Nov 1, 2012 | Beauty
Even with Halloween over (and the subsequent letdown I always feel come the month of November), I still am hankering for something decorative and over-the-top, even in a small way.
Revlon’s Nail Polish Duos in their Moon Candy Collection (launched a few months ago, I know I’m late to the bandwagon) supply that perfect blend of decorative nail art with ease-of-use. (I have some loose holographic flakies to add to nail art designs in my nail art kit…but having a vial of tinted sparkly chips attached to a perfectly-coordinating basecoat color is a such a time-saver. I just love the blues of Orbit and Galactic – and the gold flakes in the Universe shade is so reminiscent of the beautiful falling Autimnal leaves.
The perfect, chic, and affordable way to do some easy nail art – and bling out your tips for the holidays!
They’ve sold out at my local Fred Meyer and Target, but you can still buy a few colors on Amazon.com
(about $12.99 for a duo), or search at your local Walgreens, Target, or other beauty supply store.
P.S.: You can also see a review + swatch photos on nails here.
xoxox
Carly
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Jul 14, 2012 | Beauty
I’ve been on the search for a true-to-form holographic nail polish like a reincarnation straight out of the 80’s… just like those shiny Rainbow Brite stickers or a heavy-duty Trapper Keeper and its accompanying folders. (Are any other children of the 80’s with me on this??!)
But most nail polishes straight out of the bottle fail to perform and look disappointingly monochrome, with none of the oodles of rainbow shimmer that holograms have.
However, I’ve just discovered Nfu Oh!, from a post from awhile ago by Stylorectic.
This is Nfu Oh Victorian Polish Number 061, ordered off the Fabulous Street website. (Yes, the website look is a bit of a deterrent and I for a moment worried that I was forking over my money to something extremely shady and perhaps even related to some sort of adult-video-rental-business…however, everything was on the level and I received an emailed order confirmation, shipping confirmation, and my ordered items at my door in just over a week.) As per Stylorectic’s recommendations, I also ordered the Aqua Base, a base coat that’s apparently necessary for the adhesion of these special holographic polishes. And boy did it make a difference in wear! These polishes are not exactly cheap at $12.50 a bottle (so a $25 investment if you want to get started with holographic polishes), but this color is just so amazing, I almost don’t have the words. Almost;-)
The Number 061 looks like thick granulated silver coming out of the bottle…nothing to get excited about yet, and goes on pretty much the same. However, even with one coat as it dried the rainbows began to form, and once completely dry the perfect shimmer of purple, green, yellow, and orange appeared. It’s gorgeous.
In bright sun.
Indoors, no strong direct light.
I would recommend 2 coats here, and even though I put on a topcoat for extended wear I found the topcoat dulled the holographic effect slightly (not so many obvious rainbow ribbons; they became thinner and subtler-colored). However without the topcoat it chips super-quick, so you might have to constantly redo this mani to keep it perfect.
But oh, my is it breathtaking!
xoxox
Carly
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Jul 1, 2012 | DIY
Recently I’ve been playing around with the half-moon manicure. Though I’ve tried it free-hand (with an uber-steady hand) before with middling results, I found that using those sticker color dots from the office supply store work just perfectly for this purpose. (I’m sure they’re useful for other things besides fancy nail art manicures…but I haven’t used them for anything else yet!;)
It’s easiest to lay down a double coat of your base color (what will end up as your half-moon color). Then, once the base color is bone dry (this is really important; it has to be totally dry and non-tacky!) lay the top half of a circle sticker over your nail at the half-moon area. Stick it down well, paying attention to the sides of the sticker. Then finish up with 1-2 coats of the main nail color. I peeled the stickers off while the top color was still wet; it left little ridges in the manicure so I might try this again but wait until the top color is dry before peeling off to see if the results fare better. In any case, seal with a clear topcoat and you have an elegant but understated chic manicure that looks pretty unique too!
Colors used: Essie Nail Color in Mamba for the half-moon and Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Wet Cement for the main color.
What colors do you think would look good together?
Happy polishing!
xoxox
Carly
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May 17, 2012 | DIY
I feel silly that I haven’t tried this before. Usually when my manicure chips, I scrape it off and start anew. But a quick swipe of glitter on the tips camouflages things enough that it can last me at least another 3-4 days. Brilliant!
Base color: Essie Lilacism
Glitter: Nails Inc. London Chelsea Embankment*
*I was so happy to have found this glittery gold polish: it’s a really fine glitter, but with maximum, full coverage. I as so sick of glitter polishes that only contained a few sparkles floating in a clear polish…this is just perfect for full-on, max glitter!!
How do you extend the life of your manicure?
(When you aren’t getting gel manicures, that is…)
xoxox
Carly
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Mar 18, 2012 | DIY
As all of you have probably noticed, this year the newest trend for nails has been the magnetic manicure. Polishes with embedded iron filings in them respond to the pull of a magnet while wet…resulting in beautiful undulating patterns and subtle gradients across the nail.
Airbrush-style nail art made easy! Done in 5 seconds! And now popping up in stores everywhere.
I bought Nails inc. Magnetic Polish Trafalgar Square
in order to try out.
The color, once applied, reminds me of dark grey iron filings, with bands of light silver waving through. And the polish was surprisingly easy and fun to apply. Here’s how:
1. Start with clean, dry nails. The instructions on the bottle do not say to use a base coat, so I also left it out.
2. Remove the magnetic cap from the bottle. This particular one creates wavy patterns.
3. Apply a generous amount onto your nail – really glop it on there!
4. Quickly, while the polish is still wet, apply the magnet. You press the rounded ridge just below the cuticle and the magnet will sit about 1/8″ above your nail.
Hold that magnet there for about 5 seconds, but don’t let it touch your nail! (You may also see some polish lifting up and securing itself to the magnet…if so, just separate the magnet a little more from your nail.
Pretty easy, right? Repeat for the rest of your nails. Once dry, add a clear topcoat to extend the life of the manicure.
I did find that one coat, even when glopped on thickly, tended to be a little too translucent for my taste. So to deal with this after putting one coat on and applying the magnet…
I spread another thick coat on (not even waiting for the first to dry!)…
And then reapplied the magnet. As you can see, the dark areas are a lot darker, and a lot less translucent. I think this is something you’d have to play with depending on the color of your polish and how opaque you want it.
Now I’ve also recently spotted $10 magnetic polishes available at Ulta (Magnetix Nail Lacquer from China Glaze), so having this lower-cost option is great. China Glaze also sells a separate magnet
that has 3 different designs on it which looks really fun to play with. Or I might steal something off my refrigerator to see what happens!!;-)
How about you guys? Have you tried out these magnetic polishes – or are you thinking of giving them a whirl?
xoxox
Carly
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