2 L/E Sally Hansen Insta-Dri’s – Teal-y Fast and Bronze Ablaze

I snagged these polishes at my local Walgreen’s for about $5 a bottle.  They are from the Insta-Dri Fall 2011 collection.  Normally I don’t bother with this line because the colors don’t call my name, but these I had to get.

Teal-y Fast (groan, that name) is a richly pigmented teal foil.  This applied like buttah in two coats.  The photo below is in indirect sunlight.  Although there’s a hint of a purple duochrome effect in the bottle, it doesn’t translate to the nail.  I don’t mind though because this color is so scrumptious.

And bright, direct sunlight:

Bronze Ablaze also applied wonderfully with no muss.  It’s a rich metallic bronze, really the quintessential fall shade.  The wrinkling you see on my ring finger is not from Bronze Ablaze, but from my Seche Vite which I slopped on too thickly methinks.

True to their names, these dried in a flash and would be perfect for a quickie manicure when time is short.

~ Allison ~

China Glaze Bogart + Revlon Watermelon Fizz

This manicure began with Bogart, a cool, eggplant foil by China Glaze.

To warm it up I added a layer of Revlon Watermelon Fizz nail polish.  This is a clear reddish orange jelly from the Summer 2011 collection.  It has these really pretty flakey glitter particles that I love.  It also smells delish!  Just like watermelon candy.  Since the Fizz polishes are pretty sheer, I prefer to layer them over other nail lacquers.

~ Allison ~

Wet N Wild Diving for Pearls + Revlon Sweet Nothings + Sally Hansen Snappy Sprinkles

Diving for Pearls is from Wet N Wild’s Summer 2011 Mermaid’s Cove collection.  It’s a pretty teal foil with very fine golden shimmer.  It applied beautifully in 2 coats – well worth the $1.99 price tag!

Then I added a coat of Revlon Sweet Nothing Lilac Lingerie, which adds a lovely iridescent luster.

Oooh.

Just for fun here’s how it looks with Sally Hansen Insta-dri Snappy Sprinkles, a limited edition green and pink holographic bar glitter.  This is such a spring-y polish!

~ Allison ~

Scary Time of Year

Halloween is fast approaching, and that means lot of spooky treasuries are appearing!  I love love love this season.  Here’s a treasury that features my Corpse Bride Barrette Set.

I made these in honor of all things Burtonesque. Cute barrettes made from pearly cadaver-skin blue are perfect for Halloween. I sculpted the bones from polymer clay and painstakingly added tiny black stitches which wrap around. I also brushed on silver and black accents for texture and depth.

And here’s the treasury:

ORLY Velvet Rope + A Green Franken

I discovered that Bed, Bath and Beyond has a big cosmetics section!  Wooo!  I restrained myself and only bought one polish, Orly Velvet Rope. It’s a medium purple shimmer with flecks of silver glitter, giving it a nice sparkle without the all-out glamour of a full glitter polish. To me it looks very regal.

Application was smooth and mess-free.  This is two coats.

And, here is a franken I made that turned out better than I expected.  It’s a combination of Sinful Colors San Francisco (which I reviewed last post), American Apparel Hunter (reviewed here), and Fantasy Makers glitter confetti, a fine holographic glitter.  I named her Emerald Slippers, because the color reminded me of Oz, and this is the color Dorothy’s slippers would be if they were green!  This is two coats.  The glitter made for a slightly gritty surface but one coat of Seche Vite fixed that.

~ Allison ~