Manicure Monday: Pink Spring Mystery

Posted on February 1, 2016 by Stacie Wacie

Welcome back, reader! Happy Monday! Today’s manicure was done with a chunky springtime glitter and a mystery polish. Spring is springing in Florida, and I get closer with every pastel polish I wear. For this look, I used Model City Polish‘s Breath of Spring and a Sally Hansen mystery pink, as well as a coat of Seche vite top coat.

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Next to knowing that the mystery polish is from Sally Hansen, I know absolutely nothing about it. This is one of my older polishes, a leftover from when I had a terrible habit of peeling the labels off of things. I really did a number on this one; I’ve stripped it of anything identifiable. I also remember buying this polish to match a pair of glasses I was wearing at the time. Despite everything, I actually really like this polish, and it’s a shame I can’t tell you anything about it, because I almost want to recommend it. The product consistency is on the thin side, and it took three coats to reach full opacity, and it took ages to dry… Maybe I don’t want to recommend it after all. It had the most gorgeous shine after it dried, though. I feel like that’s not very common. Though it was fiddly to apply, it didn’t need top coat at all, and I was really impressed. It’s kind of a shame I covered so much of it up.

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Breath of Spring kind of took over this mani. I wanted just a small but concentrated bit of glitter at the base of each nail, but because of the variety of shapes and colors of glitter, it looked uneven, and by the time I got the look I wanted, it took up half the nail. I think it’s still a cool look; the glitter comes in bright but seasonal colors, and there’s just a hint of holographic goodness in the base. It’s a beautiful topper that would look fantastic over anything. I really enjoy this combination.

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Breath of Spring has been discontinued by Model City; other Model City Polishes can be found in theiretsy shop. Sally Hansen, and maybe even this polish, can be found in stores nationwide.

I bought these polishes myself.

Swatch Sunday: Nicole by OPI’s Love Your Life

Posted on January 31, 2016 by Stacie Wacie

Happy Sunday, reader! My swatch today is of a polish I’ve had for a long time. This was 2009 or so, long before indie polish came into my life. I had ten dollars to burn and I was at Ulta. I found a polish with heart glitter in it and the rest is history. This is Love Your Life from Nicole by OPI; I’m wearing one brushed coat over OPI’s Don’t Bossa Nova Me Around (taupe), Ciaté’s Sugar Plum (lavender), and Sally Hansen’s Kelp Yourself (green), as well as one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

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Love Your Life is a clear-based glitter topper with matte pastel pink heart glitters and a mix of fine iridescent hex glitters. Application was okay; the base is thick — unsure of whether this is due to formula or to age — and the bigger glitters tended to sink and had to be fished after. The iridescent glitters distribute well, at least. The hearts are a bit difficult to control with the brush; I kind of just brushed them on and left them where they landed. Though the product consistency was thick, it dried quickly, and with a glossy finish. I added top coat for protection and shine.

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You probably already have some fun dainty pink heart glitter polishes already from an indie, and if you do, you don’t need this polish. If you don’t, though, I do recommend it. It’s pretty simple, it’s just hearts and iridescent glitter, but I think it works. It’s annoying that the hearts are a little hard to get out, but it’s actually a good thing because you can control how many you want. You can make a mani as wild or as demure as you like. It also goes well over most colors, because it’s so light and pink. I actually really like it over these pastel cremes; when I swatch, I like to use some constrasting colors to make the swatch visually appealing, as well as show it some colors it might not normally be used over. I had to go for pastels this time, though, because it’s got that perfect Valentine’s candy vibe.

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Love Your Life and other Nicole by OPI polishes are available at Ulta and other stores nationwide.

I bought this polish myself.

HPB Presents Elevated Gradient!

Posted on January 28, 2016 by Stacie Wacie

Hello, reader! This is a special post for the Hobby Polish Bloggers group on Facebook! Every month, we do themed manis, and January’s theme is the gradient. It doesn’t matter what kind of gradient we do, as long as it’s a gradient; we can make it as complex or as simple as we want. I decided to make mine a challenge and use four previously unused polishes. For this look, I used Sittin’ Pretty and Topless and Barefoot, both from Essie, as the base; I used Kilimanjaro and Salautay, both from Elevation Polish, as the glitter topper. All nails are topped with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

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It’s been a while since I’ve done a two-color gradient, so long, in fact, that I started to wonder whether or not I’d lost my touch. This is probably one of the hardest gradients I’ve ever done. I could not get light purples and nudes — not just these Essie two, I tried OPI as well — and I could just never get them to come together. Either a color would go bald from oversponging, or a color just wouldn’t turn opaque, no matter how much of it I used. It did finally come together, and it was amazing.

