Sally Hansen Sweet Tart-an Salon Effects

Good evening, Dear Reader!

I came across some new Sally Hansen Salon Effects nail polish strips while grocery shopping today, and they seemed like a good choice after soaking off OPI Divine Swine - I was up for low maintenance after that!

I've found that there's significant variation from one pattern to the next in how easy or difficult Sally Hansen Salon Effects are to apply, and these seem to be at the more difficult end of the spectrum  With Sweet Tart-an, I ended up with wrinkles, air bubbles, or both on every single nail, and none of the usual tricks to fix them up after the fact were particularly successful.  I didn't use base coat under them, and most of the others I've used have been really easy to apply smoothly all alone, but that wasn't the case here.  I considered taking them off right away since they're not perfectly smooth and will likely get on my nerves, but figured what the heck, I have red tartan nails whether they're perfect or not, added a coat of top coat, and called it finished.

I took a picture of them under artificial light once they were done, and this is my Sally Hansen Sweet Tart-an Salon Effects manicure.

Sally Hansen Sweet Tart-an Salon Effects Nail Polish Strips

You can see the bubbles and wrinkles in the picture, but without the magnification they really don't show.  The only real trouble I anticipate is the unevenness getting on my nerves, but for a day or two, I can live with it.  Although this is one of my favorite Salon Effects patterns, the manicure with them is probably my least favorite  Salon Effects manis so far.

That's my Sweet Tart-an Salon Effects manicure and the update for 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.

Sally Hansen Sweet Tart-an Salon Effects

Good evening, Dear Reader!

I came across some new Sally Hansen Salon Effects nail polish strips while grocery shopping today, and they seemed like a good choice after soaking off OPI Divine Swine - I was up for low maintenance after that!

I've found that there's significant variation from one pattern to the next in how easy or difficult Sally Hansen Salon Effects are to apply, and these seem to be at the more difficult end of the spectrum  With Sweet Tart-an, I ended up with wrinkles, air bubbles, or both on every single nail, and none of the usual tricks to fix them up after the fact were particularly successful.  I didn't use base coat under them, and most of the others I've used have been really easy to apply smoothly all alone, but that wasn't the case here.  I considered taking them off right away since they're not perfectly smooth and will likely get on my nerves, but figured what the heck, I have red tartan nails whether they're perfect or not, added a coat of top coat, and called it finished.

I took a picture of them under artificial light once they were done, and this is my Sally Hansen Sweet Tart-an Salon Effects manicure.

Sally Hansen Sweet Tart-an Salon Effects Nail Polish Strips

You can see the bubbles and wrinkles in the picture, but without the magnification they really don't show.  The only real trouble I anticipate is the unevenness getting on my nerves, but for a day or two, I can live with it.  Although this is one of my favorite Salon Effects patterns, the manicure with them is probably my least favorite  Salon Effects manis so far.

That's my Sweet Tart-an Salon Effects manicure and the update for 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.

Chick Wild Rooster

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

I have another from Chick Nail Polish to show you today, a red creme called Wild Rooster.  I think red cremes are a good way to evaluate a line of polish since everybody has one and there's a good bit of variance in how pigmented they can be.  Wild Rooster is a great classic red, easy to apply and control and opaque in two coats. I finished it off with Essie Good to Go when I applied it last night, then took pictures this afternoon.

Chick Wild Rooster Nail Polish, Two Coats

I love a good red creme, and this one fits the bill.

That's Chick's Wild Rooster and the update for 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.

Chick Wild Rooster

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

I have another from Chick Nail Polish to show you today, a red creme called Wild Rooster.  I think red cremes are a good way to evaluate a line of polish since everybody has one and there's a good bit of variance in how pigmented they can be.  Wild Rooster is a great classic red, easy to apply and control and opaque in two coats. I finished it off with Essie Good to Go when I applied it last night, then took pictures this afternoon.

Chick Wild Rooster Nail Polish, Two Coats

I love a good red creme, and this one fits the bill.

That's Chick's Wild Rooster and the update for 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.

Color Club Santa's Cinnamon

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Last night I changed my polish to Color Club Santa's Cinnamon, the red glitter from their Scent-suous Holiday Collection, after discovering a decent sized chip in Gingerbread Man.  I couldn't really tell if it the chip was in the polish or the nail, so I'm suspending judgment about whether Gingerbread Man is chippy.

Santa's Cinnamon was one of the two from this collection that I was uncertain of, and now that it's on I'm glad I got it.  It's fine red glitter in a red jelly base, but the glitter is so dense that two thin coats were all that was needed for it to be even and opaque.  It went on easily over a base coat, and after a coat of Tout de Suite had a few minutes to do its thing I added some Nubar Freeze Dry drops just to be sure because the glitter is really incredibly glowy and bright, so I would have gotten annoyed if I'd smudged it.  Once it was dry, I noticed the surface was very grainy despite the glitter being very fine, so I added a coat of Sally Hansen Speed Shine.  That helped, but it needed one more coat of Speed Shine to be smooth this morning.  This is what it looks like under artificial light.

Color Club Santa's Cinnamon Nail Polish, Two Coats

The glitter in this is great.  Here's a closer look at part of a nail.

Color Club Santa Cinnamon Nail Polish's Glitter

The fragrance is Santa's Cinnamon is milder than that in Gingerbread Man or Sugar Plum Yum, and it smells like a less sweetened version of Cinnamon Red Hots.  I think I would have preferred a cinnamon stick smell, but this isn't too far off and is mild.

That is Color Club Santa's Cinnamon and the update for 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.

Color Club Santa's Cinnamon

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Last night I changed my polish to Color Club Santa's Cinnamon, the red glitter from their Scent-suous Holiday Collection, after discovering a decent sized chip in Gingerbread Man.  I couldn't really tell if it the chip was in the polish or the nail, so I'm suspending judgment about whether Gingerbread Man is chippy.

Santa's Cinnamon was one of the two from this collection that I was uncertain of, and now that it's on I'm glad I got it.  It's fine red glitter in a red jelly base, but the glitter is so dense that two thin coats were all that was needed for it to be even and opaque.  It went on easily over a base coat, and after a coat of Tout de Suite had a few minutes to do its thing I added some Nubar Freeze Dry drops just to be sure because the glitter is really incredibly glowy and bright, so I would have gotten annoyed if I'd smudged it.  Once it was dry, I noticed the surface was very grainy despite the glitter being very fine, so I added a coat of Sally Hansen Speed Shine.  That helped, but it needed one more coat of Speed Shine to be smooth this morning.  This is what it looks like under artificial light.

Color Club Santa's Cinnamon Nail Polish, Two Coats

The glitter in this is great.  Here's a closer look at part of a nail.

Color Club Santa Cinnamon Nail Polish's Glitter

The fragrance is Santa's Cinnamon is milder than that in Gingerbread Man or Sugar Plum Yum, and it smells like a less sweetened version of Cinnamon Red Hots.  I think I would have preferred a cinnamon stick smell, but this isn't too far off and is mild.

That is Color Club Santa's Cinnamon and the update for 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.

Day 20: Water Marbled

If I could take one sick day from the 31 Day Challenge, it would be today! The mani you see here is my third attempt at a decent water marble. By the time I finished I was suffocating under the sheer amount of marbling fail. Never again, guys, never again!

In hindsight, my experience with water marbling was not that bad, but at the time all I wanted to do was scrub this off my nails as soon as the pictures were taken. It looks kind of nice, but for the hours, sweat and tears it stole from me I probably won't be doing it again any time soon!

Head over to Rie and Cristina's blogs to see if they had better luck than me with their water marbling!

Base colour: BYS Lilac Bliss

Marble colours: La Femme Grey Cream, Nails Inc Victoria, George Scarlet Kiss

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Day 16: Tribal Print

I've been dreading this day for a while. I love tribal nail art but had no idea how to come up with a decent design myself, however, once I forced myself to sit down and actually do it, the ideas just kept coming and I am completely in love with this design!

The black detail is all created with acrylic paint which has allowed me to get the crisp lines that I know I couldn't have achieved by using black nail polish. At the moment I only have black and white acrylic paint but I think I'm going to have to look out for some more cheap pots in a better range of colours.

