Celtic Oktoberfest

AKA OPI Every Month is Oktoberfest with A England Katyusha Celtic stamping

So I started out with the OPI Polish. I have a very hard time sometimes selecting what polish I want to wear. It's why I can never really pull off spontaneous nail art... I get a vague idea of what I want then go all over the place. I need a plan. This mani was unplanned, but I rather like it.

I started out going through the China Glaze drawer of my Michael's 3-drawer cube. This is where I keep my favorite polishes and new ones at my desk. The rest are in the basement in an Ikea Helmer (which I have cleared out now a couple of times, I refuse to have more than a single Helmer full of Polish).

Anyway, I was rummaging through, looking at the beautiful Polishes from the Metro collection and deciding, It's Fall Enough, Already!! We didn't have much of a summer and all my dreams of neon Polishes were basically squashed after the first week in July when we got back from the beach. I had a great tan and no where to wear it to. Not a single weekend was nice enough and/or hot enough for the pool. It's a breezy, low 70's September day in Pittsburgh and I am so ready for fall.

You're probably sick of me talking now, so I'll shut up. On to the Polish!!

I started out with just OPI Every Month is Oktoberfest, the color is so beautiful and intriguing in the bottle. It's a deep plum purple jelly base with a bronze shimmer running through it. The overall effect is a shimmery wine red. It's gorgeous.

On the nail, however, the shimmer doesn't translate quite as much. It ends up just looking like a blackened-red shimmer. Still pretty, but a bit disappointing, not gonna lie:

I kept thinking to myself, I could make this better. So I did! I was imagining something gold and fancy over top of it. But I don't own a single gold polish. I didn't want nail vinyls, so I started looking through my small stash of stamping plates and saw the Celtic one I ordered from Amazon about a week ago.

Now, I pretty much suck at stamping. I tried way back in the day with the original Konad set and never had any luck. Usually the stamper wouldn't even pick up the image. So when I renewed my interest in all things nails, I, of course, decided that I needed to reopen that old wound and buy some stamping crap.

After some reading, I discovered that there are all kinds of new stamping things out there. The most interesting of which to me were the Clear Stamper and the Squishy Stamper. I have SUPER curved nails and it looked to me like the Squishy Stamper might solve some problems for me. Turns out that the Squishy Stamper picks up images better and with no priming, because it's slightly sticky.

I used A England Katyusha, because it's basically an antique gold holo. It does have a slight green-blue shift, but the predominant color is soft white gold, which was perfect for what I wanted.

Here is the awesome plate that I used. I think I paid like $7 for it on Amazon. I just did a search for Celtic stamping plate. I realize that I should have a taken a pic before smearing it all up with acetone, sorry :-(

Did I mention that it's double sided! Super cool! I used this side:

And of course, I couldn't decide what design I wanted, so I used 3 of the designs at the bottom (the first, second and fourth) on my left hand.

On my right hand, I tried a couple of the full nail designs on my pointer and ring fingers. I think they all turned out great, aside from being a little bit off center. I wish I had used some liquid latex for the full nail ones, because I did end up getting a bunch on my fingers and the shimmer wouldn't really clean off all the way.

I had no issues using this Polish to stamp. I have black stamping Polish that I absolutely have to fight with. It doesn't pick up well or lay down clean. It ends up like dried rubbery stuff and kind of peels off. I'm not sure how to explain it. Katyusha was more like ink. It picked up perfectly and went where I put it (and stayed) there.

Anyway. I love this. I love Celtic knotwork and this color combo is perfect!I'm going to keep working on my stamping skills, because I just opened a package that I got from a place called "hehe" - Harry Potter and Super Hero Stamping Plates!!! Stay tuned.

Quoth the Raven...

AKA Different Dimensions Nevermore


First off, I don't think this is a fitting name for this Polish. A Polish called Nevermore should be black. Very dark gray at the very least.

I have a love hate relationship with this polish. While I think it's beautiful and unique, it's also kinda boring. That doesn't make any fucking sense but that's how I feel.

This is a dark warm brown strong linear holo with a white gold shift and some larger holo or shifty glitters (I can't really tell). Honestly, these indie brands are getting crazy complicated and my Polish vocabulary is insufficient to describe some of the shit going on in these Polishes.

The formula was on the thick side and the brush was like painting my nails with a broom. all that said, it wasn't horrible. It wasn't the best formula, but manageable and would have been better if the brush wasn't bullshit.

But onto the Polish!!

These were all in direct sunlight. The holo is still fairly strong indoors/in shade. My biggest issue with this is that the larger glitter pieces make it look a bit lumpy and textured. I'm a huge fan of silky smooth cremes, so I kinda hate anything lumpy. A coat or two more of topcoat probably would take care of that, but that's too much effort for me.

Thank goodness for peel off basecoat!!

This was a late night/after a few glasses of wine post. I promise to go back to my standard review format next time!!

