Nail Art Wednesday - Galaxy Nails

Welcome to Nail Art Wednesday's everyone!  The reason I included nail art in one of my weekly mani's is because I wanted to challenge myself.  I admit to not being the best nail artist.  Actually, I suck really bad but if you've been following my blog, you know that i'm determined to push myself to practice so that I can continue to get better & grow.  So Wednesdays will be a hoot!  Good or bad, i'm posting the outcome!

Last week I saw so many amazing Galaxy Nails due to the Nail Art Challenge that's going around.  I was always too afraid to try it because it looks so challenging.  But I was inspired by so many nail artists that I decided to take the plunge & try it.  I used a youtube video tutorial to complete my mani.  I will post it after the pictures.  Here is what I came up with.  My nails didn't turn out perfect but I'm still stoked at how they turned out.  *Pats self on back*.  Have you tried Galaxy Nails?  I would love to see yours!

This is the Youtube Tutorial that I used

Indie Tuesday - I Love Nail Polish "Mutagen"

Anyone who knows me, knows that my absolute favorite type of nail polishes are Multi-Chromes!  A few weeks back I pre-ordered the I Love Nail Polish Ultra Chrome Set!  I completely fell in love with the swatches I saw online & when they arrived, I was not disappointed.  The presentation alone made me giddy!  They came in the cutest boxes with matching tissue paper!  It was hands down the best Indie Polish presentation I've ever seen!  I won't be showing you the entire collection today because these babies are so gorgeous that they deserve their very own posts!  Today I'm showing you Mutagen.

Mutagen is described as a wonderful mirror-like chrome nail polish that seamlessly cascades through green, blue, red and orange; all depending on the angle of your fingertips.  It is part of the ILNP's "Ultra Chrome" class of chromatic nail polishes; formulated to apply directly to the nail without the need for a base color.  It is said to be fully opaque in 2 coats.

Above Photo is the press sample photo taken directly from ILNP Website.  

I do not claim to own any copyright to these photos.  All credit goes to the original owner.

Although Mutagen is described to shift from green, blue, red & orange, I wasn't able to get all of those colors.  The color shift that I saw on my nails ranged from bright green, olive green, bronze, yellow, blue & purple.  Its definitely a show stopper.  I've actually seen underwater swatches where the reds & oranges were captured but unfortunately I was not able to see that translate naturally on my nails.  With that being said, Mutagen did not disappoint!  It's gorgeous! 

Above Photo taken in indirect sunlight (Green to Bronze Shift)

Above photo direct sunlight (Yellow, Green, Blue & Purple Colorshift)

Indirect Sunlight (Green, Bronze, Yellow & Blue)

Application was a breeze.  I applied 3 coats of Mutagen with no undies to get full opacity.  I probably could have gotten away with 2 but I don't like visible nail lines.  Mutagen costs $12.50 & can be purchased here. 

Huge Blog Sale over at So Much Polish

Hey guys. I know this is my 2nd post today but I wanted to get the word out that my friend Jill over at SoMuchPolish is having a huge blog sale!  She's selling off discontinued & hard to find polishes as well.  She has 100% feedback on MUA & I've personally had nothing but great experiences from her!  She's absolutely amazing!  Please go check her out & spread the word!  Details can be found here.  Please let her know that I sent you.

Vintage Monday - Sally Hansen Nail Prisms Garnet Lapis #07

Welcome to "Vintage Monday" everyone.  Today I'm taking you all the way back!  I bring to you none other than Sally Hansen Nail Prisms!  Sally Hansen Nail Prisms were released in the early 1980's.   They were the first of their kind.  They are described as a "Rainbow in every Bottle" which describes them perfectly.  They are the "Queen & Grandmother" of every multi chrome & holographic polish of today.  Sally Hansen was decades ahead of their time with this line.  They are an "antique" & exquisite in every way.

