Pink with Glitter Reverse French Nails of the Day.

I've been wanting to try a reverse french manicure with glitter for a while now after seeing several photos on Pinterest, so I decided to give it a shot today. I've tried the regular reverse french and liked it a lot, but I thought adding glitter would be a fun twist since I love glitter tips in general. 

I used french manicure guides that I purchased from my local beauty supply store, but you can use tape if you'd like (just make sure to cut it so it's rounded) or garage sale stickers, reinforcement stickers, etc.

It's that easy! You just have to be sure that your glitter is completely dry, otherwise the sticker can pull the glitter off. As an alternative to glitter polish, you can actually apply a clear coat of nail polish to the bottom portion of your nail, and spill some loose glitter on top. 

For the glitter, I used Maybelline Color Show Sequins Nail Polish in the shade Gold's Night Out with Milani Silver Jewel FX on top. 

The color on my nails is Essie Lion Around. I picked it up recently at my local TJ Maxx.

(This was my inspiration photo, courtesy of Lyndar the Merciless.)

I think the result was really pretty and girly! 

What do you think? Have you tried this?

Wet n Wild Megalast 2% Milk and Milani Lavender Jewel FX Nail Polish!

I love anything that sparkles, and when I spot a pretty glitter polish, it's pretty hard for me to not toss it in my cart. Despite the P.I.T.A. glitter polishes are to remove, I think they're so much fun! Milani has a big variety of glitter polishes to choose from. If you like smaller, more uniform glitter, you have to check out the Holographic and One Coat Glitter polishes. But if you're a fan of large, chunky glitter, the Jewel FX polishes are for you.

I recently picked up Milani Lavender Jewel FX Nail Lacquer, and decided to experiment a little bit with it today. I painted some glitter tips, and thought I'd quickly share my NOTD!

I used three coats of Wet n Wild 2% Milk, two coats of Milani Lavender Jewel FX and then used the Milani Art of Silver Nail Art polish to create a silver, glittery line across the tip.

From the left to right: Wet n Wild 2% Milk Megalast Nail Color, Milani Art of Silver Nail Art Nail Lacquer and Milani Lavender Jewel FX Nail Lacquer.

Wet n Wild 2% Milk is one of my frequently used "no polish" polish. Most sheer, light nail polishes apply streaky, but because of the thick, flat brush of the Megalast polishes, it yields minimal streaks. I've gone through so many Essie polishes, and haven't liked any of them. This one is only $2 and it beats them all! I also like using Sugar Coat for a pinker alternative.

I think I might get a couple more of the Jewel FX polishes. They are great glitters to use for a statement nail, as the glitter is really chunky and metallic - it almost gives off a foiled look.

Zoya Yara Nail Polish Review!

Zoya Yara Nail Polish

Zoya Yara Nail Polish ($8) is a medium olive/khaki or army green infused with very fine gold glitter. It's by no means a glitter polish, so don't let that throw you off if you don't care for glitter polish. In fact, it looks more shimmery in the bottle, than it does on the nails. Sadly, it's one of those polishes where the glitter becomes semi-lost in the opaque color base once applied. It's still visible, mostly under direct light. I think it's a really pretty, unique color - perfect for Fall.

This is only my third Zoya polish, and so far, I've had luck with all of them formula-wise. The formula is completely ideal - it isn't thick, and it isn't watery. It's a very good medium - nice and creamy, which makes application a breeze. 

Two coats of Zoya Yara on my nails (with Seche Vite Top Coat)

The color is opaque, so if painting your nails is one of your dreaded chores, you can get away with one coat of this polish. The polish dries fairly quick between coats (always a good thing). I find that two coats of this polish is perfect.

We all experience different wear times with our nail polish based on how hard/easy we are on our nails, base/top coats, etc, so my wear-time may completely differ from yours. I used a Seche Base and (Vite) Top Coat, and I wasn't even able to get through two days of wear without my polish peeling off. Really sad, because I love this polish.

The Round-Up

Pros:

• Beautiful, unique color
• Ideal, creamy formula that isn't too thick or thin
• Applies evenly without streaks
• Completely opaque with two coats
• Natural Ingredients - Toxin-Free

Cons:

• Wear time was pretty poor, but this can differ from person to person.

