Lustrous Lacquer

Monday, June 30, 2014

Orly- Sparkling Garbage

Good morning and Happy Monday! I am officially back from my vacation, feeling rested, slightly sunburnt and very bug bitten. But I had a good time and am ready to do it again.....next summer. I don't think my kids were quite ready for that level of camping. But they all had a good time, and want to go back so that's promising. Now onto the polish.

Today's quick post is Orly Sparkling Garbage. Released in Summer 2013, Sparkling Garbage is part of the Mash Up Collection. A light Turquoise holographic polish that looks more like very fine glitters with multi-dimensional shine.

Orly-Sparkling-Garbage-Mash-Up-Collection

Here I've shown 2 coats of Sparkling Garbage on its own and then 2 coats layered over black, without top coat. I like the look both ways but really should have added a 3rd coat when wearing it alone. As you can see it dries to a high shine finish and has an almost 3-dimensional look to it.

In my opinion, this polish deserves to be worn as a full manicure, instead of just swatched for my blog. It's such a unique polish compared to the others in my collection.

What do you think of Sparkling Garbage?

Sorry, this was such a quick post, but I'm in recovery mode from vacation and you know what that means. Laundry, lots and lots of laundry! See you back here later this week with a special announcement.

Friday, June 27, 2014

Lustrous Lacquer 6:00 AM Spotted

Put Up Your Dupes. OPI Spotted vs. Fing'rs Get Spotted

*Nothing to Disclose*

Hi Everyone. I'm currently on vacation, camping with my family deep in the Northern wilderness. But I still wanted to share a post with all of you. Today's post is one that's long overdue. Today I'll be comparing the Fing'rs Get Spotted top coat and OPI's Spotted. You can find my original post about Get Spotted here.

So this won't be the in-depth comparison that I originally wanted it to be because I'm a little pressed for time right now. I still have a ton of packing to do, and I've got 6 volleyball games to play tonight. Nothing like waiting till the last minute right?

In my picture, I've shown both topcoat applied the way they are supposed to be applied, and also with my little top coat trick.

OPI Spotted is on my pointer and ring fingers, Fing'rs Get Spotted is on the middle and pinky. The base color is Orly Flawless Flush. As you can see there is quite a bit of difference between all 4 fingers. My ring and pinky fingers have the specialty coats applied according to the directions. I got mostly cracks and a few spots. OPI seemed to perform better, but still not with the desired results.

Now for my little top coat trick. When I originally tried the Fing'rs Get Spotted I oopsed and applied a layer of quick dry top coat to my base color before the Get Spotted. And I got amazing results. I decided to see if I could get the same results with OPI. On my pointer and middle fingers I tried out this trick again and would you look at that! I got the desired "spotted" effect.

OPI Spotted still performed better than the Fing'rs Get Spotted. The trick is still to use extremely thin coats even if you use a top coat in between. The thinner the coat the better the results. If I had to choose between the two I'd go with OPI. OPI Spotted is considered a HTF polish if you can't get your hands on it, the Get Spotted is an ok substitute but definitely not a dupe.

I've recently been made aware that Fing'rs has changed the formula of their Get Spotted polish. I have the original one that came in a kit. I have no knowledge if the newer version is better or not, but I do want to make you aware of the change.

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing!

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Lustrous Lacquer 6:00 AM Stamping

Leadlight Manicure

*Nothing to Disclose*

Today I'm sharing with you a manicure I wore to a wedding last weekend. No not the wedding of my good friend Alissa who you might remember from my recent gradient post, but another friend who got married. I knew I wanted to do a fun, special manicure that went with my dress.

My inspiration

I knew I had to do something special for this night. The girls that I was going with take a very active interest in my manicures and I wanted to impress them. Well the most impressive nail art technique currently for me is the leadlight technique.

For those of you unfamiliar with leadlight it's really quite simple. It's just like coloring pictures in a coloring book but with a stamped image and sheer nail polish.

I started off with a base of Finger Paints Paper Mache, then stamped with Konad special black using Bundle Monster plate BM-318. The flowers reminded me of the flowers on my dress without matching them exactly. I then took my smallest dotting tool and filled in the centers of the flowers with OPI I'm Never Amberrassed from the sheer tints collection.

