MOTD (Mani of the Day)

In honor of the area that I live in entering its second straight week of excessive heat advisories I decided to do a manicure in its honor.  When I asked my husband what nail polish I should do today he said this one, since he liked the swatch I did on my nail wheel a little bit ago, so I figured it was fate. 
I got this idea originally from MaD Manis.  Here it is.

For this I used China Glaze Papaya Punch, which is a medium yellow orange from their Summer 2011 collection.  I only bought this color because I found it on clearance at Sally's Beauty, and because I wanted to try this manicure.  Oranges and yellows do absolutely nothing with my skin tone except make it look terrible, I figured the red crackle would counteract that horribleness and for the most part it did. 

Speaking of crackle, I will be the first to admit that I am not real fond of them, it's not that I dislike them per se, just that I didn't find them nearly as exciting as everyone else did.  I always thought they made your nails look like they were falling off, especially the black crackle over red polish, very gory.  Anywho, since I'm not a real big fan of crackle there was no way I was spending $6-$8 for a bottle of something I knew I would hardly ever use.  Then along came Pure Ice Crackle, only $4 a bottle, so I picked up Show Stopper for the sole purpose of doing this manicure.  I like the way that it turned out, looks like lava, which is what the air feels like outside right now, so I consider it appropriate.

This mani is 2 coats of base including Essie Beam Up, one coat of Papaya Punch, it's extremely pigmented so I really only needed one coat since I knew I was going to layer crackle over it.  If I was going to wear it alone (not likely) I would have added a second coat just to even a little pulling at the cuticle out, but Papaya Punch can definitely be a careful one-coater.  I waited for the Papaya Punch to completely dry and then put a thin coat of Show Stopper over the top.  They key to getting decent cracks on your crackle polish is to apply it quickly and try not to go over an area you have already polished.  I find that thin coats work best and crackle the most, the thicker the coat the less it will crack.  It also cracks mostly in the direction that you apply it, I applied from the cuticle to the tip so most of my cracks are running down the nail vertically.  If I had applied horizontally across the nail most of the cracks would have been horizontal.  This crackle dried quickly and matte, as do most crackles, so I applied a coat of Seche Vite for the shiny. 

That weird black mark on my ring finger is an Ed Hardy nail tattoo, it didn't show up like it was supposed to, I got them for $.50 on clearance at Sally's.  It's a skull and crossbones with fire around it, but duh, fire isn't going to show up on an orange and red manicure, so I just ended up with the skull and cross bones.  I keep thinking it's a smudge and trying to rub it off when I catch it out of the corner of my eye lol.  I like this mani on me a lot more than I thought I was going to so I may keep it for a few days.

That's all I have for now, thanks for stopping by, until next time.

China Glaze Shower Together

First off I would like to welcome the new followers, I can only assume you followed the link I left in Ice Queen's Nail Parlor, thanks for stopping by and following, it means a lot, really.

Now on with the show!

I love the name of this polish, I do not love how it refused to be photographed in the correct color.  No matter what I did or how I tried to color-correct the pictures I just couldn't get it to show the way it does in real life.  A problem with duo-chromes or glitters but this is a cream.  So be warned these are not color correct at all, I'm posting mostly to show opacity and formula.  I did notice that I'm not the only one that has issues getting this color to show true, almost every swatch I looked at was different from the one before and the one after, and none of them actually looked like my nails did lol.  So, I don't feel quite so bad now.

full sun

Even the bottle wouldn't photograph correctly.  This makes it look ocean/cerulean blue, it is actually a very green leaning teal something like this.  It is a truly gorgeous color, I just wish I could get it to show up right.

Sun

shade

inside, blurry, was the closest I could get to the actual color and it's still a little too blue

This polish was originally released in the Spring 2008 Eco-llection, it looks like this is now part of the permanent collection, I've seen it in almost every China Glaze display I have come across, and it was a good choice, this is a dusty deep teal leaning towards the green side, a very striking color.  In terms of formula, the above pictures are all with a base of Poshe and Essie Beam Up, 2 medium coats of Shower Together, and no top coat.  China Glaze's creams always impress me with how shiny their creams are without top coat.  I have found with the creams that since they are now Big 3 free you are best off using medium coats, if you try to put it on too thin you end up with drag marks and streaking, if you put it on too thick, you get bubbles.  These are the trade-offs for not poisoning yourself I guess.  I can live with that. 

