YNOTD = Yesterday's Mani ^^

This is going to be quick!

So I put on two coats of China Glaze Techno Teal from the Tronica Collection.  I figured out how to apply it without having any drag.  I put enough polish on the brush to cover the nail and did one swipe.  For the second coat I went back and covered any spots I missed.  I did this real quick so I didn't cover the whole nail.  Dry time is really fast!  Then because I wanted my nails to be more complex, I dabbed on Zoya Faye with my brush, trying to do a gradient.  This is the result.



It looked a lot better in my head.  It wasn't much of a gradient but more like I dipped my tips in Zoya Faye.  I thought about erasing it, then decided to do one more thing to see if I could save it.  PS- Do you see the tiny bit of holo in Techno Teal on my ring and pinkie?  (Please say yes.)

Using Sinful Colors Black on Black and tape, I did a diagonal peek-a-boo look and added white streaks on my accent nail.  I still wasn't satisfied, but it got rid of the 'I have to erase this now' urge.  While I was taking pics it did grow on me.  I probably should've sponged Zoya Faye on, but I'm still not sure about this color combo.  With the black it did look better.  Oh and on the places where I did a better gradient the color changed from Teal to Indigo to Violet. 

Okay, now I'm off to study!

Liz

Sephora by OPI: Caliente Coral

Ack.  Where did the weekend go?  I'm pretty sure I didn't get enough rest or weekend hours... did someone just fast forward time when I was sleeping?  If you did- rewind it back!  Anyway, I've been meaning to post this all weekend. >.<  Ah it's so hard trying to post every day now.  I have two weeks till finals which means a boatload of projects and essays are all due this and next week before exam week.  On top of that I need to edit/ send out to a publisher a campus cultural guide book with another student by the end of April.  That's two people updating/ editing a book. >.<   And I still need to look for 8-12 sources for my upcoming humongous research essay. T_T  Why....?????  Okay, I'm done complaining- but if I don't post much, just know that^ is the reason I'm MIA.

On to the pictures...

Caliente Coral is a bright (but not neon) orange creme that leans towards coral in certain lights.  It is a teeny tiny bit streaky, but nothing a second coat won't get rid of.  Otherwise formula is superb and drying time is good too.  I love wearing this color in the summer and I think it's super flattering on me.  Sorry about messy application and bad pictures.  :/  I didn't have time to clean-up and wanted to get some quick snaps in while the sun was still out.

I'm actually behind again because I change my nails every day but haven't been posting every day.  I want to show you the mani I'm wearing right now, but alas I must get some more work done before I hit the sack.  I might just be keeping it short and posting pictures for the next three weeks at least, so keep checking back.  ^^


Liz

Essie Night Cap & Holographic Jelly?

I finally got the Essie Night Cap I won from Body & Soul in the mail about a week ago.  I've been meaning to post the swatches but haven't gotten around to doing it until now.  Also if you haven't already, please go check out Body & Soul!  Mary has some awesome polish swatches and reviews of other beauty products as well.

Now on to Night Cap.  Night Cap is one of the older Essie polishes and is classified as a watery-tint.  It is indeed very watery and dries quickly.  The color is more of a grayish teal leaning more towards one or the other depending on the light.  Since it's a tint, I decided to layer it over Nicole by OPI's Make a Comet-ment.

The result was grey/teal squishiness of Night Cap made super holo by Make a Comet-ment.  Night Cap kind of softened the edge off the holo glitter, yet made it more sparkly.  I really liked it.  Since it was my first time working with a tint, I did some experimenting.  The pinky (far right) has 1 coat of holo glitter and two coats of Night Cap.  Then I thought hmm...should I add some white since the tint is sheer?  I htought it might bring the color of the tint out more so that was the result of my ring finger.  But I thought it looked too busy with all the holo glitter, so for the next two nails I did 2 coats of holo glitter and 2 coats of Night Cap.  I think I prefer one coat of holo and 2 coats of Night Cap better since there's more depth and color from the tint.

In retrospect, maybe I'd add another coat or two of Night Cap.  Currently I'm trying to think of what other polishes I can layer this over without taking away its color.  Oh and if you were wondering what Make a Comet-ment looks like on its own, here's a swatch with 2 coats.

I kinda like it on its own.  It looks delicate and pretty like lace.


Anyway that's it for now!  Enjoy your Friday. :)


Liz

Pink Wednesday: Victoria's Secret Lover

It's Wednesday!  Half way through the week already.  Wow the weather has been so nice this week- warm and sunny.  Perfect for taking pictures ^^  I'm dreading the temperature drop next week though.  I want it to stay warm!

This is my second On Wednesdays We Wear Pink post, and I've decided to show you Lover by Victoria's Secret.

This is one of my first polishes, which I bought back in 2008.  It's a cool blue-toned pink with a silvery, blue/purple shimmer.  This is a one coater, but I'm wearing two for my swatches.  The formula was great back in 2008, but now it was kind of gloopy so I added some thinner to it.  Now it's good as new.  :)

I own one other polish from VS that I bought with this one.  These two are the only polishes I have from Victoria's Secret.  I'm not sure what kind of polishes are out on the market right now.  I should drop by sometime and see if there's anything interesting.

