Friday, December 20, 2013

Purple and Pink Galaxy Nails

Ahhh, it's soooo good to be on winter break! All I'm going to do is sleep, hang out with friends, and be lazy. (It feels weird not having to study though...) Anyway, today I have some nail art for you! I did some purple and pink galaxy nails after being inspired by Grape Fizz Nails' pink galaxy nails. Next on my galaxy nails list is a "normal" galaxy one!





I first used Sally Hansen Lacey Lilac as my base color. Then, using small torn-up pieces of a make-up sponge, I sponged on Cult Nails Love at First Sight, Cult Nails Kiss My Rose Bush, Love & Beauty Pink (Creme), and Essie Go Ginza, in that order. I didn't have a set template for the galaxy so I just went with it. (The whole mani actually turned out much better than expected!) To add some sparkle, I used two coats of China Glaze Fairy Dust. Unfortunately, the sun was already going down by the time I got to take pictures so I couldn't capture the holographic brilliance. :( When it was relatively dry, I used Kiss White Striper to make some dots (a.k.a faraway stars and falling stars) and big stars. I topped everything off with Poshe Fast Dry Top Coat.

I'm glad to be back! Now, I'm off to work on something for this lovely, little blog that will be revealed next year, 2014! :D

Thanks for looking! See you on the other side of the day!

Michelle

Friday, December 13, 2013

China Glaze It's a Trap-Eze!

Self-purchased




China Glaze It's a Trap-Eze! is a sheer, milky white jelly that's packed with multicolored glitter in a variety of sizes. The glitter mix is very Milani Gem-esque. It's seriously like a party in a bottle! I used 2 coats, though you could also use 1 coat for a delicate/toned-down look. (I like it both ways.) When I swatched this polish on my nail wheel, it was either a bit dried out or there was too little of the jelly base (the glitter really is packed in there!) so I had to add in 2 drops of thinner before wearing it. The thinner helped it a little since I didn't have any problems with application. There's no need to dab with this one - there's sooo much glitter! The dry time was quick to average. I used 2 thin coats of top coat, but it's still a little gritty.

I'm glad I finally got this one! It's been off-and-on my list since it first came out because I figured I could just do a jelly sandwich to make up for it. But when I saw it on sale at Cherry Culture (which also had a coupon code), I went ahead and grabbed it. ^__^ It was a good decision. I like that decision.

Thanks for looking! See you on the other side of the day!

Michelle

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Forever 21 Pink Blossom

Self-purchased

 
Forever 21 Pink Blossom ("Blossom" on the tag) is a warm, bright pinky-coral textured creme. There's also a very subtle silver shimmer that disappears once on the nail. I used 3 thin coats because thicker coats wouldn't have dried well or become textured, making the application tricky. It also doesn't level at all. Definitely an unforgiving formula! The chunky brush handle and fluffy brush didn't mitigate the application problems either. Unlike the Milani creme textures, this one had a much smoother texture. The dry time was average. I didn't use a base and top coat. As you can see, I'm pretty half-and-half on this one. The color is very pretty, but the polish can be a pain to apply.

On another note, I don't think Forever 21 polishes are going by the name "Love & Beauty" anymore (as evidenced by Pink Blossom's bottle). They recently revamped their polish line, and are now using square bottles and round/fluffy brushes. I much prefer their old line because the bottles were easier to hold and put away and the brushes were much better.

Thanks for looking! See you on the other side of the day!

Michelle

Monday, December 9, 2013

Nicole by OPI Khloe Had a Little Lam-lam

Self-purchased

*Hello everyone! These next few posts will be scheduled. I will be MIA because of finals. Break is finally around the corner!*




Nicole by OPI Khloe Had a Little Lam-lam is a beautiful, deep teal creme that leans a little green. I wasn't able to quite capture the color as it either showed up a little too green or too blue. I applied 2 coats, using it as my base for my previous mani. This is one of the gems I never knew I had - I'm so sad I waited so long to wear this! It had a good formula, flowed on smoothly, and was easy to control. Since it was so pigmented, I used 2 coats of base coat. During removal, I wasn't very careful and ended up with slightly stained nails and fingers. You should also be careful during application because it can also be a pain to clean up. It had average to slow dry time, but it dried incredibly shiny! I didn't use top coat.

Thanks for looking! See you on the other side of the day!

Michelle