OPI Skull and Glossbones

Happy October! It anyone else as pumped for the fall and Halloween season as I am!? I was totally inspired by the cooler, gloomy days to pull out this (surprisingly) untried polish from OPI, Skull and Glossbones.

Skull and Glossbones is a light to medium grey creme polish. The formula was good and it applied well. I required two easy coats for full opacity. There is a slight yellow undertone that gives the colour a little something more than a standard black and white mix. 

It wore very well with minimal wear for about 5 days before I did a little refresher.

Pink Cat Eyes

Today have a mani refresh with Nails Inc. Porchester Square. I have seen some beautiful nail art done with striping tape and wanted to attempt the same. My attempt... not to great.

It doesn't look horrible but it just wasn't exactly what I was going for. My triangles were a little thinner than I had anticipated. To get the crisp and clean lines I used thin striping take to mark off the triangular areas. The placement of the tape on the nails gave the illusion of the triangles being thicker than they appeared in the end.

The polish I used for the triangular shapes also was not the best option. Although a great shade, Cover Girl Outlast, Bon Bon was a little on the thinner side. I should have tested it out before using it since I had to use two thicker coats for opacity. Not so good when working with any kind of tape, as it needs to be removed right after application of the polish so the tape does not pull up the polish!

This was a great learning process, definitely something I will try again with new knowledge in mind to improve the process and final look of the mani.

Naurally Neutral

Happy Friday!

I was lucky enough to be treated to a bunch of polishes from a family friend who works at a drug store. I was introduced to brands and shades I probably would have not otherwise purchased, about half of them I have already worn and talked about on my blog and this Nails Inc polish is another!

Porchester Square is a neutral, taupey grey creme. The formula was great and it applied easily in two coats. I have a thing for neutrals during the winter and I am really digging this shade.

As with the Nails Inc "gel" polishes I wore recently, I found that this polish did not hold up well at all after a few days. So disappointing! Does anyone else have wear issues with Nails Inc. polishes? They have some lovely shades and formulas but the polish just does not want to adhere to my nails!

Glitter, Glitter Everywhere

Blinding glitter ahead!

 I have been in a glittery mood for the most part in the month of November. Today is no exception, I have a fall OPI shade to share with you, My Voice is a Little Norse. This is a very interesting glitter polish, it can be used as a topper or on its own and can be worn matte/textured or with a high gloss.

The formula was alright, nothing outstanding and nothing horrible. I chose to try it out on it's own and build the glitter up to full opacity in three coats. The base in this polish is unique, it has a slight graphite hue that makes the holo glitter appear grey and helps with opacity.

I wish now I was a bit more careful with application so that it looked neater at the cuticle line and was more even. I added a clear coat of Seche Clear over top the glitter, waited for that to dry a bit then proceeded to add a final coat of Seche Vite on top. I figured adding a double clear coat on top would make for a glossy finish. When I finished applying the topcoat to my nails, and in the photos, it was super glossy and perfect! The next morning, however, although still shiny it was not at glossy as before and was not smooth to the touch.

Next time I will use two layers of top coat, one right after application of the glitter, and another coat the next day (since I polish my nails at night) after the polish has set.

Immortal

Today I have a neutral shade. I feel kind of in-between seasons at the moment. During the month of Halloween I was all over my Halloween polishes, pretty much anything goes! Right now it is still technically fall, but I feel the cold of winter quickly approaching. Polish wise I feel somewhat in a rut but not in a bad way, more in the way I can't decide what I want to wear because of all the options! I still have a few Halloween polishes in my desk, so I decided to try China Glaze, Immortal.

This is another one of those "Halloween" shades that doesn't really scream Halloween to me. I almost didn't purchase it originally because of that, however, swatches and reviews of this polish online made me want to try it.

Immortal is a medium grey creme polish with a faint shimmer of small iridescent flakies. The shimmer reflects mostly pink and blue. The formula was great, a little on the thin side but not too liquidy. It was easy to apply and only two coats were required for full opacity. 

Overall, I'm not really super impressed with this shade, it's a nice neutral but doesn't really have the "wow" factor I was hoping for. The longer I wear it the more it has been growing on me.

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!

Glitter and Goodies

Today I have a polish I had coveted for so long, Sephora by OPI, If You've Got It, Haunt It! I finally found it last year on clearance for $6 at Sephora and am super glad I did since all of the $OPI polishes have now been discontinued. A tip for finding some polishes you may have missed out on is to check your local Marshalls. I took a trip across the boarder over the weekend and came across single polishes and a three pack, that was at a quick glance! I also found some singles and minis at a Marshalls in Canada too, so keep a look out.

If You've Got It, Haunt It is a silver grey based glitter with a sheer jelly grey base. The glitter is very dense in this one, mostly silver micro glitter sprinkled with matte black glitter and micro holo glitter/prismatic glitter that shifts between green blue and purple. So unique! The jelly built up well and only two coats were needed for full opacity.

