Update: Santa and Reindeer

Yet another short update.

The only real problem area I had was my left pointer.

Other than that, just the typical wear and tear.

Hope you all had a nice holiday!

Jess

Santa and His Reindeer

This one is another request by my mother to try. Another pic she posted on facebook, which I have since tracked down to here and here. The funny part of it was that she was upstairs saying how she wanted me to do this one next, I was downstairs about 50% through my last manicure.

Poor timing lol.

What she posted, if you haven't checked either of those links yet, is a very simple reindeer mani with one certain red-nosed reindeer thrown in on the accent nail. Since I then had a whole week to think about it, while listening to a lot of Christmas music, was that technically that should only cover nine of my nails. I need a tenth, right?

Remember Dana's Santa mani from last year?

Update: Christmas Hippos

The only down side to this manicure was that I had the song stuck in my head for the entire week.

I had to patch a few cracked teeth here and there but otherwise, marvelous.

Jess

Vivid Lacquer: Murdered by Pirates is Good

Sometime between Black Friday and Cyber Monday (I don't remember which day it was exactly) I ordered some stamping plates from Vivid Lacquer. You know, because I wasn't frustrated enough with the dozen plates I already had* and thought I'd add to the collection. When I got my package in the mail, I discovered an unexpected bonus: a bottle of gorgeous charcoal gray, seemingly holographic, but wait, that's blue sparkles in there, nail polish. I flipped the bottle over and found the name: Murdered by Pirates is Good. Now, I'm not always up on pop culture so if there's a reference I have no idea what it is--but the name, it's catchy! The name comes from The Princess Bride. (This is what I get for writing posts at 2 or 3 in the morning, ok??)

Elf Pants featuring I Love Nail Polish Very Ornamental & A Fresh Evergreen

I Love Nail Polish, along with every other nail polish in the world (including mine!) has recently released a Christmas line. ILNP's consisted of three polishes, a red/green/gold shift called Nostalgia, and a red and a green holographic. When I received these polishes, I was in the middle of rocking a gorgeous holographic polish I'd gotten from Too Cute-ical called American Beauty, but I had to try the ILNPs out right then. I grabbed up the red Very Ornamental, painted half of my thumbnail (I wanted a comparison to the American Beauty). Then I grabbed the green A Fresh Evergreen and painted the other half of the same nail. I took a quick pic and texted it to Jess.

 Her response?

 ELF PANTS!

I Want A Hippopotamus for Christmas!

This one is almost entirely inspired by Dana, in a roundabout sort of way. A couple of months ago she linked me to an image of a DIY Hippo mani, which I downloaded for future reference. While looking for the source so I could credit it, I realized someone cut the credit off the original photo, so I've ditched that one in favor of the real thing.

It kept lurking at the back of my mind to try but as it's like, the season for nail art I put it off until a better time. Until a certain song came on the radio the other day...

Update: Santa Hats

Boy did I bubble the heck out of these. It annoyed me all week. I was tempted to take 'em off several times and redo them. Other than that, they were pretty much perfect.

A few edges are lifting, the right middle finger was just about to give. But that's really all. :)

Jess

Santa Hats

I got the idea for these from my mother, who posted this photo to my timeline on facebook way back at the beginning of November.

She loved them. She posts a lot of nail art at me but this is one she went on about in real life afterwards. I've done a brief Google image search for them and can't seem to immediately find to whom it belongs so if you know or it's yours and would like me to slap a credit on there, get in touch and I shall do so pronto.

Update: Turkeys Again

I painted these late in the week so by the time the week was up there were so many exciting things going on around here that I held off a few extra days and then plumb forgot!

Nothing to report on anyhow. There's that little inset of my right thumb in the middle there that shows sort of a ripple effect going on, but I'm certain I did that to myself trying to remove a sticker or a price tag or something similar before it was completely dry.

Multi-Blogger/Indie Polish Maker giveaway!!

Good news, kids! Lacquer: The Best Medicine is hosting a huge holiday giveaway and Dreamy Lacquer Company is lucky enough to be included! The contest opens today and runs through 12/31/13. I'm putting this same info over on our Giveaway page so it's not so hard to find after a few posts here on the main page. And now, here's all the info, straight from Ariel at Lacquer: The Best Medicine:

It's that time of year, ladies & germs! We're bundling up, gettin' toasty by the fire, and best of all, we're wearing our HOLIDAY polishes! And, since we can never have enough holiday ANYTHING, here's a giveaway for you to enter with LOADS of prizes up for grabs to keep your nails nice and festive this holiday season!

The giveaway is open internationally, so feel free to enter no matter where you're from! <3

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good Luck! =)

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Spellbound Nails: All of Time & Space

I recently purchased this nail polish from Spellbound Nails, at her Storenvy shop. She's got some gorgeous polishes, but I'd had my eye on All of Time & Space for a fair bit of time now, and with the recent Dr. Who 50th Anniversary episode on tap, I snatched this little beauty up and celebrated the return of Ten and Eleven in style :)

Thanksgiving Turkeys Round 2

And a bit differently this time. Although this one is the main one you see when you Google image "Thanksgiving nail art." I was trying to keep it simple as I waited too long and had a lot to do already. It's something about me and Thanksgiving where I decide to wait until the last minute to do these.

Update: ILNP Cygnus Loop (H)

As much as I loved this look it was a real pain to keep. The CL(H) started chipping the very first day and refused to give up. It was a constant battle to keep it looking nice. On the very last day, I lost two of them. Whole.

Lots of compliments on it. And it still mostly looks good. It was effort. I didn't have a base coat on so that may be part of it.

Jess

The Thin Blue Line: WnW Fast Dry Saved by the Blue & SHSM Midnight in NY

I may or may not have mentioned here that I work for a police department. I'm not an officer, and I have no desire to be, but I have a great appreciation and respect for the job those good people do every day. I see, on a lesser scale, the kinds of situations they confront and the people they deal with, both good and bad, every day. I know what it means when someone says "family, blood and blue". I see the thin blue line. And I know what it feels like to be a member of the big blue police family.

ILNP Cygnus Loop (H) French Manicure

ILNP is my new favorite place. I could seriously throw all of my money at that website and not eat for the rest of the month. I would at least die happy and with beautifully painted nails.

Dana's the one that found 'em first and then pointed me at them when the Ultra Chromes were on pre-sale. Which I totally forgot to purchase so I had to sit through the release. I freaking hate releases and restocks and I will avoid them like the plague but I really wanted to make sure I got these.

Dear rest of the polish world,

If you would so kindly handle your releases and restocks the way ILNP does, we would all have such easier lives. It may even ignite world peace.

Sincerely,

Every Polish Addict Anywhere Ever

Update: JulieG Holiday Frosted Gumdrops

These are great polishes. For the durability at this price point they're a steal. No chips, no peeling, no weirdness with the growth at the cuticles, hardly even any tip wear.

