Not Another Nail Blog

Flip Flop Fantasy Nail Art

2013-05-09T16:47:00.001-04:00

Bah! Back down to nubbins. I swear stiletto nails just are not strong enough for me, I end up breaking them all off. So to perk me back up again after loosing my cool nails, I decided to go with something silly and bright.

I used China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy (holy crap, I'm so glad a friend made me buy this, it's amazing in person), and a water decal from Nail Art Fairy

Since I don't know when to quit, I also framed the entire nails with cheapo hex glitters I bought from JoAnns a while back.

All in all, I am so pleased with this, and while they are not the super awesome stiletto, I think they fit me better.

What do you think?

Revlon Top Speed Fast Drying Nail Enamel in Black Star

2013-04-20T12:15:00.000-04:00

Hiya everybody!

Today I’m wearing Revlon Top Speed Fast Drying Nail Enamel in Black Star, and I am pretty impressed with the new Top Speed formula.

This is no top coat, apparently with the new formula you don’t need one; it has a new patented formula with a built-in top coat that rises to the surface to form a glossy, ultra smooth manicure with strengthening power.

It’s certainly not a true black, more of a charcoal color, with a shimmer in the bottle that disappointingly doesn’t translate that well to the nail. I think this will be a good base for nail art and stamping though, it’s nice and thick and dries quick.

What do you think?

April 2013 Nail Art Society Subscription Review

2013-04-16T12:56:00.000-04:00

Whoo!! It’s time to take a peek into the April Nail Art Society subscription bag. This month NAS partnered up with KISS nails, so hit the jump to see what I got!

These are GREAT!! I have been working on my lines, so getting more nail art brushes is awesome. These have a medium length brush on them which I’m excited to try art with them. Most nail art bottles I’ve seen and used have long brushes and they are harder for me to use and control.

These are what I’m most excited about though. Twelve pots of bows, which all have different designs on them. There are polka dots, leopard stripes, lines, oh my! So very pleased with them.

Last but not least, another bottle of nail glue and striping tape. I haven’t even gone through my first bottle of glue they sent, but I’m glad to have another.

At first I thought this month seemed a bit lacking, but now that I see how many bows are in the box; not only that but the KISS brushes seem really high quality.

Do you receive the Nail Art Society bags? What do you think of them? You can like them on Facebook here and sign up for the service here.

China Glaze Cirque du Soliel: Worlds Away Creative Fantasy

2013-04-11T13:13:00.000-04:00

I know it feels like I haven’t blogged in a year, but if you’ve been following my Twitter (here) you’d know that I’ve been fighting the worst sickness I’ve had in a long time. I’m starting to get back to normal now though, thank goodness.

Now, onto the good stuff! This is Creative Fantasy from the China Glaze Cirque du Soliel: Worlds Away collection. I really want to like this polish. I really do. It’s a perfect color, in fact, it’s the same exact shade as my hair. Unfortunately it’s a jelly, which means spotty coverage and visible nail lines. (VNL, the horror!!)

I had a hard time getting this to work, it seems my bottle is extra watery, and if I didn’t use thin coats it would flood my cuticles. It’s much more watery than any other jelly I’ve worked with, which also lead to the dreaded pulling. If you don’t let this polish dry before the next coat, it’s going to pull the bottom one away.

All that being said, I think the next time I use it I’ll polish it over a white or a purple. I think that will solve most of these issues that I had.

The studs are from my Nail Art Society bag that I got three or so months ago, reviewed here.

Bondi New York in NYPD

2013-03-21T13:19:00.000-04:00

Oh my God, Becky, look at her Bondi.

Okay, I’m done, I promise. I am just so stoked with this polish! I eagerly awaited my bottle in the mail and when it got here I immediately used it.

This is Bondi New York NYPD, and it’s one coat (!!), do you hear me? ONE! I thought I wasn’t going to enjoy using it when I saw the brush, it is much smaller than the wide ones I’m used to using, but because of how smooth and thick the formula was I had absolutely no trouble. Seriously, it goes on like melted butter. No flaws, not a streak or bubble to be found.

Once that dried, I decided to spruce it up (though it really didn’t need it), and added a decal from Nail Art Fairy

and the chain that I got from my Nail Art Society bag. I suppose my only complaint (and it’s at best) is that Bondi, while beautiful and flawless is a bit too expensive for my budget, it retails for $15.

