Konad Plate M81

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Last night while watching a movie, I decided to play with some of the full nail patterns from Konad plate M81 that I couldn't use on longer nails. I was watching a horror movie which included Michael Berryman in the cast - it wasn't the kind of thing that required intense thought!

The first, I used the criss cross pattern in Pastel Violet Konad Special Polish, using one coat of Revlon Punch Chrome as the base color. Not my best stamping job ever, but I'm still getting used to the new nails, so what the heck...

Revlon Punch Chrome Nail Polish, One Coat & Konad M81 in Pastel Violet

Revlon Punch Chrome Nail Polish, One Coat & Konad M81 in Pastel Violet, Closer View

One I'd had my eye on for a while was the pattern that's animal print between diagonal lines. For that, I used Color Club Poptastic as the base and Black Pearl Konad Special Polish for the stamping.

Color Club Poptastic Nail Polish, Three Coats & Konad M81 in Black Pearl

Color Club Poptastic Nail Polish, Three Coats & Konad M81 in Black Pearl, Closer View

Those two, I did only on my left hand since I was just playing around while my bad movie was playing. At that point, I was getting bored and just did today's Nails of the Day, which is M81's geometric pattern in Violet Pearl Konad Special Polish over two coats of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Bubblegum Pink, one of my new loves.

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Bubblegum Pink Nail Polish, Two Coats & Konad M81 in Violet Pearl

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Bubblegum Pink Nail Polish, Two Coats & Konad M81 in Violet Pearl, Closer View

That's the outcome of entertaining myself during a bad horror movie (which is my favorite kind of movie!). I think it shows this is one dang cool plate, and also what a difference using Konad polish for stamping makes. I know some chromes work about as well, but the Konad polishes consistently give a really opaque, crisp stamp, which is my preference.

So that's what I have for you this morning, Dear Reader. Until next time, love and nail polish to you!

Chanel Ming & Konad Decals

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Today I decided to play with the turquoise Konad decals I showed to you yesterday. I thought a muted pink would work with them, so I used Chanel Ming for the nail polish. Ming took three coats, then I topped it off with a top coat and let it dry for a few minutes before adding the decals. After placing the decals, I sealed them with a coat of Diamont.

Chanel Ming Nail Polish, Three Coats with Konad Decals and Ming Bottle

Chanel Ming Nail Polish, Three Coats with Konad Decals

I absolutely love nail jewelry decals, and these are the best I've used in terms of the adhesive and how closely the plastic backing lines up with the little stones. I really hope WowSoCool starts carrying these as a regular item - I'll definitely be loading up on them if they do!

That's what I have for you this morning, Dear Reader. Until next time, love and nail polish to you!

Chanel Gold Fiction & Konad Decals

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

I have good news and I have bad news... The bad news is that what I was afraid would happen when I removed Mixed Up is exactly what happened. A couple weeks ago, my hair, which is stronger than my nails, took a good slice out of a nail. I've had it patched, but since my last major break to my pinky nail was in removing a heavy glitter, I thought I might do some damage in taking Mixed Up off, and I did.

Rather than have my nails held together with super glue and duct tape (not really, it just feels that way!), I cut them all off below the damage with a nail scissors and shaped them with a glass file. What a bummer!!! I can't type, hate how they look, and can't wait for them to come back, but at least I'm free of repairs.

The good news is I have a cool little nail accessory to show you. Jessica from WowSoCool sent me two packets of Konad rhinestone nail decals as an extra with my last order, and I love them! I looked for them in WSC's 3D Stickers category, but they were not there. I emailed Jessica to ask about them, and it turns out that she received them in very limited supply and didn't put them on the site. I took pictures of what she sent me so that if you like them you can contact her to get some. I'll show you my mani using one, then tell you about them.

The manicure is a base of two coats of Chanel Gold Fiction (yes, I decalled a Chanel LE!), used one of the garnet-y decals for an accent on my ring finger, and topped it with a coat of Diamont to seal it. I had much grander plans when I sat down to start, but since my available real estate was diminished by about two thirds, this is as good as it gets! The polish job isn't the best, either - I have a harder time polishing when my nails are short.

Chanel Gold Fiction Nail Polish, Two Coats with Bottle & Konad Decal

Chanel Gold Fiction Nail Polish, Two Coats with Konad Decal

The things I particularly like about these decals is that the adhesive is strong, but not so much so that it accidentally gets stuck in the wrong place, and that the plastic that holds the fakey stones does not overhang the edge, as is the case with many. Here's what Jessica sent to me:

The red I used today:

Konad Red Rhinestone Konad Decal Packet, Less One

Konad Fake Turquoise Konad Decal Packet

I adore stuff like this, and the one I have on worked brilliantly. I did neglect to ask the price of these, but Jessica is extremely fast at answering emails, so I'm sure she'll tell you. This morning was the first time I poked around at WowSoCool other than for plates and polishes, and I found a lot of cool stuff there, which is why I gave you a link above to the decals page. It can be dangerous to the wallet to poke around there, but oh, what fun! Jessica also told me this morning that she has more cool stuff to come, so as soon as I have specific information to pass on, I will.

So that's the tale of the demise of my nails due to glitter, and the intro of some dang cool nail jewelry. Now we have another few months to look forward to my pictures looking like a flip book, but as my mom would say, that's life in the big city.

Until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!

OPI Glow-Ink in the Dark and More

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Yesterday, I decided, "To heck with it..." and just cut my nails all the way off again. Bummer, but at least they're even. The good news is that OPI's Halloween glow in the dark nail polish, Glow-Ink in the Dark, showed up, and I got to play with it.

