CrowsToes - Triple Black Diamond (over China Glaze Liquid Leather
CrowsToes polishes can be purchased from Llarowe's shop, but you have to catch them when they're in stock!
Showing posts with label black. Show all posts
Showing posts with label black. Show all posts
Thursday, August 2, 2012
CrowsToes - Triple Black Diamond: Swatches and Review
Ahhh, I LOVE this polish! I swatched it on just my thumb first but was so crazy about it I had to put it on the rest.
Triple Black Diamond is actually a clear base that's full of small black, purple, silver holo and DUOCHROME SQUARE glitter. It's mostly opaque at three coats on its own, (which makes the individual black glitter more prominent). I decided to layer it over black to make the other colors stand out more, and it has incredible depth! It also looks amazing over A England St. George (Steffels has some awesome pictures of it, which is why I bought this polish in the first place).
CrowsToes polishes can be purchased from Llarowe's shop, but you have to catch them when they're in stock!
CrowsToes polishes can be purchased from Llarowe's shop, but you have to catch them when they're in stock!
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
A True Color from the Capitol: 22kt Gold Glitter (pic heavy)
I feel like I should be sitting in the Capitol watching young kids fight to the death in an arena while I paint my nails with real 22kt gold glitter.
As many of you may know, I've been on the hunt for the perfect gold glitter, and I think I just may have found it. This is incredible. It's meant to be a top coat, but I built it up in four coats to try and make it opaque. It actually dries very quickly and thin and smooth (no Gelous needed!), so four coats wasn't a burden at all. It's hard to describe how mirror-like this is in person. It's also a beautiful, rich shade of gold - not too orange, not too green. My new favorite gold glitter!
Because it's meant to be a top coat, I wanted to try it over a couple colors:
The funniest thing about this polish is that even though it's real gold, I've spent WAY more on plenty of other polishes. I got a set of three (22kt gold, 12kt white gold, and silver plus a top coat) for only $22, which makes each one less than a typical retail OPI! Incredibly affordable in my opinion.
The 22kt Real Gold Glitter top coat is available on the Real Gold Inc. website. They also have 12 kt White Gold and Real Silver top coats, as well as UV gel versions, a red with 22kt gold version, and stripers, too!
Real Gold Inc - 22kt Gold Glitter Topcoat
Because it's meant to be a top coat, I wanted to try it over a couple colors:
22kt Gold Glitter (one coat) over Zoya Minka
22kt Gold Glitter (three coats) over Zoya Minka
22kt Gold Glitter (one coat) over China Glaze Liquid Leather
The 22kt Real Gold Glitter top coat is available on the Real Gold Inc. website. They also have 12 kt White Gold and Real Silver top coats, as well as UV gel versions, a red with 22kt gold version, and stripers, too!
Monday, April 23, 2012
Dandy Nails - Come Out and Play and You Set My Soul Alight: Swatches and Review
Another indie/Etsy brand! This time it's Dandy Nails. I had been contemplating Come Out and Play for a long time, and finally caved and bought it, along with You Set My Soul Alight and Colorblind (but I haven't figured out which color to layer Colorblind over yet).
Come Out and Play is a beautiful fuchsia-purple jelly base with lots of small white glitter and is opaque in two coats. This one has the "jelly sandwich" look where some of the glitters get buried in the purple jelly to create extra depth. It's so simple, yet so stunning. The brush was a bit "fluffy" on this one, but I hear Dandy Nails has nice new brushes that are a lot better.
This one is a charcoal/black jelly base with multicolored micro glitter. Again, this one has a lot of depth (I love glitter in jelly bases!). At the same time, it's not to flashy in dim light, so it'd still be elegant enough for a formal setting. I didn't know how much I'd love this one until I tried it on. It's gorgeous! I should have gotten pictures in the sunlight to show how sparkly this one can be!
I have yet to find an awesome base for Colorblind, but I'll definitely post it when I find something fun!
Dandy Nails polishes can be purchased from the Dandy Nails Etsy shop and retail for $8 for a 15mL bottle. If the one you're looking for isn't in stock, don't worry - the shop is restocked pretty often!
Dandy Nails - Come Out and Play
Dandy Nails - You Set My Soul Alight
I have yet to find an awesome base for Colorblind, but I'll definitely post it when I find something fun!
Dandy Nails polishes can be purchased from the Dandy Nails Etsy shop and retail for $8 for a 15mL bottle. If the one you're looking for isn't in stock, don't worry - the shop is restocked pretty often!
Thursday, April 19, 2012
KKCenterHK Nail Strips: Swatches and Review
KKCenterHK has some pretty nifty nail patches. The first kind I tried didn't seem to work well on my nails, but these are much better! These are basically very thin plastic strips.
Most nail patches I've tried that are not actual nail polish have been kind of thick and tend to wrinkle because of the curved shape of some of my nails (if you want to see what I'm talking about, check here). These are different in that they are very thin and flexible, as well as a bit stretchy. They worked MUCH better for me than the others (although still not quite as nice as 100% nail polish strips).
As you can see in the closeup, I got a few tiny wrinkles on some of the nails, but honestly I got better at it with each nail I did, stretching it just perfectly to minimize the crinkles. Just like the 100% nail polish strips, these take a little bit of practice. Overall, though, they're pretty easy and the result is nice.
I didn't get a chance to test the wear - I only wore them for a day. The problem came in the shower... one and only one of the stickers started to peel up on all the edges. The rest were still stuck nice and tight. I'm not sure what I did differently on that finger, maybe I accidentally touched it and ruined the adhesive before I applied it. Not sure. They were easy to remove though. They peeled off easily without doing any damage, and left the adhesive as a film on the nails that came off right away with polish remover.
As you can see, they come in a sealed package like Incoco, but since these aren't nail polish I don't think they dry out after they're opened. I'm saving the extras for accent nails, so I'll update this post when I find out.
Overall, I actually really liked these! The design is nice (although I wish the little "tail" of black had fit onto my nails), and they'd be perfect for a special occasion or night out. They were much easier to manage than other nail patches and didn't bother me with rough or peeling edges.
These can be ordered from the KKCenterHK site here, along with lots of other cool nail patches!
Most nail patches I've tried that are not actual nail polish have been kind of thick and tend to wrinkle because of the curved shape of some of my nails (if you want to see what I'm talking about, check here). These are different in that they are very thin and flexible, as well as a bit stretchy. They worked MUCH better for me than the others (although still not quite as nice as 100% nail polish strips).
KKCenterHK Nail Patches
I didn't get a chance to test the wear - I only wore them for a day. The problem came in the shower... one and only one of the stickers started to peel up on all the edges. The rest were still stuck nice and tight. I'm not sure what I did differently on that finger, maybe I accidentally touched it and ruined the adhesive before I applied it. Not sure. They were easy to remove though. They peeled off easily without doing any damage, and left the adhesive as a film on the nails that came off right away with polish remover.
As you can see, they come in a sealed package like Incoco, but since these aren't nail polish I don't think they dry out after they're opened. I'm saving the extras for accent nails, so I'll update this post when I find out.
Overall, I actually really liked these! The design is nice (although I wish the little "tail" of black had fit onto my nails), and they'd be perfect for a special occasion or night out. They were much easier to manage than other nail patches and didn't bother me with rough or peeling edges.
These can be ordered from the KKCenterHK site here, along with lots of other cool nail patches!
Friday, April 13, 2012
Fish Egg Friday (aka. Banding Together Against Ciate)
This picture was never actually meant to be posted. I decided to try the "fish egg" look a couple weeks ago and took this picture just to show some friends and my mom.
However, after I started seeing these "Fish Egg Friday" posts going up around the nail blogs, I wanted to join in. I support my fellow bloggers and it's irritating to see companies attack them for ridiculous purposes. (Not to mention, it's kind of just plain stupid on their part if they understand the blogging community at all.)
Basically, Ciate has been sending C&D letters to bloggers who have been using the term "Caviar Nails" or "Caviar Manicure" with the explanation that they are IN THE PROCESS of trademarking it. Not only is this silly because they do not yet HAVE the trademark, but there is also another issue: someone else had done it first! THIS blog post on the idea was posted over a year ago! The full story of the letters sent to one blogger can be read here.
So here are the Kaviar/Fish Egg nails! This look can be done for a FRACTION of the price of Ciate's (the Ciate Caviar Manicure retails for $25!). I got a set of microbeads from Michael's scrap booking section for about $7 for 6 "tubes" (that will last for MANY manicures). You don't need any special polish either. I found that using a coat of Gelous OR Seche Vite both worked to stick the beads on, though with SV you have to work really quickly or the beads won't stick.
So join me and the other bloggers in boycotting Ciate and their overpriced "fish egg" manicure. To quote Cris from Let Them Have Polish...
"Ciate can kiss my microballs!"
Here are some of the other bloggers who participated in Fish Egg Friday!
However, after I started seeing these "Fish Egg Friday" posts going up around the nail blogs, I wanted to join in. I support my fellow bloggers and it's irritating to see companies attack them for ridiculous purposes. (Not to mention, it's kind of just plain stupid on their part if they understand the blogging community at all.)
Basically, Ciate has been sending C&D letters to bloggers who have been using the term "Caviar Nails" or "Caviar Manicure" with the explanation that they are IN THE PROCESS of trademarking it. Not only is this silly because they do not yet HAVE the trademark, but there is also another issue: someone else had done it first! THIS blog post on the idea was posted over a year ago! The full story of the letters sent to one blogger can be read here.
Fish Egg Manicure
So here are the Kaviar/Fish Egg nails! This look can be done for a FRACTION of the price of Ciate's (the Ciate Caviar Manicure retails for $25!). I got a set of microbeads from Michael's scrap booking section for about $7 for 6 "tubes" (that will last for MANY manicures). You don't need any special polish either. I found that using a coat of Gelous OR Seche Vite both worked to stick the beads on, though with SV you have to work really quickly or the beads won't stick.
So join me and the other bloggers in boycotting Ciate and their overpriced "fish egg" manicure. To quote Cris from Let Them Have Polish...
"Ciate can kiss my microballs!"
Here are some of the other bloggers who participated in Fish Egg Friday!
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
The Hungry Asian - Sea Creature and Sneeze Breeze: Swatches and Review
The Hungry Asian has made some incredibly unique and beautiful polishes. I picked up two of them recently, Sea Creature and Sneeze Breeze, and they are pretty incredible.
Sea Creature is a mix of dark emerald micro glitter and medium blue holo hex glitters with a sprinkling of small violet glitter. I've seen a few random pieces of medium silver holo hexes as well in there, but they're kinda rare. This is all in a clear base, but it covers almost completely in two coats on its own, or in one coat over a base color (shown here over Rescue Beauty Lounge Teal).
This color JUMPED into my favorite nail polishes of all time. The teal/green/blue overall tone of this plus the holo sparkles is a very stunning combination. Add in the little purple sparkles here and there and it is a true winner in my book. It also has a great formula that only requires a coat of Gelous and a coat of SV to be glassy smooth. I don't think there is a single thing that could make this polish better than it already is.
Sneeze Breeze is a mix of neon blue and black glitter in a clear base. The formula on this one is a little tougher. It doesn't dry quickly like most glitters, so you have to wait quite a while in between coats or it stays gummy and creates globs when you add the second coat (you can see on my ring finger that I didn't wait long enough and it got a little lumpy). Two coats is all that's needed, but it's a pretty thick formula. BUT if you have the patience, the end result looks so cool! Like the Nailventurous lacquers, the matte neon glitters have an amazing overall effect - it's like sprinkles of color without the bling.
The Hungry Asian has an Etsy shop where you can buy these and her other awesome polishes. They come in full sized bottles for $8.50 or cute little mini heart bottles for $4.50.
The Hungry Asian - Sea Creature
Sea Creature is a mix of dark emerald micro glitter and medium blue holo hex glitters with a sprinkling of small violet glitter. I've seen a few random pieces of medium silver holo hexes as well in there, but they're kinda rare. This is all in a clear base, but it covers almost completely in two coats on its own, or in one coat over a base color (shown here over Rescue Beauty Lounge Teal).
This color JUMPED into my favorite nail polishes of all time. The teal/green/blue overall tone of this plus the holo sparkles is a very stunning combination. Add in the little purple sparkles here and there and it is a true winner in my book. It also has a great formula that only requires a coat of Gelous and a coat of SV to be glassy smooth. I don't think there is a single thing that could make this polish better than it already is.
The Hungry Asian - Sneeze Breeze
Sneeze Breeze is a mix of neon blue and black glitter in a clear base. The formula on this one is a little tougher. It doesn't dry quickly like most glitters, so you have to wait quite a while in between coats or it stays gummy and creates globs when you add the second coat (you can see on my ring finger that I didn't wait long enough and it got a little lumpy). Two coats is all that's needed, but it's a pretty thick formula. BUT if you have the patience, the end result looks so cool! Like the Nailventurous lacquers, the matte neon glitters have an amazing overall effect - it's like sprinkles of color without the bling.
The Hungry Asian has an Etsy shop where you can buy these and her other awesome polishes. They come in full sized bottles for $8.50 or cute little mini heart bottles for $4.50.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Layla - Flash Black: Swatches and Review
LOOK AT THIS POLISH!
LOOK AT IT!
Holy rainbows, Batman! Isn't it incredible?! I can't get over it. It's too perfect. I've worn it three times in the last two weeks, which is a record for me!
Flash Black is an amazing charcoal linear holo. It applies like butter in two easy coats over an aqua base coat such as Nfu-Oh Aqua Base or the Jessica Hologram Chic base (although I've heard it's a pain to apply without the aqua base). It also doesn't dull with a topcoat! In short, it's perfect, and I need a backup bottle.
*swoon*
And here's a shade (indirect sunlight) pic to show that it still has a holo effect even in lower lighting:
Layla Holo Effects can be purchased at Harlow & Co, as well as on Aveyou. They run about $15-16, and there have been rumors that Ulta may carry them soon as well.
LOOK AT IT!
Layla Holo Effect - Flash Black
Holy rainbows, Batman! Isn't it incredible?! I can't get over it. It's too perfect. I've worn it three times in the last two weeks, which is a record for me!
Flash Black is an amazing charcoal linear holo. It applies like butter in two easy coats over an aqua base coat such as Nfu-Oh Aqua Base or the Jessica Hologram Chic base (although I've heard it's a pain to apply without the aqua base). It also doesn't dull with a topcoat! In short, it's perfect, and I need a backup bottle.
*swoon*
And here's a shade (indirect sunlight) pic to show that it still has a holo effect even in lower lighting:
Layla Holo Effects can be purchased at Harlow & Co, as well as on Aveyou. They run about $15-16, and there have been rumors that Ulta may carry them soon as well.
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Nailventurous - Floam, Pinkerbell, Orange You Unique, and Humble Bee: Swatches and Review
The polishes featured in this post are all handmade by a blogger friend of mine named Amy from Nailventurous. She recently opened a shop on Etsy and in her first sale she sold out in less than five minutes! It was absolutely crazy! I was incredibly lucky and snagged the set of three (Floam, Pinkerbell, and Orange You Unique) as well as Humble Bee.
Floam is one that's slipped just out of my reach a few times, so I'm REALLY excited to finally own it! Floam is a mix of neon blue and green matte glitter (in other words, it's not metallic) in a shiny clear base. It's a bit thick, but it makes application really easy and Floam only takes two coats to be fully opaque. I love this polish so much!
Pinkerbell is a mix of the same blue and green glitter in Floam, but with some smaller neon pink glitter as well. From a distance I think it has kind of a greyish blue look, but up close you can see all the beautiful specks of color. Very fairy-esque to me. Kind of light and dainty, but bright and playful at the same time. It had the same slightly thick formula that covered nicely in two coats
This one, a mix of orange and blue matte glitter, looks to me like a summer day by the pool. At a distance, this one kind of blends into my skin and is a neutral orange color, but the blue really pops against the orange up close. I think it has white glitter in it, but the base is tinted a slightly neon coral color so they look a bit pink. Again, two (kind of thick) easy coats for opacity.
This is the one that's not part of the "original three" set. This is one of Amy's newer creations, and it won me over instantly! It's a combination of small neon yellow glitter and small and medium black glitter in a clear base. As much as I was excited for Floam, this one may be in a tie for my favorite one here. I really want to try layering this over a bright blue or coral! This one is two coats as well.
All in all, I'm SO incredibly impressed with Amy's unique frankens and their wonderful formula! It's important to wait a few minutes between coats so you don't drag the glitter around, and a topcoat of Gelous then Seche Vite is required to make them glassy smooth.
As I mentioned, these are a tad bit hard to get ahold of, but not impossible. Amy should be stocking the Nailventurous Esty shop again in the near future (for Humble Bee), and you can also watch out for Floam, Pinkerbell, and Orange You Unique on Ninja Polish (you can sign up for email notifications on both sites).
Nailventurous - Floam
Floam is one that's slipped just out of my reach a few times, so I'm REALLY excited to finally own it! Floam is a mix of neon blue and green matte glitter (in other words, it's not metallic) in a shiny clear base. It's a bit thick, but it makes application really easy and Floam only takes two coats to be fully opaque. I love this polish so much!
Nailventurous - Pinkerbell
Pinkerbell is a mix of the same blue and green glitter in Floam, but with some smaller neon pink glitter as well. From a distance I think it has kind of a greyish blue look, but up close you can see all the beautiful specks of color. Very fairy-esque to me. Kind of light and dainty, but bright and playful at the same time. It had the same slightly thick formula that covered nicely in two coats
Nailventurous - Orange You Unique
This one, a mix of orange and blue matte glitter, looks to me like a summer day by the pool. At a distance, this one kind of blends into my skin and is a neutral orange color, but the blue really pops against the orange up close. I think it has white glitter in it, but the base is tinted a slightly neon coral color so they look a bit pink. Again, two (kind of thick) easy coats for opacity.
Nailventurous - Humble Bee
This is the one that's not part of the "original three" set. This is one of Amy's newer creations, and it won me over instantly! It's a combination of small neon yellow glitter and small and medium black glitter in a clear base. As much as I was excited for Floam, this one may be in a tie for my favorite one here. I really want to try layering this over a bright blue or coral! This one is two coats as well.
All in all, I'm SO incredibly impressed with Amy's unique frankens and their wonderful formula! It's important to wait a few minutes between coats so you don't drag the glitter around, and a topcoat of Gelous then Seche Vite is required to make them glassy smooth.
As I mentioned, these are a tad bit hard to get ahold of, but not impossible. Amy should be stocking the Nailventurous Esty shop again in the near future (for Humble Bee), and you can also watch out for Floam, Pinkerbell, and Orange You Unique on Ninja Polish (you can sign up for email notifications on both sites).
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