Category: Metallic Nails

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Essence Gel-look top coat: the good, the bad, and the bumpy.

So because I ran out of my Sally Hansen Diamond Flash top coat, I figured there was no time like the present to test out a new top coat. I picked up Essence brand Gel-look top coat from Shoppers the other night, along with Essence brand Express Dry Drops (which I’ll review at another time) and was curious to see how it was.

I’ve read some seriously mixed reviews on this top coat. Of course, I didn’t read them until after I had bought it. Never the less, it was only $2.99 at Shoppers Drug Mart, so the price was definitely right. Because I paint my nails so often, I go through a lot of top coat so it can get pricey. A cheaper, but good quality, top coat would be much appreciated, and Essence does make some lovely polishes.

Everyone complains about how long the dry time on this top coat is, so I made sure to paint my nails a little while before bed, and to fall asleep with my hands outside the blankets (just in case). It felt dry to the light touch so I figured I would be fine.

Yeah, not so much.

geltopcoat geltopcoat2

Sheet marks. Lots of sheet marks. You can see how lovely the shine is on a couple of my nails–the ones that didn’t get dinged, but the majority of them were left textured because they were not quite dry before I fell asleep apparently. It was kind of disappointed, because I almost always paint my nails before bed so I need a top coat that isn’t going to take forever to dry. =( However, I do have those Express Dry Drops to try out, and I’m interested to see how the two will work together.

However, I did fix up my manicure with a very thin layer of Sally Hansen Diamond Flash from the bottle of a bottle I forgot I had. It definitely smoothed them out so I could show off the lovely sparkle of my moon manicure.

geltopcoat3

Just in case you’re interested, I used Sinful Colors in Forget Now as my base, and LA Girl in Groupie for the purple. They just go so perfectly together.

 

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31 Day Nail Art Challenge — Day 19: Galaxy Nails.

 

I love the look of galaxy nails. Plus they’re fun to do. It’s been a while since I’ve done one, so I was excited to give it another try.

galaxy galaxy2

 

The polishes I used for this manicure were:

  • Mary Kay Nail Lacquer in Blue Knight — dark background.
  • Color Institute in gold (no official name on it.)
  • Color Institute sparkles (no official name on it.)
  • Revlon in I’m Electro.
  • Revlon in Spidey Sense.
  • Revlon in Orchid.
  • Pure Ice in Get in Line.
  • Pure Ice in Over You.
  • Salley Hansen Diamond Flash Top Coat

These didn’t turn out exactly like I imagined in my head, but I think it’s because the polishes I used were very pigmented, and I was a little too heavy-handed. I wanted to use metallic polishes, because I’ve never tried using them for galaxy nail art before. Never the less, I loved the sparkle that it give my galaxies! And even though I wasn’t sure if they looked a lot like the galaxies I wanted them to, but I did get lots of compliments which always makes me feel proud of the manicures I’ve done.

What do you think of galaxy nail art?

And what to you think of my attempt at metallic galaxies?

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31 Day Nail Art Challenge — Day 8: Metallic Nails.

Okay so for day 8 of the challenge, I may have cheated a wee tiny bit. Technically, these aren’t really metallic. I had just picked up three of the new Amazing Spiderman 2 polishes by Revlon, and really, really wanted to try them out! So I grabbed two of them, Superpowered and I’m Electro, and got started.

(The third one I bought, Spidey Sense, was also gorgeous, but it’s a reddish color and didn’t really fit into the manicure I was going for. I will have to do a swatch post soon with all three!)

metallic

 

The polishes I used were:

  • Revlon’s I’m Electro (from the new Amazing Spiderman 2 collection) — Lighter blue color on accent nails.
  • Revlon’s Superpowered (from the new Amazing Spiderman 2 collection) — Darker blue color.
  • ACO by Ardene in Golden Luxury –the gold accent’s on my accent nails.
  • Sally Hansen Diamond Flash top coat.

I had to take the picture with my flash off because it was so shiny I couldn’t take a picture well enough to capture the nail art. I really love these two colors. Each one is a duocrome, shifting between colors, although it’s not as evident on the nail as much as in the bottle. Of the two I think I’m Electro is my favorite.

Also, how much do you love the quatrafoil look? It’s another nail art technique I’ve never tried before, but have been seeing around on youtube, and pinterest. I will definitely need some practice for it to look right though. While these Spiderman polishes are awesome, they’re a little thin for application which made getting the pattern right a little difficult.

Plus Superheroes! I am a huge Superhero fan girl–usually for the DC Universe (I have a Batman tattoo). I just watched the first Amazing Spiderman movie the other night with the boyfriend, so I can’t wait for the next one to come out. You can count on me to be there opening night, no doubt rocking some kind of Spiderman themed nail art.