It's supposed to be purple and glow green. It's purple, the glow isn't markedly green. It took a base of matte Alpine Snow and three coats of Glow-Ink in the Dark to be even and opaque. Here it is with a base and a top in the sun.

And here it is glowing.

Not so much green, huh? I still like it - it's purple and glow, so I have no complaints!

On to the more... Today's Nails of the Day! One of the few benefits of cutting my nails is that I get to use the zebra pattern from Konad plate M57. I love that pattern. I decided to make it the mid-80's on my nails, and used Essie Punchy Pink as the base color with Black Konad Special Nail Polish for the stamping. Punchy Pink is a great one - I've used half a bottle this summer. Pictures don't show how really neon it is ("whorish and unwearable," according to one of my male friends!). Last year's are getting hard to find, so if you want one really neon pink, get this one while you can!

That's it for now, Dear Reader. Until next time, love and nail polish to you!

What A Broad & Konad M56

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Today I have my weekend Konadicure to show you. I really like Sephora by OPI What A Broad, so I combined it with a favorite Konad pattern and a favorite Konad nail polish to make one happy manicure.

I started with two coats of What A Broad, then added the swirly tip pattern from Konad plate M56 using Konad Special Nail Polish in Psyche Pink for the stamping.

The Psyche Pink bottle is not the usual Konad Princess Nail Polish bottle - it's the one from the Coraline kit. Same polish, but a more ornate bottle. Since I love ornate bottles, that's the one ion the picture.

That's what I have for you for now, Dear Reader. Until next time, love and nail polish to you!

Dior Black Plum & Clarins 230

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Yesterday I tried out Dior's Fall 2009 nail polish, Black Plum. I applied like a Dior (like buttah!), and is a great deep plum creme which definitely doesn't look black in normal lighting. This is two coats.

Pretty thought it was, it was begging me for a little something else, so I added one coat of Clarins 230 to it. 230 is magical!

I like Black Plum both ways, and I'm really happy with it. The application on this one is just amazing!

That's what I have for you today, Dear Reader. Until next time, love and nail polish to you!

Sephora by OPI

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I have some new Sephora by OPI nail polishes for you today. The all had good application and were two-coaters, with the exception of one of the five, which required three coats. $OPI's make me a bit resentful, because I like them so much more than OPI. It seems to me that if OPI can make polishes this good, all of them should be this good.

On to the pictures! These are all finished manicures with a base and a top coat, in no order at all.

Set the Mood is a pinky-mauve shimmer, bordering on a frost, and a very "safe" color. This is two coats.

In the Shadows is a deep brown creme. Although it's very dark, it still looks brown rather than black in normal light. This was the three coater.

Screen Test is a fuchsia shimmer with a pink flash. Seeing it in the bottle I was hopeful that it would be really glowy, but alas, it falls short of that. This is two coats.

Under My Trench Coat is a bunch of gold microglitter in a beige creme base. And it has a great name. Again, two coats.

Last is What A Broad, a vivid purple creme, also two coats.

Those are the new Sephora by OPI colors, and all I have for you for now. Until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!

Orly Enchanted Forest

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Yesterday I wore Orly's Enchanted Forest, their new green creme. It's bluer and darker than Nubar Forest, and bluer and a bit lighter than Zoya Envy. Here's three coats with a base and top coat.

It applied well and although disctinctly B3F, I didn't have troubles with it. You know me and cremes though... I added some Konad to this, the woven pattern from Konad plate S6 using Apple Green Konad Princess Polish.

The Apple Green didn't show up quite as brightly walking around since I don't carry a bright light with me, shining it on my nails. It blended in pretty well, and I liked it.

That's what I have for you today, Dear Reader. Until next time, love and nail polish to you!

Lippmann Collection Marquee Moon & Don't Tell Mama

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I got Lippmann Collection's Fall 2009 nail polishes, Marquee Moon and Don't Tell Mama, and gave them a try. Just a try. Neither stayed on too long...

Marquee Moon is like a silver Funky Chunky, of which I was not a great fan. The polish is just too opaque for the glitter, and the glitter is BIG. You can see I have a few rogue pieces of it waiting to catch on something and come off here. This is two coats over a base, dry with no top coat.

I really just don't think this is a good look. At all... It's been suggested that perhaps I just "don't get" this type of polish. That's possible. However, it's nail polish - there's not too much to understand here.

I was excited about Don't Tell Mama from pictures I've seen, but either the bottle I got is from a different batch or the pictures I've seen were taken under floodlights because mine looks almost black. This is three coats with a base and top coat under a really bright light - just walking around, it's almost black.

I didn't find this one objectionable, but I also didn't find anything about it to love. I left it on all day, and loved it no more or less at the end of the day than at the beginning.

So those are Lippmann Collection's Fall 2009 offerings. I've been a big Lippmann Collection fan for a while, but they're beginning to lose me with the latest releases.

That's all for now, Dear Reader. Until next time, love and nail polish to you!

Konad Plate M19 - Funky French Manicures

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Since hacking my nails down, I found they're the right length for the French tip patterns from Konad plate M19 (the one that's all plain French tips), so I've been having fun with M19.

Yesterday, I opted for a pink-and-white French mani on speed. I used Essie Punchy Pink for the base color (three coats), and then added White Konad Special Nail Polish to the tips.

Since I'm up and around early and there's basically nothing to do here in the middle of the night, I changed it already. Today I used Orly Cashmere Cardigan for the base and Pink Konad Special Nail Polish for the tips, then added a coat of Essie Carnival before finishing it off with Diamont. I wanted to use Silver Prisma Gloss for the glitter, but alas, it's still in a box somewhere.

That's what I have for you for now, Dear Reader. Until next time, love and nail polish to you!