I'm Swatchin' You - Sinful Colors Snow Me White

Hi all!  Once again, don't forget to get in on my giveaway!  Today, I'm swatching Sinful Colors Snow Me White, a white creme. 

The first coat was a bit streaky, but that's to be expected with a pigmented creme.  The second coat provided good, solid coverage.  I ended up leaving this at two coats.  The formula was great.  And this is a great white for stamping...another plus!  I thought clean up would be much more difficult than it was.  All in all, a great polish that should be a staple in any stash.  My only complaint?  It doesn't play well with SV.  You may be able to tell in the photos that it puckered a bit after I topped it with SV.  Bummer.

SH Double Duty and SV as base and top.

12 Colors Rhinestones Kit Review - Born Pretty Store

Happy Friday!  Despite my ravaged cuticles (due to neglect thanks to crazy, busy life stuff), I had a lot of fun doing this mani to review a product from Born Pretty Store.  First, the product.  This is their 12 Colors Rhinestone Acrylic UV Nail Art Kit W/Box & Pen.

 

There are two 12-compartment boxes filled with rhinestones and a rhinestone picking tool (fancy term for wax pencil).

One box contains 6 compartments of black rhinestones, and 6 compartments of crystal/clear rhinestones.

The other box is an assortment of colors.  There is crystal/clear, red, aqua, black, yellow/green, lavender, blue, green, orange, pink, light blue, purple. 

The wax pencil is something you could probably get from a craft store.  But since it came with the kit, bonus!

I really love the assortment of colors.  I do wish that the compartments in the assorted box did not contain more black and crystal/clear rhinestones since you get a whole box of just those.  I would have liked to have seen two other colors included instead.  Overall, the assortment and number of total rhinestones included is excellent.  It is really a deal, priced at $7.59.  And you can use coupon code GMG10 to get 10% off (you can always find this in my sidebar...check it out!).

The rhinestones are great quality.  And can I say how much I love the boxes!  Each compartment is numbered.  They are great storage boxes that can be re-used.  Love that!  And I must say, the wax pencil/picker tool made easy work of picking up and placing the rhinestones.  So...on to the mani!

First, a quick explanation.  Waaaayyyy back when I was in junior high and high school, I used to love playing around with nail polish.  Believe it or not, this was not a very popular practice back then (yes, it was THAT long ago).  My favorite go-to mani was to paint my nails to look like dice.  No tools, just good old-fashioned patience with bottles of white and black polish.  I would occasionally even paint my pinky as a red die (the advent of the accent nail???).  Someday, I will go through my old box of pictures from that time to see if I can find one that shows my nails.  But for now, you'll just have to take my word for it.

Anyway, when I saw that box half-filled with black rhinestones, I decided to go way back in time to recreate the look using rhinestones.  First of all, SO much easier than using polish.  Wish I had these...er, um, cough, cough, hack...*mumble* years ago.

I started out with a base of SH Double Duty, and added two coats of SC Snow Me White.  Then, using a little dollop of SV, I used the picker tool to pick up and place the black rhinestones.  I finished with a coat of SV and BAM...I was transported back in time.  Like I said, ignore the cuticles.  Sorry about that.  Truly trying to get my rear in gear.

This product was sent for review.

I'm Swatchin' You - Sinful Colors Hazard

Hi all!  Today's color is coming to you from Sinful Colors.  It's a pretty, summery peach creme called Hazard. And oh, my...the virtual bandage has an offspring!  I must learn to be kinder to my hands.

You are looking at two easy coats.  The formula on this was great.  It levels well, and cleans up with ease.  I have heard that Hazard is a stainer.  I only had this on for a few hours, and did not have any staining, so I can't really confirm that for you.

SH Double Duty and SV as base and top.

I'm Swatchin' You - Sinful Colors Dancing Nails

Today I am bringing you Sinful Color's Dancing Nails, a pink frost shimmer.

This took two coats, and looks really beautiful.  The formula was bit on the thin side, so I did get some pooling and cuticle flooding.  Due to the frosty finish, you will see some visible brush strokes.  But the resulting color is a gorgeous metallic look with strong shimmer.  I tried to get some good photos for you.  Really do miss my light box.

SH Double Duty and SV as base and top.

I'm Swatchin' You - Sinful Colors Unicorn

Do you know that shade of yellow that was popular in the 50s?  It's a light, buttery yellow, and I love it!  Today's polish is very close to that yellow.  It's a yellow creme called Unicorn from Sinful Colors.

This is one of the few yellows I would wear alone.  The first coat is streaky, which gets a little better with a second coat.  Therefore, you really need three coats with this one.  I have found that the formula on SC polishes can be hit or miss.  The formula was decent, and it self-levels nicely.  However, I did have an issue with the drying time, even with a fast dry TC.

A word on my ravaged cuticles.  I have been doing some minor renovations in my mother's house.  Despite constant moisturizing, the cold winter weather and manual labor are taking their toll.  Please don't look too closely!  Hopefully, they start looking better soon.

SH Double Duty and SV as base and top.