See that? Considering the last texture I wore, which chipped pretty badly by comparison to these and cost me twice the price, I very much recommend these.

With one word of caution.

A really awesome manicure and then the one I actually wore.

I was sitting around a few weeks ago, trying to think of a good fall manicure to do. After the pumpkins I wanted to try something else artsy so I started looking up other ideas online. I didn't know what I wanted though. I finally settled on leaves of some sort because hey, what says Autumn more than the changing leaves on the trees?

And then I thought...well why can't I just use leaves? I totally went there.

OPI Beauty Brands Exclusives: Teal Me How Chic I Look and GlitterChic

Beauty Brands is one of those stores I try to avoid. Little kid, candy store--except this kid has a more expensive addiction than to the stuff in the penny candy jars!

For all the orders I've made to Beauty Brands online, though, I am somehow not on their mailing list. Then Jess texted me a picture of their recent email blast with the caption "I'm going to need you to go to Beauty Brands for me" and I immediately crammed a trip to the brick and mortar into my immediate future.

Update: Zoya Cola and Color Club Revvvolution

I was going to title this ZC and CCR...and then I giggled because CCR. Favorite CCR song. Again, you're welcome.

It's once more with the very short post. Nothing much to mention here, everything worked out well.

Just tip wear. Things are starting to get a bit hinky at the corners and one of the jewels was starting to catch at my hair but it all was coming off anyhow, so who cared. The only note of complaint is that darn Revvvolution. It was a bust in the holo department, never even noticed it.

Jess

Zoya Cola and Color Club Revvvolution

Went pretty plain this week. Last week, while they were adorable and worked out so well and I loved them, took forever lol. I was tired. So this week, mostly plain. Hey, I threw some jewels in!

I've had Zoya Cola hanging around in the back of my mind ever since I bought it. It's not one of my go-to colors, I'm mostly not a reds person unless they're really dark, but I like this one. I really does remind me of a cola soft drink. And I get this stuck in my head every time I think of it.

You're welcome.

Update: Halloween Pumpkins

As cute as it was, I fought it the whole week. The Hot & Spicy just kept trying to chip and mess it all up. I managed to keep it intact but it was definitely an uphill battle.

Because of all that effort it ended pretty strong. If you could get in close you'd see all the fixed edges though. The good thing about the orange is it didn't stain my nails a whit, so that mostly makes up for it.

On a personal note, to anyone who liked the post on the facebook page or gushed about them in person and happens to be reading this, thank you! That meant a lot to me. I was really proud of these so it was neat to have everyone else think they were as nice as I did lol.

Jess

Halloween Pumpkins

You know how when you're working on something, trying something new that you're not sure is going to work for whatever reason, and as you're working on it you start smiling and giggling because it's going so much better than you had expected and you're just so ridiculously proud of yourself for pulling it off anywhere near as close as you were hoping much less even better than that?

That was all one sentence.

Considering last year's Halloween mani, and my lack of skill and procrastination on practice, I was that person up there. Because this turned out so much better than I thought it would.

Update: A-England Bridal Veil and Princess Sabra

Excellent polishes, almost no issues. One chip at the last minute.

Another positive and short post. I'm okay with that, yep.  lol

Jess

Who doesn't love a Deborah Lippmann sale?

Just a quick heads up, ladies (and possibly gents--I do not want to exclude any possible readers)! If you love the Deborah Lippmann polishes but don't so much love the price, head yourself over to Beauty Brands for 50% off!

A-England Bridal Veil and Princess Sabra

Sort of a Halloweenish mani, I guess. I just really wanted to wear Tristam's eyes, I love that cat.

Smitten Polish: Bifröst & I Never Drink...Wine

But first--happy belated 1 year anniversary to Jess and TwoGirlsOneObsession! Jess pointed out to me earlier tonight that we'd missed our 1st Anniversary, which was October 2. Thank you for reading along, and I hope you stick with us! If you want to give us a present, we love comments! And now, on to the reason we're really here!

Smitten Polish, in my opinion, is polish genius.* I admire her creativity so much, and when she announced the new fall holos, I thought for about 2 seconds before leaping headlong into ordering the Fall Tree-o.

Update: Zoya Ibiza

Once again, the only bad thing about a good polish is they make for boring posts.

Absolutely nothing until the last day, which was an extra day, and then that right thumb and the inside of the left thumb chipped small amounts. Tip wear. The end.

Jess

Zoya Ibiza (with Stickers)

Oooooh... Aahhhhhh...  Yep, this is one of my favorites. Dark blue. Love it.

Update: Hard Candy Emerald's Eve

Zero unexpected issues. I didn't even have one of them pop off whole!

Some tip wear and you can't see 'em but there's some rough and jagged edges that got grabby (mostly my hair) through the week. Other than that, nothing at all.

Jess

Hard Candy Emerald's Eve

I am suddenly obsessed with Hard Candy polishes, I dunno why. But here we have great big glitter shells for the week.

Teal and gold, mostly, but they flash many many other colors.

Update: Cirque Dark Horse

Very little to say about this. No issues whatsoever during the wear.

Just some tip wear exacerbated by the SV use. Other than that, smooth sailing. The only note of concern, and it's a minor one, is because it's glitter removing it will be awful without using foils. Otherwise, perfect.

Jess

Dreamy Lacquer Co: Legend of Sleepy Holo

Spoiler alert! I've been working on some holographic polishes. I think most holos are so beautiful, and I can never get enough of them, so I thought I'd try my own hand at it.

Cirque Dark Horse

This is the polish that made me discover Cirque. Of course it was Scrangie, and of course because it's a black I had to have it. I love Cirque, the whole sort of dark mystique about it, and have hopes of someday perhaps trying to own them all. Gee I wish she had sales more often lol.

Every time I plan to wear Dark Horse, I have nails break enough that I gotta cut 'em all back. Why does that happen? Truly, it's disgusting. It happened this time, too. I decided it wasn't stopping me, so perhaps that will break the curse.

Update: Glitter Gal Belgian Chocolate

As Dana mentioned in a previous post, I am not happy with the Lippmann Gel Lab set. Sucks. Hate it. I had so many problems on that first mani and while it didn't happen a few days later with that one as she said (because I used a different top and base when I repaired, see), it happened with this one. I probably shouldn't have used them again on this but I was really hoping it was something I did. That does not appear to be the case. It's like it intentionally causes massive chipping for me. So unfair.

The Belgian chocolate itself was lovely. I said in the application post how it was sort of thick and that adding some thinner might help it out a bit? Well I got my chance to find out.

Glitter Gal Belgian Chocolate

I love this polish. A chocolatey holo? Sign me up. It took me so long to get my hands on a bottle though. Every time I remembered to check if the stockists had it, they were sold out. Or I'd see it in stock but then something else I wanted wasn't in stock so I'd wait to combine 'em for shipping and then it would go out of stock.

