What Color is the Dress? - Thermal Gel!

Hello out there in blog world!

I have been all over the place for the first month of 2016. You may have already noticed this as this post is only my third of January and it's getting close to February. With my wedding quickly approaching and working full-time with school part time and finding a house all while planning the wedding, it has been a little bit more than hectic! Luckily, everything is starting to fall in to place and I am hoping by February I will be back to posting one to two times a week.

Polishes that are the best during times like these? Gel's of course! Today I have another Madam Glam Chameleon Gel I was sent for review late last year, What Color is the Dress?

What Color is the Dress is shifts from a deep burgundy red (that sometimes looks brown) when cold to a deep indigo blue. There is a sparse sprinkling of shimmer throughout. Application was well. It applied evenly and fully opaque in two easy coats. From what I can remember the first coat was a bit sheer, but it built up well.

As with the last shade I reviewed from Madam Glam, I used my own personal Bio Seaweed Gel Base and Top coats. So far I have been wearing this mani for a week with no wear (the cold/bergundy photos were taken a week after application!). Perfect for those busy days... that turn in to weeks... that turn in to months! My intention was to do some nail art or stamping to mix it up but life gets in the way of getting your nails did sometimes! But this gel isn't going anywhere anytime soon (off my nails I mean). So stay tuned for another mani with this as the base.

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

Pop Goes My Heart! Madam Glam Review - Part Two

Today I have part two of my Madam Glam Chameleon Gel polish review. First to wear and test out is Pop Goes My Heart! I just CANNOT get enough of this polish! So much Fun to wear!

As I stated in part 1, I just received the four gels to try, no base or top coats. For this review I wanted to note that I used my own personal base and top coats, both Bio Seaweed Gel. I started off with a layer of basecoat which was cured for one minute and proceeded to add a coat of Pop Goes My Heart. On the nail wheel when I did my initial swatches I found the formula thick. On the nail I found it to actually apply a little better, although still thick. It was easier to manipulate which I think is due to the slightly sticky residue left from the basecoat. I tried to make my layers as thin as I possibly could.

After the first coat was cured I added a second which build up the opacity well. the fun thing about curing is the colour changes almost instantaneously due to the warmth of the light. Once the second layer was done curing I added a final layer of top coat which cured without any wiping.

A cool thing about these chameleon gels is that they dry to a matte finish should you decide not to add a top coat, you just need to be sure to wipe each nail with (99%) alcohol to remove the tacky layer after curing.

I am loving this gel, I am having too much fun with it! When it is cold it is a deep purple and at it's warmest it is a light blue. Depending on my body temperature (or the temperature or things I am touching or interacting with) the shade can be anywhere from a mix of the two shades or an in between colour (if changed to a deep blue from purple before changing to the light blue). It reminds me of space with the white pieces of glitter.

Day one - All above photos taken right after application

Wear: I wore this polish for two full weeks and it wore fantastically! Still as shiny and glossy as the first day I applied it with no visible wear or chips, not even in the usual spots! The growth is the only giveaway of the amount of time the gel has been on my nails. Check out the photo below and compare the amount of space between my cuticle and the gel.

 

After two full weeks of wear!

It is just too cool and my photos unfortunately do not to it justice. Most show with both warm and cold patches, with the exception of the last photo above which is 100% cold! I can't wait to try out the rest of the ones I received!

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

Ziggy Zaggy!

Today I have a Halloween inspired refresh inspired by @Stormandstars on Instagram (shown below).

I'm not sure exactly what products were used, but I just loved the look!

My base is Del Sol Trick or Treat and I used Bundle Monster plate BM-201 with Konad black for stamping the zigzag pattern.

 

I LOVE this look, although I must say I am a bit rusty at stamping. It's been a while! My nails are also a tad long and the pattern just reached the top. I actually filed then down a bit to ensure the pattern looked complete.

A fun and quick way to Halloween up your nails!

A Halloween Favorite

Today I have a Halloween favorite that I try to use sparingly, Del Sol Trick or Treat.

Trick or Treat is a UV activated colour shifting polish. In it's regular state it is a bright orange jelly with holographic micro glitter. When in the sun or exposed to UV light it turns a dark shade of purple, almost black jelly! Such a great shift and colour changing polish. I wish there were a heat activated version as well!

I used two coats over (two layers) of my Deborah Lippmann All About That Base base coat. I decided to use two layers of the base to help with opacity of the polish, and save a layer or two of polish. All and all the technique worked very well!

Comparing the colour shift from the last time I wore this polish, it's safe to say there is a bit of a difference. This may be due to a few factors, either age of the polish or quantity of layers. Age may have affected the colour shift or additional layers are needed to produce a better effect. I'll have to test the polish out to know for sure.

Do you have this polish? How is the colour shift like from your bottle?

Trick, or Treat?

I can't express how much I love this polish! I thought I wouldn't get around to wearing it this year because there are only so many days left of October and it has been nothing but rain and overcast days.

Trick or Treat from Del Sol when in natural light is a sheer orange jelly base packed with orange and holographic glitter. I mostly see the green particles from the holo glitter, and it looks awesome! The great thing about Del sol polishes if you didn't already know, is when you are exposed to UV light, i.e. the sun, the polish changes colour!

This one has got to be the most drastic I have seen from this brand. When in the sun, the base colour shifts to a deep dark purple/black jelly. The sun was out yesterday and while I was at my desk at work I put my hand close to the window and it started to change! I really love the look of the colour when in the sun. I wish it was more sunny lately!

  

I couldn't get the colour shift to photograph accuratley, it is actually quite darker than the picture displays.

I applied 3 generous coats over OPI's ridge filler and didn't have any issues with VNL. I sealed everything off with a top coat, I suggest a super glossy one as it adds to the depth.

I love each colour on its own and even the shift in between, definitely a must have for Halloween :)

Del Sol Color Changing Polish & Sally Hansen French Manicure Pen Review

Hi ladies, This post is waaaaaayy over due. For those of you who live in Canada, I bought these polishes/products when Rexall had their 50% off all polish sale (I think this was in May or June), this is also when I created this mani lol.

First I will start with the French Manicure pen.

Pros

- easy to use

- does not rub off

- does not bleed with topcoat

- fast drying

Cons

- the tip of the one purchased was bent (this made application more challenging)

- multiple coats are needed

- bald spots may occur if not enough time is allowed between coats

Here are some pictures I took after application

This was free hand, it came out pretty decent for my first try. As you can see it can get a little lumpy if you go over the same spot more than once before the polish fully dries.

Next I applied Del Sol's Ruby Slipper (sorry, forgot to take a photo of this polish)

This polish was easy to apply, the glitter was dense in the polish, I applied 2 coats on the tips alone (no smudging of the white tips occurred).

To finish off the look I added a top coat and that was it!

Ta-da! the finished look ... indoors.

I'm sure that you have heard about Del Sol polish, it changes colour with UV light. As you can see in the pictures in normal lighting the polish had a clear base with silver glitter.

In Canada I have seen these polishes at Shoppers Drug Mart and Rexall for $10 Canadian ( I picked mine up for $5 on sale). Recently on my trip to the Dominican Republic I saw these in the Punta Cana airport, they sold for $10 U.S each. The demonstration I received of the "colour change" was not impressive... it didn't change at all! After I had bought my polish I wanted to learn more and found out that these polishes are sometime defective. Had I have known this I probably would not have purchased it, but lucky for me mine did work :)

Here is what my mani looked like in the sun, the clear base turns a pinkish red and the silver sparkles shine though.

What do you think about the Sally Hansesn Nail pen and Del Sol colour changing polish? would you purchase these?