Hello, hello! Two posts in a row?! Holy cow, maybe I'm getting back into the swing of things lol Anyway, I have a pretty pastel manicure to show you all today. I originally saw a manicure like this over at The Swatchaholic that she did with some Illamasqua pastels and I knew eventually I was going to have to give it a try!
Since I don't own Illamasquas as yet, I did this look with 3 of the colors from NYC's City Bloom collection: Sunset Park Pink, Mimosa Bouquet, and Robin's Egg Blue. To round out my rainbow, I added China Glaze In a Lily Bit and Sinful Colors Skylark. I'm absolutely loving how this turned out!
To create this look, I started with 2 coats of Sinful Colors in Snow Me White as a base since the pastels are quite sheer. Then I just did the normal gradient procedure (for a great tutorial, check out The Nailasaurus) but flipped the sponge so that the gradient goes from side to side, rather than top to bottom of the nail. Super easy!
I had wanted to add some sparkle on top of this but, alas, my first sparkle attempt kind of ruined the manicure so I scrapped it. It was lovely all on its own though! The City Bloom collection is currently available for $1.99 each. I found mine at CVS and I believe you can get them at Rite Aid and Kmart as well. Be sure to double check the display, the one at my CVS had $1 off coupons for any of the polish and makeup in the City Bloom collection. Screamin' good deal!
Thanks so much for reading!
Hello everyone! Happy Memorial Day to my U.S. followers! I want to express my heartfelt thanks to those folks (and their families) who have served in the military. It's a great sacrifice they've given for this country and I'm grateful to those who give their time, and too often life or limb, to serve and protect.
I've got a quick Sunday Similarities post for you all today with a couple of bright green jelly polishes. Whilst strolling through my local Walgreens the other day, I noticed the Wet n Wild Summer 2014 Limited Edition All Access Beauty Megalast display. They have introduced a rainbow of bright colors for the summer and I picked up a couple including Contact High which, when I got it home, I realized looks a lot like Sinful Colors Irish Green. I figured a comparison post was in order :)
In the bottle, you can see the obvious similarity. Both are bright, grassy green jelly polishes. At first glance, I thought they were exact dupes.
But when I applied 4 coats of each, I discovered that Contact High is a few shades darker than Irish Green. Irish Green also has a bit more yellow to it. They are very similar in formula, sheerness, and finish (no top coat in these photos). Contact High is a Limited Edition and Irish Green tends to show up around St. Patrick's Day, so if one or the other isn't available to you, I don't think you HAVE to have both. But at $1.99 each? Too good of a deal to pass up!
Thanks so much for reading!
Hi there! I hope you are all gearing up for a great weekend! I've got a quick manicure to show you all today. I seem to be stuck on chevrons as this is the second mani in a week I've done that includes them. There's just something about the zig-zaggy pattern that really appeals to me.
I started with 3 coats of Sinful Colors On The Bright Side, a peachy orange creme. It's actually showing up here more yellow than in real life. The formula was ok on this, but I did have some difficulty with streakiness so I can't give it full marks.
I used Sinful Colors Snow Me White for the chevrons and you can see my tutorial on creating chevrons with tape here. They're quick and so easy to do! China Glaze in Mingle With Kringle rounds out my mani on my middle nail.
All in all, this is a fun summer look that can be done with any color combination! Thanks so much for reading!
*Nothing to disclose*
Hello, hello! Do I have some gorgeousity to show you today! Mod Lacquer LLC is a new-to-me brand and when I saw her latest collection, I knew I had to snag a few! Above Top Secret is an all holo, UFO-themed, 7 polish collection. I would have loved to buy the whole set, but since my budget isn't unlimited I picked my two favorites and I have those to show you today.
Majic Eyes Only is a silvery, lavender linear holographic polish. As far as I can tell from the two I purchased, Mod Lacquer does not skimp on the holo...rainbows everywhere! This color is so beautiful! It's actually a lighter purple than I thought it would be from the listing photos, but I don't care at all.
