N.Y.C. Starry Silver

My last manicure fell right off my nails, due to my accidentally using a top coat as a base coat. I needed a new manicure for the New Year, and I needed it quick. I grabbed N.Y.C. Starry Silver, thinking it looked like a party in a bottle. It is a clear jelly base with smaller silver and holographic glitter along with pink and blue hex glitter bits.

Application was a breeze. The brush was small, but the formula was thin and spread easily. Drying between coats was good, so layering up was not a problem. This color would be great over a base color. On its own, it requires several coats. I have four coats on here, and I still have visible nail lines, but the overall effect is nice for this time of year; a bit icy, and a bit festive.

This one should be around a little longer now that I have a proper base coat on.

Remover used: Acetone/glycerin mix.
Nail prep: Rubbing alcohol.
Base coat: China Glaze Strong Adhesion Base Coat.
Color: Four coats of N.Y.C Starry Silver.
Top coat: Seche Vite.
Wear report: Pretty average wear. Had some chipping a few days in. I ended up removing this after a large chip came off around day #4.
Removal report: Not too terrible to remove, but it was a glitter. It required a little patience.

Sally Hansen Gem Crush Glitz Gal

This is possibly one of the prettiest polishes I have applied to my nails. I found this on a display rack at a drug store a few weeks back. Thinking it looked perfect for New Year's Eve, I gave it a spin. It is absolutely stunning and looks even better in person. It is a thick, dark-gray jelly packed full of silver micro gltter with larger multi-colored holographic glitter specks that change color and sparkle every time you move.

What is not to love about this polish? The brush was absolutely perfect. It is a wider brush, and it works really well for quick, even application. The formula is fantastic. Two coats would have been more than sufficient, but being safe, I went with three coats. Three coats may have been overkill. This polish covers quick and applies evenly and easily. Drying was fast, as seems to be the case with most glitters. For a smooth finish, a couple coats of top coat may be necessary. I only used one coat, and it left my nails textured. I am okay with that, but if smooth is what you want, you may want to add another layer of top coat. The only thing I think I would change is the shape of the bottle itself. The bottle seems a little top heavy, and I was a bit afraid of accidentally knocking it over. Thank goodness that did not happen.

I really suggest this polish. I have picked up the Gem Crush in red as well. I am going to have to collect a few more colors.

Remover used: Glycerin/acetone mix.
Nail prep: Rubbing alcohol.
Base coat: Don't laugh (well, okay, go ahead and laugh), but I accidentally applied China Glaze Fast Forward Top Coat as a base coat. I had grabbed the wrong bottle. It will be interesting to see how this performs as a base coat.
Color: Sally Hansen Gem Crush Glitz Gal, three coats in total.
Top coat: Seche Vite.
Wear report: TBA. Update: I will have to try this one again. I made a mistake of putting a top coat on as a base coat, and it did not work at all. The polish just practically fell off my nails in whole sheets on day #2.
Removal report: What was left of the polish came off pretty decently but felt like it could have been tough with a regular base coat under it. It is a glitter polish, so glitter polish removal will most likely be needed. I used glycerin/acetone mix.

Pure Ice Super Star

I found this color on a holiday display in the local drug store. I had to pick it up. Super Star is a cranberry-colored jelly with micro glitter. It is a rather stunning mix.

This brand is hit or miss with me, as far as formula and application goes. This one falls somewhere in the middle. It was a bit streaky, but it was thin enough to go on well. It took three coats to achieve the opacity you see in the photo. It dried rather quickly and had a rough texture naturally.

For good measure, I stamped my ring finger using Sinful Colors Snow Me White as an accent. It works well.

Remover used: Acetone/glycerin mix.
Nail prep: Rubbing alcohol.
Base coat: Seche Clear; still having peeling issues.
Color: Three coats of Pure Ice Super Star, stamp is Sinful Colors Snow Me White.
Top coat: Seche Vite.
Wear report: TBA. Update: This wore very well. I had some edge wear and slight chipping on day #3. By day #6, I had one or two good chips, but they still looked very good despite not even wearing gloves to do dishes a few times.
Removal report: Removal was easy and quick, and I had no staining whatsoever.

Happy Holidays Nails

Having a few holiday gatherings to attend this week, I was inspired to try another version of gradient nails. For this manicure, I used Orly Meet Me under the Mistletoe (an old polish I have had for years) for the base color followed by OPI Animal-istic and Sally Hansen Gem Crush Cha-Ching! at the tips. I finished this look off by using Sinful Colors Snow Me White and my new stamping kit I picked up from Rite-Aid (I believe it is called Salon Express). 

The Orly color is a green glitter gel. It is an old polish, but its consistency was still perfect. That said, it was a bit streaky and shear, so it took three coats to get the opacity I was looking for. I used one coat of OPI Animal-istic sponged on from the tips up, and I layered 2 coats of Sally Hansen Gem Crush Cha-Ching! sponged on over that (from the tips up). The Sally Hansen Gem Crush is a red glitter that looks like it would cover to full opacity in just 2 coats. I am going to have to try it on its own. It looks rather close to a red glitter polish in the OPI Muppets collection, but the silver glitter bits are smaller than the OPI version. For a finishing touch, I used Sinful Colors Snow Me White for the stamp. Snow me white seems to be a perfect opaque white cream that would work great on its own or for french tips or nail art. 

