Tag: Fingernails
Bruise Violet
I couldn’t NOT try out Julep “Logan” first.
Julep’s site describes the color as sultry aubergine shimmer – I would replace sultry with earthy. There’s a vegetable like brownish undertone – this color feels very organic.
Well, duh – aubergine is a fancy word for eggplant. It’s not as inky as “Padma” and has a subtle shimmer, but could still be mistaken for black at first glance.
I went back to the Revlon Quick Dry Base and Top Coats. There’s something about Julep polish that doesn’t mix well with base coats – bubbles, no matter what brand I try – even Julep’s own base coats. I only got 2-3 bubbles this time, but each one is like a pinprick to my soul.
I also painted my toenails with “Logan” last night…right before I broke my pinky toe, tripping over my daughter’s metal lawn chair.
(Yeah, we keep metal lawn chairs in our living room. That’s normal, right?)
I was astounded at how well the polish matched the violet bruises – I couldn’t have planned it better!
The last time I broke a toe was during Hurricane Ike, stumbling around in the dark. As clumsy as I am, that’s a pretty good record.
He Sees You When You’re Sleeping…
Well, originally, I was going for a sexy Freddy Krueger look, but what I ended up with Xmas fingers. Oh well, both of those assholes see you when you’re sleeping.
After Orly Bonder, I painted one coat of Rimmel 60 Seconds “Passion”. I painted stripes with Sinful Colors “Pine Away” and then topped it all with Julep “Shoshanna”. Since “Shoshanna” is gold with red and green highlights, I thought it was match the red and green really well – and it did, although in a very Xmas ornament type of way.
I got one final use out of my Sally Hansen Diamond Flash and then threw the bottle away. My husband asked me if I was going to “have a funeral for my dead solider.” He’s silly…but I considered it.
Cabana de Muertos
I wonder how suspicious we looked – my BFF and I – scurrying into the Taco Cabana Bathroom and giggling? I couldn’t help it – I was just so excited to turn the light off and show off my glow-in-the-dark nail polish!
This is Funky Fingers “Dia De Muertos”, from their Glow in the Dark Halloween collection. It’s a baby blue jelly base, with hot pink matte glitter in different sizes. There is
This is one of the bumpiest glitters I’ve ever used. Not only did I buff all of my nails first and use Orly Bonder, but I also topped with Sally Hansen Diamond Flash – and the two coats were still bumpy as all hell.
This stuff REALLY works – it glows like a sonofabitch.
I didn’t hold out much hope for getting a good “glowing in the dark” pic, but I was pleasantly surprised at the picture I was able to get inside of my closet. Of course, it doesn’t glow for very long, so I had to hold my hand up to the light, run into the closet, slam the door and try to get my camera to focus before the polish stopped glowing. So yeah, it took me 3 tries to get this pic.
Get ready for a spoooooky October. All month long, I’ll be doing Halloween-y or Fall themed nails. I don’t have all of my ideas worked out yet, so I am open to suggestions!
Unicorn Farts
Yes, Kenneth…unicorns fart glitter. What else would they fart?
I dug to the bottom of my plastic bin to find the perfect red to go underneath Funky Fingers “Unicorn Farts”. I dug out Sinful Colors “Under 18”, which I don’t think I’ve ever used before. It is a pearly tomato red and it went on smoothly without pooling in my cuticles. I did have to a bit of artful dabbing to get decent glitter coverage, but it wasn’t as bad as other beauty blogs had claimed. It certainly wasn’t as annoying as “Fruit-Ta-Ta”.
I used Orly Bonder as the base coat and Sally Hansen Diamond Flash for the top coat. (My Diamond Flash is almost empty! I don’t know whether I should buy another one or try another quick dry top coat. Probably both.) The texture of my nails is still a bit bumpy, but none of the glitter is lifting up, so I’m content.
I wanna try “Unicorn Farts” over a silver holographic polish – maybe Julep “Coretta”?
Horny Lady Gremlin
Remember the horny lady Gremlin in Gremlins 2? She was EASILY the best part of the movie, sexually assaulting the doctor from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Well, that’s what this polish reminds me of – the horny lady Gremlin. Don’t ask me to explain how my brain works – I don’t understand it either.
After Orly Bonder, I used one coat of Sinful Colors “Pine Away” and one coat of Orly “Bubbly Bombshell”. I used Sally Hansen Diamond Flash for the top coat. Easy Peasy – and my nails were dry within 15 minutes.
Copycat!
I wish I could say that I came up with this combo on my own, but I totally stole it from my cousin, Jess. She posted a pic with this exact combination of polish and I had to steal it. Just like I stole the Day of the Dead Converse…she better keep an eye on those Kah Tequila bottles…
After Revlon Quick Dry Base Coat, I used one coat of Pacifica “Red Red Wine” and two coats of Maybelline Color Show Street Art “Wild at Heart”. I finished with Revlon Quick Dry Top Coat, for extra shine – and to smooth down the glitter bits.