You can buy Bondi New York here and here and like them on Facebook here.

ALSO, you may have noticed I decided to try Stiletto nails- peer pressure, I swear!! ^__^ What do you think of them?

Disclosure- Products were provided to me by the manufacturer for my opinion and honest review. See here for more information.

March 2013 Nail Art Society Bag Review

2013-03-14T15:01:00.000-04:00

It’s that time of the month again;

no, not the time that I try and inhale all the chocolate in my house, but Nail Art Society review time!

This month was all about accoutrements! No nail polish, but lots of bits and bobs to make some neat 3d nail art with.

Hit the jump to see what I got!

Four loose sets of bobs to add on your nails, and one full set of nail decals with a neat hounds tooth pattern.

These decals from Nail Fraud look really great, though I’m not sure what to do with them as I never use them. Maybe I can franken them into another manicure.

These 3d roses from Stella look fantastic! I’m already planning out a gel manicure with a spring theme to use them.

These little flowers are an iridescent coral color and are actually made out of fabric and are a little puffy. I don’t think these could stand a topcoat, but nonetheless I’m looking forward to using them.

This has some generic grapefruit fimo slices in it.

In this bottle there is blurple micro caviar beads. Quite a lot too, I’m thinking this could be used for two to three manicures.

Now these, these are what I’m most excited about. Honestly I’ve never seen anything like them, nor do I know what to call them but they sure are cool. These are iridescent orange beads (I think?) that have been cut in half.

Here is a close up on these buggars. Anyone ever seen them before? Or know what they are? Or what to call them?

All in all, I’m still quite pleased with the overall bags that we get every month, if only for the fact that I get the chance to use things that I would not normally ever buy for myself.

Do you receive the Nail Art Society bags? What do you think of them?

You can like them on Facebook here and sign up for the service here.

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Pink a Card

2013-03-13T23:33:00.000-04:00

Pink a Card is another of the new reformulated Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure line, and it’s a lovely creamy soft baby pink.

It’s just a darling color, very work appropriate and I think it would be a fantastic base to some nail art. When I first saw it I thought it would be close to Pink Friday from the Nicki Minaj collection from OPI, but it’s actually much lighter, certainly in the same family, but not a dupe at all.

If you’d like to try these out, you can order them here, here, or you can usually pick them up at your local drug store for about $7.99 but they go on sale often.

Disclosure- Products were provided to me by the manufacturer for my opinion and honest review. See here for more information.

New OPI Minnie Mouse First Look Swatches

2013-03-11T22:53:00.001-04:00

First look of the new OPI Minnie Mouse collection from Natural Beauty.

I'm looking forward to Magazine Mouse and Minnie Style for sure, how about you?

Be sure to check out her site for more pics!

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Royal Blush

2013-03-11T22:40:00.000-04:00

Alright, I know I've said it once or twice (or twelve), times before, but nudes and soft shades haven't ever really been my thing.

But then Sally Hansen sent me this baby, and I fell in love. And I understood the power of the nude/pale soft shade.

This is Royal Blush, and it is a peach color with a hint of pink undertone. It's like my nails, only better. By George, I get it! I think this would be a fantastic base for a French manicure as well.

This is three thin coats, no top coat, and again, I got about a weeks worth of wear with it.

If you’d like to try these out, you can order them here, here, or you can usually pick them up at your local drug store for about $7.99 but they go on sale often.

Disclosure- Products were provided to me by the manufacturer for my opinion and honest review. See here for more information.

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Tickle Me Pink

2013-03-09T15:02:00.001-05:00

Continuing on with my swatch-a-thon of the newly reformulated Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure line, I have Tickle Me Pink to show you, and if you don’t like it as soon as you saw it, then you’re wrong- look again!

This is a blindingly shocking, in your face hot pink color, and while it’s not entirely original, it’s still lovely and I’m so drawn to these colors.

This could be a perfect one coat if you work it right, but I used two thin ones here. I think this might be a good stamping polish as well, but I haven’t tried it yet.

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Black and Blue

2013-03-08T12:29:00.001-05:00

This lovely polish is another new Sally Hansen from the Complete Salon Manicure line, called Black and Blue.

Black and Blue flashes from teal to blue and purple in the bottle, unfortunately it doesn’t translate that well on the nail. As a duochrome it’s less than I’d hope for, but as a plan teal polish it’s very lovely.

