My Version of Fire Nails: Gradient with Orly Emberstone

I don't know what it is, but I always like asking people what they want to see on my nails. One day, the boy responded with "fire." So I dipped into my untrieds and went to work!

Orly Emberstone. This was one of the Mineral FX polishes from last fall. I found it on super duper clearance at Sally's and I am so glad I picked it up. Emberstone just glows. Depending on the light, it can appear more red or more orange, so I'll stick with red-orange. The mineral particles really set it apart although not sure it justifies the higher price tag, but it was definitely worth the $1.99 I paid!

To make Emberstone go on fire, I added a coat of Zoya Chloe, a flakie that flashes orange, yellow, and green. But because that wasn't enough, I added Kleancolor 2-2-Tango on my tips. Kleancolor makes some amazing glitters and did I mention they cost a dollar?? Of course, I had days of clouds when I did this mani, but hopefully you get the gist.

Lately, I love doing these types of manicures because they help me go through my untrieds, but in a meaningful way. I don't swatch polishes, so this is how I justify buying so much polish :-D

Now this manicure was awful to photograph because either I got the color of Emberstone correct, but then there was no sight of the flakies. So here we go. And wow, my nail lengths were crazy haha.

 

 

More color accurate of Emberstone, but hard to see Chloe

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Hare Cumulus Excellence Duo: Rad Cloud and Magic Mist

I recently ordered Magic Mist off of Copious and then NEEDED Rad Cloud to complete the duo (plus, I loved Rad Cloud). I actually got Rad Cloud off Hare's etsy site pretty easily. No rushing, no cart-jacking; I was a happy camper. And I was able to get Magic Mist for only $2 because of Copious!

Today marks my first day teaching at a new, large college. I wanted to do a collegiate mani for the college, but decided to save that for a football game. Instead, I whipped out my new Hares. Please pardon the tip ware. Moving and writing with chalk (can you believe college classrooms still have chalk?! I've been used to whiteboards!) really didn't agree with my nails.

On my left hand I did one coat of OPI Suzi Pedal Faster! topped with one coat of Rad Cloud. Absolute perfection. Great formula and I love the purple and green squares. Then I did an accent nail with one coat of Essie Play Date (this is definitely in my top five cremes) and one coat Magic Mist. Magic Mist was slightly thicker, and because of that, I was a little too heavy handed. I did the reverse manicure on my right hand and you will see much better application of Magic Mist. All in all, I do love this duo and I'm glad they were my first Hares!  My students also looked at my nails like 0_o. They could not even handle the glittery indie polish. Enjoy way too many pictures! You're going to want to click on these to enlarge them.

Artificial Lighting

Artificial Lighting

One coat of OPI Pedal Suzi Faster! and Essie Playdate

One coat of Essie Playdate and OPI Pedal Suzi Faster!

Artificial Lighting

Cloudy day, but direct "sun" light

I really like this inverse look!

Have you tried Copious yet? Click this link to get a free $10 which I used to get my first RBL!

Do you have any Hare polishes? What are your favorites and which should I get next?

ALSO, I have finally hit 100 followers! And I hit 100 on Facebook. I have something in the works for a fantabulous giveaway. Would you prefer one winner or multiple getting one polish each?

I have chains now for all my pendants, so I am now selling necklaces not only pendants! Check it out through my tab on the top or right here. 

Ozotic 513: Purple Holographic Goodness

As I posted on my Facebook page, I had some awful nail breaks so I haven't wanted to take pictures of my nails. I do have tons of manis from when I wasn't so good at taking pictures. Would those interest you? Let me know!

Here is a simple palette cleanser I did after tons of nail art. Ozotic 513, now discontinued, was a gift from the boy. Holy crap this is one blinding polish. Two effortless coats. Perfect formula. No clean up needed. Gorgeous in low light. Blinding in sunlight. Enjoy.

In shade. It's still gorgeous.

Girly Bits Smurf Dance with Essie Norfolk Collection Gradient

I jumped at the opportunity to purchase Girly Bits Smurf Dance. First, I had no Girly Bits (what is wrong with me?). Second, I loved it when I saw it on The Silverinator's blog but did not win her giveaway. Third, I apparently don't own enough blue glitters. I got it in the mail Tuesday and have it on now. I love it!

