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

Posted on February 11, 2017 by Stacie Wacie

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.

Manicure Tuesday: Red vs. Blue Multichrome

Posted on September 6, 2016 by Stacie Wacie

Welcome to Manicure Tuesday! I know, it’s weird for me too. I like today’s look today, though, even if I did a bit of a sloppy job. For this look, I used MAC’s Queen’s Honor (red) and Nails Inc.’s Baker Street (blue); my thumb and pinky have Queen’s Honor alone, my index nail has Baker Street alone, and my middle and ring nails have a gradient made with both colors. I then applied a coat of Orly’s Synchro (the multichrome) on each nail, then finished with Seche Vite and Essie’s Matte About You top coats.

I love Synchro, because I can confidently say I don’t own another polish like this. The red to blue multichrome is totally unique and I don’t have another polish that uses it. That said, I feel like I’ve never used it to its full potential. I wore it only once over red, and this time I decided to switch it up a bit and use red AND blue. I am stunned by how good it looks over the blue, I might even like it better than over red. Blue is the color I see the most of wearing Synchro, and it makes both colors look icy and interesting. Mattefied, it looks like an ethereal brocade. It’s really cool.

My gradients didn’t come out as well as I’d hoped. I had a hard time blending the two colors. When I do gradients, I don’t usually pick two colors of the same intensity, I pick one that’s lighter and one that’s much darker, and then it evens out somewhere in the middle. This gradient left a dark purple center that I didn’t really like, but it ended up being covered by Synchro, so it’s hard to tell it’s a gradient at all. It’s pretty subtle. I can’t tell if it’s the look I wanted or not. I still like it though.

Shifty!

Outdoors, Synchro really shines! The shift occurs pretty easily both indoors and out. These photos were taken in direct sunlight. Try not to notice my green pool.

Queen’s Honor was a limited edition polish from MAC and has sold out; other MAC polishes are available at your local MAC counter. Baker Street and other Nails Inc. polishes are sold at Sephora. Synchro has been discontinued by Orly; other Orly polishes are sold at Sally Beauty Supply.

I bought these products myself.

Manicure Monday: Vision Intuition

Posted on August 8, 2016 by Stacie Wacie

Happy Monday! Manicure Monday is here! I’m excited to be using a SpaRitual polish for the first time today, as well as a Lynnderella polish that’s been calling my name for a while now. For this look, I used three coats of SpaRitual’s Intuition and one brushed coat of Lynnderella’s Moonstone Magic.

I have to admit, I don’t really know anything about SpaRitual. I’ve seen a few polishes around in communities, so I knew about the brand, but I’d never seen it in stores until I found some in a TJ Maxx in upstate New York. I got a set with two bottles and a clutch for like ten dollars. I had to buy it! I hate to say it, but I expected a little more from the formula; the first coat of Intuition was worringly thin, and while coverage improved dramatically with extra coats, it’s still not fully opaque. The shifting shimmer is nice at least. It’s still a pretty polish.

I went through a phase where I was all about the white glitters in shimmery bases. I’m still not over it. I think half of my Lynderella collection is white glitters. They’re just so pretty! I have so many and yet none of them are the same, they all have some unique must-have quality. I chose Moonstone Magic for this look for its shifting base; it’s not quite the same shimmer as the one in Intuition, but I think they work together. It’s a little milky-looking over the purple, but it’s still dreamy and iridescent. Truth be told, though, I almost reached for Beautiful Dreams again. It was a hard choice!

The following photos were taken in direct sunlight. In harsh light like this, you can see how thin Intuition still looks after three coats. It’s pretty disappointing. The tiny silver stars in Moonstone Magic kill me.

mmvimc

Intuition isn’t in stock on the SpaRitual website; other polishes are available there. Moonstone Magic might be discontinued by Lynnderella; other Lynnderellas are available on their new site and on eBay.

I bought these polishes myself.

Swatch Sunday: Shleee Polish’s Beautiful Dreams

Posted on August 7, 2016 by Stacie Wacie

Welcome back, reader! I’m excited about today’s swatch; it’s from a brand I’ve been dying to try forever! This is Beautiful Dreams from Shleee Polish; I’m wearing one coat over LA Girl’s Black, China Glaze’s White on White, P2’s French Kiss (pink), and Nails Inc.’s Baker Street (blue).

ssspbdbcm

Beautiful Dreams is a clear-based glitter topper with a primarily white glitter mix — shapes include stars, moons, hearts, dots, and clouds — with silver moons and stars, iridescent hexes, and a strong blue-to-purple shift. Application was good; I didn’t have to fish for the shape glitters, and the glitters brushed on evenly. Product consistency was also good; it wasn’t too thick or thin. It dried quickly and with a glossy finish; I used top coat for extra smoothness and shine.

When this polish came out early this year, I jumped on it. This was the first time I’d ever seen the cloud glitters, and I still get so excited about new glitter shapes, I have to buy the polish I see them in first. Beautiful Dreams is a great use for them, too; the overall look is ethereal and celestial, and the clouds just belong. It’s a perfect mix of glitter and shimmer. I am crazy impressed with it, as well as with Shleee in general.

