Wacie Nail Company: Debut

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

Manicure Monday: Clambake Sandwich

For Manicure Monday, I’ve done another jelly sandwich! I love this style; my nails always look so shiny and luxe, like special little jewels. This sandwich is made with three coats of OPI’s In True Stefani Fashion between Essie’s Clambake, topped with one coat of Rica‘s Glossy Glam top coat.

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I have to tell you: I really love Clambake. It’s not one of the more popular Essie shades, and I guess I can understand why; I know people expect a more pigmented, fuller coverage polish, and jellies are duds. I think I also remember it being towards the bottom of the Walgreens Essie display and that’s probably a factor as well. I just think that, if you like jellies, perhaps this is one you should consider. It’s so squishy that you can see the squish from outside the bottle, and the color is really potent, despite the sheer coverage. It’s definitely unique to the Essie lineup, and pretty unique in my collection, too.

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However, In True Stefani Fashion was a bit of a letdown. I mean, it’s a fantastic polish; it dried well, I got pretty good (but not complete) coverage in three coats, and it dried very quickly. In the bottle, it looks like there are more holographic silver glitters than there are. I thought it was all holographic glitter, which is why I picked it to go in this sandwich. Instead, I think it’s just the bigger square glitters that are holo, and the rest are just metallic silver. I mean, it ended up looking pretty good, but there’s just nothing like a jelly sandwich full of twinkling holographic glitters.

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I added a bow. When I did that purple jelly sandwich a few weeks, I thought that, even with all that glitter, it still looked a little bare, so this time around I added a bow, just for a little something extra. It’s not the same orange as the polish, but I still like it.

Clambake is available wherever Essie polishes are sold; I got mine from Walgreens. I think In True Stefani Fashion was a limited release as part of the first Gwen Stefani collection, but it can still be found around online. My bow charms are from Claire’s.

Manicure Monday: Blurple Jelly Sandwich

I’ve been looking forward to this manicure for a lot of reasons. Number one, I adore this color. Number two, I’m using a Wacie Nail Company polish in an actual manicure. Number three, Wacie Nail Co. sales info is coming! I’m wearing two coats of Wacie Nail Company’s Dang! under three coats of Wet ‘n Wild’s Black Light Party and one coat of Alter Ego‘s She Shines top coat.

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On its own, Black Light Party isn’t that special on its own. It’s very translucent, and though it’s the perfect candidate for the jelly sandwich, I don’t feel like it gives enough coverage to make wearing it alone worthwhile. I put it on my toes without the glitter, and it just looks like a watery sad mess. The color is beautiful, though, and the pink-gold shimmers throughout really make it. It gives the holo glitters underneath just a tad more shine and fun.

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I was a little uncomfortable using Dang! as the glitter in this mani, but I think it worked out well. Mostly I was unsure whether I should. Even though Wacie Nail Co. has been in the works now for at least a year, I feel a little weird seeing it in a manicure. I also feel a little like a jerk talking about a polish nobody can buy yet. I was also unsure of how well Dang! would work as a full-coverage glitter. I didn’t have to worry about that, though; two coats was enough to cover my nail completely.

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In the sun, the blurple is much more on the purple side, and the glitters show really nicely through it. The heart glitters are a lot more obvious.

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So I promised Wacie Nail Co. info, and here it is: The shop will (finally) open this month! wacie.com’s second anniversary is Wednesday, and I’d hoped to have a couple of special polishes in stock by then, and to have Dang! in stock today, but it’s taken a lot longer to get some supplies in than I expected. I’d also like to bring some swatchers on board so you don’t have to take my word for it. I think that, at the soonest, the end of March is when you’ll finally be able to buy your own Wacie Nail Company polishes.

I bought these polishes myself.

Swatch Sunday: Elevation Polish’s Pitaraq

Hello, reader! For Swatch Sunday this week, we’re going to look at Pitaraq by Elevation Polish. I’m wearing one coat of Pitaraq over two coats each of Maybelline’s Poolside, OPI’s OPI… Eurso Euro, and Marc Jacobs’s Midnight in Paris with one coat of Digital Nails’s Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That top coat.

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Pitaraq is described by Elevation Polish as a shimmer topper; it consists of a clear base packed with blue, silver, and white flakies and blue shimmers. This topper is very easy to apply; one brushed coat is enough to cover the nail in wintry shimmer. The consistency is perfect; it’s not thick or goopy like toppers sometimes are. Drying times were good; I didn’t notice any excessive or prolonged periods of wetness or stickiness. It’s really easy to put on and use.

