Polka Dots & Pearls

Today, I have a mani I wore back in the summer! I had forgotten about this cute mani until now. :( It was my first time using the pearls I bought from Born Pretty Store. As you can see, the base color peeked through the pearls so I recommend only wearing light colors when using them. Even though they're bumpy, they didn't catch on anything! :) They lasted the whole length of my mani and only came off when I removed my mani. (I think I used Seche Vite or Essie Good to Go Top Coat. I'm not sure though.)

For my base, I used Claire's Happy Go Lucky. I used my second smallest dotting tool (my preferred size for polka dots) and Zoya Purity for the polka dots. Using an orange stick with wax on one of its ends, I mounted on the pearls and shaped them into a bow. I adhered the pearls with top coat.

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

Michelle

Essie Luxedo + Starrily Ultima

Self-purchased

Essie Luxedo (index and middle fingers) is a vampy, red-toned purple crelly. In certain lighting, it can look black because it's such a dark shade. I absolutely love vampy colors so this is very much my style! I used 2 coats. The formula was terrific! It was so easy to apply and control the polish, which is great for vampy polishes because they can stain. It's very pigmented so I recommend using two coats of base coat to prevent possible staining. It dried extremely shiny, but I still used top coat. Luxedo is a stunner, and I definitely recommend it if you're an aficionado of vampy shades!

Starrily Ultima (ring and pinky fingers) is a stunning combination of silver shimmer and linear and scattered holographic silver glitter. It can be used as a layering or full-coverage glitter. For this swatch, I decided to use it as a full-coverage glitter. It's the silver version of the equally-beautiful Starrily King Midas. (I love both just as much as the other.) You definitely need both polishes in your collection! I used 3 somewhat thin coats. The formula was great since the polish was easy to apply and control. It dried slightly gritty so I used top coat to smooth it out.

I purchased Starrily Ultima from Starrily's shop.

Thanks for looking! Happy Thanksgiving!

Elle Vintage Charm + Zoya Tomoko

Self-purchased

Elle Vintage Charm (index and middle fingers) is a pinky-brown nude creme. Dare I say that it's the PERFECT nude creme for me!  In certain lightings, it looks like I have mannequin hands. :D I've been searching so long for such a color! I used 3 coats. The formula was passable and easy to control. With each coat, it got thicker. I expected a lot more from a brand like Elle. However, it was very hot when I painted my nails so I'm not ruling out that the heat affected the application. It dried shiny, but I still used top coat.

Zoya Tomoko (ring and pinky fingers) is a gorgeous champagne textured shimmer. It's very neutral and would look great with any polish color and skintone. I used 3 coats, but I think I could have gotten away with just two. The formula was good, though a bit thin and runny. It dried and texturized quickly. I didn't use top coat in order to preserve the textured finish. I highly recommend you get Tomoko! It's a wonderful addition to any collection.

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

Michelle

Maybelline Walk in the Park

Self-purchased

Maybelline Walk in the Park is a very dark green creme. It looks like it has a blue undertone, but I didn't see it in real life. In certain lights, it looks black. I used 2 coats. The formula was wonderful! It was very pigmented and easy to apply. Now, after having tried Clearly Spotted and Walk in the Park, I've really grown to love Maybelline polishes. The mini-size is just right too! (Because who what kind of nail polish addict finishes full-sized polishes anyway?)

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

Michelle

Urban Outfitters Pink Holo

Self-purchased

Urban Outfitters Pink Holo is a wonderful, light pink with very strong linear holo. I used 3 coats. The formula was fantastic because it was super easy to control and apply! It dried quickly. I didn't use base or top coat since it was a holographic polish. Pink Holo is amazing and one you definitely need in your collection!

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

Michelle

Starrily Galaxy

Self-purchased

Starrily Galaxy is a stunning mix of red, orange, yellow, blue, pink, and fuchsia metallic and holographic star, dot, and hex glitter. It's seriously out of this world! (Sorry not sorry.) I used 1 coat over Wet 'n Wild Black Creme. The formula was alright. It was a bit thick and a lot of the bigger glitters sunk to the bottom. I was able to apply the smaller glitters normally, but had to fish out and dab on the bigger glitters. It dried a bit bumpy so I used top coat to smooth it out.

I purchased Galaxy from Starrily's shop.

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

Michelle

Jade Uau!

Self-purchased

Jade Uau! is a coppery orange with strong linear holo. It's more coppery/brown-toned than many swatches showed so I was pretty surprised when I first wore it. Nevertheless, I still think it's beautiful. I used 3 coats, though I could have gotten away with just 2. The formula was good and easy to apply, but thickened a bit with successive coats. It dried fairly quickly. I actually applied Uau! over OPI Nail Envy (because I was too lazy to remove my base coat... heh), but didn't have any problems doing so. No top coat.

I bought Uau! from Llarowe.

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

Michelle

Julep Clara

Self-purchased

Julep Clara is a darling, neutral-toned peach creme. It's neither too orange nor too pink so it will work for many skintones. (It pulls more orange in the swatch though.) I really adore it and think it's such a great "nude" polish! I used 2 coats. The formula was good, especially for such a pale shade. It was pigmented, very thick, and buttery, but easy to apply. Since it's so thick, it didn't level well, but a good top coat should be able to fix that. It dried shiny, but I still used top coat.

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

Michelle

China Glaze Wish on a Starfish

Self-purchased

China Glaze Wish on a Starfish is a beautiful warm light pink texture, glistening with gold shimmer. It reminds me of a peach for some reason... I used 3 coats, but it was still a little patchy. The formula was sheer and thin, but easy to control and not runny. The texture didn't materialize until a couple minutes after I had finish painting. It also took a bit to dry completely and smoothly. I didn't use top coat in order to preserve the textured finish. I left my adorable cats on my middle and ring fingers because I couldn't bare to take them off just yet. <3 They make for such a cute mani! :3

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

Michelle

Les Nail Smiths: November 2014 - Cute Animals

It's finally November! Now we're nearing to big, scrumptious dinners and holiday breaks! (And hopefully actual fall weather...) This time for LNS, Millie from the Nail Smith had the honor of choosing the prompt. She wanted to use some nail art decals she recently got so she chose "Cute Animals". I was finally able to do the mani pictured below thanks to this prompt! :D I couldn't before because I was too busy burning out from midterms.

This mani is actually an ode to my pet baby, Alice. <3 She's a British Shorthair and has a right eye that's blue and a left one that's gold. She's so adorable and friendly and loving. <3 :3 (That's enough gushing for now~)

I used Zoya Purity as my base. I freehanded the cat heads and ears with Purity's brush. Using my second smallest dotting tool, I dotted on the eyes with Sally Hansen Barracuda and Julep Catrina. I painted the inside of the ears and whiskers with a brush from Born Pretty Store (whoops, forgot to write down which one!) using Love & Beauty Pink and NYC Sidewalkers, respectively.

Check out Millie's mani for this prompt here! :)

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

Michelle