Sephora by OPI Nail Art Decals

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Today's manicure seemed like a good opportunity to give you a closer look at Sephora by OPI nail art decals, so that's just what I have in store.

I started out with the intention of a hot weather manicure, and the first polish that appealed to me for that was Misa Sandals, Flip Flops and Hip Hop, which is kind of an red-pink-coral neon creme.  It took three coats of color, which is pretty good for a neon.  It's really pretty on its own, but just a bit plain, so I went looking for something to spruce it up a bit and ran into my Sephora by OPI Hello Kitty nail art decals.  I specifically recall how impressed with their quality I was when I last used them, and since I see Sephora is offering a greater variety of nail art decals now, I thought I'd show you just what I found to be so impressive about them.

I used a total of three decals from two packs on an accent nail, which is a little much, but this manicure really turned into a decal demo.  The three I chose were a rhinestone flower, a butterfly with a trail of tiny rhinestones behind it, and a plain Hello Kitty Face, and I chose those three to have one of each type (only rhinestone, with rhinestones, no rhinestones).  To apply them, for each I loosened the decal from its paper backing by bending the paper to expose an edge, used an orange stick to lift the decal up by the just-freed edge, lining it up just above the nail, then placing it with the orange stick and patting it down.  The last step was to gently press each down with a right-hand finger, then I sealed them with a coat of Revlon Color Stay Top Coat and one of Poshe.  I took close-up pictures from several angles that are really not the most flattering of either my nails or the manicure, but their purpose is to illustrate how perfectly smooth the decals lie on the nail, so that's what we're looking for here.

First, the whole manicure.  Here, you can get a sense of how easy the Sephora by OPI decals are to work with - they don't stick to things or get bent when I remove them from their backing, and they're very, very thin so they shape to the nail nicely when they're placed.

Sephora by OPI Nail Art Decals over Misa Sandals, Flip Flops and Hip Hop Nail Polish

Here, the accent nail is pointing at the camera so you can see how flat the decals lie across a curved nail, so they don't catch or snag on anything.

Sephora by OPI Nail Art Decals Lying Very Flat

These two side views illustrate the same point with a better view of the rhinestones, which are often problematic in decals and are not here.

Sephora by OPI Rhinestone Flower and Hello Kitty Nail Art Decals

Sephora by OPI Rhinestone Butterfly and Hello Kitty Nail Art Decals

I have no idea why I didn't notice that the last picture was 90° off from the others until this very moment, maybe because my finger's going in the opposite direction.  That's okay, I trust that it shows the same thing...

I bought these because, well, they were $5 and had both rhinestones and Hello Kitty .  When I opened them, I felt a little ripped off at the little sheet of decals for $5, and how having used them twice, I've completely reversed that sentiment.  Most decals (with the exception of Konad's, which I've mentioned how much I like)) are a fight for me to apply without messing up a nail, then about 90% of the time the decal flattens back out and the edges of it pop up off my nail after top coat and before they're dry, so all they accomplish is completely destroying a manicure.  I haven't shown you many (if any) stick-on decals in almost three years, and I have used them a handful of times only to have such a complete failure that I didn't leave it long enough for a picture.  So for me, that means for my $5 I can have five larger packs of decals that don't work, or one small packet of decals that are very easy to apply and wear.

More Sephora by OPI Nail Art Decals are on my wish list because they're such a handy little addition to a manicure, so when the day comes that I have others, I'll give you a look.  Until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!

Sephora by OPI Nail Art Decals

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Today's manicure seemed like a good opportunity to give you a closer look at Sephora by OPI nail art decals, so that's just what I have in store.

I started out with the intention of a hot weather manicure, and the first polish that appealed to me for that was Misa Sandals, Flip Flops and Hip Hop, which is kind of an red-pink-coral neon creme.  It took three coats of color, which is pretty good for a neon.  It's really pretty on its own, but just a bit plain, so I went looking for something to spruce it up a bit and ran into my Sephora by OPI Hello Kitty nail art decals.  I specifically recall how impressed with their quality I was when I last used them, and since I see Sephora is offering a greater variety of nail art decals now, I thought I'd show you just what I found to be so impressive about them.

I used a total of three decals from two packs on an accent nail, which is a little much, but this manicure really turned into a decal demo.  The three I chose were a rhinestone flower, a butterfly with a trail of tiny rhinestones behind it, and a plain Hello Kitty Face, and I chose those three to have one of each type (only rhinestone, with rhinestones, no rhinestones).  To apply them, for each I loosened the decal from its paper backing by bending the paper to expose an edge, used an orange stick to lift the decal up by the just-freed edge, lining it up just above the nail, then placing it with the orange stick and patting it down.  The last step was to gently press each down with a right-hand finger, then I sealed them with a coat of Revlon Color Stay Top Coat and one of Poshe.  I took close-up pictures from several angles that are really not the most flattering of either my nails or the manicure, but their purpose is to illustrate how perfectly smooth the decals lie on the nail, so that's what we're looking for here.

First, the whole manicure.  Here, you can get a sense of how easy the Sephora by OPI decals are to work with - they don't stick to things or get bent when I remove them from their backing, and they're very, very thin so they shape to the nail nicely when they're placed.

Sephora by OPI Nail Art Decals over Misa Sandals, Flip Flops and Hip Hop Nail Polish

Here, the accent nail is pointing at the camera so you can see how flat the decals lie across a curved nail, so they don't catch or snag on anything.

Sephora by OPI Nail Art Decals Lying Very Flat

These two side views illustrate the same point with a better view of the rhinestones, which are often problematic in decals and are not here.

Sephora by OPI Rhinestone Flower and Hello Kitty Nail Art Decals

Sephora by OPI Rhinestone Butterfly and Hello Kitty Nail Art Decals

I have no idea why I didn't notice that the last picture was 90° off from the others until this very moment, maybe because my finger's going in the opposite direction.  That's okay, I trust that it shows the same thing...

I bought these because, well, they were $5 and had both rhinestones and Hello Kitty .  When I opened them, I felt a little ripped off at the little sheet of decals for $5, and how having used them twice, I've completely reversed that sentiment.  Most decals (with the exception of Konad's, which I've mentioned how much I like)) are a fight for me to apply without messing up a nail, then about 90% of the time the decal flattens back out and the edges of it pop up off my nail after top coat and before they're dry, so all they accomplish is completely destroying a manicure.  I haven't shown you many (if any) stick-on decals in almost three years, and I have used them a handful of times only to have such a complete failure that I didn't leave it long enough for a picture.  So for me, that means for my $5 I can have five larger packs of decals that don't work, or one small packet of decals that are very easy to apply and wear.

More Sephora by OPI Nail Art Decals are on my wish list because they're such a handy little addition to a manicure, so when the day comes that I have others, I'll give you a look.  Until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!

Color Club Yum Gum & Hello Kitty Decals

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Today I have another of Color Club's Wicked Sweet Collection, Yum Gum.  It's a neon light-ish pink creme, and it smells like bubble gum.  It applied well, covering in two coats, but the scent is initially a little unnerving.  You know that kind of off plastic smell the really cheap individually wrapped bubble gum has?  When it first goes on and is wet, Yum Gum smells just like that.  I almost took it off right away, but was glad I didn't as it dried because that weird plastic smell diminished and it really just smelled like bubble gum.  Here's Yum Gum with a base and a top in the sun.

Color Club Yum Gum Nail Polish, Two Coats

I just could't get the neon to show up in a picture after trying a million different light sources, so I went with the picture that on my monitor is closest to the color on my nails.  Neons can be maddeningly frustrating to take a picture of!

You can tell from the title I didn't stop there.  I'd gotten some of the Sephora Hello Kitty nail decals, but I hadn't used them because they made me a little angry - they're just one small sheet of tiny decals for $5, and I felt ripped off.  I figured it was time to get over it and use them, and when I did I was so impressed with their quality that I got over their price.  The adhesive is just right (it sticks well and doesn't come off the decals, but doesn't hold with a death grip), they're extremely thin and flexible so they lay perfectly flat easily, and I didn't have a single problem with the rhinestone ones (while rhinestone decals often lose stones).  I loaded up my left ring nails with decals, then sealed it with Poshe.

Sephora Hello Kitty Nail over Color Club Yum Gum Nail Polish

And a closer look...

Sephora Hello Kitty Nail Decals, Close Up View

My thinking is that if I'm going to be a ten year old girl and wear bubble gum scented neon light pink nail polish, the least I can do is be consistent and load it up with Hello Kitty decals.

That's what I have for you today, Dear Reader.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!  

Color Club Yum Gum & Hello Kitty Decals

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Today I have another of Color Club's Wicked Sweet Collection, Yum Gum.  It's a neon light-ish pink creme, and it smells like bubble gum.  It applied well, covering in two coats, but the scent is initially a little unnerving.  You know that kind of off plastic smell the really cheap individually wrapped bubble gum has?  When it first goes on and is wet, Yum Gum smells just like that.  I almost took it off right away, but was glad I didn't as it dried because that weird plastic smell diminished and it really just smelled like bubble gum.  Here's Yum Gum with a base and a top in the sun.

Color Club Yum Gum Nail Polish, Two Coats

I just could't get the neon to show up in a picture after trying a million different light sources, so I went with the picture that on my monitor is closest to the color on my nails.  Neons can be maddeningly frustrating to take a picture of!

You can tell from the title I didn't stop there.  I'd gotten some of the Sephora Hello Kitty nail decals, but I hadn't used them because they made me a little angry - they're just one small sheet of tiny decals for $5, and I felt ripped off.  I figured it was time to get over it and use them, and when I did I was so impressed with their quality that I got over their price.  The adhesive is just right (it sticks well and doesn't come off the decals, but doesn't hold with a death grip), they're extremely thin and flexible so they lay perfectly flat easily, and I didn't have a single problem with the rhinestone ones (while rhinestone decals often lose stones).  I loaded up my left ring nails with decals, then sealed it with Poshe.

Sephora Hello Kitty Nail over Color Club Yum Gum Nail Polish

And a closer look...

Sephora Hello Kitty Nail Decals, Close Up View

My thinking is that if I'm going to be a ten year old girl and wear bubble gum scented neon light pink nail polish, the least I can do is be consistent and load it up with Hello Kitty decals.

That's what I have for you today, Dear Reader.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!  

Color Club Enchanted Holiday

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

Color Club sent me their Enchanted Holiday mini set for review, and so I have pictures of it to show you today.  The set consists of four mini polishes, which are a green foil called Magic Elf, a white glitter called Snowflakes, a red glitter named Wish List Red, and gold glitter named Enchanted Holiday, as well as a little sheet of holiday nail decals.

Color Club Enchanted Holiday Mini Set

Here's a closer look at the decals.

Color Club Enchanted Holiday Nail Decals

I didn't get a chance to swatch these for you, so I'll just show them to you one at a time as I wear them.  I'm currently wearing Magic Elf, and this is three coats.

Color Club Magic Elf Nail Polish, Three Coats

Magic Elf is wearing well - I've had it on for two days that could chip any manicure, and it's holding up just fine.  The other one in this set that I'm eager to try out is Snowflakes, which I think would look really wintery and cool over a light blue like OPI What's with the Cattitude.

That's what I have for you today, Dear Reader.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!  

Color Club Enchanted Holiday

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

Color Club sent me their Enchanted Holiday mini set for review, and so I have pictures of it to show you today.  The set consists of four mini polishes, which are a green foil called Magic Elf, a white glitter called Snowflakes, a red glitter named Wish List Red, and gold glitter named Enchanted Holiday, as well as a little sheet of holiday nail decals.

Color Club Enchanted Holiday Mini Set

Here's a closer look at the decals.

Color Club Enchanted Holiday Nail Decals

I didn't get a chance to swatch these for you, so I'll just show them to you one at a time as I wear them.  I'm currently wearing Magic Elf, and this is three coats.

Color Club Magic Elf Nail Polish, Three Coats

Magic Elf is wearing well - I've had it on for two days that could chip any manicure, and it's holding up just fine.  The other one in this set that I'm eager to try out is Snowflakes, which I think would look really wintery and cool over a light blue like OPI What's with the Cattitude.

That's what I have for you today, Dear Reader.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!  

Essie Petal Pink & Konad Rhinestone Glam Decals

Good morning, Dear Reader!

For today's Nails of the Day I was in the mood for the rarely seen sheer, and I used two coats of Essie Petal Pink.  It needed a little something, and I didn't feel like Konading, so I added the pink Konad Rhinestone Glam decals to it, mostly to cover up my nail lines.  I waited until Petal Pink was totally dry to apply the decals, and after applying them, I sealed them with a coat of Diamont.  I find they're surprisingly durable this way.

Essie Petal Pink, Two Coats & Pink Konad Rhinestone Glam Decals

That's my pink Nails of the Day, and just about all I have for you today.  Until tomorrow, love and nail polish to you!  

Essie Petal Pink & Konad Rhinestone Glam Decals

Good morning, Dear Reader!

For today's Nails of the Day I was in the mood for the rarely seen sheer, and I used two coats of Essie Petal Pink.  It needed a little something, and I didn't feel like Konading, so I added the pink Konad Rhinestone Glam decals to it, mostly to cover up my nail lines.  I waited until Petal Pink was totally dry to apply the decals, and after applying them, I sealed them with a coat of Diamont.  I find they're surprisingly durable this way.

Essie Petal Pink, Two Coats & Pink Konad Rhinestone Glam Decals

That's my pink Nails of the Day, and just about all I have for you today.  Until tomorrow, love and nail polish to you!  

Essie Shorty Pants & SpaRitual Full of Life

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Today I thought I'd show you the other new SpaRitual I got from yet another Summer 2010 collection, Full of Life from the Soulful Collection.  I tried it out last night, and it's a good pastel blue creme, a two coater.  I spiced it up with some Konad Rhinestone Glam decals, but woke up to find I'd lost a stone on my ring finger while I slept.

SpaRitual Full of Life Nail Polish and Fake Pearl Konad Rhinestone Glam Decals

Since I was missing a stone and that would drive me crazy all day, I redid my Nails of the Day as the coffee brewed.  I used Essie Shorty Pants from Essie's 2008 Neons, a bright crayon yellow creme three-coater.  It's not neon at all, but a great bright yellow.  To it, I added a Konad pattern from plate M69 using a green Konad Princess polish (I so wish they had labels!).  I thought I'd lost my Konad plate M69 and have been hunting for it for it specifically for the pattern I used today, and as I resigned myself to replacing it, I found this morning that I'd put it somewhere "safe."  I should never put anything anywhere "safe" because that means I won't see it for a long time.  Here's the mani to welcome back M69 - it's 1974 on my nails...

Essie Shorty Pants and Konad Plate M69 in Konad Princess Polish

That's the update for this morning, Dear Reader.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!  

Essie Shorty Pants & SpaRitual Full of Life

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Today I thought I'd show you the other new SpaRitual I got from yet another Summer 2010 collection, Full of Life from the Soulful Collection.  I tried it out last night, and it's a good pastel blue creme, a two coater.  I spiced it up with some Konad Rhinestone Glam decals, but woke up to find I'd lost a stone on my ring finger while I slept.

SpaRitual Full of Life Nail Polish and Fake Pearl Konad Rhinestone Glam Decals

Since I was missing a stone and that would drive me crazy all day, I redid my Nails of the Day as the coffee brewed.  I used Essie Shorty Pants from Essie's 2008 Neons, a bright crayon yellow creme three-coater.  It's not neon at all, but a great bright yellow.  To it, I added a Konad pattern from plate M69 using a green Konad Princess polish (I so wish they had labels!).  I thought I'd lost my Konad plate M69 and have been hunting for it for it specifically for the pattern I used today, and as I resigned myself to replacing it, I found this morning that I'd put it somewhere "safe."  I should never put anything anywhere "safe" because that means I won't see it for a long time.  Here's the mani to welcome back M69 - it's 1974 on my nails...

Essie Shorty Pants and Konad Plate M69 in Konad Princess Polish

That's the update for this morning, Dear Reader.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!  

Chanel Riviera

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I promise that after today I will cut it out with the decals on Les Pop-Up de Chanel polishes, but for today, I'm doing one more.  I can't stop myself.

Riviera is today's pick, two coats with the pink pearl and pink rhinestone Konad Rhinestone Glam decals.  I'm up early because I have eight zillion things to do today, and I'll be out doing them for a good seven hours.  That means I topcoated the heck out of this manicure, using three coats over the decals.  I don't want to be leaving a trail of fake pink pearls and rhinestones wherever I go... The pictures I took today are under artificial light - the one of Riviera with the whole Les Pop-Up de Chanel collection is the more color accurate one on my monitor.

Chanel Riviera Nail Polish with Fake Pink Pearl Konad Rhinestone Glam Decals

That's all there is this morning, Dear Reader.Something cool is supposed to show up today, and if it does and I'm able to swatch it, I'll have more for you later.  If not, then not.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you! 

Chanel Nouvelle Vague, Day 2

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I'm so in love with Nouvelle Vague I'm wearing it for a second day.  I have good news, too - it's up on Chanel.com along with the new LE gold, matte black, and gold glitter.

Even though I love Nouvelle Vague enough for a second day of wear, my attention span doesn't allow for it to remain unchanged, so I added the fake turquoise Konad Rhinestone Glam decals to it.  Yes, I added decals to a Chanel - I don't know if the earth will crack open and swallow me up for that, but I did it anyhow.  I think it looks cool as heck - I love the polish and the decals, so I'm happy and sparkly.

Chanel Nouvelle Vague Nail Polish with Turquoise Konad Rhinestone Glam Decals

It's like I have an 80's giant brooch, like we used to wear on our collars with our shirts buttoned all the way up, on my pinky, yet I like it.  The picture is in early morning low light - yesterday's of the polish alone was more accurate, with more even lighting.

So Nouvelle Vague is such a hit with me it's getting a second day of wear.  I love it.

That's all for now, Dear Reader.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!  

Nubar Costa Rica Coral & Sensual Red

Good morning. Dear Reader!

Today I have a swatch and a post-swatching mani for you.  The swatch, I did for something else, but I was reminded of what a great color it was and thought I'd show it to you.  It's Nubar Costa Rica Coral, which is a really vibrant coral creme.  This is two coats.

Nubar Costa Rica Coral, Two Coats

The mani diesn't look as good.  I liked it while I wore it, but had a different impression when I was watermarking the picture.  It's two coats of Nubar Sensual Red with the black and white Konad Rhinestone Glam decals.  As I said, I liked it on, but the picture gives me the initial impression that my nails got braces.

Nubar Sensual Red, Two Coats, with Konad Rhinestone Glam Decals

That's what I have to show you this morning, Dear Reader.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!  

Zoya Flash & Tangerine Scream

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

I just took a picture of my Nails of the Day before I do some swatching (this morning's post was a few days old), and I ran into another picture I hadn't shown you yet, so I thought I'd show you both.

My NOTD is Color Club Tangerine Scream with Konad Bead Tattoos on it.  I did the polish last night and the decals this morning, and I definitely think that works better for me.  Tangerine Scream took four coats to be opaque, but is worth it to me.  I love this orange!  I also finished it first with the top coat that came with Electro Candy, which claims to increase the vibrancy of colors.  I find it makes a marginal difference, and if I'm going for four coats, what's one more - I used the Color Club top coat before Diamont and drying drops.  I then added yellow & green heart Konad Bead Tattoos, which come in packs of 15, with three colors in each, so you have to buy an even number of the packets if you want one on each nail.

