Papa Don't Peach

I am living China Glaze's Lite Brite collection this summer. I have already worn two shades, Bite Me and What I Like About Blue, and today I have number three out of the five I picked up, Papa Don't Peach.

 

Papa Don't Peach is a bright neon coral jelly with golden flecks and shimmer. In the bottle it looks bright and summery and in the nail it doesn't disappoint. (The most colour accurate photo is directly below, however, in reality it actually pulls more coral)

I required two coats to build up to full opacity, which I didn't expect. I figured it would take at least three since it was a jelly. It dries to a semi-matte finish with slight texture, due to the flecks and shimmer, however, I layer of Seche Vite was enough to make the final finish glossy. For extra gloss, I'd add a second layer of too coat after 24 hours of the original application.

Snapshots from Jamaica - My Honeymoon Manis

Yes, multiple manis... on my honeymoon. I honestly could have dealt with just one shade for an extended time but brought some fun neon shades with me in case I decided to change things up a bit.

Glad I did because my manis were kind of chipping all over the place! Next time I will definitely be doing a gel mani before I leave! I had a gel base of my wedding mani, no in-between chipping I'd have that for a few days at a time as well. Let start it off with what I wore on my tips...

China Glaze, Celtic Sun - bright neon yellow, 2-3 coats over a white base

China Glaze, Pool Party, new version - Bright neon, orange based coral, three coats over my gel French tip base.

China Glaze, Flip Flip Fantasy, original version - Bright neon coral, 2-3 coats over my French tip base. Yup, I brought this discontinued baby with me because I have another full bottle at home!

Bio Seaweed Gel, French Mani - more on that here.

Next up, toes

Are You Jelly, new version - The most perfect shade of purple leaning magenta, 2 coats

Flip Flop Fantasy, original verison - 2 coats, no base (forgot to pack it! Opps!)

I would have preferred to keep Are You Jelly on my toes the whole trip, but I didn't bring a bottle of the stuff with me.

A few snippets from my vacation through my manis. Do you bring nail polish on vacation with you?

East Austin - Remixed!

I actually had time to spare on the weekend and decided to pull out my nail art plates, blow off the collecting dust (from who knows the last time I used them!) and play with my nails.

I decided to try out a new plate I got from  Born Pretty Store, likely late last year. It is plate BP-L030 and is a larger, rectangular plate.

The graphics consist of a large scale abstract lace and florals. I used more of the floral pattern from the bottom left-hand corner of the plate. I attempted to use another new product from Born pretty store, their XL squishy stamper, but it was a total fail so I gave up and used my regular one.

I really like this plate, the final look is more interesting than the standard "copy and past" of each graphic on to every nail. I purposely picked up different parts of the design to stamp on my nail so the design on each nail was unique.

There is something about a bold, black pattern over neon polishes that just SCREAMS summer to me!

East Austin

I am feeling summary and pulled out Color Club East Austin for the first neon of the season!

I love this shade because it is coral (one of my favorite polish colours), it's a neon (duh) and it's soft. It has that sun bleached look to it while still being bright.

Application was good, I can't recall if I applied two or three coats for full opacity now... But I want to say it was two. I remeber the formula being pretty opaque and not very thinned out.

Love this on it's own, but if you wanna check out some nail art (I know, it's been a while!) stay tuned for the best post!

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.

Pack Lightly

I totally goofed up and forgot to snap photos of this polish while I was wearing it :( It's such a pretty colour, so I still want to talk about it. It's another China Glaze from the spring Road Trip collection. I have been feeling bright nails lately with the weather skipping over spring and diving right in to summer with warm and sunny days.

Although a pastel, and spring appropriate, Pack Lightly has a bit of pop to it, I can picture it looking even brighter with a nice tan in a month or so, pending the weather of course! It is a soft pink based coral with a (mostly hidden) warm shimmer. I think it's the shimmer that helps this polish toe the like of pink and coral.

The formula was on the sheer side but I was able to build it up in three easy coats. Wear is good, I am about three days in now with very minor tip wear.

The only photo I have of Pack Lightly, third to the right.

I may try to squeeze in a few more of these pastels in the next month, but I am really feeling brights and neons right now. I've got to get my hands on some of the Summer polishes from China Glaze's recent collections ASAP!

J-E-L-L-O!

I have an awesome coral mani to share today apart of China Glaze's summer offering from 2013. Shell-o is a pink-based coral jelly polish that is bright and fun for summer. Too bad summer for the most part has been feeling like fall  :( Luckily the weather has FINALLY been picking up this week, it figures, the last week of August! But hey, I'll be happy is September turns in to an extended summer!

I think that is why I chose this shade of polish to wear, brighten the mood a bit and remind myself that it's still summer. The formula was good too work with, not too thick, not too thin. Since it is a jelly it is sheer. I used a total of four coats which is mostly opaque. The end result is bright and juicy, but not as squishy as I would have hoped.

I can't recall if it dried super glossy, but I added my usual coat of Seche Vite over top to aid in drying. I wish my skin had a nice tan to really make it pop, but I do love this shade, a must have for summer!

