Neon Yellow Comparison Post!

This summer is all about neons.. and I love it. I can't wear them at work but I was rockin' em back home, and when I get out of the woods... trust me I will be rocking them some more. I can't get enough. Since neon yellows are all the rage right now, I combed through my neon yellow collection and picked four to compare!

From left to right we have:

American Apparel Neon Yellow

Orly Glowstick

China Glaze Sunkissed

Color Club Almost Famous.

From left to right on the nail:

Color Club Almost Famous (pinky)

China Glaze Sunkissed (ring)

Orly Glowstick (middle)

American Apparel Neon Yellow (index)

Sorry for this horrid picture. I was rushing :(

Colours: No dupes here. Even in the bottles, Almost Famous is the odd duckling here. It came out a couple of years ago so its not as "with the season" as the other neon yellows we are seeing this summer. Its more of a "banana" shade but don't underestimate it. It is still very bright. And it is still awesome. China Glaze Sunkissed is more of a neon lemon yellow. What sets it apart is the amazing golden yellow shimmer running through it. Stunner. Orly Glowstick.. a fantastic neon yellow that leans green. Looks exactly like the colour of a neon glowstick. Epic colour. American Apparel Neon Yellow is the standard neon yellow. It is the exact colour of a neon yellow highlighter. No muss, no fuss, no coconuts. So colour wise, they are all similar, but a little different in the details.. with Almost Famous sort of sticking out there like a sore thumb.

Formula and Application: Almost Famous has a standard Color Club two coat formula. My bottle is very old and has lost some of its self levelling ability but with some thinner I think it should be back in tip top shape soon. No need for white undies. China Glaze Sunkissed pops a LITTLE bit more with white undies but is definitely not needed. Its a thick formula. Need to watch for dragging. But two coats is enough. Orly glowstick needed three coats on its own, or two over white. Not too thin, not too goopy. Pretty good actually. And now for the problem child of the group... AA neon yellow. What a frustrating polish. Its thick & goopy AND sheer???? It needs about five coats on its own to get it smooth and opaque. Two to three over white is OKAY but probably not even. It also takes forever to dry. I practically poured half of my bottle of thinner into it. My bottles pretty old but from what I can remember it has always been a unique kind of hell to apply. I hold a special place in my heart for it though because it was my first neon yellow nail polish from quite a few summers ago and it is straight up original neon highlighter yellow.  Does anyone know if I just got a bad bottle? I'll gladly pick up a different one if thats the case because I do love the colour.

Anyway, back to work! Hope someone found this somewhat helpful :]

Springtime Flower Nail Art with OPI's Nicki Minaj Cremes!

Finally arrived in Northern Quebec for work!! Very excited to be here. The internet is not bad for a camp.. but still pretty unreliable. I am going to be very very busy over the next month here!! Also, everyone speaks french and my french skills are so incredibly poor. Its shocking how long you can last in a conversation just nodding, smiling, and laughing before the other people realize you don't speak their language. Turns out I am even more awkward than usual in Quebec. Also my nails are already suffering. Constant burning, chemicals and dishwater will do that to them though. Im doing my best to try and keep them from becoming too horrifying. I have cut them very short :(

Anyway......  here is some flower nail art I did awhile back in spring when I had long nails! I used the three cremes from the OPI Nicki Minaj Collection. I used two coats of Fly as the base colour, Pink Friday for the Petals, and Did It On 'Em for the middle of the flowers. 

I used the back end of a paintbrush as a dotting tool to make the petals and middle of the flowers. I did the middle dot first, then used it as a guide to go around it with Pink Friday for the petals. Then I did the middle dot again. After it dried a bit, one coat of SV smoothed it all out. They definitely aren't perfect but I think they look quite pretty for spring. 

This manicure made me realize how nicely the Nicki Minaj creme colours go together! I was super happy with these nails :] Although it has made me miss my long nails very muchhhhh.

China Glaze Sunworshiper VS Essie Action - Comparison Post!

Greetings!

Today I might rant a little and I apologize for that. Today is also a comparison post day! 

