Claire's Sea Glass Manicure Set

Is this my NYE mani?  No.  Do I have a NYE mani?  No.  lol I've been really slacking on keeping up with my nails because holiday season in retail is just too stressful.  Add trying to execute a perfect mani on the daily and I'd be pulling my hair out.  I've already sprouted some grays and I don't plan on getting anymore.  Instead I dug into my un-blogged photos to see if there was anything interesting in there and this is what I found.

I thought this was an interesting concept.  I knew I probably wouldn't ever wear it again, but I'm always up for trying new things.  The sea glass effect is essentially the same concept as the caviar mani.  You paint your nails, I used Zoya Malia, and while it's still tacky you dip your nails into the beads, or in this case the sea glass.  It's really just multicolored bits of shell I think.  It looks a little jagged like it would stab you but it's not.  They actually lay pretty flat.  The only thing I didn't like was that I couldn't get it to cover my whole nail without pieces sticking off.  And that's about it.

Have a wonderful NYE tonight and please be safe.  Don't drink and drive and remember there are lot's of services out there to call for a free ride.  At the very least, call a cab.  Let's start out 2014 with a bang...in a good way!  (:

7 Days of Halloween - Day 2

So for the second mani I wanted to do a mani inspired by a Halloween costume and what girl doesn't want to be a princess at some point in their lives?  I know I was a princess one year when I was way younger.  With that said, I tried to exaggerate them a little like costumes should be.

I used two coats of OPI - Pussy Galore for the pink base.  Then I started packing on glitter and glequins to my half moons in silver.  Just for fun I added three large black rhinestones to go with the decal on my ring finger.  I got the decal at Claire's and the whole set really reminded me of a Bollywood style mani but I decided to use it for my "Crown Jewels".  There was a slight problem with the decal though.  It's flat and so in order for it to fit the nail you have to curve it to the correct shape BUT it refused to stay curved.  This was a mani that I couldn't even wear out of the house because it was sticking up.  A little disappointing but still really cute if it actually worked.

I hope you enjoyed these princess nails and will come back tomorrow for some spooky nails.

Textured Gradient with Stamping

Good Evening Readers!  Thanks for checking in tonight.  I have a really cool gradient to show you and I even stamped over it.  (:

This is my textured gradient using OPI Jinx from the Bond Girls collection and Claire's Paradise that I showed you all the other day.  I really just can't get enough of how gorgeous that purple is and that's why I keep featuring it on the blog.  I promise I'll stop soon.  lol

I haven't done a gradient in awhile because I ran out of sponges but I finally purchased some today and I was ready to gradient everything.  I really love how these two colors work together.  At first sponge I didn't think they would make it because I could clearly see the line between the two.  Obviously that line was blurred and created a really beautiful gradient.

I wanted to use three colors but I also didn't want to go crazy since I was planning on stamping over it.

This is the gradient stamped with a striped design from Bundle Monster plate bm-207.  I think it came out looking more like zebra than the actual design suggests which I'm not crazy about.  I just don't like zebra print unless it's on a real zebra.  lol  Then again it's not the worst design because I think the textured gradient makes up for it.  (:

On my left hand I used the same gradient but a geometric type stamp and that looks pretty cool too.  I put them on all crooked or else I'd show you.  lol

I plan on doing more gradients in the upcoming weeks because I've been having withdraws so if there is any color combo you'd like to see, textured or not, let me know in the comments below or you can hit me up on my Facebook page.  Don't forget to hit the "Like" button while you're there.  ;)

Comparison - Claire's Paradise/OPI Can't Let Go

Well here it is!  The comparison that I promised you.  I don't do a lot of comparison posts because I really try not to buy dupes.  I have a pretty small polish collection so it's easy for me to remember what I have when I'm out shopping for polish.  Today's comparison is of the Claire's sand polish I showed you on Tuesday and one of the first OPI liquid sands.

This is Paradise which I showed you one Tuesday.  You can read the post HERE in case you missed it.  (:

The is OPI Can't Let Go which I showed in THIS POST back in December when they were first released.

Looking at those two photos I can already tell they aren't exactly the same shade of purple.  That might be due to my lighting so let's see them side-by-side.

  

Above are two bottle shots.  You can definitely see the grainy effect in both bottles.  Not one looks more dense than the other.  The glittery bits really stand out as well.  OPI Can't Let Go definitely has bigger chunks of glitter.

I used two coats of OPI Can't Let Go on the left and two coats of Claire's Paradise on the right.  Can't Let Go leans a little more to the blue side whereas Paradise leans a little more the red side.

As I said before, Can't Let Go has larger chunks of glitter.  Paradise does have two sizes of glitter, they just aren't as large as Can't Let Go.  As far as finish and texture, they both dry very matte and have the same gritty finish.  The most noticeable difference is that Paradise has a very reflective finish.  The white flash is almost blinding in the right light.  Pretty cool.

 Claire's Paradise

OPI Can't Let Go

My final consensus is that these are definitely not dupes.  They are extremely close in color however they have very different qualities.  If you are like me and try not to buy dupes, then you would be safe by only buying one of these especially since they are close in price...OPI sands sell for $9.00 and the Claire's sands sell for $7.00 (however they are BOGO 50% off).  Can I, myself, justify keeping both?  Yes!  I just can't bear to get rid of either one because I love textured polish so much.  That's the hoarder in me coming out.