I'm Swatchin' You - Sinful Colors All About You

Today's color comes to you from Sinful Colors.  This is called All About You.  It's yellow and copper glitter in a clear jelly base.

For a micro glitter, it applies very nicely.  The formula was great, and you get a nice, fairly even application with it.  You are looking at two coats here.  But I have to be honest, I'm not in love with this one.  It's very nice, and may serve its purpose when layered over something else.  It's just not something to get very excited about.  I think it would be a great polish if the base had been tinged with some color, too.  What do you think?

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

I'm Swatchin' You - Sinful Colors Glass Pink

Hi all!  This is Sinful Color's Glass Pink.  It's a pink shimmer that actually builds quite nicely.  I expected this to be very sheer, and therefore something that really needs to be layered.  But the formula on this builds up substantially.  I did two coats.  I don't know that it would be truly opaque in three or even four coats, but it looks wonderful anyway!

With SC, the formula is sometimes hit or miss.  I have had some horrible SC pollies.  The formula on Glass Pink was really good.  It applied evenly, and leveled nicely.  I think this is another great, summery color.  And yes, the virtual bandage strikes again!  MWAH HA HA...

Sunlight

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.

Feature Friday - Black on Pink Polka Dots

I hate to admit this, but I love black with pink.  So I decided to try stamping some black polka dots over a pink base.

I started with SH Double Duty as a base.  I painted on three coats of CC I Believe in Amour (from my mismatched Ross set, so the name is questionable).  Then I stamped using SC Black on Black.  The polka dots are from Cheeky's CH6 plate, shown below.

On the accent nail, I decided to go with the bow from CH15, shown below.

I topped them off with a coat of SV to finish.

The polka dots didn't transfer completely.  Is it just me, or do they look like little black olives?  LOL

Feature Friday - Bubblegum Stripes

Here is a quick mani I did mainly to try stamping with stripes again.  As you can see, I STILL cannot stamp stripes straight (a little alliteration for you there).  :oD

I started with my base of SH Double Duty, and added two coats on SHXW Bubblegum Pink.  I stamped using the stripes on Cheeky's CH6 plate, shown below.

The stripes were stamped using SC Snow Me White.  I topped them off with a coat of SV.  Someday...I will stamp straight lines!  Until then, they will be slightly skewed, like the rest of my world.  :oP  Have a great weekend, everyone!

Feature Friday - Floamy Stripes

Make sure you get entered into my Facebook giveaway for Layla Flash Black...ends Sunday!  I'll be showing you a swatch of this polish next week, so I'll skip those details.  I'm not really crazy with how this turned out.  I started with my SH Double Duty as a base, and added two coats of Floam by Nail-Venturous.  Since Floam is a top coat eater, I did two coats of SV.  Then, I taped off some stripes and painted on one coat of SC's Black on Black.  Unfortunately, since the Floam base was still a little rugged despite two thick coats of SV, the stripes look a little wonky.  Oh, well.  Lesson learned.  Have a great weekend, everyone!

100 Follower Giveaway!

I loved being able to give away some goodies, so I'm doing it again!  You are all so sweet to be here with me, following along with the good, the bad, and the downright uuuu-gly!

This giveaway is open only to US residents.  I am so sorry to have to do this again.  I PROMISE that future giveaways will be open internationally.  Please bear with me...I'm almost out of the woods!

Up for grabs are the following prizes!

L to R: ChG Some Like it Haute, SC Green Ocean, SC Gogo Girl, Ulta Jaded, Pure Ice Heart Breaker, CC Kiss Me Mistletoe, and ChG Mega Bite

 

Please note that you MUST be a public follower of my blog.  You will be asked to provide your GFC follower name.  If you follow through another means, you will need to e-mail a screen shot of my blog in your reader to gmtheater (at) gmail (dot) com to verify your entry.

All entrants must also provide an e-mail address.  I absolutely will NOT share your e-mail address.  This is just so that I may contact you if you win, and verify your entry if you do not follow through GFC.  Also be sure that if you choose to gain extra entries through sharing the giveaway on Facebook, the share must be public so that I can see it.

The giveaway closes on 24 May, and I will announce the winner on my blog and contact them via e-mail.  The winner will have 24 hours to reply or another winner will be selected.  All prizes are brand new and were purchased by me.  Good luck!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Feature Friday - Queensday

Happy Friday!  If you haven't already entered my giveaway, you can do so here.

Today's mani is a stamping for the group I belong to on Facebook, Adventures in Stamping.  The theme is Queensday, celebrating the Queen's birthday.  I did not know much about the holiday, so I had to look it up.  I also used the info provided by one of the group members.

I started with SH Double Duty, and added two coats of Revlon Royal.  Using tape, I added two squares using SH XW Cherry Red.  The stamp I used is the crown from BM 08, shown here:

I stamped the crown using Sinful Colors' (SC) Snow Me White, and topped it all off with SV.  I'm less disappointed that my pointer and pinky stamps are a little crooked, because I'm way too excited that my other two fingers were almost straight!  Have a great weekend, everyone!