Tag Archives: microglitter

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s A Snogging Booth?!

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Happy Saturday, reader! This is the final polish in the first phase of Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s masive Doctor Who collection. After this one, I’ve got a couple prototypes, a couple of special editions, and a Halloween collection that’s weirdly appropriate for spring. This final(ish) polish is called A Snogging Booth?; I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Gelous gel coat.

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A Snogging Booth? is a clear-based microglitter polish containing shades of red and black. Application was easy, and a bit similar to the previous BEGL microglitters I’ve worn on the blog recently; the first coat didn’t cover well, but coverage builds with additional coats. It took me all three coats to achieve this level of opacity. The product consistency was thick as well, which is to be expected with the large amount of glitter in it. The polish dries quickly and with a textured glitter finish. I added top coat for smoothness; you can see where it sank in, there’s still a lot of texture left.

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My favorite thing about this polish is the black glitter. The word that comes to mind, for me, is pepper; it adds a dark, cool, vampy element to the polish. I don’t like black glitter in everything, I think it looks weird in light jellies, but I really love it in this. The red is already gorgeous on its own, but the black makes it sultry while also grounding it. It’s a really nice combination.

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In the sun, it warms up quite a lot, and I think that’s just because things tend to look cooler and darker in the studio. The holo effect from the red glitter shows up well here, and that helps it look a bit warmer as well.

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A Snogging Booth? has been discontinued by BEGL, and sadly, the last bottle sold out only recently. Other BEGL polishes are available in their shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Manicure Monday: Confetti Disco

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Welcome back to Manicure Monday! Today’s mani is made up entirely of glitter, it’s kind of insane. Also, there’s some Wacie Nail Company restock info coming, so keep reading! For this look, I used Sinful Colors’s Queen of Beauty as the base, Digital Nails‘s Spectraflair top coat over that, and Wacie Nail Company’s Handful of Confetti for the glitter accents. All nails are topped with one coat of Seche Vite top coat. Also, these photos are taken outdoors in partly cloudy conditions.

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Queen of Beauty is a veteran in my collection; it must have been around 2008 when I bought it. When I started this manicure, I seriously doubted whether I’d have enough to get me through the whole mani. This polish is great because it’s so versatile; I don’t think it was intended to be worn as a full-coverage microglitter polish, because you can see some teeny-tiny gaps in coverage, but it works pretty well as one. It also looks great as a topper, which is how I’ve worn it in the past. Also, it’s shiny. It’s wicked shiny. Light bounces off this like you wouldn’t believe. You can see the glare in some of these photos. It’s the reason a lot of these photos are washed out and blurry. I love it.

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I got the Spectraflair top coat out because I wanted to take it just a step further. The chunky rainbow glitter has a slightly holo base, and I thought it would look weird with some of the nail being holographic and some not, so I thought the holo top coat would even it out. As it turned out, it was cloudy and you can barely see the holo effect in either polish. It’s pretty visible in the accent nails, but I think that’s because the accent glitter has Spectraflair in it as well. On the nails without it, you can barely tell. At least I know it’s there. It’s kind of a fun little secret.

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This set of photos were taken indoors in the studio; some with flash, and some without. This mani definitely looked better in the sun, but they always do.

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Handful of Confetti is making its debut today, and I’m really excited! I don’t want to say too much about it, because I have an entire post dedicated to it I’ll be posting on Wednesday. I love ridiculous glitter toppers, and I know they’re becoming passé in indie polish these days, but I still love them and I want to cling to them forever. I chose it as the accent for this mani because it couldn’t be more different from the base polish; every bit of glitter stands out from it, it adds tons of color, and it’s interesting to look at. I think it’s a pretty fun look.

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One more photo: here’s a shot of the bottle, just so you can see how empty it is. I haven’t come this close to finishing a bottle (of polish) in years.

