Tag: Fingernails

 
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Ebony and…

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So many Halloween polishes, so little October…

I got Julep “Ebony” in this month’s Julep Box – yes, another holographic – graphite holographic. If a Number Two pencil was filled with unicorn farts…I just can’t get enough of holographics right now.

After Julep Oxygen Bonding Base Coat, I slapped on two quick coats of “Ebony” – it went on like a dream. I topped with “HK Girl”.

This polish lasted for-fucking-ever – no chips. It might have been the only thing holding my nails together – as soon as I took it off, I had to cut my nails down to nubs. They’ve been so abused lately, the tips were in danger of peeling, so I had to cut them to save them. Sigh. Nubbies again.

 

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Nice Guise

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Sinful Colors “Nice Guise” is blowing me away. It’s from the “Guise and Ghouls” Halloween Collection – and it’s a blue/green holographic. It’s simply amazing – it’s another one of those polishes that reminds me of The Matrix. Most holographics have a silver/rainbow undertone, which is why “Nice Guise” is so unique. Maybe not so unique if it also reminds me of Zoya “Remy”, which has less green.

I started with Sinful Colors Base Coat. This is two coats of “Nice Guise” – it’s a perfect formula, not too thick and not too thin. It dried fairly quickly, but I topped with “HK Girl” anyway. I think I can see myself in my nails.

I definitely need to try this one on my toes.

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Surreally Sweet

A photo posted by Lara (@knobbygirl) on

How did I get so behind? This is two polishes ago…Oh well.

This is the beautifully textured Sinful Colors “Surreally Sweet” from the “Sugar Crushin'” Collection, a pink version of “Sugar High” – just what I was looking for! The texture is just like “Sugar High” – fine and sandy – not too rough. The pink is delicate, but it seemed to get dirty very quickly.

This is two coats over Sinful Colors Base Coat. It dried super quickly and only pulled away from the tips of my nails slightly. Maybe I should try an ombre with “Sugar High”? Removal was a snap – it came off quickly in my new dip-it.

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Genevieve

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Julep “Genevieve” is one of those forever polishes – it lasts and lasts. Good thing, too – I was sick as a dog for the last three days and mostly bedridden. It got to the point that I googled “zika symptoms” – I thought maybe I was dying.

Spoiler alert, I didn’t have any of the symptoms. Turns out it was just a super-nasty case of bronchitis.

Anywho, “Genevieve” is an eye catching chrome, reminiscent of red clay – but shiny. This is two coats over Julep Oxygen Bonding Base Coat. It was shiny on it’s own, but I topped with “HK Girl”, which made it practically invincible.

I felt much better today – I took off “Genevieve” and trimmed my nails. Another polish coming soon…

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Play Dead

A photo posted by Lara (@knobbygirl) on

Hello October…I’ve been waiting for you.

Even though it is still like 90 degrees every day, just the fact that it is now October has put me into the Halloween spirit. I started off October with one of my new Halloween polishes – Sinful Colors “Play Dead” from the new “Guise and Ghouls” Collection (so clever).

“Play Dead” is a pewter glitter filled with larger rose gold glitter. Cameras cannot quite capture the finish – it’s too blinding. Just look at the light reflection. This is two coats over Sinful Colors Base Coat and under “HK Girl”.

It is a tough polish – it lasted a full five days with just minor edge wear. It was also a smooth glitter – no catching in my hair or on my clothes. Everyone needs “Play Dead” in their life.

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Angelik

A photo posted by Lara (@knobbygirl) on

I have no illusions that Kylie Jenner actually designed and formulated these polishes herself…but I will concede that she had a really talented Design Team on her side…so far, her polish collections are OUTSTANDING. The colors, the textures, the formulas…all are on point. I’ll give her 1% credit and 99% credit to Sinful Colors.

