Showing posts with label Polishes as Top Coats. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Polishes as Top Coats. Show all posts

Last of the Color Club Japanese Glitters: Fresh Mint

Above & Below: Fresh Mint shown with 3 coats. The above photo is using an Ott light, and the photo below is with a flash.
Below: More of the prettiness that is Fresh Mint!
Below: I used Fresh Mint as a top coat over a mint shimmer, Nicole's Hint of Mint.
Below: I then added not 1, but 2 coats of Essie's Matte About You and the glitter is still gorgeous.
This concludes the swatches of the 8 Color Club Japanese Exclusive Glitters that I recently got from Victoria Nail Supply. If you're interested in the other 7 shades, you'll find a number of posts below about them. Fresh Mint is a medium toned mint green and in my eyes, it's beautiful. I have a weakness for green shades to begin with, so I knew I would love this one. It looked to be slightly turquoise in the bottle, but on the nail it's a mint green. These all seem to have the same multi-colored glitter in them, but depending on the contrast between the polish color and the glitter, it looks a bit differently color-wise, in each one. I used 3 coats on this one, and it definitely has enough color to look nice just like that. I've shown you a number of darker polishes with these glitters as a top coat, so for this one, I wanted to use it with a similarly colored base coat. I chose Nicole's new Hint of Mint, and then I also added a matte top coat. Mint green. Glitter. What's not to love?

If you're thinking about getting any of these, let me tell you my thoughts now that I have actually had a chance to use all of them. If you want them all, then get them all. See how easy that was! Seriously though, if I were to order them knowing what I know now, I'd probably skip some of the 4 pink/peach toned ones. They all work/look about the same when using them as a top coat because the base color is so sheer, that none of them really alter whatever color you use them over. As a stand-alone polish, Twinkle Peach is not a color I would wear alone. It has very little pigment even after 3 coats. I would have to say the same about Calendula for Joy. I Love You is lovely on it's own, as is Sparkling Cassis. Of those 4, if you're looking for something that works well on it's own and as a top coat, I would suggest either of those two. Here's where I'm not helping your wallet much...the other 4 are must-haves for me. You've got a sparkling white (Bishop Weed) that is unique on it's own and works as a top coat, and I personally don't have too many white shades that have this much personality in my collection. I also don't have an orange-yellow shade that's anything at all like Sparkling Orange. Blue Hawaii and Fresh Mint were the first two I wanted when I saw these, and I know that a lot of you, like myself, are attracted to blues and greens. The first offering of these polishes a few months back were all peachy-pink colors, so I can honestly say that I didn't need all 4 of the similar ones offered in this collection. The other 4 are totally different shade-wise from any of the other Color Club Japanese Glitters I already had. They're also different and unique from any shade I have in other brands as well, so I'm extremely happy with them.


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Color Club Japanese Exclusive Glitter: Dazzling Orange

Above & Below: Dazzling Orange shown with just 2 coats. This is much more pigmented than I imagined it would be.
Well, this one surprised me...in a good way! I fully expected not to like Dazzling Orange, thinking it would be extremely sheer, and being yellow...that just didn't sound like a good start. It's a cross between yellow and orange, reminding me of the color of fresh-squeezed orange juice. I only had to use 2 coats to get the look you see in the photos, whereas the others have generally taken 3 coats. I would imagine this would look even better if it were summer and I had a tan. I then put a coat of Black Radiance Risque over it, which is a brown shimmer. The glitter didn't show through at all on this one, unlike the others I've posted down below. Once I put a coat of Dazzling Orange over the top of Risque, I suddenly had the urge to make a pan of brownies topped with Rainbow Sprinkles!


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Color Club Japanese Exclusive Glitter: Bishop Weed

Above & Below: Bishop Weed shown with 3 coats. The glitter, although multi-colored in brighter lighting, gives way to a more silver tone in darker lighting.
Below: One quick coat of Sally Hansen's Opulent Cloud over Bishop Weed gives you this look.
Below: This is a coat of Bishop Weed over Opulent Cloud. I love the way this turned out.
I think this one is actually called Bishop's Weed, but my label is singular, reading Bishop Weed. A minor technicality, because I'd love this one no matter what it's called! By itself, using 3 coats, it's a sheer muted white with multi-colored glitter. It builds enough color that I personally like the way this one looks, even though it's not opaque. It reminds me of Misa's Confection Section, only with more of a white background. This is such a simple, clean look, but the contrast of the glitter against the pale white looks like colored sugar on a new snowfall. Not something you often see of course, but that's what comes to mind. This shade, like many of the glitters, works nicely as an under coat and as a top coat, lending itself to many different transformations.


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Color Club Japanese Exclusive Glitter: Sparkling Cassis

Above: Sparkling Cassis shown with 3 coats. This is a medium Carnation pink tone.
Below: I applied 1 coat of Nicole's Deeply In Love over Sparkling Cassis, and although I was unable to capture the look well, it gives this red creme a glass-flecked appearance.

