Seche Buttoned Up and Some PolyGel Chat

Very unseasonal manicure, but a color I really couldn't help but reach for!

Seche Buttoned Up 

Here is a polish that does three things very well:

1) it has contrasting shimmer that doesn't get buried

2) it has a gorgeous formula (no clean up despite my best efforts to slip slop it around!

3) it shines without a top coat

It has a real changeling feel about it. It looks periwinkle in the bottle, but then it looks very lavender. The blue shimmer just works its little buns off.

I adore this polish!

I wore it for several days and didn't give me any real issues save a bit of tip wear, which is normal for me, since I seem to type with the tips of my nails. I also wore a normal top coat, an old Milani double duty. I will just say, as I've said before, top coats aren't a big thing for me because I change my nails a lot, but I've been well served by drugstore brands.

A gander at the Seche site and I see that they have dumped their round bottles and gone with a modified hourglass shape and co-opted the new "system" thing that a number of brands are espousing.

Not tried the system, and it appears they are at Sally Beauty, too. 

Ok, but here's the thing: if you want to try this brand and are planning a bigger order, check out Head2Toe Beauty: they have the old bottles (this one is from the Perfectly Poised collection) and a ton of beautiful colors. 

Old price: $3

New price: $4.95

Hmmm.

Well, they are a salon brand and that's a normal evolution in what must be a super competitive market.

Meanwhile, there's always eBay (and there are a lot, including this one, listed)

I did try some stamping:

This is from a forgotten plate and I also need to realize that my nails are bigger and longer, so fitting patterns on is different. I have assiduously collected small patterns. The news flash is that I just need to flex some of my bigger patterns that I still have.

The color, against this Color Club Nail Art blue really goes soft pink/lavender. I had to triple check my notes to make sure that I was getting the right photo. It really changes in comparison to a strong blue.

I highly suggest picking up some Seche polish. I am always pleased with it.

I wanted to show some behind the scenes with my nails.

Here is a shot of the back and sort of a look at the "sandwich".

So you can see that I layer it over my natural nails and while shaping is still an issue, I like that my nails is there, too.

The way it looks from the front, or the longitudinal side shows how my nails have a bit of a wonky shape, but I try to balance the shape I get out of the PolyGel though it sometimes can be thick.

I was watching some videos of application and they have it very thin, compared to mine, so I might experiment with thinning it down. Though I have no issues with the thickness, I can see when I begin to layer it can get rather "chiclet" ish.

I usually spend the first night doing the fill, then a quick manicure. Then the second manicure I do add a lot of shaping and filing because the filing isn't just around the edges its over the top, along the side wall, and creating that arch shape.

I will post some application photos down the pike. 

Right now I use clear - it came in the pack I got - and I will say that I think it is fine for me, especially as my yellow nails grow out and I can really use sheer stuff and enjoy.

Thanks for reading my little nail polish journal!!!

It's Fair Season

Mellowing summer, visiting the county displays, checking out the fairway, eating a funnel cake.

Sweet afternoons at a fair.

I've got a wishlist with some super hard to find polishes, but I don't spend a lot of time looking, often they are super expensive and I don't really spend as much time trolling through eBay for the random find like I used to.

But...then...I found this little puppy...

Petites Banish

Found at my local Rite Aid, during their close-out on the Petites and other Sherer polishes. This is from their Color Fever line. It's a beautiful coral red with pink shimmer.

At three coats, I won't have to tell you it's sheer. I did grab it because it's probably as close as I'll ever get to OPI's Sweet Love on the Ferris Wheel from their 2001 Yokohama collection, a Japan exclusive.

It feels so delicate, and I love how it glows.

This is a gorgeous polish. Still available on places like eBay. 

A dreamy shimmer packed with delicate pink pops of color.

Thank you for reading my little nail polish journal!

Frosty Stamping

Have to admit I really love Seche Lumiere.

It's a gorgeous coral tea rose, or spice rose type of shade, but it is jammed with a green shimmer.

I can't articulate how much I love contrasting shimmers. This is no less than a super star.

I used a plate from Cici Sisi, the first set, and it's a pretty lacy filigree type of pattern that transfered very well from this dense polish.
This is taken in sunshine.


Here is Seche Lumiere alone

This is a fast application and I do apologize. I need to stop doing my manicures in bed. I know. Crazy. 

You can see my application issues do tend to show up, but this is a flash photo so the shimmer shows up with more strength.

I won't lie, I love this formula. It's a treat. Easily available online, just hard to find enough swatches. They have a pretty nice array of colors. Some classic shades, but a lot of interesting ones.

Thanks for reading my little nail polish journal!

Autumnal Plums

It's that time of year: shorter days, school bells ringing, that urge to bundle up against bracing winds.

I love this time of year, a whole lot. 

Here are two plummy purples that are unusual, but real winners.

Guppy 64

Two coats, but just as gorgeous one coater. No top coat.

The deep black base with a silvery glass fleck and metallic purple shimmer that turns into this pink shimmer. It is dark, but when it hits the bright light you get this. Normally it looks much more like my pinkie finger, so this also can work as a solid base for a lot of other things.

I got this ages ago on eBay in a pack that was full of broken polishes and I've not tried this one, thinking I had. It's a very nice, dense formula. Not a super fast drying polish, but a top coat solved the problem.

I can't find any Guppy polish on eBay, or much around the web, but I do see that 64 was pretty popular for a time and I must have seen it around the blogosphere.

Seche Nostalgic

To quote the late, great Joan Rivers, can we talk?

I  adore this polish! Two easy coats, soft violet and pink shimmers that turned up this foil from "yawn, yet another foil" into a real winner.

Made by the same company that makes the famed Seche Vite (I've never used it as a top coat), it seems like they get it when it comes to formula: dries fast, easy to use, great coverage.

I purchased a handful of these through Head2Toe awhile ago and never got around to swatching. I love this finish, the intense purple and it's formula stands up next to my favorite formulas. 

It was a lark, I wanted to try these and at $4 a bottle they kick drug store over-jacked polishes like SH CSM to the curb. Highly recommend!

Thanks for reading my little nail polish journal!