I fell in love with Sally Hansen Nail Prisms a few years back & since then I've been obsessively collecting them.  They have been discontinued for years & are extremely hard to find.  It is my goal to own every single one of them & thanks to my amazing nail polish friends I've almost reached my goal.   Click here for more information.  My Prisms are the pride & joy of my polish collection!  The first polish I'm going to share with you from this line is none other than Garnet Lapis 4674-07.

Garnet Lapis

Garnet Lapis is also the same polish as Rainbow Presents (Canadian Release).  I'm fortunate to own them both & can verify they are one in the same polish.  It is a multi chrome which shifts from blue to purple to pink to gold & many other colors in between.  An oil slick if you will.  Everyone who knows me, knows my favorite type of polishes are Duo/Multi-chromes & because of this, Garnet Lapis is easily one of my favorite polishes of all time!  When I wear this polish, women actually stop me & ask me what polish i'm wearing or "is that one polish you have on?   Men have even said to me "that's a some cool polish you have on there".

Garnet Lapis is pretty sheer so I put 1 layer over black.  As with most multi chrome polishes, layering over a dark base makes the polish really rich & the color shift pop.  Unfortunately, my lack of photography skills hindered my ability to capture the true beauty of this polish but I hope you can still get the idea.  Ok, enough of my yapping!  On to the pictures.
Warning:  Extremely pic heavy!

Above Photo Direct Sunlight (Blue/Purple Shift)

Above Photo Taken in the Shade (Purple/Blue Shift)

(Blue to Pink Shift & Purple to Pink to Gold Shift)

More photos after the jump

High End Sunday - Dior Apparat 871

Happy Sunday everyone  I'm not sure if i'm alone, but I tend to have a hard time deciding which polishes to put on my blog.  I have so many polishes to choose from that I neglect so many great brands.  I call it "Polish Overload"!  Because of these reasons, I've decided to have a theme for each day of the week.  I'm hoping this will help me post a variety of great polishes that would otherwise sit in my drawers & get dusty.  The  themes are as follows:

• High End Sundays 
• Vintage Mondays
• Indie Tuesdays
• Nail Art Wednesdays
• Thrifty Thursdays
• Franken Fridays
• Swatch Fest Saturdays

I'm looking forward to finally having some type of order.  Let's see how long I can keep up with it lol.  Today is "High End Sunday" & I'm thrilled to introduce you to...

Dior Apparat 871

Apparat is from the 2011 Christmas Collection "Les Rouges Or".  In the bottle, the polish translates as a rich burgundy packed with gold shimmer.  But sadly on the nails, the gold shimmer less pronounced. On the nails it is a glowy vampy cranberry with gold, green & dark red micro shimmer.  Apparat is a one coater, super saturated drama queen & I mean this in a great way!  Normally I'm not into reds but this is an exception & I'm so happy I purchased it.

All photos were taken in natural lighting on a cloudy day

Nfu Oh 51 - Oh how pretty!

Happy Friday everyone!  Today was such an awesome day!  I found another polish that I've been longing & I can't wait for it to arrive!  More on that later.  In the meantime, I'm showing you one of my favorite polishes.  It's the stunning Nfu Oh 51.

Nfu Oh 51 is purple jelly based polish with color shifting flakies.  The flakies shift from red to green to gold.  This polish appears to literally glow!  The multi chrome shift is very strong & easily seen & is a show stopper in the sun.  Because it's sheer, I chose to layer it over black.

Normal indoor light

Direct Sunlight

Isn't it gorgeous?  I purchased it from Fabulous Street.  

Lemming Squashed... CHANEL Le Vernis Holographic!!!!!!

