Tag Archives: green

Swatch Saturday Doubleheader, Part Two: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Queen Lime Rose Zinnia

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Here comes part two of the Swatch Saturday Doubleheader! It’s another BEGL, of course. This one is Queen Lime Rose Zinnia; I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite.

Queen Lime Rose Zinnia is a lime green polish with a strong pink shimmer. Application was good; the consistency was a little thinner than I expect from a BEGL, but I still got good coverage with only two coats. It dries with a satiny finish; I added top coat because the polish improves with shine.

So it was difficult to capture the shimmer in midday sun. It’s definitely a stronger pink than the photos show here, and the green is a darker, more sherbety color. The macro here is probably the most color-accurate of them all. This is probably one of my all-time favorite BEGLs because of the shimmer; it’s complementary without clashing and being over the top. The shimmer is strong but doesn’t take over the polish. It’s beautiful.

Queen Lime Rose Zinnia has been discontinued by Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer; other BEGL polishes can be found in their online 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.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer Prototype SPD 1.3

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Hello, reader! It’s Swatch Saturday again! I’ve got a Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer prototype polish to share, and it’s the first one in a while. This is SPD 1.3; I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vive top coat.

Prototype SPD 1.3 is a jade green creme with orange and green shimmers. It looks like there are some larger iridescent flakies in the bottle, but those either got covered up or didn’t come out on the brush. Application was good; I had full opacity by the second coat, the product consistency was easy to use, and I had no issues with streaking or tugging. The polish dries quickly and with a glossy finish; I used extra top coat for protection.

I love BEGL greens. They’re always so striking. I’m fairly certain this polish is a prototype for BEGL Go Bragh, a St. Paddy’s-themed limited edition from a few years ago. The jade color, as well as the orange shimmer, are found in both polishes. It’s fun to see how polishes evolve. It’s like I’m part of the process.

The following photos were taken in direct sunlight outdoors. The green is especially jadelike out in the sun, but the shimmer is a little harder to see. I’m especially digging the macro this round, just because I didn’t think I’d get a good one. It was cloudy and sad outside the day I did this mani, but the day after was sunny and everything was awesome.

Prototype SPD 1.3 isn’t available, but other BEGL polishes are sold in their online shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Sunday: Del Sol’s Spike

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Hello, reader! Do you guys like solar polishes? I’m a ’90s kid, and I’m an easy sell for anything that changes color. I bought a few Del Sol polishes when I was on vacation a few years ago because I could not resist. I blame mood rings. This is Spike; I’m wearing three coats of Spike with one coat of Seche Vive top coat.

Spike is a frosty mint green polish that turns a cool mauve when exposed to direct sunlight. Application was good; the product consistency was on the thin side, but was still easy to apply. The first coat was sheer and I needed all three to achieve full opacity. Because it’s so frosty, brush-strokes are pretty apparent. It takes a while to effect the color change, probably a good five minutes or so. The polish dries with a glossy finish; I used top coat for extra shine and protection.

How fun is this polish! Honestly, I’d hoped the purple it changed to in the sun would have been a bit brighter; it’s a little too on the SFW side for me. The green it starts out as is very pretty; sometimes it seems more silver than green, but it’s always icy and shimmery and cool (pun?) to look at.

One thing you’ll notice is that this post has a ton of photos, and I apologize. I wanted to show the polish in both states, and to treat both states as two different polishes. They really could be; if I didn’t know it was a solar polish, I’d assume they were. The following set of photos were taken in direct sunlight.

Like I said, I wish the purple was brighter and/or darker. It’s a pretty unique shade as-is, but I just wanted more from it, especially when you see its actual color compared to the label.

One thing I wish I’d been able to capture was the polish in transition. As I mentioned, the change took some time to occur, and my camera takes such high-quality video that my computer can’t handle editing it. Also my phone camera doesn’t work. I think I got a decent shot of the bottle hovering between colors.

I don’t see Spike listed on Del Sol’s site, but other polishes are available there as well as in their stores.

I bought this polish 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.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Luck o’ the Siren

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Happy Saturday, reader! I have a Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer Siren to show you today! This was a special holiday Siren made for St. Patrick’s Day 2015. This polish actually came in a duo; we’ll be seeing the companion polish to this one next week. This is Luck o’ the Siren; I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vive top coat.

