Manicure Tuesday: Jade Rainbow

Welcome back! I’ve got a green look to show you this week for Manicure Tuesday. The striping tape wasn’t on my side, but I’m happy with the look I got. I used Philly Loves Lacquer’s Fortunate Rainbow and Elevation Polish‘s Yeti’s Healing Vibes.

I always feel a little sad talking about a brand that’s closed down. When I got into indie polish, PhLL was one of the brands I saw everywhere, and it took me ages to try them; I only have box-exclusive polishes from them, and never bought any of their core releases. That said, it was a huge shock to me when they closed up. I love every PhLL polish I have, and I regret that I didn’t go for more of them.

This Elevation Polish was a limited edition made to benefit the American Himalayan Foundation after the devastating earthquakes in Nepal in 2015. It’s a beautiful creamy jade with fine little rainbow flakies in it. It’s gorgeous! I know Elevation is a controversial brand now, but this is one polish from them I’m really glad I bought.

Both of these polishes are limited editions that have since sold out. Philly Loves Lacquer no longer makes polish. Elevation Polishes are sold in their online store.

I bought these polishes myself.

Swatch: Creative Cuticles Nail Polish’s Purity

Welcome back, reader! I have another Indie Shop Atlanta swatch for you today. This is my first-ever Creative Cuticles Nail Polish! I’ve been admiring CCNP from afar since I found out they were local to me, and I’m super excited about trying them out! This is Purity; this polish is part of a collaboration between CCNP and Ribbits Stickits. I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

I love handwritten labels!

Purity is a deep frosty green polish with some fine golden glitter. Application was easy; I had no issues at all with the product consistency or drying time. The polish is pretty well-pigmented, which is great for coverage, but is unfortunate for the glitters; they get lost in the base a little bit. Also, there still seems to be a bit of visible nail line, despite the coverage. The polish dries quickly and with a satin finish; I used top coat for shine.

This is a pretty nice polish, and I definitely want to try more CCNPs. The base color is very rich, and the set it comes in is a pretty good deal; you get the polish, a small bottle of Ribbits Stickits’s acetone additive, and a full-size of their liquid latex skin barrier. If you’re an avid nail polisher like I am, both of these things will come in very handy for you.

The In Death CCNP x Ribbits Stickits collaboration set is still available from the Ribbits Stickits site. Other Creative Cuticles Nail Polishes are available on their website.

I bought this polish myself.

Manicure Monday: Vintage Flakes

Happy Monday! I adore today’s mani. I am so pleased with this combination that I almost can’t even put it into words. Almost. I’m wearing two coats of Digital Nails‘s Crush Leaves Not Dreams over OPI’s Don’t Talk Bach to Me.

So let me start with my base color. Don’t Talk Bach to Me is a chartreuse creme with a very fine silver shimmer throughout. Several years ago, I was on a quest to find a vintage green color, not unlike the avocado green kitchens of midcentury modern houses. After trying a few and being disappointed, I spotted this one on an endcap at the supermarket and never looked back. I cherish this shade.

Crush Leaves Not Dreams is the perfect topper for this base shade. The gold-to-orange shifting flakies complement the warm green, and the fine blue shimmer adds a bit of contrast and sparkle. It would look great over any creme, honestly, but I’m completely impressed with how it works over this one.

OPI polishes are sold in stores. Digital Nails is still on hiatus.

Swatch: Envy Lacquer’s The Indie Shop #4

Hello again! I have more swatches, and this time, it’s an Indie Shop Atlanta exclusive 2017 VIP exclusive! I know we just had the Indie Shop again, but I have so many polishes from last year’s show that I haven’t even used yet, like this one. This is my first-ever Envy Lacquer, The Indie Shop #4. I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite.

The Indie Shop #4 is a deep cool green polish with green shimmers, both iridescent and colored flakies, as well as some holo. Application was easy; the polish consistency is great, and the flakies and shimmers get distributed easily on the nail. The polish dries quickly and with a satin finish; I used top coat for extra shine.

I love this polish. It’s a bold jewel tone, and the flakies look like confetti. This is a pretty unique addition to my collection! Polishes like this is why I keep going VIP at the Indie Shop. I can’t afford to miss out!

Envy Lacquers can be found on their website.

This polish came in the VIP bag for The Indie Shop Atlanta 2017.

Manicure Monday: Radiant Gradient (What’s Green is Gold is Green Again)

Happy Monday, reader! I have to preface this post by stating that I’m aware this isn’t my best work. I’m new to using nail vinyls and I’m still learning how to use them. I thought I’d given my polish enough to time to dry, but the vinyl still pulled a lot of it up, and I tried to paint it back on, and that’s why it’s a little messy. If any of you are seasoned nail vinylists, give me your tips! Anyway, for this look, I used a base of China Glaze’s Rare and Radiant, and the gradient is Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s Too Many Misters and We’re Vincible. The vinyl is the Zig Zag Zip design from Ribbits Stickits.

I started with the base of Rare and Radiant. I love this polish because it has such a dramatic shift, but I always have a hard time using them as a base for nail art because of it. It’s always easier to throw some glitter on top, which was what I almost did, but I decided to challenge myself. I almost feel a little bad for covering it up.

