Orly Gel FX

If you do gel and think you even might like this, GO PICK SOME UP! Seriously. It's amazing.





This was three coats of Sally Hansen 'Red My Lips' with two coats of Orly 'Gel FX' and Gelish base and top coats. It was a little thick, because of all those coats but not too bad.





Basically, I want to wear Gel FX over every gel color out there. It is so fun! I think the photos pretty much speak for themselves with this one.

*All products here were purchased by me for my own wear and review. 

Beat the Heat!

I needed to beat the heat today; it was 109 in Sacramento.



SensatioNail "Beat the Heat", with accent nail of "Sun Kissed", three coats of each. Nailtiques 2+ as base coat, Sally Hansen gel base and top coat, one coat of each.

I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but I LOVE yellow. And my sister's favorite color is orange. So when I wandered into Walgreens and saw the new SensatioNail Island Fever collection, I picked these two up immediately. Without hesitation.

The application was great! "Beat the Heat" could probably be a two-coater. As a hater of VNL, I did three coats of each. The orange is definitely a jelly and although the VNL doesn't show up well here, it was very much there. The colors are a little less neon than they are in the photos, more like straight yellow crayon yellow and orange. My camera really hated them. You can see that it's a little brighter than the box color, though.

The wear ... lacked. I had issues with bubbling, some after the fact. On one finger, the bubble peeled off and revealed several layers of polish which made me wonder if it hadn't cured correctly. I tried again, doubling the cure time, and it still happened. It only happened with "Beat the Heat" and is visible on my index, middle finger, and thumb in the photos. I have used SensatioNail polish without the base layer ("gel primer") before and never had this problem. I'm hopeful that this was a bad batch. A lemon even!

Verdict: the colors are worth it for me. There isn't a comparable/dupe yellow gel that I'm aware of.

*All products here were purchased by me for my own wear and review. 

Sneak peek of what's coming up!

This is NOT Orly ' Shade Shifter' in action but I was so excited about it that I had to take a picture. My awesome Hex Nail Jewelry charm is pictured; I figured that went really well with Ramones-inspired polish. . More details about this mani coming very soon!

ETA: Sneak PEEK! PEEK, damn it. Not a sneak peak. No stealthy mountains here.

*All products here were purchased by me for my own wear and review. 

Pretty & Polished 'Irish Brawn'

This is CND Stickey bas coat, Gelish base coat, two coats of Gelish 'Black Shadow', Gelish top coat, one coat of Pretty & Polished 'Irish Brawn' and Jordana Quick Shine top coat.

I am a total SUCKER for any bright glitter in a dark base. I own quite a few polishes like this, in various shapes and colors. If someone put out a line with a polish like this in every color of the rainbow, I would buy them.

That said, I like 'Irish Brawn' performed. It was not too thick or thin and the glitter didn't get lost in the base, as often happens in polishes like this. The glitter application was very random, which I like. My thumbs ended up with a LOT of glitter. The effect on my ring finger made it almost look French tip, which was unintentionally awesome! If I worked someplace other than a dark-ass bar, this would have been my St. Patrick's Day day-of mani. Instead, I opted for something a little brighter which I will post soon!

*All products here were purchased by me for my own wear and review. 

Stitches nails!

This is: CND Stickey as base coat, one coat of Gelish base coat, three coats of SensatioNail "Espresso Bean", one coat Gelish top coat, alcohol wipe, Revlon "Golden" stamped with Bundle Monster plate 225, plus a coat of Poshe top coat. The pictures above show direct light, indirect light, and shade.

Last year was my first year going to Stitches West, a convention for knitters, crocheters, spinners, and fiber lovers of all other sorts. I went this year, prepared for being totally overwhelmed with gorgeous wooly things of every variety. While I ended up going down the rabbit hole and deciding to finally give spinning a try, I managed to make it out of there without too much damage to my wallet. Mostly, I got to see and meet some amazing humans at the LSG meetup.


