Tag: Fingernails
It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Xmas…
…everywhere you go…
Stores are starting to put out their Xmas decorations, so why can’t I?
This is a single coat of Sinful Colors “Holiday Rebel” over Pacifica “Red Red Wine”. It’s different shapes of red and green glitter in a clear base. The glitter was sparse as I brushed it on and I had to do major brushing to get good glitter placement. “Red Red Wine” is a bit dark for this glitter – I’d like to see it over a lighter glitter.
Neil Diamond, NOT UB40
Red, Red Wine you make me feel so fine…
This is Pacifica “Red Red Wine” – a 7 Free (no parabens, phthalates (dibutyl phthalate), toluene, xylene, camphor, formaldehyde, resin, or animals), 100% vegan polish. Some folks got this in their ipsy bag this month, but not me. My BFF gave it to me to try!
I started with Orly Bonder and then 2 coats of “Red Red Wine”. The first coat was a bit streaky, but 2 coats cleared that up. It was very shiny on it’s own, but I used Sally Hansen Diamond Flash for extra shine. As I put on the Diamond Flash, I thought I saw bubbles start to form – I was freaking out! But then I looked closer and realized it was glitter. At first, I thought it was very sparse glitter in the polish…but then I realized that it must have come from the Diamond Flash. DOH! I must have gotten glitter in the bottle from a previous Lily manicure.
“Red Red Wine” is very nearly a dupe to Urban Decay “Mrs. Mia Wallace”, just a little bit thicker.
The Black Knight
I’ve been on a dark polish kick lately, I don’t know what it is.
Maybe I’m just lazy. If I know I’m going to be putting on another dark polish, I don’t have to scrub my cuticles so much. I got my absolute LAST use out of my Zoya Remove+ & Target dip-it combo. It was a soupy, maroon sludge that was starting to stain my fingers! Don’t get me wrong, it was still taking the polish off – but I had to spend too much time getting polish residue off my fingers. It lasted me exactly 3 months and was worth every penny!
I tried out Orly Bonder as the base coat. It definitely did grip the polish quite well. I then painted 2 coats of Butter London “The Black Knight”. This polish is EVERYTHING that I wanted Julep “Estelle” to be! The black is shinier and darker…and there is so much more glitteriness. Fuchsia is the predominant glitter, so you know that’s why I love it. It dried amazingly quick and I didn’t use a top coat, so I could run my fingers over the pebbly goodness.
I’m getting a few little chips along the edges, but Orly Bonder seems to be holding it on there well. We shall see how it looks tomorrow…
Citrine Embers
I couldn’t resist trying Sparitual “Citrine” Luminary Matte Top Effect over Julep “Padma”, even though I knew I’d be changing my polish tonight.
I got really good coverage on my thumb, but for some reason, it didn’t stick as well to my other nails. I think this type of polish would stick better if I didn’t already have a top coat on my nails. I seem to remember it mattifying more directly over the dark polish – remember the “Opaline”?
Impossible Purple
It’s not black…it’s purple. Impossible to photograph – I tried every room in my house, outside and finally just gave up in my bathroom. Even if you can’t see the purple on the nail – you can see it on the bottle. Impossible PURPLE!
My BFF is obsessed with Julep “Padma” – she had her nails done with it and when we went to lunch on Monday, she handed it to me and said that I’ve got to try it. “Padma” is a true one coat polish. I cannot imagine how black it would seem with two or more coats. To avoid staining, I started with Revlon Quick Dry Base Coat. “Padma” is shiny on her own, but I used Revlon Quick Dry Top Coat so I could go to bed without smudges. It’s one of the shiniest polishes I’ve ever used.
“Padma” is a Classic with a Twist from the September 2013 box – “The Cityscape Collection”. (I also have “Kristy”, “Tatiana”, “Candace” and “Reece” from that collection.) My BFF must have gotten it in a Mystery Box, because that was before we joined. I am going to have a hard time giving it back…
From Scab to Fab
The scene of the crime was improved greatly by adding a coat of Julep “Kirby” on top of Julep “Mary Lee”. Instead of a boring pool of scabby blood, my nails now look like a shattered antique mirror…in a pool of scabby blood. Or maybe a shattered Disco Ball – Disco Bloodbath! I would totally watch a movie called Disco Bloodbath. Somebody make that happen…
Julep describes “Kirby” as silver jagged glitter top coat. There’s glitter, but also mirrored flakies. The flakies actually lie flat and don’t peel up from my nails like most other larger glitters. It’s almost a perfect top coat.
