Wacie Wednesday: Snowcrush

Posted on October 15, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

Snowcrush is the newest Wacie Nail Company polish! It is a clear glitter topper with white shreds and iridescent hex glitters. I’m wearing one coat over China Glaze’s Pelican Gray, Ciate’s Candy Floss, and Sally Hansen’s Limestone. All nails are topped with one coat of Color Club’s clear coat.

I love the look of all-white glitter toppers. They’re so effortlessly elegant. The white shreds you see happen to be the only white glitter I have, so I dumped a ton of it in a bottle, and used some fine iridescent shreds to fill it out. This is definitely a pretty simple polish, but it’s really pretty. For as little thought as I put into it, it has no business being this pretty right out.

White toppers also have the benefit of looking amazing over any color. As you can see, I wore it with some very bright polishes. Over black, the iridescent glitters would really shine. Over white, it would look like freshly-fallen snow (or at least what I imagine freshly-fallen snow looks like. I live in Florida. I wouldn’t know).

In the sunshine, this is crazy. You can’t see how much sparkle is coming from the iridescent glitters, but trust me, it’s blinding. I love iridescent glitters because they sparkle in any lighting condition.

Final word: this polish is a win. I love white glitters (they’re pretty over everything), shred glitters (they create the illusion of variety, even though it all came from the same bag), and iridescent glitters (shiny!). I’m really looking forward to making a batch of it this share with everyone.

Manicure Monday on Tuesday: Celestial Gradient

Posted on September 2, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

So it’s been a while since I did a manicure like this; I haven’t been into nail art much lately, just doing the accent-nails-with-glitter-is-easy mani. I swatched Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s Weary Traveller a couple months ago and wanted to wear it in a new way, so I did a glitter gradient thing with it. The colors in my gradient are Sally Hansen’s Black Out and Essie’s Urban Jungle, with Weary Traveller sponged onto the tips.

I wasn’t sure how to do this at first; I definitely wanted a look that would show the jelly properties of Weary Traveller, so I thought the best way to do that would be with a nude and black gradient. The first time I tried this, I couldn’t get the jelly sheer enough to show the nude without streaks. I kind of wish that had worked out. I also didn’t get a fantastic gradient since my nails are so short.

I used Color Club’s clear coat again this week. So far, it wears well, but it doesn’t smooth glitter out very easily. I don’t want to use more than one coat on a mani like this, since there are already so many layers. I’m also afraid of shrinkage.

I should really start doing nail art again. I forgot how cool gradients look.

Manicure Monday: Neutrals and Glitter

Posted on March 10, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

This week’s Manicure Monday is a masterpiece. No really, I am way too excited about how this turned out. I had my doubts about pairing these two polishes, but they look so fantastic together that I can’t believe I didn’t do this sooner. We’re looking at Sally Hansen’s Natural Sienna and Digital Nails’s Xiao Mei Mei. I have on two coats of each, topped by two coats of Seche Vite top coat.

Natural Sienna is a shimmery, chocolatey brown that I like a lot more than I thought I would. I always skip over browns and neutrals because they’re not bold enough for me. I grabbed this one out of a sale bin thinking “Meh, why not”, and I like it a lot. The formula is thin but covers well. My only complaint here is the brush; it’s one of those wide brushes that’s almost as wide as my whole nail, and I tend to make a mess with those. Otherwise, this one is totally worth the two dollars I paid for it.

Digital Nails’s Xiao Mei Mei kind of steals the show here. Xiao Mei Mei is a nude crelly with orange, pink, and brown glitters. As you can see, it’s very sheer; my nail line is visible if you’re looking for it. I don’t even care about that. What I love about this is its simplicity; there’s just enough color to support the glitter, and it never detracts from it. Bonus: the nude would be my perfect nude if it didn’t have any glitter in it. It blends perfectly with my natural nail color.

My favorite thing, though, is how well these colors pair. The neutrals, the deep colors, the glitters, they all complement each other so well. Totally gorgeous.

