Nail Art: Ombre Polka Dot

A few weeks ago, I was privileged to attend our local Yelp Burst day.  The nail polish from the Fingerpaints Crushed Chrome came off unevenly, so I decided to just add to the in-tact nails with some random nail art.

Thanks Yelp for a wonderful evening!

May Sally Beauty Special: China Glaze Clearance Polishes are Buy 1, Get 2 Free!

Two days ago, I got a wonderful email from Sally Beauty Stores about an awesome clearance they're having: Buy any China Glaze nail polish that is on sale, and you get TWO FREE!

The clearance polishes are any of the bottles with the big red sticker on it.  At Sally's, they are usually found at the bottom of the polish shelves at the front of the store, on the shelves by the nail supplies (files, remover, top coats, etc) or in the way back of the store.

Clearance stock varies from store to store, so I suggest hitting up your local Sally's as soon as possible!  The deal ends on Monday, May 19.

I lucked out and decided to try a remote Sally's Beauty store that I didn't believe that many people frequented.  I hit a jackpot of a huge rack of clearance China Glaze, and decided to choose some of the textured polishes that I wasn't very interested in when they first came out.  (And you all know my opinion about textured polishes...)

I nabbed "Teal the Tide Turns" from the 2014 Sea Goddess collection, "Wrinkling the Sheets" from the 2014 Crinkled Chrome collection, and "Boo-gie Down" from the 2013 Halloween collection.... all for $3.29!!!

Just show the advertisement picture when you're ready to check out, and the cashier will enter the discount code for your deal.  It is limited to 1 per customer during your visit, so make your choices count!

Swatches of the two polishes are after the jump:

Revlon Amazing Spider-man 2 Swatch "Electrified Web"

I've ben a huge web-head fan since I was a kid, and although they've received a lot of bashing since Hollywood jumped on the comic book bandwagon, I still love the Spider-man franchise.

Following the steps of OPI, China Glaze, and Covergirl comes Revlon with a makeup line that ties in with the  second installment of the Spider-man reboot, which is appropriate since the film stars Emma Stone, who is also a Revlon model.

I wasn't very interested in the products offered in the makeup line, especially the blue lip gloss (shrug), and even the nail polish wasn't too eye catching for me.  But summer is here with the arrival of big blockbuster movie releases, so I picked up one of the Revlon polishes during Ulta's huge sale where all Revlon products were 40% off.

Summer also means that I go overboard with orange in my makeup, and nail polish choices are no exception.

This is "Electrified Web", which is a duochrome orange polish that transitions into a magenta in the shade.  

The polish reaches full opacity in one generous coat, but I used two because it really is a lovely color.  Revlon's polish formula has yet to disappoint for me, although I experienced chipping immediately (as you can see in my photos), with the polish not even making it to two days of wear.

Revlon "Electrified Web"

 Trying to capture that deep magenta shade...

Revlon "Electrified Web"

And how cute is that bottle cap???

As I've said, the rest of the polish line didn't pique my interest, although I would love to collect the rest if they go on sale in the near future.  

Anniversary Nails! Finger Paints Crystalline Crush Swatch

Happy One-Year Anniversary to my boyfriend and me!

I'll be up in Tampa visiting and eating yummy foods.  I decided to go with a simple manicure for the weekend, using "Crystalline Crush" from the Finger Paints Shredded Chrome Collection.  I am a sucker for rose gold polishes, and while I'm not sure if Finger Paints was going for a textured look, I just picked one of these up for fun at my local Sally Beauty Supply store during its 3-day BOGO Free nail polish deal.

Application was easy, although the formula is a bit gloopy.  I reached full opacity in two coats.  I could have added a third coat, but the polish was starting to feel a bit heavy on my nails.  "Shredded" chrome is a bit of an understatement, as when it dried, the polish was scratchy during wear.  But the color is lovely and shiny without a top coat!

Finger Paints "Crystalline Crush"

Finger Paints "Crystalline Crush"

Wear time was not ideal; the polish started chipping about 2 days after application.

It's not the most unique of gold polishes, and there are very clear flaws with Finger Paints execution.  But it was worth a shot to try during the Sally Deal... AND it ended up matching the beautiful gift my boyfriend gave me.  He knows me so well.

Rose gold FTW!

China Glaze Surprise swatch: Glitter Up

China Glaze "Glitter Up"

As I mentioned in my previous blog post, I wanted to pick up "Glitter Up" from the latest China Glaze polish collection, "Surprise".  There are six chunky glitter toppers in the entire collection, and while all are very unique combinations of colors, there was only one that I was interested in adding to my collection.

"Glitter Up" is a combination of mini and large hexagonal navy blue, sky blue, and coral glitters suspended in a clear base.  Basketball season may be over, but I couldn't stay away from a Florida Gators-esque color themed glitter topper.

