The Nail Challenge Collaborative Presents - Recreate Your First 4 Mani's - Look 1

This month's theme in the Nail Challenge Collaborative is "Recreate your first 4 mani's". I voted for this and thought it would be really cool, until I went back and looked at my first four looks; I am pretty sure that only one, maybe two, would be something I would wear again.

You could interpret this theme to be an exact re-creation, something "inspired by", using the same technique, etc. but I decided to try to stay as close to the originals as possible with only minor modifications.

This is a re-creation of the VERY FIRST blog post that I posted, which you can see here. The base color that I used was OPI Chicago Champagne Toast. I had just received that color as a gift, when I received it, it was a color that I would wear a lot, 2 1/2 years later, not so much, but I won't part with any of my OPIs so lucky me, I still owned this shade for the re-creation mani.

As you can see in the original look, I had a bit of a half stamped half plain look which is actually kind of cool, except the reason I had it like that was because I wasn't very good at stamping so I was lucky to get half a nail stamped; but hey, necessity is the mother of invention, right? I also had some bling on my original look, which I chose to omit in the re-creation since the base is a bit metallic on its own.

So there you have it, my "first" re-creation. If I wasn't sticking to the original colors I would have chose a nice tan cream for the base and done a traditional leopard print, but I really liked the idea of keeping it as close to the original as possible.

Check out how the other ladies have re-created their first looks.

An InLinkz Link-up

Sally Hansen Color Foil - Swatches & Review

I recently reviewed two shades from the Sally Hansen Color Foil Collection. I was looking forward to trying these polishes out for myself as I had seen them in stores and online. Let's get started!



All swatches shown with one coat of color, no topcoat

Cobalt Chrome

Minted Metal

I was amazed with a couple things with these shades. First, when you can't see the color of polish in the bottle at the store, you're not always sure if the outside is representative. With this line, the polish matches the bottle completely; love that! Also, they are super pigmented and are completely opaque in one coat, which is always a plus. Finally, unlike some other metallic polishes these had a streak free application.

There are ten colors in the collection, so I will probably be picking up some more for myself; do you have any? Will you be getting any?

*Products in this post were provided by the manufacturer for my honest review*

Press Release: Sally Hansen Color Foils

GET A METALLIC DIPPED MANICURE WITH

THE NEW SALLY HANSEN® COLORFOIL™ NAIL MAKEUP COLLECTION

 

THINK: Metallic iridescence in must-have shades

WHAT THEY ARE: Shimmering metallic special effect polishes in ten trendsetting shades. Get ready to bring your nails into the spotlight. With the new Sally Hansen® ColorFoil™ Nail Makeup collection, rich, electrifying pigments join forces with fashion-forward aluminum leaf to create a never-before-seen brilliant gleam effect for nails. Beloved by the most riveting stars, metallic finish nails can now be yours at home with color leader Sally Hansen®’s newest light-in-a-bottle formula.

Achieve high impact drama with high shine, liquid metal looks.  With on-trend shades such as this year’s “it” color, pinky-purple lilac, to must-have mint and essential gold, silver, and copper metallics, each shade delivers a unique iridescent foil gleam finish for a one-of-a-kind nail look. These glinting polishes explode from within with extreme theatrical effect, for a new level of brilliance that fuels today’s desire for over-the-top, outrageous shine.

The breakthrough Sally Hansen® ColorFoil™ Nail Makeup collection features an exclusive non-streaking patented formula that dries in just seconds, for flawless, time saving application. The ten colorful new high-profile shades are designed to be used alone, without a base or top coat to fully preserve the stunning metallic color and effect.

 

 

 

WHAT THEY COST: $7.99 each

WHERE TO FIND THEM: The Sally Hansen® ColorFoil™ Nail Makeup collection is available beginning June 2014 at chain drug stores, food stores, and mass merchandisers nationwide.

Elle - Sapphire Sophisticate

Happy Thursday Loves! Today I have a mani using of my Elle gem tone polishes, Sapphire Sophisticate.

Polishes Used:
-OPI - Nail Envy
-Elle - Sapphire Sophisticate
-Liquid Lacquer - No name mini
-HK Girl Topcoat

As with the Emerald shade, this Sapphire color is very pretty, and it had a nice smooth application. I love how rich these colors are, and now that I'm thinking of it, they would probably be good for stamping too!