Do you own any polishes from VS?


Liz

Sally Hansen - Mint Sorbet ...Daiquiri Anyone?

The weather is so lovely these days- warm and sunny.  Made my Monday a bit more pleasant.  Hopefully everyone's Mondays went/are going well. :)  Today I have for you Mint Sorbet from Sally Hansen's Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear line.

I had such pretty pictures of this polish, but with the wrong color!  This was so hard to capture.  The above picture is a nice close up of the finish, but the second picture will show a better color representation.  Mint Sorbet was opaque in two coats.  It is a tiny bit streaky but evens out nicely with the second coat.  Dry time was pretty average with fast dry top coat.  I really wanted Lacey Lilac from this line too, but it was sold out! :(  Instead the display was flooded with 3 rows of Mint Sorbet.  I think Walmart overestimated Mint Sorbet's popularity and underestimated Lacey Lilac's...  Anyway for $2.48 I'd say this was a pretty good deal.  It is smaller though, 11.8ml. 

My roommate thought it looked like Baskin Robbin's Daiquiri Ice.  Actually, I think that pretty much sums up the color. :P

Yum

What do you think about mint polishes?  Anyone get their hands on Lacey Lilac?  Worth getting?  Yes, no? Tell me about it! :)


Liz

NFU Oh #53 - Like mermaids, summer, oceans, and sunsets

Gah NFU Oh flakies!  One of my friends went to Korea for spring break, so I asked him if he could pick up some NFU Ohs while he was there.  Yes, he.  NFU Oh is a line of nail polish created by a Korean nail artist, so I figured it might be cheaper in Korea.  It was 14,000 won, so it was actually around $12.50.  The plus was  I didn't have to pay for shipping.

Apparently it is the girliest store within the vicinity of a couple ridden city.  Now that I think about it, I remember walking past this store, which was why the name sounded so familiar to me.  Alas, I never set foot in it because it is the girliest looking store ever!  >.<  Sigh, again I wish I had been more into nail polish then (like almost 2 years ago).  Thankfully, my friend was brave enough to enter the store.  I asked him to pick up 51, 52, and/or 53 for me.  Unfortunately, 51 and 52 were sold out!  They really are popular.  He was able to get 53 for me, so here it is!

NFU Oh #53!  Isn't it just lovely?  *swoons*  This is the first polish that literally made my heart skip a beat when I saw it.  It's so gorgeous and I adore the cute bottle shaped like a bustier and skirt.  I just wish they'd name their polishes!  Oh and it's 17ml instead of the standard 15ml.  Yay :)  53 is a watery light blue with deep blue shimmer that gives it depth.  The flakies are duochrome and shift from pink to green.  The formula and drying time was excellent.  It is sheer.  Here I'm wearing it alone and with 4 coats it's still sheer.  I actually don't mind because the base color is so lovely, and the VNL kinda looks like a watery gradient.  Makes me want to be lounge around on a deck somewhere, sipping something cold and yummy while I watch the sun set below the cool blue ocean.  It doesn't help that it was in the 80s today either. :P

Blue shimmer!

You can see the flakies better in the shade.  See that delicious rainbowy-ness?  Wish I had a matte polish! 

Amazing, right? I had such a hard time picking pics.  Here it is layered over China Glaze First Mate.  1 coat of each.  The blue of First Mate really brought out the blue shimmer in 53 and made it glow.  I'd still like to look for a light blue polish to layer under - one that enhances the base color and keeps the watery jelly-like look.  Any suggestions?  Oh and the base blue is such a color shifter- shifting from light/mermaid blue to blue to periwinkle.  *love*

What do you think?  Overall, I'm a new fan of NFU Oh.  Can't wait to try out their holos and other flakies!  If you're not near a store, you can buy NFU Oh polishes at Fabulous Street.


Liz


P.S.  Here are some more giveaways to check out. :)
KONADomania
Neverending Obsession
Gilded Nails
Once Bitten
Libby's Pink Vanity

Sally Hansen - Gray by Gray

As soon as I saw this one, I knew I had to get it.  I've been looking for a blue-gray and this is definitely a blue-gray.  It was also the only one left, so I snatched it up quick.  The formula was okay and color was extremely pigmented.  I think it could've been a one coater, but I usually do at least two, so that's what I did.  I'm not a fan of the brush however, which is flat instead of being round.  I didn't like the cut of the brush either.  As you can see by my pictures, I couldn't form nice rounded edges near my cuticles.  I need a clean-up brush!

I added a coat of Wet n Wild's Party of Five Glitters to add some pizazz.

Looks like electricity running down my nail :P

Flash pic: To show you the blue side of this blue-gray.

 Bleck... don't mind my pointer finger... that one kept giving me trouble.  Just one of those days I guess. :/


What do you think?  Do you have a favorite blue-gray?


Liz