I was at Lawtons Drugs and saw a bunch of Essies on display so I picked up Action. I hadn't seen swatches of it yet but I was really curious because it looked like a bright coloured cantaloupe that I have been looking for! You know when you imagine a shade in your head and decide you need to own it? Well that is me and the colour of cantaloupe. Well I got action home and tried it out. Originally I was excited because it seemed to be drying to a satin finish on the first coat and I realized this shade was from their summer neon collection. I was like "A JUICY NEON CANTALOUPE! COOL!" But I soon came to be VERY disappointed.

It was drying MUCH darker than bottle colour. Like, beyond what you'd expect. No, this shade is not actually cantaloupe on the nail at all. Its much darker. Not so dark as to be a traffic cone neon orange, it is more of an awkward orange. Also, for me the formula was no bueno. It was sort of goopy.. but managed to be thin enough to fall off the upper end of the brush while I was painting. It was sort of streaky. I needed four coats to get rid of visible nail line. I needed THREE over white to make everything even. I was unhappy. I liked how it was neon though. I thought it might compare to China Glaze Sun Worshiper, another yellow toned neon orange.

Bottle Shot of Action. I would have suffered through the formula if it ACTUALLY looked like this colour on the nail.

China Glaze Sun Worshiper has an equally frustrating formula, but is much easier to handle over white. These colours are actually really different. Action reminds me of the colour of Kraft Dinner Macaroni and Cheese powder.. Hahaha.. Sun Worshiper has much more yellow and is much more neon than Action.

These pictures are:

Index and Ring: four coats Essie Action

Middle and Pinky: three coats China Glaze Sun Worshiper

All have topcoat.

Okay, so Action is nice in its own way. It does have a nice "Squishy" look to it. I will probably wear it again because of that. If you are willing to put up with the formula, and want a neon orange that isn't traffic cone or too yellow.. go for it. I am the type of girl who usually puts up with a bad formula if the colour is a good trade off (Hi, Sun Worshiper). I think most of my disappointment stems from the fact that it is NOT bottle colour. ITS WAY DARKER. I was expecting my dream cantaloupe colour to have finally found me but I guess I have to keep looking.

Anyone know of any nail colours that are the colour of a ripe cantaloupe? Anyone else have problems with the formula/colour of Action? Did I get a bad bottle?

OPI Alpine Snow VS OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls - White Comparison Post!

Hiii everyone!!!

Today is a comparison that I was super curious about. OPI Alpine Snow (their core colour white polish) up against the newly released My Boyfriend Scales Walls (Spiderman Collection).

Application: Equal. Slightly streaky on the first coat, both even and smooth by the last. Both dry relatively fast and glossy.

Coverage wise: Two thick coats OR three thin coats will give you full opacity for both of these polishes.

Colour: OPI Alpine snow is your standard bright white. I wouldn't call it chalky but it is definitely a pure white polish. On my skin it looks slightly stark. Not like I painted my hands with white-out or anything, its just noticeably brighter. My Boyfriend Scales Walls does have some slight grey undertones taking it out of the "stark" area and making it a little more flattering on my skin tone.

Index and Ring: Alpine Snow
Middle and Pinky: My Boyfriend Scales Walls

Verdict: They're not the same, but they are very similar. I imagine the differences may not be distinguishable on all skin tones, but it is on mine. I like them both though. Alpine Snow makes a great "eye-catching" white polish, and functions excellent as an underwear polish for neons. My Boyfriend Scales Walls will make a wonderful "wearable" white for me! I will let you decide if you need both!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope this was helpful!

China Glaze Summer Neon Sunkissed - Swatch!

Okay. I broke the rules. I bought one more polish before I go to work. I was worried that if I left for a month and came home this baby would be gone and I would have missed the boat!!! I needed to grab it and find it a safe place on my shelves.

China Glaze Sunkissed. Neon. Shimmery. Yellow. Goodness. A neon lemon yellow, perfect for summer.. as soon as I get a tan. I couldn't manage to capture the beautiful golden-yellow shimmer with my camera :( It is there though and obvious in real life! It is what really makes this different and special.. sets it apart from my other neon yellows. The formula was pretty thick. Not goopy.. but thicker than I am used to. For application I suggest waiting a couple of minutes in between coats to make sure you don't get bald spots or patchy drag marks. This polish was surprisingly opaque though. Two coats is enough! For a neon! And a yellow! This is unheard of in my collection. No need for white undies either. Dry time was average for me, and it dries to a semi-matte or satin finish. I added topcoat for these pictures.

