Colourful Collage

Today I have a mani from early January. It had just started to snow and I wanted a glittery mani. It didn't turn out exactly how I wanted it to, but I will try this technique again another time. I applied Finger Paints Colorful Collage to a cosmetic sponge and blotted in to each nail that was already coated in a think base of OPI I Theadora You.

I was initially going for full coverage with this but it didn't work out. I think I applied one to two coats of the Colorful Collage before adding a another coat of Sally Hansen Salon Open Mica Night, a sparse square holo glitter topper.

I topped the whole thing off with Seche Vite and called it a day. I want to try this look again with a holo or chrome base to fill in the glitter more. Otherwise, this was a super fun and sparkly glitter mani!

Sparkle in the Sky

What to do when you are super busy and have no time to do your nails, but you are in MAJOR need to do your nails and have under 10 mins?

TEXTURED POLISH!

I literally took of my previous many on Monday night, applied base coat on Tuesday at some point and FINALLY had the 8 minutes or so to paint my nails on Wednesday. Crazy, right?

Textured polish has saved me many of times and Finger Paints Sparkle in the Sky was the perfect shade to wear given the holiday season! plus it adds just enough sparkly to be a little something extra.

Sparkle in the sky is apart of Finger Paints 2013 Enchanted Winter collection and it was my must have polish that season, and I only decided to wear it now! The base is an inky indigo and the "glittery" texture is made up of what looks like pink and gold shimmer. it really is a stunner.

Application was good, the polish wasn't overly thick like some textured polishes can be. I applied two coats to each nail and touched up about 4 days in for a family event I was headed to (again, no time to do a new, full mani). That is another plus of textured polishes, usually they wear like iron, however should they chip they are super easy to touch up and dry in a snap.

I really hope textures don't go away any time soon! The only negative I can say about this polish in general, is from what I recall this collection was not marketed as a textured collection, meaning there was no indication that they would dry to a matte and textured finish. I only found out online, I can't quite remember if there were swatches in store. Even though I knew, I would appreciate a clear indicator the next time.

More to Explore

Today I have an awesome mix of spring and summer in a polish. How fitting is that seeing as the Summer Solstice was this past weekend! It's officially summer now! This China Glaze is another one I added to my collection from the spring Road Trip collection and was on the too of my list when I first saw swatches.

More to Explore is a light yet bright coral creme. Although it is soft, it is not your average pastel! It is just on the border of being bright enough to be considered a neon.

This lovely shade applied perfectly. The first coat was slightly streaky but a second coat evened out the streaky bits. A final, thinner coat was added to most of the nails to even out any other imperfections. I was also dealing with some slight cracks and breaks in the gel base which I did not have time to remove at the moment. Considering this is a creme and normally shows off every tiny imperfection, I was impressed with coverage. Everything looked nice and smooth from application to removal.

I decided to add some bling to my ring fingers and thumbs with Finger Paints Colorful Collage. This is an awesome glitter topper mix made up of various sized holo hex glitter in a clear base. I love it! I wish it gave more coverage but I can't complain, I love the look. There is something about glitter and coral that I just love!
 

 
The wear was fantastic! I had a busy weekend of using my hands a lot for cleaning around the house, setting up for a party and cleaning up afterwards. At the end of it all I only have one noticeable chip on my left middle finger and a tiny chip on my right pointer finger.

In The Monet

Another mani, another glitter. I am obsessed lately! There was a point in time this year where I wanted nothing to do with glitters, mostly because I was fearing the time it would take to remove! Now that the holidays are quickly approaching I have been all about my holiday glitter shades. Although Finger Paints, In The Monet is not a holiday polish (as far as I know, I cannot locate information on this polish anywhere!) I can see it easily fitting in with any holiday shades.

In The Monet is a blue based glitter with some green pieces scattered throughout in a blue jelly base. The first coat was a tad streaky but the second evened out nicely. I used two layers of topcoat for this one to get a nice, smooth surface. I applied one coat of Seche Vite after application of the polish (at night), and a second layer of Seche Vite the next day. Since this glitter is thirsty for topcoat, the two layers spaced out gave me a perfectly shiny finish.

I almost wish I have layered a creme based blue under the glitter so help with wear. I find glitters tend to chip quickly on me. With a creme base I think the glitter would adhere better and last longer. Something I will try soon with another glitter polish.

Overall this is a great glitter, I picked it up on clearance at Sally's and with I knew more information on it. Do you know what collection this was apart of?

