Swatched: OPI Pretty Penne + Red Fingers & Mistletoes

Hi everyone, it's been a while!

I accidentally got overzealous on nail trimming recently and I now have pretty short nails, but I swatched a couple of new OPI polishes while my nails were still at post-31DC length, so here they are!

Pretty Penne

Shade

Sunlight

I saw this swatched by Swatch And Learn a while ago, and ironically, even though she wasn't all that impressed by it, I was so taken with her swatches that I picked it up the next chance I got. And I absolutely stand by that impulse buy :D I love it! It's a little sheer, needing 2-3 coats for opacity, but it's very easy to control and I really love the color. I can't quite quantify it- the first word that comes to mind is 'copper', but it's also kinda gold and kinda silver.

Red Fingers and Mistletoes

Sunlight

Shade

What is it with polishes called Mistletoe? I love Orly's Meet Me Under the Mistletoe and I absolutely adore this one, too- I picked it up in a destash sale and I had no idea what I was getting, but I am glad I did. This is a jelly, so it also takes 2-3 coats to opacity. Even then, there's a liiiiiitle bit of VNL in direct sunlight, but it's not a big deal. I love how rich and jewel like this is.

#31DC2015 Day 21- Inspired by a Color

My name is Leah, and I have a confession to make...

...I really like the color pink. Like, a lot. When I started out blogging, I objected to it. I felt like it had been force-fed to me too much as a kid and even as an adult, and I had a knee-jerk reaction to pink as a "stereotypically girly" thing. I felt like, well, if I'm going to indulge in this girly hobby, at least I won't fall into excessively girly color habits, right?

And look, I'm still as much of a grumpy feminist as I ever was. I still oppose the whole idea of branding everything and anything for little girls in eye searing pink, with no other color options available. I'm miffed when "his" and "hers" items are allllways pink and blue. It just annoys me, because there are other beautiful colors out there, and all genders should be allowed to partake of all colors with no shame or pressure. It's just that me, as a nail artist, I've grown to appreciate it personally. And so, as my own kind of apology to the color pink, today's post is dedicated to all of it.

I've kind of had similar epiphanies about orange and yellow, although my objection to those had always been aesthetic rather than oversaturation related. I have learned to give my love to all the different colors of the rainbow

I can't believe I just went on a feminist rant about pink nail art. My apologies. Here, have my nails:

Polishes used:
Perfect Chic- Mist (gold base)
Perfect Chic- Hot Fuchsia (fuchsia shimmer)
Perfect Chic- Lovey Dovey (baby pink [dries matte w/o topcoat])
ILNP- Champagne Blush (pink holo [!!!!!!!!!! i need to swatch this on its own at some point it's amazing])

An InLinkz Link-up

#31DC2015 Day 13- Animal Print

Animal print has been and always will be a challenge for me, because I hate everything associated with leopard print or zebra/tiger stripes. So I can't go with anything related to that. Still, I think in the last two years I came up with pretty creative ways to get around that, and I'm pretty satisfied with how I did it this time too- fish! This is a jelly sandwich stamping mani, so I started with a shimmery green base, stamped over it with an ocean-y sort of print, then went over it with a dark blue jelly and put fish on top. I topped the whole thing off with some more jelly and then some iridescent flakies.

Polishes used:
Orly- Meet Me Under The Mistletoe (green shimmer base)
Color Club- French tip (white stamping)
Glitter Bunny- Jelliefish (blue jelly sandwich)
Indigo Bananas- Bonanza! (flakie topper)

An InLinkz Link-up

Swatched: Ga-de new liquid sands

I ducked into a pharmacy today while I was waiting for a bus, and I found a surprise! Two new liquid sands from Ga-de, and I really love them! They're both a bit of a step away from Gade's previous formula on liqiud sand, which has been a single color with a gold or silver shimmer.

They also debuted a new brush with these! The brush on this is a curved fan, kind of similar to the Essie brush. Personally I like it better, since it's shaped almost perfectly to my nail, although I know that not everyone will like it. (ETA: Apparently they also had this brush in their black liquid sand, but I failed to notice. Still fairly new though!)

Have a look!:

Teal Sugar (58)

Teal Sand is the first true cream liquid sand from Ga-De, and it's gorgeous! The color came out a little weird in some of the photos, but the sunlight picture (the middle one) is dead on. As for the texture and application, it's mostly like the rest of Ga-de's liquid sands- easy to work with, opaque in two coats (nearly one!), dries quickly.

Twinkling Sugar (57)

Blurred to show off the sparkle

Twinkling Sand is a super complex shimmer, kind of reminiscent of a collection I swatched aaaages ago, although they didn't have a shade exactly like this, it does kind of have the same combination scheme. It's mainly a teal based polish, with flashes of gold and green and blue and even the occasional pink. This one is a little more sheer, needing at least two coats for opacity. It would definitely need three on longer nails. Still, it's not super thick, even considering that it's a liquid sand, so three coats aren't a big deal. It's sooooo shiny! Did I mention how shiny it is? Because it's SUPER SHINY.