Color Club Tangerine Scream and Heart Konad Bead Tattoos

I don't want to remove this one to swatch, but I don't know if tomorrow will bring me sun, so I must.  It's like my nails are little suns, and it makes me think it's warm out when it's not.

The other picture I ran into was of Zoya Flash skittles with white flower decals on the tips.

Zoya Flash Collection: Dana, Perrie, Robyn, Jancyn, Jolene (Thumb to Pinky) with Decals

I liked that one - it was very Springy.

That's all for today, Dear Reader.  Until tomorrow, love and nail polish to you!  

Jewelry Nails

Good morning, Dear Reader!

The other morning as I had coffee I opened the embarrassingly large WSC order I'd placed, and yet again the fake pink pearl and gemstone Rhinestone Glam decals were calling my name too loudly to resist.

This time, I wanted my nails to look like jewelry, and spent a while thinking of a silver that would look like white gold when I finally thought of Nubar Platinum.  It really is the color of platinum, so it was perfect for what I wanted.  I used two coats of Platinum with top coat, then let it dry for a bit and added my decals.  The placement's not perfect, I'm still working on that, but here's the manicure.

Nubar Platinum Nail Polish and Pink Pearl Konad Rhinestone Glam Decals

Later, I got an equally embarrassingly large order from VNS that I mentioned already, which contained some Art Club kits.

The art club kits are cool as heck - they have stripers, various beads and things, decals, they're great.  I had to dig into the Pretty Shiny Things kit because who loves pretty shiny things more than I do?  That kit's metallics, with copper, silver, and light gold glitter stripers, so I started with a yellow gold base of Nubar 24K.  I figured for playing with an art kit, I'd be better off using 24K than Chanel Gold Fiction...

Then I just went nuts with the kit.  I had fun, and my hands are essentially a sampler of the items in the kit.

Nubar 24K Nail Polish and Art Club Pretty Shiny Things Nail Art Kit

Far from elegant, well into the realm of fun.

Those are my jewelry nails from yesterday, and if nothing else, I had fun making them.  That's all for now, Dear Reader.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!  

Color Club Electro Candy

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I'm cursed with being up early as a consequence of going to bed early, so I thought I'd show you my Nails of the Day.  I started it last night with the nail polish, let it finish completely setting while I slept, and just added the decals a few minutes ago.

This mani shows two of my recent kicks in one - skittles (each nail a different color) and decals.  I've always liked decals, so I can explain that one away, but I've never been too wild about skittle manis before, but am having a great time with them.

I got a backup set of Color Club's Electro Candy Collection from last summer in my last VNS order.  Which reminds me - they have Poolside up, and China Glaze nail polish prices go up $0.30 on the 15th, so get 'em while you can.  Kiwi Cool-ada sold out in hours on Trans Design.  Back to my story: Electro Candy.  I got the backup of the collection because I'd count this as one of my top ten favorite collections ever.

I decided last night to do another rainbow mani with it, and since I wore Ultra Violet recently, that's the color I left out.  I let it dry overnight before adding decals because I find the polish under decals never quite cures right if I add them too soon.  The decals I chose were from that Korean pack I got where there are four tip patterns.  Quite a lot of decisions on this one: six colors, four decals, five fingers!

Electro Candy, Tangerine Scream, Volt of Light, What A Shock!, Pure Energy

The bottle is Ultra Violet so it wouldn't feel left out.  You'll be seeing more of these colors - they're my favorite neons, I just don't know where my original set is.  Now that I can locate one, I can wear them!

That's all for this morning, Dear Reader.  I also has some fun nail art supplies in that VNS order that I played with yesterday, I'll try to give you a peek at that later.  Until then, Love and nail polish to you!