Taste the Rainbow!

When I saw promo photos of the recent Wet n Wild craze summer collection of rainbow colored cremes called Inked. I couldn't wait to buy them. The problem? Wet n Wild limited edition collection releases have been spotty here in southern CA lately. There was a beautiful island-themed collection last summer that simply never materialized here, despite being available in other US markets. Wet n wild has such a low price point that scalpers don't even bother putting these collections on eBay. The toughest part about nail polish information being available at your fingertips with the internet is that you hear about something great and affordable that you simply can't get. It's one thing if it's overseas or no longer in production (which happens a lot with nail polish), and another if it theoretically SHOULD be available to you, but isn't for reasons unknown. I'd like to ask Wet n Wild to make these polishes available for consumers to buy online so that they don't miss out on so many potential customers.
I was resigned never to see these until my wonderful stepmom agreed to look out for me while visiting Michigan. She brought them all home with her. Thank you!
They may not be the most unique, but they apply well and complement each other beautifully. For those who live in places where Wet n Wild l.e. collections do show up, these are 5 of the 9 colors available in the collection (the other four being pink, purple, black, and white). The red is called Writings on the Wall, the orange is called Scratchiti, the yellow is called Art Crime, the green is called Undercover Grafitti, the blue is called Tagger. Here is my fourth of July weekend rainbow skittle manicure.
This mani is one coat SpaRitual Lacquer Lock, one coat CND stickey, two coats of polish, and one coat of Seche Vite top coat.
These pictures were taken indoors with artificial lighting.

Harry Potter (Slytherin) Themed Franken Collection

Left to Right: Emerald Encrusted Assets, Avada Kedavra, Malfoiled

Left to Right: Crabbe & Goyle's Death Burger Deluxe with Cheese, Nagini, Dead As A Dumble-Dorenail

I made all six of these in one evening. I had been gearing up for frankening and my manglaze franken juggs package arrived on Saturday. My favorite is Emerald Encrusted Assets, though Dead As A Dumble-Dorenail looks better in person (and it's my favorite OPI-esque name). I split the Malfoiled franken between two jugs (because it was super thick. You see, it was perfect until I went and added Green Sparks! mineral pigment from TKB and the franken immediately turned into a gel/paste. DO NOT RECOMMEND these for frankens) and added more clear to the Malfoiled and black to make the Avada Kadavra. I made Nagini by splitting the Dumble-Dore Nail between two jugs and adding NYS Amaranth. Some of these turned out great texture wise, but Malfoiled and the two Vintage Leaf Glitter heavy ones (Dumble-Dore Nail and Nagini) where a gooey bear to work with. All of the following swatches are three coats and topped with Seche Vite. These photos were taken indoors with an artificial light source. Now I have to decide which of these to wear with my Draco Malfoy halloween costume...


Avada Kedavra

1/2 bottle of Wet n Wild Wild Shine Toast
1/6 bottle of Wet n Wild Wild Shine Clear
1/4 bottle of Wet n Wild Wild Shine Black Creme
1/4 tsp Apple Green Pop Pigment from TKB
1/8 tsp MAC pigment in Green Brown
+ some Green Sparks! mineral pigment from TKB
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Crabbe & Goyle's Death Burger Deluxe with Cheese

1 bottle of Wet n Wild Wild Shine Clear
1/2 tsp Martha Stewart Nephrite Glitter
1/2 tsp Martha Stewart Peridot Glitter
1/2 tsp Martha Stewart Sterling Glitter
2/3 bottle of Wet n Wild Wild Shine Confetti
Special Note:
The amount of clear polish I put in this franken means the glitter won't stay suspended and the nephrite glitter bled into the base and turned it black after I took these pictures. I don't know if the glitter would have bled if I had only used Confetti base, but the glitter would probably not sink to the bottom. The glitter did not appear to bleed into the silver foil based polishes I made.
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Dead As A Dumble-Dorenail

