First attempt at tape manicure

So six degrees of Kevin Bacon, I just discovered Chloe's Nails and her awesome tape manicures. I was inspired by this one in particular:
St Patty Patchwork
I did so many coats, I really hope this holds up through the wedding I'm attending Saturday. I tried to complement the art deco inspired elements of my dress.
I started with one coat of SpaRitual LacquerLock bc, one coat of CND stickey bc, two coats of Essie Smooth Sailing (a cornflower blurple shimmer from the 2011 Summer collection), and one coat of Seche Vite. The first time I jumped the gun applying tape and it got wrinkly, so I waited a good half hour the second time. Then I applied a diagonal strip of tape to each nail and layered one coat of Illamasqua Boosh over the Essie and one coat of seche vite.


After that dried I used a second diagonal tape placement and did two coats of OPI Spark de Triomphe (a 2011 Serena Williams Grand Slam duo release - loads of silver glitter with larger subtle-y gold glitters) with another coat of seche vite. After that dried I finished with a coat of seche vite over the whole nail. For those not counting, that means my tips have 10 frickin' coats. It's definitely not perfect, and it was time consuming, but I am still into it.
These pictures were taken indoors using an artificial light source.

Etude House WH004

Today's manicure is Etude House WH004. Etude House is a (very cute) Korean brand of cosmetics. For a time their polishes were available from etudehouseusa.com, ostensibly the brand's US distribution arm, but the site was actually unaffiliated with the brand and was shut down due to copyright infringement. This information is gathered from the internet, so take it with a grain of salt. For the time it was active, polishes were often massively backordered. These polishes can be ordered from eBay, and likely other webstores.
This polish is a vampy black with blurpley teal duochrome macroshimmer particles. It's tough to catch the shimmer without a strong light source, but it is lovely when viewed in sunshine.
This mani is one coat Spa Ritual bc, one coat CND Stickey, two coats of varnish, and one coat of Out the Door tc.
These pictures were all taken indoors using artificial lighting.

Comparison Post: Finger Paints Avante Garde Green VS Illamasqua Viridian

This manicure is an alternating comparison of the new Finger Paints Avante Garde Green that I just purchased at Sally Beauty Supply from the 13 new shades display and Illamasqua Viridian from the Art of Darkness collection last year. When I swatched the new fp, Viridian was the first thing that popped into my head. They're not exact dupes; I think that the Illamasqua is darker (with more of a blackened effect), but they are quite similar.
This mani is one coat Spa Ritual bc, one coat CND Stickey, two coats of varnish, and one coat of Out the Door tc.
These pictures were all taken indoors using artificial lighting.




Embarassingly, messed up the labeling on this photo.

RBL Spring 2011: The Quick and the Dirty

I ordered from RBL on Saturday and to my surprise and delight, my package of new spring colors from the 2011 Iconic/Ironic collection was on my doorstep when I got home from work today. My cuticles are a disaster, but I did quick 2-coat (no base or top coat) swatches to share with you. These are all so lovely. I am the most ambivalent about Recherche because of it's simplicity, but I look forward to doing full manis with all of these interesting colors.
These pictures were taken indoors with artificial lighting.

l to r: Recherche, Iconoclast, Decorous, Insouciant


Recherche
a plummy, brownish, blackened purple super-vampy creme
The closest thing I have in my stash is Hard Candy Normal and a Strange Beautiful brown, but neither is a match.
\ ruh-sher-SHAY \ , adjective;
1.Uncommon; exotic; rare.
2.Exquisite; choice.
3.Excessively refined; affected.
4.Pretentious; overblown.


Iconoclast
black with multicolor flashes of microshimmer
I have nothing like this in my collection.
[ahy-kon-uh-klast]
–noun
1.a breaker or destroyer of images, especially those set up for religious veneration.
2.a person who attacks cherished beliefs, traditional institutions, etc., as being based on error or superstition.


Decorous
milk chocolate with a flash of purplish shimmer
The closest thing in my stash to this is Chanel Particulare and that has no shimmer.
[dek-er-uhs, dih-kawr-uhs, -kohr-]
–adjective
characterized by dignified propriety in conduct, manners, appearance, character, etc.


Insouciant
soft lilac with a flash of blue shimmer
I have nothing like this in my stash.
[in-soo-see-uhnt; Fr. an-soo-syahn]
–adjective
free from concern, worry, or anxiety; carefree; nonchalant.

Revlon Street Wear: A Tale of Two Toads

Today's manicures are both discontinued Revlon Street Wear Toad. Obviously, there are at least two versions. One is a golden olive green shimmer, while the other is a bright grass green with golden shimmer.
These manis are one coat SpaRitual Lacquer Lock basecoat, two coats of polish, one coat of SpaRitual Tout de Suite topcoat and Seche Vite.




Photos taken indoors with an artificial light source.

NARS Desperado and King Kong

Natural Light and Flash

Desperado is a new Spring color from NARS. It's a gold metallic foil with green microshimmer. Nars describes it as antique brass.
King Kong is a Vintage shade that was recently re-released. It's a warm, almost pinky coppery-brown with metallic shimmer. Nars describes it as brown with gold shimmer.
Both are available from Sephora, Dept Stores, and directly from Nars' site.

These manis are one coat SpaRitual Lacquer Lock basecoat, two coats of polish, and one coat of SpaRitual Tout de Suite topcoat topped with one coat of Seche Vite. Please excuse the cuticle frazzle.
These photos were taken indoors using an artificial light source.

VOTE FOR NORA: A Shameless Plug

My friend Nora is #8 in the Rescue Beauty Lounge Fan Collection contest. She wants an electric blue shade. Voting lasts for the next 48 hours.
VOTE HERE