China Glaze Bahamian Escape and Liquid Crystal

It's the middle of the week and I'm back with a post! Life has been busy lately, but the weather was gorgeous today so I had to snap a few pics of my mani.

Below I'm wearing 2 coats of Bahamian Escape and 2 coats of Liquid Crystal on my ring finger.

China Glaze Bahamian Escape
China Glaze Liquid Crystal

China Glaze Bahamian Escape
China Glaze Liquid Crystal

Bahamian Escape is a bright sky-blue creme; it had a wonderful application which barely required 2 coats for full opacity. Liquid Crystal is a dense blue glitter that shifts purple in the light. It contains multi-colored larger glitters throughout and also required 2 coats for full opacity. Love the duo!

What do you think of this combo?

-Shelby

Orly Rage and Essie A Cut Above

Hello, ladies! I hope all of you are having a good start to your week. I don't know about you guys, but it's been SO hot here! California needs to cool down, fast. I have for you today a combo a did over the weekend- rose gold inspired!

Below I used 2 coats of Orly Rage, topped with 1 coat of Essie A Cut Above

Orly Rage Essie A Cut Above

Orly Rage Essie A Cut Above

Rage is a rose gold foil; it's application is good and it only required 2 coats of complete opacity. I really like this polish on its own, but I wanted to add even more pink-y bling to it. I added A Cut Above, which is a two-sized rosy pink glitter in a clear base. With one coat, enough glitter was dispersed onto each nail, without having to do the "dabbing" method. The combination was sparkly in the sunlight, which was perfect during this weather!

What do you think of this combo?

-Shelby

Nicole by OPI Am I Making Myself Claire? and Orly Plum Pixel

Happy almost-weekend! I am so relieved to be off for the summer with lots of spare time on my hands. I've been reading a lot and even joined goodreads, a book lover's dream. Today I have for you a pretty pairing: Nicole by OPI Am I Making Myself Claire? from the Modern Family collection and Orly Plum Pixel from the most recent additions of the FX line.

Nicole by OPI Am I Making Myself Claire?
Orly Plum Pixel

Nicole by OPI Am I Making Myself Claire?
 Orly Plum Pixel

Nicole by OPI Am I Making Myself Claire?
 Orly Plum Pixel

Am I Making Myself Claire? is a purple-pink-nude creme. It leans in all three directions without definitively settling on one. I added Orly Plum Pixel, a grayed-out darker purple dense multi-sized glitter, as an accent nail to spice up the subtlety of the NOPI. Plum Pixel required 2 coats for opacity; Am I Making Myself Claire? required 2-3, depending on the nail.

What do you think of this combo?

-Shelby

OPI My Very First Knockwurst and Essie Beyond Cozy

Happy weekend, ladies! :) I am so relieved to be home for the weekend! I'll have some down time to just relax, which also means time to catch up on blog posts! I think I may make a few scheduled posts for the next week or two since I am finishing up my current University year.

Today I have for you a simple mani I did a week or so ago: OPI My Very First Knockwurst with a slight glitter gradient of Essie Beyond Cozy.

OPI My Very First Knockwurst
Essie Beyond Cozy

OPI My Very First Knockwurst
Essie Beyond Cozy

My Very First Knockwurst is probably my favorite pink-nude creme in my collection! Its formula and application is a dream and I love how it looks against my skintone. I added a slight gradient effect to my ring finger with a recent purchase of mine, Beyond Cozy, which is a silver and gold fine glitter. I love this combo together!

What do you think of this pairing?

-Shelby

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!

Ulta3 Mulberry and Ulta Boogie Nights

Hey there! I have quite a few posts I need to make, I've been stocking up whenever I can on photos of my manis, just in case! I'm hoping my back up photos will help me not take such a long break again :)

Below I used Ulta3 Mulberry and Ulta Boogie Nights!

Ulta3 Mulberry Ulta Boogie Nights

Ulta3 Mulberry
 Ulta Boogie Nights

Ulta3 Mulberry
Ulta Boogie Nights

I never can get enough of glitter gradients! This one is no exception. Mulberry is a wine leaning berry creme. In some lights it takes a purple tint. Unfortunately, the formulation of this polish was pretty bad, but I added some polish thinner to remedy it. It's gotten a bit better, but still not ideal. Although, I really do love the outcome and the polish was nice and smooth :). Boogie Nights is a gold glitter with lots of rainbow medium-sized glitters throughout. This glitter will go with almost any color since it contains all the colors of the rainbow. Also, the formula was easy for a reverse glitter gradient. 

