Yes, they're real...

thank you, they're genetic and unattainable. While some things, like a Van Damme middle split may be, I don't believe lovely spike-ish nails to be. However, they may be inconvenient and inappropriate for one's lifestyle.

I could write a novel on my relationship with my nails and our trials and errors and the ridiculous things I've done to try and keep them in shape.

In my opinion, asking a nail fanatic who is trying to grow hers (or his) out if one's nails are natural is the highest of compliments. This is when I know I have succeeded ;)

I remembered Teas-y Does It is the last color I wore before our very painful break up :( 

Some pre-break spam.

Lynnderella Deep Blue Seeing (I think!?), a Milani white.

Sally Hansen Garnet Lapis Prism, OPI Black Onyx

Lynnderella Bride of Franken, OPI Mrs. O' Leary's BBQ

And in September:

Breaking up is hard to do.

Noticeably, they are the longest in this last picture and that of course compromises their strength. And while I did like the way they looked at the time, I have to admit looking at the picture, perhaps they were maybe about 3mm too long. I can their weak spots in the pic and that makes me sad :(

They've been growing back pretty well, but I still feel like I'm wearing nubs. 

What was your worst break? What finger was it on? Nail friends and myself seem to concur they happen on pointer and thumbs. Not surprisingly, these seem to be the most frequently used fingers.

A Charm

My third and maybe final post on Pretty and Polished's Jawbreaker--the first polish I ever posted. I think I got it right this time.

Bottle shots are on my very first post which is oh my gosh over one year ago! See the bottle here.

Jawbreaker.

Jawbreaker.

GTL

I had a lot of trouble at first with this one going on and because it was so gorgeous, I was worried that I would. It had that “eating itself” problem that holo polishes tend to have, though it's not a holo. Somehow I thought to use an aqua base with it and it applied perfectly. This is 3-4 coats—it lasted a long time and I didn’t want to take  it off, it's so perfectly coastal. This Dollish Polish is great for a mermaid! Gym, tan, laundry, and beach :)

Gym, Tan, Laundry. Natural Light.

Gym, Tan, Laundry close up. Natural Light.

Gym, Tan, Laundry bottle close up shot. Natural Light.

Another for my redo list...

is another beautiful Lynnderella. I want to redo it with at least one more coat of topcoat and over a darker green. The first time I used it I put it over Barielle Date Night and that was gorgeous. Here it is over Sinful Colors San Francisco, which I don't think looks as nice. The middle finger is actually three coats of All Hallow's Eve on it's own.

I'm really excited to try this over Illamasqua Rampage--AHE has multiple shades and shapes of green glitter--spring green, dark green, emerald green, chartreuse and probably more. It also has black and gold glitter and some tiny glitter in different sizes.

I decided to do an accent finger with a little bit of Inner Space because it's an awesome color.

All Hallow's Eve, San Franciso, Inner Space (index finger)

Lynnderella All Hallow's Eve and Sinful San Franciso

50 fairy stars

-->It’s been a challenge to write this post—not because it’s hard to describe the content, but because the holidays can be stressful for many, because I had a birthday, I missed my monthly blogging goals due to stupid hospitalization, and because it’s the end of the year and here I am with a lot of beautiful, wonderful things in a time of turmoil. Isn’t it strange how tragedy and loss can bear beauty? 

This year has given much.

Magic Fairy Stars is a polish I was fortunate enough to get from Lynnderella and all the people of Lynnderella (and the help of the ever marvelous and wonderful special amazing thanks to Joni most faithful blog reader). The proceeds from this polish are being split between two charities in NY and NJ communities affected by hurricane Sandy.

Here it is shown over RBL Grunge, though it looks great over a variety of shades.

This beautiful polish features a ridiculous amount of glitter shapes and sizes. There are squares and hexes of course and a large dose of beautiful tiny stars--also thrown in is a dash of moons and large-sized stars. I wish these pictures were better, but I swear if you click on the FULL SIZE they look better.

Magic Fairy Stars, Grunge. Natural Light.

Magic Fairy Stars, Grunge. Natural Light.

Magic Fairy Stars. Macro Bottle.

New Year's Eve Eve already!?

