Many Layers

So this mani started with LA Girls Rockstar in Addict, which is a maroon-ish red color with orange-y glass flecks.

Pretty color, but I thought it needed some umph, so I added a layer of LA Girls Rockstar Double Platinum, which is a light charcoal, almost clear jelly base with silver holo glitter:


I didn't care for the combo, so I added a layer of Massini's Slamming Red (Massini and Studio M are the same brand). I adore Slamming Red! Just look at the holo in the bottle. My camera absolutely refuses to capture red polishes properly.


So, Slamming Red is my current NOTD. I just picked up Orly Space Cadet today, so I think I'll be changing my mani soon. As much as I love Slamming Red, I don't think I'll be able to wait to wear Space Cadet, it's so pretty!!!

Thanks for looking.

Dollar Tree combo pack

I recently grabbed this combo pack from the Dollar Tree. The first color is Cover Girl Nail Slicks in Chocolate Mint. The bottle color is, well a chocolate brown color (I know, creative, huh?) with a mint green shimmer.


and here is a swatch..the shimmer is pretty noticeable in natural light, but not as much indoors:


Now this is the reason I bought the combo. This is Cover Girl Crackle polish in Jack-O-Lantern. The bottle color is a bright orange.

This is two coats over Jordana's Night Fall. I looks like the polish would just flake off, but it didn't. This is without a topcoat.


Thanks for looking!!

Jordana Swatches

I picked up these Jordana polishes from Cherry Couture after seeing swatches on Pretty Random. She did a great post about these, they are supposed to be dupes to the Milani polishes from last year, and since I missed them, I was happy to get these in their place :)

First up is Night Fall. NF is a black creme with silver glitter, supposed to be a dupe of Miani's Charmed. Here's sunlight:

and shade:



Next up is Purple Glam. It's a purple jelly with silver holo glitter and bar glitter. This is supposed to dupe Milani's Shimmering Purple. Here it is in sunlight:

and shade:


And last today is Green Glitz. This is supposed to dupe Milani's Gleaming Green. It's a green jelly with silver holo glitter and bar glitter.


All three polishes applied beautifully, in fact all three swatches are without cleanup, and for me that's rare. I think I will defiantly be getting more Jordanas in the future.


Thanks for looking!

Zoya Blair + Nfu-Oh 44

I was so in love with my swatch of Nfu-Oh 44, that I decided to make it my NOTD. Instead of layering it over black, I used a nice blacked red, like Zoya Blair.

I layered two coats of Nfu-Oh 44 overtop:



Wow, this is pretty!!!! I ♥ it!

Nfu-Oh 60

I ordered two Nfu-Oh polishes, here is the second one. I have to say that I was most excited for # 60. Everyone describes it as an oil slick on the nail. Just look at this amazing bottle shot:


WOW, huh? Look at all the colors :) Unfortunately, it does not translate to the nail. This is one coat layered over Wet N Wild Black Creme.

I certainly can't say I don't like it, I mean c'mon it's a Nfu-Oh flakie! But I was expecting a bit more out of it...so I am a bit disappointed, I just wish the duochrome was more prominent on the nail.

Thanks for looking!

Nfu-Oh 44

This is my new favorite polish! Nfu-Oh 44 is an orange jelly base with fakies that flash an orangy red and green color. This is amazing. Here is the bottle pick:


Here is one coat layered over Wet N Wild Black Creme. Look at all the duochromy goodness!!!


Thanks for looking!

Nubar Shock: Pleasure Dome

So before I get to Pleasure Dome, I have to thank the blog Pretty Random for showing some awesome swatches of Glitter Gal polishes. I just pulled the trigger on an order for two different red holos. In case you didn't know, a true red holo is my Holy Grail of all nail polishes, so I have high expectations for these :)

Has anyone tried Glitter Gal polishes before???

Today's swatch is another Nubar Shock called Pleasure Dome. The base color is purple and it flashes a tanish green color:




Don't forget you can always click on the photo for a larger version.

Thanks for looking!

Quirius: The Arabian Nights

Here is Quirius The Arabian Nights. The color is a thick black creme with silver holo glitter. The glitter reflects many different colors in the sun and is gorgeous; if you look at the bottle in the pick below you get the idea :)





Thanks for looking!!

Maybelline: Bronze Beam + Orly: Prisma Gloss Gold

In keeping with my fall mood, I choose a brown for my next mani. This one has been sitting in my untrieds for a while. It's Maybelline Bronze Beam which I picked up at Dollar Tree. The bottle color is a brown color with gold flecks.

Orly Prisma Gloss Gold is a clear topcoat with gold holographic micro glitter.




So here is the Maybelline by itself:



and with one coat of the Orly. It just gives it a subtle holo to it without really changing the color. I really like this combo.



Thanks for looking!

Layering: win or epic fail?

Yesterday, I badly dented my Hue are You mani before it was dry...I hate it when that happens! So, to fix it without redoing the entire mani, I added a layer of Cover City Lights which is a silver holo glitter topcoat. I thought that made the color to too cool and I what I loved so much about the HAU is the warm tones. So on top of City Lights, I added a layer of Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure.

Here is the result....drum roll.....

