Monday, October 17, 2011

Army/Olive Green Comparision

As I was putting away my China Glaze Westside Warrior
that I purchased in my last haul.....
I realized that I must really love this color 
because holy smokes I have alot of bottles of this shade.
So, this happens to be one of my favorites for
Autumn, I decided to break them all out 
and do a little comparing.



Starting from Top left:

Wet n Wild Fast dry polish in Jungle Fever 
This shade is from this Halloween's limited edition collection,
  Prowl.
It is a beautiful shimmer that applies perfectly in a single coat.

Zoya in Shawn
From the Wonderful collection, 
this has really got to be one of my all time favorite
Zoya polishes, it is a classic military green cream.
As will most Zoya's it applies like a dream.


Brucci in Black Emerald
This is a very interesting duochrome.
and though the name says Emerald, 
it definitely fits more into the Olive/Army Green
range, with it flashing from a deep chestnut Brown
to a deep Green.
If you are one who likes unique colors in your 
collection, I defintely recommend adding this one 
to your list.

Collection 2000 Hot Looks in Catwalk
This brand, if you aren't familiar is UK based
and I received it in a swap from my friend,
Karolina.
This Olive shade is a shimmer, with the tiniest
reflects of Gold & forest Green.
Really eye catching in the sun.


Kleancolor in Fashionista
This cream is Army Green in it's purest form.
When I think military, this is the exact shade that comes to mind.
This is very opaque, applying in a single coat


Eyeko in Military Polish
This jelly based Army Green is on the dark side,
and gives a real nice finish with 3 coats.

China Glaze in Westside Warrior
From this season's Metro Collection,
is a brown-based army Green cream
Applies in opaque in 1-2 coats.


Kleancolor in Military Green
Another cream, this is also very opaque.
This shade borders between Army Green & forest Green.

Sinful Colors in Show Me The Way
This is a jelly-based shimmer that can be used
as a top coat or buildable to a full cover.
This shade is similar to China Glaze's Zombie Zest

BYS in Fern
An Australian based polish brand, 
I was fortunate enough to grab a bunch in a swap.
The formula is really smooth.
At first glance it looks like a cream, but when applied
it has a slight silver shimmer to it. 
Interesting and unique, I find it difficult to actually describe!

Confetti in My Favorite Martian
This shade, while still falling into the Olive range, 
has the most true green in it of all the other shades, 
 but the consistency and finish is almost identical to
Sinful Colors Show Me The Way
Another jelly, this boasts a slightly more intense shimmer. 


Here's some swatches
(pics are expandable)








And there you have it. 
A pretty good run down of brands and shade ranges,
so if you are interested in adding this color to 
your collection, as you can see you have a
pretty wide selection to choose from!

Thursday, October 13, 2011

ZOMBIE KITTY!

Who doesn't love Hello Kitty?
Not me, that's for sure!! So when I was thinking up 
some new Halloween looks, there just was no way
I couldn't do Zombie Hello Kitty nails!



PRODUCTS USED:

PRO Nail Systems Base Coat
Pure Ice - Oh Baby!
Wet n Wild - French White Creme
Color Club - What A Shock!
Kleancolor - Red Heart
Kleancolor - Boogie Nights
Sinful Colors - Pull Over
L.A.Colors Art Deco - Black
Sponge & Dotting Tool
3D Purple bow & Skull Fimo slice
Sally Hansen's Insta-Dri Top Coat

To see the full tutorial on this look,
please visit my YouTube channel


Monday, October 10, 2011

OPI - DS Glamour






Though I'm not a huge lover of Blue, 
this polish is one of my all time coveted polishes.
From OPI's Designer series, this highly sought after shade
is a vivid Royal Blue prismatic polish.
While it's no secret that OPI is not even close to being 
on of my personal top 
brands, the formula on this gem is TOP NOTCH, 
needing just a single coat for this superb brilliance. 

Pure holo goodness.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Dexter/Blood Spatter Nails


YAY!!
Finally, my favorite time of year has arrived!!!

HALLOWEEN!

