Fozzie was a loser.

My Fozzie Bear manicure for OPI's Facebook Muppets Nail Art contest was a failure! :( It only took the first week for me to realize that it's pretty much just a popularity contest, and I'm not that popular on Facebook. Lol. *edit* Please read through the comments as this didn't come across the way I intended! Sorry I suppose this is pandering for votes.*end edit*
I have entries for each week and I plan on entering each time in the hopes to get my hands on the entire Muppets collection as a prize. So please click the link on the upper right side of my blog to see my Gonzo entry.

Anyway, this is my Fozzie manicure for all to see that missed it.

These are the only step by step pics I remembered to take. I forgot when I painted the rest of the face. :) Sorry, but you get the idea.

What are you waiting for!? Go vote once per day for me (you can vote for multiple people. so vote for them too). The link is on the upper right hand side of my blog page.

Thanks!

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Solution for Frosty Brushstrokes!

There is an easy way to solve the problem of the pesky frosty polish that applies and show each individual brushstroke. It can really distract from the beauty of the polish, so how can you get rid of it? Sponge on the final coat!

Take for example Pure Ice Platinum.

This is 3 coats and it's full of brushstrokes.

Take a small piece of a makeup sponge, or a clean eye shadow applicator like pictured here, and sponge on the last coat of nail polish.

Look at that smooth finish?! What a drastic change! It's a super easy technique that anybody can use to get more use out of their polishes. Now you don't have to pass up anything for fear of pesky brushstrokes!

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoy!

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Pure Ice Review - Part 2

(these polishes were provided for review)

Crackle - Show Stopper

This is my first experience with Pure Ice's crackle line. I could not find them locally. I have to say that this is my favorite crackle I've tried! It applies easily, doesn't dry too fast, and cracks with big defined cracks rather than stings and shatters. This is the look I prefer.

Show Stopper is a red crackle. It applies like a creme when applied over a creme polish. It appears to have a jelly finish when applied over a glitter polish.

This is one coat of Show Stopper over 3 coats of Pure Ice Platinum.

 This was my first test with one coat over a white creme and a yellow creme.

3 coats of Platinum.

Platinum is a metallic white that is a bit frosty. Thin formula, but builds easily for full coverage.

Last but not least is Oh Baby. This polish is entirely clear on it's own, so even a thousand coats wouldn't be opaque. It's got tiny glass fleck glitter that looks nice and wintery over white. But it comes alive when layered over black! It has a teal/purple duochrome effect when over black polish.

Click this picture to enlarge and you can clearly see the shift of blue, teal, and purple in the glitter!



So that's it for my Pure Ice review. Thanks again to Bari Cosmetics for providing these for me to consider.

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Pure Ice Review - Part 1

(I was sent these polishes for review)

I really enjoy Pure Ice polishes. They are very affordable and usually a great formula. I can find them locally at my Wal-mart for $1.99. I've read on some blogs that people have found them sold at their Walgreens, but that's not true in my area.

First up is Tease Me. This is a medium metallic green. 3 coats pictured. Easy to apply, formula is on the thin side, but it builds nicely. A few noticeable brushstrokes. But I'll tell you how to resolve that later!;)

This is Strapless. A clear base densely packed with blue glitter.

This is just 1 coat to show you how evenly it applies. The base is nice and thin so that it isn't like applying glue to your nails.

 These pictures are 3 coats.

 Compared to the other blue glitters I have. It is very close to Milani Blue Flash.

This is Celestial. Pictured is 2 coats. Bright blue metallic finish.

Easy to apply, formula is great, builds nicely. A few noticeable brushstrokes.

I love these colors and I appreciate Bari Cosmetics for sending them to me. Come back later for the other 3 polishes. :)

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Updated Stash & Storage

I felt it was about time to clean up my polish display and straighten everything up. So it was a great time to take some pictures to share with you guys and actually count them all. My last Stash & Storage post was in March, and my how things have grown!

Currently I have 388 bottles of nail polish. I also have 11 empty bottles in my frankening box which makes 399 total if you include those. (I just need one more, right?) I hope to stay around this number because I can't reasonably see myself being able to give attention to much more than this.

This is the rack I've been using to display my polishes. (It was originally sold as a scrapbooking embellishments storage unit)
1st row is crackles, glitters, magnetics, holographics. (28 polishes)
2nd row is red, orange, coral, and pink. (43 polishes)
3rd row is green, teal, and blue. (48 polishes)
4th row Muppet glitters, yellows, striper polishes, and stamping polishes. (34 polishes)
5th row is purple, black, gray, and white. (42 polishes)
6th row is base coats, top coats, and browns. (28 polishes)
These polishes on the display rack are my most used polishes. It hangs above my desk where I generally paint my nails.

The desk top extends to the left and that is where I have my Melmer sitting. On top of that is my exhibit project which has been entered in an art show to be held in March.

The top drawer to my Melmer is total chaos. It has my stamping plates, toe seperators, extra files, cuticle cream, loose false nails, etc.

2nd drawer of the Melmer contains my neglected polishes. These are ones that I don't use because I don't like them or have a better dupe. This drawer is the one my friends go shopping in when they come over. :)
(61 polishes)

The bottom drawer of the Melmer is where I keep new polishes that I haven't swatched yet, frankens, back up bottles, and nail art pens.
(35 polishes)

Then I have a shoebox size storage box on a bottom shelf filled with frankening supplies. I have 54 polishes in there that are glitters or polishes I don't mind wasting on frankens if they turn out badly. In there I also keep any bottles of polish I manage to empty so that I can franken into them in the future. I have 11 empties right now.

How do you like my updated status on my stash? How many polishes do you have?

