31 Day Challenge - Day 8: Metallic

Hey everyone! Day 8! Wow...I had such a hassle with this look. I know I'm reusing the crackle, but I didn't have the polish I originally had planned.

Anyhoo, so these are the colors I used:

Pink Base Color: Essie's Watermelon

Black Base Color: Orly's Goth

Metallic Crackle: China Glaze's Latticed Lilac

I'm not sure if I've reviewed Essie's Watermelon before.  I absolutely love it!  The color goes on wonderfully, and has a pretty good look with just one coat.  I usually add a second coat just to even out the bald spots (although they aren't that noticeable).  In this look that I'm wearing, I have 2 coats on my thumb, and one coat on the rest of my nails.  I don't think you can even tell...Also, Essie's brushes are a little on the skinny side, but it does the job. =)  Essie's polishes aren't too cheap...usually around $7 a bottle.  However, I feel like Essie is a little inconsistent.  You'd have an awesome coverage, awesome non-chipping polish (like Watermelon), but you also get ones that chip easily (like that Minty one).  I would definitely recommend this color, but I'm not sure if I would recommend Essie as a brand in general.

Orly's Goth is also a pretty cool color.  It's a nice black polish with silver glitter.  I don't really have too much to say about it.  It needs two coats to get a good, opaque coverage.  It seems to take longer to dry than other polishes.  It's pretty, and it works for this purpose. 

If you read my Day 5: Blue post, you might remember that I was complaining about the China Glaze Crackle polish in pink metallic.  I have found out that I have a pale purple (not pink), and I am still complaining about it.  Maybe I still haven't figured out the trick to the crackling part yet....I've tried laying it on thinly, and that seems to work TERRIBLY.  I only tried it because other people who have reviewed it claim the crackle effect works better when you apply a thin layer.  Not for me.  I actually think it works better when you apply a thicker layer, HOWEVER, you have to apply it quickly and evenly.  I think my problem comes when I'm swiping my third swipe (I usually do one stripe down the middle, one to the left, and one to the right) I accidently go over my first stripe.  Then that creates a non-crackling area.  Did that make sense?  Maybe in simpler terms, if you go over the same area more than once, it doesn't crackle.  At least for me.  Let me know if you have had different experiences!  I think I will give this polish one more chance.  Probably not for any more challenges, but for just a regular day sometime in the future. =)

I also wanted to let you guys know I bought a Silk'n Flash & Go, which I am using right now.  I think in a few more weeks, I will post a review on it, just so I have some definitive idea of how well it works. Hehehe

I have a couple ideas for the next challenge, Rainbow, so I'll try to get that out to you soon!
(The Challenge:)

Till next time!

Disclaimer:
1. I bought every product I'm showing by myself (nothing was sent to me for free).
2. No one has paid me or compensated me for this video or blog.
3. I am not affiliated with any of the companies of the products I used.
4. These are my honest opinions.

31 Day Challenge - Day 7: Black & White

Hi Everyone! I have my Day 7 look here for you.  I did  Black & White flames...inspired by The Hunger Games.  Yes, I know...Katniss didn't have anything to do with black or white, but I just chose colors that fit the challenge. =)

The colors I used are Orly's Liquid Vinyl (the black) and Orly's Orly Platinum (the white).  I also have Essie's Happily Ever After as the nudish base color.  Basically I put a few drops of the polish on the tips of my nails, then used a pushpin to drag it up to make the flames.  After I finished with the black, I let it completely dry before doing the same with the white.  I think it turned out pretty cute for a first attempt. =)

Hmm...if I were to use colors truly inspired by the Hunger Games and Katniss, I think I would've chosen a shimmery red and a golden-orange color instead.  I've seen this look done with 3 colors, and that looks pretty cool too.

Here's the Challenge:

I have some ideas of what I want the next couple looks to look like, but I don't have them ready to go yet.  Hopefully you guys won't have to wait long for the next post! I'm workin' on it! =)

Till next time!

Disclaimer:

1. I bought every product I'm showing by myself (nothing was sent to me for free).
2. No one has paid me or compensated me for this video or blog.
3. I am not affiliated with any of the companies of the products I used.
4. These are my honest opinions.

31 Day Challenge - Day 6: Violet/Purple

Hi Everyone!  I have officially made it to DaY 6 of the 31 Day Challenge.  Who knew it would take me forever to do six days of posts!

Anyhoo, I have a cute treat for you, ANGRY BIRDS!!!  Yes, yes, I know there's no purple angry bird, but this is an Angry Laker Bird!  And go team, they won the last 2 games while I was sporting this look!

I got this look from a video post from CutePolish: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_e0hewa7iY0

I actually a more "Angry Pig" lover, but I thought this look was really nice and a fitting look for my Purple look. I've gotten a couple nice compliments on them, but it's kinda hard for random people to really see what I have on my ring finger, lol.

