FingerPaints Sparkle Top Coat over Velvet Bow

Good morning, Dear Reader!

For today I just added one coat of FingerPaints Sparkle Top Coat to my China Glaze Velvet Bow manicure and finished it off with a coat of Sally Hansen Speed Shine, and I think it turned out well.  The sun is shining, so I was able to get a sunlight picture of it.

FingerPaints Sparkle Top Coat, One Coat over China Glaze Velvet Bow

The duochrome of Sparkle Top Coat comes out to play quite nicely in this manicure, and I like it!

That's about all there is to tell you today, so until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!

All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen from a real nail polish blog.

FingerPaints Sparkle Top Coat over Velvet Bow

Good morning, Dear Reader!

For today I just added one coat of FingerPaints Sparkle Top Coat to my China Glaze Velvet Bow manicure and finished it off with a coat of Sally Hansen Speed Shine, and I think it turned out well.  The sun is shining, so I was able to get a sunlight picture of it.

FingerPaints Sparkle Top Coat, One Coat over China Glaze Velvet Bow

The duochrome of Sparkle Top Coat comes out to play quite nicely in this manicure, and I like it!

That's about all there is to tell you today, so until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!

All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen from a real nail polish blog.

FingerPaints Sparkle Top Coat

Good evening, Dear Reader!

Tonight I tried out FingerPaints Sparkle Top Coat, which is one that I have no manufacturer information about, but it was on sale and looked cool when I made my recent Sally Beauty Supply trip, so I picked it up.  In the bottle, it's a sparkly translucent off white like the CND Effects, and I'd wager it's closest to their Raspberry Sparkle but I haven't compared.

For the manicure, I used Illamasqua Base Coat, which I ran into half a bottle of when I was looking for the color I wanted to put under Sparkle Top Coat.  Before finding the one I was after, I ran into my mini of Lippmann Devil in a Blue Dress from the Party Like a Rock Star set, a navy blue jelly, and went with that.  I used two coats of Devil in a Blue dress, gave it a couple minutes to set, then added one coat of Sparkle Top Coat.  I finished it off with Tout de Suite to dry it, and it made for a really cool mani.  Pictures will make telling you what I like about it easier.  The light outside was dim, so the first picture is artificial light and the second is indirect sunlight.

FingerPaints Sparkle Top Coat under Artificial Light

FingerPaints Sparkle Top Coat in Indirect Sunlight

I included both because the different light shows different things.  The artificial light picture is the more accurate in terms of color and how the finish looks in general, but the second picture in natural light caught the slight duochrome effect Sparkle Top Coat has.  If you look near the cuticle at my thumb and index finger, you can see a greenish gold tinge, and that really shows just walking around.  The overall look of this manicure reminds me of the custom paint job on a my neighbor's sports car when I was 14 (which I recall clearly because they spelled his name wrong on the driver's door and he left it that way).

For one coat, I think this is excellent.  I'd planned on two coats, but I like how it looks so much after one that I thought a second might take away from it and left it alone.  That's what I know about FingerPaints Sparkle Top Coat and all I have for you today, Dear Reader, so until next time, love and nail polish to you!

All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen from a real nail polish blog.

FingerPaints Sparkle Top Coat

Good evening, Dear Reader!

Tonight I tried out FingerPaints Sparkle Top Coat, which is one that I have no manufacturer information about, but it was on sale and looked cool when I made my recent Sally Beauty Supply trip, so I picked it up.  In the bottle, it's a sparkly translucent off white like the CND Effects, and I'd wager it's closest to their Raspberry Sparkle but I haven't compared.

For the manicure, I used Illamasqua Base Coat, which I ran into half a bottle of when I was looking for the color I wanted to put under Sparkle Top Coat.  Before finding the one I was after, I ran into my mini of Lippmann Devil in a Blue Dress from the Party Like a Rock Star set, a navy blue jelly, and went with that.  I used two coats of Devil in a Blue dress, gave it a couple minutes to set, then added one coat of Sparkle Top Coat.  I finished it off with Tout de Suite to dry it, and it made for a really cool mani.  Pictures will make telling you what I like about it easier.  The light outside was dim, so the first picture is artificial light and the second is indirect sunlight.

FingerPaints Sparkle Top Coat under Artificial Light

FingerPaints Sparkle Top Coat in Indirect Sunlight

I included both because the different light shows different things.  The artificial light picture is the more accurate in terms of color and how the finish looks in general, but the second picture in natural light caught the slight duochrome effect Sparkle Top Coat has.  If you look near the cuticle at my thumb and index finger, you can see a greenish gold tinge, and that really shows just walking around.  The overall look of this manicure reminds me of the custom paint job on a my neighbor's sports car when I was 14 (which I recall clearly because they spelled his name wrong on the driver's door and he left it that way).

