China Glaze - Glitter Goblin

Today, I have another one of the China Glaze polishes from their Wicked Halloween collection. It's called Glitter Goblin and it's an iridescent glitter with whites, greens and purples in a copper base. It almost reminds me of their very popular Fairy Dust polish, only with a copper base!

Glitter Goblin

This is a very sheer polish. So to give it some base I went with butter London's Shag. It's a coppery, burgundy color that matches the base of the glitter.

Glitter Goblin over Shag

I used two coats of Shag and two coats of Glitter Goblin. I had a basecoat of Essie's Rock Solid and once again used a Color Club top coat.  This goes on exactly like Fairy Dust or any other polish with fine grit glitter. 

You definitely need two coats to get total coverage and cover up any spots, but it's very pretty on!

Glitter Goblin in natural light with flash

You can definitely see many different colors in this glitter. Right now I have a nubbin on my thumb on my non-swatching hand, and this looks really cute on it. It would be a great way to bling out your nubbins. It also looks very pretty on longer nails too. 

Glitter Goblin natural light no flash

I think the key is to make sure you use thin coats of the this glitter. Otherwise it can give you what looks like tip wear from the glitter weighing down the rest of the polish. I noticed it on the two fingers I tend to put thicker coats on, my pointer fingers. 

Closeup of Glitter Goblin

All in all it's definitely a pretty fall polish. Once again, I'm not sure I'd go with it as a Halloween polish, but it's definitely a keeper. I'm sure this would look good over darker polishes like black and navy too!

Dark room with flash

I still think I like Roguish Red the best from this collection so far, but I do have some others to try. Still, this came in a set of four, so for the price it was definitely worth it. I picked this up at Sally Beauty Supply, but you can also find it at Ulta and some other online retailers.

Dark with flash only

I would definitely pick this up, especially if you are a glitter fan. It's definitely a unique polish and packs a lot of punch! All in all, I say Puppies and Pawlish would give it three paws out of four.

Here's a picture I took of Zeke while I was waiting for my nails to dry today. He was cuddled up with daddy on the couch.

Zeke on daddy's lap. Brinlee photobomb!

Hope you enjoyed today's post!!

China Glaze - Roguish Red

Today I have a polish from the new China Glaze Wicked collection for Halloween. It's called Roguish Red. I'm usually not a big fan of red or orange polishes, but I saw this in a set of four, so I thought I'd give it a try.

Roguish Red

This color is definitely a tomatoey red. It gives off a red orange vibe. It looks more orangeish depending on what type of light you are in, but for the most part looks red.

Two coats of Roguish Red

I used Essie's Rock Solid base coat, two coats of Roguish Red and a Color Club top coat. It was a pretty smooth application. It wasn't goopy and you can get away with one coat if you are in a hurry. I could still see some visible nail line, so I added a second coat. 

Roguish Red with a flash

Like I said, I'm not a big fan of reds, but for some reason this really catches my eye. I love Halloween, so maybe that's why I like it. The other three colors that came in the set were Bizarre Blurple, Glitter Goblin and Ghoulish Glow. I'll try and get to all four before Halloween, so that you can see some swatches.

Roguish Red in regular light

I think this a very pretty color. I'm not sure I'd go call it a Halloween color, but it's close enough. A couple of bat stamps and it may look festive. I'm very impressed with the application though. It isn't goopy like some China Glaze's can be. Plus, the four bottle set was only $8.99 at Sally's Beauty Supply, so it was worth the cost.

Closeup of Roguish Red in natural light

I'm definitely going to put this one in the keep pile. I may use it from time to time in the fall. While, I don't think it's a true Halloween color, it's definitely a fall red! China Glaze retails from $4.99-7.99 depending on where you get it. I usually pick up most of mine at Sally's Beauty Supply because they have a discount on China Glaze if you have a Sally's card. 

I've done a quick swatch of Bizarre Blurple and Glitter Goblin and both are very interesting. I'll save those for another day though!!

Before I go, I wanted to share a picture of Zeke and Brinlee napping on their favorite blanket in the world. It's an old San Francisco Giants blanket my husband has had forever. The pups have claimed it as their own.

Brinlee and Zeke on the couch in their designated nap spot!

Hope you enjoyed today's post!!

Jaclyn

China Glaze - Pool Party

I've been obsessed with neons lately. I think in the past few weeks if I've seen a neon and it's a shade I didn't have, I bought it! I especially love the green and pink neons.

Today, I have a neon from the 2010 China Glaze Poolside collection. The bright neon pink, called Pool Party, is a part of their core collection now.

