Q: Queen Cupcake, Funky Fingers

This week's ABC challenge is "Q", a difficult letter, I would think.  I only have one polish that starts with the letter Q, and it is Queen Cupcake, from Funky Fingers.

Queen Cupcake is a pastel pink with gold shimmer.  I don't know if the formula is going bad, (one year old) but this was difficult and streaky on application.  Below is three coats to even everything out.

I also did a funky french with a pastel coral color, so as not to bore you.  I used one coat of Sunkissed by Mineral Fusion, on the tips.  You can find Mineral Fusion nail polish and makeup at Whole Foods grocery stores.

I usually free hand my french manicures because I'm too lazy to use tape or guides and I don't want to wait for the main color to dry.  I lay the brush flat, parallel to the edge of the nail, starting at very edge and swipe across. Go to the other side and swipe across again until the stripe meets in the middle.  I use the entire length of the brush to make a straight and crisp line.  It usually comes out straight.

So that is it for today. It is absolutely beautiful outside this time of the year.  If you are experiencing nice weather, please go outside!

Go Pink Wednesday - Candeo Colors - Melonball

The last pink Wednesday!

This is going to be a short post... This is one coat of melonball sandwiched between two coats of Orly's Rose Colored Glasses. 

Have a looksie.

I am so grateful to have been able to participate in Go Pink Wednesday.  It was fun sharing with all of you wonderful ladies!

Happy Halloween!

I have a Halloween mani I may try to post later today.  We shall see.  Yea for electricity and heat!

Go Pink Wednesday - Zoya - Alegra

Hey there!

It's time to honor Breast Cancer Awareness again!  I'm wearing a special, sparkly, fuchsia, metallic foil polish; Alegra from Zoya.  Below is two coats.

Alegra totally reminded me of Ahoy... but my memory is obviously foggy.  As you can see below they are totally different.

A very good place to learn about breast cancer is from the American Cancer Society. http://www.cancer.org/cancer/breastcancer/index?ssSourceSiteId=null 

All of the information provided there is from experts in the field, up to date and peer reviewed.
Muy importante!

Well that's it for now!  Add your post below!

Go Pink Wednesday - China Glaze - United

Happy Pink Wednesday!

I know its Tuesday.  I'm not going to have time to post tomorrow and I don't want to miss out on Pink Wednesday!  United is one of China Glaze's glitters they released for breast cancer awareness.  A micro glitter mix of pink, mauve, fuchsia and holographic glitters, it sparkles like mad under halogen light.  Just two coats for full coverage.

The last picture..... this is one reason why I don't do nail art.... I totally hated this combo, I don't know why, but I do.  I should have just left well enough alone.  United is really pretty yet understated all on its own.

Anyways..... add your Pink Wednesday post below!

Go Pink Wednesday - Candeo Colors - Orchid

Hey there, fellow polish maniacs!!!

I have a jelly, glitter polish from indie maker Candeo Colors to show you!  Orchid is a pinkish, purple jelly with various sized holographic hex glitters.  There is also a bit of silver shimmer that runs through this jelly formula.  Squishy, sparkly, and shiny.  I can't get enough.  Below is two coats with INM Out the Door top coat.

I went nuts with photos again.  This one was a fun one to photograph!

Sadly, I only wore this for one day.  After the polish dried, about 12 hours later I started to get some chips, two actually.  Once my polish starts chipping, I start picking and ripping..... anyways this seemed to dry kind of brittle.  I don't know if it was me or the formula.... Anyhow I did find it pretty and did enjoy it.

Picked this up at Llarowe.com for $12.  Decent customer service this time around.

If you did a pink mani for breast cancer awareness month, feel free to leave a link in the comments section.

Enjoy, and thanks for stopping by!

Orly - Synchro

Hey guys!  No glitter or nail art because its my turn to work this weekend... Argh!  I do, however have an interesting polish to show you.  Orly's Synchro from the small Electronica Collection.  Synchro is a complex, shimmer, duo chrome pink-orange polish that flashes from orange to blue.  Thin, but decent formula.  I used three coats for full coverage and took a while to dry. 