I am quite pleased with the outcome, and I did receive a lot of compliments on this one. 

Remover used: Acetone glycerin mix.

Nail prep: Rubbing alcohol.

Base coat: Orly Bonder.

Color: Three coats of Orly Meet Me Under the Mistletoe, one coat of OPI Animal-istic sponged on at the tips, two coats of Sally Hansen Gem Crush Cha-Ching! sponged on at the tips, Sinful Colors Snow Me White for the stamp. 

Top coat: Seche Vite.

Wear Report: TBA, but I did have some edge wear the same day I painted the nails. It could be simply due to how thick the polish was and the fact that I had to play some reindeer games at a holiday party that involved stuffing balloons into some pantyhose. Update: This polish began to chip pretty well by day #3. I touched it up. On day #5, it chipped again, and again I touched it up. On day #7, it began to peel off in sheets, so I removed it. I would say the wear was average, but again, I am not sure if that is due to the different base coat or how thick I had applied the polish.  

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!      

Winter Gradient Nails

Sometimes a girl just needs to go gradient. These were really quick and easy to do (used a makeup sponge and worked from the tip upward). The base layer is Sinful Colors Ciao Bella. This seemed like a deep blue jelly with very fine blue glitter specks. The first gradient layer was Bon Bons (bought at Wal-Mart) in metallic silver. I followed that up with a few layers of Sinful Colors Queen of Beauty. 

Application of Ciao Bella went great. The first coat was streaky, but with a second thick coat, things were wonderful. It did take a bit longer to dry, but the results were worth it. The Bon Bons metallic silver went on easy too. Queen of Beauty by Sinful colors is a clear-based silver glitter. It took a few coats to get the coverage at the tips you see above, but I am quite pleased with the outcome. 

Everywhere I go, folks are impressed with this manicure. A friend asked if I had used loose glitter. They remind me of the deep quiet of a dark winter night. Perfect for December. 

Remover used: Glycerin/acetone mix.

Nail prep: Rubbing alcohol. 

Base coat: China Glaze Strong Adhesion; looking around again since I have had a lot of peeling recently.

Color: Two coats of Sinful Colors Ciao Bella, one coat of Bon Bons metallic silver sponged on at the tips, three coats of Sinful Colors Queen of Beauty sponged on at the tips. 

Top coat: Seche Vite. 

Wear report: Very good so far. I am on day #3 and have very, very slight edge wear on a few fingers. Updated: This wore very, very well. It lasted a week with only one very small chip on the edge of one finger. 

Pure Ice Jaguar

Pure Ice Jaguar is a shimmering gold polish with a few larger but still tiny specks of gold glitter. It looked absolutely stunning in the bottle, which is why I picked it up in the first place. While the color is not exactly flattering on me due to my fair/pink skin tone, it still is quite pretty to look at. I am sure it would look great on those of you with darker or more olive-toned skin. It looks quite classy overall.

Application was tricky. After using OPI nail polish for quite a while now, the smaller brush in this bottle took a little getting used to. At first, I had difficulty getting enough polish on the brush. This polish was very thin and sheer. However, it dried rather quickly, so I had to move fast to avoid smudging. On darker skin, the sheer look would have been fine with me. For me, I ended up applying a third coat to give it a bit more opacity. I still have a faint hint of a visible nail line, but it looked better after the third coat. It was a bit streaky and left brush marks, as polishes of this type can do. I found it best to apply the last coat thicker and go with light, quick strokes. I did have some bubbling, and some nail plate imperfections stood out (I have been having some issues with peeling as of late). I do believe this one would do best over a ridge-filling base coat, which I do not have at the moment.  

If you have the right skin tone and with the right base coat and application technique, this could be a great polish. 

Remover used: Glycerin/acetone mix.

Nail prep: Rubbing alcohol.

Base coat: CND Stickey.

Color: Three coats of Pure Ice Jaguar.

Top coat: Seche Vite.

Wear report: TBA. ETA: Wear on this manicure was about average. I believe I removed this polish on day #3 or day #4, and I did have some chipping. 

Nicole By OPI Disco Dolls

This polish jumped out at me when I came across a Kardashian Kolors display in a local Wal-Mart. Feeling festive and in the mood of the season, I opted to try it out this week. It is a high-packed gold glitter with a few hints of pink and green (or is it mauve and teal?). There is fine glitter, and there are larger glitter pieces. Gold is not my best color, but it was so pretty I just had to have it. This is my first trial of Nicole by OPI.

I was very impressed with the brush. It seems to me that it is the same exact brush that is in all the other OPI polishes I have tried. Application was superior. It only took 2 coats for complete coverage, and for a glitter polish, that is outstanding. The polish dries very fast.

I apologize that the above photo is not very clear. I will say that my first impression of Nicole by OPI polish is very, very good. I will definitely pick up more polish from this line. 

Remover used: Glycerin/acetone mix.

Nail prep: Rubbing alcohol.

Base coat: CND Stickey.

Color: Two coats of Nicole by OPI Disco Dolls.

Top coat: Seche Vite.

Wear report: TBA. UPDATE: By day #2, I had edge wear and a slight chip. In the polish's defense, I did have my hands in water the next day. However, the chipping and edge wear continued to worsen on days #3 and #4. On day #5, a large chunk came off my thumb, and I had to remove it. Wear was not very good on my first try.