Summer Dotticure

Welcome back!

A couple of days ago, I posted a picture of this manicure on Instagram. So here are the details! If you haven't checked out my Instagram, you can find it here.

Green: Nicole by OPI Lay It On the Lime from their "Seize the Summer" collection
White: Salon Perfect Sugar Cube
Black: Salon Perfect Oil Slick

This was easy to do. After painting my nails black, I put white dots on top. When those dots were completely dry, I put the lime color on top of the white dots. The white base helps the green show up true to color, and makes it look better. It will match the other nails better, because it can be hard to get a true to color dot on top of black polish.

Thanks for reading! <3

OPI Brazil Collection Review: Part 2!

I'm back with part two of the review of the OPI Brazil Collection!

I'm  OPI Scores A Goal
Coats: 2-3
Color Family: Brown
Formula: Cream
Surprisingly, I liked this color. I am not a big fan of nudes or browns on my nails. It was definitely brown, but in some lighting, you could see a wine colored undertone to it. I think that's what made this polish different and special to me. When I first applied one coat, I did not like it. It looked bad, and then I put on the second coat. It made it look so much better then!

I São Paulo Over There
Coats: 2
Color Family: Nude
Formula: Cream
Unfortunately, this one did not make me feel the same as OPI Scores a Goal. I just do not like nudes, so they have to be something special for me to like it. The formula was good, but I couldn't wait to take this color off. I definitely have a polish very similar to it, and it is by e.l.f., so it only costs a dollar or two.

Taupe-less Beach
Coats: 3
Color Family: Taupe/Nude
Formula: Cream
This one was a better nude color for me personally. I did like this one better than I Sao Paulo Over There, and it was lighter. It's still probably not something that I would commonly reach for, but for those who like nudes, I think it was pretty.

Don't Bossa Nove Me Around
Coats: 3
Color Family: Nude
Formula: Cream
This color was gorgeous! I loved it. It had this beautiful sheen to it. It reminded me of Don't Honk Your Thorn from China Glaze's City Florish collection, but had less sparkle to it. Since this one was lighter, and had a sheen to it, I can handle this nude better than most.

Next Stop...the Bikini Zone
Coats: 3
Color Family: Duochrome
Formula: Metallic
This duochrome polish had purple and gray tones to it. I liked it alright. The first coat that I applied was very sheer, but it looked much more opaque once I had three coats. However, I found some spots in it when I was taking my pictures. This was the first duochrome that I've tried, and I unfortunately wasn't a huge fan of it. I'm not sure if it was this one in particular, or all duochromes. It does make me want to try more, though.

Amazon Amazoff
Coats: 3
Color Family: Blue
Formula: Jelly
I loved this polish. It was great. I tried it during a swatch, instead of wearing it as a full manicure. I didn't want to take it off, though! It was so opaque, but still looked squishy, like a true jelly. It was so smooth, applied easily, and looked smooth, too. My only complaint about this polish is the color and collection it was released with. Because I felt that this was more of a fall color, than a spring or even summer color.


Overall, I loved the collection. They were good formulas, and I liked the colors. I just didn't feel that they were all spring colors.


Thanks for reading <3


*All opinions are my own and truthful. I purchased all polishes with my own money.

Fourth of July/Patriotic Nail Art Ideas!

Hey guys! I have been debating whether or not I want to post this, since the Fourth of July has obviously been long gone. I decided I would, because I figured these could be used for Labor Day, or next year around the Fourth! It's been such a busy summer, but I'm really excited to show you guys the festive nails that I've had!

White: OPI Alpine Snow

Blue Texture: Zoya Pixie Dust Sunshine

Red Texture: OPI Liquid Sand I'm a Little Brazil Nuts Over You

Blue: Revlon Parfumerie Moonlit Woods

Red: NYC Long Wearing Nail Enamel Red Velvet Rope

White: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Matte White Pick It Fence

Glitter: Sally Hansen Color Frenzy Red, White & Hue

Texture: OPI Liquid Sand Wharf! Wharf! Wharf!

