OPI Today I Accomplished Zero

 OPI Today I Accomplished Zero

2 coats

 

Today I Accomplished Zero is from the Coca-Cola Collection, a 9 piece collection inspired by Coca-Cola beverages. I purchased the "10 Pack of Style", which contains minis of 8 shades along with a mini of Nail Envy as well as the OPI Top Coat. I also purchased a big bottle of Orange You Fantastic, the last shade in the set, because it wasn't available in a mini and because I had to have the complete set in my possession. :-)

 

 

Today I Accomplished Zero is a black jelly base with pink glitter, inspired by Coke Zero. I myself am not a fan of Coke Zero..... but I do drink a can of regular Coke every single morning, as my cup of coffee.

Let us take a moment of silence in memory of my most favorite Coca Cola beverage ever..... the dearly departed C2. It had half the calories of regular Coke, but all the taste..... sigh.

But back to the nail polish..... I really love this shade! The first coat was very very sheer, but somehow a second coat made it opaque. One thing to note with this- clean up is a bit hard if you happen to get glitter close to your cuticle. Although the black base polish comes right off with a clean up brush dipped in acetone, that pesky glitter really hung on as you can see on my ring and pinkie fingers above. So you might use an orange stick to remove those immediately if you get too close to the cuticle.

Stay tuned... weather permitting, I hope to swatch these shades over the next week or so!

OPI Pearls Night Out

OPI Pearls Night Out

3 coats

 

Still going through some old untrieds, and this is pretty old I think..... I thought this would look nice with a summer tan. My nail line is still visible at three coats, and I'm not sure a fourth would have made much difference. I still really like it. This would probably make a fabulous French mani topper.

 



Sally Hansen Miracle Gel in Redgy

Sally Hansen Miracle Gel in Redgy

 

 

 

I really really really wanted to like this system! I love me some Sally, but sadly, I think this is a major fail, for some reasons I'll detail below.

 

Some facts: There are sets that have both the color and topcoat that retail for about $15. You can also buy the colors and topcoat separately for less than $10 each. I went ahead and bought a set that included the color Redgy and the topcoat. I purchased mine at CVS, but have also seen it locally at both Walgreens and Walmart.

 

Sally Hansen claims: "The ONLY TRUE 2-STEP GEL MANICURE with no light needed." and promises up to 14 days of color and shine.

 

First, let me say I love the color, but the name spelling makes me stabby.

 

Second, I have tried this three ways and I still can't get a shiny finish. It's very very full of brush-strokes from the topcoat. It did seem to dry pretty quickly, as if I had used a QDTC.

 

I first tried it using NailTek II as a basecoat, since my nails seem to do much better when I use this regularly. I was displeased with the non-shiny, brush-stroke finish, and I suspected my basecoat might have been the problem, so I re-did my left hand the next day without a basecoat. Same problem. Then I even tried the base color without the Miracle Gel topcoat and just used my normal topcoat, NYC Grand Central Station, on one finger. And I still don't like the finish!

 

The wear seems OK..... My right hand is on day 4 and there is quite a bit of tipwear, but the finish is driving me crazy. My left hand, which is on day 3 looks a bit better, but still not up to par for a normal mani for me. I had MUCH better luck with the L'Oreal Extraordinaire Gel-Lacque system.

 



STRANGEBEAUTIFUL COLORBLOC (GLOSSYBOX exclusive)

STRANGEBEAUTIFUL COLORBLOC

(GLOSSYBOX exclusive design)

 

Description from GLOSSYBOX:

Transforming the color of your nails is in the palm of your hand, pocket, bag and countless other places. Create an effortless moment and restyle your nail color any time and anywhere. STRANGEBEAUTIFUL COLORBLOCs are outstanding for travel and splendid to hold. Comprised of two 4ml bottles of super saturated compelling colors encased in an efficient geometric design.

 

I received this polish in the June 2014 GLOSSYBOX that I purchased. This was my first time to try a STRANGEBEAUTIFUL product (and BTW I am not a big fan of companies that use all caps for their names.....) and I've got to say, the pigmentation was pretty great. The red shade was almost a one-coater, and the dark blue, although it did need two coats, covered perfectly.

 

Mr. Sasha did ask me why I had just one nail on each hand painted another color. My explanation of the "accent nail" was lost on him.....

 

I found this little tidbit on STRANGEBEAUTIFUL's website: STRANGEBEAUTIFUL™ colors are deliberately nameless “I find it thought provoking and stimulating to remember and refer to each color by its reference or inspiration.”

 

The white cap comes off, leaving two small separate bottles. I was afraid the smaller brushes might cause me application problems, but I didn't have any at all. They are really a cute size and would be nice for travel.

 

 

#afflink

Dermelect Patriotic Mani contest

Dermelect is having a great contest! Upload a pic of your most patriotic mani and follow the steps above- they are going to give away their entire ME line- a value of $400!

Sally Hansen Color Frenzy in Red White & Hue

Sally Hansen Color Frenzy in Red White & Hue (1 coat)

Over 2 coats of OPI Pretty & Privileged

Happy 4th of July! I recently received this new Sally Hansen Color Frenzy shade for review purposes and thought it would make a fabulous holiday mani. It is a clear base with red, white and blue glitters in both bigger and small sizes. Just one coat goat great coverage. I saw another blogger use this over a light blue shade and it looked amazing!

OPI Live.Love.Carnaval

OPI Live.Love.Carnaval

3 coats

 

from the Spring/Summer 2014 Brazil Collection

 

Live.Love.Carnaval (it is super-hard to type the name of this shade with the periods in between the words!) is a super-bright coral crème. I did need three coats to have opaque coverage. This is also a great pedi color! This is the only shade I have purchased so far from this collection, but I have been eyeing a few more- do you have a fave?