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. 

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!