You should go and see what Rie and Cristina came up with today too!



Base colour: MUA Shade 23
Black acrylic paint
Barry M Cyan Blue
Barry M Limited Edition Red for Buzz
Top Coat of NYC






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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.

Day 9: Rainbow Nails

Today was a tricky one! Say the words 'rainbow nails' to me and my mind starts running wild! I was thinking stamping, dotting and striping all in one mani I decided reign in all that jazz and take the simple chic approach with rainbow stripes which I am absolutely over the moon with. Think 'Sammy and the Amazing Technicolor Manicure'!

Don't forget to peek at Cristina and Rie's rainbow creations today!





Polishes used
All on a white base coat
La Femme - Red Cherry
Miss Sporty - 323
George - Buttercup Shine
Collection 2000 - Spangles
Barry M - Cyan Blue
Barbara Daly - Purplicious



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Day 1: Red Nails

Welcome to my attempt at the 31 Day Challenge - a set list of 31 nail designs that I must complete and post here daily for the next month! Cristina from Let Them Have Polish, Rie from Nails and Noms and I are all starting the challenge today in the hope that we will be able to egg each other on and offer one another the encouragement I'm sure we'll need at some point to post every single day for the whole month!

To see full details of the challenge, just click here to see the list of 31 Days worth of nail designs. I'll also be keeping a check-list in the sidebar so you can see which challenges I've completed and which are still to come.

Day 1 is Red Nails so I had to wear my go-to red... Barry M Raspberry. It has a slight berry hint to it as you could guess from the name but still holds its own as a sophisticated, classic red.

Don't forget to check out Cristina and Rie's take on today's challenge too!

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OPI Gettin' Miss Piggy With It

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I've been in the mood for a good red lately, so it seemed like a good day to show you OPI Gettin' Miss Piggy With It from the OPI Muppets.  On the nail, it turned out far better than it sounds: it's a clear base with powdery-fine red glitter and red and silver hex glitter.  The outcome looks like opaque stop sign red glitter nails with white glitter polka dots.

For the manicure, I used base coat, three coats of Gettin' Miss Piggy With It, and a coat of Addicted to Speed just because it was late.  This morning, I felt around the edges of my nails for any pieces of stray hex glitter overhanging an edge, then just filed off the part over the edge and added a coat of Sally Hansen Salon top coat to seal it and smooth out the glitter.  Without the second coat of top coat, it definitely would have been passably smooth and was far better than I'd anticipated, but I really like perfectly smooth.  Once it dried, I took pictures in the sun.

OPI Gettin' Miss Piggy With It Nail Polish, Three Coats

Here's a closer look at the glitter in it.

OPI Gettin' Miss Piggy With It Nail Polish, Close Up of Glitter

There's no way to show you in a still picture just how reflective this glitter is, so I'll tell you.  In low-ish indoor lighting, it completely glows, and I think even in office lighting this one would catch attention from across the room.  It's really stunning, and I'd completely prepared myself for a disappointment since fine glitters often don't build up very well.  With the first coat, I definitely didn't see the potential it had because the glitter looked sparse, the second coat looked almost like this, and I added the third to finish covering a few barer spots.  Gettin' Miss Piggy With It is unequivocally a keeper for me, and it's really an exceptional red for the holidays.

I can chalk up another OPI Muppets success with Gettin' Miss Piggy With It, and that's all there is to tell you this morning.  Until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!

Edited to add a note on removal: I really can't overstate how tough this was to remove.  2.5 days without a chip or bit of wear translates into some tough polish.  Felt and acetone took five minutes per nail for the first three, then I soaked it off for about ten minutes.  However, removed bits of glitter were everywhere and required many hand washes.  Still totally worth it to me, but be prepared.




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

OPI Gettin' Miss Piggy With It

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I've been in the mood for a good red lately, so it seemed like a good day to show you OPI Gettin' Miss Piggy With It from the OPI Muppets.  On the nail, it turned out far better than it sounds: it's a clear base with powdery-fine red glitter and red and silver hex glitter.  The outcome looks like opaque stop sign red glitter nails with white glitter polka dots.

