China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy

Hey guys!

We've been having some amazing weather here in Wisconsin, so I figure now's the time to get out the neon polishes.  Today I have Flip Flop Fantasy from the China Glaze Poolside Collection for Summer 2010.  Let me warn you, I could not get a good, color-accurate picture of this polish.  Believe it or not, both of the pictures below are of the same polish! The first picture really shows how the color pops. The second picture is a little more color accurate, but downplays the brightness.



China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy



Flip Flop Fantasy is a bright coral pink creme.  If you work in retail or have been shopping lately, you'll see that Coral is THE color of Spring 2012.  From tops to shoes, (and of course your nails!) you must rock some Coral!  Here's a little tip I've picked up:  Because neons are difficult to apply (i.e. they're thick and streaky), apply a thin coat of white polish first.  Then apply your neon polish.  For this mani I used 2 coats.  Neons also tend to dry with a matte finish, so I opted to use a top coat.

Thanks for stopping by!

K

White and Gold Gradient

Hey guys!

Today I have a fun and super easy gradient mani.  I started out with a plain white mani using Sinful Colors Snow Me White.  After I finished I thought it was a little too plain and a little too bright for March.  So I added french tips with China Glaze Champagne Bubbles.  Then I added China Glaze Blonde Bombshell to the tip of the nail to cover the Champagne Bubbles.  To get the gradient effect, I added another coat of Blonde Bombshell, and ended the coat a little bit lower than the first.  I repeated this step until I was satisfied with the gradient.  In the end, the tip has the most layers, and the most coverage, while the bottom part has only one layer, and has minimal coverage.  I finished the mani with a coat of Gelous and Seche Vite.

Gradient mani using Sinful Colors Show Me White, and China Glaze
Champagne Bubbles and Blonde Bombshell

Ta-da!  I love gradient manis because you don't have to be overly neat with them, and you don't need any special supplies to pull off the look.  Simple, quick and perfect for nail art newbies!


Thanks for stopping by!

K

China Glaze Colors From The Capitol Swatches (Part 3)

Hey guys!


Today I have the final 2 colors from the Colors From The Capitol Collection for China Glaze.


First up is Smoke & Ashes:

Smoke & Ashes

Smoke & Ashes with Luxe and Lush

Smoke & Ashes is a dark blue/black base with multi-colored microshimmer.  I see a lot of blue and teal in the shimmer.  I love this color!  I love wearing really dark polish, but sometimes black seems a little too edgy.  This one is just perfect.  Application was great too and only one coat!


Next up is Stone Cold:

Stone Cold (matte)

 

Stone Cold (matte) with top coat

Stone Cold (matte) with Luxe and Lush

Stone Cold is a dark graphite gray matte polish with silver shimmer.  I love the look of the matte finish, but unfortunately matte polish doesn't hold up well.  After a couple of hours at work I had tons of chips and ended up picking it off.  But, put a top coat on it and it lasts much longer.  Application was decent....it was a little thick but I only needed one coat.


Do you have any tricks or tips for using matte polish?  I would love to hear from you!


Thanks for stopping by!


K

China Glaze Colors From The Capitol (Part 2)

Hey guys!

Today I have 2 more polishes from the Colors From The Capitol Collection. 

Agro is a metallic olive green base with small gold shimmer.  I only used 1 coat and it went on perfectly.  The only issue I have, is that the metallic finish really highlights any imperfections on the nail.

China Glaze Agro

China Glaze Agro with Luxe and Lush

Hook and Line is a frosty platinum polish.  Application was a pain!  I used 2 coats to get full coverage, but it ends up drying really streaky.  I really wanted to love this color, but I don't think it's going to happen :/  As soon as I get it on, I want to remove it. 

China Glaze Hook and Line

China Glaze Hook and Line with Luxe and Lush

Check back tomorrow for the last 2 (and favorite) Hunger Games polishes that I chose! 

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

K

 

China Glaze Colors From The Capitol Swatches

Hey guys!

Today I have some swatches and comparisons for a few of the Colors From The Capitol Collection for China Glaze.  I chose to do these 3 first since they aren't overly fun.  I want to save the fun ones for later on! 

For each swatch, I added a coat of Luxe and Lush  Luxe and Lush is a clear base with chuncky mylar flakes.  All of the pictures are photographed with a flash, and with 2 coats of polish.

First up is Dress Me Up.  Dress Me Up is a warm rose creme. 



Dress Me Up



Dress Me Up with Luxe and Lush

Next up is Fast Track which is a light gold creme base with gold shimmer.



Fast Track





Fast Track with Luxe and Lush



Finally, we have Foie Gras which is a dusty purple/greigh creme.

