Four Weeks of piCture pOlish: Week Four, A Voodoo Ruffian

Hi everyone! This is my last post for this piCture pOlish miniseries. I'll admit that I saved Voodoo for last because initially it didn't really catch my eye like the others. In the bottle it looks like a brown shimmer polish. It wasn't until I swatched this polish that I realized I made a mistake overlooking this one. If you love vampy dark colours, Voodoo definitely deserves a place in your collection.

piCture pOlish Voodoo

Check out the rest of this post for swatches and some shimmery nail art perfect for holiday parties!

Deborah Lippmann Moon Rendezvous and a Splatter Manicure

Hi everyone! I don't often show Deborah Lippmann polishes on my blog. Not because I don't love them, but rather because I have so few and I feel the need to save them for a special occasion. I picked this up the other day after I had finished a big work deadline. In my post-deadline euphoric state I wandered into the Holt Renfrew and got this along with one other Deborah Lippmann. The second polish I am saving for a *very* special occasion that is coming up real soon. Curious?! Well, you'll just have to keep reading my blog, lol! ;)

Deborah Lippmann Moon Rendezvous

Moon Rendezvous is a blue-grey metallic with a fine silver/purple/fuchsia shimmer. When I saw photos of this polish after it first came out, I'll admit I wasn't very keen on it. It wasn't until I saw it in the store, and had a chance to try it out that I fell in love with it. The fine shimmer after all isn't very visible in photos, but it's noticeable in real life.

Deborah Lippmann Moon Rendezvous

Deborah Lippmann Moon Rendezvous

The formula on this was perfect. I used three coats for full coverage, and it was completely self-leveling. I was worried that it was going to have very visible brushstrokes, but that wasn't an issue at all. Drying time was average.

Deborah Lippmann Moon Rendezvous

For fun I decided to do a splatter mani with this polish. In addition to Moon Rendezvous, I also used Cult Nails Fetish and Tempest, and OPI Suzi's Hungary Again! I had tried doing a splatter mani previously, but I believe my straw was too big. This time I used coffee stir straws, the very narrow ones, and had a bit more luck. I still found it very challenging, and the majority of the time I couldn't get anything out of the straw.

Splatter manicure

So in regards to the splatter mani technique I still need to experiment with this one. I also found it very wasteful. The polish would dry quick and was no longer usable, and I ended up with so much on my fingers and paper covering the table. For that reason, next time I'll use cheaper polishes. :D

Splatter manicure

What do you think of Moon Rendezvous? Do you have any advice for me re: splatter manis?

Lynnderella Shape Shifter

Hi everyone!! I'm working on a big-ish post for tomorrow, so I have another short post for you today. If you follow me on Instagram you might have an idea, and if not you will just have to wait until tomorrow! *insert secretive devious smile*

Lynnderella Shape Shifter

Shape Shifter is a gorgeous glitter topper from the Early Halloween Resurrected collection. It's got a clear base with silver holo glitter in all different sizes and shapes - bars, hexes, squares, diamonds, stars, butterflies, moons and micro glitter. The combination of the holo effect and the shimmer is absolutely stunning! This is one coat over OPI Russian Navy. You can layer this over almost any colour, but I think dark colours really make this polish stand out.

Lynnderella Shape Shifter

The application was pretty good, and I didn't have much trouble getting enough glitter. I also didn't have problems getting the larger pieces of glitter on the nail. You do want to make sure not to fuss too much when applying it. I did, and I ended up transferring some of the base colour on the glitter. Also, some of the larger pieces do not lay flat on the nail, so you'll have to top it will probably two coats of top coat.

Lynnderella Shape Shifter (direct light)

Lynnderella Shape Shifter

You can find this polish on the Lynnderella eBay store. I don't think there's a listing for it right now, but I believe it's still available so I'm sure it will be listed again soon.

What do you think of this? Do you like polishes with shape glitter?