For one coat, I think this is excellent.  I'd planned on two coats, but I like how it looks so much after one that I thought a second might take away from it and left it alone.  That's what I know about FingerPaints Sparkle Top Coat and all I have for you today, Dear Reader, so until next time, love and nail polish to you!

All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen from a real nail polish blog.

FingerPaints Fun-Fetti

Good evening, Dear Reader!

I got an unexpected surprise today, so I can show you FingerPaints Fun-fetti, the stand-alone FingerPaints holiday glitter release I'd shown you the press release for last week.  I hadn't really expected Sally Beauty Supply to go through the hassle and shipping expense of sending samples of this one out, but it showed up today.  I had something to go to earlier tonight, and I opted to change my manicure to Fun-fetti rather than wear makeup.  It got a good compliment, so I think it was the right pick - the woman next to me while I was out touched a finger and said "It's beautiful!", which was nice.

I looked at the bottle next to Sephora by OPI Spark-tacular!, and the FingerPaints glitter is both bigger and brighter.   I don't have OPI Rainbow Connection for comparison.

FingerPaints Fun-fetti and Sephora by OPI Spark-tacular! Comparison

For the manicure, I thought Fun-fetti could use an opaque base, and I chose silver.  I used Orly  Dazzle, but I think any silver foil would work well (Dazzle is good and I've used and like Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Celeb City and  FingerPaints Easel Come, Easel Go myself, and have only heard good about Zoya Trixie).  Dazzle needed two coats to not be blotchy, and after giving that a few minutes to set I added two coats of FingerPaints Fun-fetti, which is a bit on the thick side but easy to apply and fast drying.  It currently has one coat of Tout de Suite for top coat, and although it's not perfectly smooth and I'll add another layer of top coat in the morning, it's surprisingly not lumpy.  The glitter lies far flatter than I'd expected given its size.

FingerPaints Fun-Fetti Nail Polish, Two Coats over Silver

Here's a closer look at the glitter.

FingerPaints Fun-Fetti Nail Polish over Silver, A Closer Look at the Glitter

I really like this.  Some of the glitter's at the upper end of how big I like it, but in the bright colors it works for me.  Typically random compliments come on manicures that are a lot of work, so getting one simple layered glitter was an indicator of how cool this polish is.  I also think it'll be pretty versatile in terms of colors it can be layered over.

The press info tells me this will be available from November through January only at SallyBeauty.com for $4.99 and is a limited edition, and that's a link to it on their site (I just checked to get a link and found it there already).  That's what I know about FingerPaints Fun-fetti, so until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!

All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen from a real nail polish blog.

FingerPaints Fun-Fetti

Good evening, Dear Reader!

I got an unexpected surprise today, so I can show you FingerPaints Fun-fetti, the stand-alone FingerPaints holiday glitter release I'd shown you the press release for last week.  I hadn't really expected Sally Beauty Supply to go through the hassle and shipping expense of sending samples of this one out, but it showed up today.  I had something to go to earlier tonight, and I opted to change my manicure to Fun-fetti rather than wear makeup.  It got a good compliment, so I think it was the right pick - the woman next to me while I was out touched a finger and said "It's beautiful!", which was nice.

I looked at the bottle next to Sephora by OPI Spark-tacular!, and the FingerPaints glitter is both bigger and brighter.   I don't have OPI Rainbow Connection for comparison.

FingerPaints Fun-fetti and Sephora by OPI Spark-tacular! Comparison

For the manicure, I thought Fun-fetti could use an opaque base, and I chose silver.  I used Orly  Dazzle, but I think any silver foil would work well (Dazzle is good and I've used and like Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Celeb City and  FingerPaints Easel Come, Easel Go myself, and have only heard good about Zoya Trixie).  Dazzle needed two coats to not be blotchy, and after giving that a few minutes to set I added two coats of FingerPaints Fun-fetti, which is a bit on the thick side but easy to apply and fast drying.  It currently has one coat of Tout de Suite for top coat, and although it's not perfectly smooth and I'll add another layer of top coat in the morning, it's surprisingly not lumpy.  The glitter lies far flatter than I'd expected given its size.

FingerPaints Fun-Fetti Nail Polish, Two Coats over Silver

Here's a closer look at the glitter.