What do you think of this mani?

-Shelby

Orly Silver Pixel, Orly Gumpdrop and Nicole by OPI Confetti Fun

Hello there! I have a mani to show you today that I wore last week and totally loved! I paired a fun, bright spring shade with a metallic and glitter accent nail :)

What I used:
2 coats Orly Gumdrop on all my nails except ring finger
2 coats Orly Silver Pixel on my ring finger
1 coat Nicole by OPI Confetti Fun on my ring finger

Orly Gumdrop
Orly Silver Pixel
Nicole by OPI Confetti Fun

Orly Gumdrop
Orly Silver Pixel
 Nicole by OPI Confetti Fun

I definitely loved the look of this mani! Unfortunately, the formula of Gumdrop kind of made the process a hassle. Gumdrop was on the thicker side and was hard to make perfectly even. With that being said, I may be able to add some thinner to the polish and see if the formula improves! The painstaking process is worth it because the color is gorgeous- a bright blue/mint creme. I added Silver Pixel, a new shade added to Orly's FX line, to my ring finger for an accent. Its formulation was very easy- I love the different sized glitters in Silver Pixel because it just adds some nice dimension. Confetti Fun, from NOPI's Selena Gomez collection, tied the silver and aqua together with its rainbow large and small glitters. Confetti Fun was easy to work with and it wasn't hard to get an even amount of glitter on each nail. Overall, I love the look of this mani!

Do you have any of these shades? What do you think of this mani?

-Shelby

OPI Can't Find My Czechbook and Simmer & Shimmer

Hello ladies :) I hope you all are having a wonderful Wednesday! I am so glad the week is already halfway over, I can't wait to come home and see my boyfriend this weekend. It'll be nice to relax after a long week. Last night I tweaked my back a bit and can't ride my bike around campus. So I'm hoping by this weekend I'll be feeling much better!

A couple days ago I wore a couple new polishes I got recently: OPI Can't Find My Czechbook (Euro Centrale collection) and Simmer & Shimmer (Burlesque collection)

Below I wore 2 coats of each; CFMC on all fingers but my ring finger, S&S as an accent nail:

OPI Can't Find My Czechbook
OPI Simmer & Shimmer

OPI Can't Find My Czechbook
OPI Simmer & Shimmer

I love this combo! When I first saw promo pics for the Euro Centrale collection, Can't Find My Czechbook immediately stood out to me. It's the perfect bright blue for summer and man, did it not disappoint! It applied flawlessly and I have nothing negative to say about it (other than my photos which do not do the color justice)! I finally got my hands on a couple more of the Burlesque glitters- I am in love with the glitters from that collection and was more than stoked to get more! Simmer & Shimmer is a dense uniform-sized glitter in blue, pink, gold silver, etc. I love the small-sized glitter in the same color, especially because it fully covers the nail in 2 coats! I love glitters like this!

Do you have either of these polishes? What's your go-to glitter-cream pair?

-Shelby

China Glaze Tart-y for the Party and OPI Polka.com

Hello again! I am back with a post as promised. I actually have a few lined up; hopefully this weekend I can do some swatching and get some good photographs, now that the weather is getting gorgeous again. My boyfriend will be out of town so I will have plenty of time to play catch up! Today I have for you two polishes from recent collections: China Glaze Tart-y for the Party (from the Avant Garden collection) and OPI Polka.com (from the Euro Centrale collection)!

Below I used 2 coats of Tart-y for the Party and 1 coat of Polka.com

China Glaze Tart-y for the Party
OPI Polka.com

China Glaze Tart-y for the Party
OPI Polka.com

China Glaze Tart-y for the Party
OPI Polka.com

Tart-y for the Party is a gorgeous lilac shade. I love all light purples and this is no exception! The formula was a little thick, but nothing unmanageable! It didn't streak much and I love how smooth and creamy it is! I added Polka.com (cute name huh?) on top to spice it up; Polka.com has a great formulation and I had NO issues distributing glitter onto each nail evenly! Very impressed indeed :) Polka.com contains teal, magenta, and purple large hexes as well as pink and dark blue/purple micro-glitter. I love the end result of this mani!

