Manicure Monday: Last Mani of 2013 Green Gradient Celebration

Posted on December 30, 2013 by Stacie Wacie

Happy almost-New Year! I accidentally have sparkly nails for New Year’s Eve!

I used three polishes to get this look. LA Colors’s La Creme is the pale nude you see at the bottom of the gradient there. Man, was it impossible. It was very sheer; the first coat was horribly streaky, and the second coat didn’t even anything out. The lacquer itself was very thin and tended to pool in my cuticles. It was only until I started sponging on the gradient that the color began to even out. Because this foundation coat was so uneven, the gradient took more time and more polish to get right. Usually I can get away with two rounds of sponging; some of these nails took four. The glitter here, the real star of the manicure, is Sinful Colors’s Call You Later. I prefer those big in-your-face glitters to these fine ones, but as long as it sparkles, it’s good in my book.

LA Colors’s La Creme, Revlon’s Posh, Sinful Colors’s Call You Later

Stay tuned for a New Year’s Eve post tonight or tomorrow. Spoilers: my New Year’s resolution is to blog about more than nail polish.

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: Red and White Stamps

Posted on August 5, 2013 by Stacie Wacie

I bought a stamping kit on my latest excursion to Sally; that was like a month ago, and I’ve just gotten around to trying it out.

The neutral base color is a color called Cashmere Crème. I got it in a thrift store probably a year ago. When I got it, the printing on the bottle was mostly intact; I have no idea what happened to it since then. I’m also not entirely sure what color this even is. It looks like a tan shimmer in the bottle, but on my nails, it looks more metallic, more silver. It’s confusing. It’s a good base color for this manicure, though.

It was kind of tough finding the right colors for the stamped designs. I’d set aside the dark red Mercury Rising to go with the Cashmere Crème before I even knew I was going to be doing this stamping design, and at first, I didn’t think it would be opaque enough to stamp with. I’m pretty pleased with how it came out. The white is Sally Hansen’s Hard to Get, my workhorse white color.

China Glaze Cashmere Creme, Sinful Colors Mercury Rising, Sally Hansen Hard to Get

Then I got the rhinestones out. I tried doing them just on my thumb and ring finger as accents, but then the rest of the nails looked plain, so I added a few here and there, alternating the colors on each finger. Then I got tired of seeing ones that didn’t have a rhinestone and I ended up with more than I planned, and some in odd places, like on the sides or at the very tips.

For a first try at stamping, I’m happy with it.

Manicure Monday: Purple and Neutral Curves with Rhinestones

Posted on July 29, 2013 by Stacie Wacie

I went a little overboard last week. I finally got the nail art accessories I bought on Amazon; they shipped from China and took ages to get here. I’m thinking about buying more, though. I got like ten rolls of striping tape, tons of rhinestones and pearls, and fimo sticks for about seven dollars, including shipping. This could be either the best thing or the worst thing to happen to my weekly manicure.

The middle finger’s stone is supposed to be a bow, but whenever I see it, I think about mitosis. I might spend too much time doing science.

When I started with this one, I’d tested it on my white mannequin hand. The white base color had given me a greater contrast between the light colors. It looks fine when light is directly on it, but in a room that’s not so well lit, it’s hard to tell them apart. That’s where the rhinestones came in. That, and I couldn’t not use them.

Urban Decay’s Sidecar and Smog, Sinful Colors’ Bali Mist

I used Urban Decay’s Naked lacquer set a few months ago, and I still feel a little guilty about having bought it. I’m a huge fan of Urban Decay and their Naked palettes, so adding the lacquer set to my collection was a no-brainer. Of course, when I got it, I was disappointed to find that they were all mini bottles, and that I’d spent almost thirty dollars on mini bottles. I mean, I’m glad I have them, I love all the colors, and a quick search on Sephora.com reveals they’re out of stock, but I’m still a little mad at myself for spending that much. That said, Sidecar is my new favorite neutral. I started with two coats of it before I added all the other nonsense, and part of me wishes I’d just left it on. It’s so understated, but still so shimmery and soft.

Also, that quick search on Sephora.com revealed that Urban Decay has a couple of nail colors that aren’t part of the Naked brand. I think I need them.

Manicure Monday: Pink and Brown Flakie Gradient Thing

Posted on July 22, 2013 by Stacie Wacie

This wasn’t the manicure I had planned when I started. I wanted a water marble with this pink and a pastel yellow, Julep’s Blake. I used two coats of it, and got one hand marbled, and then completely ran out of the yellow. It was about half full from the last water marble I did, and the Julep bottles are so small that I’ll go through half a bottle without realizing it. I’m a little miffed I only got two manicures from that one bottle. So there I was, one hand finished, one not, no other pastel yellow polish to use instead. I tried a neon yellow, and it just turned everything orange. I gave up and started over. I dug around in my bag for hours, looking for something I hadn’t used yet. I saw the Moon Candy in there and said “Hey, why not?”.

I liked the brown and pink gradient on its own, and at first, I was hesitant to add the flakie glitter. It reminded me of this ridiculous ice cream my boyfriend ate when he lived here that was chocolate and cherry and even had these heart-shaped chocolates with cherry filling. It’s excellent break-up ice cream. Anyway, so I was thinking about that, and I almost used heart glitter instead of the flakies, but I’m glad I didn’t. I like the way it came out. Also, something completely new to me is using both kinds of gradients together. I’d either do a color gradient or a glitter gradient, but never both at the same time. I like the dimension I get from doing both.

