NOTD: Zoya Tosca + m62

Well, I was not in love with this color, and that's out of the ordinary with Zoya.  I wanted something bright, and it was, but I just couldn't get into it.  The golden glow in the bottle doesn't show much on the nails.  And since I still had some VNL after 2 coats, I thought I'd add a french tip pattern - only to see my nails are now long enough you can still see the nail line under the design LOL.  It's not too noticeable in pics, much more annoying in person.  This is Zoya Tosca, stamping done with Black Special Polish & Konad image plate m62:

 

Thanks for reading =)

~Colette

NOTD: Easter Cuteness

You know how usually when you get a lemming, you have to chase it down? Well, I lucked out, and when I saw Nina Ultra Pro Mermaid swatched over at Steph's Closet all I had to do was unearth it from my mound of unworn polish. A great fresh, springy color that also reminds me of an Easter Egg. I ended up using 4 coats & might have gone for #5 if I wasn't trying to also Konad before bed since I could still see my nail line a bit:

Yes, the text is upside in the last pic because I decided after cropping & editing that I'd like to show the Konad from that angle so you could see it from the perspective I do when I just look down. Don't ask me why but for some reason the weird bow french tip pattern - plate m62 - is also giving me an Easter vibe. The one downside of this color is that as close up as the pics are you can see the imperfect buffing of my index finger patch (well, maybe you couldn't before I pointed it out ... but it's glaringly obvious to me). The one on my pinky is much less noticeable, at least from this angle.

I will probably change my nails one more time before Easter ... For Audrey also reminds me of an egg, I might go with that next. Thanks for reading.

~Colette

More Hot Misa On Misa Action (NOTD)

I had such good luck Konading with Misa my last couple of manis I decided to keep going with it. I know everyone is always looking for more polish that works well for stamping, and while Misa does seem to dry a bit on the quick side (stamp quick if you don't want stringy polish) I had 2 sets of 3 colors that really went well together that were in the running for this mani:

I was considering doing something really fancy, multi-colored stamping or more than one design or something fun like that, but I didn't have the energy. Final choice was The Grass Is Greener On My Side as the base, Konaded with Toxic Seduction & plate m62:

This color is brighter & a little greener in real life, even the pic in the sun doesn't capture the almost neon quality of this teal-green. Also, this particular french tip I find I have the hardest time getting it properly centered, but it is also very forgiving and still looks cool if it's a little "off". The Toxic Seduction didn't come out quite as dark as I expected, but I still like it. If you're keeping track, that's 3 for 3 positive results using Misa to Koni.

I also finally got around to doing my taxes ... yeah, I know it's getting to be on the late side but I had some stuff to get straightened out with my bank before I could file. It took a ridiculously long time, but persistence finally paid off, so soon I will have a nice refund to spend on new Konad plates & other polish-related stuff I've been denying myself. Thanks for reading.

~Colette

Misa NOTD: Flipped

No, the polish is not called Flipped (although I think that sounds like something that could be a cool color - anyone know a polish actually with this name?), I have flipped the colors around from my last mani because I couldn't get the idea out of my head otherwise:

Misa Chocolate Icing Konaded with Misa Ghetto Fabulous & plate m62. Obviously Ghetto Fabulous looses a little bit of it's bling factor going over such a dark color, but I like it. This is one of my favorite Konad tips, it reminds me of fire.

I ran into what I at first thought was application problems using this color for Konad. It can leave kind of a glittery golden residue on the rubber stamper, even after cleaning, and some of my nails pre-top coat looked almost a little dusty, and the gold looked slightly dull. But, the good news, both these issues pretty much disappeared after a coat of Seche Vite. Excuse the little lumps, had some other application issues on my thumb but this was the only finger left when I decided I wanted a pic pre-Seche:



Overall, I think I like this version of this color combo a little better. Maybe it says something about my mood as of late that the other one was just a bit too bright and happy for me at the moment.

Thanks for reading.

~Colette

Misa NOTD

So, after that freehand experiment I wanted some nice, reliable Konad. Of course, starting off thinking that I ended up having some application issues =( But I'm still pretty happy with how this turned out. Oddly enough I did the tips better on my right hand then my left, so you get to see that hand today also. Misa Ghetto Fabulous Konaded with Misa Chocolate Icing & plate m62:


Very bright after a could dark-colored manis in a row. Don't know how long I'll wear it since I'm not totally in love with it though. Thanks for reading.

~Colette

Thank Goodness & NOTD

#1 – Thank goodness I never throw out old polishes
#2 – Thank goodness for polish thinner
#3 – Thank goodness for Scrangie showing me how to combine #1 & #2

This is definitely one of my top 10 favorite polishes ever, maybe top 5, and for several years it sat sad & dried up on my dresser. Then I started browsing nail blogs, and stumbled across Scrangie's post for bringing old polishes back to life. I already had some thinner, and my old original Urban Decay polishes were the first thing I grabbed to try this out on. They are probably at least 15 years old, no joke, but they are smooth & lovely after considerable thinning & shaking & stirring & shaking some more. After wearing Peacock Feathers for several days, which was pretty dark, I wanted something bright & happy. May I present my current NOTD – Urban Decay Shattered:

If anyone knows of an available polish that is a dupe for this, LET ME KNOW. Seriously. It's such perfect shimmery turquoise excellence. The pics don't quite capture the depth of color or the bluer flash.

Since there was some visible nail line (which I probably didn't have nails long enough to notice back when I used to wear this) even at 4 coats, I decided to add some Konad, which I hadn't originally planned on. Hides the VNL pretty well, although the tips are still noticably lighter. I thought about messing with it some more but then I remembered my experience of a couple weeks ago & my lesson of less is more so I stopped while I was ahead. Konaded with CG Awaken & plate m62. 'Scuse my edges btw, I was too lazy to clean up.

I wish I'd known enough back then to buy an extra bottle. I wish they'd had it available when I placed an order when they were closing out the polishes. Most of all, I wish they still made it (or any polish at all, stupid Urban Decay, forgetting your roots! Nail polish is where it all started!). Although I have to say the old handle is one of the worst things ever. Their newer bottles have a much better top.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading

~Colette