Nail Art

[Ashbash]

Most companies make matte topcoats too, so you can use colours you already have then mattify them. Essie's Matte About You is my favourite, but I think nearly every polish company does one. Some glitters and flakies look really cool mattified.

 

That is exactly what I want! Just a matte top coat. I promised myself I wouldn't spend money on nail polish for a while though lol. I have to say I'm really excited for the Selena Gomez collection to come out. I have a feeling there will be some really cool colors in it.

[Emily]

I just bought about half of Orly's Flash Glam Collection, half of the China Glazes 2012 Halloween Christmas colours and need to grab one of the Fantasy Maker polishes for Halloween 2012.

 

 

The one on the far right looks awesome! The other 2, from the descriptions, seem to be near dupes from last year which I have already. And the bottles! too cool.

[karmacow]

Shiny, sparkly things! <3

I googled and found a blog showing some Fantasy Makers colours: http://www.vampyvarnish.com/2011/08/wet-wild-prowl-nail-color-collection-fall-2011-swatches-photos-review

I need more interesting polishes.

This combo is right up my alley:

[Dinosawr]

Wow, karmacow that blue is really pretty. In foct, that's my favorite color :whistle: :yes:

[Emily]

I think Milani has one like that too, but with medium and micro black hex glitter.

Some of my favourites are from indie brands, they're just a tad on the expensive side and some are a little tough to get your hands on because they're handmade a few at a time.

 

http://www.thepolish...-falloween.html

 

Enchated Polishes are crazy cool. Llarowe sells a ton of indie polishes that are really different.

[karmacow]

Those "falloween" polishes look amazing <3 And it looks like something you could cook up yourself with different "confetti" type ...confetties.

 

Wow, karmacow that blue is really pretty. In foct, that's my favorite color :whistle: :yes:

 

Mine too ^_^ That's definitely the next colour I will buy. Next month. I've spent all my "pocket money" for this month (me and my boyfriend have agreed on a spending limit per person per month, so it's self-enforced).

[Emily]

That's a good idea. Nothing like spending on your money on fun stuff in a week then not being able to buy gas xD

[cherryv]

I want to buy some "more expensive than usual" nail polishes, I think that today I'm going to hunt some :3

[Emily]

Ohh I just got my CG "Glitter Goblin" and "It's a Spectacle" in the mail today, along with a new 4-way buffer and a new Konad plate.

 

My mailman is a genius, I asked at the post office if I could post a note on my mailbox with my signature so they could leave parcels there if I wasn't home, rather than me having to walk to the post office all the time ( I order a lot of stuff). They said, for security, they could only leave stuff that was "secure in the mailbox." Today, I come home to see that the mailman has fashioned some kind of sling out of at thick rubber band, set my package in it, then secured it inside the door of the mailbox with the other end of the elastic xD I wish I had gotten a picture before my roommate took it down. It was awesome.

[Zombiiesque]

I have often thought about buying glitter and base and doing some of my own frankens - I actually made one for Halloween a couple of years ago.

Personally I'm a bit burnt out on all of the crackle releases, but I do still occasionally like to pair them (I have SO many!) to see what colour combos look good. I have a bunch of the small China Glaze Matte Magic bottles, and that actually worked well - I wish they hadn't released it in small bottles and so limited edition.

I did my nails the other day - actually I do them all the time, but they've been in such bad shape I hadn't wanted to post a picture. Now the index and middle nails have grown out a tiny bit and have finally stopped breaking, and my cuticles are a bit healed enough not to be embarrassing!

Misa Poison Kiss with a glitter gradient of Essie Set In Stones. Been craving reds lately - I *never* crave reds!

 

 

 

 

Hope I remembered how to do the spoiler right, haha!

And here's one from when I was actively blogging, the magic of Max Factor Fantasy Fire, shown here over Revlon Royal.

 

 

 

 

 

Huh, well I thought I resized them down to the same size, but the picture of FF looks bigger? Sorry about that! I love that crazy shift of colors.

Emily, what do you think of this year's ChG goodies? I usually look forward to their Halloween collection the most, and have loved them in the past. I haven't been to look for them this year yet!