Finally though. Mines, duh. Oh yes, it would be mine! lol

Fing'rs Heart 2 Art

The Fing'rs Heart 2 Art collection has been out since the end of July, from what I've been able to find on the Interwebs, but it just showed up in my local Wal-Mart this week. Of course I went a little bit overboard and bought 3 or 4 of the nail tattoos, a couple of sets of the nail art stickers, and the Stamp It kit.

Although I have yet to complete a full manicure using any one of the things I bought, I have done a bit of experimentation. What I've learned so far:

1. Use a WHITE base coat under the nail tattoos!
2. When you dip your basically trimmed to size nail tattoo in the water, expect the backing paper to soften and bow immediately. There is no wait time here, y'all. 
3. If you think the nail sticker is too wide for your nail (London Bridge), don't even try it. Because it will look stupid if you point the bridge up-and-down. 
4. Stamping requires patience. Develop some. 

I'll let you all know how it goes from here!

A Tale of Two Cities: Deborah Lippmann Gel Lab

Part One: It Was The Worst of Times (or, Unhappy Visit to Chip City)

Pardon me for putting the bad news first and messing with Mr. Dickens' literary masterpiece, but as we've just seen from Jessica's last post, the Deborah Lippmann Gel Lab was none to kind to her and her lovely Bad Romance mani. In fact, her nails took a quick vacation to Chip City on Day 1, and that is never a good feeling when you're using a new base and top coat combo. After repairing the chips and having them happen again a few days later...well, at this point, I think it is fair to say that Jess is less than impressed with the Gel Lab.

However!

Update: Deborah Lippmann Bad Romance

It almost was. A bad romance that is. As I said, this was a lemming of mine and it almost broke my heart on the very first day. It chipped terribly. A twenty-freakin'-dollar polish should not do the things this did. And to top it off, I used Ms. Lippmann's Gel Lab Set. How on earth does it not work on her own polish?

Random Chat

Unbelievably, it has been almost a year since we've posted one of these. Jess just never remembers to save the chats. She shall try to remedy that!

This conversation has been edited slightly, mostly to remove the excessive swearing that occurs when the two of us get together lol.

Dana (3:27:48 AM): hey

Jess (3:28:02 AM): hi

Dana (3:28:25 AM): what's up kiddo

Jess (3:29:04 AM): remember that lacquerous website, the one where you rent polish. did you ever get in?

Jess (3:29:09 AM): cause check your email if not

Dana (3:29:19 AM): no, i didn't. and lol ok

Dana (3:30:28 AM): i didn't get anything. why?

Jess (3:31:04 AM): I did. I'm in. And don't feel bad at all. Because there's only 66 polishes there. And a lot are not hard to find or expensive

Jess (3:31:11 AM): they got a bunch of OPI shatters ffs

Dana (3:31:13 AM): LOL ok. then I won't feel bad

Dana (3:31:29 AM): 15 dollars a month when they only have 66 polishes?!?

Jess (3:31:45 AM): Exactly. And that's the version where they send you what they wanna send you.

Dana (3:31:52 AM): ...eff that.

Jess (3:31:57 AM): If you actually want to choose your polishes, it's like three dollars more

Dana (3:32:00 AM): I could do better than that with my effing stash

Jess (3:32:10 AM): You can log in as me and look around if you want.

Jess (3:32:14 AM): but right now, totally not worth it

Dana (3:32:21 AM): thanks. I'll check it

Jess (3:32:47 AM): I also don't trust them. I read ONE blog post, from like a year ago, that has semi false advertisement.

Deborah Lippmann Bad Romance

This one has been a lemming for me since the very first time I saw it on a blog months ago. I just couldn't justify spending $20 on a polish. Especially where there was already a much more affordable dupe out there, which I bought as soon as I found out about it. I haven't used it yet though. I don't even know why I do such things. I tell myself that yeah, it's to save money and hey, the dupe is just as good, but I know how I am. When my heart is set on something, I'm going to get it eventually.

Which I did, of course. Beauty Brands had a 50% off sale on the Lippmann's and I couldn't resist. This and several others I'd been craving...

China Glaze Autumn Nights Collection - Sale!

No, I don't have it (yet)! I wanted to let y'all know that if you're interested in the China Glaze Autumn Nights Collection, you can pick it up at No More Rack. Just put China Glaze in the search box, it's a lot easier to find them that way.

I ordered mine yesterday and the site said there were 24 hours remaining...then I looked again this evening for a friend of mine and suddenly there's almost 25 hours remaining in the sale, lol. Anyway! All 12 polishes for less than $40, including shipping. Go get 'em!

lovin' the blog!

I was messing around tonight with Bloglovin and found a way to add a button to add 2G1O to your Bloglovin feed! We'd love it if you'd follow us :) You can add us by clicking the link below or by clicking on the button over on the right sidebar. Thanks!


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Update: FNUG Holo Color Blocking

Using a base color (in this case it was the black) helped so much with the holo's eagerness to fall right off my nails. I got some pretty significant gouges here, but it was LOADS better than the first paint with no base color, so don't let them fool you.

The color itself still looks gorgeous. I've seen how some holos, and even some regular cremes and shimmers, tend to fade over the course of a week. Not the case with these ones, they were eye-catching the whole week.

Jess

FNUG Holographics Color Blocking

I finally decided to break these out but couldn't decide which. That's always a problem. If that were my biggest problem, I would be the happiest bumblebee on the face of the earth. I thought I'd try some simple color blocking but things never turn out simply with me, do they?

First of all, some notes on these polishes. I have learned to become very leery of swatches of holos anymore because of the way swatches are taken. In general, it's under the best lighting conditions possible. That's what makes them pretty and, let's face it, marketable enough to grab a readership of some sort. I like seeing those just as much as the next girl but one of the reasons I don't take photos of that sort most of the time is because I wanna see how the polish is really going to look. For example, Essence's Chic Reloaded. I absolutely fell in love with it when I saw swatches but when I wore it, it was crap. It looked awful and nothing like the swatches. Ever.

Update: China Glaze Half Moon Mani

Pretty good for the most part. I had one big chip about three days in and then I got a polish there was no way I wasn't trying out right then so it kind of...evolved over the course of the week, didn't it? For goodness sakes, it started as a water marble lol.

There's the one chip that happened and until I started messing with it again that was really all that happened.

Getting Something Off My Chest

Hello! Those of you who follow Dreamy Lacquer Co on Facebook already know why I haven't been posting here much.* But here goes:

Half Moon Mani with China Glaze Crimson and OMG

I started this one off as yet another failed water marble. Someday I'll get that right. The polishes I chose weren't really working. Sometimes they'd spread on the water's surface, sometimes they wouldn't. Super annoying, I rage quit.

