China Glaze Frostbite & OPI In True Stefani Fashion Swatches (and jelly sandwich!)

Today I have two swatches and a jelly sandwich for y'all!  The swatches are China Glaze Frostbite, a bright blue shimmer, and OPI In True Stefani Fashion, a silver holo glitter.  They looked so good together I decided to try Frostbite as a jelly sandwich and it worked great!


Ok first up is China Glaze Frostbite, a bright royal blue polish with a lovely metallic shimmer.  This polish applied really well, but it is definitely sheer...I used 3 coats to build opacity.  This is one of those colors that glows from within, I think due to the metallic shimmer.

Orly Smoked Out Swatch- Smoky Collection Fall 2014

Today I have polish from the Orly Smoky Collection (Fall 2014) called Smoked Out.  Let me go ahead and say that pictures do NO justice for this polish.  I don't know why it was so hard to photograph but in real life it is gorgeous!

Pure Ice Private Show

Today I have a super cheap Butter London dupe :) This is Pure Ice Private Show, with China Glaze Infra-Red on the accent nail.  Private show is an exact dupe for Butter London The Black Knight.  You can check out the comparison at OhThreeOhFour.  The best part? The Black Knight is $15.00, and Private Show is only $1.98!

July 4th Mani

 **SO SORRY, THIS WAS SCHEDULED TO POST JULY 5TH AND DIDN'T :( ***

Simple mani (I know I know, that's all I've done lately) Accent is 1 coat China Glaze Ruby Pumps over 1 coat CG Red Satin, other nails are 2 coats Spellbound Nails Peppermint Pinwheels, over 1 coat Zoya Song.  Sally Hansen Instadri Topcoat.

Zoya Natty Swatch

I love this color, ive been looking a good navy-ish color and this one is amazing! Great formula, this is one coat and no topcoat. Only thing is i picture it being a lighter blue because the color name makes me think of Natural Light beer :)

  *** Y'all please take a minute to also check out my jewelry page, the tab is at the top of the page, Contact me if you'd like to purchase one, and Thanks for looking :)

Glitzology Country Girl- LONG REVIEW

This was a special mani for me, because it was for my son's 1st birthday party :)

We had a farm themed party and I knew I wouldn't have time for animal nail art, so when I found this john deere themed polish on Glitzology's site I knew I had to have it!  They were having a 50% off sale so I got this polish and a Cupcake scented cuticle oil (it smells like heaven).

I used the 3 Minute Artificials as my base, then 2 coats Barielle Lily of the Valley, 2 coats Ulta Sun-Sational for accent nails, then ONE coat Country Girl, followed by 2 coats of Gelous topcoat.

Goldie Wulung & L.A. Colors Metallic Blue

Today is a mani I did for a wedding, and it did not come out like I wanted but I'm sharing it with y'all anyways.  This mani was my first attempt at a tutorial from Lucy's Stash.  This is Goldie Wulung (pink) from BBW and L.A. Colors Metallic Blue (although it has no official name, it was in the Color Craze Metallics Collection)

I had an apparent brain lapse on the basics of formulas & color shades because I should have done a pink base with navy on top.  The navy was more sheer so I thought it would be better on the bottom, and failed to think through that pink wasn't likely to cover navy. I like the "reversed" accent nail much better, it has nicer clean sharp lines, with the pink on base.

ALSO- PLEASE NOTE!  My camera has stopped working, I just got it at Christmas so I will be filing a warranty claim ASAP.  Until then unfortunately, I will be taking my pictures with my phone (unless I can get my other camera to a reasonable working status)  I apologize and hope to have better quality ASAP

Sunlight, before taping

 Left design is MUCH clearer than the right

Julie G Gumdrop Textures

Today I have half of the Jesse Girl Julie G Gumdrop collection for y'all :) There are 6 polishes total in this collection, today I used the 3 warm shimmer texture shades.  

The 3 warm shades are closest to the texture of the Zoya Pixiedust polishes, with the texture being a smoother shimmery glitter in the same shade as the base color.  The 3 cool shades have a texture closer to the OPI Liquid sands, with a silver, chunkier glitter texture.