I didn’t see Natural Sienna on Sally Hansen’s website, so it may be discontinued. However, Digital Nails has Xiao Mei Mei in stock, so grab it while you can.

Manicure Monday: Orange and Monochrome Glitter

Posted on February 24, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

Today’s mani combines two of my favorite things: orange and glitter chaos.

I have on this week Courtney Orange from Sinful Colors, an orange with gold shimmer. I like orange polishes in general, but I like this one in particular; the golden aura gives it so much more. I’m wearing two coats of it here. I’m also wearing two coats of Sally Hansen’s Strobe Flash. I know I’m late to the black and white glitter party (again), but this is a look I still like, even if it’s a bit passe.

This is a look I’m not likely to get tired of. I love glitter, and I love how unpredictably this glitter applies and spreads. I just feel kind of bad that I covered up such a beautiful color.

Sinful Colors’s Courtney Orange, Sally Hansen’s Strobe Flash

Anyway, look forward to more of this sort of thing. I made my own take on the black and white glitter polish, as well as others with more color. I’m not letting this trend go away so easily.

Manicure Monday: Matte Pink Glitter

Posted on January 6, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

New year, new glitter! Here’s my first manicure of 2014. I’ve decided to try out a matte coat over glitter, and I’m not sure how much I like the result, but here it is.

A Cut Above is a fantastic glitter topper made up of various sizes of pink glitter. It applies evenly with the brush, which means I didn’t have to flood my cuticles and waste a lot of polish to get this look. It went on very easily. When I put the matte top coat on, I felt like I was taking something away from it, but maybe I got something in return. The glitter still shines, but has a softer quality. It’s pretty and it’s interesting, but I’m not sure if I’ll do it again. I want my glitter to shine.

Also, I seem to have this problem with matte topcoats; the tips wear down more easily. Do you see those exposed tips? I just did these, and somewhere between applying the topcoat and taking the photos, the tips are worn down. That’s embarrassing. I feel dirty posting them, they’re so bad. Maybe it’s just this topcoat, but every time I use it, I have the same problem. I hate it.

Sally Hansen’s Black Out, Essie’s A Cut Above

I’ll mention this on the side: About a year ago, when I was living alone, I needed acetone. The store nearest me, which was about a half mile away, was perpetually out of acetone, so I sucked it up and went the extra mile (literally) to Walgreens. Meanwhile, I had some Christmas money burning a hole in my pocket, and I didn’t yet own any Essie polishes, so I knew I’d leave with a few of those, too. It took me ages to find the acetone; it ended up being on some hidden aisle endcap outside of the cosmetics department. As I walked around looking for it, I’d found tons of other things to buy, and I spent literally every cent I had on my wallet. I felt a little guilty (and a little relieved I didn’t have to put things back), but I did what I went to do. I bought acetone (at least I didn’t forget that) and I got my first Essies. Also, I walked three miles just to buy them, which says quite a lot about my dedication and/or insanity.

The haul from that fateful day.

Manicure Monday: Shine of the Times

Posted on December 9, 2013 by Stacie Wacie

Oh my holy crap. I’m really excited about this week because I got to use a polish that is well-loved and sought after by basically everyone. Yep, Shine of the freaking Times!

This is one of my favorite purchases. I mean, it’s obviously a gorgeous polish, but I scored it on Amazon, and only paid $1.41 because I had a gift card to cover the rest. I think this was also my 200th polish, so it’s significant to me for that reason, too. Yeah, I care about that stuff for some reason.

The iridescent flakies shift from red to green, and even though it’s easy to see with the naked eye, but a little more difficult to capture with a camera indoors. I managed to get a few that do, but I also went outside to see if I could get better results (not really). It didn’t occur to me until just now to try to use the flash, but I think what I got is good enough.