Jindie Nails Barney Blew Up and a Drip Manicure

Hey everyone! Things have been a bit quiet here (at least for me). Last night I was finishing up my entry for Harlow & Co.'s Valentine's Day nail art contest, hence the lack of posting. The entries are now up on the Harlow & Co. Facebook page! If you see my entry, let me know what you think, and if you like it of course vote for me! I had the idea in my head for quite some time, but I did my design at the last minute, so I'm not sure what people will think of it. I'm happy with it of course, and I said I was going to do more nail art contests, so go me for getting another one done!! :D

Jindie Nails Barney Blew Up

I have today Jindie Nails Barney Blew Up. This is one of the new releases from Jindie Nails, and because of the popularity of Jen's polishes right now, it sold out super fast when it was released at her last restock. I was lucky to get my hands on it, and I was eager to do a post on it as soon as I could.

Jindie Nails Barney Blew Up

Barney Blew Up is a dusty pale pink-lavender crelly packed with glitter in a multitude of colours and shapes. There's white and silver hex glitter in different sizes, fuchsia and lavender squares in different sizes, semi-transparent neon green and purple hex glitter, and white hearts. Add to that a gorgeous silver shimmer, and you have an amazingly complex polish. Some of the more interesting glitter - the white hearts and neon green hexes - is near impossible to get out. I got a few neon green bits and no hearts. :( Despite that, it's a beautiful polish that makes me think of springtime.

Jindie Nails Barney Blew Up

I used three coats for these swatches, no undies. As for the application, it's not too bad for an indie polish, but it is a bit difficult. Remember how I said it was packed with glitter!? Well I feel that maybe it's a bit too much. It tends to get thick and gloopy, mainly due to the amount of glitter. It is easy to end up with lots of glitter at one time, so the final results can be rather lumpy. If you get this, I recommend using only one or two coats over a base polish.

Overall, I think the colours are pretty and the name is cute. But the polish could still be just as beautiful and a bit easier to work with if it had less glitter. For fun, I decided to do a drip manicure (my first!) over top of it. I think it captures the "Barney Blew Up" theme very well, don't you? ;)

Drip manicure with Jindie Nails Barney Blew Up
and Nicole by OPI Pretty in Plum

What do you think? Do you have this polish, or are you thinking about getting it? 

Jindie Nails is available through Etsy, Llarowe, and Mei Mei's Signatures. Check their websites and Facebook pages for availability and info on restocks. 

Nicole by OPI Modern Family Collection: Luke of the Draw and Alex by the Books

Hi everyone! I have two more swatches from the NOPI Modern Family collection. This is the last of the polishes I bought from this collection. There were a few others that I wish I had picked up, but in the end I'm happy with my decisions. As I explained in my last post, they are a bit pricey when it comes to drugstore nail polish ($11 here in Canada), but the formula is not always the greatest. Also, some of the polishes in this collection did not seem too unique to me. However, I like the two that I'm showing you today...

Luke of the Draw: This is sheer black polish with small to medium silver hex glitter and tiny silver square glitter. It applies very smoothly despite all the glitter - I found that there was enough glitter to cover the nail well but not so much that you ended up with clumps of glitter. I hate clumps of glitter. :( I used three coats here but you might be able to get away with two.

Nicole by OPI Luke of the Draw

Nicole by OPI Luke of the Draw

Alex by the Books: This is a pale seafoam green creme. I love the colour, it's similar to China Glaze For Audrey, but a tad more green-toned. It was a bit streaky and thin so I had to use three coats for this swatch. I can see myself using this in the future for nail art.

Nicole by OPI Alex by the Books

Nicole by OPI Alex by the Books

So what do you think? Did you get anything from this collection?

Nerd Lacquer Antisocial Media

Hi everyone! With this post I have now swatched and blogged about my entire Nerd Lacquer collection...all two of them. Lol! If you are interested in my other Nerd Lacquer, as well as a little bit about this indie polish, you can see that here.

Nerd Lacquer Antisocial Media

As I mentioned in my post about Nerd Lacquer Holy Grail, these polishes weren't cheap. Because of that I made sure to carefully research the polishes I was considering. I'm happy that my research paid off, and I adore both of the polishes I selected. They are beautiful and unique in my collection, the kinds of polishes that I'll pull out on special occasions.

