Gold, part II: Boots 17 Black Glitter Crackle

Okay, I know everyone is sick of crackles. But this might be worth a second look. It's a black shatter topcoat, with little gold glitter particles. I found that you have to give the bottle a good shake, but otherwise it's very easy to apply, the glitter doesn't pool, and it shatters well (albeit in small 'chunks').

I love the finish over Midnight Kiss from yesterday. It makes me think of tapestry. Very textural and pretty. I had a lot of compliments on it today, and it meant I got to crack out my gold glitter pumps, so everyone's a winner.

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OPI Black Onyx and another watch...

I really do have a watch problem. But this one wasn't spendy. I got this in the summer on mega clearance at Macy's (plus another 20% off coupon! POW!). It looked like it was something that someone had returned, as it wasn't a model they were currently selling, and the price tag was just a jankity receipt stapled around the band. I inspected it fully and there were no scratches, so it seemed new. And I love it. And it looks great with a black mani.

OPI Black Onyx is my current favourite black creme. It's darker and inkier than Essie Licorice, and covers more easily. I think all black can look really elegant and classic, especially on shorter nails! Plus I can finally say "yes" when one of my someone invariably asks "is that black nail polish?". I get asked this every time I wear something even semi-dark. Someone even asked me that when I wore Metro Chic once. Umm...what?

What do you think of black nails - stagnant & stuck in the 90s or chic & oh-so modern?

kittytokaren

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Lippmann Funky Chunky

(2 coats)


So... I don't hate this. It reminds me of an 80s purse in black patent faux-snakeskin (with a chain armstrap!). I've never hated this. I've worn it a few times, in fact.

This is a trick to apply and to dry: The glitter sinks so you have to shake it like a polaroid picture in between coats and then you have to sit and let it dry because a top coat would ruin the finish. The whole situation is not ideal. But it's so weird, different, and hated that I have to like it...like an underdog.

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Black Birthday - Essie Licorice

Today is my birthday. Another year older. I hate birthdays. I always have.

Example. When I turned 4 I had a birthday party. My parents brought in a cake and I blew out the candles - and promptly burst into tears. My mother asks, "What's wrong schnuckiputz??" and I wail in the response "I'M ONE YEAR CLOSER TO DYING!!!". That's when the video recording stops.

Another example. My 9th birthday I had a meltdown because I was "one year away from double digits". I'm pretty sure my parents had no idea what to do with me.

Every year now I have a mental breakdown on the day of my birth. I am just not good with getting older. But for all the anxiety it causes, I think I handle it pretty well. I have my one day of depressive emo morbidity, and then I get over it. So to "celebrate", I'm wearing black. Essie Licorice.

kittytokaren

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Ulta Little Black Dress

Do you know that polish that you have in your Helmer (or on your shelf, in your drawer, whatever) that is the polish that you always reach for, that polish that makes the birds sing a little sweeter and chocolate taste even better? Oh, Little Black Dress, that is what you are to me.



I cannot BELIEVE that I have neglected to post Ulta Little Black Dress until now! LBD is one of my favorites of all time, and I do not say that lightly. It's a two-coat black with a smattering of silver glimmer that gives it that WOW factor when it hits the light. It's edgy yet elegant and a dream to apply. I seriously cannot say enough about this incredible polish.

Do you own LBD? Are you as in love with it as I am?

Happy day, all!

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OPI Black Shatter

I do not live in a hole, and I realize that you have seen fifty million photos of OPI's Black Shatter...


AND I DON'T CARE! It's awesome, it's awesome, it's awesome and I LOVE IT!

Shown here is Black Shatter over China Glaze Millennium and it is AMAZING! I taught a ceramics class the day after I applied this lovely combo and at one point I had to stop the critique because too many students WERE DISTRACTED BY THE AWESOMENESS ON MY NAILS. True story.

... and talk about a dream to remove! Presto and it was gone!

Awesome.

Happy day, all!

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Stick It On! - Sally Hansen Nail Effects in Cut It Out

There's been huge buzz about the Sally Hansen Nail Effects polish strips lately - they've been popping up in drugstores all over the country and nail-obsessed people and 'civilians' alike have been quizzing me about them!