Below: 2 coats of Sparkling Cassis over Nicole's Deeply In Love adds a colorful burst of color.
Here's another one of the new Color Club Japanese Exclusive Glitters available at Victoria Nail Supply, Sparkling Cassis. This is the last of the pink/peach toned ones (there are 4 of these and the other 3 were posted yesterday). I used 3 coats on this shade, and it is more pigmented than Twinkle Peach and Calendula for Joy. I would rank this shade and I Love You as by far the most pigmented of these 4. It's a pink-toned color with a hint of peach, and the customary micro-fine multi-colored glitter that all of these seem to have. At the risk of repeating myself, I think that the less pigmented ones work better as base or top coats, although both Sparkling Cassis and I Love You look fine on their own as well.
Application Tip: When using jelly-like textured glitters, I use Orly Nail Armor as a base coat. The silk fibers in this base coat give the polish something to adhere to, so the glitter is more evenly distributed.


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Color Club Japanese Glitter: Calendula for Joy

Above & Below: Calendula for Joy shown using 3 coats. Above picture is with no flash under an Ott light, below photo is with a flash.
Below: 2 coats of Calendula for Joy used as a top coat over Orly Wild Wisteria.
Below: As long as we're experimenting, here is the look after a matte top coat.
This evening I have for you the third of eight Color Club Exclusive Japanese Glitters that are new to Victoria Nail Supply. Calendula for Joy is most similar to Twinkle Peach, although it's actually got more of a peach tone than Twinkle Peach! Names can be deceiving though. You can see Twinkle Peach along with I Love You in the post below this one. Calendula for Joy is quite sheer, much like Twinkle Peach. I used 3 coats, but it's quite obvious in the photos that many more would be needed for an opaque look. As I mentioned earlier, some of these are better suited used as a top coat over another polish, or as a base coat with another shade over them. I'll be working on swatches of the remaining 5 shades for tomorrow's posts, as well as showing some of them as both base and top coats.


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Essie Sassy Satchel & Essie Carnival

Above & Below: Essie's Sassy Satchel shown in various lighting. This is a deep rich burgundy shade with the slightest touch of fine gold shimmer.
Below: Shown topped with one coat of Essie's Carnival, it adds a rainbow of sparkle.
Below: A coat of Essie's Matte About You defines the glitter shape, but tones down the sparkle considerably. It also brings out the brown undertones in Sassy Satchel.
Today I have some of my finer quality polishes...you know I love some of the drugstore shades I've been showing the last few days, but it's always a pleasure when I use Essie. I've always been very impressed with the application and the quality of the finish I get from this brand. I used 2 coats of Sassy Satchel and the coverage was even and the formula flowed perfectly. I picked this up at TJ Maxx a few months back, and I'm glad I did. Sassy Satchel is in the burgundy family, but it has the slightest hint of a deep brick red with brown undertones. The brown undertones are more evident with a coat of Essie's Matte About You.

Carnival is a perfect topping for a darker base, because it's a clear polish packed full of small, holographic glitter. I used one coat as a topping, and the way that the glitter pieces play with the light is truly mesmerizing. I don't think it would look nearly as nice using it alone, but I could be wrong. Have you ever used Carnival alone? What did you think?


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My last 2 China Glaze Glitters...Finally!

Above & Below: China Glaze Medallion is a fairly bright gold, filled with multi-colored and multi-shaped holographic glitter. I used 3 coats and the photos were taken indoors with a flash.
Below: Glitter detail close-up. You can still see through the skin under my nail with 3 coats, but the density of the glitter is so bold that on the nail at a normal distance, it looks fine.
Below: This is a messy swatch showing 1 coat of China Glaze Dripping Wet (a deep red/burgundy jelly) over Medallion.
Below: China Glaze Cloud Nine is shown indoors with a flash in the first photo, and outdoors with no flash in the second photo. I used 3 coats and the formula seemed a bit thick, so I'll add a few drops of thinner the next time I use it. I love the subtle gold and pink flash of iridescent glitter in lower lighting.

I finally got around to swatching the last 2 glitters from China Glaze and I love Medallion! Cloud Nine doesn't look so great with my winter skin tone, but it's still got some promise. I think I'll try frankening a teal with it, because the glitter is so pretty with it's flashes of pink and gold. Before I removed Medallion I wanted to do a quick swatch of another color over it, because the glitter is so strong, I was certain it would show through. I used one coat of China Glaze Dripping Wet and it is gorgeous! Now I wish I'd done all of my nails using that combination. It's certainly a polish I'll keep in mind for layering over in the future.


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Tip Toe (Old Navy) Midnight with a Snowman Top Coat


Above & Below: Tip Toe Midnight shown outdoors under cloudy skies with no flash.

Above & Below: Midnight, shown indoors with a flash.


Above: Close-up of Midnight. It has a black base with various shades of blue shimmer/glitter.
Above & Below: One coat of Blue Cross Snowman polish over Tip Toe Midnight.
Below: Close-up of the glitter in the Snowman polish.
This morning I have another polish from the Tip Toe brand, this one is called Midnight. If you missed my previous swatches from this line, just scroll down and you'll find a couple more. I've still got 3 to go, but I haven't had the time to sit down and do them all at once. Midnight is a fabulous shade of deep Royal blue with non-descript colored shimmer. In the bottle, it looks to have a red iridescence to it, which had me believing it had micro red glitter. It doesn't have red glitter at all on the nail, but I'm completely satisfied with this shade. Like the others, it covered perfectly in 2 coats. I decided to try out one of my Blue Cross Snowman polishes from Rite-Aid over the top and it works perfectly as a multi-colored holographic-filled glitter top coat. The Snowman polishes come in a variety of shades and the 3 glitter ones I bought all just have the name as Snowman on the label. What do you think of these Tip Toe polishes so far? I am really quite impressed with the shades and the application.


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