NPC Day 7: Drugstore Untried

Hello polish lovers!

Today's prompt in the challenge is using a drugstore untried.  I decided to use three.  I started with a base of 2 coats of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Coin Flip, a copper foil finish.

I am trying a new position so that I can show more polish detail.  Also you will notice this is my swatching hand again.  My broken middle finger nail has, although still broken, and held together with Super Glue, grown out enough that I cut down the other nails so they are almost the same length.  That weird bit on the side is the glue holding the split together,  I need to file it down more.

Once Coin Flip had completely dried I got out the Scotch tape and cut triangles to section off the nail.  The triangles that remained I filled with Mint Sorbet, a minty green creme, and Strobe Light, a pink and holographic micro glitter.

Strobe Light is not really showing well, except as the flash of sparkle.  Next time I will definitely use it with a creme to make it stand out more.  I was really impressed with the formulas on all the polishes used.  They were all Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear.  I am usually impressed with the Sally Hansen brand.  I can't believe I left them untried for so long.

That is all for today but I will be back on Wednesday with my Day 8, Boutique Untried...I really shouldn't have any but have more than I thought.

Until then, polish happy!

An InLinkz Link-up

St. Paddy's Mani

Hello polish lovers!  Happy St. Patrick's Day!

So I had a pretty major break in my middle nail of my swatching hand a few weeks ago and I have been nursing it ever since...unfortunately it decided to break all the way back to the start of my free edge and I got fed up and cut it right down.  So you know what that means, awkward photos using my non dominant hand(which means no freehand art) and slightly crappy clean up until my middle nail grows out enough to not be a tiny mini nubbin.  There will also be a few posts of mani's I did weeks ago, so if you see righty making an appearance, that is why.

On to my St. Paddy's day mani.  I started with 3 coats of Sally Hansen Triple Shine, Kelp Out.  If you are interested you can see my original review here.

I then got out my Bundle Monster plates and used BMH04 and BMH05 with Klean Color Metallic Yellow and Konad black for my stamping.

I decided to go with a double accent since I wanted more of the green to show.  I especially love my index finger, the metallic yellow really caught the light and added extra interest.

That is all for today but I will be back soon.

Until then, polish happy!

Nail Art A-Go-Go, Day 27: Pointillism

Hello polish lovers!

Last post of the night, and the shortest, because I am tired and fighting a bad headache.

For the Pointillism prompt I decided, of course, to use my dotting tools.  I did not want to do anything representative, and so went to the basics and did overlapping dots.

I started with a base of 2 coats of Barry M Papaya(can you tell I want summer to come already?).

I then used a small dotting tool and SHID Lightening to dot all over my nails.

I repeated with SHID Lickety-Split Lime leaving an area bare.

And again with SHID Mint Sprint, moving out slightly again.

And lastly with Barielle Shades Girls Night Out, moving out again.

I then topped with SV(because I learned my lesson last time).

That is all for today(finally).

I will be back tomorrow with my final installment of this challenge, Art Nouveau.

Until then, polish happy!

An InLinkz Link-up

Nail Art A-Go-Go, Day 26: Graffiti

Hello polish lovers!

I am back with my next challenge mani, Graffiti.

When I thought about this prompt I immediately thought of the type of graffiti that was shown in the documentary, Exit Through the Gift Shop, as apposed to tagging and spray painting.  When I watched that documentary I immediately fell in love with the work of a street artist using the name Space Invader.  Most of Space Invader's work is tile work depicting classic 8-bit arcade game characters, like the space invaders, Pac-Man, the Pac-Man ghosts, and others.  I knew I would not be able to recreate the 8-bit look with polish(although small square studs would have worked, Ah hindsight, always 20/20), so I attempted to capture more the feeling of his work.

I started with a base of 2 coats OPI Lost on Lombard, a brick red crelly.  I only have the mini's from this collection, San Francisco Fall 2013.

Once this was dry I got out BM422 for the brick pattern and Kleancolor Black(I did not use Konad because I wanted the stamp to look more like a shadow and so did not want the lines too opaque).  I then started in with my dotting tool a small striping brush and the following colours:  SHID(Sally Hansen Insta-Dri) Blue-Away, Cobalt Blue, Kleancolor Black, Grass Green, Sinful Colors Snow Me White and Barry M Blood Orange and Key Lime.

Unfortunately I did not use SV but my Nubar Top Coat and did not wait quite long enough for the polish to dry to stop it from smudging.

That is all for this post but I will be back soon with Pointillism.  The last post for today.

Until then, polish happy!

An InLinkz Link-up

Nail Art A-Go-Go, Day 23: Oils

Hello polish lovers!

