Nails Niche Peeks: Glitter Gradient

Glitter gradients are some of my favorite looks. They are so versatile and you can change up the colors and glitter until you're happy... There are endless combinations!

For this mani I used Essie Go Overboard, a dark green-toned teal (OCW!) and the glitter is Essie Set in Stones, a silver hex glitter (it looks a bit gold in this picture... Sorry about that!). 

What's your go-to simple nail art look? 

XOXO

Is

Quilted Nail Art

Hi guys! Happy Monday! Did you guys tune into the Super Bowl last night? I didn't except for Katy Perry, because I'm not much of a football person! Haha!

Today I have a quilted manicure to show you. I first saw this type of manicure on The Polishaholic, and was inspired by two of Jen's quilted mani's, this blue one and this matte and shiny black one. 

For my quilted manicure, I chose to do black matte and shiny but add some flair with gold microbeads!

I had to include this picture... so shiny!

I first applied a base coat and then my OCW black polish, Sinful Colors Black on Black. I then applied NYC Grand Central Station to speed up the dry time.

Once the black was fully dry, I used striping tape to create the quilted pattern. I then painted over the whole nail with a fairly thick coat of  matte topcoat. I used Wet N' Wild Wild Shine (irony) Matte Top Coat. Seriously, this topcoat rivals Essie Matte About You, my former go-to matte topcoat. However, once I ran out (actually, I still had about 1/4 left, but it was too thick and flecked with white specks to be usable) I decided to try out Wet N' Wild's. In terms of mattifying abilities, it's fantastic! Probably just the tiniest smidge less matte than Essie's, but I find that this gives it more depth and a "plush" look.

After applying the matte topcoat, I immediately peeled off the striping tape and was left with a cool, luxurious looking mani!

From there, I decided to enhance the feeling of luxury by adding gold microbeads at the areas of intersection of the shiny lines. 

Done! (No topcoat to preserve the texture.)

For my "Cinderella" hand I did plain matte black with an accent nail of OPI All Sparkly and Gold, a fine cool gold glitter topper. These kept the mani cohesive, but allowed me only spend two hours on this mani instead of four, lol. Because really, ain't nobody got time fo dat. ;)

What do you think of this mixed texture mani? Thanks so much for reading!

XOXO

Is

Spoiled by Wet N' Wild Spam

Hi guys! Yesterday I showed you swatches of a high-end brand, Deborah Lippmann, but today I'll be sharing some polishes that are a bit more affordable. Priced at only $1.99 per bottle exclusively at CVS, they're practically giving them away!

First up is The Parking Meteor Expired. (ha, ha.)

Flash

Normally I always try to show you pictures in natural light, but this polish was tricky. The Parking Meteor Ran Out is a blackened teal shimmer with a slight purple duochrome in the bottle which sadly does not show up on the nail. Bummer! This polish looks pretty much black in most lights, but in broad sunlight the teal shimmer comes out to play! It is very subtle, but a nice alternative to plain black. The formula was okay, a little thin, so be careful as it might flood your cuticles.

Next is Paying With Platinum!

Natural Light

Natural Light

Natural Light

Paying With Platinum is a gray polish with a lavender to green duochrome. The duochrome isn't majorly strong, but it is there. The purple is visible at most angles in the murky gray base, and at extreme angles the green can be seen. The formula is quite thin and sheer. You could probably build it up to full opacity in three or more coats, but I chose to layer it over a dark gray, Maybelline Impeccable Grays. Duochromes tend to show their full shifts if layered over a darker color, anyway.

The last polish I have to show you is Club Rat. Gross name, but such a pretty polish!

Artificial Light

Flash

Club Rat is a pretty pink jelly with magenta/purple shimmer! For the first picture (mmm... so squishy) I used three coats of Club Rat on its own for the first picture. This creates a full coverage, squishy jelly look that's so fun and sunny! For the second picture I layered one coat of Club Rat over my favorite black creme, Sinful Colors Black on Black. This creates a COMPLETELY different look! I love layering sheerish shimmery colors over black. It brings out the colors of the shimmer like you wouldn't believe! Over black it shows a cool purple and magenta shimmer blast! So pretty.

What do you think about these colors? I just want to talk a bit about the brush. Spoiled brushes are wide and round, and are sometimes cut very wonky. I have had good luck with the brushes, however. The brushes in these particular bottles of mine are cut fine, and although the wideness and roundness of the brush takes some getting used to, it is manageable. Honestly, most nail bloggers out there make such a big fuss over it, but it is really okay.