Swatched: Aliquid Lacquer

I've known Allison from Aliquid for a while- particularly after she nominated me for a Leibster last year! Imagine how excited I was to hear that she was also planning an indie brand. Of course I had to get my hands on some, as soon as I possibly could.

I actually swatched these a few weeks ago already, but I hadn't gotten around to editing them because the sheer number of photos I took was daunting. Usually for an NOTD I'll have as many as five pictures, here I have over three times that. That aside, I think these are some of the crispest swatches I've ever done, so hooray for that!

Regarding application and formula: All of these applied about the same, opaque in 2-3 coats, applying evenly and smoothly with an easy to manipulate formula. I experienced no pooling or streaking or even brushstrokes on any of them.

Click the readmore to see detailed reviews of each one!

NOTD: Ruffians and Rhinestones

AAAAAAAAAACK it has been over a week since I posted! Fail! I'm not going to try to translate this, for the same reason I haven't been posting- I've been overworked and exhausted, and something had to give. Hopefully I'll be able to pick up a bit more this week.

This is actually an "emergency backup" mani- I wore this a good while ago, but hadn't had the opportunity to post it. Since I don't have anything to post right now, here it is! I've actually got three large-scale posts in progress- all three things I've never really done on this blog before, and while working on them I let my regular ol' nail art slip a bit.

Polishes used:

Chic Metalix- Citrine Gold

Chic Metalix- Peacock

BornPrettyStore Matte topcoat

Review: BPS feather decals

A while back I got a big order from the Born Pretty Store. I'm going to review a bunch of the items I received over the next few weeks. Overall I'm really happy about the site, it's good stuff for good prices, and best of all- free shipping! Shipping is impossible to Israel, usually it's super expensive.

לפני כמה זמן קיבלתי הזמנה גדולה מ-Born Pretty Store. בשבועות הקרובים אסקור את רובם. בגדול אני מאוד מרוצה מהאתר הזה- מוצרים די איכותיים במחירים טובים, והכי כיף- משלוח חינם! משלוחים לארץ הם בדרך כלל נורא יקרים, עד כדי שאני כמעט ולא מזמינה דברים באינטרנט.

More designs under the cut!

!עוד עיצובים תחת קאט 

NOTD: Stained glass

I'm trying something new today, I'm going to write this post both in English and in Hebrew. It's going to be a challenge, because while my spoken Hebrew is nearly native, my reading skills don't reflect that and my spelling is atrocious. Wish me luck!

היום אני מנסה משהו חדש- אני כותבת את הפוסט הזה גם בעברית וגם באנגלית. זו תהיה משימה לא קלה, כי למרות שהעברית המדוברת שלי היא ברמת שפת אם, היכולות כתיבה שלי הן לא משהו והאיות שלי היא על הפנים. שיהיה לי בהצלחה!

I have done this design a number of times, it's one of my favorites. I've even written about it before, but the picture quality was poor, so here it is again!

אני עשיתי את העיצוב הזה בעבר, הוא אחד האהובים עלי. אפילו כתבתי על זה, אבל איכות התמונה היתה נמוכה מאוד, אז הנה זה שוב!

Colors used:
צבעים ששומשו:

WOW Cosmetics 434 (שחור עם נצנצים כחולים- בסיס) (Black with blue glitter- base)
Chic Metalix- Peacock (טורקיז) (Turquoise)

Chic Metalix- Hot Fuchsia (ורוד זוהר) (Hot pink)

Chic Metalix- Citrine Gold (זהב) (Gold)

Color Club- Wild at Heart (סגול הולוגרפי) (Purple holo)

It's a pity that the Chic Metalix collection doesn't have a shade like that purple- it's the only thing missing. 

חבל שאין בקולקצית שיק מטליקס סגול כזה, הוא הצבע היחידי שחסר לי.

I am planning a bunch of new posts about some purchases I've made lately, I'm hoping to get at least one of them up this week. Thanks for reading!

אני מתכננת מספר פוסטים חדשים על כמה קניות שעשיתי בזמן האחרון, אני מקווה להעלות לפחות אחד מהם השבוע. תודה שקראתם!

NOTD: Sloppy stamps

I'm really starting to get into this whole two accent nails thing. It's a great way to have more art without the hassle of doing a design on every nail. Plus, you can showcase the pretty base color! This way I don't feel as bad doing art over a base that I particularly like- I can have my cake and eat it, too.

The stamping here isn't the best I've ever done, because I had to repeat the stamp a few times. I only have one(!) stamp pattern that covers the whole nail, because everything they sell here is a cheap knockoff. I really need to get my act together and put in an order for a BM set.

