Tag: Orly
The Brown Mound
If you’ve known me a long, long time – you might remember the car I had in high school and college – a dookie colored 1978 Chevy Nova, covered in the requisite 90s grunge/fight the power/darwin fish bumper stickers. My dookie brown ride earned the nickname “The Brown Mound” from my friend, Chris. (But, um, at least I had a car…why did I always have to go pick your ass up?) In any case, China Glaze “Soft Sienna Silks” reminds me of the soft dookie brown of my old faithful Nova.
I received “Soft Sienna Silks” in this month’s ipsy bag. I love receiving polishes in my subscriptions – I wish I received more. I started with Orly Bonder, and then two thin coats of dookie brown goodness. This was a very slow drying polish – I managed to smudge several fingers before I could get the “HK Girl” on. Luckily, it is also very forgiving – I was able to smooth down the smudges on my thumb and pinky – they’re barely noticeable in the pic.
This is a perfect autumn polish – now if we would just get some perfect autumn weather…
I Fixed It!
I was so unhappy with my not-NEON nails…but instead of taking it off and starting over, I decided to make the best of a bad situation and experiment…
I started with OPI “Super Bass Shatter” on my thumb. (Yes, I own a Nicki Minaj Collection nail polish – wanna fight?) OPI makes the best shatter/crackle polishes and this one is the best of ALL. It looks AMAZING with the yellow. Next, I tried Julep “Shoshanna” on my index finger. The yellow holo glitter really brings out the NEON. I also used “Shoshanna” on my ring finger, underneath a coat of “Super Bass Shatter”. I used Julep “Rita” for polka dots on my middle finger – I love this finger the best! Finally, I went glittery with Orly “Bubbly Bombshell” on my pinky.
I finished all of my nails with another coat of “HK Girl”. So between the base coat, three coats of “The Bright Thing” and the toppers, there are 7-8 coats of polish on each of my nails. Either they will go a week without chipping, or I’ll try to take it off and it’ll take FOREVER.
I absolutely LOVE how my nails look now. All it took was a little fuchsia.
Wicked x 3
I couldn’t try just ONE of my new Deborah Lippmann Wicked polishes – I had to try them ALL.
After Orly Bonder, I painted a thin coat of “Defying Gravity” on each nail. I then did a coat of “Popular” on my thumb and ring finger – who knew that green + pink = purple? I did a coat of “One Short Day” on my index and pinky. I finished my middle finger with another coat of “Defying Gravity”. I topped them all with “HK Girl” for shine.
By far, my favorite polish of the collection is “Defying Gravity”. A single coat reminded me of Jade. (I’ll be trying it with gold glitter for the full jewelry effect). After two coats, it reminded me of the green chalkboards of my grade school days – I also need to try a matte top coat with it. Speaking of chalkboards, schools don’t have them anymore – my kids will never know the horror of nails on a chalkboard. Lucky.
Worth a Pretty Penne
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Penne, like Penne Pasta – oh OPI, I just can’t get enough of your stupid, puntastic polish names.
This is OPI “Worth a Pretty Penne” from The Venice Collection – I got it in this month’s Birchbox. I’ve been obsessing over Rose Gold lately (someday, those Rose Gold Tieks will be mine) – so I was happy to get this color.
After Orly Bonder, I did two clean coats of “Worth a Pretty Penne”. It went on smooth, with no bubbles after the second coat. If you look closely at the polish, you’ll notice that it’s not solid rose gold, but a fine mix of gold and copper pigments. I topped it with “HK Girl” – gotta have my quick dry shine. I have a love/hate relationship with those little sample bottles. They’re hard to hold and manipulate, but the smaller brush is perfect for painting the edges of your nails without getting polish all over your fingernails. I almost prefer them to full size!
Matchy Matchy
I found the perfect polish to match all my new lipstick – Ulta “Sunset Bronze” – a tiny little bottle from one of my old gifts with purchase.
