Berry Gradient

Howdy friends. It was a wonderful weekend at Lake Travis and now it's back to the daily grind. Pretty light week at the symphony, but my boyfriend's in town and this weekend I'll be busy with an extra gig. So I took advantage of my free time now in between practice sessions to do a quick mani.

I was inspired by my friend, who came to the lake house with a wonderful gradient/skittles mani in shades of coral. She used three colors and then rotated them and I thought the effect was fabulous. So much so, that I want to do the same thing.

Instead of changing hues, I wanted to play with different finishes. I chose three polishes that, in the bottle, looked like they were the same general shade of berry. I chose a creme, a subtle shimmer, and a crazy foil, and then rotated them in that order.

Left to Right: OPI Belize it or Not, Zoya Manon, Zoya Gloria 

Bottom to top: Gloria, Manon, Belize it or Not, Gloria

On the nail, the foil looks a lot lighter. The shimmer in Manon is so subtle that it gets lost and looks almost identical to Belize it or Not. I still like it though, the shades are all very flattering on my skin tone and I think the varied hues are more flattering than just a straight mani.

*I need to make a quick side-note about Belize it or Not. This is a polish I've had SINCE MIDDLE SCHOOL. That means it's ELEVEN years old and still has an absolutely beautiful application. Can we just take a second to appreciate that? Unfortunately it has OPI's older more health-hazardous formula, but seriously, eleven years old and still flows, self-evens and isn't thick! Impressive.

How was your weekend? Do you have anything special coming up this week?

Revlon Lilac In Love

Howdy friends. Recently we've seen vivid bright nail polishes come into vogue. But as Spring approaches, something delicate seems fitting. For this manicure, I pulled out an ancient bottle of nail polish, one in my collection since circa 1999. Revlon Lilac in Love, a limited edition, is a pinky lavender with orchid blue shimmer. Two coats makes for a romantic manicure. The blue shimmer makes it a pink that leans towards purple, and on the nail it just looks soft and enchanting.

Revlon Lilac In Love, two coats 

Revlon Lilac In Love, two coats

I love the way this looks. While a huge fan of bright, in-your-face manicures, there's something about the subtlety of this look that has me intrigued. Seeing your natural nail line isn't such a bad thing, and I think we are about to see sheer polishes gain more popularity.

**Tip: When choosing this type of manicure, look for shades with pink or red hues to complement skin tone. Polishes that are too blue or too green look unflattering. Since there will not be complete coverage, make sure that nails are nicely groomed by filing them to the same length and shape.

OPI Pink Friday with Glitter Blizzard Accent Nail

Howdy friends. Today I had a little fun with Pink Friday from the OPI Nicki Minaj collection. This is the last polish from this collection I have to show with you. It's a bubblegum pink creme with a hint of pastel to keep it from being too girly. Don't get me wrong, it's still very girly, but with that Nicki Minaj knock-you-out edge. On my ring fingers I added OPI Turquoise Shatter, then topped it with OPI Save Me, the holographic bar glitter.
This is two coats of Pink Friday with Turquoise Shatter and Save Me accent finger.

OPI Pink Friday, two coats with OPI Turquoise Shatter and OPI Save Me on ring finger

OPI Pink Friday, two coats with OPI Turquoise Shatter and OPI Save Me on ring finger

 

OPI Pink Friday, two coats with OPI Turquoise Shatter and OPI Save Me on ring finger

Looking at the accent nail is kind of like looking through a blizzard of glitter, but I kind of like the effect. You can't see the cracks but the light catches the holograph and the pink and blue make a good effect underneath.

As far as Pink Friday goes, look at how shiny it is without top coat! It self levels and dries in minutes, making for a very east and fast pink manicure.

Nicki Minaj Nail Art

Happy Valentines Day! OPI recently held the Nails For Life contest, where you could design a manicure inspired by one of Nicki Minaj's outfits from the past year. The contest was aimed at promoting "stand out nails" in everyday life. Now that it has ended I am allowed to publicly post my pictures. The polishes I used are OPI Teenage Dream, Color Club Platinum Record, Zoya Minka, Sally Hansen Milles Fleurs, a neon pink and neon green from Urban Outfitters, and nail decals.

