Lacquistry Amazeballs Extra Fine and OPI Sheer Tints Nail Art!

Good afternoon my fellow Lacquered Lovers!  Happy Wednesday to you all!  Today, I have some super fun nail art to share with you!  As you might remember from a few posts back, the new OPI Sheer Tints can be a really fun way to dress up a manicure and do some simple nail art!

  

Well this past week, I finally bought Lacquistry Amazeballs Extra Fine, a super reflective one coat polish.  I then added some sheer tints for some nail art!  Now, without further ado, onto the polish!

 Above:  Lacquistry Amazeballs Extra Fine with flash

 Above:  Lacquistry Amazeballs without flash

Above:  Lacquistry Amazeballs with macro shot

Lacquistry Amazeballs is, well, amazeballs!  This super reflective flakie polish is a warm leaning gold that has this much coverage in ONE COAT.  It's basically the magical unicorn of nail polish.  Super bright, super shiny, just absolutely gorgeous!  AS you can see in the first picture, it almost looks like glitter but it's really not, just a reflective coating to the nails.

Then, since I wanted some color, I did the exact design I did the last time with the OPI Sheer Tints.

Had to include my macro olloclip shots as well.  The darker parts you see are the reflection of my phone because that's how reflective this polish is, it acts like a mirror!  I love how the shiny, reflective flakiness of Amazeballs still shines through but how vibrant the shades become with the OPI Sheer Tints.  I'm really a fan of them!

All in all, I"m obsessed with all of these polishes.  Bright, fun, reflective, and unlike anything else in my massive collection.  Now to talk myself out of buying the other 3 sizes of Amazeballs!

What did you think of these polishes?  What did you think of this nail art?  Would you try it?  

The products in this post were sent to me for my unbiased review. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.

Zoya Pixie Dust Nail Art Gradient!

Good afternoon my fellow Lacquered Lovers!  Happy Tuesday to you all!  I LOVE coming back to work on a Tuesday and only having a 4 day week!  Feels like I won a prize!  For the long weekend, I went down to Washington DC with my boyfriend and his family and we had a fantastic time.  I decided to do some fun Zoya Pixie Dust nail art because they just wear like iron on me (and let me tell you, the little girls I was with were OBSESSED with it!)  5 days later, it's still wearing strong!  Now, without further ado, onto the polish!

So I did this gradient a little differently than usual.  Rather than just sponge the entire gradient, first I painted each nail half of each color.  So for the thumb, on the outside is Tomoko and the inside is Solance.  The pointer finger is Solange and then Beatrix.  The middle finger is Beatrix and then Dhara.  The ring finger is Dhara and then Miranda and then the pinkie finger is Miranda to Arabella.  Then I mixed a tiny bit of the two colors for each finger on a piece of wax paper and just dabbed that in the middle of the nail with a makeup sponge. I love how this ended up looking like a sunset with the bright colors and they just blend so well.  The best part is that the entire manicure took about 10 minutes and then it was dry a few minutes after that!

I really love all of the Pixie Dust nail polishes.  Zoya did a fantastic job with them!  They are vibrant, sparkly, a wonderful texture and dry super fast.  I find myself reaching for these more than anything else!  They are all available now wherever Zoya is sold for $10 each.

What did you think of this nail art?  Would you try it?  

The products in this post were sent to me for my unbiased review. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.

OPI Sheer Tints Nail Art!

Good afternoon my fellow lacquered lovers!  Happy Wednesday to you all!  I hope you're all having a wonderful week so far.  Today, I want to share with you a super fun manicure I did last week!  When I received the OPI Sheer Tints to review, I wasn't entirely sure what to do with them.  They aren't jellies, they are just a super sheer top coat!  So when I saw an adorable layered rainbow tutorial from Adventures in Acetone, I knew I had to test it out with my own little spin.  Now, without further ado, onto the polish!

To begin with, I used two coats of OPI Solitaire from the James Bond Liquid Sand collection because I wanted a glittery base as well as being too lazy to wait for any other streaky white polish to dry.  This turned out to be an excellent choice because I LOVE how it looks!  I then began to layer them to make a rainbow by painting half of my nail one color and then painting another over the other half, so the middle third was a combination color.  

For the pointer, I used Be Magentale with Me layered with I'm Never Amberassed to make pink, orange and yellow.  For the middle finger, I started with I'm Never Amberassed and then added I Can Teal You Like Me to make yellow, green and blue.  The ring finger is I Can Teal You Like Me with Don't Violet Me Down to create blue, indigo and violet.  Lastly the pinky finger was Don't Violet Me Down and Be Magentale With Me for purple to pink, although this one had the least amount of color showing with the overlap.  I did two coats of each because I wanted the colors to be bright and not just a sheer wash.

Here are some closer up looks.  I also tried for a water color effect on my thumb by simply using the brushes in the bottles to dab the colors in different spots.

All in all, I think this is an interesting collection.  Will I use it super often?  Probably not but it's fun once in awhile to spruce up a color or change the tone.  I'm going to experiment a bit with layering over different colors to see how it changes them.  The OPI Sheer Tints collection retails for $9.00 per bottle wherever OPI is sold.

What did you think of this manicure?  Would you try it?

The products in this post were sent to me for my unbiased review. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.

Milani Gold Label Nail Polish Collection for Spring 2014 Swatches and Review!

Good afternoon my fellow lacquered lovers!  Happy Friday to you all!  I hope you all had a lovely week so far and are looking forward to the weekend!  Today, I have 12 gorgeous nail polishes from Milani that they sent me to review to show you!

This Spring Milani is releasing 6 vibrant creme polishes and 6 different glitter toppers!  Now, without further ado, on to the polish!

 Above:  2 coats Colorful Coral

Colorful Coral is a very orange leaning coral.  This polish is super bright but has just enough pink to it to not be a true orange.  The formula was very smooth, completely opaque in 2 coats.

Above:  1 coat of Sugar Cane over 2 coats of Colorful Coral

Sugar Cane consists of pink and purple metallic bar glitter and multiple sized white hexagonal matte glitters in a clear base.  I'm not a huge fan of bar glitter so this was probably my least favorite.  I can't even imagine how many coats you would need to make this opaque but the glitter did come out easily.

 Above:  2 coats of Popping Pink

Popping Pink is a slightly lighter bright pink creme nail polish.  There is a hit of blue base to this but not overpoweringly so.  The formula was good, very smooth and opaque in 2 coats.

 Above:  1 coat of Sugar Rim over 2 coats of Popping Pink

Sugar Rim was one of my favorites from this collection!  All matte glitters in black, red, light blue and yellow in slightly varying sizes, I can honestly say I don't own anything like this.  All of these glitters are suspended in a clear base and apply really easily to the nail.

 Above:  2 coats of Splendid Strawberry

Splendid Strawberry is a more medium, red based bright pink creme.  This is a classic pink for spring and I'm sure there are dupes out there for this.  The formula was great, very smooth and opaque in 2 coats.

Above:  1 coat of Sugar High over 2 coats of Splendid Strawberry

The first time I saw the name Sugar High, all I could think of was Empire Records and Renee Zellweger singing on top of a roof.  That being said, this is another super unique glitter topper!  This polish consists of peach, yellow, light blue, cobalt, red and gold small hexagonal glitters in a clear base.  I love how different this is!  It reminds me of Easter.  The application was very easy to get the glitters out.

 Above:  2 coats of Vivid Violet

I think Vivid Violet is my favorite of the cremes.  This is a medium blue based violet and it's stunning!  It's very vibrant without being neon.  The formula was great, opaque in 2 coats and very easy to apply.

Above: 1 coat of Sugar Coated over 2 coats of Vivid Violet

Sugar Coated is a glitter topper full of multiple sized and shaped lime green matte glitters and a tiny bit of holographic glitters sprinkled in.  Usually I hate bar glitter but it's sparse enough here that I kind of like it!  The formula was very easy to work with and get the glitter out.

 Above:  2 coats of Showy Sea-Green

Showy Sea-Green is a muted bright green polish.  I guess I would call this a grassy green?  It's actually a really pretty shade because it's not yellow leaning.  The formula was great, opaque in 2 coats and very smooth.

Above:  1 coat of Sugar Burst over 2 coats of Showy Sea-Green

Sugar Burst is the light pink version of Sugar Coated.  All matte light pink glitters and tiny holographic glitters in a clear base.  It's actually very pretty and dainty, not as stark as a white would be but looks really cool over bright colors!  The glitters came out really easily and smoothly.

 Above:  2 coats of Power Periwinkle

Power Periwinkle is, as you might guess, a really pretty periwinkle!  This shade is a bit violet leaning and just super gorgeous on the nails.  The formula was a bit streaky on this one but was mostly leveled out in 2 coats.

Above:  2 coats of Sugar Rush over 2 coats of Power Periwinkle

Sugar Rush is a glitter topper with light pink, light green, peach, white and silver hexagonal glitters.  This was the only glitter that gave me a problem.  I found I had to fish to get the glitters out and had to just put a glob of polish on the nail and manually spread it out to get any sort of glitter coverage.  I had to use two coats for the coverage you see above and it was rather thick.

All in all, I think Milani did a great job with these.  The cremes were virtually all 2 coaters, very smooth, very opaque and easy to work with.  The glitters were unique, fun, and different!  These polishes will be out in February wherever Milani is sold and retail for $4.69 each.

What did you think of these polishes? Must have? Any dupes?

The products in this post were sent to me for my unbiased review. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.

Textured Nail Polish - Nail Art, Manicures, & The Difference in Finishes!

Good morning my fellow lacquered lovers!  Happy Friday to you all!  As we start off 2014 together, I have SO many fun things to share with you!  Now if you've been following my social media over the last year, you've kept up with some of my favorite trends and products but sadly I've neglected my blog for a bit.  That's all changing now and I'm back!  I figured I would start off with one of my favorite trends from 2013 that I see continuing this year (and am VERY happy about!)

Textured polish!  Now there are many different types of textures and different brands that make them so here is a brief overview for you of all those polishes that don't require a top coat and dry quickly!  Now, without further ado, on to the polish!

Above:  Deborah Lippmann I Fought The Law

Deborah Lippmann has created the Punk Rock Collection which consists of 3 polishes.  Each of these has a definite texture like sand granules, however it's not overly glittery.  I Fought The Law is the only one with a shimmer to it and it's not really too evident on the nails unless in direct light.  You can see the texture as soon as you apply the polish and it dries within a few minutes.  This collection retails for $19 each and has a very pronounced texture to it.

Above:  Illamsqua Paranormal Collection

The Paranormal Collection by Illamasqua's main feature is that it glows under a blacklight.  However another feature to it is that it has a satin finish when left without a top coat.  A satin finish is very smooth and shimmery and feels soft to the touch, rather than slick like a top coated polish would.  I did this nail art also using the rubber finishes from Illamasqua which I've reviewed before that are more like a matte satin finish and look rubbery.  The Paranormal Collection retails for $17 each and comes in 3 shades.

Above:  Jesse's Girl Julie G Frosted Gumdrops Gradient

Jesse's Girl Cosmetics Frosted Gumdrops are now in their second 6 piece collection with the Holiday collection.  The first textured polishes we saw last year are like this, fine glitters that dry to a sandpaper like finish.  The Julie G are a bit thick to work with but for $3.99 per bottle, it's a great price.  They are really fast drying and have a nice glitter payoff, and as you can see above, work easily for nail art!

Above:  Jin Soon Mica and Obsidian

Jin Soon released a matte top coat that gives a satin like finish which I love.  I showed it above over Mica and it gives a super smooth, fast drying finish to any polish.  I find this is more smooth and sleek than most matte top coats and doesn't leave a chalky residue like many can.  This top coat is from the Tibi PR collaboration and retails for $18 and is great to give any shade you already have a different finish.

Above:  L'Oreal Hidden Gems and Sexy in Sequins

Last fall, L'Oreal came out with the Colour Riche Gold Dust Textured Collection which has 2 different types of textured polishes, those with finely cut glitter and then 3 with these, a mixtures of fine glitter and larger glitters.  I like the combination of the two as it makes this more sparkly.  They dried very quickly and retail for $6.99 each and have 9 different shades so far.

Above:  unnamed ManGlaze

Ok I just threw this one in for fun but ManGlaze made me this custom blue glitter and has a slightly rough texture and I love it!  Here's hoping they release it for real!

 Above:  Nails Inc Concrete Effect in Stonehenge

 Above:  Nails Inc Leather Effect in NoHo and Denim Effect

Above:  Nails Inc. Leather Effect 

Nails Inc. has 3 different effects I'm showing here.  First is the Concrete effect which weirdly enough actually feels like pebbled concrete!  This is more smooth than the Deborah Lippmann with larger particles but definitely has a "chunky" finish.  The Denim Effect has a more rough finish and feels like unrefined denim and has a bit of a sparkle to it.  The leather effect feels like leather and dries to a more shiny finish.  The Denim Effect definitely dries the fastest of these three while the leather and concrete effects take about a half an hour to set.  All of these retail between $7 and $11 when they are still available.

 Above:  OPI Alcatraz Rocks

 Above:  OPI Alcatraz Rocks and Solitaire Gradient

Above:  OPI Mariah Carey Liquid Sand

OPI has the Liquid Sand line that retail for $9 each.  The Liquid Sands were one of the first textured polishes and started off with all fine glitters and has moved into a mixture of fine and chunky with their holiday collection this year.  The formulas on these are great, easy to work with and super fast drying, plus the colors are really sparkly and multi-dimensional.  

 Above:  Zoya Chita

 Above:  Zoya Dahlia and Chita

 Above:  Zoya Sunshine and Dahlia

Above:  Zoya Pixie Dust Nail Art

Last but not least is the Zoya Pixie Dusts, the first textured polishes I ever knew about!  I remember seeing these at NYFW in September 2012 and being amazed by them!  They are up to 18 shades now, all fine glitters, most of them containing at least 2 different shades to give them a lot of dimension!  I'm in love with these, so fast drying, great for a manicure on the go!  These are available to $10 a piece and are well worth it.

Whew!  There you have it, lots of glitter, leather, denim, concrete, satin, and more!  I really do love textured polishes and hope they aren't going anywhere.  More and more brands like Jordana and Sally Hansen are now releasing them and I think it's only a matter of time before the high end brands jump on board!  Let me know what you think below!

What do you think of these polishes?  Any must haves?  What are your favorite textures?

Some of the products in this post were sent to me for my unbiased review. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.