Category: Nails

 
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Diva de los Muertos

I’ve been waiting since SUMMER to try out these Dashing Diva Dia de los Muertos nail decals that I picked up at TJ Maxx over the summer. I used them for Halloween/Dia de los Muertos and got lots of compliments.

I think I’m finally at peace with the fact that every nail decal I use will probably lift. My nail bed is very curvy and those suckers just want to FLY.

I started with Holo Taco Pink Smoothing Base Coat and then two coats of Holo Taco “Milky White Shimmer”. (I forgot how streaky this polish is.) I laid down the stickers and then finished with Holo Taco Glossy Taco Top Coat

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Polish Pickup October 2025 – Optical Illusions

Just a small haul from October’s Polish Pickup. The theme is “Optical Illusions”, which means a lot of holos and magnetic polishes. All the magnetic polishes are starting to look the same to me. Do I have magnetic polish fatigue?

Cuticula “Psychedelic Glow” ($13.50) is inspired by a flower that looks like it’s moving when you look at the center of it…hmmm, I may know a little bit about that.

Lemming Lacquer “Cheshire Cat Grin” ($14) is inspired by the optical illusions of the Cheshire Cat. I absolutely LOVE the colors in this one.

Zombie Claw “All is Vanity” ($13.75) is – I think – inspired by one of the most famous optical illusion paintings, ‘All is Vanity’ by Charles Allan Gilbert. You’ll recognize it as soon as you click…

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There are Ghosts in the Basement!

Oh, look! It’s another magnetic polish that I forgot was magnetic…

Sweet Heart Polish “There are Ghosts in the Basement!” is from September’s PPUWEEN and is inspired by Matthew Lillard’s character from Thirteen Ghosts. I love a shifty chameleon polish and this one goes from gold to bronze to copper. It really captures the look and feel of the film. Other reviews state the the magnetic effect is very sublte…but still…I feel like a loser when I overlook a magnetic polish, now that I have plenty of magnets to use.

This is two coats of “There are Ghosts in the Basement!” over Cuticula Mic Drop Base Coat in “Tropical Oasis” and under Cuticula Limitless Top Coat in “Froot Loop“.

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Coven

I have been sleeping on Haunted Polish – their bottles are just amazing!

Haunted Polish “Coven” is from September’s PPUWEEN and is inspired by moonlight shining through red stained glass. If that’s not a spooky inspiration – I don’t know what is.

I like “Coven” so much that I brought it to the nail salon with me for my last pedicure. Even my toes are spooky.

This is two coats of “Coven” over Cuticula Mic Drop Base Coat in “Tropical Oasis” and under Cuticula Limitless Top Coat in “Froot Loop“.

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The Life of a Showgirl

A few years back, my kids turned me into a Swiftie. I took them to The Eras Tour. I handled their cringe when I declared that my favorite songs were ‘You Need to Calm Down,’ followed by ‘Anti-Hero.’ I made fucking personalized friendship bracelets for every person in my group at work (with the help of my fellow Swifties in the Culture Club, of course). Now they don’t even care about Taylor anymore…my son has moved on to country music and my daughter has moved on to KPOP. Yet here I am, enjoying ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ by myself.

I truly do have a nail polish for every occasion. I created this look starting with Cuticula Mic Drop Base Coat in “Tropical Oasis” and two coats each of Sinful Colors “Turnt-Quoise” and “Cloud 9”. I applied a glitter gradient using my favorite glitter – Nicole by OPI “Pick of the Glitter” (which is super thick and chunky – girl needs some thinner). I finished off with a coat of Glisten & Glow Glitter Grabber and Cuticula Limitless Top Coat in “Froot Loop“.

One of my favorite songs from the album is ‘Opalite’ – and I just happened to have an opalite egg handy. It was my mother’s – she was obsessed with eggs in her artwork – and I’d like to think that she would’ve been a Swiftie, too.

…and I don’t care what anyone says – this album slaps. Tay Tay can sing about her man’s dick for a full album and I’m here for it.

