a whole lot of nail art to begin with, but I’ve missed it and can’t wait to delve back into it.

I know this combination is a little weird. I wanted dainty, and I got it, but the glitter is sort of invisible here. There are faint pink glitters that blend right into the base color, but the shimmers stand out where they normally might not have. I’m pleased with it. After wearing dark colors for a few weeks straight, it’s a great palate cleanser, too.

So I want to talk a little about the blog and where it might be headed. Before my lens failed in March, I was putting a lot of time into the blog, posting three or four times a week. I was working so hard because I wanted to compete. I wanted to see if I could make it as a full-time blogger. This break gave me a long time to think about why I was blogging, who I was doing it for, did I still find it fulfilling or not. I still plan to blog, but on a much more casual level. I want to try just exploring my nail polish stash and maybe try a personal blog concept again instead. I’ve also had time to reevaluate other parts of my life, and I suppose we’ll just see where blogging falls in with my new goals.

Audrey is out of stock on Julep’s website. A Whiter Shade of Maybe is for sale on Lynnderella.com.

I bought these polishes myself. Real talk is totally real.

Swatch Sunday: Digital Nails’s Non-Corporeal Babysitter

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Hello, reader! Today’s swatch is all about Non-Corporeal Babysitter from Digital Nails. I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vive.

Digital Nails's Non-Corporeal Babysitter

Digital Nails's Non-Corporeal Babysitter

Digital Nails's Non-Corporeal Babysitter

Non-Corporeal Babysitter is a pink-tinted glitter topper with hot pink and white matte hexes and blue iridescent glitters. Even though it’s a topper, I chose to wear it alone at three coats because I wanted to see how opaque it would get. My bottle is old (from 2013!) and the product consistency is pretty thick; I know it’s meant to be thick since it’s loaded with glitter, but age may also be a factor. Long story short, I should have thinned it, because it was super thick at three coats and a little bit unmanageable. The polish tries quickly, though, and with a glossy finish. Top coat is necessary for smoothness because the glitter leaves texture.

Digital Nails's Non-Corporeal Babysitter

Digital Nails's Non-Corporeal Babysitter

I realize that by wearing it alone instead of layered over undies that I’m kind of doing it a disservice. I know it’s probably not meant to be worn this way, but I really just wanted to see what it looked like. Generally, I like the look. It’s a little messy, but I love the pink, I love the sheer quantity of glitter, and in general, it’s just fun. In the future, I think I’ll use it over a pink base.

Digital Nails's Non-Corporeal Babysitter

Digital Nails's Non-Corporeal Babysitter

For once, I think I prefer a polish in the studio rather than in the sunlight. Direct sunlight washed out a lot of the iridescent glitters, which are the best glitters in the polish. The bright-pinkness got washed out, too.

Digital Nails's Non-Corporeal Babysitter

Digital Nails's Non-Corporeal Babysitter

Digital Nails's Non-Corporeal Babysitter

Digital Nails's Non-Corporeal Babysitter

Digital Nails's Non-Corporeal Babysitter

Non-Corporeal Babysitter isn’t in stock, but other Digital Nails polishes are availabe in their etsy shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Nailspiration: Alterre NY’s Resort/Winter 2017 Collection

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Hello, reader! Today’s post is all about shoes and manicures based on shoes. I got an early look at Alterre‘s 2017 shoe collection, and after seeing how easily the designs and colors lend themselves to negative space manicures, I had to give it a shot.

This post is a sponsored post by Alterre NY and Brandbacker. The opinions stated in this post are my own.

If you’re unfamiliar with Alterre, imagine this: modular sandals. You start with a sandal base, with straps that snap to the bottom sole. Different straps (the look) can be added to the sandal base (the lift) to customize the shoe. All looks work with all lifts and can be used to create a huge combination of different shoes. Imagine the possibilities!

This year’s collection, which doesn’t launch until September, is based on styles from the 1970s. The catalog contains a lot of earth tones and platform shoes, which I’m a huge fan of.

As I mentioned, I saw a manicure for every shoe in the catalog. The modular approach to negative space manicures works as well as it does for shoes.