Crimson was one of the colors I chose for it and since I was then in a black mood and it was the closest to black on hand, I went with it. It was a superb application, very creamy and fluid, opaque in one coat if you're careful with it.

Update: OPI I Think in Pink (and stickers)

Okay, the stickers were a pain to remove. Right up there with getting glitter all over the place. The Kiss package doesn't come with removal instructions so I just used acetone and a cotton ball like always. Despite the fact that several of them started lifting before the week was up even with all the top coat I slathered on 'em, it was like the acetone glued 'em back down and then they smeared all over the place before they started breaking up. I had little chunks of sticker all over. Ick.

The polish itself was...well, it's OPI, there isn't too much that needs to be said there. It was still pretty pristine. I had some edges that were just about to chip but nothing at all obvious.

OPI I Think in Pink (and stickers)

For some strange reason I was feeling very girly and pink this weekend. No idea why, I don't usually do such things lol.  Darker colors are where my heart lies. I had just put away a bunch of colors and saw OPI's I Think in Pink during the process and it got stuck in my head so I decided to give it a try.

Application on was...meh. It's very thin and since it's such a light pink and I have something against visible nail line, it took four coats. Seriously, that's like two or three coats beyond my patience limits.

Update: Ninja Polish Dragons

I'm going to make a series of pictures called My Hands in Windows. I made it to my living room ones this time. Once I hit all those in my house, I'll go on tour like Harto!

As for the polish, it was stellar. Although I bet a big chunk of that can be attributed to the Essie base. That's why I like it, see. Still, absolutely no issues at all.

Probably could have let it ride for another week, too. Bored though. Great polishes, you should definitely go get yourself some.

Jess


PS If you have never watched My Drunk Kitchen, go do so and start with the older ones. Hannah Hart is freaking hilarious.

Ninja Polish Dragon Collection

The Dragon collection was released just a few days ago and I managed to get an order in for all five via the facebook release announcement. I usually have bad luck for such things but for once I got to win. Trying to decide which of these to wear this week was very difficult. They're all so sparkly and pretty! I kept changing my mind. And then I realized...there's five of them.

I didn't have to choose!

Maybelline Color Show Holographics: Blue Blaze, Mystic Green, and Lavender Lustre

An Open Letter to Maybelline New York:


To whom it may concern:

I realize that you are a major, huge cosmetics company. You've been in business for almost 100 years (congratulations on your centennial next year, by the way), and I'm just some customer in the good ole Midwest, but even so, I believe I may know a few things that at least one person in your company could stand to learn. Let's start with some definitions!

Update: Avon Saturn

Not a smooth start on this one. Another of those weirdos that had the tiny chipping on the first day but once it was fixed, almost no problems the rest of the week. Why does that happen?

When I repaired it, I decided I should use Avon's liquid freeze just because hey, it's all Avon and it should work better, right? Naw. The third coat I put on took extra long to dry even with the speedy topper added. On the zoom you can see pressure marks on my left middle and ring fingers.

Regardless, it's yet another of those that began poorly but somehow turned it around and went the distance. Great polish.

Jess

Avon Saturn

If you follow us on facebook you'll remember a status update a few days back where I mentioned that Avon had their holo collection on sale. It's called the Cosmic collection, ten different subtle holo shades. Like I said on the fb, we're not talking Color Club Halo Hues here. More like China Glaze's Hologlams.

I'm not exactly a summer person. I hate being hot and sweaty and just bleh. Gross. Pop me in the air conditioning and leave me there until fall gets here. Recently it's just been a disgusting heatwave around here, 90 degrees plus, and I have so been longing for cooler weather. Segue to Avon's Saturn, a crisp pumpkiny orange holo that just makes me think hoodies, jumping in leaf piles, and oh em gee hooray for Halloween.

Update: Cirque Epoch

When I was painting this on I thought it was going to be one of those ones in which I was very disappointed. It's supposed to have all of that duochrome loveliness to it but that whole first day all I really saw was green.

Thankfully, I was wrong. The colors showed pretty often and I was very pleased. It did start to chip, very tiny at the tips, in less than 24 hours after I painted and then continued that pattern the rest of the week. None of them were too awful until this last day.

Cirque Epoch

I had a bit of a tough time with this one. First off, I bought it AGES ago so it's been sitting in the bin since. A lot of Cirque polishes separate, all the ingredients sink to the bottom, so it took a heap load of shaking to get it mixed back up again. Once you do, it does stay for a good bit of time but like the website says, you're gonna need to do some shaking.

Epoch is a dominantly near emerald green glitter that actually has a duochrome to it. It shifts from green through teal to blue and purple. It's mostly a subtle shift, you don't see it all the time, but when it happens, ka-pow.

Updates and Other Stuff

Hello! Yes, it's been a while since I was here. Jess has been doing such a superlative job that I've just stood back and let her do it! And, I've been super-busy with summer time family stuff, work, and DLC. Ok, so that's no excuse, but it's what I've got :o)

Update: Zoya Zara

I tell ya, I need to stop using Seche Vite. I just can't figure out why people say it's such a great product. It shrinks like everything I use it on horrendously. I'm going to post the picture of this and you had best bear in mind that I only wore it for three days and that I used SV to speed dry it. The sad thing is I still have two more bottles of it I need to use up. After that I don't think I'll ever buy it again.

And how on earth did I think these pics were in focus when I took them?

Zoya Zara

Why does it seem more difficult to paint short nails than long ones? And boy oh boy are these short. My middle finger cracked all the way to the base of the tip and took several layers off the top past that into the bed. Major potential for pain missed by a hair, I tell ya. Still. Teeny tiny nails.

Zara is the first Zoya I've ever worn. I know right. I have a ton, I just always choose something else first. But since my Zoyas and A-Englands are in the same box and I had to put recently purchased bottles of the latter away, I went for it.

A-England Briarwood and Excalibur (new edition)

This one is going to be bittersweet. For me anyhow. And there will not be an update.

I got most of the Burne-Jones polishes in one fell swoop a couple of weeks ago. The only one I missed was Briar Rose. I had it in my cart but I played around too long and by the time I got to checkout it was gone. I almost blew off all the others, too, 'cause I was mad at myself but got 'em anyhow.

Briarwood is a dark, dried blood red shade. And it's a strange holo. I'm honestly not even sure how to describe it.

Update: A-England and DLC

Sorry to disappoint. Because it's another short update.

No issues.

Jess

A-England Saint George, Dragon, DLC Devil Grass Ombre

Yay my first ever attempt at an ombre. It was very easy to do, and very messy, and turned out beautifully. And then it got all messed up thanks to one tiny little bottle of speed dry top coat.