I'm lucky enough to have two new and beautiful polishes to show today--New Year's Eve Eve from Lynnderella's Season's Glitterings collection over Nicole Up and Kim-ing Pink (dupe for OPI Pink Friday).

I love the color of Pink Friday but had a ton of issues with the formula. I'm not sure if the Nicole formula was much better or if I'm just more skilled now. The polish isn't terrible to apply, though it's streaky and takes at least three coats to even and still has a somewhat chalky look. Also, it chipped like a beotch (sorry for the tip wear!) after half a day. But this color can't be beat!

New Year's Eve Eve, December 30th, I think ;) From Lynnderella's website: "363 days of glitter. We expected it to have some relationship to The Glittering Crowd, and it does. But the addition of new matte and satin glitters add an extra whallop. Just like 2012."

The satin glitters are really different--I think these were used in Sweets to the Sweet as well. A sort of pearlescent effect. A beautiful rainbow of glitters in a clear base which is great for anytime of year, really. The main differences I notice between NYEE and tGC is the satin glitter, diamond glitter, and yellow flowers. Of course the overall color scheme is also different. I haven't actually worn tGC yet either, but will compare soon <3

Up and Kim-ing Pink. Artificial Light.

New Year's Eve Eve and Up and Kim-ing Pink. Artificial Light.

Up and Kim-ing Pink. Artificial Light.

Lynnderella New Year's Eve Eve. Artificial Light.

Not Quite Yet...

I forgot to use China Glaze's new green holiday polish which I can't remember the name of and grabbed Wet n' Wild Poison Ivy from their Fall Pick Your Poison collection, one of the most beautiful greens I've ever seen. 

Some issues with Poison Ivy are that it has the WORST BRUSH EVER. In the world ever. See picture. Then if you want to clean up with a brush, it stains skin really badly so you walk around with greenish black skin for a day. I'm considering switching the bottle out, because then it would almost be the perfect polish :)

I'm almost on to holiday colors, but not quite yet, so right now I'm sorry that reader(s) will have to settle for seeing another Lynnderella Inner Space mani. I was going for a subtle gradient effect here. I still haven't done pictures of this with the perfect base color (I've got to ration my Inner Space from now on and save it for perfect bases ;p), but I *loved* it with Lippmann's Fashion. What do ya like to wear with multicolor glitters?

Lynnderella Innerspace, Wet n' Wild Poison Ivy. Natural Light.

Lynnderella Innerspace, Wet n' Wild Poison Ivy. Bottle shots. Natural Light.

Wet n' Wild Poison Ivy. Bottle shot. Natural Light.

Wet N' Wild bad brush! :(

October Pink

Since I didn't really take the opportunity to celebrate Halloween this year, I thought I would reserve the last post of October for a special pink polish. I was also going to talk about boobs. But I thought that might be weird, despite the breast cancer awareness month. I thought to write about my maternal grandmother, who had breast cancer, but no...so pink nail polish, awareness...breast cancer.   

Starry Pink/Popular came out I believe around the same time as some of Revlon's dupes for higher end polishes such as Naughty/Perplex for Chanel Paradoxal and Revlon's Facets of Fuchsia/Scandalous (Lippmann's Bad Romance), Revlon's Whimsical (Lippmann's Glitter in the Air)...and others, but this chunky glitter in a sheer base is, to my knowledge, totally unique. To me it definitely screams Glinda, fairy princess, or at least vintage lurex. 

The formula is easy and I would say requires a sure three coats, though I wouldn't knock experimenting with one or two over a pink or lilac shade. Three coats gets a little...I don't know. Lumpy. Chunky? Maybe it's just me. I don't like three coats, but it's necessary for opacity. Partially I think the application problems are because of the quality of the glitter--if you look carefully, particularly on my pinky nail, the hexes are not lying flat and are taco-ing a bit. This is where I do start to feel like it may be worth spending a little more for the higher end glitters. 

However, this color, lying somewhere between pale pink and lilac with cool silver glitter seems to be unique only to Revlon, so unless they shell out for some higher quality glitter--this is what we have. It's still a very pretty polish and pretty special. I haven't seen anything like it. 

