June 17, 2013

Gelish Mint Icing & a Testament to Gel Polish! ²

Today’s post is just a quickie swatch of Gelish Mint Icing, but it’s also a testament to SOG polish. My daughter graduated high school on Thursday (yay!), and I’m planning a big grad party at my house this coming Saturday. I apologize in advance if I’m quiet this week, but I have a lot of party preparations to take care of and many family members coming in from out of town.

I’ve been having some work done on the house and there was a huge mess to be cleaned up… plaster dust everywhere, so that was my agenda for this weekend. I started Friday night and just cleaned 2 bedrooms. I was wearing regular nail polish and half of it chipped off that first night. Saturday morning I woke up and started cleaning again, but my nails weren’t holding up well at all… they desperately needed some reinforcement/strength. So I took a short break from cleaning to apply some gel polish, the lovely Mint Icing color seen below. I hadn’t worn this color before and meant to take swatch pictures right away, but I got caught back up in cleaning and totally forgot. I ended up cleaning for almost 12 hours!! I bleached bathrooms, washed all of the hardwood floors, dusted… the works. These pics were taken the next day and my nails are still in perfect condition. And that’s why I love gel polish… I can clean, garden, and do just about anything I want and not have to worry about my nail polish chipping or nails breaking!

Mint Icing color is shimmery teal… it’s a little greener and less sparkly than Oocha Coocha. It’s a bit sheer for my taste. This is three coats and there’s still quite a bit of visible nail line.

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June 13, 2013

OPI Gelcolor Goldeneye ²

by Andrea • Other Gel (SOG) Swatches • Tags: Glitter, Gold, OPI Gelcolor, swatch

affiliate links purchased by me

I’ve been on a hunt for a gold glitter gel polish with full coverage and I finally found one! This is OPI Gelcolor Goldeneye from the Skyfall collection. I’ve seen this in the regular nail polish version, but didn’t realize it also existed in gel. This is the perfect addition to my collection… it’ll be awesome for accent nails. Score! It’s a very yellow gold, so I can see that a more muted gold might also come in handy.

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June 12, 2013

Colorful Stiletto Half Moon Nail Art ¹

by Andrea • Nail Art • Tags: All About The Glow, Gelish, nail art

affiliate links press sample

I saw this manicure over on Peace, Love, and Polish recently (which is actually a guest post by Nicole Gets Nailed), and I knew I had to try this with my Gelish All About the Glow colors. I love the stiletto shape of her nails, though I’m not brave enough to try to shape mine like that so I stuck with my standard square shape.

I started with three coats of different colors from the All About the Glow Collection: You Glare, I Glow (purple), Radiance is My Middle Name (blue), Sometimes A Girl’s Gotta Glow (green), I’m Brighter Than You (orange/peach) and Brights Have More Fun (pink). I topped each nail off with one thin coat of Gelish Top It Off, and wiped off the tacky layer. Then I used nail art striping tape to create the triangle shapes and I painted them in with Cult Nevermore. After Nevermore dried, I applied another thin coat of TIO and then I dotted the Gelish Foundation onto my nails where I wanted to place the gems. I put the gems in place, cured in my LED lamp and then applied one more thin coat of TIO over it all. It sounds like a lot of coats of polish, but I applied very thin layers and my nails don’t feel thick at all.

And guess where I wore this fancy mani… to the NKOTB concert! LOL I went to “The Package” tour and saw Boys II Men, 98 Degrees and NKOTB. I LOVED them back in middle school and I was offered a free ticket to attend the concert in a suite with lots of food and drinks. It was a good time, though I only knew the original songs from way back in the day.

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June 9, 2013

Guest Post: Gel Nail Art with Swarovski Crystals ⁵

by Andrea • Nail Art • Tags: gel polish, nail art, sog

I have a treat for you today!! I have long been admiring Kim Baker’s gorgeous gel polish manicures in some online forums. She creates elaborate designs with crystals, beads and gems that awe and inspire. I asked if she would be interested in writing a guest post to share her technique, and thankfully she accepted. Enjoy! ~ Andrea

Chickettes.com - gel polish with Swarovski crystal embellishments

Gel II Sky Blue, stamped with Sally Hansen rnp Gone Grey

Hello everyone, Andrea has invited me to let you know how I do my crystal manicures. I get a lot of my inspiration from some of the gorgeous Japanese nail art I’ve seen on the internet. I’ll have ideas rolling around in my head sometimes for days so the first thing I will do is swatch my designs to see if what’s in my head will translate nicely to the nail. Once I settle on a design, I gather all the gems and embellishments I plan to use and any tools like the Magical Pick and dotting tool or toothpick. I then do my gel polish mani as normal except for the top coat. I remove the sticky layer from the color coat with alcohol.

