NOTD: NYC Sidewalkers + OPI I Juggle...Men

Last night I tried my theory on how to fix OPI I Juggle...Men and it seems to have helped, I didn't get any weird wrinkles or fissures although I still got some minor shrinkage but I am starting to think that this is more because of the Poshe top coat than anything, I think though that when I put I Juggle...Men over the not completely dry (but dry to the touch) polish yesterday it just amplified the problem. I am glad I was able to work out the issues with I Juggle...Men because I really really think it's lovely.

As for the color underneath that I used, it's NYC Sidewalkers a medium "elephant" gray creme. It's not bad for the price although I found the formula a little watery (maybe due to this being a 60 second drying formula) and the brush a little stiff. But I mean you get what you pay for so I don't think it's too bad if you want a gray creme, I wouldn't pay too much for this color otherwise just because it's so boring on it's own but I wanted a gray for some reason so I figured why not, generally NYC polishes are pretty passable if you want a cheap polish that is pretty decent although I think my favorite cheap polish is probably Essence just because it was so opaque and creamy, but you don't really get a lot.

Click on the picture to see detail, it's hard to see the pretty sparkles unless you do. PS. Don't mind my hideous cuticles~.

NOTD: Orly Terra Mauve + OPI I Juggle...Men

The colors are a bit off for the Orly Terra Mauve in these pictures but the main point of this post is really OPI I Juggle...Men, which is a really beautiful sheer sparkle which is somewhat duochrome pink/light blue. My only issue with it is that it seems to hate me by causing the most bizarre issues to the color below it such as; fissures, crinkling and intense shrinkage. I thought that this was caused by Poshe last time but it appears to not be the case because all these things except maybe the shrinkage happened before I applied it. Don't get me wrong though I've still had issues with Poshe in the past and will still not be repurchasing it. Apparently I am the only one having issues which is baffling me. I am going to try it over dry polish w/ top coat and see if that helps at all because I really love I Juggle...Men and am desperate to make it work. I do want to say though that Terra Mauve went on like butter and was perfectly opaque in 2 coats although if you aren't picky and are pretty careful you could probably get away with one coat.

Sorry I did such a messy job, again I did it rather late and I had no patience for it, not that it mattered in the end but yeah...I am going to aim for an earlier time so I can be a bit neater!

You can see in these pictures some of the shrinkage although it's not easy to see, but on my ring finger and my thumb by the cuticle you can see as good of an example as I can capture but it's also pretty mild compared to some of it. The crinkles and fissures are really hard to capture, especially on a darker color like this, so just try to imagine it...

Essie French Affair Accent Nail Fix

So I ended up painting over the pink on the accent nail last night with Essie French Affair like I was thinking about. It looks much better now even though it's twice as thick, but I just didn't feel like removing the polish before fixing it so meh, next time I'll just plan out what color I want to use a little better ahead of time... I kinda want to do pastel "skittles" but I don't have a lavender or a light blue (both of which I REALLY want right now) and it'd be nice if I had a yellow (well I do have one yellow, but it's not pastel at all).

Also, I don't know if it's Poshe or what, but even after going to bed like 3 hours later I woke up with dents from my pillow/blanket...wtf? I did 3 coats, yes they were a bit thick but what's the point of a quick dry top coat that doesn't help hours later? Once I am done with this bottle of Poshe I am going back to Seche Vite for sure, and getting some Restore as well...but I will probably pour it into the Poshe bottle since it's a lot better.

NOTD: Revlon Minted + Revlon Temptress

I was actually originally going to use $OPI Mash Up last night, but it kept messing up because I had to do like a million layers it was so sheer, even after 3 there was still VNL...dunno if I'll be using it again, kind of wish I got the Katy Perry version, since Mash Up wasn't even that duochrome.

So I decided to go another direction completely and do pastels! I forgot how dark of a pink Temptress is though, although I like the shimmer. I am thinking maybe I should do some Essie French Affair instead maybe? Still thinking about it... Anyways, Revlon's formula was a little watery and took 3 coats to get opaque but wasn't too bad. Their brush is a bit thin with stiff bristles but wasn't the worst ever. I could have also had trouble since it was like 1am when I did my nails though (also pardon the messy job I did, I had no patience for it at all by that point).

As for the colors I really love Revlon Minted, it's a really nice mint green. Temptress I only really got because I wanted the retro bottle/color from the Fire and Ice collection. It's not a bad color just a bit intense. I really love the slight shimmer to it, makes it a little more interesting than a creme, but still mostly creme-y.

What do you think, keep the pink or change it to a more pastel shade?

Misa Dirty Sexy Money, NOTD & Review

After hearing so much good stuff about Misa Dirty Sexy Money and being a lover of this type of color I had to pick up a bottle off of eBay. This color is discontinued so if you want it you need to head over to eBay as well, or try and find it elsewhere. The price wasn't TOO bad though.

Dirty Sexy Money is a lovely dusty green with a bit of a blue tinge to it. It sounds like it's supposed to be the color of money, but as my husband pointed out it's more like the color of the Statue of Liberty. Regardless of what it resembles it's a very pretty color though. The formula was slightly runny but still controllable and pictured is 2 medium-thick coats as you all know that is pretty unusual for me so yeah, the formula is nice and opaque.

EDIT: So this is the morning after application and sadly I noticed a bunch of bubbles so I had to do another layer...but that's so weird, I know it's not me because I've done tons of creme NOTDs that had no bubbles. Luckily this color is worth the trouble but I am still a bit disappointed :/

In natural light.

