I'm Swatchin' You - Wet 'n' Wild Back Alley Deals

Hopefully, if I chuck some glitter at you, it will give you a happy, sparkly Monday!  This is from Wet 'n' Wild's Color Icon line.  It's called Back Alley Deals, and it's purple micro glitter and dark pink round glitter in a clear base.

 

The glitter is very dense, so you get really good coverage in only one coat.  But, it is difficult to get even coats.  Your first brush stroke is pretty dense, but subsequent strokes are sparse.  So, be sure to re-load your brush for each stroke.  From left to right below, you are looking at one coat, then two coats, one coat over white (OPI Alpine Snow), and one coat over black (ChG Liquid Leather).

L to R: One coat, two coats, one coat over white, one coat over black

This also dries matte and gritty.  The two nails on the left have no top coat so you can see the natural matte finish.  The good news is that even though this dries gritty, it is not a top coat eater.  I added one layer of my top coat, and it is perfectly smooth.  The top coat also really brings out the shine in the glitter.

L to R: One coat and two coats with no top coat

L to R: One coat over white, then black with one layer of top coat

I used SH Double Duty and SH Insta-Dri for my base and top coats.

Feature Friday - Stars and Stripes

Hi all!  With the 4th of July just around the corner, I thought I would show you my Independence Day inspired mani before the weekend.

I started with my base of SH Double Duty.  I did two coats of ChG Frostbite and stamped the stars from Cheeky's CH 4 plate with SHXW White On.  I topped that with a coat of SV.  Then, I taped off a diagonal and painted on my favorite red, WnW 414.  I placed another piece of tape on the same diagonal and stamped the stripes from the same plate over the red with the White On.  Everything was topped with SV once more, and that's it!  Here is the plate and images I used:

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Feature Friday - Relay for Life

Happy Friday!  Tonight, we will be participating in our local Relay for Life.  We are big supporters of this cause.  I am a cancer survivor, as is my husband and mother.  And I lost my grandmother to cancer.  So we always try to support the cause every chance we get.  If you would like to support the cause through a donation, check out my sidebar.  There is a link there that will take you to the donation page.  I appreciate any support you can provide!

To further show my support, I did a simple color-blocking mani using the Relay for Life colors of red, blue, and purple.  And yes, my virtual bandage is back!  What can I say?  I work with my hands a LOT.

I started with my base of SH Double Duty.  Then, I painted a stripe down one edge of my nails with Wet 'n' Wild's 414, which just happens to be my all time favorite red.  Then, I painted the rest of each nail with Essie's Mesmerize.  Finally, I added a little section of purple using Orchid's Good Girl Gone Bad.  Everything was just free-handed. I topped my nails with a coat of SV to finish.
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Are any of you participating in the Relay this year?  Thanks for looking, and hopefully supporting.  Have a great weekend, everyone!  And don't forget to enter my giveaway!  It ends next week!

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!

I'm Swatchin' You - Wet 'n' Wild 414

This is my last oldie WnW color and I love it!  It's a crazy vibrant red called simply 414.  This polish went on smoothly with great coverage.  But the color - oh so wild!  For those times when you just want to scream Red Hot Siren, this is the color for you!  There is nothing subtle about this one and it's fantastically, deliciously fun!  Do you have a color that is positively sinful to wear?

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

I'm Swatchin' You - Wet 'n' Wild 458B

Here is another color from my little WnW collection.  This one is called 458B and it's a very sheer off white color.  The color would be fantastic if it wasn't so sheer and applied well.  Unfortunately, it was very sheer.  And after three coats, it still looks horribly streaky, which may be hard to see in the photos.  This is another color that will have to be marked for dotting/nail art only.  As a color on it's own, it just does not get the job done.  Boo.

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

I'm Swatchin' You - Wet 'n' Wild 421B

Good morning!  Since taking that stroll down amnesia lane with some old, retro Coloramas, I thought I would continue the trend with some other polishes I've had for-evah!  Now on to my Wet 'n' Wild (WnW) colors.  I have had these little guys for quite some time, as you will probably see from the bottle and name colors.  Case in point, this first color is called 421B.  Exciting name, huh?  Just about sums it up!  Actually, this is a very pretty color.  It is a soft brown that looks smooth and creamy.  It reminds me of melted chocolate, and that is always a good thing!  Coverage is good and it applied quite smoothly.  Now, I want chocolate.

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