essence - Fairy Dust

Above is Fairy Dust, a light pink frosted shimmer.  The color isn't particularly unique but the formula was great!  Usually I have a hard time applying really light colors since they require multiple coats; I typically end up with translucent spots or streaks which drives me crazy until I can get it just right.  With Fairy Dust, the polish went on very smoothly and it only took two coats.

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.

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.

Alstroemeria Inspiration

My mom has these gorgeous alstroemerias (Peruvian lilies) growing in her frontyard and they were on my mind when I did this mani:

I used Confetti Vava Voom as the base because it's almost a perfect match for the flowers.  The design I stamped using pink Konad polish was from H Series plate H38:

To be honest, I'm not sure what the design is supposed to be.  Grapes and thorns, maybe?  Then on my ring finger I added two slices of fimo clay flowers over a layer of top coat.  Here's a shot of my nails next to the flowers:

Confetti - Vava Voom

Vava Voom is a magenta / fuschia color between pink and purple.  The pic above is in direct sun and the color looks really bright and cheerful.  I was actually kind of surprised when I saw the photos because I applied this polish at night and in my mind it was a much darker color.  I took another pic in the shade so you can see the difference:

In low light, Vava Voom is a darker berry color.  Now that I'm looking at it more closely, it reminds me of China Glaze Designer Satin...I'll have to dig that out from my stash for a comparison sometime.

Sephora by OPI - Techno Girl (with Red Tips)

I thought Techno Girl from Sephora by OPI would be cute for Valentine's Day, so I tried it using China Glaze Sexy Silhouette for the tips.  Techno Girl is a nice medium pink but it's similar to a lot of pinks that I own.  Sexy Silhouette is a really nice shimmery fuschia but it goes on translucent so I usually use it in layers.  I played around with a few different combinations including a matte effect--see more pics after the jump.

Continue Reading . . .

Pink & Red Valentine's Day Mani

I wanted to try out some of my new polishes in a Valentine's Day look so I used two Confetti colors, Crimson Cutie and Party Hearty.  Crimson Cutie is a bright shimmery red and Party Hearty is hot pink with a touch of gold shimmer.  To get the half red / half pink look, I painted my entire nail with the pink first and then layered the red on top of one side.  Then I stamped the heart design from fauxnad plate M21 using white Konad polish.

Del Sol Color Changing Polish - Girls Night Out

I was so excited to see this huge display of Del Sol color changing nail polish at Walgreens yesterday.  I remember these used to be sold for $10 each in touristy souvenir shops and mall kiosks, so when I saw them selling 3 for $10 (or $3.99 individually) the price was right and I had to try!

Del Sol polishes change color when exposed to UV light, so unlike mood-changing polishes that change with temperature, these only change color in sunlight.  A big sticker of a hibiscus on the front of the bottle tells you what the sunlight color will be.

The first color I tried was Girls Night Out, which is bright coral color with orange shimmer when indoors.  Reminds me of the pink and orange swirl in Rainbow Sherbert ice cream:

When I got outside , the color started changing in just a few seconds into this dark rosey plum color with gold shimmer:

I was expecting a darker purple to match the hibiscus sticker that you can see on the bottle just below my nails, but it's possible the color didn't change all the way due to some UV blocking ingredient in my OPI top coat.  I'll check tomorrow when the sun is out again to see if top coat makes a difference.  Overall I thought the effect was pretty cool and it was an interesting novelty if not the perfect color for me.

Edit (1/26): I tried Girls Night Out without top coat and got the same color shown above--not dark purple but still a pretty color.

Confetti - Cherries Jubilee

Cherries Jubilee from Confetti is a dark magenta color.  The first coat matches the color in the bottle, but after three coats (as above) the color gets darker, like a soft red with a touch of pink.  Added some hearts from fauxnad plate M12 for a pre- Valentine's Day flourish: