Money, Success, and Layering

Green, green, green. I love it.

Here is a great one, Revlon ColorStay Gel Envy High Stakes:

Two coats of a cool mountain green. These are great for stamping and I pulled this one out of the stamping drawer to wear.

No top coat here, but lots of love. A faint shimmer visible on the bottle, but not really on the nail, unless I give it the blast of light.

Still found on eBay, and worth the price.

I topped it with ILNP Success:

Bright grass green to silver shift, that has a pink shift in there, too. Not really easy to see. 

This is two coats, and I love ILNP, but sometimes they don't make the most dense flakies. The now closed Indigo Bananas really was the best at this. As a topper, it's just right. If you need coverage, you need to sponge the flakies on.

I did put them over white to see them a bit better:

Two coats again. The green to silver is super apparent, but the pink is really toward the tips and more difficult to see in my photo.

I've got a color corrected Lumi cube that has been a blast, but shifty polishes are still a bit of a challenge.

I recommend hunting down the old Revlon ColorStay Gel Envy, I think only a couple haven't been able to be used as stamping polishes and the formula is both easy to work with and dries much better than the old Revlon formula. Now they've rebooted the line: fewer polishes and a new label. They've added another one called HD Snap!, which seems like a quick dry type in bright colors.

Meanwhile ILNP still has Success and eBay is your stop for old Revlon Gel Envy.

Thanks for reading my little nail polish journal!

Marching Forward, Carrying the Old on Our Shoulders

Here's a kitchen sink of layering that I won't say didn't turn out just right.



Here's a combo that I really enjoyed:

This is in the sunshine.

I admit my cuticles are so dry, many apologies.

It's so weird how my camera couldn't pick up the depth and play with the flakies.

The layers:

• Revlon Top Speed Emerald
• Color Club Lady Liberty (blogged here)
• Sally Hansen Aisle Be there (blogged here)
• Finger Paints Motley

I really liked it.
Sally Hansen Aisle Be There is a pretty oddly shaped flake, almost a semi glitter, like a flake of pearl or something akin to it, I have nothing like it, really. Sadly this whole line has gone the way of the Dodo. You might find it at the dollar place, or ebayland. You never know. Worth a look. Unique.

Here's Revlon Emerald all alone:

I call this more of a Kelly green, but it works out as a nice base.

And now we have it with Color Club Lady Liberty:

I confess this was the scene-stealer for me! I wore this for several days and just adored it. Well done Color Club!

Here it is again:

Here it is with flash. Loved this a lot.



Thanks so much for reading my little nail journal!

Mining the Past: Color Club Love 'Em Leave 'Em

When I first got into nail polish I had a terrible habit of buying Color Club collections because they were so inexpensive.

I think part of it was fandom for several great bloggers and also Ross had them for super cheap.

The bloggers have moved on, Ross seems to have as well (heck even Color Club!)

Yet I still have drawers of untrieds.

Here is one from a 2009 or 2010 Color Club Wild at Heart collection called Love 'Em Leave 'Em:

I topped it with a virtually invisible Revlon Glimmer Gloss Banana Blaze.

I couldn't catch any glass fleck pops, nor did I really get a handle on the very subtle holo flame.

I call this scattered, but it does produce a faint warm red/orange flame that is a delight.

I think in order to emulate the current indie trend of multiple layers of depth, I'd have to layer it (It's two coats, pretty dense, so not really a good direction) or add a lot more Glimmer Gloss.

Many people call this a nude, it definitely is a golden nude. I will be moving this over to my stamping polishes because it covers very well.

Polygel Notes

I'm adding this section to just pass along things I learn.

A few things in this post.

Thickness

I notice that thickness is an issue. Since this photo, I've been filing with a coarse file (not labeled, but pretty coarse, 150? Who knows I know only from sanding my deck!) It removes a lot of bulk and helps them be less "bubble" shaped.

Lifting

In the past I didn't have much lifting, but now that I am polishing my nails more, I do get it between fills. Historically I found that it never produced a problem, but about two weeks ago, I had a lot, so I soaked and removed Polygel from 5 nails (different hands) and reapplied it. It took forever. For. EVAH! I mean after 3-4 solid hours, I had to slap on a nude and just deal with reapplication the following day. I so wanted an electric drill!

Reapplied and though I have a touch of lifting, I am not seeing as much. I will play around with some super glue, though, or something that can just prevent moisture from getting under the nail.

That brings me to...

Brown Spots

Prior to Thanksgiving, I had found that the natural nail under the Polygel that was on my pinky had somehow came undone. It was firm against the nail because it was past my nail bed, so in the 1/3 inch that extended past my bed - free edge -  the nail could be pulled away and would snap back.