Anyway I hope this was an informative yet fun comparison post.  Have a great night!  (:

Claire's Paradise

Oh my goodness!  I got so caught up watching How the Universe Works on Netflix that I lost track of time.  It's definitely inspired me to do another galaxy mani in the very near future.  But not tonight!  Tonight I have another one of my new picks from Claire's.

This is Paradise.  It's a blue-toned purple sand.  Yes I said sand.  Claire's makes sands now and they are super gorgeous.  It is very reflective as well.  I was completely blinded by it's "gleam" of reflected light so I toned down the brightness of these photos for you all.  There are actually two different size glitters in this polish - traditional, tiny sized glitter with a few small sized hex glitters throughout.  I tried my hardest to get clear photos.

I only needed two coats for these swatches, but if I went a bit thicker with my application I could have gotten away with just one coat.  I was very pleased with this polish and it is now one of my favorite textured ones.  It dried a lot slower than I would have liked, but the payoff of the two coats was totally worth it.  The texture was right on par with all of the other textures I own as well.

I knew as soon as I put this on that it reminded me of another pretty purple sand I have.  Can you guess?  Come back Thursday for a comparison of the two to find out what it is?

There are two other shades of sands at Claire's - a pink and a turquoise.  Will you be seeking out these beauties with me?  Let me know in the comments below.  (:

Claire's Electric Avenue

Alright Ladies!  I was a Claire's yesterday and I happened to see a lot of new nail polishes and nail art accessories.  Of course all of the cosmetics are always BOGO 50% off so I bought 4 new polishes...well 3.  One was a matte top coat.  Anyway, I tried to Google swatches of the new ones, but I couldn't find them anywhere.  Nothing and I mean nothing came up.  So I'm not gonna say that I'm the first to post this, but I think I'm the first to post this.  lol Please correct me if I'm wrong.

This is called Electric Avenue.  It is a beautiful teal jelly packed full of black and white glitters in all different sizes.  I had to use 3 coats for (almost) full opacity.  The formula was a bit on the thick side but not unmanageable.  I had to place a few of the larger glitters so they wouldn't slide off but the smaller and bar glitters stuck perfectly.  And speaking of bar glitters, some of them are starting to curve.  I'm sure that's not supposed to happen, but it didn't create any problems and to me it doesn't look bad so I left it alone.

Here is a close up bottle shot for your viewing pleasure.  At first glace I really thought I could just create this polish look with Zoya Frida and any black and white glitter using the glitter sandwich technique, but how much easier is it just to put on a couple of coats and go?  Besides, I'd rather use Frida and my black and white glitters for more fun manis.

I have two more colors to show you soon so please check back.  Don't forget to check out your local Claire's or Icing stores to see the rollout of new goodies.  Oh and if you purchase $20+ between today and August 24, you will get $10 off your next $20+ starting on August 25.  I'm keeping mine in a safe place until I can redeem it for all the other polishes and accessories I saw.

Nail Art for Less

This is a post I've been wanting to do for a long time, but I just never buckled down to make it happen.  Well today I wanted to get out of the house and what better thing to do when you're bored but shop.  I also don't have a ton of money right now so this post was perfect.

Tonight's post is all about being frugal when it comes to nail art.  I know there are a lot of companies out there pushing nail art supplies for gobs of money so with the popularity rising, I wanted to let you all know that you can create super fun manis for a fraction of the price.

These are all my goodies!  I got so much stuff.  Everything you see here is the essence nail art decoration kit in gold, Minx nail wraps in Summer Splash, All Season Naturals cuticle stick in French Vanilla, A.S.P crystal nail file, Claire's nail jewels, Claire's nail wheel with pearls, studs, and beads, and Claire's striping tape.

Here is the close up (the best I could get anyway) of the Minx nail wraps.  I got these at Ulta in the clearance section.  They had other designs as well, but this was the last one and the best one.  I didn't even read the package either so when I opened it and saw that is was and mani AND a pedi, I was pretty excited.  The price on the package says $4.99 (from $18) but my receipt says $2.99 so another great surprise.  Oh and it was 20% off.  Woot!

Here are some embellishments that I picked up from Ulta and Claire's.  The essence nail decoration kit contains 3 types of gold glitter, some tiny studs, and small sheet of gold flake.  This also comes in silver but they were out.  The Claire's gems and jewels are Buy 1, Get 1 50% off right now, so you should all check it out.  I picked up these beautiful jewel stickers that remind me of an Indian or Bollywood themed nails and the nail wheel is full of rhinestones and studs in silver and gold, but my favorite part is the white and black pearls.

Also at Claire's I saw they had striping tape and although I still have a roll unused, why not pick up more, right?!  I wanted to know how well it worked and it comes with 3 colors, gold, black, and silver.  For $6.50, I thought it was a great deal given the promotion that is running.

Now how could I buy all these goodies and NOT get a top coat?  I couldn't.  So I got the essence gel-look top coat which from what I understand is supposed to leave a super glossy gel finish...so like my Gelous, maybe.  We'll see.  Sally's had a coupon for the All Season Naturals cuticle stick so I thought I'd give it a try.  Oh the coupon was buy the cuticle stick, get the A.S.P nail file FREE!!!  I've never tried a crystal nail file so I'm nervous.  The sound is weird and makes me cringe a little.  lol

And the grand total...

$23.17!!

I really hope this post was helpful for all you ladies on a budget.  I can't wait to try all of my goodies and show you all what I come up with.  If you've found any great deals, let me know.  I'm always on the lookout.  Have a great night!