Nerd Lacquer Antisocial Media

Antisocial Media is a vibrant blue jelly leaning towards teal. It has a silver shimmer along with silver and ocean blue hex glitter in different sizes. The colour is beautiful, very flattering on my skin tone and the type of colour that I'm naturally attracted to. The finish is almost metallic-like, which adds another layer of interest to this polish.

Nerd Lacquer Antisocial Media

The formula was perfect, and I used three thin coats for these photos. I find that it spreads well with an even distribution of glitter. You just need to make sure to give it a good shake, the glitter tends to sink to the bottom on this one.

Nerd Lacquer Antisocial Media

What do you think of this polish? Did you manage to snag any Nerd Lacquer while they were in business, or are you eagerly waiting for this brand to return? :)

China Glaze Glitz Bitz 'n Pieces, Part 2: Bling it On and Glitz 'n Pieces

Hi everyone! This is my second instalment for the China Glaze Glitz Bitz 'n Pieces collection. For an overview of the collection as well as some notes about the formula on these polishes, you'll want to check out yesterday's post.

As I explained yesterday, I want to show different ways you can wear these polishes in addition to providing swatches. Part of my reason for doing it this way is because of my own interests, but mainly because I wanted to do something different than other swatches I've seen for this collection.

China Glaze Bling it On and Glitz 'n Pieces

Bling it On: This is a lavender/periwinkle glitter with black "bitz 'n pieces." For this one I did a tape mani layering it over China Glaze Pelican Grey. If you are interested in how to do tape manis, I did a post on my Tumblr a few months ago outlining how I do them, and some tips to prevent damaging the bottom layer of polish. You can find that post here.

China Glaze Bling it On

China Glaze Bling it On

Glitz 'n Pieces: This is a silver glitter with black "bitz 'n pieces." For this I did a sponged glitter gradient over China Glaze Fuchsia Fanatic, a nice hot pink that dries to almost a squishy jelly finish. I know I've been doing a lot of sponged glitter tips lately, so sorry for showing this technique again. But it is a really good way to wear these polishes, even with the large hexes and bar glitter. For this mani, I dabbed a bit of polish on my tips, then used a sponge to pick up some of the glitter and dab it in other spots. I hope that makes sense. I really love the combination of black, silver, and hot pink on this one, and I've been meaning to do something like this for awhile.

China Glaze Glitz 'n Pieces

China Glaze Glitz 'n Pieces

What do you think of these polishes? Would you wear them either way?

Hope you liked these, and thanks for visiting! :)

Pahlish Your Silver Lining

Hi everyone! My work ran later than I thought tonight, so I'm showing you another polish that I swatched awhile ago. I'm also not in the most talkative mood so I'm going to keep this short (we'll see how that goes).

Your Silver Lining is part of my quickly growing Pahlish collection. I seriously love everything that Shannon Pahlas makes. This polish is discontinued, but I bought it at a blog sale: jyjnp who I follow on Tumblr. She's got a lot of Pahlish, OPI, and now I see even some Lynnderella. I would recommend buying from her, she's really quick to respond and send things out.

Pahlish Your Silver Lining

YSL (not to be confused with the other YSL) is a sheer white with silver holo glitter in a variety of shapes and sizes: tiny round glitter, bar glitter, and small and large hexes and squares. It's perfect for a winter mani. This is two coats over China Glaze Sea Spray, followed by a coat of Gelous, and a coat of Seche Vite.

Pahlish Your Silver Lining

My first impression of YSL was not too good. I applied it over Essie Mezmerised, a vibrant cobalt blue (previously reviewed here). The base colour was too dark, at least for my taste. YSL I find works better layered over a lighter colour, such as white, or a pale blue, pink, lilac, or even grey. It's a pretty versatile polish in that you can layer it over a lot of lighter pale colours for a different look or effect.

Pahlish Your Silver Lining

The formula on this was okay. I found it difficult to get a good glitter payoff hence the two coats I used. The glitter tends to sink to the bottom, so I let it sit upside down for several hours (30 minutes would probably work fine). But what really helped to get the glitter out is rolling it between my palms. It's the larger hexes, bars, and squares that really make this polish pop when it's on the nails, but it's pretty difficult to get them out.