I thought nothing of this, but a few days later the nail was in need of replacement, and somehow was tender. I removed the Polygel and found these light brown spots that caused divits in the nail bed. I discovered it was a bacteria making a home. Yikes.

Cleaned it up, filed it down, and haven't had a problem since. This is why if I have lifting, I file/soak it off. No easy access parties for the bacteria!

That's all for now, I like the more flat profile, I think it looks better than the old ones (above), but it's still a learning curve for shaping and filing. 

Thanks for reading my nail polish journal!

Jump In!

Splash of spring blue!

Revlon Irresistible

Regular gold-ring'd bottles. Three coats. Delightful shade.

Not an impossible formula. Sometimes Revlon can be slow to dry, but this wasn't a huge problem. 

Here's another shot:

I have a LOT of this kind of shade and this one moves to the leader of the pack.

The formula is a wee bit loose, but it does build and though I didn't do clean up, a decent cleanup job would have probably made this pop.

Normally Revlon isn't my most compatible formula, but I love this one.

Thankfully it's easily obtainable through online and drug stores.

Thanks so much for reading my little nail polish journal!

Deep Olive Brown

I've been wanting to swatch a pair of polishes that are beautiful in the bottle and beautiful on the nail, too.

Here are Revlon Enthrall and Sally Hanson Complete Salon Manicure Sequin Scandal

From left to right:
Revlon Enthrall
Sally Hansen CSM Sequin Scandal
Revlon Enthrall
Sally Hansen CSM Sequin Scandal

Three coats each and though I think though they are super close, Revlon has a bit more luminosity to the glitter. I think the base isn't quite as dark as the Sally Hansen.

I found the Revlon at Big Lots! and the Sally Hansen I might  have paid full retail (yoiks!).

I like the Revlon a bit better.

Thanks for reading my little nail polish journal!

The Blogging Year Recap

2016 is over. Wow. When I flip back through pages of blog posts, it feels like so little time has gone by. In fact, 2009 feels a lot like yesterday. (Well things were full of change and hope back then).

I'm still enjoying blogging, and that's key. I hope you are enjoying the polishes with me.

There are many changes in blogging and I don't think social media blogging has eradicated bloggers like me, yet. Yet. The challenges for me is time and accessibility. Instagram is very phone-centric, so I hope the new Sony A6000 will be up for that challenge.

I'm off the SinfulColors mailing list, much to my relief, and I don't have anyone offering me polish. Yay! So while I am not super timely with new things, my reviews will be my own. It's hard to be objective when you have free stuff arriving in the mail, despite disclosures and disclaimers.

This year I plan on trotting out a heck of a lot more indies and more stamping. I have to say I love both and with a better camera it's only my skillset that won't do right by it.

Finally, here are a few of my faves from 2016, enjoy!



FUN Lacquer Anna

OPI Into the Night and RBL Pardonne Moi stamped with white pearl (if I recall!) and topped with Orly Precious Metal

Maybelline Sand Storm stamped with Sally Hansen Frost Freeze

Guppy 77 over Sally Hansen Gray by Gray

Borghese Capriccio Blue stamped with Revlon Captivate

Sally Hansen Model Behavior

Illamasqua Muse

OPI Ro-Man-ce On The Moon accented with Milani Silver Dazzle

China Glaze All Wrapped Up

Petites Banish

Essence Back to Paradise

Diamond Cosmetics Tranquility franken

Nicole by OPI Sing You Like a Bee topped with Hidden Treasure all over Color Club Coastal Creme

American Apparel Tshirt

Dior Equis

Layering: Revlon Snow Bunny franken, SinfulColors Pinky Glitter, and Cover Girl City Lights

Morgan Taylor Making Waves

Dear Readers, thank you for reading my little nail polish journal!

Happy 2017!! (fingers crossed!!)

Layering Surprises

When I layer polishes and discover something completely new, it really makes my day.

The base is a franken I made from a polish called Revlon Snow Bunny (blogged here) that ended up looking like a dupe of China Glaze Blue Island Ice Tea (blogged here)  but less sheer.

A blue that I made from adding some Pacific Blue and a few other things, but ending up a pale glass fleck that was quite pretty.

Here's the result:

This is two coats, but it really covers, so I have a lot love for this little glass fleck bomb.


Then I added about 2 layers of SinfulColors Pinkie Glitter. It's an iridescent small and micro glitter in a bright pink jelly base.

Suddenly my polish was a beautiful blue lavender. What? Hello!

I loved this so much I wore it for 3 days then redid it and wore again for another four. Wow.

