Snowman Jizz

The Polish:
BC: NYC - Matte Me Crazy
Color: Snowman Jizz, a franken, three coats
TC: Seche Vite
Applied on Day 2: American Classics - Gelous, Seche Vite

Uh.. excuse the name. That's kind of what it looked like when I first made it, and the name kinda stuck, even though I've been messing around with the formula. Still, even with my tweaking, it looks better in the bottle than it does on my nail.

Snowman is supposed to be a white crelly with two sizes of iridescent glitters. It's, uh... it's getting there.

Also, someone was mentioning on MUA's Nail Board that layering a streaky polish over a layer of matte could make it apply more evenly, and someone even mentioned that they layered matte, polish, matte, polish, top coat. I had attempted to try that out, but then got distracted. Oh well. Now I can try a wear test for Matte Me Crazy as a base coat. I'm expecting two or three days.

Wear: Peels at day two. Even though I didn't remove until the morning of the third day, I can't count it because of how significant the peels were on the second night.

Tomoko

The Polish:
BC: None
Color: Zoya - Tomoko (Pixie Dust), two coats
TC: None

Christmas nails. I kept considering pairing it with a green texture, or even dots using a friend's red texture, but finally decided against it. Simple is best.

Oh my goodness, dry skin, right? Winter, are you over yet?

Wear: Seven days. Tip wear starting at about five-ish, though only noticeable on one nail where I didn't get the second layer as thick.

Lunar Glow

The Polish:
BC: CND - Sticky
Color: Northern Star - Lunar Glow, three coats
TC: Seche Vite

I'm so pleased with my nails, you guys! <3 Usually I steer clear of darker polishes because they show my poor application skills so prominently (and chips, which means I can't keep it on for as long). I hated this one the last time I wore it because of those reasons, but randomly I reached for it last night.

I was soooo careful on my application. I put on three solid coats instead of my regular two, and I even wrapped my tips! Just... ignore the rough cuticles. It IS winter, after all. I actually oiled about four times during the day yesterday, but that didn't seem to make any difference.

Aaaand then I took a million pictures. I couldn't help myself. They were too pretty. ;-;

The above pictures were taken in the sun, so they're more color accurate, but inside I got allll of the holo to show!

Wear: Six days! Way longer than expected. Slight tip wear and chips started on day four, but nothing noticeable until day six.

My Pirouette Diary

The Polish:
BC: Revlon - ColorStay Base Coat, left hand; CND - Sticky, right hand
Jelly: Sephora by OPI - Dear Diary, two coats with glitter sandwiched between
Glitter: OPI - Pirouette My Whistle, one coat
TC: Seche Vite

Oh my goodness, I have too many minis! Whyyyy do I have so many minis? I just want to use them up! Do you think I could use nothing but minis until I've emptied them all? Probably not, but.. I can certainly use them more. We'll start with this SOPI.

And what better way to use a jelly than a nice jelly sandwich? It's been a while since I've worn my classic Ballet collection look. I don't think I ever got a good picture before, either.

And~ I thought I might as well give the basecoat test another run. Might as well! Or maybe it's just an excuse to try avoiding using up the ColorStay... Who's to say?

Wear: Peels on day four. For the record, the Sticky hand peeled just slightly before the ColorStay hand, but only by a few hours, a negligible amount.

White Cap

The Polish:
BC: Revlon - ColorStay Base Coat (left hand), CND - Stickey (right hand)
Main: China Glaze - White Cap, two coats
TC: Seche Vite

Aaaaah. My lovely palate cleansers. White Cap makes everything better after the awfulness that was last week's mani. Next time I try Eggnogoholic, I'll be sure to play around with it and make it work for me, but until then, my simple shimmers comfort me. <3

Also, I did an experiment with the base coats. I wanna see which one lasts longer.

Wear: Seven days 'til peels! Eee! And beautiful all~ the while. <3 This was a great mani, you guys. For the record, I didn't notice one bit of difference between the two base coats.

I also decided that I may not even need SC Prosecco because this look was pretty much what I was hoping to get from that.

Eggnogoholic

The Polish:
BC: Revlon - ColorStay Base Coat
Color: Girly Bits - Eggnogoholic, three coats
TC: Seche Vite

Uh.. what? What is this crap? This certainly can't be Eggnogoholic. No.. I've lemmed this for too long. What is this awful, finicky, streaky formula? Yeah, I know it's a white, but I've just come to expect more from indies, I guess. Baaaah. I was so excited to finally have a chance to get this one, and now I'm SO underwhelmed... *sigh* Nothing else to say, just... *sigh*

Wear: Five days, peels at four.