Sinful Colors’ Soul Mate, Revlon Moon Candy in Universe

On an unrelated note, this manicure survived mowing the lawn right after being finished. I thought I’d chip at least one, for sure, but nothing happened. I have failed twice at mowing my own lawn, first because the mower ran out of gas and I didn’t realize it, and the second time because it started breathing smoke. At least my manicure is intact.

Even nice nails make dirty hands look good.

Manicure Monday: Iridescent Glitter Gradient

Posted on July 8, 2013 by Stacie Wacie

This manicure was a total surprise. I didn’t expect it to turn out this way, and I definitely didn’t expect to like it so much!

I don’t know if it’s been obvious, but I’ve been using a lot of warm colors in my manicures. It’s summer; I’m wearing a lot of warm neutral makeup shades to achieve a natural sun-kissed look, and wanted to get the same effect on my nails. I chose the glitter, Revlon’s Heavenly, because in the bottle, it’s warm and iridescent. When paired with the black, I got a completely different look, and I couldn’t be happier with it. The colors in the glitter are much more visible, as well as the different shapes and sizes. I almost feel as if I’ve judged this glitter polish unfairly.

Sinful Colors’ What’s Your Name, Revlon’s Heavenly

Here’s a picture of a cat my friend drew on my dusty record player. I should clean my stuff.

Manicure Monday: French Pink and White Gradient

Posted on June 24, 2013 by Stacie Wacie

So this is my idea of a professional manicure. I’m going on a business trip to Boston, and I wanted a manicure that was office-friendly without giving up glitter. Here I am, having my cake and eating it too.

It looked different in my head, but I’m pretty happy with the result. From a distance, it looks like the traditional French manicure, and the glitter is hardly noticeable. I tried to be professional while still being myself, but I may have done better than I thought.

Another angle for glitter.

I still can’t get over how long my nails are.

Julep’s Emmanuelle, Sally Hansen’s Hard to Get, Sinful Colors’ Pearl Harbor

That Julep polish was full when I started.

Manicure Monday: Orange and Feathers

Posted on June 17, 2013 by Stacie Wacie

I wasn’t sure about this feathered/fuzzy coat texture trend. I mean, it’s just non-reflective glitter, right? What’s even the point of that? I want my glitter to be so shiny it’s blinding. Go big or go home, right? I placed a Sephora order a few weeks ago and needed one thing to push me into enough points for the 500 point reward (don’t ask, my logic module doesn’t work when I’m shopping). I saw the Nails Inc. Feathers and grabbed a couple bottles, just to try it out. Meanwhile, I had this orange I didn’t really know what to do with. It confuses me. It’s too opaque to be a jelly but too sheer to be a creme. Glitter disappears in it, but I can still see my nail line. When I finally got the Feathers in the mail, I put them together.

This one looked better in my head, I think. I envisioned something like a glitter gradient, but the small fibers didn’t play well with that idea, and just formed colonies on the tips. I like it enough to keep it on, but I’ve gotten some interesting comments. One person described them as “strangely horrifying”, while another said they looked like bone shards stuck to bloody claws. Now I can’t unsee it.

Sinful Colors’s Big Daddy, Nails Inc. Feathers in York

For funsies, here’s a test manicure I did with different colors.

Essie’s Boxer Shorts and Nails Inc. Feathers in Cornwall

Manicure Monday: Blue and Gold Gradient

Posted on June 10, 2013 by Stacie Wacie

Yep, another gradient.

I love the way this turned out, but I do wonder if it’s time to graduate to three colors, since my nails are so long now. With only two colors, it just looks a little lacking. Shiny as hell, though.

Sinful Colors’ Love Nails, Julep’s Zelda

I ran out of Out the Door last week, and went back to Seche Vite. Now that I’ve gone back to it, I might have liked Out the Door better. I spend way too much time thinking about and writing about topcoats.

This was unintentional, but it’s E3 Week, and the gold shade is called Zelda. I swear I didn’t plan that.

Manicure Monday: Purple Magnetic Polish

Posted on May 6, 2013 by Stacie Wacie

I am really, really late to the magnetic polish party. I bought this one a really long time ago, right when I heard Sinful Colors had a magnetic collection out; they were pretty late to the party, and this was months, if not a year, ago. So here I am, hopelessly chasing a bandwagon that’s long since been abandoned for Liquid Sand.

I don’t know what went wrong with these, I really don’t. On my test nails, it came out perfectly; the starburst design was always sharp and centered. On my own nails, the starburst shape leaned to the left a lot, but I was okay with it; it kind of reminded me of a lens flare, or a Rising Sun flag. The design was clean and visible, at least until I pulled the magnet away and it began to dry. Now it’s faint, vague, and easy to overlook.

Bonder, Captivate Me, Out the Door

Despite that, I kind of like it. I like the polish in general; before applying the magnet, it was a deep plum color with a fine rainbow shimmer. Part of me wishes I’d just left it alone. The shimmer’s still easy to see, but it looks like many of the colors are missing. I also used the Out the Door top coat on this manicure, and I’m still unsure of how I feel about it. I do miss Seche Vite, somewhat. Out the Door was a bit easier to clean up, but my nails still feel kind of flexible, and I’m worried about breaking them. Seche Vite was so rigid that it was like a suit of armor over my nail polish. I didn’t have a break the entire time I used it.

I’m not sure my nails have ever been this long. Maybe one or two have been, and were cut because they were longer than all the others and looked like coke nails. For a few months, I cut them to fingertip length, because they always broke if they got very much longer, but I got tired of having short nails. I started taking biotin, and the difference it has made is amazing. Comparing the first photo I posted with this most recent one, I can’t believe they’ve grown so long so quickly. Of course, I hit them on everything now, and my typing accuracy suffers somewhat, but who cares? They’re pretty!

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