Direct sunlight:


So far so good. Can't see any sign of the flakies. Here it is in shade:



The orange tones of HT really come through and warm it up. Here is an angle view:




My first thought was EPIC FAIL! Blach! and no time before work to fix it....but as the day wore on, I don't hate it. I think kinda like it...there's all sorts of stuff going on whenever I look down at them. What do you think???

Thanks for looking!

Diamond Cosmetics Hue Are You?

So, I know it's early for this and all, but I'm so looking forward to fall!! It's close. Fall, for me, starts in September, so it's not too early for fall inspired colors, right?

Today's NOTD is Diamond Cosmetics in Hue Are You? I originally saw this on Scrangie's website (link at left) and I just HAD to have it!! So pretty.The bottle color is a deep brownish red with gold shimmer:


and here it is on the nail. I ♥ this color!



You can really see the gold shimmer when the last bit of sun hits the bottle in the pick above. It is also visible on the nail. Check out this closeup, it really shows off the gold shimmer:



Thanks for looking!!

I got a Melmer!

My current storage consists of four mounted polish racks and one wooden shelf for all non-polish items. Today at lunch I picked up a Melmer at Michael's on sale for 40% off :) It's three drawers deep and is small enough to fit on top of my computer desk.





I will miss having my entire polish stash on display, however, I really like the idea of storing my non polish items (files, removers, Konad and frankening materials) in the drawer instead of on the corner of my computer desk.

At first I was torn between the Helmer and the Melmer. There's an awesome comparison post on MUA if anyone is interested.

Thanks for looking!

Nubar Shock Sea Green

I found this old school Nubar in a dusty. I have nine: Peacock Feathers, Purple Beach, Gold Leaf, Stardust, Sun Gold, Iris Dust, Sea Green, Olive Spice and Pleasure Dome. The last three I believe are discontinued....at least I don't see them listed on Nubar's website.

Sea Green's bottle color is a nice deep green with a faint gold shimmer:


It's actually a green / blue duochrome with green being the prominent color.




Here's a closeup showing the blue. I had to use a flash for this shot because the lighting was not cooperating. I think I may need a lightbox.....


I plan to swatch Olive Spice and Pleasure Dome next.

Thanks for looking!

Cover Girl Mauvelicious with Pure Ice Busted

Cover Girl Mauvelicious is a neutral mauve color. When I bought it, I thought it would be a cream, but it's actually a jelly finish. So it's very sheer and kind of boring on it's own because of that, so I added a layer of Pure Ice Busted over top. Busted is a sheer glass fleck purple color. Here is the result:




Not bad, but definitely boring....I've been in a vampy mood lately and this just isn't doing it for me.

Thanks for looking!

Zoo Nails

I had a great time with my niece last night :) We watched alot of the Disney channel (Zach & Cody....argh!) and gave each other manicures; here are our zoo mani's.

Brenda is the tiger:



and I'm the leopard:


Thanks for looking!!

China Glaze Stone Age + Maybelline Shooting Stars

So, how fun, my 11yr old niece is staying overnight (girl's night!) and tomorrow we're hitting the Zoo. We're going to give each other animal themed mani's, so expect a guest NOTD tomorrow :)

Stone Age is a almost frosty blue-ish gray color. I picked this one up at a dusty for cheap, but it's mostly gone untried. It's kinda boring on it's own. The pick below was taken with a flash, you can't really see the brush strokes that much.



So it spice it up a bit, I added one layer of Maybelline Express Finish Shooting Stars. I love Shooting Stars, it's a clear base with silver holo glitter and blue thread glitter. So pretty!!



Here's a closer up pick. I love the combo with the blue threads. The ratio between the two glitters is perfection ☻



Make sure to click the photos for a larger version, you just gotta see the detail of Shooting Stars, I love it!!!!

Thanks for looking.

Foil Manicure

So, I decided to practice my foiling techniques today. First you have to apply the adhesive to your bare nail (it looks and smells an suspiciously like Elmers glue!). It applies white, and when it turns clear, you press the foil sheet to your nail, smooth it out and rip it off fast.

It's pretty hard to get a smooth finish...but the effect is cool.


What do you think? Unfortunately, I discovered that if you apply top coat, it breaks down the foil. Bummer...

Thanks for looking!

Orly Royal Navy + Cover Girl City Lights

Today I'm wearing Orly in Royal Navy. RN is a beautiful color, dark blue with light blue shimmer. You can really see the blue shimmer in the bottle of the shot below. I love Orly's, I think they may be my favorite brand, but I do seem to have a hard time picking out colors I like. So far, I only have Enchanted Forest, Royal Navy, Glam Rock, Glam and Prisma Gloss Gold. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I need more Orly in my life.....

Now, unfortunately, for some reason, I got horrible bubbling with this color:


I know, it's bad, right? So, to fix the bubbling (or rather to cover it up) I added a layer of Cover Girl in City Lights. Wow, what a pretty combo that turned out to be!


Look at all the colors!

City Lights is a clear topcoat with silver holographic micro glitter. It dried to a smooth finish and I don't feel like I need to add another layer of top coat over it. I highly recommend it if you love holos.

Thanks for looking!