The blue I used this week is Blue Me Away from Sally Hansen. I’ve used this before (you can see the bottle is already about 1/3 empty), and while it’s semi-opaque after one coat and ready to go after two, it stains my nails blue every time. I used a double dose of base coat under it this week, so hopefully that takes care of that.

Sally Hansen’s Blue Me Away, Essie’s Shine of the Times

I can already tell this is going to be one of those manicures I’m going to stare at all week. I can’t even tell you how excited I am.

Manicure Monday: Glitter Half-Moon Over Amethyst

Posted on October 21, 2013 by Stacie Wacie

Today’s nail experiment surprises me with its elegance.

It took me forever to figure out what to do this week. I had two randomly chosen polishes; one is a very powerful, commanding purple with a blue flash, and the other is a dainty glitter topper with a slight blue tint. In tests, I couldn’t get them to work together. Putting the glitter on top of the purple always cancelled out the shifting colors, and my nails are so short that making thick necktie stripes would not have worked. I was totally out of ideas, and it didn’t occur to me until just before I started that I should use the glitter as the undies for a half moon mani. Best idea ever.

Sinful Colors’s Hottie, Sally Hansen’s Purple Potion

To me, this is like the nail equivalent of an evening gown. The purple conjures images of both royalty and jewels. The glitter is the sexy underwear beneath. It lays a foundation that is inconspicuous, but adds a nice touch of sparkle that supports the purple without overpowering it. I’m really surprised I could get such an elegant mani that’s also so simple and quick to do.

This is blurred to show you the glitter and the blue shimmer.

It was rainy when I took the first couple of photos, and as soon as I sat down to write, the sun came out, so I took a one more.

Manicure Monday: Blue Glitter on Pink

Posted on October 14, 2013 by Stacie Wacie

These post-birthday nails are so shiny, I couldn’t get a decent picture of them. It’s rainy and overcast today, and what little light I could get from outside reflected off of the glitter and made things complicated. Even in person, they look like this. It’s impossible to see the glitter, only the shine. After ten tries with similar results, I gave up. This was the best I could do.

Seriously, this was the only almost-good one.

I tried a few new things this week. I bought a new base coat like three weeks ago, and the indie seller I bought it from took an eternity to ship it, so I broke down and grabbed this OPI one. I actually really like it. It dries very quickly and cuts my mani time down significantly. I’m really impressed with it. The pink from this week, Love Rocks, is perfectly opaque after two coats. I’m always excited to use Essie polishes because I have so few of them, so I really love the blue metallic glitter from Stroke of Brilliance. It made my photography a nightmare, but it gives me an effect I couldn’t get from anything else.

Sally Hansen’s Love Rocks, Essie’s Stroke of Brilliance

I didn’t think I would like this mani so much. I had the pink, I needed a blue, and Stroke of Brilliance was the first one I grabbed from the blue section, so I used it. (Someday maybe I’ll write about my haphazard polish sorting and zero-effort mani planning). I’m actually really pleased with it.

Manicure Monday On the Road: Birthday Cupcakes

Posted on October 7, 2013 by Stacie Wacie

It’s my birthday week, so I’m visiting my boyfriend in Atlanta for the week. Unfortunately, this means I have one photo of my manicure, taken with an iPad. Unfortunately, it means I had to type this blog entry on an iPad as well.

They look kinda melted.

I used a lot of colors in this manicure, as you can see. Here’s a list:

Green: Sally Hansen’s Mint Sprint
Blue: OPI’s Eurso Euro
Pink: P2’s French Kiss
White: Sally Hansen’s Hard to Get
Accent nails: Blue Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Floppy. Hoppy. BUNNIES!