All 3 pictures in direct artificial light.

NOTD & Review: Zoya Breezi

So after hell...er...glitter removal I opted to go for the furthest thing from a glitter, a creme. I love my glitter polishes but holy cannoli maybe I will limit glitter polishes for my toes (which I don't change as often).

ANYWAY, the reason I am making this post before my backlog of posts is that I am having a weird issue with this polish. It went on like a buttery dream, opaque in one coat but I did 2 just in case (I always do 3 so this is a big deal) however this morning it seems like just looking at the polish has caused it to chip (right thumb and ring finger) and get a gash that spans the whole nail (left thumb). The chips on the right were a bit weird but I did hit/scratch my hand on something relatively rough so I didn't fret about it too much, but the gash on the left thumb really weirded me out as all I did to get it was reach into a box of sugar packets and get a handful of them out. I didn't touch the cardboard or anything, just other sugar packets. WTF? It's also scuffing like crazy.

I think I may have to begrudgingly go back to Seche Vite after I am done with the bottle of Poshe since I can only blame the top coat...one issue was enough (with the polish on my thumbs peeling off earlier) but two really makes me wonder. I never had ANY chipping or anything at all before. I might just start pouring the Seche Vite into the Poshe bottle or something so that I have the perks of the bottle, since that was the main reason for switching anyway (I didn't mind that I'd have to get Seche Restore eventually).

I do have to mention though that like I said earlier application was absolutely perfect, and I just love the color so I do reccomend Zoya Breezi since I am not sure if it's the top coat that caused the issues anyway.

NOTD: Sparkly, Neon and Bright!

Last Friday I decided I wanted to do a wild and crazy NOTD, although in the end I wasn't too big of a fan it was fun while it lasted :). Color Club neons with some NYC and Essence sparklies on top! While this was short lived it was fun...I think I would have kept it on longer if I didn't attempt to, and somehow mess up, using OPI Black Shatter over this and having to fix it...it was just kind of a mess and I think soured me on the whole manicure... Click the pictures below for a closer look :).

OPI Sorbet Layered Over Glitter

So, this is my 1am polish emergency solution (yes, my China Glaze Atlantis on my thumbs decided to peel around 1am). OPI Do You Think I'm Tex-y over Urban Outfitters Afterhours. The very sheer jelly formula of the OPI "sorbet" is perfect for layering over glitter, as they suggested on their Twitter. I think it made a world of difference, since the glitter was very gloopy and gritty this made it much more palatable for me, but I had to do a layer of a thick top coat (Poshe) before I used the "sorbet" to make sure it wasn't absorbed by the glitter and went on smoothly. It's a really nice effect.

Artificial light, no flash.

Artificial light, with flash to show sparklies.

China Glaze Atlantis = LOVE

Got this stuff super cheap ($1.99) in the clearance bin at Sally's....usually they don't have anything good there so this was quite a treat! Pretty green-leaning teal jelly base with tons of holographic glitter this pretty much hits my 2 favorite things, teal and holo!

Formula was awesome on this one except for some balding and it being a bit gritty...but it's a glitter so I can't really fault it for that, however after a couple days the polish on the thumb nails started peeling! I finished the job, then painted something else on my thumbs (which I'll cover in a separate post) since I couldn't just look like a weirdo with "nude" thumbs! The rest of the nails have been fine except for some tip wear as usual but nothing crazy...I think my thumbs are just weird!

In artificial light.

Blurred (in artificial light) so you can see the effect of the holo glitter better.

Blurred in natural light.

In bright natural light.

In the bottle, blurred at the bottom to show the holo effect.

The bottle, completely in focus.

NOTD: Orly Sapphire Silk + Essence Movie Star

I've been wanting to use Orly Sapphire Silk again for a while, it's a very pretty color. I didn't want to do anything too fancy since I overdid it on my last manicure a little bit. I wanted to try something a bit different for the accent nail this time though, so I used Essence Movie Star which is just a gray creme...but a surprisingly nice one.

My only complaint is that the bottle is so tiny, but with the price I guess I can see why. The brush is very good, usually mini bottles' brushes are mini and stiff as well but not the case here. The formula was also very good. I will definitely get more colors by Essence next time I go to Ulta (which is the only place I've seen that brand). I also like that there isn't a stark contrast between the 2 colors. Most of the time when I do the accent nail it's really obvious, but this is a nice way to have a little fun, but not TOO much fun haha.

This is the manicure I used my new Poshe top coat on...so far so good, as you can see it has a high shine and all that.

In indirect sunlight. The colors are more accurate here.

In direct sunlight.

Poshe Quick Dry Top Coat

My bottle of Seche Vite is still 1/3 full, but I could barely get what was in there. Frustrated, I decided to try Poshe's quick dry top coat since it got many reviews comparing it's bottle favorably versus Seche's. After using it I definitely agree, I like the brush much more and it nearly reaches the bottom (which will cause it to avoid my issue with Seche's bottle) and for application it seemed softer and wider.

Now I just have to test it's wear etc. as I'd seen some reviews saying it peeled/chipped easily, and since i'd never had that issue with Seche Vite I'd have to go back to it if it proves true. So far so good though, but I haven't even had it on for 12 hours yet, so...I hope it continues like this! Also the drying time is on par with Seche Vite, so no complaints there. I think as long as it doesn't peel or chip and has the same wear as Seche Vite then I'll keep buying it instead from here on out.