Sunday Gradient

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Last week I tried my first gradient manicure in over a year!

I'm quite happy with how it turned out. It's certainly not up to The Nailasaurus' standard but me likey!

OPI Sparrow Me The Drama & Planks-A-Lot Gradient with Different Dimensions That Is So FETCH

 I started with two coats of Sparrow, then sponged using the Sammy's method with Planks too. And when I couldn't leave well enough alone, I added FETCH too! The iridescent glitters look so pretty you get pink and blue sparkles that compliment the purple glitter and the gradient perfectly. I topped this guy off with one coat of Seche Vite.

 And here it is without the glitter:

OPI Sparrow Me The Drama & Planks A Lot Gradient

Ooohhh, I'm liking how this guy looks without the glitter too!

Hope you all had great weekends,

xxx

NPA

piCture pOlish Revolution

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It's Friday, HOORAY! But, I'm also a little sad because that means it's also time for my last PP Review for a while :(

Remember last week I showed you the new glitter bomb PP blogger? Well PP have brought out their own glitter base coat too. I used Revolution as my base for blogger so this week I can show you how it works!

*WARNING*

 Some disturbing naked, stained nails feature in this post! If you are likely to be offended do not scroll down, lol.

picture pOlish Revolution

 Revolution is a watery, milk like base coat that dries to a clear shiny finish. You should apply two thin coats to clean, bare nails. It is seriously watery so you don't need much on your brush. It dries very quickly so once you finished coat 1, you can get straight to painting coat 2.
Now you're ready for the GLITTER!!!

piCture pOlish Blogger over Revolution Glitter Base

I applied two coats of blogger and one coat of Aqua Daisy Glitter Gloss top coat. Glitter Gloss is pretty thick so I thought it'd make the removal process a bit harder.
Now to see if Revolution works!

piCture pOlish Revolution glitter removal process

Step 1) Soak a cotton pad with nail polish remover (I used an acetone formula). Cover nail with pad and hold for 15 seconds

Step 2) Apply more nail polish remover to the pad, cover the nail and rub firmly to remove polish. I remove my polish from base to tip by using my thumb to hold the cotton pad to the nail and applying pressure while I swipe from base to tip. I took about 3 swipes to remove the polish from most nails. Then there were maybe a few bits of stray glitter I took a swipe at.

Step 3) Continue the process for every nail. Then give your nails a good wash with soapy water to get rid of the glitter that has migrated to your fingers and is trying to hide around your cuticles, and the polish remover too.

Now you'll have glitter free nails without too much hassle!

Naked nails after glitter removal using Revolution

I was really happy with Revolution. I'm not used to glitter coming off so cleanly without soaking them in acetone for minutes at a time. I really counted to 15 mississippi while I soak each nail and it was enough for the glitter to 'slide' off with just some firm scrubs/swipes. I actually prefer this method to the peel off base coats because I always damage my nails trying to peel the polish off.

And apparently Revolution makes a good top coat for foil manicures (which are known to wrinkle with conventional top coats).

Revolution is currently sold out on the Picture Polish site, but they have many Network Partners that might have it in stock.

Is there any particular method for glitter removal that you swear by? I'd love to hear your secret to removing glitters. Let me and the readers know in the comments!

xxx

NPA

Born Pretty Store Lace Decals

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Born Pretty Store have brought in a lot of new stock lately - lots of new decals especially - and they sent me some white and gold lace nail stickers to review.

Item ID: #6071

http://www.bornprettystore.com/nail-sticker-12pcs-gold-edge-elegant-white-lace-style-p-6071.html

A Little 'Darling Diva' Goodness

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I've always liked Darling Diva's lacquers, but I only ever placed one order. The polishes were always sitting in my etsy cart but somehow never made it past paypal!!!

When DD had a sale recently I made an actual effort to grab some lemmings.

Darling Diva Polish Blonde Tornado

I didn't have the highest hopes for Blonde Tornado. I bought it without realising that the base was that sheer/shimmery, almost metallic look; I just thought it was a scattered holo. I ended up really feeling it though - it has a wee bit of a '90s feel going on, but the pink and peach hues really suit me, so I think it's a keeper. I applied three easy coats for full coverage. It's got a weak - medium scattered holo effect, weakened by my light box.

Darling Diva Polish I'm Fwee over OPI Lucky Lucky Lavender

I'm Fwee is my stand in for Lush Lacquer Clowning Around. LL had suspended international shipping and this neon glitter topper looked pretty similar. I love this style of neon glitters, they're way thinner than regular satin or matte hexes so they sit better on the nail. The big hexes (of which there are heaps!!!) might be a little too wide for my nails but it's still ok. I applied one coat over Lucky Lucky Lavender and then dabbed a few extra pieces of glitter in to the gaps. In the close-up you can see heaps of air bubbles, but they were from an ultra thick bottle of Glitter Gloss, not I'm Fwee. I think I will still  buy Clowning Around if I get the chance - I MUST HAVE ALL THE NEON!

Darling Diva Polish Dangerous Driver over China Glaze Grape Pop

Dangerous Driver is a mix of Ringer ( red-green colour shift pigment in a purple tinted base) with holo pigment. It's a pretty great idea but the concentration/formula just wasn't up to the standard I was expecting. Ringer has decent pigmentation - you can layer it to ok coverage with about four coats. DD however is much sheerer, so much of the purple has been removed, you have to layer it. Also the holo pigment weak too. It looks great layered over a similar base colour, but I wanted it to be a stand alone polish :( Note to self, read the description carefully next time. I layered two coats over Grape Pop.

