Titanium

Today I have a very unique shade I didn't think I would like originally. I forget exactly when this OPI Designer Series polish (Titanium) was released, however, I do recall not thinking much of it. Flash forward a few years and I see it on sale and it looks interesting so I decide to take a chance on it.

Titanium is an interesting shade, it has a jelly grey base with various shapes and sizes of iridescent glitter jam packed in there. I believe I used two to three coats for full opacity. I remember the first coat looking really sheer, however, it did build up nicely.

I love that there is a slight tint of grey in the base, it helps with overall coverage of the polish. And the iridescent glitter flashes all the colours of the rainbow depending on the slight.

My Own Personal Mirrorball!

I can't believe it's already November, fall has just flown by! Switching things up a bit, I decided to finally wear Orly Mirrorball, a super-lemming of mine last winter. I can't even remember where I found it now. Maybe at Ulta in the States? Anyways, it is gorgeous and I pulled it out for a very special occasion. I won't say what specifically, but I think you'll be able to guess by the end of the post...

Mirrorball is a silver holo with small to medium shaped hex holo glitter scattered throughout. It is sooooo pretty. I used my Nfu-Oh Aqua base and didn't have any issues with application. I love that a little bit of the Aqua base goes a long way too. I believe I applied between 2-3 coats of Mirrorball, however, the polish was perfectly opaque at two coats.

Normally I don't topcoat holos, but I wanted to make sure the polish dried quickly so I added a layer of Seche Vite. It added a gorgeous gloss and I don't think it interrupted the strength of the holo. This is so pretty in the sunlight or in the shade. It may be because it was apart of Orly's 2015 holiday collection, but it reminds me of snow... Which should NOT be happening anytime soon! I may bring it out closer to the holidays again.

Another "mirror-ball" that is sooooo pretty ^_^

Stevie

I have another Zoya polish today from the last purchase I made from their Earth Day promo. They just recently had another promo over the weekend for three free with $15 shipping. I DEFINITELY took part in that promo as well, but was disappointment it wouldn't let me add Daisy to my cart :(

Back to the polish at hand, today I have Stevie.

Stevie is a gorgeous light lavender Pixie Dust with a silver glitter. I have always shared my love of the Pixie Dust formula and this is no exception. The first coat was a bit sheer, however I only needed two easy coats for full opacity.

It also wore awesomely! I'm still wearing it now and it's been a week and three days! I have some tip wear now and I think it's at the point where I'd like to remove it and wear a new shade.

...This is the Most Craziest Shit Ever!

I can't help but hum a Gwen Stefani tune while applying this polish! Although this polish has nothing to do with the song Don't Get It Twisted, OPI's Push and Shove is so crazy cool!

I had originally tried this polish shortly after it's release last year. It is now infamous for wonky application and short wear time and requires you to follow some steps usually not taken with regular polishes such as using a special base and no topcoat. Since my nails already had a base of Bio Seaweed Gel that I applied to avoid staining from this polish, I wanted to test how well the Push and Shove would apply over the gel alone when compared to the mini Lay Down That Base, base coat the polish comes with. That bottle is hilarious by the way! That is another reason I decided to try out a gel as my base, what happens when that tiny base polish runs out?

Compared side by side the Push and Shove over the gel base appears the same if not better then the Lay Down That Base, base. I used Lay Down that Base on my pinky nail and no base, other than the gel previously applied, to my other nails. Not only did it apply well, but the gel smoothed out my nail bed giving a beautifully even, streak-free mirror finish that is so awesome! My photos hardly do this polish justice!

You guys, my nails are literally tiny little mirrors, so shiny! Two coats were applied since I did not plan on applying a topcoat. I find you can easily get away with one thicker coat, but noticed during application that two thinner coats product better results. The gel base helps to smooth out any imperfections in my nail making the chrome appear strong and flawless... well as flawless as I think I can get! The best part is application was five about minutes, probably including dry time as well.

Unfortunately wear time is about the same as over Lay Down That Base. I for it for a few days, then when I couldn't stand  the tip wear and slight chipping I just changed my mani up.

Dahlia

Although the texture trend seems to be so passe, I feel myself gravitating towards them for a quick and easy mani. I also just purchased a few, as you can see here, from Zoya. Surprisingly I am actually wearing them! I don;t know about you, but I usually tend to forget about some of my newly purchased polishes, especially when they take over a month to be delivered... Today I pulled out Dahlia to wear.

