Hard Candy - Halloween Polishes 2010

Hard Candy has released three, new, limited Halloween shades this year that you can find at Wal-Mart. They are a nice change of pace from the usual orange, black and white creme shades we usually see for Halloween which seems to be the theme this year. Polish companies have learned that we need new, unique shades for Halloween just like all other releases. The best part about the Hard Candy Halloween shades? They are all glitter!

Wicked - This is a black base with tiny silver glitter. The base is a bit sheer but that is a good thing because it lets the glitter shine through. This is three coats.

Mischief - This is a orange glitter in a murky, green-black base, much like China Glaze - Ick-A-Bod-Y. I really couldn't tell a difference when I put this on. I could have sworn I was wearing Ick-A-Bod-Y. If there is any difference, Mischief may be a smidge more condensed, but they're pretty much the same.

Zombie - This is the star of this collection, in my opinion. It's the most unique, the most fun, and it's a bit of an oddball for a Halloween collection because it's really bright and happy instead of dark and spooky, but that is what makes me like it. This is a mix of purple, pink and blue glitter in a clear base. I love the overall purple glitter look.

These can be found at Wal-Mart and retail for $5.

What do you think?
:c)
-Elaine

Icing Swatches

I love to look at all the polishes displayed at Icing stores. They have so many brights and shades in every color. They just look so fun! So of course while I was there I had to grab some of the pretties. I was mostly attracted to loads of holo glitter!

Hot Pants - This is a light to medium blue that falls somewhere in periwinkle to cornflower. It is very delicate and calming. This formula was on the thinner side. i believe I did 3 or 4 coats but now I can't remember which.

Paparazzi - (sun/blurred) Now it's time for holo! This is a orangey, cinnamon base with what appears to be a hint of pink or peach. The holo glitter in this is very packed and sparkly. It reminds me of China Glaze - Ginger but on steroids.

Blackout - (sun/blurred) I had to grab this because it appears as though they reformulated it. This has been available for some time. It is a black with small, sparse, holo glitter. It was very apparent in store that there was a remake because they had bottles of both versions. The older one looks cool, but the glitter is very sparse. The new one had so much prismatic glitter in it that it looked like a smooth-type holo, a la OPI - My Private Jet, or Nubar - Reclaim. Once I got in on I realized it was not like those beauties, but it is still cool. Very outer space looking. If you are concerned about getting the correct bottle of Blackout, it will be the one that looks like this:

It's obvious.

Glamorous - (Sun/blurred) - Oh my stars. This was so amazingly, blindingly, blingy and prismatic in the store I had to have it. (It should also be mentioned that this has been added to my "Top 20" on the right hand side of the page.) I was hoping that it would be full coverage but I should have known better. The swatch above is 4 coats and it's obviously not full coverage but it is EXTREMELY sparkly.

I had to have Glamorous on as a full coverage so I did a manicure with it over China Glaze - Millennium, a silver chrome. The best, most blinged out, disco ball-esque mani ever!

What do you think?!

Vintage Vixen Swatches - "Hotsy Totsy"

Hello Everybody! I have a very exciting post today: One half of the China Glaze Fall Collection, Vintage Vixen. I have been very excited to see these shades for myself and they do not disappoint. The only way they disappoint me is that they make me wish it was fall!

Vintage Vixen is a collection of 12 foxy, vintage shades and I am showing you them in two parts. Today is going to be the first 6-piece set: Hotsy Totsy. Tomorrow I will show you my swatches of other set.

Okay, ready? >>>

Jitterbug - This is a steel colored, mega shimmer with a sort of foil finish. It's part foily metallic, and part shimmer. Very flashy and hott. This is 2 coats.

Swing Baby - Same concept as Jitterbug but this is a champagne colored shimmery foil shade. This appears to have several different colored particles in it to give it the overall shade it is. It is hard to peg as "cool", "warm" or "neutral". This is on the thinner side than Jitterbug though. I needed three coats.

Bogie - This is a eggplant purple shade with silver shimmer. WOW. I really like this one. I wish it was fall so I could wear it! It doesn't feel like a summer color.

Hey Doll - This is a mauvy, rose with shimmer. Not a color I would normally go for, but it is still pretty.

Ingrid - Ah, the beloved taupe nail polish. Do we have lots of them? Sure, but this one is special thanks to the caramel colored shimmer.

Foxy - A very unexpected surprise. This is a very brown, red shimmer. On coat 1 it looks mostly like a red shimmer (boring), but by the second coat it has a more noticeable brown color to it (awesome). This is another one that is making me wish it was fall.

How pretty are these? I would have normally thought tomorrow's set would be way better thanks to the bold colors like blue and green, but this set is fantastic! There is lots to enjoy here. The formula of these are a bit thin and runny, but very pigmented allowing for two coats on all except for Swing Baby. Hey Doll may need 3 coats but by doing a thicker second coat I was able to get away with just two.

Stay tuned for Part II!!

Elaine
:c)


Disclosure: The products featured in this post were furnished to me by the manufacturer or PR company for review. For more information please visit my disclosure policy.

New House Key

This is a cute mani I did the other day. I started with what may be my favorite white: Color Club - Oooooo La La. It is a clean white, but has a pearl finish making it far more wearable than a white out white. Next I added a coat of LA Colors - Silver Glitter. That looked rather awesome but then I added one more touch: a gradient of rhinestones to my ring finger in pinks, blues and green.

And where did I pull the inspiration for this mani from? That is where the goofy name of this post comes in. It seriously was inspired by a new key I got cut. It is white with silver glitter and rhinestones! >>>

Isn't that adorable? It is much easier to figure out what key you need when you're fumbling in the dark after a few cocktails...