Foie Gras

Foie Gras with Luxe and Lush

Foie Gras with Luxe and Lush
no flash with artificial light

Here is a comparison between Fast Track and China Glaze Knotty.  In the bottle they look different enough.  But once on my nails I could barely figure out which was which!  The formulas were nearly identical.  They're both on the sheer side, but build up well.  Fast Track is a little "dirtier" than Knotty while Knotty has more of a yellow tone and has a "milky" look to it.

(From L-R)
One coat Fast Track, one coat Knotty,
2 coats Fast Track, 2 coat Knotty

Bottle shots of China Glaze Fast Track and Knotty

For some reason I was convinced that I had a bunch of dupes for Foie Gras.  But when I went to look for them, I couldn't find any!  I did however find some colors that were somewhat similar.  Below is Foie Gras compared to China Glaze Below Deck and Street Chic.



Below Deck, Foie Gras, Street Chic, Foie Gras





Bottle shots of Below Deck, Foie Gras and Street Chic


They are definitely completely different colors.  The only thing they have in common is the creme finish and the wonderful application.  These colors aren't anything amazing or unique, but they're definitely key colors to have in your collection.  They're trendy yet work appropriate.  Tomorrow I will have some of my favorites from this collection.

Thanks for stopping by!

K

---I really enjoy writing this blog.  I love having a way to share my love for nail polish with other polish lovers.  If you enjoy reading Knailed It! as much as I enjoy posting, please show your support by following this blog.  I would really appreciate any comments, questions or suggestions that you may have! 

This Weeks Haul!

Hey guys!

Last Sunday I placed an order from VictoriasNailSupply.com and I'm just getting around to playing with my new pretties.  I had originally planned on ordering the entire China Glaze Colors From The Capitol Collection.  But after looking through other blogger's swatches, I realized I wasn't "in love" with all of the colors.  So I decided to order the colors that I really liked, and then add on some other China Glaze colors that I've been meaning to get.  In the end I chose 21 polishes.  I also stopped by TJ Maxx and found the Lil Shooters mini polishes from OPI's Texas Collection for $6.99 and then I found some mini Essie's at Walgreen's on clearance for $2.48!  Below are the newest editions to my ever growing collection:

 Assortment of China Glaze colors:

China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy, Pool Party, Urban Night, Midtown Magic, VIII, Cosmic, and Cloud Nine.

China Glaze Swing Baby, Below Deck, Street Chic, Jitterbug, Concrete Catwalk, and Ingird.

8 of the 12 Colors From The Capitol colors:

Dress Me Up, Fast Track, Foie Gras, Agro, Smoke and Ashes, Hook and Line, Stone Cold, and Luxe and Lush.

Essie and OPI mini-sets:

Essie St. Lucia Lilac and Jazz and OPI Austin-tatious Turqoise,
I Vant to Be A-Lone Star, Do You Think I'm Tex-y
and RapidDry Top Coat

 

I hope you enjoyed checking out my haul!  Check back tomorrow for some swatches, reviews and comparisons for the Colors From The Capitol Collection.

Thanks for stopping by!

K

OPI Jade Is The New Black VS Don't Mess With OPI

Hey guys!

Today I have a comparison between OPI's Jade Is The New Black and Don't Mess With OPI.  To me these two colors are nearly identical, but equally pretty!

On the left, Don't Mess With OPI.  On the right, Jade Is The New Black

Jade Is The New Black is from the Spring 2010 Hong Kong Collection.  JITNB is a jade green creme with blue undertones.  Don't Mess With OPI is from the Spring/Summer 2011 Texas Collection.  DMWOPI is a forest green creme.  When I first saw the Texas Collection in person, I decided not to buy DMWOPI because it was so similiar to JITNB.  However, I recently spotted DMWOPI hiding at JCP's Salon, and it was on clearance for $4.25!  So I decided to pick it up and do a comparison.  Below is a picture with 2 coats of both colors.

As far as being dupes, there are some slight differences.  JITNB is a little bit darker, while DMWOPI is a little more sheer.  Formula was a little different also.  JITNB applied more smoothly and had better coverage.  DMWOPI was a little more sheer, so it showed the ridges in my nail more.  I also had some bald spots with DMWOPI that would probably require a third coat.  Here is a shot of each color on its own with 2 coats.


OPI Don't Mess With OPI



OPI Jade Is The New Black

If I had to choose between the 2, I think I perfer JISTNB.  Application was smoother, I prefer the darker color and the polish dries more glossy than DMWOPI.  You probably don't need both polishes in your colleciton unless you love greens.  Or unless you find a great deal on one of them!

Thanks for stopping by!

K

China Glaze CG In The City

Hey guys!


I have a really quick post today.  Below is China Glaze CG In The City from the Fall 2011 Metro Collection.