Working my way through my Indie Shop haul has been fantastic. I’m trying so many new things! I’m trying not to use my vinyls up right away, but I’m really excited about having them. I’m just going to need to get better at using them. I was sure an hour between applying the base and sticking the vinyl on would be enough; that’s how long I wait when I use Scotch tape and I rarely have my polish come up with that. I’ll do better next time for sure. My gradient turned out well, at least. BEGL cremes are becoming my new favorites!

China Glaze is sold in stores; this bottle is from Sally Beauty Supply. BEGL polishes are sold in their online shop, which is currently on hiatus. Ribbits Stickits vinyls are available on their website.

I bought these products myself.

Manicure Monday: Reverse Monet

Happy Monday, reader! My look today is an experiment; I’m using a fan brush for nail art for the first time ever! I bought a cheap drugstore nail art kit just for the fan brush in it, and I’ve finally gotten around to using it. For this look, I used a faded bottle of Sinful Colors’s Dream On, Kleancolor’s Neon Orange, and Island Girl’s Aloha Paradise.

I started this look off with a good base of Dream On. Like I said, this polish faded dramatically. It was once a vibrant neon purple that became the coral you (kind of) see here. Even when I got this polish, I wasn’t a huge fan of it; it takes all of three coats to cover all the streaks and leaves behind a cheap-looking flat finish. I love Sinful Colors polishes to death but this one was never my favorite.

I originally didn’t include Aloha Paradise in this look, but ultimately, the look needed something for contrast. Dream On and Neon Orange are both on the sheer side; obviously the coverage builds, but for nail art, something with good coverage is ideal. It didn’t look like anything without the teal to liven it up. After that, I just kind of brushed the polish back and forth over the nail until I started getting dry brush strokes. It looks amazing up close like this when you can see the brushy details, but from far away, it just looks like a brown mess.

Sinful Colors and Kleancolor are sold in stores. I found Island Girl in Hawaii.

I bought these polishes myself.

Manicure Whenever: That’s What I Mint

Happy Wednesday! I planned to wear this polish on Monday for my Manicure Monday series, but my weekend look got irreparably smudged right after I finished, and being low on top coat, I decided just to go for the textured polish right away. I actually wore this polish from Saturday to Tuesday with minimal chipping. This is Nicole by OPI’s That’s What I Mint; I’m wearing three coats.

I was super impressed by how well this wore on me. I’m not one to wear a polish more than a day or two, and that’s largely because of how quickly it chips. One will chip and then I end up picking at it and all the others until there’s nothing left and I have no choice but to start over. I’m actually kind of proud of myself that I kept polish on for four whole days.

Nicole by OPI is sold in stores; I got this one from a Target clearance bin.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer Prototype CH 5.2

Welcome to another swatch post! I’m trying to get one out every day this week. I have so many you haven’t seen yet! This gorgeous beauty is a Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer prototype called CH 5.2; I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

CH 5.2 is a kelly green jelly with gold-to-green shifting flakies. Application was easy, as it always is with BEGL polishes; the product consistency, despite being totally full of flakies, is buttery smooth and very easy to work with. It dries with a satin/matte finish; I added top coat for shine.

 

This is a fantastic polish, and I’m kind of sad it wasn’t available in a wide release as-is. The gold flash is a lot more intense in person, as is the shift. Also, it’s green, and I feel like BEGL greens are some of their best work. I definitely love this one.

Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquers are available in their online shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Manicure Monday: Olive the Glitter

Welcome back! I’ve got another super-shifty microglitter to show you today. This is Digital Nails‘s Galactica over Essie’s Sew Psyched.

Last week, I showed you Leviathan, that crazy shifty glitter that went from purple to blue to orange. Galactica is a sister polish to Leviathan; they are both named after fictional spaceships and feature wildly shifting glitter. These polishes are both so much fun to wear because they look so different in every lighting situation.

Sew Psyched is a great base for this glitter because it just blends into it most of the time. Of course, there are instances where it looks kind of odd, like when the light is shining right on the glitter and it’s super gold and the base is just kind of there. For the most part, though, the glitters and the base are the same, and all you see is the shine from the glitter.

Sew Psyched and Essie are sold in stores. Galactica and other Digital Nails polishes are sold in their etsy shop, which is currently closed.

I bought these polishes myself.

Swatch Saturday: Bliss Polish’s Secret Groves

Happy Saturday! I’ve got one more Bliss Polish swatch for you! This is the second polish of an exclusive trio sold at The Indie Shop Atlanta. Last week’s Bliss, Fairy Castles, was the first one, and unfortunately, the third was sold out by the time I got there. This is the best of the three, though. This is Secret Groves. I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite.

My nail is so long! It’s getting harder to get my thumb into this position.

Secret Groves is a deep green jelly with iridescent flakies. Application was great with this polish; the formula is very smooth and easy to work with. Coverage on the first coat is a little streaky, but it evens out very well. I had a good opacity at two coats. The polish dries with a smooth semi-glossy finish.

One thing I want to note is that when I took these photos, they really don’t do the polish any justice. You see, these flakies are golden in bright direct sunlight. Like, bright glaring golden. It was beautiful, and I’m so bummed the camera didn’t capture it. In fact, I was thinking I should take an indoor set of photos for accuracy. Looks like we’re good on that front. I love this polish, though. I felt super stylish when I was wearing it.

Secret Groves was an Indie Shop Atlanta exclusive. Other Bliss Polishes are available from their website.

I bought this polish myself.