NOTD: Zoya Ivanka + m73

This is me NOT falling super-behind again.  Didn't get all the fair pics edited yet, but this was today's NOTD - along the same lines what I did with Alegra, 2 coats of Zoya Ivanka, stamping done with Wet 'n' Wild Black Creme & Konad plate m73, and another coat of Ivanka.  I think the Alegra version was a little more successful, in a lot of light the actual design of this was nearly invisible, it just looked like some dark sponging or something on the tip:

 

 

Also, you know, it didn't show up in pics, but some angles Ivanka almost duo-chromes into a teal rather than a green.  Very pretty, even if it wasn't a total win.  I've got a water marble on right now I just did that I'm actually really liking, so I'll have that up tomorrow night =)

 

Thanks for reading.

 

~Colette

NOTD: Claire's Dream Catcher + M73

I picked up a lot of mint greens over the spring.  I still have several to work through, but I really like this one.   It went on kind of craptastic, but Seche leveled everything out for the most part. I've read that it's close to being a dupe for Chanel Jade but as I have absolutely nothing Chanel I can neither confirm or deny from personal experience =)

I wore Claire's Dream Catch plain the first day.  It has a very subtle shimmer that doesn't show up very well in pics:

Second day I added some Konad.  Why isn't there a Konad or fauxnad creeping vine design?  Or maybe (probably) there's one out there & I just don't have it.  Then again, I'm always coming up with lists of things I wish I had a stamping plate for.  Anyway, this design was closest to what I wanted.  Konad plate m73 & Green Special Polish:

Also, I got my Zoya exchange haul in the mail today!!! Not sure if I'll get pics up tonight but they're coming soon!   Thanks for reading.

~Colette

NOTD: Vday Inspired Funky French

I've been seeing Valentines manicures starting to pop up around the blogosphere.  I saw Brooke use this plate a few days ago & thought I'd give it a try.  I had a really short time frame for this mani, so I had to work quick, but I'm actually really pleased with how it turned out, almost exactly as in my head =)

A lot of the time when I do a french manicure I don't feel the need for anything other than my normal base coat, but since my nails have a little yellowing right now I dug through the unworns for a sheer pink & came up with L'Oreal Bijou Facets B. Sweet.  I didn't really notice in the bottle, but once on the nail I saw that this slightly frosty sheer pink has tiny pink bar glitter in it, adding a little bit more bling.  I used one coat of that, then free handed my tips (messily I'll admit) with Color Club Black.  Then I used Psyche Pink Konad polish & image plate m73 to stamp the heart design on the tips:

Not bad for what was actually about a 20-minute mani start to finish LOL.  Plus I came across a lot of pinks in my search, so now they're cluttering up my desktop & I think I'll try & use more of them coming up to Valentine's Day since during the rest of the year I'm probably less than half as likely to wear pink LOL.

Thanks for reading =)

~Colette

The Ups & Downs of Matte-ifying Chrome

I know a lot of you already do this trick, of snazzing up a mani for a 2nd day of wear by adding some Konad or other nail art, but I've only started doing it recently & am still pretty proud of myself =) Although I'm not particularly proud of this particular snazz-up. Thus I have today a learning experience to share with you LOL.

I wanted something kind of subtle, but this ended up being TOO subtle. If you want anything like a good look at the Konad, you're going to have to click to enlarge, lean in close, squint your eyes, and possibly pat your head while rubbing your tummy. It's a faint pattern in real life but in pictures it's just impossible. It just looks like texture ... this could be called How About A Tumble Suede LOL. Konad done with China Glaze Passion & image plate m73:


But, the main goal after all was to switch up the look for the 2nd day of wear. And it did accomplish that, if not quite as I initially intended. From an arms length I literally cannot see the Konad at all, but I like the way it does look.

Now, the real learning experience. I initially considered leaving this glossy, and I tried a normal topcoat (Seche) on my thumb & didn't like it. BUT! After the matte topcoat (China Glaze Matte Magic BTW), my thumb actually looks like I wanted the rest to look. Which is weird, you wouldn’t expect that to really make a difference … Here's a couple comparison shots:


So, have you done any matte-ifying of chrome polishes? & if so how did your results turn out? Leave a comment or drop an email & let me know, because I'm pretty curious at this point if I'd get results like this with chrome polish across the board, or if it had more to do with this particular polish, or, given how often companies change their formula, this collection - Passion is part of the the Romantique collection, which I think is generally agreed to be a poorer version of chrome than the new Khrome collection.

Thanks for reading.

~Colette