Koi Manicure

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Dive Deeper over Diamond Cosmetics Oh Tiff, Diamond Cosmetics Midnight Blue, acrylic paint used to paint koi

Dodgers French

They were giving out Dodgers Hello Kitty plushes a couple weeks ago so I had to go, of course. I did my sister's nails for the game.

It was a collaboration between us, both the design and the work. She did the lettering, I did everything else. The blue tips were done with Blue from Love & Beauty (Forever 21) and red glitter heart was done with Milani Red Sparkle. The letters were done with acrylic paint and we added some jewels and I did a 3D acrylic blue bow. She added Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure and an iridescent glitter polish on top for some extra sparkle.

Go Dodgers! :)

Sally Hansen Silver Lining

I was craving something light and shiny and saw this in my stash so I thought I'd try it out.

This is Sally Hansen Silver Lining, it's from one of the limited-edition Tracy Reese collections (same collection as Hidden Treasure). It's a really pretty silver with lots of blue microglitter and every once in a while at the right angle it looks faintly lavender-ish. The formula was pretty easy to work with, the only bad thing is that it's really sheer, I am wearing five coats in the picture. It is supposed to be a "complete manicure" though, so I thought I'd try it without base or top coat, and it lasted very well on me. So, even though it took five coats for opacity, it took about the same time to apply it as a three-coat polish. You could wear less coats for a more sheer effect because it applies really evenly and not streaky at all. I think it would be nice to layer with.

School starts tomorrow, ackkkk.

Sally Hansen Nail Prisms Purple Diamond LE and Pink Rose Diamond

So I heard about SH Nail Prisms on Scrangie's site, and I was really curious so I did a Google image search. They looked amazing! Of course, when I looked for them on ebay most colors cost an arm and a leg, especially popular ones like Garnet Lapis and Diamond (not LE). The following two colors you can usually find for a reasonable price ($5-7) so I decided to buy them.

First, Purple Diamond Limited Edition:


It's kind of a dusty purple holo. From what I understand, this bottle shape means it's limited edition, but I would recommend looking for the regular bottle (as follows). I believe the polish that comes in the regular bottles have a much stronger holo effect, you can't even tell this is a holo from the bottle alone. That said, under the right lighting it is very pretty. Formula kind of sucked, it was thin, sheer (this is four coats), and never dries. I wonder if all older polishes are like this? Again, I would look for the regular bottle.

Pink Rose Diamond:


This one comes in the regular bottle and the holo effect is pretty strong. It's more of a linear holo whereas the LE is a diffused one. It's a beautiful magenta holo, and even in low lighting it's sparkly. In the right lighting the holo effect is very strong. Same formula problems, but it's such a gorgeous color! I waited about an hour for it to dry before I got frustrated and added a coat of Seche Vite, but it never fully dried (I can still make dents if I press my nail into the polish).

Overall, it's probably better to invest in some Nfu-oh but I thought these were pretty different from their offerings. Why don't they make colors like this anymore??

Sally Hansen Magical Nail Makeup Copper Cauldron

I'm super sick today (I think it's the flu), but I already have some tip wear and wanted to take a pic before I took this off.

Although the name says "Copper," this is actually a pale pink holo, kind of on the peach side. I haven't tried Nfu-oh or the China Glaze OMG collection so I can't compare, but the holo effect on this is very strong. As with many holos, this was a bit difficult to work with. The formula was great, but it was hard to cover up bald spots. I used three coats here, but with better application you could get away with two. I think the key is just to use plenty of polish on the brush and to use as few strokes as possible, kind of like applying a matte polish. I did not use a base coat or top coat.

I hope I'm well enough to do my nails later, I really wanted to get started on some Valentine's Day manis!

Diamond Cosmetics Midnight Blue with Hidden Treasure

I ordered a couple of Nfu-oh polishes and hopefully they get here soon. I didn't get all the ones I wanted, but for now I will satisfy my flakey craving with this:

(Excuse the tip wear, I messed around with my nails before they were full dry.) Midnight blue is a blacked blurple, mostly navy but leans purple. I'm sure you all know about Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure by now. I always see it over black and while it does look good that combo does not appeal to me much. I think it looks a lot more interesting over colors, especially dark colors. This one is dark enough to offer contrast but the fact that it's a blurple instead of black makes it more interesting. Obviously not a holiday mani but I still have time to get a couple in before Christmas!

Rescue Beauty Lounge Teal and Sally Hansen Age Correct

Hi everyone, sorry for the lack of updates! I've been trying out a new topcoat and really wanted to see how it lasted before posting. First, though, the color:

This one was a bit of a surprise. It's really a true teal, a mix of blue and green, a bit on the darker side. Very pretty color, unexpected but understated. This is one coat, but as you can see, I should have added another. The flaws are highlighted because of the flash, though.

As I've mentioned before, I've been having a lot of problems with RBL polishes. I usually get a lot of wear out of nail polish, but with RBL I had been getting sizable chips literally within 12 hours of application. I looked up reviews on MUA and saw that one of the highest-rated base coats is Sally Hansen Age Correct No Chip Base and Top Coat (quite a mouthful). It has been discontinued, but don't worry, it's easily available on ebay and Amazon for around $5 shipped. As a base coat, it dried quickly. As a top coat, it took a bit of time (probably 10-15 minutes or so to dry completely) and although it does have shine, it applies thinly and doesn't give you that glassy finish like Seche Vite. Despite this, it held up well! I took the picture after four days, I think. It's my non-dominant hand, but my other hand looked about the same, maybe slightly more wear. This is only with one coat of polish, and for me less coats usually means more chipping. Overall, I highly recommend this product! I think next time I might try it as a base coat only, or add a coat of Seche Vite on top.