FingerPaints Fun-Fetti Nail Polish over Silver, A Closer Look at the Glitter

I really like this.  Some of the glitter's at the upper end of how big I like it, but in the bright colors it works for me.  Typically random compliments come on manicures that are a lot of work, so getting one simple layered glitter was an indicator of how cool this polish is.  I also think it'll be pretty versatile in terms of colors it can be layered over.

The press info tells me this will be available from November through January only at SallyBeauty.com for $4.99 and is a limited edition, and that's a link to it on their site (I just checked to get a link and found it there already).  That's what I know about FingerPaints Fun-fetti, so until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!

All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen from a real nail polish blog.

FingerPaints Fun-Fetti Holiday Limited Edition

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I had an email from Sally's PR this morning about Fun-Fetti, their limited edition holiday polish release, that has swatch and promo picture I thought you'd like to see, so here they are.  Clicking the pictures will open it, and you can see a giant version in another tab by clicking the "Show Original" link on the bottom left.

FingerPaints Fun-Fetti Bottle Picture

FingerPaints Funfetti Swatch Promo Picture

This is the one with the availability information (sometime in November through sometime in January at Sally's Beauty Supply).

FingerPaints Fun-Fetti Promo Picture

I just wanted to give you a peek!  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!

All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen from a real nail polish blog.

FingerPaints Fun-Fetti Holiday Limited Edition

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I had an email from Sally's PR this morning about Fun-Fetti, their limited edition holiday polish release, that has swatch and promo picture I thought you'd like to see, so here they are.  Clicking the pictures will open it, and you can see a giant version in another tab by clicking the "Show Original" link on the bottom left.

FingerPaints Fun-Fetti Bottle Picture

FingerPaints Funfetti Swatch Promo Picture

This is the one with the availability information (sometime in November through sometime in January at Sally's Beauty Supply).

FingerPaints Fun-Fetti Promo Picture

I just wanted to give you a peek!  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!

All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen from a real nail polish blog.

Konad m85 ~ New Plate!

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I was thinking of what to do for a mani today, and I have an absolute ton of fun stuff to show you at this point (especially since I found some cool Wet n Wild glitter polishes yesterday), but when it came right down to it I did not yet have the heart to remove Winter Sky, the blue from the FingerPaints Merry & Bright Collection.  It's way too pretty and I'm not done enjoying it yet, so I considered what I could add and realized I hadn't yet shown you Konad plate m85, the other new one that WowSoCool sent for review.  Here's their image of the plate so you can see all its patterns.

Konad Plate m85 from Wow So Cool

I chose the floral full nail pattern, the one at about eleven o'clock on the plate, with Konad White Princess Polish. I'd planned just an accent nail because I wasn't up for twenty stamps, but I found that the pattern is open enough that it looks fine with a single stamp that has a bit of free space at the top and bottom, so I went for ten stamped nails since that's a much more manageable number.  Some people may disagree with me on whether double stamping should have been done, and that's okay - they're not the one facing the task of lining up twenty stamps!

I used the Konad multiscraper that I showed you with plate m84, and it was very fast and easy, far more so than a separate scraper and stamper for me.  There were no do-overs or troubles at all, and then I sealed it with Sally Hanson Salon 10 Day Speed Dry (the old SH Salon, not Compete Salon Manicure).  I think it might be my new favorite for Konad.  The 10 Day part of its name is likely accurate - it makes my manis bulletproof, with no chips or tip wear no matter what, but the Speed Dry part is open for debate.  The top coat  itself dries very quickly, but it doesn't dry the polish under it well at all and I've never had a success with it drying polish.  I don't know if I've used it to seal Konad before, but it didn't make even the tiniest smudge on a single nail, and it also has a fantastic shine (that's what I'd repurchased it for), so I think it'll be what I use over most Konad.  Maybe one day I'll be brave enough to see if it works over Konad Black, but maybe not, we'll see.

After the top coat dried, I went out and took pictures under a cloudlessly sunny sky, and here is my first use of Konad plate m85.

Konad Plate m85 over FingerPaints Winter Sky Nail Polish

I love this pattern!  I have a strong but inexplicable attraction to the full nail patterns that look like wallpaper, and this qualifies as one for me.    Every time I go a little while without using Konad, the next time I use it I wonder why I don't more often because there's not another nail decoration I like quite as much.  The Sally Hansen Salon Effects are in second place, but Konad's lead is pretty strong!

That's my first Konad m85 manicure and I'm sure there will be many more.  Until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!



All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen from a real nail polish blog.

Konad m85 ~ New Plate!

