Checkered with a Twist (Tutorial)

The other day I wanted to use tape for a checkered mani with a little twist--instead of splitting the nail into four perfect squares I wanted to use slanted lines so that it looks like the pieces 'lock' together.  My first attempt was a disaster because I didn't wait long enough for each step to dry, so I thought I'd slow down for round two and take pictures along the way.  Click "Continue reading..." below for the tutorial.

Continue Reading . . .

Del Sol - Superhero

I received Superhero as a gift not long ago and I've been anxious to try it.  It's a pearly baby blue color indoors and it turns into a light platinum pink when it's in the sun.  The pic below is two coats of Superhero taken in the shade (without sun):

As soon as I walked outside, the color began shifting to a very light pink / purple with the same pearly finish:

Although I really liked the shift from blue to pink, I should mention that both colors are very light, almost white / platinum so the color change isn't super obvious and dramatic like Ruby Slipper or Girls Night Out.

Just a Little Dangerous

Just a Little Dangerous from Sephora by OPI is a dark purple shimmer, described by Sephora as:

Inspired by the iconic pure-rock vibe—empowered, impassioned, and defined by the music—this sexy hue is tough and alluring, leather and lace.

I don't know if it's as edgy as the description makes it sound, but I do think the color is gorgeous.  I went through a purple phase last year where I was buying purple polishes left and right, and this one ended up being one of my favorites! The shimmer isn't too obvious indoors but it really lights up beautifully in the sun.

Confetti - Dreamdate

I've used this polish quite a few times since I first mentioned it two months ago, so I figured I should devote a post to it and share the love for anyone who wants to snag it at CVS for $1.99 while it's still available.

Dreamdate is a glittery frosted light pink, but the pink is very sheer so I generally use it as a top coat.  It's been perfect for classic french mani's (as above) when I want something extra shimmery, and I also use it over other colors to give them a frosty finish:

I did a quick swatch above to show some of the colors I've combined with Dreamdate in the past.  My favorite combination is definitely Dreamdate + black, though I have been known to frost just about any color I'm wearing if it strikes my fancy.  The frost comes out gold-toned (not pink) so I think it matches with just about anything.

Del Sol - Island Fever

Island Fever looks like a pearly lime green in the bottle, but once applied I thought it was a very pale pearly green.  I usually stay away from pearly polishes because they're so streaky even after several coats, but I ordered this as part of a holiday set along with Ruby Slipper and Heartbreaker from the Del Sol website and I figured I might as well give it a try.

Here is Island Fever without sun, looking very light green:

It's supposed to turn into the teal color of the hibiscus flower on the bottle when exposed to UV light (i.e., sun), but instead I got this:

I'm not even sure how to describe it...it's a dark metallic with green, blue, and silver tones.  Not necessarily unattractive, but it just wasn't what I expected.

I have pretty mixed feelings about this polish . . . I could probably learn to like the dark outdoor color but the light green indoor color is definitely not my style.

Orly Witch's Blue

I was surprised by how shimmery and vibrant Witch's Blue looks outdoors, because it looks darker (and murkier) in the bottle.  I used two coats in the pic above and since I still had GCOCL plate K04 on my desk from Monday I stamped one of the flower designs using China Glaze Milennium:

The design I chose (in the center of the plate above) is pretty big but I didn't want it to cover the entire nail of every nail, so I rotated the design around and stamped only parts of it.  Each nail ended up looking different but they all matched since they are from the same design:

Yellow for Easter

I always notice when people wear yellow polish, but I hesitated to try it myself because I was afraid it'd make my skin look sallow or unnatural.  I finally gave into temptation when I saw Orly Lemonade because it's such a sweet, soft pastel color and I had the perfect excuse with spring in the air and Easter right around the corner.

Overall I think if I'm only going to have one yellow in my collection, this is the right yellow for me.  It's not too bright or neon and it makes me feel cheerful just looking a it.  The pic above was taken in the morning, and later in the day I stamped a floral pattern from Konad m64 using Konad black:

The yellow looks a little bolder here in bright sun but it's still a nice pastel shade.

Del Sol - Ruby Slipper

I bought a few of these Del Sol color-changing polishes back in January and now that it's spring (and soon to be summer) I had the urge to bring them back into rotation.  Ruby Slipper is a silver glitter that is supposed to turn bright pink (i.e., same color as the flower sticker on the bottle) when exposed to UV light.  It can be worn alone but I was most interested in using it as a top coat, so I also tried layering it over white, black, and gold.  This is what Ruby Slipper looks like indoors / in the shade:

....and this is Ruby Slipper in full sun:

As you can see on the index finger, Ruby Slipper goes from clear to translucent jelly red.  When used with a white base, it looks bright pink (a close match to the hibiscus sticker on the bottle).  The black doesn't change much because it's so dark.  My favorite transformation was definitely the gold:

The gold base is China Glaze 2030, and when combined with Ruby Slipper it becomes an awesome reddish gold metallic in the sun with silver glitter.

Barielle Sale

Thought I should mention for anyone interested--Barielle products, including their shades line of nail polishes, are 25% off right now when you spend $50 or more (+ free shipping) til this Friday, 4/15 on www.barielle.com.  Please note I'm not affiliated in any way--just wanted to share the head's up!

shades Secret Encounter

I'm so glad the sun is out so I can start taking pictures again!  For the mani above I used Secret Encounter from shades (by Barielle), which is a shimmery wine / magenta.  It reminds me of Just Dancin from Confetti except with more shimmer.

I taped off part of the nail to add a swipe of Orly Rage from the Foil FX collection, which is a rose / bronze foil, and then I stamped the big white flowers using GCOCL plate K04.

Edit (4/17): I posted a pic of GCOCL K04 here