Specializing in nail varnishes - rare, unusual, and obscure

Friday, October 30, 2009

Hard Candy Walmart Hypnotic



Today's manicure is Hard Candy Walmart Hypnotic.
Hypnotic is a sheer delicate dusty rose pink with gold sparkle. This mani is three coats and there's still some visible nail line. I actually like this as is - it's way more subtle than I usually go for, but on my skin tone it's like a basic nude with a bit of a twist. It may benefit from being pumped up over a tonal pink or white - but I don't imagine layering it over black will do much for the delicate tone.
This mani is one coat SpaRitual resurface base coat, three coats of polish, and one coat of SpaRitual tout de suite top coat.
Happy Halloween tomorrow!


Thursday, October 29, 2009

Hard Candy Walmart Sugar Daddy



Today's manicure is Hard Candy Walmart Sugar Daddy.
Sugar Daddy is an ultra sheer white that flashes gold shimmer. This polish is crazy sheer - my nails are completely visible under three coats. I think it is best suited to layering. I show it over black in the bottom two pictures.
This mani is one coat SpaRitual resurface base coat, three coats of polish, and one coat of SpaRitual tout de suite top coat.



The pictures below show comparisons between Sugar Daddy over black (two coats of Barielle Monique Jet) and three of the new Creative Nail Design Effects: Jade Sparkle, Gold Sparkle, and Gold Shimmer. This polish is closest in color to one coat of Gold Shimmer, but I don't think they are exact dupes.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Hard Candy Walmart The End and Break Up





Today's manicure is Hard Candy Walmart Break Up over Hard Candy Walmart The End.
The End is a simple black creme. Break Up consists of microglitter and large hexagonal chunky glitter that flashes orange, yellow, and green depending on the lighting in a clear base. Since The End is not unique or interesting in and of itself and Break Up is glitter is a transparent base, I thought these colors would make good a good layering combination.
Disclaimer: I think that Break Up is beautiful, but unlike Hot Pants, the glitter is so chunky it does not lie flush to the nail. It doesn't look horribly chunky to the naked eye, but even with top coat the nail surface still feels bumpy and uneven.
We'll see how difficult removal will be.
In case you were wondering, The End is a good black creme. It's easy to apply and opaque in two coats, but a comparable polish can be found cheaper in the drugstore.
This mani is one coat SpaRitual resurface base coat, two coats of The End, two coats of Break Up, and one coat of SpaRitual tout de suite top coat.



Monday, October 26, 2009

Hard Candy Walmart Rumor Mill and Hot Pants





Today's manicure is Hard Candy Walmart Hot Pants over Hard Candy Walmart Rumor Mill.
Rumor Mill is a vampy purple so dark it's basically black. Hot Pants is a sheer purple jelly with silver holographic glitter and larger hexagonal silver holographic glitter chunks. Since Rumor Mill is not very unique or interesting and Hot Pants is very sheer, I thought these colors would make good a good layering combination.
This mani is one coat SpaRitual resurface base coat, two coats of Rumor Mill, two coats of Hot Pants, and one coat of SpaRitual tout de suite top coat.


Saturday, October 24, 2009

Orly Mistletoe



Today's manicure is Orly Mistletoe. Orly Mistletoe is another long discontinued green that I have no date or collection information about.
Mistletoe is a murky forest green shimmer with sparse brighter green glitter. It's like a sedate China Glaze Emerald Sparkle (which I prefer).
This mani is one coat Nailtek Foundation II, three coats polish, and one coat Seche Vite.



Friday, October 23, 2009

Essie Dominica Green



I decided to take a little break from Hard Candy Walmart at the midpoint - I was getting a little burned out.
Today's manicure is Essie Dominica Green. This is a very difficult to find Essie polish that was discontinued long ago - I actually don't know any information about when it was released or with what collection.
Dominica Green is a vibrant green shimmer. It is quite sheer and requires 3-4 coats to achieve bottle color.
This mani is two coats Nail Tek Foundation II, four coats polish, and one coat Seche Vite top coat. I don't know for sure whether it was the base or top coat or just the sheer number of layers, but the polish took forever to dry. I messed up at least three nails (as you can see). I think I am officially over Seche Vite. I find several other top coats of mine easier to work with - especially on cleanup!



Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Hard Candy Walmart Mr. Wrong




Today's manicure is Hard Candy Walmart Mr. Wrong.
Of course, if it were me, I would call this one Mr. Right. Why is it women always go after the bad boy?
Mr. Wrong is a totally unique foil that combines a silvery purple and gold metallic glitters.
This mani is one coat SpaRitual Resurface bc, three coats polish, and one coat SpaRitual Tout de Suite tc.



Chanel Blue Satin and Hard Candy Walmart Mr. Right

As per a reader request, I am providing comparison swatches between Chanel Blue Satin and Hard Candy Walmart Mr. Right. I left Mr. Right on my thumb, middle finger and pinky (hence tipwear and dulled shine of topcoat - sorry) and applied Chanel Blue Satin to my pointer and ring ringers.
The Hard Candy Walmart is three coats over one coat SpaRitual resurface bc with one coat SpaRitual tout de suite tc.
The Chanel is two coats over one coat SpaRitual resurface bc with one coat SpaRitual tout de suite tc.
I think you could get away with two coats of Hard Candy Walmart, and one coat of Chanel Blue Satin for that matter, but I finished with an extra coat on each for good measure. Both applied well; Blue Satin is more pigmented - but four times as pigmented? Nope.
I included two overexposed photos so you could see more detail - since this is a dark and vampy polish. I think they are a pretty close match.