Blue: Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Batbano Blue

White: OPI Alpine Snow

Red: OPI Love Athletes in Cleats

Blue: OPI 7th Inning Strrretch

Red: China Glaze Salsa

White: China Glaze White on White

Blue: China Glaze Blue Iguana

Red: China Glaze Salsa

White: China Glaze White on White

Blue: China Glaze Blue Iguana

White: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Matte White Pick It Fence

Red & Black Spots: Maybelline Color Show Wild at Heart

Glitter: Finger Paints Red, White & Hue

Red: Salon Perfect Nail Art Laser Beam

White: Pure Ice Pretty 'n Patriotic

Red: Pure Ice Lady Liberty

Glitter: Pure Ice Sparks Fly

White: Pure Ice Pretty 'n Patriotic

Blue: Pure Ice I Pledge Naillegiance

Glitter: Pure Ice Freedom

And that's it! Those are all of my festive nails! I had a lot more that I wanted to do, but I didn't get around to doing them. Hopefully I'll find time to do a design or two before and for Labor Day.

For more nail pictures, be sure to check out my Instagram here.

Thanks for reading <3

*All opinions are my own and truthful. I purchased all polishes with my own money.

OPI Brazil Collection Review: Part 1!

Hey guys! I know it's been forever, but I've been working on reviewing several different polish lines, and I've been super busy! Today, I'll be reviewing the OPI Brazil collection that came out for Spring/Summer of 2014.

This collection has 12 different polishes. I'm going to split it into two posts, because otherwise, this would take forever.

*Keep in mind...the average nail polish requires 3 coats for me, not just 2. With a polish that only needs 2 coats for most people, I will do 3. If I need 4, there is a good chance most people will need 3 coats with it. This is just because of the way I paint my nails.

Red Hot Rio

Coats: 3
Color Family: Red
Formula: Jelly
I am not the biggest fan of red nails in general, so for me to like a red nail polish, it needs to be good. This was not a love of mine. It went on well, and thanks to the dark color, I only needed three coats, but I just didn't care for it. I felt that it showed ever imperfection on my nail, and was not very forgiving for mistakes. This was not a super opaque formula. I call it a jelly, but I believe most people would call it a crelly (mix between a jelly and a cream).

Kiss Me I'm Brazilian
Coats: 3
Color Family: Pink
Formula: Cream
A true, girly pink. It's a pretty color, but I feel like I've seen it before. I feel like I've had this color on my nails a million times. And I know that I'll see it again. The formula works, and is good, but nothing spectacular or special.

Live.Love.Carnaval

Coats: 3
Color Family: Pink
Formula: Cream
This was a gorgeous color. It is a dark pink, with some orange-y, coral-y tones. I don't personally own any colors like this, so I loved having it. It was different, and looked nice. I like how it is a fun color, but still looks professional, as long as it stands alone. The formula was good, typical for OPI.

Toucan Do It If You Try
Coats: 2
Color Family: Pink
Formula: Cream
This polish was great. Again, I do not own anything else like it, so I wasn't upset that I had another polish that was the same. The formula was good, and I only needed 2-3 coats. I believe most nails were two coats, but some were three. The color I call a pink, but whenever I put it next to anything else (especially a true pink polish) it looked orange. There were definitely orange tones in the color.

Where Did Suzi's Man-go?
Coats: 3
Color Family: Orange
Formula: Cream
This polish...ugh. It is a gorgeous color. I loved it. The color is a very true to name mango orange. Beautiful. But the formula...no. It was uneven. There's no other way to describe it. When I put on all three coats, I kept thinking it would get better as I went, but it never did. Adding top coat helped, but it was still noticeably patchy and uneven. It's not so bad that it can't work, but it's difficult.

I Just Can't Cope-acabana
Coats: 3
Color Family: Yellow
Formula: Cream
Love! It's a yellow polish that WORKS! Personally, I think yellow nails can be so cute. The only problem is finding a good yellow polish. Often times, the formula is bad, or it's a really dark yellow, and it just doesn't work. This one works. I call this a "banana yellow." It's vibrant and bright, but not a neon yellow. The formula was nice and even, and only the tiniest bit streaky. I was very pleasantly surprised.

That's it for my first half! What do you guys think about these polishes? Any you've tried or that you want to try? Leave me a comment! And stay tuned for part TWO!!




*All opinions are my own and truthful. I purchased all polishes with my own money.

China Glaze City Flourish Collection Review!

Hey everyone!

I have been working for a long time on getting these all swatched for this, and ready to review. Finally, I'm ready! Let's go!

First of all, there are 12 polishes in this collection, so it's gonna be a long post. They are gorgeous though! Out of the 12, 5 of them are pinks. That seemed like a lot to me. And it was hard to tell them apart in the bottle. But once they are next to each other, you can see the difference.

Keep in mind...the average nail polish requires 3 coats for me, not just 2. With a polish that only needs 2 coats for most people, I will do 3. If I need 4, there is a good chance most people will need 3 coats with it. This is just because of the way I paint my nails.

