When a good combo turns BAD - ChG neons + Liquid Lacquer

I was SUPER excited to do something with the Dirty Watermelons that I received in my Liquid Lacquer package last week (must've cost a fortune to ship those suckers!)... and I was equally excited to rock some of the new China Glaze neons I got prior to that. :-)

So, I selected Pool Party & Highlight of my Summer to top with said Dirty Watermelons (ugggh, my fingers are SOOO heavy! :-P sorry - I'm totally goofy tonight!), which would've been an UHmazing combo if I may say so myself, but in this instance, my darn base and top coat did me in! :-(  I used Essie Fill the Gap base, which dries to a satin finish, and fairly old-ish (& much used) Seche Vite that I tried to thin with Seche Restore, but apparently I need to add a LOT more.  This was the result:

At this point, I'd been wearing this mani for all of...hmm...24 hours?  Maybe?  It was chipping to high heaven because the base didn't adhere to it, oh, and typically unnoticeable bits of base and SV were sticking out under the polish near my cutes or over the polish and onto the cutes...UGH.  Which is super noticeable in GIANT macro photos!  Oh, AND because the SV is old, a more apropos name would be Seche Slow, so even though I thought it was dry, it got smooshed up on either side of the ring and pinkie fingers, causing ripples. -_-

I'm just SO sad that this didn't turn out. :-(  ...or stick around.  As I type this, all but one nail has spontaneously come off or been easily peeled off.  I guess the upside is I don't hafta go through the typical drama of glitter removal (even with the foil method it's still a pain in the tush!).

Pool Party's formula was terrific, but Highlight of my Summer was also a pain in the tush.  I used two coats of each, and had I not been using the glitter topper, I would've definitely needed at least another coat because it was uneven and left bald patches, and had an issue with flowing towards the cutes, so I had a really hard time not getting too close, but not leaving giant gaps around the whole nail bed.  Hence that horribly ripply edge!  I really debated about even showing you guys this mani, but I figure we're here to share failures too, right?  Besides, Dirty Watermelons is SO FUN!!  :-D

I was gonna get Jindie Nails Stop Staring at my Melons, but I saw this and decided I liked it even better.  And I'm sooo happy with my choice!  Liquid Lacquer is AWESOME...remember her special resurrection of Safety Stick - just for me?! YUP.  That's how amazing she is!  And of course, the polishes are super purty. :-D 

Dirty Watermelons contains small grey, medium pink, and darker minty green hexes, medium minty hexes, medium grey and pink circles, small black squares, large black circles, and small pink bars. :-)  Oh, and they're all matte.  Which I think is nice, since watermelons aren't holographic! ;-)  Formula was average, totally jammed with glitters, and I did invert the bottle to get the big black circles to come up.  Dab & spread method was somewhat necessary, because of course they like to congregate at the nail's free edge, otherwise.

I know, pedicures are basically a no-no on blogs, but I kinda like the effect of  my neon, ghostly toes eerily popping out of the dark background! Muahahaha!  See, don't my nails look MUCH better in not exactly macro? ;-)

And now, some extras for you - because I was home again this weekend - and I like getting glimpses into bloggers' lives:

Front yard at my parents' house

Lacey's beak is good for photographing manis ;-)

My crazy fuzzbutt, Kali

Kitty Zoey disliketh having her picture taken!  ...But I had to include this, for Liesl's sake. ;-)

Good Sabbath, everyone! (I'm not Jewish, but being involved in a Fiddler on the Roof production is making me use the lines for EVERYthing!) hahaha

Cheap Thrills, Part 1 – Fing'rs V.I.Purple

A couple posts ago, I showed you a haul including some polishes from those fun new Wal-Mart displays (I’m not sure if they are in another stores, or if it’s a WM exclusive) and tonight I have a lovely sparkling swatch of V.I.Purple!

The bottles remind me so much of Julep’s…which of course means they don’t contain very much polish, but I think they’re nice, and since they have such a low price point ($1.68), I don’t mind in the least. J

This color is somewhat sheer at only one coat, and I thought that it was primarily because the formula was thin, but it turns out it’s a tad gloopy.  Tell me, how does that work?!  Oh well, you get what you pay for, I guess.  However it wasn’t so bad to the point that I couldn’t stand to use it.

V.I.Purple is a brilliant, sparkling shimmer - to the point my camera could hardly handle it - with a medium blurple jellyish base (haha, I’m composing this in Word and it changed jellyish to jellyFISH! :-P ).  Because of the temperament of the polish, some nails got one thin coat and required a second, others one thick coat that covered just fine.  Some people might prefer a second if even a hint of VNL is a pet peeve.  Dry time was average.

