NOTD: Milani - Hi-Tech

It was such a sunny day I just had to do a holo shade. That is the best NP for a sunny day! I chose Milani - Hi-Tech and oh baby this is amazing!!!

This is an outrageously bright, lime green that is impressive right there but then add the amazing holographic particles and whoa baby! This even very prismatic in low light, not just sunlight.

If you have seen the Milani 3D Holographic line in store and thought they didn't look that impressive don't trust it. In the bottle they look sort of holo. On the nail they really shine. And they are well pigmented. I have tried 3 of these shades and all of them got on in two coats.

Here is the blue one, Cyberspace I snapped a while back:

I loved this on me too. I also tried the purple one, Hi-Res, and loved that too! I may have to give in to the other three now too. :c)

Grammy-Gaga Inspired Nails

Hello all! How are all my lovely readers?! :c)

Photo Credit: Us Magazine.com

Today's mani is one I thought up after seeing Lady Gaga's red carpet dress for the Grammy's last Sunday. I wanted to emulate the un-parallel lines and the soft purple hues (as well as the crazy pointed accessory).

What the mani consists of:
China Glaze - Light As Air (like the dress. Doesn't look like if a gust of wind got caught under there she would just blow away?)
Milani - Cloud 9
China Glaze - Devotion
LA Colors Art Deco - Silver Glitter
China Glaze - Harmony
Not Pictured: Rhinestones, Seche Vite and striper brush

I started with a base of Milani - Cloud 9.
Next, I took the striper brush and used it with China Glaze - Light As Air to make several horizontal lines on each nail covering the entire nail, but making them un-parallel to each other, so some are straight and some are not and some intersect.
Then, I took China Glaze - Harmony and did the same thing over the first stripes.
After that, I did the same with China Glaze - Devotion.
Lastly, I did the same striping with LA Colors Art Deco - Silver Glitter.

I decided to throw in the starbust accessory on the thumbs. I took a drop of Devotion and added a bit of Harmony to it on a paper plate. I mixed them with a toothpick and using the striper brush I painted the starburst on my thumbs with the mixture. I added a lavender rhinestone to the center.
Finally I topped all the nails with a coat of Seche Vite top coat and viola! Nails to go "gaga" for!!


Aren't you glad I didn't use this for inspiration?! :cD >>>

Photo Credit: The Washington Post

Have a great day!
-Elaine

Candy Swirls! You could eat them!

But don't! Because they are my nails!


I did this mani a couple weeks ago. I was inspired by a baseball game I went to. In the park there were these big candy looking lights and I thought, "I could do that to my nails!" So I did. I picked five colors and did a "skittle" mani with them. I used:

BB Couture - Little Deuce Coupe
Orly - Polo Princess
Misa - Speed Of Life
Barry M - Spring Green
Milani - Antique

I switched up the order for each hand. Then I used a white nail stiper: LA Colors Art Deco, and painted swirly designs starting from the middle and fanning them out and around. Then I added a matching rhinestone to the middle of each nail.

After I day I switched it up. I really liked the look of white-on-yellow so I did that to all of them:



Yummy!

-Elaine

Last Minute NY Buys

Hello! Before I left from my parents on Sunday I decided to do a little last minute shopping. I checked CVS for any interesting stuff, and Claire's because my Claire's here never seems to have anything good. Take a look at what I found:
Milani - Antique, Claire's - Green Confetti, Goldmine, Rockstar and Orange Neon

(Make sure to click on the pics for the enlarged size! :c) )
Sun


Shade

Goldmine is definitely my favorite. I have had CND-VIP Status on my wishlist but it is hard to find, and this looks just the same. Check out this close up:Huh?! Awesome right!?

Layering with Juliana

I have a new love and it's called layering!! This Juliana from NYX has won me over big time. I never used to be into sheers, but now I see how great they are. Not for wearing alone, but for wearing with so many other colors, the manis you can create are endless! And this post explores just that. So this mani I did a few days ago as a NOTD:It was so rainy and gloomy that day, I decided on a bright mani to pep me up. I chose Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Lightening, and layered NYX-Juliana. It definately made me feel good! It makes my think of happy things! And as on lovely lady wrote on Makeupalley: "Lemon sugar gumdrops".

