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!

At Vase Value

I have a beaut today from China Glaze's 2014 Spring Collection, City Flourish. I picked out At Vase Value to wear for my engagement photos! I wanted something that was a little edgy without being too flashy or tacky. It's safe to say that neons, glitter and nail art of any kind were out, I didn't want too much of a distraction in the photos, and I wanted it to match the venue, outfits, etc seamlessly.

I knew I wanted a soft blue, I think I had the "something blue" tradition in my head. Blue is edgy without being over the top when you pick a pastel or lighter shade. In the end is came down to this or Color Club's Meet Me At Your Chateau.

I chose At Vase Value in the end due to the brighter shade with a hint of green making it more turquoise.

Application was okay, a little streaky on the first coat. As long as you swipe the polish quickly on the nail, it will even it's self out. I'm pretty sure I applied three coats total, the last coat being very thin.

I love this shade and I'm glad I chose it for my photos!

I Theadora You

The countdown is on guys, just over a month until my wedding and I feel like a lot is going on... but not really. There is still a lot to do, but not in comparison to the big picture of planning a wedding and all that! I feel like I'm at the end at this point. My hardest decision lately is where to go for our honeymoon! Suggestions would be greatly appreciated by the way! I'm looking mostly south, all inclusive.

So why am I bringing this up? Today's mani is what I wore for my bridal shower; A lovely soft shade that is oh so girly. This is OPI's I Theadora You.

I applied more coats of this crelly than I usually apply since I wanted it to be mostly opaque, three coats got me there. The one thing I did not expect is the overall look was more milky than pink tint. You can see what I mean in the flash photos below (last photo below).

I ended up layering Zoya's Godiva Pixie Dust overtop and I really loved the combo. Unfortunately for you guys I forgot to snap a photo. Luckily, I Theadora You is lovey on it's own as well.

Feelin' Yacht, Yacht, Yacht!

Spring is finally feeling like it's here and the lovely weather has put me in the mood for some brighter shades.

Today I have China Glaze, Too Yacht to Handle. I must say that this is much closer to a "Tiffany" blue than a lot of others out there, Too Yacht To Handle is a bright robin blue with just a hint of green that makes this colour unique in my collection. The polish is bright but not yet a neon, although it sure is close!

The formula the second time around (first post on this, here) was improved. The first coat was a little streaky but the second evened everything out. In applying the polish you have to work in thin, quick stokes. I must have added thinner to the bottle the first time I wore it because I remember that time around the formula being thicker.

Wear improved as well, the first time around it chipped fairly quickly and easily. This time I got some slight tip wear over the course of the 5 days, but nothing really noticeable. 

A Twist of Lime

Orly's Key Lime Twist is a long time lemming of mine since it was released last spring apart of the Sugar High collection. To be honest, not a big fan of the other colours in the set, but this one I. Had. to. HAVE!

Key Lime Twist is a bright, but not yet neon, yellow pastel with green undertones. It really pops on the nail in the sunlight and will look great with a tan this summer!

The formula was good, it applied well in two coats which built up to full opacity. A yellow at two coats for full opacity? Very rare is you ask me!

Although it is not a neon, it just borders the line for me, especially outdoors.

OMG! a Holo?

Today I have a unique shade from China Glaze. I wore this quasi-holo polish in late winter, early spring at the first sign of some sunshine. Notice the longer nails!

OMG a UFO from China Glazes 2013 Hologlam collection is a mid toned olive green shade with a slight holographic effect when in the right lighting. Most of the photos I have posted include my camera flash which heightens the holo effect.

The formula applied well over my Nfu-Oh Aqua base, which is what I usually use when applying a holo. I only needed two coats for full opacity and wore it without a top coat to enhance the holo effect.

I enjoyed wearing this but which this collection overall had a stronger holo effect. I wonder if China Glaze will ever attempt another holo collection like this in this future.