Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Self-Satisfied

Posted on August 30, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

Swatch Saturday this week is glitter chaos! I’m wearing Self-Satisfied from Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer, a smorgasbord of neon glitters. I’m wearing one dabbed coat over Eaton Terrace from Nails Inc., and Saltwater Taffy and Skylight from Cover Girl, topped with one coat of Color Club’s clear coat.

BEGL describes Self-Satisfied as a glitter topper “predominantly yellow and green neon glitters with pink, blue, orange, and purple neon glitters, baby blue holo moons, fuchsia dots, and silver holo butterflies”. I’m not sure it’s possible to count every size, color, and type of glitter in this bottle. Attempting to do so would probably result in some kind of head-clutching space madness.

Since I dabbed this polish on, I’m not sure how long it took to dry, but it seemed dry enough after a 15 minute drying period. The glitters spread evenly enough, but I will admit that I placed a few here and there, just to cover some bare spots. Application is pretty typical for a glitter topper like this, but the look you get is so unique and so worth it.

This isn’t the first time I’ve worn Self-Satisfied; I brought it on vacation with me a couple months ago. I took a picture of my nails with the Washington Monument. I’m wearing it over Julep’s Cody.

Self-Satisfied, and well as its insane pink counterpart, Watch the Walls, are on sale at the BEGL store for $6 each. I adore both of these polishes, and I definitely say they are worth grabbing.

I’m going to hijack the end of this post to say goodbye to an old friend. Last August, I bought a four ounce bottle of Seche Vite. Everyone thought I was crazy to buy so much at once, but I was living alone at the time, I couldn’t get to Sally Beauty whenever I wanted, and I got tired of having to buy a new bottle every few weeks. It was so worth the $15 I paid for it. Last Wednesday, I used the very last of that giant bottle. That giant bottle of Seche Vite has gotten me through nearly every manicure in the past year. Good night, sweet prince.

This is the day I got it. My polish is OPI’s Get Your Number.

My interim top coat is Color Club’s clear coat. I’m not sure if this is a full-fledged top coat, but it dries quickly and leaves a nice shine, and that’s enough for me. This is my first time using it, so I don’t know how well it’s going to wear, but we’ll find out. Either way, it’s fun using something new.

Wacie Wednesday: Opulence

Posted on August 27, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

The Wacie Nail Company polish I’m using this week was a fun experiment. I’d gotten some very fine glitter, practically dust, that I wanted to play with. I got two colors, holo gold and holo silver, and mixed them together, just to see how it would come out. The final product is a full-coverage glitter that is insanely, gloriously sparkly. This is Opulence, and I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite.

I actually took photos of the polish with and without top coat, just to see how they photographed differently. The left photo is with Seche Vite, the right photo is bare. They look pretty similar, and there’s a ton of sparkle either way, but I feel like the top coat really brings out the beauty of the holo glitter. It becomes so much brighter and sensitive to light. I definitely prefer it that way.

Left: Finished with Seche Vite. Right: Polish only

Opulence is an absolute joy to wear. It was very easy to apply; due to the density of the glitter, the polish was very thick; very little mistakes were made in application, so in that regard, it was a bit like applying a textured polish that’s heavy on the glitter. For as thick as it is, though, it dried very quickly. It did dry with a bit of texture, but it gradually got smoother with each coat; the first coat was the grittiest. It still wasn’t glassy smooth by the third coat, but it wasn’t grainy, either.

Unfortunately, it’s easy to forget there are two different colored glitters in there. The gold is definitely more visible, and you can see the silvers if you really try, but only in certain lighting conditions and viewing angles.

In the sun, this is incredible. In the studio, I couldn’t get my camera to focus on the glitters well, so all you see is sparkle and not much individuality among glitter particles. You can see them in the sun. It looks fantastic out there! All that shine, all those little rainbows… It’s just beautiful. I love it.

I do apologize for the lateness of this post. I spent all day playing video games.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Skating in the Snow

Posted on August 23, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

Thanks to Swatch Saturday this week, it’s winter in August! As I write this, my phone says it is 101 degrees outside, but Skating in the Snow from Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer is keeping me cool. I mean that figuratively, of course; I’m so sweaty you don’t even know. I am wearing three coats of Skating in the Snow alone with one coat of Seche Vite.

Skating in the Snow is a white crelly with lavender and blue hexes, iridescents, and pink and blue dots. Applying this was pretty easy; some glitters sink, but that’s easily rectified with shaking and keeping it upside down for a minute or two. Otherwise, it can be tough to get the glitter to spread evenly. Apart from that, this polish dries quickly, cleans up easily, and is semi-opaque at two coats. Three coats, seen here, was a little too much. I covered up all the glitters from previous coats.

