lavenderlilac dream: Nailpolish

Showing posts with label Nailpolish. Show all posts

Can't believe it's been almost a year since my last nail post! Truth be told it took my nails this long to heal from all of last year's experiments. Yes, they were that weak for that long (unfortunately).

Now that my nails have shown improvement, I have been a little over excited to try new designs or just have them painted in general. Bad move for the next few months? Probably...

sally hansen 610 red zin essie matte about you shiny stamping plate sh225

I haven't done anything matte in such a long time. I have seen these not-quite-all-matte designs floating around the internet here and there before. It was an easy decision for me to incorporate my nail stamping kit into this experiment since I just didn't feel like cutting up strips of tape at 11PM. (Late-night nails session at it's finest.)

I started the process with a layer of OPI's Base Coat, then 2 light coats of Sally Hansen's 610 Red Zin, and 1 coat of Essie's Matte About You.

After going through the different image plates on hand and choosing a design, I used the same red polish to stamp the image onto each nail. I am nowhere near perfecting the nail stamping technique but I am much better at it than when I first got them. Definitely something that takes some practicing.

Close up of the texturing created
It is difficult to see without really taking a close look but hey it is still atypical. It isn't just all shiny or all matte. The mix of the two makes it a little more interesting, at least I like to think it is. The only negative to this whole matte thing is having to forgo a top coat. The edges of my nails are already starting to lose polish.

Does anyone have any tips for making matte designs last longer or is this something that just can't be avoided?

My first attempt at the whole nail stamping thing. Definitely not perfect & all about trial and error!
The pinky and ring finger were redone a couple of times since I started off from left to right.
I was about to give up because things just weren't turning out well. But then I finally got the hang of it. (I think...)
After I've used these a few more times, I will share all my tips in a later post. Don't want to be too hasty with my opinions yet.

L to R: Seche Clear (1 layer)
Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure - Petrol (1 layer)
Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure - 110 Wedding Glitters (2 thin layers)
Revlon Extra Life No Chip Top Coat (2 layers)

Shany Cosmetics Stamping Nail Art Image Plate - 25 piece set
Plate: SH211
I can't wait to use the stamping kit for holiday-ish nails!
Going to get right to that after my last final on Monday.

Have you tried nail stamping designs before? Any tips & tricks?

L to R:
Seche Clear ... Milani 3D Holographic Nail Lacquer ~ 509-HD,
American Apparel Rose Bowl (pink) ... OPI Rumples Wiggin (purple),
OPI What's with the Cattitude? (blue) ... Revlon Buttercup (yellow),
American Apparel Office (green) ... Sally Hansen Insta-Dry Anti-Chip Top Coat

My nails are finally strong enough for polish! I felt like I haven't done my nails for yearrrss (it's probably only been half a year lol). I had such a hard time deciding what color to choose. So I ended up using 5 colors instead to make the decision easier. Who ever said we can only use one polish color at a time? :P Would you do the same or was I just a little bit too excited?

Aren't I on a blogging roll this week! Here's another post before March ends. (I noticed I would have had only published 4 posts. Not that I'm the very superstitious type or anything but I just like to avoid the number 4. It's the Chinese in me lol)

Girly looks really pretty in the bottle. A soft blue pink with blue, magenta, silver glitters and tons of smaller purple and coral/pink glitter specks floating around.

This is only showing 1 (light) layer. I'm sure if you layered the polish the pink base color will show even more prominently. But do keep in mind the pink base is the sheer jelly type so don't expect too much. For me, it is one of those 'my nails but better' pink colors. If you're going to apply a light layer like I did, it is hard to get an even coat of the glitters. I had to fish around for them a little bit. The main reason why I didn't apply a thicker coat of the polish or put more layers on was just because glitter polishes are so darn hard to remove! Any great tips to share? I'd love to hear how to easily remove a glitter polish.

I wanted to get this after seeing xteener's nail polish storage video. This storage system is one of those things that I don't really need but it is definitely nice to have. I got it from The Container Store for $13.99. If you subscribe to their E-Mail service I think they still offer a 10% off coupon to use for your first purchase.

Modular Flip-Out Bins from The Container Store

My current polish collection fits inside just perfectly. Very perfectly, with no extra space at all. My base and top coats actually have no room inside this storage but that's alright. They have a new home on my tabletop. Each bin holds about 6 or 7 nail polishes depending on the shape of the bottle. It isn't ideal for those with a polish collection that's bigger than say...40ish polishes. Unless you don't mind having more than 1 of these. The good thing is it's stackable. There are grooves on all four sides that lets you connect other pieces to it.

Inside look at my polish collection!

I joked on Instagram that this either meant I should stop buying more polishes because I have no room for it or...I have more space than ever because I now have my old nail polish container to fill with newly acquired polishes. I wasn't expecting to buy any new polishes so quickly but a stop to Walgreens with Bestie C the other day and I came out with 2 bottles of Revlon Nail Enamel. It didn't help that there was a BOGO 50% on Revlon polishes, it only made me want to get these even more.

