China Glaze — Sun Worshiper

I’ve talked about my sun worshipping on this blog before. I know it’s terrible but there’s nothing like a little old fashioned sunshine to cheer me up. I tend to run on the cold side — basking in the sun’s rays makes me feel so cozy!

When I think about sunbathing, I recall a poster in the waiting room of my childhood doctor’s office that said something about how 5 great civilizations worshipped the sun, and 4 are extinct. Aight, doc, point taken but correlation does not imply causation. So no, I do NOT think that sunbathing was the downfall of the Egyptian empire. But I digress.

I recently wore China Glaze Sun Worshiper; not a color for the faint of heart. I mean, it barely matches anything and it glows in the dark, so if you’re looking for a color that whispers, “Take me seriously, I’m a professional,” I’d suggest looking elsewhere. But if you want a shade that shouts, drunkenly, “ZOMGYOUGUYS this is my favorite song!” you may have found her.

Sun Worshiper is a neon yellow-orange that packs a major punch. What’s funny is that the color itself isn’t necessarily flattering to many (or… any?) skin tones, but you’ll still get tons of compliments because it’s just fun to look at. And therefore fun to wear. :)

The coverage is pretty good for a neon. I skated by with three coats since it can be a little streaky. A good idea may be to do a white base first, if you have the time. Three coats will be opaque though, so it's not a necessity. Keep in mind this is about as neon as you can get, so you’ll definitely want to top it all off with a nice glossy topcoat since it dries matte.

And now I’m off to sunny Palm Springs! Have a great weekend!

sunsuncomeondown, Francesca

Manicure Mania, Pt. V: Neon Ombré

Sometimes you save the best for last.

We love ombré. We love neon. So why not put them together? Like two A-list celebrities who pair up to become an A+ couple, neon and ombre's powers combine to become exponentially more awesome!

My idea came from this ubiquitous Pinterest pin; I'm sure you have seen it.

I wanted to roll with the idea but clean it up a bit; make a more definitive neon spectrum. I tested my neons on a discarded piece of snail mail and developed the perfect order.

I knew I wanted my manicure to be as jaw-droppingly neon as possible, so I painted two coats of OPI Alpine Snow as a base. Then, I painted like so:

Then, I got over eager and was anxious to start my clean-up. And in doing so, I hit my right index finger on the edge of the counter and made a huge scrape. I stared at my nail in horror — what to do, what to do! Start that nail all over again? Or... disguise this boo boo?

I remembered I had some small holographic golden stars lying around in my Stash somewhere. If I arranged them in a charming way, it might work.

I think my mini-constellation added some character!

haveablindinglybrightweekend, Francesca

P.S. Special shout out (and sincere thank you) to Weston for designing my Mani Mania headers this whole week. xx

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EdmHSTwmWY]

Blue Period — Ombre

Yep, you guessed it!...another Ombre post. Knowing how much I adore ombre nails, it's really no surprise.

AND, what would this "Blue Period" be without a blue ombre??!!!

Honestly, this is my favorite ombre yet!

Check out some of our previous ombre posts:

Ombre Unas- A Gray Gradient

L'Ombre Rouge

Glitter Gradient

 

First, some ombre inspiration:

(I'm not one to post manicures done by professionals, but this one from Thefreshmani is soooo awesome!)

(Oh, Conrad and her ombre's!....she gets me every time!!!!)

Ok.  Are you good and prepped now?

Here are the colors I used:

(From left to right: Zoya's Dove, Essie's Lapiz of Luxury, Sally Hansen's Pacific Blue, Loreal's Jet Set To Paris, China Glaze's First Mate)

(Reverse the order listed above from right to left)

* Side Note: I am really digging Loreal's new polishes (seen on index finger in above pic)!  The have some lovely colors and they go on nicely...so far..... 

This manicure was a hit and I received many compliments for the gorgeous blues!  Super fun and super easy!

Obsessedwithblue, Varnish

Blue Period — China Glaze High Def

continuing my Blue Period with a gift from my beloved Gloss......a swoon worthy, sparkly blue polish!!! Two things I love:

1) sparkles

2) blue

China Glaze's High Def:

(Subtle sparkles in partial light)

(More dramatic sparkles in full sunlight)

(Amazing!)

Thank you, Gloss!

- Varnish  Varnish

China Glaze — Ruby Pumps

First of all, let me say that I really respect The Polish Addict. I truly, truly do. Her swatches are some of the best, and I wish she'd come out of retirement.

That said, she once did a great series of posts on her Favorite Polishes of All Time. Coming in at #14 is China Glaze Ruby Pumps.

And that is the sole reason I bought this polish! Her rave review really encouraged me. I don't wear many reds, mostly because I went through a phase a few years ago when I renounced my wild, wacky color ways and reverted ONLY to reds (*yawn* borrr-ring)... Ancient history. I was feeling red-dy for red. Plus, a glittery color like this would be perfect for New Year's Eve, I figured.

My aunt treated me to a manicure for Christmas, so I toted Ruby Pumps along to my appointment. I'm not sure which base coat was used because it was in a mysterious, unmarked bottle. I politely requested three coats of Ruby Pumps, as per some feedback I read online. Additional testing I performed on piece of unsolicited mail showed that a third coat really did make a difference in the depth and overall sparkleocity. The ubiquitous Seche Vite was used as a top coat.

And now, for my review!

Ruby Pumps is gorgeous. What I really like is that this color seems like it would look good on absolutely anyone. Little kids like it. Old ladies have complimented me. My red-loving mother approves. Even my more "conservative color"-loving friends admit they'd slap it on for a special occasion.

The consistency is a deep red jelly with loads of ruby red microglitter. Unfortunately, it doesn't dry perfectly smooth. With so much glitter, and three coats no less, I was seeing and feeling a little texture — and I wasn't getting the perfect liquid gleam I was aiming for — so I added a second coat of Seche Vite before I went to sleep, same day as my appointment. (I am a pro at sleeping like an Egyptian mummy when I've got wet nailz. It's a gift.) When I awoke, my nails were flawlessly shiny. Perfectly Glossy, one might say.

And so, although this color is a bit high-maintenance with the three coats of color / two coats of top coat that I'm recommending, the results are definitely worth it. Put on China Glaze Ruby Pumps and click your heels, spin around, and make a wish or whatevah.

HAPPYNEWYEAR!!! GLOSS