OPI: Glow Up Already!

Glow up Already! is part of the OPI Burlesque collection for Winter 2010. It is a multi coloured glitter. In some lights it looks a greeny gold and in others a silver. It also has a pink, purple and blue sparkle as it moves in the light.

It was very thick to apply but did give good coverage.

China Glaze: Tinsel and Party Hearty

This is 'Tinsel' by China Glaze. I am not sure how many coats I went with in the end as I lost count. I found it took a few to cover and then a few more to even it out. It was very sheer. I think another time I might use silver under it so I don't need as many coats. It is very pretty and sparkly.

I used China Glaze 'Tinsel' as a base and then painted two coats of China Glaze 'Party Hearty' over the top. I love the effect! As usual it is better in real life. It is very Christmassy.

China Glaze: Emerald Sparkle

I love 'Emerald Sparkle' by China Glaze. It is my favourite green, so far and perfect for this time of year. I am posting two photos to try and show how pretty it is. It is a dark green with lighter green sparkle.

Nubar: Sapphire and Tiara

I painted one coat of Nubar 'Tiara' over the 'Sapphire' thinking it would make them sparkly. I am disappointed with the effect as it muted the blue and only has a slight sparkle under certain light. I would have been better using one of the other glitter top coats, I live and learn. LOL

Nubar: Sapphire

Nubar Sapphire is a wonderful blue with paler blue shimmer flecks.

I used some snowflake stickers from Nailtopia on my ring finger nails. These are white but with a shimmer that doesn't show up in the photo.


This is a quick nail art and I think very pretty.

Nubar: Chocolate Coffee Bean and 24K

'Chocolate Coffee Bean' by Nubar is very dark brown with purple flecks. The purple flecks only show up in strong light but do add to the look. The polish looks almost black unless seen in bright light.

I decided to have another go at some nail art. The above photo shows both 'Chocolate Coffee Bean' and '24K' by Nubar. The line looks straighter/smoother in real life, thank goodness. I love '24K' it is a lovely gold shade.

Nubar: Prize

I have been poorly and haven't felt well enough to paint my nails until now.

Nubar 'Prize' is a red-pink holographic. It looks similar to China Glaze 'Tickle my Triangle' in the bottle but is different on the nail. 'Prize' is very sparkly and when the nail is moved in the light it looks like twinkling fairy lights. It is gorgeous!

Nubar: Arencia

This is 'Arencia' by Nubar. It is from the 'Venetian Glass' collection. I love the colour; it is a really rich orangey-bronze with shimmer. It gave great coverage; I only used two coats instead of my usual three.

Sorry for the photos, I struggled to get decent ones. It has been dark and rainy all day so I had to take them from inside and I haven't mastered flash photography yet. :(

I decided to try stamping again, this time using a Bundle Monster plate (BM13). I only did my ring finger nails as I thought it would be a bit much on all nails. I used the spider web with black special Konad polish. Then I added one clear gem. I am really happy the way this turned out. As usual it does look better in real life.

Nubar: Hot Orange and Noir Water Marble

I had a bad nail day yesterday. I had just removed my polish and was about to do a patch on a split. Then I moved something and it caught my nail and ripped it off shorter than a nail should be. OUCH! I ended up taking all my nails down so they are all short now (not as short as the naughty one :) ) It has been awhile since my nails have been this short and it does feel strange, especially when I am typing. It doesn't help that my finger is still sore.

I still decided to have a go at my first water marbling.

I painted my nails with 'Hot Orange' from the Nubar 'Get Hot' collection and then used that and 'Noir' from Nubar's 'Black Tie Affair' collection for the water marbling. I had trouble getting the polishes to behave when I was dragging them with an orange stick to make the pattern. I definitely need practice. Overall I am happy with my first attempt.

Guest Nails: Creative: Moonlight and Roses and Barry M: Instant Nail Effects

My mother decided to jazz up her usual choice of pastel polish with Barry M Instant Nail Effects. The base colour is Moonlight and Roses from Creative. Doesn't it look good?

