I'm Swatchin' You - Orly Glowstick

Yowza!  Watch your eyes...crazy yellow ahead!  This is Orly's Glowstick, a neon yellow.  It is quite literally highlighter yellow.  Now, I love me some Orly, but I was pretty disappointed with the formula on this one.  Details to follow.  First, the specs.

Due to this being a neon, it dries lightning fast.  Therefore, I experienced a lot of balding.  I typically try to keep my swatches to two coats, unless it really looks horrible and I have to do more to get a decent swatch for you.  You are looking at FOUR coats, people persons, and it still doesn't look as good as I would like.  I highly recommend using this neon over white.  Some neons you can get away with wearing them au naturale, but Glowstick is not one of them.  And as you can see, I dinged my ring finger.  Poo.  So, while I love the color, the formula is a pain to work with.  Sorry, Orly.

SH Double Duty and Insta-Dri for base and top.

I'm Swatchin' You - China Glaze I'm With the Lifeguard

This is ChG's I'm With the Lifeguard.  It's a neon green shimmer.  The finish is actually close to a subtle frost.  You may see some faint brush strokes, but it really isn't too noticeable.  The formula on this was great.  I have heard some people say they had a lot of trouble with the formula on the Summer Neons collection, but this worked very well for me.  It was opaque in two coats.  This color was next to impossible to photograph well.  I just couldn't capture the vibrancy without it looking too yellow.  And yes, the virtual bandage strikes again!  It should get its own blog!

SH Double Duty and Insta-Dri as base and top.

I'm Swatchin' You - Orly Melt Your Popsicle

This is Orly's Melt Your Popsicle.  It's a neon orange creme...think traffic cone orange.  Opacity was great, but the formula wasn't.  This would have been opaque in two coats if it weren't so streaky.  The first coat was very streaky.  And...so was the second.  It looked better by the third coat, which is what you are looking at below.  But I still wasn't completely satisfied with it.  But the color is amazing, so I guess it's worth the trouble.  I tried to get color accurate pics, but it wasn't easy.  Neons are nightmares for cameras.  But this is still pretty darned close.  It's just more vibrant IRL.

SH Double Duty and Insta-Dri as base and top.

Feature Friday - Melting Popsicle Stripes

Happy Friday!  Today, I did a mani using Orly's Melt Your Popsicle.  I started with my base of SH Double Duty, and added three coats of Melt Your Popsicle.  I topped that off with a coat of SV.  Once it was dry, I used tape to create angled stripes.  I used my 1/8" painters tape cut in half to make it thinner.  Then I painted on one coat of SC Black on Black, topped with another coat of SV.  Finally, I added my virtual bandage.  :o)  Yup, another boo-boo.  I'm either very rough on my hands, or I'm accident-prone.  Have a great weekend, everyone!

Feature Friday - Neon Gradient Stripes

In the spirit of full disclosure, I had hoped to revisit the gradient mani.  However, I wasn't really crazy about the colors I chose.  I thought they would look a little more bright and summery, but the orange ended up being too muddy for my taste.  So, I decided to reach for my tape...and my virtual bandage!

I started with a base of SH Double Duty.  Then, I painted on two coats of ChG I'm With the Lifeguard, from their Summer Neons collection.  I sponged on ChG Papaya Punch to create a gradient.  I topped this was a coat of SV.  Then, I used my thin painter's tape (the roll is only about 1/8" thick).  Even at 1/8", this was still thicker than I wanted, so I cut each piece of tape in half length-wise to make it even thinner.  I added the strips of tape, and painted on one coat of SC Black on Black.  Then I topped it all with another coat of SV.

I'm Swatchin' You - Nail-Venturous Floam

Hi all!  Here is the polish featured on Friday, Floam, an indie polish made by Nail-Venturous.  This is only the second indie polish I liked enough to buy.  Floam is neon blue and neon yellow matte glitter in a clear base.

As I've said before, I'm not usually a big fan of most of the indie polishes out there.  But this one was too unique to pass up.  Plus, I have all of the earrings I wore back in the 80s, and this polish totally reminded me of one of my favorite pairs!

On to the deets on Floam!
The formula was a little thick and finicky.  I had a hard time controlling it, so I wasn't able to get a clean cuticle edge.  The glitter also seemed to be very attracted to my cuticles!  I found that the first stroke did not have much glitter, but the following strokes covered well.  After a little trial and error, I found that it is best to do a light first coat and thicker second coat.  This can be layered, but I decided to wear it on its own.  You are looking at pre-cleanup, and cleanup was no fun!  Floam dries matte, and it is a bit of a top coat muncher.  I topped with two coats of SV and it still was not very smooth.  All in all, a very cool polish that is definitely unique!  You can purchase this through Ninja Polish or the Nail-Venturous etsy shop.  However, the owner, Amy, is currently taking a break.

SH Double Duty and SV as base and top.