I would highly recommend putting this over a purple base, like ChG Grape Pop, or something like that.  I actually swatched on my thumb over Orly Fowl Play, and that worked perfectly!  One normal coat & PRESTO: insta-high intensity blurple shimmer!  It almost has a duochrome effect to it, I swear. LOVERLY! ;-)

All in all, I don’t think these polishes are anything to get too excited over, but the price is right & some of the colors are quite lovely – just wait ‘til you see Part 3 of the Cheap Thrills series! Muahahaha! Gotta save the best for last, yo!  ;-)

Orly fOWL Play

Hello, bom dia, greetings, bonjour, salutations, buenos días, greetings  - to my readers and WELCOME to any guests that have stopped by, via MY VERY FIRST GUEST POST EVER, which can be found at Guilty As Charged! :-D  I am so honored that Haleigh asked me to do a post for her while she's on vacation.  So, I busted out some nail art, and some really pretty polish, of course. ;-)  Please visit her blog for the full scoop, but here is a photo taken a full week after I did this mani:

Only one major chip!  And that just showed up the day I took this photo. WOW.  He's one tough 'lil guy!!  And I really hated to say goodbye to him. :-(  A brief eulogy: thank you Mr. Owl, for being such a hoot, hanging out so long with Fowl Play, and always making me smile during the day. :-)  Ok, yes, I'm a bit of a weirdo!  Then again, it's almost 2 am & I've been up since 6 am yesterday, sooo YEAH . . . 

Sorry - I digress!  Thank you for stopping by and/or checking out my blog for the first time, and to those that haven't visited Guilty As Charged, please do so!  She always rocks some totally creative nail art!! :-)

Summer fun with Maybelline Polka Dots + matching crèmes

 Good eeevening, daaahlings!  LOL, I guess I’m in a goofy mood tonight.  And this is a rather “funky” manicure, so I guess it fits. J

After months and months (ok, not really that long) of admiring the new Maybelline jellies on other peoples’ blogs & wishing they’d arrive in my Wal-Mart already, I SPOTTED (haha!) them in a Walgreens & managed to restrain myself & purchase only the one I really wanted: Drops of Jade (since I was getting 3 Sinful Colors as well, and earlier that day, I’d scooped up 3 of the new Fing'rs Heart 2 Art polishes from those fun Wal-Mart displays).

Polishes, L-R: Drops of Jade, My Buoyfriend, 24/7, My Kryptonite, In Mint Condition, V.I.Purple, & Set In Rhine-Stone

Immediately after I left Walgreens, I was thinking about the hot pink version of Drops of Jade, but oh well, I don’t live anywhere near a Walgreens, so my loss, I guess.  L  Well, whaddya know: not even a week later, I was perusing the cosmetics section in my local WM, and lo and behold, there stand four of the Maybelline Polka Dots and three of their new “Holographics” (*cough – aka lame duochromes- they need some bloggers working there so they get their finishes straight)!  And wouldn’t you know, one of the four happens to be Pretty In Polka. :D  Yay!!  While perusing my stash, I discovered I had two colors that would be perfect matches to the jellies.  And thus, my mani was born:

For some reason, the SinfulShine refused to photograph true to color! It's coming out much more blue & muted in these photos than IRL. Grrr.  Although I don't feel too bad - even the swatch on the SC website looks like this! lol

My original plan was to use OPI Mod About You (perfect 50’s pastel pink) and Maybelline Green With Envy (perfect 50’s mint green), but once I saw how they all looked together, it was not a pleasing combination (sorry, Essie - I was sad too).  Ergo, plan B! ;-)

I started with a thin coat of each jelly (well, over the obligatory base coat of course) and one medium coat of Kleancolor Neon Pink & SinfulShine My Kryptonite from Sinful Colors' new line with Gel Tech (very shiny, I must say!).  Both of the latter were smooth & easy to use (although the Kleancolor brush wasn’t the best - I’ve used worse) and OPAQUE IN ONE COAT! :-D LOVE me some one coaters!  And then I decided to do a medium-thick coat of the jellies, which covered beautifully and had a great payoff of the small & medium black & white matte hexes.  Dry time was good on all four polishes.  Jellies continually & pleasantly surprise me with their quick dry times. J

