Be More Pacific

Happy, Happy Friday!! The weather is looking great and I am excited for the summer-like temperatures the weekend has to offer for the last few days of May! I went cross-boarder shopping this past weekend and only ended up with two new polishes, I think that is a new record! I have not been buying much polish lately, not for any particular reason, I guess I just haven't been interested in what has been released. Take for instance China Glaze's summer offering, Off Shore. I had seen promo pictures and some swatches but was not impressed. Although I have loved their previous summer and latest spring collections, the formulas have just been awful.

I picked out two Off Shore polishes that I thought were the most interesting and unique to my collection, Sun Upon My Skin and Be More Pacific. I tried out Be More Specific as soon as  got home.

Surprisingly the formula on this polish was awesome! The application was smooth and easy going, it even dried to a shiny finish! I am so used to the awful formula of the neons and pastels from the Peonies and Park Ave. and last summer Sunsational collections that I was expecting this to bomb as well. Luckily, it was fantastic! Smooth and self levelling and opaque in just two coats, that is awesome for a bright and light shade like Be More Pacific.

The shade it's self was unique enough to make me want to purchase it, it is a light and bright yellow toned green that is slightly more faded than pastel. Outdoors it appears nice and bright, perfect for the jump to summer-like temperatures we have been experiencing lately :)

I only swatched Sun Upon My Skin, but if it applies anything like Be More Pacific I will be very impressed. Too bad there weren't many exciting colours in this collection, I would have purchased more!

China Glaze Sets at Costco!

This is kind of late, but I thought it is still worth sharing since your Costco may not have received shipment yet. A few weeks ago I found half of China Glaze's latest spring offering, Peonies and Park Ave. You can see the set below. This six piece full size set includes:

Peonies and Park Ave
Petal To The Metal
Spring In My Step
In A Lilly Bit
Lotus Begin
At Vase Value.

The total cost was $19.99 for 6 polishes, that's works out to about $3.33 per polish, not bad! I wish they had both sets of collections available so you can pick and choose, but I'm glad I got my hads on this set while it was available :)

Godiva

I have been lacking in posts lately, mostly due to the fact that I have been super busy, that and leading to less polish changes and purchases. In a mad dash on the weekend I found just enough time for a polish change before a family event. So much was on my mind I didn't even know what shade I wanted to wear. Sometimes just choosing a shade takes up enough time on its own! I was hoping to wear something nude but knew it wouldn't dry in time for me to finish getting ready.

Lucky for me I had a few untried options on my desk, one of them being a pixie dust, Zoya to the rescue! Godiva was the perfect colour and easy to apply! Godiva is a nude glitter/shimmer textured polish. The formula was fantastic, not too thick or clumpy, very smooth and opaque. I only required two coats for full opacity, and although it took a tad longer to dry than the standard textured polish it hid any prefect ions perfectly!

The sparkle on this one is awesome and totally work appropriate. It remindes me of wet sand sparkling in the sunlight, I love this shade a lot more than I thought. The wear is also awesome, when I did get some chipping I easily filled them in and it blended in seemlessly.

Let's Go to the Park!

I picked up a set of seven Color Club polishes and am having a heard time finding the collection name! luckily the bottoms of the bottles were labeled so that helped out, looked to me a mix and match set. I located the collection for two of the shades, East Austin and Wicker PArk are apart of the Girl About a Town collection, which looks to be an interesting collection. One would think it would be a spring collection full of pastels but it is actually mostly darker, fall shades made up of many different finishes and textures.

I chose to wear Wicker Park, a lovely magenta leaning lavender pastel. It is bright and cheery and I LOVE it! It is a welcome change from the China Glaze pastel I wore last, Spring In My Step. The formula was fantastic, I only needed two coats for full opacity and it was easy to control. The finish also impressed me, it appears to have a slight neon pigmentation, similar to Spring In My Step, however it dried quickly to a shiny finish. It was even more glossy with the addition of Seche Vite on top.

I can't wait to wear the other neon/pastel shades I picked up in this set. The wear so far has been great, no chips 3 days in! In a day or two I will probably do a mani refresh, something I have not been able to do in a long time since polish has been chipping so quick on me.

All Lacquered Up

I haven't worn a Finger Paints polish in a while, so how about a bright glittery polish for spring? Enter Sarong So Right apart of Finger Paints collaboration with Michelle from All Lacquered Up.

Sarong so Right has a lot going on in that little bottle! It is a deep orange based coral with a jelly-like finish. I wouldn't say it is a pure jelly since it is slightly thicker and more opaque. There is also a super fine pink shimmer that runs throughout which aids in building up opacity overall. And last but not least, it is jam packed with reflective opalescent glitter.

