Manicure Monday: Vision Intuition

Posted on August 8, 2016 by Stacie Wacie

Happy Monday! Manicure Monday is here! I’m excited to be using a SpaRitual polish for the first time today, as well as a Lynnderella polish that’s been calling my name for a while now. For this look, I used three coats of SpaRitual’s Intuition and one brushed coat of Lynnderella’s Moonstone Magic.

I have to admit, I don’t really know anything about SpaRitual. I’ve seen a few polishes around in communities, so I knew about the brand, but I’d never seen it in stores until I found some in a TJ Maxx in upstate New York. I got a set with two bottles and a clutch for like ten dollars. I had to buy it! I hate to say it, but I expected a little more from the formula; the first coat of Intuition was worringly thin, and while coverage improved dramatically with extra coats, it’s still not fully opaque. The shifting shimmer is nice at least. It’s still a pretty polish.

I went through a phase where I was all about the white glitters in shimmery bases. I’m still not over it. I think half of my Lynderella collection is white glitters. They’re just so pretty! I have so many and yet none of them are the same, they all have some unique must-have quality. I chose Moonstone Magic for this look for its shifting base; it’s not quite the same shimmer as the one in Intuition, but I think they work together. It’s a little milky-looking over the purple, but it’s still dreamy and iridescent. Truth be told, though, I almost reached for Beautiful Dreams again. It was a hard choice!

The following photos were taken in direct sunlight. In harsh light like this, you can see how thin Intuition still looks after three coats. It’s pretty disappointing. The tiny silver stars in Moonstone Magic kill me.

mmvimc

Intuition isn’t in stock on the SpaRitual website; other polishes are available there. Moonstone Magic might be discontinued by Lynnderella; other Lynnderellas are available on their new site and on eBay.

I bought these polishes myself.

Swatch Sunday: Shleee Polish’s Beautiful Dreams

Posted on August 7, 2016 by Stacie Wacie

Welcome back, reader! I’m excited about today’s swatch; it’s from a brand I’ve been dying to try forever! This is Beautiful Dreams from Shleee Polish; I’m wearing one coat over LA Girl’s Black, China Glaze’s White on White, P2’s French Kiss (pink), and Nails Inc.’s Baker Street (blue).

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Beautiful Dreams is a clear-based glitter topper with a primarily white glitter mix — shapes include stars, moons, hearts, dots, and clouds — with silver moons and stars, iridescent hexes, and a strong blue-to-purple shift. Application was good; I didn’t have to fish for the shape glitters, and the glitters brushed on evenly. Product consistency was also good; it wasn’t too thick or thin. It dried quickly and with a glossy finish; I used top coat for extra smoothness and shine.

When this polish came out early this year, I jumped on it. This was the first time I’d ever seen the cloud glitters, and I still get so excited about new glitter shapes, I have to buy the polish I see them in first. Beautiful Dreams is a great use for them, too; the overall look is ethereal and celestial, and the clouds just belong. It’s a perfect mix of glitter and shimmer. I am crazy impressed with it, as well as with Shleee in general.

The following photos were taken in direct sunlight. The shift gets a little washed out — especially in midday — but still looks gorgeous. You may also be wondering why I used a white polish as a base for white glitter. I think there’s something charming about white over white; it’s giving the shift and the silver glitters a chance to stand out.

Beautiful Dreams is currently not in stock; other Shleee Polishes are available in their etsy shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Manicure Monday: Bridal Gradient

Posted on August 1, 2016 by Stacie Wacie

Welcome back to Manicure Monday! I’m excited about today’s look, because the first-ever Wacie Nail Company polish is part of it. I feel like I made this polish a lifetime ago! This is Bridal Bouquet over a gradient of China Glaze’s For Audrey and Orly’s Water Lily.

Bridal Bouquet was the reason I started making polish. I’d had ideas for polishes and ordered customs from other indie makers, but this was an idea I wanted to do just for myself. I still remember how exciting it was to receive all the glitters and bottles and lacquer supplies in the mail; I still remember the satisfaction of shaking it together, brushing it onto a swatch wheel, and knowing I’d gotten it right. That was two years ago. It feels so good to come full circle.

To keep the marriage motif, I went for a Tiffany-inspired gradient. For Audrey, everyone’s favorite Tiffany blue, had to be used. In testing, I tried Bridal Bouquet over many blues, but For Audrey was my favorite base for it. As an afterthought, I added Water Lily to create a little bit of dimension beneath the glitter. Though Water Lily is a deeper, brighter turquoise, the gradient is very subtle, barely even there. The glitter is such that the gradient is covered up and on display at the same time.