The small fuzz begs your pardon for ruining the lovely, squishy aesthetic

If you haven’t picked some up already, I would highly suggest getting one or two (or all!) of the Maybelline Polka Dots.  The bottle is small, but for only $2.97, I don’t mind. J  The other colors are orange, blue, and clear with the same black & white glitters.  Which I’m thinking would be fun to use over any color – I saw a neat skittles mani on another blog using the clear one.  I would include the image here & credit the blogger, but that still feels wrong to me, so just head on over to Google to see what I’m talking about. J

I hope you are enjoying the hot, hot days of summer!!  Just remember; before long it'll be -60 million degrees & snowing! (at least, it will be here in northern MN)

China Glaze Shell-O: A dedication post

Have you ever picked up a polish (or looked at pictures online) and it instantly reminds you of someone you know?  That's what Shell-O did for me.  You see, Mshell happens to be my nickname for my best friend, Michelle.  And many of her family members call her "Shel."  :-)  So Shell-O was a must-have for that reason alone.  The beautiful, bold neon and the squishy jellyness don't hurt either. :-)

This is Shell-O:

This is the most color-accurate photo I could get. But shockingly enough, it's amazingly accurate!
I now fully understand how tricky neons are.

And this is "Mshell!"

I got a legit Polaroid Spectra 2, and this was the first photo I had taken with it. :-D  LOVE!

Okay, okay, something that looks like it's from this century:

You may recognize this as my profile photo on hurrr... We were at the MOA (Mall of America) over my b-day weekend this year.  Our first actual girls' weekend AWAY in 3 years!

I will come back around to the nitty-gritty of the polish (oh wait, this one doesn't have any texture!), but I hope you'll bear with me for a bit.  If not, feel free to scroll past all the mushy stuff! ;-)

I truly believe that one of the greatest gifts God has given us - second only to the gift of his Son - are rare, true friends.  And let me tell you, he went all-out with Michelle!

Have you ever met someone that you just totally click with; someone that "gets" you, and over not very much time at all, you feel totally comfortable to be yourself with?  That someone for me is Michelle. :-)  She's been such a loving, PATIENT, supportive, encouraging voice in my life over the past three years we've known eachother.  Life has shown her a lot of joy and also a lot of sorrow in her short 44 years, but I think those ups and downs have made her one tough and quick-to-laugh cookie!  Not to mention, an incredibly WISE cookie . . . ahhh . . . my favorite kind!  ;-)

The most recent photo of us - GLAMOUR SHOT - last week when she got her braces off (that was the momentous occasion I mentioned in my Glass Slippers post).

Despite her uber-busy life that consists of taking care of a house and husband and 3 teenage boys, two part-time jobs, teaching voice & piano lessons, blogging (check out some serious & humorous wisdom at Pianogirl Speaks & Women in Ministry Change the World!), leadership roles in both women's and Friday School ministries at our church, leading a worship team and being a member of two others, plus playing piano for a men's quartet from our church, oh AND directing summer productions at the local theater, SHE STILL FINDS TIME to spend with me!
And not just "time," but real quality time; really listening to my issues - which I seem to have more of than a magazine stand - and offering apt advice or simply a caring,sympathetic ear, or laughter & pure goofy silliness, copious amounts of hilarity which go straight to my quote book, serious conversations, new adventures, praying for eachother, loads of encouragement in so many areas (IRL I have pretty darn low self-esteem, for one), and my personal favorite: hugs. :-)  Really, the list just goes on & on.
BUT, if you want me to "bottom-line it for ya" (a phrase Michelle frequently uses): basically she's the best friend a woman could ask for & I love her to death!!

True friendship: we have it. :-)

True beauty: she has it. :-)

OK, we now return to our regularly scheduled program!

I typically steer clear of polishes whose reviews state you need 3 or 4 coats for it to look good, but for some reason unbeknownst to me, jellies intrigue me, despite the piles of reviews that rage against the 4-5 coats needed for the polishes in this collection.  This is 5 or 6 coats...I can't be sure, I was so captivated by the beauty and color, I didn't care, and I was watching a movie while doing my nails, so I just kept piling 'em on! ;-)  Dry time was obviously fast, and the formula easy to work with.  It's worth mentioning that Shell-O dried to an unbelieveable high-gloss finish...I really didn't need a topcoat, but I wanted to protect the awesomeness!

The accent nail is two coats of Jindie Nails Nude Beach - again - LOVE!!!  Neon glitters are my true weakness, and this lovely off-white, sandy-colored crelly base is just so perfect.  White mini stars, small & medium white hexes, & small opalescent hexes are the finishing touch and totally make me think of a beach at summertime. Pretty sure I need a full-size bottle of this one!  My only issue is the formula seems to be a bit gloopy.  Again, thank goodness that is an issue that can be easily fixed with thinner.  So please go get yourself a Nude Beach (instead of going to a nude beach) . . . much easier on the eyes! 