I want to mention real quick the amazing customer service experience I had with this company.  I ordered during the pre-order sale, and was unclear on the shipping time frame.  When I hadn't received the set, I contacted Jesse's Girl customer service and it turns out that my order was marked as shipped but never sent out.  Cathy in customer service apologized and sent out a person set to me and had it in my mailbox in one day.  How is that for above & beyond customer service?!

Hot Cinnamon, Sugar Rush, Tangerine Dream, Crushed Candy, Blueberry Fizz, Rock Candy

 Hot Cinnamon, Sugar Rush, Tangerine Dream

Crushed Candy, Blueberry Fizz, Rock Candy 

Shade-Camera

 Shade-Camera

Shade-Phone Pic

 Shade-Phone Pic

This is Julie G Hot Cinnamon (Red), Sugar Rush (Coral-ish) & Tangerine Dream (Orange).  I used striping tape to make the diagonal stripes on my accent.  This is two coats of each color, no top coat.  If I had to pick a favorite out of this collection, it's Sugar Rush!  I have been staring at this color all night :)

Jesses Girl Facebook

Jesse's Girl Website

*** Y'all please take a minute to also check out my jewelry page, the tab is at the top of the page, Contact me if you'd like to purchase one, and thanks for looking***

Revlon Blue Lagoon Swatch

When i got this color i was looking for Sinful Colors Cinderella but Walgreen's didn't have it and this was pretty close. The only difference I've noticed from swatches is that Cinderella has a lovely pink shimmer flash that Blue Lagoon does not.  Blue Lagoon is a baby blue with a silver shimmer. Its  sheer, this is 3 coats, and formula is a really thin, as you can see by my hideously flooded cuticles.  The glitter on top is Sinful Colors Ice Dream. Ice Dream is a cheaper dupe for China Glaze Lorelei's Tiara and Sally Hansen Gem Crush. There's small differences but hardly noticeable. Check out a comparison post at Hooked On Polish.

  *** Y'all please take a minute to also check out my jewelry page, the tab is at the top of the page, Contact me if you'd like to purchase one, and Thanks for looking :)

Across the Universe

I got my first high end polish recently, Deborah Lippmann Across the Universe.  I'm not one to spend $18 on one polish so of course there's a good reason i bought this. I had a coupon for DL $10 off on HSN.com, they shipped for free, and i had a 5.95 shipping refund credit sitting in my PayPal account so i ended up paying a little over $2 for it :) You cannot beat a deal like that! It applies great, opaque in 3 thin coats but i prefer to use a black or navy undie with it.

Once I got it i thought it looked a lot like Revlon Radiant so i compared the 2 in this post :)

This is one coat wet and wild Fastdry Ebony Hates Chris, one coat DL Across the Universe and one coat Revlon radiant.

(DL on pinky and middle, Radiant on ring and index)

(Radiant on left, DL on right)

This is one coat wet and wild Fastdry Ebony Hates Chris, two coats DL Across the Universe and two coats Revlon radiant.

(DL on pinky and middle, Radiant on ring and index)

(Radiant on left, DL on right)

Both polishes are very similar in that they both have bright blue micro glitter and medium green, silver and light blue small hexes. The main difference is Across the Universe has a sheer navy base and more hexes, and Radiant has a clear base and has much more micro glitter.

I like Radiant as a polish on its own, and Across the Universe as a layering polish.  If i didn't get Across the Universe for so cheap i would have just stuck with the cheaper, close-enough dupe, Radiant.