Sinful Colors “Angelik” is another polish from the “Trend Matters” Shimmer Matte Collection. It’s a pale, pale pink – almost white – with gold shimmer. It reminds me of a fancy Christmas Tree Angel – one of the $25 ones from Wal-Mart, even. This is the perfect polish to wear when you won’t be able to paint your nails for a while – you can’t see edge wear or chips unless you have a microscope.

I started with Sinful Colors Base Coat. The first coat was streaky. The second coat was fairly smooth, but there were still a few thin spots. I decided to stick with the two coats though – I didn’t want to risk the third coat being too thick. No top coat.

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Pining for the Fjords

A photo posted by Lara (@knobbygirl) on

Julep “Acacia” has me pining for the fjords. (Or maybe I just feel like I’m dead because of this sinus infection?)

I’m pining because Julep describes “Acacia” as blue fjord chrome – I was like huh? Then I had to google fjords – I was thinking that the tall cliffs themselves where the fjords, but technically, the fjord is the water-filled inlet. Well fuck – my whole life is a lie…or at least the geography part.

“Acacia” is a true one-coat polish – I really could have gotten away with just one coat…but the perfectionist in me required two coats – just to be sure. For some odd reason, I got bubble…in the base coat. I used Julep Oxygen Bonding Base Coat and I’ve never seem that bubble before. A few of the bubbles were visible through the two coats of “Acacia” and “HK Girl” – I don’t know what’s up with that. Am I going to have to get all anal and start using alcohol wipes on my nails before painting?

I also used “Acacia” on my toes. I had promised my husband “Danica” on my toes, but I decided that he gets “Acacia” instead. He LOVES blue toenails.

This is it – I am all caught up…I think. This is the color on my nails RIGHT NOW. Aw shit, I still have one more subscription box sitting on the counter…

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Vogue

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Strike a pose…there’s nothing to it…

Great, now I’m going to have that song stuck in my head all night…

Sinful Colors “Strike a Pose” was the first polish I grabbed from my big sale haul. It’s from the new “Luxe Fragments” Collection – a jelly base filled with glitter shards. I’m in love with glitter shards, I think.  I was drawn to the black and gold…plus, it also matched the ipsy bag I just got.

Sinful Colors Base Coat and then two coats of “Strike a Pose”. I was afraid that it wouldn’t be opaque enough after the first quote, but the second coat came through for me – it sure covered up my stained green nails. “HK Girl” sealed the deal and provided a ridiculous amount of shine.

I feel like my nails are getting shorter and shorter. My unpacking and cleaning has slowed WAY down – maybe they’ll get a chance to grow without breaking and peeling?

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Precious Kargo

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Sinful Colors “Kargo” is just…WOW.

My nails were already stained green from “Peggy”, so I figured I would stick with the theme and go with a blue or green. I had a suspicion that “Kargo” would be a textured polish. My suspicions were correct…plus, it’s a matte glitter texture. I am loving the Sinful Colors matte formulas.

I started with Sinful Colors Base Coat, then two coats of “Kargo”. The formula was rather thin for a textured polish – I was quite pleased that I didn’t end up with a case of the goopies. No top coat.

“Kargo” is very, very similar to Julep “Jennine” – but a bit less glittery and iridescent. It also had better staying power – I was able to make it Sunday to Thursday before repainting my nails.

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Peggy

A photo posted by Lara (@knobbygirl) on

My first grab from this month’s Julep box – Julep “Peggy”.

Again, another surprise. I was expecting a rusty brown shimmer, but “Peggy” is charcoal with rose shimmer – basically a dark grey duochrome that flashes rust and pink in the light. You can see it much better on the bottle than on my nails, but whatever. What will they think of next?

After Julep Oxygen Bonding Base Coat, I painted two coats of “Peggy” and topped with “HK Girl”. It was one of those quick school night jobbies, but it turned out fantastic.

The most surprising thing about “Peggy” is that it stained my nails…GREEN. I was totally shocked that it stained both my cuticles and my nails a faint froggy tint. I was able to get rid of it with Julep Vanish…and trim those cuticles, too.