Several days before I left, I packed everything I would need for this manicure. I put all five polishes into a bag with my dotting tool, pointed cotton swabs and acetone, striping tape, tweezers, and whatever else I would need to successfully complete this mani. When I started, I ended up peeling off my old mani, which took off a bit of my natural nail, but it also meant I didn’t disturb my boyfriend’s six housemates with bad acetone smell. Also, since it was a mani with rhinestones, it also meant I didn’t have to go through the kitchen hunting for foil or anything like that. So I’d already started on a bad foot. Then when it was time to start the dotting, the dotting tool wasn’t in my bag. I went through it twice, I looked in other bags several times, and it was nowhere to be found. I ended up making all my dots with the end of an unwound paper clip. It definitely shows. While this isn’t some of my best handpainting, it’s not my worst, either. Actually, it may be my best. I’m awful at handpainting.

So, the polishes. Eurso Euro had a really weird smell, somewhat different from the usual OPI smell. Now that I think about it, I have a dark blue P2 crackle with the same weird smell. Do these dark blue pigments just smell differently, or what? It had really nice coverage, and was easy to work with, but that smell. I can’t get past it. The mint green Sally Hansen is an Insta-Dri, so of course it was opaque in one coat and ready to go right away. I didn’t use the P2 for much, other than the cherry on the top of the cupcake, but it’s probably just as nice to work with.

I think the glitter crelly, Floppy. Hoppy. BUNNIES!, kind of stole the show here. Yes, that’s butterfly glitter you see there, as well as stars in a couple different colors, squares, and hexes. It’s a limited edition polish from Blue Eyed Girl Lacquer, and you only get it by ordering the whole Buffy the Vampire Slayer-inspired collection. Holos aren’t really my style, so they felt bad for me and gave it to me anyway. It’s an excellent polish, and I kind of dislike how exclusive it is, because it’s the best one in the collection, in my opinion. If you want in on this or any of their other polishes (you do), here’s the link to the BEGL store.

I really hate typing on an iPad, so I guess I’ll end it here. See you guys when I get back from vacation!

Manicure Monday: Undersea Epic Glitter Gradient

Posted on September 16, 2013 by Stacie Wacie

The first day of fall is this week, and so the viciously bright neons and the whimsical glitter mixes are being put into storage for next year, and the dark muted colors are coming back. Well, for some people that’s happening. It’s not happening here. I’ll wear my neon orange whenever I want. I am, though, going to be using a lot of blue colors throughout the season. A lot of my recently acquired colors are blues, and I’ll be trying lots of colors I’ve never used before, ones I’ve had for a few days and ones I’ve had for a few years. I have some great things planned for this season.

I did a similar manicure in July, and decided to try it again with different colors. I like it much better this time. The dark blue side of the Moon Candy is almost black, but over the white, it’s very blue. After putting the shredded glitter over the blue tips, I got this wonderful oceanic effect. It really makes me want to book it to the beach. I know this was meant to be a fall manicure, but as it invokes thoughts of swimming, of sunshine and water, it’s anything but appropriate for fall.

This was intentionally blurred to show the colors. Maybe.

Of course, I encountered a few problems with this week. Something I’ve consistently had trouble with is Revlon’s double-ended polishes. I’ve had the brushes start losing bristles, I’ve had the cap break completely off, and I’ve had the polishes completely dry out. The Moon Dust I used this week was one of those. I had to thin out the glitter side once before, when I noticed the agitator ball was suspended in the middle of the polish. When I opened it to use it this week, I had the same issue. The blue was thick, stringy, goopy. The glitter was impossible to remove from the bottle. I put some thinner in it and let it sit overnight, but maybe I used too much, because it was kind of watery. I also had a hard time getting the colors to blend, and once the watery glitter was added, it kind of smeared the gradient around. I’d be mad if I didn’t like it so much.

Sally Hansen’s Hard to Get, Revlon’s Moon Candy in Moon Dust.

I went back to Seche Vite this week because my Digital Nails topcoat is now this strange reddish orange color, and I was afraid it would affect the white polish. I was also afraid it wouldn’t smooth out the coarse glitter as well. Hard to Get is back, too. This bottle is like a workhorse. I use it for everything, and as a result, it’s almost time for a new bottle.

So yeah, fall manicures. Bring it on.

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