Coral Claws

Finding photos on the phone can be interesting.

I blogged L'Oreal Mandarine 320 back in the Old Days of this blog (2012, view here!) but really didn't do much else with it.

Thinking back, I don't think I've worn it since! This is the problem with a metric tonne of polish. Right? Maybe.

Truthfully I love coral. I think it can be a universally flattering shade, especially pink.

Somehow I must not have marked the bottle (my high tech "did I blog this" tracking system) and I tossed it on over white:

It's fairly epic for spring.

Three coats and a beautiful shimmery frost that arrests your eyes in the sun, because indoors it's more like a creme.

Here it is under lamps:

This is a tough formula, prone to some issues, as you can see on my left hand here.

Also, over white, it just has issues.


I don't keep my nails quite this long, but also not quite this thick. This is right before I removed the polygel in 2019.


I love this shade and how it zings into the neon realm and yet has that whitish frostiness.


Are frosts coming back? OPI will release a pearl collection and pearl is a kind of brushstroke prone frost.

We shall see...though, OPI isn't on the bleeding edge of much these days, so don't take my word on what's on or off trend.



Thanks for reading my little nail polish journal!

Turning Spring into Autumn

It's starting to turn, later, drier, and more colorful. The leaves I mean. They are tired from the summer and want to sleep. As they do in Bambi, the book by Felix Salten, they do their duty and crackle and warn animals of hunters approaching. Stay safe animals, it's hunting season.


Here is a sweet pink coral called Bump Up the Pumps by Essie

Though it did need the three coats, I really love this soft rosy coral shade. The formula worked well, despite my application issues.

I topped it with a gorgeous glass fleck polish, Milani Gold Rush.

Love how it transformed.

The red/orange jelly of Gold Rush just turned it all juicy and delightful.

I have enough gold flash to make it pop.

Now that I'm looking at it, the only thing that would make it better would be a coat of flakies or some holo! I love when layering improves a polish.


Thanks for reading my little nail polish journal!

Layla Hologram Effect Part 1

When these came out the flame was just beginning with the indie holos, so these were not merely epic, but had a strong holographic flame that was longed for and well missed by those who loved the old China Glaze and OPI offerings.

This is for polishes 1-8, but they released more. All are readily available on eBay.

Pigments that seemed to be gone were not merely back, but mind blowing-ly back.

How they apply

1 - All of these are three coats - a must.
2 - Chipping -because of the rigidity of holo pigment, a good layering system helps with wear:
     Normal mani
     Add top coat
     Top off with another layer of polish
3 - Flame and top coats - Layla's flame is sensitive to top coats, I've watched while holo flame                  vanished with top coat application. The layering technique in 2 helps.
4 - Balding - these will pull up pigment with a second coat. I used a ridge filler and had no issues.

To the polishes!

Layla Hologram Effect 01 Mercury Twilight

A cool, classic holo silver. gorgeous.
Not much more to say here.
Oh. Wait. Gorgeous!



Layla Hologram Effect 02 Coral Glam

A copper pink that tends toward an earthy coral in most light. My photo pulls a little blue and softens it up.
At the top of nail on the pinkie and index, you can see the warmer copper shade come out.
A favorite, and very unique.



Layla Hologram Effect 03 Retro Pink

A soft red toned pink that is very nice. Classic and neutral.



Layla Hologram Effect 04 Ultra Violet

A classic true purple. Not a plum, not a violet, just a gorgeous purple.
A favorite!


Part 2 in a day or two!

Thanks for reading my 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!

Orly Precisely Poppy

NOTE: I've just reswatched this, and have a better photo. This one is not good. Sorry!!!

I found this at TJ Maxx awhile ago and thought it looked pretty neat. When I got home I compared it to online photos and I wonder if I have one with funky labeling.

Orly Precisely Poppy

Three coats, very much a jelly, but the kind I really like: even coverage.

This is definitely has many possibilities as a layering polish over many cool things: flakies, glitter, glass fleck, well, the list is long.

This is a subdued tangerine that pulls gently into the realm of coral here and there, but I can't say that it's really coral as much as just orange.

You can see just by my pinkie finger a little bit of a pale settled cloudy layer. I imagine with some better shaking, I can get some more density, but who knows, who cares It's a lovely shade.

Readily available online, but not at Orly's site. This must be fairly newish, as it has the new font and new bottle cap color.

Formula was very nice. Not too loose or too stiff, not difficult at all. I like Orly as a rule, I think it's definitely underwhelming me with their collections, but this whole "earth/nude" thing is a thing and Orly rides the trend wave pretty hard. They don't have the super hype, but they catch a lot of cool ideas and put them out there. I like that a lot.

Thanks for reading my little nail polish journal!

Summer Candy

I sometimes think I need "Blogging For Dummies" or something like that. I recently sent a lady some sets she bought from me, as well as a pile of freebies. I admit most freebies were polishes I wouldn't wear, but some were things now I think "dawg, what was I thinking???"
I just saw that she has a new blog. Hell, it's not just a blog it's a multi-media extravaganza with additional pages, music, blogroll, etc. By comparison my blog looks like I build it with Tinker toys. (I actually loved my tinker toys as a kid, I think they helped me with Organic Chemistry and spacial relationships of functional groups, chirality and bond angles)
So thank you to those who bear with my blog basics and pretty terrible cuticles.

On a brighter note, and gosh, that was a total downer to start an entry out, wasn't it? Here is a Spring 2010 Essie nail polish Van D'go. I know there are a dozen blogs with the photo, it's a creme with a strong apricot color, in some darker tungsten light it looks almost orange. People have been complaining about it on the nail message board. I confess that application is frustrating: thick, streaky and hard to work with. The second coat I just admist I junked heavily on because it was being such a TOTAL BUTT!
However, Essie does one thing for me that other polishes don't do: DRIES LIKE A DREAM!!! TOTALLLY!!! Excuse my shouting, but I am forever nursing old Sally Hansen polishes into a decent lifespan (longer than the 10 minutes it takes me to put my top coat and drying drops away after I think my nails are dry). This polish just dried, and voila! Happiness!
I wore it for a day before it snagged it and got a chip.
So I grabbed a top coat for layering. I used WetnWild Rock Solid's Pretty in Pink. This is more of an apricot than a pink, by any stretch of the imagination.
It also made the polish darker and a lot more orange! Never mind the micro flakey glitter particles! Yes!

Here's a closeup:

I need to figure out why my photos look flatter in the area of color when I edit and upload.

Otherwise, love that topcoat! Quick to dry and adds a lovely element to the Essie. I also have to give a big hand to Essie, even though application was hard, and I snagged it and chipped a bit, I definitely have to say that drying time is a huge selling point for me....indeedy!!!

Thanks for reading my whiney little journal today!!! Sorry for the gripefest!

Rose Ablaze, by Revlon

I wonder why I use Revlon, she can be a merciless taskmistress as far as application.

In fact, the more I think about it, how does Revlon sell so many polishes? I mean, by now there must be enough people who are "DANG! DIDN'T DRY A-G-A-I-N!!!!"

But I get it anyhow. Because I am a sucker for color.

So, here is Rose Ablaze. A hot coral rose shimmer with all the pizazz of a hot day in Juarez on Cinco de Mayo.

This is three coats. Patiently I got them to dry. Then I topped them it with Wet N Wild quick dry top coat. Of course it shrank down.

I can't figure out if it's a bit orange or a bit warm rose. I love the golden shimmer.

Will probably post on weekends more, I'm a full time student. I've got more coming though, this weekend, though!