The purple I used is Nina's Purple X-ing.  It actually chipped really easily, so I'm not too impressed with the polish.  And yes, if you look closely, my eyes are blue...I didn't have my black accessible to me at the time, so I improvised by using a dark blue.

Sooo yeah...I have my Day 7 look ready to go, so you won't be waiting too long for the next post! =)

Here's the challenge:

I see alot of work cut out for me! LOL

Till next time!

31 Day Challenge - Day 5: Blue

Hi everyone!  Woot, another post, sent in a timely manner.  Don't I feel on a roll...I think I got to this point last time too, but I am determined to keep it up this year! (Even if I'm starting 4 months into it...hahhaah)

For the challenge, I have this summertime Zoya color called "Breezi", and some Hot Topic polish in a sparkly purple color on my ring finger, all topped with China Glaze's silver crackle polish.

I guess I could take this opportunity to do a mini-review on China Glaze's crackle polish line.  I bought almost every color at Nail Warehouse Supply (they had a special that was buy 2 get one free).  So I bought the white, silver, and pink metallic.  I had already bought the black a week before.  I have tested all 4 colors on a variety of polishes (and am banging my head wondering why I didn't take pics of them!!!).

Here are my thoughts:
1.  You need to put the crackle coat on only after your base color has completely dried.  I had one nail that was kinda wet, and the crackle polish totally did not work out too well.

2.  All the colors seem to have a similar crackling amount, although it looks like Black crackles the best.  Direction of crackle is dependent on which direction you apply the polish.  Also, I find that having a little more on your brush works better, but some people say a very thin coat works the best.  You're going to want to play around with this to find what works for you.

3.  The black works best on light color polishes, especially a metallic silver.  I think that combination just looks the best, in general.  The silver, white, and metallic pink work best on darker colors.  As you can see in my challenge pic, the dark purple just seems to have a better contrast.  I actually had tried the metallic pink over a ballerina pale pink, and it just looked like I did a bad job of applying the polish,  You had to look up close and personal to tell that it was a crackle polish!

4.  I would definitely wear a top coat with this.  The crackle polish is almost matte, and I think it would chip off easily if you don't protect it with a top coat.  This mani lasted me about a week with minimal wear & tear.  Unfortunately the hot topic polish chipped after 4 days (the Zoya lasted a week, lol).

5.  These are relatively inexpensive (I got mine for $5 a bottle...and that one free one, lol).  I'm not sure how much they charge elsewhere, but I doubt it will be more than $8 each.  It's a fun and easy way to give your nails some texture without actually needing to do some tedious nail art (which I miss having the time for!).

6.  Would I recommend it?  OF COURSE!  I absolutely enjoyed wear these polishes, and I got lots of compliments at work (yes even now, a year after crackle has made it back in, hahahah).

I will try to get out some pictures of the different colors and stuff, so you can see what I'm talking about.

Till next time!

31 Day Challenge - Day 4: Green

Hey everyone!  Finally a post that's not 6 months apart from the last one! LOL

Here is the green polish I chose for the challenge.  It's China Glaze's Mistletoe Kisses.  It's a very pretty color that I don't get to wear too often (because it's not deemed "work appropriate" hahaah).

I know the pic is blurry, and the color seems a little different from others, but I believe it's because I'm only wearing one coat, and maybe my lighting is weird.  Overall, I really like this color and I would wear it again. =)

I will be posting Day 5 soon enough, and hopefully I'll have something set up for Day 6 soon! =)

Till next time!

31 Day Challenge - Day 3: Yellow

OMG, where did the time go?  I just checked my poor, neglected blog, and what do I see? I haven't updated it since my vacay in OCTOBER.  Geez, just shoot me, lol.  So here's a beautiful yellow, that I took a picture of MONTHS ago.  It's from Orly, and there isn't a name on my bottle, unfortunately.  I got the tiny mini bottle from Ulta, and figured it would be a cool color for the challenge.

I can't remember much about the polish except that I didn't like it too much, hahaha.  This is what I get for procrastinating my blog.  As some semi-excuses: first I had to prep for my son's first bday, then Thanksgiving came around (sister-in-law wanted to cook turkey......though that didn't work out cuz our oven broke!), after that the holidays which had all these plans attached, my birthday (which was spent @ Disneyland! Hehe), Valentine's Day (aka my anni), a Vegas trip, and then I started working.  So it wasn't like I was just sitting around on my bum, watching the baby...at least the whole time, haahaha.  But I do apologize for being so inconsistent.  I will *try* to do better, and I have a few ideas on future blogs. =)

Here's the challenge...since I'm sure you've all fogotten about it by now! LOL

So sad...this is just Day 3, haahahah. The good thing is that I have Day 4 and 5 almost ready to go...

Till next time!