CND - Colour: Copper Chrome - Effect: Jade Sparkle and Amethyst Sparkle

This is CND Copper Chrome with one coat each of Jade Sparkle and Amethyst Sparkle. I have to say I am disappointed with this one as the effects are so subtle they don't show. The Copper Chrome was also very thick and not easy to paint with. It did give good coverage in one coat but I would have preferred it to be thinner and have done more coats.

It has been a longer break than normal before posts as I have been poorly and haven't felt up to painting my nails.

Nubar: Cupcake Magenta

This is three coats of Cupcake Magenta by Nubar. Another Nubar that was great to use. It is a very bright pink.

Being artistically challenged I haven't attempted much nail art but they say practice makes perfect so I decided to start having a go more often. This is my first attempt with a dotting tool. Okay, I got a bit carried away but I was having fun. :) I only did my ring fingers on both hands as I decided I was dotty enough. :)

Nubar: Emerald

October is Depression Awareness month and their colour is green so I chose to wear Emerald from Nubar's Royal Gems collection to show my support for the cause. This is a deep green with shimmer.

It covered well in two coats although I used three thin coats as is my preference.

Note to self: when painting my nails don't listen to a funny book as I will end up painting my fingers when I start laughing! Yes, I cleaned up before taking the above photo. :)

Nubar: Midnight Matte

Midnight Matte by Nubar is a dark grey with hints of silver, very pretty. It gave good coverage in two coats although I added a third coat. It did look good matte and I was tempted to leave it without a top coat, but in the end decided to go glossy so added one coat of Seche Vite.

Nubar is my favourite nail polish now. I love the colour selection and the way it applies. Also I love that it is 3-free, cruelty-free and vegan. What more does a polish addict need? I will still be using nail polish from other companies but Nubar will be the predominate brand. When I get time I want to go through my polish collection and get rid of some that I don't plan to wear anymore.

BK Cracking: Blue

I painted the BK Cracking blue polish over an off white. I was in a rush when I applied it and wasn't as careful with the top coat as normal. Being the first time I used this I hadn't realised that where you miss top coat the polish comes off. I didn't take a photo straight away and so it isn't looking the best, at least I know for the future.

Also the next time I use it I will use a whiter white for the base colour to make the cracks show up more.

I love the look and will definitely be using this again soon and hopefully neater.

Nubar: Contempo and Tiara

Contempo is from Nubar's Modern Matte Collection. It gave good coverage and dried quickly. I applied two coats and a top coat of Seche Vite.

In some light it looks bright red and in others maroon or even a pinky red. The above photo was taken outside on a cloudy day.

So far I have been very impressed with Nubar polishes the only one I have had trouble painting with is Hot Yellow from the Get Hot collection, which went on streaky. I will try it again another day to see if I was just having an off day.

The photo above shows the tips painted with Nubar Tiara. It does look better in real life; I couldn't get a decent photo.

I love the look of Tiara and next time will try it all over the nail. It is a fine multi coloured glitter top coat.

Nubar: Treasure

Treasure is from the Nubar Prisms collection. It went on well but took four (thin) coats until there was no visible nail line. I can't remember ever needing that many coats before but at least it painted easily, no dragging or brush marks etc.

It isn't as holographic as I thought it would be, but it is still very pretty and I am happy with the look.

I used Seche Vite Dry Fast top coat for the first time and loved it. It lived up to everything I have read about it.

I decided to have another go at Konad. This is plate number M72 and I think Violet Pearl. I say think as I can't find names on any of the Konad special polishes that I have, it is definitely violet though.

I only did the ring finger on both hands. I thought it hadn't worked as I couldn't see the design but I put top coat over it anyway and it made the design show up. I don't know if this is normal.

Nubar: Night Sky Collection

This is the three polishes in the Nubar Night Sky collection with the Diamont top coat.

