Polish Days: The Number 5

Apologies for cutting it really close this month by posting this up now. I know being sick over the weekend isn’t a good excuse, but I nearly gave up on this manicure because I just couldn’t get it right. After three days and over half a dozen attempts, I’m glad to say I’m finally done.

Three Beauties Radiant Silver

Silvery base with a purple/ green duochrome. This is a color that was rather popular in 2011; it has many relatives out there. I don’t own the others but Wet N Wild Gray's Anatomy looks like a sheerer match.

As with most duochromes, there are some visible brushstrokes (first two nails). To prevent that, I sponged on the last coat on the other two nails. Whether layered over black or by itself, the duochrome looks equally strong to me. I actually prefer the softer look of it alone.

The formula was great. My camera couldn’t capture the green very well, but it’s really strong in the last two images.

Polish peels:
• NailTek Foundation II (1 coat)
• Three Beauties Radiant Silver (1 coat) over black – index & middle fingers
• Three Beauties Radiant Silver (3 coats) – ring & little fingers
• Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat (1 coat)

Innisfree 101 Girl’s Skirt

Collection: Poem (2012 Summer)

Pale sea foam green and gold micro-glitter with small blue hexes. This is a sheerer (and cheaper) dupe for Deborah Lippmann Mermaid’s Dream. It sadly doesn’t look its best under macro mode. It very pretty in person and reminds me of clear seas.

Although it’s not as opaque as Mermaid’s Dream, the formula is smooth and easy to control. This has the same scent as Autumn Leaves, though it seems stronger here. With two coats of top coat, it’s smooth enough to pass muster, but I recommend another coat with you’re really picky.

Polish peels:
• PVA Glue (1 coat)
• Innisfree 101 Girl’s Skirt (3 coats)
• American Classics Gelous (1 coat)
• Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat (1 coat)

OPI Jade is The New Black

 
Collection: Hong Kong (2010 Spring)

Dusty blue based green cream. This is one of my favorite creams as I love its buttery formula. The color itself is great too, unique when it first came out, though there are a few dupes now.

The only gripe I have with this polish is the lobster hands it gives me. It won’t stop me from wearing this polish though.

Polish peels:
• China Glaze Strong Adhesion Base Coat (1 coat)
• OPI Jade is The New Black (2 coats)
• Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat (1 coat)

Polish Days: Vintage

It’s Polish Days again!

Polish Days is a monthly event where nail bloggers post their theme-inspired manicures at the same time. It was brought together by Hannah who also does the logistics needed each time.

The first thing that comes to mind when I think ‘vintage’ is soft (but not necessarily light) shades.My impression is ‘old but classical’ – colors that were aged and slightly faded though the passage of time.

Nfu Oh 66

Collection: Holographic

Linear light green holographic. I bought this in 2011 and it’s my only Nfu Oh holo to date. There was some issue with certain batches but mine turned out fine. Sure it’s not the most holo, but it’s still incredible.

While this might have been my first linear holo, it’s certainly not my last. You’ve seen my favorite Layla here, and I’ve definitely eying some Color Club Halo Hues and China Glaze Hologlams.

Nfu Oh 66 has a fussy formula so I paired it with the aqua base. The trick to using aqua base is to let it dry completely. If you don’t like waiting, I assume Layla’s method of buffing would work here too.

Thanks for looking!

Polish peels:
• Nfu Oh Aqua Base (1 coat)
• Nfu Oh 66 (2 coats)

Crow Toes Merope

Collection: Pleiades (2012 Winter)

Taupe base with blue/ pink/ red duochrome shimmer and small translucent flakes. I’ve been looking for a blue to red duochrome every since I saw this. Merope definitely fits the bill and the shimmer even has an additional green flash.

Three Beauties Radient Turquoise

Sheer green base with blue/ purple duochrome glass flecks. I bought this polish on a hunch that it’ll look awesome over a black base and I’m happy to show you that I’m right! Look at that glass fleck duochrome goodness!

Innisfree 107 Libra

Collection: Star Sign (2012 Summer)

Clear base with multi-shaped glitter. Even though it looks mostly blue and green in the bottle, it has a wider variety of colors on the nail. There’s purple, gold and silver, and a dash of orange and red too.

Libra needs some thinner but it was still manageable without. The dab and spread method gave me a lot of glitter even at one coat. I don’t have any indie glitters yet, but this is definitely a cheaper alternative ;)

Polish peels:
• PVA Glue (1 coat)
• China Glaze Strong Adhesion Base Coat (1 coat)
• OPI Jade is The New Black (2 coats)
• Innisfree 107 Libra (1 coat)
• American Classics Gelous (1 coat)
• Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat (1 coat)

Euro 2012 Ireland

A green holographic tape mani – a combination of the different things I love! The picture above is too blue though, those in direct sunlight below are more color accurate.