I've recently become obsessed with Chanel polishes!  I've become absolutely insane over VINTAGE & Rare Chanel polishes.  The one at the top of my list was the elusive & super duper expensive CHANEL Holographic.  It was produced as a Limited Edition in 2007 & has been long sold out.  I have been on the hunt for this beauty for over 8 months!  And then it happened, I was browsing eBay & BAM there it was.  A shiny brand new boxed set along with the fixing base.  I ran in the room to tell my sweetheart & told him what that I finally found it !! This wonderful man immediately went to eBay & pressed BUY IT NOW!!!  He didn't ask how much!  He didn't complain nor tell me that I had lost my mind.   My sweetheart simply looked at me & said "If something as small as a bottle of polish makes my lady happy, then it's yours".   Then he said, you could be asking for diamonds!"  Hahahahaha!  I won't say how much we paid but I will say I feel it was worth every single penny!  Enough talking...here it is!!!

Pictured above is 1 coat of the fixate fixing base & 2 coats of polish with no top coat!  I'm so in love guys!!

Smitten with Smitten Polish Siren's Song

Hello everyone.  On the nails today is Siren's Song from indie polish maker Smitten Polish.  It is from the Shipwrecked Collection & is described as "a glass fleck with blue & dark pink tones, plus a subtle to red duo chrome shift".  It's stunning in the bottle & stunning on the nail!  Although the polish says "subtle" color shift, there was a strong color shift of dark pink to blurple on my nails.

I had no problems with the formula; however, it is a tad thick which I don't mind.  Pictured below is 2 coats with 1 coat of Seche Vite.  I purchased Siren's Song from Llarowe for 3 bucks when she was having flash sales a while back!  This has quickly moved to one of my favorite polishes!

CHANEL Le Vernis Vendetta #483

Fall is approaching & even though it's still hot outside, I can't wait for Fall to arrive.  So today I decided  put on what I consider a Fall polish & it is Gorge!!

Chanel Vendetta 483

Vendetta is part of the Spring 2009 Bohemian Fantasy Collection.  In the bottle it appears to be a rich eggplant/purple shade with tons of red shimmer & micro-glitters.   Isn't it gorgeous in the bottle?

But,  as with most Chanel polishes, the shimmer isn't as vibrant on the nails unless you're under direct sunlight.  In regular lighting, Vendetta is a blackened eggplant with navy undertones.  But under the sun this baby sparkles!  It transforms to a rich goth like purple & the hidden red micro shimmer comes to life & shines bright!  It is so gorgeous! 

 

Pictured above is 2 coats & no top coat with indoor lighting

Pictured above is 2 coats with no top coat in direct sunlight

Application was a breeze. This was almost a 1 coater but I decided to do 2 coats due to I wanted it super rich.  It was glossy on it's own so I didn't use any top coat.  Vendetta can be purchased at any Chanel retail counter  as well as directly from Chanel.com.  It is part of Chanel's core line so it can be easily purchased.  It costs $27 & is definitely worth every penny.

Peacock Nails Plus Gradient

Happy Monday everyone!  I hope you enjoyed your weekend.  Mine was super busy & it always seems to go by too fast!  Anyway, as most of you know, i'm trying to get better at doing nail art.  A few weeks back I purchased some water decals from the Born Pretty Store.  I decided to use them in this design.  I must say I actually enjoy using water decals.  They are super easy to use.

Isn't it pretty?  I feel in LOVE with this! 

** I started with a 1 coats of Wet n Wild White polish as my base & let it completely dry. 

** Next I sponged on Rescue Beauty Lounge Aqua Lily & Zoya Zuza at the tips of my nails.  Note:  You can barely see the sponging affect at the tips because the water decals cover it but trust me its there.  

** I added 1 coat of my quick dry top coat & let my nails dry completely.
** Next I followed the directions on the water decal label & added the decals to the tips of my nails..
**Lastly, I sponged Aqua Lilly further down the base of my nail, cleaned up my cuticle, & sealed it with a top coat.

VOILA!!!!  All Done!!

I am so happy with this look!  You can purchase the water decals from here.  I must admit, shipping took forever on the decals but considering they were so cheap it was worth the wait.  So what do you think?  Will you be trying water decals?