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Catrice - Sold Out Forever

This Catrice is known for being a dupe of Chanel Jade, I can't confirm or deny that because I don't own any Chanels. I do know that this polish is gorgeous. And that's all that matters. :)

This is 2 coats.

 Look at that shimmer! I love it!

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Basic Nail Care & Tools

I was recently contacted by Elizabeth a follower with questions about my basic nail care and tools. This is a long overdue idea for a post, so here we go!

How often do you buy polish? Do you usually get it in bulk?

I don't buy polish that often. I buy things from new collections when I'm fairly confident that it's unique and not like something I already have. Also, I'll only buy it if I see myself using it. I refuse to buy the entire collection, just to swatch it on the blog. I feel like that would be irresponsible with my money. I drift through the polish isles any time that I'm in the store, but I don't buy unless it's a great deal or something I need. Thankfully I have pretty good self control. I usually just buy a few here and there. If I ever do buy in bulk because I like a lot of a certain collection.... I use a website like nailderoyale.com for example.

How do your nails keep so healthy? Don't they dry up after you wipe it off?

Thankfully I'm blessed with good nails to work with. I don't have to do too much to keep them healthy. I have oily skin/hair/nails naturally, so they don't dry out. I always use a nail strengthener/fortifier as my base coat. I've found OPI Nail Envy works well for me, as well as Orly Nail Defense. When I use other base coats I find that my nails peel and split. :( With those two base coats I've noticed that my nails grow longer and stronger, faster and without any visible damage from my frequent polish changes.

This is my old and a new back up bottle I just bought of Nail Defense. Don't ask me why they're different colors..... I don't know! I stuck with this for my back up bottle because it's slightly cheaper than OPI Nail Envy.

Do you think those base coats help to prevent the polish from chipping?

Base coats are really important I think. They make them in so many variations to fit any problem area! You can get ones that strengthen, ones that smooth out ridges, or ones that say they will help the polish stick or cling better and resist chipping. I do think that base coats help to minimize chipping, to a certain extent. I still can only get a manicure to last 2-3 days before I have chips and need to change it. That is regardless to what base coat I use.



You never show the actual tools that you use to do the detailed work in your pictures huh?

 I've done these posts concerning my tools:

Why I use acrylic paints and what dotting tools I use.

What brushes I use.

I have not been taking great care of my brushes, so they were pretty deplorable. I recently bought some new ones at Sally's Beauty Supply. The skinny striper is almost too long and skinny. It's a little flimsy and that makes it hard to control.

If anyone has any other questions, just drop me an email!

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Speciallità Hits no Olimpo collection - HOLO SWATCHES

On November 4th Scrangie reviewed this amazing collection of linear holo polishes from Brazil. They are gorgeous and I commented on her post stating that it made me want to find someone Brazilian to swap with! I was amazed when 3 different girls contacted ME from that one comment interested in swapping. So that made it really easy and I swapped with the lovely Nadia. I received the 6 beauties I wanted just last week. I waited for a sunny day to swatch them all so that I can show you just how wonderful they are. Check out Scrangie's post if you want a specific look at the entire collection with details concerning formula etc.

My thoughts? The formula is incredibly easy compared to other holo polishes. It applies like a great jelly polish. None of that skipping and dragging like GOSH Holo and ChG OMGs. Topcoat does NOT alter the holo effect. The polish brushes had some irregularites of stray bristles, but for the most part it's a long, flexible, squared brush that is easy to work with.

The polishes are only 6mL sizes and they DO contain some chemicals that can bother some people. Toulene and Formaldheyde Resin for example. The smell is a bit more harsh that other polishes. And they do NOT have a little metal mixing ball in the bottom of the bottle.

Forget OPI's My Private Jet, and you don't need Color Club's Revvvolution. You just need Zeus!

Black holo. Because I only have a precious 6mL and I didn't want to waste any... So this is 2 thin coats of Zeus over 1 coat of Wet N Wild Black Creme. Zeus would be opaque on it's own in 3-4 thin coats. It builds nicely.

 Sunlight

Indoors with lamp lighting

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I no longer lemming OPI DS Glamour! Apolo is all I need. A dark blue holo.

This is 2 coats. I think it would look nice layered over a navy blue, to get an even richer color.

sunlight

 indoor with lamp lighting

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Poseidon proved to be more of what I was hoping to get from Nubar Absolute.

I started with my pinky and that has just 3 coats of Poseidon. I was afraid again about wasting my precious 6mL, so the other nails are 2 coats of Poseidon over 1 coat of Sally Hansen Insta Dri Blue-Away.

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You won't need China Glaze DV8 anymore! Try out Hera for an alternative!

This is a great teal color. Pictured is 2 coats, but a third would have helped it be more opaque. Or perhaps layered over a teal creme.

sunlight

indoor lamp lighting

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An orange holographic polish?! Unheard of until now. It is significantly less holo when compared to the other polishes in the collection, but it's still very much present. This is 3 coats of Demeter.

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The last polish that I asked Nadia to send me is Hefesto which is the sheer holographic topcoat polish. You can basically make any nail polish you own into a linear holographic with this magic. I immediately layered one coat over my existing manicure at the time. Essence Dress to Party.

Then I tried it over some other colors we don't frequently see with a holo finish. 1 coat of Hefesto over each other following. Thumb - Zoya Mira ; Index - WnW Everybody Loves Redmond ; Middle - China Glaze Laced Up ; Ring - OPI Jade is the New Black ; Pinky - Pure Ice Free Spirit.

indoors with lamp lighting

 sunlight

Thank you so much to Nadia for helping me acquire these beauties! I hope your package in return arrives safe and sound. Now, if anyone is interesting in swapping for some of the Speciallità line of flakies? The ones with dance names; Samba, etc. Drop me an email! I'm interested!

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