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Heidi HO! HA HA HA

If you heard, “Heidi HO! HA HA HA…” coming from your child’s doll – would you laugh? Or would you fucking RUN as fast as your little legs could carry you?

I would fucking RUN, because that means CHUCKY is after you. Chucky is one of my favorite horror icons. I’ve seen all of the original films, as well as the SyFy series (which was cancelled too soon, IMHO). I haven’t had the stomach to watch the remake, but I’d watch Aubrey Plaza watch paint dry, so I need to make a point to watch it this spooky season.

Hearts & Promises “Heidi HO! HA HA HA” is from September’s PPUWeen and is, of course, inspired by Chucky. I have many, MANY sparkly red polishes – HELLO RUBY RED SLIPPERS – but this one might be the best one I’ve ever had. It’s absolutely opaque and shiny as fuck, even without a top coat. The sparkles are so fine, that there is no texture to fight with. This is a PRIMO nail polish.

This is two coats of “Heidi Ho! HA HA HA” over Cuticula Mic Drop Base Coat in “Tropical Oasis” and under Cuticula Limitless Top Coat in “Froot Loop“.

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Polish Pickup September 2025 – PPUWeen

It was quite hard not to fill my shopping cart with ALL of the PPUWeen Polishes…I trimmed down my cart quite a bit and somehow ended up with almost all red polishes? It’s fine, I promise…

Haunted Polish “Coven” ($13.50) is inspired by moonlight shining through red stained glass. This is my first Haunted Polish and I am intrigued.

Hearts & Promises “Heidi HO HAHAHA” ($13.50) is inspired by the man himself, Charles Lee Ray, AKA Chucky.

Sweet Heart Polish “There are Ghosts in the Basement!” ($13.50) is inspired by Matthew Lillard’s character in Thirteen Ghosts. I think it’s time for a rewatch!

Penelope Luz “Vampire’s Blood” ($13.50) is inspired by the bloodlust of vampires. Not only is it a magnetic polish, but it also changes colors with a top coat!

Finally, I picked up another Baroness X Acetone Additive in “Cacao Crystal Vanilla” ($8.50). I cannot wait to crack open a new dipping jar of nail polish remover!

I hope some of the other PPUWeen polishes come back next Rewind…

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The Owls are STILL Not What They Seem

An 11 year old nail polish and it’s still good!

That’s right, I got Hare Polish “The Owls are Not What They Seem” back in 2014. I actually wanted to use “Wrapped in Plastic” for my trip to Twin Peaks (um, I mean North Bend, WA), but it was super thick and dried out. I think I can revive it with nail polish thinner, but that is a project for another day.

You can see how it looked 10 years ago here – virtually the same!

This is two coats of “The Owls are Not What They Seem” over Cuticula Mic Drop Base Coat in “Tropical Oasis” and under Glisten & Glow Glitter Grabber and Cuticula Limitless Top Coat in “Froot Loop“.

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Happy 2025

Happy 2025? Oh, the irony…

I picked up DRK Nails “Happy 2025” from July’s Rewind Polish Pickup, but it was originally released in December 2024’s Maker’s Choice, which I missed. It’s a super shimmery magnetic polish with a dramatic blue base with a green magnetic shift. The magnetic shift was strong with this one – the magnet actually made bare spots on a few of my nails, but it wasn’t enough to ruin them. I’d like to try this one with a weaker magnet next time.

This is two coats of “Happy 2025”, magnetized with a neodymium magnet using DRK Nails Magic Effect,over Cuticula Mic Drop Base Coat in “Tropical Oasis” and under DRK Nails Cuticula Limitless Top Coat in “Froot Loop“.

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Oh Behave!

I know I have a pile of Polish Pickup polishes from previous months…but August’s polishes are SO good…

BCB Lacquers “Oh Behave!” is a vibrant fuchsia jelly with purple to blue shimmer. It’s inspired by Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and the shifting shimmer makes this polish look like his silly velvet suit.

This is two coats of “Oh Behave!” over Cuticula Mic Drop Base Coat in “Tropical Oasis” and under Cuticula Limitless Top Coat in “Froot Loop“.