Colors used:
Orly- Star Spangled
Chic Metalix- Citrine Gold

I spotted Star Spangled in a store months ago, and I new I needed it. The problem was, I'd already overspent my polish budget at that point, so I couldn't afford a new one. And then there was an Orly scarcity, and I had pretty much given up hope of getting my paws on it. But last week I found myself in a store that I usually don't go to, and lo and behold, sparkling at me on the shelf, there it was! I absolutely adore it on my fingers, I don't regret this purchas for a second.

A small note on the stamping: Since I can't seem to stop singing the praises of Chic Metalix, here's some more. They are fantastic for stamping, because the glitter is really densely packed! And they have a fair variety of colors, so if you're looking for a local alternative to tiny little stamping polish bottles, here it is!

Sad update: As of posting this, I have to return to nubs. I got a new cabinet for my kitchen, and I managed to chip a nail really badly when I was shlepping it into my house. Thankfully it didn't chip deeply, so it didn't hurt. I mean, I'm not devastated- it's not a big dramatic event. Still, I'd finally gotten my nails to be perfect- short enough to be manageable, but long enough that I could keep them in a pretty square shape. Now I'll have to start from scratch! :(

NOTD: Blue to green glitter gradient

Aw, darn. I had such a great streak going- two or three posts a week! And then I let it slip. I have been trying to make a swatch post, but since those are much longer, I keep procrastinating. In the meantime, have my latest NOTD:

Colors used:
Chic Metalix- Green Olive (905)
Chic Metalix- Peacock (906)
Chic Metalix- Smashing Blue (907)
Wow Cosmetics 350- (white cream base)

I don't think I will ever stop loving this particular collection. It's been out for more than a year, and I still find myself coming back to these colors again and again. They're not all identical- here, for example, Peacock and Smashing Blue are silver particles in a colored jelly base, while Green Olive is a clear base with the particles themselves being green (that's why it's so much more sheer). But they all complement each other really well, and they're vibrant, easy to work with, and don't stain. Basically, the polish jackpot.

I will try not to take accidental two-week hiatuses in the future!

NOTD: Franken gradient

I learned something new today- apparently I should never take pictures in my yard. I took a few photos at work today, and they came out much nicer in terms of color. My landlord painted the walls around the yard (yes, WALLS) yellow, which apparently reflects onto my hands a whole lot more than I thought! No more yard photos for me!

Colors used:
My frankens- Autodidact
Maybeline Colorama 135
My franekns- Osmia Avosetta

The glitter at the tips was actually a happy accident- I didn't add Osmia Avosetta until a day later, when I decided the original gradient wasn't as impressive as I wanted. I forgot to dampen the sponge first, so a lot of polish got absorbed into it, while the glitter sat on top. So I only got some color, but I got all of the glitter! This is actually a method I'm considering trying later.

Hey guys, I made some frankens...

...and now I'm addicted. That's not to say every franken I made was a rousing success, but damn, it's fun! I learned stuff as I went along, and you can see my progress.

I made six frankens total (five and a half, sorta- you'll see when I get there), which is the number of empty bottles I had. A good use for empties, fun and thrifty.

Unfortunately, on most of them I couldn't possibly tell you the exact ingredients of each one, so I could never properly recreate any of these.

I happen to have been marathon-watching all of Elementary, hence the names on these.


I'm Ambidextrous

Experiments with liquid sand

I have been putting off this post for a week, because I have been overwhelmed lately, and I can't think of a chatty way to encapsulate my recent life. So I'm going to skip the life bits and get to the polish bits.

I bought one, and only one, liquid sand. Not because I don't love the texture (I do!), but because the only brand that has it here is OPI, and OPI costs about $17 a bottle here!

Still, a lot of bloggers have been gushing about it lately, so I was curious to try it out. The thing is, based on the swatches I've seen, liquid sands are still a largely unexploited resource. I see some glitters, but mostly cream based colors, sometimes with a shimmer. This frustrates me greatly- you have a whole new kind of polish to play with, why are you making creams? And why are the shimmers you make almost exclusively one-note? Where are my holos, my multichromes, my blingy glitters?

So I decided to rectify this problem all by myself. The polish I have is "What Wizardry Is This?" which is a pretty crinkly texture, so a single coat of another polish on top still leaves the texture very visible. After a quick stash raid, allow me to present you with the best of my experiments:

Disclaimer: these swatches are very far from perfect. A number of these polishes are streaky or sheer with one coat, so the base shows through. The idea here is only to showcase the potential of liquid sands to work with a variety of finishes.

Creams:

Sunlight

NOTD: Butterfly wings- and a comparison!

Okay, so the "nail of the day" thing is a bit of a misnomer, considering I took these about a week ago. I even have pictures for another entire post prepared, and I'm gonna try to get those up some time this week. A modest goal, hopefully, but we all know my track record.

