Christmas Nails

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

I'll tell you what I've been up to this week.  I've been adding to that China Glaze Midnight Kiss manicure, the gold foil one, that I showed you on Sunday.  At this point, I've added so much stuff to it that I'm deeply concerned about the removal process and how much life it will suck out of me, but that's a concern for another day.

Today, I'll just show you the layers.  As a reminder, here's the base I started with, Midnight Kiss, in natural light.

China Glaze Midnight Kiss Nail Polish, Two Coats

That was Sunday.  On Tuesday morning, I decided to add some China Glaze Party Hearty to it.  I did three coats of Party Hearty to get the coverage I wanted, then I added (and here's where the big trouble starts) three coats of top coat to smooth it out.  So as of yesterday, the official coat count is 1 base + 2 base color + 1 top + 3 Party Hearty + 3 top coat = 10 coats of nail polish I have to remove without just snapping a nail off in my aggressive pursuit to get rid of glitter.  But it looked cool.  This is under artificial light.

China Glaze Party Hearty over Midnight Kiss = One Metric Boatload of Nail Polish

I've stated the down side of removal, but there's also an up side to seventy zillion layers of nail polish.  I spent a few hours yesterday tearing tape off of one of those big rolls with the tape cutter on it, hanging things on walls.  A few times, I really dug into a thumb nail with that tape cutter, but this industrial strength manicure didn't get scratched.  I also knocked my nails right into things a few times where I was certain I had to have broken one, but they were fine, only one big chip in the polish.

This morning I was going to do a fresh manicure to protect the exposed nail from that big chip, but the prospect of getting rid of glitter prompted me to add even more to this manicure in order to put that off for a little longer.  I decided it could use some silver, so I added two coats of CND Silver Sparkling Effect, which barely showed up.  I gave up on the CND and added one coat of OPI Disco Ball Glitter, which gave enough silver to make me happy, then two coats of top coat to smooth it out.  The CND shows up much more in this macro picture than in person.

More Coats of Nail Polish Than Is Reasonable

So now I have festive holiday nails, but I've also raised the official coat count to a staggering 15, quite likely a personal record, which affords my nails a protective barrier that may well deflect bullets.

I'll let you know how it goes when I change this one, supposing I'm able to talk about it right away.  Until then, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!  

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Posted in China Glaze , CND , Glitter , Gold , green , Long Nails , nail polish , red , Silver

FingerPaints Holiday 2011 Swatches

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

This afternoon I have swatches of the FingerPaints Merry & Bright Collection, their Holiday 2011 release.  The collection consists of six polishes, three glitters and three shimmers, and the pictures of all six are in sunlight and without top coat on the first five (the last one is the post-swatching manicure).  I'll start with the glitters...

Each of these is super fine glitter in a clear base, the powdery fine kind of glitter.  I used three coats in each of the swatches for complete coverage, and since they are swatches rather than dried manicures, I don't know how much top coat they require.  However, since the glitter is unusually fine, I doubt more than two could be necessary.  I'll tell you for sure when I wear one as a manicure.

Drummer Boy is a bright blue glitter, a really nice holiday shade of blue. Three coats gives the completely encrusted in glitter look.

FingerPaints Drummer Boy Nail Polish, Three Coats

Santa Kisses is the red of those metallic looking overly fragile glass ball tree ornaments, the good ones from long ago that would shatter into a zillion shards if someone looked in their general direction.  It screams Christmas to me.

FingerPaints Santa Kisses Nail Polish, Three Coats

The last is a tinsel-y silver, Frosty Night, and it could likely use a fourth coat to be totally opaque.

FingerPaints Frosty Night Nail Polish, Three Coats

Those are the three glitters.  For the three shimmers, I used only two coats each.  Yule Be Merry is a pinkish red with a really interesting glowy shimmer.  The color strikes me as a happy one that's still good for winter.

FingerPaints Yule Be Merry Nail Polish, Two Coats

Comet's Collar is the green, and it has my favorite name.  The shade of green is kind of a pale holly shade, but the really cool element of Comet's Collar is the shimmer - there are multicolored sparkle bits in it that just make it really fun to look at.