While my stamping still isn't perfect I really love how this turned out. And what did the girls think? Well, they were impressed, which made me feel really, really good. I don't tend to do a lot of nail art so when it comes together, I'm overly giddy about it and want people to notice it.

I got especially giddy about this manicure. It turned out just like I wanted it to and I matched the dress pretty darn well if I don't say so myself. What do you think?

I hope you give the leadlight technique a try. I think it's an easy way to get a great outcome. If you do try it out, please share your manicures with me either on my facebook page or in the comments here. Thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing!

Monday, June 23, 2014

Lustrous Lacquer 6:00 AM Sinful Colors

Sinful Colors- Cream Soda

*Nothing to Disclose*

Hi everyone. Today I have a quick post to share with you. If you've been following my facebook page you know that I burned my fingers over the weekend. Typing is not exactly my friend at the moment so I'm going to keep this short and sweet.

A few weeks ago I went on a blogger meet up and these are the nails I wore. Sinful Colors Cream Soda with silver nail studs from Dollar Nail Art.

Cream Soda is a pretty coral colored creme polish that dries to a semi-gloss finish. The application was ok. The polish is thinner than most of the ones I own but not so much to be a runny mess. The first coat was a little on the sheer side but reached full opacity after 2. Shown here is 2 coats plus top coat.

Sinful-Colors-Cream-Soda-Silver-Nail-Studs

Cream Soda is part of the Mod in Bloom collection. I picked mine up at Walgreens back in April but saw a few over the weekend when I was running errands. The studs I used can be purchased from Dollarnailart.com but be warned, you need to have a minimum purchase of $25.

Overall I like the color, but don't feel the name fits it. The application wasn't so bad that I wouldn't reach for it again, but it's not a go-to polish for me. This color reminds me of Orange Creme from last years collection. I'll be doing a comparison post on those when I'm able to get back to polishing.

Well, that's about all the typing my fingers can take for today. I appreciate you stopping by and as always, Happy Polishing!

Saturday, June 21, 2014

Lustrous Lacquer 6:00 AM Themed Manicures

Summer Time Nail Art Challenge Day 3: Butterflies/Garden

*Nothing to Disclose*

It's Day 3 of the Summer Time Nail Art Challenge. Which also happens to be the last day of this Challenge. I hope you all have enjoyed looking at the designs that everyone has come up with. I know I have had a blast creating them. I especially enjoyed today's manicure. I opted to only do butterflies since I do a lot of flower manicures. I made a huge mess doing this manicure which was fun at the time but a pain when it came time to clean up. This manicure also had me missing my longer nails something fierce.

I decided to do a skittled gradient manicure for this one with shimmery, flashy polishes. After all, I wanted some sparkly butterflies. The polishes I used are: Cover Girl Rogue Red (red) Flamed Out (orange) Sulfur Blaze (yellow) OPI Tiffany Case (light Blue) Get Your Number (dark blue) Color Club Glitter Wonderland (purple) and Sally Hansen Lava (orangish/pink). I stamped the butterfly wing image using Finger Paints Black Expressionism and Bundle Monster plate BM-424.

The OPI polishes also happen to be Liquid Sand Polishes which added a textural flair to this manicure. Alas, you can't really see the gradient so much with them. I have to say that my ring finger is my favorite, it reminds me of a monarch. I actually started with that nail and knew exactly which colors I was going to use based off of a comment I got on my post about the Capitol Collection by Cover Girl.

Now let's see what everyone else came up with for the last day of the challenge.

An InLinkz Link-up

Friday, June 20, 2014

Lustrous Lacquer 6:00 AM Themed Manicures

Summer Time Nail Art Challenge Day 2: Sunsets

*Nothing to Disclose*

Hello again and Happy Friday! Today I have for you the 2nd day of the Summer Time Nail Art challenge. Today's theme is Sunsets. I decided to go with the trusty gradient technique for this one.

Starting with a base of Milani White on the spot to make my manicure pop. I used Julie G Santorini, Canary Islands and Maybelline Ultra Violet in the gradient, allowing for some white to show through for clouds.