I purchased 3 - Laced Up (black lace on a nude background), Girl Flower (multi-colored flowers), and Cut It Out (black and white flowers). Initially I was going to go for Laced Up, but I went with my gut feeling at the moment - Cut It Out. extraH just made it look so good in her initial post about these!

Unfortunately I was so mesmerized by these, I forgot to take a photo on Day 1!! I was so busy staring at them, that I didn't take a photo until...

Day 3

I have to say, I adored the pattern. I'm not a big nail art person, but this was neutral enough for me to handle. I kept staring at it. Other people did too! I got so many compliments from random strangers.

However what was really important for me was wear time. I managed to keep them on/stay sane until...

Day 7

Looks pretty good except for some growth right? I did get a little chip on my index finger...which was enough to drive me over the edge to remove it. I was also pretty antsy to change my polish!

My take on these? FAB. I have the Girl Flower ones on my toes right now and I'm really loving them. I don't want to subject you to my grotesque foot digits, but suffice to say that after a couple days, they still look great! I think these are a perfect alternative to Minx. To be honest, my Minx experience was short-lived and highly negative. These are cheaper, easier, and last longer. The one downside? There aren't enough patterns that I would feel happy wearing on a daily basis. Sally Hansen - call me up. I have some great ideas for work-appropriate strips!

Speaking of designing your own nail strips...(imagine me wiggling my eyebrows at you right now)...check out our Inque nail design contest!! Aren't finding a pattern you like? Design your own, get them sold by Inque! I can't wait to try the winning design!!

Have you tried nail strips yet? Love it or leave it?

kittytokaren

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Low Contrast Crack!

So by now I'm sure you have all heard of OPI Black Shatter - the "new" (read: 90's throwback. Were the 90s really long enough ago for throwbacks?) polish trend that's putting everyone in a panic. Black Shatter has been released in two OPI collections so far - the Serena Glam Slam Australian Open set, and the Katy Perry collection. I am sure that we will see different colours of shatter (red/pink, white) in upcoming Serena collections. Top secret intel.

The crackle finish...I wasn't sure how I felt about this making a return to trendiness. It can go way tacky, messy and just not wearable for me. Both of the collections this was released in suggest that you pair Black Shatter with a colourful, sparkly polish underneath. BUT I was itching to try it in a slightly different way. I wanted to keep the finishes of the polish the same (creme), and the contrast low to make the effect a little more subtle. So I wanted to show it to you with one of my favourite polishes - Essie Smokin' Hot.

OPI Black Shatter over Essie Smokin' Hot:

Another shot from another angle and with flash - I put so much topcoat on, it was so shiny and reflective it was hard to get a clear pic!

Result? I'm surprised, but I love it. Yes! I think its cool. Appropriate for all occasions? No. But I'm enjoying it. I also tried this over OPI Suzi Skis in the Pyrenees and OPI William Tell Me About OPI and I love those combinations as well. I'd also like to try it over the same colour, but a different finish - i.e. a shimmery black like Chanel Noir Ceramic.

Have you tried the crack? What's your verdict - whack/not whack?

kittytokaren

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China Glaze Black Diamond

Well hello again, my friends! Can you say the end of finals? I certainly can! Bring on the vacation!!

Even though I have been absent, I have not been without polish, I assure you. Well, I take that back - I was for one say, and I felt more than naked... I felt like I was naked AND wearing shoes. You know, exposed AND weird.

I did manage to get some of this little lovely - China Glaze Black Diamond.



I was lemming this one (did I use that term correctly?) for quite some time and finally tossed it in Ye Olde Trans Design shopping cart, you know, because I DESERVED IT. What I didn't deserve was the sheerness of this polish. Four coats? FOUR COATS? Sister, please. I do not DO six coats, especially for a dark polish. You make it in two or you get ignored, Ms. Polish.

So anyway, yes, I loved the graphite shimmer of this polish and I loved the wear, but four coats? No ma'am.

Hint: I think I may have found a sweet, CHEAP dupe. (huzzah!) More to come.

Happy day, all! I have missed you!

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China Glaze Endurance with Barry M Nail Effects (crackle!!)

As promised a few days ago, some photos of China Glaze Endurance with a crackle polish over it.