Totally didn't mean that pun, but I'm leaving it in anyway.

This went on like a dream and self-leveled perfectly and was nice and shiny een without top coat.  I still recommend a top coat to protect your manicure and help it last longer, I rarely keep mine on long enough to justify what I spend on Seche Vite, but I still use it every single time.

After I took these pictures I added a coat of Orly Love Each Other, which is a trippy french manicure color, I can't even describe it, sort of duo-chromy, with micro glitter in it.  I then topped it with the usual coat of Seche Vite.  I did not take pictures of this because it was such a subtle effect that I knew for a fact that it wasn't going to translate to pictures at all, but it was very pretty in person.

That's all for me, thanks for stopping by, until next time.

China Glaze Peri-Wink-Le

I had this polish in my hand at the store so many times and always decided to put it back.  I finally just went in with the sole intention of buying this particular color, and I'm glad that I did.

We had zero sun yesterday, so I got pictures in daylight but without direct sun.  You work with what ya got right?  Surprisingly, these  pictures came out more true to actual color than most of my sun pictures, go figure.

outside, overcast

This is a base of Poshe and Essie Beam Up and 2 coats of Peri-Wink-Le no top coat, admire that shiny.  This is a periwinkle cream, no shimmer, no glitter, just a straight up cream.  I don't know whether to call this a bluish lavender, or a lavenderish blue, both descriptions would be accurate, but I guess looking at it on my nails I would have to say it is a bluish medium lavender.  The formula was good, not too thick but not so thin it was running into my cuticles, it went where I wanted it to.  The first coat was a little streaky, but the second coat self-leveled nicely and solved the streaky problem.

inside, flash

The picture with the flash really sort of completely washed the lavender out of this polish and made it look sky blue, it definitely has more purple than this in it.  The outside picture above is the closest to actual color.

I really like this color, and am so glad that I finally just buckled down and bought it.  It's good for every season of the year, it's a good staple color to have in your collection.  It also makes a good background for many different types of nail art.  I put a coat of inm Northern Light on top of this and then a coat of Seche Vite.  There was no sun so I took a picture inside with my flash.

click to make larger and to see the sparklies

That is all I have for today, thanks for stopping by, until next time.

4th of July Mani

What a weekend, with my husbands 20th high school reunion and whatnot, it's been pretty hectic.  I did manage to do a 4th of July mani that I am hoping will last through the actual 4th of July.

sunlight

flash inside

I did this design with China Glaze Ruby Pumps for the french tip, Sinful Colors Nail Art striper in Lagoon, and Sally Hansen Xtreme in White On for the dots.  I love how sparkly Ruby Pumps is, a feature of this polish that did not translate in the pictures very well.  I put a coat of China Glaze Love Letters and a coat of Seche Vite over the red tips before adding the blue smile line and white dots, and then another coat of Seche Vite over them after the striping and dotting.  I like this manicure, it wasn't what I had originally planned, and sometimes when I glance down at it I have flashbacks to playing Super Mario Brothers in the 80's. 

I had originally planned a white tip over a blue tip, and red sparkly lines on the white part of the tip, but I screwed up the blue tip and had to start over I managed to smurf myself removing Sally Hansen Xtreme Blue It, and spent two and a half hours de-smurfing and whitening my nails, after that I had zero desire to put any blue in any significant amount back onto my nails, so red it was.

Hope everyone had a good holiday weekend, 4th of July for the American's and Canada Day for the Candians, I hope everyone stayed safe and happy.  Until next time.

China Glaze Senorita Bonita

I was finally able to get pictures of this swatch.  This is the final color I got from the China Glaze Island Escapes summer 2011 collection.  I have to say that I really like all of the colors that I got.

the pink glass flecks are pretty noticeable in the bottle here

Senorita Bonita is a purple polish with pink and blue glass flecks, it looks sort of like a duo-chrome in the bottle, but not so much on the nail.  That's not to say it isn't eye-catching on the nail, because it is, when the sun hits it it sparkles like nobody's business.

