Thursday, March 29, 2012

Ugly Manicure

Okay, I think this is ugly. Mainly because of the colors. What I envisioned in my head as to what my nails would look like was a HUGE disappointment. I didn't even bother to edit the pictures too much because I think it's so ugly. Haha. I formulated this idea in my head because of my beloved Florida State Seminoles doing well in the ACC Basketball Tournament. Good thing my team looked better than my nails!

Here are some pictures, I shall say no more...

Oh, yes, I need to say more. This is pic heavy, so please read more after the jump! And thanks Google support for having the answer to how one makes a jump link in Blogger! <3


Slytherin Nails!

Haha. So, like I've been saying, I love green. Has anyone ever taken one of those "What house would you be in at Hogwarts?" quizzes? Most of my friends get the "good" houses - Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Gryffindor. Well, I get Slytherin. Sure, there are bad people in Slytherin, but, lemme just say, I'd love to be a Slytherin. With the likes of Regulus A. Black and Severus Snape - two people critical in bringing down Voldemort, why would I be ashamed? Green and silver all the way!! :)

...Ahem, now that my inner Potter freak has been unleashed, here's the mani!




BASE COAT
OPI Nail Envy
COLORS
Revlon Emerald City (Matte finish)
TOP COAT
OPI Silver Shatter
Seche Vite

As you can see, I got a weird pattern going with the shatter. What I did was just paint different ways on each nail rather straight than from base to tip. I painted base to tip with a wavy pattern, with a diagonal pattern, across the nail from left to right (or right to left)... Use your imagination! :)

Day 11: Polka Spots!

I have *so* much updating to do. I have like 5 (or 6 maybe?) manis to upload. Time to get to it!!

This was a dotted French manicure. White and green. I love green. :)

Here you go!

 Started off with 2 coats of essie Mademoiselle.

 Next I added French tip guides.

NOTE: Make sure to stick them to your skin a few times!!!
If you don't do this, they can stick too hard and peel of the polish underneath! Yikes!!

 The result after 1 coat of essie Blanc.

 The result after 1 coat of essie Blanc on the right hand. Unfortunately,
on my right pinky and ring fingers, I forgot to stick the nail guide to my
skin before applying to the nail. The distortion you see in the photo (hard
to see) is due to the polish underneath being stripped off the nail.

 First row of dots with essie Pretty Edgy.

 Second row with China Glaze In the Lime Light (Neon).

 The third row of dots using Sinful Colors Olympia.

This row is hard to see because, well, my nails weren't really wide
enough for five rows of dots. Oops!


 Finally, pictures with a real camera! :D






 Unfortunately, this mani didn't last long because I was chipping and
peeling like CRAZY. :(

 ...Yuck...

BASE COAT
essie Ridge Filling Base Coat
COLORS
essie Mademoiselle
essie Blanc
essie Pretty Edgy
China Glaze In the Lime Light (Neon)
Sinful Colors Olympia
TOP COAT
Sally Hansen Dries Instantly

I know stripes is next, so that will probably be my Easter mani. I'm thinking Easter egg like. Hmm...

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Random Q&D Skittles and Swatches

So, with some birthday money, I decided to go to my local Walgreens. There I found the new collection of Sinful Colors. The collection is called "Cast Away". Upon first entering the store, I was disappointed. I found the display, but only 5 of the colors were available. Fortunately, I wandered back to where the regular Sinful Colors display is, and found the rest of the collection. There are eight colors; however, one of them is called 'Pandora' and is a weird almost terracotta/orange-y/yellow/brown/apricot? Those colors are not my favorite, so I passed on 'Pandora'.

As the title indicates this is quick and dirty (Q&D). Q&D basically means, for this post, at least, that I had zero clean-up, zero care for cuticle flooding, zero care about staying on the nail, and zero base or top coat. This polish stayed on  my nails... 10-15 minutes?

Also, these are "skittles" because I used a different color on every finger. With that said, I used some of my new A Englands to make up for blank fingernails.

Here we go!



