Search This Blog

Monday, November 26, 2012

Nfu Oh 51 Vs Layla Ceramic Effect The Butterfly Effect


So I was at Ulta poking around in the nail polish and on the bottom shelf of a woe-begotten fixture in the back of the store there was a small display of Layla's Ceramic Effects. The Ulta I go to doesn't highlight Layla very much; when I wanted one of the Hologram Effect polishes all of the people there said they didnt even carry Layla (but I had seen it a week before and just wanted to know where they moved it to!) When I saw The Butterfly Effect I lost my shit. I bought it because I wanted to do a comparison with Nfu 51 so badly... I didnt even realize it was 14 bucks (but thats ok cus I paid almost 30 to get my Nfu.)


Ok, here we go. Layla's formula is a bit thicker, BUT THAT MEANS IT GOES ON MORE OPAQUE!!! You can kinda see it in the picture with each polish at three coats. Layla has more flakies but Nfu has more pink shimmer.


Both are a similar color too; they have that shift from pink to purple to blue. 


Overall I like Nfu's smooth formula better but if I could go back in time I would probably get Layla's instead; it was cheaper for me, it goes on thicker, and I like the abundance of flakies. Is it an exact dupe? No, but it's pretty damn close.

What do you think? I have heard there's another dupe for 51, does someone know what its called, and where I can get it? 

})i({ - Amy

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Color Club Neons and Sally Hansen Nail Art Pen

So when I bought my mystery color club set a while back there was an interesting fluro yellow in the mix. I wanted to try it out and as "luck" has it my nails all broke when I fell down the stairs and I had to cut them all short; neon polish looks better on short nails in my opinion. However, the application was poor and streaky... the color was great but the polish was disappointing even after five coats. It was just thin, nothing wrong with the consistency but it just didnt work. So I used some of the mint and blue from the set and sponged them on. Then I used a Sally Hansen Nail Art Pen in Black to draw some designs on then used some small black flower rhinestones as decoration.


I had planned to remove the polish because I didnt like the yellow, so at this point I was just experimenting. I havent really done a good sponge application and this was the first time I was using the pen.
The pen was weird. It was a bit messy in the beginning, I dont really know how I ended up with black ink all over my arm. It was really watery but very pigmented. I made the mistake of topcoating my colors before using the pen which resulted in pooling of the designs. I smartened up on the next hand and the pooling didnt happen as much. When I say pooling, think of trying to use water colors on glass. It was very effective and I may buy more of these pens to do some intricate drawings!
The rhinestones were a bit of fun. I bought a clearance set from the kids section at TJMaxx because there was a wheel of colored rhinestone flowers and some shitty polish for three bucks!!! I may pour some glitters into the polishes or something, they seem thin enough. But the stones were a find in my opinion!

Have you used the Sally Hansen Art Pens before? What are some designs you have done?

})i({ -Amy

Sunday, November 18, 2012

KleanColor Chunky Holo Black

OMG, so I was reading the color names of some of my polishes because I found out that the new Color Club set I bought from Ross was unlabeled: the box the colors, NOTHING! I came across the new KleanColor polishes I bought the other day from Ross and checked them out. Then I noticed that one of the glitters from the Kolor Revolution set was called Chunky Holo Black... but the color was like a burgundy jelly. So I got the idea to layer this glitter over black. I used my favorite black: China Glaze Liquid Leather. Its my fave because even though it goes on a bit streaky and jelly like, it is opaque after two coats and just like vinyl; its so glossy and black. Then I layered on the Chunky Holo Black...


Isnt this just divine ?? I really like the way this glitter looks, it has small, medium, and large hex glitters. The glitters are holographic without being silver or mirror-y and they changed from orange to green to blue and purple. I may need a full bottle of this baby instead of the puny .17fl oz bottle.


The polish goes on well, this is two thin coats. You dont have to fish around for the larger glitters, they dont come out heavily but the effect is just right. It does smell a bit and the brush it a bit fluffy if that makes any sense, but application is not bad at all.



I keep saying that I'm not really into glitter, but I super love this!


Do you have any polishes with the three hex sizes? It was a real surprise to me when I saw it come off the brush cuz you dont really see them in the bottle...

})i({ -Amy

Photo Dump

Another photo dump for you all, (im sure youre thrilled!!!)
I change my polish at least every other day, but sometimes it doesnt seem spectacular enough for its own post... or I dont have enough time.

This is Zoya Evvie with Glitter Gal's Silver Holorgraphic over the top, two coats each. I really love the Glitter Gal holo formula. Its packed full of holo.


These are my Bestie's nails!!! I love to paint other people's nails because it I can be more creative. I used hole reinforcements to paint a super thick tip then a dab of a lighter color for the belly and then China Glaze's Lux and Lush for the belly glitter, then a dotting tool in two sizes to make eyes and a striper for the beak.