Seriously, look at that holo halo! This polish will wow you in the sunshine, but the effect is also strong enough to be seen in regular indoor lighting. The formula was easy and smooth, opaque in 2-3 coats. I didn't not top coat this so all the shine is just Majic Eyes Only. After I took these photos, I top coated Majic Eyes Only and wore it for 3 days and noticed only a small amount of tip wear, no chips. Definitely passes for durability! And the top coat did not dull the holographic effect at all.
If you're looking for a purple holographic polish that will knock your socks off, I'd highly recommend Majic Eyes Only. And if you're saying to yourself, "Well, I already have 4 purple holos..." then you're probably in the wrong place ;)
Next up is Men In Black. This gunmetal linear holographic polish is a stunner! I had a hard time describing the base color of this polish. I was expecting black, the listing says charcoal, and my boyfriend thought it was gold lol Whatever you chose to call her, she's mysterious and dark...just like her classified namesake.
Another beautiful formula here, again opaque in 2-3 coats and shown without top coat. And again, the holo effect was easily noticeable in regular indoor lighting, though you'll get the strongest effect in sunlight. I did top coat Men In Black after I took photos and noticed no dulling of the holo.
Overall, I have no complaints to report about either of these polishes and I'm hoping to grab a couple other polishes from this collection in the very near future!
Majic Eyes Only, Men In Black, and the rest of the Above Top Secret collection are currently available on the Mod Lacquer Etsy store for $11 for a full-size, 15ml bottle. Please follow her Facebook page as well, to keep up with new releases, sales and other important info!
Thanks so much for reading!
*Nothing to disclose*
Hey there! Who's excited to see a Sunday Similarities post? I certainly am! It's been ages since I've done one, but thanks to my friend Liz from A Mani Maniac, I have a pretty sweet set to compare for you today!
The polishes I'm comparing today are all orange-toned linear holographics. From left to right in the photo above are: Literary Lacquers More Like Fire Than Light, Studio M's Sunrise Canyon, and LynBDesigns Am I Ginger?. Both the Literary Lacquers and the Studio M (an affiliate of ColorClub sold only at Mejier grocery stores, I believe) were gifted to me by Liz and I'm ever so grateful because they're both gorgeous! Let's take a peek at how these gals stack up against each other, shall we?
As you can see, I'm wearing More Like Fire Than Light on my index and pinky nails, Sunrise Canyon on my middle nail, and Am I Ginger? on my ring finger. Sunrise Canyon is very obviously the odd girl out here, with a much lighter orange tone. It's a very hard to describe color as it almost has a metallic pink color to it in certain lights. MLFTL and AIG? are much more similar to each other and practically dupes, with AIG? being just a shade or two darker orange. MLFTL has a bit more yellow to it as well. All of these polishes have a strong linear holographic effect which shows in most light; most prominently of course, in sunlight.
Sunrise Canyon is fully opaque in 2 coats and that's what I'm showing here. AIG? took 3 coats for opacity and MLFTL took 4 thin coats. I did not apply a top coat for these photos so you can see the actual finish of each polish. All the formulas are lovely, smooth with no application issues. Does one need both AIG? and MLFTL? Probably not since they are so similar, but I like to support my favorite indie brands and these two definitely fit that category!
If you are lucky enough to live in a area serviced by Mejier, you can find Sunrise Canyon and other Studio M nail polishes for $2.99 each. Am I Ginger? is currently stocked over on LynBDesigns Etsy store and is $10 for a full-size bottle. More Like Fire Than Light is available on Literary Lacquers Etsy store, also for $10 for a full-size, 15ml bottle. You may also want to keep an eye on the Facebook pages for LynBDesigns and Literary Lacquers, as you'll find updated info on restocks, new products, sales and other fun stuff for each brand there.
Don't forget to enter my latest giveaway here! I hope you enjoyed the post and thanks so much for reading!
Because I haven't done one in awhile, how about a giveaway? Two prizes with two polishes each to two winners!
Prize 1: One bottle each of NYC Sweet Candy and China Glaze Seahorsin' Around
Prize 2: One bottle each of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Samba and Beach Ball
And the rules!
-US or US shipping address entry only
-Must be 18 or older or have parent's/guardian's permission to enter
-Prizes will be shipped via USPS. I am not responsible for lost, stolen, or damaged prizes. I pack my shipments with care, but can't control what the postman does with it thereafter.