Combine that with the return of Season 6 of Dexter, 
and what do you get?

My first nail design of the season!
Blood Spatter nails!!


 PRODUCTS USED:

PRO Nail Systems Base Coat
Wet n Wild in - French White Creme
Sally Hansen's Complete Salon Manicure in - All Fired Up
Scotch Tape
Drinking Straw





One episode in, and I already know it's going to be an
amazing season!!
Are you are Dexter fan?
What do you think of the premiere episode?


Wednesday, September 28, 2011

We All Scream For Ice Cream!

Another design that I've had on the back burner for ages
that I finally managed to have time for!!
These are SO fun!!



PRODUCTS USED:
PRO Systems Base Coat
Kleancolor in - Cafe Au' Lait
Art Club Nail Striper in - Mochalotta
Scribbles 3D Paint in - 
Mint Green
Hot Chocolate
White
Pink surprise
Strawberry Fimo slices
Red Pearls 3mm
Multi-colored Bullion Beads
Sally Hansen's Insta-Dri Top Coat
China Glaze Matte Magic


For the full tutorial on this look, 
please visit my YouTube channel

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Metallic Cascading Leopard

This design is almost identical to my
Midnight Leopard design from my nail shop, 

It was requested by several people to do an actual tutorial for it,
so here ya go!

I'm also super excited because with my new camera, 
I'm now to do live tutorials instead of a blurred up mess
my old camera had.



 
 
PRODUCTS USED:
 
L.A. Girls Metal Polish - Pink Steel
Kleancolor - Metallic Purple
L.A.Girls Glitter Addict - Provocative
Wet n Wild - Wild Shine - Black Creme
Sponge
Small & Large Dotting Tool




Saturday, September 17, 2011

More L.A. Girls

As I mentioned in my previously haul,
I loved these polishes so much, I was going back for more.
And that is exactly what I did. 
I picked up 4 additional colors from the
Glitter Addict collection,
and then I also picked up 3 colors from their 
Metal Collection.



These Glitter Addict polishes are A-MAZ-ING!
I adore them, hence why I went back for more :)

This time around I picked up
Euphoria, Jostle, Purge, and Provocative

All of the polishes in this collection are densely packed 
glitters in a clear jelly base.





All are solid color glitters, consisting of tiny and large hexagon glitters.
The only polishes that are not solid are

Celebrate, which is a multi-colored glitter

 Euphoria, which is a Purple glitter with random holo hexagons

Nostalgic, with is a Teal glitter with random holo hexagons 

It's not often that you come across pure clear jellies that are
so densely packed like this, and I guess that is why I love them

You can use a light coat for layering, or 
in 2 coats you've got a solid glitter nail

They are a definitely MUST-HAVE for any glitter lover.



Next up are the Metal polishes.


Copper Alloy turned out to be quite sheer and it 
took 4 coats to achieve some decent coverage

I'm not really thrilled with that, but it is a vibrant Copper once you get there.

Pink Steel is my favorite of the 3

It's a frosty metallic cool-toned Pink, 
I really like it. That was applied with 2 coats.

Lastly, Iron Red....though it's not Red at all
it's a rich metallic Hot Pink, still, I'm not complaining, it's beautiful.
This also was 2 coats.

All of these polishes I purchased for $2.49 in a special sale 
which always seems to have them on sale in one form or another, 
so I say take advantage and go grab a few!


Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Camo Nails!

Tons of requests for me to do camouflage nails, 
so I thought this would a great mani to kick off the Fall season 


PRODUCTS USED:
PRo Nail Systems Base Coat
OPI in - Samoan Sands
Zoya in - Shawn
Kleancolor in - Dark Brown
Wet n Wild in - Black Creme
China Glaze Matte Magic


 

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Bollywood Nails!

Hi everyone!
I hope ya'll are having a great week and 
enjoying the last weeks of Summer!

Today I've got a new design,
inspired by India, I've wanted to do a look like this for
ages, but never seemed to get around to it until now.



