Saturday, March 31, 2012

Nails Inc. Connaught Square Swatch

Hello once again!
I apologize for my temporary hiatus. Unfortunately I've been having a bad week, but what do you do? In my opinion life is a cycle. Bad things happen so you don't take the good things for granted. Today I comforted myself by buying a new polish and hanging out with some old friends. The polish I got was Purple Yourself Together by Nicole by OPI. It's a target exclusive and I love it! I just painted it on my toes :)

However, today that is not what I am showing you guys! Today I have a polish by Nails Inc., Connaught Square. It is a gorgeous 3D glitter. The base is primarily a bunch of blue glitters and then mixed with that is a bunch of larger, purple glitters. Application is rough and gritty, but it's supposed to be 3D, so that adds to the texture. It had pretty good coverage, but was not opaque in some spots so I used three coats. Check it out!






This polish was definitely a beast to take off. I am not a huge fan of glitters simply because of the extra work it takes to take it off, but I would say this color is worth it. I always caught myself staring at my nails!
What do you guys think?
Comments? Questions? Concerns?

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

China Glaze Fast Track && butter LONDON Tart With A Hart

Hi!
Today I have a manicure using two different colors, Fast Track by China Glaze and Tart With A Hart by butter London.

Fast Track is a part of the Hunger Games collection. It's a beige filled with tons of gold microglitter! It was surprisingly opaque in two coats and application was amazing. It was much better than others in the collection, but then again... it wasn't one of the metallic ones. None the less, it was still a great neutral color!

Tart With A Hart was part of the 2011 holiday collection. It's a semi-clear base filled with tons and tons of gold microglitter. Also, it has bigger glitters that shine a bunch of different colors when they hit the light. ALSO, if you look super close, there's even black microglitter in it! This one is a stunner for sure. When we saw it at Nordstroms, we weren't sure if it would be opaque or not, so my sister sacrificed her manicure and we tested it out. By three coats, Tart With A Hart worked great alone! It's a very nice glitter! Application was good for a glitter and it was a little gritty, but it was nothing a top coat can't fix.

Take a look!

Fast Track with Tart With A Hart on the ring finger.


Artificial Lighting
Next, I used some scotch tape to put little triangles of Tart With A Hart on the nails with Fast Track.


Artificial Lighting
Sunlight

Next time I do something with Tart With A Hart, I'll probably pair it with a different color. Maybe pink? But nonetheless the overall look was good enough for me and I got a lot of compliments on it!
What do you guys think?
Comments? Questions? Concerns? Let me know!

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

butter London Knackered over black

Hello!
Today's post isn't super long, it's butter London Knackered over black.
We used two coats of China Glaze's Liquid Leather, one coat of Knackered, and then a coat of seche vite.
Over a dark base, Knackered's pinker hues are really noticeable! It was extremely beautiful in person and the pictures are good, but they could be better. I won't describe Knackered in detail here, but you can see my thoughts on it here!
Take a look at Knackered over Liquid Leather!







These pictures were all in sunlight. What do you think? Any Knackered fans yet? I'm one!!
Comments? Questions? Concerns? Let me know!

Monday, March 19, 2012

China Glaze Magnetix - Pull Me Close

Happy Monday!
Today I have one of the China Glaze Magnetix polishes, Pull Me Close.


This collection has six polishes and then there's a magnet you have to buy separately. It has three designs, diagonal stripes, a chevron, and a star. The magnet has a little ridge to place on your cuticle so the magnet doesn't touch you nail. To me the magnet was a little bit weak. It was my first time using magnetic nail polish and I didn't get the hang of it for a good bit and redid quite a few nails. Since the magnet was weak, the design didn't curve around my nail. It only was on the top. I even tried rolling the magnet around my nail but it was like I couldn't do it fast enough.
Application wise, it went on smooth! Pull Me Close was very opaque and after one coat looked fine. It was a  blue-gray polish and the design turned very dark. It was very cool and striking against the lighter base.
Check it out!


Left to Right
Diagonal, Chevron, Star

These were after a few days of wear so excuse the chips at the end /:
These were the three nails that worked the best for me. I thought they showed the design well and didn't look like utter crap. As you can see, the design doesn't bend around my nail.
Oh well. I'm semi-disappointed but I plan on trying again!
The things I'll do different:
  1. Put on one thin layer. Let it dry. Apply another layer and THEN use the magnet.
  2. Move faster.
  3. Wish for good luck!
  4. Take pictures before they're messed up :)
I'll let y'all know once I try again.
Has anyone else tried this collection? Any thoughts?
Comments? Questions? Concerns? Let me know!

Sunday, March 18, 2012

butter LONDON Knackered swatch

Hello hello!
I know I kind of suck at posting regularly. I really am sorry! I do have a busy life and this week was pretty hectic. I've been working A LOT. I had a closing shift yesterday and I was planning on coming home and making a post... but that didn't happen. Not only was I called into work three and a half hours early... I didn't get off of work until 3 AM. Yes. THREE IN THE MORNING. So I had a thirteen hour shift... I was miserable. Today they ended up letting me off early because I was zombie like and talking to myself. I may have over exaggerated a bit on acting like a zombie ;) but I'm home and happy and blogging now!