China Glaze Pool Party

Like most neons, Pool Party needs at least two coats. It can be tricky to apply, but I've found that if even you have some streakiness, it's easy to flatten it out with a second coat or a coat of top coat.

For this application, I used Essie's Rock Solid as a basecoat, two coats of Pool Party and a coat of Poshe topcoat.

China Glaze Pool Party in shade outdoors

This polish is a little deceiving in the fact that it looks way brighter in person than in pictures. It's definitely a neon and you can tell best outside or in incandescent light. It reminds me of a bright watermelon neon and it's very pretty.

China Glaze Pool Party in sunlight

I only used two coats of Pool Party, but three is probably ideal. I was in a hurry to get to work, so I didn't want to wait for the third coat to dry. You can see a little VNL on my middle finger, but it's not as noticeable on the others.

China Glaze Pool Party indoors

In the indoor shots, it does look a little orangey, but it's definitely not. The shade shot outdoors is probably the best representation of this color.

China Glaze Pool Party shade outdoors

It's definitely one of my favorite China Glaze neons. It's an interesting shade and it does draw a lot of attention. I would put this right up there in my top five neons. The watermelon color is pretty, but it doesn't scream out, "Look at me, I'm wearing neon polish!!"

China Glaze Pool Party indoors - no flash

Some of the other shades from this collection, including Sun Worshipper and Flip Flop Fantasy are easy to find at your local China Glaze retailer. In my case, Sally Beauty Supply. The others like Kiwi Cool-Ada and Towel Boy Toy are a little harder to find but can be bought at places online like Victoria's Nail Supply or amazon.com. 

Puppies and Pawlish gives Pool Party two paws up!! As always, here's a picture of Zeke to round out the post!

What? Mommy bought ANOTHER neon polish?

ORLY - Mermaid Tale

Today I have a polish from the Orly Flash Glam FX line. It's called Mermaid Tale. The actual line has 22 different polishes that are meant to be layered over other polishes, including Liquid Vinyl, which is Orly's creme black polish.

I picked up Mermaid Tale with my birthday coupon from Sally's. I only have a total of four Orly polishes in my stash, including two I picked up during their clearance sale.
But on to Mermaid Tale, which is a holographic glitter filled with little green and large green glitters.

Mermaid Tale from Orly

For my layering polish, I chose China Glaze's Deviantly Daring from their new Bohemian collection. It's a duochrome blue-green polish and I thought it would be great to layer Mermaid Tale over.

Left: Orly Mermaid Tale; Right: China Glaze Deviantly Daring

I used a base coat of Essie's Rock Solid, and one coat of Deviantly Daring. It's a great polish I hope to show you in another post. While most glitters can be tricky to apply, I have found Mermaid Tale is different. It's actually pretty smooth and easy to apply and only needed one coat of Poshe topcoat to smooth out.

Two coats of Mermaid Tale

I used two coats of Mermaid Tale to achieve total coverage results. One coat will suffice for those who don't want a lot of bling, but two will knock your socks off.

Mermaid Tale in the sun

The glitter in this is really pretty. It can be layered over several different colors to get different results. Orly suggests black, but I think a dark green, navy or even gold would be awesome colors to try it over. It's got a great consistency and it isn't lumpy or thick.

Closeup of back of the bottle in sunlight

Some people tend to shy away from glitter polish because it can be hard to remove. I've heard people say they only use one thin coat so that they don't have to scrub at the glitter to get it off. Ladies, it doesn't have to be this way!! When you get a glitter top coat this pretty, you should use two or three coats if that's what you like.

Mermaid Tale two coats with one coat of Poshe topcoat

Most of my polish lovers who are crazy over glitter polish know there is an easy solution to taking off a glitter this pretty. It starts with acetone, cotton balls and aluminum foil. YES, you heard me. If you want your glitter to slide right off all you need to do is put some acetone on a cotton ball and wrap your finger with said cotton ball in aluminum foil. 

Easy removal via the foil method

I usually cut my foil into 10 small strips. I soak the top of a cotton ball and then put it on my nail before wrapping it in the foil. Wait 2-4 minutes depending on how many coats of glitter you have on, then twist the foil and cotton ball right off. Voila! All or most of the glitter will come off. You may have a few specks here and there, but they are easy to remove with a free cotton ball because they have already been loosened by the acetone. 

Glitter top coats make boring polish bling!

Now that you know how easy it is to remove glitter polish, RUN out and get a few of the Orly Glam FX colors. They have some really great glitter topcoats, some with bar glitter and some with regular glitter, but all are very pretty!

I'm planning on picking up a couple more of these as soon as I get a chance. They are so easy to apply and the colors really bling, especially in the sunlight. Puppies and Pawlish give Mermaid Tale two paws up!