Considering it is close to a jelly, I was surprised that I only required two coats for full opacity. the formula was a bit thick so I added some thinner before applying the second coat to the nails. The finish was interesting, usually jelly's dry to a high gloss shine, however, the final finish was slightly dull. I wouldn't say it was matte or satin, I think the glitter added a slight texture. One thin layer of top coat evened everything out and made it perfectly shiny!

Spring in My Step

I'd like to say Spring is finally here but it is such a slowpoke this year, teasing us with a few warm days then freezing up again. The forecast looks good for the upcoming week and I can't wait for some sunny spring days.

Today I have a pretty pink apart of China Glaze's current spring collection, City Flourish. Spring in My Step is is a pastel pink with slight orange/coral undertones depending on the lighting. Indoors I find it to be a light pastel, but outdoors whoa! it has a slight neon brightness to it and makes my pale skin (thanks winter) appear to be tanned.

I had some application issues, the first coat was really weird, it was like I had oil on my nails, that is the only way I can think to describe the way this polish applied. It was streaky and weird. I did the best I could and found it was best to move quickly. The second coat was easier to apply, however it was still not 100% streak-free. After the third coat it was still not fully opaque, but I could live with it. The streaking is not as evident in the photos and from afar.

The polish dries to a semi-matte/satin finish, it must have neon pigment in it. Seche Vite Helped to add a perfect gloss and even out any streaking imperfections. After almost a full day of wear I was happy that I had no issues with chipping!... An hour later and after cooking dinner/prepping my lunch for work the next day I was all chips. Too good to be true, right?! I love neon polishes in general, but dread how short the wear time is.

Overall I love this colour, but the formula and wear kind of suck. It's so disappointing because there are so many neon shades I put off wearing because I know they will only last me a day or two before chipping. My hands are usually wet or busy daily, due to typing at the computer, cooking, showering etc. Do you have any tips for getting neon polish to wear longer?

Sea Horsin' Around

I have a lovely textured polish to share with you today! It is apart of China Glaze's Sea Goddess collection that was out very early this spring.

Sea Horsin' Around is a blue leaning teal with golden shimmer and a textured finish. This is so pretty in it's textured state, I wonder how it looks with a topcoat! The gold shimmer reflects strongly in the light and really makes this polish something special.

The formula was thick but easy to apply, only two coats were needed. Unfortunately wear time was not great. I don't know what is going on but my China Glaze's are not wearing well on me at all lately! Usually textured polishes tend to latest a bit longer because they really adhere to the nail bed, this was the case for my OPI and Finger Paints textured polishes anyways.

The worst part? The staining! Yup, my nails are yellow/green and yucky. Other then chipping and staining it really is such a pretty polish, what a shame :(

Hauling in 30 Minutes or Less!

While waiting to meet up with my boyfriend last Friday I was lucky enough to be in the vicinity of a Sally's Beauty and a Trade Secrets... hauling ensued.

First stop was Trade Secrets, they had an awesome selection of soon to be discontinued OPI's, likely to be left overs from earlier collections, BOGO. I decided on Pirouette My Whistle and Did You Ear About Van Gogh?

Pirouette My Whistle is a glitter topper composed of white iridescent hex glitters and smaller silver glitter in a clear base.

Did You Ear About Van Gogh? is a beige/nude shade, very neutral. I would say it is a shade darker than My Vampire is Buff.

Next Stop, Sallys. Lucky for me today was the first day of their promo for 50% off all sale items! Unlucky for me, I forgot the other promo of buy two polishes and get the third free, I potentially should have gotten another polish free, oh well. My picks from the sale selection included China Glaze, Tail Me Something and Finger Paints, Psychedelic Hue. Both for under $5 total!

Tail Me Something was one of the polishes from the latest spring Sea Goddess collection I regretted not picking up when I had the chance. It is a purple textured polish with silver glitter.

Psychedelic Hue is a dense pastel flakie suspended in a clear base. I missed the Kaleidoscope collection the first time around but was not too interested in it to be honest. The one flakie that I liked the most was Psychedelic Hue which I was lucky enough to come across!

Since I had some more time to wait I headed over to Marshals where I came across a beautiful Color Club set. I am pretty sure this is not a new collection, or it may have been and someone rearranged the polishes. Either way, there was no titling on the packaging that mentioned this was a full collection. From left to right I have Wicker Park, Take Me To Your Chateau, East Austin, Mad About Mint, He Loves Me, Si Vous Please and Club Clear.

I didn't realize prior to purchasing that this set included Take Me To Your Chateau, as I already own it. I am also not in need of another pink, glitter topper and clear coat, so I am on the fence about gifting this set. It was only $9.99 which is an awesome price for seven polishes.