China Glaze CG In The City
w/flash

artificial light
no flash

CG In The City is a dusty purple base with blue, bronze and silver multi-tonal glitter.  This applied wonderfully.  It is really sheer though so I had to use 4 coats to get decent coverage.  Even with 4 coats it didn't get too thick or goopy.  Overall a wonderful polish!

Thanks for stopping by!

K

Polish Stash Update

Hey guys!

I've been spending some time organizing my nail polish and trying to figure out how to share my stash with you.  So I've decided to make up a spreadsheet and post it under the "Stash" tab.  Here you'll be able to see my entire collection.  I will have the brand of polish, the polish name, the name and season of the collection, the polish number, and a short color summary.  I have also decided that whenever I don't have a new polish or nail art to show, I'll just show a different color from my collection and add a link to the post on the spreadsheet.   This will definitely help keep me organized, and will be a great resource for myself and hopefully for you.  My stash is a work in progress, so it's not as amazing as alot of nail bloggers.  But I'm proud of it, and I enjoy adding to it.  I'm hoping to get the "Stash" tap completed in the next couple of days!

Thanks for stopping by!

K

"True" Leopard Print Mani

Hey guys!

I stared at my stash for about 10 minutes tonight trying to decide what to do!  I don't really have many new polishes right now (I'm holding out for the Hunger Games collection!) so I decided to get out my animal print stamps and do a "true" leopard print mani.  I love doing leopard print with fun colors, but I thought this would be a nice change.  For this mani I used China Glaze Knotty for the base, OPI I Brake For Manicures for stamping on the spots, and OPI Warm & Fozzie and OPI Glitzerland to fill in the spots.  This is what I came up with!

Thanks for stopping by!

K

Nicole by OPI Follow Me On Glitter Swatch and Comparison

Hey guys!

So I finally broke down and picked up some of the Kardashian polishes for Nicole by OPI.  I have to admit some of the colors are pretty amazing.  Today I have Follow Me On Glitter.  As soon as I got home I went through my stash looking for dupes.  Since I tend to go for darker glitters, I thought I'd have a ton.  To my surprise I only had one true dupe in my collection! 



Follow Me On Glitter w/Konad Zebra print stamp
w/flash

Here I have Follow Me On Glitter.  FMOG is a charcoal base with multicolored hex glitter and black and silver micro glitter.  Formula was great for a glitter.  It was nice and thin, but built up nicely with 2 coats.  I love the subtle multicolored glitter in this polish.  I decided to add a zebra print stamp since I've been neglecting my stamping sets :(



From l to r, 1 coat of Tinsel Town, 1 coat of Follow Me On Glitter,
2 coats of Tinsel Town, 2 coats of Follow Me On Glitter.

Above is China Glaze Tinsel Town compared to Follow Me On Glitter.  (Sorry for the bad pictures, my camera was about to die so I had to act quickly!)  Although they seem to look fairly similiar, there are some subtle differences.  The biggest difference to me, is the multicolored glitter in FMOT.  FMOT is also a bit darker than Tinsel Town.  As far as formula and application, I'd say FMOT has the uperhand.  FMOT is thinner, but builds up nicely in 2 coats.  Tinsel Town is thicker, but is easier to get full coverage in one coat.  Of the 2, I think Follow Me On Glitter is my favorite.  Either way, these are both gorgeous colors, and I'm happy to have both polishes. 

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

  

K

 

Ikat Inspired Mani

Hey guys!


Today I have a manicure that's inspired by Ikat prints. Ikat is a very intricate technique that is used to dye threads before weaving them into a textile. This process produces a tribal or tie dyed look, and can be found on everything from pillows to hand bags. Below are some examples of Ikat prints:

Ikat prints courtesy of http://www.designsponge.com/

While looking for some new mani ideas, I found some Ikat nail decals. I love the idea of nail decals, but I do my nails so often that I don't like spending money on decals, which can last for a couple of weeks. So, I decided to try to paint my own Ikat inspired nails. For this mani, I used OPI Fly, OPI Conquistadorable Color, and OPI Did It On Em'. First I applied my base coat, and 2 coast of Fly. After that was dry, I used Conquistadorable to paint on some random "blobs". The best thing about this mani, is you don't have to do it perfectly.

After that dried, I put smaller blobs of Did It On Em' inside the pink blobs. (I meant to take pictures after every step, but I kept forgetting!)


Using a black nail art brush, I made short brush strokes to outline the pink and green. You want this step to be "choppy" to look like the dye is running into the fabric.

Once you're done apply a top coat and you're finished! I love how this turned out, even though I could have done a neater job. This is a prefect nail art idea for a beginner, or someone who isn't confident in their nail art yet. It was super easy, and all it takes is polish and some patience.


Thanks for stopping by!