The following photos were taken in direct sunlight. When the sunlight is harsh like this, the iridescent glitters get washed out. The gradient looks fantastic, though, and there is a bit of sparkle yet. I’m pretty happy with this look, overall. How long has it been since I last did a gradient? Much too long.

Follow wacie.com for Bridal Bouquet release info, as well as other Wacie Nail Company polishes. China Glaze and Orly are available in stores nationwide.

I made this polish. Other polishes were purchased myself.

HPB Presents: Project Orion

Posted on July 27, 2016 by Stacie Wacie

Welcome to the Hobby Polish Bloggers link-up for the month of July! Each month, this Facebook group chooses a mani theme; it’s up to the participant to decide how simple or elaborate their mani will be. Anything goes as long as it adheres to the theme! July’s theme is space, and I decided to take my mani in a different direction; I attempted to recreate NASA’s Project Orion insignia in mani form. For this look, I used Monster Polish‘s I was Hoping for Minimalism, but I Think I Came Out With Magician as the base, and the logo was done with Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s Terrific Twos (the planet), Sally Hansen’s Magenta Moves (the whoosh), and China Glaze’s White on White (the stars). All nails were finished with Seche Vite top coat and Essie’s Matte About You matte coat.

Orion_logo

It’s probably no secret that I’m a big spaceflight nerd. I follow rocket launches, planetary science updates, and ISS experiments almost as closely as I follow indie polish releases. When Orion was launched for its first experimental flight test in December 2014, you better believe I was watching it online. It was delayed a few times due to weather violations, and once because there was a boat in the launch zone. I didn’t trust myself to not sleep through it, so I just stayed up for three days. It was really the most exciting thing I’d been since Curiosity landed on Mars.

My interpretation of the logo is a little sloppy, but I think it’s recognizable at the very least. I think the logo is actually pretty clever; the Orion constellation is hidden inside it. My nail wasn’t quite big enough for the whole design, so it’s a little cramped. The Monster Polish I used as the base is the perfect spaceflight blue. I love that the planet depicted is now a mound of glitter. I’m happy, overall, with how it turned out.

Part of the reason I did this mani was to raise awareness of what’s going in modern spaceflight. It’s disappointing to me that more people either don’t know about or aren’t interested in the gains we’ve made in the past few years. There’s so much happening now: science is done on the ISS every day, SpaceX is continually innovating, and missions to Mars — likely on the Orion spacecraft — will be inevitable. This is like near-Disneyland levels of excitement to me.

This is an Orion model at Kennedy Space Center. It was a little more convincing in person.

I was Hoping for Minimalism, but I Think I Came Out With Magician and other Monster Polishes are available in their online shop. Terrific Twos was a BEGL limited edition and has since sold out; other Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquers are for sale in their online shop. Sally Hansen and China Glaze are available in stores nationwide.

I bought these polishes myself.

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Swatch Sunday: Seche’s Collage Overlay

Posted on July 17, 2016 by Stacie Wacie

It’s Swatch Sunday again! Today’s swatch is Seche’s Collage Overlay! This is a serious glitter topper. I’m wearing one brushed coat over China Glaze’s Pelican Gray, Essie’s Fiji, and Ciaté’s Sugar Plum, as well as one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

Collage Overlay is a clear-based glitter topper with holographic pink bar and hex glitters in various sizes, as well as large white hexes. Application was tricky with this; there’s so much glitter and it tends to clump together, making it a challenge to get even coverage. The bar glitters are pretty long in this polish and can be difficult to work with as well. You can see them sticking off the edges of the nail and into the cuticle. On the plus side, it does dry quickly with some chunky glitter texture. I used top coat for shine and smoothness.

So I really wanted to love this look. I really loved it the first time I used it; I paired it with a hot pink jelly for a sandwich, and it made a really great look. I love the glitters in this mix; I love how it’s holo glitter, but it’s not much like any holo glitter I’ve ever seen. The color is unique. I love the white hexes as a monotony breaker. I just wished it brushed on a bit better. It’s a mess.

I took some photos outside, and let me tell you, this is blinding in direct sunlight. Look how washed out these sunlight photos are. This will give you some indication of how shiny it is. It was kind of painful to look at.

