May 2, 2013

Gelish Rio Neon Rainbow Nail Art 2

by Andrea • Nail Art • Tags: , ,

affiliate links purchased by me
I posted the Gelish Rio Neon swatches earlier today, but forgot to post the nail art that I did with these colors! :) The pink seen here is actually Daisy Classy Pink instead of Shake It Til You Samba because I hadn’t received that color yet when I did this. I started with a base of Sheek White, and applied the neons over top to give the colors more pop! I created a striped rainbow effect on the ring finger and added a stamp on top. Vegas Nights was also applied on top for some sparkle!

neon-rainbow-nail-art

May 2, 2013

Gelish Rio Neon Collection Swatches 7

by Andrea • Gelish Swatches • Tags: , ,

affiliate links purchased by me
I have another set of Gelish swatches for you! This is the Rio Neon collection that was released previously. Since Gelish will be releasing a new neon collection very soon, I wanted to swatch this older collection for comparison purposes.  All of these colors applied with ease, no wrinkling or curing issues.  A few of the colors are actually on the thin side and are a bit transparent leaving a visible nail line.

Gelish Rio Neon Collection Swatches

Gelish Rio Neon Collection Swatches

As you would expect with a neon collection, the colors are bright!!  This is Shake It Til You Samba, a neon pink.  This is a very fun summer color, and it has great coverage with just two coats.

Gelish Shake It Til You Samba Gelish Shake It Til You Samba

Tiki Tiki Laranga is a neon orange.  This color did have some shrinkage issues and pulled back from the edges a little.

Gelish Tiki Tiki Laranga Swatch Gelish Tiki Tiki Laranga Swatch

Coco Cabana Banana… the name says it all… hello yellow!

Gelish Coco Cabana Banana Swatch Gelish Coco Cabana Banana Swatch

Amazon Flirt is a neon green.  You’ll need a pair of sunglasses when you wear this or Coco Cabana!  ;)

Gelish Amazon Flirt Swatch Gelish Amazon Flirt Swatch

Ooba Ooba Blue… this one doesn’t really seem neon to me.  This color is a bit thin and I had some shrinkage issues.  I’d recommend Sugar Daddy over this blue since the colors are similar and it has much better coverage.

Gelish Ooba Ooba Blue Swatch Gelish Ooba Ooba Blue Swatch

And finally, Carnaval Hangover.  On all of the Gelish swatches this appears to be purple, and when you put it next to the other colors in this collection it is purple-ish… however next to other colors in my collection, this appears to be more on the pink side than purple.  It also doesn’t strike me as being “neon”, but it’s a gorgeous color and I’ve worn it a few times already.  It also has great coverage with just two coats.

Gelish Carnaval Hangover Swatch Gelish Carnaval Hangover Swatch

April 30, 2013

Beauty Blogger Spotlight on Cosmetics Aficionado 2

by Andrea • Uncategorized • Tags:

chickettes

April has been Beauty Blogger Appreciation Month over at Cosmetics Aficionado, and my spotlight is posted today. Head over to Leticia’s site to read my interview and to meet some other beauty bloggers!

I had fun taking some silly pics in front of my polish shelf so I could provide a head shot to accompany the interview.  I thought they turned out kind of cute, so I put together this little collage to show some of the other shots.  :)

April 28, 2013

Gelish Candyland Collection 2

by Andrea • Gelish Swatches • Tags: , ,

affiliate links purchased by me

Chickettes.com Gelish Candyland Collection Swatches

Last spring Gelish released the Candyland collection, filled with bright, cheerful colors.  I’m swatching this collection and the Rio Neon collection so that I can compare them to the new All About the Glow collection that’s slated to be released in May.

Each of theses swatches is three coats of color.  The formulas in this collection are nice – the colors all apply easily and I didn’t have any issues with thickness or wrinkling.

Chickettes.com Gelish Candyland Collection Swatches

This is You’re So Sweet You’re Giving Me a Toothache.  It’s a creamy light pink.  Rumor has it this color fades a little after application, so I’ll do a swatch stick comparison of this if I see any fading.  You’re so sweet is very close in color to Pink Smoothie, but it’s slightly darker.

Gelish You're So Sweet You're Giving Me a Toothache Gelish You're So Sweet You're Giving Me a Toothache

This is Sugar ‘N Spice & Everything Nice, a bright pink.

