#31DC2015 Day 23- Inspired by a Movie

This is a bit of a cheat, since I did these nails based off the TV show, not the horrible abomination they call a movie. I'm still in denial about that thing existing (THERE IS NO WAR IN BA SING SE)

Avatar: The Last Airbender: The cartoon, not the in-name-only """""""adaptation"""""""!

This post is going up suuuuper late, it was Yom Kippur today and I didn't feel comfortable posting even via a queue

Polishes used:
Pupa 745 (pinky)
Golden Rose Matte 16 (ring finger)
Lechat Majestic Green (middle finger)
Il Makiage Skinny Dipping (index finger)
Details are acrylic paint

An InLinkz Link-up

NOTD: Holo flowers

Day three here I am!

I actually posted this mani on Instagram last week, but I have a bunch of really nice close-ups so I'd like to showcase it. I created this look using only a dotting tool- it's sort of a vaguely dry-marbled thing that got a little out of hand, but I really like how it came out in the end!

I'm not sure why they came out upside down, but since it's floral art it doesn't really matter all that much. Plus, this way the label on the bottle is facing up!

Polishes used:
ILNP A Fresh Evergreen
Pupa Green Holo
Pupa Violet holo
Color Club Wild At Heart

Swatch & Comparison: Pupa Winter collection multichrome

This polish is interesting, because it has neither a name nor a number (not really). It's part of the winter collection for Pupa Milano, and being one of four polishes, it's simply labled "001". The website calls it "Iridescent Silver", but it doesn't say that anywhere on the bottle.

At first glance, it looks like a dead-on dupe for Peace, Love, & OPI, which means two things. One, I needed it, and two, I needed to do a swatch + comparison post. Since this is a multichrome polish, it took me a lot of different angles to really capture the color, so fair warning: image heavy post! Swatches first, comparison after.

Artificial light:

Natural light:

Comparisons under the cut.

31DC2013 Day 6- Violet nails

Hopefully by the time this post goes live, I will be on my way home from a loooong morning in Synagogue. And this is what I will be wearing on my nails!

I did the violet nails last, so the black-and-white nails you'll see tomorrow have actually already been erased. This one seemed perfect for doing a subtle-yet-bold look that's perfect for a morning of somber prayer.

I happen to have more holos in the violet family than any other color, so it worked out perfectly for a geometric tape mani. I'm somewhat concerned, because of how tiny the bottles are for two of them- Pupa is only 5 ml! Hopefully I'll be able to buy them again when these get used up.

To see more blogs that are participating today, click the jump!

NOTD: It's a hard nub life

Ah nubs, I haven't had them in months. I have kind of forgotten how to deal with them. I had a great optical illusion art planned, but I'd need a little more space for them.

On the bright side, I can wear colors plain without feeling like I'm wasting an opportunity, so silver lining!

Today I decided to do holo skittles- I've swatched  some of this collection before, but they were poorly photographed and didn't really capture the color all that well. So here is my new semi-swatch, mostly NOTD post:

Pretty sure I managed to capture the holo a little better this time. They look a little more linear than scattered in person, but you can see the way they basically explode into rainbows in the sun! These aren't the strongest holos I've ever seen, but I really like that they show up holo even indoors- something that their stronger cousins don't always manage.

I'm pretty sure that the polishes have some generic names like "Lilac" and "Strawberry", but it doesn't say so on the bottle so I'm going to just list their numbers:

Thumb- #35
Index- #34
Middle- #32
Ring- #39
Pinky- #38

I realize that I cheated a little by using taupe instead of yellow or gold, but it's a fairly unobtrusive transgression in person.

The wear on them is decent, mild tipwear after three days, and I'm sure if I didn't change my polish obsessively I could probably get these to last out a week without any significant chipping. The formula is fantastic- two thin coats for full blingy opacity, and they applied like a dream! They don't need any kind of special base or top coat to pop, although in general a topcoat is better because they dry slightly matte.

Pupa is an Italian brand that is also available in Israeli pharmacies. They're more expensive than I usually buy- mini sized but priced as a mid-range full size bottle. Still, occasionally I succumb to the Pupa pretties.

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 and a new collection

I have a holo skittles mani for you today, with a diagonal French over it. Originally it was just the holo, but when it started to show a little tipwear I decided to give it a new lease on life.

Sunlight

Shade 

Unfortunately when I applied topcoat, it smudged the black somewhat and left small streaks on some nails, but I don't think it's too noticeable here.

Due to my less than excellent camera work, you can't really see the holo in these, but let me assure you, it's a fantastic holo. As a matter of fact, I fell so much in love with these particular holos that afterwards I went back and stupidly bought the entire collection. Now that I own all the colors, I would probably use a slightly different combination of skittles here, but I still like what I have on now.

I have only owned one entire collection of something before (Chic Metalix) and I accumulated that one over a couple of months. This is the first time I've bought an entire collection in two days.

Click the jump for details and more photos!