Here is a close up of, and the best shot I got of the color shift:

This is three thin coats, and no topcoat.

If you’d like to try these out, you can order them here, here, or you can usually pick them up at your local drug store for about $7.99 but they go on sale often.

Disclosure- Products were provided to me by the manufacturer for my opinion and honest review. See here for more information.

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Peach of Cake

2013-03-06T21:18:00.000-05:00

Sally Hansen has recently updated their entire Complete Salon Manicure line, and let me tell you, I am impressed.

This beauty is called Peach of Cake (uuugh, the names… Haha!) and I was fully prepared to dislike this color.

Colors like this are not things that I normally gravitate to, and while I fully can appreciate the color, I usually assign it to my Mom and Grandmama.

(In other words, old lady colors. Sorry Mom!)

Now, let me tell you how wrong I am.

So wrong.

So very wrong.

I used three very thin coats, and it was completely dry in a few minutes, not only that but I am not wearing a topcoat at all. I got a full week with this new formula, with very little chipping and minimal tip wear.

If you’d like to try these out, you can order them here, here, or you can usually pick them up at your local drug store for about $7.99 but they go on sale often.

Disclosure- Products were provided to me by the manufacturer for my opinion and honest review. See here for more information.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot Scofflaw Nail Varnish Swatch

2013-02-22T13:00:00.000-05:00

I haven’t exactly kept it a secret that I really like the new indie maker Scofflaw Nail Varnish, so when her Etsy opened up last Sunday for the first time I was eagerly awaiting (and refreshing like a mad woman) the chance to grab some.

As soon as her shop opened up I snagged five of them (five?! I know! I haven’t gotten indies like that since NerdLacquer!), but by the time I logged into PayPal I got cart jacked (NOOOO) and was only able to buy this one.

While heartbroken that I didn’t get my hands on David Bowie’s Bulge (pun intended) I am really pleased I snagged Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.

WTF is a lovely teal jelly- here let Scofflaw tell you:

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot is a teal jelly base packed with red, white, gold and brown glitters of various shapes and sizes.

Factoid: the term comes from scientists studying foxes in Alaska that had eaten saw grass, which acts like a heavy drug. The foxes lose motor control and move in a jittery way that almost appears like drunken dancing (LIES LIES my pants are on fire. We all know what whiskey tango foxtrot means).

The glitters work so well together, and I’m a sucker for teals anyway, and I think the tiny square glitter don’t take away from the polish like I see most square glitters doing.

I cannot say more good things about Scofflaw, and I really wish great success for her in the future.

If you’d like to buy any Scofflaw Nail Lacquer, go here, and if you can like them on Facebook here.

Febuary 2013 Nail Art Society Bag Review

2013-02-14T11:38:00.001-05:00

It's that time of the month again! Take a look at after the jump to see what I got in my Nail Art Society bag.

This months bag is all about love. It's a Valentine's Day bag, and while it'll be a little late to do a manicure for me today, the items in the bag will come in handy later on.

First up, we have some beautiful gold chains, very delicate and dainty.

Next a square of glitter swirled lace, which I can't wait to use.

Tiny little metal cursive "Love"

A double sided dot tool

An adorable buffer covered in pink hearts

Last but not least, Finger Paints Expressionista Red, which is a bright red creme.

What do you think of this months bag?

You can like them on Facebook here and sign up for the service here.

OPI... Eurso Euro

2013-02-12T18:29:00.000-05:00

I actually gasped when I saw this polish.

This is from OPI's newest Euro collection called OPI... Eurso Euro and if you don't have this one, run (right now) and grab it.

It's a perfect indigo. An indigo to end all indigo polishes.

It's fantastically pigmented, and a tad bit purple leaning and I love it to bits already.

This is two coats, just because I'm obsessive, but I could have gotten away with only using one.

I should have left well enough alone, but I went ahead and attached a small 3D crystal studded bow to it, though I do like it.

What do you think?

Doctor Who Manicure

2013-02-05T06:29:00.000-05:00

I got some AMAZING water decals from ChaChaCovers, and I had to use them as soon as I got them.

Originally they were full decals, but I chopped them up because I thought they would look fabulous over the new Urban Outfitters polish I got called Mystic. Mystic is a gorgeous blue polish with orange to green flakies floating around in it, I wanted it to be a jelly, but unfortunately it dries to an odd satin/matte finish.

What do you think of this mani?

You can buy UO Mystic in store, or online here and you can see ChaChaCovers AMAZING set of nail decals and purchase a few here!

SpaRitual Conglomerate

2013-01-30T12:10:00.000-05:00

What a cool polish!!

This is from SpaRitual’s new Fall 2012 Rock collection called Conglomerate.

SpaRitual describes it as “Charcoal rock glitter infused with Rhyolite” and just as the Gold collection was infused with gold, this collection is all infused with Rhyolite. (Side note, Rhyolite is an igneous, volcanic rock)

The polish is a grey with gold shimmer, and has black and white smaller glitters mixed in. Now I’m sure this isn’t everyones taste, but I was really excited to own this, because for one I’m a nerd, and two, it actually looks like conglomerate sedimentary rock!!

How cool!!

What do you think??

Mariah Carey Liquid Sand Swatch

2013-01-23T23:13:00.001-05:00

WHOOO LIQUID SAND.

Can you tell that I like this stuff??

This is from the new Mariah Carey collection from OPI, called Liquid Sand. It’s a texture polish, that has a slightly rough, bumpy feeling. This is called Can’t Let Go, and I love it to the moon and back.

I must say I was fully prepared to hate it. I turned my nose up at the thought of gritty bumpy polish. I mean, it even goes against the name “polish”. I grabbed it on a whim, a mini bottle to take a whack at it and as soon as my nails were dry I got back in the car and bought a full bottle. I also fully plan on buyinganotherbottle just so I don’t run out!

What do you think about this polish?

Pretty & Polished Cuttlefish Review

2013-01-14T20:52:00.000-05:00

Two posts in one day? Whoo!

Chels from Pretty & Polished (my absolute favorite indie polish) sent me a few bottles to try out, and Cuttlefish was one of them, which is so great, because I wanted to try this one as soon as I saw her promo pics of it.

Cuttlefish is part of her color changing line of polishes, and when it’s warm it turns white, but cold turns it a lovely teal. Now if you look closely, you’ll notice it has glitter bits in it! Large gold hex, small green round and hex glitters along with medium blue hex and round glitters.

Now be aware that because of the color changing pigment that these are thicker than usual, so a bit of thinner and you’ll be right as rain. With that in mind, the application on this was a bit tricky, I did dab a bit to get the glitters where I wanted them, but as soon as I added a bit of thinner everything worked much better. Also, the other thing I thought was neat, was that no matter how thick a topcoat, it’ll still change colors, and boy will it change colors.

Here is a picture of the polish right after a dunk in cold water:

I wanted to show everyone how fast the

color change was, so I made a quick video; never mind that I didn’t say a word in it- I have no idea what to say on camera. ^___^

Like Pretty & Polished here and buy them here

Disclosure- Products were provided to me by the manufacturer for my opinion and honest review. See here for more information.

Nail Art Society Bag Review

2013-01-14T15:17:00.001-05:00

I have a new Nail Art Society bag for you! This month is so worth it! Hit the jump to see the goodies!

These were the items in this months bag- I got Layla Magneffect in 07 Metallic Sky, a pair of long nose tweezers from Stella Beauty Products and a small flower shaped pot full of crystals.

There is only a handful of crystals in here, more than enough for a few manicures, and they do seem to be high quality jewels. Not Swarovski, but certainly not Dollar Tree variety.

I think I'm most excited for these long nose tweezers; I've been using my blunt edge cheapo pair from my manicure kit to add crystals, and they don't pick up very well. These are pointed at the end and just feel like high quality.

Last but not least, Layla Magneffect nail polish! I haven't tried Layla's magnetic polishes yet, so this is quite a treat. I didn't have a chance to do any swatches of it yet, but I'm excited to try it.

All in all, I'm quite pleased with the Nail Art Society bags. I've tried bags in the past, and I just don't use enough makeup to warrant a subscription service for it. But nail polish? Oh, be still my heart. My only complaint this month, is a problem they are aware of, is that the new envelopes don't hold the glue properly and I didn't have any of the cards that usually come with them. I'm pretty sure this is all that was in the bag this month, but without the cards I can't be sure.

What do you think of this service?

You can like them on Facebook here and sign up for the service here.

EDIT: It was just brought to my attention that I am missing another item from the bag, so indeed it did fall out with the cards. I have just emailed them and am awaiting a reply back.