Sleigh Bells in the Snow

The Polish:
BC: Revlon - ColorStay Base Coat
Main Color: Fair Maiden Polish - Sleigh Bells in the Snow, two coats
Accent: Hare - Wrapped in Plastic, two coats
TC: Seche Vite

Last year, I think I spent somewhere between $50 and $70 on indie polishes during Thanksgiving-time sales. This year I only bought one polish--this one. I'm such a sucker for white holos, and Fair Maiden was having a sale, so... I went ahead and got it.

It's a really lovely polish. It's pretty self-leveling, which is saying a lot for a white. And it has this beautiful teal shimmer that refused to be photographed. The only thing I disliked was the brush. It's a long, unweildy thing. I'm pretty sure she won't spend her entire life in that bottle. I'll have to decant her into something better eventually (probably a Megalast bottle).

I tried to match the shimmer with an accent, but I misjudged the color. I don't think I actually have anything that shade of teal. Oh well, Wrapped in Plastic is so pretty that it works, anyway.

Wear: Four days to peels on main color. (Hare was fine.) Hmm. I was hoping it would stay longer. Meh. :/

HD

The Polish:
BC: Revlon - ColorStay Base Coat
Color: Milani - HD, two coats
TC: Seche Vite

I was busy the day I applied this and somehow forgot to take pictures. No matter, I suppose, because when I went to take pictures on day two, I got very frustrated. I just can. not. make the scattered holo come out. Grr! So.. whatever. Here are some very sub-par pictures, 'cause that's all I got. *scowl*

Wear: Removed on day five to put on something else, though I could have worn it for at least another day, probably, before it would have started peeling off.

Special Snowflake

The Polish:
BC: Revlon - ColorStay Base Coat
Color: Maya Cosmetics - Special Snowflake, two coats
TC: Seche Vite

Yep. Still one of my absolute favorites. Those iridescent glitters... that soft, perfect blue... Gaaaah. Isn't she gorgeous? (The pictures just don't do her justice.)

Three coats probably would have shown the color better, but I still adore it sheer. <3

Wear: Four days to peels, which rather disappointed me.

Pink, Sweet Taffy

The Polish:
BC: Duri - Rejuvicote
Undies: Wet n Wild - Pinkie Sweet (Megalast line), two coats
Accent glitter: Rainbow Polish - Taffy
TC: Seche Vite

Not much to say here. Pinky Sweet is one of my favorite Megalasts, a sheer, soft pink with delicate gold shimmer. I gave Taffy to a glitter-loving friend who would get more use out of it than me, and she let me borrow it for this mani. As an accent, it adds an aura of playfulness to the princess nails.

Note to self--stop using gloopy Seche Vite! It never ends well! I have both Seche Restore and a BIG bottle of Seche Vite on my Christmas list, so hopefully I can make it 'til then!

Also, yeesh, take care of that peelie. >.>

Wear: Six days to peels. Minor wear on four.

LWP

The Polish:
BC: Revlon - ColorStay Base Coat
Polish: Initial Lacquer - LWP, three coats
TC: Seche Vite

I distinctly remember being infatuated with LWP when if first came out. I adored it.

So where are all of these feelings of dislike that I'm feeling now coming from? I didn't enjoy the application, but, to be honest, I couldn't tell you why. Maybe it just needs some thinner? I'm not sure, but I don't really care to think about it now. I'll put it back on the shelf and fix it later. When I come back, maybe those initial feeling of adoration will return, as well.

Wear: Removed after two days because I was tired of it

Silver Lining

The Polish:
BC: Revlon - ColorStay Base Coat
Color: Maya Cosmetics - Silver Lining, two coats
TC: Seche Vite

Yay, one of my beautiful dusty blues. Like I remembered, it's more of a creme than I prefer, but it's fine. I needed the blue. <3

Yes, I know these two pictures are very similar. I didn't know which one was better, so I just uploaded them both.

Wear: Seven days! Four days until minor tipwear, six until minor peeling.

After All This Fog?

The Polish:
BC: Revlon - ColorStay Base Coat
Undies: Sally Hansen - Fog (Smooth & Perfect line), one coat
Topper: 365 Days of Polish - After All This Time?, two coats
TC: Seche Vite

What, only one picture today? Yeah, I hated all the others. It's been overcast here. But I love the pretty polish! After All This Time is so very nice over just one, thin, coat of white. It's a lovely color, super delicate and sheer, got some sparse holo glitters, and even glows in the dark. Yay!

Wear: Six days, minor tip wear starting on day four. Note to self, remember to use cuticle remover every so often. I went from constant 3-4 days of wear to 6 days, and I think using cuticle remover is the reason.