Why do they stop making such great products?!

Sally Hansen Dive Deeper and Top Coat Comparison

Hi everyone! My BF has been home the past ten days because he has pink eye. I haven't caught it yet, thank goodness, and he seems to be getting better. I bring it up b/c I feel a little silly taking pictures of my nails in front of him! The only thing he thought was funny was when I gripped my iPod Touch in the last picture so that I could show my thumb, haha.

Anyway, here's my most recent mani, Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Dive Deeper (from the LE Tracy Reese collection):

Dive Deeper is a pearly pale blue. Application was okay; the wide, curved brush makes it easy. I like it more than the OPI Pro Wide one b/c the curved shape makes application more accurate. Dry time took a while, but my biggest complaint is that this color is so sheer! I wore it alone, without base or top coat, because I wanted to test its claims to being a "complete salon manicure." It actually held up pretty well, but it took five coats to get the coverage you see in the picture with still slightly visible nail line. I do like the color but next time I'm going to start with a coat of a light blue cream polish to make sure there's enough coverage.

Here it is with a coat of Essie Carnival (a new purchase!):

It looks a bit more washed out in this picture, the first one shows the color more accurately. Carnival is a clear topcoat with holo glitter. Love it! From pictures it looks pretty similar to China Glaze Fairy Dust, but I'm not positive that they are complete dupes since I don't have CG to compare.

I love Carnival so I decided to do a comparison of top coats to see how it compares to the others I have.

Thumb to pinky: Sally Hansen CSM Hidden Treasure, Tony & Tina Lucid Dreams, Essie Carnival, OPI Pearl of Wisdom, China Glaze Kaleidoscope Him Out (all one coat over American Apparel Hassid, no top coat).

Hidden Treasure is very interesting! It's an opalescent flakey with clear base. As you can see in the picture, it mainly shines orange with some yellow and green duochrome. Application was fine but it took quite a while to dry. Dense enough to wear alone with good coverage in a couple of coats. I know this has been pretty HTF lately, but Nubar 2010 is pretty close and readily available on ebay for decent prices.
Lucid Dreams is probably hard to find, but I included it b/c I'm sure there are many dupes out there. This one is an opalescent glitter in a clear base, mostly shines aqua with some orange. Dried quickly, dense enough to wear alone.
Carnival, as I stated above, is a holo glitter in a clear base. Quick drying time, and the finish is almost satiny. The glitter isn't very densely packed, so I would only wear it alone if I was going for a very subtle glitter effect. I'd like to try this over a French, maybe.
Pearl of Wisdom looks like a sheer white pearl in the bottle but shows up over black as a duochrome! I'm sure this would work over other colors as well. Very cool effect. Good drying time. Could be worn alone but it would be very sheer, obviously.
Kaleidoscope Him Out isn't really a top coat, but I thought I'd try it over black just to see. I think it does look kind of cool over black, but I can't wait to try it alone. It's a light blue jelly base w/ holo powder. I'm sure this would be opaque on the nail in two or three coats, and would also look more blue.

What top coats do you like to use?

Light Blue Comparison

I love blues and I love pastels! I have a fair number of pastel blues in my collection so I thought I'd do a comparison.

In the bottles:



L to R: Diamond Cosmetics Oh Tiff!, DC Tranquility, OPI What's With The Cattitude? (my doggy chewed the cap!), Studio M Whose That Girl/Color Club Take Me To Your Chateau (same company, same polish, different bottles), Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Dive Deeper (I believe this is from the limited-edition Tracy Reese collection, the one that included Hidden Treasure)

On the fingers:



Thumb to pinky (same as the order of the bottles): Diamond Cosmetics Oh Tiff!, DC Tranquility, OPI What's With The Cattitude?, Studio M Whose That Girl/Color Club Take Me To Your Chateau, Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Dive Deeper

With Dive Deeper on top;



Too bad you can't really see the shimmer effect!

Oh Tiff! is a true Tiffany blue, kind of a pastel blue-green or aqua. In fact, I put my thumb against a Tiffany box and it really looks like the exact shade to me, although the lighting here isn't that great right now. There's some kind of secret shimmer in it but it's pretty much impossible to see, even in the sun. I've mentioned this one in a previous post already but the application is good. A tiny bit streaky, but in two coats it was perfect.

Tranquility is bluer than Oh Tiff!, closer to a robin's egg blue but still a bit greenish compared to Cattitude. Application was similar to OT, but better. Two coats in the picture.

What's With The Cattitude? is a true robin's egg blue. This one is more of a jelly than a cream, I'd say. It was more sheer than the others (except Dive Deeper) and a bit more watery. Two coats was fine for me, though.

Take Me To Your Chateau is my favorite of the five right now, I think. It's a stark, mod pale blue with absolutely no shimmer or anything. I've been looking for something like this for a while, something similar to Hard Candy Sky, and I think this is it! Application on this one was perfect! I actually only used one coat of this one, and it dried very quickly. The finish was almost satin, so it definitely could use a top coat, although I did apply all of these alone without base or top coat.

Dive Deeper is a sheer, pearlescent pale blue with iridescent microglitter. I was excited to try it because it's so pretty in the bottle, but I was really disappointed. I used two coats in the picture but it could have used a third (nail line was still visible). Also, it never dried! I did put it on my pinky so maybe I painted it on a bit thick, but even when I put on a thin coat over the other colors it took quite a while.

Oh Tiff against a Tiffany box:



Very similar, no? It's kind of hard to compare because the box is textured while the nail polish is glossy. Oh Tiff! dries darker on the nail than it shows in the bottle. I believe China Glaze For Audrey is similar but a bit darker.

Hope this helped!