I want to put “Kirby” on top of every polish I own. You’ll definitely be seeing more of “Kirby”…
CSI: My Nails
Julep “Mary Lee” is the first Satin Finish polish that I’ve tried. Satin is somewhere between matte and shiny. To me, this polish looks like a pool of coagulating blood – like there is a skin dried on top – think a murder scene that is a few hours old. “Mary Lee” is a very sensitive polish…barely brushing my nails against the wall while drying my hands left scratches across the finish.
Julep describes the color as oxblood satin. I’ve never seen a bleeding ox, so I’ll have to take their word for it. My husband said it looks like raisinettes. I have to give it to him – that’s much more creative description than I came up with.
Even though I used Revlon Quick Dry Base Coat, I got one or two bubbles. *SIGH* Julep – what’s with all the bubbles? On the positive side, the polish dried very quickly – even without a top coat. The polish also pulled away from the tips of my nails. It isn’t chipped – it is a uniform shrinking along the free edge.
I cannot stand the lack of shiny…I need GLITTER.
God Save the Queen
If I ever have a passing thought about canceling my Julep Maven subscription, polishes like Julep “Queen Anne” make me remember why I love Julep polishes so much. I’ve never encountered another microglitter like Julep’s. No other polish has the fine glitter texture that Julep has…
“Queen Anne” is Julep’s Third Anniversary polish. It was released as part of the August Collection, but was only available in 2 special boxes outside the main collection. I was sad in August, but happy when it popped up in September as an add-on! Julep describes it as lilac microglitter, but there are a few hints of the rainbow in there, too. Again, Revlon Quick Dry Base Coat, but no top coat so I could feel the rough texture.
I wonder what it would look like with “Claudia”?
Jamberry Chip Challenge
Although I excel at painting my nails, I’m not so confident when it comes to nail art. I have an art degree, yet I shy away from anything more detailed than globbing glitter on the ends of my fingernails. Jamberry Nail Wraps might be an interesting solution to that problem.
Nail Wraps have been around for quite awhile – they’re just stickers for your nails. I’ve gotten other brands, like Sally Hansen, as gifts, but I’ve never actually tried them. When my cousin, Kimberly, offered me a sample to try, I figured – why not?
The top pictures is my day one picture – a leopard Jamberry Nail Wrap on my pinky and 2 coats of China Glaze “Bat My Eyes” (with Revlon base and top coats). Notice that I had already chipped my index finger while trying to peal the plastic safety seal off of a new bottle of contact solution!
The bottom picture is my day three picture. Most of my painted nails look pretty good, but that index finger is looking pretty rough. The Jamberry finger looks exactly the same!
The sample I got was a little small for my nails – it was too small for my pinky even. I never considered myself to have large fingernails…but I AM 6’1, so maybe I do. A full pack comes with various sizes, so I don’t think that would be a problem for me.
It was easier than I expected to apply the wraps. I didn’t need any special heat lamps or tools – I was able to heat it with a hair dryer and and just press it on with my finger. I was able to get a fairly smooth edge using a regular emery board.
For what you’re getting, they aren’t overly expensive. $15 a sheet and you should be able to get 4 manicures per sheet. As much as I love to paint my nails, I cannot imagine committing to a single design for 2 weeks! I don’t foresee myself switching to wraps or even using them on a regular basis…but I can envision myself using them occasionally on an accent nail.
If you would like to find out more about Jamberry, visit Kimberly’s site – http://kimberlymoreno.jamberrynails.net/ .
Monsters Ball
Remember when I said “Don’t try all the colors!” Don’t listen to me – I was clearly wrong.
This is a combination of some of the polishes I got in my last Ulta order. I totally feel like Lady Gaga…without the pointy witch nails, of course. I started with Revlon Quick Dry Base Coat and then 2 coats of Pixel “The Midas Touch” on all my nails. The polish was much sheerer than I expected, but dried quickly – leaving only 2 or 3 bubbles. I’ve never heard of Pixel Cosmetics before, but a quick Google told me that it is a newish line, exclusive to Ulta and similar to Prestige or Essence. I used China Glaze “Boo-gie Down” on my pointer and middle. No fishing glitter out of the bottle – it went on perfectly right out of the bottle. I want to put this polish over EVERYTHING to see how it looks. My pinky got China Glaze “Bat Your Eyes”. Again, this is a beautiful polish – black with different sizes of gold glitter. Both China Glaze polishes are from the Halloween 2013 Monsters Ball Collection. I’m excited to see what Halloween polishes China Glaze releases this year – for me…every day is Halloween!