Disqus Testing!

Hi everyone! After Millie from The Nail Smith talked about her smooth transition to the Disqus commenting system, I decided to switch too! I also find that blogs that use Disqus encourage me to comment more often than not. This is just a test post to see whether or not comments are enabled. I would be thrilled if you could try out the new commenting system.

Thank you!

Michelle

Claire's Happy Go Lucky

Self-purchased

Claire's Happy Go Lucky is a marvelous bright blurple creme. The camera shows it bluer than it really is on the nail, a problem seen in all blurple polishes. The color in the bottle in the first picture is the most accurate. I believe I used 2 coats. The formula was wonderful and so easy to apply. No cleanup was necessary! :) I think it dried satin so I used top coat. Overall, a wonderful color with a solid formula. Love!

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

Michelle

ABC Challenge: D - China Glaze Dreamsicle

Self-purchased

China Glaze Dreamsicle is packed with iridescent hex glitter that's swimming in an orange jelly base. I used 3 coats. The formula is good and easy to apply. It dried a bit gritty so I used top coat to smooth it out. 

Dreamsicle is an old China Glaze polish so I'm not sure if you can get it anywhere but online. I got mine from Head2ToeBeauty. It was part of the Speciality Collection. Unfortunately, it's no longer listed so they don't stock it anymore.

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

Michelle

ROY G. BIV Favorites: Holos

NailNation 3000 Amazeballs (Reform)

Above the Curve Caty Perry-winkle

Colors by Llarowe Beat It

Colors by Llarowe Dirty Diana

Color Club Eternal Beauty

Femme Fatale Mirror of Dawn

Color Club Harp on It

Layla Mercury Twilight

Color Club Beyond

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

Michelle

Inspired by aoinail: Vintage Charm

I've been feeling pretty crummy lately so I decided to do some nail art! :) I actually really miss doing nail art. Too bad it takes a while to do it. :( The base of this design is inspired by a set of nails @aoinail on Instagram did. I used the Julep Maven January 2015 It Girl and add-on polishes I recently received because they matched the set of nails almost perfectly! (I got all four polishes for free using my Jules! :D)

I used Julep Margit for the thumb and ring fingers, Shelly for the index fingers, Phyllis for the middle and pinky fingers, and Janae for the polka dots, which were made using my second smallest dotting tool. I added some cat decals from Born Pretty Store and rose decals from KKCenterHK as accents.

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

Michelle

Revlon Vixen

Self-purchased

Revlon Vixen is a gorgeous oxblood creme with a smidgen of brown to it. I used 2 coats. The formula was wonderful, not too thin or thick and very easy to apply. It dried really shiny, but I still used top coat. This is definitely a must-have if you love oxblood polishes like I do!

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

Michelle

ABC Challenge: C - Candy Lacquer Candy Dots + Essie Navigate Her

Self-purchased

Candy Lacquer Candy Dots has red, petal pink, magenta, pale gold, green and turquoise dots in a clear base. I used 1 coat over Essie Navigate Her. I found it best to dab on and then move around the glitter. However, I had no trouble getting out the glitter. I believe the gold dots stained the clear base (which did slightly change the color of Navigate Her) because they were a bit darker when I first got Candy Dots. I'm not certain why the clear base is stained though. It dried a little bumpy so I smoothed it out with top coat. 

Candy Dots was discontinued/made for a limited time, but you can purchase other Candy Lacquer polishes on its site.

Essie Navigate Her is a springy, light pistachio creme. I used 3 coats. The formula was thin and a little runny so I made sure to apply it carefully to avoid flooding and cleanup. It dried shiny so I didn't use top coat. It didn't level that well once it dried though.

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

Michelle

ROY G. BIV Favorites: Iridescent/Flakie/Layering Polishes

Picture Polish Festival

Essie Shine of the Times

Sinful Colors Pearl Harbor

Cult Nails Seduction

Darling Diva Ringer Goes Blonde

Kleancolor Chunky Holo Black

Ethereal Lacquer Absinthe

Dance Legend Prismatic Top Coat

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

Michelle

Les Nail Smiths: January 2015 - Inspired by a Book

Hello, everyone! Unfortunately, I couldn't participate in this installment of Les Nail Smiths. I got very sick this week and am now swapped with schoolwork as the new semester has started. (So not looking forward to this semester, by the way...) I will definitely revisit this prompt in the future because I was really excited about it. Please be sure to check out Millie's awesome LNS mani for this month!