Since I was lazy and only did one coat of “Red Red Wine”, I already have a good bit of edge wear. Grumble, grumble, grumble…
Moldy Charms
So…I was not overly excited when I received 100% Pure “Seafoam” in my CEW Prestige Box. Not because of the brand – I’d never heard of it before – but because of the color. It looked not like seafoam, but like mold. Not that tangy greenish/gray mold you find on your bread, but the scary greenish/white Penicillin that you find on leftovers in the refrigerator. (Why yes, that DOES happen to me a lot. I’ve found fossilized mold in my fridge before.)
Starting with Revlon Quick Dry Base Coat, the first coat of “Seafoam” was super streaky. The second coat was perfect though. It actually didn’t look bad on it’s own, but I decided to pretty it up with a top coat – Revlon Top Speed “Celestial FX”. I love the base, but the tiny moons, stars and diamonds were far too sparse in the polish. (Lucky Charms, but without the hearts and horseshoes!!!) I had to do major digging to get any on my brush. I only got 2-3 pieces per nail, which kind of defeats the point. I tried to place the shapes, but it started sinking into the “Seafoam”, so I stopped. I finished up with Revlon Quick Dry Top Coat.
It doesn’t look bad – the surface was really smooth and shiny, but it just wasn’t me. I took it off so I could try something else…
Finger Herpes
So…Sally Hansen Miracle Gel doesn’t mix with other polishes – I found out the hard way.
I was tired of looking at my Hubba Bubba nails and I was feeling lazy last night and didn’t feel like taking it off and starting over. I unwisely decided to try slapping Sally Hansen “Fruit-Ta-Ta” on top of it. Oh NO. BAD IDEA.
“Fruti-Ta-Ta” is annoying as hell. The dots are very sparse and it’s impossible to get good coverage without gooping it on. As soon as I started gooping it on, it started to bubble. The chemical reaction started immediately – the regular polish MELTS the Miracle Gel. In addition to the rippling bubbles covered with pink, red and black dots…it was sticky. I sat on the coach and watched Fashion Police for AN HOUR and it still wasn’t all the way dry. I gave up and went to bed, hoping for the best.
When I awoke this morning and looked at my hands, the only thing I could think was FINGER HERPES. *sigh*
I can happily report that at least Miracle Gel is easy to remove. It melted right off, although it took a bit of scrubbing to get the dots off.
Hubba Bubba
I was having a crisis last night – I was overwhelmed and couldn’t decide on a nail polish last night. I kept looking through all the bottles and I had no idea what I was going to do…until I sat down on the toilet and spied the Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Set in “Shock Wave” that I got in my Allure Beauty Box.
Since my nails are real, I’ve never had a gel manicure or used gel polish. My BFF got one at the salon and it started peeling off her nails within hours, so I wasn’t sure what all the fuss was about if they’re that fragile. There’s no way I have the patience for anything that requires a UV light, but this new Sally Hansen set is supposed to set without lights!
I very carefully painted 2 coats of “Shock Wave” on my nails – it is a thick, thick polish and I didn’t want it pooling in my cuticles – but it did anyway. I still had streaks in my nails after 2 coats, but I was afraid to try 3. I let my nails dry for 5 minutes or so and then put on the top coat. It dried faster than I thought it would. It was slower than my Quick Dries, but faster than regular creme polish. The one issue I had with the top coat is that it grabbed the colored polish and made a few “bald spots” in my nails. I HATE that!
Even though the box claimed that the polish would last up to 14 days, I don’t think I’ll be able to make it the rest of the night without changing it. It feels impossible smooth and I feel like it would last at least a week with minimal edge wear…but that color. I CANNOT STAND the color. It looks like wads of Hubba Bubba bubblegum on the ends of my fingernails. Even Barbie would be like, “Hell no – that’s too pink for ME.” I wonder what a coat of glitter would look like over “Shock Wave”?
I would be interested in giving Miracle Gel another try in a different color. I even looked at HEB today, but all they had was the Insta Gel. I’ll be on the lookout…
Tart with a Heart
After several weeks of dark polish, I was ready for some light…
This is Butter London “Tart with a Heart”. Orly Bonder for the base coat + 2 coats of polish with no top coat. I was totally shocked at how the polish looked on my nails – it’s not at all what I expected. Judging from the bottle, I expected a gold glitter with a grayish blue tinge. Nope. It’s a totally fleshy color. It’s SO odd. As my husband said – it’s SUBTLE.
Like “The Black Knight”, “Tart with a Heart” dried exceptionally quickly and has a slightly pebbled finish. This is one of those polishes that you can put on and run out the door 60 seconds later. I like it!