Holo Basecoat Comparison and Review!

 So, holographic polishes can be hard to deal with. They can be streaky, especially as you add more layers of polish.  This is my review on different base coats that I used with the most holographic polish I own, MakeUpStore Greta. I do not own the Nfu Oh Aqua Base, but after this review I don't think I will need it.

Overview and ratings:
1st place: Pinky: Nail Foil Glue
2nd place: Middle: G&G Stuck on Blu
3rd place: Ring: LA Colors Blue base
4th place: Pointer: Gelous


From top to bottom, I will go through the base coat, how well it applied, how the polish applied, and how it looked afterwards.  For all of these photos I used 1 coat of base coat, followed by 2 coats of polish.

• Pointer: Gelous Base Coat:   Gelous is just a regular base coat, so it didn't do anything spectacular. The polish went on the streakiest with Gelous compared to the other 3, and in the photo you can tell it. This was the worst of all of the base coats.

• Middle: Glisten and Glow's Stuck on Blu Base coat: (purchase here) This is a new base coat from Glisten and Glow which was sent to me for review. I thought the true test of its abilities would be with a holo, and I have to say, that it applied very well. Of all the ones tested it would have to be my second favorite base coat for holo polishes following the pinky finger. The first coat was not very streaky, and the second coat was fine as well. This basecoat is great for general use, and I have been using it daily.

• Ring: LA Colors Blue Base coat: This one has been raved about as a cheap alternative to the aqua base, so I had to try it out on my base coat test, and this one would come in 3rd.  It was still a little streaky, more streaky than Stuck on Blu, when the second coat was applied. I also had a bald patch which shows up in the nail.

• Pinky: Nail Foil Glue:  This one I have to say worked the best. I used Nail Foil Glue for the base coat, and it worked magic on my nails.  The first coat was much more holographic than the previous fingers, and the second coat was perfection.  I will definitely be using this one as my base coat for holos from now on, because it literally held on to the holographic pigments in the polish.

 Nail foil glue definitely worked the best of all of the ones tried, followed by the Glisten and Glow Stuck on Blu base coat. The worst contender was Gelous, which was kind of expected as a holo base coat.

****UPDATE****
It has only been 9 hours since applying this polish without topcoat, and the nail foil glue has chipped at the tips.  All other nails are holding up just fine.

XOX Caitlin

Magnetic Week: Filthy Gorgeous Heavy Metal

 This is my least favorite magnetic polish from Filthy Gorgeous. This magnetic is called Heavy Metal. 

I applied 2 coats, and when I put the magnet over it, it pulled the pigment away to where you can see my nail through it! I wish it were more pigmented like its sister Got the Blues I posted yesterday.  You can also see its particles  in this polish, which isn't as noticeable as the other polishes I have.

Again this polish was purchased in the UK, and I am not sure of its availability here in the US.

You can see the nail through the top magnetic part. isn't that crazy! Maybe I should have put another coat.

I finish up magnetic week tomorrow with a Sally Hansen polish. so be on the look out for it!

XOX Caitlin

Magnetic Week: Nails Inc Trafalgar Square

For the second installment of Magnetic Week, I have Nails inc Trafalgar Square, which is a silver magnetic polish.

 Just like its sister Houses of Parliament, Trafalgar Square applied very well, and the magnet was very strong.  I did 2 coats of Trafalgar square, because it wasn't as opaque in one coat as Houses of Parliament.

And a Macro for the comparison post at the end!

I am loving these magnetics!

Don't forget about my giveaway in the sidebar!!

XOX Caitlin

Orly: Grave Mistake

For these nails I started out with a base of 2 coats of Orly Grave Mistake.  Then I used the shiny mirror reflective dots placed on the nail.

To achieve the mirror dots, I had a metallic gift bag that someone had given me for a birthday, and I purchased a hole punch from Hobby Lobby(in the paper art section with the other hole punches). I used the hole punch to make the dots using the smallest hole available on the punch and this is what I got! I am happy to say that the dots did not crinkle or anything when I put the topcoat on. 

To smooth it out I used 1 coat of Gelous and 2 coats of HongKong Girl Topcoat.

Don't forget about my giveaway! Enter Here!

 What do you think about the silver dots?

XOX Caitlin

Fish Egg Manicure

The Caviar Mani.  This has been around since Fashion Week of 2011 (Check the date of this link if you would like. or this one too)  And now Ciate is trying to claim the idea of "Caviar" nails/Manicure as their own.  This really bothers me, because it was not their idea, and now they are going to make money off of it.  They have even sent Cease and Desist letters to bloggers who show how to recreate the mani for cheaper than their $25 price tag.  There is alot of talk about this in the nail community, and I don't think that sending cease and desist letters to bloggers is really going to help their reputation. I know I certainly will not buy from them, even though now they will be sold at Sephora.  If you want to know more there are many, many bloggers talking about it recently, so if you just search for ciate caviar manicure cease and desist, plenty of blogs will come up.

Also, the price it cost me to do this manicure?  approximately 12 cents.  Yes. 12 CENTS. I will share more on that later.

The blue color is Zoya Skylar. The beads are from the Dollar tree!