Although this isn't exactly what I envisioned it to be I am still really happy with the results. Now let's see what everyone else did for today. I'll be back tomorrow for the last day of this Challenge with some Butterfly nail art to share.

An InLinkz Link-up

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Lustrous Lacquer 6:00 AM Themed Manicures

Summer Time Nail Art Challenge Day 1: Bright Colors

*Nothing to Disclose*

Hello everyone and welcome to the first day of the Summer Nail Art Challenge hosted by the Facebook group Challenge Your Nail Art. This is a short challenge lasting only 3 days. The prompts are fun and we welcome anyone to join us. Like all the nail art challenges this group puts together there is no pressure. You can do as many or a few of the days as your schedule allows.

For today's theme, I wanted to try out the dry brush technique. Of course, I had to pull out my neon polishes. Nothing says summertime quite like Neon polish am I right?

I started with a base of Milani White on the spot. For the neon colors, I used Milani Totally 80's, Pink Hottie, Awesome Orange and, Fresh Teal. I like the bright yet grungy look this has.

My nails are not in the best of shape right now after making the poor decision of having acrylics put on for a friends wedding. After removing them the surface of my nails is slightly uneven. You can see how it affected this manicure in the pink portion. But I think it had a positive effect, helping to break up the nail polish instead of leaving a solid strip of color. What do you think? Have you tried the dry brush technique yet? Now let's see what the other challenge participants have come up with for today.

An InLinkz Link-up

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Lustrous Lacquer 6:00 AM Stamping

Stamped Gradient for Alissa

*Nothing to Disclose*

Today I'd like to share with you a manicure that I am extremely proud of. I did these nails for a close friends bachelorette party. I kept my friend in mind with every detail of this manicure and the fact that it turned out just as I envisioned makes it even more special to me.

For the Bachelorette party, Alissa requested that we all wear hot pink. Pink is after all her favorite color. I knew I didn't want to just have plain pink nails for this event. Plain pink was just too boring when celebrating a 25-year friendship. Then I remembered the bathroom in the first house she ever owned. I know, it sounds strange to say that I took inspiration from a bathroom to celebrate a friend. But let me explain. The first time I set foot in that house She gave me a tour and her face lit up when she got to the master bathroom. It was her favorite room in the house. When I saw it I couldn't help but laughed. She had made it "Alissa's Bathroom" There was the brightest Pink accent wall I had ever seen! The other walls were painted white with a jet black floral pattern stenciled onto it. She finally had her pink, white and black room, something she had wanted since we were little.

To recreate the feel of her favorite room I started out with a base of Finger Paints Paper Mache. Then I used Paper Mache and Lime Crime Pink Parfait to do a gradient. Pink Parfait is the brightest pink I own.

I always have to have an accent nail lately so I did the ring finger in reverse. Nothing too dramatic to distract from the rest of the manicure, but still mixing it up a bit. Can I just tell you I LOVE this! And bonus, both hands turned out exactly the same. Score one for the nondominant hand.

Then I pulled out my favorite black polish to stamp with lately, Finger Paints Black Expressionism and Shandy Plate SH18.

I used a different image from the plate for each finger. I think the stamping gods knew that this manicure was meant to be special because the placement of each image is right where I wanted it to be. Normally that's the part the trips me up with stamping. I was really happy with how this turned out but the more I looked at it, admired it, the more I realized that something was missing.

It needed some sparkle! I added 2 coats of China Glaze Fairy Dust and it was perfect! A delicate, girly manicure that I showed off to everyone who would look.

A few weeks afterward The best group of friends I could ever ask for celebrated the New Chapter in Alissa's life. With smiles on our faces and in our hearts.

I love doing manicures that have a special meaning in my life and wanted to share this one with all of you. I hope you liked it as much as I did. I look forward to sharing many more meaningful manicures with you. Thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing!

Monday, June 16, 2014

Lustrous Lacquer 6:00 AM Jelly

Fickle Fairy Potions - Quit your Clownin'

*Nothing to Disclose*

Today's post is Fickle Fairy Potions Quit You Clownin'. A milky white jelly based polish with multi-sized hex and small square glitters in a rainbow of neon colors.

