Valentine's Day Nail Art 2!

Oh yes, I'm back with another nail art post, this time for those who don't want to be quite as obvious with their nails. We're doing leopard print today!! Leopard print is one of my favorites, and I finally got a decent looking leopard print now that I decided to use a dotting tool! So you can use any colors you'd like, but seriously, what nail polish is sexier than a holographic polish? I started off with a base of Nfu Oh 459, intending to do hearts or something girly, but I decided not to waste my time since the formula was a pain in the butt. It would have been easier to apply glue. The color is a gorgeous, almost neon coral though, so I had to photograph it with flash and the lights off. I then topped it with Seche Vite, since I was at work and needed it to dry fast. I only kept it on because I really needed to sleep after work. Later, I added Sea Lore Arista, a gorgeous peach jelly base with golden flakies. Of course, I needed to add more, so using Color Club Beyond, a black holographic polish, and Color Club Cosmic Fate, a peachy copper holographic polish, I created leopard print! Hope you like this, and if hearts aren't your style, maybe this will be!

Hopefully that last picture shows you how annoyingly thick the Nfu Oh was. And how gorgeous the holo is! See you soon with part 3!

Janelle

Happy 2013!

I'd like to start off the New Year with a big bang, so I chose a holographic polish to show you today! Hope it's celebratory enough for you! 

Layla Jade Groove is a very pale (almost silver) green holographic polish. I used 3 thin coats over Nfu Oh Aqua Base and had no streaking or balding spots. I recommend using this polish over an Aqua Base instead of buffing your nails. I got my Nfu Oh from FabulouStreet and my Layla from AveYou. 

I hope you enjoyed all the pictures, if not, I wish you a very happy new year anyway! Good luck with all your new year's resolutions, and see you tomorrow!

Happy Polishing,

J

2 Pretty Polishes...

Don't always make a pretty combo. Last week, I had gotten a few Jade polishes in the mail and decided to use one in conjuction with Lynnderella Golden Rules. First up, a terrible picture of Jade Mystic Gold by itself:

It's way more holo in real life. But it's pretty close to the color of mustard...holographic mustard? Hmmm... this was 2 coats, but it was almost opaque in 1.

My index finger has one coat, and my other nails have 2 coats of Golden Rules. I think I was trying to channel the creative layering skills of Cathy at More Nail Polish, but I think I failed here.

This is a really packed glitter, I should have only used one coat. It took a lot to try and smooth this out...and it still wasn't completely smooth after two coats of Glitter Food.

I do have to say though, the blurred holo on my ring finger looks amazing. Also, the girls I tutor on Fridays really liked this. They thought my nails were fake...even though they are so short! As you can probably tell, I did not do cleanup because I did these late at night, but both polishes applied pretty well, and I didn't do too much fishing for glitter. Next time, I think I'll use a cooler toned gold if I decide to go with a gold base again.

Happy Polishing,

J

UP Colors Verde 360

Just a warning: my pictures of this color show it exactly how I see it under most lighting. Ok, today's color I purchased from Llarowe, and I thought it would be more holo. It was disappointing in that way. It did surprise me because it wore ridiculously well without topcoat, being a holo and all. I used two medium thick coats, because I didn't want any balding issues. I painted on the first coat, let it dry, then I did the second coat. Easy application, no cleanup. I didn't actually mean to wear it as a full manicure, but I did and was pleasantly surprised at how well it wore, although my base coat (Zoya Anchor) may have had something to do with that. What am I doing rambling? Onto the pictures!

This is about as holo as it gets on my ring and pinky fingers.

Yes, it's a pretty color, but don't rush out and get it if your want super-holo effect. I say, save your money and get a Layla Hologram Effect polish! I still have yet to wear/swatch the six that I own. Shame....

Happy Polishing and Hump Day,

J

Lost In Space

Happy Monday...Or not. This weekend's mani was an awesome franken I purchased from SparklesbyJulie called Lost In Space. I purchased it using a coupon code that I have no idea if it's even valid, so I won't get your hopes up. Sorry! Lost in Space regularly retails for $10 and I got mine for $8, so it was a good deal to me. I'm rambling, aren't I? Sorry guys, I went through a whole bunch of drama and BS this weekend so I'm trying to stay away from that by incessantly talking about other stuff. My pics of this suck, and honestly, I think my indoor photos did a better job of showing off the polish than my sun pics.

It's a black jelly base with a bunch of teal holo glitter thrown in plus some larger silver hexes. This is two coats, no base color. The only reason I would advise you to layer this over black is because it does have that jelly quality where the tips get kinda see through, and it's really hard to wrap your tips with a glitter polish in the first place. Otherwise, this is totally opaque in 2 coats, and you don't actually need underwear.

Blurred holo goodness at Starbucks!

So I've run out of words for today, so I'll see you tomorrow with some Zoya goodness! 

Happy Polishing,

J

Red All Over!

Today's mani was so much fun to wear that I wore it for almost a full week! I have been obsessed with red as of lately (I'm currently wearing Zoya Sooki on my toes) so this was an awesome mani for me! This post is pretty picture heavy, so it may take a while to load!