Collage Overlay might have been discontinued by Seche. Other Seche products are available in stores nationwide; I got mine from Sally Beauty Supply.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Sunday: Mystery Brand’s Glitter Glow in the Dark Polish

Posted on July 3, 2016 by Stacie Wacie

Hello reader! This Sunday’s polish is one of those fun novelty ones from around the holidays. I don’t have a brand or a shade name, just this cute pumpkin face — looks strangely sinister in the dark — and a dainty, glowing look. I got this from Rite Aid in Atlanta a few years ago, and that’s really all I can tell you about it. I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

This mystery polish is a translucent glow in the dark polish with a fine iridescent glitter mix. Application was good; the consistency was about what I expected, not too thick or thin. The glitter is well-distributed and evenly applies to the nail. It’s very sheer, so building to opacity is not what this polish was suited for; however, this doesn’t have a grainy appearance that some glowers have with multiple coats, making it a good polish for layering. It dries quickly and with a glossy finish, though there is still a bit of texture from the glitter.

I bought these — I also have a pink equivalent — because I couldn’t turn down glow in the dark polishes with glitter. I’m not the kind of person who (usually) goes after novelty products, but these were so cute and not really something I expected to find, so I got them. I like how barely there it is; I forget I’m wearing polish at all. Even the glitter is inconspicuous unless the light is shining right on it. And, of course, the glow is pretty powerful if you’ve been holding it under the light. One thing I worry about is wear length and quality; a few hours after finishing the mani, I got a chip.

I took some outdoor photos. The sun didn’t come out for me today, but it looks nice regardless. These photos were taken in mostly cloudy conditions.

I have these polishes listed as Rite-Aid, since that’s where I got them, and there’s no branding or anything else on it. I’d love to learn more about who makes these!

I bought this polish myself.

HPB Presents: Dragonfruit

Posted on June 29, 2016 by Stacie Wacie

Hello, reader! It’s time for June’s installment of the Hobby Polish Bloggers Link-up! Every month, this Facebook group chooses a theme, and the theme for June is fruit! When the theme was announced, dragonfruit was the first thing I thought of, so here are dragonfruit nails! For this look, I used L’Oreal’s Satin Starlet, Digital Nails‘s Valar Morghulis, and P2’s French Kiss, as well as Seche Vite and Essie’s Matte About You top coats.

I love the flavor of dragonfruit, and vagely knew what it looked like until I was at a luau in Hawaii and found it on the buffet. It was the first time I’d ever eaten actual dragonfruit, and it was amazing. I knew it would be an easy thing to recreate in a manicure, so I went for it.

I started with two coats of Satin Starlet, then added a brushed coat of Valar Morghulis, another coat of Satin Starlet, another coat of Valar Morghulis, and then added the French Kiss tip. French Kiss was more translucent than I thought it would be and you can see some of the black glitter through the tip, but it’s not the worst thing that happened to this mani. With all the coats, it took ages for the polish to be dry enough for the French tip vinyls. I actually did it once, waited an hour, and had the vinyls pull up the polish on every single nail. I got a beer and started over, waiting four hours this time. The pinky peeled off. This time I just peeled the polish off the vinyl and stuck it back on because I was not doing it a third time.

My favorite thing about this look is that, even though it’s clearly inspired by dragonfruit, it’s not immediately obvious if you’re not thinking about it. Without the French tip, it’s just a really creamy monochromatic look; I almost didn’t want to add the tip because I liked it the way it was. Adding the tip is adding a great pop of color. White, black, and pink is probably my favoritest color pairing ever.

Satin Starlet may be discontinued; other L’Oreal polishes are sold nationwide. Valar Morghulis and other Digital Nails polishes are available in their etsy shop (they are currently on hiatus). P2 polishes are sold in Europe.

I bought two of these polishes myself, the other was a gift.

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Manicure Monday: Orange Jello Sandwich

Posted on June 27, 2016 by Stacie Wacie

It’s Manicure Monday again! Today’s look is a jelly sandwich, which is probably my favorite nail art technique. It always comes out so well! For this look, I used L’Oreal’s Mango Mamma over American Apparel’s Light Year, as well as Seche Vite top coat.

Mango Mamma is the perfect jelly. The color is bold but the coverage always stays sheer. It has the appearance of orange gelatin. I badly wish I had an orange-scented top coat, but I feel like this polish also deserves to smell like orange gelatin. As it’s the perfect jelly, the jelly sandwich was basically the only thing I could do with it. I can’t believe something like this came from a mainstream brand.

Light Year was maybe not the best glitter for this look, even though it turned out looking pretty cool. I knew brushing it on wasn’t the best application method because it’s liquidy, so I sponged it on. Even then, I got some holes in coverage, even though it didn’t look like it at the time. I guess it doesn’t matter, because what is on there sparkles wonderfully under Mango Mamma. Overall, the look feels flashy, stylish, and bold.

For this look, outdoors in direct sunlight is where it’s at. The orange looks a little washed out, but the glitter comes alive and looks its best. It almost looks kind of autumnal, with the orange jelly and the warm shades coming through in the holographic glitter. It’s like Thanksgiving in June!

