Guest Nails - Anchors and Dragons!

Hello, Fireflies!

You may recognize these guest hands by now!  My friend Jill and her daughter Toni are becoming regulars here on the blog!  I love having our girly visits and helping Toni get ready for a new week at school.

Jill still isn't smoking anything other than the e-cigarette, and her nails are looking better!  She wanted a French mani with Essie Shop Till I Drop as the base, and Ninja Polish Basilisk on the chevron tip.

I love the way it looks, but I put the glitter on a little thick (over a thin layer of OPI Black Onyx) and some of her nails smudged before they could fully dry.  Always a lesson to be learned!

Toni asked for a replica of a sailor mani she had seen on Instagram.  I couldn't find the owner of the original, sadly.  It looked like they had used pieces of red tape over a white base, but I did the tape over a white base (Cult Nails Tempest), then painted the red (Sally Hansen Sacred Scarlet) over the tape.  The white stripes appear when you pull the tape off!  Like magic!

It was a lot of tape, and some of my lines weren't perfect, so she wanted to see what it looked like if I just painted red stripes.  You may notice I only did *one* nail like that, because she preferred it the original way.  I did clean up a little using a striping brush, though. 

The blue is OPI I Saw..Warsaw, and I used a dotting tool and a striper to draw the anchor. 

She loved it, and I got to do a mani I never would have attempted on my own.  I can't wait to see what she wants me to try next time!

Navy Glam!

Hello, Fireflies!

This is the last comparison of this week - gorgeous navy blue, one of my fave colors for a holo because it just shows all the holo goodness with so little of that greying effect.

Ninja Polish made this color, Glamorous, as a dupe for the VHTF OPI DS Glamour.
 

I wish I had DS Glamour to compare, but I don't.  In any case, this is a gorgeous polish, and if you like deep blue holos, this is a must-have.

NailNation 3000 Doppel Ganger is also supposed to be a dupe for OPI DS Glamour, but it's different from Glamorous.

This polish applied beautifully, but interestingly.  The first coat had larger holo bits, and looked like it was going to be a sheer, scattered holo.  The second coat changed everything, and it was a perfect, linear holo.  I was amazed!

Aly's Dream Polish in Navy wasn't touted as a dupe for anything, and it's a brighter blue than the other two.

When Aly first set up shop, she had soooo many holos, I was overwhelmed and ended up not buying any.  Now, I wish I had bought all of them.  They are really great holos!

Here's the bottle shot:  Ninja Polish Glamorous, NN3000 Doppel Ganger, and Aly's Dream Polish Navy.

Behold, the side-by-side comparison.  No dupes!  I wish wish wish wish I had DS Glamour to compare!  It's hard to imagine any polish being prettier than any of these.  I love them all.

Do you need all three, too?  Or, do you have the coveted DS Glamour, and need none of these?  Inconceivable!  Must.Have.Them.All!!

Ninja Dragons

Hello, Fireflies!

Today, I have some polishes to show you that really glow.. and have a little bite to them! The aptly named Dragon collex from Ninja polish isn't for the shy.  These polishes are flashy and gorgeous.

In all the swatches, I have applied 2 coats of the glitter by itself on my thumb, and 1-2 coats of the glitter over OPI Black Onyx on the rest of my fingers.  The glitter is opaque on its own, but the multichrome really gets an oomph from the black undies.

Basilisk was the polish I was least excited about, but ended up really liking.  I thought, how many golden green polishes do I really need?

I need this one!  This polish is glitters like the scales of the mythical basilisk.  Luckily, it won't turn anyone to stone.

You may not believe that the next two pix are the SAME polish - Chameleon.  Straight on, it's a lovely mix of purple and blue.

You can see a hint of the golden red on the sides of the bottle, but it's nowhere on the nail, until you turn to the side, and then, BAM.  Reddish/gold with green.  A true chameleon color-changing polish!

For me, Komodo is the star of this collex.  I absolutely love this combination of colors in a multichrome.  The hot pink and gold just look amazing together.

Even without undies, the pink is fiery.  But add the black undies, and the gold just glows.

Hydra is a bright teal glitter, reminiscent of the sparkling waters this mythical dragon calls home.

It shifts to a dark blue and bright purple.  The teal almost disappears! 

Last, but not least, is Enter the Dragon.  While not a dupe for the VHTF OPI Mad Hatter, it is a similar mix of micro glitters.

To me, this polish looks like Mardi Gras on my nails.  So many bright colors blending in and glittering together.

Are you feeling the Dragon love? I really like them all, but my fave is Komodo.  Chameleon is pretty unique, too!

Combined Challenge - Pool Party!

Let's have a Pool Party!  This week's challenge for the Hobby Polish Bloggers was about the pool, and the EcoPolo challenge was about a pool party, so I'm having a pool party... at the pool.

I couldn't think of a more party-ish pool water than Color Club Over The Moon. 

What a gorgeous blue holo! Though it's more expensive than other Color Club polishes, they are a bargain when it comes to linear holo goodness.  You really get a lot of bang for that buck.

Over that (I know, why oh why would I put anything over that?) I decided to put Ninja Polish Sexy and I Know It.

I really wasn't expecting the glitter to be so full-coverage, but it pretty much was.  I'd like to think that the blue holo just added to the party bling-itude, though.

Here, some of the nails blurred a little so you can get a better feel for the holo glitters in the Ninja Polish.  It really is a stunner!  So much sparkle.

I couldn't resist *one* more pix.  Look at that bottle.  I love how it has so many colors of glitter, yet it's still blue.  Glitters like this don't just happen, they take skill to create.

Ninja Polish doesn't just make their own polish, they also carry a bevy of international brands, as well.  You can find them on Facebook, and their webpage.

