Wacie Wednesday: Eclectic

Posted on July 2, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

For this Wacie Wednesday, I’m sharing with you my first attempt at a colorful white crelly. This is Eclectic, so named for the variety of glitter, at three coats with one coat of Seche Vite.

Eclectic is a white crelly with pink hexes and bars, lime green hexes and diamonds, black shreds, gray hexes, and iridescent hexes. There’s a ton of glitter in here, and as such, the formula is quite thick, even after adding a fair amount of thinner. I like this combination of glitter; the pink and green give a soft look, the black shreds give it some edge, and the iridescent glitter gives it just a touch of sparkle. Even after all that, though, it feels like it’s missing something. Maybe the colors should be brighter, or maybe I should just leave out the crelly and go for a glitter topper. I’m not sure yet. This one is by no means finished.

Here are some photos taken in the sunlight. It looks a bit more lively here than in the studio.

I also went through many names, too, before settling on Eclectic: Conflict, Quartz, Pastel Badass. I like the look of this one, but I feel like it needs more work, and maybe a better name.

Manicure Monday: Vesper

Posted on June 30, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

It’s Manicure Monday again, and I’m excited because it’s a wacie.com first: textured polish! I’ve been buying these up like mad, but this is the first time I’ve ever featured one on the blog. This is OPI’s Liquid Sand in Vesper; I’m wearing three coats of it without topcoat.

Vesper is a deep plum polish with black grainy glitter. You can’t see much of the purple, except around the edges of the nails. The first coat presented more purple, but multiple coats makes it harder to see. It dries with a coarse, gritty texture, as is intended. It sparkles a bit more in lower lighting; in the studio, it just kind of looks like spray-on truck bed liner. I couldn’t capture that in the studio. I probably could have in the sunlight, but I was late taking pictures today and it was pretty dusky by the time I got outside.

This isn’t to say I don’t like this polish, because I do. Nothing says summer fun like a plum, right? However, it’s not my favorite Liquid Sand. My favorites are still the ones with more emphasis on the glitter than on the texture. In any case, it’s a cool look, and I’m not sure if textured polishes are passe yet, but I’m happy to finally get around to reviewing one.

Swatch Saturday: American Apparel’s Neon Coral

Posted on June 28, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

Swatch Saturday is right on time this week! We’re on the second bottle of my most recent American Apparel haul. This is called Neon Coral, though I think it’s really more of an orange. It’s the perfect polish to wear today, too; it’s 97 degrees outside and this polish looks the way the weather feels. I’m wearing three coats of Neon Coral with one coat of Seche Vite. As with last week, the pinky and ring finger nails have two coats of white polish under the color.

I am really into these neons! I am so glad I bought all the ones I didn’t have. The formula is a bit thin, but is still easy to work with and covers well. The color payoff is huge, even without the use of white polish. It’s so bright, my fingers look instantly tanner. It’s delicious. These neons absolutely cannot be beat.

I find it interesting that the use of white polish makes such a small, almost undetectable, difference. I’ll continue to do this with the rest of the neon polishes, just to see if it really is unnecessary. It seems like this was always the disadvantage to neon polishes; the colors are beautiful, but they don’t cover and require white polish. If all six of these manage to break that trend, I will be incredibly pleased.

Wacie Wednesday on Friday: Andromeda

Posted on June 27, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

My Wacie Nail Co. swatch this week is late and I apologize. I actually wanted to hold onto the pink and glitter nails I did on Monday for a while longer, but then they chipped Wednesday night. I put this polish on Thursday between World Cup matches, but I couldn’t do any photography until this afternoon. The tips are worn, but this is still a nice-looking polish. This is Andromeda from Wacie Nail Company, shown here at three coats with one coat of Seche Vite.

Andromeda is a black jelly with fine rainbow iridescent glitter. It’s a pretty simple in composition; there’s only one glitter variety in here, but look at what it does. There are so many colors here, so complex and dynamic, and yet it’s all the same glitter. It’s very less-is-more, which as you know, is an ideal I almost, almost want to embrace.