On my ring finger I used Wet n' Wild Fantasy Makers, Creapy Pumpkin. This is a sheer jelly orange with orange/yellow shimmer. This polish is fairly sheer, but I only needed three coats for full opacity.

Loving this combo of glitter and shimmer, nail art to follow ;)

Thanksgiving Mani

Today I have a very belated thanks giving mani. Nothing over the top, just a nice neutral fall shade, OPI's My Private Jet. I actually own two of the multiple versions out there, far I have counted at least 4 variations on this shade. The shade I am wearing today is a grey/brown with a scattered holo shimmer and a light blue/purple duochrome.

direct sunlight, outdoors

I wish I could capture the colour/finish more acutely, it is so much preittier in person. Photos do not do this polish justice. 

direct sunlight, outdoors

indirect lighting outdoors

This is so pretty even though it is not the super duper amazing one everyone always lusts over. Application was perfect, two thin coats were required for full opacity. I added a top coat, but wonder if it dulled the holo effect at all. Either way I love it, such a great neutral shade.

camera flash

camera flash

I am planning an upcoming post comparing the two versions I own, they are actually quite different, a lot more than I thought! Do you own My Private Jet? Do you know how many variations there are?

Halloween Skittles!

Happy Friday!! And happy long weekend to my fellow Candaians, this week is our Thanksgiving :) I cannot wait to fill up on turkey this weekend!

Moving on to my mani, I loved Lightmare so much that I didn't want to remove it entirely just because a few nails were chipping. What I decided on doing was keeping it on the nails that were not chippy and doing some Halloween skittle nails as a mani refresh.

With lightmare on my ring and pinky fingers I applied the following to my nails:

Fright Night Claw Polish, Sinister - Middle finger. This is THE perfect black creme polish, plus it comes in a cute coffin bottle :)

China Glaze, Papaya Punch - Pointer finger. A bright yellow based orange creme.

Ulta Salon Formula, Concrete Evidence - Thumb. A medium grey creme.

On op of each nail I added either some stamping or glitter:

Pinky - Bundle Monster plate BM-201with white polish over Lightmare.

Middle - Bundle Monster plate BM-201with white polish over Sinister.

Pointer - Unnamed pumpkin polish from Rite Aid (label reads "Chunky Nail", however I have another polish purchased this year with the same label).

Thumb - Nabi, Black Flake over Concrete Evidence

I am loving skittle nails, perfect for when you cant decide on one particular colour, design, glitter, etc!

Galactic Grey - Photo Heavy!

My first Hologlam mani! I was so excited when I first picked them up I just new my next mani would have to be one of them. It was a tough decision to choose but I ended up going with Galactic Grey. The weather has been up and down here and right now it is FREEZING! So I figured I should use the most unspring-like colour. The sun is shining most days so I can still see the holo awesomeness!

In my previous Hologlam haul post I mentioned that the formula had improved, however I was referring to application on my swatching wheel. Although thicker, I still experienced typical holo application when applying to my natural nails. After two nails I couldn't take it anymore!! I applied Nfu-Oh Aqua base and application was a breeze! Since the formula was thick and pigmented I could have gotten away with just one coat, however, seeing as how I wasn't adding a top coat I applied a second coat for protection and to smooth out any imperfections. I would highly suggest purchasing a Holo base like Nfu-oh's Aqua base, I know there are other options out there but don't know them off the top of my head. Not only does it help with overall application but it also acts as a ridge filler which I also highly recommend if you don't have a holo base coat.

Photos below are all taken in natural sunlight

I just love this polish! The colour is an interesting choice for spring/summer buy I can appreciate it, it reminds me of OPI's My Private Jet. It is grey for sure but has brown undertones which doesn't make it so stark, very unique in my collection which is awesome cause. Had originally thought it would have been closer to Layla Flash Black which I already own. The photos you see are exactly what was captured, the only editing I did was to add my watermark and crop to size. The holo was hard to capture from my desk lamp alone but my camera flash helped with that! In low light the holo effect is weak, but even in the worst lighting I can see a slight flash, like a subtle oil slick on my nails. I actually prefer this type of prismatic effect to the Color Club Holo Hues.

Next time I grab this polish I will likely thin out the bottle, the longer you let it stand while applying to the nails the thicker it seems to get which can make for an uneven finish. Luckily, the finished look was perfect :)

Electrifying!

I didn't receive any polish gifts this year for Christmas, but am glad I didn't. I did way too much hauling between November and December to gather what I already wanted! The only polish related item I did receive was the latest collection of Bundle Monster plates from my brother and I could not be happier! This is their best set yet in my opinion, the designs are just awesome and I could not wait to try them out!

I ended up using plate BM-305 to stamp some lightening bolts in black over Ulta Concrete Evidence  I decided not to add a topcoat over the design, I like the matte look, reminds me of a chalkboard drawing.

I didn't photograph the latest Bundle Monster set because it has already been done so many time before! I am very late to getting this set, they will most likely be coming out with a new one shortly. If you'd like to see what each individual plate looks like, click here.