BB Couture Hangover Blues

Hangover Blues is a really lovely teal that, despite being part of a summer collection, really works for any season (though I don't generally pay attention to what's "right" for the season anyway). It does have a tiny bit of shimmer, but let's put it this way: if Chanel Paradoxal has hidden shimmer, then Hangover Blues has triple-hidden shimmer. I can barely see it even under bright light, but that doesn't really bother me - it's the color I've fallen in love with. The application was also quite nice; this is two coats.

indoors, artificial light

After I put this on, I thought that maybe it was sort of a middle shade between Essie Mint Candy Apple and Sephora by OPI Ocean Love Potion. So, I did some swatches on a card of Mint Candy Apple, Ocean Love Potion, Hangover Blues, and a mix of half-Mint Candy Apple and half-Ocean Love Potion. As it turns out, the franken and Hangover Blues are pretty similar! They look more alike than the photo shows, though they're not exact dupes.

I think I'm going to do some nail art on this, but I'm not sure what to add yet...we'll see! I may just end up adding glitter. :)

Ooh, Goodies!

I was literally just about to post my NOTD when I heard a knock at the door. When I went and looked, I found a mysterious package...actually, it wasn't that mysterious - I knew my Reviva products from the Painted Lady Fingers giveaway had arrived! But first, nails. I added a matte top coat to yesterday's The Girl Who Played with Fire manicure, and while I don't think I like it quite as well as the glossy version, I do like it.

indoors, artificial light

And here's the package I got from Reviva Labs. It included Rosewater Facial Spray; Organic Cleansing Milk; Organic Skin Tonic; Sun Protective Moisturizer; Alpha Lipoic Acid, Vitamin C Ester, & DMAE Cream; a Vitamin E Stick; Firming Eye Serum; Hyaluronic Acid Serum; and DMAE Firming Fluid.

I can't wait to try all of these! Would you be interested in reviews of these products, or not?

Ahh, I'm on Fire!

Okay, not really...but my nails kind of look like it. And yes, that was a very cheesy title. Sorry. Moving on! I did my first attempt at sponging today, adding an unnamed Charlotte Russe gold polish to BB Couture Sex on the Beach. I'm not completely happy with the results, but I think it's okay for my first try:

indoors, artificial light

I'm a huge (HUGE) Harry Potter fan, so I suppose this could be a Gryffindor mani...but I'm a Ravenclaw. I feel kind of disloyal. So maybe it's a Millenium trilogy-themed mani:

Yes? Yes, I think so. Anyway, that's almost all I have for you today. Here are some new and new-to-me polish blogs I've discovered and enjoyed recently.

Polish Polish Polish

VaiNails

PinkNailBlog

Nail the Nail

Acetone and Old Lacquer

Lacquered Lizard

Mai Senza Smalto!

Pretty Little Thing

Mi Vida Aburrida

The Nail Experiment

Okay, now that's all! Happy Sunday!

BB Couture Sex on the Beach

Today I wore one of the BB Couture polishes that I received yesterday, Sex on the Beach. On one hand, I kind of like the name of this polish, simply because it is a very sexy red. On the other hand, people sometimes ask what nail polish I'm wearing, and I'd be a bit hesitant to say, "Oh, it's Sex on the Beach!" Um. Yeah. Anyway, it is a very pretty red. It's not opaque - I used four coats, and I still had a little VNL - but it's not too noticeable, so I don't mind much.

indoors, artificial light

Oh, and guess what? The sun was shining today, so I went outside and took some pictures in the sun and in the shade...and then tonight, when I got home again, I realized that I had taken those pictures without the memory card in the camera, so I have no way of getting the pictures to my computer. Oops. I've done this before, and you'd think I would learn, but I guess not. Also, I should note that while the microglitter looks a bit rough and grainy in my photos, it's quite smooth in real life as long as you use one coat of top coat. That's all for tonight...I have a college essay to write!

Thanksgiving Franken

I made this franken in mid-October. I had decided I really wanted an orange that was the color of pumpkin pie, and I just couldn't find one, either in my collection or anywhere else. Of course, a franken was the answer, and this is what I came up with. I don't know what my ratios were, but I used Rimmel Black Satin, OPI Comet Loves Cupid, Sally Hansen Lightening, Orly Old School Orange, Nina Ultra Pro Like Butta, and Sally Hansen Sun Kissed. I wore it yesterday and am still wearing it today - I haven't even added anything yet! I've tentatively named it Pumpkin Latte, but I don't totally love that name...please let me know if you have ideas!

indoors, artificial light

What do you think? Does it look pumpkin pie-like? This was two coats of surprisingly easy application. Because my frankens are usually made up of several different brands of polish, I don't really expect the formula to turn out well, but this one did! Let's just hope it stays that way. I planned on adding Hidden Treasure to this, but my middle fingernail has now chipped, so I'll be moving on to something else.

In other news...happy Black Friday! I didn't go shopping - well, I did go to Walmart briefly and pine over the Canon SX130 IS, which is on sale, but I don't have $200, so I didn't actually buy anything. However, I did get some goodies in the mail today!

 BB Couture Sex on the Beach, Pina Colada, Grasshopper, Hangover Blues, and Blue Bahama from the Cantina Nights Collection

Nail Fraud in leopard print and a nail file

I won the BB Couture polishes as part of a Painted Lady Fingers giveaway, and I also won the Nail Fraud stuff ...but I can't remember what giveaway they were from. Maybe the Magic Maid 1000 Followers one? I swear, my mind is like a sieve sometimes. That's all for today; I hope those of you in the U.S. had a good Thanksgiving, and that everyone else had a good week!

Kelier Nail Crack Polish in "Red"

I received this as part of my review package from Born Pretty, which made me super excited - I was in love with crackle polishes from the first swatch I saw, so I was thrilled to get to review some for free (I also got the blue, which I'll be showing at some point). You should know that this color is listed as red on the website, but it's pink. I don't mind, though, because I really like this color of pink. In interest of full disclosure, you should also know that it took me a few tries to figure out how best to apply this particular crackle polish. Here's what ended up working:

1) Apply base coat, then your base color if you want one. I used one coat of white polish. In case you're extending a current manicure, here's a tip: don't put the crackle on top of quick-dry top coat, even if the top coat is long dry. It will make it peel up and flake off like nobody's business. You can, however, put a coat of clear polish on top of the previous top coat and then apply the crackle on top of that. See, look what happened when I applied the crackle over AA Butter, which I'd used quick-dry top coat on. This was without me touching my nail or bumping it on anything:

2) While the base color is still slightly tacky, apply one fairly thin coat of the crackle top coat. Let it dry.
3) Apply one coat of regular top coat, NOT quick dry. The quick-dry (and believe me, I tried every quick-dry top coat I own - Rush, SH Insta-Dri, and Orly In a Snap) won't keep it from falling off, which is what it will also do if you don't apply top coat at all.
4) NOW you can apply quick-dry top coat if you want. Once there's a layer between the crackle and the quick-dry, it doesn't make it flake.

Whew! I hope my instructions are clear and not too boring...I just wanted to make sure that any of you who might buy this don't have to go through all the experimentation I did. However, I will say that my trials were totally worth it! I love this look.

indoors, artificial light

It is a little streaky, but that's partly my fault, and I actually don't mind. I think it makes it look more interesting...am I crazy? Don't answer that. :) All in all, I would definitely recommend trying the crackle top coats out. I like the pattern these make much better than the pictures I've seen of the Barry M and OPI crackle top coats. The lines in this are thinner and look more parched desert-y to me, which I really like, and I also like that they come in colors other than just black. They're cheap at $3.67 a bottle, and they have free shipping to most countries, which is a ginormous plus for me. I'm planning on getting the rest of the crackle colors (they have black, blue, pink which they call red, green, purple, watermelon, and yellow) soon.