Price: $8, Zoya. I purchased mine from ULTA on clearance.

Nails of the Day: Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Nail Polish in Pacific Blue!

Two Coats of Sally Hansen Pacific Blue

Sally Hansen Pacific Blue is a bright, royal-blue cream polish with a shiny finish. It's almost a cross between royal blue and periwinkle blue. There are so many different shades of blue, and this particular shade is at the top of my list. I think it's a great summer shade, especially with the current "pop of neon" trend. This shade goes particularly well with neon yellow. 

When I think of neon yellow, I think of this Cambridge bag I've been lusting over for the past few months. But I can't help but think that I'll probably never wear again after the summer. What do you think?

(Image Source)

Here's a comparison to what I'd call true blue. Note the difference?

Love and Beauty Blue (link)

Application with this polish is pretty good. It applies evenly and almost completely opaque with one coat. If you're an impatient gal, you could definitely get away with one coat of this polish. I opted for two for full opacity and a shiny top coat. I did notice with the second coat the polish seemed slightly thick. I may add a couple drops of thinner to the bottle.

Absolutely love this shade and I'm sure I'll be wearing it all summer long.

What's on your nails?

NOTD: Wet n Wild Mega Last Salon Nail Color in 205B Sugar Coat.

 Wet n Wild Sugar Coat Mega Last Salon Nail Color 

Early this year Wet n Wild launched new packaging and an improved formula for their Megalast Nail Polishes. The new formula claims to be long-lasting, promising 5 days of wear. They came out with some new colors along with some of the old, with eighteen shades in total (or at least 18 on Wet n Wild's website).

I wanted to give the new formula a shot, and purchased the shade Sugar Coat, which is a pale, milky peach-pink.

The brush is wide and flat, curving at the tip for a one-sweep application. It's similar to the brush of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Nail Polish or Rimmel Lasting Finish Nail Polish. It's great for those with average to wide nail beds, but may be a little difficult for those with narrow nail beds. I really like the brush, and for my nails, it provides a very even application with less streaks.

 Wet n Wild Sugar Coat Mega Last Salon Nail Color 

(Three Coats with Seche Vite Top Coat)

Sugar Coat is a really nice natural shade that looks great on it's own or as a pale pink base for french tips. You really only need two coats, but once of my nails ended up a little streaky, so I ended up painting three coats.

The drying time is okay, it's not very fast, but with a fast drying top coat, your nails shouldn't smudge.

I really like this polish, and I'm hoping it lives up to it's 5-day claim. Regardless, a bottle only costs $1.99, so it's not a huge loss.

I'll be updating this post letting you know how long it lasts before chipping or peeling!

Have you tried any colors from the Wet n Wild Megalast line? What do you think of them?

NOTD: Essie Super Bossa Nova with Hearts!

Essie Super Bossa Nova Nail Lacquer

When it comes to painting designs on my nails, most of the time I end up wishing I never attempted it in the first place - as most of the time it looks like I drew the designs with my eyes closed. I wanted to do a simple design in the spirit of Valentine's Day, so I added a little heart to each nail. Not the best job in the world, but I thought the outcome was kinda cute.

I used two coats of Essie Super Bossa Nova, which is a lovely fuchsia with very fine bright pink/purple shimmers. Essie's Nail Polish formula makes me want to scream at times - the first coat applied beautifully, and the second coat was difficult to spread. It was like applying old, goopy polish to my nails. I have this problem with Essie all of the time. But, by the time I applied my top coat (Seche Vite), no signs of a "struggle" showed through. It's a very pretty summer shade for the fingers and toes.

I added the hearts simply by using the tip of a toothpick. I dipped the tip of the toothpick in a small pool of the polish and laid the tip on a slight diagonal to my nail. It should create a half heart shape. Then, repeat on the opposite side to connect the heart.

You can practice on paper to get it right before you attempt it on your freshly painted nails!

You can get creative and draw borders and/or designs around the hearts. With the tip of the toothpick, I made a white dotted outline around one of my nails, and with a glitter nail art pen, outlined another heart.

