Ah! Minty Fresh!

Hi, Fireflies!

I have an idea this week to do a bunch of comparison posts.  Let's see if I can make it all week!

First up, I wanted to go mint!  Seems like mint is a hot topic lately in the polish-sphere, so I pulled some of my mint untrieds to compare.

If you haven't yet heard of Lilypad Lacquer, you need to.  They are a newish Indie out of Australia, and her holos are really quite beautiful.  This is My Enchantmint

This is a crisp, green mint with a subtle linear holo.  Application is flawless.  I did not want to take it off... but I have more mint to show you!

I'm glad I was able to get Enchanted Polish July 2013.  It's a gorgeous mint with a nice subtle linear holo. 

This is a little bluer than the Lilypad, and not as opaque, but it is probably one of my fave EPs.

This polish, Enchanted Polish A Little Fishy Told Me is a charity polish for BASE camp in honor of Talia Joy.

I'm not sure if it's a traditional mint, really.  The blue shimmer is pretty, but it makes this polish look grey/blue.  I actually really like it, but I can see where people might be disappointed that it's not a Talia Joy mint.

This polish surprised me!  In the bottle, Layla Emerald Divine looks very light and pale!  It's actually an in-your-face gorgeous green holo.

Layla formulas are a little finicky, and usually apply better if you have an aqua base on, or have buffed your nails.  I find that a ridge-filling base coat works pretty well for me, especially since this type of mirror-chrome holo shows every ding and divot in my nails.

Urban Lacquer Mother Minter isn't a linear holo, but it's a lovely mint jelly with a smidge of micro holo glitter.

It's very sheer, and I would definitely recommend layering it unless you want to wear 4 coats like I am. 

Here's the bottle shot.  It never ceases to amaze me how similar these polishes can look in the bottle and be totally different on the nail.  From left to right, Lilypad Lacquer My Enchantmint, Enchanted Polish July 2013 and A Little Fishy Told Me, Layla Emerald Divine, and Urban Lacquer Mother-Minter

No dupes.  The Lilypad is close to EP July in color, but the finish is different. 

So, what do you think of all this mint?  Any faves?

Sunday Stamping - Nude in Fishnets

Today's Adventures In Stamping challenge was to stamp over a nude base.  I'm a little self-conscious about being naked, but I love a nude nail.  I find it very flattering - especially when the nude is a holo.  So, I slipped into Lilypad Lacquer Naked Skies.

Like all the Lilypad Lacquers I've tried so far, the formula is impeccable.  This nude has an interesting twist, though - it has a strong silver duochrome.  I don't know if it has a chrome base, or what, but in some orientations, it's very silver, and in others, nude.  Pretty weird...but also kinda cool.

I used this fishnet stamp from my jumbo Cheeky plate, and Finger Paints Black Expressionism to stamp.

I had bought these gold 3-d decorations from an Ebay seller, hoping for these cute gold butterflies.  No such luck, but I did get a ton of these little Dior pieces.  They are not decals; they don't lie flat.  I just laid them on top with a little topcoat.

It gave me a little chuckle, like a hooker in fishnets who is trying too hard by wearing faux Dior.  It's cla$$y, gurrl! mmmm-hmmm.

What's your favorite pairing over a nude base? 

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!

Around the World - Ikat

Around the world... to a type of tribal print that is common to South American cultures, but also references a type of textile design common to all cultures all around the world - Ikat.

I started with a lemming slayed - Orly Cashmere Cardigan, a dusty lavender that applied like butter and is probably one of the prettiest and most flattering polishes I've ever used on me. 

I found this great tutorial by Kayla Shevonne that helped me create my first Ikat print nail art!  I used a white striper to create the irregular triangle shapes common to this tribal print.

Inside the white, I used a nail art brush to fill in with Zoya Sailor.  Among mainstream brands, Zoya and Orly are among my faves for consistent, lovely formulas.

The print really pops when you outline it with black, in that same wispy, irregular triangular shape. 

It's hard to see here, but I also added a little bit of the black to the center of the triangles.