Do you have polishes from either of these new collections? What do you think of this mani?

-Shelby

Orly Rage and Nails Inc. Hammersmith!

Hello again! I am back with an actual post! I recently got a pair of rose gold and nude oxfords and I was inspired to do some rose gold nails :) I liked the rose gold on its own, but I just had to add some glitter!

Below I did 2 coats of Orly Rage and Nails Inc. Hammersmith on the base for a reverse gradient

Orly Rage
Nails Inc Hammersmith

Orly Rage
Nails Inc Hammersmith

Orly Rage
Nails Inc Hammersmith

I surprisingly love this combination together! Orly Rage has a great application; the only downside to this polish is that it shows every imperfection, so next time I am going to use a ridge filler prior. Hammersmith is a gorgeous glitter filled with tons of silver and bright blue glitters. I think the blue and the rose gold complement one another well! Also, Hammersmith was easy to apply, no issues with coverage for the gradient. 

PS: sorry for the out of focus last photo!

Are you guys loving rose gold too still?

-Shelby

Few of my most recent Manis!

Hello again, ladies! Yes, I am back with a post after who knows how long! Like I said before, life gets in the way. I am a first-year college student and timing is never perfect for photos, but now that spring and summer are approaching, I plan on doing a lot more nail posts, especially once I move home for the summer :) I still have a lot of untried polishes in my stash and I want to purchase a couple of polishes from the spring 2013 collections as well! Side note with that...I am in love with EVERY color from the new Butter London collection...my wallet is already crying.

So I thought to make up for my ultimate lameness, I could show you guys a few of the manicures I've done lately. I don't remember all of the polish names and the photo settings are not ideal, but I'm going to give it a whirl anyway!

China Glaze It's a Trap-eze

 This first mani is a combo of 3 different colors: a lavender (possibly Essie St. Lucia Lilac or China Glaze Light as Air), a Sally Hansen nail art pen in white and China Glaze It's a Trap-eze to top off the white. I loved the effect of this design, but I wish I had made the white area in the center thinner. That way the lavender would've shined through more!

SOPI Seriously, It's a Naan-Issue
Nails Inc. Warwick Way & The Thames

SOPI Seriously, It's a Naan-Issue
Nails Inc. Warwick Way & The Thames

I love dot manis! I wish I used lighter colors for the dots or a lighter base for the polish, but whatevs. I just used alternating dotting tool sizes to create a little pattern. Warwick Way is a little on the thin side. Seriously, It's a Naan-Issue is perfection! 

Revlon Coastal Surf

I love Revlon Coastal Surf! It is such a gorgeous shade of blue- this makeshift photo does not do the color justice! Also, the formulation was great! Barely needed two coats :)

Unfortunately, I can only remember 1 polish from this mani- Zoya Ziv. Ziv has been my recent go-to gold polish and it just looks great with every type of mani! I used a nude base and sponged on Ziv as well as an Indie glitter on the tips. I love the effect this created! I will definitely recreate this for an actual post!

Revlon Provence
Confetti Lonesome Dove

Yet another poor photo, but I love this design! It's the "puzzle piece" design. I painted half my nail Revlon Provence and the other half Confetti Lonesome Dove. Then I took large dotting tools and did purple on the gray half and gray on the purple half, spacing the dots out to create this look! I love Revlon Provence, its formulation is great. I also really like Lonesome Dove, it is a great neutral gray and wallet-friendly!

I hope you guys enjoyed this!

-Shelby

China Glaze Light as Air and Color Club Magic Attraction!

Hello ladies! I know, it's been quite a while since I last made a blog post. I'm not going to make any excuses, life just gets in the way and making blog posts was my last priority to be quite honest. I am a full-time student. I commute home every weekend (which a huge ordeal and process haha). But I thought I'd pop in and share a mani I did last weekend and actually had a chance to photograph!

Below is 2 coats of Light as Air and the glitter used is by Color Club (it was unmarked in a set), but I believe it to be Magic Attraction!

China Glaze Light as Air
Color Club Magic Attraction

China Glaze Light as Air
Color Club Magic Attraction

Light as Air is a gorgeous light lavender creme! It's from China Glaze's Up & Away collection, which I am obsessed with. The application was great; 2 careful coats was perfect for full opacity. I then took Magic Attraction and did a bit of a reverse glitter gradient at the cuticle. 

