Sour Grapes? I think not!

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Candeo Colors Sour Grapes left the sweetest of tastes on my tongue!

Erlack, that was cringe worthy. Moving on to something that's not...

Sour Grapes - 2 coats - natural light

Sour Grapes - 2 coats - natural light

Sour Grapes - 2 coats - white light

Sour Grapes - 2 coats - close up

So Sour Grapes photographs blue, but it's a grapey-violet shimmery base with lavender hexes in 3 sizes and square glitter too! There's also some small-medium black hexes in the mix to spice things up. In the last photo you can see the true purple colour near the cuticle.

The formula is pretty great, with a bit of a shake you get a bit of everything on your nails and full coverage in 2 coats. It does dry rather textured so I recommend 2 layers of a thick top coat. I didn't use my usual SV for the swatch so it doesn't look quite even enough.

I really like SG but I do wish it was slightly sheerer so the glitter doesn't get quite so buried. I might try layering 1 coat over a base to see if that sorts it out.

You can purchase Candeos on Etsy for US$8 each. There are so many great shades I want but right now the Melinda (Candeo's creator) has the shop set to vacation mode. I'm sure you can private message her though.

Do you have any Candeo Color lacquers? Has anyone resisted the indie polish scene thus far?

xxx
Michaela

Dark Was The Night...

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Hey guys,

I have been either absent or very brief the last few weeks. Been spending as much time as possible with Charlie & Buster and haven't felt inspired at all.
I think being surrounded by all my polish makes me want to write and swatch, so being at home with only a couple (15 is 'a couple' in my world!), has bored me a bit!!!

I have a really awesome franken from Two Birds for you tonight though; Dark Was The Night

DWTN - 2 coats - lamp

DWTN - 2 coats - shade

DWTN - 2 coats - natural light

DWTN is a dark teal jelly base filled with various sized hex glitter in green, turquoise, silver, red and blue. Some of the glitter is either iridescent or holo or both, can't quite tell. It only needs 2 coats for full coverage and you'll need a 1-2 layers of thick top coat to get it smooth and shiny. It can look like a midnight blue in some lighting, so it's a little bit mysterious, just like the night!!!

I really love the turquoise & red glitter in Dark - they're two colours you wouldn't think would work well together but they just look fantastic!

I only have one complaint and it's that the larger green hexes are a bit thick so if you're not careful with application you'll get the odd bump on your nail, like you can see on my ring and pinkie in the photos. The second time I wore it, I was more careful and got a perfect finish. It also had a very overpowering smell but that faded once I put on some Seche Vite!!!

Can you DIG it?!

xxx
Michaela

Two Birds - Robin Sparkles Swatches

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This is Robin Sparkles - a red purple base filled with red, blue and purple hex and normal glitters. It's so funky, applies great and is an awesome tribute to HIMYM!
I used 2 coats and 1 layer of Seche Vite for the photos.

It looks even better in real life, I took these photos at night under a daylight lamp so...

Two Birds, One Store is on etsy. Check them out HERE

xxx
NPA

Glitter Gal 3D Holographic SUEDE

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I've been neglectful and that's not going to change til I go back to Chch. So here's some swatches of GG Suede - a mousy chocolate creme with subtle linear holographic effect.

white light

white light

Macro

Macro

I only used 2 coats and it had a pleasing application/formula, slightly thick and manageable.
It photographs lighter than it is. It reminds me of melted slightly greyed milk chocolate IRL. The subtle holo is really nice. It's work appropriate too.
I got mine from Ninja Polish for $11 USD, I think.

take care

xx
Michaela

An Experiment in Layering

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When I got Orly Bubbly Bombshell I was a little disappointed to find that the clear base and thirsty glitter didn't give full coverage too easily.
I meant to try layering it over a base colour but TBH with more and more polish arriving on my doorstep I couldn't be bothered putting in the effort, when I could try a brand new one instead!!!

Cut to 4 months later when I was rearranging my polish collection in the middle of the night - as you do... I picked up BB and decided now was the time to let her shine!
I tried to find a colour match amongst all my purples but alas, nothing was perfect. China Glaze Urban Night (a jewel toned medium-dark purple) however, kept calling out to me.

overcast

shade

white light

These pics show 1 coat Urban Night topped with 1 coat Bubbly Bombshell and a layer of Seche Vite.

I was really happy with the results, the fuchsia glitter works nicely with the darker purple and both polishes applied wonderfully!

I was in a creative mood and hadn't tried out Bling It! from Haze Glaze on etsy, so I slapped a coat on top, with fairly low expectations, considering BI! is a mix of gold, bronze/coffee and green/blue glitters in a light brown tinted base.
As it turns out, I kinda dig the result!!!

sunlight

shade

white light - close up

I didn't add any top coat for the pictures because I wasn't sure I actually liked the colour combination and I had to remove it straight after the pics anyway. I think you still get a good idea of how awesome Bling It! is though!!!
Can you the crazy shine/light deflection going on in the sunlight photo? These photos don;t really show it, but the medium gold hex are holographic, so it's even blingier in person.
The formula was great on this one too, no probs with placement of the big hexs, nor was it hard to get them from the bottle to the nail. The only thing I had to do to ake the glitter perfect was push some of the bar glitter away from my free edge cos one or two overhung a tad.

You can get your hands on Bling It! by visiting the Haze Glaze etsy store. I think it's around $7-8 USD a bottle.

How do you feel about my glitter layering? And be honest!!!!

xxx
Michaela