Also, if you're still reading, I decided to keep using my bottle of Nutra Nail Strengthener until I run out, so I can give a full report after the bottle's empty. I'll start using the Ulta base coat after that.


*This product was provided to me for an honest review.

American Apparel Butter

The first American Apparel polish I tried, Peacock, applied like butter. Butter, funnily enough, does not apply like butter. This wasn't really surprising to me, as yellows are notorious for having iffy formulas, but it's still a bit disappointing. It's not completely terrible, but the polish was fairly thick and streaky, and while I only used two thick (because I couldn't get it to be anything but thick) coats, a couple fingers on my right hand could have used a third. On the other hand, it's a very pretty pale yellow creme, and I'm not at all sorry to have it in my collection. I slapped this on right before going to bed, so there are a couple blanket prints, but they're not that noticeable, and I think the fact that they are so minor is a tribute to Orly In a Snap, which is the top coat I used this time.

indoors, artificial light

outdoors, shade

outdoors, sunlight 

(It was sunny all day today! I could hardly believe it.)

The last picture is most color-accurate - the second is a darker than Butter usually appears, even when in the shade, and the first has a slightly greenish cast that I've never seen in person. I really don't have much else to say about this one. It's a pretty color, but there are a lot of similar colors, so if you have a pale yellow with a reasonably good formula, you probably don't need Butter.

Let's Stamp!

Guess what? I used image plates for the first time today, and it was a success! I thought there would be a little bit of a learning curve, but I only had to redo one nail, and that's because I bumped my elbow just as I was pressing the stamp on my nail. Oops. I used Nailtrixx plate B12, which I received in a giveaway, and Zoya Malia. One thing I was not happy with was that though I placed the design differently on each nail, I accidentally ended up with two next to each other that are very similar. It bugs me.

indoors, artificial light

indoors, artificial light

I added matte top coat before taking the second picture so you could actually see the design despite the reflections I couldn't get rid of. Due to slight chipping, I will be taking Devious off right after I post this.

Now, I need your help. I'm thinking about getting a new camera. On $40 a month of allowance as my only spending money when I don't have a dogsitting job (which is most of the time...people don't vacation that much), I'm wary of spending that much money without knowing exactly what I'm getting and being 100% confident that it's worth it. I have a Nikon Coolpix P1 that I got four years ago, and right now I'm considering a Nikon Coolpix S6000 and a Canon PowerShot SX130IS. Their lense sizes are basically the same, so the three specifications I'm really looking at are resolution, zoom, and macro focus ranges. 

Resolution: Nikon 14.2 megapixels, Canon 12.1 megapixels

Zoom: Nikon 7x, Canon 4x

Macro Minimum Distance: Nikon 3 cm, Canon 1 cm

The Canon is more expensive, but only by $20 if I buy on Amazon. Which do you think would be better for nail photos? Or do I need a new camera at all? 

Ulta Devious

While I'm a huge fan of purple, I'm one of those who loves every vampy just because it's vampy. There has to be something special. Ulta Devious has that something special. Though it looks blackish in the dim light of my room and truly black in dimmer light, it's a gorgeous purple that I haven't been able to stop staring at since I put it on last night. Even better? ONE coat. I was tempted to add a second just out of habit, but it doesn't really need it. See the one-coated wonder:

indoors, artificial light

outdoors, cloudy

ONE COAT. I repeat, ONE COAT. Okay, I think you get the point. In the outdoors picture it looks like the color is uneven, but those are just reflections, I promise. I really need to figure out how to take pictures of my nails without getting reflections...Devious is so shiny you can actually see my camera in detail if you look close.  The formula of Devious is not the best I've ever used, and it's not as good as the one other Ulta I've tried, In the Mood (though that's from Ulta's "Professional" line...I'm suspicious that there's not much difference, but maybe I've proved my suspicions wrong). However, I didn't have any major problems, and the minor cleanup I needed afterward was really easy for such a dark color. This isn't a color I would probably go for in the store just because I rarely buy vampies, but I got it in a giveaway (I can't remember from whom...sorry...and thank you!) a while back, and I'm thrilled. I would definitely recommend it.