Luck o’ the Siren is a frosty emerald green polish with a blue shift. Application is good; since the polish is so shimmery, I got some brush-strokes in the final look, but I don’t consider that a huge issue. The product consistency was easy to work with; I had full coverage in two coats. The shift in this polish is easy to see but difficult to photograph; it turns a very bright and icy turquoise when facing the light. The product dried quickly and with a glossy finish.

I didn’t think much of this polish when I first got it. It looks like a standard mainstream green polish in the bottle. Once I had it on my nails, though, it stopped being boring. The shift in this polish is unexpected and unadulterated; there’s no holo or glitter to get in its way. It’s gorgeous.

It looks great in the sunlight, too! The emerald is warmer and richer out here than in the studio, and the blue shift is pretty vivid. I love this polish.

Luck o’ the Siren was a limited edition that has since sold out; her duo counterpart, Siren’s Lucky Shamrock, is still available in the BEGL shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Sick Inside Wondering

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It’s Swatch Saturday! Today’s post is very late, but it is still Saturday somewhere. My polish today is Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s Sick Inside Wondering; I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Dream Polish‘s Gem Glam top coat in the Melon Baller scent.

Let me address the bandage. If you follow me on Instagram, you saw the photo of the break I posted. I won’t post it here, but go there to see the gore. Long story short, I hit the nail, it tore off, it was very painful and it bled a lot, hence the bandage. I hope it’s not too distracting from the swatch; I went for the novelty Pac-Man ones, because I never get a chance to use them.

Sick Inside Wondering is a kelly green polish with blue shimmer. Application was easy; the product has the perfect consistency and went on with no issues. The polish dries with a satin finish.

I love green polishes, and BEGL makes some of the best. I love the shimmer in this; it’s a subtle shimmer that only really comes when the light touches it. This was my favorite from the collection when it launched; the green is vivid, and the blue shimmer cools it off. Allow me to remind you, again, that this is a Valentine’s day collection.

I have some outdoor photos for you, and like last time, I’ve taken photos of Sick Inside Wondering with its original finish and with top coat. The original finish is on the left, top coat is on the right. The shimmers stand out a bit more with top coat, but satin-finish lovers will enjoy the softness of it.

Sick Inside Wondering and other Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquers are available in their online shop, though currently they are on hiatus. The Pac-Man bandages were from Paradise Arcade Shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Cold Inside Me

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Welcome back to Swatch Saturday! Last week, we took a break from Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s Crooked Hearts collection to have a look at a limited edition Siren. We’re jumping back in with another shimmery beauty, Cold Inside Me. I’m wearing three coats of Cold Inside Me with one coat of Dream Polish‘s Gem Glam top coat in the Melon Baller scent.

Cold Inside Me is a teal polish with blue-to-purple shifting flecks. I didn’t realize the flecks were shifters until I was processing these photos, so none of my photos capture it. I do apologize. As it is shown here, however, was what it looked like most often on my nails, so I do feel that it is represented accurately. Application was good; the first coat was nearly opaque, just a slight hint of translucence without streaking or gaps in coverage. The second coat evened it out very well. The consistency is very smooth and easy to work with. It dries quickly and with an interesting satin finish; I have photos of it in the sunlight set toward the end of this post.

How gorgeous is this, seriously? The base color itself is already very cool, but then the glass-fleck shimmers come in and make the whole thing sparkly and shimmery and BEGLesque. I love it.

The following photos were taken outdoors in direct sunlight, but you’ll notice these photos are also comparisons; the photos on the left are at two coats and without top coat, while on the right it’s at three coats and top coat. I prefer the glossiness of the top coat, but the satin finish is pretty enough that I had to photograph it.

Cold Inside Me and other Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquers are available from their online shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Manicure Monday: Lime Sherbet With Sprinkles

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Welcome to Manicure Monday! Today’s look evokes images of springtime, doesn’t it? I’m so ready for spring. For this look, I used Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s Queen Lime Rose Zinnia with Lynnderella‘s Bridezilla.

Queen Lime Rose Zinnia is probably the newest BEGL I’ve worn yet, and maybe also one of the most interesting. The shade itself is already very cool; it’s this delicious lime sherbet green (get it, cool?), but then there’s these pink-to-gold shifting flecks that add contrasting shimmer. It’s so gorgeous. It dries with a satin finish to boot. It’s an incredible polish.

