Wet'n'Wild - Diamond in the Rough

Yet another beauty from the Wet'n'Wild Ice Baby collection (Coloricon): Diamond in the Rough.

Wet'n'Wild - Diamond in the Rough

This time I decided to layer the glitter over a solid color. I used one coat of Zoya Raven (doesn't matter if there are slightly bald spots - they're covered by the glitter anyway) and two coats of Diamond in the Rough. As it turns out, I kind of think it has more depth at only one coat, which is what I did on my other hand (not shown). It looks pretty much the same color (maybe a tiny bit darker, but not really noticeable), but for some reason, one coat of the glitter seems to have more "depth" than the two coats. It's also smoother and less "lumpy."

This one is either very close or a dupe for China Glaze Some Like it Haute, Sally Hansen Glitz Gal, and Nails Inc Sloane Square. Some of those may be a little easier to find since this was limited edition, though a tad bit more expensive.

Wet'n'Wild - Back Alley Deals

I love glitters, so when I found the Wet'n'Wild Ice Baby collection, I was thrilled. This one is one of my favorites: Back Alley Deals. It's hard to grasp just how vibrant this is without seeing it in person, but let me tell you, it is amazing!

Wet'n'Wild - Back Alley Deals

First of all, for some reason this doesn't dry as quickly as most glitters. And as it dries, it eats top coat like crazy! This is shown with a coat of Gealous with an immediate coat of China Glaze Fast Forward, and it was still lumpy. I ended up adding another layer of Gelous and Fast Forward after this pic, and it was STILL a little lumpy (though not nearly as much so). Oh well, I still think it's gorgeous.

Oh!  Also, check out my guest post over at Sparkly Vernis if you get the chance!  It's one of my favorite manis that I've done so far!

SOPI Metro Chic and Wet N Wild Gray's Anatomy

I saw a girl the other day wearing Sephora by OPI Metro Chic, and it made me want to wear it again, so here it is (2 coats):

Sephora by OPI - Metro Chic

I had recently picked up Gray's Anatomy from the new Wet N Wild FastDry line, and tried it quickly over my old Chanel Paradoxal manicure. It looked really cool because Paradoxal resembled the base color in Gray's Anatomy, but because Gray's is a bit sheer, Paradoxal really deepened it.

So I decided I'd try Gray's over Metro Chic, since it matched the base color even more closely. In my opinion, it's not as beautiful as it was with Paradoxal, but it's still very amazing! (And it's a $1.99 dupe for Deborah Lippmann's Wicked Games!)

Wet N Wild Gray's Anatomy (over SOPI Metro Chic)

That last couple pictures really show the green side of the polish, which is most visible at extreme angles to the light source, though as you can see both the green and purple can be seen together in many views. It's a more subtle duochrome, but still very striking. I recommend layering it over a darker color like Zoya Kelly or Sally Hansen Gray Area.

Black Lace and Cafe Au Lait

First of all... I hit 100 followers last night!!! Thank you all SO much for encouraging me with your wonderful comments! Just to let you know, I read every single one (even on old posts).

Anywho...
I got this idea from Deniz's pseudo lace nails (who in turn got it from Beautopia's idea here). Unfortunately, I don't have Konad plate m71, so I had to make do with a rose design from plate m65. The lace net is from plate m57 and I used Wet'n'Wild Black Creme for the stamping.



I actually like how it turned out with the roses, but I just don't know how those girls got their lace to look so PERFECT!

I love the look of black lace manicures, but I'm not sure which "version" I like the most. The Sally Hansen Salon Effects one looked nearly perfect, except for that the base color was way too pale for my skin. It would have lasted for week and a half most likely, but I don't usually wear one mani for that long anyway. I've never tried a "real lace" manicure, but I have a feeling I wouldn't have much patience for the texture and lifting of the lace edges. I think this one may be my favorite because you can customize the lace to look how you want it - you could put any Konad flowers you want over the lace net or maybe do some lacy french tips.




The base I used was Cafe Au Lait from the Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure line. I think this is the closest polish to my skin color that I own, but it's still not perfect. It's a tad too peachy-pink on me. Although it doesn't show in the pictures, it matches the pads of my fingers, but the rest of my hand looks a bit more yellow-brownish (in a not so yucky-color way than it sounds). I have a feeling it would match perfectly to someone whose skin had a tad more pink in it. I just saw a swatch of Knotty from China Glaze Anchor's Away that makes me think it might be a wonderful nude color for me during the summer when I'm slightly tanned.

What is your favorite nude color? Do you have one that perfectly matches your skin? Have you ever tried real lace for a manicure?

Black Lace French Mani

I decided I really like some of the Konad designs I've seen, but I'm not very good at it, so I should practice. Again, inspired by Chloe, I tried to make a similar mani to her Lace Funky French Mani. I loved the Konad design she used, but I don't have that plate, so I had to use a different one. This one is really fun to wear, and I'm definitely going to try more Konad and Scotch tape mani's soon!

Black French Mani

Today's manicure is inspired by Chloe from Chloe's Nails. She does some amazing designs using scotch tape, including awesome French mani's. It looked simple enough, but I'd never had much luck with tape before. She provides some great tips on how to use tape to create lines and shapes in a manicure. This one came out ok, but I'm sure it just takes some practice!

I used 10 in Pinky Promise (415) (can be found at CVS) with Wet'n'Wild Black Creme (most opaque black creme EVER!). Isn't it awesome?! I'm dying to try her patchwork mani next! I want to try a holiday one, but don't know which colors to use... I'm thinking green and chrome gold and something else... maybe gold glitter?

Do you like French manicures that utilize different colors? Have you ever used Scotch tape for nicely defined lines?