Lustrous Lacquer: Above the Curve

Monday, August 17, 2015

Above the Curve - School's Out for Summer Collection

Happy Monday! For those of you still following me, I want to say thank you. I know my blogging has been a bit sporadic lately and that can get annoying for readers. I've just been in a bit of a blogging rut lately. My nails have been giving me issues with peeling and breaking. I've had to go to nubbins and am usually uninspired when that happens. And when inspiration runs out I run out of things to post which as we all know can be hard. To help get rid of my blogging blues I broke out the bright and fun School's Out for Summer Collection from Above the Curve. I've already shown you some rainbow nail art I did with this collection but now it's time for swatches and to showcase each polish individually.

This collection is actually the one polish purchase I have made all year. The minute I saw them I knew I had to have them and only spending $26 (for minis) all year is pretty darn good if you ask me. I have a lot of pictures to show you but the formula was consistent throughout the collection so I'll just get that out of the way first.

All 5 polishes in this collection apply like a dream, a little sheer on the first coat but build up nicely. Each photo is shown with 2 coats plus top coat. While completely packed with sparkle they lean a little more to the scattered holo side but you do get that coveted linear flash from all 5, with Stop That (Ice Cream) Truck! having the strongest flash. These muted holographic neons require no undies to get a great pop of color. There's not a single stain-er in the bunch and they are fast drying. They do tend to dry a little on the matte side but top coat not only brings out the sparkle but also seems to intensify the color.

Now that the particulars are out of the way, let's get to the pretty photos. And just a heads up my OCD requires me to show them to you in rainbow order.

Pool Parties & Barbecues is described as a pink linear holographic shimmer.

Scary Stories by the Fire is described as an orange linear holographic shimmer.

Are We There Yet? is described as a bright green linear holographic shimmer. This is the only one I was worried about needing 3 coats with but it builds up nicely and I only needed 2.

Summer Camp Blues is described as a light blue linear holographic shimmer.

Stop That ( Ice Cream) Truck! is described as a purple linear holographic shimmer.

At the time of writing this Above the Curve's shop is closed and I am not sure if the collection is still available. I'll keep checking and update this post once the shop opens again. I'd say this was a good investment for breaking my no buy over, what do you think? Do you have any favorites from this collection? Thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing!

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Lustrous Lacquer 6:00 AM Nail Art

Vertical Rainbow Gradient

*Nothing to Disclose*

As some of you may know I have been on a year-long no buy. And for the most part, I have been successful, 6 months without buying a single nail polish, nail art item, or stamping plate. I was feeling pretty darn good and was sure I would be able to last the year. That was until I saw the School's Out for Summer collection from Above the Curve.

Pool Parties & Barbecues, Scary Stories by the Fire, Are We There Yet?, Summer Camp Blues and Stop That (ice cream) Truck!

Once I started to see photos of these I knew my resolve was lost. And before I even bought them I had this manicure in mind.

The original idea was for this to be done just on the tips but as you may have noticed my pointer finger had a minor break. So I improvised and did a sort of half moon instead.

I used french tip guides to mark off my nails and added a layer of Finger Paints Paper Mache as undies and a layer of top coat. Even though I knew better I left the guides in place while I did the gradient. I knew I would never get a new set lined up correctly and wanted to avoid that thin white line that I ended up with anyway. Some of the polish came up with the guides when I removed them causing that issue. I tried to fix it with clean up but it wasn't going so well so I left it.

As much as that line bothers me I don't think it ruined the manicure. And I'm not really sure how to avoid it in the future. Maybe if I try using the Crystalline Nail Veil since it has such a fine brush. What would you do to avoid this?

These colors are so fun and bright. I almost feel like this manicure doesn't do them justice. I plan on doing a review of each color once I get back from vacation. (Which I am actually on as you read this.) And if my nails survive, I've cut them down some but I fear it might not be enough. I will be completely unplugged for the next week while I'm camping in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area with my kids. My blog and page will be pretty darn quiet until next Wednesday. I wanted to give you all a heads up in case you noticed my silence or were looking for the next post.

Before I sign off for the week let me leave you with one last photo of this manicure. I had to get at least one sun shot to share. Or at least as close to a sun shot as I could get between rain storms. Thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing!