Super Bowl Sunday Nails

Hello lovies!  =)

I have a special Super Sunday post for you today because it is Super Bowl Sunday!  And you know what that means: beer, wings, and grown men running around in tights!  Neither of the teams I wanted are in the game, so I don't really care either way who wins.  But it gives me a perfectly legitimate reason to do themed nails.

Both teams' colors are blue and red, although different blues (Patriots is more of a navy blue and Giants is more of a royal blue), and whoever wins gets a big gaudy fancy silver ring.  I have lots of red polishes and lots of blue polishes.  Most of the blues I have are either so dark you can't really tell they're blue or they're really light, but I did have one that is in between the two teams' colors, so I used that one.  The mani is supposed to represent both teams along with the silver of the Super Bowl, but I just ended up with Patriots nails.  Whatever.

What I did was paint one half of my nail OPI Thrill of Brazil and the other half essence color and go Just Rock It.   This was also before clean up, because it's late and I'm feeling lazy.

Then I put a thin layer of Sally Hansen silver crackle top coat with a quick dry top coat to seal it.

I don't know about you, but I hate crackle polishes.  I remember when they originally came out when I was in middle school and they were just the coolest thing since sliced bread and portable CD players.   I even remember being kind of excited when they made a comeback in early 2011.  But after wearing them and trying make them function properly, I have decided that I hate them.  I just don't like the way they look.  Not my favorite.  I can't think of a nail trend that I like less.

I realize that the red goes higher on my nail bed than the blue does, but I just couldn't get the essence brush to cooperate with me like the OPI brush.  For one, OPI is a normal size and has a decently manageable handle on the brush.  Essence only comes in mini sizes, thus has a tiny brush and handle.  So please don't judge me too harshly.  I'm probably only going to wear this manicure as late as Monday, anyway.

So please enjoy.  =)

Facets of Fuchsia

Today I'm posting what might just be a decent dupe for an OPI Designer Series color.  Everyone knows that OPI has a superior formula to most of the other main stream lacquers out there.  I also thought that this could stand in for an L.A. Colors shade, but after looking at the website I'm not so sure.  If any of you lovely people reading this know exactly which one it is a good dupe for, please leave a comment of email me.  I saw it on another blog, which I unfortunately can't remember which one, so I know it has been compared to something else.

This is Revlon's Facets of Fuchsia over essence 21 Fabuless.  I used two coats of Fabuless, which has the tiniest bit of shimmer to it, so it would be great on its own, and one coat of FoF.  Facets has large hex dark purple glitter pieces and micro purple glitter pieces in a black jelly base.  I was tempted to try this glitter over just a purple, but the black jelly looked weird on top of it.  Maybe if I find the right purple...Hmm.

This manicure lasted me a solid four days with little to no chipping, and shrinking from the tips only on one or two nails.  All this might be attributed to a new top coat I'm trying out, one of those "no chip" kinds, but we'll see after a few test runs, then I'll give a full report.  Facets of Fuchsia's glitter pieces were really easy to move around and I didn't have to load up the brush a million times.  Fun to work with, in my opinion.

I thought this could have been a dupe for L.A. Colors Glistening Purple, but all the pictures I see of it just looks like a purple glitter.  Then I thought it could have been one of OPI's Designer Series, but that's also wrong.  Either way, I really liked it.

Revlon Facets of Fuchsia retails for around $5.50 US plus sales tax.
**essence 21 Fabuless was provided to me for review by a third party, I did not buy this one.  But it retails for about $1 US

4 on 1

I spent way too much money at my local Ulta last week, but now I have oodles of new colors for fall!  (12 new shades, plus a nail art pen.  I realize I might have a problem.  At least I'm not into drugs or trash television.)

So this posting has four different polishes in it.  Surprise surprise, I got bored with my claws.  And my mother's.  Did Mom's nails in a lovely green shade that I will be posting later in the season.  My mother is one of the elderly mad (she owns it, fabulously), and gets strange looks now when she wears flip flops because her nails are always crazy colors thanks to my extensive collection of lacquers.  We live in the South, so it's normal to be wearing sandals well into November.  The old saying for how warm our fall and winter usually is "If you haven't broken into a sweat in your new holiday sweater, it was a cold winter."

Anyway!  Here is today's featured nail art.  This picture was taken with my phone outside on a sunny day while walking through the parking lot on my way into work.

The color for most of my hand was "Date With the Night" by essence. It's a really inexpensive brand (read, $1 kind of cheap) that is really really good.  It applies opaque with one thick coat, but I feel strange with only one coat so I used two to make sure it was completely opaque, and dries in under 2 minutes.  On top of that color is Essie's "Matte About You," one coat.  I've been hearing about matte colors and top coats for over a year and had never gotten around to purchasing one, but I think the top coat has become a great investment.  I've instantly doubled my color inventory.  At first I was weirded out by it, but it's actually a good "day polish" or you could use it to tone down a really bright color if it's seasonally inappropriate.  Love it.
  The accent nail is Essie's "Your Hut or Mine," again with the two coats.  That polish is an opaque shimmer that is almost a coral pink, but just barely.  I was so impressed with that one that I put it on my toe nails (don't worry, I will spare you the sight of my hooves.  Dancer's feet aren't always the nicest things to look at, although my feet are actually kind of pretty IMHO).  Let me preface that I am actually very pale for the beginning of fall as I am a sun worshiper.  This color made my feet look TAN!  Highly recommended.   On top of that is Orly's "VIP" pink glitter.  Glitters always come out grainy, so I loaded up on the top coat.  Having the matte on all of my nails except for the accent nail really made the glitter pop, and I got nice reactions from my female coworkers.

Essie "Your Hut or Mine" actually came in a sample size 4pc set, but that set was $17 US.  Orly "VIP" was $3.50 US, and essence "Date With the Night" was $0.99 US.  Essie "Matte About You" top coat $10 US.