Funky French: Essie Master Plan + OPI Mad as a Hatter

Lol guys, I could very well NOT leave my mani alone hahaha. So the work appropriate color was nice for several days but I just couldn't help myself - I added Mad as a Hatter on top for a funky french look! =D  I love adding funky french tips because it extends your current mani AND hides chips and tip wear as it did for me!

I kid you not, this isn't photoshopped. It's THAT sparkly!

 

All in all, I was incredibly lucky to find Mad as a Hatter! It's absolutely beautiful whether worn alone or as an added glitter bomb to any mani. Aahhhh, I love it! =)

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Essie Master Plan

Hi lovelies, today I have a really pretty yet muted look for you all.  I know I've had some past manis that have been quite bright and vibrant but since I work in relatively professional environment, I can't really pull those off for every day wear. This is a great work or interview color that won't be distracting but is still really cute. This color is called Master Plan by Essie. It's an understated taupe creme that applies well in two coats but I did three because... well, I always love to do three! Topped with Seche Vite like always. Please excuse the chip on my index.  I actually splattered another polish onto my existing mani and wiped it off without realizing it took off the original color as well! Oops. Otherwise, this is the third day of wear without any noticeable chipping... that's pretty good for me. Love it!

 Sun

 Shade

Indoors

Left: indoors, Middle: shade, Right: sunlight

 

It's really pretty guys. If you like colors in this family, you should definitely pick it up.  As a reference, when compared to Chinchilly (a pretty popular Essie color), it is several shades lighter. Essie's were originally found in most Ultas and several high end salons but ever since L'Oreal bought the company, they can now be found in a lot of drugstores. I've seen them at Target and Walgreens on multiple occasions so it is pretty accessible to the masses.  You won't regret picking this color up =).

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My First Franken

Warning: this is gonna be a huge post. So remember that picture I left you guys with before I went off to Hawaii? You know, the one with the two bottles and apparently one of them was a franken? Well today I'm gonna be introducing you to the polish you've all been so patiently waiting for (and probably have forgotten about since it's been so long)! It doesn't quite have a name yet but I'm getting a good number of suggestions. I'm thinking anything galaxy/universe/space related would be awesome. Tons of pictures ahead...

These are the bottle pics that I teased you guys with =P

Rough test swatches I did before a full mani

Spammage of mani pics!

Blurred photos to show off how sparkly the glitter is!

Mah hands! For some strange reason my index finger kept twitching

when I took these photos. Must've been nervous or something =P

Macro shots

The two glitters I used. Top is a gray holographic hex 

and bottom is a silver holographic bar

Here is a short video I made to show the glitter in sunlight

Phew! *Wipes sweat off forehead* That was whole a lotta pictures. I hope you enjoyed! I basically mixed a bunch of base polishes together that consisted of a black jelly, some black with shimmer, and clear polish. I started adding the hex glitter first then added the bar glitter afterwards. I thinned to a consistency I liked and let it settle. Of course the glitter is pretty heavy and since the suspension I used was not meant for glitter, it required a good shaking (and resting!) before application.  Aaaaand, I'm done. Happy Friday people =).

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Pink Thursday

Hehehe, so I haven't had a free Wednesday in a while to be able to do a Pink Wednesday theme but I figure since I had on Honolulu Orchid, I'd make it a Pink Thursday instead! I just layered the top with China Glaze's Lightning Bolt! It looks pretty awesome if I do say so myself. I know the crackle craze has really died down now but this is a cute little reminder of why it was once oh so popular. =)

Black Mesh, Broken Hearted, Crushed Candy, Cracked Concrete, Lightning Bolt

I wasn't very interested in any of the metallics or shimmery looking crackles/shatters for some reason. I dunno... just the way they look. Not my thing. Oh well... enjoy!

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Island Girl Honolulu Orchid

Hello beautiful ladies! Sorry it's been several days since my last post. Life has been very busy! So here's a mani I did last night that used one of the polishes I got from my recent vacation. Like I mentioned in my previous post, you can get Island Girl polishes from ABC Stores in Hawaii (and if I'm not mistaken, there is also an ABC Store or two in Las Vegas as well).  Anyway, this polish is Island Girl's Honolulu Orchid.  I don't think they really have any collections so you can pretty much find this all year round. It's a pink/purple creme polish that applies pretty well but I did three coats because I'm OCD like that. It has almost a satin finish once it dries but I topped it off with Seche Vite for a smooth and shiny finish instead. I did have a few nicks after I finished my mani b/c I was being rough without realizing it but it was nothing another quick coat of SV couldn't fix. Picture time!

 Sun

  Shade

Indoors

Left: indoors, Middle: shade, Right: sunlight

 

Gosh, the comparison swatches really make this polish look like different colors under different types of lighting. I dunno whether to call this a pink or a purple. I think it may be safe to say that it's some kind of fuschia color? Yeah... I think I'll call it a fuschia to be safe hahaha.  One thing is for sure though - it definitely does remind me of an orchid. I guess orchids have both purple and pink tones so this color is true to it's name heehee.  Anyways, enjoy your Thursday people and thanks for reading! =D

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China Glaze Sea Spray

Hello all. So on my long list of untried nail polishes, Sea Spray was one of my long time lemmings but for some reason I completely forgot about it once I got a hold of it. Well I was organizing my stash the other day and the color just called to me. With all the recent crazy manis of Mythical Creatures Week, I decided I wanted to do something simple yet chic. This was the perfect color for what I had in mind.

Sea Spray is from China Glaze's Spring 2011 Anchors Away collection. It's a beautiful soft gray creme with a splash of blue. The blue is most apparent when compared to Pelican Gray, another soft creme in the same collection (and also another of my favorites).

Sun

Shade

Indoors

 

  Left: indoors, Middle: shade, Right: sunlight.

 I'm so happy I got to try this color. I should actually take a look back at my stash and put on some other colors that I've acquired and *almost* forgotten about. They're too precious to completely forget about! Have a wonderful day everyone. =)

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Mythical Creatures Week: Unicorn Friday

Aahh, I must say that I absolutely *love* the mythical creature today. Unicorns are one of my favorite fantasy/imaginary type of creatures and I couldn't be more happy to do a mani focused around that theme! Here I have a mani that was inspired by a member of MUA named Jiloverz and she did an incredible job with the original. This is my humble attempt at paying homage to her so I hope it doesn't disappoint! Beware, lots of pics ahead! =)

All pictures taken in the sunlight to *try* to capture the holographic effects!

So I used all my China Glaze OMG polishes in addition to Nubar Reclaim to get that true green holo color in as well. Stamped with Sally Hansen White Out and image plate BM201. Ahh!! This mani is so amazing in real life, you must try it out! So sparkly! So ... so holo! It's kind of what I'd like to think unicorn barf would look like - holo stripes and rainbows lol. I hope you enjoyed this mani because I sure did! And yay to the weekend... it's freaking Friday! TGIF! (can you tell how excited I am? hahahah)

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