Blurry flash picture, click to enlarge to see the sparklies, this is closer to the true color than the second picture is but still a little too dark

indirect morning sun, i.e. pretty shady lol

The formula on this one was thicker than either 108 Degrees or Blue Iguana, and I got much better coverage from it.  This is Poshe and Essie Beam Up base coats 2 medium coats of Senorita Bonita and a Seche Vite topcoat.  There was far less visible nail line with this color.  Pretty much unnoticeable unless you held your nails up to direct light.  the color here is darker and more blue than it is in real life, it is much...pinker on the nail.  Purples are notoriously hard to get accurate pictures of color wise, and my camera just isn't up to the task, maybe if I had more sunlight, but I don't right now.

That is what I have for you today, next up should be my 4thy of July mani, it's not going to be anything ground breaking but I like it.  Until then.

China Glaze Blue Iguana

Today I have for you China Glaze Blue Iguana which is from their Island Escapes collection for summer 2011.  There weren't many colors from this collection that really grabbed my attention, 108 degrees which I posted about yesterday, Blue Iguana and Senorita Bonita were the only ones that I bought, and none of the others really appeal to me.  So without further ado I present China Glaze Blue Iguana.

This is a medium blue polish with a foily sparkly mixture.  There is pink and turquoise micro-glitter and the blue foil bits give it a very light duo-chrome effect, in the bottle at least, not as much on the nail.  It is a thin/sheer polish but definitely not a jelly, it doesn't have the squishy factor that a jelly does.

shade

I used Poshe and Essie Beam Up as base coats, 2 coats of Blue Iguana, and a coat of Seche Vite.  I found that the first coat was somewhat streaky and definitely doesn't like being worked, you have to put this polish on with a purpose and not go back over it.  The second coat smoothed out the streakiness, and was much easier since I had gotten a feel for how the polish was going to act.

full sun, sparkly

With two coats this still had a visible nail line, which really doesn't bother me all that much, a third or maybe even a fourth coat would be required to get complete opacity.  And since I just can't leave good enough alone

slight shrinkage on ring finger, most likely from too many layers with SV on top

I had to do another Scotch tape mani a la Chloe's Nails, I used  Orly Liquid Vinyl for the ring finger and then put another coat of Seche Vite on everything.

Since I had heard from various sources that this polish stained your nails like whoa, I decided to remove this particular manicure using the foil method.  I took my cotton strips, put 100% acetone on them wrapped them around each nail individually, and to keep the acetone from evaporating too quickly I wrapped each finger with a square of aluminum foil also.  I let the acetone sit for about 5 minutes and then pulled each one off.  At first I thought I hadn't avoided the dreaded staining as there was a smurfish tinge to each of my nails, but I took a cotton ball with my regular remover on it and swiped each nail and the blue came off.  I'll be honest, I was surprised, but happy none-the-less.  So be warned, this color blue WILL stain your nails if you aren't careful, I recommend at least two base coats under this, one should probably be a whitening or anti-yellowing base coat like Essie Beam Up or Yellow Stop.

That's all I have for today, until next time.

China Glaze 108 Degrees (I'm a closet pink lover)

Today, I present China Glaze 108 Degrees from their Island Escapes collection for summer 2011.  I have to admit, that at first I didn't really want this color, I love pinks but I had lots of them.  Then I heard everyone talking about how they are having difficulty finding it in their local stores so I figured I better snatch some up while I can.  I am so glad that I did, this polish is absolutely gorgeous, I didn't want to take it off.  This is one of the few manicures that I have done that a guy, and older guy (late 40's) actually complimented me on.  I've never had a guy compliment one of my manicures before.  Sure, guys notice women's nails but I think it is considered "un-manly" to actually acknowledge that they notice them much less say something out loud about them.  It threw me for a loop and actually took me a second to say thank you because I wasn't sure I had heard him right lol.  So here we go.

shade

108 Degrees lives up to it's name, this is a hot hot hot color, it is so gorgeous.  It's a fuchsia jelly with pink and purple glass flecks in it, in the sunlight it is stunning, heck it's stunning even in the shade.

OK apparently I didn't get a sun shot, boo!