After looking at Amanda's (from Pretty Girl Science) Instagram, I've discovered that CVS is introducing a new exclusive line of polish at the same price as the Spoileds called Pop-arazzi. The color she tried out seems to be identical to Spoiled I Only Eat Salads, which leads me to think that the Spoileds may be fazed out soon and replaced by the Pop-arazzis, but I am not sure. Thoughts?

Thanks for reading and I'll see you next time!

XOXO

Is

Deborah Lippmann Good Girl Gone Bad Swatch

Hi guys! Today I have a GORGEOUS polish to show you. Deborah Lippmann makes some pretty glorious sparkly, over-the-top polishes that are complex and still classy. Good Girl Gone Bad is no exception!

Good Girl Gone Bad is a berry-wine-maroon dark reddish-purple microglitter. It is full coverage and dries down to a gritty matte finish, so you'll want to gloss it up with some topcoat. The formula is a bit thick, but manageable.

Here I've done three coats of GGGB with two coats of Essie Good to Go topcoat, as it is a bit topcoat-thirsty.

Natural light

Flash

Flash

The photo with natural light is the most color-accurate, but the flash photos really show off the depth and sparkle!

Deborah Lippmann's are high-end and retail for around $20 each.

Thanks so much for reading and have a lovely polished day!

XOXO

Is

NOTD: Picture Polish Lagoon by Fashion Polish

Hi guys! Today I have a quick NOTD to share with you. This is the beautiful Picture Polish Lagoon, created in collaboration with Fashion Polish. This polish is so special to me... It is one of three that are my first PP's! I got two others that I'll show you soon, but for now, here is Lagoon!

This picture gives my skin a lovely red hue, but the polish color is mostly accurate, however, it is a tiny, tiny smidge greener in person. Lagoon is a gorgeous turquoise jelly packed with minuscule holographic specks and some beautiful turquoise hex glitters. The shade of turquoise is absolutely perfect. It's not too green or blue. This polish has so much depth, to make it even better. Two coats were perfect for my short nails, but you might need three to pack maximum punch if you have longer nails. This polish isn't terribly shiny, so I added NYC Grand Central Station topcoat to shine it up. 

I love this polish. What is your favorite Picture Polish?

Chrome Geometric Negative Space Nail Art

Hello ladies! How's your 2015 going? I hope it's a happy healthy one filled with lots of achievements and blessings. 

Today's nail art is a really cool design, in my opinion. I tend to do intricate nail art on the weekends, since that's when I have time to relax. 

I was inspired by this manicure that I saw on Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/pin/312366924127751652/

For this manicure I started with a base coat and a layer of topcoat, then added two coats of Sally Hansen Color Foil in Titanium Flush, a pink mirror-like chrome. These polishes are pretty finicky, so be sure to see my post on How to Make Your Sally Hansen Color Foils Look Perfect: http://nailsniche.blogspot.com/2014/07/how-to-make-your-sally-hansen-color.html 

Once that was dry, I took a nail art brush and Essie Spin the Bottle, a creamy nude, and free handed a thick horizontal line in the center of my nail. After that, I used Sinful Colors Black on Black to make the outline of the nude stripe and the zig zags. I finished off with topcoat.

I initially was going to use tape over my bare nail and add Titanium Flush, but because of the quick-drying nature of the Color Foil I just couldn't get a clean line, so I substituted the negative space bare nail look with a nude polish and a tiny brush. 

I really liked this look. The geometric strip across the center combined with the reflective metal finish was really cool. I went to get a pedicure after I did this and I got so many compliments from the ladies who work there! 

What's your favorite nail art look to do when you have time? Have a great day!

XOXO

Is

I Like Sandwiches...

I'm on Team Turkey. Panera is rather delicious. How bout you? Peanut butter? Jelly?

I'm expanding my horizons and trying a jelly sandwich today...

...well, not exactly.

A jelly sandwich is technique where you apply a layer of a translucent jelly polish, then a chunky glitter polish, and top that with another layer of jelly polish. I have a tutorial on this technique (you can find it in the Tutorials tab--it's the very first one in that category!) if you want a more in-depth description.

I used Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Greenlight (which, by the way, doesn't seem to exist. Literally, I can't find any swatches of it online.) Greenlight is a squishy green-toned teal jelly, and when I bought it I actually thought it was a creme. To my surprise, it was a jelly! Hurray!

The glitter I used is Maybelline Clearly Spotted, a really versatile topper of black and white matte hex glitters. 

What would a peanut butter and jelly sandwich mani be? I'm thinking a jelly, a glitter, a shimmer topper, and another layer of a jelly. Huh! I might have to try that out...

XOXO

Is