[Emily]

Ohh I love the gradiant. And the duochorme is nice. It's starting to come back, apparently. So many companies have been releasing more duochrome collections lately.

 

The CG collections aren't bad. Most of the fall collections that I've seen have been a little boring lately. Same dark wines, vampy reds and deep greens. So far, I've only grabbed the CG glitters, but they're really fantastic. I don't have anything like them in my collection yet (which is saying something, lol). There's a couple more shimmers/cremes I haven't bought yet. I'm waiting for Scrangie's swatches (her's are my favourite) before I decide on them. Especially the Christmas ones. I can't tell yet from the promo shots, but a couple of them look like I may already have dupes of them. But as usual, CG's collections are different and a little more wild than the other ones coming out, and you can usually find them a bit cheaper, so it's win-win I think.

[Zombiiesque]

Yes, there've been a lot of boring collections lately! I've been pretty disappointed, even by ChG and they tend to win my heart. I'm going to hunt down the Halloweenies and see if I need them - they don't look as neat as last year's, with It's Alive. :(

Scrangie's my favorite too! I use her as a barometer - if they look good on her, generally I end up liking the polish. It can be hit or miss with others, but her swatches are so spot on, I can tell by looking at them if I'll like stuff. Unfortunately, haha, I like too much! I need a room just for polish, I swear.

Thank you so much! I'm glad you liked it. Yes, they're coming out with some pretty duochromes/multichromes, and I'm glad. I wish OPI would re-release stuff like Movin' Out, you know?

[Emily]

I wish linear holos would come back! I managed to get my hnds on a couple pinks from CGs "OMG" collection, and nfu-Oh 61, but they're ridiculously expensive :( I paid $25 for the one CG polish. Totally worth it, but still. Crazy.

[Zombiiesque]

I do too! Gosh, I miss those collections. SO much. Do you have Nubar Reclaim? It's actually a pretty good green holo. The Nfu Ohs are pretty, but SO fussy to work with, huh?

[Emily]

I haven't tracked that one down yet, though I've been meaning to. I find the nfu-ohs work better if they're warmer, if tht makes sense. And thinner. warm mine up a bit (with my hands or with a blowdryer) and shake the heck out of it before I use it. Also thin it occasionally with some seche restore. It seems to help with the streakyness/bald spots. I actually like the formula/effect of the CG holos more, but they're getting harder and harder to find :(

[Zombiiesque]

And SO expensive. They went OOS on Victoria Nail Supply like, overnight - she still had a bunch of them for a long time, and then BAM! they were gone. *sigh* I'll remember that with the Nfu Oh's! I *adore* the Nfu Oh flakies.

[Emily]

The flakies are great! Actually, I just found a near dupe of #60. Black base and a coat of e.l.f's "Fairy Dust." I have #60 and was amazed at how much the black+e.l.f looked like it. At about 1/8 of the price too xD The e.l.f is similar to "Luxe and Lush" from CG's Hunger Games collection, but the elf one is a bit smoother and has a green flash where the CG is a little more chunky and doesn't have as much of a green flash, more orange/gold.

[Zombiiesque]

I LOVE layering, I swear I do! It's so much fun, you can create so many different looks with it. I would probably go crazy with "Fairy Dust" - I'll have to nab that! Thanks for the tip. I love those Nfu Ohs, and the bottles are ridiculously awesome, but they ARE pricey! Do you use a special base with their holos at all, or just the warming/thinning trick?

I'm due for a new pedi color, and now I'm debating what I want. I don't do matchy-match because my pedis usually last me a good 3-4 weeks. I might do a neon one, as a last splash of summer, even though it's officially Fall today (Mabon!).

