Essie "Turquoise And Caicos" Plus Glitter

What It Is

Nfu Oh's "GS01" (a Glitter Series polish) over Essie's "Turquoise & Caicos" (from the 2010 Resort Collection). GS01 is an almost pastel, multi-colored glitter. "Turquoise & Caicos" is a semi-sheer polish that can build [eventually] into an opaque finish.  

Application

Loved the color of "T&C" but its application was a pain in the butt! Runny and sheer. Bad combo. I tried thicker layers to get better coverage but the polish ended up flooding my cuticles and causing bubbles. I was able to mask them with the glitter though :)

I know I show you Nfu Oh "GS01" ALL THE TIME but I love it! The glitters are small and not in-your-face... so, so pretty! Have I convinced you that you need some Nfu Oh's yet? :) I've seemed to convince myself that I need another one! You can check out my other Nfu Oh's by clicking HERE or visiting my "Inventory (Nfu Oh)" link on my navigation bar above!

Lollipop And Pink Polka Dots

Everything You'll Need:

Light Pink-		OPI "Mod About You"	3 coats
White-		OPI "Alpine Snow"	3 coats
Dark Pink-		Zoya "Kiki"	2 coats
Image Plates-		Konad M79	(Polka Dots)
		Konad M14	(Lollipop)
Rhinestones-		Aurore Boreale (Swarovski)	5MM
		Clear (Swarovski)	9SS
Stamping Polish-		Konad "Psyche Pink"	Over white/light pink
		Konad "White"	Over dark pink
Top Coat-		Konad & Seche Vite

I saw this idea of a nail-art table at Lacquer Boudoir Blog. Genius, right? :)

Inspiration

Lately, I've been obsessed with Japanese / Kawaii nail art. I love all of the embellishments (rhinestones, pearls, 3D acrylic accents, etc) and the fact that each nail is its own design but still, no doubt, belongs to the set! This is NOT my attempt at it. It's just me heading more towards that direction. I've also really been inspired by Emerald Sparkled Blog's  skittle manicures. Check it out and you'll understand why!

Make It Happen

I waste A LOT of time trying to decide what I'm going to do to my nails. I'm very indecisive. My thought process is a mess: "If this nail is light pink, that nail should be dark... but where is the white nail going to go? I don't want any patterns; it has to look random. Blah-blah-blah". This time I decided to start at the drawing board. I used Adobe Illustrator to create my plan of action! Below is a simple, colored illustration of my nails:

Do you pronounce it "Polka dots" or "Poka dots"?

OPI (Swiss) - Diva of Geneva

OPI "Diva Of Geneva"

What It Is

A deep magenta shimmer. My favorite thing about this polish is how it reflects light. The edges of my nails are very dark, while the centers seem to glow. This is a perfect shade for Fall. Part of OPI's (Fall/Winter 2010) Swiss collection! 

Application

"Diva of Geneva" took only 2 coats to become fully opaque. I remembered to wrap my tips early so it didn't need an extra layer! :) Another thing to note: This polish applies darker than it appears in the bottle, which looks kind of light & dusty.

If you are thinking this is a dupe for OPI "Queen of West Web-erly", it's not. They are very similar but "Diva of Geneva"s color is much more saturated.

Zoya (Wicked) - Edyta

Zoya "Edyta"

What It Is

Zoya describes this polish as "a complete mixture of gold, olive, blue-green, and smokey grey with a sparkling metallic finish". That explanation is dead on... From Zoya's  Wicked collection (Fall 2010).

Application

This particular polish probably has the best formula out of all my Zoyas. I just barely needed 2 coats. It went on super smoothly and dried much faster than I expected. I give it an (A+), Zoya!

*UPDATE: Upon removal, I discovered that this polish does indeed stain (like so many commenters had mentioned).  I had only minor staining on a couple fingers because I used a base coat (OPI Original Nail Envy). If you use this polish, be sure to put down a thick layer of base coat or your nails may be blue for a while...