Glittery Gradient

I decided to apply a slight gradient to a base of bright pink nails, China Glaze Pedal to the Metal. For the sponge gradient I used China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy, probably my favourite China Glaze polish! To create the polish on the nail I applied Flip Flop Fantasy to a make-up sponge with pedal to the medal directly below it. I gently dabbed the sponge a few times on the nail (already with a base of Medal to the Medal) to create the gradual fade from one colour to the other.

I continued this process on each nail between one to two times to get the desired look. I then sponged some fine gold holographic glitter on the tips of my nails as well, China Glaze Golden Enchantment. I added a thin top coat over top everything to smooth out the gradient and add a nice gloss.

Glitter Matters!

Happy Friday! I have a quick mani refresh today that I absolutely love. I layered an awesome matte glitter over my previous mani of Fresh Paint Guava.

Funky Fingers, Glitter Matters, is a densely paked glitter made up of various sized pink, yellow and white glitters. I find the yellow pieces of glitter have a slight opalescence to them in the sunlight that makes them appear golden against the coral base. It is pretty awesome.

I love the contrast between the bright coral base and the matte glitter pieces. I only needed one coat for the distribution of glitter I was happy with. I used a dabbing motion to help apply the glitter evenly to the nail, and swiped upwards to distribute it evenly.

Guava

I purchased a couple polishes dorm a new to me brand, Fresh Paint, both being bright summer neons! The first out of the two I decided to wear is Guava.

Guava is a bright coral neon which I feel is creme based. It tends to lean more orange or pink depending on the lighting. Outside in direct lighting is is completely eye searing! I love it!

Application was awesome, the formula is a little thick but easy to work with. I only needed two coats to reach full opacity. If I remember correctly it dried to a satiny finish. I used Seche Vite to make it nice and shinny. Surprisingly it wore very well, neons usually chip very quickly on me.

I will have to pick up some more of these polishes when I am in another Five Below! Does anyone know if these are a Five Below exclusive brand?

Cult Nails Scandalous

Happy Friday! A nice sunny weekend calls for a bright and shiny shade. Summer seems to be in full force, however I feel like this whole season is just flying by since the weather picked up so late.

Today I am wearing Cult Nails Scandalous. This juicy shade is super duper shiny. The colour does not photograph very well, I would describe it as a pink based coral jelly. On screen it looks way more saturated. It is a very creamy jelly.

It was fairly thin on the first coat, but built up nicely in three coats, not bad for a jelly. I had no application issues, as always with my Cult Nails polishes, flawless formula :)

In Hind sight I regret not trying a jelly sandwich with Scandalous. It would go perfectly with captivated or Blaze! Whenever I pull out a Cultie to wear, it always makes me crave more. Can't wait to see what Maria has in store for us in her newer collections!

Pedal to the Metal

My boyfriend suggested I pick a few polishes for him to choose from to paint my nails the other day. While choosing the colours I already knew EXACTLY what he was going to pick, the blue shade, Essie, Butler Please. He always goes for the blues! He surprised me when he paired it with another Essie, Saturday Disco Fever. This of course would be the accent nail, according to him.

I told him maybe he should pick a colour based off the polish name, so out of the five in front of him, he picked out China Glaze, Pedal to the Metal. A perfect choice I didn't even consider seeing how my first road test (G2), was scheduled for the next day! I'm glad to say I easily passed, yay me! I was lucky enough to have a super nice examiner and no rain, it had been calling for rain all week. I had a little set back the morning of with my boyfriends car, but that is a whole other story all together. All that matters is that I made it there on time and passed, so we are both happy :)

Pedal to the Medal is a light, bright pink creme with the slightest of coral undertones. Application was good, not too thick, not too thin. There were some streaks, but better application on my part could have helped to avoid that. Only two coats were needed for full opacity.

It dried to a satin/matte finish, which I glossed up with a coat of Seche Vite. Application so far (2 days at this point) is good. Some slight shipping in my usual spot (inside right thumb). But I did also experience a larger than usual chip on day one, pointer finger of my left hand. This was due to a deep bend (crease) in the nail. Some of my nails are still healing after the toll winter took on them unfortunately. Luckily all of the other nails are looking good. I found this collection as a whole chipped a lot faster due to the satin/matte finish. Hopefully this last a few more days, I plan on doing a refresh of some sort :)

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?

Happy Valentines!

Happy Friday and happy Valentines day! Whether you celebrate with a loved one, family, friends or not at all, I hope you have a great day! My boyfriend and I plan on staying in tonight, I have a little something planned for dinner, but we'll we'll probably go out on Saturday so we don't have to rush around Friday night, although plans are still up in the air.

Today I have a simple valentine themed mani I freehanded on a base of my last mani, Sinful Colors Cream Soda. You can really see the spritz of silver shimmer better in these photos if you zoom in! I applied a medium/thick coat of glitter, Essie Jazzy Jubilant, to the ring fingers. It includes various coloured hex glitter and smaller red glitter. On the rest of the nails I freehanded a polka dot heart pattern.

I used Sally Hansen Ceramic Wear in White Ghost and my smallest dotting tool for the pattern. I started out by plotting out the pattern with the dotting tool on the nail. Then I made every other dot a heart, still using the smallest dotter. I wanted the pattern to look delicate and girly. I really like the final result :)