P2’s French Kiss and Essie’s Good As Gold

These looks are completely outside what I usually do for myself. I did a lot of taping and a lot of freehand painting, which I’ve never been completely comfortable with. Some of these looks, I regret to say, aren’t up to my usual standards.

Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s Lighthouse on the Lake and Siren’s Quarter-Life Crisis

They’re kind of editorial, and maybe that’s the look I wanted all along. Not all of these looks, nail and shoe alike, are suited for everyday life, but they could be with just a few adjustments.

This was directly from the PDF catalog, I didn’t get a hi-res photo of this one.

Sally Hansen’s Black Out, China Glaze’s White on White, dried flowers from Ciaté

e.l.f’s Nude, Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s I Could See Them Too

P2’s Artful, Essie’s Nothing Else Metals, OPI’s Dutch Tulips

So, what do you think, reader? I hope you like the shoes and some of the manis. I’ve been thinking of making Nailspiration a regular wacie.com feature, because I see so many things around the house and out into the world that would make fantastic nail art that I never get the chance to try.

 

This post is a sponsored post by Alterre NY and Brandbacker. The opinions stated in this post are my own.
All nail products featured in this post were purchased myself.

Manicure Monday: Accidental Mid-Mod

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Hey, reader! Happy Monday! Today’s mani reminds me a lot of an older one, where some glitter on just a couple nails was a fashion statement. Man, accent nails seem so quaint now. For this look, I used Julep’s Dianna and Lynnderella‘s Seven Swans Swimming.

It’s been a long time since I’ve worn a creme unfettered like this, and I have to admit, I really like it. Cremes are so underrated. I used to pass over them so often, but when you really think about it, they’re the perfect finish; they’re color and shine and nothing else. This shade in particular, Dianna, has been a ton of fun to wear so far; it’s that perfect midcentury modern robin egg blue. Like I said, underrated.

I chose Seven Swans Swimming for my accent because the shimmery blue base it’s in was about the same color as Dianna, and some of the glitters are, too. The glitter mix is fantastic in this polish; pink and white are the perfect companions to robin egg blue, and the shapes add a lot of variety. I know the snowflake doesn’t quite belong there — tomorrow’s high temperature is 83 degrees F — but it’s cute. It’s kind of mid-mod, too, now that I look at it. It could be a classic winter in Florida mani as well — winter motifs in summer colors — that’s mid-mod too, isn’t it?

The following photos were taken in direct sunlight. The fine shimmer in Seven Swans Swimming gets washed out, but you can see the glitter in greater detail. You can also see the shine of Dianna in all its glory.

Seven Swans Swimming is available from Lynnderella.com. Julep is sold in stores.

I bought these polishes myself.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Siren’s Lucky Shamrock

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Happy Saturday, reader! Remember last week‘s Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer swatch, and how I said it was part of a duo? This is its other half, Siren’s Lucky Shamrock. It is the St. Paddy’s Day-themed glitter topper you need. I’m wearing one brushed coat of Siren’s Lucky Shamrock over Zoya’s Chantal (nude) and Neely (green) and LA Colors’s Hottie (coral) with one coat of Seche Vive top coat.

Siren’s Lucky Shamrock is a clear-based glitter topper featuring a mix of green, orange, gold, and black glitters, iridescent glitters, and orange flakies. The official description also lists shamrock glitters, but I didn’t get any, and I don’t see them in the bottle, either. Application was good; the glitters brushed on easily and the product consistency performed well. The polish dries quickly and with some glitter texture, so top coat is necessary for smoothness.

Of the two polishes, this one is the obvious holiday polish. Personally, I don’t care much for polishes that are only useful one day a year, but if you’re big into holiday looks, this is one you want. It’s basically Ireland in a bottle. It makes for a very easy St. Paddy’s manicure.

The following photos were taken in direct sunlight. The flakies get a little washed out out here, but the glitters come alive.

As of this writing, Siren’s Lucky Shamrock is still available, and even better, on sale in the BEGL shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Guest Post for Secretary’s Nail Art

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Hello reader! I hope you like guest posts, because I’ve got another one to share. Dina from Secretary’s Nail Art recently had a baby, and I got to step in and help her out. It’s look that’s a little of everything, but mostly it’s pink.

Follow the link to see more!