I’ve lived most of my life in Florida, so I can count all the times I’ve ever seen snow on one hand. I’ve been ice skating exactly once. I can imagine this polish as a winter scene, though: revellers in candy-colored snow suits, surrounded by white, laughing and enjoying themselves. I’ll probably never experience such a thing, but it’s nice to think about, especially in August.

In the sunshine, the crelly looks a bit more opaque. The previous coat’s glitters are harder to see, and the iridescents don’t shimmer so well. It’s still quite pretty, though. The whiteness makes my fingers look tan.

Final Word: Skating in the Snow is still available in the BEGL shop, and it’s on sale! Don’t miss out on this soft but colorful polish.

Wacie Wednesday: Dynamica

Posted on August 20, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

It’s always a great day to wear red! The Wacie Nail Company prototype I’m wearing today is called Dynamica; it’s a strawberry red jelly with a smatter of holo pigment. I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite.

This polish is everything I love. It’s red, it’s holo, it’s versatile. Because I’m wearing three coats, it’s visibly opaque. The first coat is quite thin, however, and can be used for jelly sandwiches or similar looks. It didn’t occur to me until just now to demonstrate it with a layer of glitter beneath, but I may do that in the future. I want to wear this again soon.

Dynamica is yet another holo experiment. I was trying to see just how little holo pigment I could get away with using. As you can see, this is rather delicate for a holo; there are no intense punch-you-in-the-stomach rainbows here, and I wonder if it can even be called a holo. Because the polish is translucent, the holo particles from the previous coats shine through, but they are now red, not rainbowy. It doesn’t serve that purpose, it’s merely a little extra sparkle to complete the look. Even in the sun, it’s still very subtle.

It didn’t occur to me until just now that this is a very similar color to Maneater, a Wacie Nail Co. polish I swatched last month. I wish I’d thought of it in time to do a side-by-side comparison. I did use the same red pigment for both, but Maneater is more opaque and warmer than Dynamica. They look like dupes, but they’re totally not.

Finally, a day where the sun is actually shining! This is the first manicure in over a week it wasn’t storming while I was taking photos. I got super lucky this week.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Blue Moon Over Georgia

Posted on August 16, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

It’s Swatch Saturday! I am super excited to try the polish I have on this week. Blue Moon Over Georgia is a special Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer given to me by Julie, the creator herself. When I visited my boyfriend in Atlanta last year, I got to meet up with her and have a couple drinks at the Brick Store Pub in Decatur. She gave me this amazing polish, and I’m finally trying it out. I’m wearing three coats of Blue Moon Over Georgia with one coat of Seche Vite.

Blue Moon Over Georgia is a deep blue jelly with sky blue dots, squares, and crescent moons, as well as a fine blue shimmer. Application was okay; the consistency was a little thinner than I expect from BEGL, and the first coat flooded my cuticles. I also had to fish around for the moon glitters, but that’s to be expected. It dries quickly though, and leaves a nice matte finish. The issues are pretty inconsequential. Coats two and three went on beautifully.

It has been a really lousy week for weather here; it’s been rainy and gray all week long. This means I don’t get to share any photos of this polish in the sunlight. I love looking at jellies in the sun, because you can see all the way down through the many coats and see all that glitter shining back at me. It looks like that’s going to have to wait for another day.

Final word: This polish is gorgeous, and I was so fortunate to get it.

Wacie Wednesday: Esoterica

Posted on August 13, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

For this week’s Wacie Wednesday, I’m wearing Esoterica, a jet black scattered holo. I have on three coats with one coat of Seche Vite.

I made Esoterica when I was feeling particularly creative but had few supplies. Like many of my prototype polishes, I made it with what I had on hand, which was basically white and black polish. That explains the deep color. I set it aside, and when I got some holo products to experiment with, I got it back out. I was actually able to make three bottles of this polish from what I’d made before. Even after mixing it down, it’s still quite pigmented; one coat was all I needed to achieve the perfect opacity.

Unfortunately, it is not a sunny day. It’s been raining since I woke up this morning, and I don’t see the sun coming out at all, so I resorted to using the flash on my camera to get the good holo pics. I’m actually surprised with how well they turned out, even though the results aren’t optimal. Scroll through and enjoy the holo goodness.

The flash isn’t too bad. I’ve definitely done worse. The holo looks more linear here than in the photos without it.

I still want to experiment with other holo products, so this will probably not be the final version of Esoterica. However, this probably will make it into a collection sooner rather than later. You know, when I finally launch my company.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Monster’s Tea at Tiffany’s

Posted on August 9, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

I love today’s swatch! This is Monster’s Tea at Tiffany’s from Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer; it’s a Tiffany blue polish with green-to-red shifting shimmer. I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite.