 Zoya Dahlia is a dark charcoal textured "Pixie Dust" polish that reminds me of the most awesome coal ever. As always I love the Zoya Pixie Dust texture, rough, shiny and sparkly. I applied two thin coats for full opacity. I like that it was not a stark black polish, it is on the softer side of black which really compliments the sparkle and finish.

The Pixies always wear well and Dahlia was no exception. I love textured polish for an easy and quick option when I may not have a lot of time to spend on my nails but NEED to change a chippy mani.

Which is your favorite textured polish brand? OPI definitely comes in second for me!

From Halloween to Christmas?

Not quite... I still can't believe how quickly October came and went, already November! You what that means for the rest of the year its all about Christmas.... then, of course, Valentines lol.

Okay, I'm getting WAY ahead of myself here. I do have a China Glaze holiday shade from 2011, Tinsel Town. I'm not getting in to the whole Christmas thing early, I actually just wanted to match my nails to my dress for a wedding and wanted to be all glitzy with this gorgeous glitter.

Flushed Sparks Fly

Today I have a quick mani refresh, I originally wanted to do some stamping over Cult Nails Flushed, but ultimately decided on glitter tips due to timing and sleepiness lol. I used Sally Hansen Triple Shine Sparks Fly on my wee tips. I chopped them down AGAIN this weekend due to a very large break in my index finger, I wanted them to look as close to uniform as possible. My nails have really taken a beating this winter :(

Sparks Fly is a silver hex and small glitter suspended in a very light cornflower jelly base. The base is very sheer and probably will never build up to full opacity, but is very dense with glitter. Over another polish colour, you see a slight contrast between the colour of y our base polish and the glitter. Since Flushed is a purple, the jelly in Sparks Fly gives a slightly more blue tint at the top of the nail. Subtly but i'll take it!

The glitter was easy to apply, I didn't need to go around fishing for glitter, and I experienced no bubbling considering I was using a blotting method of application. I would recommend at least a thin layer of top coat over the glitter to ensure none of the glitter pieces are poking out to the point where they are sharp or flake of your nail. If you apply the polish is a traditional way, long strokes, you shouldn't have a problem, but the blotting method does leave some glitters poking out.

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 :)

Push and Shove - Stamping

Happy Friday!!

After swatching and playing around with OPI Push and Shove, I decided to try some stamping. This polish is starting to become notorious with application issues, will it even work with stamping or will it have the same issues as it does with basic application?

Nope, stamps fantastically! I used Bundle Monster Plate BM-422, a honeycomb pattern, and stamped over my previous mani of Zoya Storm. The result was a perfect chrome finished intricate design, just look at that shine! I would recommend moving quick if using Push and Shove to stamp with, it does dry fairly quick. I didn't add a top coat because I didn't want to dull the effect. Pretty cool huh!? Like a space age honey comb!

Target Polish Clearance!

You MUST check out Target if you are a polish fanatic like me! Unfortunately I don't live close to a Target, and I was actually visiting last week for a return from December. I decided to have a quick look around the store and noticed clearance bins with discounted cosmetics, most being polish!

The brands I spied included various Sally Hansen collections, Nicole by OPI, Sinful Colors, and Kiss. I saw a sales lady passing by and asked if there were any additional items on clearance, she said that what I was looking through was the overstock! All the other sale items have been marked in their original display sections! What I ended up finding was almost every brand of polish was reduced to some degree, from $3.00 to 69 cents! .

Have a look at what I picked up! From Sally Hansen's Insta-Dri line, Lickety-Split Lime ad Instant Iris. I pick these up for stamping for a steal of $1.15 each.

I could not resist at least one Sinful Color at 69 cents! I chose Cloud 9, a bright yellow based orange with golden shimmer.

Swatches of the three polishes above below, one coat each of the Insta-Dri's and two coats of Cloud 9.

Next I picked up some glitter bombs from Sally Hansen's Gem Crush line, Glitz Gal, Lady Luck and Razzle Dazzle. These were under $2 each. 

My swatches below are two coats each.

I pick and chose wisely this time, I didn't want to go too crazy! I wish there were more Insta-Dris on clearance, I love them as a base for nail art and stamping.