I hope you guys enjoyed! Glad to be back to post here and there! 

-Shelby

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

Butter London Black Knight

Hello ladies! Today I have for you a mani I did a few days ago- Butter London Black Knight, such a gorgeous shade!

The lighting was still not perfection outside, but I dealt.

Below I used 2 coats of Black Knight

Butter London Black Knight

Butter London Black Knight

Black Knight is a black base packed with teal, pink, orange, black, and blue glitters. This polish was a major topcoat eater! 2 coats of topcoat at minimum is required to make this smooth. My dad asked if the polish was matte and I said no, it's just eating all the topcoat I put on it haha. I do like the effect this gives, but the formulation was a bit tricky and it looks black everywhere but sunlight.

What do you think of this polish?

-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

Revlon Copper Penny and Hit Polish Precious Metal

Good evening! I've been away the past few days for two reasons: Sunday was my boyfriend and my Anniversary and the past couple days I haven't been feeling my best. But I did manage to do a mani last night and I got decent light today for photos!

Below I used 1 coat of Revlon Copper Penny and 1 coat of Hit Polish Precious Metal

Revlon Copper Penny
 Hit Polish Precious Metal

Revlon Copper Penny
Hit Polish Precious Metal

Copper Penny is a copper foil polish- pretty basic. The formula was pretty good and 1 coat was good as undies. Precious Metal is a copper and gold glitter bomb of various shapes and sizes! I had to thin this polish out a bit because the formula was ultra thick.

What do you think of this combo?

-Shelby

Revlon Dreamer and Spoiled Pet My Peacock

Good late-evening ladies! I wanted to show you a mani I did today, but the weather was terrible and my light box wasn't cooperating :( so I decided to show you a mani from a couple days ago!

Revlon Dreamer
Spoiled Pet My Peacock

Revlon Dreamer
Spoiled Pet My Peacock

Dreamer is a light blue creme that is a little less white-based. For full opacity, it took me 3 coats, but 2 very careful coats may be enough in the future. Pet My Peacock is a blue, teal, silver and periwinkle hex glitters in a clear base. Unfortunately, this glitter didn't meet my expectations. I had to use a dotting tool to individually place each piece of glitter since the glitter wouldn't equally go onto each nail, if at all. 

What do you think of this mani?

-Shelby

Revlon Bold Sangria, OPI Suzi Takes the Wheel and China Glaze Prism

Good evening! Tonight I have for you a kind of mish-mash mani. I couldn't really decide what to do, so I kept adding to it!

Revlon Bold Sangria
OPI Suzi Takes the Wheel
China Glaze Prism

Revlon Bold Sangria
OPI Suzi Takes the Wheel
China Glaze Prism

Revlon Bold Sangria
OPI Suzi Takes the Wheel
China Glaze Prism

Bold Sangria is the perfect bright plum shade. It's high-gloss and is very opaque. It's bright nature doesn't display well in my photos though! Suzi Takes the Wheel is a green-toned gray. I thought the two looked nice together for the Fall season. To add something extra, I made a reverse gradient with Prism, a lavender micro glitter with rainbow larger round glitters!

What do you think of this mani?

-Shelby

OPI Ski Teal We Drop and NYX Gilded Glitter

Good evening ladies :) I hope everyone is having a good week so far! I have a chemistry final tomorrow that I'm preparing for. I'm so excited to finish up on Friday and start my holiday break :)

I used a couple untrieds of mine & wanted to share them!

OPI Ski Teal We Drop

OPI Ski Teal We Drop

OPI Ski Teal We Drop

OPI Ski Teal We Drop is a gorgeous teal creme from OPI's Swiss collection. Oh my goodness, how did I not use this until now!? This polish is perfection, perfectly opaque in 2 coats and has a wonderful formula. Love love love it!

NYX Gilded Glitter

NYX Gilded Glitter

Today, I decided to add NYX Gilded Glitter, a gold leaf-like glitter, to my manicure. I think this is a great substitution to the actual gold topcoats. At around $2, it's a bargain and a way to try out the trend without shelling out the $30 for OPI's! The pieces are on the small side, but I like it a lot! The formula was great, I got an even spread of glitter, but it did have a longer dry-time.

What do you think of these polishes?

-Shelby