Oh, and I broke a bunch of nails moving my new renter into my old house :-( So my nails are uneven, sorry about that. The good news is, I really whipped my crazy ass cuticles into shape today! I'm rather proud.

Most Awesome Polish EVER

Aka Ludurana Aurora Boreal in Show

No, seriously... For me, this is the Polish to end all Polish. I could wear this every day and never ever get sick of it. Unfortunately, my application and pictures kind of suck... Sorry about that.

No babbling for this one, here are the pics:

 Yes, I know this is blurry, but it shows the predominant colors best. When I wore it, this was mostly what color my nails were - this dark metallic aqua/teal with purplish magenta around the edges.

This shows more of the hard angle color shift... You can see the coppery orange at the very edge.

I believe I took these pics after 3 or 4 days of hard wear. It held up really well. This is somewhat color accurate, except that you couldn't see that darker blurple color most of the time.

 This color was NEVER flat. It always showed at least 2 colors, usually more, at the same time.

Another accurate one color-wise. The teal leaned slightly more green than shown here.

Cost: This was $14 at shop.Llarowe.com and worth every single penny (something I have said thus far for every Polish I have ordered from her site).

What I used: I used Nailtek Foundation II, a coat of Orly Bonder, two coats of Show, and a coat of Poshe fast dry topcoat

Application: Pretty good. I have heard bloggers describe Ozotics as being airy or fluffy when applied and I guess you could say this was sort of like that. It was definitely different than most polishes, maybe slightly thicker than normal, but not hard to control. It also seemed like it would be incredibly sheer and it wasn't at all! A lot of people apply these over black for that reason, but I really think this one looks best on its own.

Color/Finish: ZOMGWTFAMAZINGNESSS!!! It's a predominantly darker teal-aqua and purple-magenta multi-chrome that can also flash a darker blurple and coppery orange on the edges at more extreme angles. The finish is a metallic shimmer, but not chrome or foil.

Holo Yumminess (And My Renewed Polish Addiction)

Aka A-England Princess Tears (The Legends Collection)

I am pretty sure the princess is crying because this Polish is so effing AWESOME. Seriously, it's been a while since I have really been excited about Polish... It's become more of "Oh I want to get that one because it will be a good toe-Polish" or "I don't really have a color like that, I should get it"... until now.

I'd seen a post somewhere that Ozotic was discontinue some of their more awesome Polishes so I finally got my butt to Llarowe to make some purchases. Of course, while I was there, I threw a few more things that I had been wanting to try into my cart. Sadly (or fortunately for my bank account), so many of the things I wanted to try weren't in stock. So I ended up with a couple of Ozotics, a Ludurana (which seems to be an exact dupe for one of the Ozotics I got) and this gem.

Before I get on with the Polish, I just want to note that I have a renewed obsession for these unique and gorgeous Polishes. I can't wait to get more from A-England and I really, really want some Enchanted Polishes. I've been rather annoyed with all the blog posts lately of all the over-the-top (to me), glittery, chunky indie Polishes - just not my thing... but I can get behind some awesome holo-duochromey-goodiness. I see me placing some pretty pricey orders from Llarowe in the future.

Anyway, on to the awesome...

Outdoors, full sun, no flash:

You can see a bit of the pink/lilac duochrome on my ring finger.

The holo is definitely way more prominent outdoors in the sun.

Look at that holo goodiness!!! 

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I attempted an indoors shot to show how the holo translates out of the sun, but my camera kept focusing on everything BUT my nails! It's still a very lovely, subtle grey/lilac/pink mulitchrome indoors with a pretty sparkle and a hint of holo.

Where to buy: In case you didn't catch it above, here is where you can buy these: http://shop.llarowe.com/main.sc. They are $12 for 13ml or about .44 oz (bottle says 4 fl oz haha that'd be a LOT of Polish - and a great deal!)

What I used: 1 coat of Nailtek II Foundation, 2 coats of Princess Tears and 1 coat of Poshe.

Application: Pretty darn good! I don't have a lot of experience with holos, but I hear they can be a real pain. This one was great, opaque in 2 coats, very easy to control and no clean up required! The brush seemed a little stuff and weird, but actually worked perfect for a nice clean line - and the polish only went where I put it and spread nicely. I guess I was expecting some difficulty, it didn't give me any. My nails didn't exactly paint themselves, but great formula none-the-less. It can be slightly brushtrokey if you're super sloppy (like me), but it's hardly noticeable and most of them disappear entirely once dry. It's a little on the thick side so watch how much is on the brush.

Color/Finish: This is a subtle grey/pink/lilac multichrome base with a fairly strong linear holographic finish. I'd say the color is predominately lilac but the pink flash is fairly strong where the light hits the polish. In very dull lighting, it looks more silvery grey. The holo EXPLODES in sunlight but is still reasonably visible indoors.

Final Word: AWESOME. I seriously LOVE this Polish and plan on buying more from A-England. Even indoors with the muted holo, it's just a beautiful color and I keep looking at it. It makes me feel happy and anything medieval themed has a special place in my heart. I HIGHLY recommend this Polish and think it's 100% worth the $12 price tag.

Chrome Duochrome = LOVE

Aka OPI Just Spotted the Lizard

Today I have a Chanel dupe for you. The thought of paying $25 for a nail polish for myself is absolutely out of the question... It literally gives me heartburn. So when I picked up Chanel Peridot for my fellow Polishtarian, I had to take a few tums and remind myself how many giant martinis $25 would buy to resist the urge to but it for myself. My two Polish loves in life are duochrome and chrome... This is both.

I got over it eventually, but imagine my excitement when OPI FINALLY decided to do a dupe! I mean, yeah, Ciate and Jessica had dupes before OPI, but neither of those brands is readily accessible to me.

Anyway, on to the Polish!

With flash:

No flash:

Cost: $8 at BeautyFirst, Giant Eagle. I can't really think of any cheaper places online to buy OPI.

Application: Good. You have to be careful, because it is just a little frosty/streaky... Like - you'll get noticeable brushstrokes if you start the brush mid-nail. Other than that, very good application. Not too thin or thick and went where I wanted it.

What I used: 1 coat of Nailtek Foundation II, 3 coats of Just Spotted the Lizard and 1 coat of Poshe (my 3-free fast dry for pregnancy).

Dry time: The polish dried pretty fast, not as fast as actual chromes (thank goodness) and after the topcoat, it was dry within about 10 minutes.

Color: Awesome, shiny, chromey olive/moss/gold duochrome. The main color you see is a very yellow/brassy antiqued gold. The edges of the nail show a green that is sometimes olive, sometimes mossy and sometimes has just a slight hint of blue to it. Lower lights show more of the green and direct sunlight shows mostly gold.

Old Korean Lady

Aka Peripera Metallic Green

I bought this Polish after seeing swatches of it on a blog. I HAD to have it. I ordered off of ebay. This is a Korean brand that is supposed to be scented.

It really does smell like an old Korean lady!! It's funny, because I bought my house off of an older couple, the lady was Korean, and the smell of this polish dry is EXACTLY the way my house smelled! It's not bad, just smells like old lady perfume. I can still smell it with topcoat on if I put my nails up to my nose, but it's not strong or really noticeable. 

So first of all, how AWESOME is this kitty bottle?

I took this pic with flash on. The polish is way less yellow and shows more of a blue duochrome without flash.

And here it is on my nails:

Flash:

No flash:

The flash pic is actually a little more accurate color-wise. 

Cost: I think I ended up paying around $17 for this with shipping from Korea. The polish itself was around $10. Totally worth it.

What I used: 1 coat Nailtek II Foundation, 2 coats Metallic Green, 1 coat Seche Vite.

Application/formula: Actually very good. It went where I wanted it, wasn't too thin or thick and not at all goopy. It applied to complete opacity in 2 coats. Dry time was a little faster than average (a little longer than a foil). The brush is similar to OPI pro-wide, which I really don't like but it worked for this one. There were a few stray hairs on one side, but I just used the other side of the brush and they didn't cause a problem. It was just a little bit brushstrokey, but nothing awful and you barely notice against the awesomeness of the color and finish.

Color/finish: This is a foily metallic light green that also has an almost micro-glitter shimmer. I wouldn't call it mint or lime, maybe a brighter sage color? It's slightly duochrome from yellowish green to almost totally blue. It's more of a lit-from-within douchrome than a depends-on-what-angle. It doesn't flash different colors when I move my nails, but instead has different colors depending on where the light hits it. I have NOTHING like this and I am so glad I got it. Worth every penny.

Holy Moly, Great Claws of Fire!

AKA Color Club Wild and Willing (over black)

OoooOOoOooooOOoO, sparkly goodness!!!

What I used: 1 coat of Nailtek II, 1 coat of Wet'n'Wild Wild Shine in Black, 2 coats of Wild and Willing, 1 coat of Seche Vite.

Cost: WW Black is $0.99 - seriously, this is THE BEST one-coat, opaque, fast drying Polish I have ever used, for NINETY NINE CENTS, people! It can be bought at pretty much any drug store. 
Color Club is $3 at transdesign.com.

Application: WW Black is a one coat black. Mine is getting a little thick but it still applied well. My only complaint is the brush - it's a little stiff and uneven. CC Wild and Willing is a bit sheer, that's why I used black under it, but it applies well.

Dry time: about 15 minutes or less with Seche Vite.

Color: Again, Wild and Willing is a bit sheer, so it's best to apply over black. Doing so REALLY brings out the duochrome, as well. It's a sparkly coppery color that has a green duochrome flash. I actually bought a backup of this because it is one of my favorites. It looks AMAZING in sunlight!