(not my photo, click thru to flickr for the owner's feed with MORE pictures of us!)

Last year, I was asked quite a bit about my nails. (And I had a really awesome manicure so you can imagine why people asked about it.)  So I knew I had to do something pretty cool this year! Since I hadn't stamped in a while, I figured that was the way to go.

This manicure was inspired by another knitter, Amoena. She's also a polish blogger! (Although her blog is in Finnish. Google translate is your friend! The stripped-down tumblr version in English is here.) She has created some gorgeous stamped manis that look like tapestry like this one and this gorgeous beauty. I find myself admiring her work a lot and decided to try my hand at doing something tapestry-like and sort of tonal. I was already wearing SensatioNail 'Espresso Bean' and I thought gold would go great with it. I was right! I did audition 4 or 5 golds before I hit it out of the park with "Golden". Orly "Luxe" was my back-up in case nothing else worked out. We all know it stamps like a dream!

*All products featured in this review were purchased by me for wear and review. 

SensatioNail Espresso Bean

This is: CND Stickey as base boat, one coat Gelish base coat, three coats of SensatioNail 'Espresso Bean', and one coat of Gelish top coat.

This is the first SensatioNail polish I've picked up that is actually accurate to the box color (which is why I included the box picture!). I hope that's a good sign going forward, because some of their packaging is pretty misleading. (I'm talking about you Purple Orchid! You are not a warm purple!)

I LOVE rich browns and this is one of my favorite brown polishes ever. It has just enough shimmer to keep it from looking black or too dark. The micro-shimmer is multi-color and I found gold, red, and a bit of green in it. I had a nail chip and redid it with the same color. THAT is how I know I like a polish. Especially when it comes to gel! I highly recommend this if you are a fan of brown and/or darker colors.

This was an ideal base for stamping and I have a forthcoming post with a ton of pictures! My first stamped manicure since October!

*All products featured in this review were purchased by me.

NOTD: a-England Lady of the Lake

This is: CND Stickey base coat, one coat Gelish base coat, three coats of SensatioNail 'Heirloom Lilac', two coats of a-England 'Lady of the Lake' and one coat of Jordana Quick Shine top coat. 

I layer regular polish over gel A LOT, as you guys have probably noticed. This is not a particularly good example of that technique. I've got tip wear as well as the gel still showing at the cuticle. I usually stick to a color that's closer to the gel's color and this shows why! If it isn't perfect, you can tell! I usually have only minimal tip wear, and this combo ended up with a lot. 

All that aside, this was my first wearing of an a-England polish. And I LOVE THEM! I bought three when the £6 promo was going on: this one, Saint George, and Dragon. I anticipate using Dragon for an upcoming St. Patrick's Day mani and I can't WAIT to get Saint George on my hands. (Too bad I'm going to Disneyland next week and DISNEY THINGS will be on the nails! This purple is dark and the holo shows up well in bright light (even bright artificial light). It's rather scattered, which I prefer. (Kaleidoscopes over OMGs any day!) 

Verdict: If you don't own any a-Englands, GET SOME! I know they aren't the easiest to get a hold of, but they are worth it! 

*Some of the products featured in this post were provided to me by the manufacturer. All opinions expressed are my own uncensored, regardless. 

Zoya "Storm"

This is CND Stickey base coat, Gelish base coat, three coats of Gelish "Black Shadow", Gelish top coat, one coat of Zoya "Storm" and Jordana Quick Shine top coat.

I've been going through a big dark nail polish phase and this is perfect! Black with just enough brightness. This polish isn't as super fantastic in low light, but in the sun it GLOWS. If you aren't into dark polish, this one probably isn't for you. If, like me, you could wear dark polish every day and never get tired of it, you should probably pick this one up.

I was amazed that this only took one coat over the gel. Usually shimmery/small glitter polishes are pretty streaky with only one coat but this wasn't at all. I've done a bit of color-on-color type layering and this stands out of the crowd.