Today is the LAST day for Sally Hansen Beauty Supply Store BOGO Free special: all nail polishes are Buy One, Get One Free (excluding OPI brand), so if you're eyeing this fun topper, you can also nab another polish as well!

I applied one layer of "Glitter Up" over two coats of Essie "Find Me an Oasis" from the Resort Fling collection.

China Glaze "Glitter Up"

China Glaze "Glitter Up"

China Glaze "Glitter Up"

The suspension base is nice and smooth, which allows for easy application of the glitters, but because some pieces are so big, I resorted to fishing for the larger pieces and spreading the glitters around to disperse them evenly.

Dry time is average, and I added China Glaze Fast Forward top coat for an extra seal.  I can't wait to revisit this topper during football season!

Three Days ONLY - BOGO Free Nail Polishes at Sally Beauty Supply!

I just received in my email that for the next three days, all nail polish and soak-off gel polishes are Buy One, Get One FREE at Sally Beauty Supply!  It only excludes nail polish kits and OPI brand lacquers, but this is an added bonus in addition to their special running all throughout the month of April: Buy Two polishes, Get One free.

This BOGO Free offer expires on Thursday, April 10, so hurry to your nearest Sally Beauty Store!

I am going to try to pick up one of the chunky glitter toppers from the China Glaze "Surprise!" collection, as swatched by Jen over at The PolishAholic.  I can't resist an orange and blue glitter like "Glitter Up".

I am also supposed to be on a polish budget because I am going to Vegas in two months, so I might just pick up two inexpensive Sally Girl polishes from the limited edition line called "Fresh Picked".  They are four glitter chunks in a milky base polish.  G from NouveauCheap has photos of all four swatches.

Happy shopping!  What polishes do you have your eye on?

Ombre Nails, featuring polishes from an e.l.f. nail polish cube

 I was randomly browsing through the clearance section at Walgreens and I found a nail polish block that e.l.f. cosmetics sell as a gift set during the holidays.  There was no markdown price, so out of curiousity, I brought it to the cosmetics counter and the cashier said that she would sell it to me for $5 (half off the retail price).  For a 12-polish cube, I decided to try out e.l.f. polishes for the first time and bought it.

I was mostly surprised that the cashier offered to markdown the polish cube on her own.  I guess that they have the power to enter in whatever price they want in sales, as opposed to marking down products in certain increments over time.

e.l.f. 12 piece nail polish set

 

I was also inclined to buy this holiday cube because it contained three of the twelve polishes included in the e.l.f. Disney Villains nail cube: Smokin Hot, a red creme for Cruella deVil; Sea Escape, a glitter jelly for Ursula; and Gina Girl, a chunky glitter topper with a purple base for Maleficent.  Admittedly, I wanted everything Maleficent themed because she's my favorite Disney villain.

Looking at the other polishes in the cube, I pulled out most of the top level because they all look great in the current nude trend.  And after my last attempt at an ombre manicure, I decided to swatch the nude polishes in a type of block ombre that transitioned over each of my finger nails.

 

 e.l.f. polishes

For my ombre, I used (from left - right):

• Wedding Bells
• Desert Haze
• Blush
• Prissy Chrissy
• Nude

 

 e.l.f. "Wedding Bells"

"Wedding Bells" is a white creme, with pink undertones.  I applied three layers but it still left a bit of visible nail line.  It's a nice color included in the nail cube, but I believe Sinful Shine "I'm Blushing" has a nicer formula for this bare-bones nude.

 

e.l.f. "Desert Haze"

 

 Next, I applied "Desert Haze".  It is a light taupe creme polish that reaches full opacity in two coats.  It dries quite flat, so this polish truly benefits with a clear coat for shine.

 

 e.l.f. "Blush"

"Blush" is a peach-gold shimmer polish.  It's very pretty with my skintone, but somehow, it leaves me wanting something more.  The shimmer is bright even without a top coat. 

 

e.l.f. "Prissy Crissy"

 

"Prissy Crissy" is a dark coral creme.  This is a nice warm summer color, but once again, the formula lacks some shine when it dries.  I used two coats to reach opacity, and I suggest adding a top coat for shine.

 

e.l.f. "Nude" (on thumb) and block ombre manicure

 

"Nude" is the color I used on my thumb.  It is a mauve brown creme polish that also lacks shine when it dries.  This color is quite meh to me, and probably won't give it a second thought outside of this manicure.  Two coats still stayed streaky on the nail, and a third coat leveled out the formula.

e.l.f. block ombre nail manicure

Extending an ombre across your nails is an easy alternative to using the sponge-dabbing method in my last ombre attempt.