I have a franken planned with this that I'll be posting soon, though maybe not until after Thanksgiving. You can look forward to seeing at least one franken this week, though, as I'll wear a pumpkin pie-colored franken I made some time back on Thanksgiving. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Nutra Nail Thickener with Green Tea

I've been using Nutra Nail Thickener with Green Tea for two weeks now, so I figured it was time to do a proper review. Here's a picture to show how much I've used (and so this post isn't one huge, boring block of text):

On the back of the package, it says that "Nutra Nail Thickener glides on to create a clear bond that thickens your nails for maximum breakage resistance. It has molecules that actually fuse with your nails' surface to create layers of protection and smooth out ridges." Also on the back of the package, it says that the product will result in: "Stronger, thicker, ridge-free nails that resist peeling, breaking and splitting. Nails look so smooth and shiny, you can feel confident to flaunt them with or without polish! Guaranteed!" Sounds great, right? I'm not quite sure how best to review a treatment product as opposed to "regular" nail polish, so I thought I'd evaluate each claim on the package, one at a time.

First of all, "maximum breakage resistance"...nah. I will say that my nails have broken and peeled noticeably less over the past two weeks than they usually do, but as you know if you've read my previous few posts, my thumbnail did break, and a few of my nails have peelies. This didn't really surprise me, though - I didn't expect this to be a miracle product, and I'm pretty happy with the strength this polish has provided.

As I don't have enough ridges to feel that a ridge-filling polish is necessary, I can't properly evaluate the ridge-filling claim of Nutra Nail Thickener. However, I will say that it has covered most of the minor imperfections on my nails, though I have a couple big dents that still show up, as I expected them to. And the product does make my nails very shiny; if they weren't stained halfway from the top because of my own stupidity (I didn't use base coat ONCE - this is what happens, ladies), I'd feel perfectly comfortable going without polish for a bit.

All in all, while I'm perfectly content to use this base coat up until it's gone, I don't think I'd buy it again at this point. However, if I see a dramatic difference once more time has passed, I will definitely pass that information on!

NOTE: I found Ulta Silk Wrap Base Coat on clearance at Ulta (duh) today, and I think I'll be using it in conjunction with Nutra Nail. Or would you rather me use it on its own so I can do a proper review? Let me know in the comments!

Mini Nail Art

Why mini nail art? Because I chopped off my thumbnail. It was broken, and even though I patched it with a teabag, it was still a little rough, and I was tired of dealing with it. Call me impatient; it's true! :) Anyway, I added a little something to my thumbnail this morning:

 indoors, artificial light

indoors, artificial light

I do have a couple of small chips, so I'll be changing my polish tonight or in the morning...not sure what I'll go for yet. Happy Friday!

BO NL B23

I received two BO polishes, a green and a pink, from the Born Pretty Store, which is a fairly new online retailer for nail polish and nail art materials. I'd never heard of the brand before (though I think this might be it), and I have to say, it's a pretty unfortunate name. BO? Really? When I showed my mom the bottles, her response was, "Do they smell really bad?" Yes, actually, they do, but we'll get to that in a minute. When I first got the package, I swatched both polishes on an index card, and  they both seemed pretty sheer. However, when I applied the green, it was opaque in three coats! Surprise! I really like the color as well - it's a gorgeous glass-flecked green that I'd consider a younger cousin of Zoya Ivanka. Unfortunately, it does smell really bad, and I'm sure it's not big three free. But why, oh why does VNL sometimes show up in photos when you can't see it in real life? I assure you, this polish is completely opaque even when I hold my hand right up next to my face...but the photos show VNL. *sigh* This is three coats:

indoors, artificial light

One thing I noticed about the BO bottles is that they're pretty obviously trying to imitate OPI. The bottle size and shape is completely different, but take a look at the front, back, and bottom of the bottle:

Um...look familiar, anyone? I'm not sure whether it's legal for them to imitate OPI so blatantly or not, and I'm not sure how I feel about it. I do think it's kind of lame, but...I don't know. I'm still suffering from my kidney stones even though the doctor says I should be fine by now, so I can't really think clearly. What do you think?