The application was smooth and easy with no fishing for glitters required. I did, however, do some slight dabbing to get better glitter placement on the nail. Shown here is 2 coats without top coat.

I really like the fun element these bright colors bring for the summer season. And if your anything like me and don't feel comfortable wearing a bright neon pink or yellow t-shirt, this is a great way to work neons into your summer wardrobe. Well at least I'm not comfortable wearing that stuff anymore, I am a child of the '80s after all.

Quit Your Clownin' built up nicely with these 2 coats but I bet the glitters would really pop if I layered them over a white base. And next time I plan to do just that.

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing!

Sunday, June 15, 2014

Lustrous Lacquer 11:28 AM Giveaway

Giveaway Winner

     Good Morning. I've just got a quick post for you today. I promised to announce the winner of my Blogging Break giveaway here on the blog and that's just what I'm going to do. First of all let me take the time to thank each and every one of you for reading my little blog. I know it isn't much, but I hope to make this a fun place for you to come and check out nail polish swatches and a little nail art. I read each and every one of your comments and I know that they will help me towards reaching the goals I have set for myself.

     And now for the winner....

     Congratulations Lisa N!! You won! I've already sent an e-mail and I look forward to your response. Please respond within 24 hours so I can get your prize on it's way to you.

     And for those of you who didn't win, don't worry. I have a feeling there will be a few more giveaways in the not so distant future. So until then Thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing!

Friday, June 13, 2014

Lustrous Lacquer 6:00 AM Shimmer

Cover Girl - The Capitol Collection

*Nothing to Disclose*

Today I'm bringing you The Capitol Collection from Cover Girl. Set to release with the Hunger Games Catching Fire this collection contains 9 sparkling shades inspired by the film. I picked this set up on clearance at my local Walgreens but have come across them still at full price in K-mart and Target so you should still be able to find them.

Cover Girl Outlast Glosstinis are 5-Free and come in a mini version of the full-size square bottle. Thankfully, the mini size doesn’t mean a mini brush. The same round, short, medium width brush I've come to love from the full-size version made it to the mini bottles, with a shorter stem of course.

The application was consistent throughout the collection with an easy flow that allows for complete control. The surprising thing for me was that as the shades got darker, the polish got sheerer. Several polishes appeared streaky with the first coat but leveled out nicely with the second. And these polishes are buildable, giving nice, even coverage with 2-3 coats depending on color.

Sulfur Blaze is a deep yellow with golden micro shimmer. The pigmentation with this one caught me off guard. I was expecting a very sheer polish that needed 4 or 5 coats. Shown here is 2 coats without top coat.

Cover-Girl-Sulfue-Blaze-The-Capitol-Collection

As you can see with 2 coats I still have VNL and a 3rd was needed for full opacity.

Cover-Girl-Sulfur-Blaze-The-Capitol-Collection

Normally I'm not a fan of yellow polish on myself but this one seems to have just the right hue to it for my complexion.

Flamed Out is an orange polish with golden micro shimmer. Again this polish had more pigment in it than I was expecting. Shown here is 2 coats without top coat

Cover-Girl-Flamed-Out-The-Capitol-Collection

This vibrant orange caught my eye in the store months before I picked it up.

Although not the most flattering color on me I'm still glad I picked this one up. I can see using it in tons of nail art. Including one of those flame manicures, I see so many people wearing.

Rouge Red is an orange toned red polish with gold micro-shimmer. Again application was smooth with more pigment than I was expecting.

Cover-Girl-Rogue-Red-The-Capitol-Collection

Rogue Red looked redder on the nails than it does in the bottle and was extremely hard to photograph accurately. The golden shimmer kept making it look orange instead of red.

You don't want to skip the base coat with this one as it's a stainer.

Inferno is a deep magenta color with intense golden micro shimmer. Application with this one was a little patchy with the first coat. Here I've shown it in 2 coats without top coat.

Cover-Girl-Inferno-The-Capitol-Collection

Did I mention that it had intense micro shimmer? Just look at that illumination on the nail! Surprisingly there was no staining with Inferno.

