I went a little color-fickle and decided to change my manicure at the last minute. I've grown out my nails a bit to try a french manicure design and this is how it turned out.
Manicure:
Perfect Formula Gel Coat
2 coats Julep Stefani
Dazzle Dry Midnight Express Tips
Julep Mila Glitter stripe
1 coat Sally Hansen Hard as Wraps Hard as Nails
1 coat Dazzle Dry Top Coat
I have wanted to try this ever since I saw the tutorial on Robin Moses' YouTube channel: click here
I grew out my nails a little so this design wouldn't look too crowded on my nails.
Julep Stefani -
Verdict?
The color is a very interesting gunmetal color with different colored micro-glitters within. The glitter isn't too noticeable on the nail, but it does shimmer well.
This formula did bubble for me, but I'm not sure if it's because of all the glitter within or just the nature of the formula. It's worth it, though. As my mother would say, "It's nothing a man riding a horse could see." Do with that what you will. I will wear this proudly, bubbles and all!
Here's my take on the manicure.
Have you tried any nail art you've seen on YouTube? There are so many ideas out there!
My manicure for this week is neutral and subtle (in my opinion). Be forewarned, there's no stamping this week.
Here it is.
Manicure:
Perfect Formula Gel Coat
2 coats Nails Inc Porchester Square
2 coats Lush Lacquer Color Me Gray
1 coat Sally Hansen Hard as Wraps Hard as Nails
I got this beauty on llarowe.com. It's amazing how I will have an idea in my head of what I want, and some indie genius will have done it already. Gray with colorful polka dots? Genius! Her shipping prices are reasonable, and they come packaged so heavily in bubble wrap that they don't dare shatter.
I have found several gems on llarowe.com: holographics, glitters, and hard to find foreign brands.
For those who aren't familiar, this is Porchester Square alone. Color Me Gray really changed it into something new.
I don't know about anyone else, but I am so ready for winter weather. Well, the holidays are here with family coming in, going into food comas, and marathon kamikaze shoppers. I can't wait! So much so that I embraced the idea of flannel on my nails.
Here's the finished look:
Manicure:
1 coat Perfect Formula Gel Coat
2 coats China Glaze Electric Beat
Stamped with Kleancolor Black using Mash-50 (purchased on Amazon.com)
1 coat Sally Hansen Hard as Wraps Hard as Nails
1 coat Dazzle Dry Top Coat
(note: I know this seems like a lot, but this formula lets my manicure last at least 7 days 99% of the time)
Now, let's talk about this beautiful color...
This is China Glaze Electric Beat. I was able to pick up this gem in the clearance section at ULTA for $2.99. It's usually anywhere from $4.99-$9 there.
Buying Tips:
1) take a swing by the clearance section at ULTA
2) check out the clearance section at Sally's Beauty Supply (the selection may not be great but you can pick up some cool colors for a good price)
3) head2toebeauty.com (click here) - The prices for China Glaze, CND, Misa, and Color Club year round ranging from $2.99 to $3.50, but the shipping is a bit much unless you are buying enough to make it worth while. Also, every time I've bought from this site there was a 5% discount code on the home page.
After all the glitter last week, I felt like taking a breather with a very simple and classic stamping manicure. Video included...
Here it is:
I think this is so cute and girly.
Manicure:
1 coat Perfect Formula Gel Coat
2 coats Perfect Formula nail polish in Leah (I got this on qvc.com, but couldn't find it there anymore)
Essie A Cut Above used for the center of the bow (I used a dotting tool to fish out the glitter)
1 coat Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Hard as Wraps
1 coat Dazzle Dry Top Coat
Of course, there is a story behind this base nail color.
There is a QVC host who is known for having beautiful nails: Leah Williams. She has had a signature color for years and everyone asked repeatedly what the color was. I think there was mention of a discontinued OPI color, but it wasn't sold on QVC so I'm still not sure what the color is. If anyone knows, please share.
Leah coordinated with the maker of Perfect Formula to create a similar color. I don't think it's the same, but it's close and very pretty against my skin tone IMO.
Verdict?
The formula is a little sheer when compared to Julep, Nails Inc and Zoya which are usually opaque in one coat. This is a definite 2 coater, but it's a neutral pink that's worth it.
I did something different this week in using my XL stamper to pick up these images. I use it when I want exact placement of images (eg. french tips, small images, and images with lines that I want straight). I used the XL stamper for my argyle manicure a few weeks back because I wanted the pattern centered on my nail.
TIPS
1) I find that rolling the stamper on the image works better with the XL stamper. It doesn't pick up well for me when I simple press down and pick it up.
2) Because the stamper is so "squishy" I simply press my whole nail into the stamper and the image is perfect when I lift it out.
3) Nail polish remover seems to move around the nail polish on the stamper instead of cleaning it. An almost dry cotton swab can clean off the nail polish with friction. The dry nail polish just beads up and off.
I just made a video about my glitter/Elmer's glue experiment. Suffice it to say that there were pros and cons and I will get that video posted soon.
In the meantime, since I didn't really want to take the time to do a whole nail stamping manicure I painted more glitter on my nails. This time, Pahlish Fade of Love indie nail polish. What a hardship!
You can purchase this on llarowe.com as well as some other hard to find pretties.
Here's the finished look. Again, with the Elmer's Glue base coat.
This nail polish has so many hidden treasures that it's hard to describe them all. It is set in a dark purple jelly base and has purples, blues and holographic glitters inside that are just gorgeous. It totally changed the tone of the underwear: Revlon Bold Sangria.
Verdict?
Not my favorite polish. The formula was runny and the brush is wide and extremely soft. This took a little getting used to, but, once I got the hang of it, it really made creating the perfect oval at the cuticle line easier than smaller brushes do. I just had to flatten it out and the brush nearly covered my whole nail.
I used Nail Pattern Boldness' Glitter Food again and had better results this time. One coat really smoothed out the glitter and only one coat of my Dazzle Dry Top Coat was needed to add the shine that makes this pop.
Warning! This post is pic heavy, will have a video tutorial, reviews, experiments, and ended up beautifully.
Sooo, one of my favorite YouTubers to watch is soguesswhat11. She has many interesting ideas and encourages people to try them. I've tried a couple and I know I'll be trying more in the future.
One of the most intriguing ones to me was Cosmic Waves. The black glittery awesomeness needed to be tried. Here's how mine turned out:
Manicure:
Elmer's Glue as a base coat
2 coats Nails Inc Disco Lane
1 Coat Nail Pattern Boldness Glitter Food
Stamped using Bundle Monster BM 223 (Kleancolor Metallic Green, Metallic Aqua, Metallic Sapphire)
1 Coat Sally Hansen Hard as Wraps Hard as Nails Top Coat
1 Coat Dazzle Dry Top Coat
This manicure was so hard to take a picture of. If the design showed, then the glitter didn't. If I wanted to catch the holographic effect in the nail polish it had to be blurry. So, I took multiple pictures hoping you guys would get the idea, but the video shows this in all its glory.
I used Nails Inc Disco Lane (Black Holographic Effect) as a base trying to cut down on the layers of nail polish (i.e. black base color then a holographic top coat). I have to say I love the idea of black holographic nail polish. So much so, I also have Zoya's version, Storm.
Verdict?
This nail polish is applied like butter, and so dark that I think some of the glitter is lost in medium lit areas. Candlelight? It glimmers very well. Sunshine? The glitter comes to life. Flourescent lighting? It's almost like the glitter's hibernating.
I also took this as a chance to use Elmer's Glue as a basecoat. The theory is that, like when we were children and would peel glue off our nails, the glue should allow us to just peel off the entire manicure in one piece. I am hoping that my manicure lasts the week and doesn't peel off before it should. I will post another video to show if I am able to peel off the nail polish like so many have said.
Verdict?
Jury's still out on that one...stay tuned.
If all that weren't enough, I tried out Nail Pattern Boldness (don't you just love that name?) Glitter Food to see if it really smooths out glitter's rough surface so I don't end up using 10 layers of top coat for it to be smooth.
Verdict?
It does smooth out the texturing glitter nail polish gives, but
1) it dries matte (which is pretty much posted everywhere I've seen it sold, I got mine at llarowe.com for $9) and
2) still requires at least one more layer of top coat to be completely smooth
The video really is worth 1,000 words, so enjoy!
UPDATE!!!
As if that all wasn't enough, I posted a video of the actual glitter removal.
Verdict?
I will use this for special glittery occasions.
There were definitely pluses and minuses with the glue base coat.
1) It's non-toxic so I didn't really worry about using it on my bare nail.
2) The first day wore really well, the second day started to show tip wear and first thing the third morning I had a chip...which turned into a disappearing manicure on my index finger. I have no idea where the nail polish went. All I know is that one minute I had 10 manicured fingers...and then there were 9.
3) Getting lotion under the surface of the nail polish results in it just slipping off your nail.
I think it is great for a 2 day manicure at most if chips bother you. I had fun experimenting. Have any of you tried the glue base coat method? What were your results?