You can see the difference in the colors very well in the sunlight photos below. This is crazy in the sunshine; you can see every speck of glitter on every nail. It’s insane.

Also, it was cloudy as crap when I went outside to take these photos; the sun came out just for me. I love when that happens! Either I am the sun, or the universe just wants my skin to char, I’m not sure.

Swatch Saturday: American Apparel’s Neon Red

Posted on June 21, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

This week, I’m taking a break from swatching my Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer collection to try a few I bought while I was on vacation. I had a habit of shopping at places just because I could; my city doesn’t have American Apparel stores, so when I saw one in Philadelphia, I had to stop in. The first time I’d ever been to one was on my birthday trip to Atlanta last year, and I bought six polishes, one of which was a gorgeous neon pink. I was so impressed with it that I swore to myself, if I ever see another American Apparel store, I’m going to grab all the rest of their neon polishes. Well, here we are. Today I’m trying Neon Red. I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite.

Neon Red isn’t really that red; it’s more of a bold coral. It’s a beautiful color, certainly. As I did when I reviewed Neon Pink, I put down a coat of white polish, to see how much of a difference it makes. If you look closely at the middle and ring finger nails, you’ll see there’s a very slight difference in color. On my ring and pinky finger nails, I’ve got the undies coat. On the first coat, there was quite a visible difference, but as I added the next coats, the coverage built up and narrowed the gap. I wouldn’t say the white foundation wasn’t a total waste; in some lighting conditions, I can still my nail line on the no-undies nails. The white gives it a little more solidity, even if the polish doesn’t really need the pop.

I’m so happy I grabbed these. For neons, they’re pretty high-quality; you get great coverage and huge color payoff without a lot of white polish. I can’t wait to show you the rest!

Wacie Wednesday: Deep

Posted on June 18, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

For this Wacie Wednesday, I submit to you Deep, an emerald green jelly with gold dots and tiny iridescent glitters. I am wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite top coat. As usual, photos were taken in an indoor studio and outside in sunlight.

When I made this polish, I just felt like making something, and I was limited on supplies. I was between shipments, I was totally out of lacquer base and most glitters. All I had on hand was a small bottle of blue base, a bottle of yellow, and these two glitters. I thought “Why not?” and dumped a little of everything into a bottle. It was way too thick, but I liked how it looked, so when I got my next shipment of clear lacquer base, I diluted it until the formula was right (and made about five bottles in the process). In fact, because this color is so dark, I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to get until I put it on today. I even added a little more clear base just to ensure that it would be a jelly. I’d like for it to be a little squishier, but I’m pretty happy with it.

Because the color is so dark, I’m not sure how well it layers. I’m not sure if I’m seeing three coats’ worth of glitter or just one. Also, the dot glitters are actually gold, and the color gets totally lost in the green base, even in the most recent coat. However, in the sun, you can see every speck of glitter the way it was meant to be seen. I freaking love this in the sun. It’s shiny as all get out.

Outdoors, sunlight

I haven’t mentioned the Wacie Nail Company launch in a while, I know. So far, everything is on track for a summer launch. I know I said spring, I know I said a lot of things. For real this time though: Wacie Nail Company is happening soon. Watch this space for updates.

Swatch Saturday: Blue Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Don’t Worry, I Don’t Bite

Posted on June 14, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

This Saturday, I’m wearing Don’t Worry, I Don’t Bite from Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer. This is another beauty from the Once More With Feeling collection that was released last August. It’s a gray linear holo, shown here at three coats with one coat of Seche Vite. Photos were taken indoors and outdoors.

Don’t Worry, I Don’t Bite is a gorgeous polish. It applies very easily, dries quickly, and the holo effect is vibrant and powerful, even in indoor lighting. The only thing I regret is that it’s mostly cloudy outside and my outdoor shots are not fantastic. I assure you, this is absolutely stunning in the sunlight, but right now it’s not very sunny at all. It’s disappointing.

Sorry this post is kind of short. I feel like this polish speaks for itself. Also I have soccer to watch.