This polish is part of my first ever Zoya purchase- I got this one (Storm), Shawn, and Ivanka. I'm very impressed with the quality of these polishes and I *will* be buying more Zoya in the future. I guess I finally see what all the fuss is about! And with all the awesome promos they have, you can't beat it!

*All products featured here were purchased by me for wear and review.

twee and honey "Tutu" 061 over black

This is CND Stickey as base coat, Gelish base coat, three coats of Gelish "Black Shadow", one coat of twee and honey "Tutu", with one coat of Jordana Quick Shine top coat.

After wearing such a light, glittery mani for a week I needed something dark. I knew I wanted to do black gel and spent at least 15 minutes sitting in front of my Helmer looking through my un-photographed polish (which I have a lot of). I settled on this one and I am so glad I did!

"Tutu" is from the t&h 'All Hallows' collection, which I didn't even realize until I looked it up to link here. (I also didn't realize that Ms. Let Them Have Polish did this same mani, although she did two coats.) Though it is part of that collection, it is more than appropriate for any time of the year. There is glitter of several sizes and colors in hot pink, light pink, teal-y. There are flakies. There are HOLOGRAPHIC PINK BUTTERFLIES! (see last picture) One of my favorite things about t&h polishes is that often there are little bits that don't even show up on the side of the bottle but you end up with one or two on your nails. (Like the little orange hearts in "Viscera".) There are always little awesome surprises awaiting you with this polish!

The over-all effect of this mani is super shiny, although it didn't show up that way in the pictures. Which is okay, because it showed the actual colors and character of the polish without being too glare-y.

*Some of the polish here was provided to me by the manufacturer. All opinions are my own, without influence and without compensation. 

The last manicure of 2012 ...

And the first of 2013!



This is: CND Stickey, Gelish base coat, two coats of ProGel 'Trophy Cup', Gelish top coat, three coats of China Glaze 'Glistening Snow' or 'Angel Wings' on the accent nail, a coat of Jordana quick shine top coat, and a coat of Poshe top coat.

Out of the China Glaze Holiday Joy collection, 'Winter Holly' was the only polish I knew I had to have right off the bat. I actually saw these two in store and didn't pick them up. Until I saw swatches. Then I knew! These two are amazing on the nail. 'Glistening Snow' is like wearing diamonds on your nails! The holo glitter really makes it. These are relatively thick glitters (which I like). I was worried about them being dupes for 'Fairy Dust' and 'Golden Enchantment' but they are no where close. I'd say the closest thing would be the Milani holos, since those are relatively non-linear and have glittery sparkle in all light like these do. And that is a major compliment! I stop to just stare at my nails and move them around in the light pretty often, so that's the best thing I could say about a manicure.

Verdict: If you don't have these, get them! (If you can, get the set with a free shot glass!)

*All products featured in this post were purchased by me for wear and review. 

Christmas mani #2 featuring Candy Lacquer "Rudolph's Treats"

This is three coats of Gelish "Runway for Your Money" with a coat of Candy Lacquer "Rudolph's Treats". Accent nail is a taped Christmas tree using China Glaze "Winter Holly" for the tree, Candy Lacquer "Dippin' Dots" for the ornaments and a fished out giant piece of glitter as the topper from Kleancolor "Afternoon Picnic". All topped off with two coats of Poshe top coat.

As soon as I saw the Candy Lacquer polishes with all round dots, I *had* to have them. They are really fun! They are something that is a lot cuter to me and in close up pictures than anything else, because you can't tell the difference between the round and hex unless you're really looking. (As I'm typing this, I can't tell when they're at keyboard's length.) Also, I had a bit of an issue with the glitter separating from the base in the round glitters. I own several other Candy Lacquer glitters and haven't had this issue with any of the others, so I assume it is related to the round glitters. A little shaking and everything is back to normal, so no biggie!