Anyway! This is the first time I've used acrylic paint in a design on my own nails, so that's a milestone. Did I mention that acrylics are a dream to work with? They're not good for everything, but for this kind of picture they're so much better than regular polish. I do wish I had a better range of colors, I guess that'll add up over time like my regular polishes did.

Surprisingly, my right hand turned out quite well too. As you can see, I still need to work on my control over the paint when working on myself, but I'm sure I'll get the hang of  it quickly. I already work with it on other people/nail wheels much more effectively than I did with polish.

If you'll notice, the OPI I'm wearing (Sprung) is suspiciously familiar to GA-DE Tangerine Garnet, which I swatched in my last photo post. I did some comparison shots, click the jump to see them!

Haul of Shame swatch spam

Look look swatches!

Dear readers,

I have been a terrible blogger these days. I know this in the depths of my soul. Case in point: I committed a massive haul of shame about two weeks ago, and I haven't even mentioned it on here yet! Nor have I edited my third vlog (which I have recorded, and it sits there on my desk top staring at me accusingly). Also I am doing a convention this Wednesday and Thursday, and you've heard nary a whisper of that.

By way of apology, I've swatched five of the 22 (!) polishes I picked up in my protracted haul, which took place over several days.

Click the jump for closeups and reviews.

NOTD: Dotticure!

Hey everyone! I did a dot manicure on Friday, and managed to capture some pretty decent sunlight pics, too!

My nails are pretty short (I'm maintaining them as semi-nubs for now), so there wasn't much room, and I only have one dotting too size. Still, I'm really pleased with how this turned out! It's much prettier in real life. I debated wearing this with a matte topcoat, but I decided I prefer it shiny. Maybe in a few days I'll mattify it for variety! (That's right! I said a few days, I'm not going to take it off unless it chips off, because I really love it!)

Colors used:
WOW cosmetics 366 (magenta base and contrasting dots)
WOW Cosmetics 438 (turquoise base and contrasting dots)
WOW Cosmetics 304 (metallic teal dots)
WOW Cosmetics 315 (metallic purple dots)
Chic Metalix Peacock (microglitter turquoise dots)
Chic Metalix Hot Purple (microglitter magenta dots)

I did two posts in a row today, so don't forget to also check out my vlog post!

Chic Metalix, part 2

I'm finally getting on with this collection! Only four more to go after this.

I decided to dive into the redheads of the family, since these colors seem to be a good representative of the weather around here.

Unfortunately, my sunlight pictures all came out on the blurry side, I'm still getting used to my new camera. On the bright side (no pun intended!) pretty colors!

Individual swatches and reviews under the jump.

NOTD: Crackle skittles

Hi all! NOTD and then a quick update.

Shade

Sunlight

So this is a set of Chic Metalix under a lovely black crackle that I've worn here before by a German brand called P2. Not everything in this picture has been swatched yet , but they're coming!

Life update under the jump:

WOW Cosmetics

I think this is an appropriate subject for my "triumphant" return to swatch posts, as in "Wow, it's been ages since you did a swatch post!"

Well yeah, it has. I don't really have any excuses either. I know I'm going to have to retake a large number of my swatch photos- looking back at them over two months later, I'm not really happy with any of them. The ones from WOW are ok, hence this post now.

So here's the deal with WOW cosmetics: They're a domestic brand, and they have some really affordable cosmetics, plus their spread of polish colors is interesting. They don't have a ton of colors yet, but from what I've seen I like what they have.

I have three for you today:

Click the jump for close-ups and reviews!

NOTD: Green to blue gradient

This was a fun experiment. It didn't go perfectly, but considering the circumstances, I think it turned out really great.

So, do you want to know what eight layers of nail polish (including top and base) looks like?

And now you know! Honestly this caught the light a little weird- in photos it makes the transition from green to blue pretty abruptly, but in reality it's much more gradual. It's definitely at least in part due to Chic Peakock, which always comes out a bit bluer than it really is. But either way, I really enjoyed doing this, and I'll wear it for as long as I can!

Unfortunately since it's so heavy on the polish, I predict much shrinkage in this manicure's future. I did everything I could- wrapping my tips and whatnot, but physics will be physics.

Here are the colors, listed from top to bottom:

• Green Olive by Perfect Chic
• Meet Me Under the Mistletoe by Orly
• Cuckou For This Color by OPI
• Peacock by Perfect Chic
• Smashing Blue by Perfect Chic (this is on my next Metalix swatch set)
• I used a black base to make the colors pop, 393 by Wow Cosmetics.

So yeah. Pretty heavy on the colors there! It's verrrry slightly dented in a couple of spots, but they're minor and not worth redoing.

It's been awhile since I've done a swatch post, so I'll probably put one of those up next.