FingerPaints Comet's Collar Nail Polish, Two Coats

The last is Winter Sky, and it's the one I did a full manicure with.  It's a vivid deep sky blue with an almost-secret shimmer.  One coat of Winter Sky was totally opaque and even, I added a second because it's the one I'm wearing.

FingerPaints Winter Sky Nail Polish, Two Coats

I think FingerPaints holiday collections are the ones I most anticipate, and this one did not disappoint me at all.  Each of the shimmers is really well done, and the super fine glitter in the glitters makes them apply and build well.  I think Comet's Collar is my top pick of this collection simply because its shimmer is so outstanding, but I couldn't wait to wear Winter Sky either.

Those are my FingerPaints Merry & Bright swatches, so until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!



Edited to add a link to the FingerPaints Merry & Bright Promo Image & availability info and a removal note: When I took off Winter Sky, the skin on my hands stained teal (no nail staining, just the skin upon removal).  Tom's of Maine whitening toothpaste and an extra soft bristled toothbrush took all of it off easily.  I panicked at the sight of teal hands, you don't have to - just use toothpaste and it'll come right off.

Products were sent for independent review.

All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen from a real nail polish blog.

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Posted in Blue , FingerPaints , FingerPaints Merry Bright Collection , Glitter , green , nail polish , red , Silver

Sally Hansen Starry, Starry Flight

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Last night I tried out one of the new limited edition Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure nail polishes, Starry, Starry Flight.  Other than recognizing the similarity to name of the Essie classic, I don't get the name at all.  However, this is one cool polish, so I don't really care.

Starry, Starry Flight is a very fine platinum colored silver glitter.  When applying the first coat, I was thinking this one would never be opaque alone, but after three moderate coats it is.  I finished it with two coats of Seche Vite, and it's glassy smooth despite the glitter.  I have other silver glitters, but I've continued to acquire them because I always want them to look just like Starry, Starry Flight looks - this one's just right, so I'm done buying silver glitters.

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Starry, Starry Flight Nail Polish, Three Coats

It's cloudy here, so I don't have bright light to show you how sparkly the glitter is, but at least you can see the color and coverage.

I also found that I've finally gotten used to the Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure brush.  I don't believe the brush is different - still moppy but stiff at the same time - but I finally got the hand of using it.  That should make showing you the others I got from this display a little more bearable!

That's it for today, Dear Reader.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!  

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Posted in Glitter , nail polish , Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure , Silver

Color Club Untamed Luxury Diamond Collection

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Color Club sent me samples of their Fall 2010 Untamed Luxury Collection, which consists of two sets of seven shades, and I have swatches of the Untamed Luxury Diamond Collection for you today.

I found the application of these was very good, and that the colors are well pigmented.  For the one I'm wearing, the dry time was about average.  I'll tell you specifics of each color as we go through the pictures.

Ms. Haute is a grey taupe shimmer with lots of very fine glitter.  The picture is without top coat, and I think one coat of top coat would smooth is out nicely.  I used two coats of Ms. Haute.

Color Club Ms. Haute Nail Polish, Two Coats

Snakeskin is a kind of muted olive shimmer with gold microglitter, also a two-coater.

Color Club Snakeskin Nail Polish, Two Coats

De-luxe-cious, despite the name, is a great color.  It's a slightly bluish grey shimmer with fine multi-colored glitter.  I used two coats.

Color Club De-luxe-cious Nail Polish, Two Coats

Red Velvet is a whole lot of fine red glitter in a black base.  There are lots of variations on this combination, and this is a good one - the black is very black, but the red glitter shows up well and is quite dense.  I think Red Velvet is probably most similar to Eyeko Vampira.  Again, Red Velvet was a two-coater.

Color Club Red Velvet Nail Polish, Two Coats

Covered in Diamonds is called a "luxury top coat" by Color Club.  It's a clear base with large irregular flaky glitter.  Here, I used one coat over black.

Color Club Covered in Diamonds Nail Polish, One Coat over Black

Untamed Luxury, the namesake of the collection, is a bright teal glitter in a teal jelly base.  I used two coats, I probably could have afforded to use a third.

Color Club Untamed Luxury Nail Polish, Two Coats

That brings us to the last one, Resort to Red.  Resort to Red is a cranberry red shimmer, and the shimmer is really fine, almost metallic.  This one was good in two coats.