The only drawback is, in low light it looks like a frosty mauve to me. I hate frosty mauves.  Totally reminds me of Jerry Seinfeld's two-faced girlfriend.  Super pretty in full light, yucky in low light.

You can see the orange flash on the index finger.

Here's a clip of Seinfeld's two faced girlfriend.... :D



Synchro might be awesome layered over black.  I haven't had a chance to try that out yet.

Well, enjoy the rest of your Sunday evening! 

Color Club Sweet Pea

Hey guys!  Post number 100, amazing.  Today I have another work mani/swatch to show you.  Color Club's Sweet Pea from this Spring's Blossoming Collection.  This was the only color I got from the collection, because I don't really have another color like it.  I would describe it as a slightly dusty pastel purple-pink. 

I wore this for three days, and over that time I decided, I really don't like it.  I felt like an old lady wearing it and its kinda boring.  Pretty in the bottle, boring on my nails, go figure.  I got a few compliments at work though.  I guess it depends on your personal taste.

Formula on this is like other pastels, a bit chalky, and settles in every crevice.  I don't have noticeable ridges but this polish shows that I do.  I used two coats of base coat, three coats of polish and a thick coat of Seche Vite for a smooth and even finish. 

Sinful Colors - 314 Beautiful Girl

Another quickie swatch to show you, which is also this week's work mani.  Beautiful Girl by Sinful Colors, a warm, pastel pink.

This formula was a bit thin and watery.  Most nails I have three coats on, the middle finger has four coats.  It looks a little too orang-y to me in the photos, its more pink in real life.  Most pink nail polishes tend to be on the cool side, so if your looking for one with a touch of yellow in it, this is might suit you.  Beautiful Girl warms up my skin tone and makes me my hands look a bit more tan.

I've had this bottle for about 8 months and this is my first time wearing it.  Beautiful Girl is a core color, so this should be easy to find, at least in the US.  What is strange is that, I have picked this up several times when I'm browsing at Walgreens, and said to myself  "Hey look at this! Oh wait; Sheesh....., I already have this and I haven't worn it yet."  Something keeps drawing me to this color.  Anyhow, not too bad at $1.99 a bottle, sometimes on sale for 99 cents!

Chevron French with Beverly Hills Plum

Hello out there!

Here is this week's simple work mani.  Instead of traditional smile lines we have V shaped tips.  This was quite striking, a few people wanted to touch and inspect my nails.

Orly's Beverly Hills Plum adds a nice healthy rosy glow to my nail beds.  Natural but enhanced.  Orly is known to add "optical brighteners" to their polishes and I noticed as I was applying Beverly Hills Plum, it has a tiny sparkle to it. 

Well here are my naked nails to compare.

Eeeek!  The tips are yellow! I look like a chain smoker!  Let's cover those up shall we?

I've tried a bunch of different base coats, none of them really work to prevent staining.  I've been wearing Orly's Nail Defense a protein treatment then Orly's Bonder as a base for every manicure for the last month and a half.  I'm still evaluating if that is working or not.....

For a Chevron tutorial look under the How to tab.  Or click here.

Thanks for stopping by!

Color Club - Ultra Violet 865

Color Club's Ultra Violet is a vibrant fuchsia polish with aqua blue shimmer, which my camera would not pick up at all.  I took a ton of pictures but I give up.  You can see there is some kind of effect, its not a creme.  Anyhow, the formula is sheer and uber smooth.  Even though its sheer, I achieved full coverage with two coats.

Direct sunlight, tried to catch the blue shimmer, but it still very minimal when compared to the naked eye.

Color club is actually hard for me to find. I got this bottle for $2, at Sunlight nail supply.  I did a review on this supplier, click here for more.

Anyone working on a 4th of July mani? 

Tony Moly GS10 Pinky Star

I've got another cutesy polish to show you from Tony Moly, called Pinky Star!