Although it was thick, the polish went on smoothly, but there were a few bubbles on the second coat. I couldn’t decide on shiny or matte, so I did both – “HK Girl” and Zoya Matte Velvet Top Coat, with Orly Bonder as the base. I like the matte better, but my husband likes the shiny better.
I found an eye shadow that matches perfectly – theBalm “Flirty”. I even wore a sweater and shoes to match – matchy matchy!
Sunburn
Coincidentally, Formula X “Power Source” is the EXACT same color as the sunburn I have on my legs. Yeah, I made a rookie mistake at Schlitterbahn and didn’t respray after lunch. Now I have sunburned strips on my knees and shins. I’m hoping it ends up looking like contouring.
I got this tiny bottle of “Power Source” in my June Ipsy bag. Tiny bottles are kind of a pain in the ass – short brushes and awkward. This formula was just okay – it was thick and somewhat streaky. It dried smoothly though – no bubbles or clumps. I’ll credit that to Orly Bonder and “HK Girl”.
So what color is this? Neon Coral? Coral is really growing on me. I thought I hated it, but it looks so good with my skintone.
Matte Mia
You know what happens when you let your husband pick out your nail polish? Good things…good, good things. Technically, he didn’t pick it out – the only guidance he gave me was “dark red” and “matte”.
For “dark red”, I chose Urban Decay “Mrs. Mia Wallace”. I’ve had it not even a year and it’s already getting clumpy. I had to fight a few clumps, but I managed to smooth them out. I guess it’s time to invest in polish thinner.
I used Orly Bonder as the base coat. To make it matte, I used Zoya Velvet Matte Top Coat – it’s the best…although I haven’t tried any other matte top coats, so I’m just guessing.
I’m going to bug my husband about my polish more…I’m sure he’ll LOVE it.
Mango or Queso?
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I had been putting off trying Funky Fingers “Hang Ten, Brah”. Even though it is a solar polish, I was prepared to hate it…but I totally LOVE it.
I thought it would be a sickly boring yellow, but it turned out to be a lovely Mango flesh color, with a subtle green shimmer. I don’t even like Mango (it smells like dirty vagina), but the color is ripe and vibrant.
I realized while we were eating dinner tonight – “Hang Ten, Brah” is ALSO the exact color of queso (FUN FACT – my BFF thinks queso smells like dirty vagina).
I was going to take a pic of my nails and my queso, but I ate it too fast.
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This is “Hang Ten, Brah” in sunlight. It actually changes as much as the bottle promises, into a juicy tangerine.
I also used Funky Fingers “Scattered Sea Shells” on my thumb and ring fingers. It’s different sizes of white glitter with bits of pink, blue and Mango/Queso glitter.
This is just two coats with Orly Bonder and “HK Girl”. I could have gotten rid of the VNL with more coats, but I was feeling lazy last night.
Neither Bikinis, Nor Martinis
I am a fan of neither bikinis, nor martinis – but that’s not the reason that ncLA “Bikinis & Martinis” frustrated me. First off, it’s a plain, light coral – not a fan of coral. Application was streaky – even after 2 coats, I had streaks. I used a good base coat – Orly Bonder – and “HK Girl” helped a bit, but not entirely.
The most shocking thing about this polish is that the list price is $16. $16! Luckily, I got it as part of the Birchbox “Under the Sun” Limited Edition Box – but, still – $16 for a streaky polish in a basic color.
I think I’ll give it a try with glitter – glitter fixes everything.
Sparkling Water
How unexpected – I thought that Sally Hansen Triple Shine “Sparkling Water” was a microglitter, but it’s a shimmer – sparkling turquoise water with a violet shimmer. It might even be sheer enough for jelly experiments. “Sparkling Water” would also go well with “Mermaid’s Tale” – Sally really does do turquoise the best!
This is two coats of “Sparkling Water” with Orly Bonder and “HK Girl”. It’s a good, smooth polish, even though I suspect the bottle is rather old, since it was on clearance at Walgreen’s. I don’t own many Triple Shines, but I might start grabbing more on clearance – even though they’re one of Sally’s cheapest polishes, they do well.