August Hauling

I haven't been hauling as often, which I actually prefer. I have more than enough polish but sometimes I can't help myself! A polish has to be truly special for me to but it these days, check out what I picked up last month.

Trade Secrets had a bunch of OPI and Essie polishes BOGO, so I picked up these two jellies apart of their Sheer Tints collection released this past March. I would say these are more of tints than a full opacity polish, I hope to have fun with these two! Left to right, Don't Violet Me Down and I Can Teal You Like Me.

Both polishes have the same sheer gloss and translucent finish, I Can Teal You Like Me is blue and Don't Violet Me Down is purple. I would have picked up the other two in the collection as well, but the pink was out of stock. I regret now not getting the yellow shade, I’m Never Amberrassed.

Next is Sally's, they had an extra 50% off their sale polish so I picked up this funky glitter from Finger Paints, Red, White and Hue. I'm certain this is a patriotic polish, but I see nothing but nautical! And Rocket Popsicles... 

Another purchase from Sally's was OPI My Voice is a Little Norse, a holo glitter. It appears to have a slight grey base and when completely dry appears to have a gritty, almost textured finish which I totally dig! I think this would look awesome with a top coat as well. I think I actually love this one more in person that I originally thought I would!

This next polish was purchased in Rite Aid at the end of August, my first Halloween themes polish of the year! This is Sinful Color, Cauldron Couture. At first glance I thought this was a black creme with different sized hex and irregular shared green glitter. It wasn't until I got home that I realized that there were also various sized and shaped Black matte glitters as well! Score!

The last polish I have to share is one my boyfriend surprised me with one night, what a sweetheart ^_^ This is apart of Sally Hansen's new Miracle Gel line. This is Style Maker, a shimmery Green shade, that appears to have a slight duochrome in the bottle, but not so much on the nail.

I'm not too familiar with this collection or the idea of it being a "gel" polish if it does not need curing. My boyfriend was unaware of this as well, he based his decision on the colour! I don't think I will be purchasing the top coat that is to be used with this polish, simply because it dries on its own, no curing needed, which really makes me this that this is just a big scam. Maybe the topcoat is thick heavy duty and glossy like a gel, but why would they market it to be used together, I'd rather just use the topcoat and use it over other polishes, its a cash grab to me. Then again I have not tried either product, so I will have to read up on it any try them for myself before I come to any final conclusions.It just bothers me when companies use buzz words or popular fads to sucker people in to spending more or buying things they don't really need... End rant!

To end this post on a high note, I hope to find some more Halloween shades this weekend when I am across the boarder again, wish me luck!

Collective Haul for the Month of July

Lots of polish purchases during the month of July for me. I haven't been purchasing many polishes lately but I think this makes up for it. I blame the sales!

I'll start off  with my first few purchases of the month from Zoya. They had two awesome promos this month, the first were their sets of all-American trios which were $15 each including shipping. There were four options available and I chose the most interested (and best deal) Patriotic Pixie Dust.

Tomoko is a shimmering white gold pixie dust. When compared to Zoya Godiva, it is much more shiny and gold toned. Godiva is more of a tan, sand coloured neutral shade. I also find it is the least "textured" out of the trio.

Chyna is a glittery red pixie dust and has a sand like texture finish once dried.

Liberty is a blinggy blue pixie dust and has a sand like texture finish once dried.

Two coats were used for each polish in the swatches below.

The next few Zoya's I purchased were apart of the "Threedom" promo. Any three polishes for $12 including shipping! Back to back deals are awesome, thanks Zoya!  I chose some fun bright shades for what is left of summer, from left to right, Dillon, Muse and Alma.

Dillon is a bright pastel teal with golden shimmer. This dainty shade is apart of the Spring Awakening collection.

Muse is insane! It is this gorgeous deep blue teal jelly packed with gold shimmer and iridescent he glitter pieces. It shines beautifully in the sun, but in indirect lighting it is mesmerizing.

Alma is a oranges based cousin in Muse. It has a sheer jelly orange base and is packed with gold shimmer.

Two coats are shown for each of the polishes in the swatches below.

Nicole by OPI A Lit-Teal Bit of Love is a gorgeous shimmery blue foil. I don't usually go out and purchase a NOPI polish on my own unless it is something really special. My boyfriend went to go grab some last minute groceries while I was making dinner and picked this up for me. To be honest I probably wouldn't have picked out this shade on my own, but it is such a stunner! I love the blackened edges and hint of a purple duochrome. It is similar to Orly's Sweet Peacock, but more blue and a shade darker.