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

Michelle

Essence A Lovely Secret + Doctor Lacquer Stubs & Movember

Self-purchased

Cold State

Transition State

Warm State

Essence A Lovely Secret (index and middle fingers) is a pretty periwinkle creme with red and purple shimmer. Except at certain angles, the shimmer gives off a speckled effect because of the way it immerses itself in the creme base. I really love the speckled effect, but it's a shame that it isn't a popular or well-known finish. I used 2 coats. The formula was pigmented and wonderful, as per Essence, but I had some trouble applying the polish because of the small handle and brush. It dried shiny, but I still used top coat.

Doctor Lacquer Stubs & Movember (ring and pinky fingers) is a thermal jelly with royal blue, teal, and silver holo glitters. The base is grey when warm, but black when cold. I'm really late at swatching this one because this was released around TWO Novembers ago! (So sorry!) I used 4 coats. The formula was nice and thin, but not runny or streaky. However, I found application a bit tricky because of the long brush wand, of which I'm not a fan. It dried satin so I used top coat.

Unfortunately, both A Lovely Secret and Stubs & Movember are long since discontinued. However, you can purchase other Doctor Lacquer thermals from her store.

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

Michelle

ABC Challenge: B - Avon Blue Royale

Self-purchased

 

Avon Blue Royale is a matte dark blue shimmer, otherwise known as a "suede" finish. It was almost a one-coater, but I did 2 coats because I used thin ones. If you use one thick coat and have short nails, then I've no doubt it'll be a one-coater. It had a great formula, practically applied itself, and was very easy to control. But because of the suede finish, it showed some brushstrokes, which can be remedied with smooth application. It dried quickly so I had to paint it quickly too. It's beautiful in both its original and shiny states. I can't believe it took me 2 years to wear this gem!

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

Michelle

ROY G. BIV Favorites: Full-coverage Glitters

BadAss Polish Dusk

Femme Fatale Keeper of the Grove

Funky Fingers Sand & Stilettos

Hard Candy So So Sequin

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

Michelle

OPI My Very First Knockwurst

Self-purchased

OPI My Very First Knockwurst is a pink-beige nude creme with some grey undertones, resulting in a very "putty" color. I used 3 coats. The formula was creamy and pigmented. It was a tad thicker than the usual OPI formula I was used to, but was still a breeze to apply. It dried shiny and quickly, but I still used top coat. I'm really disappointed in this one because the color clashed so much with my skintone. :(

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

Michelle

ABC Challenge: A - Colors by Llarowe Angels Sing

Self-purchased

In an effort to swatch more of and enjoy my collection, I've decided to embark on the ABC Challenge on my own! :) It will appear every Tuesday. I'm so excited for this challenge because I think it'll be really fun to scavenge through my collection!

Colors by Llarowe Angels Sing is a sheer, grey-ish white with subtle, loose linear holo. It's sooo pretty! Why haven't I worn it until now?! I used 4 coats, but it's still a bit patchy. The formula was thin, but easy to apply. It dried shiny so I didn't use top coat.

Unfortunately, Angels Sing was produced for a limited time and is now unavailable. However, you can buy other Colors by Llarowe polishes at Llarowe.

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

Michelle

ROY G. BIV Favorites: Glitter Toppers

After watching jessFACE90's ROY G. BIV nail polish favorites, I was inspired to do my own favorites series! ROY G. BIV is an acronym for the colors in the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. My favorites series, however, will consist of glitter toppers, full-coverage glitters, iridescent/flakie/layering polishes, holos, duo/multichromes, nudes, pink, red, orange, yellow/gold, green, blue, purple, brown/taupe, grey/silver, black, and white. ROY G. BIV Favorites will be posted every Monday.

Today is the first post of this new series, and it's dedicated to glitter toppers! :D 

¡Vámonos!: (Spanish) command. Let's go!

Starrily Galaxy

Lynnderella Very Pretty Vampire

 

Cult Nails Feedback

Julep Paris

Nicole by OPI My Lips are Dripping Honey (a dupe of Julep Paris)

Polish Me Silly Clowning Around

Maybelline Clearly Spotted

Glam Polish Graveyard Smash!

NYX Gilded Glitter

Zoya Gilty

Love & Beauty Green (Glitter)

Essence Julia

OPI Pirouette My Whistle

LA Girl Uninhibited

Lumina Lacquer Starchild

China Glaze Fairy Dust

I hope you enjoy this new series. Thanks for looking! See you on the other side of the day!

Michelle