Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Untrodden Snow

Posted on November 1, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

It’s the first Swatch Saturday in November! I’m wearing a wintry white from Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer called Untrodden Snow. This is three coats with one coat of Ciate’s Speed Coat Pro top coat.

Untrodden Snow is a white polish with icy blue shimmer. I achieved a good opacity with it at three coats; I still don’t feel like it’s fully opaque, but I still got really good coverage. The first coat was really soft and sheer, thinly but evenly. The shimmer didn’t capture so well in the studio, but it’s actually very potent. Drying time was quick and cleanup was easy. Polish dried semi-glossy. It was very easy to work with.

This is a really dainty white. Lots of whites look like wall paint or Wite-Out on the nail, and thankfully this is not one of them. I almost wanted just to leave the first coat by itself, because it was so sheer and delicate. I’d recommend two coats with this, I think, so as to maintain the softness but still have lots of coverage. The blue shimmer adds even more softness and gives it just the right amount of sparkle to make this polish sparkly and unique.

It almost feels weird even wearing this polish in the sunshine. I almost expected it to melt! It looks great in direct sunlight. For some reason, though, it looks like it’s leaning more toward cream than white.

When this polish was available, it was only sold as part of a duo. The other polish, Electric Icicle, is my swatch for next week.

Wacie Wednesday: Millefleur

Posted on October 29, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

Today’s Wacie Wednesday post is super exciting, because my brand new Wacie Nail Co. labels are making their debut on the blog! I am really excited about these, because labels were the last big hurdle to get over before I could finally open my shop. Now that I have them, Wacie Nail Company is super close to opening. We’re only five months behind schedule! To celebrate, we’re going to look at a new Wacie Nail Co. polish called Millefleur. I’m wearing one coat over Sally Hansen’s Hard to Get and Essie’s Mint Candy Apple and Navigate Her.

This bottle of Millefleur was kind of a dud. The name suggests it’s only flower glitter in this bottle, and the swatch suggests that as well. It’s not true, though. Besides the holo red hexes, there are holo red hearts. There are pink glass dots in addition to the pink slices, hexes, and dots; those are also nowhere to be seen on my nail. I don’t know what the deal is with that. The flowers came out easily, but everything else was at the bottom, I guess.

There’s a lot I could have done to improve this polish. Thinning it would be the best for it, I think; the consistency was too thick and dry time was rather long. It would probably help the elusive glitters distribute a bit more evenly. I’ll definitely keep these things in mind when I’m reformulating it. Maybe some color variety would help too; I do admit that I just dumped every pink and red glitter I had into one bottle. It could definitely do with some iridescent glitters, or maybe some Spectraflair. As it is, it’s rather one-dimensional, but that’s an easy fix.

I’m really excited about where Wacie Nail Co. is and where it’s going. Big things are coming up, so watch this space for the big news. For real this time!

Swatch Sunday: Chanel’s Blue Satin

Posted on October 26, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

I’m realizing a dream today: I’m wearing a Chanel nail polish. Nordstrom opened a store in my city and I got several nail polishes and skincare products that are worth more than my life. I actually bought these a couple weeks ago as a hugely indulgent birthday gift, but I’ve finally found time to put one on. This is Blue Satin. I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Ciate’s Speed Coat Pro top coat.

Blue Satin is a very dark navy polish with sapphire shimmer. This is actually a one coat wonder; I typically wear three coats for a swatch, but I could have gotten away with one, maybe two just to be safe. Three was definitely overkill. Drying time was pretty moderate; it wasn’t especially fast, but didn’t take a very long time either. The finish was pretty glossy, but I really wanted a high-shine with this polish, so I used a top coat. The shimmer only comes out in certain lighting conditions. It looks fine in the office, but is quite flat in my office.

I don’t know why I wanted a Chanel polish so badly. I think I saw one in a magazine once, either as a teen or during my Harper’s Bazaar obsession in my early twenties, and thinking “Man, I’ll never have a nail polish like that.” 27 dollars for a nail polish was so, so far out of my reach then. I mean, it still is. I’ll probably never own more than these two, but that’s fine. This is enough. I hope.

I can’t believe I just typed the phrase “in my early twenties”. I am old.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Matunda Ya Kwanza

Posted on October 25, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

For this week’s Swatch Saturday, I’m wearing an amazing Kwanzaa-themed polish from Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer. This is Matunda Ya Kwanza, worn here at three generous coats with two coats of Ciate’s Speed Coat Pro.

