Some sparkle

Sephora Galaxy was really, really pretty in the bottle. On the nail, less so. This is the kind of texture that just won't quit, not even after four coats of topcoat! 

So, yeah. Not my cup of tea exactly, but alright for a day.

 Now THIS is what I'm talking about. Lacquistry Amazeballs is a stunner. You can spot a bit of grow-out (eek) because this is day #3 on my nails, but look at how well it's worn!

It's witchcraft, I swear

I Love Nail Polish (ILNP) had a sale and I... Well, I did some serious damage. 

I walked away (clicked away?) with Masquerade, Charmingly Purple, Birefringence, and Sirene (H).

Today I'm wearing Masquerade, and I knew from the moment I started applying it that I made the right choice in buying these polishes.

Wow.

Just look.

BIrthday NOTD

I turned 19 on the 3rd. My NOTD was Lippmann Glitter and Be Gay, because that's a great goal for this new year of life.

Gold holo glitter with purple interspersed is fantastic.

(does anyone still read this?)

College is busier than I ever thought. College is more caffeinated than I ever thought.

Here's some mani spam from from my phone. They're all pretty old and I can only kind of provide accuracy with polish information.

I'll do better in the future, maybe.

All done with acrylic paint on polish.

 One of my own PAINTS by Allya polishes over a random light blue.

 A horrifically inaccurate picture of China Glaze Flip-flop Fantasy

 Sally Hansen's Tweedy. Three coats. I love it.

Butter London Wallis with Sephora by OPI goldleaf topcoat

A sunset as seen from the bay at my school. No filter or editing, it seriously looked like this.

Too many pictures

I didn't photograph this until around day four (which is why there's all that growth), but it wore like iron. Illamasqua's Phallic (really, Illa? You couldn't think of a name for this polish that wouldn't make me blush every time someone asks for it?) with Sephora by OPI's It's Real! topcoat is one of my new favorite combos..

Remember that time I obsessed over Malice and It's Real!?

I think the trick to making the gold leaf look as luxe as possible is layering it over a shimmery vampy. It looks like velvet in the prettiest way.

Want to see something beautiful?

Deborah Lippmann's Cleopatra in New York

In the words of Rachel Zoe: "I die"

(two or three coats over black, I believe)

This is the best thing that's ever been on my nails. Ever.

 So, I started with my new favorite polish: Chanel Malice. I splurged on this one immediately following hitting "submit" on the application to my #1 school out of hopes it'd distract me. Well, it did.
I wore it for three days, which isn't usual at all for a polish addict like myself. It's so glowy and beautiful.

 But at some point I realized I had another untried that I wanted to use. I didn't want to remove Malice, like, ever, so I just tossed another polish on top. The result was breathtaking.
That's Sephora by OPI It's Real, a real 18k gold topcoat.
The retail value of this manicure (as totaled by its components  not labor and such) is the most expensive that's ever been on my nails: $60. But it looks so rich, doesn't it?
I wore it for another three days. The lesson here is that gold and red look gorgeous, real gold makes everything even more luxe, and Chanel can have my wallet and soul if I can live in their creations. That is all.

Sation's like that indie (or all of those indies) that have gorgeous colors but are never in stock. Except, Sation's in stock, and considerably cheaper. There's something undeniably unique, though, about these glitters.

To start, here's a nude of theirs. It's called 'Down & Dirty Flirty'. It's a bit pinker than the usual beige, and I love that. I think it plays off my skin tone very nicely.

On that I layered 'Oh My Gaudy', a super complicated glitter topcoat. It has silver foil, red large glitters, gold small ones, and then red and silver bar glitters. It does have a tendency to settle, so make sure to shake it up!

Here's a close up of Gaudy. So unique, isn't it?!

Alpha Nail Polishes!

Alpha Nail, a polish company for men, sent me some of their nail pens and Clean Slate remover for review. Check their products out here, just don't do it at work!

The polishes come in a pen applicator, which is, I suppose, intended to look less feminine for their target audience. Honestly, I found it just made things more difficult, especially on Cocaine. I eventually got the hang of application, though, and the nails came out a little better looking. My method was pumping the pen for polish, dabbing that on a piece of paper, and then using the brush to put that on the nail. More complicated, yes, but also more uniform.

Now, as for the colors, these were pretty darn cool! Deep Ocean has this shimmer that's unbelievable and Burnin' Rubber is SO matte. Gasoline has a slight holographic effect. It's not a lot, but it's there. Cocaine, though, wasn't salvageable. I love how dirty and off-white it is, but the formula was too chunky for the unforgiving finish.

The remover Alpha Nail sent me is called "Clean Slate" and comes in a twist-off cylinder that contains the pre-moistened pads. It smells a little odd and feels a little greasy. They weren't my cup of tea, but my little sister now uses them and swears by them, saying she can get all the polish off her fingers and toes with just one wipe. They're acetone free.

Overall, I'm never super crazy about products being branded for one specific gender but I see what Alpha Nail is trying to do here. The polishes deliver cool "toughness" without looking too feminine, though they just as easily work on any girl.

These products were sent to me for review. I still have given my honest opinion of them.

An Ode to Color Club

Oh Color Club, how I love thee. Simply the best glitters and neons ever. Whenever I do skittles, I always reach for my trusty Color Clubs because they all just go together. Except for the blue provided in this set, it sucks. So instead I used a Forever 21 brand blue glitter.

I don't remember any of the names off the top of my head, but I can look them up if anyone really cares.

Painted Tips Polish is a GO!

HEY EVERYONE, I have exciting news!

You know how I gave away some of my frankens and told you people I'd be selling them soon? Well, guess what?!

(You probably guessed it, but they're now for sale).

You can buy the Jane Eyre collection and many more at my Etsy shop, Painted Tips Polish. The price is $7.50 a bottle, which is the lowest I could make it while still turning a modest profit.

Here's some pictures of my pretties:

The Ultamate Polish

China Glaze Ultamate Holidays

Well, kind of. I liked it a lot, though it didn't hurt that it totaled something like $2 after being on clearance. I like Ulta collaborations for the most part, and I know a lot of people agree with me. Hey, a holo green/yellow/gold glitter is all good by me :)

Modern Animal

I loved this. The pictures just don't do it justice, it was so shiny and SO pretty. All freehanded, obviously I need more practice. Still, love it!

Serena Williams' Polish

She partnered with OPI and made these shades, each sold in a duo with a corresponding crackle.

I didn't mean to buy any. No, I swear, I didn't want the crackle and I didn't want her nail polish.

The crackle was separate at Ulta and on sale. I had lots of coupons, and it totaled somewhere around $4 a bottle, so I bought several colors (black, silver, white, and gold are now all of my OPI crackles. I think. Uh oh, I might be missing a few)

And then the polishes were on sale, 30% off at Trade Secret. I bought these three. The names are silly (aren't they always?!) but the colors are complex and pretty. Please enlarge all pictures. Really, do it. And just in case you won't, I provided an enlarged bottle photo for each. Unique colors with complexity like we don't see very often from OPI, I'm sold!

I really should photograph Simply Smashing, the other SW for OPI color I have. I might just do that now. If so, I'll edit this post with it. I don't have Rally Pretty Pink because someone (achem, Valarie) talked me out of buying it 30% off. She's mean. I also don't have, or really desire, any of the Wimbledon polishes.

Love is a Racket-
This is going to be my V-Day mani. It'll be my own personal inside joke and I will enjoy it (and maybe do a crackled heart on it, that went well last year). It's this incredibly complex pinkish red. Or reddish pink, I don't know.
It has these itty bitty flakies (or, as I call them, microflakies! Let's make that catch on, yeah?) and pretty shimmer. I liked this one the best, actually.

Spark De Triomphe-
A clear based silver glitter with large circular gold glitters. I think. Honestly, this one's so odd I don't even know. I've seen it described by bloggers as gold, champagne, silver, greenish, yellowish.... Just look at the close-up, okay?

Pros and Bronze-
I see what you did there, OPI. Clever name.
This one was pretty sheer. A rose gold-y, bronze-y color. I can't decide if I like this on me, but it's interesting. Please note, immediately after taking this photo I filed my nails so they don't look so silly. I promise they're better now.