This is my first Hare Polish... It deserves its own post but I didnt take notes on the polish when I put it on. It got a lot of attention at school. It's gorgeous think black with green glitter. I used a layer of Supernova Springs, then a layer of Liquid Leather (CG) then another coat of Supernova... almost like a jelly sandwich. 


For this mani I used the shimmery orange from my Color Barometer set (TNB) and then OPI's gold shatter and Essie's Matte About You... I like matte finishes but they dont last a full day for me, the matte polishes shiny by mid day.

I did this mani for a friend from school. She loves bright colors so I used a new Pixi polish I picked up in Vivid Coral. Its super close to Color Club's Jackie Oh! but a bit more orange tinged. Close enough that I shouldnt have them both... The consistency is good and application was easy. I used a striper for the rest of it.

Last but not least I bought this Color Club set at Ross and have no idea what the colors are, they should label their sets... its super irritating, le sigh. I cant be too sad because I picked it up for $4.99 since the price wasnt marked and there werent any others... I told them it was super similar to some other set with similar colors... but it was some brand I had never heard of and they didnt look as nice. Either way, I almost felt like I stole the set!!! I would REALLY like to know what the colors are called, I wore the purple one (which is a bit more purple than Zoya Charisma) and I received so many compliments at work. The pink isnt Jackie OH, its much darker and a bit more blue if that makes any since and the light robin's egg color is more mint green (but less pastel) than China Glaze's For Audrey. SOMEONE HELP!!!

Let me know what you think of the mani's and colors... Definitely let me know if you can identify the Color Club set. Thank you!!!

})i({ - Amy

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Calvin Klein Navy Sparkle


So I picked this polish up at Tuesday Morning, which was totally unexpected because I wandered the isles looking for polish and came across so much tacky stuff (I didnt go to a very good Tuesday Morning) and after finding some disappointing polish I found a bucket filled with Calvin Klein Polish!!! I had to limit myself to two so I bought Tutu which is a black with gold micro glitter and Navy Sparkle which is is Navy with super teal and gold shimmer!!! 
Look at how PURDY this polish is!!! Its a vibrant and complex color. It was a little streaky to apply but after three coats, it evened out. It had so much depth after applying the top coat and it just glistens!

 I really like this polish and cant wait to swatch Tutu! I hope it has the same kind of depth.

So what do you think? Do you like this polish? Have you tried CK polish before? Whats your fave color from them?


})i({ - Amy



Hits Mari Moon Dreamer

I bought a bunch of nail polish a couple weeks back; let's face it, I've bought a bunch of nail polish every week since before I started my blog... But this is one I bought from Llarowe, Hits Mari Moon Dreamer. This is a beautiful duo-chrome polish.
It changes from mostly purple to blue to orange to pink and probably some others, its STUNNING!

The formula is a bit thin, I think this is 4 coats, but opaque after 3. It is beautiful and rich and so enchanting that I never want to take it off... but it doesn't wear the best, I have tip wear after a day (but I use my hands alot). 
I want to buy both of the sets... but especially the Unique Set. It must be mine!!! The polishes do contain two of the Big 3, formaldehyde (resin) and toluene, but to me the colors are totally worth it... just dont put your fingers in your mouth!

Do you have a favorite duo-chrome? Have you seen anything with better color shifting??? TELL ME!!!

})i({ -Amy

Monday, November 12, 2012

Wet n Wild Fergie Collection Hollywood Walk of Fame

I have been looking for a star shaped glitter for forever. When I see start glitter at the Michael's I always think I should buy it and put it on my nails... but they always come on gigantic packs with a bunch of other glitter in it and all I wanted are the stars. So when I was at Walmart and saw the Wet n Wild display, I was going to pass it by. First, I don't really like Wet n Wild (I dont have a particular reason and honestly don't own any prior to this one... I guess its just some sort of stigma) and second I dont really like Fergie... but those are just biases. When I saw Hollywood Walk of Fame I about peed my pants, I was so excited for stars!

I painted it over my Kleancolor Cobalt (BEAUTIFUL COLOR). It is just as you would expect from a chunky glitter, except when you dip the brush in it comes out with a ton of the stars... but also a ton of the clear base. I had to work a bit to get some of the stars out and positioned but not more than I thought I would have to.

It was a little harder to photograph than I thought it would be. I wanted to get it to show all the colors of stars: Gold, Silver, Blue, Purple and Red. But there are also small holo silver bar glitter and holo silver micro glitter in the bottle.

I did cheat... I was fed up trying to fish out the big glitter and didnt get much of the smaller glitter so I layered China Glaze's Techno over the top of it all... and I ended up getting some of those medium hex glitters on there, le sigh.
Either way I love this glitter, my only star glitter!

Do you have any favorite big glitter shapes? Are there any better star glitter that you know of (please?) What other color might go well under this glitter?
Let me know!

})i({ -Amy


Thursday, November 8, 2012

No H8 for November 8

So its super hard to capture purple on my camera apparently, but here we go!
So today is November 8th and the polish blogging community has taken today and the color purple to represent the crusade against bullying and hate. Bullying is never "ok" and I wanted to show my support.
I just picked up a bunch of Kleancolors (as per my last post). I wanted to see what the hype was over Chunky Holo Purple. It's truly lovely, but my camera hates purple (as many polish bloggers probably know.) BTW this is over the top of Urban Outfitters Bandeau (what a terrible formula, all thick and chunky!)

This is what the color really looked like... my boyfriend was yelling up the stairs "Are you still taking pictures of your nails?" Yes boyfriend, I am. Purple isnt easy to photograph...


...as you can totally tell here. I was having such a difficult time with the other color I thought my new Mari Moon Hits in Dreamer would do the job... Beautiful colors, VERY duo-chrome... but impossible to photograph.
Anyways, the bottom line here is  DONT HATE. Anything we can do to address the issue, more awareness is a step towards solving the problem.

"Always aim at complete harmony of thought and word and deed. Always aim at purifying your thoughts and everything will be well."
       Mahatma Gandhi



})i({ -Amy

Bullying is not funny. It is not cool. It is not right. And more importantly, it is not okay.
Most of us are, thankfully, residents of countries that support tolerance and many of our families have settled in these places simply for that reason. Generations later, it is our responsibility to perpetuate that message of tolerance across our new social platforms, including the internet.

As members of the nail polish blogging community, we all share a love of beauty, color, and lacquer. Other than that, we are remarkably different: from our race to our religion to our hair color...even to our polish application techniques. To marginalize anyone because of those differences is completely unacceptable and today I take a stand against that. I refuse to allow other people's view of "normal" dictate how I behave, believe, and blog.

In solidarity with a multitude of bloggers linked below, my purple manicure represents my proud commitment to the No H8 movement. Today, November 8, I dedicate my post to ending bullying of any kind and to encouraging diversity and imperfection among our colorful community.

Eradicate the Hate



Wednesday, November 7, 2012

KleanColor Blue Maniacs Set

I bought my first Kleancolors last night, I had only heard of Chunky Holo Purple before and I found the Kolor Revolution Set at Ross after I went to vote. There were a bunch of other sets too and they were all $4 bucks. I bought Kolor Revolution and Blue Maniacs. I have been looking at blue polishes lately and thought the colors would make a good ombre nail (like The New Black sets). The Kleancolor set came with six polishes but I used these five:
From the left: Lake Mist, Shining Sea, Kawaii Stuff, Cobalt, Peacock-a-boo. The formula is ok and the ingredient list is free of the big 3... so there's a win, but they smell terrible! The brushes are kinda stumpy so it makes for semi-difficult application and the polishes dry a bit dull. All that said, these colors are great!!! 
I put Lake Mist, a light blue shimmer, on the pinky. The ring finger has Shining Sea, which looked like a glitter in the bottle, but is more of a glass fleck. Kawaii Stuff is on the middle and it looks much darker than in the bottle, but I like that better; it is a rich blue cream. On the pointer is Cobalt. It is a rich deep blue shimmer, very intense (after top coat). On the thumb is Peacock-a-boo. I have no idea what this name means. Its not a peacock color, it isnt duo-chrome, and it doesnt have any peacock characteristics... Its beautiful though! These are two coats of each (sorry about the middle, I didnt do any cuticle clean up).

I'm not a huge fan of pastel colors, so Lake Mist isnt my fave. But I love the turquoise sparkly Shining Sea! Kawaii Stuff will be good in spring/summer, its as pale "pastel" as I'd like, meaning not pastel at all. Cobalt will be a regular, it's got a great saturated color, very good shimmer, and it's just electric in the right light. Peacock-a-boo is an intense navy color. I wouldnt call it a shimmer, more of a foil speckle kind of thing, its a great blue for fall so I will probably use it again before the season is over.

(By the way, I mentioned that the set came with six polishes, but I obviously only have five fingers... I left out Blue Pearl. Its very similar to Lake Mist but slightly different shades, Pearl is a bit more shimmery and slightly more periwinkle. I imagine it will come out a bit darker than it is in the bottle like Kawaii Stuff did.)

I liked the Kleancolor polishes... They go on well and have some great colors. The price was right, so that's always a win. What do you think? Have you used this brand before? Do you have a favorite Kleancolor color?

})i({ - Amy

Monday, November 5, 2012

OPI Live and Let Die

So in an attempt to have my hands and nails look a little better I've put in a little effort. I bought a "rescue system" from the brand Jessica. It contains a Hydracreme lotion, a Phenomenon oil, and the Nourish therapeutic cuticle formula. I put the lotion on and then put the oil on my cuticles, then put on some gloves from Earth Therapeutics and went to bed. In the morning I used Revlon's gentle cuticle remover, then used the Jessica cuticle cream, and then painted my nails with OPI's Live and Let Die.


It shows in the pictures how much better my hands look after using this system just once. Plus I bought all this stuff discounted. The Jessica set cost me $10 bucks... and the gloves were $3. But the nail polish wasn't on sale, it's from the new Skyfall collection.

I LOVE this color. Its now my favorite green. It's a deep forest color with golden flecks. The formula goes on smooth and could be a one coater (I had a little difficulty with application over the cuticle cream). These pictures are two coats, fully opaque. I think at Christmas I will use this color with Zoya's Toni for a good subtle Christmas mani.

The color is lovely, the application was easy, and my hands have never looked this good!

What do you think of OPI's Skyfall collection? How about favorite fall green polishes?

})i({ -Amy

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Orly Rock-It

Yippee! I got a great deal!!! I think I like bargain hunting more than the nail polish itself, but lucky for me this one was a beauty! I went to Marshalls by my work and found some fabulous deals, I saw the Color Club Blossoming Collection (which Lacquered Lover swatched) for $10 bucks.... but I didnt buy it. I didnt really like the colors but who knows, I may go back for it...
But the one that did follow me home was Orly's Rock-On. It's a really beautiful candy apple red with a glass fleck finish. It is also slightly duo-chrome from pink, red, to orange. It's SO lovely that even though I had bought it on my lunch break... I still had to try it out.

So here it is over the top of OPI Lincoln Park After Dark (because that's what I was wearing and I didnt have polish remover).

But here it is on its own and with a top coat (Seche Vite... I would say of course, but it seems that many of you polish bloggers out there are leaning away from SV... What are the alternatives? and why isn't it your favorite anymore?)
It's not really what I would have gone out searching for... I'm not big into red. But I really like it and I think I really liked it over a dark color. I'm not sure how I'll wear this in the future... maybe with some black stamping over the top... or something. Either way, the formula is really smooth and would've been fine with two coats, but I used three. It is rich, deep, and sparkly (and not really duo-chrome on the nail). It'll be great at the holidays!


So what do you think? Any dupes out there?

})i({ -Amy


Friday, November 2, 2012

Photo Dump!

So I got some pictures from two of you out there of your Halloween nails!
I really liked the spider webs and the little pumpkin! Also need to say WOW, you can write with your left hand!!! Good job, I really wish I couldve done something like this with hand painted designs, but there would have been such discord between my left and right hand. Great Nails!

I love your back drop!!!What green base did you use under the shatter polish? I love the colors!
                                                                                                                           

So I went to my bestie's house last night and she made me dinner (stuffed pepper soup!) So YUMMY! As thanks and for a bit of girl time I decided to do her and her mother's nails. 
I re-attempted gradient dots... these didnt come out as good as the first time but she liked the color scheme more.
Maybe if I had kept the dots closer together...? Anywho, it China Glaze For Audrey Base with Butter London Slapper and Urban Outfitters Bandeau spots

So then I did her mum's nails. China Glaze Recycle base with CND Silver Chrome tips, also not the first time I've done these nails. To add a bit of pizzazz I put a little grey rhinestone on the ring fingers. These came out pretty snazzy and elegant.
                                                                                                                             

The other day I was at Michael's next to the Ulta near my house (I went to Ulta for polish and then to Michael's for nail accents, it works so well for me!)
I found flocking powder which I was inspired to use from Pixel's Blog. I even used the same color scheme but wasnt game to try spots. It worked pretty well and I liked the finish a lot, it was super soft! My only problem was not pushing down hard enough and the powder ended up coming off in spots. I will have to attempt this again though. Fun finish... Kinda like Ciate's velvet manicure.

Also I bought this awesome Essence polish called Chic Reloaded. I love it!!! It is a duo-chrome purple green in a dark gray base. I have had it on for THREE DAYS!!!! I cant take it off (also because I'm expecting a package with Enchanted's Ciao Milano and I think this might be a good base.) Either way, I love it!

 I'm going to end my photo dump there. I must get ready for work, I'm already running late.... and that's where I shipped my package from Llarowe. I cant wait to put on my first Enchanted polish! I'll probably post pictures tonight!!!

As always, I would love to know what you think, what your favorites are, and any advice on how to make my posts a bit better. (I know I should be using the good camera and also working on the quality of my nails and cuticles.... sorry!)
And I would love to get some followers!

})i({ -Amy