Glitter

Me.Lissa Custom Nail Lacquer 3

I have a few new indie polishes from Me.Lissa Custom Nail Lacquer to share with you today. I love glitter polishes that can be built up in layers to full opacity, so Me.Lissa sent me three polishes of this variety from her new Great Gatsby Collection to try.  The first picture that’s shown for each color demonstrates how they look based on the number of coats applied.  From left to right, they show 1 to 4 coats.  They all had really good coverage with three coats, they were very easy to apply and the glitter distributed evenly.  I swatched these polishes on their own, but they would also work great as toppers over other colors.  Visit the Me.Lissa Etsy store to purchase these polishes.  They are limited edition and will only be sold as long as supplies last, so get them while you can!

Struck Upon a Star has a purple tinted base and is loaded with different colored glitter in a variety of shapes and sizes, and some of them are iridescent and holographic.  There are also holographic stars in the mix.  I was a little worried when I first saw this polish that the stars might not lay down well, but I didn’t have any issues with them at all.  After applying three coats and a top coat, my nails had a nice glassy finish and the holographic effects were very cool.

Me.Lissa Custom Nail Lacquer - Struck Upon a Star
Me.Lissa Custom Nail Lacquer - Struck Upon a Star
Me.Lissa Custom Nail Lacquer - Struck Upon a Star

I Did Love Him Once has a pink shimmer base and red, black, and white square and hex glitters.  It also has some bar glitter and red hearts.  I had to do a little fishing to get the hearts, but I like that you could wear this with or without the hearts if you choose.

Me.Lissa Custom Nail Lacquer - I Did Love Him Once
Me.Lissa Custom Nail Lacquer - I Did Love Him Once
Me.Lissa Custom Nail Lacquer - I Did Love Him Once

Valley of Ashes has a grey base with a silvery shimmer and is loaded with black hex and micro glitters.  This might be my favorite of the three since I think it’s very versatile and could be worn with almost any outfit.  (Yes, I try to match my nails to my clothes LOL).

Me.Lissa Custom Nail Lacquer - Valley of Ashes
Me.Lissa Custom Nail Lacquer - Valley of Ashes
Me.Lissa Custom Nail Lacquer - Valley of Ashes

Gelish High Voltage Swatch 4

Are you ready for another glittery Gelish polish?! This is High Voltage – a pink jelly base that’s loaded with glitter.  I feel like such a girl… I can’t get enough glitter right now.  LOL This is three coats of High Voltage and it applied very evenly.  I’m working my way through these Gelish swatches.  At this rate I might have the entire line swatched by the end of the year!  I heard there will be some new summer colors coming out so hopefully I’ll know more soon.

I’m also working on some gel polish FAQ’s.  Let me know if you have any questions and I’ll try to address them in a post this week.

Gelish High Voltage Swatch

Gelish High Voltage Swatch

Gelish High Voltage

Gelish Golden Treasure & Twinkle Swatches 9

I’ve been searching for a gel polish that has fine gold glitter, but is also very dense and provides full coverage.  I purchased Gelish Golden Treasure and Gelish Twinkle, but unfortunately neither of them quite fit the bill since they don’t provide full coverage.  They are both lovely though and since they have a clear base they would be great glitter toppers over other colors.

In person I really can’t tell a huge difference between the two, so I don’t see the need to own both.  Twinkle is a little more of a yellow gold, and it has some holographic glitters sprinkled in the mix.  I applied three coats of each in the swatches below.

This is Golden Treasure:

Gelish Golden Treasure Swatch Gelish Golden Treasure Swatch

And this is Twinkle:

Gelish Twinkle Swatch Gelish Twinkle Swatch

Ink Nude Swatch 8

I have another Ink brand swatch for you today… this one’s called “Nude“.  It has a gorgeous shimmer finish and seems to just glow!  It’s a bit peachy for my personal taste, but this is a great neutral color. (Excuse the little bubbles in my top coat on the ring finger!)

Chickettes.com Ink Nude Swatch

Chickettes.com Ink Nude Swatch

I also couldn’t leave well enough alone and eventually added some loose holographic glitter to it.  This pic is intentionally blurry to show off the holo effects  :)

Chickettes.com Ink Nude w Holographic Glitter

Glitter Gradient Manicure 8

Oooohhhh… glitter!  I’m in love with loose glitter right now.  I just got a bunch of holographic glitters, so expect some more glitter manis from me in the future.  To achieve this gradient look I first applied my Gelish foundation, and then applied Ink When in Blue on just the tips (and the whole accent nail).  Then I took a dry makeup brush and dipped it in glitter and patted it onto the tips of my nails and pulled it downward creating the gradient effect.  I topped it off with two coats of Gelish Top It Off to get a completely smooth finish.  Check out Artsyfartsy Crafts on Ebay for loose glitter.

If you’re interested in seeing how this glitter gradient was achieved, I added a video tutorial.

This first picture was taken in my lightbox.

Chickettes.com Nude to Glitter Gradient

The next two photos were taken under my OttLite, in attempt to better show off the shininess and holographic glitter effects.

Chickettes.com Nude to Glitter Gradient Chickettes.com Nude to Glitter Gradient

And finally, two macro shots to give an even closer look. :)

Chickettes.com Nude to Glitter Gradient Chickettes.com Nude to Glitter Gradient

Smitten Polish – Hocus Pocus 7

This is an indie by Smitten Polish that I purchased a while ago. I’m not sure why I waited so long to try this polish – it’s really stunning. It has a purple jelly base with really fine fuchsia holographic glitter. Application was very smooth and it built up well. It was mostly opaque with just two coats, but I applied three for good measure and then topped it off with two coats of Seche Vite for a glossy finish. Smitten Polish can be purchased from their Etsy Shop or at Llarowe, which is where I found this one.  You can see my other Smitten Polish swatches here.

Smitten Polish - Hocus Pocus Swatch - Indie Polish
Chickettes.com Smitten Polish - Hocus Pocus Swatch - Indie Polish

You can see the glitter effects a little better when the image is blurry…

Chickettes.com Smitten Polish - Hocus Pocus Swatch - Indie Polish

Shimmer Polish Swatches 6

I have some more beauties from Shimmer Polish for you today. These are all glitter polishes with clear bases that I paired with other colors. The glitter applies evenly and with ease, and as with most glitter it is top coat thirsty so I topped each mani off with two coats of Seche Vite for a smooth finish.

First up is Elsa, which has turquoise, gold and red glitter.  I applied this over black (Cult Nails Nevermore).

Shimmer Polish "Elsa" Swatch

Next is Lucie, a silver and red glitter mixture.  I applied one coat of this over a silver holographic polish (Julep Rebel).

Shimmer Polish "Lucie" Swatch

This is Nichole, a combination of red, blue and silver glitter.  I applied Nichole over white (OPI Alpine Snow).  This color combo reminds me of the 4th of July.

Shimmer Polish "Nicole" Swatch

This is Julie, which is a mix of several different colored glitters.  This one is really quite stunning over black (Cult Nails Nevermore).

Shimmer Polish "Julie" Swatch

And finally we have Jennifer, which has soft blue and periwinkle glitters.  I paired this with a light tan color (OPI Did You ‘Ear About Van Gogh?).

Shimmer Polish "Jennifer" Swatch

I wanted to see what Jennifer would look like with a matte top coat, so I applied Essie Matte About You over top.  I love how glitter polishes look with a matte top – it really accentuates the colors of the glitter.

Shimmer Polish "Jennifer" Swatch

*Products provided for review.

St. Patrick’s Day Shamrock Nail Art 1

Yay… it’s March, and spring is just around the corner! I planted my seedlings this past weekend and I can’t wait for warmer weather. Last year St. Patrick’s Day was unusually warm for this time of year, and I’m hoping for a repeat!

I was inspired to do some St. Paddy’s Day nail art when I got my Square Hue box in the mail the other day. The three colors in the box were “Patty’s Pint” (dark emerald green shimmer), “Blonde Ale” (light tan/gold shimmer), and “Amber Lager” (amber/bronze shimmer). I used the first two colors in this manicure, and I applied Julep Vivien over the Blonde Ale for some gold glitter. I used China Glaze Passion and a dotting tool to create the shamrock, and then I added a few random green “glequins” for a little extra glitz!

Chickettes.com St. Patrick's Day Shamrock Nail ArtChickettes.com St. Patrick's Day Shamrock Nail Art

Shimmer Polish “Kim” – Glitter Gradient Mani 3

I have another beauty from Shimmer Polish for you today! I created a glitter gradient using Shimmer Polish “Kim” over China Glaze Spontaneous, topped with two coats of Seche Vite for a shiny finish. Kim is a mix of purple and blue glitters in a clear base, and it was very easy to apply and work with.

Shimmer Polish "Kim" Glitter GradientShimmer Polish "Kim" Glitter Gradient

*Products provided for review.

Shimmer Polish – Mary 3

My manicure today is what I call a jelly sandwich or glitter sandwich… a coat of glitter polish between two coats of colored polish.  The glitter layer is Shimmer Polish “Mary” which has red, black and silver glitter in a clear base with a red tint.  I combined this with China Glaze Seduce Me, and topped it off with two coats of Seche Vite.  I love how this turned out!  You can see more examples of Mary in Shimmer Polish’s Etsy store – it looks great on top of red too!

Shimmer Polish "Mary" - Jelly Sandwich Mani

*Products provided for review.