My favourites from this set are Wicker Park, East Austin and Mad About Mint. They are neon pastels and dry to a shiny finish, unlike most other neons.

Jamberry Nail Vinyls!

Today I have a mini review compliments of Jamberry Nails, they supplied me with some vinyl nail strips for review a little while back. Today I have part one of my review, accent nail application and wear. The thing I love about these strips is application is pretty quick and easy, even using your non-dominant hand. It also does not require any dry or setting time once the strip has fully adhered to the nail bed!

For this instructional, I am using what looks to be a variation of Desert Mirage. I wasn't supplied with a name for this particular sample and am unable to locate it on the site! Either the colour has been discontinued or it may be an upcoming colour available soon.

First I'll run you through the steps for application provided and my comments:

Step 1: Wash Hands with non-moisterizing dish soap.
Step 2: Clean unpolished nails with alcohol and push back cuticles.
Step 3: Buff nails to remove shine (optional).

Essentially you want clean hands and nails so the strips adhere properly. I washed my hands normally and used nail polish remover on a cotton swab to clean the nail beds before applying the strips.

Step 4: Match your nail to the sizing or nail wrap that best fits keeping in mind you do not want the strip to be touching any part of the skin on our nails.
Step 5: Cut off to correct length while still on the backing leaving extra for application.

They suggest slightly smaller is better than a bit too big. I chose a good sizing that was slightly smaller than my nail bed. I sliced one strip right in half and had more than enough for both my nails.

Step 6: Using tweezers, remove strip from backing and warm with blow dryer for 5-10 seconds or until soft and flexible.
Step 7: Press the wrap on to the nail starting at the base and apply firm pressure around the edges to adhere the strip to the nail. Use rubber cuticle pusher to to seal the wrap.

I had no issues warming the strip. Application was fairly easy considering it was my first time, however since I did pull up the strip once or twice to centre it properly (which is acceptable in the instructions), I noticed some curling of at the edges, mostly on the sides. I tried to smooth out the strip as much as I could. I'm sure practice will make me better at applying! for the most part, as you can see below, I smoothed the strip to the nail pretty well.

Step 8: Trim the top of the wrap with scissors and file off the remaining  wrap using a downward motion to remove any excess.
Step 9: Apply heat and pressure to the wrap again until it is bonded to the nail.

Filing off the excess appeared to be the most difficult for me. Not that it was actually hard in any way, just the biggest challenge for me out of the whole process. I think it is because the strips are a decent thickness and I was filing too gently, I didn;t want to rip or ruin the strip. Ultimately, I successfully filed down the strip to the nail shape, and VOILA! To be safe I added a layer of topcoat over the wrap.

So... you may be asking yourself, how do these nail vinyl/strip/wraps wear? I wore them for a total of 6 days 5 and had virtually no wear to the vinyl it's self, I did however notice some slight peeling upward on the edges.  This wasn't very noticeable at all show and didn't bother me the same way another true polish would. As long as they stick to my nails and look good, I am happy.

Removal was easy, although I didn't use the instructions provided to soak in acetone/nail polish remover and peel off. Since I had some slight lifting I simply peeled the strip of... okay, maybe not so simply, these strips really stuck to the nail bed!! It was a bit of a challenge to peel them off, but I got them off with no damage to the nail. Some of the adhesive was still stuck to the nail, but it dissolved away easily with basic polish remover.

To sum up, things I  love about this product are:

• ease of use
• quick application
• does not ruin the nail bed
• no chipping

There wasn't really anything I disliked about the product, even though it lifted slightly on the sides in about a weeks time, however, it did not chip or peel or even look as though there was any wear to the "polish" at all.

Overall I am very impressed with this product! I have a few other single nail samples I will definitely be using as well as a full pack of a space design I will be featuring in the near future!

*This product was sent to me for an honest review, all views expressed are my own honest option. 

My Entourage

My polish choices lately have been quite random, kind of a quick pick of whatever is visible or laying around on my desk! China Glaze Entourage is a polish I purchased late last year along with a huge haul of polishes during an awesome sale online. I hadn't heard too much about this shade, from the Summer of 2009, Kicks collection prior to purchasing, but the shade looked awesome.

lamp light

with flash

It was awesome indeed, a yellow leaning green creme with a light green shimmer sparkling  throughout.  The most colour accurate photos are the lamp light ones (noted below the photo). Application was a breeze and I only needed two coats for full opacity. Not much more to say about the polish other than its a great spring or summer shade for sure.

lamp light

with flash

You may have also noticed my accent nail, this is a nail wrap vinyl provided to me for review from Jamberry Nails, I will be going in to greater detail about this product in tomorrows post.