And, here's the bottle shot:  Orly Cashmere Cardigan, Zoya Sailor, and nail art stripers in white and black.

What do you think of the Ikat print?  What colors would you use?

Hobby Polish Bloggers - Summer Love

Ah, summer lovin'.  I remember one summer I spent in Mexico with my extended family.  I was in High School, and I met a boy that would become my first real boyfriend.

He was so sweet, just like this Sinful Colors Genteel, a pretty pink with a little shimmer.

At first, I was swept off my feet - so happy that I no longer needed to eat because I was no longer hungry; so giddy that I no longer needed to sleep.

It was hard to leave him and go home, but between the distance and the two-week intervals between our letters (real letters! No e-mail then.) our romance quickly cooled, and then ended.

So, I decided to do a French tip in an ombre, starting with a red hot holo, and cooling to heartbroken black.

Then I used a dotting tool to make hearts in the corresponding colors.

He was only my first boyfriend, and even though it was sad, I did *sniff* learn to love again.

In order of red hot to heartbroken, the bottle shot:  Sinful Colors Genteel (base color) Hits Ares, Bondi Fuschia-istic, Zoya Pepper, Zoya Paris, and OPI Black Onyx.

Have you ever had a summer love? 

This new Orly collex is...Surreal!

Hello, Fireflies!

Fall is coming, and a lot of the Fall collections have started coming, too!  I picked up a few of the Orly Surreal collex that I thought looked interesting. 

Angel Rain is a sheer blue with a purple shimmer.  My pix show three coats, and there's still VNL, though in Real Life it isn't as visible.  I figured this would be great layered over a dark color, so it's over OPI Black Onyx on my thumb.

The purple really comes through over black! By itself, it's light and dainty, and the shimmer is more evident than I could capture with my camera.  I do suspect that those who either don't like layering or don't know about it might be disappointed with the sheerness of this polish.

Pixie Powder is purple and gold glitter and purple shimmer in a clear base.  It really isn't dense enough to wear alone, so I layered it over the Angel Rain.  The ring finger is a full nail of glitter, the rest have a gradient.

It's very dainty and pretty, and in this slightly blurred pix, you can see how the gold holo glitter sparkles, and that purple shimmer builds up on the ring finger.  I think it just looks amazing.

The last polish I have for you needed undies, so I busted out my first Rescue Beauty Lounge polish, Catherine.  It's a dark plum with a subtle shimmer.  Great, easy formula, too.

I layered Digital Glitter over the entire ring finger and did another gradient on the other fingers.  The thumb is Digital Glitter by itself so you can see it a little better.  It's gunmetal, holo, and purple glitters in a clear base with a purple shimmer.  I sense a purple theme.

That purple shimmer is so beautiful, it makes all these manis just glow.

All of these Orlys, even the glitter, had really nice application.  I don't particularly like the new bottles that much, but I love the grippy cap, which makes up for it. 

If you'd like more info about Rescue Beauty Lounge, you can find them on Facebook and their website.

Are you ready for Fall?  I'm so ready for Fall nail colors, especially these purples!

Challenges - Around the World to an Exotic Beach

Hello, Fireflies!

I'm totally cheating again and combining two challenges - Around the World, and Beach theme.

So, I'm going to an exotic beach.  I wish.

Here's Bondi (pronounced Bond-aye, did you know? That's exotic, right?) Blue Skies.

This is my first Bondi, and I went ahead and joined their subscription service.  So far, the formulas are pretty good.  The colors are nice, but basic.  This blue is really pretty, though.

Let's take a trip to Tahiti, and dip our toes (or at least our fingertips) in the Tahitian Waters.  Rainbow Polish Tahitian Waters, that is.

I got so excited, I forgot topcoat, and you can see that I wasn't dabbing on the glitter all too carefully.  Topcoat would smooth everything out and cover any mistakes you might make.  Not that you would make any.  Your nails would be perfect, I'm sure.  Yes, that's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

I love how these two went together.  That pink glitter is so cute, but it's not too girly.  I want to escape to Tahiti, but I guess this will have to do!