Sally Hansen Nail Prisms

So I did a bunch of popsicle stick swatches today while the sun decided to make a brief appearance.

First bunch of swatches are the Sally Hansen Nail Prisms. I was lucky enough to score 3 of them from the Dollar Tree last September and have been on a quest for more ever since. I was too new to the whole polish thing to realize how cool these were at the time and I so regret not getting more when I could 8-)


All the following swatches are layered over WnW Black Creme. All holos are three coats and all the duochroms are one heavy layer over the black.


The first in the group is called Coral Amber. It's a holographic color, which I think looks alot more pink in real life than it does in the photo. The holo effect on the Prims is very strong:





The next one up is called South Sea Pearl. This one is what I call a "surprise color", it looks boring in the bottle and when worn on it's own (sheer!), but layered over black it comes to life. It flashes blue and purple. So pretty!





I also think Cinnabar is another "surprise color". Layered over black it's amazing, but like South Sea Pearl, it's boring on it's own and in the bottle. It flashes purple and green.





This beauty is called Garnet Lapis and is one of my favorite prisms. It is a vibrant duochrome and flashes between blue and purple. The duochrome is very strong on this one, and I think it flashes more vibrant than I was able to capture in my photos.





Here is Ruby Diamond. This is a pink-ish holographic shade. I'm not a lover of pinks in general, but this is an exception!





The last guy here is called Golden Tourmaline and it's my current NOTD. This is the closest I have to a true red holo, but it must be layered over black to achieve a red look, it's too bright on its own. Check out the color in the bottle compared to the swatch.





I am not real fond of layering colors over black when I wear a mani because there's always a strong black line visible around the edges. I think next time I wear it, I'll layer it over a blackend red like Zoya Blair.

This bottle looks very used, but I purchased it new (eBay) and have only used it for about three swatches and two full manis. I must layer too heavy or something??

Well that's it for now, hope you liked them!

Toma Metallic Illusions

These are the last two of my mini swatch-a-thon today.

So, first up to bat is Heavenly Body (side note: this is an exact dupe to Chelsea Kaleidoscope). This is a duochrome that flashes a gray-ish purple and green. This is one heavy coat over WnW Black Creme:



Next up is Eclipse. The bottle flashes between the gold-ish color with pink along the edges, but there isn't a strong duochrome on the nail. I purchased both Toma's from Lotion Source.

This is also one heavy coat over WnW Black Creme:


Although this bottle looks used, I've only used it for one full mani and 2 swatches. Geesh, more proof that I use too much polish with each coat. I don't think they need to be thinned? Hmmm.

Caribbean Mani: take 2

In honor of my cruise next month, here's another Caribbean inspired mani. I used Maybelline Express Finish in Bungalow Blue (from the Dollar Tree):


Then I used BM plate 20 with Zoya Envy for the seaweed and Konad plate M27 for the fish (with Konad white polish):



Not too bad, although I think it looks better IRL!

Wet n Wild: Night Prowl + BM plate #16

I just picked up a couple of the new WnW shades, this is Night Prowl. It's a black base with purple glitter:


I had heard on the boards that the Sally Hansen Insta-Dri's were good for Konading, so I added Grape Going using the Bundle Monster plate #16. I used a full nail image on my index and ring finger and the flower "cluster" on the rest. It's a very subtle effect, I was hoping the SH color would have been a bit more vibrant, but hey, I actually got a non-Konad polish to work with the BM plates, so I'm not complaining! Ha ha.

Lancome Le Magnetique in Bordeaux Esmee

This has to be one of the must cool polishes I've ever seen. I was lucky enough to get this one cheap at a Lancome outlet store about a year ago.

The bottle is very small (5.5ml) and has a plastic sleeve with a magnet at the base.



The color is a brown-ish burgundy. Here is one coat:



I applied an additional layer and used the magnet for approx 35 sec per nail - one nail at a time (this is pre-cleanup, sorry):




Unfortunately, I didn't realize that if you apply top coat, it destroys the starburst pattern. This is after cleanup with one layer of topcoat.



...so, I just added one more layer over that and re-used the magnet. Shew. After all the time I spent on this mani, I'm glad I was able to "save" it! LOL.

Milani: Rad Purple

I'm generally not a lover of Neons, but Milani Rad Purple is amazing. I would have never given it a try if I had not seen it posted on Megan Chair's blog first (a link to her amazing blog is on the left):


Here it is in direct sun:

China Glaze: Street Racing

I really loved the Retro Diva line from China Glaze. There were some awesome earthy colors in there! I think Stroll is one of my all time favorites ♥ Here is Street Racing:


and of course I had to throw some Konad at it! LOL.

Fauxnad french mani

I got my plates in from Bundle Monster and had to try them out! I I had a real hard time using non-Konad polish (I must have tried four different colors/brands), I couldn't get the image to pick up on the stamper, so I just used the only Konad brand polish I had (white). This is plate BM 16:


dare my Wild Heart.....

The wild heart is from plate BM 03. The images were nice and crisp using the Konad white polish.

LA Girls: Copper + Konad

I A D O R E today's notd! The base color is LA Girls in Copper, which has a metallic shine to it:


Than I used Konad plate M57 with Wet n Wild Black Creme:

I love it! I know what mani I'll be wearing when I take my niece to the zoo later in the year, how fun!

I'd never had luck using WnW with the Konad before, but I think the trick was using a new bottle? Whatever it was, it worked perfectly. I'm actually looking forward to using more WnW colors. I've only ever Konaded using black or white (I know, boring, right??)

Nfu Oh holos

Today's NOTD is Nfu Oh 62, which is a subtle pink color:


Then I tipped it with Nfu Oh 66 (silver):


Both picks were taken in direct sunlight. I love Nfu Oh's ♥

Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure

Yesterday's NOTD was Sally Hansen's Hidden Treasure over Revlon Dark Pleasures in Patent Leather:



I tracked this baby down at Walgreens. My husband really liked this one 8-)

Fauxnad Dragon

Plate B22


I used the dragon image along with some stars from the moon image:

Caribbean Mani: take 1

So I have a Caribbean vacation coming up in a couple of months and this was a trail mani for it. Not a winner, but it was fun for a couple of days....

I used Toma Glitter mood changing polish in "Green Glitter to Gold Glitter". Sadly, it doesn't change colors anymore, but i sill love it ♥. The tips are China Glaze Atlantis.