Grass is Lime Greener

Coats: 3
Color Family: Green
I was in love with this color! I did it as early St. Patrick's Day nails, and they were perfect! I loved how it was a very bright green, but it was not overwhelming.

Strike a Rose
Coats: 3-4
Color Family: Pink
This color had some shimmer in it, but they are hard to see in the swatch. It was a gorgeous darker pink, with some rosy hues to it. I would call this pink, though the name kind of implies red. It was fine to work with, but did require an extra coat on some nails.

Metro Pollen-Tin

Coats: 3
Color Family: Yellow
I absolutely loved this color. It was so pretty, and was not like any color that I already had, which is good. It was opaque, but it looks thick. I was nothing crazy, just was a little thicker formula than the rest.

Thistle Do Nicely
Coats: 3
Color Family: Pink
Beautiful color. This is a bright pink neon color. There is not much else though. Fine formula, but another pink.

Don't Honk Your Thorn

Coats: 3
Color Family: Brown/Tan
This was one of my favorite colors. It was absolutely stunning. It is a very light tan color, with amazing shimmer to it. It has both a slight shimmer, and a sheen, which almost makes it look like there is a light pink tint to it. Unfortunately, I did this color when I was just doing several swatches, and I did not get to wear it for too long. I am dying to put it back on.

Petal to the Metal
Coats: 2 or 3
Color Family: Pink
A pretty, lighter pink, it went on well. It was vibrant, but not a neon. I felt that there are probably dupes for it, though. I did get a few compliments when I was wearing just this color, however.

What a Pansy

Coats: 2
Color Family: Purple
Some people might call this purple, some might call it blue, and I call it gorgeous. I got the most compliments on this, including someone at a beauty supply store, who asked what it was, and then said she might have to go buy it. It is an amazing color, and something that I have nothing like.

Peonies & Park Ave
Coats: 4
Color Family: Pink
This was a very pretty color. However, it was not a great formula. It was streaky, and uneven on most nails. It also showed every ridge, crack and peeled area of my nails, basically highlighting my imperfections. If you do not use a base coat with this polish, it will do this.

At Vase Value
Coats: 3-4
Color Family: Blue
I saw someone call this mint, but I definitely call it a light blue. It is the perfect color (in my opinion) for a "sky" background. Although I do not have any personal recommendations, I felt that this color is possibly dupe-able.

Lotus Begin
Coats: 3
Color Family: Purple
I liked this color pretty well. The formula was a mix. It was opaque, only needing 2 coats on most nails,  although I did go ahead and do three. The bad part was that it, as well, was uneven.

Spring in my Step
Coats: 4-5
Color Family: Pink
This was an odd color. I painted 4 coats on my nails with this, but not necessarily for the opacity. It was mostly opaque after 3 coats, but it was uneven. I had things to do after 4 coats, so I did not have a chance to topcoat it before moving on. After a few hours, I had time, and decided to paint a 5th coat just before the top coat...and this PERFECTED it! The polish was suddenly much less streaky. Overall, it was a beautiful color.

In a Lily Bit
Coats: 3
Color Family: Purple
A pretty color, but a I had a strong "been there, done that" feeling toward this polish. Good formula, again, just nothing outrageously special or horrible.



Here is a comparison of the pinks, all next to each other:

Thistle Do Nicely dries to a matte finish, without a topcoat. In the bottle, these pinks look very similar, but once they are all swatched and next to each other, you can tell the difference.

Overall, I love this collection. The colors are gorgeous, and very spring-y. The formula was good enough to work with on all of the polishes. My favorite polish from the whole collection was probably What a Pansy, and my second favorite was Don't Honk Your Thorn.

Thanks for reading <3

*All opinions are my own and truthful. I purchased all polishes with my own money.

China Glaze Sea Goddess Collection Review

Hey guys!

Today I'll be talking about the China Glaze Sea Goddess collection. Has anyone else noticed how many collections China Glaze has had lately? And so far, I'm in love with the ones that I've tried!

This collection has six shades total. They are all textures, which I did not ever see them advertised as, but they were. I had tried a couple of the China Glaze "Texture" polishes, and were hoping these would be different. And they were!

Overall, I was impressed. They reminded me much more of the OPI Liquid Sand. Still different, but more like those than the "Textures" were.

From Left to Right: Seahorsin' Around, Teal the Tide Turns, Tail Me Something, Sand Dolla Make You Holla, Shell We Dance?, and Wish On a Starfish.