PRODUCTS USED:

Pro Nails Systems Base Coat
Catrice in - Blue Cara Ciao
NYX Girls in - Prismatic Gold
Sinful Colors in - All About You
Large Gold Rhinestones
Hexagon Glitter in Gold and Magenta
Gold Bullion (Micro) Beads
small round clear and hot pink rhinestones
Sally's Beauty Secrets Top Coat


Friday, August 26, 2011

Big Fall Haul









Here is a closer look at the polishes & swatches















Here is NYX Emerald Forest & Zoya's Ivanka side by side






Another dupe that I had on hand to compare

China Glaze Blk-Bila-Bong & NYX Girl's Robotic














Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Halloween Polish Comparison

With Fall quickly approaching,
I literally become a giddy 4 year old 
when I start to see Halloween costumes and decorations 
in the stores. 
I LOVE Halloween, obsessed with it really.
So naturally when I see a new Halloween 
polish, I MUST grab it.
Here is a little comparison to my most prized Halloween polishes.
Probably the most recognized polish, 
and certainly one of the most coveted is
China Glaze's Fortune Teller.
This little gem came out with CG's 
Halloween collection from 2009

A Black jelly base with burnt Orange hexagon glitter,
ranging from small, to medium, to large. 
The great thing about this particular polish is that you can paint 1-2 coats, and you've got a really solid looking nail. 
Layer on top of Black, and it gives you an even richer, more intense look.

This polish is a must-have for any collector, 
and certainly if you are a Halloween lover like myself. 


Sally Hansen's Xtreme Wear in Pumpkin Spice

This is from Sally's latest collection for this Fall.
It could be a limited edition, but don't quote me on that.

This is a grey jelly with burnt Orange Glitter, all one
 size tiny hexagon glitter to be exact. Because of that, 
it doesn't have quite as much dimension as Fortune Teller does.

Unless you want to be a layer monster, you are
definitely going to need a Black base first as this is the thinnest
of all the other polishes.



L.A. Girls Glitter Addict in Flamboyant

Unlike the other polishes, this is a clear jelly base, 
and the Orange is more vibrant than the others.
But boy, oh boy, does it pack a punch.
I bought several of these polishes recently, and all of them will be in an upcoming haul, but I wanted to include this one, since
Halloween is primarily why I bought this shade.
Glitter Addict couldn't be a more perfect name for this, 
it is  completely LOADED with small and large 
Orange hexagon glitter. 
This can be worn alone, it's that intense.
Or layer it over Black, and you have one serious
Halloween mani.



Wet n Wild Limited Edition Color-icon in Sleep Walker


Not many people were fortunate to pick up this polish,
as it was a limited edition shade 
 from last year's Halloween collection.
I randomly stumbled upon it, so I snatched while I could.
This is extremely similar to Sally Hansen's Pumpkin Spice
It's a grey jelly base with tiny hexagon glitter, these
are just a fraction smaller than the glitter in the Sally Hansen one.
The end is result is a more blended effect, where as the Sally Hansen
Pumpkin Spice glitter tends to stand out more.




Lastly we have China Glaze's Ick-A-Body 
which is from last years Halloween collection.

Again, this is in the same grey jelly base, but the
burnt Orange glitter is so densely packed in this polish, 
it is practically opaque in a single coat.

If you are looking for a little peek a boo of black, you best go
pretty light handed with this one, otherwise I'd recommend on of the others to achieve that perfect Halloween mani.


While all of these give the basic same "Halloweenie" effect, 
each one brings something different & special to the table.


I love them all, 
and I'm looking forward to see what other new ones come out this year.



Here are some swatches
All were swatched over a single coat of Black



(Starting from left to right)





China Glaze in Ick - A - Body


Wet n Wild Color-icon in Sleep Walker

L.A.Girls Glitter Addict in - Flamboyant

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in - Pumpkin Spice


China Glaze in - Fortune Teller






A closer look


(Left to right)


L.A.Girls Glitter Addict - Flamboyant


Sally Hansen - Pumpkin Spice


China Glaze - Fortune Teller



China Glaze - Ick-a-body


Wet n Wild Color-icon - Sleep Walker