Orly FX - Black Pixel - Swatch and Review

When I found the China Glaze Texture polishes I showed you yesterday I also spied Orly's FX texture collection.  I had no idea they were coming out with a texture line...I haven't seen anything about it in the blogosphere...have you?

Anywho, I was intrigued to see how Orly's textures compare to China Glaze.

Black Pixel is a black texture polish with micro silver glitter mixed in for added sparkle.

This is 2 coats of Black Pixel.  I found this polish to be a little more on the runny side than the China Glaze Textures, but still manageable.  The texture is pretty fine and not "sharp."  The only issue I had with application/clean up is that if you need to clean up your lines it doesn't want to come off.  It doesn't necessarily stain your skin, rather it turns "gooey" and just sticks there...along with little gritty pieces.  Not bad just weird.  Those little gritty pieces stick in your cuticles and don't want to budge.  I will say that this polish is very prone to chipping.  In less than 12 hours my corners were already worn/chipped.  Removal for all the texture polishes I have tried are on par to removing glitter...I might recommend using a soak off method so you don't have as much left over grit to contend with.

Overall I like this one.  I kinda reminds me of skateboard deck tape...ha!  The rest of the collection is really nice.  I need to go back and get the sandy/champagne color for some future beach nail art mani's.  Orly is available at Sally's for about $9.

Hope you are having a great weekend!!



China Glaze Textures - Swatch and Review Bump & Grind and In the Rough

This is going to be a long and picture heavy post....FYI

I only bought 2 polishes from this collection...mainly because I'm not completely sold on the texture trend. 

First up is Bump & Grind - a semi matte fuchsia/rose texture polish.

This is 2 coats of Bump & Grind.  This was the first time I'd used a texture polish and I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to apply and control.  It went on very even and dried pretty quick - it is kind of hard to tell when it is "dry."  I was concerned about the wearing power since I didn't use a top coat, but after moving boxes and digging in files at work all day I had no chips! Surprisingly durable.

In the Rough is a light green semi matte texture polish that leans more towards yellow (not neon or lime green). 



This is 2 coats of In the Rough.  It was just as easy to work with as Bump & Grind.  I felt like this one took a little longer to dry, but I can't say for sure.  The close up on the left shows the texture (it looks slime lime green in that pic, but it's really not!) The close up of my thumb shows it with a thin coat of IMN Northern Lights on top.  I wanted to see if a thin coat would take away the texture - it did a little, but not enough to really notice.  I like the added sparkle!

Both polishes are great!  If you are lovin' this texture rage then definitely grab a couple of these.  They aren't completely matte.  If you look you can see gloss, but since there is so much texture it makes it look semi matte.  The texture isn't "sharp" but will catch in your hair or attract rouge cat hairs.  Removal is on par with a heavy glitter polish.  I might recommend using the soak off method - it also keeps down the amount of leftover grit.  This line launches in Sally's stores in May and retail for about $7 (I got lucky and found a store that had already put them out).  I also found the new Orly FX line of textured polishes....which I will show you one tomorrow!

Are you liking the textured polish craze?



Paint it Purple for Boston

As I mentioned in my last post - there was a post going around Instagram to paint your nails purple (on Tuesday) in honor of the victims and all around horribleness of the Boston Marathon bombing.  I intended to post this yesterday, but I got too busy.  If you follow me on Instagram you have already seen this.



I used 2 coats of Color Club's Eternal Beauty and stamped with Konad White using BM-321.  Eternal Beauty must have a really strong pigment because it turned the Konad white light purple after about 5 min. The B (my best try at the Boston Red Sox logo) was done with white acrylic paint as well as the big ribbon....is also turned light purple!  I accented everything with a sliver glitter striper paint.

I am still in awe that something like this could happen at such a non-political event.  It hurts my heart to know that so many where injured and the life of a young boy was lost for no good reason.  It will never make sense to me...ever...why people do this kind of thing.  Please continue to pray for the city of Boston and the people and families effected. 

Also, you might have heard, there was a massive explosion in West, Texas yesterday evening.  It devastated the entire city and caused an earthquake felt up to 50 miles away. I live in Houston, southwest Texas, and as a Texan everyone is family.  This catastrophe, in the wake of Boston, is just too much.  Prayers and positive thoughts to my fellow Texans today as well.

Blue Holo Gradient

This will be my 3rd mani for Autism Awareness month!

For this mani I used China Glaze Hanging in the Balance and Color Club Over the Moon.

I painted one coat of Hanging in the Balance and then used the sponge gradient technique and sponged on a couple coats of Hanging in the Balance and Over the Moon.  I was surprised at how well they blended.  Unfortunately, I was not able to capture the holo goodness that is Over the Moon, but in real life the subtle depth is very elegant.

On a sad note...the Boston Marathon bombings are weighing heavy on our nation and our hearts.  My husband is a runner (sometimes I am too) and we have both participated in the Houston Marathon in the past.  I can only imagine what the people of Boston are going through.  My prayers and thoughts are going out to all effected either physically or emotionally.  Yesterday (late) I saw notices on Instagram to paint your nails purple for Boston today (4/16), but it was too late to do so.  So I will paint it purple tonight and share tomorrow. 