Rapid Red + Golden Enchantment

After two days of wearing Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Rapid Red on its own, I decided to add a little of one of my favorite layering polishes, China Glaze Golden Enchantment. It's a gold holographic microglitter in a clear base, and adds a nice sparkle to pretty much any manicure. Here's one coat over two coats of Rapid Red:

 indoors, artificial light

indoors, artificial light

I'm not sure why the polish looks so different in these pictures. The first one is more accurate as to how it looks in real life, but it's easier to see how much glitter there is in the second picture, so I included them both. Unfortunately, my left thumbnail, which is the one I did the patch on, is starting to chip. I think it's because my patch was slightly uneven...anyway, this means that Rapid Red's time is coming to an end for now. Thanks so much for all your good wishes in relation to my kidney stone - I'm still feeling better than I did a few days ago, but definitely not 100% yet, and I really appreciate all your comments. :) Until next time, thanks for reading!

A Blog Award!

Lacquer Ware for Tips and Toes very kindly tagged me with the A Blog With Substance award. She makes incredibly awesome frankens and I love her blog, so you should definitely go follow if you don't already.

The Rules:

1. Thank and link back to the giver of the award:
I linked above...and thank you, thank you, thank you! :)

2. Sum up your blogging philosophy, motivation and experience using five words:
I never, ever go unpolished!

3. Pass it on to other blogs that you feel have substance in their blogs:
I could put many more, but here are five.
Bright Lights, Big Color
GildedNails
Imperfectly Painted
The Daily Nail
Nihrida

Sally Hansen Rapid Red

Sorry I've been absent for the past several days - one of my kidney stones decided it was time to make a move, and I haven't felt like doing much of anything except lay in bed and take as much Tylenol and Aleve as possible. It's still fairly painful, but I'm feeling a bit better today, so hopefully that trend continues.

I very sloppily painted my nails with Sally Hansen Rapid Red Thursday night, because Commander in Chic was chipped and I felt like I had to do something even if I did feel like crap. I used it mainly because it dries quickly and I didn't want to sit up waiting for my polish to dry, but I really do like the color - it's one of the few bottles of polish that I've made a noticeable dent in, and halfway through the bottle, the formula is still as good as it was the day I got it. This is two coats.

indoors, artificial light

Of course, by the time I got around to take pictures, my pointer finger had chipped - my actual fingernail chipped, though, not the polish - and it was dark outside...oh well.  At any rate, this is a great cherry red, and it's been my go-to color for debate tournaments (or when I just want a good red) for several years. 

Sally Hansen Commander in Chic

I fixed my nail! Sort of. It's a bit of a shoddy job, but hopefully it will hold my nail together until it grows out. I used base coat, a bit of a teabag, more base coat, and one Incoco French manicure strip (on clearance at Walgreens!) to smooth it out, then put polish on top as usual.

I am so behind the times on this one...I think I must be one of the last nail bloggers on the planet to review Sally Hansen Commander in Chic. I've been really reluctant to by Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure polishes (as of now I only have this and Hidden Treasure), even when I love the color, because they cost more than I generally feel like paying for a drugstore polish. However, when I found Commander in Chic in a clearance bin at Walmart for $5 awhile back, I had to pick it up. It's a greige, taupe-y color, and I don't have anything quite like it, though I know there are several near-dupes out there. The closest color I have is Orly Prince Charming, but Commander in Chic is lighter and greyer than the Orly.

indoors, artificial light

outdoors, shade

outdoors, sunlight

This was two coats of Commander in Chic with top coat. I may be in the minority on this one, but I love the wide brush Sally Hansen uses for their Complete Salon Manicure and Insta-Dri polishes. Maybe I have wide nail beds or something, but they work perfectly for me. The formula was very good to work with, too, and it dried reasonably quickly. I think Commander in Chic is one of those colors that is not only pretty, but is also almost universally flattering - I haven't seen a single swatch of this where it didn't suit the person's skin tone. I'm very glad I got this color, and I have no doubt that it will become one of my go-to polishes.

