OPI - Waka Waka

I'm having writers cramp at the moment and can't come up with anything terribly interesting about this polish.  So rather than strain my brain I'm going to stick with the basics and call it good.

 Wocka Wocka is from OPI's Muppet Collection which I pretty much love.  I have to admit that I could never figure out why Fozzie Bear always said Wocka Wocka Wocka!

 This is a warm toned red shimmer that is so festive and Christmasy to me that it's seems perfect for adding a bit of holiday cheer to my nails. 

 It's a little on the sheer side as you can see, I've got two coats on and you can see a hint of visible nail line.  Three coats would probably take care of this, but I was too lazy and called it good at two. 

The formula is great, no streaking or dragging and this was the easiest I've had a polish go on in a long time.  These pictures are without any cleanup it went on that easy!  It also has a nice shine, I don't have a top coat in any of these pictures. 

Sorry to be  a bit of a bore on this entry, thanks so much for stopping by and reading, until next time, take care!

Gem Crush - Lady Luck

I picked up a couple of the new Sally Hansen Gem Crush polishes when I was at my local druggist a week or so ago but haven't gotten around to trying one of them until now.  Now however, I am totally in love and hope that I'll be able to go back and get more of their colors.  This is Lady Luck that I'm wearing here.

 The coverage for having a clear base is pretty impressive but I wanted a completely opaque background without having too many layers so I used a coat of China Glaze Ahoy as a base color.  It's very similar and with a bit of shimmer of its own, added a bit more depth.

 Lady Luck is gorgeous, it's comprised of fine magenta glitter suspended in a clear base with lots of small holographic hexes that flash a rainbow of color at you whenever you move your fingers. 

 Application was wonderful, the formula is perfect and allows the glitter to spread evenly over the nail.  I applied two coats to get the depth and bling I was looking for. 

 My only complaint is that it dried a bit gritty and really benefited from a top coat for smoothness and shine.

Well worth it though in my opinion.  I very much want to invest in more of the Gem Crush Colors. Have you tried any of these?

One Brand, Two Names, One Color.

How often have you run into a brand that puts out the same color twice in the same year but under a different name?   Kiss Me Mistletoe is from the Color Club Scent-suous Holiday Collection and is exclusive to Sally Beauty.  They also have the Foiled line that has Perfect Mol-Ten.  The only difference is that Kiss Me Mistletoe makes your nails smell like a Christmas tree for about 12 hours. 

 I used Kiss Me Mistletoe on my pinky, middle finger and thumb, Perfectly molten on my ring and index finger.  There is absolutely no difference in the color either in the bottle or on the nail. 

 Neither one of these polishes wore well either, this is after one day which, where I work, is notoriously hard on nail polish, but still this wear is a bit extreme by my standards.

 The polish is pretty, but nothing spectacular, I'm almost disappointed to have spent the money on the two of them.  I didn't care for the application as it was streaky on both of them.  I do like the smell of Kiss Me Mistletoe, it really is reminiscent of Christmas Trees, (or mistletoe, I just don't know what mistletoe smells like).  The scent is short lived though, only lasting for about 12 hours at most.

In the realm of take it or leave it, I would leave both of these "colors"  behind.  I think that Color Club should have changed one of them at least a bit color wise before putting it out there as a new color.  Sorry, but in my opinion, adding a  scent doesn't count.  Overall you may color me unimpressed. 

All That Glitters

Just a quick post today as it's going to be a long and busy one. 

I recently picked up a couple of Color Clubs Foiled collection.  This one is Cold Metal. It's a intensely saturated silver based blue foil that is just gorgeous.  I had a little issue with the color dragging a bit so some of the nails needed three coats to get full coverage, but it was well worth it.

I topped off my ring finger with some LA Girls Glitter Addict Celebrate, a multi sized, shaped and colored glitter polish with great coverage (this was only one coat.) I topped everything off with a coat of Seche Vite, for smoothness and shine.

Thanks for stopping by.  Until next time, take care!

Golden Flowers

I did warn you that Snowed In was my newest favorite base for nail art.  Here is one more manicure that uses it, after this we'll find something new to use for a bit.  

 

 They say that practice make perfect, I'm pretty far from perfect, but I am becoming more comfortable with one stroke painting on my nails.    Even working on my right hand is becoming easier and looking better.

This time around I used a metallic gold and black paint to do some simplistic five petaled flowers.  The color matches an antique fan that I inherited from my mother.  She got it in Japan years before she even met my dad.

Give me another year or so and maybe I'll be able to do some of the amazing nail art like I see done in some of the other blogs and on YouTube.  You never know, meanwhile I'll keep practicing.

Thanks so much for stopping by.  Until next time, take care.

Poinsettias in the Snow

This was my first attempt at painting poinsettias, and while it wasn't anything to write home about, it turned out fairly well, especially when you consider the distance that your nails are seen from most of the time. (Thank goodness.)

As you can see, I started off with my Snowed In manicure as the base for this one.  I thought that the two would tie in well together.  The only difference this time was that  I used Orly's *** as the glitter coat. 

Once the base mani was done and dried with a bit of help from Seche Vite I took some red acrylic paint and painted in the rough shapes for the poinsettias once I'd got the layout done I took a liner brush and added the outline and details.

The centers were just a cluster of black dots made with my large dotting tool, then me going over them with a neon green paint with the small dotting tool.

I finished the whole thing off with some loose holo gold glitter in the petal centers, some Seche Vite and viola, Poinsettias in the Snow.
I hope you like this holiday look, I've got a few more.  Let me know if you're interested in tutorials on any of them and I'll do my best to comply.  
I passed 200 followers!  I'm thinking up a giveaway so stay tuned.  Until next time Lovelies, take care!

Dressing Things Up

Wow, can you believe it's December already?   Me neither. Time to start with some holiday mani's.  I decided to glam up my Snowed In manicure.  Something simple but with a bit of bling. 

I decided on gold flakes.  You can usually get these at the arts and crafts store.  They use these for gilding and they're real gold so don't tarnish or warp once you get the top coat on. 

I did each nail individually, first taking the gold flakes and breaking them down into tiny pieces.  I then applied a layer of clear polish then used a damp orange stick to place the flakes along one side of my nail. 

I like how it complements the sponged look of the polish, adding additional shine and dimension without being over the top or in your face.  I think this would be a great look for something like an office party.  Elegant yet festive.  What do you think? 

Thanks for stopping by and reading.  I love each comment I get, it lets me know I'm on the right track.  Until next time, take care!