Pinky Star is sheer; this is one coat of Pinky Star layered over one coat of China Glaze's Innocence.

Pinky star looks more pink than it really is because of Innocence.  It is actually kind of a peachy sheer.  The glitter color combo is quite unique, purple, yellow and red with small silver and pink glitters.  Sometimes you catch a small flash of iridescence.  Subtle and soft, perfect for work.  I wore this for three days and no one said a word to me.  (A good thing at work.)  It just kind of blended in with my skin tone and the glitters were for my own amusement. 

Pinky Star would be great for a glitter sandwich.  Although I like looking at glitter sandwich manicures, when it comes time for me to do one, I feel sad covering up glitter. :(

I got Tony Moly on eBay from a seller named "myfairlady2007", this time it took 6 business days to get here (US) from Hong Kong.  $7.95 with free shipping.  Not too shabby.

I did a post on another Tony Moly, Shooting Star, click here, in case you missed it.

China Glaze - Dance Baby

Dance Baby is the color of Pepto Bismol.... How does that translate to nails?  See below and you be the judge.  I'm amazed I actually had a bottle on hand to compare.

Indirect sunlight.

Under photo lamp.

Indoor, indirect sunlight again. 

Dance Baby is from the electropop collection.  Nice creme formula, two easy coats and pretty durable, I wore this for two days, no chips and very little tip wear.  I used Orly's bonder base and INM out the door top coat.

I got a couple of compliments on this color.  One person said, "There's plain Jenni, then bam her nails!"

Sinful Colors - Cream Pink

Cream Pink...... Nope.  I don't think so.  Cream Pink, 152 is not your basic cream pink, this is a hot pink, gold shimmer polish and goes on eaiser than a cream.  Very smooth and even this was super easy to apply.  Fantastic formula, dries kind of on the matte side, but a top coat will take care of that.  Here it is, two coats with INM Out the Door top coat.

Indirect sunlight.

Direct sunlight, see the gold?

I found cream pink in a display that stated "Make some noise", but it looks like this has be released before, as other bloggers have swatched this last year.  Walgreens was having a 99 cent sale on all Sinful Colors last week and I saw a few bottles of this thrown in a large mixed bin.  So, this shouldn't be a hard to find color; its one of those gems that was right under my nose.  LOVE!

Share your thoughts!

Sinful Colors - Timbleberry or Thimbleberry 108

I don't know what a timbleberry is but that is the name of this polish, I swear.  This polish frequently shows up under the search term "thimbleberry" as well.  Thimbleberries actually exists as a type of raspberry and is very close to the color of this polish.  Why the powers at be, at Mirage Cosmetics, Inc. went with "timbleberry" and not "thimbleberry" is beyond me.
 

I would describe Timbleberry as a bright watermelon color, somewhere between a lighter/bright red and a dark pink.  The first coat kind of goes on like a jelly, nice and even, and a little translucent.  The second coat kind of a applies like a creme, with noticeable cuticle drag.  I applied three coats to even out the second coat. 

My home office is flooded with natural light and is great for taking pictures, however it has ugly blue walls and one day I will paint it.  So until do, my photos have a blue cast reflecting back, just like in the photos above.  I don't know why this happens on only some occasions and not all the time.  My photo lamp is turned on as well which lessened the blue cast.  Also the my camera is depicting timbleberry as more red than it really is, in real life.  In real life it is more pink.  Watermelon is the best way for me to describe this polish accurately. 

Overall its an appropriate color for spring and summer.  Its noticeable as well, a few people at work pointed out my nail polish to me.  "Oh my gosh, you did your nails." "What color is that?" "Its really bright."  Those are the statements I got. 

Personally, its a color I'm okay with; I could take it or leave it.

Thoughts?

UPDATE: 5/3/2012  Sinful Colors UK names this polish "thimbleberry, 108" same number.  Looks like the same shade.  http://www.sinfulcolors.co.uk/polishcolourchart.html

Wet N Wild - Spoiled - Magic Carpet Ride - Swatched and Layered

I have another WNW Spoiled polish to show you!  Magic Carpet Ride.... a pink with a hint of purple with a lot of sliver shimmer.  The formula is quite thin and this is three coats.