Seahorsin' Around

Seahorsin' Around: This was one of the best colors and formulas in the bunch. It went on smooth, was shiny, and was a very unique color for a textured polish. It really reminded me of the ocean.

Sand Dolla Make You Holla

Sand Dolla Make You Holla: I was so excited for this color. I couldn't get over how unique of a polish it was, especially if it was textured. Unfortunately, the texture was not really there, and it was a horrible formula. It took at least five coats, and I was still not satisfied with the opacity and quality. It just looked crappy, to be truthful.

Shell We Dance?

Shell We Dance?: This had a great formula! It was another that was similar to the OPI Liquid Sand polishes. It went on smooth, and didn't get clumpy or thick. It was a pretty color, too; sort a pinky, coral color, with glitter in it.

Wish On A Starfish

Wish On A Starfish: I LOVED this color! It was one of the best formulas. It was the closest in formula to OPI Liquid Sand. It's a light pink color with A LOT of shimmer. Gorgeous!

Teal the Tide Turns

Teal the Tide Turns: This one was not as gorgeous as the last. It was thick, and did not go on quite right. The color was alright, but the glitter was not as fine. If the formula was better, it would probably be a lot better...I just could not love it.

Tail Me Something

Tail Me Something: This. Was. Gorgeous. I loved this color! It went on smoothly, shimmered perfectly in the sunlight, and it was a pretty color to begin with. If it wasn't for having an inability to keep polish on for any length of time, I would have left this on longer. LOVE!

Overall, the collection was great. My favorite two were Tail Me Something and Wish on a Starfish. My least favorite two were definitely Sand Dolla Make You Holla (sadly...) and Teal the Tide Turns. I would definitely spend the money on the others, though! Also, this month, all China Glaze polishes are buy one, get one free at Sally Beauty Supply!

Thanks for reading <3

* All opinions are my own and truthful. I purchased all polishes with my own money.

Essie Resort Collection Review

Hello!

Today I am going to review one of the new collections from Essie. This is their Resort collection!

Polishes (from left to right): Cocktails & Coconuts, Resort Fling,

Under the Twilight, and Find Me an Oasis.

This collection has just the four colors shown above. I did see at one point that Ulta had a set of four minis, which included all of these colors. That is always an option, but I always prefer full size over minis in nail polish, because the brushes are bigger.

Cocktails & Coconuts: This is a very pretty, tan color. There are these super tiny specks of gold shimmer in it, which makes it absolutely gorgeous when it catches the light just right. The color reminded me of sand, which makes me miss summer so bad! The only bad thing...this color required 5 coats for me. Now, typically, I need at least one more coat than most people do, because I do thinner coats than most. I also had horrible staining of a dark color, which I was trying to cover up. At a minimum, though, it would need 3 coats, but it would probably be more like 4. If you have the patience, then sit down and do it, because the color is beautiful!

Find Me an Oasis: This is the light blue color. I almost did not buy this one, because I felt like it was very similar to Essie's Mint Candy Apple, which I already own. I went ahead and purchased it, and boy am I glad I did! This is almost a Robin's egg blue. It's very light on the hands, and looks amazing! I just could not get over how good it looks on the fingers. I felt so classy with it on. This color was a 4-coater for me. Again, most people would probably only need 3, but I like thin coats. Definitely worth the time.

Resort Fling: I am OBSESSED with this color! I surprisingly do not own anything like it, yet. It is sort of an orangey-peach color. Here's the bad news...I did not like the formula. I used 3 coats with this one, and while most of it looked good, it was a little streaky and patchy. There were parts that looked very smooth, and great, but parts that had hardly any polish. And I am always very careful when applying to make it as even as possible on every layer. I'm hoping to find a similar color with a better formula. If not, you could make this work, but it would be hard.

Under the Twilight: I'm not sure how I feel about this color. In the bottle, it looks like a deep, almost black, purple. When I put it on, it was a little darker than I expected, but I still could catch the glimpses of purple in the light. However, as you'll see in the picture, it came out much darker than in the bottle. I tried so hard, but getting a picture that showed its true color was impossible. It only took 2 coats, even for me, which is amazing. It stained my skin though, and clean up was hard. Also, am I the only one that felt that this color did not go with the others? Again, not horrible, just not sure how much I'll be reaching for it.

Overall, I liked the collection! I loved that it was small, with only 4 colors in it, so buying them all didn't break my bank account. My favorite one was definitely Find Me an Oasis. I would recommend that you go out and purchase a couple though, especially that one!

Thanks for reading <3

* All  opinions are my own and truthful. I purchased all polishes with my own money.