I think I will be reaching for Sunkissed frequently this summer! :)

Pretty & Polished Party On My Yacht - Swatch

Hi everyone!

Today I am showing Pretty & Polished Party on My Yacht! I originally wasn't going to get it because in photos I thought it was kind of similar to Jawbreaker. I was low on cash and I thought it might not be justifiable to spend the money on something that was similar. But then it was available in a mini bottle so I snapped it up in an Etsy frenzy.

Turns out, its WAY different than Jawbreaker.  The glitters are all mini (circular and a few string) in lighter green, magenta/fuchsia, purple, yellow, and light blue). Also the white base is different than jawbreaker! Has a very jelly feel to it. It is a jelly sandwich all on its own. Application was easy, no digging for glitter! This is three coats and topcoat. One coat of topcoat was all I needed to smooth it out.

I'm very happy I decided to get this along with Jawbreaker. I like the look of it a lot :)
Pretty & Polished can be found on facebook here! Check her out to hear about Etsy updates and re-stocks. Also, in the next few weeks Pretty & Polished will be available on Llarowe! I think this is great news and I can't wait to get my hands on more of these pretties :)

HITS Atena - Swatch! ...& some good news in my life :)

Hi everyone!!!

Yesterday I got some great news!!! I am going back to work on Wednesday :D :D !!!! I work all over northern Canada in mining and junior exploration drilling camps as a camp cook and medic/first aid attendant. I usually live in a tent, travel by float plane/helicopter/charter flights etc. It is pretty cool. The work is mostly seasonal and I am really excited to get back to it as I have been off for the last two months! I'm a little nervous because I am headed to the middle of Northern Quebec and I have never been there before :P It's great thought because I am out of money, have some big bills to pay, and lots of nail polish to buy :)

Here is a picture of me on the tundra last summer leaving one of my work tours in Nunavut! The blades on that chopper were actually still spinning when this picture was taken! Also, look at the pretty rainbow :)

I'm not allowed to wear nail polish at work as I am dealing with food, etc. But don't fret, I have been saving up lots of photos to blog about while I am up there if the internet connection is good enough :)

So in light of this happy news, I needed a manicure that represented my good mood! I picked HITS Atena from the No Olimpo holo collection! 

Atena is a gorgeous deep pink linear holographic polish. It isn't the strongest linear holo I own, and the bottle is a little smaller than average, but the colour and effect still packs a punch :) In comparison to some of the other holo out there (Layla, Nfu Oh, etc) the formula on these HITS holographics is EXCELLENT. I felt like it was almost creamy! The first coat of Atena went on quite sheer and I was scared I should have layered it to conserve the polish but I got full coverage with two coats.

This is not the nicest picture, but it is the most colour accurate.

Here is how Atena looks in the shade, still very pretty if you ask me :)

This last picture is taken in the shade alongside one of my Moms flowers in the garden :D

I would also like to note that wear time on these HITS holos is MUCH better than my laylas. With no base coat/top coat this polish did not chip until day three. DAY THREE. That is the best wear I have gotten from a holo thus far. :) In fact, it is comparable to the wear of any run-of-the-mill creme for me.

HITS is a Brazillian brand and I got it from Llarowe! They retail there for 10 dollars but can often be found a couple dollars off in the SALE section on her website.

Thanks for letting me ramble on about work today, I needed it :)

Fishnet Fingernails Nail (fail?) Art !

Herroh!

Today I have kind of a fail nail art.... I'm still new to stamping and I haven't quite gotten the hang of it yet. However I am going to go ahead and post my fails as well as my triumphs on this nail art adventure!

I originally wanted to make my nails look like lace, but they ended up looking more like fishnet tights. I started with Color Club Nomadic in Nude. I had it on yesterday but neutrals aren't really my thing so I had to add something to it. So I stamped on the full nail design image from Konad plate M57 with the criss cross lines. This is where I had the trouble. I still need practice stamping with full nail designs. Then I waited until that dried and did the roses from B42 (I think the plates are made by Nailtrixx, I got a package of them from the "As seen on TV store").

These kind of look more like ripped fishnets (Hollaaaaa Ke$ha) because of my user error... Hahah but i think overall the concept is really cool and after some more practice I might try to recreate this look again.