Super quick post today; tomorrow's Friday; WHOOHOO!

Elle - Cutting Edge Emerald

Today I am going to share with you Elle - Cutting Edge Emerald. This is one of the polishes that came in a gem-tone trio that my sister got me for my birthday a while back.

Polishes Used:
-Nail Tek II
-Elle - Cutting Edge Emerald
-HK Girl - Topcoat

I hadn't used this polish yet because I didn't really think that I would like it. But seriously, how did I  not wear this sooner?! It is seriously gorgeous! I am wearing two coats and it is opaque. The application was really smooth and easy. I have heard that other people have run into issues with Elle brand polishes but out of the 2 I have used thus far, I haven't had any issues.

Do you own any Elle's? Which ones? Any application issues?

Joyful Noise Cosmetics - Midnight Beach Party & Those Summer Nights

Happy Monday!!!

Today I have two polishes to show you from Joyful Noise Cosmetics; Midnight Beach Party and Summer Nights!

First up is Midnight Beach Party:

Laura describes Midnight Beach Party as "Pure metallic silver base, with gold and silver holographic glitters in various sizes and shapes."

I am wearing two coats of Midnight Beach Party topped with Poshe. I didn't notice too many gold glitters, but this is a fun mix between a plain metallic base, and a completely silver glitter polish. 

Next up, Those Summer Nights:

Laura describes this polish as "A rich, deep amethyst base with a rainbow of metallic glitters. A very fun polish to have in your collection!"

I am wearing two coats of polish, topped with Gelous and Poshe. This is a really unique polish, as you don't see too many frosty bases with glitter mixed. It's pretty but may require two coats of Gelous as it seemed to suck mine right up!

Do you own any Joyful Noise Cosmetics? You can purchase these and other products at the Joyful Noise Cosmetics Etsy Site and make sure to check out the JNC Facebook Page for restock information.

Sally Hansen - Celeb City

I felt like wearing something simple but flashy today, so I went with Sally Hansen - Celeb City.

Polishes Used:

-OPI - Nail Envy

-Sally Hansen - Celeb City

-No Time

I have two coats of CC on in these photos. This is a fun polish that is completely opaque in two coats. I have tried stamping with this polish but unfortunately its not opaque enough on it's own to stamp with, but its a great polish to use in other nail art and wear alone like this.

We are halfway through the work week, hope it's going well for everyone!

Sinful Colors - Dancing Nails

Happy Monday! In keeping with the Valentines Day / February theme, I am using one of my untried pinks; Sinful Colors, Dancing Nails.

Polishes Used:

-OPI - Nail Envy

-Sinful Colors - Dancing Nails

-No Time

Once again, I have no idea why this polish was still in my un-tried pile! It's a gorgeous, shimmer coral leaning pink polish. I have two coats on in the pictures and it is completely opaque. The application was really great too; for having some metallic in it, it wasn't even streaky.

Are you loving February and seeing all the Valentine's posts or are you in the anti-valentines day camp?

Nail Mail Gifts & Depend NR 310

I recently won a giveaway hosted by Mateja over at Purple Glitters, and on Thursday the goodies arrived in the mail! She is so generous! The giveaway was for 3 polishes and she threw in a ton of extras; so sweet!!

Here are the photos of the goodies she sent me:

L to R: Time for Romance, Punk Royal, Rebel Delight, Mauve Like a Rockstar

L to R: Nr. 5007, Nr. 313, Nr. 310

Handmade Necklace & Handmade Earrings

Wasn't that nice?! I can't wait to try out all of the polishes! I don't have any of the full size or special Essence polishes because I can't get them easily here so that was awesome. I had never heard of the Depends brand but I love trying new polishes and this one didn't disappoint.

I was looking forward to trying something new so I started with the NR310, an awesome looking metallic polish. Here we go:

What do you think? This is two coats + topcoat and it's completely full coverage, not streaky either. Such a lovely color and completely a change from everything I already own. Can't wait to try out and swatch the rest of the gifts in the next couple of days.

Thanks again Mateja!