Mish Mash Challenge Week 3

 

This week the challenge was metallic.  Sometimes metallics can be really streaky and hard to work with so I decided to do a gradient and then stamp over it with a metallic polish.  I used Essie used Essie’s Good as Gold and Blue Rhapsody then stamped with Pueen plate 01.  It was a nice soft manicure for a metallic and really easy to do the gradient. I am going to try some other metallics and see now they come out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let’s see what the other girls did.

Ciao for now,

Patty

Texture, Texture, Texture: Compare and Contrast

Ok, so a couple of months ago I got mixed comments on a post I wrote regarding Zoya’s Pixie Dust and yes now other polish companies have jumped on the bandwagon.  So, I feel compelled to compare and contrast five nail polishes.



Sally Hanson’s Sugar Coat, Dance Legend in Habit, China Glaze Texture in Toe-Tally Textured, OPI’s Liquid Sand in Get Your Number and Zoya’s Dahlia.  While there are similarities there are also very big differences.

             

This is the OPI’s  Get Your Number.  It is blue sand.  It dries rather quickly but take off is a mess.  When you run your fingers long the top of it it feels gritty and reminds me of the sand on Venice beach which granules are rather large.  The sand at the beach from my hometown South Padre Island is tiny sand granules.

          
This is Dahlia.  I was a part of the first Pixie dust collection Zoya put out.  This one feels like soft furry hair.  No sandy feeling here.


            
The pink and yellow are the Sally Hanson polish.  As you can tell this  has a very different texture than the two before this one.  These two textures remind me of the acoustic on my walls.  The formula on this was very thick and I had to shake the bottle often to get a uniform amount of polish on my nail.




This is the China Glaze.  It has the same texture as the Sally Hanson but dries to more of a matte finish really I would call it satin finish.  In comparison to the Sally Hanson this polish was much thinner and easier to work with.


                               

This is Dance Legend Habit and in reality is a combination of the sandy finish but  a fine grained sand and an acoustic finish.  The formula was in between the Sally Hanson and China Glaze which was nice since it wasn’t watery but the consistency was not gloopy like the Sally Hanson.

In conclusion we really have four different polishes.  Non are quite the same.  Sally Hanson does not offer as many colors as the others.  The Sally Hanson and China Glaze are most similar but Sally Hanson’s colors are limited.  China Glaze offers a few more colors so if you want something that has a slight shine I would definitely go with the China Glaze the price is almost the same as Sally Hanson’s but you are getting better quality in the China Glaze. The removal of both of these were just like a normal polish.
If you want something that feels a little furry go with the Pixie Dust.  It stands in a class of it’s own as does the OPI.  What I really hated about the OPI was that take off was a mess.  There was glitter all over the place.  Removal of the OPI was the hardest out of all the polishes. 
My favorite is the Dance Legend.   It has sparkle and was easy to take off there is a large color palette for this polish but it does cost $9.00 a bottle and you do need to order it from Llarowe or Ninja Polish so that of course means a wait time.

Now, there is one thing all these polishes have in common.  They all dry pretty fast and don’t require a lot of anything other than a base coat and polish.  You can put a top coat on to get a totally different look and it would still take less time than using an ordinary polish.   All but the OPI are pretty easy to take off.  I did not encounter any staining with any of the polishes.  Most range in the $6.00 – $9.00 range which is fairly affordable.  I am not sure how long this fad will last but people seem to like it because of the minimal care.  So, those were the differences and similarities I found in these.  Personally my favorite is the Dance Legend and then the Pixie Dust.  I know I am kind of eating crow but this is the fad of the time and far be it from me not to at least take a little part of it.  I don’t have a lot of these polishes but enough to say I have tried them.  So, let’s enjoy the look for now it might be around for a while go and then sneak it’s way back.  I hope this helps in making any purchases or questions you might have about these new polishes.  If you have any questions leave them in the comment section you might be asking a question that someone else had or email me.  I hope this helps.

Ciao bellas,
Patty

Mish Mash Challenge Week 2

This week our challenge was a laser mani.  I love the quilted look but it is a real you what to do and is very tedious but I managed.  Used all Color Club holos on this mani.  I just painted three lines on the bottom then did the taping.  Each nail takes six pieces of tape.  Then I painted over the base with Color Club Revvolution to achieve the look. 

 

 

 

 

 

So, that is all for this week.  Let’s see what the other girls did. 

Ciao bellas,

Patty

Girly Bits Jini Goes Indie

It had been a long time since I had really actually bought a glitter topper and when I decided I wanted one I kept coming back to this one.  I really like it.  It has all color glitter of all shapes and sizes.  I did do a gradient which was something else I hadn’t done in a while in China Glaze’s Tarty for the Party and For Audrey with one coat of Girly Bits Jini Goes Indie which I bought at Llarowe.  The new thing was that I used China Glaze’s Gelous Top coat and it did give me a smooth finish and dried pretty fast.  I really like this polish and I think I am going to pull out more of the glitters I haven’t tried and play around with them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, what do you think of glitter toppers?  A lot of people don’t like them because of the take off but using the foil method is so easy as  long as you oil or cream up right after.  Are you a glitter girl or is it just too much for you?