I found the formula on this polish to be good, it is thin but easy to get on the nail, the above pictures are with Poshe and Essie Beam Up base coats and 2 layers of polish,l there is no top coat, I'm not sure why, but there isn't.  There is a visible nail line with only 2 coats and I'm betting there would still be a slight VNL with three thin coats.  VNL doesn't bother me so it doesn't lessen my love of this polish one iota.  However, I did find a cure for the VNL

tips are Orly Liquid Vinyl

I put a coat of Seche Vite on after I did the tips, amaaaazing!

I can't even begin to describe how good this looked with black tips on it.  When the sun caught the glass flecks in the 108 Degrees it was mesmerizing.  I do have to say that 108 Degrees looks great without top coat, but Seche Vite took it to amazing.

I got more compliments on this manicure than any other including the compliment from the middle aged guy at my weekend amateur radio gathering.  108 Degrees will definitely be a go to color for summer, it's amazing, I'm going to have to go buy a second bottle, I like it that much.

Until next time.

Some old manicures

I did a new mani tonight, tonight being the operative word which means there isn't any good light to take pictures of it, so I will have that tomorrow.  In the mean time I thought I would post some pictures of old manicures I did.  There are only 4, so this shouldn't take too long.

Black=Nicole by O.P.I-Razzle Dazzler, Red Glitter=Stripe Rite-698568 (red glitter), SV

This was one of the first manicures I tried, and I loved it, the pictures, taken after almost a week of wearing, don't do justice to how shiny and sparkly this mani was, I was sad to take it off.

background=China Glaze-For Audrey, stems and petals=black and white stripers, pink dots=Essie-French Affair, SV

 This is the first design I did by painting on a Ziploc bag, and I can say I wouldn't recommend doing something with thin little branches with the baggie method.  This was my celebration of Spring (my favorite season) design.

Next up are two Memorial Day designs I did, my husband is ex-Army, and my best friend is getting ready to retire as a Gunnersmate from the Navy.

Black=Nicole by O.P.I.-Razzle Dazzler, yellow=L.A. Colors Art Deco in yellow, Army logo=same black and yellow and white is Savvy-French White White (yes white occurs twice in the name), a layer of China Glaze-Love Letters on french nails, SV

Another Ziploc creation, didn't turn out as nice as I wanted it to, but people got the picture, I painted a white line under the yellow smile lines so that the yellow would actually stand out.

And finally

Blue=China Glaze-First Mate, yellow=Icing-Butta, white=Savvy-French White White, a layer of China Glaze-Love Letters on french nails, SV

This is a cell phone picture I took to send to him so he didn't feel left out, sorry about the lobster hands and the quality.  The little emblem on the ring finger is the crossed cannons and is the rate insignia for a Gunnersmate, GMG stands for Gunnersmate-guns, which just means he dealt with, well guns, as opposed to missiles or torpedoes.

You will notice that I am quite obsessed with french manicures right now, and probably will be for awhile.  Like I said in my first post, looking up videos on how to do a french that didn't look all wonky was what got me into nail art and has fed my polish addiction.  So now that I know how to make them look at least half way decent, I love doing them, and I think they look good on my nails.  I know, I know french mani's are considered passe now, but as you can obviously see I'm not doing traditional french's, so long as I keep them colorful and interesting, I don't think they are all that dated.

Tomorrow I should have pics of my current mani, and possibly some haul pictures.

Until Then.

NOTD

Today I have for you an idea for that I got from a video of various nail designs by dollface22772.  It's a pretty simple french with a little bit of flair thrown in.  I used China Glaze Shocking Pink (neon) for the french and StripeRite white for the "flair".

China Glaze Shocking Pink (neon), China Glaze Love Letters, StripeRite white, SV.

Shocking pink is much brighter than it is showing up in this picture, it really is a neon pink, it reminds me of the 80's, but it's a color that looks good on, very fun and summery, and makes even my pale skin look a little tan.  This picture makes it look bubblegum/pepto pink, it is sooo much brighter than that.
 
I should not that on almost all of my french manicures where the color is just on the tip I put a layer of China Glaze Love Letters over it before I put on the top coat.  Love Letters is an extremely light pink nude jelly polish that is pretty much a french manicure color, you probably wouldn't really be able to see it on your nail if you wore it alone.  When put over other colors it doesn't perceptibly change the color but it helps even it out and gives your nail bed that wonderful jelly look.  It just makes the french look so much smoother.

Until next time.