I started off with a base of Nfu Oh 551, which is a blood red creme, then added a layer of Nfu Oh 59 over that. Of course, I couldn't stop there so I layered Ozotic Pro 518 over that.  Click after the jump to see pics!

Charcoal Goodness!

So I was in a super hurry to get supplies for cupcakes today and I had been dreaming of this mani, so I decided to do it today! It was super easy because I only needed one coat of each, and 2 coats of topcoat. Scroll down and see the magical goodness that is Concrete Catwalk topped with Some Like It Haute!

This was the only clear shot I could get with my camera. It was that sparkly!!! But please, enjoy the blurred holo goodness in the next photos!

And yes, I did file down my nails. It took forever! I keep telling myself to file them down before they get that long, but I get lazy sometimes. And I like how my nails look long, but they really aren't functional...especially for typing on my phone's keyboard. Hope you had a great Sunday!

May your nails never break,

J

Recent Hauling

Sorry about not posting yesterday but I was feeling a bit under the weather. I do, however, have some pictures of my lovely goodies! Hope you enjoy looking at them!

First up, my stamping plates. I got 4 Konad brand plates (my first official Konad brand plates!) and the MASH set of 25 that is sold on Amazon for 17.99. Cheap! If you look on top, you'll see that the MASH plate is the same as the Konad plate.

Konad plate, MASH plate.

I did this on purpose because I read a review that said that the MASH houndstooth image had an error in the engraving. I didn't see any errors but I did notice that the image on the upper right differs slightly in the pattern. I have a review coming up comparing the stamping on these plates, but I'll let you know right now - the MASH plate stamps better.

I got my order from Altered Ego cosmetics! Yay!! I ordered 5 for $10 and then the color of the week and I got one for free because of another blog! They enclosed 3 samples with my order. Swatches coming soon, but trust me, my swatches have nothing on how awesome they look.

Nail supplies I bought on evilBay. :) These were cheap though. I got 10 nail wheels, assorted striping tape, and some nail strips/decals. I guess I should do a review of those decals, huh?

My pretties!!! I love all of these, just not equally. But they are awesome. From Left to Right: Color Club Fashion Addict, China Glaze Entourage, Custom Kicks, B-Girlz, Cheers to You, Bad Kitty, Frosty (major lemming killed!), and Blue Paradise (my least fave out of these). I also scored these on evilBay for a good price with decent shipping (6.95) all from the same seller.

Last but not least, my first Kleancolors!! They are not lying when they say that these stink to high hell!! I got these at my local 99 cents and Up store for a little over a dollar a piece. My total was around 4.20 for these. Cheaper than Beauty Joint for me!! From left to right: Kiss Goodbye, Midnight Seduction, Holo Green, Sparkle Emerald (talk about a misnomer).

Hope you enjoyed my haul. Let me know if there's anything you want to see on my nails ASAP. I have swatches on a nail wheel, I just have to take better pics.

Happy Polishing,

J

Glitterbomb Franken by ABOP!!!

Sunlight.

First off, I want to say thanks to all 33 followers of the blog!! I remember saying, "If I could just have 5 followers, I'd be happy." Well, you have surpassed my expectations!

So ABOP sent me a mini bottle of her franken shown here, and I decided to wear it as an accent finger. It's the only thing redeeming this really sloppy manicure. On all nails, I'm wearing NYX Girls Luscious Green, which can be a little brushstroke-y, and it definitely has a gold undertone, so cool-toned gals may not be the biggest fan of this polish. I just put the franken over the green polish to cover up some smudging. The only reason I kept this on for 2 days was because I was mesmerized by the sparkles. More pics, you say? Well, I aim to please!

Direct Sunlight.

Shade. Ignore my thumb; I was playing with some stripers then I threw NYX Girls Venetian Glass over my doodles.

Indoors.

Indoors. OOOOH!! Sparkles!

Happy Polishing,

J

Milani 3D - Part 1

Today, I bring to you 2 polishes from the Milani 3D holographic collection, Hi-Res and 3D.

Hi-Res is a blue-toned purple with holographic particles throughout. It looks great, but I hate the formula. It has that soft squishy feel where it feels like it never dries, even with topcoat. If you apply really thin layers, it helps, the feeling doesn't go away. Be sure to wear top coat with this or it will chip in a matter of minutes.

Milani - 3D

3D is a gold that I don't care for. It feels even softer than Hi-Res, and it never completely dried on me. I'm not a big fan of the color, and it just doesn't appear that holographic. To me, it appears more metallic than holographic. This applied very lumpy and I had a hard time getting it smooth. On my ring finger, the polish globbed up near the tip of my nail. I most likely will get rid of this color.

So far, I'm not a fan of this collection. How do you feel about this collection?

Happy Polishing,

J

Nfu say what? Oh!

Yes, you do spy a Nfu Oh bottle in my hand. And yes, that is the highly lemmed (is that a word?) #65. I am in love with this polish....in the sunlight. Inside, it's not bad, it just looks kinda "icy" but not really holo. I compared the holo-ness of the polish without topcoat and with SH Insta Dri. The pics speak for themselves.

No topcoat, sunlight.

No topcoat, shade.

Topcoat, sunlight.

No topcoat, sunlight.

Happy Polishing,

J