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Inspired by the icy winds of Greenland, Pitaraq evokes, to me, the fierceness and cruelty of nature, as well as inclement weather and extreme conditions. It’s like an ice storm in a bottle. The cremes I used for undies were completely transformed; they are now shimmery, metallic, artcic versions of themselves. This is such a fun topper; even though it looks tame and demure in the bottle, but it really packs a punch.

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Because spring is coming, we’re getting more sunshine, and so I’m able to start taking outdoor photos again. Look at this in the sunshine! It’s crazy. Every flakie reflects light and makes it super shiny. It’s absolutely mesmerizing.

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As of this publication, Pitaraq is for sale at the Elevation Polish shop, though it has been discontinued. Act soon if it’s something you’re after.

I bought this polish myself.

Manicure Monday: Double Pink and Fairy Dust

Happy new year, readers! This is my last manicure for 2014. Yeah, I can’t believe it, either! I’m wearing three coats of Pretty & Polished‘s Pretty Chameleon, one coat of China Glaze’s Fairy Dust, and one coat of Ciate’s Speed Coat Pro top coat.

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Pretty Chameleon is a thermal polish that goes from bright pink to light pink with body temperature. Applying this polish was a dream; the consistency is thick, but this is typically the case with the way thermal polishes are made. Drying times were quick, however, and the polish dried with a matte finish. It’s a very easy polish to put on. There are also some scattered holographic pigments hanging around in it, which aren’t easy to see with the Fairy Dust on top. I really love thermal polishes. The effect occurs almost instantly, depending on how warm or cool my hands are. This is tricky when applying multiple coats; it’s one color on the brush and another color on the nail. It’s so fun, though!

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Everyone loves Fairy Dust, right? This was actually the polish I wanted to feature today, but the thermal kind of stole the show. It’s such a beautiful polish, and I wish I had the chance to use it more often. Maybe it’s good that I show restraint and don’t put it on everything, even though I’ve been tempted.

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Pretty Chameleon, cold

Pretty Chameleon, cold

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It’s a pretty tame NYE mani, but I’m happy with it. I thought wearing a thermal on nubs would be boring, like they would just always be the warm pink and I’d never get to see a change. Additionally, it was 80 degrees here today, and I was counting on cool outdoor temperatures to effect the change. I saw it change in the supermarket earlier, though, so that’s something.

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See you guys in 2015!

Wacie Wednesday: Wintrella

The last Wacie Nail Co. (for now) prototype I’ll be showing you is Wintrella, a glitter topper made up of silver and blue holo glitters. I’m wearing one coat of Wintrella over China Glaze’s Pelican Gray, Essie’s Mint Candy Apple, and Julep’s Martha. I’m also wearing one coat of Ciate’s Speed Coat Pro top coat.

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Wintrella has a lot of glitter in it. There’s very fine holo silver dust, tiny hexes, slightly bigger but still somewhat tiny squares, big silver hexes, bigger silver hexes, silver dots, blue dots, and silver hearts, but I couldn’t manage to get those out of the bottle. Again, they just sat in the bottle, mocking me. I couldn’t get too many of the dots, either, but at least I can prove they were in there.

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Maybe I’m glad I didn’t get so many. The smaller glitters give a minimal look that’s already quite pretty. The big glitters look out of place. Maybe they’re not right for this mix.

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Overall, I think it’s nice. I definitely want to take it back to the drawing board, but I think I’m onto something.

Wacie Nail Company news: I hope to have something in the store before the month ends. I have a couple of limited editions in the works, as well as a New Year’s Eve-themed collection next month. I’m so excited to be working on it, and I hope you’ll like it a lot.

News: Wacie Nail Co. for Depression Awareness

This is so exciting, guys! There is now a Wacie Nail Company polish you can actually buy. Yes! Julie, the owner of Wishes of a Blue-Eyed Girl and Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer, is holding a huge charity auction, with dozens of rare, hard to find, and one of a kind polishes up for grabs. One of these is the first-ever Wacie Nail Company polish to actually leave my house. Blue Skies Ahead is a silver linear holo with rainbow flakies that turns blue in sunlight and glows in the dark. Yeah, it does all that! I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Ciate’s Speed Coat Pro top coat.

