Snowy Nails

It has not been snowing much this winter, but I love snow. Inspired by the sparkling beauty of winter, I decided to create the look of iced snow on my nails. I used Sinful Colors Snow Me White for the base color and Sally Hansen Glass Slipper over that. 

I love the entire Sinful Colors line. I have not had too many misses, and most of them wear really well and look absolutely beautiful. However, my bottle of Snow Me White was a bit thick and streaky when I applied it. I added a little thinner, and that helped some. Perhaps I need to add a little bit more. What you see above is two coats' worth. The Sally Hansen polish is fantastic. Nice brush, nice amount of pretty flakes in the polish. It applied very well and dried quickly. I almost wish I would have used two coats of the Sally Hansen polish, but I stopped at just one. I do not usually have much luck with super thick layers of polish. 

Remover used: Glycerin/acetone mix.

Nail prep: Rubbing alcohol.

Base coat: China Glaze Strong Adhesion Base Coat. 

Color: Two coats of Sinful Colors Snow Me White and one coat of Sally Hansen Glass Slipper.

Top coat: Seche Vite. 

Wear report: TBA.

Removal report: TBA. 

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.

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!      

Sally Hansen Pumpkin Spice

Oh my goodness. I love this polish! It caught my eye during one of my trips to Ride Aid. It was found on a fall display, and there was only 1 bottle. I am so glad I picked it up. It is perfect for fall and that pumpkin-spice mood on cool, crisp, cloudy days. It is a smokey, dark gray jelly base filled with coppery glitter. 

The formula is good and went on quickly. Being a glitter, it did take 4 coats to get the opacity you see in the photo. However, the coats each dried very fast, so this was not a problem. 

I will be wearing this a lot this season. 

Remover used: Glycerin/acetone mix.

Prep: Rubbing alcohol.

Base coat: Nail Tek II for peeling nails.

Color: Four coats of Sally Hansen in Pumpkin Spice.

Top coat: Seche Vite. 

Finish: Nail Life Aromatherapy Drying Drops.

Wear Report: TBA.