China Glaze Endurance with Barry M Nail Effects

This photo was taken on the last day of wear: we're looking at ten days of wear for the ChG Endurance and four days with the Barry M crackle polish layered over it. As you can see, the crackle has a tendency to fade towards the tips... but I kind of liked the look of this towards the end. It just looked really interesting.

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It snowed on Hallowe'en...

So... this is a little late but although I haven't been around in a while I have still been doing manis and taking pics from time to time.  For Hallowe'en this year (yes, it's a HUGE deal to me: :P) I rocked out cybergoth style with a touch of a snowflake motif. Because my "costume" (such as it was) was electric blue and black I figured I should have a mani just as awesome. Now it's just in time for the holidays!

The extra touch of awesome comes from the fact that it's also Louboutin mani inspired so there's electric blue under the nail too.

China Glaze - Liquid Leather (base)
China Glaze - Frostbite (stamp, under tip)
China Glaze - Awaken (snowflake stamp)
Konad - Silver (snowflake stamp)
Konad - m59 (snowflake)
Konad - m70 (graffiti)

Hope you guys like it!

-mKat

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I Love Accent Nails!

I love doing accent nails.  It's actually my favorite way to wear those super glittery polishes that are a huge pain in the butt to remove (even with the foil method).  I love wearing a plain creme or jelly polish as my main color and then a coordinating glitter bomb on my ring finger or thumb.  This is super easy since you don't have to be very creative to do it.

Here's a recent accent manicure I did with Orly Orange Punch and OPI Extra-Va-Vaganza ring fingers.  I used four coats of the Orly and three of the OPI.

I got a close-up picture of the glittery ring finger for you.

 
Another recent accent manicure I liked consisted ofOPI Lincoln Park After Dark with OPI Mad As a Hatter thumbs.  I went with three coats of each for this one.

I even went with an accent nail manicure for Christmas last year.  I loved this one.  I went with (I think?) three coats of BB Couture Fairy Blood for the red and three coats of China Glaze Emerald Sparkle for the green.

This was one of my favorite accent manicures.  I went with four coats of Essie Marshmallow and four coats of Pure Ice Strapless.

Another favorite of mine is Essie Licorice with OPI Mad As a Hatter ring fingers.  I went with three coats of the Essie and four of the OPI.

Another one I did around the same time is OPI A Grape Fit! and Mad As a Hatter.  I did three coats of each.

I also love this combination and I've done it several times since.  This is three coats of OPI Dating a Royal with four coats of OPI Absolutely Alice.

And last, but not least, is a manicure I did with three (maybe four) coats of OPI Do You Lilac It? and Mad As a Hatter.

I know accent nails are everybody's cup of tea, but they sure are mine!

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Black glitter holos from Australia: Glitter Gal and Ozotic!

I am FLABBERGASTED at how long it took me to get the Glitter Gal swatch up. It's such a great polish.

Glitter Gal Black

Two coats, so smooth, opaque. AND SPARKLY. This is a very holo polish and that makes me VERY happy. :)

Ozotic 526

Do you see the holo in the bottle? DO YOU SEE THE HOLO ON THE NAIL? No. :( That being said, this was only one coat, that's how opaque it is. Unfortunately, the pretty holo glitter is lost. Not happy. :(

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Dare To Wear Back To Basics Collection

So I ordered this collection of polishes after seeing Lextard's swatches on her blog.  Seriously, when I need lemmings, I just check out her blog.  I have a nail crush on her.  I got these from Ebay for around $30 (USD) after shipping.  Not a bad deal, I think.  I really like all of them except I had some trouble with the white one, which I'll explain later.  For now, here are my swatches!

First up, this is True Red.  Seriously, this one's a perfect cherry red creme.  I used two coats for this swatch, but I could have gotten away with one if I'd been a little more careful.

This is Yellow Twist.  I don't usually wear yellow polish, but I do know about how difficult they normally are.  This yellow isn't difficult to work with at all.  I only needed two coats and I will definitely use this one as my perfect rainbow yellow from now on.  Great formula.