-Mandatory entries must be completed to win
You can enter via the Rafflecopter widget below...Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
*Nothing to disclose*
Happy Friday everyone! I'm enjoying an unexpected day off. Since I have some free time, I figured it was a great idea to post the second half of swatches from my Sinful Colors Destination Color haul! I've got 3 more polishes to show you today and if you missed the first half of the post, you can find it here. Let's get started shall we?
I'm going to start with my least favorite of the new colors I nabbed. Green With Ivy is one of the 9 Walgreens exclusive polishes from this set of collections. I love the name but really dislike pretty much everything else about this polish. Don't get me wrong, look at the color in the bottle. Isn't it pretty? If that was the color that showed up on the nail, I'd be thrilled. Unfortunately, this polish is so sheer, I'm not sure what you can do with it.
Green With Ivy is a teal jelly with holographic hexes and bars. In these photos, I'm wearing SIX coats! With the exception of my middle nail, where I started with an undies base of Sinful Colors Snow Me White. That nail has 4 coats of Green With Ivy over the base. Even as a layering polish, I'm not sure how you'd use it. One coat over the white base was barely visible, and it was completely invisible (except for the glitter) on my bare nail. I'm very disappointed in this polish because I can't find a practical purpose for it. The formula was fine, it didn't drag or get gloppy but it's just so sheer!
I'll be interested to see if any other blogger/nail fanatics come up with a great way to use this polish. As for me, this one may be going straight to my blog sale :( The good news is that Sinful Colors is so reasonably priced at $1.99 a bottle, it's hard to get too upset about it.
On to happier reviews! Yellow Out There is the third Walgreens-exclusive jelly polish. The bright, lemony yellow jelly base is sprinkled with holographic hexes and bars. My only real complaint about this polish is that I wish they had been a little more liberal with the glitter. It's a tad sparse and somewhat difficult to get a good application of it over the whole nail.
Overall though, I like this polish. The color is perfect for summer and, though it's a bit sheer (4 coats shown here with a bit of visible nail line still showing), it would build up nicely in 2 coats over undies. The finish on this polish is shiny and I'm showing it without top coat to give you an idea of what it looks like alone. I had no issues with the formula, just a nice, smooth application.
A pretty color, a nice formula, and a little sparkle...what more could you want? ;)
Curry Up is one of my favorite polishes from this haul. A bright, limey green creme with flecks of rusty red and a bright turquoise shimmer, Curry Up is another unique color combination. Another hit with the name as well, I'm always a fan of a good, punny name!
I almost didn't notice the red flecks in the bottle, so I'm pleased they showed up rather well on the nail. I hesitate to call them glitters as I think they might be actual glass flecks since they don't seem to have a regular shape. Either way, they're neat-o! I'm showing 3 coats here with no top coat. You will most likely be able to get by with 2 coats here, although I still had a bit of streakiness after the second coat...so I went with 3! Other than that, no application issues to report.
I'm going to have purchase a few more of the polishes from this set! Overall, I'm really happy with the ones I bought and I know there are 3 Walgreens-exclusive textured polishes in the display, as well as 3 "opalescent" toppers exclusive to the store. Additionally, on the top of the display, there are 4 (I believe) different sets of nail "tattoos" which seem to be just water decals. They had some cute designs so I may have to grab a couple of those, too! It seems as there's a bit of everything for everybody!
I hope you enjoyed my post and thank you so much for reading!
*Nothing to disclose*
Hello everyone! We've finally gotten some warmer weather here in Chicago and I'm loving it! Although the rest of the week is going to verge on chilly, the past weekend was just gorgeous so I know winter has just about lost its grip on us.
Whilst strolling through my local Walgreens the other evening, I stumbled upon the new Destination Color Sinful Colors display. This display has all three Summer 2014 collections; Turn Up The Heat, Chill Out, and Simmer Down. Included in these collections are several new colors, a couple of reruns, and 9 Walgreens exclusive colors. Now while I would love to have purchased all of these colors to show you, I'm kinda on a budget. Hence the Drugstore Dime title above ;) Though Sinful Colors are very affordable at $1.99 each, I narrowed my original selection of 12 polishes down to 6 to share with you all. I've got 3 to show today and I'll have 3 more later in the week!