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I had to use purple and nude, though, because I had to use Kilimajaro and Salautay. I knew that as soon as I got these polishes that I had to put them together, because they have so many similarities: they both employ the use of round glitters and the color silver. After I finished the base gradient, I made a gradient with the glitters, flipping the colors so that the purple was over the nude and vice versa. Of course, after I sponged it on, they kind of bled into each other, which is actually pretty cool. My index fingernail got a little too much glitter, but aside from that, I totally got the result I wanted and I’m so happy.

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This is the most intensive nail art work I’ve done in a while, so I’m really proud of it! Also, because this is a group effort, there’s an InLinkz widget here with everyone else’s gradient manis, so be sure to have a look at them! They’re just as proud of their work as I am with mine.

Sittin’ Pretty, Topless and Barefoot, and other Essie polishes are sold in most stores; I got mine from Walgreens. Kilimanjaro and Salautay are discontinued by Elevation Polishes, other Elevations are sold in their online shop.

I bought these polishes myself.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Fare the Wind

Posted on December 12, 2015 by Stacie Wacie

Happy Saturday! We’re deep into the Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer Far From the Sun summer collection. I like to think it’s why it’s still so warm in December. This is runaway hit from the collection, Fare the Wind. I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite. All but one photo were taken outdoors in direct sunlight.

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Fare the Wind is a purple holo with blue-to-purple shifting shimmers. Application was smooth; the consistency was just right to work with and achieved opacity in two coats. The holo effect is most powerful outdoors; indoors, the color shift is more easily seen, and the tone changes from cool to warm depending on lighting conditions. It dried with a smooth finish; I used top coat to bring out the holo effect.

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It’s easy to see why this was such a big seller; in fact, BEGL released it again in their Fan Favorites collection this year, and it was the first to sell out. This polish does everything: not only is the holo effect stunning, but the color shift and shimmers just send it over the top. It’s gorgeous. It just couldn’t get any better.

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Fare the Wind is sold out (again). Other BEGL polishes are available in the Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Manicure Monday: Freehand Grey

Posted on November 30, 2015 by Stacie Wacie

Welcome back to Manicure Monday! As you noticed, I took the holiday weekend off from swatching, so we have some nail art to check out this week. My base color is Wet ‘n Wild’s Gray’s Anatomy, and my freehand painting was done with a striping brush and OPI’s We’ll Always Have Paris. All nails are topped with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

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I’ll just get this out of the way: I don’t know how I feel about the freehand. I’m a little embarrassed that I still suck at hand-painting, but in a way, it’s sort of charming. I wanted something simple but uniform, but it’s a bit irregular. It doesn’t look as irregular in real life as it does in photos, so I feel a little weird about that. I never do this stuff, so it’s really no wonder it’s not perfect. Maybe it’s okay that it’s not perfect. It looks arty-crafty and like it was done by a real person.

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We’ll Always Have Paris lends a lot to the DIY mani look. These burgundy/wine polishes are always a little translucent, and I guess that’s why there’s a lot of unevenness. I just wanted a dark color, something that was as severe as black, that would complement the color shift in the base polish. I think this one worked pretty well.

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The shift in Gray’s Anatomy is the focus of this polish, as it should be. You can totally see past the wonky freehand painting and really enjoy the colors. The writing on the label wore off a long time ago, but I almost forgot this is a Wet ‘n Wild Polish. I paid two dollars for it at the most. Not bad for two dollars!

I bought these polishes myself.

Manicure Monday: Violet Gradient with Violet Glitter

Posted on November 16, 2015 by Stacie Wacie

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: Glitter in Backup Camera Hell

Posted on August 31, 2015 by Stacie Wacie

To begin this post, I must first apologize. My regular camera has decided it wants a vacation and has so far refused to turn on. This is the reason my weekend swatches were not posted, and it’s the reason I had to fall back on my — shudder — backup camera. I apologize for the missed posts, and I apologize for the low quality of this one. Until the camera is fixed, my Manicure Monday posts are going to look like this, and I will not do swatches.

