Tag: Fingernails

 
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Walk the Walk

A photo posted by Lara (@knobbygirl) on

I tried to play it cool on Thanksgiving.

“Oh look, my nails match my dress.” My husband was buying none of my bullshit. “You know you were planning it all along.” Yeah. I was. The only choice I made that morning was lipstick – “Masochist” or “Richblood” – and I chose “Masochist”.

I knew I would be wearing the new red dress to Thanksgiving, so I painted my nails with Sinful Colors “Walk the Walk” from the “Luxe Fragments” Collection. It’s a cool-toned red jelly with glitter shards. It’s really almost a cranberry – fitting for Thanksgiving.

This is two coats – not quite full coverage – over Sinful Colors Base Coat and under “HK Girl”.

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Kleopatra

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BOOM!

Sinful Colors “Kleopatra” is blowing me away. It’s a baby blue/lavender duochrome – all polishes should be duochrome. I had a hard time not admiring my nails constantly – they are so outstanding.

I used Sinful Colors Base Coat with two coats of “Kleopatra”. The polish doesn’t finish matte – it’s very shiny, but I topped with “HK Girl” and it’s like glass.

Yes, it’s another one of those Kylie polishes, this time from the “Denim & Bling” Collection. I’m not even embarrassed about promoting them anymore – the colors and finishes are just making me so happy.

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Are You Still Available?

A photo posted by Lara (@knobbygirl) on

The reason I get so excited about trying new brands of nail polish is because I’ve pretty much tried every brand there is…but there are a few that have been beyond my grasp…

I hadn’t been able to try Makeup Revolution nail polish because Ulta doesn’t carry it here and they won’t ship it across the ocean…but I got a guy…I checked their site and it looks like they don’t even carry the polish online anymore – they must be liquidating their stock via mystery bags.

The first one to catch my eye was Makeup Revolution “Are you still Available?”, a dusty medium purple. This is a full coverage creme. The quality was very good – not too thick and not too thin, although the brush itself was sub par. I got full coverage with two coats over Orly Bonder and under “HK Girl”.

I haven’t gotten my hands on Jeffree Star Cosmetics “Scorpio” yet, but Sally has it and I swear that “Are you still Available?” would be a perfect match. I might have to add it to my Cyber Monday order if it’s in stock…

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Carrie Ann

A photo posted by Lara (@knobbygirl) on

There are lots of holographic polishes coming out right now, but this is the first sheer holographic polish that I’ve come across.

Julep “Carrie Ann” is described as blush sheer holographic – it leans a bit too pink to be a true nude, but it is “nudish”. The holographic shift leans gold, which is a welcome change from the usual silver or rainbow shift.

I started with Julep Oxygen Bonding Base Coat. I did a sloppy job on the second coat – tired – so I have extra crispy edged around my nail beds. Amateur mistake. Even though I used “HK Girl” to protect my nails, my nails couldn’t stand up to dishes and toilet cleaning on Saturday. Alas, I wore this polish less than 48 hours.

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Celebratory Blue…NOT

A photo posted by Lara (@knobbygirl) on

So…as I painted my nails Tuesday night, hate-watching the Election coverage with my soul-mate across the Atlantic, I thought I had picked an appropriate celebratory blue for the occasion. I was wrong…sooooo fucking wrong.

I’m not gonna get too deep into politics and feelings and shit, but the wind is still knocked out of me from Tuesday night. Anyone who knows me, knows how cynical and dark I am, but never in a million years would I have expected things to turn out this dark. Sure, our choices were shit…but DAMN. Obviously, I overestimated the power of Beyonce and Jay-Z in the Rust Belt.

Back to my nails, this knockout of a blue is Sinful Colors “Don’t Flake” from The Luxe Fragments Collection. I absolutely love this collection of jelly polishes with (mylar?) flakies. This is almost full coverage in two coats over Sinful Colors Base Coat and under “HK Girl”.

Excuse me, I’m going to go watch Idiocracy and cry myself to sleep.

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Blood Moon

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I am OBSESSED with this season of American Horror Story. I am even going to force my sister to take me to Roanoke next year….during the daytime, of course. I have no interest in seeing a REAL Blood Moon.

My Blood Moon is ciate London “Dangerous Affair”, from my August’s ipsy bag. Now I know why people go nuts over ciate – this polish is amazing. Not too thick, not too thin – just perfect. and the brush is wide and flat – one of the most perfect nail polish brushes I have ever used. Am I gushing? I feel like I’m gushing.

I started with Orly Bonder. This is two coats. The first coat had a few streaks, likely because the polish has a bit of a jelly to it. It was fully opaque at two coats though. I finished with “HK Girl”.

Next time I see ciate at TJ Maxx or Marshall’s…it’s MINE.

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You Say Tomato…

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Is it orangey red? Or reddish orange? I can’t tell exactly what color Sinful Colors “HollyWood” is.

In any case, “HollyWood” reminds me of a juicy, ripe tomato. My husband is NOT a fan. He asked, “This is one of those one day polishes, right?” He hates tomatoes with the passion of a sugared up three year old.

This is two coats of “HollyWood” over Sinful Colors Base Coat. I’m getting much more comfortable with matte polishes. The Sinful Colors polishes are much tougher than the Zoya polishes I started with – they can take 8-9 hours of laptop pounding. Don’t be afraid of the matte – embrace the matte.

Oh…and it also matches KitKat wrappers. I know this because I have been sneaking them out of my kids’ loot bags since Halloween. Shhhhh…

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Drip Drip Drip

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Yeah, I know it’s November 3rd. Excusescakes.

Here are my lovely Halloween nails – the tried and true blood drip. My nail buddy, Angie, did really pretty ones this year, so I absolutely copied her and did matte black with red glitter. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

After Orly Bonder, I did two coats of Zoya “Dovima” and used a large and small dotting tool to drag Zoya “Chyna” on the bottom. “Chyna” kept its texture quite well – no major chips over almost a full week.

I did a blood drip last year, too. So shoot me, they’re cool looking.

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Ants Marching

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I *think* this is the last one.

Sinful Colors “Dead On” is deceptively clear. Like totally see-through – no color. I was expecting a vague purple tint based on the bottle – but nothing. Just blue and iridescent glitter in a clear base, with a few skull-spider-babies thrown in. Yep, I went glitter fishing again.

This is two thick coats over Sinful Colors Base Coat and under “HK Girl”. Yup, this has gotta be a topper.

Again, every time I would see my nails out of the corner of my eye, I would want to smack my fingers because it looks like I have ants. Urgh.

Oh and it glows in the dark. Kinda.

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Cloak and Swagger

A photo posted by Lara (@knobbygirl) on

Yup, I am ripping through these Halloween polishes. I present to you…Sinful Colors “Cloak and Swagger”.

Sinful Colors is absolutely KILLING it with their textured polishes. This is a matte sparkle texture. It photographs almost black, but it’s a dark, dark eggplant color.

This is two coats over Sinful Colors Base Coat. I actually finished off the bottle…but it was an old bottle that was almost empty – I had already started a new bottle.

I took a risk and did my toes with it as well. I’m curious to see how long it lasts on my toes. I’m skeptical that it will last too long since I didn’t use a top coat. I’d expect the toes of my shows to rub bare spots on my big toes, but maybe not since I trimmed my toenails really short.