Nicki Minaj Nail Art for OPI Nails For Life contest 

Nicki Minaj Nail Art, bottle pictured is OPI Teenage Dream

Nicki Minaj Nail Art for OPI Nails For Life contest

How I did each nail:

• Pinky- two coats of Urban Outfitters unnamed neon pink, one wipe of Urban Outfitters unnamed neon green on tip, nail decal on tip
• Ring- two coats of OPI Teenage Dream, diamond and pearl nail decal in center of nail
• Middle- two coats of Sally Hansen Milles Fleurs, two coats of Color Club Platinum Record on tip, nail decal just above tip
• Index- two coats of Zoya Minka, one coat Sally Hansen Milles Fleurs swiped diagonally across tip, one coat of OPI Teenage Dream atop that, diamond and pearl nail decals bordering tip

Painting on the fly, these nails took about 2 hours to create. After I did these I was so in love that I had to come up with more designs for the rest of my fingers, those took another hour or so. If you'd like to see a picture of the outfit I was inspired by, click here.

I LOVED wearing this manicure. My favorite nail was my ring finger, it reminded me how much I absolutely love Teenage Dream. 

My thoughts are that I would love to do something like this again, and it is much easier having something, a photo, as inspiration. What do you think of nail art manicures like this? What types of things would use as inspiration? I would love to read your answers in the comments section.

Chanel Morning Rose

Hello friends. Here is the polish I had intended to show you yesterday, before I so unceremoniously removed it in preparation for the surprise delivery of Mermaid's Dream. This is Chanel Morning Rose, which was released last spring as a 2011 Limited Edition. Unfortunately it's no longer for sale on line, but I'm pretty sure I've seen it at a few department store beauty counters so you could probably still get your hands on it. I'd highly recommend doing so, too. This cherry blossom pink with tiny gold flakes looks like lip gloss for your nails, and goes beautifully with Spring skin that is just on the verge of a tan.

Chanel Morning Rose, three coats in indirect sunlight

It's so healthy looking. I wear it without top coat because it looks uniquely glossy on it's own. The gold flakes are very visible in the bottle. On the nail they're just enough to give it a subtle shimmer. This is just a hands down great pink and I vow to wear it much more this Summer.

Bahama Breeze Nail Art with Lippmann and OPI

Howdy Friends.  Showing you guys the OPI shatter polishes rekindled my adoration of them.  That being said, while browsing through Pinterest, I was inspired by this picture to create a multi-color shatter manicure.  I used one coat of Deborah Lippmann It's Delovely, one coat of OPI Suzi Says Feng Shui on the bottom half of my nail, and then one coat of OPI Black Shatter over the whole thing.  Finally I sealed it with one coat of OPI Top Coat to give it some shine.  I will tell you, this is the first time I've used OPI's top coat and I'm very impressed by it.

my Bahama Breeze manicure

"I'll have another, please."

When I first applied SSFS, it looked really bumpy over the tip of my nail.  But as the polish dried, it evened out over It's Delovely and created this slight purple fade in between the two polishes.  My colleague at work asked what I call this manicure.  My first response was a hodge-podge of the impression it gives me: "Bahama Breeze on the Beach at Sunset."  Realizing this is too long for a catchy name, I've since trimmed it down to simply "Bahama Breeze." 

This picture is exactly the impression I get from this manicure

What color combination would you like to see under Black Shatter?

OPI Black and Silver Shatter

Howdy friends.  Today lets have a view at the two shatters I will be giving away in the Castinails Thankfulness OPI Giveaway.  If you haven't already, click here to enter.

Shatter is fantastic because it is an easy way to add fun art to your manicure.  There are so many color and finish combinations you can play around with, I don't think there's any way to get bored with these polishes.  Personally, I love the way shatter looks over bright colors.  Here is OPI Black Shatter over OPI Meep-Meep-Meep.