Color Club Resort to Red Nail Polish, Two Coats 

That, Dear Reader, is Color Club's Untamed Luxury Diamond Collection.  I'll have the Indulgence Collection, the other seven shades, swatched for you soon.  Until then, love and nail polish to you!  

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Posted in Black , Color Club , Glitter , Glitter - Flaky , grey , nail polish , red , Silver , Teal

Glitter Gal Silver

Good morning, Dear Reader!

This morning I have another Glitter Gal holographic polish, Glitter Gal Silver, that was sent for review, and it's a happy surprise.  I put this one off because in the bottle the polish is underwhelming - I figured, "Huh, Glitter's Gal's OPI DS Coronation."  In the bottle that's accurate but on the nail it's completely inaccurate.

Like the OPI, Glitter Gal Silver dries super glassy smooth, but the quantity of little holo flakes is more like the China Glaze Kaleidoscopes.  From there, if you mix in the holographic effect of Chanel Holographic, where there are a million colors, then you have Glitter Gal Silver.  I used a Nutra Nail base coat, three coats of color, then a coat of Diamont to dry it.  I waited a few minutes and then took pictures in the sun.

Glitter Gal Silver Nail Polish, Three Coats

Glitter Gal Silver Nail Polish, Closer Look at Three Coats

See what I mean?  This is perfectly glassy smooth and looks like I have a boatload of holo glitter encrusting my nails.  I can't think of a down side to that.

I'm very impressed with all the Glitter Gal polishes I've tried, and Silver is no exception.  That's all for today, Dear Reader, so until next time, love and nail polish to you!




All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen from a real nail polish blog.

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Posted in Glitter Gal , Holographic , nail polish , Silver

Chanel Holographic

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Today is the final installment of the Celebratory Holo Week, and I saved the best for last.  Chanel Holographic has the most pronounced rainbow holo effect in both sunlight and indoor light of any holographic nail polish I have.

It was an Asian release a few years ago, and it comes in a two-pack with a base coat that's like Nfu Oh Aqua Base.  For this manicure, I used the Chanel base, three very thin coats of color, and I finished it with Diamont.  Here it is completely dry in sunlight.

Chanel Holographic Nail Polish, Three Coats

I really love this polish, and a week of holos wouldn't be complete without it.

That's it for today, Dear Reader.  Until tomorrow, love and nail polish to you!  

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Posted in Chanel , Holographic , Long Nails , nail polish , Silver

OPI Serena Glam Slam England

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Today I have one of the OPI Serena Glam Slam England sets to show you, the purple one with Grape...Set...Match and Servin' Up Sparkle.

Grape...Set...Match is a truly fantastic purple, about the same shade as Nubar Pasadena Purple, and the OPI has distinctly visible pink and blue shimmer bits.  It's very well pigmented, requiring only two coats and very easy to apply.  Here's Grape...Set...Match without top coat.

OPI Grape...Set...Match Nail Polish, Two Coats

I topped it off with two coats of Servin' Up Sparkle, which looks just like Disco Ball Sparkle, the UK exclusive from a couple of years ago, but the glitter seems to reflect more colors in Servin' Up Sparkle.

OPI Servin' Up Sparkle Nail Polish, Two Coats over OPI Grape...Set...Match

This is my favorite of the Serena Glam Slam sets so far - the purple is gorgeous, and I think Servin' Up Sparkle is just more versatile than the shatters in the previous sets.

That's the news of the day, Dear Reader, so until next time, love and nail polish to you!

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Posted in Glitter , Glitter - Hexagon , nail polish , OPI , OPI Serena Glam Slam , purple , Silver

China Glaze Haute Metal over Hot Mess

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Today I'm wearing China Glaze Haute Metal, the pink from the China Glaze Crackle Glaze Metals I swatched for you yesterday.  I paired it with Man Glaze Hot Mess, which until I ran into it in my living room yesterday, I would have denied ever owning.  I just wandered around looking at some polishes I hadn't used in a while until I came across one that would go well with one of the Crackle Metals, and Hot Mess was the winner.

Hot Mess is a glittery whitish silver matte, and very pretty.  I used three coats over a completely dry base coat, and this is Hot Mess on its own.