Matunda ya Kwanza is a light purple jelly filled to the top with glitters of every shape, color, and finish. There are so many kinds of glitter in here that I couldn’t possibly name them all. This is an explosion of color and glitter. The jelly is very light and very transparent, so the glitter from previous coats shows through nicely. It’s like a fine glitter patina on my nails. Naturally, since the jelly is so thin, it’s probably better worn over a light purple polish. It does look excellent that way. Because I wore three coats, it’s a bit thick and I probably should have stuck with two. It looks fantastic either way.

Trivia: The phrase “matunda ya kwanza” is a Swahili phrase meaning “first fruits of the harvest“.

I’ve told you guys about how much I love BEGL glitter toppers, right? They’re just absolutely perfect. The consistency is usually on the thicker side, but that’s because they’re packed with glitter, and no matter how much glitter is in it or how much I blob on, it’s always dry and smooth in a flash. It’s the best.

Sunlight photos. Because shiny.

I admit I didn’t know a lot about Kwanzaa before I got this polish. As much as I feel like a carpetbagger for saying it, I just thought the polish was pretty. The more I read about it, though, the more it’s something I’d like to be a part of. New cultural experiences are such a fun learning opportunity for me. I hope I don’t sound patronizing when I say that.

Swatch Sunday: Butter London’s West End Wonderland

Posted on October 20, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

Swatch Sunday is super late this week. I got distracted with mimosas and quiche and a bunch of long-neglected housework after. I’m wearing my first-ever Butter London for the swatch today! This is West End Wonderland, which I was lucky enough to get in a swap. This is three coats with one coat of Ciate’s Speed Coat Pro.

West End Wonderland is a full-coverage glitter; it’s a clear base packed full of superfine gold and copper glitters. Because there’s so much glitter, I don’t recommend it as a glitter topper. It spreads so evenly and so thickly (even when you use a light hand!) that it would obscure the base color quite a bit. Like a lot of jam-packed glitter polishes, it dries very quickly. It does have some texture when dry, but since the glitter grade is so fine, it’s not rough or unpleasant to the touch. Make sure you stay in the lines with this one, though; that glitter is tough to clean up with a brush.

I really like this look. Since I’m already seeing Christmas items in department stores, I’m thinking about what a fantastic holiday polish this is. It’s perfect for this season, really. Gold is a classic color for autumn and winter, after all. Something else I like about this is that it’s glittery, but it’s not overtly so. Personally, this is not really my style, but if you’re one who doesn’t like a lot of glitter, this may be for you. Also, I didn’t get a chance to photograph it in the sunlight, but West End Wonderland is beautiful in the sun. It’s not wildly shiny like a lot of glitters are. This one is pretty modest.

Final word: I really love these Butter London glitters. They’re like grown-up versions of a nail polish I had when I was younger. My sister gave it to me when I was in like fifth or six grade; it was the first glitter polish I ever owned. If I remember correctly, it was fine purple holo glitter like this, and it dried with a really gritty finish. It was a pain in the ass to take off, but I always put it right back on again. It was also the first time I ever used the last drop of a nail polish. I dearly loved that bottle.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Guided by Starlight

Posted on October 18, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

I’d originally planned to wear this Christmas beauty last weekend, but I chose to forego the weekly swatches so I could wear my birthday cupcakes during the whole birthday weekend. Sorry! I believe this one was worth the wait. This is Guided by Starlight from Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer, worn at three coats with one coat of Ciate’s Speed Coat Pro top coat.

Guided by Starlight is a white crelly with gold and silver holo hex, dot, square, moon, and star-shaped glitters. Inspired by the Christmas holiday and the birth of Christ, this polish was designed with a celestial motif. Despite this, I think it’s a pretty wearable polish year-round. I’m not sure I’d recognize it as a holiday polish in other months of the year, even though all the signs are there. This would look fantastic on someone with a great tan.

Application went well, but I feel like three coats was maybe a tad unnecessary. The crelly is a bit more solid than in typical glitter crellies; between that and the large quantity of glitter, the consistency was rather thick. I suppose thinner would solve this problem, but I think I like the way it looks this way. The added coats cover the holog effect from the glitter, but not the glitter itself. It’s so cool.

I didn’t notice how opaque it is until I went outside. I really love this! It’s so creamy, so sparkly.

So I ran out of the Color Club clear coat I was using. I really liked it. It dried quickly, it held up well, and it didn’t pull or shrink. It’s also a shame, because I have no idea where to buy it so I can replace it. On the plus side, though, I get to try something new, and pull something out of my stash. I’ve got a few bottles of Ciate’s Speed Coat Pro, as a result of buying so many caviar nail sets on sale at Sephora. It’s okay, I guess. I gave it five minutes to dry after applying it, and it still felt a bit wet and sticky. With the Color Club coat, I would have been ready to go after five minutes. I was a little afraid to get started with it still sticky like that, but everything went well. Everything else about it is fine, though: I still get a high shine and it feels durable. We’ll find out soon enough. I hope this is something I can keep using. I seriously have five bottles of this stuff.