L to R: Revlon Girly & Revlon Gray Suede

L to R: Revlon Gray Suede & Revlon Girly

Top to Bottom: Revlon Girly & Revlon Gray Suede

I'm not sure if Deborah Lippman has a polish like Girly but it looks very Deborah Lippman-esque doesn't it?

Do you have a big nail polish collection? How do you store your polishes?

If it wasn't already obvious enough already after the last few holiday mani designs I have done, I want to say Red Zin has really become my favorite polish color of the 2012 (and favorite polish line too). It wasn't even because the dark red color has been really popular. I have wanted a red polish for quite some time now. But let's face it, red is a more mature nail color and it can be intimidating. Now that I have found one that (I think) looks good on me, I can't seem to stop myself from wearing it all the time.

Left side: 1 layer ... Right side: 2 layers

Pinky & Ring: 1 layer ... Middle & Index: 2 layers

Notice the difference a second coat of the polish makes!

I am not very good at describing colors. To the best of my ability, I would say Red Zin is a blood red shade. I love that it is a jelly formula because it allows a little room for mistakes. If you can apply polish well, I'd say even one layer is doable. If you are looking for a darker red just go ahead with layer number 2. This polish dries fairly quickly and can last for a good week if I apply a generous layer of top coat on. Be careful when you take this color off though! The red polish can stain your skin a bit. But don't worry! It's nothing a shower and couple of hand washes can't fix. I'm not sure if the newly formulated Complete Salon Manicure line still has this particular shade. If you can find it in a store, I do recommend grabbing one if you're looking for a red polish!

Do you have a favorite red polish shade? What is it?

I usually don't anything for Halloween in terms of dressing up. The most that I would do, if anything, is paint my nails a dark color to match the overall feel of the holiday. "Art of Darkness" seems fits the Halloween spirits perfectly no?

When I got this polish from a giveaway I won a while back I thought it would be great for Halloween. The color was a little intimidating but it's a great addition to my polish collection. Personally if I was at the nail section of Sephora, this would probably be the last color I'd go for because of how dark and metallic red it is.

The Illamasqua website describes Scarab as a "deep ruby red, metallic finish" polish and that is exactly what it is.

Scarab alone (Artificial lighting + Flash)

Scarab with Essie Matte top coat (Artificial lighting + Flash)
Truth be told, I probably won't feel comfortable wearing this shade alone any other day than Halloween. (I'm not even going out anywhere in particular because of the transit shutdown after Hurricane Sandy.) But after practicing tape nail art a few more times, I think I could use this for the Christmas holiday some how...What do you think?

**I hope everyone that lives in/around the path that Hurricane/Tropical Storm Sandy hit is alright! Thankfully nothing big happened in my neighborhood. But from reading my Facebook updates and watching the news, a lot of places seemed to have flooded and/or lost power or in a much worse situation. It's still hard to believe that all this happened...Everyone stay safe!! >__<**

Ever since I tried Petrol, I've kind of been a little obsessed with this particular Sally Hansen line. When I saw that CVS was having a BOGO FREE for this line I made sure I went to check out what colors (if any) were left at CVS. I read the reason why these are being cleared from drugstore shelves is that the company is reformulating the line. I hope the new formula is at least going to be on par with the old formula. But I'll probably wait for a sale before I try the new formula version...heh!

Surprisingly, the selection at the CVS I usually go to was almost untouched (a big contrast to Walgreens). I guess compared to the Walgreens prices ($1.99) the CVS "sale" didn't look as appealing? Nonetheless, I was excited to see all the choices available! In the end I decided to choose the colors below. (The fourth one I picked up is going toward the giveaway!)

I've been wanting to try a red polish and a black polish for a while now but never got it because those are colors I feel I wouldn't wear too often. Especially since I have always associated red polish as a more mature shade. But since these were on sale and I liked their formula enough, I didn't mind making the purchase.

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Right Said Red, Red Zin, & Midnight in NY
However, I was not very happy with the tricky sales method CVS had though...(well at least the CVS I went to). I went into the store having read that this particular polish selection was BOGO FREE. After I chose the polishes I wanted to get, I went to their price scanner to just to make sure they were on sale. Lo and behold, the Midnight in NYC (the black polish) was the only one to come out as BOGO FREE...while the two red polishes were BOGO 50%.

I asked someone (who I'm assuming was the store manager) and was told in an annoyed tone that only certain colors were BOGO FREE and I'd have to check all the polish prices if I wanted that promotion. Afterward I even checked their in-store circular to make sure what the actual sale was in case I read something wrong or the store had different terms than what was posted online...but that was not the case. The ad clearly said BOGO FREE for the Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure polish line and BOGO 50% for every other Sally Hansen line (excluding the Complete Salon Manicure polishes). In the end, I bought the polishes anyways because one of the red polishes only had one bottle left (impulse much? hah).

I don't know about others but in a way, I feel a little cheated...Or am I just overreacting and should just be happy that there was a sale in the first place?