Magic Carpet Ride reminds me of some of those holographic polishes, but without the holographics.  They too are ususally pastels that are really shimmery. I have a hard time finding holo polishes. I know they are on eBay but I'm not going to get into a bidding war over nail polish or buy them for $30 a bottle.  I also wonder why China Glaze stopped making their line of holos?  There seems to be a strong demand for them.  Hits from Brazil makes a bunch of them but they are not big-3-free so that's not an option, for me. 

So.... I had the idea to add some nano-holographic glitter.  I used the term nano (10 to the negative 9th power) in relative terms not literally. I added INM's Out The Door, Northern Lights, holographic top coat.  I have another holo glitter polish, Orly's Shine on Crazy Diamond, that has bigger pieces of aluminum powder (holographic material), but in terms of glitter size Orly's Shine on Crazy Diamond is like micro-glitter (10 to the negative 6th power).  Anyways.... the results were pretty subtle.  In person, the glitter is much more apparent and really pretty to look at.

Indirect Sunlight.  You can really see it in the bottle.

Direct Sunlight.

INM's Out The Door, Northern Lights, holographic top coat dries to touch in 45 seconds and doesn't require another top coat.  The glitter settles to the bottom of the bottle pretty quickly so you have to work fast or keep shaking it.  I let my bottle sit upside down for a little while before I start rolling it around to mix the polish.  I got mine at Sally's, I think for $5.99?  WNW, spoiled is $1.99 at CVS.

Thoughts?

Deborah Lippmann - Baby Love

Quick post today.  I am having a demanding couple of weeks...  This week's work mani is Lippmann's baby love, a sheer french manicure pink.  Neutral and clean.  This is three coats.

Left to right: hydrating base coat, baby love, on a clear day top coat, CG FF top coat.

This came from the Lippmann's Start Me Up, Nail Treatment set.  I haven't tested the whole kit yet, so I have to do a full review later.  It comes with a nail file, cuticle remover, primer, cuticle oil, base coat, top coat and baby love. 

The hydrating base coat goes on clear and shiny, dries fast, seems like a regular base coat to me.  It does have some safflower seed oil and Kukul nut oil in it though, so that might help moisturize the nail beds. 

Baby love is quite sheer and I use three coats to cover my slightly yellow tips, I probably would have been okay with two coats.  The brush is pretty thick and works well. 

On a Clear Day top coat... This top coat is SLOW drying, 5 minutes dry to touch.  This is unacceptable to me considering there are several fast drying top coats out there.  Plus on my right hand while waiting to dry, I banged into something and smudged three fingers and some lint flew into the ring finger which I could not remove and so, is trapped in the paint.  Not good.  Long dry time equals big room for error.  Plus it was not a good smudge fixer.  I didn't bother to wait and see how long it would completely dry.  I put one coat of China Glaze's fast forward (CGFF) top coat and all was well.  CGFF dries fast, one minute to touch, and dries hard and super glossy.  (On a clear day was glossy too.)  CGFF is also a really good smudge fixer and great leveler for glitters. 

All of the nail treatments in this kit are 0.3 oz or 9 ml, and is $40 at Neiman's.  This probably would make a great travel kit.  Have you ever travelled with nail polish before?  What do you do with your nails when you go out of town?

China Glaze - Go Go Pink

If your thinking about Valentine's day, China Glaze's Go Go Pink (GGP) might be perfect for the Valentine's day mani.  GGP is a classic pastel Barbie Doll pink.  The formula is kind of runny and does not even itself out.  Three coats for me to get a solid and even finish. 

I picked GGP in Ulta's Clearance bin, it was leftover from breast cancer awareness month and came with a free bottle of Seche Vite. 

I used one coat Revlon's colorstay base coat, 3 coats GGP, one coat INM Out the Door top coat.


More to come, stop by again!