First up today is Yellow Spotted, a bright lemony yellow with a lovely shimmer of orange, red, and even some green. This might have a touch of a scattered holo effect, but I can't swear to it. I always forget how much I adore yellow polishes until a put a pretty one on...Yellow Spotted definitely fits the bill!
This polish is so summery and has just the right amount of sparkle...perfect for your hot weather mani or pedi! Though fairly sheer, Yellow Spotted did build up to mostly opaque in 3 coats (shown here), with just a touch of visible nail line. As a change, I did not apply a top coat to these polishes so you can see that they all have a shiny finish on their own. I still recommend a good top coat for durability but if you're just looking for shine, these gals have it!
I know yellow is not a polish for everyone, skin tones and all, but I'm all for wearing anything you happen to think is pretty. If you're in the market for a summery yellow polish with an extra kick, give Yellow Spotted a shot. I don't think you'll be disappointed!
Mimosa was the first polish that caught my eye on the display and is one of the Walgreens exclusive colors. A O.J.-tinted, yellow orange jelly, Mimosa is super squishy. Small metallic red hexes and bars float throughout the base and created a lovely depth in the layers of polish.
As with most jellies, Mimosa is fairly sheer. I'm showing 4 coats with some dabbing at the tips to cover the nail line. You can certainly layer this over an opaque base polish, but you may loose a bit of the squishiness that jellies give. It would also be fun to layer this polish over another glitter to mix it up a bit. I didn't have any formula issues, just make sure to give plenty of dry time between layers to avoid dragging.
I know, first a yellow and now an orange?! What am I thinking? It's summer, people! Or hopefully it soon will be...gotta have the warm colors to celebrate! Mimosa is one of the more unique shades that Sinful Colors has come out with lately and if you're into orange uniqueness, then you should probably snag Mimosa.
Ok, here's a shade just about everyone can get behind, right? Mint green...there are so many variations of the classic mint green creme and Mint Tropics might be a nice addition to your collection. I have about 9 mint polishes, but I always have room for more! This first photo shows a bit more pastel than Mint Tropics actually is...it has a touch more pistachio in real life.
This photo and the next are more true to color, though my camera just had trouble capturing the exact shade. Mint Tropics was easy to apply and went on smooth. Any bumps you see are my attempts to cover up smudging, since I'm too impatient to wait to take pics until my polish is dry! This was fairly sheer on the first coat but nicely opaque in 2-3 coats. Again, I'm not wearing a top coat here so that shine is all Mint Tropics' own.
After my first set of swatches from these collections, I can already tell I'll be back for more. Sinful Colors, I just can't quit you! For the price, you just can't beat their selection and quality. Have you tried any of these Destination Color polishes yet? I'd love to hear what you think of them!
Thanks so much for reading!
Hello, everyone! My poor blog has been very badly neglected of late, so I'm not sure if anyone is still out there reading. Hopefully there are a couple of you out there! I want to share my May the 4th manicure with you! I love Star Wars, I remember watching the movies with my dad when I was little. I loved the cantina scene because of all the crazy-looking aliens. Anyway, I had so much fun with last year's Star Wars mani, that I knew I needed to do another one this year! I decided to go with kind of a minimalist theme in the hopes that it wouldn't take me 6 hours like last year's did. Well, it only took me 4 so I must have had the right idea lol
The Death Star outline on my thumbnail took me the longest and I don't know why. I was trying to use a circle stamping image I had, but it just wasn't working. So, after taking it off and reapplying my base polish twice, I finally just decided to freehand it and it worked a lot better!
I'm also debuting a new nail shape! Since I started my blog, I've always had a squared or squoval shape to my nails. Frankly, it's the easiest shape to file and I'm lazy lol But I keep breaking the corners off and so I thought I'd try rounding them out. It's a harder shape to create with my nails, but it's growing on me.
Anyway, I wish you all a lovely May the 4th and I hope that, even if you aren't a Star Wars fan, that you enjoyed my post. If you are interested in seeing some more Star Wars-themed manicures, be sure to check out the links below! Thank you so much for reading!