First off, application of all three polishes was beautiful. I pretty much love everything A-England puts out, and had all of the polishes until the Burne-Jones Dream collection was released. I would have them all anyhow except that Royal Mail sucks and won't ship them internationally anymore which forces me to wait until they reach a distributor. And since they sell out so freakin' fast when they're released and I'm not willing to deal with that (which means I'll never get an Enchanted Polish...ever), I'm forced to wait. Which I hate.

Jerks.

Update: OPI Goldeneye over DLC VoCI

Quick follow up, I know. I posted the first one like four days after I actually did it. Laziness, yep. I did wear it for six whole days, I promise. Though looking at it you can barely tell.

Very tiny chip on the right thumbnail. Minor tip wear. Zero complaints. :)

Jess

OPI Goldeneye over DLC Vision of Cosmic Importance

Which is not what this started out as. I had this fancy schmancy idea to do some sort of a gold and purple thing which just got too complicated for me to figure out. Because I'm not that talented. I originally pictured some sort of jester pattern, which I just texted Dana to ask her what it's really called. Harlequin, you guys. The logistics of it just weren't coming together, especially since I don't have a stamp and am terrible at freehand still, so it didn't happen.

See where I just said I'm terrible at freehand? Didn't stop me.

FNUG Hipsters with special guest, Goodie Bag

A month or so ago, I entered a contest on Facebook being run by Charlotte from FNUG, which was a giveaway for the Summer 2013 collection. I don't remember what the requirements were, because I am such a nail polish hoarder that I throw my name in the hat for too many contests to count.

Imagine my surprise when Jess texted me (and I quote), "DANA DANA DANA OMG YOU WON YOU WON THAT FNUG CONTEST GO CLAIM GO CLAIM". No punctuation, all caps. I hurried to Facebook and claimed my prize. Which arrived last week--the day after my birthday, incidentally--a totally coincidental, slightly belated but much anticipated gift from Denmark. I went to work with a big ole smile on my face, unpacked my goodies in the car, and carried them inside to drool.

Update: DLC Preacher Woman

I don't know what this girl does to her polish but I wish everyone else would take her lead. How is it that a one-woman hand mixing operation in a small Midwest town USA can make a polish that lasts so well but big name companies can't?

I'm sure there are some of you out there reading this thinking I'm biased and lying somehow just so she sells more bottles. I can't convince you that's not true. The only way you'd ever find out for yourself is to buy some. I'm biased. I freely admit that. But I'm definitely not lying. If it were crap, I wouldn't promote it.

It's not crap.

DLC Preacher Woman

Yes yes yes, I know you already saw this but that was the "professional" post. This is the one where I tell you what it's like to wear, see. Also, I've been seeing pictures of this polish for weeks just waiting to get my hands on it. Or it on my hands. Whichever. There was no way I wasn't going to wear it.

I'm not exactly sure why I like it so much just from the look, to be honest. I almost always gravitate to the darker colors with very few exceptions. This happens to be one of them

Essie: Sunday Funday

Essie makes some really fun colors, and this summer's collection is no exception. I ordered them from CutAndBlow.com a couple of weeks ago--all of them except the apple-green one, which did not ring my bell whatsoever. And I wasn't sure at first why I got Sunday Funday, because historically this kind of pastel bright coral makes me look unhealthy. The tone just works against my very fair, pink toned complexion, and so while I adore the color, I usually avoid it like the plague.

Update: bL Nail Fertilizer Week 4

Last one. Because according to the directions I'm not supposed to use it for at least a month now.

What do I think of it? Honestly, I've never used a treatment like this before. I used to just deal with whatever happened to my nails and moved on. I've never really tried to get them looking all nice and shapely and, let's be honest, photogenic. I only did this so that I could try and take nice pictures for the shop. So I have no basis for comparison.

Are my nails stronger? They seem to be, yes. They're more tough, less likely to bend, peel or break. At the length I have them now I should usually have at least two that have already snapped off.

Swatches: DLC Mainstays Part 1

I figured that while I was trying to show off The Gunslinger collection, trying to get some nice swatches, that I should just go ahead and do all of the store items that I could. These are most of them.

Swatches: DLC The Gunslinger Collection

Fair warning, this one is going to be high on the picture count.

Now comes the time when we show off some swatches of the new collection so you get a better idea what you're buying. Which you definitely need to do. Buy. And so hey, you can do that here.

Update: bL Nail Fertilizer Week 3

Gosh I'm being boring, aren't I? Sorry sorry, it's all for the best, I promise.

First, week three was more of week two. It was just about the same. The nails do seem a bit stronger, they don't bend as much, and they're certainly not breaking or splitting. I do still have a few cracks here and there but my nails will be long enough to file most of those out by the time this is all said and done.

Update: bL Nail Fertilizer Week 2

Is it possible for this to go backwards? Or I just wasn't paying very close attention the last time. Huh. I have the same issues as last week. Is it not fixing those at all and working only on the new growth? I dunno. LOL I'm very on the fence this week.

This time without the poop and shaped up. I can see some of the peely surfaces and a few small places where breaks usually happen. Those didn't seem to diminish this time. They do seem less prone to bending as easily but that just means they hurt more when it happens lol. I dunno. Again. I'm just not sure this time. However, my cuticles look pretty sweet for the most part, so that's a nice change.

Onwards to week three!

Jess

Update: butterLONDON Pitter Patter

Well, I never did see the sparkle. That doesn't mean I didn't absolutely love Pitter Patter, because I did. The color makes me swoon a little bit.

Dreamy Lacquer Co: Guns of My Father

I wanted to show off some of my pretty new Dark Tower: The Gunslinger polishes, so I hope you all don't mind if I indulge myself a little bit. I'm...you know, kind of proud of them.

Update: bL Nail Fertilizer Week 1

Well that's a hard act to follow. lol I do not have my very own bottles of DLC's The Gunslinger polishes yet but let me tell you...I can't freakin' WAIT to get them. I been waiting weeks until the whole set was finished, I'm dying to get my hands on it. Rest assured that as soon as I do I will be swatching like mad, it will be the most I've ever done before. I usually leave such things to Dana but in this case there's no way I'm not going to try them all out.

In light of this, I am very pleased I spent a week with the butter LONDON Nail Fertilizer. It really seems to be working.

The Dark Tower Collection

Here at Dreamy Lacquer Company, we’re big fans of reading in general, but of course we have our favorites. One story we particularly love is the Dark Tower series, written by the incomparable Stephen King.

Butter LONDON Pitter Patter

Butter LONDON has released a new limited edition, US only lacquer in honor of the soon-to-be newest member of the Royal Family, Prince William and Kate Middleton's baby. It's an incredible color, a rich, dark shade of purple that has royalty written all over it. I love the bottle so much--the color is alive with shimmer, swirling and gleaming like nobody's business.

Yay for vacations!