OK, here is the good part.  The price of my manicure.  I got these adorable mini bottles of glitter and random things at the Dollar Tree.  The mini bottles were packaged together in sets of 8 for $1, which is why this cost me .12 cents. At the dollar tree they had a package of mini seed beads which i used for this manicure, and it had 8 different colors.  They also had misc. glitter, and shape glitter, and bar glitter, and crushed shells.  they are just enough to do one day's nail art, and I think they are a good deal because I don't really use glitter/seed beads that often anyway. And when I saw them I couldn't pass them up!  .12 cent or $25 for a temporary manicure? I will go with my dollar tree nail art. :)

XOX Caitlin

Day 11: Creative Cacquer Challenge A Trend You Hate

One Nail trend that I just really don't like is Crackle.  I bought this OPI Silver Shatter when I was first getting into nail polish, and I thought it was cool.  It was cool, but now it is time for the crackle to go away.

This is just Wet N Wild Black Creme with OPI Silver Shatter over the ring finger.

What is your least favorite nail fad that you have seen(or even done before?)

XOX Caitlin

Day 9: Creative Lacquer Challenge: 3D

Today's post is 3D nail art.  I used Striping tape for this mani.  I used the Silver holographic striping tape that i bought off of ebay in a lot of 10 for around $1.50.

For the mani color I used 2 coats of Revlon Royal, 1 coat of Milani Totally Cool, and the striping tape to do the design.

I was thinking about adding rhinestones to the design, but I didn't want it to be too much. 

XOX Caitlin

Here's a Health Carolina

So, I am a psychology student at the University of South Carolina, so I decided to do a Carolina Funky French! :)

For this mani I used a Garnet Cosmetic Arts polish. I then stamped on Sally Hansen Silver Sweep with RA101.



 South Carolina Gamecocks.  Our logo:

 Cocks for short:

Last year I was a part of the Colorguard in the band at USC and here a few pictures from it:

I also rushed Tau Beta Sigma.

TeaCupBrigade Spring 2011
M.L.I.T.B. 
M.O.T.S.

Forever to thee.

XOX Caitlin

Psych Week: Red + Shatter

On to the next color: Red

"The most emotionally intense color, red stimulates a faster heartbeat and breathing. It is also the color of love. Red clothing gets noticed and makes the wearer appear heavier. Since it is an extreme color, red clothing might not help people in negotiations or confrontations. Red cars are popular targets for thieves. In decorating, red is usually used as an accent. Decorators say that red furniture should be perfect since it will attract attention."

 What better to show you than a perfect red. I used Finger Paints Curators Crimson.  It came in a set from Sallys with a purple and a small bag.

This week in PAA the challenge was Crackle, so to Jazz this red up a little bit I added a Silver crackle from OPI called Silver Shatter.  I believe it was released with the Pirates of the Caribbean set originally, or atleast that is what was out with it when I picked it up from my JC Pennys.

I applied it quite thick, because my bottle is getting old from air exposure, so the bottle rim is caked with the polish, and was hard to open at first.  but the Shatter still came through. :)

XOX Caitlin

Great Silver for stamping

 I found an awesome Silver polish for stamping, This is Wet N wild Black Creme as a base and Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Silver Sweep stamped on.  It shows up very well and looks really awesome!  This stamp is Konad M73.
 

What do you think?

XOX Caitlin

Day 18 - China Glaze Jitterbug

Day 18 of my untrieds is China Glaze Jitterbug.  It is from the Vintage Vixen collection. I have worn this as 1 mani before I really got into nail polish.  And just look at this beauty...

 Isnt it just fabulous??

XOX Caitlin



Here are the other bloggers joining me in this 30 day challenge!

Alexandria at Je T'aime Lacquer

Alyssa at Always Polished

Amber at The Polished Momma

Andrea at Addicted to the Allure of Beauty

Ashley at Follow the Yellow Polish Road

Caitlin at Something Creative

Carly at Lacquered Lover

Caroline at Good Lack, Nail!

Caroline at Shadow's Nail Art

Chelsea at Pretty and Polished

Gwen at Pudgy Nails

Ingie at Limited Addiction Nails

Jacki at Adventures in Acetone

Jamie at Nails Adored

Lindsey at Nailtopia

Natalie at Gems in a Bottle

Nory at Fierce Makeup and Nails

Rachel at Cherry Glam Girl

Rachel at Top Coat It

Sarah at Lucky Lacquers

Shaina at Haute Lacquer

Thalie at Glazed Talons

Taylor at Nailed to the T

Minipost!

I painted my roommate lauren's nails yesterday, and I just wanted to post them.  They are very neutral so they go with all her outfits. :P

I used Zoya in Minka as the base, then I used Color Club Antiquated from the Foiled Collection.  Then I topped it off with Matte about you. 

Up next are some pictures that my friend Ruth took with her awesome camera of some nails that I did on my friend Gypsy.  She was going to the blue october concert and wanted some blue nails.  I used China Glaze Frost bite and my silver shatter from OPI.  I think they turned out fabulous.

Enjoy!

XOX, Caitlin