TruGel Boysenberry (purple) , IBD Hot Springs (green) Ink Diamond Snow (golden shimmer) stamped with rnp Sally Hansen Commander in Chic

Now I’m ready to apply the gems. One great tip is to use Gelish Foundation as the “glue” to place the gems and other embellishments in, using the gel also allows you to reposition any of your design if you need to. I swear Gelish Foundation is better than Super Glue, lol. Since using it I have not lost any crystals. You can use Super Glue but in my experience I did lose some gems using it. I will place a little Foundation gel on a small piece of foil and then using the dotting tool I place the gel on the nail where I want my crystals. Using the Magical Pick I pick the gems up and place them into the gel I laid down. Once I get the design where I want it I will cure for 30 seconds in an LED lamp to lock the gems in place. Now it’s time to top coat, I usually apply 2 coats over EVERYTHING, this helps to further secure the design. With normal wear the topcoat will wear off the tops of the stones but they should remain secure.

LeChat Pink Lady (pink) Orly Luxe (gold) stamped with rnp Sally Hansen Commander in Chic

I get a lot questions about what crystals I use and what colors and sizes. I prefer Swarovski stones because they really can’t be beat for the sparkle and color selection but there are some other economical alternatives like Korean DMC (diamond machine cut) glass stones. I prefer to buy from places that sell by the single stone so I can get more colors and sizes without breaking the bank. I will usually get 25-30 stones in a pack for about $1.75 – $2.50. If you are careful with your soak off you can reuse the stones. Good sizes to start with are SS5 – SS8, when I first starting using crystals I wouldn’t use anything bigger than SS6 but I have found that combining both smaller and larger (up to SS10) stones can make for much more interesting designs. As far as colors, I started with about 6-7 basic colors: clear, red, blue, green, yellow, pink and purple. Some of my favorite stones are the Swarovski opals, they really do look like opals on the nail and the AB (aurora borealis) stones, these have a special coating that make them flash a rainbow of colors.

With some many colors and sizes there really is no limit to what you can create, let you imagination go wild!

Mild East #69 (green, Ebay) stamped with Sally Hansen rnp Flashy Fuchsia. I would not recommend this gel brand because the soak off was a nightmare. Took over an hour to get it all off!

Swarovski Crystals:

Magical Pick:

Nail Labo Store

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June 7, 2013

KBShimmer 2013 Summer Colors ¹

by Andrea • Indie Polish Swatches • Tags: Glitter, indie polish, KBShimmer, swatch

press sample

KBShimmer just released their new summer collection which includes nine different nail polishes and some nail care items such as cuticle oil pens and a base coat. Today I have three polishes from this collection to share with you.

This is The Dancing Green. It has a green base with blueish undertones and is loaded with glitter of different shapes and sizes, in blue, green and purple shades. I love the color combination of this polish. I applied coats, and topped it off with 2 coats of KBShimmer Clearly On Top.

This next color is one of two matte polishes that are in the collection. This is 24 Carrot Bold (love the name), a bright orange polish with gold shimmer. This one is actually brighter than it appears in the pictures, and I took photos of it with the matte finish and with a top coat.

The third polish that I have to show you is Pimp My Pride, which is a white base with red and blue metallic glitter. I applied 2 coats of Pimp My Pride over 2 coats of China Glaze White on White, and topped it off with KBShimmer Clearly On Top. As the name suggests, this is a perfect polish to show American pride on holidays like Memorial Day and the Independence Day.

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June 5, 2013

Kate Bryan’s Date Night Look with Almay ⁰

by Andrea • Makeup

I was delighted to be asked by BlogHer to share this Almay-sponsored video series, “Different Occasions. Different Looks. Always Pretty.” In the first video, find out how you can get Kate’s Date Night Look!

I enjoy reading Kate’s blog, The Small Things, which covers a variety of topics including hair and beauty, fashion and crafts. This video is a great example of a simple, elegant look that anyone can achieve. I never spend more than 5-10 minutes applying makeup and this is definitely a look that I will try.

