Essence Let's Get Lost and Sally Hansen Secrets Frost

Happy Wednesday everyone! I hope you're all having a good first half of your week; mine has been rather long. I have tests this week and other things going on so the weekend could not come any sooner!! I am SO pumped to show you my mani that I did probably about an hour ago. Usually I photograph and take my sweet time a) uploading my photos to my computer and b) actually making a post about said photos, but I just couldn't wait to show off this beauty of a manicure!!

I recently did a combo nail/wax swap with Dana from Polished Claws Up and she gave me a couple vintage polishes from Sally Hansen. I only have a few vintage polishes myself, one being a Sally Hansen, so you better believe I was excited. Without further ado, I'll get into my mani details!

Below I used 2 coats of Essence Let's Get Lost and 2 coats of Sally Hansen Secrets Frost.

Beware: photo spam. I repeat...major photo spam! :)

Essence Let's Get Lost
Sally Hansen Secrets Frost

Essence Let's Get Lost
Sally Hansen Secrets Frost

Essence Let's Get Lost
Sally Hansen Secrets Frost

Essence Let's Get Lost
Sally Hansen Secrets Frost

Essence Let's Get Lost
Sally Hansen Secrets Frost

Essence Let's Get Lost
Sally Hansen Secrets Frost

I cannot get over how flippin' gorgeous this manicure is!! I know I've been doing an excessive amount of manis with accent nails, but this one is extremely special. Let's Get Lost is a bright blue/teal creme that was almost a one-coater. I added 2 coats for good measure and to fill in slight patchy areas (very very slight I might add). I've had odd luck with some of Essence's polishes, but Let's Get Lost gave me zero issues, I'm totally smitten! Now I am in love with Secrets Frost. It is a scattered, finely milled silver holographic glitter. Although you can't see the holo in the photos very well, I promise you that the holo is clearly there in person and twinkles. Secrets Frost had a great application and completely covered my nail in 2 coats. I love the formula of this polish! It probably has tons of nasty chemicals in it, but I can sacrifice for one polish ;) Overall, I can't get enough of this mani!!

What do you think of this mani?

-Shelby

PS: I just realized while writing this post that the names of these two polishes rhyme. Ha!

OPI Did You 'Ear About Van Gogh? and Ciate Party Shoes

Hello ladies! I hope you all are doing well! I've been enjoying my time off of school, but unfortunately I start back up on Monday! The other day I did a nice nude mani with a twist that I thought you guys would enjoy seeing!

Below I used 2 coats of OPI Did You 'Ear About Van Gogh? and 1 coat of Ciate Party Shoes!

OPI Did You 'Ear About Van Gogh?
 Ciate Party Shoes

OPI Did You 'Ear About Van Gogh?
Ciate Party Shoes

Did You 'Ear About Van Gogh? is a dark nude creme with a tinge of gray to it. This polish has a little bit of a tricky application, but the color pay-off makes it worth it. Opacity can be achieved in 2 very careful coats! I added Party Shoes to spice it up (and cover any minute patchy areas), which is a gold and holo glitter in a slightly gold-tinted base!

I hope you guys enjoyed!

-Shelby

Brush Stroke Mani!

Hello ladies! I hope you all had a lovely weekend :) My family had a holiday party yesterday, so I've been quite the busy bee. It was well worth it though :)

A couple days ago, I did a mani that I saw on a couple tutorials- a brush stroke type mani. Hope you like it! :)

What I used:
OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls
Zoya Kristen
Essie Bikini So Teeny
Sinful Colors Lavender
OPI Suzi Says Feng Shui
OPI Ski Teal We Drop
China Glaze Fairy Dust

I loooove how this turned out! I used a medium-length striper brush to achieve this look. I was a little skeptical after the first couple colors, but I couldn't get enough of the final look :) I may have forgot to list a color, but I honestly can't remember.

Merry Christmas in case I don't post before then!

-Shelby

Urban Outfitters Afterhours & Essie Penny Talk!

Good afternoon! I hope everyone's monday is going well. Today I had an early 7:30 class and then a socio quiz at 10, but I finished first out of ~350 students so that made me feel good! It was an early and busy start to my birthday; it'll most likely be much relaxing later!

I know I recently showed you Penny Talk, but I just couldn't resist to use it for another mani! Also, the photos in this post are much better than my indoor, poorly lit photos from last time haha

Below I did 2 coats of Essie Penny Talk and 1 coat of Urban Outfitters Afterhours!

