Sponging with Skylar

Good morning! I took my last midterm this morning, and I think they all went pretty well, so now I'm ready for spring break! Unfortunately, that means I have to pack first, but...I'll do that later. Today I have a manicure from early February. I did this after I wore Zoya Skylar, a gorgeous blue that I didn't want to take off when I started getting tipwear. The solution? Sponging. I used Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Bronze Ablaze, Orly Luxe, and a regular kitchen sponge that I keep specifically for nail art.

sunlight

indoors, natural light

I was really happy with this - I think it looked particularly nice because of the depth I got from using two colors that are sort of different tints of the same color. I'm not sure if that makes any sense the way I worded it, but to clarify, I think you'd get a similar effect using, say, a dark purple and a light purple over another color. Plus, the great thing about sponging is that it looks fabulous, is very easy, and can be used as a mani refresher for when you don't have time (or the heart) to redo your whole manicure. I'm also thinking that I should try using sponging as a base for some other nail art, but I'm not sure what I'll do yet...like I said, though, it's spring break now, so I'll have plenty of time to think about it!

Day 8: Metallic - Sally Hansen Bronze Ablaze

Five things:

1. The pictures today are going to be far from optimal. It's raining again.

2. Bronze Ablaze is a bit of a stupid name. I mean, couldn't you just go with Bronze Blaze? Or something?

3. Bronze Ablaze is, however, a gorgeous polish.

4. My pointer fingernail broke right before I took the pictures, hence the missing finger.

5. I am really really busy and I shouldn't be blogging at all, so I'll keep this short.

Now, pictures!

 natural light

natural light

Isn't it gorgeous? Despite my crap pictures, that is. It's sort-of-but-not-quite a duochrome, and it's rich and has depth and I love it. Also, it barely needed two coats and dries fairly quickly. I didn't have any application problems, either - I've always gotten along well with the Insta-Dri brush, though I know a lot of people don't. And that's it for today! Off to do some more reading... *looks at pile*

China Glaze Cracked Medallion

Hello there! I don't have a Pink Wednesday polish for you today - instead, I'd like to show you what I added to GT No. 9, China Glaze Cracked Medallion. When I first saw the press release for China Glaze Crackle Metals, Cracked Medallion was the one that I knew I had to have. While I ended up deciding that I wanted Tarnished Gold as well (and fortunately I got that one to review), I searched high and low for Cracked Medallion until I snatched it up at a Sally Beauty Supply. One of the reasons I was so excited about it was that it's bronze, and as a Ravenclaw, I need a bronze crackle to make a Ravenclaw crackle mani. Yeah, I'm a geek. However, I also just think it's a gorgeous, and would complement most, if not all of my favorite colors. This is one coat over the green plus one coat of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri.

outdoors, shade

outdoors, sunlight

Lovely, no? I really love jewel tones, and I think that pretty much any jewel-toned or richly colored polish would go well with Cracked Medallion. Once again...I think I'm gonna have to take this one to college. Speaking of which, I should probably wash my sheets. Bye!

Finger Paints Holly Good Time

Holly Good Time is the first and, so far, only holiday nail polish I own. Despite lusting after several of the polishes from this year's holiday collections, I haven't been able to get any of them. However, if Holly Good Time remains the only festive nail polish in my collection, I'd say it's a good one to have...even if it does have a terribly cheesy name. At least it doesn't have a ridiculous dash in it! *cough* Burlesque *cough*

 indoors, artificial light

indoors, artificial light

Yes, there is a black smear on my ring fingernail. That's nail polish...and I got it on there while painting a box for a friend...long story. Anyway, this was not only my first holiday polish, but my first Finger Paints polish, and I'm really happy with it. Despite being a glitter with a clear base, it was opaque in three easy coats, and I probably could've gotten away with two. It's chock-full of gold, bronze, and red glitter - perfect for the holidays, and I'm sure I'll be wearing it year-round as well. I was planning on adding some sort of holiday nail art to this, but it started peeling off shortly after I took this. Not too bad for me, since it was the third day I was wearing it. That's usually when my polish starts to go downhill. I hope everyone is enjoying themselves, whether you celebrate Christmas or something else or nothing at all!

Nina Ultra Pro Brassi Bronze - Plus Awesome Stuff!

I can never seem to think of good post titles, haha. Anyway, I mattified Nina Ultra Pro Brassi Bronze, and this is it after one day:. Unfortunately, I already have a couple chips - I don't know if that's Nina Ultra Pro's formula or my matte top coat, Essie Matte About You. Also, please forgive my terribly fingers/cuticles.

 outdoors, sunlight

 outdoors, shade

indoors, artificial light

I really like this color! I'm actually not a huge fan of it on its own when it's glossy for some reason (though I like it in a design with blue or some other color), but I LOVE it matte. The color doesn't change or anything, so I'm not quite sure why that is...but it doesn't matter. And then I had to add a coat of Hidden Treasure:

So I realize this looks a bit odd in the picture, but it's gorgeous in real life. The colors in Hidden Treasure complement the bronze very nicely, really making the polish glow. 

And with that, I've got homework to do. Have a great weekend!

EDIT: Just to let you all know, I am trying to get another archive post written, but I'm having trouble finding websites that render properly on archive.org. Urgh, frustration. Hopefully soon!

OPI My Private Jet

Today is turning out to be such an amazing day...not only have I passed 50 followers (THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to infinity and beyond, etc., and so forth!), but OPI Mad as a Hatter and Absolutely Alice arrived in the mail! These two polishes were my biggest lemmings until I ordered them from an etailer via Amazon, and then I just had to wait for them to arrive at my house, which they now have, and I love them:

SO PRETTY! These pictures do not do them justice at all. *weeps tears of joy* Okay, maybe that's a bit much, but I am so glad to finally have these in my possession, and I can't wait to wear them!

Today I decided to try OPI My Private Jet, which I purchased at Ulta yesterday. While it's not the old, more holo-y color, I'm completely okay with that. The new My Private Jet (at least my bottle) is charcoal grey with a bronze flash and holo glitter, and I am in love with it. My Private Jet is what I wanted from the Charlotte Russe charcoal holo, and yet it is so much more. Enough of my blathering, take a look:

inside, with flash

inside, with flash

outside, in shade

outside, in sun

outside, in sun

All of these pictures are surprisingly accurate. When out of direct light, My Private Jet looks like a charcoal grey with flecks of silver and an occasional flash of bronze. Under a lightbulb or in the sun, though, it becomes absolutely brilliant. None of the pictures really show the polish to be as holographic as it actually is, and they also make it seem like it's straight charcoal on the nail. The bronze that is visible in the bottle shots is actually very visible in real life as well, both in and out of sunlight.

My Private Jet also had very good coverage. Surprisingly, I could have gotten away with one coat, but I added a second to maximize the holo impact. I really, really love My Private Jet, and while I can't wait to try Mad as a Hatter and Absolutely Alice, I will still be a little sorry to take this off.