Category: OMD2 Nails

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Pacific Blue (the original!) and a little subtle shimmer.

So as most people have probably heard, Sally Hansen decided a little while ago to change Pacific Blue, taking it from a beautiful creamy blue to a less appealing darker shimmery blue. I was not very impressed when I heard the news (as most people weren’t) because Pacific Blue is one of my all time favorite blue polishes! I’ve been on the look out to see if I could find any of the old bottles, but wasn’t having the best luck. However, I got lucky the other day when I visited my local Shoppers–they had a whole display with the old formula of Pacific Blue, so naturally I had to stock up on this beauty!

In honor of finding my beloved Pacific Blue, I decided to do a manicure featuring it. Originally I wanted to use striping tape to create triangle accent nails, but after getting way to frustrated I gave up on the striping tape and decided to create freehand mosaic accent nails. Someday I’ll manage to get the hand of striping tape, I just guess that today is not going to be that day.

pacificblue

The polishes I used for this manicure were:

  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Pacific Blue — blue.
  • Essence Beach Cruisers Girls Just Wanna Have Sun! — Coral.
  • Essence Beach Cruisers Keep Calm and Go to the Beach! — Teal.
  • ACO by Ardene Kiss From a Rose — Pink.
  • Vernis Classique by Cherimoya Black — black outline.
  • Quo by ORLY Glitter Pink Matte Top Coat.
  • Essie Go to Go Top Coat.

God, I really love this blue. As soon as I came home, I put it on my toes. My old bottle was beginning to get goopy from over use, so I was really sad thinking I’d never get to wear this polish again. I also added some shimmer to my manicure in the form of Quo’s Matte Pink Glitter Top Coat so it would qualify for the OMD Nail Art challenge. I ended up adding top coat over the sparkle, just to bring it out a little more. Maybe it’s not as BAM! IN YOUR FACE! as some shimmery manicures, but I like the subtle quality of it. Plus it looks amazing over Pacific Blue so it’s a definite win for me.

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Holographic stripes.

I’ve been coveting a holographic polish for a long time, but hadn’t yet managed to add one to my stash. However I was at Shoppers the other week, and happened to stumble across Holographic Hero by Gosh–on sale to boot!–and knew I had to own it.

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Holographic Hero is a silver holo that goes on opaque in two coats. This is one of those polishes that definitely requires a bit of time to dry before coats, as it can drag if it’s too wet, leaving bald spots. However, once dry the polish is spectacular on the nail! I couldn’t stop staring at it! Not sure why I waited this long to buy a holo, but I’m definitely going to need to add more to my stash. So pretty!

Now Day 7 of the OMD Challenge is holographic, so I figured now that I had the right tools, I could totally create something fun with my new polish. I decided on a tape manicure, and holographic stripes.

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Sadly, my stripes ended up wonky on a couple fingers–a result of trying to do these later at night, and after a couple drinks (and not pressing down the tape hard enough so that the polish wouldn’t bleed under the tape.) I used China Glaze Flying Dragon for the purple which is one of my all time favorite purple polishes, and everything was topped with Essie Good to Go Top Coat. I can’t wait to play around with this polish a little more–it’s just so pretty and sparkly. Even though it’s hard to capture on camera, it’s very striking in person.

And, just for fun, here are my nails with my new bottle of Biotin. I found this also at Shoppers. Biotin is my go vitamin for my nails (and hair). I noticed SUCH a difference when I’m using it. I was impressed when I found these. They’re cool–they dissolve under your tongue, and taste like cherry. And they’re a much higher dose than I usually take, so I’m hoping they work even better.

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Coral stripes & my first real striping tape manicure.

When I first read about the OMD Nail Art Challenge for this month I got excited. Even though my first attempt at the 30 Day Nail Art challenge kind of crashed and burned, I wanted another attempt at accomplishing a challenge. What I like about this challenge is you don’t have to do it every day. That makes it easier when I want to be able to do something other than the prompt.

 

Today’s prompt was Coral. As you have seen, I love coral. And I own a lot of coral nail polishes. I also really wanted to attempt something with the striping tape I received for my birthday last year. I’ve played around with it a little bit, but never accomplished a full manicure. So this was my first real attempt using it.

coralstripes

The polishes I used for this manicure were:

  • Sinful Colors Easy Going — creambase color.
  • Quo by ORLY Sugar Cookie — cream base color.
  • Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Coral Reef — stripes.
  • Sinful Colors Island Coral — stripes.
  • Rimmel Salon Pro Reggae Splash — stripes.
  • Essie Go to Go Top Coat.

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For a first attempt with striping tape, I’m really happy with the outcome. The lines are definitely cleaner than when I freehand my lines, and I like that I could create thicker lines easier. Of course, it did take much longer to do my nails than it usually does, but that was mostly cutting and applying the tape, and then taking the time to pull it off. But I can definitely see myself using it again.

So what do you think of these coral stripes? I think it’s a great Summer manicure, even though I’m going to spend the majority of my day cleaning and organizing my closet and purging old clothing I never wear. Not the most glamorous way to spend my day off, but it is a great excuse to play dress up! =)