What's on your nails?! Do you ever paint designs on your nails for the holidays?

NOTD: Pink and White Reverse French.

I know we're all familiar with the traditional french manicure, but the reverse french - also known as the half moon manicure, is something much less traditional. It was one of the most popular nail trends in 2011, and is still being seen on catwalks for Spring 2012. It's a very funky and trendy nail design that can be done easily with the help of a some stickers (or a steady hand!).

What's fun about the reverse french is that there's really no right or wrong way to do it! You can use any two colors you'd like, using contrasting colors or colors similar in tone for a more subtle effect. The "half moons" can be any size you want, there is really no standard.

For my manicure, I used two coats of Sally Hansen Salon Nail Lacquer in #320 All the White Stuff and one coat of ULTA Salon Formula Nail Lacquer in Heirhead. For a top coat, I used Seche Vite Top Coat.

• First, pick your two nail polish colors.
• (Optional) Apply a thin layer of a base coat.
• Apply 1-2 coats of the color you want your reverse french/half moon to be. (I chose white)
• Wait for your nails to dry completely. You want to make sure they are completely dry, otherwise, you can risk messing up your nails in the next step. You may want to add a coat of a fast drying top coat to seal the two coats of polish. I used Seche Vite Top Coat for this.
• Stick paper reinforcement stickers to the base of your nail. Depending on your preference, you can stick them on higher up, or lower down. So they aren't too sticky, stick them on the back of your hand prior to applying them on your nails.
• Paint 1-2 coats of your preferred top color, remove stickers. I removed them right away, so they wouldn't get stuck to my nails.
• Apply a top coat.

(Image Credit: Teen.com)

NOTD: Quite possibly the coolest holographic glitter polish, ever. (pic heavy)

 

I picked up this awesome glitter polish on Black Friday at Urban Outfitters. I've only been in Urban Outfitters a few times, and while waiting in a mega-long line to pay for my $10 awesome-deal top, I spotted this polish from about 10 feet away, dumbfounded that every girl in there wasn't fighting over getting a bottle.

The name of the polish is Afterhours, and it's a part of their house brand (Urban Outfitters Inc). It's a really difficult shade to describe, but it has a silver holographic fine glitter base with larger flecks of pink glitter. The mixture of the pink and silver glitter almost give off a pale purple appearance in the bottle. The holo is amazing. Some polishes have a weaker holo than others, but this one is really uniform and stands out really nice. I can't help but look at my nails every time I catch good lighting.

It's pretty opaque for a glitter, and I'm sure it would look great on it's own. I used it over a deep purple polish, and really liked the results.

  

CONTINUE READING FOR ADDITIONAL PHOTOS!

The purple polish is ULTA's Salon Formula Nail Lacquer in the shade: Love My Blackberry. I applied two coats, with no base coat.

After those two coats dried, I applied one coat of Afterhours. I didn't use a top coat for these photos, but I applied one coat of Seche Vite afterward.

I took a ton of photos because the glitter has so many colors when captured at different angles. Love it!

NOTD: Barielle Sailors Delight; A Perfect Pink!

Two (2) Coats of Barielle Sailors Delight and One (1) Coat of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Top Coat

Barielle Sailors Delight is described on the Barielle website as a "dusty mauve cream". I would describe it as a medium-toned, neutral pink. In some lighting, the neutral undertone gives it an almost lilac pink appearance. I find it a little difficult finding the correct shade of pink that isn't too bright, too light or dark, and applies opaque. A pink that is "work friendly".

There's nothing obnoxious about this pink. It's slightly vivid, yet perfectly muted, and it's not too "mauve" where it's ages your hands. Application is really good, it applies opaque from the start, and is completely opaque with two coats. As far as the wear goes, I'll have to wait and see!

Barielle's Nail Polishes are formaldehyde free, toluene free, D8P free and pregnancy safe.

Barielle Nail Polish and Products can be found at various beauty supply stores and retailers around the US. For a list of locations, click here. I've spotted Barielle at my local TJMaxx/Marshalls stores and some ULTA locations. I purchased this bottle at ULTA on clearance for $2.99.