 

Ciao Bellas

Patty

July Favorites

I have to say this month went by so fast I have six family birthdays in my immediate family this month.  By the time I get to August I am exhausted not to mention five pounds heavier.   Then, in two weeks is my anniversary.  This is then big ten.  It is weird because I still feel like we are newlyweds.  My husband is still in crutches from his surgery and I expect he still will be come August 15th.  I have been shopping like crazy.  So much that it is at the point that I wear something new everyday and I think I am going to have to take some stuff back.  Oops.  Definitely need to have a blog sale.  I have about half the polishes I want to sell about it is at around 100 with my husband home though I think I am going to put him to work.  So, July was hectic.  I don't see things getting better until September, so I will just ride it out.  I do have something really cool.  I hope to post it tomorrow but don't hold me to it I never know what is going to happen with my husband home.  Goldie just wants him to go back to work so we can take our little siestas and spend all day in the polish room.  I think I kind of want the same thing now, too.  So, even though July was hectic.  I did manage to put out some posts that I really liked.  So, here are my July favorites.

 

This was the fourth of July manicure in two different ways to wear it.  I like it because of the simplicity yet you could really stamp them out or just wear them plain.  I don't know which I like better.

 

 

This was another one of my favorite polishes and posts.  What is so funny is that I had been need to talk to my Li'l Sister aka my best friend and she called just as I was about to insert this.  We talked for an hour and I cried and she cried and we comforted each other and it just reminded me how lucky I am to have two Li'l Sisters

 

 

 

 

 

The return of Bootie Babe was a highlight during the month of July.  I think the formula is so great and who couldn't love the bottle.

 

  

 

 

This was a cute manicure because like I said I have been doing a lot of nail art to match the clothes I am wearing.  Adding the lady bug was just for fun.  It was very whimsical.

 

 

How could this new beautiful Chanel not be one of my favorites?  Enough said.

 

So, that is the roundup of my July favorites.  Do you agree?

 

Ciao Bellas,

Patty

 

Day 1 Mish Mash Challenge

Today we start our new challenge that will last until Dec. 31.   We will be posting every Wednesday.  Today’s Challenge was creating a manicure with the color purple.  What I did was a gradient dot manicure.  Using all Butter London Polishes I started with PItter Patter, then used Scoundrel to create the next set of dots and finally finished with Muggins.  It is fairly easy to do, you just need to ensure you are using the right colors if you want to do a gradient.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So make sure to check out my blog every Wednesday for our new challenge and see what the rest of the girls did.

Ciao for now bellas,

Patty

 

 

 

div>

Sisters

I was blessed and cursed with two little sisters.  If you are in my position you know the benefits and horrors of having little sisters.  We are five years apart so that was a burden but they used to do anything I told them to do and believed any stupid story I told them.  The funniest that my sister and I laugh about is our church behavior.  There is a point in a Catholic worship where you offer the sign of peace by shaking hands I would always turn to her and squeeze hand.  She would cry and I would get scolded.  One day it was that time to shake hands and I promised I would not squeeze it  and in all honesty I was not going to squeeze but once that clammy skinny hand was in mine I just could not help myself I squeezed and then she is the one that got in trouble.  I think that was the turning point for me and I started to become very protective of her.

When I saw this new polish I knew I had to have it.  It is called Lil Sister from Whimsical Ideas by Pam.  So, I used pink from the Deborah Lippmann's Girls Marnie.  I used Deborah Lippmann's Let's Hear It For the Boy as an accent nail.  This polish went on very well straight from the brush I did not have to do much manipulating of the glitters which is really great.  Another great hit from Pam.

A little sister will always be there when you need her.  Mine is and for that I am very thankful to have a Lil Sister.

 

 

Ciao Bella's,

Patty

The Overexposed Dress from Macy's

If you live anywhere a Macy's you have seen this dress. Well guess who has it.  Yes me.  I would have never expected to buy a dress that was going to gain such over exposure.  I kind of always prided myself in being a bit of a trendsetter.  In high school, I never shopped in the stores that other girls did and was voted best dressed.  So, every time I see my dress in another flyer or commercial I want can't help but laugh at myself.

So, this summer is the summer of the artsy matchy manicure for me.  When I wore this dress I did this manicure.

It is not a watercolor but a technique I saw in YouTube by the beautiful Ms. Jen Fabulous.  I painted my nails with all Essie polish,  I used Cabana Boy as a base color then dotted Boom Boom Room, Madison Ave., Saturday Disco Night and OPI's Need Sunglasses.  Ok, the main thing is that you ensure that the base color is dry.  I always go ahead and put a coat of Seche Vite on.  Seche Vite is good in different stages of it's age.  When it new it is thin and watery and that is the best time to use it when you need to ensure your polish is dry like for stamping, gradients, putting glitter polish on etc.  So, now that my nails are dry, I randomly plopped some colors on my nails.  Then got some Saran Wrap and pressed the polish down to cover the nail and then gently removed the Saran Wrap.  Once the polish was dry I applied top coat.  It does take a little work but the results are really nice.









 



 



 

Ciao Bella's,

Patty

Dior Birds of Paradise. Samba

This season Dior has managed to put out two of the most popular colors of the season.  A metallic teal and a crème mint.  Both came in a box and are half the size of a large bottle of Dior polish.  Which in a way I think I like because truthfully the only bottles of polish I ever really finished have been OPI's My Boyfriend Scales Walls and Black Onyx and Chanel's Black Satin.  Little bottles ensure full use.  Neither one of these polishes have names I just call them one and two.  The metallic polish really surprised me with it's smooth application.  I wondered if it was a dupe for Chanel's Azure but you can clearly tell that they are different and not dupes.

 

 

Chanel on the right.  Dior on the Left.  They look like dupes in this picture but they definitely are not.  The Dior is much greener.

 

 

 

 

 

As far as the creme color goes it went on like cream cheese frosting on a red velvet cake ( craving chocolate).  The color is just gorgeous as it is the "color" of the season.  I have no complaints.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ciao Bellas,

Patty