Essie Penny Talk
Urban Outfitters Afterhours

Essie Penny Talk
Urban Outfitters Afterhours

Essie Penny Talk
Urban Outfitters Afterhours

Essie Penny Talk
Urban Outfitters Afterhours

Isn't this just beautiful!? This is one of my favorite fall combos at the moment!

Penny Talk is a gorgeous copper metallic; it's great as a base since on its own it shows a lot of nail imperfections. Afterhours is a pink, silver and gold glitters with lots of holo glitters running throughout! I'm surprised by Urban Outfitters' polishes; I like them a lot! This is by far my favorite polish that I own by them. 

What do you think of this combo?

-Shelby

JulieG Dream in Pretty & Color Club Magic Attraction

Good afternoon! Today I have for you an end-of-summer mani; it's my last chance to pull out the summer shades!

Below I used 2 coats of JulieG Dream in Pretty and Color Club Magic Attraction for the accent nail & dotting!

JulieG Dream in Pretty
Color Club Magic Attraction

JulieG Dream in Pretty
Color Club Magic Attraction

JulieG Dream in Pretty
Color Club Magic Attraction

Dream in Pretty is a gorgeous pink-leaning purple creme. The application of this wasn't the greatest, but I was able to deal with it! I added Color Club Magic Attraction as an accent nail and then used a medium-sized dotting tool and made dots along my cuticles with the same glitter! Magic Attraction is a pink and silver glitter with some holo running throughout it. This had an okay formula, too!

What do you think of this mani?

-Shelby 

Wet n' Wild Fergie Heels of Steel & Rock n' Roll

Good evening! I was at Walgreens today getting a few odds and ends when I decided to check out some of the nail polishes. I've been debating over whether I should get a couple more of the Wet n' Wild Fergie polishes and well...I did! I just couldn't help myself :P

The polishes in this line are about $4 each I believe, which is way more expensive than normal Wet n' Wild polishes. They also have the same brush as their megalast line.

I picked up Heels of Steel & Rock n' Roll, which I thought were a perfect pair! I also like both on their own :)

Below I did 2 coats of Heels of Steel!

Wet n' Wild Fergie Heels of Steel

Wet n' Wild Fergie Heels of Steel

Heels of Steel is an impressive gunmetal foil! Not only did this have a great formula, but the exact colors in the bottle translated onto my nails. Couldn't ask for anything better :). I'll definitely be using this throughout fall and predominantly during winter!

I couldn't leave this alone and added 1 coat of Rock n' Roll!

Wet n' Wild Fergie Rock n' Roll

Wet n' Wild Fergie Rock n' Roll

Wet n' Wild Fergie Rock n' Roll

Rock n' Roll contains blueish charcoal glitter with a little bit larger holo glitters in a clear base. Man, is this a pretty glitter! It's not an in-your-face glitter, but I still like it, especially over Heels of Steel! As you can see in photo #3, there is definitely some holo effect in the sun! :)

I also wanted to take the time to acknowledge all of you who read my blog, I hit 100 followers today and I couldn't be more thankful. So thank you to all of you, you always brighten my day with your comments and I thoroughly enjoy sharing my passion for nails with each and every one of you! To say thank you, I am going to start planning a giveaway. Since I am moving into my dorm in less than a week, it may take me little bit of time to get it all together, but I am determined to have one! :)

-Shelby

Kleancolor Glitter Swatches

Good evening ladies! I've been really into indie glitters lately, but I have a bunch of Kleancolor glitters that I had yet to try, so I thought I'd give them a chance and see if they added up to my indies!

Beware, this post is picture heavy; I swatched 7 Kleancolor polishes!

Kleancolor Shooting Star
Sally Hansen Sun Kissed

Kleancolor Shooting Star
Sally Hansen Sun Kissed

 Shooting Star is a sheer orange base with silver micro glitter and orange, yellow and teal small hex glitters. I really like this glitter! It may be my favorite of the bunch. I put 1 coat over Sally Hansen Sun Kissed & the outcome looked great! I didn't have a hard time getting enough glitter on each nail.

Kleancolor Disco Ball
China Glaze Flyin' High

 Disco Ball is a clear base with purple and teal small glitters. I used 1 coat over 2 coats of China Glaze Flyin' High. I like the mixture of purple and teal; it's untraditional and I like it! I also didn't have an issue getting the glitter to go on evenly with this one.

Kleancolor Dolly Girl
Wet n' Wild On a Trip

 Dolly Girl is a clear base with purple glitters. This is just like Disco Ball, but without the teal! I used Wet n' Wild On a Trip underneath and I think the purples go perfectly together! I had no issues getting even glitter with this polish either!