So as  you can see I am still blogging directly from my desk today, photos and all! Here is a look (from inside) to part of my back yard where I usually take my photos. Don't let the sun fool you, it is VERY cold out this week! What is your preference for photos, indoors or outdoors?

Have you been to target lately? What polish was reduced at your store? If you are in the States I'd love to hear about selection and pricing, I will be heading there on Sunday :) First crossboarder shopping trip of the year!

Post-Holiday Purchases

Since the holidays have ended I have made some last minute, "get 'em while you can" holiday polish purchases. Since it is getting frigid again outside I am literally blogging from my laptop to yours today, photos and all! Let's start off with Essie!

The first swatches I saw for Essie's Encrusted Treasures collection did not win me over, especially the namesake of the collection. I was not even the slightest bit interested. I already posted a mani with Essie's Silver Plater, so you must know I caved lol. Along with On a Silver Platter I picked up Hors D'orves, and Lots of Lux.

Hors D'orves has the same gold shimmer as the previous polish and jam packed with silver hex glitter. Super shiny and blingy. Dries to a glossy shine.

On a Silver Plater is a sheer but buildable gold shimmer combined with various sizes of a deep blue holo hex glitter. I really love the glitter in this polish!  Dries to a glossy shine.

Lots of Lux was a super last minute purchase and I almost didn't pick this one up.

 It was a swatch I saw online that helped me decide I needed it! It appeared to have a duochrome effect. On the nail not so much, but it still is a pretty textured blue. Dries matte, gritty to the touch.

Moving on to some Lux Effect polishes from Essie, Stoke of Brilliance and Jazzy Jubilant.

Stoke of Brilliance is a glitter I had been lusting over but have never pikecked it up. It is a medium blue hex glitter of various sizes in a clear base. Great topper.

Another great topper is Jazzy Jubilant, it is a multicolour hex glitter. I own similar polishes but thought this would be good for layering and jelly sandwiches.

Left to right, Jazzy Jubilant and Stroke of Brilliance.

Marshall's has been growing their brand and selection of polishes. In both Canada and the U.S. I have spotted brand such as Zoya, Orly, Sephora by OPI, Color Club and OPI to name a few! I picked up a dual set of Orly polishes which both happened to be FX glitters, Mermaid Tale and Embrace. I was disappointed this collection was not around for longer, but was super excited to score this double pack for $8.99!

Mermaid Tale is a densely packed green and holo glitter of various sizes in a clear base. 

Embrace is a densely packed pink glitter of various sizes in a light pink jelly base.

I also found an interesting OPI at Marshall's, Serious Sparkle.

I tried looking up swatches but didn't find anything. The closest polish I could find was Save Me from the 2012 OPI Spring Nicki Minaj collection. It is a silvery foil shimmer polish packed with holo string glitter, it reminds me of fireworks! If you have any more information on this polish please let me know!

Another OPI I picked up on sale at CosmoProf, My Favorite Ornament, apart of their Holiday Mariah Carey collaboration.

Is is a textured champagne gold, very neutral and sparkly. It seemed comparable to Zoya's Tomoko which I have been eying. Zoya's aren't that easy (or cheap) to come by for me, so I settled for this beauty instead.

I picked up this next polish for a buck! Platinum Gala is a silver hex glitter of multiple sizes suspended in a clear base. I picked this up at Stitches and it smells horrible lol.

Lastly I have some Christmas gifts that are polish related, a colour changing polish I almost did not notice in my stocking is the first! Claire's "sun changing" nail polish (no name) is a blue glitter polish made up of various sizes of blue hex glitter in a sheer blue base. When in the sun it changes from blue to green! I don't think I have seen these before, interesting bottle shape, that's for sure. You only get 7ml of polish in this bottle (half a standard bottle when compared to China Glaze at 14ml).

And finally, some specialty selected Bundle Monster plates from the holiday collection my brother ordered for me. I love that they give you the option to purchase single plates now, I have a large collection of plates, some that don't even have the protective sticker removed! I picked up BM-H06, BM-H07, BM-H08, BM-H11, BM-H25

I have kind of been all over the place with my posts lately, I feel like I am still trying to get back in to the natural order of things since the holidays! I hope to post more regularly by the end of the week.