Before I go, remember the baseball game I was going to? Here's a pic my husband took of me in the outfield before the game. We had great seats right in front of third base, which is were my favorite player Brandon Inge plays for the A's. All of the Baltimore fans were awesome and we had a fantastic time because the A's won!!

Me rocking my Brandon Inge Oakland A's shirt!

Till next time!

China Glaze - Magnetix Cling On

Today I have one of the new China Glaze Magnetix polishes for you. It's the green called Cling On. I wanted a nice green for my St. Patty's Day mani, so when my manicurist (the awesome Tammie at Nails by Nicci) suggested this, I was all for it.

For those of you who don't know about magnetic polish, basically it's a nail polish where you take a magnet and make awesome patterns with it. The China Glaze magnet (which is sold separately) has three different designs on it. I chose the one called attraction line.

One coat of Cling On

As you can see, the result is AWESOME! I was Tammie's first mani using the polish and she did a great job!!  All you do is put the polish on one nail at a time. Once you have the polish on, you take the magnet and hold it close to the nail for 15 seconds. Then VOILA! you have a design or pattern.

I love this pattern!!

I think it's a little easier when someone does it for you, so you aren't fumbling around with a magnet with wet nails. We used Essie base coat, one coat of Cling On and one coat of Seche Vite. 

The green really changes from a dark Army green to a light, goldish green.

There are six colors in the Magnetix collection - You Move Me (brown), Pull Me Close (blue), Instant Chemistry (wine), Drawn To You (purple) and Attraction (grey/silver). These can be purchased from Sally Beauty or Ulta. 

Full Hand Shot

All in all, I love this polish! I'm so sad I didn't pick it up when Sally's had their leap day sale! I can't wait to try some of the other colors as well. 

On a side note, I did get a fantastic gift from my awesome mother-in-law Lydia (Hi Lydia!) over the weekend. She bought me the turquoise Layla Magnetic polish. I'm going to try it next! 

Before I go, I have to share a funny picture with you all. You know the little mansky Zeke Wechtenhiser? Well I was out taking pictures today for my post and as I looked through them I noticed something funny......

Zeke getting ready to lift his leg to go potty.

Yep, I'm taking pictures as he non-chalantly moves into the frame and lifts his leg to go potty. Oh my, I laughed so hard. Apparently, he doesn't share his mommy's polish love! 

Hope you enjoyed today's post!!

China Glaze Prismatic - Liquid Crystal

Today I have an awesome glitter polish made by China Glaze for their Prismatic line called Liquid Crystal. Liquid Crystal is a bright blue holographic with purple tint dusted with silver, gold, green pink and orange glitter. In a nutshell.....it's pretty!!!

Liquid Crystal

For the photos below I used OPI's Chip Skip, one coat of OPI Natural Nail Basecoat, one coat of Finger Paints Grape Gumball and one coat of China Glaze's Liquid Crystal.

One coat of Liquid Crystal

This is an awesome color. It goes on smooth and you really only need one coat. Since I used a purple polish underneath, it pulls out more of the purple tones. If you use a blue or a silver, I'm assuming it will pull out more of those tones too. 

It's blue...no wait, it's purple!

There are six different shades of the Prismatics colors. I also have Optical Illusion, which is the green version. There is also a pink, silver, purple and gold.

Fantastic glitter bomb!

I picked this up during Sally Beauty's online sale for Leap Day. Apparently, they were supposed to be out until April, so they are no longer on the website. But they did honor all of the orders from Leap Day. I would say pick up the green and one of the others. The purple, blue and silver and gold all have the same tones of glitters in them, so you can get away with just one. The pink is the only one I'm on the fence about. 

All in all Puppies and Pawlish gives it two paws up!!

Holiday time!

Hope everyone had a great holiday! I got lots of polish for Christmas, including my first two essie polishes! I also got two melmers to put all my polish in as well as some great manicure sets.

The puppies made out like bandits. They got a ton of stuffed toys!  

Since I didn't get a chance to show off my Christmas nails, here is one of the pre-Christmas manis I did! I used China Glaze Millennium, a metallic silver, with Color Club's Sugarplum Fairy from the Beyond the Misteltoe collection! The BTM collection is a wonderful collection of glitters and Sugarplum Fairy happens to be my favorite! 

Here's a look at how it turned out!

Look at all the pretty colors in the glitter!

China Glaze Millennium, base
Color Club Sugarplum Fairy, layered

Pretty for a winter or New Year's Eve mani!

Hope everyone had a fantastic holiday! For me, my favorite part of the holiday season is New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, because of all of the college football on TV! That's all for today!