Monster’s Tea at Tiffany’s is a really easy polish to work with. The consistency is just right, and it dries quickly to a semi-matte finish. Full opacity is acheived after two coats. All you need here is a top coat to bring out the shimmer.

What sets this polish apart from any other old Tiffany blue is the shifting shimmer. At most angles, generally when the light is behind you, you’ll see green. You’ll see the red when the light is in front of you. Mind you, I’m using studio lights to capture the green shimmer, and regular CFL lighting in my office to get the red. I could not manage to get the shift in the studio at all.

Because the light is everywhere outdoors, the shimmer doesn’t lean one way or the other, at least not in photos. The green is easy to see, but the shift, while it does appear to occur, is not very strong. The color itself, though, stands out beautifully. It is absolutely gorgeous out there.

I love this polish. I love walking from room to room and seeing my nails change.

Monster’s Tea at Tiffany’s is, as of my writing this, currently available from the BEGL shop, but stock is very low. Do yourself a favor and pick up this polish. It’s such a fun twist on a classic color, and you really need to see it to believe it.

Wacie Wednesday: Skybright

Posted on August 6, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

Skybright is my Wacie Wednesday pick this week. This calm blue crelly contains three different colors of small blue hexes and squares. I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite.

So there’s a lot of glitter in here, probably more than it needs. Skybright dries with a gritty textured finish, and is still gritty after applying top coat. Because there is so much, it does dry quickly. It dries semi-matte, but that’s tough to notice with all the glitter shining in your face.

I must still be bitter about having to cut my nails, because I can’t stop thinking about how good this would look on longer nails. The roughness of the polish is emphasized by the shortness of my nails.

At least in the sun this looks good. You can really see the glitter layers there. That adds a lot to the look.

I don’t want to down on this polish too much, because I don’t think I’d be being fair to it. I feel like there are a lot of factors keeping it from looking its best. I would like to revisit this in a month or two to see what it really looks like.

Swatch Sunday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Is That a Technical Term, Jiggery Pokery?

Posted on August 3, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

So my swatch this week is something I’ve been dying to wear since I got it. It goes by the name Is that a Technical Term, Jiggery Pokery? (and will henceforth be referred to Pokery); it’s described by Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquers as “hot pink jelly base with silver, pink, and hot pink holo glitters”. What’s not to love? Then this happened:

Nail vs. Dryer door handle.

So, on my freshly-clipped nubbins, I give you Pokery in what’s left of its hot pink majesty. I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite.

Pokery is probably my favorite BEGL offering thus far. Look at the plethora of glitters in here; there are so many I can’t really even identify them all. I just know there are tons of butterflies, tons of stars, tons of shining silver hexes. It’s magical. Even though the colors don’t vary much, there’s still a lot of glitter diversity with all the different finishes. No nail looks exactly the same, because no two nails have the same glitters on them. I love that.

In the sun, you can see the glitter variety better. The pink jelly stands out less, and the glitter shapes more.

For now, Pokery isn’t available from the BEGL store, but I heard a rumor it’s coming back with a new Doctor Who collection in September. Definitely stay on the lookout for it, you need this.

I hate how short my nails are now. I still can’t believe it just ripped off at the base like that. This is what my nails looked like when I was a biter, and it’s not a look I care much for. They were the perfect length a day ago, and now they’re this. Regardless of my nail length, I’m super excited to be wearing this polish. Nails will grow back, after all.

Summer of Untrieds Day 31: Metallic

Posted on July 31, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

It’s the final day of the Summer of Untrieds Challenge! I cannot believe I’ve actually painted my nails for 31 straight days. On this final day, the theme du jour is metallic, and I went with Essie’s No Place Like Chrome. I’m wearing three coats without top coat.

No Place Like Chrome is a metallic silver polish that dries to a matte mirror-like finish. From the first coat, it goes on smooth and opaque, but sometimes it seems to pull away from itself, leaving holes in the coverage. This is easily remedied by a second coat. Other issues with application include bumps, brush strokes, and visible ridges or nail imperfections. It’s totally possible that these problems are in my application and not part of the polish itself. Despite everything, though, I really love of the look of this. I feel a little like a robot.

I fell in love with the Essie Mirror Metallics line quite some time ago, when I wore Penny Talk for the first time. I went out and bought them all after that. So far, though, these are the only two I’ve worn.

I didn’t really need to take pictures of this in the sun, because you can already see how shiny it is. Just look at it, though. Look. Shiny.

And there you have it: 31 days of untried polishes. Here’s a quick shout-out to Julie at Wishes of a Blue-Eyed Girl for devising this insanely fun, weirdly useful challenge, and awesome job to everyone who took part. For more photos of the challenge, check Instagram hashtags #summerofuntrieds and #julyuntriedschallenge. There’s a nerdy stats post coming up, so stay tuned!

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