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Queen of Beauty and other Sinful Colors are sold nationwide; mine is from Walgreens. Digital Nails polishes, as well as their Spectraflair top coat, are available from their etsy shop. Handful of Confetti will release Wednesday, February 24, at 2 PM EST; watch this space for more information.

I bought two of these polishes myself; I made one.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s ‘Murica

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Welcome back to Swatch Saturday, reader! My swatch today is a real oldie, but a fun polish nevertheless. This polish, ‘Murica, was a patriotic polish released alongside another polish called Glory. Unfortunately, I missed out on Glory, but here’s Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s ‘Murica. This is three coats of ‘Murica with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

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‘Murica is a clear-based deep blue microglitter polish with red and blue star glitters and red shimmers. Application was easy, though while the base was clear, it took me many coats to achieve full opacity. The first coat went on almost like a glitter topper; the coverage was very thin and lots of bare nail was still visible. Of course, coverage built with each additional coat, so it ended up not being a huge problem. It was actually kind of interesting to find out, since I learned it could be worn as a fine glitter topper pretty easily. The polish took some time to dry since I put it on a bit thick, and it dried with a fine gritty texture. I added top coat for shine and smoothness.

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The glitter is super shiny, so there’s a lot of issues with focus and glare in these photos. I don’t think I did it a whole lot of justice. You’ll just have to take my word for it that this polish is beautiful. Even though it looks like it’s all one color, there’s so much going on in it; there’s enough variety in the glitter for the polish to have lots of dimension and depth. It’s not just blue, there’s cobalt blue, ocean blue, and navy blue, as well as the red glitters adding contrast. It’s a really cool look. I did mention that there are star glitters, but none of them made it into any of my photos; there were some, but they were covered by the final coat of polish. I like this polish because its inspiration are only obvious if one knows it. Otherwise, it’s a barely patriotic but totally wearable glitter. It’s beautifully done.

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‘Murica has been discontinued by Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer. Other BEGLs are available from their online shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Sail Her Don’t Sink Her

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Happy weekend, reader! I trust you’re all having a fantastic Saturday. This Saturday’s swatch is Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s Sail Her Don’t Sink Her, which is from last year’s Far From The Sun summer collection. I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

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Sail Her Don’t Sink Her is a clear-based microglitter polish with pink, purple, red, gold, and orange holographic and metallic glitters. Application was easy; because it is a clear base, it took me all three coats to achieve this level of opacity. The polish dries with a textured finish; it’s not too rough or bumpy, but it is a fine grit. I used top coat for extra shine and smoothness.

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This polish looks so simple in the bottle; it just looks like a lot of glitter swimming around together. On the nail, the complexities really stand out. The colors just come together so well, so organically, that it’s hard to believe someone actually created it. This polish is full of sparkle and it’s hard to stop looking at it. It’s gorgeous and I love it.

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Sail Her Don’t Sink Her, unfortunately, has been discontinued by Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer. Other BEGL polishes are available from their shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Manicure Monday: Violet Gradient with Violet Glitter

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Happy Manicure Monday! I don’t feel like this mani is my best work, but I still rather like it. For this look, I used Essie’s She’s Picture Perfect, Revlon’s Amethyst, and Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s Might Not Recover, all with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

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I put She’s Picture Perfect and Amethyst together for their similarities: they’re both shades of purple and they both have a strong pink/purple flash. I thought it would be great to see that pink/purple flash show up in both colors of the gradient, like this unifying shimmer that really pulls everything together. Unfortunately, it’s not easily seen in the gradient, either in photos or in real life. Also, the colors didn’t blend as easily as I expected them to; the deep purple just looks so sponged-on, even after three rounds with the sponge. It’s still pretty, but it’s really not my best work.

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I added Might Not Recover as an accent nail at the last minute, and I gotta tell you, I’m stunned. I just can’t believe how much it sparkles. Like it was sparkly in the bottle, but damn. I also chose this polish for its similarities in color, but I like that it stands apart from the rest of the mani while complimenting it. The bling is just a tad bit overwhelming, which means it’s just the right amount (like there’s a such thing as too much). I always have an issue with microglitters still having some texture after I put down top coat, but this one has stayed nice and smooth, and I love it.

