Polish Art Addiction

Born Pretty - Nail Foils

2013-05-21T06:00:00.000-05:00

Born Pretty Store is now carrying some nail art foils! They can be found here for $2.99.

The "how to use" instructions on this page did not work for me. They instruct you to apply several coats of a base polish and when the top layer is mostly dry, to apply the foil and it will stick... This didn't work. No matter how little or long I waited, it either didn't transfer or pulled up chunks of my base polish. I still had some Transfer Foil Adhesive from the website Dollar Nail Art. So I used that.

First up is #22.

Purple to pink to red abstract gradient. Reminiscent of your 1980s Trapper Keeper cover.

Here I applied it over Color Club Power Play. Once the foil transfer adhesive dried, I just pressed it on and removed it, then pressed it on in a different spot.... repeat all over. Pictures are without topcoat because this adhesive reacts funny to topcoat.

Next up is #25

Yellow to orange to fuchsia gradient.

Same process as with the other foil. I just dabbed it on over Spoiled Jail Bait until the entire nail is covered.

I applied topcoat for this picture so you can see how it crackles and dulls the foils. It's some kind of strange chemical reaction thing...

I would choose to wear these without topcoat to get the most out of the metallic-ness. This will most likely shorten your wear time though.

*Provided for review*

NCLA Nail Wraps - Jazzi

2013-05-20T06:00:00.000-05:00

These were provided for review by Nail Polish Canada. They offer a wide variety of NCLA wraps among other things.

This design is called "Jazzi"

They can be found for $16 here at Nail Polish Canada.

Nail wraps have the benefit of offering a very detailed design, without it taking up a lot of time. I wouldn't know where to start trying to recreate this design freehand.

The design on these fades from orange-yellow-pink-purple-blue. My nails are not as long as the decals, so I just alternated with each nail and turned the decal 180 degrees in order to show all the colors. It's very beautiful! It reminds me of sunsets on the beach.

There are 2 sheets of 22 nail wraps of varying sizes. These wraps do not remove with acetone. They have to be peeled off. No claims are made about long wear time. I did find these wraps to be very thin and manageable. They lie down flatly without many wrinkles, which is appreciated.

*These were provided for review*

Disappearing Ink Surprise Nail Art

2013-05-19T06:00:00.000-05:00

I feel like I've seen this on another blog before, so I'm not claiming this idea is original to myself. The idea of stamping with a UV changing polish over a base polish of similar color.

I used Ruby Wing Crowd Surf over Color Club Power Play, these are exact dupes indoors.

Indoors this combination looks like just a simple solid color manicure.

Once outdoors and in the sunlight, the design comes to life! I stamped with a zebra pattern (and first it wasn't opaque enough of a stamp to show on it's own, so I later freehanded over it to "darken" the stripes.) Once the design is stamped or freehanded, make sure you use a topcoat so it smooths the lines nicely.

I think this is a really cool idea for the summer time!

I tried this same concept again with Color Club Get Your Lem-on and Ruby Wing Electric Firefly. I used the skull and crossbones stencil from this set available for $3.89 on Born Pretty.

The stencil didn't pull off perfectly cleanly, you can see little flecks of red stuck on my nail. My index nail didn't take the pattern very well at all and it really blobbed up and garbled the design.

I also added a thin freehand line of Electric Firefly for a french tip.

*The stencil was provided for review by Born Pretty*

NCLA Nail Wraps - The Ray and the Ro

2013-05-18T06:00:00.000-05:00

These were provided for review by Nail Polish Canada. They offer a wide variety of NCLA wraps among other things.

This design is called "The Ray and the Ro"

They can be found for $16 here at Nail Polish Canada.

This design is so fun. Nail wraps have the benefit of offering a very detailed design, without it taking up a lot of time. This particular design could technically be recreated by freehand, or a variety of nail art stamping techniques, but I can't begin to fathom how many hours that might take.

There are 2 sheets of 22 nail wraps of varying sizes. So 44 individual wraps for $16, I think that's a reasonable price. The sizes offered cover a wide range, but my thumb nails are particularly large, so you can see that there is a significant gap at my cuticle. That's the best I could do though, because that was the largest wrap in the set.

These wraps do not remove with acetone. They have to be peeled off. No claims are made about long wear time. I did find these wraps to be very thin and manageable. They lie down flatly without many wrinkles, which is appreciated.