Gelish Sugar N Spice & Everything Nice Gelish Sugar N Spice & Everything Nice

This is Don’t Be Such a Sourpuss, yellow with a subtle shimmer.

Don't Be Such a Sourpuss Gelish Don't Be Such a Sourpuss

This is You’re Such a Sweet-Tart, green with a subtle shimmer.

Gelish You're Such a Sweet-Tart Gelish You're Such a Sweet-Tart

This is Sugar Daddy, a fun, bright blue.

Gelish Sugar Daddy Gelish Sugar Daddy

This is Orange Cream Dream.  I took these pictures a while ago, so the format it a little different from the others.  :)

Gelish Orange Cream Dream

Gelish Orange Cream Dream

April 25, 2013

Ink Calypso Swatch & More Shade Shifter Fun 2

by Andrea • Ink Soak Off Gel Swatches, Nail Art • Tags: , , , ,

I’ve been wearing Ink Calypso for a couple of days, and today I decided to play with Orly Shade Shifter again and turn my teal mani into some cool color changing nail art.  I started with 2 coats of Calypso, then applied 2 coats of Orly Shade Shifter.  I applied one thin coat of Gelish Izzy Wizzy Let’s Get Busy for a blue/purple duochrome glitter effect.  Next, I used a dotting tool to add some flowers and dots on top, and then topped everything off with my Gelish top coat.  What do you think???

You can view my video demo of Orly Shade Shifter here.  To use it, you apply two coats of Shade Shifter over your base color (curing after each coat), and then apply your top coat.  It makes your nails black when they are cold and goes clear when they are warm to show the color underneath.  And sometimes you can see the transition as seen in the photo below.

Chickettes.com Color Changing Nail Art with Orly Shade Shifter

Chickettes.com Color Changing Nail Art with Orly Shade Shifter

And here are my photos of Ink Calypso before I applied Shade Shifter.

Chickettes.com Ink Calypso Swatch

Chickettes.com Ink Calypso Swatch

April 24, 2013

Ink Infamous Swatch 9

by Andrea • Ink Soak Off Gel Swatches • Tags: , ,

affiliate links purchased by me
Who’s ready for another Ink Soak Off Gel Polish swatch??? This is #77 Infamous.  It’s a pretty light pink with a frosty finish.  In real life it’s actually slightly more pink than it appears in the pictures, but the color got a little washed out in the lightbox.  I think this is a great neutral color, and it works well with my skin tone.  I’m really loving these Inks!

You may notice that I created a new category for Ink swatches, and there’s a new link to them in the dropdown menu on the navigation bar above.  I did some shopping online for more Inks yesterday and I had a really hard time finding swatches other than the little color bubbles that the manufacturer shows.  I like seeing colors on someone’s nails before I buy, so I guess I may have to be a guinea pig for everyone and make the swatches!  LOL

Ink #77 Infamous Gel Polish Swatch

Ink #77 Infamous Gel Polish Swatch

April 23, 2013

Gelish All About the Glow Collection Coming May 2013 0

by Andrea • Press Releases • Tags: , ,

Gelish All About the Glow LogoGelish All About the Glow Bottles

(From left to right: I’m Brighter Than You, Make You Blink Pink, Radiance Is My Middle Name, Sometimes A Girl’s Gotta Glow, You Glare; I Glow, and Brights Have More Fun)

THIS SUMMER LOOKS BRIGHTER THAN EVER

Gelish MINI Presents Six New Eye-Catching Colors for the 2013 Summer Season

BREA, Calif. – (April 2013) –Gelish MINI® is preparing to launch what will be the “brightest collection, yet.” Bold words, for bold colors, now known as the Gelish® MINI All About the Glow Collection.  All About the Glow is expected to be available starting May 2013.

Originally sparked by the idea of big city lights and party glow sticks, the idea was to capture those same bright colors you would see at night, on a summer day.

Women with tan skin, wearing brightly colored swimsuits on the beach gives that excitement of summer, and with this collection, the Gelish® MINI team wanted to bring that same feeling to anyone, any time of year. And besides, what woman doesn’t want to glow?

