February Manicures!

Apologies for the delay in this post! Evidently instead of publishing it, I just saved it as a draft...twelve days ago. At any rate, if you'd like to see the manicures I did throughout February, keep reading!

August Manicures

Curious about the polishes I used? They're listed under the cut!

Red, White, and Blue Nail Polishes

Before I get into the manicure I did this year, I chose my favorite red and blue nail polishes that could be used for a red,white,and blue manicure. I don't have all of my polishes with me currently, so there are probably others I could have included, but these are really my favorites - that's why they're with me, after all!

L-R: China Glaze - Red Pearl, Revlon - Frankly Scarlet, China Glaze - Poinsettia

L-R: China Glaze - Frostbite, OPI - Swimsuit...Nailed it!, China Glaze - Dorothy Who?,
Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear - Pacific Blue

I didn't take a photo of it since I was sure you all have an idea of what a basic white cream nail polish looks like, but my favorite white is by far Sally Hansen Insta Dri in Whirlwind White. It goes on really opaquely in one or two coats, which makes it a lot nicer than sheerer or streakier whites, especially if you're using it as a base color and don't want to have a lot of drying time.

Of course, crackle or shatter polishes make really easy multi-colored manicures! I know there are red and blue ones available, I just don't have any of them. I do have white, though - and it's one of the polishes I used for my 4th of July themed manicure this year! I used China Glaze in Poinsettia for the red and Dorothy Who? for the blue glitter. The crackle polish I used was Sephora by OPI in White Blasted. I picked it up on clearance within the past few months. I also have the white crackle from China Glaze, which works too!

If you want to see another 4th of July themed manicure, the one I did last year is here! I used all China Glaze products - including the white crackle polish I mentioned.

Do you like doing themed manicures for holidays? I know I do - whether or not the holiday is something I really get into celebrating, it's hard to resist doing my nails for them!

Nail Polish Collection & Swatches - Essie, OPI, Sephora by OPI, Orly

Daily Manicures in November - Week One Photos

Since I acquired a ridiculous amount of nail polishes over the past month or two, I decided I would paint my nails every day during the month of November, specifically in an attempt to try out a lot of colors I haven't used yet. Rather than posting every day, I decided to do a summary at the end of each week. There isn't too much I'll be able to review on any polishes since I'm only wearing each one for a day, so I probably won't say much unless it has a particularly difficult formula or something to that effect.

Nov. 1st: Revlon - Fierce (one coat!! that's all it takes!)

Nov. 2nd: Orly - Green with Envy (a very thin formula - first image is one coat, 2nd has three) with Wet n Wild Cost is No Issue (from the Ice Baby collection) on the accent nail

Nov. 3rd: Sinful Colors - What's Your Name with OPI Turqoise Shatter

Nov. 4th: China Glaze - Poinsettia (from Holiday 2011 collection)

Nov. 5th: Urban Outfitters - Cocktail

Nov. 6th: Sinful Colors - Love nails (this formula isn't thin, just really sheer. one coat on top, two on the bottom)

Halloween Nail Polish

 L-R: (unnamed neon orange) from L.A. Colors Color Craze Extreme Brights collection, Wet n Wild 9.0.2.1.Orange, Maybelline Orange Blazes




Wet n Wild Black Creme, Finger Paints Where Art Renoir?, Milani Silver Dazzle




China Glaze's Halloween polishes from last year - Mummy May I, Zombie Zest, Ick-A-Bod-Y

China Glaze Ick-A-Bod-Y over the L.A. Colors neon orange and the Milani Silver Dazzle




L: China Glaze Cracked Concrete over Finger Paints Where Art Renoir?
R: OPI Black Shatter over Wet n Wild 9.0.2.1.Orange



L: China Glaze Cracked Concrete over Zombie Zest
R: Black Shatter over Finger Paints Original Orange

4th of July Manicure : All China Glaze

Since the colored polishes I was using were all China Glaze, I figured I may as well use the base and top coat from them as well.




The colors I used are Frostbite (regular collection), Ruby Deer (Holiday 2010), and Lightning Bolt (crackle).


After the basecoat, I did two coats of the red stripe followed by two coats of the blue stripe. I had very little waiting time because I was sitting in front of a fan while doing this. I didn't pay any attention to staying within the nail because I was more concerned about making the diagonal line straight without overlapping. I then topped it off with the crackle polish.



I gave the crackle a few minutes to finish crackling and dry, then topped it with two coats of the Fast Forward topcoat. Once that was dry I went around the edges with my $1 ELF eyeliner brush dipped in 100% acetone to clean them up. So much cleanup was needed that the acetone in the cup I was using was completely purple by the end - which goes to show that you don't have to have particularly steady hands to end up with a neat-looking manicure.

Nails of the Day: Pink with White Crackle

Original manicure - Revlon nail polish in Oh My Magenta.
It's hard to tell but there is a very subtle blue undertone in the glitter.








After a day or two I got bored of it, but couldn't be bothered to take it off and start over, so I decided to do a crackle. I tried a few different ones on a swatch wheel to decide.
L-R: China Glaze - Crushed Candy, China Glaze - Lightning Bolt, OPI - Black Shatter
(I think China Glaze is better than OPI! Look at that crackle as an example!)



In the end I liked the white the best, although I would wear all three.

Sorry I got a little lazy and didn't clean up my nails at all before taking a picture!