You know what else has a beautiful pink-to-gold shift? Lynnderella’s Bridezilla! I actually paired them for this reason; the matching shimmer unites both polishes in a really cool way. The shimmer you see here is likely more from Bridezilla than Zinnia; I sponged a little extra shimmer on the tips after adding the glitter. Also, I do apologize for how sloppy the glitter looks. I always do this! I try to make sure I have enough glitter, and then I end up with too much. It’s a fun glitter mix, though, right? I love that there’s so many different shapes in it. They stick up off my nail and get snagged on things, of course, but I can deal with it for a day or two.

The following photos were taken in direct sunlight outdoors. Everything is so bright out here! The shimmer doesn’t seem as intense, but it’s pretty potent wherever the light hits it. You can see the shift pretty well out here, too.

Queen Lime Rose Zinnia is not currently in stock; see the Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer shop for other polishes. Bridezilla might have been a limited edition Lynnderella; other Lynnderellas are available on their website and on eBay.

I bought these polishes myself.

A Look Back at 2016

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Hello reader! Now that 2016 is behind us, I wanted to look back on some of my blog highlights and share my favorite nail art looks, and maybe share some of my 2017 blogging goals with you. I guess I could have waited to do this on my blog-versary in March, but it feels more appropriate to do it now.

January: Elevated Gradient

February: Neon Satisfaction

You’ll notice these photos are tiny. Why? Because in March, The Great wacie.com Server Crash of 2016 happened! My webhost had a hardware failure, and for whatever reason, several months of posts were lost and had to be pieced back together with images and text cached by Google. It was an extremely frustrating and embarrassing time for me.

March: Spring Hibiscus

I miss these long nails.

This is probably my favorite look of the year.

Third Anniversary Do-Over

I mentioned earlier that my blog’s anniversary is in March. For last year’s anniversary, I recreated the first-ever mani I posted on my blog. I don’t know yet what I’ll do for my fourth year, but it’ll probably be awesome.

April: Dusty Watermarble

May: Neon Splatter

I went to Hawaii in May. As a result, this is my least active month on the blog for the year.

June: Orange Jello Sandwich

My first Empties Roundup post was also in June.

July: Beyond

August: Ombre Hearts

September: Popples

October: Stripey Blue Frosting

This was a look I did to celebrate my birthday.

November: Ruby Opal

December: White Snow Blue Lava

So there’s my year! This was probably the busiest year for the blog, since I broadened my sujects quite a lot. I did tons of swatches and nail art, but I also ventured into product reviews and makeup talk. I don’t think this will ever become a full lifestyle or beauty blog, but I’m definitely having fun with it in this format. I’m kind of excited to see what it’ll evolve into in 2017. Here are a few beauty goals I have in mind, though.

1. Write more
I wrote 175 posts in 2016, averaging about 14 per month. It doesn’t sound like much to me, like I did way more work than that, especially when it started to feel stressful. That said, I’d like to do at least one more post every week.

1b. Write on my other blog more
I have a second blog that I want to start posting to more. It’s been so long since I’ve bothered with it that I don’t even remember the login credentials. I still want a place to talk about myself and my life, a place to seem like I have a life away from my nails.

2. Build a real skincare routine
I still feel insecure about my skin. I’m frustrated that I’m 31 and I still get acne. I want to take every preventative measure I can against wrinkles and anti-aging. I also want to try a 10-step Asian beauty routine. If you’re over 30 with oily skin and hormonal acne, I want your recommendations.

3. Stop competing
I know one of the big rules of blogging is not to compare your success with others’, but I feel so competitive about it. At the risk of sounding whiny, I always look at other bloggers who’ve been working on their blogs for about as long as I have, and watching their blogs grow faster than mine is kind of frustrating. I don’t want to feel like that anymore.

4. Do more real nail art
I love glitter toppers and I think I use at least one every week, but sometimes it feels lazy. I want to go back to the basics: watermarbling, gradients, dotting. I love my glitters, but it’s starting to feel like a cop-out.

I think that’s it! Anyway, I think 2017 is going to be an exciting year, and I’m looking forward to the good times, the challenges, and the time we spend together. Thanks for reading!