Oh hay!! They look pretty good from far away!! Just.. not so much up close.

Anyway, have a great day :)

Color Club Nomadic in Nude Swatch!

Herrohh :)

Today I am wearing a palate cleanser. I don't really ever wear neutrals or nudes.. I'm more of a neon and glitter type of gal, but whatever.. sometimes it is nice to mix it up.

This is Color Club's Nomadic in Nude. A putty-like-almost-taupe-but-not-quite, brown toned beige. On my skin tone it felt like it had some grey undertones to it too. I got it in the lighter coloured box set of the Back to Boho collection that came out in Fall 2011. Its not too cooperative with my skin tone but I bet it would look awesome on someone with not so much red/pink colouring :P I kept it though because you never know when you need a neutral, and it has a really good formula.

Two coats & topcoat. Great formula.

I wish it looked better with my skin tone because the colour does have a lot of potential. Like I said, I don't really ever wear neutrals so I'll probably try some nail art over this later today :)

Retro Polka Dot Nail Art :)

Herroh :)

I'm really needing to get called back to work and it is kind of depressing, so today I am in need for a happy manicure.. so I set out on a mission to create one!

I think I finally mastered doing polka dots on my nails. I absolutely love the way this manicure turned out! Usually my dots are misshaped and unequal and not in straight lines but I think the practice is paying off! It's not perfect but I like it a lot.

I started with two coats of China Glaze Stone Cold, a charcoal grey matte from the Capitol Colours Collection. Then I added polka dots in diagonal lines with a medium sized dotting tool, in order from bottom to top of my nail with:
Color Club Twiggie
China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy
China Glaze Sun Worshiper
Orly Glowstick
Color Club Warhol
Color Club Pucci-licious

I went over the dots twice to make sure they popped against the grey, and were nice, shiny and opaque. I like the way the shiny dots look against the matte background. Here are some pictures!

I think it looks retro and kind of funky, which I think is awesome. I like it a lot, it has certainly cheered me up! I hope you like it too :)

The Real Jawbreaker Mani featuring Pretty & Polished

Howdy :)

This is my second time using Pretty & Polished Jawbreaker, and I still love the look of this polish! 

Today's manicure had some inspiration, the first being this awesome movie that came out in 1999. I was only nine-ish years old when this movie came out and it actually scared me a little! I've since watched it again in my teen years and loved it. Hahaha Hilarious movie.

Photo Source

The second inspiration was THIS POST on www.nailpolishwars.com that features the awesome idea of splattering Pretty & Polished Jawbreaker to make it look like the actual Jawbreakers that I used to covet as a kid, and also that are featured in that awesome movie! Haha I loved the idea so much I thought I would try and recreate it!

First up, a picture of Jawbreaker on its own.. awesomesauce right?

I haven't splattered before so this was my first try, and look at the mess I made!!!!! For the most part I totally missed my nails and just got the polish ALL OVER my hands. I pretty much had to take a cloth full of acetone to my hands after this :\

For the splatters I used Orly Green Apple, Color Club Almost Famous, Gosh Blue Balloon, & China Glaze Poinsettia! The green and yellow stained my cuticles a little, in retrospect I should have used some vaseline or something on them beforehand.. but all in all I think it turned out pretty good!!!!! In my opinion I think it looks like the real jawbreakers :]

And there you have it!! One of my favourite polishes & my first try at splattering in one post! I like the look a lot and got some compliments on it too :)

*Once again I got the idea for this mani from this post on www.nailpolishwars.com*

Galaxy Nails!

After watching all that Star Wars yesterday with my Dad I thought I would do a Galaxy manicure today! What I love about these Galaxy manicures is that I can screw up a ton and you cant tell in the end result :)

I started with Essence Black is Back as my base.. then sponged with Sally Hansen Whirlwind White and went over it with:
OPI Yodel Me On My Cell (blue)
Joe Fresh Bumbleberries (purple)
Joe Fresh Pineapple (yellow)
Then I went over the whole thing with China Glaze Fairy Dust (holo sparkles) to give the look of a starry sparkly sky. Then I did dots for larger stars with Whirlwind White!