Essie (Fall 2010) - Sew Psyched

Essie "Sew Psyched"

What It Is

Described on Essieshop.com as "A cashmere-soft sage pewter". In my terms: gray-green polish with a miniscule amount of shimmer. Part of the Fall 2010 collection.

Application

Application was a breeze. This was 2 coats. I'm really enjoying my Essie collection (small but growing!). Can't wait for more of their collections in the future!

How do you feel about this color? My mom said "yuck!" when she saw it but I love it!

Essie (Winter 2010) - Smokin Hot

Essie "Smokin' Hot"

What It Is

Described online as a "stone-cold fox gray". What the heck does that mean?! It's dark gray with a purple undertone. Why do they have to get all fancy with their wording. No one understands that stuff! Part of
Essie's Winter 2010 collection. 

Application

If I remember correctly, this is 2 coats of "Smokin' Hot". Application was smooth and the polish's consistency was perfect. I'm not sure of the wear because I've only just swatched this color... If it's anything like "Going Incognito", then it's a keeper!

Do you like the new symbol I designed? No, that's not a logo... it's just an edited copyright watermark for images. I was tired of the long, distracting name that I had plastered across all of my pictures. This simple symbol says "Hey! Property of the Polish Hoarder"! :)

Essie (Winter 2010) - Going Incognito

Essie "Going Incognito"

What It Is

A deep bluish-green creme; think of OPI's "Jade Is The New Black" but a touch darker! It's a perfect shade for fall and winter.  Part of Essie's Winter 2010 collection.  

Application/Wear

Pictured is 3 coats of "Going Incognito". This polish applied very smoothly and had decent wear! I wore it for 3 whole days with only a little tip wear. 

I purchased this product from Von Maur (my favorite department store ever). Who knew they'd start carrying Essie nail polish!?... And that's why Von Maur is my favorite!

China Glaze - Mrs Claus

China Glaze "Mrs. Claus"

What It Is

A warm-toned, pink jelly polish with (as far as I could tell) a combination of silver and pink glitter.  The glitter is all one size, which I'd consider to be "regular". From China Glaze's 'Tis The Season (to be naughty AND nice) Holiday 2010 collection.

Application

The application of this polish was not as awesome as its color. My bottle was a bit thick and dried too fast! I had to redo my thumbnail because I took too long and it got lumpy. So work fast! This is 3 coats. It ended up looking pretty nice. Don't you agree? :)

China Glaze - Party Hearty (Layering)

China Glaze "Party Hearty"

What It Is

A magnificiant combination of glitter! This is the most festive holiday glitter I've ever seen and I'm LOVING it! I believe there are 3 sizes of glitter floating around in this polish: large hexagonal red glitter, regular sized green glitter, and very small gold and silver glitter! I will try to add a closeup of this polish soon! How could I forget!? Check! ...Part of China Glaze's 'Tis The Season (to be naughty AND nice) Holiday 2010 collection. 

Ways To Wear It

This past weekend, I went on a swatchathon to be able to show you fun examples (including non-traditional combos) of ways to layer this polish! Hope you enjoy them! This took a lot longer than I thought and I went through a TON of cotton balls :)

P.S.

All swatches shown are 2 coats of polish and 1 coat of glitter, unless otherwise noted. Base colors are listed below the pictures.

Nfu Oh #70

Essie "Going Incognito"

China Glaze "Ruby Pumps"

OPI "Pink-ing Of You"

Layered UNDER OPI "Funny Bunny"

And on top of OPI "Funny Bunny"

Nfu Oh #154

Gold: OPI "I Get A Kick Out Of Gold"... Silver: Nfu Oh #67

So... what do you think? Which one is your favorite combination?

Essie (Summer 2010) - Pretty Edgy

Essie "Pretty Edgy"

What It Is

A green creme polish. This is from Essie's Summer 2010 collection.

