The ABCs: Z for Zoya & Zebra

Finally, here’s the last post in my ABC series! I kinda effed up a bit in my Variety Pack post, because I was originally going to post Sinful Colors Zeus for the letter Z, but somehow I threw it in with the random spam. So I had to figure out something else for today’s post, and I ended up with zebra stamping over a Zoya polish.

This is Zoya Cynthia, a dark teal creme stamped with zebra image from BM-223 and China Glaze Adore. I’ve used two coats of Cynthia, and it’s nice and smooth and easy to apply.

This concludes my ABC series, I hope you enjoyed it! I had fun doing this, but I really look forward to using whichever polish I fancy from now on.

China Glaze Pull Me Close

If 2011 was the year of the crackles, 2012 seems to be the year of the magnetics. I’m not complaining, while crack polish wasn’t my cup of tea, I’ve been fascinated by magnetic polish and I’m happy to see that so many brands are bringing it back. China Glaze just came out with the Magnetics collection, and I chose the blue Pull Me Close from that one. I really didn’t need another magnetic polish, as I already have two from nails inc., but I just had to have the China Glaze horseshoe magnet. That’s the only one I’ve seen which has a star pattern, and I’ve been lemming a star magnet ever since I learned that magnetic polish even existed.

Some bloggers have reported that the China Glaze magnet doesn’t work that well, but I didn’t have any problems with it. Sure, it doesn’t work as quickly as the nails inc. one, but the design showed up crisp and clear after holding it over my wet nail for approximately 30 seconds. By the way, Scrangie has a great magnetic polish FAQ, so check it out if you need some tips and tricks on getting magnetics to work for you!

Pull Me Close was quite easy to apply, I started out with one coat on each nail, then I added a second coat on one nail at a time and held the magnet over the wet polish while counting slowly to 30. I love the sort of 3D effect the magnetic pattern gives, so smexy!

The China Glaze Magnetix is available in stores and webshops now, I got mine from eBay because I only wanted the one polish and the magnet.

What do you think of the magnetic trend? Do you welcome it, or are you as sick of it as I am of crack?

Rumple’s a Millionaire

I know it’s probably totally obnoxious of me to say this, but I have so many awesome new polishes in my stash that it’s hard to choose what to wear. (I’ll wait here while you retch in the corner. ‘S okay.)

Anyway, I kinda feel bad for the rest of my stash, so I almost had to force myself to wear something old today. I almost never sit down to play with different combos, so I kinda just grabbed the two first colors I saw, but I must say I’m very happy with the combination! I’ve used China Glaze Marry A Millionaire over OPI Rumple’s Wiggin‘, and I absolutely love how gorgeous MAM looks layered.

Not much more to say about this mani, I just hope you like it too!

Random Spam #3

It’s time for another round of spam from the previously unsung heroes of my stash! This edition has no red thread, so just sit back and enjoy the ride. I hope there’s something good for everyone.

China Glaze Visit Me In Prism

Color and finish: Golden-taupey nude scattered holographic.
Collection: Kaleidoscope (2009)
Formula and coverage: Easy to apply, but be aware that you’ll easily drag the previous coat and get bald spots if you don’t wait a bit between coats. Very sheer, 4 coats for full coverage.
Where to get: Unfortunately, these are hard to come by nowadays, but maybe you’ll get lucky and find it in a blog sale somewhere? Also, “dusty” salons are likely to still have these in stock, or eBay as a last resort. Price will naturally vary.

China Glaze Starboard

Color and finish: Starboard-lantern green creme. Reminds me of when I used to go fishing with my dad when I was little, and he used to let me steer the boat, and how he taught me the difference between port and starboard. A nice basic color. (I had to hold the topcoat bottle, because when I held the polish bottle, all the green in the frame freaked out my camera and made the pic very inaccurate!)
Collection: Anchors Away (2011)
Formula and coverage: Glides nice and easy on the nail. Surprisingly sheer, I needed three thin coats for opacity.
Where to get: Web shops such as TransDesign, $2.99.

Orly Emberstone

Color and finish: Orange-red glassfleck (or mineral-fleck?). I can also see some pinkish particles here and there! This was hard to capture on camera, so my pics are more orange than it looks in real life.
Collection: Mineral FX (2011)
Formula and coverage: Easy application, but slightly on the runny side. 3 coats.
Where to get: TransDesign, $5.32.

Color Club Alter Ego

Color and finish: Purple based foil with gold and silver sparkles. Looks oddly grey and mostly silver on me, though.
Collection: Alter Ego (2011)
Formula and coverage: Slightly runny, but easy enough to apply. Sheer, so I needed 4 thin coats for full coverage.
Where to get: TransDesign, $3.10.

Hope you enjoyed this little roundup, thanks for stopping by!

Shimmer-glitter-sparkle-holo-gasm!

I just couldn’t leave well enough alone, so I had to layer something over LA Girls Idol to give it a little more oomph for New Year’s Day. I started out with a coat of China Glaze Blonde Bombshell, which is pretty in its own right. The multi-sized gold glitter goes very well with the dusty blue.

I still wasn’t quite satisified, so I added a coat of CND Crimson Sparkle. That was too subtle, so I needed something more. The magic happened when I finally added a coat of OPI DS Original on top. Holy cow, this is one of my favorite manis to date! In strong light it has the most beautiful holo effect, with a smidge of glitter peeking out underneath. But in low light, the holo effect is more subdued, and it looks more bronze-y, slightly duochrome and very glittery. I’m swooning over here!

Quite a successful layering, if I might say so myself! I need to do this more often, experiment with layers and effects. Even if it doesn’t turn out perfect every time, sometimes you get gems like these and it’s all worth it.

I hope you like it as much as I do! Thanks for reading.