Charlotte Russe...um...

I really hate it when polishes aren't named. Really. A lot. I mean, numbers for names are bad enough, but no name at all? Come on! *sigh* However, its namelessness doesn't make me love this particular polish any less. It's a silvery taupe-y greige that I got in spring 2009 before all the greige craziness started. It's a bit of a pain to apply - kind of thick, though nothing a little thinner wouldn't fix - and a bit streaky, but I think it's pretty nonetheless.

 outdoors, sunlight

outdoors, shade

Okay, so these pictures make it look green for some reason, but there's no green in it in real life. But, wait...where are the indoor pictures? Well, I took these pictures around 8:00 this morning, and didn't get back to my desk lamp (where I take my indoor pictures) until about half an hour ago. By that time, my thumbnail had split all the way into my nail bed, and I am now in the process of doing some sort of mending job on it. So far it's not going terribly well, but hopefully my nail will be mended tomorrow!

Teddy

If you ask me, you never get too old for teddy bears. So naturally, when I found teddy bear fimo slices in the package Born Pretty sent me for review, I was ecstatic. All of my nails have base coat and one coat of OPI Catch the Garter. On my left hand, I used one coat of Sephora by OPI Only Gold For Me on my ring finger, put two teddy fimo slices* on my thumb, and used a dotting tool and red acrylic paint for the hearts. Click to enlarge!

 outdoors, sunlight

outdoors, shade

On my right hand, I used one coat of Sephora by OPI on my thumb and my dotting tool and red acrylic paint for the hearts on my ring finger. I flipped these photos upside down so the hearts would be right side up...does it look too weird?

outdoors, sunlight

outdoors, shade

Aren't they cuuuute? I have to say, I'm pretty proud of this mani. It wasn't difficult to do at all, but I think the end result looks really good. The only thing I was slightly annoyed with was how much my top coat collected around the edges of the bears, but I don't suppose there's anything to be done about that, and it really wasn't that noticeable in person. Unfortunately, one of my teddy bears started to peel off before dinner, so I did have to take my polish off - but I promise you'll be seeing more fimo soon!

*This product was provided to me for honest review.

Rehab

No, I'm not talking about Amy Winehouse...I'm talking about nail rehab. The dry spell we've been going through here has really taken a toll on my nails and cuticles, and my hands are due for some special treatment. Therefore, I've decided to take action - I've decided not to use remover until my polish starts to chip. I'll most likely be posting every day because of my propensity for layering, but even if I don't, I will post at least every other day. I'm also going to start using Nutra Nail's Nail Thickener with Green Tea, which I bought yesterday, as a base coat in the hopes that it will stop my nails from breaking. Hopefully, this "nail rehab" will result in you having to look at less frazzled cuticles and nubbins. :) For the first day of my regimen (ha), I decided to go for a natural look. I used two coats of the Nutra Nail base coat and one thin coat of OPI Catch the Garter (to hide staining).

 outdoors, sunlight

outdoors, shade

Though I normally hate looking at my own bare nails, it's actually kind of refreshing to see them on their own. I'm sure I'll be beyond ready to put something on top of them by the end of the day, but I've enjoyed my faux-bare nails so far.

What do you do to combat winter dryness? Product recommendations are appreciated!