Anyway, this mani is gorgeous in real life, and it is an absolute tragedy what this camera did to it. My polishes today are Revlon’s Bare Bones and Digital Nails‘s Timey Wimey, all topped with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

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Bare Bones is a pretty run-of-the-mill nude. In person, it’s on the cooler side of nude; some of these photos are color-accurate, some are not. The formula is okay; it was on the sheer side and though I did reach full opacity, it still leaves something to be desired. It’s not as smooth as it could be. It doesn’t quite level itself and some brush-strokes were left behind, though a top coat did help some to resolve that.

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The real star here is Timey Wimey, one of my oldest indie polishes. When I chose a nude as the base, I started combing through the glitter toppers, thinking what this polish needed to carry it through the week was the craziest glitter I had. I found poor Timey Wimey at the bottom of the Helmer and that was that. I used an eyeshadow applicator sponge to apply it to my nail; I brushed the glitter onto the end of the sponge, then dabbed it on. I’m really happy with how it came out. Even when it’s a little dense or clumpy, it’s still gradual. I’m glad some of the nude base can be seen through it.

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Revlon polishes are sold in stores; I got this one from Big Lots. Timey Wimey and other Digital Nails polishes are available in their etsy shop.

I bought these polishes myself.

Manicure Monday: Polka.com/thermal

Posted on August 24, 2015 by Stacie Wacie

Happy Monday! It’s late, but here’s this week’s Manicure Monday post. I’m wearing OPI’s Polka.com over Digital Nails‘s Nox with one coat of Seche Vite top coat. I love this mani, let’s get started!

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I love thermals. I have so few and I don’t wear them often, but I adore them. Nox is especially beautiful; it morphs from a pale periwinkle to a deep indigo and dries with a matte finish. Unforunately though, because it’s been so warm here, I’ve rarely seen it in its cold state. It goes right back to the warm state pretty much instantly. I had a glass of ice water in the studio while I was taking these photos for a quick dip, and I got one photo where you can see the transition. One thing that’s constant, though, is the shift in this polish. This delicious shimmer shifts from blue to pink, and it’s amazing. It’s definitely the best part of this manicure.

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Polka.com is a pretty simple topper; while colorful, there aren’t a ton of crazy shapes and the colors are muted. This is pretty typical for an OPI topper; there’s a bit of excess lacquer, so without dabbing or sponging the glitter on, there isn’t much coverage. I usually hate this, but today I’m thankful for it, because I didn’t want to cover up the thermal. I could have done with more, but I didn’t want to risk another coat and then having too much.

My one photo of Nox doing thermal things.

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I’m really happy with how they look together. I thought the glitter would overpower the shimmer in Nox, but they work together well. The darker glitters blend into the thermal when it’s in its cold state, but that’s forgivable, especially since the cold state is unlikely to happen. I really want to try this look in the winter, when the thermal effect will actually get some play.

I bought these polishes myself.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Love Makes You Do The Wacky

Posted on June 13, 2015 by Stacie Wacie

Happy Saturday, reader! I have one more Once More With Feeling holo to share with you before I get to the rest of the Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer 2014 Fan Favorites collection. This beauty is Love Makes You Do The Wacky; I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite. All photos are taken in direct midday sunlight.

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Love Makes You Do The Wacky is a dusty lilac linear holo with a dark pink flash. Application was super-easy with this one; I had near-perfect opacity in one coat, and it dried almost immediately. The product consistency was just right. The holo effect and the pink flash are visible in nearly every lighting condition. The product formula and quality are nearly perfect. The polish did dry with a somewhat matte finish, so I added the top coat for shine and protection.

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This is seriously a gorgeous polish. I actually put this on on Wednesday, and the whole time I wore it, I had no issues with chipping or tip wear. It seriously wore like iron. Something else I like about this polish is that it seems to flatter everyone while also looking completely different on everyone. I love how individual it is while still being quite beautiful.

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As of this writing, Love Makes You Do The Wacky is currently available from the Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer shop. This is one you don’t want to miss.

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Tag Archives: purple

Manicure Monday: Pink Spring Mystery

I bought these polishes myself.

Swatch Sunday: Nicole by OPI’s Love Your Life

I bought this polish myself.

HPB Presents Elevated Gradient!

I bought these polishes myself.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Fare the Wind

I bought this polish myself.

Manicure Monday: Freehand Grey

I bought these polishes myself.

Manicure Monday: Violet Gradient with Violet Glitter

I bought these polishes myself.

Manicure Monday: Glitter in Backup Camera Hell

I bought these polishes myself.

Manicure Monday: Polka.com/thermal

I bought these polishes myself.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Love Makes You Do The Wacky

I bought these polishes myself.