Its another double up day, I have recently come down with a cold and it is just not making me want to do nail art much....mostly because it is impossible to blow your nose with wet polish.

Anyway, yesterdays prompt was Oils, difficult to do with polish since polish has a lot of the opposite characteristics of oil paint.  Most difficult is the differences in drying times and the difficulty to create brushstrokes.  So for my interpretation I did not want to deal with brushstrokes and used, instead, Jackson Pollack as my inspiration.

I started with a base of 2 coats Sinful Colors Snow Me White.

Once this was dry I got out a variety of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri polishes, (Lightening, Rapid Red, Cobalt Blue) a new Kleancolor, Grass Green, and my Konad Black.  I decided to stamp for this and used BM416 making sure to stamp each colour in a different direction so that the overlap was random.

I quite like this effect, this is the first time I have stamped over a stamp multiple times.  I like that each nail is random and the colours almost appear to be fighting.

That is all for this prompt, but I will be back in a few with today's prompt of Abstract.

Until then, polish happy!

An InLinkz Link-up

Nail Art A-Go-Go. Day 22: Surrealism

Hello polish lovers!

Today's prompt in the challenge is Surrealism, and I have fallen in love with these nails.  I was originally going to do Dali's The Persistence of Memory but I remembered a painting that I fell in love with in Art History, I loved how graphic it was.

Source

This is Rene Magritte's Son of Man.

And here is mine.  My base colour is Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Blue Away.  I used Sinful Colours Snow Me White and Color Club Silver Lake and a Q-Tip for the clouds.  The Son of Man itself is Nubar Midnight Matte for the suit and bowler hat, OPI My Vampire is Buff for his face, Snow Me White for his shirt, Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Rapid Red for his tie, and Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Lickety Split Lime for the apple.  The shadows are Midnight Matte added to the original colour, and the highlight is Snow Me White added to the original colour.

Matte

I ended up liking this so much I did clouds on my other hand and wearing it all day yesterday and today.

That is all for today, but I will be back tomorrow with the next prompt of Oils.

Until then, polish happy!

An InLinkz Link-up

Nail Art A-Go-Go, Day 21: Snow Day

Hello polish lovers!

So the prompt from yesterday was Snow Day and I was immediately transported to my childhood where my mother would have a stock of 1000 piece jigsaw puzzles in the cabinet for just the occasion.  When the weather was really bad(and in Ontario in winter the weather is frequently bad) if the schools were closed we used to spend the day doing puzzles.

I started with 2 coats of Color Club Silver Lake, a light toned grey with slight brown undertone, opaque and non streaky in 2 coats.

When the base was dry I used Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Rapid Red and MASH plate 43 and then stamped over my accent nail with BM319 and Konad Special Black Stamping Polish.

Unfortunately I did not wait quite long enough before top coating so a few fingers have some slight drag marks.

I will be back in a few with today's prompt of Surrealism.

Until then, polish happy!

An InLinkz Link-up

Nail Art A-Go-Go, Day 7: Primary

Hello polish lovers!

I know I didn't post yesterday but I was just feeling like being lazy, so I edited the photos but didn't post.  So this is going to be short and sweet since I will be posting again soon.

Today's prompt was Primary, and that is exactly what I did.  I started by painting one third of my nails Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Lightening, the middle third Formula X Omni, and the final third Formula X Flashy.  They are all bright primary colours, and this reminds me of a child beach ball.

For my stamping I used Essie No Place Like Chrome and the crown image from the MM05 plate.

I didn't realize until I was editing the photos that I stamped this upside down but I kind of like it that way.  This mani reminds me of a Renaissance Fair with a jousting match.

That is all for now but I will be back with my Still Life mani soon.

Until then, polish happy!

Nail of the Day: Alpine Snow with MoYou London Stamping

Hello polish lovers!

Today I am back with my nail of the day...although it is one I wore a few days ago but I am trying to get my photo's built back up so I have changed my nails 3 times since I got back from vacation.

Having just come back from the Caribbean, I was feeling bright and floral, so that is what I did.  I started with 2 coats of OPI's Alpine Snow, one of my favourite whites...I need to get a backup bottle badly, fortunately I think it is part of the permanent collection.  I especially love when I use it for a stamping base and have a tan, it looks very good...more of a tan than I have now, obviously.

Once this was coated in SV and dried I chose the colours I wanted to stamp with.  I used Models Own Bubblegum, a neon pink that I discovered, through The Crumpet, stamps beautifully...I definitely need to get more of their neons.  I used my MoYou London Pro Collection 10 and the cherry blossom design for all fingers except my ring finger, which I stamped in Color Club Abyss and a different floral design from the same plate.