Please continue to pray for our nation.

Spring Flig Challenge - Day 2 In Bloom

Ok....so I missed Day 1 - Indie Skittle mainly because I honestly don't have enough Indies to do a skittle mani and I flat ran out of time.  I know...I know...how is that possible, but really I don't.  I plan on fixing that in the near future...promise.

So on to Day 2 - In Bloom

These aren't super impressive (again time is really not on my side this week), but I think they came out ok.  I used China Glaze Budding Romance as the base.  Budding Romance is a moss green squishy crelly polish (part jelly/ part creme).  It took 3 coats to get a good opacity.  I decided to do the "blooms" as a pseudo french tip with yellow and white acrylic paint accented with some white swirls and leaves.  I really like the idea of this mani, just not happy with my execution...I will give it another go in the future.

Today, Day 3, is Patterns of Fashion.  I will do my best to get caught up and post later today.  Until then I will leave you with a Louis Vutton mani I did a little while ago, pre-blog, when I only posted to Instagram (explains the weird yellowish filter..ha!)

pardon the bad photo quality and lighting...it was a while ago

Big thank you to Elena from Ecklipsed by Color and Kelly from Tuxarina for putting on this challenge!! Please go check them and the other participants out.

Coral Gradient

(source unknown)

Today's Coral Gradient mani was inspired by the awesome pic above (sourse unknown sorry)...mainly the colors on the surfboard.  I've never been a huge pink polish person, but lately I've been really diggin' the way corals look on my hands...makes me look tan..ha!

I really wish the true vividness of this showed up, but my camera just wouldn't have it.  In the pictures it looks like a nice petal pink but in real life its a neon coral gradient...and I mean NEON (much more orangey than showing here).  It's bright and happy and I love it. 

I used Sally Hansen White On, China Glaze Flip-Flop Fantasy, and Sinful Colors Tambleberry

What do ya think?

Sunset Palms Gradient

As I mentioned in my last post, the hubs and I took a mini vacation down to the beach over the weekend and I had to do a beach themed mani to match.

So today, a few days late, I wanted to show you what it looked like.

Love this mani!! Next time I will do my best to remember to make the design face away from me....geez I'm bad at that.  I had every intention of doing that until I started sponging the wrong way.  I also wish I had used black acrylic paint instead of polish.  It was drying to fast and getting sticky...much harder to get fine detail with sticky dragging polish.  Despite all the mishaps it turned out great. 

The base of this Sunset sponge gradient is Sally Hansen Blue-Away, Revlon Enchanted, China Glaze Flip-Flop Fantasy, Sally Hansen Lightning and INM Northern Lights.  The palm trees were done with Wet 'n Wild Black Creme and a striping brush.

Today is the start of Tuxarina's Spring Fling Nail Art Challenge, which I am participating in, but I am already a bit behind...ha!  Vacations have a way of doing that to people.  Today's challenge is Indie Skittle...which will be difficult because I don't have enough Indie polishes for a skittles mani.  I'll see what I can do...be back later.



Blue Nails for Autism - OPI Swimsuit...Nailed it

Quick post today of my second Blue Nails for Autism mani

For this mani I used OPI-Swimsuit...Nailed It and stamped with Sally Hansen Silver Sweep and BM-314.  I love this blue! It is my ultimate TARDIS blue (big geek) polish.  I used 2 coats of Swimsuit...Nailed It even though 1 thick coat is probably enough.  It is a perfect metallic blue foil that dries pretty quick.  I topped everything off with a coat of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri top coat.

The Hubs and I are running away to the beach this weekend so I probably wont be back til Monday!  Have an awesome weekend.



Light it up Blue! Autism Awareness Month

(Sorry I don't know the creator of the above image - it's floating around the nail community on Instagram)

April is Autism awareness month and the nail community is "Lighting it up Blue" to raise awareness and support for those who have or love someone with Autism.  All month long you are encouraged to paint and post your blue mani's on Instagram using the tag

#bluenailsforautism or #Lightitupbluenails

Here is my first blue mani of the month.  Since many Autism groups use puzzle pieces as their logo/theme so I decided to replicate it as an accent nail using BM-319.  I filled in the puzzle pieces to match using Sally Hansen Rapid Red, Lightning, Blue Away and Pacific Blue.

The gradient was made with Kleancolor Metallic Blue, Sally Hansen Pacific Blue and Breeze Blue and IMN Northern Lights.

I am pretty happy with this mani.  The perfectionist in me wants the puzzle pieces to be neater, but I think it came out pretty good. 

More and more kids and adults are being diagnosed with different forms of Autism every day.  It may seem silly to paint your nails to show support or raise awareness, but every little thing helps...even if it's just to say you are loved and charished no matter what.  Let's do our part to find the missing piece to the puzzle.