Man Glaze Hot Mess Nail Polish, Three Coats, No Top Coat

As you may recall, I recently discovered with OPI Turquoise Shatter that the crackling happened oddly over a matte with no top coat, so even though the surface of Man Glaze mattes feel more like powder than that weird rubbery feeling of many mattes, I top coated it.  That made it sparkle a bit more and gave it some depth.  I'd wear this one alone easily (I wish I'd known I had it sooner!).

Man Glaze Hot Mess Nail Polish, Three Coats, with Top Coat

My original plan was to pair this with Oxidized Aqua, which I still think would look cool, but somehow the notion of Haute Metal, the pink, over this made me think "futuristic ice princess."  I don't know what that means either, but I ran with it.  I added Haute Metal and two coats of top coat to make it nice and glassy smooth.

China Glaze Haute Metal Crackle Glaze over Hot Mess

This one's odd and it's hard to see what's going on without looking carefully, but it's sparkly silver pink so I'm happy.  I like it a lot.

That's what I know this morning, Dear Reader.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!

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Posted in China Glaze , China Glaze Crackle Glaze Metals , Crackle , Man Glaze , metallic , nail polish , Pink , Silver

China Glaze Crackle Glaze Metals

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

I'm back much sooner than I'd planned because I have swatches of the upcoming China Glaze Crackle Glaze Metals to show you.  China Glaze sent them for review and they arrived this morning, and once the bottles had cooled down to room temperature, I got to swatching.

I used them all over a charcoal shimmer - I figured charcoal would let them show up well and show us their opacity, and I thought shimmer would work better with the almost-chrome finish of all six Crackle Glaze Metals.  I did just single nail swatches for this preliminary test drive and look at them - in addition to the fact that I was racing predicted storms for sunlight and didn't want to change lighting conditions halfway through, all six are gorgeous and I'd rather put a little more thought and effort into full manicures with them than just pairing them with charcoal.

Since I used three colors on each hand I split them up as I figured you'd want to see them, putting the true metallics (silver, gold, bronze) one one hand and the others (teal, pink, lavender) on the other so you can see how they look relative to one another.  They all have top coat, and this is in good sunlight.

First, we'll look at the true metals.  They are, from the top down, Cracked Medallion (bronze), Tarnished Gold (gold) and Platinum Pieces (silver).

China Glaze Crackle Glaze Metals Swatches, Round I

I think you can see how well these apply, and the application was  the same for all six shades in the collection.  The consistency of the polish is like normal polish, and so it was easy to apply a thin coat.  With crackles, I pay no attention to how even or opaque the crackle is during application - when it splits up, the pieces become much more opaque and things even out.  When applied, these looked somewhat sheer, but you can see that all three broke up beautifully and are opaque enough to completely cover the charcoal base between cracks.  Here's the same picture with the polish names added - I find labels on pictures can be distracting, so I figured I'd let you get a first impression without them and tack on the labelled version for reference.

China Glaze Crackle Glaze Metals Swatches, More Round I

As for the colors, I really like them a lot.  I've always loved metals and chromes, but the fact is, a chrome finish isn't the most forgiving.  If there's one ridge in a nail, and I have many, a chrome finish pretty much places a neon sign flashing "RIDGES" on that nail.  These have the same overall effect as regular chromes without that shortcoming, and they are really solid renditions of each color.

For Round II, also from the top down, I have Oxidized Aqua (teal), Haute Metal (pink), and Latticed Lilac (lavender).

China Glaze Crackle Glaze Metals Swatches, Round II

Here, you can see that these three are as opaque as and broke up just as well as the first three, and the colors are stunning.  These three will require a little more thought to pair up with good bases.  Here's the labelled version of Round II.

China Glaze Crackle Glaze Metals Swatches, More Round II

All six swatches have just the one coat of top coat, and you can see that the crackle layer isn't terribly thick, which is nice.  I'm a huge fan of this collection, and I'll be trying them out individually this week.

That's really all I have for today, Dear Reader, so until tomorrow, love and nail polish to you!

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Posted in Bronze , China Glaze , China Glaze Crackle Glaze Metals , Crackle , Gold , Lilac , metallic , nail polish , Pink , Silver , Teal

Nfu Oh Holos and Aqua Base

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

I'd heard about Nfu Oh Aqua Base for holos for some time, and finally decided to give it a try when I was ordering some Nfu Oh holos earlier in the week.  They arrived today, and I found that the Nfu Oh Aqua Base really does make a huge difference, making the holographic effect more pronounced.