I love the contrast between the 2 colours, while the floral designs and the white base help to keep the design cohesive.  I actually loved the pink and green together so much, I used them for the next nails that I did as well(post coming soon).

While at my local Walmart today I found some of the new Sally Hansen Satin Glam polishes...mine had 4 colours, and picked up Silk Onyx, so look forward to a first impressions and review of the newest Sally Hansen line, coming soon.

Until then, polish happy!

Christmas Challenge, Day 4: Traditions

Hello polish lovers!

Today I have my mani for the challenge prompt of traditions.  This was difficult for me to narrow down...and also most of the traditions in my house revolve around food...baking is a huge part of our Christmas celebrations.  So I decided to go back to a tradition of my childhood, one that ended when my grandmother passed away when I was in grade 5.

Every year for Christmas my grandmother used to knit everyone a sweater and us kids also got mittens.  I loved those sweaters and she would always ask what colours we wanted this year.  I actually still have one of the last sweaters that she knitted, the yarn was different and so it stretched out and I still occasionally wear it.

I suffered a bad break to the index finger of my swatching hand so until it grows a little bit, I give to you...my left hand!  Since my left is my dominant hand I do apologize about the sketchy clean up, I always have problems with my middle finger, partially I think, because of the writing callus I have.  Because I am now taking photos with my non-dominant hand they are not as well centered and my finger position is not as good.

This is 2 coats of Barielle Shades Big Apple Red, a great apple red creme.

I stamped using Konad white and used BMH03 for the mitts and hats and BMH01 for the knitted heart.  At the last minute I decided to do a gold accent on my pinkie nail, this is Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Wedding Glitters, 2 coats.

That is all for today, but I will be back soon.

Until then, polish happy!

Sally Hansen Triple Shine Dive In Review

Hello polish lovers!

I told you I would be back...and I am.  I am back with a polish that I swatched almost two months ago but was so involved with numerous challenges the photos stayed in my un-edited folder, gathering computer dust.  So you will remember I did a first impressions post on 2 colours from the Sally Hansen Triple Shine collection, I loved Kelp, even though it was more of a 3 coater, as I had VNL at 2 coats, and Fanta-Sea is really more of a glitter topper than a stand alone glitter polish, since 4 coats could not get it opaque.  Today I have another creme polish from this line, Dive In.

This, ladies, is a true 2 coat polish!  It is a bright blue/green and reminds me very much of the Caribbean waters, making the name of this polish very appropriate.

As you can see this photo was taken before I had my series of breaks that necessitated cutting my nails to less than half their former length.  I miss those nails, but I know they will be back.  My non-swatching hand is already coming along nicely, but my swatching hand has some catching up to do.

This photo has been slightly colour corrected, because for some reason my camera totally freaks out around any teals and refuses to show the colour accurately.  I had the same problem with Orly's Unreal Teal, which is one of the reasons I have not shown those photos yet...well that and it totally stained my cuticles on removal which seriously ticked my off.  Although it did not stain as badly as OPI's Swimsuit...Nailed It, that gorgeous sparkly polish not only got my cuticles but the nails themselves!

Anyway, on to this gorgeous colour. I loved this polish, this is 2 coats, no top coat and it is opaque and glossy and lovely.  I decided I liked it so much I put it on all my nails and used it as a base for some stamping.

I used the PUEEN24 plate and the brocade image to make some really lovely wallpaper nails.  I used Essie Good as Gold to stamp, I love stamping with that polish so much!  All of the Essie metallics are gorgeous stampers and are completely opaque in one coat.

In conclusion, Dive In is definitely the winner, in terms of formula, of the 3 Sally Hansen Triple Shine polishes that I have tried, although Kelp is so far my favourite colour.  I was really impressed with Dive In's opacity and shine and I believe I kept the finished product on my fingers with minimal wear for almost a 5 days before I had to take it off, not because it was chipping, but because I need to change my polish often.

That is all for today, but I will be back on Monday with day 31 of the 33DC, so close to the end on this.

Until then, polish happy!

33DC Day 24: Colour I Own the Most Of

Hello polish lovers!

So as I wrote on Wednesday I finally figured out a way to fix my photo compression on Blogger!  Unfortunately, the only way that I was able to do this was to switch to a Google+ account:(  So from now one any replies to comments will be with my name, Sandra Barry, and not Petite & Polish because Google will not allow me to change my name to the blog name.  The upside is that my photos will again look the high quality, colour accurate(as much as my camera will allow) and none fuzzy!