1/2 bottle Hard Candy Trailer Trash
1/2 bottle of Wet n Wild Wild Shine Clear
1/4 tsp Martha Stewart Olivine Vintage Leaf Glitter
3/4 tsp Martha Stewart Verdalite Vintage Leaf Glitter
1/4 tsp Martha Stewart Nephrite Glitter
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Emerald Encrusted Assets

1 bottle of Wet n Wild Wild Shine Confetti
1/3 bottle of Wet n Wild Wild Shine Clear
1/4 bottle Wet n Wild Craze Morbid
1 tsp Martha Stewart Sterling Glitter
1 tsp Martha Stewart Sterling Vintage Leaf Glitter
1/4 tsp MAC pigment in Emerald Green
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Malfoiled

1/2 bottle of Wet n Wild Wild Shine Toast
1/6 bottle of Wet n Wild Wild Shine Clear
1/4 tsp Apple Green Pop Pigment from TKB
1/8 tsp MAC pigment in Green Brown
+ some Green Sparks! mineral pigment from TKB
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Nagini

1/2 bottle Hard Candy Trailer Trash
1 bottle of Wet n Wild Wild Shine Clear
1/4 bottle New York Summer Amaranth
1/4 tsp Martha Stewart Olivine Vintage Leaf Glitter
3/4 tsp Martha Stewart Verdalite Vintage Leaf Glitter
1/4 tsp Martha Stewart Nephrite Glitter

Vibrant Skittles

Hello Vestiges of Former Readership!
It's been a long time.
I stopped doing my nails.
I went on vacation, twice.
I bought a lot of nail polish in New York and Japan. Along the way I learned that I'm not too sexy for this blog, or bad puns.
I am on my way to getting my groove back.

I went drugstore hopping this afternoon and found new displays for Milani Liquid Metal and Wet n Wild Wild Shine Limited Edition. The WnW display didn't have a specific collection name, but did have a smiling woman and a big lollipop - and alluded to candy in writing. Being $1 a bottle and beautifully summery, I bought all 12 colors. The Liquid Metal display is the second collection of that name that Milani has released, the first being pretty standard metallic colors like silver and gold, etc. I didn't buy one of the 6 colors on display because it looked dull.
Disclaimer: These are pictures taken with a new camera, indoors, at night, and with some tweaking courtesy of Photoshop to provide the most accurate photo possible in such conditions(color-wise).
Why didn't I take these in beautiful technicolor sunlight?
Well, I tried my hand at making hollandaise sauce as part of the dinner menu this evening. It was a crushing failure and I needed some manicure therapy.
I have done a couple (manicures, not hollandaise sauces) since returning to the states, but none up to blog standards. Maybe these aren't either, but I figured, to hell with it. My nails are far from perfect at the moment, as are my photos. Please hang in there. Hopefully things will get better...
*EDIT - Added sunlight pics...oh bad cuticles in the harsh light of day!





I realize this is somewhat blurry...
From Thumb to Pinky: Cherry Pop, Sunkist Paradise, Lemon Drops, Mint Fusion, Blueberry Fizz
This mani is one coat Nubar Nu Nails, two coats of Wet n Wild Wild Shine (with the exception of orange and yellow, which required three coats), and one coat of Nubar Diamont.
Thoughts on these polishes:
All are cremes except Mint Fusion, which has subtle shimmer. The orange and yellow could classify as jellies as they are much more sheer than the red and blue shades. This combo makes one heck of a Dexter-worthy skittle mani. They are dirt cheap and of pretty decent quality. If you don't like sheer - avoid the Sunkist Paradise and Lemon Drops and you'll be fine. I found these at Rite Aid.





From Thumb to Pinky: Melt Down, Metal Gear, Melt in the Sun, Molten Rock, Hot Metal
This mani is one coat Nubar Nu Nails, two coats of Milani Liquid Metal, and one coat of Nubar Diamont.
Thoughts on these polishes:
All of them are pretty great in 1 coat, better with 2, and I think they are beautiful. They have a rich foiled finish that almost has a holographic effect. I definitely recommend picking up any and/or all of these. I found these at CVS.