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I was thinking of what to do for a mani today, and I have an absolute ton of fun stuff to show you at this point (especially since I found some cool Wet n Wild glitter polishes yesterday), but when it came right down to it I did not yet have the heart to remove Winter Sky, the blue from the FingerPaints Merry & Bright Collection.  It's way too pretty and I'm not done enjoying it yet, so I considered what I could add and realized I hadn't yet shown you Konad plate m85, the other new one that WowSoCool sent for review.  Here's their image of the plate so you can see all its patterns.

Konad Plate m85 from Wow So Cool

I chose the floral full nail pattern, the one at about eleven o'clock on the plate, with Konad White Princess Polish. I'd planned just an accent nail because I wasn't up for twenty stamps, but I found that the pattern is open enough that it looks fine with a single stamp that has a bit of free space at the top and bottom, so I went for ten stamped nails since that's a much more manageable number.  Some people may disagree with me on whether double stamping should have been done, and that's okay - they're not the one facing the task of lining up twenty stamps!

I used the Konad multiscraper that I showed you with plate m84, and it was very fast and easy, far more so than a separate scraper and stamper for me.  There were no do-overs or troubles at all, and then I sealed it with Sally Hanson Salon 10 Day Speed Dry (the old SH Salon, not Compete Salon Manicure).  I think it might be my new favorite for Konad.  The 10 Day part of its name is likely accurate - it makes my manis bulletproof, with no chips or tip wear no matter what, but the Speed Dry part is open for debate.  The top coat  itself dries very quickly, but it doesn't dry the polish under it well at all and I've never had a success with it drying polish.  I don't know if I've used it to seal Konad before, but it didn't make even the tiniest smudge on a single nail, and it also has a fantastic shine (that's what I'd repurchased it for), so I think it'll be what I use over most Konad.  Maybe one day I'll be brave enough to see if it works over Konad Black, but maybe not, we'll see.

After the top coat dried, I went out and took pictures under a cloudlessly sunny sky, and here is my first use of Konad plate m85.

Konad Plate m85 over FingerPaints Winter Sky Nail Polish

I love this pattern!  I have a strong but inexplicable attraction to the full nail patterns that look like wallpaper, and this qualifies as one for me.    Every time I go a little while without using Konad, the next time I use it I wonder why I don't more often because there's not another nail decoration I like quite as much.  The Sally Hansen Salon Effects are in second place, but Konad's lead is pretty strong!

That's my first Konad m85 manicure and I'm sure there will be many more.  Until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!



All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen from a real nail polish blog.

FingerPaints Holiday 2011 Swatches

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

This afternoon I have swatches of the FingerPaints Merry & Bright Collection, their Holiday 2011 release.  The collection consists of six polishes, three glitters and three shimmers, and the pictures of all six are in sunlight and without top coat on the first five (the last one is the post-swatching manicure).  I'll start with the glitters...

Each of these is super fine glitter in a clear base, the powdery fine kind of glitter.  I used three coats in each of the swatches for complete coverage, and since they are swatches rather than dried manicures, I don't know how much top coat they require.  However, since the glitter is unusually fine, I doubt more than two could be necessary.  I'll tell you for sure when I wear one as a manicure.

Drummer Boy is a bright blue glitter, a really nice holiday shade of blue. Three coats gives the completely encrusted in glitter look.

FingerPaints Drummer Boy Nail Polish, Three Coats

Santa Kisses is the red of those metallic looking overly fragile glass ball tree ornaments, the good ones from long ago that would shatter into a zillion shards if someone looked in their general direction.  It screams Christmas to me.

FingerPaints Santa Kisses Nail Polish, Three Coats

The last is a tinsel-y silver, Frosty Night, and it could likely use a fourth coat to be totally opaque.

FingerPaints Frosty Night Nail Polish, Three Coats

Those are the three glitters.  For the three shimmers, I used only two coats each.  Yule Be Merry is a pinkish red with a really interesting glowy shimmer.  The color strikes me as a happy one that's still good for winter.

FingerPaints Yule Be Merry Nail Polish, Two Coats

Comet's Collar is the green, and it has my favorite name.  The shade of green is kind of a pale holly shade, but the really cool element of Comet's Collar is the shimmer - there are multicolored sparkle bits in it that just make it really fun to look at.

FingerPaints Comet's Collar Nail Polish, Two Coats

The last is Winter Sky, and it's the one I did a full manicure with.  It's a vivid deep sky blue with an almost-secret shimmer.  One coat of Winter Sky was totally opaque and even, I added a second because it's the one I'm wearing.