Because they're so lovely. I'm real big on the Staycation:  staying home, sleeping as much as I want, doing whatever, no pressure, no places to go...ahhh. I like traveling sometimes but that's a different kind of pain in the patootie, so I'm mostly to be found hanging out around my house for my time off.

With that in mind, I am not painting my nails this week. They've actually been kinda crappy lately so I figured I'd give them the week off, too. Sort of. I'm trying to get them into some kind of respectable shape for a certain bunch of swatching I'm going to attempt soon, so I'm pooping on them for a week.

Yep.

Update: OPI Bond...James Bond

Mostly uneventful. One thing I did notice was that it left rough tips. You know how when you wear glitter or now the texture kinds, where if you don't smooth your tips before the polish dries you feel your nails catching on things and being extra scratchy? This was nowhere near as bad as either of those but for some reason it did happen. I thought the first time I broke a nail but then there were like three others that did the same thing. So smooth your tips before drying with this one.

This is What Happens When I am Trying to do Something Serious in This House

I'm not going to apologize -- again -- for being neglectful of the blog. I mentioned having a lot of things on my plate, and one of the biggest is about a week from going public, so I've been a little frazzled. Also my nails have not been painted in anything resembling a real manicure since I removed the Red Ticket Item, as I've been super-busy testing out a bunch of different polishes I'm making in my sun room-slash-Frankenlab. The good news is, these polishes seem to have some staying power. The bad news is, I can't show them to you. Yet.

This blog is about life, cats, and our search for great nail polish. This post is about at least two of those three things. To wit:

OPI Bond...James Bond

Our first magnetic. I know right? I did one ages and ages ago, I think before we started the blog, and I freely admit it was a hot mess. Not that the magnet part didn't work or that it looked bad but I didn't wait long enough to top coat so it just smeared it all up.

This one was much easier. I think I got it to about 98%. And possibly broke the magnet. Is it even possible to break a magnet? I didn't think it was but lol I'm not sure what happened.

First off, if you haven't ever used a magnet or have tried and just can't get it right, read a tutorial. Or watch a video tutorial, I know they're out there. I went with Scrangie's, immensely helpful.

Update: Wet N Wild Sprinkled With Love

I'm sitting here trying to decide how to start this post, thinking and picking glitter off my nails about five hours after I removed this polish. LOL We'll get to that part later though.

First though, let's just say we made it the week with hardly any issues. Technically. Because halfway through I got a wild hair and decided to matte it. I finally caved and bought the whole set of the chunky holo top coat polishes from Kleancolor and their Madly Matte was included. Dana and I got on the subject of matte polishes and the thought just wouldn't leave my head. Wonder what this one would look like matted?

Update: Red Ticket Item

To begin, let me throw out a disclaimer: I made this polish. Fair enough? Good, good. Let's go.

Wet N Wild Sprinkled With Love

Also known as POLLILOPS!

Dana found these at Walgreens several weeks ago and it just took them so long to show up in my neck of the woods that she went ahead and grabbed them for me so I didn't miss out. They're very cute, all named after baking somehow. The reason they're pollilops is because they're actually displayed that way--as lollipops. The bottle shape matches and everything.

Don't you just love how my cat used it as a chew toy?

One of my nieces or nephew, I disremember which, misheard lollipops as pollilops and it stuck. Forever.

Update: Essie Hot Commodity

Good nail polishes make for such easy posts. Boring, but easy.

Barely a scratch. The removal wasn't even an issue given the glitter in it. Which means the glitter really went completely unnoticed.

Two more things to note. Good:  It did not stain my fingers an unholy shade of yellow. I appreciated that. Bad:  Dry time was much longer than I realized. Zoom in on that and you'll see all the pressure marks from my first night's sleep despite the SV I used.

Jess

Dreamy Lacquer Co - Red Ticket Item

Jess described in her recent post, Essie Hot Commodity, how she found this lovely polish. What she didn't mention is immediately after she bought her bottle, another was listed on eBay and I snatched it up. It's all her fault, she showed me a beautiful red sparkly and I wanted it for my very own. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!

It's an incredibly lovely base color, but Jess was unhappy with the lack of sparkle from the red or raspberry/pink glitter. And I thought to myself, "I'm gonna try to make that red polish with silver glitter." I wanted to know a) how close I could get to that gorgeous red shade and b) would the silver be an improvement?

Essie Hot Commodity

I found out about this one thanks to a savvy seller on eBay who listed it as something like, "the cousin to Starry Starry Night." I'm not too sure about that. In the fact that it's a jelly polish with glitter in it made by Essie, sure. But then all of them are now aren't they?

Regardless, it's a lovely color. A nice dark red, it made me think of sangria. I at first thought it had silver glitter (it must have been the remnants of the SSN on the brain) but it's not. It's actually a pinkish, sort of almost a raspberry color.

Update: Wet N Wild Blue Jitters

This one was odd. I only had a few chips and most of them happened the very last day I wore it. But woo baby were they some chips.

That happened the second day out so I was not off to a good start. It chipped a little on the side the first day and then I'm thinking cuticle oil helped loosen the whole thing. At least it was easy to fix. Which I did and moved on.

In Which I Swatch Three New Sinful Shine Colors

Sinful Colors has released a new line. As far as I know, they're Walgreen's exclusives, and I happened across them accidentally about a week ago. They claim to be 5 times glossier than a patent leather shoe, which made me laugh. The tag line on the bottle says they have "Gel Tech" but I think this just means that it's all the shine of a gel polish without the UV lamp, cure time, and hassle of removal. They're just 2.99 a bottle, which is a 50% increase from the regular Sinful Colors polishes, but still, that's a lot cheaper than a lot of other polishes out there.

In addition, the range of colors is wonderful. I decided I'd get two colors to start, but I had a hard time choosing and brought three home. I chose Come Hither, Most Sinful, and My Kryptonite. All three are creme polishes. Come Hither is a bright Pepto pink. Most Sinful is a lovely cobalt blue. My Kryptonite is a bright green-leaning teal. There were at least six others calling my name (Blue Steel comes to mind) but I wanted to see if they were worth spending money on before I went too crazy!

Wet N Wild Blue Jitters

This polish has been a lemming for me for a few months now. Dana showed me a swatch online and I fell in love. And yes, I'm sure it's because it resembles SSN. At least, it did in that swatch.

I've had it on my eBay saved searches list since, just waiting for someone to list one. Finally happened, I jumped right on it. $3 for a lemming, you can't beat that. Unfortunately, it does not at all look like that swatch.

As soon as I got the bottle I knew something was wrong. It's purple. There's no blue in it at all. The swatch I saw I believe was this one, or possibly this one. Or yanno what, maybe this one. But here's the thing and this, friends, is where doing further research is important. A google image search only confuses the situation. Some look like blue with silver or possibly blue micro glitter. Others look like what I got, which is purple with a purple micro glitter.

