What’s this? A swatch? Yes! I feel so bad that I can’t post as consistently as I used to. I have so beautiful swatches to share, especially after The Indie Shop, so I’ve got to get through the ones I did months ago. Today’s treat is Essie’s Penny Talk; I’m wearing three coats alone.
Penny Talk is a copper metallic polish. The product consistency was pretty typical of an Essie polish; it was a little on the thin side, but still delivered good coverage. I had full coverage in two coats. You can see there are some brush-strokes, but this is pretty typical of metallic polishes. It dried pretty quickly and with the metallic, shiny finish you see here.
This was the first Essie polish I ever bought that wasn’t a glitter topper, and it’s a pretty special polish to me. It’s also something that’s pretty unique to my collection. I know makers have been doing metallic polishes on and off for decades now, but these are the mainstays in my collections. I am such a huge fan of them.
Essie polishes are sold in drugstores. I got this one at Walgreens.
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.
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
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.
Happy Monday, reader! I hope you guys like shiny silver, because that’s all I’ve got today. This is Essie’s No Place Like Chrome without top coat. Silver for days!
I love the Mirror Metallics collection from Essie. I have them all, but I’ve only ever used two of them, and No Place Like Chrome is the only one I’ve used twice. I know metallic polishes come and go, everybody makes them at some point, but I’m so glad I’ve got these. The finish is so fun and unique, making any mani stand out. I’ve only ever worn this polish by itself, but someday I’ll get around to using it as an accent with something. Mirror polish makes any mani striking.
The last time I wore this bow was with another strong silver mani. I am actually really surprised by how easy these are to wear. Sure, it’s big, but it rarely gets caught on anything. It’s about as wide as my finger, so someone with thinner fingers might have trouble, but I love wearing these bows. It’s like wearing the biggest, tackiest engagement ring, except it’s glued to one of my nails.
In the sunlight, the metallic effect is just as apparent. It’s actually kind of blinding. The bow is especially ridiculous. Check out the flares on it.
No Place Like Chrome and other Essie polishes are sold in stores nationwide. My bow charm is from Born Pretty Store.
Happy Monday! Today’s Manicure Monday post is simple and sweet, and not just because it smells that way. Revlon’s Spun Sugar is a scented polish, so I deliberately kept it plain to keep the scent from being covered up. I’m wearing three coats of Spun Sugar without top coat.
Spun Sugar is a warm metallic gray polish. THe application process was quite nice. The product formula was on the thinner side, but still provided even and full coverage in one to two coats. Unforunately, there are still lots of visible brushstrokes, which I don’t mind, but I know a lot of people aren’t into that. Some may also dislike the ball-top brush cap, it can be weird to hold at times. It dries with a metallic finish, not unlike that of OPI’s Push and Shove or Essie’s No Place Like Chrome, but isn’t as reflective. The scent is quite strong, even after many hours, and smells like a warm spicy perfume.
I always feel super-weird wearing things without top coat. I really do rely on it, not just for protecting my color, but also protecting my nails. I have these very soft and bendy nails, and I like a solid, rigid top coat to give them a coat of armor. When I say I’m not wearing top coat with this mani, that’s a little bit of a mistruth; I’m actually wearing it under the last coat of my color. I put down two coats of Spun Sugar, a coat of Seche Vite, and another coat of Spun Sugar to finish the look. This way I have the protection and durability top coat affords me, but I also preserve the finish and the scent offered by the polish. Win/win!
Spun Sugar is sold wherever Revlon is sold; I got mine at Walgreens, and I see them on sale there a lot. The infinity loop charm and other charms are sold at Daily Charme.
Hello readers! Today I’m showing you the second polish from the Wacie Nail Company launch. This polish is called Debut. I’m wearing three coats of Debut with one coat of Alter Ego‘s She Shines top coat. Debut is a dramatic and shining mix of silver flakies, small silver holographic hexes, and Spectraflair. This polish is my optimistic vision of the future: a little overwhelming, but bright and gorgeous and irresistible.
My long-term readers will know that I’ve been working on my own debut for a very long time now. It was about a year ago when I first told my boyfriend that I was thinking of starting my own nail company. I was shocked when he said it sounded like a sound and lucrative project; he usually dismisses my ideas as harebrained schemes and they are never mentioned again. I got to work immediately. I sourced all the materials I could, sought advice from anyone who would give it, and spent many hours mixing prototype bottles. I covered our souvenir Fiji tablecloth in glitter, I spilled dye all over our hardwood floors, and permanently stained a lot of my own clothing. However life, as it is wont to do, got in the way. More important things and other entrepreneurial endeavors took priority. Last fall, I decided there would be no more waiting, no more putting it off, no more wasted time. Wacie Nail Company would come to fruition. I got to work right away on some new polishes. Those polishes are Debut and Origin.
Alone, Debut dries to a smooth, metallic finish. A top coat is suggested for added shine and depth. Also, look how reflective it is. In the bottle shot, toward the bottom, you can see the polish reflecting the foot of the bottle. It also reflects a lot of light, which kind of drowned out the holo effect. It’s really much more impressive in person.
The following photos were taken indoors with the camera flash. One is my first attempt at a macro shot. While it was not a success, I think it really shows the spirit of the polish.
Debut will be available in the Wacie Nail Company etsy shop on Wednesday, April 29, at 2 PM EDT. Keep an eye out for the third and final launch polish tomorrow!
It’s the final day of the Summer of Untrieds Challenge! I cannot believe I’ve actually painted my nails for 31 straight days. On this final day, the theme du jour is metallic, and I went with Essie’s No Place Like Chrome. I’m wearing three coats without top coat.
No Place Like Chrome is a metallic silver polish that dries to a matte mirror-like finish. From the first coat, it goes on smooth and opaque, but sometimes it seems to pull away from itself, leaving holes in the coverage. This is easily remedied by a second coat. Other issues with application include bumps, brush strokes, and visible ridges or nail imperfections. It’s totally possible that these problems are in my application and not part of the polish itself. Despite everything, though, I really love of the look of this. I feel a little like a robot.
I fell in love with the Essie Mirror Metallics line quite some time ago, when I wore Penny Talk for the first time. I went out and bought them all after that. So far, though, these are the only two I’ve worn.
I didn’t really need to take pictures of this in the sun, because you can already see how shiny it is. Just look at it, though. Look. Shiny.
And there you have it: 31 days of untried polishes. Here’s a quick shout-out to Julie at Wishes of a Blue-Eyed Girl for devising this insanely fun, weirdly useful challenge, and awesome job to everyone who took part. For more photos of the challenge, check Instagram hashtags #summerofuntrieds and #julyuntriedschallenge. There’s a nerdy stats post coming up, so stay tuned!
