China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy

I really wanted to love this one, and I do, color wise.  The formula on this one pretty much sucked though, and that kills me to say about my beloved China Glaze.  It reminds me of the difficulty I had with Essie Knockout Pout, which I've never worn after swatching.

This is FIVE coats of FFF. Five! One-two-three-four-five!!  I stop at three.  I know it's a neon and a bit tricky to apply but it was just so streaky.  After doing my left hand, I tried doing much thicker coats on my right and was able to reach opacity on about three nails with three coats, but some needed a fourth.

It really is such a beautiful shade and so summery, so it's a shame that it needs so many coats.  Fortunately, being a neon, it dries incredibly fast.  It also, like other neons, dries matte.  I had a bit of a hard time capturing the color, it literally glows.  Not in a glow in the dark kinda way, but it just seems like there's a black light over your hands everywhere you go.  It's such a fun color so I probably will give it another try sometime in the future.  I don't own many neons or wear them often, so my personal difficulties could've been just from lack of experience.

Do you own this polish? Did you have the same issues as I did? Share!

Brucci Heavenly Julia & Nautical Stamping

Brucci has been blowing my mind lately!  I got all of my Brucci's online at Image Beauty for $2.35 each and I'm just amazed with their quality.  They're the first polish not to chip on me in a long long time.  Every other brand, except maybe Essie, chips easily on me.  Brucci is diesel.  The only thing is there are very few swatches of them online, so ordering them is a crapshoot. Anyways, here is Heavenly Julia with some stamping.

I used BM206 and BM08 for the designs, with Konad Special White polish.  I used some of the same white for the dots on my thumb, too.  I love dots, they're great space fillers.

Flash - true to life color.

This color is a lot darker in real life, it looks a lot more navy and lot less purple.  In the pictures shown, I used two coats over CND Stickey and sealed with one coat of OTD.  Out the Door needs more credit, it is really super shiny and very glossy!  It dries *so* fast and is cheaper than most other QDTCs.

Sally Hansen Be-Jeweled

IT'S SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO PRETTY.

What a glitter bomb!  This one is densely packed with glitter and the way it dries reminds me of China Glaze It's Alive! Which is good, because I love that one.  The purple really caught me eye. The Gem Crush collection has lots of pretties but they're a bit too pricey for me, especially for a Sally Hansen.  I didn't realize until I walked out of the store that it was about $7.50.  I have a problem with paying retail but it was just so pretty that I didn't have the heart to return it.

This is 2 coats of Be-Jeweled over CND Stickey, however, my thumb has a third coat because I noticed a bare spot.  Take notice when applying this one because I didn't catch it until it was in natural sunlight.  I then topped it with two coats of OTD and it was still gritty.  I made a trip to Sally's to finally try out Gelous.  When I got home I put one coat of Gelous on and then another coat of OTD.  Needless to say, especially with how glitters do not sit on my nails very well, it sheeted off within 12 hours.

I love, like really love, the pink sparkles among the purple.  Two of my favorite colors in glitter form is just about all I can ask for.  I noticed with my bottle as well as all of the ones I've seen on displays lately, that the glitter settles big time.  There's about 1/4 of the bottle (at the top) that is the clear base and the glitter settles to the bottom, so remember to shake before using.

Fresh Paint Eggshell & SH Glass Slipper

I did a layered mani with Fresh Paint Eggshell underneath Sally Hansen Glass Slipper.  So wintery and snow-like, click to enlarge on these to see the detail!

There is the MOST subtle white shimmer in Eggshell.  It's a pretty unique color being a sheer, jellylike white with the shimmer.  I'm pretty sure I didn't capture the shimmer on camera but I assure you, it's there.  This is 3 coats over CND Stickey, no TC.

It just looks so squishy and shiny.  I got this at Five Below for $2 but they're also sold for 3 for $5.  The bottle is square and reminds me of the Color Club bottles, which I love.

Then I added SH Glass Slipper which is a white flakie.  It looks so icy in the bottle, love love love.

That is just one coat of SH Glass Slipper; it's densely packed and I like that.  I sealed with one coat of OTD and between the two polishes, it was such a shiny, pretty manicure.  Definitely perfect for winter!  I bet it'd look crazy with ChG Party Hearty over it, too!

Orly Nail Rescue Step by Step Tutorial

It's not rocket science, its actually super simple and effective but I thought since I just had a minor break today on my pinky that I'd document it and make a post out of it for anyone who is curious.

Packaging

Inside the box is a brush on nail glue, the repair powder and a square file/buffer.  Lets be real, I lost the buffer after my first use.  You can use your own files or buffers since the one they include is small and awkward anyways.

So I somehow chipped my nail this morning, it wasn't drastic by any means - but to have cut at the break and then file would mean I would've had to even out my other nails and shorten them to match.

This is the chipped/broken nail.  It was still attached so I was able to use that as base for the Nail Rescue.  It was super bendy and ready to break off.


Now, I don't have a photo of my nail with the glue on it because the glue dries quickly and I needed to get the powder on as soon as possible.  But just imagine that same fingernail all shiny and you get the basic idea.

Then you dip your nail into the powder - I personally apply the glue to my WHOLE nail and then dip my WHOLE nail into the powder.  The directions tell you to do it that way too, even though the step-by-step photos on the side of the box shown it done differently.  I prefer to put my entire nail in to make sure I'm being thorough.

Ok that looks a mess, I know.  Brush or blow off the excess powder.  Your nail will feel grainy after that.  To smooth it out, use your files and buffers to smooth it down.  You'll know its good when it FEELS smooth. It won't look smooth but it will definitely feel very smooth to the touch.

It doesn't look "finished" but it actually felt just fine at this point.  I used the file to smooth the edges and sides of my nails and my buffer to get the surface area nice and smooth.

My "Rescued" Nail

All polished and good as new!

I love and recommend this product.  I've used it 3 times total and its done exactly what it is supposed to each time.  I don't suppose it would work in the event that you actually snap part of your nail off - at least, I've never attempted reattaching it.  I hope this was helpful! (=

Edit to add additional info:  I bought this at Sally's for around $6 or $7.  I think it is also worth mentioning, that in my personal experience, once on the nail, the powder does not dissolve in acetone (even 100% acetone).  After removing nail polish with it, the powder is still holding my nail together nicely.

More On Revlon Dupes Deborah Lippmann Glitter In The Air + Swatch Comparison

Holy pageviews on my previous post batman!  I went back to Harmon's today to pick up the Revlon Dupe of DL GitA to do swatch comparisons.  They are very very very similar.  Revlon is slightly more opaque, which I think was what people wanted in GitA to begin with.  The difference isn't really noticeable until the 3rd coat.

Side by side bottle comparison - identical, right?

One Coat

Two Coats

Three Coats

For those interested and on the prowl for Whimsical, I took two more pictures of the display.

I hope this was helpful!