I started by painting my nails with two coats of Sunset and then sponged on Twilight and lastly sponged Midnight on my tips. There is a very subtle shimmer in all of the polishes which looks lovely.

As usual it looks better in real life than in the photo.

Nubar: Get Hot Collection

This is seven of the eight polishes in the Nubar Get Hot collection. The missing one is Hot Orange, the photo didn't come out right.

I thought it would be a good idea to wear the set in one go, think I must have been hormonal! I didn't bother to clean the nails as I don't plan on keeping it on for long. Although they don't look as bad in real life as they do in the photo.

I was surprised by some of the colours as Hot Red (shown on my thumb) is actually orange, just darker than Hot Orange and the blue is darker than I thought it was going to be. On the packaging it shows it as a baby blue, which I would have preferred.

Nubar: Oro and Konad: Special Black with S4 plate

This is my first attempt at using Konad and I am pleased with the result. I used the Konad special black polish with plate S4. It is over Nubar Oro which was really ready to come off but I kept it on as a practice base.

Nubar: Oro

Oro is from the Nubar Venetian Glass collection. It is a yellowy/orangey gold with shimmery flecks.

I used three coats. It was a lovely consistency and I found it easy to paint with. The colour makes my nails look longer.

I was going to Konad over but I couldn't get it to work. The paint wouldn't go onto the stamper from the plate. It was late so decided to wait until another day to try and figure out what is wrong. If you have any tips please let me know. Thanks.

China Glaze: Liquid Leather and Nubar: 2010

I used three coats of Liquid Leather and two coats of 2010. The photo was taken before I cleaned up, but the photos I took after don't show the colours as well so decided to go with this one.

The top coat is CND Super Shiney, it took quite awhile to dry.

Sinful - Torment

This is the second Sinful polish I have used, the colour is a cerise pink, slightly darker than it looks in the photo. It is a glitter polish.

It wasn't as easy to paint with as other polishes but I do like the look. I ended up using four thin coats, although I could probably have got away with three. At first it looked too sheer to give full coverage but by the third coat it was fine.

Edited to add:

The polish lasted really well, in fact after a week it was still perfect which for me is excellent as I tend to be hard on my nails. I only removed it because I wanted to try a different polish colour. It did take 50 minutes to remove, the longest I have ever taken to remove nail polish.

This is the UK range of 'Sinful' and not the US range 'Sinful Colors'.

I will be getting more of the UK 'Sinful' as I love the colours and the way it lasts on the nails. This one was a definite girly pink and I haven't come across this shade of glitter before, very pretty.

Toma Mood Changing - Glitter Plum to Baby Blue and Sinful - Cosmic

My Toma nail polish is very old and so wasn't the easiest to paint with.

I used three coats of the mood changing polish and then two coats of Sinful Cosmic over the top. It did take an age to dry as it was so thick but I am delighted with the result.

It is the first time I have used Sinful polish and I love Cosmic, which is a silver with multi colour glitter. When the nail moves in the light it twinkles. It is sheer enough so that the base colour shows through well.

The Toma mood changing polish changes from purple when cold to blue (although I would say more of a denim than baby blue) when warm, so a great effect with the Cosmic glitter over the top.

If you love glitter polish and haven't tried Sinful Cosmic I highly recommend it. The photo really doesn't do it justice.

CND - Colour: Oilslick - Effect: Sapphire Sparkle

Used two coats of Oilslick colour and two coats of Sapphire Sparkle effect.

In different lights it looks either dark blue, purple, green or turquoise.

Sparkly.

China Glaze - Kaleidoscope Him Out

Collection: Kaleidoscope


I used three thin coats, it went on really well. It is a beautiful light blue colour with holographic effect.
Very pretty.

A new start

I am a nail polish addict and I decided to keep a blog showing my collection as I get new polishes and re-visit old ones. I hope you enjoy seeing them.