I didn't like this as much as my other Christmas mani, but it would be pretty hard to beat that one! I'm not sure what it was, but something about this one just didn't "click". I'll try "Rudolph's Treats" over another base in the future and see how that works. (I'm getting all kinds of ideas now, but it's after Christmas! Day late; dollar short.)

Happy New Year! New Year's nails coming soon.

Christmas nails! featuring the Hungry Asian "Candy Cane"

This is three coats of Gelish "Black Shadow", with one generous coat of The Hungry Asian "Candy Cane". Accent nail has one coat China Glaze "Twinkle Lights". All topped with one coat of Jordana Quick Shine top coat.


"Candy Cane" is a clear/slightly shimmery base with small red and white matte hex glitter and small green matte square glitter. It spread very well. I used the dabbing on method to apply it, because it is somewhat thick but that helped get maximum glitter on the nail.

"Twinkle Lights" is a clear base with tiny red, green, and gold glitter.

This was my first time using any of the Hungry Asian polishes I have, even though I've got a few minis. (I'm not sure why, because they are almost all colors that will go great over gel, but that's another subject entirely.) I can't recommend it more enthusiastically! Not only are her polishes very cute and quite often stuff that you don't just see everywhere else, she adds personal touches to every order. The labels are hand-drawn and every order has a cute little handwritten note inside. I adore stuff like that! It will keep me coming back over and over more than anything else. Plus, the quality of the polish is wonderful. And you know being TartanHEARTS and all I don't have to say that I adore the heart-shaped bottles because it's too obvious but I will say it anyway! I know I would be justified buy full-sizes of any of her polishes because they are so beautiful, but I can't get over how cute the heart-shaped minis are.

I'd also been sitting on China Glaze "Twinkle Lights" for a year or so. I was surprised at how much I liked it on the nail! I wasn't sure, because it seems a little muddy in the bottle. Not so on the nail! The red and green stand out from the gold very distinctly.

Over-all, I wanted to put this back on after a week. I didn't so I could wear more Christmas-themed polish but I would have been happy putting this right back on.

*All polishes featured here were purchased by me. 

Sally Hansen Lustre Shine 'Copperhead'

Sally Hansen Lustre Shine 'Copperhead', a photo by TartanHearts on Flickr.

This is CND Stickey as base coat. Three coats of SH 'Copperhead' and a coat of Jordana Quick Shine top coat.

I hated this. I didn't even bother to do much clean up. There is a gorgeous green shade in the bottle that doesn't show up on the nail at all. It ends up being a rose gold or copper color most of the time that shows purpley-brown at extreme angles. It would be MUCH better with the green. I like most of my duochromes to have the DUO part!

I've only swatched one other Lustre Shine (Scarab) and it was great. This one was not. I still have a couple more, so the jury is still out on the collection as a whole.

With all the awesome duochrome/multichrome polish out there, don't waste your time with this one.

Candy Lacquer 'Midnight Gems'

Top photo: Three coats of Red Carpet Manicure's 'My Inspiration' with CND Stickey as base coat plus regular Gelish base and top coats. 

Bottom photo: Above PLUS a coat of Candy Lacquer 'Midnight Gems' and two coats of Jordana Quick Shine top coat. 

I LOVED this. The moment I saw Midnight Gems, I knew I had to have it. I love holographic glitter, so when you add many colors of holo glitter plus regular glitters, it is a wonderful effect. (CL's description: "Gunmetal holographic glitter mixed with lots of other holographic colors including red, blue, orange, pink, gold and lavender.") I loved it over the grey, and it really reminded me of a pendant I made. Holo over medium grey is a good look, all around! This look was perfect for a Christmas party my sister put on. Just enough sparkle to catch your eye, without being IN YOUR FACE! 

(All products reviewed were purchased by me. I'll have a post pretty soon where this won't be the case, so I figured I'd better start specifying!)

Lustre Shine 'Scarab'

This is two coats (!) of Sally Hansen Lustre Shine in 'Scarab' with CND Stickey as a base coat and Jordana Quick Shine top coat.