I checked it with Nfu 61, 63, and 65, and at that point, was tired of swatching.  I used the Aqua Base for all three, three very thin coats of the holo color, and added top coat, SpaRitual Tout de Suite, to them as well to see what the finished manicure would look like.

I've shown you Nfu Oh 61 before - it's the silver.  It's much more holo with the Aqua Base.

Nfu Oh 61, Three Coats, with Nfu Oh Aqua Base and Tout de Suite Top Coat

Nfu Oh 63, a pink one, has just as dramatic an effect.

Nfu Oh 63, Three Coats, with Nfu Aqua Base and Tout de Suite Top Coat

Then I was bored with swatches and did both hands in Nfu Oh 65, the light blue, to just be finished.

Nfu Oh 65, Three Coats, with Nfu Oh Aqua Base and Tout de Suite Top Coat

So I'm a convert, and will use Aqua Base with holos from now on.  Good stuff!

That's all for today, Dear Reader.  Until tomorrow, love and nail polish to you!  

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Posted in Blue , Holographic , nail polish , Nfu-Oh , Pink , Silver

Sephora by OPI Glitter Top Coats

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Today I have swatches of the two new Sephora by OPI glitter top coats for you, Only Gold for Me and Sparkle Me Silver.  I used a navy blue Wet n Wild polish for the base color so the glitter would show up clearly.

Only Gold for Me Top Coat is regular and hex gold glitter in a clear base.

Sephora by OPI Only Gold for Me Glitter Top Coat over Blue Nail Polish

Sparkle Me Silver Top Coat is silver holographic stringy bar glitter.  When I see bar glitter, I always think I like it more than I really do.

Sephora by OPI Sparkle Me Silver Glitter Top Coat over Blue Nail Polish

I'm not really entirely wild about either - I was kind of let down upon swatching them.  I might find a use for them, but I might not.  I'll likely try them over something where they stand out less before deciding whether to keep them.

That's the update for now, Dear Reader.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!  

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Posted in Glitter , Gold , Holographic , Sephora by OPI , Silver

Barielle High Steppin' Collection

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I'm late showing you this collection, but samples from Barielle arrived, and so I have it for you today.  High Steppin' is the Shades by Barielle Summer 2010 collection.  It's all shimmers and glitters, not a creme to be found.

As for application, I thought it was above average.  The Shades by Barielle formula is quite thick, but the brush is good and the polish is very easy to control.  I know some people thin thicker polishes right off the bat, but I find no need to here.  All six shades are well pigmented, so each only took two coats.  The dry time varies on these - I've worn two, Electric Boogie and Freestyle, and Electric Boogie dried in normal time, Freestyle was a bit slower.  The color was worth the wait.

The pictures are all in natural light, and Electric Boogie is a full day-old manicure, with the other five being swatches.

Electric Boogie is a midnight blue shimmer with lighter blue glitter.

Shades by Barielle Electric Boogie Nail Polish, Two Coats

Slow Motion is a pinkish neutral frost.

Shades by Barielle Slow Motion Nail Polish, Two Coats

Night Moves is a foily silver shimmer along the lines of Orly Shine and Zoya Trixie.

Shades by Barielle Night Moves Nail Polish, Two Coats

Belly Dance is an especially cool one - it's the putty color we've seen so much of this year, but the twist is it's a shimmer.

Shades by Barielle Belly Dance Nail Polish, Two Coats

Passion Pirouette is a pinkish purple frost.

Shades by Barielle Passion Pirouette Nail Polish, Two Coats

Freestyle is another really good one.  Rather than the mint green that we've been bombarded with, Freestyle is more of a light spring green shimmer with glitter.

Shades by Barielle Freestyle Nail Polish, Two Coats

That is the High Steppin' Collection from Shades by Barielle.  I like the fact that the polishes are colors have a twist on them, for the most part, and I'm pleased with them.  I have to try Passion Pirouette on its own to see if the frostiness dies down a bit when it's dry, but to have one questionable polish out of six ain't bad.

These are Big Three Free, and they're $8 each on Barielle.com.

That's all for now, Dear Reader.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!  

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Posted in Barielle , green , Neutral , purple , Silver