Kleancolor Silver Lining
China Glaze Icicle

 Silver Lining is a silver shimmer with scattered purple glitters. I used China Glaze Icicle underneath because the silver in Silver Lining barely showed up! I was disappointed with the lack of color pay off; if I wanted a purple glitter, I would have gotten one. Oh well, you live and you learn!

Kleancolor Silver Star
Ulta Blue Streak

Silver Star is a clear base with some silver glitter and silver stars. I used it over Ulta Blue Streak. I like the combo of royal blue and silver, but I'm not sure this polish is for me. The formula was rather thick and the glitter and stars were difficult to get onto the nail.

Kleancolor Aurora
Color Club Blushing Rose

Kleancolor Aurora
Color Club Blushing Rose

Aurora (who doesn't like a cute Disney reference?!) is iridescent pink/purple glitters and purple stars in a pinky clear base. I used one coat over Color Club Blushing Rose. I like the idea of this color, but the stars were rather hard to get onto each nail. It also is a little juvenile for my taste.

Kleancolor Holo Blue
Nicole by OPI "Baby" Blue

Kleancolor Holo Blue
Nicole by OPI "Baby" Blue

 Holo Blue is a subtle blue holo, as the name states! This could possibly be opaque in 3 coats, but I did 2 coats over Nicole by OPI "Baby" Blue! It's hard to tell in the photo, but it has a subtle holo effect in the sun, which I definitely like! The formula of this was good going on!

Overall, I think Kleancolor glitters are okay. They just don't hit the mark compared to my Indie beauties, unfortunately. There are a few I like and will use, but indie polishes have so much more dimension and uniqueness to them. Also, I've noticed that Kleancolor takes a looong time to dry, even with a fast-dry topcoat. Bummer. I like them, but I'm glad I didn't have to pay much for them!

I think I'm going to post 3 of them in an upcoming blogsale of mine!

What do you think of this brand? Of these colors?

-Shelby

Picture Polish Orbit and A England Princess Tears

Good evening! These are my last swatches for today, I swear! I just had to show you two foreign polishes of mine, purchased from Llarowe. I got my hands on  piCture pOlish Orbit and a-England Princess Tears. I was very excited to swatch these so here they are!

piCture pOlish Orbit

piCture pOlish Orbit

piCture pOlish Orbit

Orbit is an out-of-this-world indigo with blue and silver glitter (don't ya just love my pun there? haha)! This only required one coat for me and was completely smooth to the touch after 1 coat of Insta-Dri. I can't decide if I like the polish better in the sun or in the shade! In the sun, Orbit glimmers, but in the shade, Orbit reveals all of its colors. I think this polish would be great for an edgy outfit! This color makes me want to try more polishes from this Australian brand!

a-England Princess Tears

a-England Princess Tears

a-England Princess Tears

a-England Princess Tears

Princess Tears is a lavender base with silver linear holo. I am on the fence about this color. It is absolutely stunning in the sun, but in the shade (picture #4)  it's a flop :(. Princess Tears had a good application and took me two coats for full opacity. This is my first a-England polish and I am willing to try them again!

I hope you enjoyed!

-Shelby

Milani HD

Good morning! Today I'm going to see that new Meryl Streep movie with my mom; I hope you guys are having a nice, relaxing Friday as well! I have a mani I did a couple days ago with 2 Milani polishes: HD layered over Silver Stilettos. I liked the combo of a holo over a foil, so I thought I'd share it!

Below I started with 2 coats of Silver Stilettos and topped it off with 1 coat of HD!

Milani HD
Milani Silver Stilettos

Milani HD
Milani Silver Stilettos

Milani HD
Milani Silver Stilettos

HD is a silver holo polish. It was my first holo before I knew holos existed :P. I didn't want to use multiple coats to make it opaque, so I layered it over a foil instead. In photo #3 you can kinda see the silver foil, Silver Stilettos. In photo #1 you can see how gorgeous HD is in the sunlight! It flashes so many colors, I can't get enough of it! Both applied well; Silver Stilettos is a little tricky though, since foils can show brushstrokes easily. Luckily, I didn't have much of a problem.

I liked this mani a lot! I feel like Milani is overlooked often, but they make great polishes. I took a look at their display the other day and liked a lot of their shades! Next time you pull out a holo topcoat, try it over a foil :) I also think I'm going to do a comparison post soon; HD is a dead-on dupe for OPI DS Coronation!

I hope you enjoyed!

-Shelby