Pyro Pink is a deep pink leaning purple with silver micro shimmer. This one was pretty sheer with the first coat but built up nicely after 2.

Cover-Girl-Pyro-Pink-The-Capitol-Collection

With with the sheerness this polish had it still flowed nicely onto the nail, with complete control as to where the polish went.

Violet Flicker is a deep purple with light purple and teal micro-shimmer. Sheer on the first coat full opacity was reached with 2.

Cover-Girl-Violet-Flicker-The-Capitol-Collection

I really like the little flickers of teal you get with this polish. Otherwise it's not a color that I would reach for often.

I think the shade is just a bit to muddled of a purple for me. It's not a bad color by any means, it's just not for me.

Seared Bronze is an olive green polish with purple and green micro shimmer. Sheer on the first coat, full opacity was reached in 2. Again I've shown this polish without top coat.

Cover-Girl-Seared-Bronze-The-Capitol-Collection

Like Violet Flicker this isn't a color that I would normally wear on it's own, but I think it will make a great accent nail. The micro shimmer leans so many different ways when the light hit it that it will go with a lot of other polishes.

Looking at it up close, it reminds me of Christmas colors without being obviously Christmas. I hope that makes sense.

Scalding Emerald is a dark green with blue and gold micro shimmer. Even sheerer that Seared Bronze on the first coat, only 2 were needed to reach full opacity.

Cover-Girl-Scalding-Emerald-The-Capitol-Collection

Show here is 2 coats without top coat. I actually like this color, and can see myself wearing it a lot in the fall and winter months.

Black Heat is a black polish with gold and red micro shimmer. Being the sheerest of the collection application was extremely streaky on the first coat. Shown here is 2 coats without top coat.

Cover-Girl-Black-Heat-The-Capitol-Collection

With the addition of the golden shimmer this polish almost looks to be a dark forestry green instead of black.

As you can see in this macro shot the base is indeed black and almost looks to have a glass fleck appearance to it. I like this polish, but I don't usually wear black polish, so I don't see myself wearing this one very often.

Over all I like many of the colors in this collection with my favorites being Sulfur Blaze, Inferno and Pyro Pink. Did you have a favorite? Any you want to add to your collection? If you've stuck with me this long I want to say thank you. I know that was a lot of polishes to look at and I tried to keep the words to a minimum. Thanks for stopping by, and Happy Polishing!

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Lustrous Lacquer 6:00 AM Shimmer

Orly- Flawlless Flush

*Nothing to Disclose*

Today I have a quick NOTD post featuring Orly Flawless Flush from the Blush Spring Collection 2014. A soft muted blush tone, I originally picked up this color because it reminded me of the Pantone Color of the year Radiant Orchid.

Orly-Flawless-Flush-Blush-Spring-Collection-Orchid-Pantone-Color-2014

Shown here is 2 thin coats without top coat. This polish was just a hair on the thin side, but not so much that it was hard to work with. You can see a hint of shimmer on my pointer finger that I wish was more evident on all the nails.

Orly-Flawless-Flush-Blush-Spring-Collection

And what post would be complete without a macro shot?

I like the soft muted feel this polish has. The shimmer adds a little bit of mystery with its subtleness. Almost like a secret that only reveals itself when the lighting is right.

If you liked this color and want to see more from the Blush Spring Collection check out my previous post on Dare to Bare. As always thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing!

Monday, June 9, 2014

Lustrous Lacquer 6:00 AM What's in a finish

What's in a finish?- Flakie

*Nothing to Disclose*

Today brings us to the last post in my What's in a finish series with Flakies. And who doesn't love a good flakie polish right? I know I'm still lusting after the first flakie collection Finger Paints released a few years ago. But what is a flakies polish? Well, the answer is actually pretty simple.

Colorful Dreams

A flakie polish has a jelly base with very fine usually opal particles. These particles are larger than your typical shimmer and have irregular shapes to them.

Essie Shine of the Times used on the accent nail

When the light reflects off of these particles you will get flashes of color. Depending on the direction the light is coming from you will see different colors. Fakies are like Duo Chromes or Shimmers in that aspect.