Ireland's home kit is the one and only that has no white, red, or blue. I love the grass green color, it's so rarely seen in jerseys. The huge sponsor in the middle does ruin it though.

Surprisingly, I found that I have very little rich greens in my collection. In fact, these are my only two! They complement each other rather well in the shade but I love how it changes in the sun when the holo takes all the attention in the last picture.

Thanks for looking!

Polish peels:
• NailTek Foundation II (1 coat)
• OPI Jade Is The New Black (2 coats)
• Nubar Reclaim – middle & ring fingers(1 coat)
• Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat (1 coat)

All jerseys featured are for illustrative purposes only.

Euro 2012 Portugal

Are you a football fan? If you’re not, I hope you’re bear with me during this period of Euro madness!

This is Portugal’s away jersey. It’s definitely one the more weird unique jerseys in this year’s competition. Since I’ve brought up this country, no, I’m not a Cristiano Ronaldo fan. I prefer Lionel Messi ;)

I used striping tape and scotch tape to create the lines. I know the lines are not perfect but I’m rather happy with the results. I would say that it’s an improvement over my previous tape mani here.

Thanks for reading!

Polish peels:
• China Glaze Strong Adhesion Base Coat (1 coat)
• Orly Au Champagne (3 coats)
• OPI Jade Is The New Black (1 coat) – index & middle fingers
• Essie First Dance (1 coat) – ring & little fingers
• Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat (1 coat)

All jerseys featured are for illustrative purposes only.

Jordana Mint Candy

Mint green with green micro-shimmer. Yes, another one of those hidden shimmers that I love. This one is said to be a close dupe of Chanel Jade but I can’t afford that so I decided to go for this. The best part of this polish is that secret shimmer! It’s not just plain old silver, its green!

The formula is streaky and sheer. Even at three thick coats, there were still bald patches so another coat is needed. There was also some bubbling because of the thickness. Normally, I wouldn’t bother buying such a troublesome polish but this color is so beautiful. And did I mention the shimmer?

One thing to note: this never seemed to fully dry on me. Maybe it’s the number of coats or my base and top coats, but it was still getting dents after two days. I’ll definitely be trying this color again.

Thanks for reading!

Polish peels:
• China Glaze Strong Adhesion Base Coat (1 coat)
• Jordana Mint Candy (4 coats)
• Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat (1 coat)

Essie Sew Psyched

Collection: 2010 Fall

Sage green with silver micro-shimmer. The micro-shimmer stays hidden most of the time, only appearing in under the sun. I love wearing such polishes; it’s like a little secret that only I know ;)

The application was smooth and easy in two coats. See that pretty shimmer? It is a bit hard to spot in person so don’t be too disappointed when it looks like a cream. Trust me, it’s definitely there.

Polish sandwich:
• Essie Sew Psyched (2 coats)

Nubar Indigo Illusion

Happy Chinese (Lunar) New Year! I wanted to post this up two days ago but did not manage to. This is not my current manicure though, I have a red jelly sandwich on my nails. I'll try to post that one up by next week! In the meantime, here's an awesome duochrome!

Blue-green base with pink/ purple/ gold duochrome shimmer. This shade really reminds me why I love duochromes! I kept staring at my nails while I had it on; the color shift is very pretty!

The formula gave me no problems except for the slight brushstrokes. The brush was easy to control so that wasn’t a big deal. I noticed a few bald spots after my nails dried, but I think that was an application issue on my part.

OPI Mermaid's Tears

Collection: Pirates of The Caribbean (2011 Spring)

Dusty sea foam green cream. Most swatches online show this as more cyan than green. It does have a touch of blue that many cameras capture, but it’s definitely green. Still, whatever we choose to call this color, it’s a real beauty. I wore it for a friend’s wedding last month and got lots of compliments!

I do wish the consistency was less watery and more leveling. I read that Orly Ancient Jade is a close match but just a bit brighter and greener. I do like how murky Mermaid’s Tears looks so I’ll be keeping this. But I can never have enough so maybe I’ll get Ancient Jade one day too.

Thanks for reading!

Polish sandwich:
• OPI Mermaid's Tears (3 coats)

Nubar Reclaim

Collection: Going Green (2009 Summer)

Grass green holographic. This is a much loved shade from Nubar as it’s every green lover’s dream. Usually green holos are light silver-green but this is far from it. I really love how rich this color is!

Thanks for reading!

Polish sandwich:
• Michelle Base (1 coat)
• Nubar Reclaim (2 coats)