Topped it all off with Cover Girl City Lights (akin to Revlon Holographic Pearls) and couldn't stop staring at it for the whole week.


Here's a third iteration showing Different layers:

Left to right:
One coat SC Pinky Glitter
Two coats SC Pinky Glitter
Three coats SC Pinky Glitter
Four coats SC Pinky Glitter
(all topped with CG City Lights)

The thing is that you can see how it goes from blurple to a lavender. This photo doesn't show the change as well, but you can see that two to three coats really seals the deal.


The best part, that isn't imparted in my photos is that the glitter layers and plays hide and seek beneath the holo topper.

Mesmerizing.

Thank you for reading my little nail polish journal!

Lipstick Reds

Here are a pair that I think need an outing:

American Apparel Downtown L.A.

A true red with no apologies. Think bright 1950's red. Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell spritely parlaying double entendres and sexism into a classic film.

Fairly amazing formula and application. Love it. Three coats, no top coat.

American Apparel no longer sells nail polish, so who knows who they got the private label product from. Maybe down the pike they'll go in that direction again.

Perfect neutral red.

I found mine on eBay.



Revlon Love That Red

 This one reminds me of bright red circa the 1950's.  A wee bit deeper, but just as much oomph.

Three coats, no top coat.

Though black and white, this is what I imagine Gilda's dress and lips looked like. Blame it on mame, boys!

Found at Ross or Dollar tree, now maybe somewhere online?


Thanks for reading my little nail polish journal!

Banana Nude

L'Oreal Eva's Nude is from a collection a few years ago that featured celebrity affiliations and shades of lipstick and nail polish (that I noticed).

I pretty much ignored it all until I saw this warm nude at Big Lots! over a  year ago.

Three coats an no top coat.

I love the soft amber shimmer that is almost undetectable, but clearly there.

I think you can still find this on eBay with ease. Nice!

Excellent formula, truly.


I then topped it with Revlon Glimmer Gloss Pina Colada

I did just one coat and no top coat, so I think a second or even third coat would be good, but I wanted something very subtle.

This, too can be found on eBay fairly readily.

Thanks for reading my little nail polish journal!

Reds That Seem Pink

Who doesn't love them?

Here is Revlon Jelly

Three coats and no top coat.

I found this at Big Lots! and really do adore it.

It's head and shoulders above my "no name" Essie (one labeled as a top coat)

Left to right:
Essie no name
Revlon Jelly
Essie no name
Revlon Jelly

Both are three coats, but there isn't enough coverage to the Essie.


Here's the Essie alone:

Pretty, but a little bit sheer.


Here is another one that I love and just wanted to reblog: Color Club Regatta Red

My photo is a wee bit dark, but this is a lovely polish: sheer, but pigmented enough to cover well. I think it's a similar shade to OPI Dutch Tulips, but I don't have that one to compare.

Of the three: Revlon is more unique, but I love color club's formula.

Thanks for reading my little nail polish journal!

Blue, Blue, Blue

L.A. Colors is all over the Dollar Tree right now. Not sure why, but while I will say that it's underrated, it's definitely on task for putting out some timely colors.

Food for thought: I have an E.L.F. periwinkle/violet that I blogged here, and I found a stone cold dupe at the Dollar Tree in an L.A. Colors bottle. Things that make you go hmmmmm.

Meanwhile...

Here's an oldie that I think I've worn before, a no name medium blue that has green or peacock undertones topped with what I thought I'd blogged before: Revlon Glimmer Gloss Blueberry Burst.

I know I've posted some of these Revlon Glimmer Glosses. They predate a lot of the toppers that were out when I first started in polish and was pretty excited to find them.

I also see that this one, despite three coats, is pretty sparse. 

Most of these are good enough to add a great topping layer. It's kind of a let down, but if you are looking for a scant accent color in lieu of something mixed into he polish itself, this is a good one.

Of the Glimmer Glosses, this is the one with the least glass fleck. They tint very lightly, and in deeper shades like this the base vanishes.

I think you can still round them up on eBay.

Thanks for reading my little nail polish journal!

Revlon Metallics

Four Revlon Brilliant Strength metallics up for you today.

I have to admit, I have been pretty excited about this post. It's taken a while to get everything organized, but it's here.

I'd found a few more of the Revlon Brilliant Strength polishes at the Ol' Dollar Tree and wanted to flex their muscles as stamping polishes as I gathered them in. Mostly a win with one that isn't quite up to the task, no matter.

I will also show photos of the stamping plates, since I think it will help you see the plates a bit better.

The plates are all from Bundle Monster's Spring Buffet collection and I have to admit it's a collection that keeps on turning it out.