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In the end, everthing goes together really well, yeah?

I got She’s Picture Perfect from Walgreens and Amethyst from Big Lots, though both brands are sold nationwide. Might Not Recover and other Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquers are available in their shop (which is temporarily closed). The Fimo bow is from Claire’s.

I bought these polishes myself.

Manicure Monday: Autumn Moons

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Happy Monday, reader! Today’s Manicure Monday finds me with very short nails; I went bowling on Saturday night and kind of trashed them. At least they grow back. I went for a mature yet cute look today to remind myself that these are, in fact, not a child’s hands. I used Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s Newborn Solstice Sun, Essie’s As Gold As It Gets, and China Glaze’s Angel Wings. All nails are topped with one coat of Seche Vite.

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I wore Newborn Solstice Sun on its own quite some time ago when I swatched it. Even though it’s gorgeous on its own, I wanted to try something new with it. I went through the bag of tricks: rhinestones and loose glitters, vinyls and striping tapes. I wanted to get really crazy with it. Once my nails were unexpectedly cut down, though, I decided to keep it simple. I’m wearing Newborn Solstice Sun alone on two nails, as well as the darker shade in the half-moon. It’s a beautiful polish; the color is so deep, and the glitters add depth and sparkle. This is a huge BEGL favorite for sure.

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I used Essie’s As Gold As It Gets as the undies for my half-moon. It’s so soft, you can barely tell I used anything there. I wanted just a hint of sparkle, and that’s exactly what I got. I used China Glaze’s Angel Wings as an afterthought; I actually had an accent ring finger nail that was just covered with red and gold rhinestones, but it looked too Gryffindor, so I took it off and just used the gold glitter instead. It still looks out of place to me, but at least it’s not as ridiculous as the rhinestones were.

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Newborn Solstice Sun was a limited edition polish; other BEGLs can be purchased from the BEGL shop. As Gold As It Gets and Angel Wings are available wherever Essie and China Glaze are sold. I got my rhinestones from Amazon. The red bow vinyl is from Monster Polish as part of their Doctor Who collaboration with BEGL. I always associate the red bowtie with Pee-Wee Herman, though.

I bought these polishes myself.

Swatch Sunday: Lancôme’s Etincelle D’argent

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Welcome to another Swatch Sunday! I’m really excited to bring you this post. I love department store polish because it’s so luxurious and overpriced; it really makes me feel like the fancy lady I’ve always wanted to be. My selection this week is Lancôme’s Etincelle D’argent; I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

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Etincelle D’argent — or Silver Sparkle — is a dark silver metallic microglitter polish. In direct light, a purple-green shimmer is discernable. I can’t tell if the base is clear or gray, because the glitter is so dense. It applies a bit like a Liquid Sand or other texture polish; the glitter is dense enough that it’s easy to get a clean cuticle line, and very little got on my skin or cuticles. It dries quickly and with a textured glitter finish. I added top coat for smoothness, but the texture is still palpable through one coat.

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I really love wearing this. For a monochrome microglitter, it has a lot of dimension. The glitter is metallic and catches a ton of light. It’s a gorgeous polish for sure. Confession, though: this particular bottle cost me $15, and though I do acknowledge that this is a lot of money for 6ml of polish, I don’t feel bad about it at all. This is why it’s so fun for me to wear. Yeah, it’s frivolous. Yeah, I probably could have gotten a similar polish for a fraction of the price. Nah, I don’t feel bad about it in the slightest.