A Bit of Fun

I was goofing around online and landed on a site called Word It Out, where I built a word cloud of the most commonly used words on the blog.

Update: Hard Candy Gummy Green

Great polish, almost no issues.

The only really noticeable larger chip is on the inside of the left thumbnail and that one was my own fault. I was too busy flapping my gob at someone and missed a door handle trying to grab it blindly.

Jess

Revlon Chroma Chameleon - A Few Updates

I tell ya, kids, life sometimes gets in the way of some of the fun stuff I want to do for the blog here. We've had a little instability in our extended family and some of the family dynamic has changed for a while. Add to it that I'm really working to get Dreamy Lacquer Co off the ground, and I don't have quite as much free time as I had two weeks ago!

Ever since I posted the Revlon Chroma Chameleons I had picked up, I've been thinking about how they'd look when applied over black polish. Then I picked up the Rose Quartz and Cobalt to add to the collection...and now I've completely misplaced the Cobalt, Tanzanite, and Topaz. I don't remember what box I put them in and didn't have the oomph to find them this morning. The others, though, were sitting on my bedside table, so I spent a couple of hours doing swatches for us :)

Hard Candy Gummy Green

When I first saw the new Hard Candys at Wal-Mart, I went a little crazy on 'em. I think I bought like eight the first time. A few were sold out so I hit like four other Wal-Marts to find the rest where a lot of them were sold out as well. Also, after Dana's last post, I'm pretty sure I'm not done with them yet, either. I want that blue lol.

This was one of the first group I bought, was in fact the first one I grabbed off the display, on the way to my sister's house. When I got there, I was showing them off and my niece seemed to really like this one so I bit the bullet and gave it to her. And then I was sad I did because three stores later I still didn't have it. It took a while, but finally!

Okay, here's the situation. I sent my nails on a week's vacation.

They didn't leave the keys to the brand new Porsche though. I wish.

I decided to copy off of Dana and go without polish for the week, give them a break, treat 'em with some conditioners and stuff. I'd also been meaning to post this all week and because I'm apparently very lazy and forgetful, yep, it's just now getting done.

Before I rested them up though I tried to get some pics of that last manicure showing the holo during the removal, like I promised. And of course it was not working out for me because I was actually trying.

Hard Candy: Caribbean Crush and Little Hottie

I finally got my nails back into something resembling reasonable shape. Ok, not really, but I'm super-tired of Orly Nail-trition colored nails, and since I picked up a couple of the new Hard Candy polishes today at Walmart, I decided to jump back into the fray. Let's just hope my nails decide not to, haha.

First up, one of the Crushed Chrome collection, Caribbean Crush (say that three times fast)!

Update: L.A. Girl Sparkle Ruby

Yay belated sunlight shot!

There's like no holo to that, see? I weren't kidding. Very pretty but definitely not holo. I think one of the reasons is that the lacquer covers it too heavily. Maybe there isn't enough in there.

Jesse's Girl/Julie G Gumdrops deal (and then I ramble on...)

First off, a little something fun. Jesse's Girl / Julie G is featured on Groupon Goods from now through April 14. You can pick up the entire Gumdrops collection (shown in action here) for just 12.99, plus 2.99 shipping. If you and a friend go in together, or you buy a second as a gift, the shipping goes away and you pay 25.98 for two sets. You can purchase up to three for yourself and two more as gifts to send to friends. Kids, that is an AMAZING deal. Bless the folks at Groupon Goods and Jesse's Girl/Julie G for this one. Go! Go! Go! 

(here's another crazy thing...Groupon Goods is an Ebates merchant, so be sure to activate your Ebate and click through to the Groupon Goods through there. 3% cash back? Why not, right? Oh...you're not an Ebates shopper? And you want to know more about it? Look over there to the right. Hey, there's an Ebates link in the sidebar!*)

So...I have a confession to make. Are you ready for this?

L.A. Girl Sparkle Ruby

If I've ever used an LA Girl polish before I don't remember it. It's my bias against cheap polish, see. This new display was in Rite-Aid, and it's holographic, so I couldn't resist. I do like the holos.

These really...aren't, though. They look sort of promising, especially the silver one, but the rest sort of just look like holo glitter was added, not a true holo. I'm guessing they went for the scattered and not linear (and also cheap) version.

Some Swatching Comparisons

First up, some brown glitters. I've noticed in our stats that one of the search terms we get hits with is "Cirque French Roast Dupe." That was the first polish I posted here but I have no idea why the dupe. Well today I'm going to solve that.

My last polish was mostly bought because I liked the pictures of it that were posted when other bloggers put a top coat on it. It really reminded me of Cirque's French Roast, which is a color I absolutely heart. Not a coffee person, per se, but I'm very drawn to that polish. OPI's What Wizardry Is This? seemed similar to me so I thought a comparison was in order. I also threw in TonyMoly's Mars (GT03) from the Galaxy collection, just for fun.

Update: OPI What Wizardry Is This?

Yes, the texture drove me nuts, where I said it would:  across the tips of the fingers. I must next time remember to swipe that off before it dries. It goes away in a day or two, mostly due to tip wear, but oh how I played and played with it. It's not enough to catch on anything or get scratchy enough to be that annoying, but I knew it was there.

The actual surface texture wasn't as bad as I was expecting. Dana mentioned how hers smoothed out after a few days? It took much longer for that to happen to me. I don't know if I'm more irritated by texture on the nails, if I don't put my hands in my pockets that much (I don't) or if I don't wash my hands enough (which no, I do lol it's one of my very few OCD traits) or what. I'm inclined to think it's that I'm more easily irritated by it, honestly.

OPI What Wizardry Is This?

My first time wearing a texture polish. As a general rule, if a polish isn't smooth it tends to irritate me to no end and I have to either fix it or remove it. I end up just playing with it endlessly. Especially when it makes the tips of the nails jagged somehow. This is one of those polishes that should absolutely get on my last freakin' nerve. It is all of the above.

It goes on like a dream though, absolutely wonderful. One coat would have been enough but I of course threw another one on to deepen the color. It was much better that way. The dry time is...challenging. Dry to the touch really almost immediately. It's very fast. However, it takes a long LONG time to dry completely. Two hours later I was still able to gouge chunks out. The up side to that is, because it's a texture, fixing it was no problem. You can't even tell.

Update: OPI DS Divine (JP)

...not so good, actually. It's a shame that such a beautiful polish can't last longer. Perhaps I should have used that top coat anyhow. It just looks so much better without.

That's after two days. Would you look at that holo? I'm drooling all over again. Those chips are horrendous though.

Essie Under Where? & In The Cab-ana

We've had a crap ton of snow here in the Midwest in the last couple of weeks. I hate being cold and I'm not big on snow, so I protested this unauthorized-by-me extension of winter by picking up a couple of the new Essie spring colors.