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June 4, 2013

Gelish High Bridge ²

by Andrea • Gelish Swatches • Tags: Gelish, Glitter, Pink, swatch

affiliate links purchased by me

I needed a quick and simple mani the other day and decided to wear Gelish High Bridge again. I swatched this polish a while ago, but accidentally deleted the photos before I had a chance to post them. Oops! This polish is sheer and shows some visible nail line, but I adore it. The base is pink, and it’s loaded with different color micro-glitter. I’ve seen other pictures of this color and they all looked like a much brighter pink… I’m not sure if the formula was changed or if mine is different, but it definitely isn’t as bright as I expected.

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June 1, 2013

Ink Cameo & Chrome Silver ⁰

by Andrea • Ink Soak Off Gel Swatches • Tags: Blue, Ink gel polish, Metallic, Silver, swatch

affiliate links purchased by me

I have a simple mani today… a teal and silver combo. The gorgeous minty teal blue color is Ink Cameo, and the silver accent is Ink Chrome Silver. I’m totally loving Cameo… it has a nice subtle shimmer. I didn’t put a base color under Chrome Silver and you can see a bit of natural nail underneath, but I think the coverage is good enough that it’s not too noticeable.

I hope to be able to do more swatching soon, but this is likely going to be a very busy month for me since my daughter is graduating high school and getting ready to go to Ohio State! We’re having a big party at the house and I have family flying in from a few different places. I’m trying to get some work on my house done AND it’s now gardening season too. So there’s just a lot going on! I’m hoping to make it up to you by having a few guest posts from some other talented ladies.

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May 27, 2013

Yellow & Grey Feather Skittlette Manicure ²

by Andrea • Nail Art • Tags: feather, Glitter, Grey, nail art, Stamps, Stripes, White, Yellow

affiliate links press sample purchased by me

I was inspired to create some nail art this weekend to compliment a dress that I wore to a wedding. I wore a light grey and white floral dress from The Limited that has a little yellow ribbon around the waist. The pop of yellow really made me want to do something fun with that color. I was at the craft store last week and saw a bag of spotted craft feathers, and the yellow caught my eye and gave me the idea to attempt a feather accent. I ended up with a skittlette of stripes, stamps, feathers, and glitter!

The colors used in this manicure are Couture Tres Chic, Gelish Cashmere Kind of Gal and Gelish Emerald Dust.

My index finger has three coats of Tres Chic, and I used nail art striping tape and Cashmere Kind of Gal to create some diagonal stripes.
My middle finger has two coats of Cashmere Kind of Gal, and a stamped design using Bundle Monster plate BM314 and Konad white stamping polish. I topped it off with one coat of Emerald Dust for some sparkle.
My ring finger also has two coats of Cashmere Kind of Gal, and then I applied a feather on top. To do this I applied a layer of Gelish Top It Off, and then stuck the feather on top and pressed it down so that it was flush with my nail. I cured it in my LED light for 45 seconds then used scissors to trim off the bulk of the excess feather and a nail file to clean up the edges. I applied one more coat of Top It Off and cured again.
My pinky finger just has three coats of Tres Chic and one coat of Emerald Dust, and my thumb has two coats of Cashmere Kind of Gal and one coat of Emerald Dust.

Here is a quick shot of my dress pattern and the ribbon.

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May 23, 2013

Couture High Maintenance & Glam Squad ⁰

by Andrea • Other Gel (SOG) Swatches • Tags: Couture, gel polish, Pink, Purple, Silver, swatch

affiliate links press sample

It’s been a busy week. My daughter’s HS prom is this weekend, and I have a friend coming in town and a wedding to attend on Sunday so I won’t have much time for swatching. I will be doing a French manicure for my daughter and I have some nail art planned to match the dress I’m wearing to the wedding, so you can expect some pictures of those next week.

In the meantime, I have a couple of Couture Gel Nail Polish swatches to share with you. Couture is a DIY brand meant for at-home use. I found that their starter kit is available on Amazon.com at a discount, though I don’t see the individual colors sold there.

These colors are from the Couture Spring 2013 collection. Application and soak-off were a breeze. The shimmery silver one is called High Maintenance. I wore this for a few days and loved it. It goes with everything and has just the right amount of sparkle for me.

The color below is Glam Squad. This one is the perfect combination of purple and pink. It looks pink next to purples, and purple next to pinks. I really like the uniqueness of the color. My lightbox washed the color out of these photos a bit, and it looks a little more pink than it actually was. I snapped a quick pic of this in regular lighting to try to capture the color a little better.