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.

Wacie Wednesday: Son of Slop Bucket

Posted on October 8, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

A few months ago, I had a polish on the blog called Slop Bucket. It was the weirdly-wearable result of mixing several failed Wacie Nail Co. prototypes into one bottle. Shortly after I did that manicure, I took another batch of old prototypes and mixed them up to create Son of Slop Bucket. I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Color Club’s clear coat.

Son of Slop Bucket is a frosty mossy green with a hodgepodge of glitter. It would be difficult to list every glitter in here, because it’s basically every glitter I’ve ever used, along with every pigment, shimmer, dye, etc. I’ve ever used. Because there’s so much stuff in it, it was nearly opaque in one coat. Because it’s so opaque, the glitters just get buried under the next coat of polish. This is especially obvious with the larger glitters; check the index finger. There’s a large dot that got covered and just looks like a sheet pulled over a dinner plate.

I didn’t expect this one to turn green. I was hoping for black, since a lot of black prototype polishes got mixed in. I’m really pleased with the color; it’s muted, but still quite noticeable. Same with the glitters; they don’t stand out a whole lot, but just enough. There’s a ton of shimmer in it, and it’s the most prominent component. It really pulls everything together.

I’m not sure I’ll even bother to keep this. It was a fun experiment, but I can’t really see myself wearing this — or the original Slop Bucket — ever again. I do want to mix them both together and see what happens, though. It can’t get much worse.

Swatch Sunday: Broadway Nails’s Pretty Duckling

Posted on October 5, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

So I’m doing something new on the blog this week. As of this post, I have 878 bottles of nail polish, about 500 of which I’ve never even used. I started doing Swatch Saturday as an outlet for my untrieds, and then I just ended up with a hundred Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquers. So this new feature, Swatch Sunday, will take a look at the other polishes in the queue.

My polish for this first official Swatch Sunday is Broadway Nails’s Pretty Duckling. I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Color Club’s clear coat.

Pretty Duckling is a yellow-tinted jelly polish with fine iridescent glitters. For the longest time, I couldn’t decide whether to use it alone or as a topper. I really wanted to try this over black, but I decided that the base had enough color to stand on its own. It’s still pretty translucent; the nail line is still pretty visible, but the color is still very bright.

Pretty Duckling was easy to apply, but due to the glitter size and quantity, the consistency is very thick. It’s almost like applying a textured polish, but this one actually dries with a smooth finish. It’s similar to those Sinful Colors glitters, like Hottie and Nail Junkie. It’s a very similar mix of glitter in a similar colored base. If you like those, you’ll like this.

This is especially vibrant in the sunshine. Also, it’s finally sunny again! I can’t remember the last time I could take an outdoor photo.

I like it alone, but it would also look great over a yellow creme, or any creme, really. I’m looking forward to trying it again soon.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s St. Nick’s Sweet Treats

Posted on October 4, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

I take back everything I have ever said on this blog. In fact, I may as well just close it down. My swatch this week from Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer is the most perfect polish I have ever used, and I really doubt it gets better than this. This is St. Nick’s Sweet Treats, and I’m wearing one coat over China Glaze’s Pelican Gray, Essie’s Marathin, and Zoya’s Bevin, as well as one coat of Color Club’s clear coat. Seriously, this is the polish I want to wear for the rest of my life.

St. Nick’s Sweet Treats is a holiday-themed glitter topper that contains large amounts of red and gold glitters, and smaller quantities of purple, blue, and green metallic and holo glitters. Overall, the amount of glitter in this bottle is huge. There is so much glitter, so much shine, so much to look at it’s crazy. The best part: It doesn’t even matter what colors I use as undies. It’s barely visible beneath all that glitter. I could wear literally any color and it would look fantastic under all this confetti.

Application was surprisingly easy. You might think that all this glitter would clump and gather on itself, and that never happens. The glitters spread well and with even coverage. There’s also a pretty even representation of each type, even with the small colored glitters.

This is a crap photo, but I posted it anyway just to show you how shiny these glitters get. I used the built-in camera flash for this. The colors in the glitter really come alive here.

So, final word: Perfect. Application is perfect, appearance is perfect, everything about it is gorgeous and I love it. This is absolutely my favorite BEGL, and my polish of the year all years.

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