Next up is Sally's, I went there a few times this month to make the most of my birthday coupon, here is what I picked up;

China Glaze All Aboard collection, fall 2014. I was so happy to find this in store late July across the boarder! I got my pick of the whole collection.

Choo-Choo Choose You is one of those grey, purple taupey shades, but what sets it apart is he strong mulitchrome shimmer. I'm talking Clarin's type shifting. The formula was quite thin, but surprisingly built up quite well. The first swiped appeared to be frosty, but it dried to a smooth and glossy finish.

Loco-Motive is a glitter topper made up of charcoal glitter and larger orange-red hex glitter sprinkled throughout. You probably could get this one to reach opacity but it seemed quite thin, I stopped at two coats for my swatch.

Next up, Boundary of a Memory.

This is apart of The Giver collection. Yes, The Giver the book! Does anyone else remember reading this in grade 5? I do vaguely, however back then I was not a big fan of reading. Apparently they are making a movie about it and China Glaze has partnered with the release of a polish collection. The only polish that caught my eye was Boundary of a Memory, a shimmery glitter. Both Sally's I went to did not have swatches available, so I based my decision on the bottle alone, and let me just say that the bottle does this glitter no justice! So much better on the nail. It appears to be a mix of silver grey and brown micro glitters and builds up to opacity nicely, two thick coats are shown in my swatch below.

Finger Paints:

In the Monet is a saturated blue jelly jam packed with blue microglitter and slightly larger silver prismatic glitter that shines green. Two coats are shown  in the swatch below.

Colourful Collage is a holo glitter bomb! I have been wanting this for a while but not really needed it. I added it finally to my cart when I needed a few extra dollars to use my birthday coupon, yippee! It is a mix of multiple shapes and sizes of silver holo glitter in a clear base.

I picked up Crystal Springs on clearance for $2.10! It is a topper made up of matte lime green and baby blue glitter and sprinkled with holo gold micro glitter and irregularly shaped silver holo glitter. Two coats are shown in my swatch below

Aloha Lei is an orange shimmer that has a deep orange jelly-ish base and golden yellow/orange shimmer. Two coats are shown in my swatch below.

China Glaze Off Shore collection, summer 2014:

Stoked To Be Soaked is a basic creme orange. I am rethinking purchasing this polish as it is nothing really special. Two coats are shown in my swatch below

Shore Enough is bright green creme polish. Along with Stoked to Be Soaked, this was an impulse purchase, but I prefer this over the orange. Two coats are shown in the swatch below.

Summer Haulin'

As per usual, about every month or two I head across the boarder for a brief shopping trip. When I say brief, I mean BRIEF, like hours! But I always manage to hit up the best polish supplier while I am in town :) This month I scored at Sally's and Five Below.

I was hoping to find Orly's Baked collection at Sally's, unfortunately they only had the mini set for purchase. I took a look through their sale section and picked out some Finger Paints which were an additional 50% off, lucky me! I chose Metallic Moondust and Stargazing Lilac.

Metallic Moondust is a dense glitter made up of gold  and silver micro and medium sized glitters and sprinkled with a teal hex glitter. This was more awesome than I was expecting, very dense and super sparkly. One coat is shown in my swatches below.

Stargazing Lilac is basically a lilac version of Metallic Moondust with the prettiest shade of purple hex glitter in place of the teal. One coat is shown in my swatches below.

An unexpected stop on my trip this month was at a newly opened Five Below. I just had to check it out, three polishes for $5? Fan-tastic! I picked up some lovely neon shades from Fresh Paint, Honeydew and Guava.

Honeydew is a light green pastel neon, I don't think it has enough blue in it to be considered a mint. It is totally a honeydew shade in neon form. It dries to a slightly satin finish, my swatches below show two coats.

Guava is this fantastic neon coral. I don;t know if I would compare the shade of this polish to the actual guava fruit. Although i have never tried it before, the photos I have seen are a deeper coral in comparison. This polish wears a lot better than other neons, making it one of my number one picks for summer 2014. I will post more about this polish soon. Two coats are shown in the swatch below.

sunlight

shade

The last polish I picked up at Five Below is a glitter topper. As soon as I saw this one I knew I HAD to have it, now! Funky Fingers Glitter Matters - has an unimaginative name... - but is so unique to anything I have seen or owned. Very indy inspired.

It is a glitter topper composed of tiny pink and yellow matte glitter with a mix or larger pink, yellow and white matte glitter. I can't wait to try this out over different shades of polish to see what works best. It would be awesome for a glitter sandwich as well. My swatch below shoes one coat.

sunlight

shade

That is all for now ...until next month ;)