SOPI, gummified!

My obsession with matte polishes is I am sure unhealthy, but can you blame me?? It looks so amazing. Like gummies on my fingertips! One of my all time favorite reds is Sephora by OPI, Mr. Right Now and while this polish does not disappoint as a stand alone color, I absolutely LOVED it with a coat of Essie's Matte About You. So amazing and good enough to eat! 

I decided after the fact to add a little extra flair by striping across my ring finger with some Zoya Storm. I left the Zoya as is with no matte finish. 

Happy Polishing. 

It's Wednesday!...I mean Monday

Well, I don't know how to just let things be...so! I've added a fun new touch to the Storm polish I did earlier. I slapped on some Zoya Wednesday and covered it in the lovely China Glaze Luxe and Lush and voila! MAGIC. PRINCESS. MERMAID. HAPPINESS.

Happy Polishing.

Zoya, you have Stormed into my heart...

I had fully intended and planned on doing some new fun design tonight or starting on one of the challenge chains...however...Zoya Storm happened.

Oh. My. Goodness-gracious. After Hurricane Sandy, Zoya ran a promotion where you would get Storm from their new 2012 Ornate Collection for free with purchase of any other item (aside from their spoons). I ended up getting Wednesday and Natalie to add to my collection, but I was most excited for Storm. And boy oh boy, was I right to be excited! I WISH my camera had the capabilities of capturing the amazeballsness of this amazeballs polish. But here's my try!

Such sparkly goodness all wrapped up in one bottle. The concentration of diamond holographic glitter is absolutely perfect.

This is roughly two coats of Storm with a coat of Seche Vite to pull it all together (though this is already a fairly smooth and shiny polish on it's own). 

Zoya describes this polish as "elegant, powerful and versatile" and I could NOT agree more!!

Happy Polishing.

Gradient? Err...sort of

I really like the look of gradient nails and had always been curious if I too, could hop on that bandwagon. Well, I sort of did? My attempt isn't the traditional smooth look that so many have been sporting, but I like it nonetheless. 

I used Essie's Turquoise & Caicos as my base color and let it dry for as long as my impatient brain would allow for before beginning the gradient. I suppose I should have researched a bit more into how most people do a gradient, but I had heard that THE thing to use is a makeup sponge. I had several lying around and gave it a shot! (without watching any tutorial on the "proper" method of application...oops!). Anyway, instead of painting both colors on the sponge and rolling it over your nail a few times as is now convention, I painted just my gradient color (Sally Hansen's Gray by Gray) onto the sponge and dabbed away!

While my "gradient" isn't necessarily a smooth transition between the two colors, I am still in love with the look I've created. It's understated but with a little bit of a surprise ;)

They remind me a bit of watermelon or candy or I don't know...magic? Anyway, next time I shall attempt using the proper method, but for now, I am in love. 

Happy Polishing.

I am Matte About YOU

I recently made what I would consider to be the BEST decision of my life. Okay, well my nail polish life? THAT'S A PRETTY BIG DEAL! I purchased Essie's "Matte About You" and I am in love and I don't care who knows it! I've always been a big fan of the flat matte look but until recently I had no idea that anything like this existed. I generally like to go for an understated look with my nails; nothing too flashy, but still something that's got some good energy to it. As shown in my first post, I'm trying the whole taping technique out and thoroughly enjoying it. I have been using basic scotch tape, though I've seen and heard of using masking tape as well (personally, the masking tape ended up bringing up the base polish I was using). I'm starting to get the hang of it and this is what I came up with.

The main polish is OPI "I Brake for Manicures." This color is pretty, but it's definitely hard to figure out exactly WHAT color it is. Depending on the lighting, it changes from a dark brown/grey/burgundy,  to a deep grey blue. I thought I was getting a deep navy when I ordered it, so I suppose be weary of that fact before buying. All in in all, I do like this color and while at first glance it seems black, it feels like a deep coffee brown. Yes, it's all about the feels!

 Happy Polishing!