Miss D Dance Til Dawn

I received this polish in a giveaway from You've Got Nail. As Miss D is an Australian brand, I would never have tried this otherwise...shipping costs, anyone? However, I'm very glad to have gotten a chance to try this - for a start, the bottles are completely adorable:

And here are three (or two? but I think it's three...kind of sad that I did my nails last night and can't remember how many coats I used) coats of Dance Til Dawn, with a Piggy Polish sticker on the thumb:

indoors, artificial light

outdoors, shade

outdoors, sun

The sun! It's the sun! I haven't been outside with my camera AND the sun for several days now...it was very exciting. :) Excuse my poor fingers, especially the terrible hangnail on my first finger - my hands really, really do not like the extremely dry weather we've been having lately. Anyway, you didn't come here to read about my poor dry hands. Dance Til Dawn is a bright purple with bluish silver shimmer, and I am very happy with the color and the application. While it doesn't dry completely glossy (this is with one coat of Rush), it was easy to apply, even with the short brush, and it dries very quickly. I feel like this would be a really good base for Sally Hansen DVD, and I may try that later today. Because the shimmer isn't purple, but silver, Dance Til Dawn is sort of a purple-silver duochrome, but it's a subtler effect than most duochromes. Either way, it's a very pretty color, and I'm really glad I got the chance to try it.

Here are my new and new-to-me blogs of...well, whatever time period it's been since I last did this. Most of them fall into the new-to-me category and I'm sure you probably follow several of them, but if you haven't, definitely check them out.

The Nailtress

My Leetle Nails

(Squoval)icious!

Atours de Magie

Nail Talez & More!

Katrina's Nail Blog

FAB UR NAILS

Polish Galore

Enamel Girl

American Apparel Peacock

I'm afraid I won't have sunny pictures on weekdays any more for a while...now that it's getting dark earlier, I just don't get home in time. My pictures will also probably be a bit messier because I'm so busy that I rarely have time to clean up my fingers after polishing. And finally, my cuticles are very, very dry. I feel bad for them. Now if you aren't completely turned off by all that...then here are two coats of American Apparel Peacock:

 indoors, artificial light

 indoors, artificial light

indoors, artificial light

As you can see, I added a little something on the thumbnail. I got a little container of these flakies at Sally Beauty Supply yesterday, and I couldn't wait to try them out. I applied them with tweezers on wet polish (I added a coat of base coat after Peacock was all dry) and then finished with some top coat. I really like the effect - it reminds me of broken tile or glass. 

But more importantly, let me extol the many virtues of Peacock: 1) It doesn't smell. Really. I mean, it does have a slight scent, but it does not smell like nail polish. Even my mother, who groans every time I open my bottle of non-acetone remover, didn't notice when I was painting my nails with this. 2) It dries superhumanly (superpolishly?) fast. Seriously. I painted my nails and when I got into bed ten minutes later, my nails were dry. I didn't put on top coat last night (though I did this morning)...and I didn't have any sheet prints. I'm very impressed. 3) It's very easy to apply, and is completely opaque in two coats. 4) The color is gorgeous. It's a medium-deep, slightly dusty, blue-leaning teal. And I love it. I love it, I love it, I love it. Did I mention that I love it?

....And guess what? Tomorrow's Friday! Woohoo!

Hard Candy Beetle

I picked up Hard Candy Beetle the other day at Walmart. It's a mauve, green, bronze and gold multichrome that is (from what I've read) an exact dupe for Orly Space Cadet...and it costs half as much. Beetle's foil finish is absolutely stunning, and I love how it shifts from color to color in different lights. Application was absolutely perfect - Beetle was opaque for me at two easy coats. I was curious to see what Beetle would look like with a matte top coat, as well as what it would do to the multichrome effect, so my pointer finger has one coat of Essie Matte About You, and the rest have one coat of Rush top coat.

 indoors, artificial light

 indoors, artificial light

indoors, artificial light

 outdoors, cloudy (The sun is refusing to come out.)

  outdoors, cloudy

 outdoors, cloudy

As far as I can tell, the matte top coat didn't change the multichrome effect at all. This is an absolutely gorgeous polish, and I'm very glad I got it - especially as it was only $5 compared to $10 for the Orly (or even more for the MAC dupe). Now, I'm off to see the wizard...er, the doctor. Have a great day!