What do you think?
-Elaine
:c)

Pretty Mint Mani

Hello! Here's a little something cute I did. This is Essie - Mint Candy Apple and I decided to "cute-ify" it. I added the bursts with Konad plate M5 and white polish, then added the bright blue rhinestone over one of them and then a little silver glitter with LA Colors Art Deco - Silver Glitter. I wanted to do it to all the nails, but decided to do it to just the ring finger first and see how it looked before doing anymore because I was afraid if I did it to all of them then it would be too much. I think this looks just right!

What do you think?
:c)
-Elaine

Grammy-Gaga Inspired Nails

Hello all! How are all my lovely readers?! :c)

Photo Credit: Us Magazine.com

Today's mani is one I thought up after seeing Lady Gaga's red carpet dress for the Grammy's last Sunday. I wanted to emulate the un-parallel lines and the soft purple hues (as well as the crazy pointed accessory).

What the mani consists of:
China Glaze - Light As Air (like the dress. Doesn't look like if a gust of wind got caught under there she would just blow away?)
Milani - Cloud 9
China Glaze - Devotion
LA Colors Art Deco - Silver Glitter
China Glaze - Harmony
Not Pictured: Rhinestones, Seche Vite and striper brush

I started with a base of Milani - Cloud 9.
Next, I took the striper brush and used it with China Glaze - Light As Air to make several horizontal lines on each nail covering the entire nail, but making them un-parallel to each other, so some are straight and some are not and some intersect.
Then, I took China Glaze - Harmony and did the same thing over the first stripes.
After that, I did the same with China Glaze - Devotion.
Lastly, I did the same striping with LA Colors Art Deco - Silver Glitter.

I decided to throw in the starbust accessory on the thumbs. I took a drop of Devotion and added a bit of Harmony to it on a paper plate. I mixed them with a toothpick and using the striper brush I painted the starburst on my thumbs with the mixture. I added a lavender rhinestone to the center.
Finally I topped all the nails with a coat of Seche Vite top coat and viola! Nails to go "gaga" for!!


Aren't you glad I didn't use this for inspiration?! :cD >>>

Photo Credit: The Washington Post

Have a great day!
-Elaine

A Very Merry Un-Birthday

Here is a little something I rocked over the weekend. I started with a base of NYX - Dancing Queen, then I did a glitter gradient of OPI - Mad As A Hatter and a gradient of Lippmann Collection - Happy Birthday. I call it "A Very Merry Un-Birthday"!

The gradient wasn't very difficult to do. I started at the base, and with less polish on the brush than I would need for the whole nail, I made a couple of swipes only on the bottom third of the nail. Then I pushed a little bit toward the tip to get those few loose looking pieces. I did this with both glitters. Once the glitter was where I wanted it, I added a top coat and viola!

NYX - Dancing Queen, OPI - Mad As A Hatter, Lippmann Collection - Happy Birthday

Have a great Monday!
-Elaine

Ride The Khrome Wave

I had a vision for my new China Glaze-Millennium from the Khrome collection. I wanted to use it for metallic tips on a funky french. I was then planning to swirl out the color into a little wave design. I just had to pick something for the base. I was sure I didn't want one solid color. But then what would I use? Two shades? Three? Water marble? Regular marble? Konad? Shimmer? Creme? I didn't know.

I ended up doing a regular marble design. I chose two thick, very opaque cremes to get the job done: Rescue Beauty Lounge - Underwear and Zoya - Pinta. I did a thick stripe of each on half of the nail and while still wet, I took a tooth pick and pulled the colors back and forth between them over the line that separated them. It reminded me of when I used to work in a cake bakery and I swirled yellow and chocolate cake to make marble. That was one of my favorite things to do. It never got old! It was always pretty and amusing. I find joy in simple things I guess!

Anywho, after that I free-handed the tips with China Glaze - Millennium. Then I took a thin paintbrush and carefully made the little wave following the shape of the "smile line", but circling it around. Although I was very pleased, I didn't think the wave had enough emphasis so I outlined it and the tips with a black nail art striper: LA Colors Art Deco in black. And viola! This is my creation!

Zoya Ultra Glitters Swatches

Astra, Nova, Luna

Good afternoon everybody! How are we!? I'm okay. I have to go to the doc in a bit. Nothing major, but I hate to be reminded that there is always something wrong with me! Can't a girl just be healthy? :c)

So. Zoya Ultra Glitters. I know these aren't new, and you've probably seen them a hundred times, but it took me a while to get them and I love them all sooo much I had to post them!

Astra - Wicked hot. This is a combo of light pink and red glitter in a hot pink jelly base giving an overall awesome, warm, hott pink color. This swatch is two coats, but I probably could have done three. Up close you can see all the details, but from a distance it looks like a bad ass pink foil or something. Observe:

My hands playing quarters. Yes I like drinking games! :cD

Nova - Also hott! This is a cool magenta. I thought it would be the same concept as Astra with the light pink glitter and magenta glitter, but when you look at it up close it appears as though it is just the light pink in a bold, magenta, jelly base. At first when these came out and I saw that there were two pinks I thought, "I certainly don't need both." I was wrong. This swatch is 3 coats.

Luna - This is a silver glitter in a pale silver, shimmery base. I really love this. I love how much depth it has thanks to the shimmer, and the glitter. Even though the glitter is only one color, it appears to be many and it looks really interesting. This swatch is 4 coats, just to be sure I couldn't see my yellow nails through it! I wore this as my New Years Eve mani and kept it on for days, all the way through to 80s Night, and it worked for all occasions.

My 80s hand.

Have a great day!
-Elaine