Starry Pink. Artificial Light (strangely focused, like a "Glamour Shot").

Starry Pink and a fail sandwich of Urban Outfitters Dust :(

Bottle Shot

Grass-fed

I'd had an acute lemming for this color--seeing it at stores--I used to dislike it, though now, I really can't remember why. It wasn't quite what I was looking for, yet now, it seems to be exactly what I'm looking for. I wanted it so much I considered Revlon's Posh--quite similar--then finally ordered it on eBay for $5.

It's a fairly evenly applying creme-jelly hybrid that required three coats for full coverage. I hate applying more than three coats, so you know it requires the three ;) 

As for the color itself, I asked a colorblind "friend" what color this was from a distance in a somewhat dim setting and he said, "blue-ish green." It can look blue in some lights, but is a pretty even green. It reminded me of the two greens I photographed the bottle with--Prismacolor Grass Green marker and colored pencil (not quite a match). Brilliant and vibrant.

Pretty Edgy. Bottle Shot and comparison.

Pretty Edgy. Sunlight.

Pretty Edgy and Happy Holo-daze accents. Sunlight.

Back to the 80s...

Another 80s themed mani for ya. Did this one awhile ago when I lost my actual camera and used my camera on my phone. The pictures look pretty freaky because of the neon and it's NOT a really messy job it's just the glare from the polish.

It's Essie's Flirty Fuchsia from the Summer Neons 2009--I also added my CtD dupe from Aqua Daisy, Me Too for an 80s touch :) The formula on Flirty Fuchsia is good and dries fast, but to a matte finish, which I've heard is normal for a true neon polish. It's not a matte finish as if a matte top coat were applied, but more matte than a "satin" finish, imo.  This is somewhat noticeable in the second picture. I also managed to score the elusive Funky Limelight for a great deal! Coming Soon...

Flirty Fuchsia and Me Too. Overcast Outdoor Light.

Flirty Fuchsia. Artificial Light.

Flirty Fuchsia. Indoor with Flash.

Double Dolls

My favorite Dollish I've ordered has been this pretty one here--Greased Lightning--inspired by the car, what else? :) Red and dark-ish silver (almost gunmetal? But silver) hexes swim in a silky, milky white base. Also, I got the square bottle, woot. 

I actually haven't been doing to great with manis lately--been trying really hard for a water marble or a really special gradient add that to experiementing with four different cameras and trying to add a new photo software, apologies!!

Dollish Polish Greased Lightning. Sunlight.

Dollish Polish Greased Lightning. Artificial Light.

Dollish Polish Greased Lightning Bottle shot. Artificial light.

All Dolled Up

Dollish Polish was one of the first indies I got excited about because of their beautiful shades and glitters and haven't done a post until now. Strangely though, I can never keep my hands on Gym Tan Laundry, because I'm convinced it's not for my coloring, I'm never happy with the amount of glitters in their clear glitter bases, and then the three polishes I really want are discontinued :( womp

Expecto was one that I had really admired and lemmed for awhile, also unable to get my hands on it. Regardless about my feelings for Harry Potter (hey, I grew up with Harry, but it's not like I'm going to name my golden retriever after him...imo he doesn't look like any golden retriever I've seen) I thought it was a stunning polish look. 

After months, Expecto arrived and I filed my nails into the chicest short nubs I could and prepared. But when I put it on in what happened to be three smooth and silky sheerish white coats with turquoise/teal/blue glitter (I don't like to do three coats but this application happened to go on nice and easy and felt like it needed three), something was missing and I couldn't quite but my finger on it--and not because my polish was still wet. The glorious orange/gold flakies I'd read about and seen were not showing. I took it outside and angled my nails every which way, but to no avail. 

In the sunlight picture, the flakies are visible in the bottle, just a bit, as an orange glow right in the center. I do understand (I think) that the flakies are not supposed to be big blingin' flashy things. Despite this I still think Expecto is a great polish to own because of its smooth application and unique look. I feel bad saying it but I would like just a smidgen little bit of a pinch more magic in my patronum...patronus? I've considered sending an owl to Dolly regarding this issue*

Dollish Polish. Expecto Patronum. Sunlight. Why's the bottle upside down?