 I'll break down my thoughts on the right hand first:

TRISTAM - THUMB
I really enjoy this color. It has so much depth. Believe it when you read that this formula goes on amazingly well. I can't wait to dig this out to use it for a full mani soon! It is so sparkly and eye-catching, but subtle and under-stated too. I know, that didn't make sense. But, if you ever try out, or have already tried out, Tristam, you know what I'm talking about.
GRECIAN SUN - POINTER FINGER
Overlook the second photo where I call this polish Grecian Sea. To me, that's what this should be called, not Grecian Sun. But, oh well! This color is stunning. It looks more neon on the nail than it does in the bottle. Now, I say neon, but, don't be scared. It's just a nice, bright, happy blue.
NEPTUNE - MIDDLE FINGER
Neptune is another stunner. It's a dark, smokey, blue base with micro glitter? shimmer? flakes? It's hard to tell, but I can tell you that this color reminds me of a cloudy day when the sun barely reflects off the water. There is depth, but also a little bit of light. This description sounds cheesy, but this color is too gorgeous to be properly put into words. :)
ZEUS - RING FINGER
Zeus. When I think of the name, I don't think of a lilac grey polish with a  pink shimmer. In this case, I do. There's nothing too in-your-face about Zeus, but I think it is a pretty polish. It reminds me of  mother of pearl sheen  added to a purple grey. I was actually pleasantly surprised by this polish on my nails.
IRISH GREEN - PINKIE FINGER
Irish Green. I know, you all are thinking. "Where the %$&# did that come from?!" Well, it's in Sinful Color's St. Patrick's Day display. Since St. Patrick's Day is my favorite, Favorite, FAVORITE day of the year, I thought I would try it out. I was a little disappointed. The color in the bottle is exactly what I think of when I think of St. Patty's Day. However, it went on really translucently (as opposed to being opaque). I'll have to layer this over white. Stay tuned. This color is about to reappear a LOT this month!



Now, time for left hand colors!

PRINCESS SABRA - THUMB
Princess Sabra is one of the newer A Englands. It is a holo polish that is a golden/olive. It's absolutely gorgeous! I can't wait to bust this out when the sun decides to make a comeback. Like many say, perfect, perfect formula. It's actually also called 'Tristam's Eyes' after A England's owner's cat.
OLYMPIA - POINTER FINGER
Olympia is a pretty light green. It's not very lime green and neon, but it is a yellower light green.  It almost has a tint of tan as well. This is a gorgeous color also. It reminds me of *something*, but I can't put my finger on it.
BE HAPPY - MIDDLE FINGER
Be Happy. Doesn't really fit in name-wise with the rest of the "Cast Away" collection, does it? Haha. There's speculation that is a re-promotion, but I'm not sure if that is the case. I'm not quite sure how to describe this color, either. It's a light blue green that looks more blue when around green; it also looks more green when around blue. For example, against Grecian Sun and Neptune (above), it looks like a sea foam green (Crayola, anyone?). Against a yellow-green like Olympia, it looks more blue. It also has the slightest hint of shimmer. Regardless of its color confusion... It's soooo pretty!
GREEK ISLES - RING FINGER
I was afraid this would be a dupe (duplicate) for OPI's Mermaid's Tears. Boy, was I wrong. This is the happier version of Mermaid's Tears. :) Mermaid's Tears is definitely more grey than Greek Isles. Greek Isles is such a soothing color. It looks like a mint green. But, not a biting, sharp, mint green. It's very mellow. I love it.
ATHENS - PINKY FINGER
I'll admit... I didn't think I would like this color. It actually is one of my favorites. It reminds me of an antiquated, Grecian painting, but, at the same time, seems so modern and, just, right. It kind of looks like the sea after a storm (no "Princess Bride" reference intended). You walk to the shallower area and it is a little murky because of the sand being swept up and around... That's what this reminds me of. A little murky, mysterious, and gorgeous.

So, obviously my word of the night was gorgeous, haha. After scoping out my local ULTA and looking at the new OPIs, a few of them called to me. After seeing these new Sinful Colors, they became part of my soul. :P I love green, greys, purples, blues. So, obviously, this was a collection made for me. :)

Oh, the only little nit-pick / pet peeve for these was cuticle drag here and there. But, this can be easily managed! Instead of dragging the brush middle to side to side, drag side to side to middle. It works much better!

As for the A Englands, I cannot wait to get to know them better. I ordered Dragon last night and hope to use it in a St. Patty's Day or March mani.

Also, March is my favorite month. Obviously, one reason is because of St. Patrick's Day. Secondly, it is the start of spring. So, my nail challenges for this month might become a little one-dimensional in terms of color. :)

Happy March, everyone!