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Indoors, this polish is already really pretty. In the studio, the holo effect isn’t too obvious, but the rainbow flakies shine nicely. Then, when you go outside, this happens:

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Did you see that? I had to make a gif, just to prove that it actually happens. It’s a subtle change, but it does change. Then, when you’re in the dark, this happens:

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Crazy, right? It’s amazing! This polish glows really brightly in the dark, and glows blue rather than yellow or green. It only takes a few seconds to charge it up, and it glows for a very long time.

There is only one bottle of Blue Skies Ahead available, at it’s up for auction. All of the proceeds of this auction benefit I Need A LightHouse, an organization that raises awareness of depression and suicide prevention education. This is a cause that means a great deal to me, and I really hope you’ll help Julie and me raise lots of money for it. You can find Blue Skies Ahead and the rest of the auction here. Thank you so much.

2014 Birthday Nails!

It’s my birthday! I’m not going to do a proper write-up of all the polishes today, I’m just going to show this off because I am way too proud of it.

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Here are the polishes I used:
Thumb: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s Dawn Breaks
Index: Indigo Banana‘s Moonlight (Clair de Lune)
Cupcakes: P2’s French Kiss, American Apparel’s Neon Pink, Essie’s Fiji, Ciate’s Candy Floss
Pinky: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s If You’re a Seascape

I also want to take a moment to thank everyone who’s participating in theĀ giveaway! If you haven’t entered yet, you have, of this writing, eight hours left to enter to win two Ciate polishes. The winner will be announced tomorrow! I’m so excited, this is my first giveaway and it is going gloriously well. I can’t wait to do this again.

Manicure Monday: Repurposed Top Coat with Resolute Glitter

It’s Manicure Monday! I had some fun with this week’s manicure. The holo polish I used this week wasn’t intended to be used as one, and I put a discontinued glitter topper over it. Here is Ulta’s Holographic “top coat” at three coats with Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s Resolutions and Color Club’s clear coat.

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This holographic top coat from Ulta originally came in a Nail FX set with three other top coats: there was a matte top coat, a UV-sensitive, a smoky top coat (which is a thin black jelly topper) and this holographic top coat. I bought this kit specifically for this holographic top coat, and I expected it would be something like a Spectraflair top coat. It’s definitely not suited to be a top coat. It is impossible to apply a thin and even coat over any polish. Thin coats are streaky and draggy, and even coverage requires at least two coats, and by then you’ve covered up whatever polish you were trying to improve. I gave up and decided to use three coats for full coverage. It looks pretty great this way. You’d never know it was meant to be a topper unless you specifically bought it for that purpose.

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On the plus side, Holographic Top Coat does dry quickly. Application really took three coats, though. I was aiming for two, but even after two coats, I still had streaks and bald spots. Luckily, the third coat evened everything out. It would be a shame if it was still patchy, then it would be useless as both a top coat and a polish.

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Resolutions is a glitter topper with mainly black hex and star glitters, but also contains blue shimmer and varieties of blue, pink, green and yellow glitter shapes. It’s a really fun look, especially with the silver polish; the look is cool, steely, and a little chaotic. Unfortunately, this guy is discontinued.

Final word: I’m surprised at how well I was able to take a crappy top coat and make a gorgeous manicure with it.

Wacie Wednesday: Stoica

This week’s Wacie Wednesday is a shimmery silver scattered holo called Stoica. Unfortunately, because it’s overcast outside (thanks, October), we won’t get to see just how holo it is. I kind of think that’s okay, because it’s nice anyway. This is three coats of Stoica with one coat of Color Club’s clear coat.

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I made Stoica when I was bored in the glitter workshop. I wanted a silvery holo, but I had very little holo material left. Seriously, it was like the dredgs of the bottle, and I had a hard time getting it all out. I put mixing balls and some lacquer base in there, hoping it would mix in and pour out. It was actually crazy enough to work. I poured that into a bottle, mixed in some silvery-white pigment, and then I was done. It wasn’t what I wanted exactly, but I’m pleased with it.

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Naturally, even though I managed to get it out, there’s not a lot of holo in this polish. There’s enough to see an effect, and it’s very faint. The color here is coming entirely from pigment. It’s a pretty tame polish, actually; save the little bit of holo, it would just be a silver polish. It’s one of those polishes that comes off as classic, but a bit dull, then the holo pops out and it’s something special.

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I just have to prove that there is, in fact, holo stuffs in this polish. One photo was taken in the studio with the built-in camera flash, and the other was taken in my office with my cell phone. I promise it’s there.

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I have four more Wacie Nail Co. one-offs I’m going to show on the blog. Then maybe something exciting will happen. Maybe.