Mango Mamma might be discontinued by L’Oreal; other L’Oreal polishes are sold in stores nationwide. American Apparel polishes have been discontinued as well.

I bought these polishes myself.

Manicure Monday: Post-Vacation Drama

Posted on May 30, 2016 by Stacie Wacie

Happy Monday, dudes! It’s actually Tuesday where I am, and I’m just getting around to posting this because I spent my Monday partying for Memorial Day. I’m finally back from Hawaii, and this is the first mani I’ve done since I got back. It feels good to be back at my mani station; I’ve felt like half a person without having polish on for the past week. Do my hands look tanner? I shopped a lot in Hawaii, so I might do a Hawaiian beauty haul post in a bit, as well as some Island Girl polish swatches. Keep an eye out for those!

Anyway, this post-vacation look was done with Sonia Kashuk’s Smoke and Mirrors and Digital Nails‘s So Sparkle.

Smoke and Mirrors is a classic shimmer silver polish. This shade has been around forever and every brand has one. I even remember my mother rocking this silver back in the day. It’s shimmery, sparkly, and foil-like; it’s not as foily as something like Essie’s No Place Like Chrome, but it’s still very reflective. This polish is one that shows brush strokes pretty prominiently, and I can’t really see them in this one, which is really nice.

So Sparkly is amazing, and is easily the star of this manicure. Someone at my cookout today it looked like dreamy space glitter, and that’s the best way I can describe this polish. It’s got a teal to purple shift, red and blue glitters, silver flakies, and a holo effect throughout, though I can’t tell if it’s Spectraflair or fine holo glitters. I’ve been staring at my polish all day, and mostly the two with So Sparkle on. This polish is dramatic and gorgeous and everyone should have it.

mmpvdmc

I put the two together because I wanted a simple metallic look to help me ease back into my manicure and blogging routines. I thought about adding the usual 3D elements and opted not to. I didn’t want to do anything very complicated today, what with holiday barbecues and swimming, and I’m still pretty jet-lagged. I also have other things I need to do today. Like unpack.

Sonia Kashuk polishes are sold at Target. Digital Nails is sold on etsy.

I bought these polishes myself.

Manicure Monday: Minty Fresh and Clean

Posted on May 9, 2016 by Stacie Wacie

Happy Monday, reader! Today’s look is a pretty simple one. I had a nail break — my nails were already pretty short — so I felt a simple look was best for nails this short. Today’s look was done with a vintage Maybelline mystery color, Lynnderella‘s The Full Minty, and rhinestones.

As you can see, this Maybelline polish is at least ten years old. That’s as long as I’ve had it, anyway. I don’t know anything about it; its name and other labels got peeled off, leaving its identity lost forever. It’s a really nice polish besides being old; it’s a warm nude with a subtle shimmer, it dries pretty quickly, and application was easy, even though I remember one of the last times I used it the brush dropped a strand in the wet polish. I’m always impressed by how long a polish can live.

I never know what to pair nude polishes with. Nudes are a great base for anything, and I couldn’t decide what to use with it, so what I did this week was pick a random Helmer drawer, shut my eyes, and grabbed a polish out. It was this one, Lynnderella’s The Full Minty. This was one of the first Lynnderellas I ever bought, and I’ve had it at least a year now, so I’m happy to be trying it out. At first I wasn’t sure about it; I thought the green would overwhelm the nude, and it kind of does, but I like it. The rhinestones, the final afterthought, pulls it together.

In the sun, this is really nice; you can see the full variety of glitters in The Fully Minty, as well as the subtle nude shimmer in the base.

mmmfacmm

As the Maybelline mystery color is old and likely discontinued, I can’t offer any buying notes for it. The Fully Minty and other Lynnderella polishes are available on both eBay and Storenvy. My rhinestones are from Amazon.

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Tag Archives: glitter

Manicure Monday: Vision Intuition

I bought these polishes myself.

Swatch Sunday: Shleee Polish’s Beautiful Dreams

I bought this polish myself.

Manicure Monday: Bridal Gradient

I made this polish. Other polishes were purchased myself.

HPB Presents: Project Orion

I bought these polishes myself.

Swatch Sunday: Seche’s Collage Overlay

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Sunday: Mystery Brand’s Glitter Glow in the Dark Polish

I bought this polish myself.

HPB Presents: Dragonfruit

I bought two of these polishes myself, the other was a gift.

Manicure Monday: Orange Jello Sandwich

I bought these polishes myself.

Manicure Monday: Post-Vacation Drama

I bought these polishes myself.

Manicure Monday: Minty Fresh and Clean

I bought these products myself.