FingerPaints Winter Sky Nail Polish, Two Coats

I think FingerPaints holiday collections are the ones I most anticipate, and this one did not disappoint me at all.  Each of the shimmers is really well done, and the super fine glitter in the glitters makes them apply and build well.  I think Comet's Collar is my top pick of this collection simply because its shimmer is so outstanding, but I couldn't wait to wear Winter Sky either.

Those are my FingerPaints Merry & Bright swatches, so until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!



Edited to add a link to the FingerPaints Merry & Bright Promo Image & availability info and a removal note: When I took off Winter Sky, the skin on my hands stained teal (no nail staining, just the skin upon removal).  Tom's of Maine whitening toothpaste and an extra soft bristled toothbrush took all of it off easily.  I panicked at the sight of teal hands, you don't have to - just use toothpaste and it'll come right off.

Products were sent for independent review.

All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen from a real nail polish blog.

FingerPaints Holiday 2011 Swatches

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

This afternoon I have swatches of the FingerPaints Merry & Bright Collection, their Holiday 2011 release.  The collection consists of six polishes, three glitters and three shimmers, and the pictures of all six are in sunlight and without top coat on the first five (the last one is the post-swatching manicure).  I'll start with the glitters...

Each of these is super fine glitter in a clear base, the powdery fine kind of glitter.  I used three coats in each of the swatches for complete coverage, and since they are swatches rather than dried manicures, I don't know how much top coat they require.  However, since the glitter is unusually fine, I doubt more than two could be necessary.  I'll tell you for sure when I wear one as a manicure.

Drummer Boy is a bright blue glitter, a really nice holiday shade of blue. Three coats gives the completely encrusted in glitter look.

FingerPaints Drummer Boy Nail Polish, Three Coats

Santa Kisses is the red of those metallic looking overly fragile glass ball tree ornaments, the good ones from long ago that would shatter into a zillion shards if someone looked in their general direction.  It screams Christmas to me.

FingerPaints Santa Kisses Nail Polish, Three Coats

The last is a tinsel-y silver, Frosty Night, and it could likely use a fourth coat to be totally opaque.

FingerPaints Frosty Night Nail Polish, Three Coats

Those are the three glitters.  For the three shimmers, I used only two coats each.  Yule Be Merry is a pinkish red with a really interesting glowy shimmer.  The color strikes me as a happy one that's still good for winter.

FingerPaints Yule Be Merry Nail Polish, Two Coats

Comet's Collar is the green, and it has my favorite name.  The shade of green is kind of a pale holly shade, but the really cool element of Comet's Collar is the shimmer - there are multicolored sparkle bits in it that just make it really fun to look at.

FingerPaints Comet's Collar Nail Polish, Two Coats

The last is Winter Sky, and it's the one I did a full manicure with.  It's a vivid deep sky blue with an almost-secret shimmer.  One coat of Winter Sky was totally opaque and even, I added a second because it's the one I'm wearing.

FingerPaints Winter Sky Nail Polish, Two Coats

I think FingerPaints holiday collections are the ones I most anticipate, and this one did not disappoint me at all.  Each of the shimmers is really well done, and the super fine glitter in the glitters makes them apply and build well.  I think Comet's Collar is my top pick of this collection simply because its shimmer is so outstanding, but I couldn't wait to wear Winter Sky either.

Those are my FingerPaints Merry & Bright swatches, so until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!



Edited to add a link to the FingerPaints Merry & Bright Promo Image & availability info and a removal note: When I took off Winter Sky, the skin on my hands stained teal (no nail staining, just the skin upon removal).  Tom's of Maine whitening toothpaste and an extra soft bristled toothbrush took all of it off easily.  I panicked at the sight of teal hands, you don't have to - just use toothpaste and it'll come right off.

Products were sent for independent review.

All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen from a real nail polish blog.

FingerPaints Holiday 2011 Promo Image

FingerPaints Merry & Bright Swatches

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

I just got an image in my email I thought you'd be interested in.  It's FingerPaints Merry & Bright Collection, their  Holiday 2011 release.

FingerPaints Holiday 2011 Promo Image

I'm excited about these, and as there's more to tell, I shall.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!



All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen from a real nail polish blog.

FingerPaints Holiday 2011 Promo Image

FingerPaints Merry & Bright Swatches

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

I just got an image in my email I thought you'd be interested in.  It's FingerPaints Merry & Bright Collection, their  Holiday 2011 release.

FingerPaints Holiday 2011 Promo Image

I'm excited about these, and as there's more to tell, I shall.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!



All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen from a real nail polish blog.