One word for this: LOVE!

I don't know why it took me two months to wear this bad boy, because it's absolutely gorgeous. Sure, it's not very duo-chromey but I am more than okay with that. Now, I know I wear lot of blue polish. I have more blue nails posted than any other color. But I don't wear a lot of shimmery polish. For some reason, this one just spoke to me. I love the silkiness of Scarab. The downside? It chipped like cuh-razy! Chrome-y polish never lasts very well on my nails. I'm not sure if it's body chemistry or what. We'll see if it's the same for some of the other polishes in this collection.

Have you guys succumbed to the lure of the Lustre Shines? Which ones are your favorite?

RCM 'Dress For Success' over black

Shown above is Red Carpet Manicure 'Dress For Success' over Gelish 'Black Shadow', with one, two, and three coats.

Thanks to whomever requested this! I know it's how it was intended to be worn, and it looks fantastic! My favorite is just one coat.

Black Friday black nails.

Gelish 'Black Shadow'. Once again I used regular base coat (CND Stickey this time) and no dehydrator. I still use the Gelish foundation gel. This seems to work great! I get no chipping but it's still very easy to remove. (Using the dehydrator and no foundation gel let to chipping on the edges but still hard to remove gel in the middle.)

This is the first time I've done plain black nails since early high school, ten-ish years ago. I love it! It's not very interesting in terms of blogging, but plain ol' black cremes are my favorite nails to do. As great as stamping and glitter are, sometimes you need some simplicity!

the final Halloween manicure

This is one coat of Sinful Colors 'Black on Black' with a coat of twee & honey 'Viscera' over it. Base coat was Nailtiques 2 and top coat was Jordana Quick Shine Top Coat.

I love this. I loved it enough to actually take off one nail, after it chipped, and replace it with the exact same thing. 'Viscera' is amazing and the best part was that it had teeny little hearts! I didn't see them in the bottle and they were a wonderful surprise! There aren't words to describe how awesome this was. And it was perfect for when my GIANTS WON THE WORLD SERIES!

Also, this gorgeous mani matches my blog! I didn't plan it, but it's perfect!

Halloween/Giants manicure!

China Glaze Riveting stamped with BM-221 and Sinful Colors Black on Black. Two coats of Jordana Quick Shine top coat, one before stamping and one after.

I LOVE THIS! I hadn't stamped anything since around St. Patrick's Day. Somehow the stars aligned and I didn't have to re-stamp anything! And miraculously, my right hand looked better than my left. The bottle of SC Black on Black that I use for stamping is a couple years old now, and it stamps like a mofo! As good a Konad special polish, for sure. (I will probably replace it with a bottle of the Konad special polish, but for a starter stamping polish, you can't go wrong with it.)

We all know how fantastic China Glaze's 'Riveting' is. I don't have to reiterate that. It is even more amazing when you stamp over it. I love stamping over creams, but stamping over this micro glitter/shimmer was fantastic. It gave a lot of depth. (I have a gorgeous pendant made with it in my shop now.) And this is one of the few oranges that works pretty well on my skin tone. The gold shimmer really helps with that.

This has inspired me to do a little more stamping. Or maybe do some leopard print freehand. Or both!

Pretty & Polished 'Candy Corn' color change polish

This stuff is amazing! I think I'm going to have to get some more of Pretty & Polished's color change polishes because it was so much fun to have this on. Every time I'd look at my nails, they would be different. Especially great this time of year because the temperature is all over the place.

The one downside to this polish was that it wasn't totally opaque. I HATE hate hate VNL and had I realized I would have it (somehow I didn't think I would; wishful thinking!), I'd have done it over white or nude gel or something. Next time! Because I *will* be wearing this again. It would be very cool to stamp over.

Pretty & Polished polishes are available on etsy here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/PrettyandPolished 'Candy Corn' is in stock at the time I'm posting this.