The following photos were taken in direct sunlight. The shift gets a little washed out — especially in midday — but still looks gorgeous. You may also be wondering why I used a white polish as a base for white glitter. I think there’s something charming about white over white; it’s giving the shift and the silver glitters a chance to stand out.

Beautiful Dreams is currently not in stock; other Shleee Polishes are available in their etsy shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Void Stuff

Posted on July 9, 2016 by Stacie Wacie

Happy Saturday, reader! I’m so excited to share today’s swatch with you, because it’s an incredible polish, possibly even my favorite BEGL holo to date! This is Void Stuff from Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer; I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite top coat. All photos were taken outdoors in direct sunlight.

Void Stuff is a deep turquoise linear holo with color-shifting shimmers. Sometimes the shimmers appear pink, sometimes they disappear into the green polish. Application was so easy because the consistency is so smooth and velvety; though it was a bit thin, it glided right on and gave me near opacity on the first coat. The linear holo effect was a bit stronger in Void Stuff than in previous BEGL holos. It dries quickly and with an almost glossy finish; I used top coat for shine and extra sparkle.

Though it’s a deep color, it’s very appropriate for the season! It’s the color of the happiest ocean. In the shade, the turquoise is still very vibrant and has a metallic finish, and in the sunlight, the holo is very intense. I could seriously look at this polish all day. I think it might look even better on the nail than it does in the bottle! It is summer happiness.

Void Stuff, unfortunately, has been discontinued by Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer. Other BEGL polishes are available at their online shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer Prototype DW 13.4

Posted on June 18, 2016 by Stacie Wacie

Welcome back to Swatch Saturday! Today I’m sharing with you a Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer prototype. I said last week that I’m getting back into the Doctor Who collection, and while this is true, I’m just wearing things in the order that I bought and received them, so the order is going to be a little mixed up. This prototype was purchased during an annual BEGL depression awareness fundraiser. This is Prototype DW 13.4; I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

Prototype DW 13.4 is a white creme with a pink-to-gold shifting shimmer. Application was good; it’s sometimes hard to get complete coverage with a white creme until the third coat, and this one was no exception. I had streaks and bald spots until the very last coat I applied. Also, the white was a bit thick and completely overpowered the shimmer. You can see the shimmer in the bottle, but it gets completely covered up by the creme, making it look like a plain white creme. On the plus side, it dries quickly and has a really nice glossy finish.

So I like this polish, even though it didn’t really work as intended; I guess this is why it didn’t make it past the prototype stage. This has actually happened to me before with other white cremes with shimmer, indie and mass-market polishes alike. It’s always a shame, but it’s not like a white creme isn’t a good thing to have on hand. Get it, on hand, because nails. This polish will still get lots of love from me.

I took a couple of photos outside in direct sun; the shimmer was really strong in the bottle in the sun, so I thought that if it was going to show up on my nails, this would be the time. It didn’t.

You gotta look really hard.

There is only one bottle of DW 13.4 out there and I have it. Other BEGL polishes are available from their online shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Manicure Monday: Post-Vacation Drama

Posted on May 30, 2016 by Stacie Wacie

Happy Monday, dudes! It’s actually Tuesday where I am, and I’m just getting around to posting this because I spent my Monday partying for Memorial Day. I’m finally back from Hawaii, and this is the first mani I’ve done since I got back. It feels good to be back at my mani station; I’ve felt like half a person without having polish on for the past week. Do my hands look tanner? I shopped a lot in Hawaii, so I might do a Hawaiian beauty haul post in a bit, as well as some Island Girl polish swatches. Keep an eye out for those!

Anyway, this post-vacation look was done with Sonia Kashuk’s Smoke and Mirrors and Digital Nails‘s So Sparkle.

Smoke and Mirrors is a classic shimmer silver polish. This shade has been around forever and every brand has one. I even remember my mother rocking this silver back in the day. It’s shimmery, sparkly, and foil-like; it’s not as foily as something like Essie’s No Place Like Chrome, but it’s still very reflective. This polish is one that shows brush strokes pretty prominiently, and I can’t really see them in this one, which is really nice.

So Sparkly is amazing, and is easily the star of this manicure. Someone at my cookout today it looked like dreamy space glitter, and that’s the best way I can describe this polish. It’s got a teal to purple shift, red and blue glitters, silver flakies, and a holo effect throughout, though I can’t tell if it’s Spectraflair or fine holo glitters. I’ve been staring at my polish all day, and mostly the two with So Sparkle on. This polish is dramatic and gorgeous and everyone should have it.

mmpvdmc

I put the two together because I wanted a simple metallic look to help me ease back into my manicure and blogging routines. I thought about adding the usual 3D elements and opted not to. I didn’t want to do anything very complicated today, what with holiday barbecues and swimming, and I’m still pretty jet-lagged. I also have other things I need to do today. Like unpack.

Sonia Kashuk polishes are sold at Target. Digital Nails is sold on etsy.