*These were provided for review*

OPI Liquid Sands - Jinx & Honey Ryder

2013-05-17T06:00:00.000-05:00

These are part of the OPI Bond Girls Liquid Sand Collection.

The gritty texture trend in nail polish was a turn off when I first saw swatch pictures. And when I first applied these I had a big case of the heebie jeebies because it felt so.... wrong! But I wore Jinx for 3 days and by the end I had gotten used to it and felt it was pretty cool after all.

They were provided for review by Beyond Polish.

Jinx

Can be found for $6.95 here at Beyond Polish.

Bright orange/coral with gold glitter. Being a liquid sand, it's meant to have this gritty texture.

Very easy to apply, just 2 coats, dry time is fast.

Honey Ryder

Can be found for $6.95 here at Beyond Polish.

Light neutral gold tone. This polish seemed less textured than Jinx.

Pictured is 2 coats. The formula was equally easy to apply.

*These were provided for review*

OPI...Eurso Euro

2013-05-16T15:34:00.004-05:00

I was recently introduced to the website Beyond Polish. They offer an excellent selection of nail polish because they carry so many great brands. Their prices are reasonable as well, which is always nice! They were nice enough to provide some polishes for me to review here for you guys.

OPI...Eurso Euro

From the Euro Centrale collection, can be found for $6.95 here at Beyond Polish.

Deep creme blue. I like that it doesn't lean towards black in low lights. It stays most definitely blue. Pictured is 2 coats, the formula was great I had no issues with application.

*Again, this polish was provided for review*

Batmobile Cozy Coupe

2013-05-09T11:29:00.000-05:00

Change of pace today... I had enough of the baby stiletto shape, so I nubb-inized my nails and they are a bit uneven and not totally squared off. So that's not pretty in pictures. I need a few days for them to grow out so I can file them again.

I figured you guys might be interested in a side DIY project I recently did.

I found this refashion through Pinterest and immediately knew my nephew Mr Bentley needed one! So I've been on the look out for a cheap Little Tikes Cozy Coupe since his birth. Lol. My mom actually found one for FREE. They passed by a junky trailer way out in the country where a man was cleaning up stuff in the yard. So she stopped and talked to him, he had some renters that skipped out without paying and he was getting rid of the junk they left behind. He said she could just have it!

The door was a little busted up (apparently it's a weak spot on the car because all the research on the internet told me everyone else has the same problem. Kids are rough and break the door where it pivots.) I just patched it up with some tape and sandable putty. It's a rough patch, but I don't really care that much because it will just get torn up again. The gas cap was broken too, so I ripped the piece out and ordered a replacement on eBay. I'll spray paint it yellow just like the other highlights.

I just followed the same instructions Courtney posted on how she stenciled in the batman logo.

Here is a quick video of Mr Bentley trying it out. He's 15 months old and loves just getting in and out of it repeatedly. It's hilarious. I love his little wave bye-bye.

(I'm not quite sure why he had such a grip on the that pen either....)

Sinful Shine - Man Hunt

2013-05-08T06:00:00.000-05:00

Sinful Colors has a new line called "Sinful Shine with Gel Tech." Not promising to last as long as an official gel manicure, but that it is "Five times more glossy than a patent leather shoe." These are exclusively sold at Walgreens for $2.99.

I picked up just one color because it stood out to me.

Man Hunt

2 coats. No topcoat, you can see just how shiny it is on it's own.

Army green with silver/gray shimmer.

Color Club - Kaleidoscope Summer Collection - Evolution & Pearl-spective

2013-05-07T07:35:00.000-05:00

These 2 polishes are part of the Kaleidoscope Summer collection.

Evolution

Pictured is 2 coats. Creme finish light blue.

Probably many dupes across various brands for this one.

(Can be found here for $8)

Lol. Here I realized I'm holding the bottle upside down, so my picture is rotated from its normal setting.

Pearl-spective

(Can be found here for $8)

Is a glitter topcoat with a clear base. It lends a pink/purple shimmer to whatever your base polish is.

I just layered 2 coats over Color Club Evolution

*These products were sent for review as part of the Color Society Bloggers Network*

Ruby Wing - Festival Paint Collection - Electric Firefly & Crowd Surf

2013-05-06T06:00:00.000-05:00

These are a few of the color changing Ruby Wing polishes from this summer's collection "Festival Paint."

Electric Firefly

(Can be found here for $10)

Turns from neon yellow with green shimmer (exact dupe for Color Club Get Your Lem-on) to an orange shimmer in the sunlight.

The neon is so bright it'll make your eyes bleed. This is 2 coats over a white polish base.

In direct sunlight, the polish transitions to orange.

The shimmer is still the same, but it looks less obviously green.

Crowd Surf

(Can be found here for $10)

Changes from neon pink/purple to a deep magenta in sunlight.

Note that it also dries to a semi-matte/rubbery finish.

Indoors, bright pinkish purple. This is just 2 coats.

In direct sunlight, the color transition is quick.

Here I shielded my index nail from the sun while the other nails darkened.

Then took a quite shot to compare them side by side.

*These products were sent for review as part of the Color Society Bloggers Network*

The One That Copied Lexi From FingerPainted

2013-05-05T06:00:00.000-05:00

Sometimes something comes along that just really intrigues you.... This has been the case for me and Lexi's baby stiletto nail shape. I just adore them. I think it looks so cute on her, and besides I LOVE pretty much all the nail art she has ever done. The girl has some mad skills. ;)

My nails were getting too long and to the point where I wanted to give them a big chop.... So it struck me to do an experiment. I wondered if my nails could do a baby stiletto too? Lexi mentioned once that she does a thin layer of gel polish over hers to reinforce them and help prevent breaking the tips. I thought that mine cut to this shape without gel might just last a day or two, but enough to tribute some nail art to one I admire. Surprisingly, as I type this, I'm 4 days in and several polish changes later, still with intact tips! I guess it's the Duri Rejuvacote I have to thank for that. The stuff makes my nails rock solid.

I copied this simple bow nail art she did because I had the same base polish, Shimmer Alessandra. Acrylic paints for the bow.

First impression: I'm not too fond of this nail shape on myself. I think it's more flattering on Lexi's nail bed shape. HOWEVER, I've vowed to give it a good run and not just rush to that decision. I'm going to leave them this shape for at least a week or two to really feel it out. Wish me luck!

Experimenting with "shredded alcohol/hair spray water marble"

2013-05-04T06:00:00.000-05:00

I saw this Nail Pop tutorial on Pinterest for turquoise stone type water marble.

You just drop the polish in the water and then spray it with rubbing alcohol (I used hair spray).

I used Wet N Wild I Need A Refresh-mint, and Sinful Colors Black on Black just to test run. Sorry that they are not more pictures, but after I uploaded them, I realized most came out blurry. :/

I think it looks awesome and I want to play around with it some more! I'll be sure to better document the process next time around ;)

University Nail Pax - Mississippi State

2013-05-03T09:30:00.000-05:00

My first set of University Nail Pax can be found here.
These nail wraps can be found here for $12.00
Here I tried out the second set they sent me to review. I had a similar experience. Application is easy and fairly straightforward. I had some wrinkling along the free edge because my nails curve down a bit.

My biggest peeve is that the image isn't entirely clear. The largest image is pixelated on the wrap.

It looks only slightly better at a distance, but we all know us nail addicts live with our nails under a microscope!

Drippy Paint Cans

2013-04-29T06:00:00.000-05:00

Finally a nail art inspired by something in my own brain! Of course what do I know? This has probably been done before, but the idea hit me so here we go.

Half moons of black, silver nails. Then some freehanded acrylic paint for the sloshy paint drippings. Small white shine highlight. Then black and silver stacked dots off to the side, then a swoop of the paint can's handle. Topcoat to finish.

Sinful Colors Black on Black & Sally Hansen Celeb City, the rest are acrylic paints

Natalie's Koi Fish

2013-04-28T06:00:00.000-05:00

These nails are inspired by this look from Natalie over at heartNAT. It's been pinned on my "nail art inspiration" board over on Pinterest for a while now. I don't have the same polishes she used, and I don't have the fancy koi fish image plate she has, but it's still pretty cool. :)

The polishes I used were:

Base of Orly Decades of Dysfunction. Then I sponged on - L'Oreal Macaroon Me Madly, China Glaze Flirty Tankini & Passion For Petals, & Zoya Ziv.

Then 1 coat of Essie Shine of the Times for an extra "fish-scale" vibe.

