NOTD: ChG OMGs Marble

I started out with Sally Hansen Black Diamond for the base, since last time the transparency of the marble bugged me a little. I think any dark color would be a good base for holo marbling. Here are a couple pics of my sloppy application, 2 coats no topcoat:


Then, I picked 5 colors from the China Glaze OMG Collection:


Left to right: OMG, IDK, DV8, LOL, & 2NITE. I'm still kind of in a learning curve what order of drops will make what color pop out most ... kind of a learning curve with the whole process actually LOL. Last time I half lazied out & did 2 fingers at a time, this time I did each individually & I am happier with placement of the pattern, but I have a lot to learn before I think I can get the same look on each nail. Excuse the few bubbles - I think they come from either not putting the nail down parallel to the water, or from water droplets you don't get off the nail. If anyone with more experience has any tips to avoid this, please share! Also please excuse the smudge on my right ring finger, that happened trying to tape the rest of my nails ... might be a good idea to get strips of tape ready beforehand or get a more user friendly dispenser.

Still, minor issues aside, this is AWESOME & I love it very much:


& my thumbs turned out the best, particularly my little right nub which is usually my most hated nail:




If you haven't tried water marbling, I encourage you to "take the plunge" (yes, I know the pun is the lowest form of humor =) ). It's easier than you think, & probably quicker too - from base to top coat this took me less than an hour.

For those of you wondering what I'm doing up so far past my bedtime on a work night, the Packers just finished getting their asses handed to them by the Vikings =) And while I'm not normally huge into sports, this was rather historic & lived up to the hype, lots of big plays & stupid plays & turnovers & challenges & such. But I do have to get to bed ... Thanks for reading.

~Colette

NOTD: ChG Metallic Muse

So, this is from both the Glitters & Chromes Sally display, AND the Khrome Collection. I found this finally when I went to get Fortune Teller. There are a few finish issues in the pics below, but I'm going to blame that on my patches ... my pinky (the only nail on my left hand now without a patch) came out pretty flawless. Although it is a little bluer on the nail than it looks in the bottle. China Glaze Metallic Muse, Konad done with Black Special polish & plate m67:


I also took a couple pics comparing this teal chrome with the blue & green chromes from the Romantique collection:


Left to right: Adore, Metallic Muse, & Cherish. Thanks for reading.

~Colette

3 Hauls

So, after I stopped at Sally's today, I realized I had never posted up the stuff I got last week. So I'll post this in the order I made the purchases, but I'll tell you right now the REALLY good stuff is at the end =)

First up, last Friday's Big Lots haul. Not like I really NEEDED any of these, but cheap polish is hard to resist:


All Revlon colors. Left to right top: Please Me Pink, Lilac Lingerie, Light & Plummy. Left to right bottom: Steel-her Heart, Crushed Crimson, Blackberry, Sheer Mauve.

Next is Walgreens from I think Monday. I stopped for a prescription & I really only went over by the polish because I've heard Opulent Cloud (limited edition Sally Hansen) is on the shelves some places & I'd really like a bottle. Well, I didn't find any (yet) but I did find a Wet 'n' Wild Fantasy Makers Halloween display:


Top row: Magical & Deception. Bottom row is the loose glitters, Imagination & Myth.

Finally we have tonight's Sally haul ... I'm sure you can guess what I was looking for, and I found them & then some:


All China Glaze. Top row: Fortune Teller, Matte Magic, and the until now unfindable Metallic Muse. Bottom row: Liquid Leather, White on White & Cleopatra. I didn't intend on getting so much, but once I was in there I remembered I wanted a new bottle of black & of white, and thought I might as well add a few more bottles to take full advantage of my monthly 15% off coupon. If you have their Sally card, it's pretty easy to spend $25/month to get the discount the following month. I think I've only missed one since I got my card.

I am so excited I finally found Metallic Muse! I was going to do another water marble design (I've got dreams of holo over black) but that will have to wait until I test drive Muse =) I should have NOTD pics for you all tomorrow. Thanks for reading.

~Colette

NOTD: Nubar Marble

I recently saw a review of Nubar's base & topcoats, over at Painted Lady Fingers, and remembered how much I liked their polish and so when I decided to use a Nubar color, I dug out my Diamant. To my surprise, I found a bottle of the base coat I'd forgotten I had, I think it came free with my order. Anyway, I decided to make the whole mani Nubar, from the base, to the colors, to the topcoat =) And it turned out pretty awesome.

For the design I used 3 polishes from Nubars Liquid Metals collection (I'm 98% sure that's what it's called ...): Risky Rose, Black Chrome, & Impulsive Silver ... I'd consider this nail art in the freehand category, so you also get to see my right hand - which actually turned out a little better since I did it second. My favorite nail turned out to be my right thumb:



This is my first water marbled mani. Only problem I had was where I got spots from not getting all of the water droplets off. You can find a ton of videos on YouTube if you'd like to see a tutorial, but the best tip I used came from Tartofraises Nail Art which is to tape around your nail so you don't have a total mess to clean up, just a little bitty mess.

Have you ever tried water marbling? How were your results? I can't wait to try it again with different colors! Thanks for reading.

~Colette

Disaster?

So, I thought I'd go ahead & change the patch-over-a-patch quick fix that I had to do the other day on my index finger ... I'm not sure if it was more broken than I realized under the patch, or if I was just too rough with my removal... the whole nail broke off.

I just kind of sat & stared at it for a minute. Hmmm. I'll save you the gruesome visual ... mainly because I forgot to take a pic while the end was detached LOL. I finished removing the existing patch from the broken piece, then very carefully carried it upstairs & proceeded to glue it back on.

The trick, I think, is that rather than glue it back on top of the rest of the nail I refrained from any filing, dabbed on my trusty IBD gel resin, and matched up the jagged edges. I held it in placed for a minute, and then let go, holding my breath. IT STAYED IN PLACE! Next I added my normal silk wrap & a coat of glue both over that under my free edge, then another layer on top ... buffed as normal ... and if I didn't know better I would never guess. Click to enlarge & you can see the break underneath it all:



Now, the question is, how long this will really last ... you know I'll keep you posted of course =) Keep your fingers crossed with me as I attempt to grow this out! Thanks for reading.

~Colette