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Etincelle D’argent was actually a holiday limited edition and isn’t sold anymore. Other Lancôme polishes are sold in department stores. I got mine at Belk.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer Prototype Summer 1.1

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Happy Saturday! Swatch Saturday is upon us once again. I’m done swatching the 2014 Fan Favorites collection from Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer. I’ve got a few one-off prototypes to try out, and then we’ll get into the Far From the Sun collection from last summer. This first prototype, Summer 1.1, is a non-final version of a Far From the Sun polish. I’m wearing four coats of Summer 1.1 with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

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Prototype Summer 1.1 is a clear-based microglitter polish with glitters in red, orange, gold, green, pink, and violet. Application was all right; the lacquer-to-glitter distribution was fantastic, I got an even mix with each coat. This isn’t a polish where you get flooded with lacquer but only with a little glitter. At three coats, I didn’t have the full coverage I wanted; there were still some small holes through which I could see my bare nail. It dries quickly and with a textured glitter finish. I used top coat for smoothness and extra shine.

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Summer 1.1 is a fantastic polish. There’s just so much color in it. All of the different glitters complement each other well, and the many colors add dimension. In the sun, this is especially obvious; it’s almost difficult to look at, there’s so much sparkle. I don’t know if you’ve ever moved a ring or something with a gemstone in it to watch all the facets glint in the light, but this polish has that effect. This is definitely one that dances in the light when you move your fingers. I love it.

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Prototype Summer 1.1 is not available, but as of this writing, there’s one bottle of Sail Her Don’t Sink Her, a very similar polish, left in the Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Sunday: Gothic Gala Lacquers’s Wop Bam Boom

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Welcome back! This week’s installment of Swatch Sunday is all about Gothic Gala Lacquers‘s Wop Bam Boom, another polish from June’s Beauty Quartet Box. It’s still weird wearing something so new, something that hasn’t had to sit in the Helmer for a year before I got to it. I’m wearing three coats of Wop Bam Boom with two coats of Seche Vite top coat. All photos were taken outdoors in direct sunlight.

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Wop Bam Boom is a full-coverage microglitter polish with glitters in bronze, teal, dusty rose… There are so many colors and finishes of glitter in there that I can’t even pick them all out. Application was fine; the product consistency was very thick and goopy, and I had to thin it out quite a bit. After thinning, it went on easily. I got full coverage in two coats. The polish dries matte; the glitter still shines, but there’s no gloss at all, and it dries with a slightly gritty texture. I added top coat for smoothness and shine.

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I really like this polish. I love the colors of the individual glitters; they pair together so well. There’s a ton of dimension. There’s something really summery about it, too, even though it’s not bright or cheerful. It pairs beautifully with sparkling swimming pools, deeply tanned skin, and mai tais in tiki mugs.

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Wop Bam Boom and the rest of the Beauty Quartex Box were pre-ordered limited editions and are now unavailable. Other Gothic Gala polishes are available from their shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Sunday: Julep’s America

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Happy Sunday! My swatch today is a patrotic offering from Julep, simply called America. There’s a part of me weirded out by shows of patrotism like this, especially between holidays, but it’s so glittery and flashy that I almost don’t care. For the post today, I’m wearing three coats of America; the first six photos are taken without top coat. All photos were taken in direct sunlight outdoors.

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America is a clear-based glitter topper that consists mostly of fine red metallic glitter, but also contains larger blue and silver glitters and silver stars. Application wasn’t bad; the product consistency was pretty thick, edging on goopy; three coats of goopy polish isn’t fun for anybody. After it dried, which was about five minutes after each coat, it left a finely-textured crust of glitter. I did add two coats of Rica‘s Glossy Glam to smooth it out, which looked fantastic, but added yet another thick layer of stuff to my nails. The tips shrank up right away.

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Patriotic or not, this is a gorgeous polish. The red glitters shine like ruby slippers, and the blues and silver stars are bonus. In fact, it’s entirely possible I bought this just because it has star glitter in it. With or without top coat, this polish is very shiny, especially in sunlight. It’s just a ton of fun to wear. The following photos were taken with top coat.

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America may be discontinued by Julep, as it’s out of stock on their website.

I bought this polish myself.