For the manicure, I used base coat, three coats of Gettin' Miss Piggy With It, and a coat of Addicted to Speed just because it was late.  This morning, I felt around the edges of my nails for any pieces of stray hex glitter overhanging an edge, then just filed off the part over the edge and added a coat of Sally Hansen Salon top coat to seal it and smooth out the glitter.  Without the second coat of top coat, it definitely would have been passably smooth and was far better than I'd anticipated, but I really like perfectly smooth.  Once it dried, I took pictures in the sun.

OPI Gettin' Miss Piggy With It Nail Polish, Three Coats

Here's a closer look at the glitter in it.

OPI Gettin' Miss Piggy With It Nail Polish, Close Up of Glitter

There's no way to show you in a still picture just how reflective this glitter is, so I'll tell you.  In low-ish indoor lighting, it completely glows, and I think even in office lighting this one would catch attention from across the room.  It's really stunning, and I'd completely prepared myself for a disappointment since fine glitters often don't build up very well.  With the first coat, I definitely didn't see the potential it had because the glitter looked sparse, the second coat looked almost like this, and I added the third to finish covering a few barer spots.  Gettin' Miss Piggy With It is unequivocally a keeper for me, and it's really an exceptional red for the holidays.

I can chalk up another OPI Muppets success with Gettin' Miss Piggy With It, and that's all there is to tell you this morning.  Until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!

Edited to add a note on removal: I really can't overstate how tough this was to remove.  2.5 days without a chip or bit of wear translates into some tough polish.  Felt and acetone took five minutes per nail for the first three, then I soaked it off for about ten minutes.  However, removed bits of glitter were everywhere and required many hand washes.  Still totally worth it to me, but be prepared.




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

Nubar Beguiling Carmine

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I wanted a traditional shade for something I have going later on today, and I figured it was a good time to show you a shade from Nubar's Polished Chic collection, and I went with Beguiling Carmine.  The premise of Nubar's Polished Chic is that it's modern classic shades, so it seemed like a good fit.

Beguiling Carmine is described by the manufacturer as "a brick red creme," and there's not a heck of a lot to add to that.  The color is a tiny bit muddier than a standard brick red, just enough to update the color but not enough to call it something else.  I used a base, two coats of Beguiling Carmine, and finished it off with a coat of Poshe.  The polish is well pigmented, where at one coat it's clear that two will do the trick, was easy to apply and control, and it has a good shine.  This is Beguiling Carmine after drying, in artificial light.

Nubar Beguiling Carmine Nail Polish, Two Coats

This is a good autumn red - it has enough brown to fit the season but is still distinctly red overall.  I noticed in looking through pictures that my top coat has some bubbles, which is kind of a bummer, but I'm betting that I'll get through the day just the same with or without them and leaving it alone.

That is Beguiling Carmine, my manicure for the day, so until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!



This product was sent by the manufacturer for review.

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

Nubar Beguiling Carmine

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I wanted a traditional shade for something I have going later on today, and I figured it was a good time to show you a shade from Nubar's Polished Chic collection, and I went with Beguiling Carmine.  The premise of Nubar's Polished Chic is that it's modern classic shades, so it seemed like a good fit.

Beguiling Carmine is described by the manufacturer as "a brick red creme," and there's not a heck of a lot to add to that.  The color is a tiny bit muddier than a standard brick red, just enough to update the color but not enough to call it something else.  I used a base, two coats of Beguiling Carmine, and finished it off with a coat of Poshe.  The polish is well pigmented, where at one coat it's clear that two will do the trick, was easy to apply and control, and it has a good shine.  This is Beguiling Carmine after drying, in artificial light.

Nubar Beguiling Carmine Nail Polish, Two Coats

This is a good autumn red - it has enough brown to fit the season but is still distinctly red overall.  I noticed in looking through pictures that my top coat has some bubbles, which is kind of a bummer, but I'm betting that I'll get through the day just the same with or without them and leaving it alone.

That is Beguiling Carmine, my manicure for the day, so until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!



This product was sent by the manufacturer for review.

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