Application

Shown is 3 coats of "Pretty Edgy". I found it to go on quite smoothly. I might have been able to stop at 2 coats if I remembered to wrap my tips at the 2nd coat AND if I hadn't dragged my brush and created a bald spot on a couple nails. I was pleasantly surprised when I realized the polish did not bubble. However, I tried a new top coat (OPI RapiDry Top Coat) which must be getting dried out (I've had it awhile!) because it left bubbles everywhere! Aghhh! 

Random

I chipped a corner of my index finger... Boo-hoo, I know. There was NO WAY I was cutting them all down again so I opted on rounding all of my nails. To my surprise, I kind of like it! I think it complements the shape of my fingertips. My plan for this winter is to keep my nails short & round so they don't dry out so much and break!
Also, I got a tripod! Yay! So I'm going to be taking more photos with my DSLR. I even figured out how to set a custom white balance so I won't look like a zombie anymore :) Have you noticed? I used my D90 for these photos...

I've been trying to improve the aesthetics of my blog... to make it more visually interesting. For example: better quality photographs, colorful backgrounds for my swatches, text boxes (such as this dark gray one), and archiTEXTural columns. Do you like my play on words there? :) Anyways... Since I'm an html novice, I'm not sure if I'm even doing it right. I see everything just fine on my computers but I want to make sure you all are seeing everything okay. Let me know if anything looks out of the ordinary! Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks a bunch:)

This week flew by! TGIF! I think I'll go polish shopping tomorrow!

Lippmann - Lady Sings The Blues

Deborah Lippmann "Lady Sings The Blues"

What It Is

A navy blue jelly polish with two sizes of silver glitter: small "regular" glitter and large hexagonal glitters. This polish is from Deborah Lippmann's All That Jazz trio.

How I Wore It

In order to preserve my bottle of "Lady Sings The Blues" (and because I'm sure you've already seen this swatched in its purist form) I decided to layer it over Nfu Oh #270, a cobalt blue jelly. I did 2 coats of "Lady Sings The Blues" so that I could maintain the rich navy blue that you see in the bottle. And let's be honest, to get more glitter on my nails! P.S. I used Seche Vite as a top coat to achieve a smooth surface but it gave me baaaad shrinkage! I used a small paint brush and some pure acetone to clean up the polish that was left behind.
Grr! That's so frustrating!

Side Note

Though I like the name of this polish, I think it looks more like outerspace than Lippmann's "Across The Universe" does. Seriously, just look at it! It has small specs of glitter that are like stars and hexagonal sequins like planets! The jelly base gives this polish so much dimension that the glitter "planets" appear to be deep in space. I love how the glitters on the bottom layers are blue while the glitter towards the top are sparkling silver!

Overall

I just adore this polish. Consistency was good. Application was a little on the difficult side. You have to brush, brush, and brush some more to get the large glitter chunks were you want them. Other than that, the color is amazing and the wear seems to be pretty decent! I'm so glad I bought this :)

I purchased this polish, as part of the All That Jazz trio from Zappos.com!

Lippmann - Razzle Dazzle

Deborah Lippmann "Razzle Dazzle"

What It Is:

A burgundy jelly polish with lots of tiny pink glitters. Part of the All That Jazz trio.

How I Wore It:

I was most excited about this polish from the trio. So... in an effort to make my bottle last longer (since a backup bottle is out of the question, as this is currently only sold in a set) I layered it over OPI "Bastille My Heart". I used 2 coats of "Bastille My Heart" and 1 coat of "Razzle Dazzle". The two polishes worked perfectly together!

[BELOW] Extreme close-up...

Like it? Love it? or Gotta have it? (Coldstone anyone?)

On a separate note, I'm trying different top coats and having no luck. I used Essie's Super Duper top coat with this manicure. As you can see, it does not create a smooth surface like Vite would. Plus, it took forever to dry! I sat on my hand and now I have a denim print in my polish! :(