Anyway!! Back to the polishes.

One layer of each polish. Since they're all a jelly like formula they can be a bit on the translucent side if applied a certain way (like how the black color shown above is a bit patchy). I'd recommend not to fix the first layer when wet. Just to wait for it to dry and then touch up with a light second coat instead.

I'm still warming up to Right Said Red, the fire-engine red on my pinky, but it is a really pretty color!

Red Zin is a gorgeous blood red shade. Especially because of its jelly consistency it looks as close as nail polish can get to real blood, don't you agree? I never thought I'd ever buy this color because it seems difficult to pull off...but I ended up liking this shade the most of the three.

Midnight in NY looked like a really nice black with micro shimmers which kind of emulated stars in the sky (hence the name), but sadly it didn't translate very well onto my nails. Instead, it was ended up looking like a normal jelly black polish. In certain angles, you can see the micro shimmers but is close to being microscopic. I guess in a way it is an accurate depiction of the sky in NY since it is pretty difficult to see stars in the city. Maybe I'll grow to like this polish the more I wear it?

Two layers of each polish Sorry for the blurry photo! I'm not use to taking photos with my left hand. It was surpisingly much harder to handle a DSLR and control focus with my left hand than I thought...

Since I didn't feel like taking off the polish I just decided to practice the tape nail art method on my pointer and thumb. These came out much better than the last attempt! (Yes I do have different designs and colors on my left and right hand. I didn't think I'd be able to wear these out comfortably and confidently but I've been sporting these for 2 days already!)

I haven't share one of these hauls in a while! Mostly because I've been spending a lot more on clothes the last couple of months and not as much on beauty items. But! I think I got pretty good deals at the drugstores this time. Well...much better results than from my normal couponing efforts.

After seeing that CVS had a BOGO50% for their Olay products and getting a couple of ExtraBucks to use, I decided to repurchase this moisturizer for the upcoming cooler weather. I was hesitant about getting two bottles of lotion but I definitely couldn't give this deal up when I scanned my CVS card and got even more ExtraBucks to use ($5 to be exact). In the end, I bought two and paid just the price of one!

Nouveau Cheap had posted about an awesome clearance of the Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure nailpolishes at Walgreens so I wanted to see if I would have some luck at my local branch. Needless to say...those displays were stripped bare!

Revlon in Buttercup, Revlon in Calla Lily, Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Petrol I perused the store and found these in the clearance bins, which I don't normally pay much attention to (more like I don't ever see them). Each of these were $3. Then with the 15% off I received in the email for their Friends&Family sale...they ended up being only $2.55 each! There weren't that many choices in the clearance bins but these really stood out to me. I think I'm very lucky to have found the Sally Hansen polish in there! After googling this particular shade, I found out that it's apparently from the Sally Hansen & Alexander Wang collab collection. How cool is that!

One layer of the polishes: Calla Lily, Buttercup, Petrol
I was quite surprised by all three. Some good feelings, others bad.
The left two didn't quite meet my polish wants. Both are pretty sheer (on my defense I thought that Calla Lily would be more polish-like and less a shimmery topper). Buttercup was exceptionally streaky. I think it is because of how thin the polish consistency is. Definitely a 2+ coater. It doesn't look too bad in the photo but in reality it looked much worse.
Sally Hansen was the complete opposite. Opaque. One coater. Thick but not too gloppy (as of now). Dries fast. One word...UHHmmazing! Now I'm sad I didn't find out about this line earlier (before the big Walgreens markdown). I guess I could either track other Walgreens stores or wait for it to go on sale at other drugstore chains...

Two layers
Buttercup looks much better in this shot but I did make sure to put a thicker coat of it on the second time around. The problem then was the two layers took forever for to dry...*sigh*
Petrol didn't need a second coat at all but just for the heck of it I applied it anyways. With one layer it was already a pretty dark navy. The additional layer makes it looks almost black.

Are the polishes in the Revlon Colorstay polish line all similar to this particular shade?
& Was anyone able to get some of the Sally Hansen polishes?

I found that I really love how dark glittery polishes look on my nails. Something about how it creates shadows/depth that makes my very wide nails look so thin and pretty in shape! This isn't to say I don't love pastels of course! Also I find that microglitter is a way easier to remove than chunkier glitter polishes.

I actually got to try this particular polish shade when bestfriend bought it about a year or so ago. I loved it then but could never find it at the nail supply store myself. She said they were there but I could never spot it. Luckily we all went a few days ago and with her help I finally have one to call my own!

To what I can see...this is a metallic black with fine purple green and silver microglitters. However don't quote me on this since I'm not very versed in the nailpolish vocabulary department.

With one light layer.

It doesn't look this bad in person, really! I think the flash made a bit more extreme.

If you really want, I think you could wear one layer. I probably would if I didn't have the time to sit and wait for many layers to dry. I don't think that under normal circumstances, you'd be able to see the nails this much. It'll probably look like how the ring finger looks...or a little darker.

After this point, the swatches are with 2 layers of the polish and a base and top coat.