I believe her new summer collection is coming out next week?  It looks AMAZING.

I am pleased as punch with this combo and will definitely be something I wear again!  I hope you're willing to give a couple of the China Glaze Summer 2013 Sunsational jellies a chance.  Pretty sure Are You Jelly? (purple) and You Drive Me Coconuts (purple-toned pink) will be joining my stash!

And ladies, I encourage you to take a moment to write a card or send a text or SOMEthing to let your dearest friends know how much you appreciate them.  I assure you, it'll mean more than you may ever know. :-)

A fairy tale on mah nails: Cameo Colours The Glass Slippers

Hello ladies!  I hope you're all have a lovely Saturday. :-)  I didn't expect to be able to do this post today, since I happen to be at my parent's house "in the sticks" where they just got DSL last year.  Yes, we had dial-up until then.  Well, it turns out my genius little brother who is home from college for the summer had the presence of mind to get a router that would convert the DSL into wireless, so he & I are currently chilling in the living room; he's playing Halo online & I'm blogging, ogling blogs, & listening to YouTube.

This has been a rather strange week...my shifts were all over the place and I had Wednesday off to celebrate a momentous occasion with my bestie, so although I intended to show y'all this mani much sooner, at the end of every day, the amount of work involved in a blog post made me just want to go to bed!  I'm sure all you fellow bloggers know what I'm talking about! ;-)  So, with many apologies & without further ado, I give you THE GLASS SLIPPERS:

Cameo of Cameo Colours Lacquers was uber-kind and sent me this one after I had an issue with one of her other polishes that I purchased a couple weeks ago.  So when I messaged her about it, she not only apologized for the weird polish behavior, but said she'd already prepared a package with supplies that should rectify the issue & a full-size bottle of TGS!!! :-O  I was utterly blown away by her amazing customer service - I really didn't expect such kindness & generosity!  And this is such a dreamy, fairy tale-esque polish.  :-D

As you can see, it's a fairly opaque white pearl? base (rather hard to tell as it's got SO much goin' on!) with pastel pink and green micro glass flecks and slightly larger gold flecks.  I'm sort of wondering if she was going for a semi-textured polish because as you can probably tell from the photos, it is somewhat bumpy.  Either that or it's just the nature of all those awesome flecks!  I wish it were sunny today so I could show you just how sparkly it and amazing it is in the sun.  

So, the beauty and the bottle/brush are top-notch, however the one downfall to this polish is that it was like trying to put on old glue.  SUPER hard to work with! :-/  That is why, much to my chagrin, my nails are a bit messy.  And cleanup doesn't do much, because this is one durable polish!  What you see here is two coats (plus Sally Hansen 4 in 1) and I've had it on since Monday. WHOA.  It definitely redeems itself in that!

I have no doubt however that once I get my manicured paws on some Seche Restore, adding a couple drops will make it much easier to paint with. :-)  But regardless & like others have said before, I'll put up with its spoiled princess attitude for a polish this beautiful and unique!  I am aware the above photo is blurry, and I was considering not using it, but it shows the sparkle when the sun can't be bothered to help a girl out.

Awww lookit the little bunny, just peekin' out from behind my thumb ;-)

The accent nail!  Ahh, the accent nail...I was planning on using my fresh-killed lemming: L'Oreal Creme Puffs - thanks to a kind lady from a polish group on Facebook - however, something was in the air on Monday night, and it resulted in a horribly bubbly creme puff. :-(  Realizing there is a fair amount of pink sparkle in TGS, I decided Mod About You would be a nice second choice.  I think this is 3 coats (patchy little sucker!) and I HAD to jazz it up for y'all, so thanks to the Llarowe package that arrived yesterday, I give you a french tip/wannabe gradient in Hare Polish Own Your Opulence. :-D
OYO goes perfectly with TGS: it's a glitter topper, jam-packed with small matte pastel pink, gold, black, and matte baby blue hexes, small black & baby blue (or maybe matte mint?) squares, and a microshimmery gold dust base (no, not real gold dust!). BEAUTIFUL!  I'm really excited to use this one for a full mani.  I got it on clearance for $5 in Llarowe's sale section.  Unfortunately, it appears to be gone, but What I Wore to the Revolution is still there for $5.

I hope you enjoyed this mani as much as I have THIS ENTIRE WEEK! :-D  Enjoy your 4th of July weekend, peeps . . . I'm off to an afternoon of pontooning & jetskiing!  . . . If it would just get sunny. Grr.