I stumbled upon Sag Harbor in a dusty and paid a whole $5 for it. This is a pale shimmery blue. It's a good amount of shimmer so that it is not frosty. Two coats and I was done. Then I used Essie Shelter Island (see my original post on it here). Shelter Island has a somewhat jelly finish so I knew it would be sheer. You will see it is not a smooth gradient and there is a reason for that.

After that dried, I put on just one coat of Girly Bits Smurf Dance which smoothed out the gradient. Application was a breeze. The formula was thin but allowed the glitter to spread out easier. The only thing is that I wish there were more large squares. I *really* had to shake it upside down and dig for that one square. Totally worth it. Loved it.

This combo sort of reminds me on snow. I'm picturing winter manis now. One coat of NYC GCS (Grand Central Station) and one coat of Seche Vite. Please excuse my cut on my index finger. Had a fight chopping a piece of fruit. :-D

Essie Sag Harbor, two coats, artificial light

See what I mean about the gradient? It doesn't need to be perfect. With Essie Shelter Island

Indoor, artificial light

Indoor, artificial light

Indoor, artificial light

Bottle shot in sunlight. So rainbow-y

Direct sunlight

Direct sunlight

Direct sunlight

Direct sunlight

Direct sunlight

Direct sunlight

Unfortunately, the Essies are now pretty hard to find, but if you do, buy them immediately!

Pam from Girly Bits may release Smurf Dance in the future. If you love the color, let me know in the comments so I can pass them along to her! Meanwhile, she has tons of other  gorgeous polishes that you can purchase here.

Last, I finally have chains for my pendants so take a look at my Etsy store and Facebook page for more updates!

Zoya Carly & Lynnderella Mercurial

Where to start with this polish...sigh. Ever since I saw steffels. pictures of Mercurial way back when, I wanted it so badly. Those giant hexes made me swoon and the gunmetal color just caught my interest. When I had the chance to buy it at retail, I jumped at the chance. Bought it, put it with my other polishes and of course, it drowned in a sea of untrieds. 

Then, some other indies came out, there were reports of taco glitter, which is when hexes curl so badly that they resemble a taco shell. At the time (March), I didn't have that many indies, so I decided to check them all. Oh my sadness when I could clearly see my Mercurial completely taco'ed in the bottle (not reflective curling), then I swatch it on a nail wheel and my heart dropped. The hexes were completely unwearable. $15 for a homemade polish is a lot for me (we won't even talk about $700!) and when I saw this, I was disheartened. I was granted a refund because the whole reason I wanted this polish were for the hexes.

Take today. To celebrate a special day with the boy, I decided to match my dress. I started with one coat of Zoya Carly, which positively glows. I thought I didn't want this one, but picked it up during the Earth Day promo. One coat is all you need! It's amazing. I then used another Earth Day purchase, Zoya Nova, which completed my Zoya Ultra Glitters collection. I used one coat to make Carly sparkle. Nova has a tinted base, but it was sheer enough to not alter Carly's color.

Mercurial is a mostly gunmetal glitter in various shapes in a lightly tinted grey base. It also has some black and lavender glitter, but they are sparse. I attempted to swipe on one coat of Mercurial but that was impossible. When I swiped, the glitter just stuck in clumps and would not spread out evenly (ie: my thumb). Also, I managed to get out six large hexes without digging, but only one was completely flat :-/ When I saw a hex was coming out, if it was curled (literally some "hug" the brush, that's how curled they are), I put them on my curlier nails, like my pinky and ring finger. Next time, I plan to thin it out with some thinner and possibly avoid the large hexes all together. Some nails needed FOUR+ coats of top coat (pesky thumb).

My apologies for the Zoya Carly and Nova pictures. I always do my nails at night and I really need to make a light box!

One coat Mercurial over one coat Zoya Nova and Carly

One coat Zoya Carly in natural light

Zoya Carly with Zoya Nova. Color is NOT this bright

I love these giant hexes; they make the polish for me.

See what I mean about clumping? This stuff stuck the minute I put the brush down.

All in all, it took my way too long to maneuver these hexes but I do think the end result was beautiful.  What do you think?