EDIT: I got a reply back within 6 minutes of my email, they apologized and said they will ship out the missing item this afternoon. How's that for customer service??!

Rainbow Doticure

2012-12-27T12:07:00.001-05:00

I really love all the rainbow manicures that are out now, so I wanted to try it myself.

First I painted on French Quarter For Your Thoughts, then started dotting away! I kept my friend Roy G. Biv in mind while dotting, so here are the colors I used in order: China Glaze Hey Sailor, OPI Red Lights Ahead, Where? OPI on Collins Ave, China Glaze Papaya Punch, China Glaze Happy Go Lucky, Sally Hansen Lickety-Split Lime, China Glaze Gaga for Green, Barry M Cyan, Sally Hansen Fairy Teal, SpaRitual Undercurrent, and last but not least, SpaRitual Heliotrope!

Whooo! That was a handful! What do you think of the doticure??

Fall Gradient Mani

2012-12-02T12:37:00.000-05:00

Whoooo!! I love Fall. It is by far my most favorite time of the year, and I look forward to it all year. With this mani I wanted to recreate a manicure that looked like a bonfire, or as close to it as possible!

I started off with a base coat of OPI We’ll Always Have Paris, followed by sponging of I’m Suzi & I’m a Chocoholic, Bullish on OPI, Red Lights Ahead… Where?, A Roll in the Hague, Take the Stage and China Glaze’s Electrify.

And, since I don’t know when to quit, I matte-ified it:

Which version do you like better?

ISSE Manicure

2012-11-22T19:44:00.000-05:00

I recently went to the International Salon and Spa Expo in Chicago and I just had to do my nails up!

I used OPI Funky Donkey, which is one of my favorite colors; Orly Cupcakes and Unicorns, Essie Pure Pearlfection, Orly Can’t Be Tamed and one star, picked out and daintily placed from Wet n Wild Stars and Stripes. Then because I have a problem and don’t know when enough is enough, I slapped on two giant roses from NailGrafx.

I love this design so much, it’s so busy! What do you think?

Nail Art Society Subscription Bag Review

2012-11-16T21:42:00.001-05:00

Quick and dirty pictures for you all, I figured you all would want to see my newest subscription service: the Nail Art Society bag!

It's pretty pic heavy, so catch the full review after the jump:

Here is the bag unpacked, it comes with silver striping tape, silver sequins (though they are not actual sequins, they are like studs. I can't wait to try them out).

The polish is from a company called LVX (I've never heard of them before today), and it's a lovely neutral grey/purple putty color.

Here is a close up of the "stud" like sequins. They seem to be great quality and again I've never seen them before today.

Also included in the bag is a handful of gorgeous feathers; look at that design- fabulous!!

Unfortunately my camera flash washed out the true color in the polish, so this isn't true to color. The first picture is a better color preview.

All in all, for $9.95 a month I am beyond pleased with this subscription service. I think the products and bag alone are worth the price, and I eagerly look forward to next months bag, and I can't wait to get a chance to try a manicure using these products. My one and only complaint (and be asured it's beyond petty), is the card they sent along to show a full mani using this months items:

Blarrgh! Look at those cuticles and tape placement!

If you'd like to try out this subscription service, you can like them on Facebook here, and you can join here

Paper Heart Productions Sugar and Spice

2012-11-13T22:12:00.001-05:00

YAY, more new indie polishes to show off!!

This is the first in a set that I got from a new indie maker, Paper Heart Productions.

This is a beautifully unique polish, and I honestly don’t have anything like it in my stash.

It’s got tiny holographic pink glitters, then large gold and silver holographic squares. The squares were what drew me to the polish at first, I don’t see it used often and it’s so neat. I am actually blown away at how beautiful the squares are, these things are beyond breathtaking, when they hit sunlight (or really any type of light), they just explode with color. I had a time trying to decide what to layer this with, so I went with OPI’s Who the Shrek are You? and Andrea’s Choice Tightrope.

I seriously cannot say enough good things about this polish (or Kelley the owner), and here is the best news- if you’d like to try it yourself, Paper Heart Nails is only $4.50 for a full sized bottle and $3.00 for a mini!! Shazam that’s a deal! Not only that, but she has a great indie starter kit that ships internationally if you’d like to make your own.

You can purchase Paper Heart polish here, and here, like them here, and follow them on Instagram here.

Disclosure- Products were provided to me by the manufacturer for my opinion and honest review. See here for more information.