The way shatter works is that when applied over completely dry polish, the shatter breaks up as it sets.  Be sure to wait until your base color is completely set before applying shatter, otherwise you'll end up with a weird mess.

OPI Silver Shatter is the other shatter polish in the giveaway.  I think this one is absolutely amazing.  I can imagine how awesome it would look if you played around with wearing it on top of other metal sparkles like gold or copper.  I think over white or black too it would look completely stunning.  Or, over green it would look like tinsel on a christmas tree.  Aaaaah.




Well there you have it.  Good luck, make sure to enter by December 1st 12pm CST

Meet our Giveaway Polishes: OPI Meep-Meep-Meep

OPI Meep-Meep-Meep, one coat

Howdy friends.  Let's take some time to meet the polishes I will be giving away in the Castinails Thankfulness OPI Giveaway.  If you haven't already, click here to enter. 


Today we have Meep-Meep-Meep from The Muppets Holiday 2011 collection by OPI.  Meep-Meep-Meep is a fuchsia sparkle.  Believe it or not, this is one coat.  This bright polish is a great compliment to pale winter skin, and the vibrancy of the pink will definitely lift your spirits and have you singing holiday carols in no time.  It dries quickly and would be a great, low-fuss, festive holiday manicure.

What Beaker has to do with hot pink I'm not quite sure,
but he certainly is cute.  Meep-Meep!

Castinails OPI Giveaway

Howdy friends.  This has been an absolutely crazy week for me.  My car was stolen, I bought a new car, the Police found my car, Toyota returned my new car and gave me a complementary rental car while my old car is in the shop!  I'm amazed and so lucky for how it all worked out, and I'd like to now pay my thankfulness forward to you guys.  So here it is, my first ever giveaway.

Castinails OPI Giveaway

Prize includes OPI Silver Shatter, OPI Meep-Meep-Meep and OPI Black Shatter

OPI Meep-Meep-Meep 

OPI Silver Shatter over OPI Meep-Meep-Meep

OPI Black Shatter over OPI Meep-Meep-Meep

How to Enter: One lucky winner will receive a bottle of OPI Meep-Meep-Meep from the The Holiday Muppets Holiday 2011 Collection, as well as OPI Black Shatter and OPI Silver Shatter.  To enter, leave a comment on this post with one thing you are thankful for.  If you have a blog, you will receive one extra entry for blogging about this giveaway, just leave a link to it in your comment.

Rules: Only one comment per person.  You must be a follower of Castinails to win. Be sure to leave your follower name or email in you comment so I can contact the winner.  Winner must have a valid US mailing address (sorry international fans).  Contest will close on December 1st at 12pm CST.  Winner will be chosen through random.org and will have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen.

Good luck! I look forward to hearing about what y'all are thankful for :-)

Zoya Avril and Sally Hansen Antiqued Gold Crackle

Today I have an elegant crackle manicure to share with you.  While at Walgreens I ran into the Sally Hansen new crackle collection and decided to get Antiqued Gold.  I chose to pair it with Zoya Avril, a beautiful dusty pale pink creme.  Avril takes time to get a smooth manicure.  I got away with two coats because I was putting crackle on top, but if you want it opaque on its own or have longer nails, you will need three coats.  Here is Zoya Avril on its own:

Zoya Avril, two coats with flash

After the polish was completely dry (I waited 15 minutes)  I added a coat of Sally Hansen Crackle Overcoat in Antiqued Gold.

Zoya Avril with one coat Sally Hansen Crackle Overcoat in Antiqued Gold

The effect is very subdued but I think it has the elegant look of ballet and Versailles and yes, antiqued gold.  This crackle didn't crack as much as the OPI Black Shatter, so I recommend using a very thin coat.

Overall I'm pleased with how this turned out.

What do you think?  What colors would you pair gold crackle with?

OPI Teenage Dream

OPI released a recent collection of polishes in collaboration with singer and nail icon Katy Perry.  From the collection I decided to buy Teenage Dream, a bubblegum pink with holographic glitter.  It was love at first site!  I used three coats of teenage dream and my nails look like they've been coated with a teenage girl's birthday cupcake sprinkles.  The shimmer on the glitter is fantastic, in the sun it's mesmerizing.