Wacie Wednesday on Thursday: Purity

Posted on June 12, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

Wacie Wednesday is happening on Thursday today because I really struggled with whether I wanted to post it or not. I’ve been developing this color, called Purity, for quite a while now, and I’ve just never been able to get it right. I can’t get the blue jelly squishy enough, and it dulls the larger holographic glitter. I didn’t want to post it this week because it’s still not right, but I like how it looks anyway, so I’m going for it. Also, I’m in this post-vacation funk where nothing is interesting, so I’m kind of doing this just because I need something to do. This is three coats of Purity with one coat of Seche Vite.

Purity is (or is meant to be) a blue jelly with holographic silver glitters. They’re a bit hard to see in the polish; the holographic effect tends not to show up too well in the studio, and the unintended crelly effect of the blue base dulls them. As a result, it just looks like a pretty but unremarkable blue. Not to say there’s anything wrong with that, it’s beautiful color in itself and I love how it looks on me. It’s just not what I was going for. See how it looks in the bottle? That’s what I want, and I’ve been trying like hell to get it. I just can’t make it work.

It’s been cloudy and blah outside for a few days, so unfortunately, I couldn’t get any great photos in the sunlight. Sunlight usually saves my so-so glitter photos; couldn’t make that happen today. I actually took the studio shots last night, a few hours after I’d done the manicure. I took the outdoor shots this morning, but I just ended up getting great shots of sad cuticles. I’m a little embarrassed of these, actually.

Sad cuticles are sad.

Outdoors, cloudy as eff.

I love Purity, and I guess I’ll be taking it back to the workshop yet again for another reformulation.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Birthday Wishes

Posted on June 7, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

Swatch Saturday is back! This weekend I’m wearing Birthday Wishes from Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer, a royal blue with pink shimmer. As usual, I’m wearing three coats with top coat. Photos were taken in both indoors and outdoors. I’ve wanted to try this one for a long while now, so let’s take a look.

I love how this turned out. In the bottle, especially in my office where the lighting is lower, the blue polish with the pink shimmer makes it look purple. I don’t get that effect on my nails in the studio, but I definitely do in other lighting conditions. In the studio, the shimmer isn’t as potent, but outside it’s vibrant and strong. It’s a really cool effect; my nails look different everywhere I go.

The formula was a little worrisome at first; the first coat was barely-there thin, and I wasn’t totally sure I was going to get even coverage. It looks fantastic in three coats, though. It’s even and opaque. I love wearing this.

On a side note, I bought a ton of polish while I was on vacation. I had to visit drugstores a lot during the trip, and grabbed one or two whenever I stopped in, especially if I saw some things I’d never seen anywhere else. I got a few new brands, shopped at stores for the sake of shopping there, and did some indie shopping while I was bored in train stations. I think I ended up with about 60 bottles by the time I got home. As a result, I may be taking a quick break from my BEGL swatch streak, just to fill in the gaps in the Polish List. I’ve got a couple more BEGLs in the pipeline, but I’ve also got these American Apparel neons I can’t wait to try. See you next week!

Wacie Wednesday: Slither

Posted on June 4, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

This week’s Wacie Wednesday post is all about Slither, a polish I made many moons ago, but am just getting around to trying out. It’s a slightly black base filled with tons and tons of gold-shifting green flakies. I’m wearing three coats of it here with a coat of Seche Vite top coat. Most photos were taken in my studio, the last two in the set were taken outdoors in full sun.

I’ll get this out of the way first: cleaning up my cuticles sucked. Because this polish is practically all flakies, it’s hard to move out of all the nooks and crannies. I spent the better part of an hour exclusively on my cuticles, and you can still see the tiny flakies all over the place. This is most evident in the outdoor shots. You can see them everywhere.

Now we can get to the good stuff. Look at the color shift! The green here is already gorgeous on its own, and then the light hits it, and everything turns gold and stunning. I love it.

You may see a piece or two of lime green glitter sticking out on a couple of nails. I don’t know where those came from, nor do I know how they got into this bottle. They are not part of this polish. I didn’t even notice them until I was taking the outdoor shots. Those will not be part of the final product when that time comes.

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