Then stamped M.A.S.H 39 with Konad black

Rimmel 60 Seconds - Blue Eyed Girl

2013-04-27T06:00:00.000-05:00

I found a full display of new Rimmel 60 Seconds polishes at my local Walmart. 8mL of polish for $1.50, I couldn't pass it up. And it's a blue polish! My favorite!!! A bold navy blue creme. Heavenly.

Pictured is 2 easy coats! Gorgeous!!!!!

L'Oreal Spring 2013 Versailles Romance Collection

2013-04-26T06:00:00.000-05:00

"L’Oréal Paris Versailles Collection

L’Oréal Paris introduces its newest collection with pastel hues that create a porcelain effect. Inspired by French royalty, this limited edition collection includes 6 new Colour Riche Nail shades, 3 Colour Riche Nail Lingerie shades and 6 new Colour Riche Balms. The nail colors are centered on a divine moment of bliss and the new, luscious pastel balms reflect romance and the grace of Versailles. L’Oréal has also expanded on the earlier release of nail lingerie with these Baroque-inspired styles.

· L’Oréal Paris Colour Riche Nail - $5.99 each

o Crème Puffs, Macaroon me Madly, Pistachio Dream, Lacey Lilac, The Palace Lift, Royally Yours"

I was sent all but the yellow one (Creme Puffs) for review. I couldn't decide which to use first, so I used them all! I put white zebra print on top to make them look even more cohesive. Individual swatches later.

Pistachio Dream

Mint green with slight shimmer. Not so noticeable on the nail. Pictured is 3 coats.

It dried not entirely shiny, so it really benefited from topcoat.

See how pretty the shimmer is in the bottle?

It reminds me a lot of China Glaze Keep Calm, Paint On.

The shimmer is slightly different, but they are very similar otherwise.

Macaroon Me Madly

Peachy/Coral creme pastel. Pictured is 3 coats. If you can tell there is some settling in the bottom of the bottle. It's more yellow there. I made sure to shake it up thoroughly, but it didn't stay mixed for very long.

Lacey Lilac

Pastel creme purple. I found this one to be the best formula within the collection.

Easily applied with even coverage in 2 coats.

Royally Yours

Pastel creme blue. I am a sucker for light blue nail polishes. That is my absolute favorite color to wear on my nails. Sometimes the formula can be tricky on light blues and they end up streaky, but not this one!

3 thin coats and it was beautiful!

The Palace Life

Light pink creme pastel. Pictured is 3 coats. I didn't have any troubles with applying it, I just feel like this color has been done to death.

*These were provided for review.*

Beautopia Nails Floral Copy Cat

2013-04-25T11:20:00.000-05:00

Inspired by Beautopia nails on Tumblr. More floral nails.

I really loved these and ended wearing them for 4 days last week!

I used China Glaze Electric Beat, Dance Baby, Something Sweet, Orly Fresh, Essie Navigate Her. The black was then done with a Sinful Colors black nail art striper polish.

Nails Inc - Leather Effect - Noho (black)

2013-04-24T06:00:00.000-05:00

This kit includes a unique matte/leather effect nail polish, studs, crystal skull embellishments, and crystal rhinestones. Very rockstar! The kit also includes nail glue and 2 wooden cuticle sticks.

This kit can be found for sale here on Sephora's website for $25.

The polish applies very easily. I found I got the best "leather" effect with 2 thin coats. When I used thicker coats, the particles didn't show a texture as well. It's like they got lost the more polish I used.

Then I added some of the crazy cool rhinestones and embellishments from the kit.

I'm afraid the big crystal skull would not have any practical wear time because it's simply too flat. My nail beds are curved and any little thing could have snagged it off.

I also painted it on one of my cousins that was in town for the weekend and used some gold circle studs that I had lying around. You can see the difference here in how you apply the polish. The hand on top was with thin coats, the hand on the bottom ended up being with slightly thicker coats and that polish has a much glossier look and less textured.

*These products were provided for review*

Flower - Go With The Flow-er & Cosmos-politan

2013-04-23T11:01:00.001-05:00

"FLOWER Nail Lacquer - From the new cosmetics range by Drew Barrymore, the Nail Lacquer is ultra-shiny, long-lasting and non-chipping. The colors are vibrant and on trend, and 3-FREE

(free of DBP, toluene and camphor).