Dollish Polish. Expecto Patronum. Shade.

Dollish Polish. Expecto Patronum. Artificial Light. Sorry it's blurry :(

*I have not!! I would never do that! Harry Potter joke! I hope I don't get an owl for writing that O>o (awkward owl face)

Lynnerspace

Just realized it's actually been over a week since I posted O.o Zomg, I am sorry--and why am I sorry? Because I actually have FOLLOWERS :D Thank you so much everyone who has become a new follower or was an early follower <3

I've actually been having bad luck with manis lately, not sure what it is! Though I just got a new Wet n Wild Halloween polish--Poison Ivy and will put this up soon. It's one of those dark green shimmer stunners. 

Here is one of the manis I considered to be not such a good one, though I discovered some good things. Deborah Lippmann's My Funny Valentine, which could be, in a pinch, a one coat red.

Inner Space is a really versatile multi-glitter and I think has the potential to look amazing over many colors--some thoughts are white, nude, dark greens, dark blues, black, deep red shimmers maybe. Being that it is called "inner space," it has stars in it. I actually didn't know that until one appeared on my finger. You cannot really see it, but it's on the far right of my ring finger. 

One more thing about this paint job--it's two coats of Inner Space, but the bottle goes fast, as I've only used it for a one-coater before. I assume that it's because you can only fit so much glitter in a little bottle.

Lynnderella Inner Space over Deborah Lippmann My Funny Valentine. Artificial Light.

Lynnderella Inner Space and Deborah Lippmann My Funny Valentine. Artificial Light.

Lynnderella Inner Space. Artificial Light.

Good Times

Remember your first John Hughes movie? I think mine was Pretty in Pink. On that note--

Duckie is a gorgeous minty green that I’d recommend as a must for every green-lover’s collection. Easy to work with formula and it looks great over a variety of greens. It is a very sheer jelly with two different sizes of green hex glitters and small yellow gold hex glitter. I like it sheer in three coats, but I know many are not a fan of “visible nail line.”

I also absolutely adore the other three polishes in this collection—Nostalgic’s “Bizarre Teenage Love Triangle—" a nod to the aforementioned movie. I took photos of the other polishes but had some glitter issues, so didn’t use them. Many other blogs have awesome pictures of these on the nail though :) 

Bizarre Teenage Love Triangle. From left: Andie, Duckie, Blane. Sunlight.

Duckie. Sunlight. (sometimes I hold the polish reeeeeally tightly)

 

Duckie. Artificial Light.

Duckie. Sunlight Macro Bottle.

Just a Little Swatch

Not a lot to say, just a little swatch.

Here's Rayanne by Nostalgic. A mizzh schmizz load of purples, pinks, fuchsia, and some silver glitter and a sheer purple base. Easy application and probably best used as a topcoat because it requires three coats for color intensity shown below.

Find her here: http://nostalgicnaillacquer.com/ She's come out with my favorite collection yet, recently, based what I can glean to be the Breakfast Club. I also loved her Pretty in Pink collection, but had some glitter issues, to be discussed later. If you're worried about that though, Erin of Nostalgic was very pro about exchanging my polishes. These bring back the good old days :)

Three Coats of Rayanne. Sunlight. (Extra long ring finger D:)

Rayanne Macro Bottle.

For Audrey is a color I waited for awhile and has definitely become a staple in most polish lovers' collections. I own quite a few of these aqua and minty shades myself, but formula on them is tricky. For Audrey is no different and it is a little thick and draggy, but not un-doable, it just takes a little patience.

For Audrey. Artificial Light.

 I thought it might look cute with some glitters over it, so I tried some and settled on Aqua Daisy "Me Too," a matte mixed black and white glitter.

For Audrey with OPI Pirouette My Whistle topped with Don't Touch My Tutu, Aqua Daisy Me Too, Icing After Party, $OPI Sugar Plum Fairies Gone Wild, Sinful Green Ocean

For Audrey with Me Too. Artificial Light.

For Audrey and Me Too, bottles.

I really like Me Too as a substitute for the "original black and white glitter." It applies nicely and has the right shaped glitters for me. However, it seemed to yellow For Audrey ever so slightly. Can you tell?