And now, on to the Challenge.  For day 24 we were to create a mani using the colour of polish we have the most of.  For me it really is a toss up between green and blue, so I decided to use both.  I started with a base of 2 coats of Barry M's Turquoise, which is really more bright blue, it has very little green in the formula.

I topped this with SV and once it was dry I added a gradient of Turquoise and Sally Hansen Diamond Strength  in Garter Toss, which is, I think, an even lighter mint green then Essie's Mint Candy Apple, I may have to do a comparison of my mints, that would be fun.

Again, I added SV and let dry before I began my stamping.  For my stamping I used Klean Color Metallic Jungle(don't ask me why it is jungle when it is blue, it should be Metallic Ocean!) and GALS GA33 plate for the image.

I really like how well all the Klean Color Metallics stamp and I would love to get more of them, since the only ones I have are a mini set I found at Winners(win for me!).  I thought the metallic added a bit of shine and sparkle to an otherwise creme mani.

That is all for now but I will be back on Sunday with my next Falling for Nail Art mani, the theme is Baked Goods, and I didn't stamp!  Although I do have an apple pie image and a doughnut image!  I restrained myself and the next mani if freehand.

Until then, polish happy!

Hallow e'en Challenge Day 8: Hallow e'en!

Happy Hallow e'en polish lovers!

I love Hallow e'en!  Tonight when I get home from work I will definitely be watching Rocky Horror Picture Show(a yearly tradition), I already watched Hocus Pocus yesterday(Bette Midler and Sarah Jessica Parker as witches? Yes please!).

So here is the mani I am rockin' on this most awesome holiday.

I started with 1 coat of OPI's Alpine Snow for my base.  Once that had dried I created a gradient using Alpine Snow, Essie's Fear or Desire, and Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Lightning.  Over that I put 2 coats of Fantasy Makers Glow in the Dark polish(I tried to get the China Glaze Ghoulish Glow but my Sally's was all sold out).  I then coated this in SV and let dry for a very long time before I did my stamping.

I used Bundle Monster BMH07 for the Trick or Treat image and BMH06 for the jack o'lanterns.

This does glow in the dark but it works best if you use a flashlight to charge the polish, and it doesn't stay very long.  But I enjoy the effect.

That is all for today, I will be back tomorrow with the 33DC Two Pattern mani.

Until then, have a Happy Hallow e'en, and polish happy!

Sally Hansen Triple Shine First Look and Review

Hello polish lovers!

I was browsing through my local Walmart earlier this week and stumbled upon the new Sally Hansen Triple Shine display!  Me being the nail polish addict that I am, I could not resist getting 2 to try out.  I decided to limit myself to 1 creme and one glitter, to get a sample of both.  The colours that I got are, Kelp Out, a bright leaf green creme, and Fanta-Sea, a silver and ice blue glitter.

I started by swatching Kelp Out.  The instructions on the bottle say to do 2 coats...but this is what 2 coats looked like on my nails.

2 coats equals definite VNL and I can't do that, my OCD kicks in and makes me want to take it all off.  So I decided to add another coat....and this is when the magic happened.

Yes! This is what I was looking for.  I love this colour!  It is so bright and cheerful, it reminds me of new leaves in the spring, not at all like Kelp, I've seen kelp and that stuff is usually much more brown than this.  The formula, besides being a 3 coat-er was smooth and creamy.  I don't think I have a similar colour in my collection.  The Triple Shine bottles have the same brush that the Insta-Dri do so it takes very few brush strokes because the brush is so wide(these photos show zero cleanup, this polish stays where you want it and doesn't flood the cuticles).

Now for Fanta-Sea.

On my pinky I have 1 coat, ring is 2 coats, middle is 3 coats, and pointer is 4 coats.  I did not do this over a base colour because I wanted to show the true colour of the polish without influence.

As you can see, this polish isn't really meant to be worn alone.  It would take way more coats than I have patience for to achieve opacity.  I am really looking forward to seeing what this looks like over undies, I think I may go dark, like a navy polish.  I may show something like that in the future.

Overall, besides the misleading instructions on the bottles(neither of these polishes are 2 coat-ers), I am rather impressed with this new line.  My photos are taken showing the polish by itself, no top coat!  They are super shiny! I have only swatched so far, I have not done a wear test, that may come in the future.

And now, for a mani I rocked for almost a week!

Ahh! Empty hand!

As you can see, this photo was taken before the sun disappeared from the skies and we were left in darkness.  This is a few days in so you can see some legitimate tip wear(normally my mani comes off way before wearing can occur) but I love this Bird plate from Messy Mansion!  The feathers look drawn on and sketchy and I love that.

That is all for today but I will be back tomorrow with the next theme in the Falling for Nail Art Challenge.

Until then, polish happy!