OPI Teenage Dream, three coats

Glitter polishes like this are pretty much fool-proof.  If you're in the market for something along these lines I highly recommend running out to ULTA and picking up a bottle.  And it's also great on toes!  Overall I think it perfectly captures the essence of its namesake and I foresee wearing it...all the time.

Mrs. Claus moonlights as Gogo Dorothy

China Glaze's tis the season to be naughty and nice holiday 2010 collection is truly spectacular.  I decided to treat myself to 3 colors from it and today I have swatches of my favorite to show to you.

I am totally IN LOVE with Mrs. Claus.  Light pink/red and dark pink/red glitter in a red jelly base, it looks like your nails are wearing a Rockette costume.  Absolutely amazing, so sparkly I've been walking around staring at my fingers all day.   Application was ok, I used two coats (if I had more time, I might have used three) and probably could have let them dry a little bit longer in between.  The glitter made it pretty gritty so I added a coat of seche vite on top.

China Glaze Mrs. Claus, two coats indoors with flash

China Glaze Mrs. Claus two coats indoors, indirect sunlight

This polish is seriously out of control.  Since its on the pink side of red, if I didn't know it was from a Christmas collection I'd say it looks like the 90's version of ruby slippers.  I have therefore affectionately dubbed it "Gogo Dorothy."  

What do you think?  Do you love this as much as I do??

Revlon Cherry Fizz Fruit Inspirations

Greetings.  Today I have another Revlon for you, this time Cherry Fizz from the Glimmer Gloss collection.  Cherry Fizz is a vibrant cherry pink jelly with a subtle shimmer of glitter.  The bottle calls this a sheer, but I don't particularly like it in one coat- kind of looks like bloodshot nails, and not in a good Halloween-y way.  After three coats it built to a nice jelly texture but I think no matter what you do there will be a visible nail line.  Application was very smooth and try time is about average, even with this polish being over 5 years old.

Revlon Cherry Fizz, fluorescent light

Revlon Cherry Fizz, indirect sunlight

Revlon Cherry Fizz, indirect sunlight

I think this color would look great on shorter nails but I wasn't too keen on wearing it by itself.  I decided to go along with the fruit theme and have some fun painting my tips with China Glaze Watermelon Rind to create a fun [seedless] watermelon mani.

Revlon Cherry Fizz with China Glaze Watermelon Rind 

Revlon Cherry Fizz with China Glaze Watermelon Rind

I felt a little silly wearing such a summer mani in October but I'll definitely remember this one for next year.  Bring on the picnics!

Thanks for stopping by, come back soon.

Shazam! Welcome to My Blog

Greetings!  What you are about to read is a blog chronicling my love of all things nail polish.  As a reformed nail biter whose been collecting polishes for ages, I have a modest stash which I would like to share with you, swatching some older colors I've been hard-pressed to find other pictures for.  I will also be keeping you up to date as my collection increases.

For my very first post I thought it fitting to start out with the first polish I ever fell in love with, Revlon Super Top Speed Shazam.  Why this was discontinued is an enigma, I could kick myself for not picking up an extra bottle when I had the chance!  It's dark pink, light pink and silver glitter in a clear base and it just screams for your nails to be noticed!  Perfectly opaque in two coats (amazing for an 8 year old polish), this is it with no base coat and one coat of seche vite.

 Revlon Shazam, two coats indoors, indirect sunlight

 Revlon Shazam, two coats indoors, indirect sunlight

 Revlon Shazam, two coats indoors, fluorescent light

Revlon Shazam, two coats indoors, direct sunlight (Bling!)

I love the way it sparkles in the sun!  The color also seems to compliment any outfit I have on, it truly is an amazing polish.  Sadly this is probably my bottle's last application left, so I'm glad it got the chance to be memorialized here.  If you're ever fortunate enough to come across it I wouldn't hesitate to snatch it up.  There are some possible dupes I'm looking into, anyone have any suggestions?  What was your first polish obsession?

Thanks for stopping by, come back again soon!