All About the Glow features six new colors, each appropriately named to match the theme for the collection:

  • Sometimes A Girl’s Gotta Glow: Brilliant lime green
  • Radiance Is My Middle Name: Vibrant teal
  • You Glare, I Glow: Electric purple
  • Brights Have More Fun: Hot pink
  • Make You Blink Pink: Light pink
  • I’m Brighter Than You: Vivid coral

Gelish® MINI products are available exclusively at Sally Beauty Supply stores nationwide and online at sallybeauty.com. Follow Gelish® MINI on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and on Instagram (@GelishMINI).

Gelish® MINI comes in an array of colors, applies like polish, with a twist cap and applicator, but are cured in an LED lamp for 30 seconds or in two minutes with a traditional UV lamps, just like gels. Gelish® MINI stays on the nail for up to three weeks of beautiful wear, with no chipping or peeling. Gelish MINI® soaks off completely in only 15 minutes. For more information, please visit www.gelishminis.com.

April 23, 2013

Ink Pharaoh Swatch 8

by Andrea • Ink Soak Off Gel Swatches • Tags: , , ,

affiliate links purchased by me
When I placed my recent order for Ink gel polishes I realized that my collection is lacking the color yellow. To fill the void I purchased Pharaoh, which has a gorgeous shimmer finish like many of the Ink polishes. I have to say that the color is a bit out of my comfort zone. I’m not sure that it looks good on me all on it’s own, but I think I could probably do something really fun and funky nail art with it!

The more I try these Ink brand polishes, the more I love them. They apply like butter – really, no issues with thickness or wrinkling at all. And they seem to soak off very easily. If you watched my recent video about how to remove gel polish, that was an Ink brand polish that I had on and you can see that it came off almost in one sheet with very little scraping needed.

Chickettes.com Ink Pharaoh Swatch

Chickettes.com Ink Pharaoh Swatch

April 20, 2013

Gold Leopard Print Nail Art 4

by Andrea • Nail Art • Tags: , , , ,

affiliate links purchased by me
I’m attending a fundraiser this evening for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the theme is “Boots & Bling”.  I’ve been stressing about this for the last two weeks trying to find the perfect outfit and of course I knew I had to “bling” my nails to match!  I didn’t own a pair of cowboy (cowgirl?) boots, so that was the first item I had to search for.  I didn’t want to spend a fortune because it’s highly unlikely that I will wear them again, except maybe on Halloween.  So I headed over to a resale shop called Plato’s Closet and ended up finding my entire getup for the event for just $20!  I bought a pair of boots, a leopard print dress, and a small gold purse to match.  Score!

Chickettes.com Gold & Leopard Print Inspired Nail Art

The nail art was all done with Gelish.  The leopard print nails started with a base of Medieval Madness, and one coat of Twinkle for some gold sparkle.  Then I used a dotting tool and drew on the leopard spots using Sweet Chocolate and Meet the King.  The “bling” finger has a base of Meet the King, and I brushed on some loose gold glitter into the tacky layer before applying the top coat.  I wasn’t able to get the glitter perfectly smooth, so there are some small imperfections.  On my thumb and pinky, I applied two coats of Sweet Chocolate and then used nail art striping tape to create the triangle shapes that I filled in using Meet the King.  And finally I applied some gold stud accents that were purchased at Michael’s craft store.   Whew!  This took some time.  :)

Chickettes.com Gold & Leopard Print Inspired Nail Art

I also found a cute little leopard print ring at Charming Charlies.

Chickettes.com Gold & Leopard Print Inspired Nail Art

Chickettes.com Gold & Leopard Print Inspired Nail Art

Chickettes.com Gold & Leopard Print Inspired Nail Art

Here is a closer look at the pattern of the dress and the belt that I’m going to wear with it.  You can see where I got the inspiration for the thumb and pinky with the round gold studs.

gold-leopard-inspiration

April 17, 2013

VIDEO: How to Remove Gel Nail Polish from Home 4

by Andrea • Videos • Tags: , ,

At the request of many, I created a short video that shows how to remove gel polish using the foil method.  In general, the longer you soak, the easier the removal will be.  Let your nails soak for 10-15 minutes before checking on them and then scrape off what you can with an orange stick.  If your polish doesn’t come off easily, put the foil back on and soak longer.  You don’t want to damage your nails by scraping with force to remove gel polish that’s still stuck on the nail.

You can read my previous article about how to remove gel polish here.
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