Don't Burst My Pearl

The Polish:
BC: Revlon - ColorStay Base Coat
Undies: OPI - Don't Burst My Bubble, two coats
Glitter: Maybelline - Precious Pearl (Jewels collection), one coat
TC: Seche Vite

Hmm.. I remember liking Don't Burst My Bubble a lot more the last time I wore it. I had a little trouble playing around with it. But then again, I've been out of my element for some time now. It's still very pretty.

And it makes a lovely undies for my pretty new snowy glitter! Sure, I have other matte white glitters, and I didn't really need to buy this one... but I don't think I have one with so many different size hexes, you know? Alright, any excuse to get a new glitter. With winter coming up, it's probably just a necessity. :P

Wear: Five days, peels and chips at four

Sweet on London

The Polish:
BC: None
Main: Nicole by OPI - Blue-berry Sweet on You (Gumdrops line), two coats
Accent: Zoya - London (Pixie Dust line), two coats
TC: None

I was going out Friday night, but my mani was peeling! I couldn't just leave it, so I removed everything but the accent and applied a quick texture. Excuse the dry cuticles and hands--like I said, I was in a hurry.

Wear: Five days, noticeable tipwear on four

Something Polar in London

The Polish:
BC: Sinful Colors - Base Coat (under all but accent)
Undies: Sally Hansen - Polar Bare (Salon Complete Manicure line), two coats
Glitter: Initial Lacquer - Something Simple, one coat
Accent: Zoya - London (Pixie Dust line), two coats
TC: Seche Vite (on all but accent)

Aha! I finally did it! I found the best way to wear Something Simple. All it needed was undies. And now it can shine! <3

This shot is blurry, but it shows the pretty iridescents better. And boy, do I love the mix of glitters in this polish. Those grey hexes are adorable, and iridescents are my weakness, of course.

Wear: Three days until peels. After the wear I've been having lately, that's kinda short... :/ I blame the basecoat.

Heavy Raindrops

The Polish:
BC: Revlon - ColorStay Base Coat
Color: Illamasqua - Raindrops, three coats
TC: Seche Vite

Note to self, I prefer Raindrops at two coats. At two coats, Raindrops is a lovely, sheer blue-grey shade that actually sort of resembles its namesake. At three, it just seems like any other creme. It's not an unpleasant color, but it's not the gorgeous Raindrops that I love. It seemed like it was patchy when I put it on yesterday, so I opted for the third coat. Lesson learned. Next time, stick with two.

Also, I got a remover pen from Sally's, but I've yet to use it because I'm so afraid of messing the whole thing up and having to start over, like I've done several times before with a clean up brush. Gotta suck it up and just try it one of these days.

Wear: Five days until peels

Calla Lily's Pirouette

The Polish:
BC: Revlon ColorStay Base Coat
Color: Revlon - Calla Lily (ColorStay line), two coats
Accent Glitter: OPI - Pirouette My Whistle, one coat
TC: Seche Vite

Soft, pretty Calla Lily. Sheer white that appears light pink on my nails, with a delicate shimmer. I added an accent of Pirouette My Whistle to mix it up this time, though it's hardly noticeable in real life and looks weird in pictures.

Wear: Five days, chips starting on day four

Lush Heaven

The Polish:
BC: Revlon - ColorStay Base Coat
Color: LA Colors - Lush Lavender (Color Craze line), two coats
Glitter: Revlon - Heavenly, one coat
TC: Seche Vite

Someone posted a picture of Heavenly over a nude recently, and it was so pretty that I had to try it. My attempt isn't awesome, but it works. (That's like a theme of my manis, isn't it? Hah.)

Let's start with Lush Lavender, since I don't think I have a picture of it by itself yet. It's not the most flattering color on me, definitely more of a yellow-leaning nude than lavender. It's sheer and shimmery and just a little frosty. I don't think I would ever wear it on its own.

Heavenly is pretty, but like most iridescents, it's hard to photograph. It also has a tendency to... I don't know how to put it... sink into the polish it's layered over? Somehow. And I never seem to remember to give the polish under it extra dry time before layering.

I'm considering whether or not I want to purge Lush Lavender. It's not a bad polish, it's just not awesome. And shouldn't I only have awesome polishes in my collection? We'll see how I feel after looking at it for the next couple of days.

Wear: Bah, I forgot to record this one. I wanna say that I removed it before it started peeling or chipping, though, because I didn't really like it on me.

Light as a Mammoth

The Polish:
BC: Sinful Colors - Base Coat
Main: Glitter Gal - Light as a Feather, two coats
Accent: Super Chic Lacquers - Mammoth, two coats
TC: Seche Vite

It has begun. Today was the first day that it was not possible to take nail pictures outside. Well, good ones, anyway. It didn't stop me from doing it, but they just didn't turn out well at all. Meh.

But these colors are soooo pretty! So light and delicate. I love them. <3 If only there was enough sun to see the holo...

Wear: Five days, chips on four