Then I tried Juliana over a coral color just on a paper plate and realized it looked amazing! I tried over others, and realized it looked great over orange and green based colors because the glitter in it flashes orange and green.In the pic above, from the thumb: Sally Girl-Amped (layered over white), Rimmel-Camouflage, Milani-Tropical Fiesta, L'oreal-Shocking Green and L'oreal-Sizzling Tangerine
Sun
Shade
Sally Girl-Amped + NYX-Juliana

Milani-Tropical Fiesta + NYX-Juliana, L'oreal-Shocking Green + NYX-Juliana

Rimmel-Camouflage + NYX-Juliana, L'oreal-Sizzling Tangerine + NYX-Juliana

Milani Swatches Part 2

Happy Monday! Today I'm posting the other half of my Milani swatches! Yeah!

Foxy Lady - Reddish brown with a fine shimmer. Definately foxy!
Cloud - Cloud changed my mind on light colored polish. I always thought I like bold, brights colors and nothing soft. Until I met Cloud. It is a super-light lavender with a gold shimmer. This is one of my fave polishes!

Purple Passion - Bright, stunning purple. I think it looks prettier in real life than this pic shows.

Winter Wine - I love this color. I wasn't pleased with this pic. It's deeper in real life. This pic makes it look very close to Hottest Pink, but it's not. They are similar, but not as close as this swatch would have you believe!
Glitzy Stars - Shown alone, and over black. I'm madly in love with this microglitter/shimmer. It's iridescent and awesome!

Disco Lights - Shown over China Glaze - Admire and alone. Pink glitter topcoat. I just got this one because I've been wanting an all over glitter polish, and I thought this one could give me that effect over a foil-finish pink like Admire. With another coat or two I think I can nail it.

Milani Swatches - Part 1

Hello! Today I am finally posting my Milani swatches, Part 1 of 2. I decided to do them because while thinking about my polishes I realized these were way up there on the faves list. This brand is great because it is virtually everywhere, and has beautiful colors and an incredible formula. They usually retail around $4+, but I always almost see them on sale. I also saw someone online write they didn't like the color selection, but I think they have a wide wide range of colors, including cremes, glitters, neons, shimmers, metallics... In blues, purples, orange, yellow, pink, whites, browns, red, berry... plenty to choose from. So here's my swatches:

Blackberry Baby - Ugh. Not for the color but for my sloppy fingers! Sorry. I just got this one and am in love! It's a dark cherry color that is not too dark. It's shimmery too. It goes on super smooth and is a gorgeous color. LOVE IT
Totally Cool - sun pic and shade pic. Other bloggers have been raving about this one and with good reason. Are you looking!? It's a blue/purple jelly with purple microglitter. HOT! I did 3 coats because it's a bit sheer being a jelly, but it's worth it. If you go to a drugstore it check this out, also look and see if they have Sinful Colors-Daddy's Girl. It is also a blue/purple jelly with purple microglitter, but the base is brighter and bluer and you may like it more. I wish I had it to compare. I tried to control my buying. (Which is usually a failure anyway!)
Mr. Sandman - Indoor with flash, and outdoor in sun. A tan metallic. Not too much to say about this one. It's neutral and pretty.
The Hottest Pink- Sun and shade - I just rebought this one because I killed the old one because I wore it so much! Yup. That awesome. Doesn't the name sell you too? 'The Hottest'. Okay. You win. It's a hot pink/fuschia with blue flash. Goes on smooth and gorgeous in 2 coats. One of my faves definately.
Red To Tango - The first pic is in one coat. It's amazing. This one is a goof proof red. It is so thin and smooth and easy to apply. It's amazing. I am a habitual 2 coater so I did two, and that is in the 2nd and 3rd pics, sun and shade. The shade is the best representation of the color. It is not as bright as the first 2 suggest. It is much deeper.
Tropical Fiesta - Bright pink creme that is kind of on the coral side but I wouldn't call it coral. It's super bright without being neon. Very fun, punchy color. The pic is indoor with flash. I thought is was the best pic to show the true color. It didn't show as true to life in the sun for some reason.

I have more to come so stay tuned for part 2!!