Darling Diva Polish Chandelle over China Glaze Stellar

Chandelle is one of DD's original polishes and still going strong a year on! I lusted after this unique glitter mix for basically a year, myself! It's a light brown tinted base with light orange, green, pink and holo light gold hex glitter, brown squares and iridescent and gold micro glitter. I layered it over a tan-ish nude dense glitter so the tinted base turned it in to a dark caramel on the nail - not the most attractive look, but I think with another base colour it'd be prettier. The formula was on the thick side which I like. I wore two coats over two coats of Stellar.

Darling Diva Polish Flirt

 Flirt is a light green holo with iridescent glitter accents. It's really similar to Dollish Polish Master Chief. The gold aspect of the scattered holo particles really stood out on my nails so the green looked very yellow based. I'm not sure if it'd lean cooler on others, but the swatches I've seen show a minty colour, so I'm a little disappointed. Maybe I should layer it over a minty creme? Flirt is somewhat sheer so I applied three-four coats.

Darling Diva Polish Peonie

Peonie is my favourite of the bunch! It's a beautiful mauve-lilac purple scattered holo with green glass flecks that looks CRAZY AMAZING!!! I painted my 9 year old neighbour's nails with Peonie and she was gobsmacked. She told me it was her new favourite polish - and i had to basically force it on her in the beginning! The formula is a bit thicker than ideal because you need about three coats for full coverage and the thickness drags out the dry time. Oh it's so so so so pretty, typing this makes me want to put it back on my nails.


So my DDs are a bit of a mixed bag. I don't love them all, but mainly because I had certain expectations based on how long I have wanted them! My fav's are Peonie and I'm Fwee. Which do you like?

I'm two exams down now, five to go... Tomorrow is going to be full of study, then I have two exams in a row before the weekend, grrrr. But my polish makes it all better :)


xxx
NPA

piCture pOlish Blogger

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Woops, I took a break from blogging to study and a week blew by!
My first exam is tomorrow and I'm freaking out!!! There is just too much info to cram in to my head!!! Damned Anatomy and Physiology. I officially hate muscles! Ups to all the Physios and sport medicine related peeps out there, you must have it mastered!!!!

Here is your weekly dose of piCture pOlish - just one more week til I'm done with the pp reviews :( I bought 9 new bottles myself though, so there will still be some more pps! They just might not get posted one at a time after next Friday though.

piCture pOlish Blogger

Blogger is a multi-coloured hex glitter mix in a clear base. You've got gold, silver, fuchsia, aqua and red glitter in there. The formula is very nice and I applied two thin coats for decent coverage. There are a few small holes but you only notice it in the macro shots, not in person. Though I wore this alone, it can be worn as a single layer over other colours. The larger aqua hexes curl up a tad along the edhes, but they sit perfectly flat with topcoat. I used one thick layer of seche vite to smooth blogger completely.

This glitter isn't anything groundbreaking; almost every brand has a similar one now (eg. OPI A Rainbow Connection or NYX Girls Carnival), but it does have a great formula, no dabbing required.

You can get blogger from piCture pOlish or any of their Network partners.

xxx

NPA

Zoya Rekha & Red Creme Comparison

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I seem to be loving everything I'm trying at the moment and Rekha is no exception!
All I have to say is this,
"Imagine the ultimate red creme, true, neutral, flattering to all, now get out your wallets and head to your closest Zoya seller!"

Zoya Rekha

 Rehka is a neutral, classic red creme. It must be universally flattering! I think it's said to have blue undertones but I see yellow too. In these photos it comes off a bit more tomato looking and it really suited me so I think it has to be neutral...
Application was nice, two thin coats covered well but I might have done with a third. It could just be the camera but I think it looks a little lighter around my cuticles?

I know reds are hard to judge based on swatches, so I did a comparison between two of my other plain red cremes to give you (and me!) an idea of where Rekha sits.

Red Creme Comparison: Zoya Rekha, Cult Nails Quench & OPI Keys To My Karma 

Index: OPI Keys to my Karma - maraschino cherry red creme, three coats; it is lighter and brighter, quite pink until full coverage reached
Middle & Pinkie: Zoya Rekha
Ring: Cult Nails Quench - deep red/blood creme, two coats; much darker/deeper and with cooler undertones.


xxx
NPA

Sation Love Is In The Heir might be the prettiest pale blue shimmer ever!

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Sation brought out a beautiful mix of soft sheers and bold lacquers in their Miss Antoinette Collection (they really know how to put out great concept collections). My favourite by far is Love Is In The Heir!

I think the swatches will tell you just how crazy I am about finding the perfect warm, pale blue.

Sation Love Is In The Heir

Love Is In The Heir is a dusty pale blue (with grey undertones) buildable sheer, with white micro-flake shimmer. Do you realise how hard it is to find a warm toned blue? What I wouldn't give to suit cool shades!! I can't pretend the formula is stellar... I applied three thin coats and it was still a bit uneven coverage wise, but some Jordana Quick Shine Topcoat helped to disguise that. It looks a bit like Illamasqua Raindrops' baby brother with the greyish blue and the fine glass fleck shimmer, don't you think?

And to think sheers used to be the 'devil'!!! Now I really do love them; they make for fantastic work manis or palate cleansers and I always end up wearing them for a lot longer than other polishes last on my nails.

How about you?


xxx
NPA