Is this a pool party you'd want to be invited to?  I know I would...

Who needs a galaxy mani, when you can have a Nebula?

Sure, you may know that Ninja Polish sells lots of international and Indie Polishes, but did you know that they also make their own brand?  And it's pretty amazing?

I started with a great black, so shiny it's hard to photograph:  Cult Nails Nevermore. 

Ninja Polish Nebula.  And, bring on the bling!  If Nevermore was too glossy to photograph clearly, this one is too glittery.  Can something not photograph well because it is just too pretty?

I'd like to say that I blurred this on purpose, but let's take advantage of it to see how sparkly this is.  Truly, it's even better in person.

Do you like it with a matte topcoat?  I think it's pretty interesting!

If you'd like more information about Ninja Polish, you can find them on Facebook and their webpage.

Have you ever done a Galaxy mani?  Would you do it with this polish?  What do you think of Nebula?

Ninja Polish Enigma, second verse, not the same as the first.

After Ninja Polish released Divinity and Ambrosia, I knew that anything in this collection would be awesome.  I have three more polishes today, all based on that gorgeous red/gold shimmer.

Mystic Glacier.  This one is prettier than the pix, but even at three coats is a little sheer.  I will definitely be layering this one next time!

You can see hints of the green color shift in this pix. 

Pacific Coral.  This is the year I fell in love with coral.  So many pretties, and this is one of the best - because of that orange/gold shimmer.  It's a stunner, and ready for the beach.

100% Columbian.  Now, I don't understand why brown polish is so unloved.  I am diggin on it - especially with this shimmer.   It looks like someone hit my morning coffee with a creamer made of lava.  And magic.  Now, who wouldn't want a lava magic coffee?

It's pretty cool how different this shimmer looks in the three base colors.  I wonder what they're going to put it in next!  What's your fave?

If you'd like more info or to purchase these, you can find Ninja Polish on Facebook, and on their webstore.

Ruby White Tips - Girls and Bats

When Ruby White Tips had a sale, I came running to try out her new polishes, and see what these new square bottles were all about.  As Huey Lewis once said, "it's hip to be square' but it may not always be your thing.  If you make it to the bottom of this post, you'll find out why.

Kim.  One of her new polishes from the Custom line, Kim was named after an angry Pomeranian doggie. It's first name was actually Angry Pomeranian.  I understand not wanting to name a classy nude holo after a yippie-bitey dog, but I can't help but think of the dog now when I see this polish!

I decided to pair Kim with another polish from her Custom line, Gracelyn, named for the owner's daughter.  I love these together, but doing nail art with Gracelyn wasn't easy.  It's a very sheer glass fleck, and takes about 4 coats to reach opacity, even over Kim.  So trying to stay in the lines to make my chevron tip was challenging, but oh, so worth it.

These are my new "Princess Nails."  Named for a little girl and a pampered pooch!

Man Eater.  Two polishes named for girls, and one named for a *woman* Man Eater is a red jelly with a glass fleck.  I don't buy too many reds these days, but I couldn't resist this one.  It's really beautiful, and has such interesting depth and shine.  My camera doesn't do it justice.

I decided to do a glitter gradient with Ninja Polish Nebula.  This pairing looked amazing in person.. and later this week, I'll show you Nebula over black in a full mani.  This just glittered and changed color all over the place.  Very eye-catching!

Boo2.  I'm growing quite fond of the Batworld polishes, and the bats they help.  Half of the proceeds of this collection go to help rehabilitate these bats.  Boo2 was born in the sanctuary after his mother was rescued from a bad zoo.

Boo2's polish is a light and ethereal purple scattered holo.  If you liked Dandy Polish's 'Bathed In Light' then you would like this.  It has a misty quality that I love.  I couldn't bear to take it off, so I embellished it with a cloud mani using Cult Nails Nevermore (glossy black) and Urban Outfitters Bandeau (neon purple)

Bottle shot:  Boo2, Nevermore, Bandeau.

Even if you think bats aren't your thing, you should check out Batworld and read about how important they are to our ecosystem.  I have to give props to any Indie that is putting their money where their mouth is and giving a portion of their profits to a charity that is doing good works. 

If you'd like more information about Ruby White Tips, you can find her on Facebook and her webpage and  store.  And now, until May 1st, if you use the code: FROMWITHIN, you'll get 25% off your order!  RWT has decided that the square bottles aren't going to work for her, so she's offering my readers a discount to move the stock out.

Etsy code: FROMWITHIN for 25% off!

Enigmatic, like a Ninja...

I think it's pretty cool when people who love polish start making their own polish, especially when the results are like those of Ninja Polish!  When the Enigma collex came out, I sprang stealthily...like a ninja... and bought them.

Divinity.  This is a 'unicorn pee' cousin, something to tide over the lemmings for those of us who will never own a bottle of the mythical Clarins 230.

What this polish has that 230 doesn't, however, is the ability to go commando.  This is two coats, no undies.  The orange shimmer is divine, the purple background is awesome.  What I didn't capture on camera, but it so easy to see is the color shift to green and gold.  You'll catch yourself staring at your nails all day!

Ambrosia.  The orange shimmer that is so awesome in Divinity is what makes Ambrosia such a great polish, too.  This coral/pink/orange jelly really comes to life with that gold shimmer.  It immediately became my next pedicure - this bright, fun color is just the thing to chase away the winter blues, even in Florida.

I thought this quilted stamp with Maybelline Bold Gold brought out the shimmer and elegance of Ambrosia.  I wish I could have stamped this on my pedi, too, but I am not that talented!

Did the shimmer grab ya? 

Ninja Polish is a purveyor of many fine Indies and International brands, as well as their own line of polish.  If you'd like to find out more, you can find them on Facebook, and on their webstore.