  *** Y'all please take a minute to also check out my jewelry page, the tab is at the top of the page, Contact me if you'd like to purchase one, and Thanks for looking :)

Matte Flakes- Zoya Opal

Happy friday everyone :)

This week I have a matte flakie mani for you!  I love flakie polishes but somehow this is the only one I own.  I was actually having a hard time picking a polish so I grabbed 3 nail wheels and let my son choose a wheel and then a polish (he's 11 months and mostly wanted to eat them, so this was purely luck of the draw lol).  Without further ado...

this shows the green side of Opal

Two coats Ulta Little Black Dress, two coats Zoya Opal, one coat Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Topcoat (to prevent chips and extend wear) and one coat NYC Matte Me Crazy Topcoat.

this shows the blue side of Opal

LBD is a black polish with silver shimmer, its subtle though, I use it most times I need a black polish.  Opal is a green to blue flakie polish.  Micro to medium sized flakes, suspended in a very slightly green tinted base.  (For me,) The flakes seem to shift green in lowlight, and blue in direct light.  This is one of those polishes I can stare at all day, which is exactly what I needed because my christmas present (my new engagement ring!) from my husband came in this week and I cant stop staring at that either!

close up, please excuse the flakes all over my finger, you can't see them IRL or I would have cleaned them, haha! on the right is my beautiful new ring!

  *** Y'all please take a minute to also check out my jewelry page, the tab is at the top of the page, Contact me if you'd like to purchase one, and Thanks for looking :)

China Glaze Water You Waiting For

Hi y'all! This is China Glaze Water You Waiting For. This was my favorite polish out of the Circle De Soleil collections. Its a beautiful blue, purple and turquoise glitter with a blue tinted sheer base. It has blue and turquoise micro glitter and purple small hexes. This polish has such incredible dimension, it looks like many, many layers. This is two coats and it looks like much more.

picture is blurry to show sparkle :)

Here is my mani this week, not exactly how I planned it but I like it none the less.

This is 2 coats China Glaze For Audrey (mine was very runny and kept flooding my cuticles and dragging) and the blue, teal and purple are from a LA Colors Modern Metallics set I got for Xmas but the colors aren't named.  Accent is one coat For Audrey and 2 coats China Glaze Water You Waiting For.  All nails have one coat Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Topcoat, accent nails have 2 coats.

The plan was to use the metallic teal like on my thumb but when layered over the metallic blue it turned too green and didn't match the accent as well as I would've liked. So I subbed the purple and like it better :)

*sorry the pictures aren't great, i had a hard time photographing this one.  im also learning a new camera still and sick all weekend so i kept forgetting to take some in natural light*

  *** Y'all please take a minute to also check out my jewelry page, the tab is at the top of the page, Contact me if you'd like to purchase one, and Thanks for looking :)

New Year's Eve Mani- Zoya Song

Happy New Year's Eve :)

My NYE mani is inspired by the sweater I will be wearing tonight that is black and blue striped with a very slight shimmer.

**UPDATE: Here's a picture from NYE of the shirt :)**

I swatched this color when I first got it, because I fell in love with it immediately.  Its a beautiful, shimmery sapphire polish with a glass fleck look.  The formula was great, this is just one coat and no topcoat!

Now onto tonight's mani!
Tonight I have one coat Zoya Song, black stripes with Wet N Wild FastDry Ebony Hates Chris, one coat China Glaze Fairy Dust and one coat Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Topcoat.

 (Left: Indoor with Flash, Right: Outdoor Direct Sun)

(Indoor with Flash)

( Outdoor, Sun, Blurry)

(Close Up, Flash)

 This did NOT turn out how I wanted it. I hate using scotch tape, I need to invest in some striping tape badly.  I can never get my stripes the size I want them to be so then I have to start over or try to fix them (I was too tired this morning to start over)


  *** Y'all please take a minute to also check out my jewelry page, the tab is at the top of the page.  Contact me if you'd like to purchase one, and Thanks for looking :)

Zoya FeiFei Swatch

I honestly don't even know how to describe this color. The base is a steely blue color packed with tons of shimmer, and has the lovely glass fleck look. There are a million colors of shimmer in this so it hard to explain, its something you need to see in person. This is 3 (rather sloppy :/) coats, its a bit sheer.

  *** Y'all please take a minute to also check out my jewelry page :)
Contact me if you'd like to purchase one, and Thanks for looking :)
http://steelandsashes.blogspot.com/