Even though I messed up a million times, I still like the way it turned out! I think it does look like galaxies and nebulas on my nails :D

Ouuu spacy! I like it!! Hope you like it too :)

Nerd Lacquer Beggars Canyon - Swatch

Hi! 

Today I am wearing another Nerd Lacquer. I feel kind of stupid posting these when they aren't available right now. Amanda, the creator behind Nerd Lacquer has, for a lack of a better word, disappeared from the Nail Polish Scene. I really hope she comes back.. her creations were the first indies that I fell in love with, purchased, and they are truely nerd-tastic. 

Even though this polish isn't available right now, I'm blogging about it because it is Fathers Day and the polish is inspired by Star Wars and more obviously Beggars Canyon! My dad introduced me to Star Wars before I could even sit up on my own, and I love him for that. I will forever be grateful to my Dad for making me a Star Wars geek. I watch it almost every night when I try to fall asleep. Almost everything I believe in is because of Star Wars. Yes, I know I have got to tone down my nerdiness sometimes. Anyway, Dad and I will be celebrating the day by watching Star Wars and having some BBQ (I got him a new tank of propane for the special day... God I am such a practical daughter).

Anyway, Beggars canyon is located on the desert planet of Tatooine. The Skywalker's are among a small handful of pilots capable of navigating themselves through a number of the obstacles located in the canyon such as the stone needle! I love Star Wars, I love the Skywalkers, and I love this polish.

Its a dark toned gold base, more of a bronze colour actually.. stuffed with gold and purple micro glitter and medium/larger hexes. Application was great, this is two coats and one coat of SV. That is something I did notice about Nerd Lacquer, they are really smooth with only one coat of topcoat for me.

I love it because it almost manages to be kind of a neutral while still being awesome and blingy. I hope Nerd Lacquer comes back soon :( Anyway, this is my Dad-inspired Manicure for the day. I'm going to go watch Star Wars with my Dad now! :)

Lynnderella Matter of the Heart - Swatch !

Today I am showing off what might be my favourite Lynnderella polish, Matter of the Heart. There is always drama surrounding Lynnderella's polishes but I am going to just put that on the back burner and concentrate on the actual polish today! I got it through the wishlist system at Llarowe and let me tell you, this one WAS worth the wait. It is gorgeous! Llarowe will be taking new wishlists soon so sign up for her email updates and keep checking her facebook page if you want in!

Here is a close-up of a bottle shot!

Fuchsia & silver hexes, big and small sqaures in red & pink & silver, and HOLO HEARTS(!) in a milky pale pink base with an iridescent shimmer :)

Here are some pictures on the nails now!! This is two coats of Matter of the Heart over two coats of OPI Mod About You with one coat of Seche Vite on top! 

I love everything about this manicure. I don't usually wear girly polish, but this is an exception because it is so gorgeous. Its unique, soft, feminine, and so pretty!!! I really love the red squares. I don't usually go for red and pink unless it is Valentines Day or something but this ...it just works.

The only thing I wish was different was that I wish there were more hearts. I found they were kinda sparse, and also they stuck really easily to the sides of the bottle instead of coming out to play! I only got two hearts on each hand while doing this manicure!

What do you think of this Lynnderella?

Candy Lacquer Block Party - Glitter Gradient!

Herrrrrrrrro :)

Today I am in the mood for a happy party mani and right now my absolute favourite "party" or "confetti" glitter is Candy Lacquer Block Party. 

Candy Lacquer Block party.. how do I love thee? Let me count the ways:

-The glitter is different sized SQUARES. Square glitter is by far my favourite shape of glitter.

-There is literally every colour of glitter. Including black. Black glitter is my favourite too.

-Even the larger squares lay completely flat against my nail.

-The glitter is suspended really nicely in the base. I didn't have to turn it upside down or shake it or dig for pieces. This is an effort-free-indie-glitter. So awesome!!

Anyway, I already had on Joe Fresh Hula from yesterday so I used to as the base for my gradient. I started at the bottom of my nails for the gradient this time, and Block Party applied really well. After a thick coat of SV it was completely smooth. I really like how this mani turned out.

You can find Candy Lacquer on Etsy here! This is the only polish I have from Candy Lacquer but her other creations look really cute too. If I wasn't so broke I would definitely pick up more because I was really impressed with the quality of Block Party. Also, it was shipped to me very quickly!

Have a great day :)