Revlon Magnetize

A beautiful burnished platine that stands out more as a stamping polish than a chrome, however it is a very unique chrome shade.
I recently found a back up at the Dollar Tree and was glad to find it: excellent stamping polish.

Three coats on the accent nail, though two would do. These are at the Dollar Tree, and I don't see anything in Revlon's current line up to match up with this color.

I used Bundle Monster BM-722, with a very sweet design.

Revlon Captivate

A molten harvest orange that stamps a GORGEOUS bright copper metallic shade. This is my holy grail copper stamping polish. Heavenly!

Again, found at Dollar Tree and easily found online. LOVE.

If you stamp, if you want a true copper, then you need this puppy. It looks good as a chrome/metallic shimmer, but as a stamping polish, it is very unique.

Used BM-723. I think it managed the thick pattern very well.

Revlon Enrapture

I chose a favorite of mine, L'Oreal Future Rose as my base for stamping and it came out very close, so it was hard to get a good look at the stamping.

This polish, to me, does double duty. I find this shade of muted, dusty rose chrome/metallic shimmer quite beautiful. Neutral, yet on point with the spate of "nudes" that are popping up in cosmetics these days. Yet as a stamping polish, it does make its presence known, despite my monochromatic choice.

BM-702 has a more delicate pattern, but it all came through rather well. In case you are wondering, I did the vines on the right side.

Revlon Hypnotize

This is a fairly generic gold shimmer that doesn't translate as a stamping polish. I am trying to let it evaporate a little bit and will update if I find that it does work out. Right now, just not enough coverage to get enthusiastic about it.

BM-703 is a charming little plate and I used the curly-cues in the upper left corner. 

Finally I goofed around with a process that I saw on Youtube, where you put colors on a matte or a plate and mush them up with your stamper. Interesting!
I used everything except Enrapture over Magnetize...

Although I am not sure if it's 100% success without a topcoat, I feel like it's a fun alternative to water marbling, this was easy: slap on some liquid latex over my fingers and splodge away. Plus I don't waste sponges: the stamper cleans up with the the adhesive lint roller. Win!

Thanks for reading my little nail polish journal!

Blue Sky Days

It's a pure creme finish post, today, so no sparkles here!

All are three coats, no top coat and under a combo of daylight corrected lamp as well as a more tungsten leaning lamp. One lamp is LED and has little lights, so you will see a dotted effect of the light in some cases: no texture that it implies, just a lighting artifact.

Onward!

Revlon Carioca Crush

Starting with my absolute favorite. It's a beautiful formula. Indeed, I can't believe how much I loved it. Very smooth and glossy. I won't call it a crelly, but it has a luminous quality about it that is often hard to find in cremes. 

I confess a top coat would be icing on a tasty cake.

This polish is not listed in the Revlon website search, I found mine at the Dollar Tree ostensibly to use as a stamping polish. What a nice find! It is on eBay, so it's still around.

Sparitual Crystal Eyes

I believe that this polish is losing points on lack of leveling. My index (left) isn't that ridged at all, but the brushstrokes show up on this, even at three coats. I was rather surprised and kind of disappointed.

It's a beauty. 

I think I purchased this through Sparitual years ago, just never wore it. 

Still available on the Sparitual site and other outlets, which is nice, as this is a beautiful color.

Sally Hansen Model Behavior

I don't know why I pulled this one out, but I just did. I love this polish a lot. Smooth, glossy, and easy to work with, it's hard to admit it, but Sally really has made me turn my head. 

Available online at eBay, etc. The Sally Hansen site wasn't coming up at this writing. 

Zoya Ling

Bright blue that is just marvelous. I think the formula is very nice, it has a waxy finish, bordering on glossy. Still hard to complain because it's such a bright pretty blue.

Here is a comparison of the four polishes:

Nothing dupey, but a lot of similarities. (Well, except for Model Behavior!)

Same order as presented: Revlon, Sparitual, SH, Zoya.

I think, for me, the Revlon is the best of the deeper shades, but Zoya is so unique. Even in this photo it refuses to sit quietly in the corner. It's just so fresh. I do love it.

I wanted to put Model Behavior in a quick comparison with Insta Dri Brisk Blue:

Left to right: 

SH Model Behavior

SH Insta Dri Brisk Blue

SH Model Behavior

SH Insta Dri Brisk Blue

I would say that, for me, they are not dupes, but similar. Brisk Blue is a bit deeper. To be honest, both are beautiful but it does boil down to the brush: Insta Dri is wider than the CSM brush, and a little less finessed.

Thanks for reading my little nail polish journal!