It's easy to get confused between a Glass Fleck finish and Flakie with the only real difference being the size of the particles. The particles in a flakie are much larger and easier to spot.

And that brings us to the end of this series. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did putting it together. Thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing!

Friday, June 6, 2014

Lustrous Lacquer 6:00 AM Maybelline

Maybelline Bleached Neons Collection

*Nothing to Disclose*

Welcome to my 150th blog post! Today I have for you the very fun, very bright Beached Neon Collection by Maybelline. Maybelline posted that these polishes would only be available in stores until the end of May, but my Walgreens still had quite a few of them left earlier this week. However these are limited edition so if you want them, I suggest snatching them up if you see them.

When I first started seeing swatches of this collection online I knew I had to have them all. And for once my Walgreens had them right away. I think I might have shrieked a little in the store when I found them and scared the sales clerk. But you don't want to hear about my feelings when I saw the bottles do you, you want to see the Polish! I'll warn you this post is going to be very picture heavy. Now let's get to it.

Pink Punch is a muted neon pink the dries to a semi-matte finish. It's a little on the runny side and I had a slight issue with it pooling at my cuticles.

Maybelline Pink Punch Bleached Neons Collection Creme

The first coat was very sheer but it built up nicely. This is 2 coats without topcoat.

Maybelline Pink Punch Bleached Neons Collection

Coral Heat is a neon coral polish that dries to a semi-matte finish. This one was also on the runny side.

Maybelline Coral Heat Bleached Neons Collection

Again the first coat was on the sheer side. Shown here is 2 coats without top coat. I actually really liked this color and can see myself wearing it a lot this summer.

Ultra Violet is by far my favorite from this collection. It's a bright light purple with a pink undertone.

Maybelline Ultra Violet Bleached Neons Collection

Ultra Violet is almost a 1 coat polish, but I've shown it here with 2 coats no top coat. Again it dries to a semi-matte finish. This color is also the most popular post on my IG by the way.

Citrus Collide is a lemony yellow. I wasn't too sure about this one at first since most yellows look horrible against my skin tone.

Maybelline Citrus Collide Bleached Neons Collection

Turns out that wasn't what I should be worried about. The color is a pretty decent one on me considering it's yellow. The formula, on the other hand, was a bit tricky. Citrus collide was very streaky but surprisingly still highly pigmented. Shown here is 2 coats without top coat. Again it dries to a semi-matte finish.

Lime Accent is a neon lime green polish that dries to a semi-matte finish. This would have to be my least favorite from the collection. Mainly because I don't see myself wearing it all that often.

Maybelline Lime Accent Bleached Neons Collection

You might be wondering why I bought it if I don't think I'll wear it. I originally thought it would look great in some nail art. Only problem is it's extremely sheer. I used 3 coats without top coat for these photos. Also I skipped the base coat, because I don't normally used base coat when swatching. Now I only wore this polish for about 20 minutes but... I had no staining! In my book that's a big Ole check in the plus column for a green polish.

I bet this color would make for a fun accent nail so I'm not giving up on it just yet.

Bleached in Peach is a bright peach polish that dries to a semi-matte finish. Application was on the streaky side but built up nicely. Shown here is 2 coats without top coat.

Maybelline Bleached In Peach Bleached Neons collection

This one was hard to get a color accurate picture of. However after being persistent I was able to get one. I wasn't quite so lucky with my macro shot however.

Rounding out the collection is Day Glow Teal. This one looks more on the blue side to me than a true teal. Again I had some streaking with application. This is 2 coats without top coat.

Maybelline Day Glow Teal Bleached Neons Collection

Remember me saying that Lime Accent didn't stain my nails? Well I decided to test my luck again and lost. This one is a stainer so make sure you use a good base coat.

Over all I'm very pleased with this collection. There are a few that appear sheer on the first coat but reach full opacity after 2. The colors are fun and fresh for the summer season. I like the bleached twist to the neon color pallet. My favorites are Ultra Violet and Coral Heat.

What are your thoughts on this collection? Do you have any favorites, or any that you just wouldn't wear? Thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing!