Royal Candy Coating.

Have you read One Gent's Ten?  It's quite interesting having a mans input into the world of nail polish.  His swatches are well done and tidy and his nails neat and masculine (polished or not, I prefer shorter nails on a man.)

One of the things that I really like is how his view point is making me take a new look at polish and finishes as well as looks that are attainable to individuals with shorter nails.  He recently did a post on candy paint jobs for vehicles  Chances are you've seen them, these are the paint jobs that always make you look twice and wonder if you have a polish that color.  Come on, I know we've all done it.  He accomplished his look via a jelly sandwich, a layering technique involving a jelly polish and glitter polish. 

I wanted to achieve something more true to the actual finish I've seen on vehicles, so here you see the original color that I started out with on my ring finger.  This is China Glaze ***  a beautiful silver shimmer that applied beautifully.  This is two coats, and they dried fairly fast.  Over the top of that I used a single coat of Revlon Royal, a blue jelly that in this instance I wanted to be a bit more sheer.  You have to enlarge the photos to see, but there is a definite depth that is very striking, a certain something that adds an additional element of elegance.  To finish I used a single holo hex from a glitter mix and added it to the center of the nail.  A tiny flake of other glitter snuck in on my middle finger, but I am calling it a design element now.  :) 

 

While this is very much the right direction that I want to go, this isn't quite the look I was hoping to end up with, honestly I wanted a bit more...something.  The tip wear wasn't impressive either, the Royal wore down in about half a day.  So I'll be trying this look again.  Meanwhile, I hope you enjoyed this look.  Many thanks to Scott for his inspiration.

Thanks so much for stopping by and reading and commenting.  Until next time, you all take care!

Happy New Year!

This is the post where I apologize profusely about the state of my cuticles and skin in general.  Every winter I quite literally shed my skin a few times and I am in the midst of one of those times.  So I'm very aware that they look horrid (and this is an improvement on what it has been),  and yes, I probably should wait until my shed is over before posting pictures but who knows when that will be.  So be gentle with me.
I'm actually thinking of taking a bit of a break until after the new year so don't be surprised if you don't hear from me for a few days.  I'll be back with bells on and details on my 200 follower giveaway.  

 This is three fairly thick coats of China Glaze's Fireside Glow.  This is an amazing mixture of fine copper and holographic glitter. 

 The weather here has been so overcast I couldn't get the sun to coordinate with the times when I had my camera, these are all taken under a "natural" lamp which does so not do this polish justice.

 The application on this was really great, while it didn't exactly flow onto the nail, the coverage was very even and built up really well.

 I love how it's a more subtle glitter effect with an almost neutral look where most of the glitters that have come out this season have had a lot more contrast.

Above is the closest I could get to a money shot to show off the beautiful glow this polish has.  So that's it for this one folks, I hope you have a wonderful New Year.  Be safe and I'll see you in 2012!

Sun Worshiper

I am a first rate sun worshiper.  Even with all of the warnings and scares I still go out without sunscreen, and bliss for me can be found in the cold, plexiglass embrace of the tanning bed  I am aware that I take my life to my own by practicing this behavior and there are those that feel just as strongly against such behavior as I do for.  To each their own.
When China Glaze came out with Sun Worshiper I admit that it was the name that was more the draw than the color.

 Unfortunately the color isn't that flattering on me, bringing out a lot of red in my skin.  It also seemed to take longer to dry than the Orange Knockout.  This is four coats and as you can see I still have a visible nail line.

 I managed to ding my index finger before I took pictures, hence the strategic thumb placement.  I just love the satin finish on these polishes, it's so flattering with these neon adding a bit of softness to what could be a rather jarring color.    

 While it's not my favorite I still love this color, I know it's hugely popular with others as well.  It is a great summery polish don't you think?

I have one  of my Kleancolor glitters in mind for dressing it up a bit so stay tuned and I'll see you back here.  Until then, take care!

Comparison - China Glaze Light as Air and. OPI Steady as She Rose

When I brought home China Glaze Light as Air I thought it may be a possible dupe for OPI Steady as She Rose.  Putting them side by side though it becomes apparent that Light as Air is more lavender while Steady as She Rose has a distinct rose cast to it.

I applied three coats of each color.   Unfortunately Light as Air developed some significant bubbles while I had some streaking issues with Steady as She Rose.  (I also did my cleanup too quickly and have some issues from that as well)

 Personally I feel that Light as Air is more flattering with my coloring than Steady as She Rose which seems to make my skin a little more pink when I wear it but neither or unflattering. 

I like them both though, what do you think?  I'll be showing you one of my Kleancolor polishes next so stay tuned!

Until next time, take care!

Love in Neon

I admit that I don't do true neon's very often, they usually look pretty harsh on me rather than flattering.  Not so with Orange Knockout by China Glaze.   Which is doubly amazing because orange is usually not a great color on me either.  I am totally ok with this one working for me though because I am in love love with this super bright polish.  It's just so happy and it screams summer to me.

This is three coats and while the photos make it look like there is a VNL, it was not apparent in real life.  What's with that??  Anyway.  On my accent nail I used an additional coat of CG Sun Worshiper as well as two coats of Color Club Turn the Other Chic.

I love the soft, satiny finish of this polish, I think it may be part of why this polish looks so good on me, it's keeping it somewhat softer than a high gloss.

This is a total win for a summer color and currently in my top five list.  If you've had trouble wearing neon's in the past, give this one a try.  It's well worth it.

Worth Repeating - China Glaze - For Audrey

Aside from the ever present clouds and threat of rain I think spring has finally arrived.  The daffodils and tulips are spent and my flowering fruit trees are leaving drifts of petals on the drive way.  The robins are all in high gear for nesting material and bugs.

When I first put on For Audrey I was taken back to my childhood when a robin built her next rather low in a tree in our front yard.  My brother and I would wait for the mommy bird to fly off for food and ever so carefully climb up to peek over the edge to count the blue gems snuggled into the down of the nest.  (I'd like to add that no harm was done, the eggs hatched and the birdies grew up and flew away.)    It's been a while since I've seen a robins egg first hand but this color epitomizes spring to me.

 This color was actually based off of Tiffany's blue, yes, "that" Tiffany's, as in Breakfast At... and much like another classic (Wedgwood) blue I feel this color will be around for our enjoyment for a long time.  Soft but not too pale it can easily make the shift through winter, spring and summer and for some maybe even into fall.

Here I have 2/3 coats and as with most of my China Glaze polishes, application was a dream.

 As with all my Worth Repeating colors, China Glaze For Audrey is still readily available and under $12.  If you haven't added this lovely color to your collection as of yet I do highly recommend it.



Thanks so much for stopping by and reading and I do so enjoy getting your comments.  Until next time, have a lovely day!

Worth Repeating - China Glaze Ingrid

Welcome to my first installment of Worth Repeating, an ongoing series where I will highlight lovely polishes that had their time in the spotlight but have faded to the background as new collections and colors have arrived.  These are always going to be polishes that you can still easily get your hands on and will always be under $12(USD).

First in our line up is China Glaze's Ingrid.  This was part of the Vintage Vixen Collection and released mid 2010.  This was labeled as Greige, the in-color of the season. 

What fascinated everyone and I'm sure you'll see why is the glorious gold shimmer that glowed from the rich and creamy depths of this polish. 

With an easy application and clean up this color charmed in two to three coats with a gorgeous slick finish.

Well worth adding to your collection this is a rather neutral color that seemed to suite most people.

Hope you found this useful.  If you have suggestions, don't hesitate to leave a comment, I'd love to hear from you.  Until next time, take care!

 

China Glaze Atlantis

I would have loved to have featured this as a Worth Repeating polish but it may be getting to be hard to find.  My regular online spots and Amazon are both out of stock, get it now if you can because it's well worth it. 

Check out the holo of that glitter.  

When Atlantis first came out (Specialty Collection 2009)  it was a big hit and it's completely understandable why.  The lovely ultramarine tinted base is punctuated with a large quantity of holographic glitter and builds up beautifully. 

Like a rainbow in a bottle isn't it.

Since it requires building up for a more opaque look it's suitable for using as a top coat or as a stand alone polish.

 

Over Ulta Envy 

If you're using it as a stand alone be prepared to use at least four coats.  I've got four thin ones here and you can still see a visible nail line.  You may prefer to use a coordinating base color under it for easy opacity.  It does have a rather grainy texture when dry so have a nice thick top coat on hand to smooth things out.

Removal is standard for glitter I didn't have any problem using the acetone and foil method, although I've heard some say it was a beast to remove. 

The diamonds are of course my own addition  and were such a perfect color match I couldn't resist.  I got mine at a local beauty supply but you should be able to find something similar online.  These need a pretty strong top coat to keep the corners from coming up and snagging.  

China Glaze - Ingrid Revisited

Most of you have probably already seen this polish but I think it's worth re-visiting.  If you don't have it, consider getting it.  It's a beautiful greige with a killer gold shimmer.

Two coats.  Applies like a dream. 

Blue Glitter

As part of my birthday pressy to me I got the rest of the glitters from the Burlesque collection so now I have the complete shimmer and glitter collection! AAAAwesome!
Oh how I love me a bit of blingy bling! Check this awesomeness out. This is OPI Simmer and Shimmer over Orly Viridian Vinyl and truth be told my opinion is that the VV if much improved with all the glitterfullness (I love making up words)
Simmer and Shimmer is a silver and blue glitter in a clear base, it's a little heavier on the silver I think but there is also trace amounts of pinkish/purpley glitter and an even tinier amount of yellow glitter in there as well. I've tried to capture the effect but it's been gray as all get out here so I'm taking pics at night by Ott light.

Here you can see the pinkish/purpleish glitter

I got this coverage in two coats and it dried amazingly quickly. Like really dry, not the I can touch the surface but it will dent like mad if I bump it dry.
It's also fairly smooth. There's not a lot of texture to it and a top coat like Seche would take care of that really easily.

In other blue glitter news, I also got China Glaze Dorothy Who? I used that to bling my toes. I lost count of how many coats it took to get this glitter saturation after the fourth coat. Yeah... Still a bit of VNL too, love-ah love it though.


I'm amazed at how smooth this is, really no need for a top coat at all.

Yeah I know my toes are a bit rough...but ask me if I care at the moment...Mmmm, not so much.


So there's my blue glitter run down, I hope you enjoyed. In other news... Joy! 95 followers. This means that I should start thinking about my 100 follower give away huh? Thank you so much for following and commenting. I think I have the hang of this reply thing so please keep the comments coming !

Bogie

Tomorrow's my birthday! Oh yeah, it's ma birthday gonna party like it's ma birthday! Actually I have no clue what I'm going to do, maybe I'll treat myself to a *gasp* new bottle of polish!
*singing* We had it all, just like Bogie & McCall...
Whoooboy, I seriously just dated myself with that one. No you may not try and guess my age, it is no longer applicable for the moment. :P
So, I love me some Bogie on a black and white screen and I love me some China Glaze Bogie. ...um, I'm not loving the fact that I forgot to moisturize my cuticles after I used the acetone to do my cleanup, so pardon that. Why can't I catch it before I post?
I've had this polish for a while...Like since the Vintage Vixen collection first came out and I am ashamed to admit that this if the first time Bogie has been decanted and graced the surface of my nails. I'm feeling the idiot for it too because it's beautiful. Oh well it's perfectly perfect for my birthday manicure.
This is a deep, rich, plumy purple, actually I think it's a pruney purple, what do you think? Oh come on, you know what a prune is, this isn't a geriatric fiber joke, I'm not THAT old.

Given that it's been around so long there's probably not much I can say about it that you haven't already read so I won't wax too eloquent about it.
My usual two coats. The first coat actually made me worry about streaks but it was flawless on the second coat, sheer perfection to apply, so smooth, so easy...right up until I bumped my thumb and put a big ding in it. *sigh*

So do you ever sit on a polish and then kick yourself for not using it sooner?

Thanks so much for reading and commenting. Until next time, have a fantabulous day, I know I will!

You say Fall I say "It's too @#$! cold!

40 Followers YippEE!!!! I'm hatching an idea for a 50 follower give away. I already have some lovely polishes (a couple of holos), eye shadows and other goodies set aside so spread the word!

Ok so I'm kinda getting into the swing of the cooler weather...maybe. I must admit that I love love the colors for this time of year. Our mountains are turning all different shades of yellow, rust, reds and oranges. Thankfully down here in the valley it's not that apparent.
This is China Glaze's Cross Iron and if I remember correctly, I got this gorgeous polish for a whopping $1.99 on clearance and I count my lucky stars that I did. It's beautiful and it's perfect for this time of year. It has a richness about it that reminds me of pumpkin pie right as it's coming out of the oven and the top is slightly caramelized and flecked with all sorts of spicy goodness.
This is the usual two coats over OPI Ridge Filler as a base coat...except on my ring finger which I managed to ding up and was to lazy to strip and re-do so I just put another coat over. I think it actually repaired it's self quite well and if you weren't staring right at it you probably wouldn't notice.
I think that this could be a beautiful base for a Halloween-y mani yes I do, the wheels are a turnin'! If it happens, you'll be the first to know.

I Envy Atlantis

I really liked the way my Foxy Lady mani turned out and decided to give it another whirl. Here I've taken and applied 2 coats of Ulta's Envy over my OPI Ridge Filler. From there I took China Glaze Atlantis and done a diagonal french. Lastly, with my Stripe Rite gold (not the glitter) I drew a thin dividing line between the two.
I'm really liking this look and the fact that it's sooo simple. I don't need guides to get a proper curve like a regular french and it's impossible to mess up. Can't get better than that right?