I'm Swatchin' You - China Glaze Re-fresh Mint

As you know, I used China Glaze's Re-fresh Mint as my Mint Mani in memory of Talia Joy Castellano on Friday.  However, I did not give any details on the polish out of respect for her memory.  So today, I'm just providing the details on my experience with this mint green creme.

The formula was great.  The first coat was a bit streaky, but the second coat provided solid coverage.  I stopped at two coats.  And I loved how easy this polish was to clean up.  With such a light creme, I was expecting to end up with that whitish film after cleaning up.  I was pleasantly surprised to find no residue at all.

As I said on Friday, I am not a big fan of mint greens...or any light green for that matter.  I bought this specifically to remember Talia Joy.  I just thought the name, Re-fresh Mint, was perfect for the Mint Mani memorial.  It was the first polish that came to mind.  Which led to another thought.  Wouldn't it be fantastic if China Glaze would change the name of this polish in her memory?  Or maybe they could even issue a special limited edition version of this where the proceeds can go to cancer research?  I'm thinking Talia's Joy would be a great name!  Hmmmmm......

SH Double Duty and SV as base and top.

I'm Swatchin' You - China Glaze Trendsetter

Alright, folks.  Brace yourself for what lies ahead.  Today's color is from China Glaze's Metro 2011 collection.  It's called Trendsetter, and it's anything but!  LOL  It's a green-yellow with a subtle gold shimmer.

The nitty-gritty:  2 coats, applied very nicely, great formula.  And I did my best to capture the gold shimmer for you.  Now, let's be honest.  This looks like baby poo.  Anyone who has ever changed a diaper knows what I'm talking about.  BUT, this is so ugly, I love it!  It totally reminds me of the zombie apocalypse.  LOL

SH Double Duty and Insta-Dri as 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 - Zoya Chloe

Hi all!  Thanks for sticking with me while I took my much needed mini vacay.  I'm back and ready to go!  Today, I've got Zoya Chloe, a flakie in a pink-tinged clear base.  I'm pretty sure this is the only flakie I own.  I'm not usually a big fan, but something about this one just caught my eye.

The formula on this was fantastic.  Chloe goes on very smoothly.  As always, I am showing you Chloe in her natural state so you can see what it actually looks like.  In case you were wondering, I have a reason for doing this.  Most of the time, people will swatch polishes that were meant to be layered.  Makes sense, right?  However, I always wonder just what the base actually looks like, how opaque it is, what the glitter/flakies look like without the influence of another color, etc.  So, I find it helpful to see what it actually looks like on its own.  This also helps me decide whether or not I really want it, or how similar it is to what I already have.  Then, I show it over white and black, so you have an idea of how it looks layered over a light and dark color.  I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.

Below, you are looking at Chloe, from left to right, in one coat, two coats, one coat over white (OPI Alpine Snow), and one coat over black (ChG Liquid Leather).

  

Over white, Chloe adds a tinge of pink, and the flakies appear pink and purple with flashes of orange, which I couldn't pick up well on camera.

And here is the one coat over black from different angles.  Over black, Chloe flashes green and orange.

SH Double Duty and SV as base and top.

I'm Swatchin' You - China Glaze Holly-Day

And, the streak is over!  How about a Green Monday?  Oh, well.  Anyway, this is China Glaze Holly-Day, a rich green creme.  This was opaque in two coats.  Holly-Day has awesome application, and a great brush, too.  However, make sure you double up on the base coat and make sure to get your base even across the entire nail.  I got some slight staining mostly around the edges where my base coat wasn't as thick.  :o(

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

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: National Day of Silence

Happy Friday!  So, Heidi over at DIY Polish and More came up with the idea of doing manis today in support of the National Day of Silence, and I jumped on board.  For those of you who do not know, the National Day of Silence is a day when students take a vow of silence to raise awareness of the silencing effect of bullying and harassment of the LGBT community.  You can learn more about it here. 

Here is the mani I came up with in support of the National Day of Silence.  I used the polishes shown below, which are (from left to right):  ChG Liquid Leather, SH Silver Sweep, WnW 414, OPI A Roll in the Hague, SH Lightening, Essie Pretty Edgy, and ChG Electric Beat.

I painted two coats of Liquid Leather on all of my nails, except for the accent.  I stamped the lips image from BM 02 (shown below) using Silver Sweep.  Then I used tape to create the line with 414.

My accent nail was done with the remaining colors using tape.  Thanks for looking, and I hope you will join in and take a vow of silence.  Have a great weekend, everyone!

Update:  Click here to see Heidi's mani!