OPI DS Divine (JP)

I got nothing for Easter this week. LOL I used my big idea last week, see. I was going to maybe try some flocking and fuzzy bunnies but it turned out to be a whole lot more effort than I wanted to deal with so I delightfully abandoned it.

Instead I have another delicious holographic for you. I don't know about you, but I get really annoyed when other countries get things I want here. I'm sure the opposite is just as true. Did you know that Japan got different versions of a few of the OPI Designer Series polishes? Neither did I.

Update: OPI Easter Eggs

Another very short post. No issues at all here.

Jess

Jesse's Girl - Julie G Gumdrops (Before and After)

Jesse's Girl Cosmetics released their Julie G. Gumdrops polish last week. I had preordered the collection and received my package last Saturday.

OPI Easter Eggs

For about three weeks now I've been operating under the delusion that Easter is this Sunday. Just so you know, it's not. Really. I've got almost two whole weeks left. -_-

What that means though is that I have busted out my Easter mani early. Whoops.

I was trying to keep it mostly simple, just some nice pastel egg paints. I have since found out that apparently I'm not really a pastels girl because I don't own that many. I also can't keep it simple most of the time. But I already knew that.

Update: Finger Paints and Sinful Colors

Doesn't look too bad, huh? That right middle finger gouge happened literally at the last moment on the last day. I think. That was the first time I saw it anyhow and you'd think I'd notice something that big.

And our first giveaway!

In an effort to get more people to see the shop and share with their friends, we're having a giveaway! Check out the contest below. Enter before midnight, 3/24/13, for your chance to win one nail polish of your choice from the current Dreamy Lacquer Co inventory. a Rafflecopter giveaway Best of luck! Dana

Special 2G1O Announcement!!

This blog started as just a fun project between Dana and me. It was one of those, "Hey, we like this and we talk about it all the time, wouldn't it be fun to blog about it?" We know there are eight or so billion other bloggers out there who do the same thing. It's all about the obsession. If you don't like that word, call it what you want. Passion. Love. Hobby. Pick a word, it all means the same thing.

We also all know that it's an expensive one, especially when you get into those rare and hard to find ones that are discontinued. Not to mention the first time you discover the indie polish scene or that Gasp! You can make your own!

Fortunately, those two things sometimes go hand-in-hand in the best of possible ways. I think it is, anyhow. I'm hoping you feel the same.

If you've been with us for awhile, you're already probably aware where this is going. So I encourage you to head over there and check it out right now. Don't even finish reading this!

Revlon Chroma Chameleon: Topaz, Aquamarine, Amethyst & Tanzanite

So I was out of polish remover. I took a quick jaunt to Walgreen's to pick up a bottle, with no thought in my head other than "don't forget to grab some milk, too" when I glanced over at the new polish display. I was checking up on the Wet N Wild Toppings collection, mostly. I picked them up last week, but I like seeing if the things I've chosen for myself prove to be popular. They had been replaced by a Sinful Colors glitter topcoat collection and these pretty little beauties, the Revlon Chroma Chameleon polishes. They're minis, 8.6 ml per bottle, and the going rate at Walgreen's is kind of high...but I have very little willpower. Enough that I didn't buy the entire collection--just my favorite half!

Finger Paints Sketch N Etch with Sinful Colors Green Ocean

Yep, green. It's my St. Patrick's Day mani. And a lazy one at that. I started to do a green ombre, then I was going to do silver gem four leaf clovers. Just wasn't feeling it. It's green and sparkly, it works for me. Plus! My nails were getting a bit too long to be able to do my job well (I type a lot) AND I was having trouble texting lol. I got a little bit too happy with the trimming so they're pretty short again.

Finger Paints is a brand I've never used before and this is the only shade of it I own. I always got the feeling it was a bit...cheap. Like it would be crappy polish. Great glitter top coats but the polishes themselves would be sub par. I grabbed this one on sale during a green kick I was on and it's sat there since. If I were to base all of the rest of the colors on how this one went, I would have been right.

Update: Sally Hansen Bling It On

Much better on these ones, yes.  I still only had them on three days but it was nowhere NEAR as awful.

Update: Zoya Chyna, and bonus Nyx swatches!

I'm so in love with this Chyna polish it's ridiculous. I had a few chipping issues and a little more than the usual tip wear, but I'm not shocked by that because of the lack of top coat.

China Glaze HoloGlam Collection

As Jess and I were talking the other night, she pointed out that one of the beauty supply web sites had the China Glaze HoloGlam collection. I couldn't buy all 12 of them, so I chose my favorite 6 and waited anxiously for them to arrive. When I got home from work Thursday night/Friday morning, there they were, sitting on my kitchen counter in an innocuous cardboard box. I lasted almost ten whole minutes before I ripped into the box.

Zoya Pixie Dust - Chyna

Hey y'all! It would seem I've been on a bit of a Zoya run theses days...can't help it. I got a fairly decent haul from them last week and the love just keeps flowing! Up next is Pixie Dust in Chyna.

Sally Hansen Salon Effects Bling It On

These ones were a bit more forgiving with the stretching to fit the nail thing, so they actually look a bit better. Less gaps. They still smell and they still create a ton of trash. Let's see if they last any longer.

They also remind me of Jem and The Holograms. It was the color she always wore, or maybe her earrings. Something about the girl looked just like these. I'm now thinking I need to find a matching polish. Hey, Dana. How does the Teenage Dream compare? (Or...psst...make me one? :-D )

Update: Sally Hansen Heart Breaker

One day. Actually not even one day, this was about 12-14 hours after applying.

Zoya Zang Toi Imperial Russia Collection

I mentioned in my last post that I had ordered and received the Zoya Zang Toi Imperial Russia collection. Who wants to see pictures??

Maybelline Color Show - Denim Dash

After Jess had decent luck with her recent Color Show mani, I decided I would give them a try myself. I picked up Denim Dash, Amethyst Ablaze, and Crushed Candy. Denim Dash is from the Denims collection and Amethyst Ablaze is from the Metallics collection.

Sally Hansen Salon Effects Heart Breaker

In a previous post I tried out some OPI nail art stickers. This time around I'm going with the real polish version. Which is not what I thought it would be. I was expecting like, the polish on the back of a clear tab that you align on the finger then press it down and lift the clear tab off. These really are stickers. Sure, they're nail polish. And stinky nail polish at that. But stickers nonetheless.

I don't generally go for these because they're wasteful to me. Eight dollars for a one use item that generated a ton of trash and you can't even save the extras to use as an accent nail or something? When I pay the same...or less...for something I can use again and again? They're very cute, I give them that. And mostly a lot easier than doing polish nail art. But yeah. Wasteful.

However (whatever with your however), when I see cute ones on sale for a price I'm willing to pay I obviously grab them up. For when I'm feeling particularly lazy. Or as a mid week quick replacement for a polish that didn't hold. Today was the former.