Milani One Coat Glitters in Lavender Fizz, Pink Flare and Twinkle Swatches and Review!

Good afternoon my fellow lacquered lovers!  Thank you all so much for the warm wishes for my birthday yesterday! You all made me feel incredibly lucky to have such awesome readers!  Amazing how a little thing can just make your day!  But enough gushing, there is nail polish to be seen today!  Today, I'm bringing you part one of a multi part series on Milani nail polishes!  We're starting off with something fun, a few of the new One Coat Glitter collection!  Now, without further ado, on to the polish!

Above:  2 coats of Lavender Fizz

First up is Lavender Fizz, which you might imagine is a lavender glitter!  In this polish there is both light purple micro glitter as well as larger circular glitter in the same shade that gives this polish a lot of dimension.  Above is two coats which is pretty close to opaque although you can see some bits of the tip of my nail.  If I were to wear this as a full manicure, I'd probably do a third coat or layer something underneath.  This was really an easy glitter to work with and with waiting just 2 minutes between coats, it went on smooth!

Above:  2 coats of Pink Flare

Pink Flare is a really interesting glitter because it's a light, delicate pink micro glitter that's almost neutral on my skin tone and then has larger circular holographic glitter that packs a punch!  This polish could have used a third coat or something underneath to truly be opaque but the formula was really easy to work with!  I think this one is really unique!

Above:  1 coat of Twinkle over 2 coats of White on the Spot

Last but certainly not least is Twinkle!  This was by far the least dense so I thought it would be neat to show you all one coat of it over a white and I love this combo!  Twinkle is a deep purple micro glitter with larger bright blue round glitters!  It's so fun and bright and I really love how it popped over white!  The formula was great, really easy to use, no fishing for glitters necessary but I'm guessing it would take close to 4 if not 5 coats to be opaque.

All in all, I really liked these!  The glitters were easy to use, the combination of micro glitter and larger round glitter is really nice and the colors are fun!  These are a step away from the couple other one coat glitters I had tried which were all micro glitter and I have to say I like the new look!  These polishes are available now wherever Milani are sold.

What do you think of this collection? Any must haves? Any dupes?

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

My Birthday Manicure Featuring Lush Lacquer Dippin Dots!

Good afternoon my fellow lacquered lovers!  Happy Wednesday!  I'm having a fabulous day because today, I turned 27 years old!  Somehow that sounds a lot older than 26 but since 26 was a pretty great year, here is hoping 27 is even better!  To celebrate my birthday, I knew I needed a manicure that was full of glitter so I figured I'd try out one of my amazing new Lush Lacquer polishes!  They are quickly becoming one of my favorite indie brands!  I took a bunch of pictures because I just love this manicure so much!  Now, without further ado, on to the polish!

 above:  "Carly Manicure"

I wasn't kidding when I said I took a lot of pictures!  I started off with Milani Fast Dry in White and Finger Paints Black Expressionism for the base and did my signature "Carly Manicure" with the hands different colors and a few nails swapped!  Then I topped it off with just one coat of Lush Lacquer Dippin Dots!  Here is how they describe the polish!  "  It has a clear sheer base with a huge mixture of glitter...all different sizes of pink, orange, green, yellow, blue, and purple glitters are used to make this fun and flirty polish."  I LOVE it!  Here are some macro shots with my fun new Olloclip!

 Macro Bottle Shot

Macro Nail Shots

So there you have it!  My sparkly, fun birthday manicure!  Lush Lacquer Dippin Dots is seriously amazing!  I love all their polishes and this one is so fun! 

What did you think of this manicure?

Pure Ice Vinyl Remix Swatches and Review!

Good afternoon my fellow lacquered lovers!  I hope you all had a lovely weekend!  I spent the weekend relaxing, hanging out in the park and swatching nail polish for you all!  Today, I have a new(ish) release from Pure Ice.

Here's the story with these polishes.  You start with their "Platinum Magic Base Coat" which is a pure white creme (and actually has a great formula, opaque in two coats.)

Then, you use one (or more) of the Pure Ice Vinyl Remix crackles on top that actually change the base color!  It's definitely a new take on the crackle trend!  Now, without further ado, on to the polish!

Above:  DJ Spinner

Above:  Emcee Me

Above:  Glam Rock

Above:  Rave

Above:  Vintage Remix

I'm showing you all of these together because they all have the same idea and same formula, just different colors!  These polishes cracked really well and I like the idea of doing the different colors on white because if you want to get creative, you can just use multiple crackles in one manicure which is easier than doing multiple polishes underneath!  Here is a manicure I did with all of them:

Sorry not the most clear picture but you get the idea!  And, a great thing about these polishes is that they work over pretty much any light colored polish.  I tried it over greys from a few different brands and they still have the same effect!  Here are some macro shots using my new olloclip:

All in all, I think these polishes are a cute idea.  Are they a must have?  Probably not because any polish addicted person probably owns a black crackle already and would just paint a different colored base but they look nice and crackle really well.  So far I've only heard of these polishes being available at Walmart but hopefully they expand the release soon!

What do you think of this collection? Any must haves? Any dupes?

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

Lacquered Lover's Divine Caroline Laser Manicure Tutorial!

Good afternoon my fellow lacquered lovers!  Happy Friday!  Just a quick post for you today to show you my Divine Caroline tutorial from last week!  Now, without further ado, on to the polish!

This week I share with you all how to do an awesome laser manicure!  I love a good tape manicure and anything that involves a matte black is great to me!  Head over HERE to find out what colors were used and how to do this fun nail art!

What did you think of this manicure?

Nail The B.Y.T.C.H. Caught In Candy and Pretty Slick Bytch Swatches and Review!

Good afternoon my fellow lacquered lovers!  I hope you're all having a lovely Thursday!  Today, I have a brand that's new to me to share with you all!  Nail The B.Y.T.C.H. (which stands for Be Your True Creative Heroine) was started by two lovely ladies in Chicago with a very empowering idea!  Now, without further ado, on to the polish!

Above:  Two coats of Caught In Candy

Caught in Candy is described on their website as "Sticky-Sweet teal is she for real! I would say so...she might get you caught up in her candy treats...I warned you."  I kind of love this description!  This is definitely leaning more to the blue than the green side but it's a great bright teal for summer!  This is a great color and the formula was excellent, opaque in two coats and really easy to use.

Above:  Two coats of Pretty Slick Bytch

Pretty Slick Bythc is described as "Shimmer tangerine watch her do her thing! Sweet but a little tart like Pixy sticks all it takes is one shot and your fixed." Tangerine is a pretty good description of this polish.  Since this polish has more of a frosty/pearly finish you can definitely see the brush strokes so depending on your taste, this may or may not be for you.  The formula was good, opaque in two coats and the color is very vibrant.

All in all, I liked these!  The frosty, pearly finish is never my favorite on my fingers but I can do it on my toes!  I really like the idea behind this brand and I'm always a fan when names and descriptions can make me laugh.  Nail the B.Y.T.C.H is available on their website for $6.00 each.

What do you think of this collection? Any must haves? Any dupes?

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

Holo Wednesday Featuring China Glaze I'm With The Lifeguard, Sun-Kissed and Fairy Dust & Dandy Nails Colorblind Squared!

Good morning my fellow lacquered lovers!  Happy Wednesday to you all!  Today I have another installment of the "group manicures" that myself and some fellow nail polish lovers do!  Today's theme is "holo hump day" since Wednesday's are sometimes called the "hump day" of the week.  However I'm not a fan of that term (unless it's in Mean Girls) so it's just Holo day for me! 

This is what my final product looks like although I had trouble capturing the holographic top coat I used!  I'm going to show you both the original manicure and then the holographic top coat so now, without further ado, on to the polish!

Here is the original manicure.  The base colors are China Glaze Sun-Kissed and I'm With The Lifeguard from the new Neon 2012 Collection.  The last color is the most color accurate because getting good pictures of neons is not an easy task!  I love how vibrant these are and the shimmer makes them really great!  I will do a full review of them soon.  Then I topped them with a new indie polish, Dandy Nails Colorblind Squared which is tiny black and white square glitters!  I love it! 

Ok I purposely blurred that last picture so you can see it!  The scattered holo top coat is subtle but it's there!  I really wish there was some sun in NYC today so I could have gotten better pictures but believe me, in real life, this manicure sparkles!

In case that's not holo enough, Here is picture of my favorite holo manicure I ever did!

Ah yes, that was a fun one!

Be sure to check out the other fabulous bloggers participating in today's holo challenge!  There are some real beauties in here!  And be sure to let me know what you think of these polishes in the comments below!

Layla Ceramic Effect Nail Polish in 24, 40, 42 and 44 Swatches and Review!

Good afternoon my fellow lacquered lovers!  Happy Monday!  I hope you all had a fabulous weekend!  I actually had an awesome makeover with one of my friends this weekend that was super fun!  Today, I have four Layla polishes to show you!  I will be showing you all the Hologram and a bunch of the Magnetics soon, but today, I have their Ceramic Effect line to show you!  Now, without further ado, on to the polish!

Above:  3 coats of Layla Ceramic Effect 24

Ceramic Effect 24 is a gorgeous baby blue with pink shimmer in it.  This is like a more subtle version of Models Own Indian Ocean or a more intense version of Rescue Beauty Lounge Aqua Lily.  In person, you can absolutely see the pink shimmer.  I wouldn't call it a duochrome but the pink shimmer is apparent and really pretty!  The formula was a bit thin and needed 3 coats for full opacity but it's so pretty it was worth the extra effort!

Above:  2 coats of Layla Ceramic Effect 40

Ceramic Effect 40 is a bright red cherry creme.  This is a bit more pink leaning than blue so it's a really warm red creme.  It almost looks like a jelly because it's so squishy!  The formula was really nice, fully opaque in three coats.  Not a terribly unique polish but good if you need a standard red!

Above:  2 coats of Layla Ceramic Effect 42

This is as close as color accurate as I could get to 42.  It's a tad bit more green in person and is a gorgeous turquoise!  I love this shade!  I'm such a sucker for a turquoise or a teal and this straddles the line of the two.  The formula was excellent, opaque in two coats and really pigmented!

Above:  2 coats of Layla Ceramic Effect 44

Last but certainly not least is Ceramic Effect 44.  Ceramic Effect 44 is a red foil nail polish.  It's definitely tilting to the pink side but it's more red than my pictures are showing.  It's gorgeous!  It was also practically a one coater which is amazing and with two coats it was really vibrant and amazing. 

All in all, I really liked these polishes!  The tall skinny bottles were a tad bit hard to work with since they seem more like stripers than bottles of polish but you get used to them pretty quickly.  Layla Ceramic Effect runs for approximately $8.00 depending on where you buy them.

What do you think of this collection? Any must haves? Any dupes?

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