[Emily]

I did get the base and find it does make a difference in te final look. It just makes the effect a little stronger, and seems to make the application a tad easier. I do the sandwich technique. Aqua then holo then aqua than holo. I've used it with non-Nfu holos and it seems to work nicely for them too. Ohh neons are intense! You could give it a shot. I haven't done my toes in ages because I've been wearing closed toes all the time. Looking forward to golds and dark blues for fall :D

[Zombiiesque]

Oh, I wondered! I've never bought the base, but I've thought about it. I used to have Gosh Holographic, which was a stunner but phew it was finicky to apply. Yeah, I LOVE neons! They're so much fun. I have the Poolside collection in its entirety, and that's probably been my favorite neon collection, although I think Color Club has some pretty cool neons too. I hear you - fall colors are my favorite, and I've got half of last year's Color Club collection - one of those sets you could pick up at Ross - sitting in my closet, untried! There are some pretty fall shades in that one. Well, fall is my favorite season anyway, so that makes sense! :)

[paperdoll66]

Does anyone else buy multiples of their favorite colors? My roommate seems to think that I'm some sort of nail polish hoarder. I have tons of different blacks and dark purples, but they're all different brands and shades. I also have like seven of the same exact color (light purple with a barely noticeable gold shimmer). In my defense, my favorite shade is actually in a cheaper brand, so they're only $2.50. It's my go-to "professional" shade, for when I'm working with someone that is probably silently disapproving of me for not wearing tights. I'd really just like someone to tell me that this isn't that weird.

 

I wish linear holos would come back! I managed to get my hnds on a couple pinks from CGs "OMG" collection, and nfu-Oh 61, but they're ridiculously expensive :( I paid $25 for the one CG polish. Totally worth it, but still. Crazy.

 

Are those the ones that all had chat speak abbreviations? I bought TTYL and TMI, and I really loved them. If they're selling for that much, I should hunt down the green I have from that collection that looked bad on my skin and make a profit.

 

For people in the US, Fabulous Street will sometimes let you get the Nfu-Oh base coat for a discounted price if you're getting a couple of their nail polishes. It helps a lot with the bald spots. Their customer service is really great.

[Zombiiesque]

And they have free shipping! Or, they did - do they still do that? You're not alone, I definitely get backups of colors I love - I get panicky that something will be DC'ed - and obviously, it's been known to happen. One of my favorite colors is a dusty purple with an interesting gold fine shimmer, it almost looks like a small flake, called Purple Reign. LOVE it, and it's neutral with enough grey in it to be work appropriate, too. I have two bottles of it and it's very hard to find at Walmart now - I think they may have DC'ed it! :(

[Emily]

I don't think I currently have a favourite colour, though Sugarplum Fairy may become it. Any dupes (same colour and brand) I have are either gifts, bought by accident because I forgot I had them, or from beauty subscription boxes sending me stuff I already have, though I have some that are quite similar, but not the exact same brand and colour. Except for a couple staples. I always have multiple Seche Vite bases and topcoats around, and usually a few Wet n Wild black Cremes around (one coat opacity. YES!). When I get dupes of other stuff, I usually give them away because I can use the extra storage space.

 

@paperdoll Only some of the CG holos are that inflated. The less-popular ones (the yellow and I think one or two other ones) you can still usually find for under $12.

 

Did some more stamping tonight. Zebra over Nfu-Oh #61. I think my black stamping polish is starting to dry out. It didn't turn out as good as it normally does

 

 

 

 

[Zombiiesque]

SO pretty, Emily! I love zebra and leopard manis. So much fun. Have you tried using the SH Insta Dris for stamping? I heard they were good. For being so cheap, I LOVE WNW black! I also buy up bunches of the clear for frankening - I really, really like jellies so I make myself unusually colored ones. Although, they're becoming a lot more common and therefore easier to find now! But the clear makes a good base for frankening in general. Seche does NOT work on me! :( I wish it did, I love how glossy it is and it dries so darned fast. But even with a brand new bottle, I get massive shrinkage. I've been using Orly In A Snap and that actually works pretty well for me. I used to use CND Air Dry - although it's not billed as a fast dry, it worked awesome for me, and then they changed the formula when they changed the bottles. :(

[Emily]

If you use Seche, you have to put it on when the other polish is still pretty wet (not freshly applied wet, but wetter than tacky if that makes sense). If you let it dry completely before using the TC, you get shrinkage.

 

I love frankening, but use a lot of glitter so I need suspension bases. They're getting sooooo hard to find and so expensive to ship to Canada though :(