Enchanted Forest is a deep, mossy green.  I was under the impression that this was a jelly and I have no idea where I picked that up.  I might be confusing it with Nars Zulu.  This is definitely a very pigmented creme and I only needed two coats for this swatch.  Still, it's a great color and I'm glad I have this set.

Ocean View is a medium blue creme.  It's super pigmented as well and I only needed two coats.  It's been a while since I swatched these, but I wrote "perfect" in my notes when I swatched this one.  It's seriously perfect.

Powerful Black.  I needed two coats here, but the formula is super creamy and pigmented.  When I reach for a black creme for layering, I usually go with Wet 'n' Wild Black Creme, but I just might reach for this one next time.  Sure, I needed one more coat, but it's super glossy and nearly perfect to work with.  Very nice, indeed.

And lastly, this is Rue St. Vincent.  Unfortunately, I think my bottle sucks.  The formula is chunky and watery at the same time.  I carefully applied three coats for this swatch, but I would definitely not wear this one as a manicure when there are much nicer white polishes out there (Sally Hansen White On, for instance).  I swatched this one first and was a bit disappointed so I'm glad the rest made me change my mind.  Since this was the only one with a horrible formula, I'm thinking that it's just a fluke.

Overall, I really like these.  The kit came with a clear top coat as well.  I'm pretty sure it's not fast drying, but I'm going to try it out with Seche Vite to see if that'll stop the shrinkage I get with Seche Vite.  All these swatches are without top coat (most of mine are) and you can see how glossy they are.  I am very glad I ordered these.

UPDATE:  I tried the Dare To Wear top coat underneath Seche Vite and it ended up wrinkling.  :o(

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Street Wear Vice and E=mc²

Whenever I start trying to swatch on a theme, I inevitably get bored if there are more than twelve polishes that follow that theme in my stash. Hence, I haven't gotten through as many Street Wears as I've wanted to in the past year. But here are two more...

Revlon Street Wear Vice

Gunmetal grey shimmer. A little bit on the sheer side for a dark grey polish: three coats. And it's so totally brushstrokey, which I think is normal for polishes from this era. But it doesn't mean I love it. There's still something kinda badass about this polish though and I liked it better than I though I would.

Revlon Street Wear E=mc²

I would have been happier with this polish if I could ever get it opaque. This is four coats and I think six would've been perfect but I didn't have the patience for six that day. Still, I really liked this manicure, even though it was a bit sheer: it looked icy and textured and odd... and that appeals to me. This photo was taken after the second day of wear.

Close up of E=mc²

Sparse-ish blue and silver glitter in a grey-blue shimmer base. Interesting, though maybe not pretty.

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Sally Hansen fail, Icing win

The other day, I was in the mood for a little retail therapy. Thanks to CVS, my credit card and an extra thirty minutes before I was due in a meeting, I was able to partake in some. Credit also goes to Sally Hansen, for having a nice new display of dark colors that I assumed were from a new fall collection (now that I look at permanent displays, I think they were just designed to make me think they were new - no bueno, Sally Hansen) because one of my purchases was a lovely bottle of Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Midnight in NY. It had been a rough week, and sadly it did not end with this polish.

Sally Hansen Midnight in NY

Please note that I said "lovely bottle," as the polish in the bottle was much lovelier than the polish on my nails. If it pleases the court, please note the above photo as Evidence #1: streaky application, VNL after two coats (for $8 a pop, I expect better) and NO GLITTER. That's right, I said GLITTER! There's glitter in that there polish, but WHERE IS IT? Evidence #2: Bottle photo -

THERE is the glitter! We found it! It's in the bottle! Of course it is, because why would I want it on my nail, making it look all lovely and everything? Why would I even expect the shiny, holo glitter effect that the appears so gorgeous in the bottle to ever be on my nails? Especially for $8! That is clearly something that I should have to pay $20 for, right?

Icing Blackout

INCORRECT, because THIS only cost me like $4 and it is lovely, black, dense holo MAGIC! See, Sally Hansen? Pretty bottle, pretty polish. This is Icing Blackout that I bought last winter, and it is what I wanted Midnight in NY to be, but it was not. So why did I bother to BUY Midnight in NY when I already had Blackout?



I don't want to talk about it. I just did. You know what I mean.



Happy day, all!

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