So. I. ABSOLUTELY. LOVE. THIS. POLISH.
butter LONDON Knackered.


Love. LOVE. love. LoVe. lOvE. LOOOOOOVE. 
I don't even know how to describe this polish ... butter LONDON described it as "a sheer, twinkling oyster shade flecked with micro glitter particles." Yeah. I can see that, but I feel like it's so much more! This is definitely a duochrome polish and it flashes many different colors in different lighting including blue-greens, pink, purple, silver, and blue. Also, the littler glitters in the polish all twinkle like a rainbow! Every time I look at my nails I'm like ooooOOoooOoooOoOoO *drool*. 
Oh and, I have a watch with a black mother of pearl face, this polish reminds me of it!
Take a look!


These are all inside with artificial lighting. Excuse my poor cuticles. See the green on the sides of my nails? And look at the little sparkles making a rainbow!


Look at all that green!


Can y'all see that pink a little bit? It shows up the best in lower lighting.
Application for this was great. It went on like butter (dohoho). It was super sheer and I used three coats.

Now here are some pictures in the sun!


This picture shows the silver and blue really well!


Here you can see the purple! Purple is my favorite color <3


Mmm I see a lot of blue/purple here!


Lovely, right?

This polish was a must have the minute I saw it. I got it at Nordstroms for $14 and it was part of butter LONDON's new spring/summer collection. What do you guys think? Next I'm going to try this polish over black. I saw that combination and it looks dreamy!

Comments? Questions? Concerns? Let me know!

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

China Glaze Smoke And Ashes

Hello there!
Today I have Smoke And Ashes from the Hunger Games Collection.


Smoke And Ashes is a black base filled with micro blue and green glitters. It's pretty awesome in person but since I can't show y'all that, y'all will just have to trust me and the pictures!
I don't have a lot of black polishes and this one definitely does not disappoint me! It has a nice shine and the little flecks of blue and green are just yum!

CLICK ON ME!
Application wise, this one went on like butter! I had no problems with gloopiness or anything of the sort. This one could be wearable with only one coat, but I still did two.
Check it out!


Artificial Lighting

I feel like I haven't stamped in ages so I decided to spice this one up just a litttttle bit!
I used Agro from the same collection (click here to see swatch) and Bundle Monster plate BM16 to do two accent nails.
Take a look!



I was hoping the green would bring out the green flecks. I like this one a lot!
What do you guys think? Any fans of the Hunger Games Collection yet?
Comments? Questions? Concerns? Let me know!

Saturday, March 10, 2012

China Glaze Harvest Moon

Heya!
Today I have my third polish from the Hunger Games Collection, Harvest Moon.


It's a lovely color that completely reminds me of fall and all of the beautiful colors that are around during that season. Harvest Moon is a burnt copper, super metallic, and it's almost like a foil. It went on like butter for me and was super opaque within two coats.
Take a look!



These photos don't do the polish as much justice as it deserves. Sorry about that. I really wanted to get photos of this polish in sunlight but the weather has been icky for two days now so artificial lighting was all I could manage. The photos are not horrible though, so please bear with me!


Artificial Lighting
So what do you guys think?
Comments? Questions? Concerns? Let me know!

Friday, March 9, 2012

China Glaze Hook and Line

Hello!
Sorry I didn't post yesterday, I had a concert and didn't get home until late and by then I just wanted to sleep.

First order of business: one of the blogs I've been following for awhile is holding a Spring Giveaway! You don't have to do anything to enter but be a US resident and provide your name and email address. Easy, right? I think it's worth trying even if you're like me and never win anything!
If you would like to check it out, go here: Spring Giveaway!

Second order of business: today I have for you another polish from the Hunger Games Collection. Today's lucky number is called Hook and Line.


This color is a dark gray with bits of silver in it. The pictures are of my sister's nails again and it was opaque in two coats. The only thing I didn't like about this polish, was how streaky it was. If you do not paint in a straight line, be prepared for brushstroke central! Other than that, I have no complaints! It's a nice gray/silver and I feel like it would be good for stamping because it's on the thicker side. I'll have to try it out!
Take a look!



Sunlight

So what do you guys think? Is the Hunger Games Collection a must have?
Comments? Questions? Concerns? Let me know!

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

China Glaze Hunger Games Collection- Agro & Luxe and Lush

Hey guys! 
Today I'm going to start showing you guys polishes that I recently got from my China Glaze haul! All of them were from the Hunger Games Collection except one (a magnetix one).
First up I have Agro! I looked at many swatches from the collection and this one was my favorite by far, so of course I tried it on first!


Agro is a dark, mossy green. In the light it shimmers gold and it is absolutely stunning! Application wise, it was a bit goopy. It wasn't horrible though, and I was able to work around it. I used two coats and it was perfectly opaque by then.
Take a look!



Sunlight
I wore it plain like this for about one day, but then I saw Luxe and Lush (also from the Hunger Games Collection) staring at me and I couldn't resist! I applied one coat of Luxe and Lush to see what it would look like and I'm actually very pleased with the look. Next time I might put a thinner coat on, but I still like it.


So what do you guys think? Do any of you have some of the Hunger Games Collection yet?
I'm going to go see the midnight premiere, I'm excited!
Comments? Questions? Concerns? Let me know!