What do you think of Your Silver Lining? Do you own any Pahlish?

Advent Calendar Nail Challenge, Day 13: Snow!

Hi everyone! Sorry for my disappearance yesterday. I tried to do something for yesterday's challenge, which was family, but my idea didn't turn out so well. I feel torn as to whether I should show and blog about my mistakes, or whether I should only show stuff I feel 100% confident about. I may try to redo it, but for now, I'm moving on with the challenge.

Today's challenge deals with something that we have yet to see here in Toronto this winter...snow!! Despite the fact that we're less than two weeks away from Christmas, I have yet to see any snow, except maybe briefly one evening about a week ago. And since this is Canada, we have a bit of a reputation to uphold. ;)

Snowflake nails

I see a lot of snowflake manis that use white on pale blue backgrounds, but I decided to be a bit different and do silver on a darker blue background. I also knew that I wanted to layer several polishes in order to have a more complex snowflake mani.

Snowflake nails

Here's the polishes that I used:

Avon Stunning Cobalt
Girly Bits Long Winter's Nap
Joe Fresh Opal
It's So Easy Stripe Rite in Silver

Snowflake nails: (L-R) Girly Bits Long Winter's Nap, Stripe Rite in Silver (foil),
Joe Fresh Opal, Avon Stunning Cobalt

I started with two coats of Stunning Cobalt, a dark navy with a blue shimmer. I don't think the shimmer is really visible, so any dark navy blue would work. I then layered one coat of Long Winter's Nap. At this point I had a dark blue grey, with a nice mixture of silver and blue glitter. I sponged on a bit of Opal, which gives the nails a nice purple shimmer. It's really only visible when it catches the light, but it adds a nice touch. I finished by drawing on the snowflakes freehand using the Stripe Rite polish, but I used a small watercolour brush (size 5/0). I have a hard time trying to control the striping brush that comes with the polish, so that's why I like to use a small detail brush.

Snowflake nails

I really love how this turned out. There's a lot going on and it holds my interest. I find myself looking at the different pieces of glitter and how they interact with the shimmer and snowflakes. It makes me think of snowflakes in the night sky. What do you think? Have you done a snowflake mani this winter?

Snowflake nails

Advent Calendar Nail Challenge, Day 4: Silver

Hi everyone! I'm keeping up as best as I can with the Advent Calendar challenge. Once again I was dealing with poor lighting, so I hope my photos aren't too off.

For this day of the challenge, I decided to do something a bit different than a straightforward colour or a glitter on top of a base colour. I've done a few glitter gradients and thought that would be the perfect technique for today. The glitter gradients I've done in the past have been with one glitter polish, however, I got the idea to use several different glitter polishes from Carissa, maker of Freakshow Polish whom I follow on Instagram (@mrs_cbaker). She does great manis, so you should check her out if you're on Instagram.

Glitter gradient using Rescue Beauty Lounge, Joe Fresh, Essie, and Fanchromatic Nails

For this glitter gradient, I started out with Rescue Beauty Lounge Insouciant, a beautiful dusty lavender polish. I hope to review this and my other new RBLs once I can get a better lighting setup. I then used three different silver glitter polishes for the gradient: Joe Fresh Starry, Fanchromatic Nails Broken Holo Theory, and Essie Set in Stones.

Glitter gradient

I started out with Joe Fresh Starry, a very fine silver glitter with a scattered holo. I used a make up sponge to dab on a fine layer on the first half to 3/4 of my nail. Then still using the makeup sponge I did the same with Broken Holo Theory, which has fine silver holo glitter, as well as silver holo shards. Then I finished with Set in Stones, just covering the tips, but also dragging some down in places to emphasize the gradient. For that one, I did use the sponge again, but I also did a bit of dabbing with the brush. I made sure in between layers to let them dry so I would not lift off previous layers.

Glitter gradient

I really like this mani, especially the mixture of different types of silver glitter--fine holo, shards, non-holo silver hexes. I think it's very festive and shimmery. Maybe a bit too festive for my drawing class tonight, but oh well!

Glitter gradient

So what do you think of this? I think my next step might be to try colour gradients, but they seem very challenging.