I bought these polishes myself.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Amas Veritas Spell

Posted on April 30, 2016 by Stacie Wacie

Happy Saturday! This week we’re looking at another selection from Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s 2014 What Wouldn’t I Do? collection. This is Amas Veritas Spell; I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

Amas Veritas Spell is an emerald jelly with green-to-blue shifting iridescent glitters. Application with this polish was very easy; the first coat of this polish had great color and coverage, and it just got better with additional coats. Indoors, the jelly seems dark enough to be opaque; though the glitter does shine nicely through, it’s a bit muted. The full jelly depth is visible outdoors in full sun; see photos. The shift occurs in any lighting conditions, through brighter ones return a better shift. The polish dries quickly and with a smooth satin finish; I used top coat for shine and to emphasize the glitter.

I think I have to say this polish is my favorite from the collection. It doesn’t look like much in the bottle, but on the nail, it’s unexpectedly stunning. The jelly, though translucent, is still deep and rich. The glitter sparkles beautifully, and the color shift is bonus, really. There’s so much dimension and depth and sparkle, it’s kind of hard to take it all in and really appreciate it. My camera struggled a bit with that, as you can see. I don’t feel like I did this polish justice at all.

In the sunlight, you can really see the jelly depth and glitter definition a bit better. I think the shift occurs better in sunlight, but it looks great nevertheless.

dat glare

Amas Veritas Spell is currently discontinued by Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer; other BEGL polishes are available in their online shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Sunday: The Polish Bar’s Midnight Kiss

Posted on April 17, 2016 by Stacie Wacie

Welcome back! This Swatch Sunday is all about my first-ever polish from The Polish Bar, Midnight Kiss! Midnight Kiss was an Addicted to Holos box exclusive, and it’s the whole reason I became acquainted with this brand. In these photos, I’m wearing three coats of Midnight Kiss with one coat of Seche Vite top coat. Photos were taken outdoors in mostly cloudy conditions.

The photo on the left was taken outdoors, the photo on the right indoors.

Midnight Kiss is a deep blue holo with blue-to-purple shifting pigment. Application was good; while the product consistency is a good thickness, the first coat went on a bit thin. Opacity and evenness improved with additional coats. The holo effect is subtle in this polish, taking a backseat to the shift. The holo shows up best in the sunlight, and the shift is most intense indoors. The polish dried quickly and with a semi-glossy finish; I used top coat for extra shine and sparkle.

As I mentioned, this is my introduction to The Polish Bar, and I’m super impressed with it. This polish is just so fun to wear. As with any shift, this one is perfect for circling my hands around to watch the colors change. The color is already deep and mysterious, and adding the holo effect just makes it even more stunning.

sstpbmkmc

The shift looks best indoors, so here are some photos taken under LED lights. This shift is GOOD.

Midnight Kiss was a box-exclusive polish and is no longer made by The Polish Bar. Other Polish Bar polishes are available from their etsy shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Sunday: Orly’s Space Cadet

Posted on February 28, 2016 by Stacie Wacie

Happy Sunday! It’s been a long day, and I’m excited to finally bring you today’s swatch! I’ve been dying to wear this polish, and I’m thrilled to be showing it to everyone. This is Orly’s Space Cadet; I’m wearing three coats of Space Cadet with one coat of Gelous top coat.

ssoscbss

Space Cadet is a purple, copper, gold, and olive multichrome polish. The polish is a deep indigo base; the mutlichrome effect comes from the larger pigment particles in the polish. If you look closely, you can see where they didn’t cover the nail all the way and the blue color of the base is more visible. Application was easy, and product consistency was good; the polish wasn’t too thick or thin, and the polish spreads well over the nail. I needed two coats for full opacity. The shifting effect is strong and occurs in any lighting condition. It dried quickly with a smooth and glossy finish. I added top coat for extra shine and protection.

So I’m really, really impressed with this polish. I know it’s been out a while, I know how late I am to the party, but man this polish is awesome. It’s probably the strongest shifter from a mainstream polish I’ve used yet. You can see the pieces in the polish and how large they are; it’s basically a fine glitter in there, so those it’s not as smooth as a multichrome from I Love Nail Polish might be, this one performs about as well as those do. The color shift requires very little effort to see — all one has to do is move their hands a bit and their nails will look completely different. There’s such a wide variety of colors between the shift, too, that one rarely sees the same color twice. It’s absolutely stunning. I tried so hard to capture the shift, but I did not do it justice. The shift is pretty intense, and I guess the camera couldn’t handle it.

This is my favorite. I got all the colors!

I got some sunlight photos. The colors are warmer in natural light, and you can see the tinted base out here. Again, the shift occurs pretty easily.

Space Cadet and other Orly polishes are available where salon-quality polish is sold; I got mine from Sally Beauty Supply.

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Tag Archives: shifter

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

I bought this polish myself.

Manicure Tuesday: Red vs. Blue Multichrome

I bought these products myself.

Manicure Monday: Vision Intuition

I bought these polishes myself.

Swatch Sunday: Shleee Polish’s Beautiful Dreams

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Void Stuff

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer Prototype DW 13.4

I bought this polish myself.

Manicure Monday: Post-Vacation Drama

I bought these polishes myself.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Amas Veritas Spell

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Sunday: The Polish Bar’s Midnight Kiss

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Sunday: Orly’s Space Cadet

I bought this polish myself.