Shades: Go With The Flow-er, That’s Just Dan-De-Lion, Fanatical Botanical, Gorgeous Gerbera, May Flowers, I Lavendare You!, Thistle or That?, Good Bud-dy, Eye of the Tiger Lily, What’s the Daffodily-O?, Cosmos-politan, Precious Poppy, First Bloom, Budding Romance, Venus Fly Trap, April Showers.

Price: $4.98, Available at Walmart and Walmart.com "

Go With The Flow-er is a nude/putty/khaki shade. Pictured is 2 coats. Creme finish. Formula is fantastic! I was not expecting such great results, but it applied easily and leveled out without any difficulty. It was also very shiny on it's own.

Cosmos-politan is a medium pink with slight coral undertones. Slight shimmer visible. Also great experience with a wonderful formula. These polishes are definitely worth $4.98. That's such a great price, it's hard to pass up. I will be sure to take a closer look at what other shades are available.

*These products were provided for review*

Floral Water Decals

2013-04-19T06:00:00.000-05:00

This design ended up reminding me of old china patterns like my grandmother had. I just painted my nails with Lime Crime Milky Ways and applied the water decals to cover my entire nail. The decals are from Viva La Nails, I got them about 2 years ago when I first got into nail art. They are no longer available but there are many similar designs available, here. The decals are just 2 or 3 flowers per cluster, so I just placed 2 different decals per nail to get full coverage. That's also why they're kind of chopped up in places.

Floral Skittles

2013-04-18T06:00:00.000-05:00

I wanted to do another floral design, but this time I mixed it up with a skittle variation.

I used a lot of different polishes:

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Cafe Au Lait

Lime Crime Milky Ways

Orly Gumdrop

Rimmel I Lilac You

China Glaze Spontaneous & Sunday Funday

Vintage Floral

2013-04-17T06:00:00.000-05:00

I was inspired by this design from Aquaayame on Tumblr. Her flowers definitely look more like roses! I'm jealous. This look was created using the 8 piece nail art dotting tool & paintbrush set from Winstonia.

The nail art set can be found here for $8.95. It's really a great kit for any new nail artist that needs a basic set of tools. Everything comes in the black satin zipper pouch. The kit includes five dual ended dotting tools, a variety of sizes. Also 3 detailing paint brushes of slightly different sizes. The kit also includes "one random color high quality nail file," as you can see, I got the light pink 100-180 grit.
(You can use the coupon code "POLISHARTADDICTION" at checkout to receive 10% off - valid until May 31, 2013)

The paintbrushes are a nice quality and weight to them. The website labels them as "sable detailing brushes" but I was informed by the company that this is not in reference to the actual hairs... but instead just the brown color. I was excited because I had heard that sable brush hairs made for the best paintbrushes.... but I think it's disappointing that they've labeled them in a misleading way.

Another thing I was excited about was that it said the brush handles were acetone proof! That would be amazing because I'm constantly ruining my brushes by spilling acetone and it eats away at the paint..... One quick dip in my dappen dish of acetone with the back end of the brush....and the paint came right off.! Ugh! I guess they are just referring to the metal ferrule that holds the bristles?

The dotting tools are pretty standard, it's got a nice variety of sizes to cover all of your needs.

This again is the nail look I created all with these paint brushes and dotting tools.

I used a gazillion polishes for this design, I'll just list them.

Base of Zoya Farah.

Wet N Wild Undercover & Haze of Love

China Glaze Passion for Petals

Barielle Coco Bar & Lemondrops

OPI Jade is the New Black

& Sinful Colors Exotic Green

Gumdrop & For Audrey Comparison

2013-04-16T19:31:00.000-05:00

Kaitlyn wanted to see a side by side comparison of Orly's Gumdrop and China Glaze For Audrey because I mentioned they were near dupes.

I also added Wet N Wild I Need a Refresh-Mint because I find it's pretty close too.

If I had to find something different... I guess For Audrey may be a minuscule darker?

Orly - Gumdrop

2013-04-14T06:00:00.000-05:00

Yet another Orly from Hautelook.

Gumdrop is originally from the "Sweet" collection from spring 2010.

I've wanted it forever, but now that I have it... It's a near dupe for China Glaze For Audrey. Not really necessary to have both in a stash. Pictured is 2 coats.

I threw on some random dot nail art with the other "Sweet" collection polishes that I already had.

Orly Snowcone & Lollipop.