Feature Friday - Strawberry Top

Happy Friday!  I am so loving my mani today!  This one is going to be short and sweet.  Okay, maybe not short, but definitely sweet!  I used my SH Double Duty base and then did one coat of The Hungry Asian's Strawberry, which can be picked up in her Etsy shop here.  One coat is all that was needed!  Then, this week's stamping challenge was to use two stamps.  First, I used my Bundle Monster BM 05 on my accent finger to look like the top of a strawberry.  I stamped this with Color Club's Perfect Mol-ten.

Then, still using CC's Perfect Mol-ten, I stamped a partial image from BM 12 (shown below in the red box).  I did this to make it look like a little curly piece of stem was hanging down.  I don't know about anyone else, but I had a helluva time picking up even this whole image, let alone a little piece of it.  After about a dozen tries, I finally got it to work.  This image took a crazy light hand to work.

I topped everything off with a coat of SV and there you have it!  Please excuse the virtual bandage.  I cut the side of my ring finger.  Just thank me for saving you from the ick.  Have a great weekend, everyone!!!

Feature Friday - Peep Show!

It's Friday! First, welcome new readers!  Only 10 away from an amazing giveaway!  I've been gathering goodies for you...OPI, Orly, Sinful.  Bouncing off the walls excited!  PLEASE help me get there!!!  Oh, and if you didn't notice, I've added a page where I will post other blogger's giveaways as I come across them.  Go check them out!

So, here I have my Easter mani.  You may have come across this before because it was featured on Nouveau Cheap's Easter round-up, which can be found here.  From one G to another G - thank you!!!  Sorry I didn't get "in-progress" pics on this mani.  I was a little pressed for time (what else is new?).

I started with my base of SH Double Duty.  Then I did two coats of OPI's Alpine Snow (despite the fact that she's such a bish to me - we have a very unhealthy love/hate relationship).  I free-handed the peeps using ChG Sweet Hook and Sinful's Unicorn.  I used a dotting tool to add the eyes using Orchid's Truffle Maker.  I topped them all off with Spoiled's Shaken Snow Globe (darn those craptastic brushes!).

After submitting this to Nouveau Cheap, I decided I needed something different on my thumb.  So I attempted an Easter basket.  It didn't come out as I'd hoped, but then, these things rarely do.  Oh, well.  I started with ChG Cha Cha Cha for the grass.  Then I added Orchid Truffle Maker for the basket.  Using my beloved tape, I added CC Antiquated to attempt a woven look (fail!).  Everything was topped with SV.  In the end, I thought it was cute and enjoyed doing it.  I am actually planning a different, more "classical" mani for Easter day.  I'll post that on Monday.

Enjoy your weekend, everyone!  And if you celebrate Easter...Happy Easter!

I'm Swatchin' You - Cover Girl Mystic Peacock

Good morning and a giant hello to my newest reader!  Thanks for being here!  We're getting closer......Today's color is another one from Cover Girl's Nail Slicks collection.  I remember when these colors came out back in the 90s.  I saw the commercial and fell in love instantly!  I think this was my first experience with stalking stores waiting for a particular polish to show up.  Up first is a color called Mystic Peacock.  It is a beautiful dark teal with a subtle shimmer.  The color goes on smoothly but just a little more sheer than I would have liked.  It is definitely a 2+ coater.  But the formula and brush were great, with no issues.  Pictured here is two coats.

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

Feature Friday - Raging Olive Squared

Happy Friday!  Today's mani happened because I was so loving the CQ Golden Green I put on a couple of days ago, which you can see again here.  So you already know I started with my base of SH Double Duty and put on two coats of Golden Green.  I used tape to mask off the lower right square and painted on Orly's Rage.  I topped them with a quick coat of SV and repeated the taping for the upper left quadrant.  I finished it all off with a another coat of SV and voila!  Thanks for being here with me and have a great weekend, everyone!!!

I'm Swatchin' You - Icing Evergreen

Good morning!  I'm getting soooo close to 50 followers and a giveaway!!!  I've been putting aside pretties and can't wait!

Today's color is from Icing.  I have to be honest here.  I don't know why I keep going back and getting my Icing polish.  IMO, the quality just isn't there.  Anytime I look at buying their polish, I have to check the brush in store since some of their polish has crazy brushes.  I checked the brush prior to buying this color.  It wasn't mop-like, as their wonky brushes are, but I unfortunately did not notice that the brush is bent to one side.  :o(  I've also noticed that the polishes are often goopy...not necessarily thick, but definitely goopy.  I'm sorry, but you should not have to thin a brand new polish.  However, I do love some of their colors, so they keep sucking me in!

Sorry for the rant...on to the color!  This one is called Evergreen, and it really is quite fetching.  It's green glitter in a green jelly base.  The application, as I said, could have been better.  The polish was goopy and the brush bent, which made any hope of not making a mess a distant dream.  But in the end, I do love the color.  And I loved this as part of my Wicked Spongicure!  C'est la vie.

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