Double Ruffian

Hey guys! As you probably know, the school year just started up last month, and I have been swamped. I’ve always heard that senior year was the busiest one, but I never imaged just how much work my senior project would be. I’ve barely had time to do my nails at all these past few weeks, and I confess, I’ve worn some of my manis much longer than I normally would, to the point where they’re so chipped up that I can’t stand it anymore. But anyway, I know that no one comes here to hear me gripe about my personal life, so onto the nails! This is just a simple mani today, and all with polishes that I’ve used before:

From cuticles to tips, I used Essie Penny Talk, Sally Hansen Lava, and Love & Beauty Fire & Ice.

I was originally going to just do a ruffian with Penny Talk and Fire & Ice, but then I saw Lava sitting in my drawer, so I ended up doing a double ruffian ombre type nail. I’m not sure how I feel about all the layers, but I do love the colors next to each other. What do you guys think? And I’ve been seeing tons of people convert to pointer almond shaped nails lately. I’ve always been a rounded tip gal for as long as I can remember, but I’ve been thinking about trying out the pointier trend. Any tips on converting from those of you that have taken the plunge?

Blind Mani: Rainbow Stripes

Hey guys! So if you remember, I recently received a huge haul containing all 32 colors of Sinful Shine polish. So for my very first mani using them, I wanted to create a look that could incorporate as many different colors as possible! The color might look a little off in some of the photos. I’m working with a new lighting situation at my new apartment and I forgot to switch my camera to the right setting. So I tried to get the polish colors as close as possible when I was editing the photos, which made the backgrounds not all white. Anyway, you ready for this? From left to right:

Devious, Picante, Mardi Gras

 

Come Hither, Your’s Truly, Sailor’s Delight

Nouveau Purple, Pragmatic, Spitfire

Most Sinful, Break Away, Skinny Dipping

My Kryptonite, In The Limelight, Rendezvous

First I layered all the colors on my nails. I was tempted to just stop here for the rainbow ombre effect.

But then, finally, I added some striping tape and topped it all off with Dark Room to get…

       

…this! All in all I ended up using 16 polishes– only half of the entire haul. And as I mentioned in my initial Sinful Shine review, these polishes are a little bit thicker than the normal Sinful Colors line. For that reason, they probably weren’t the best candidate for a striping tape mani– as you can see, some of the lines aren’t perfect because of the thickness of the polish as I pulling the tape off. But I’m pretty pleased with how it came out nonetheless.

What do you guys think? And what’s your favorite Sinful Shine color, if you have one?

And by the way, notice anything different about my watermark? I’ll give you a hint, the url is now 10 characters shorter. Yep, I finally took the plunge and bought my domain name!

Disclaimer: I received all above products complimentary.

Simply Sweet Purple Ombre Review and Swatches

Hey guys! This was kind of an impulse buy for me. After doing my Twilight Sparkle nails, I was a bit upset to realize that despite owning 9 bottles of purple nail polish, I didn’t have a single one that was an exact match for Twilight’s body color.

 

The individual polishes don’t have names, that I know of anyway, so I’ll be referring to them by the numbers below. Four of this set have “normal” creme finishes, but #4 has a shimmery-foil-matte finish.

#4 was opaque with just one coat, while the rest took 2-3 thin layers each. I accidentally switched the order of #2 and 3 on my nails. I’m not sure if they were packaged in the wrong order or something, but as you can see, #3 is lighter than #2. The dry times on these are pretty comparable to other polishes with their respective finishes. Nothing unusual with the smell or wear time either.

The price comes down to just less than $1 per bottle, which makes this a super easy and affordable set if you’re looking to do an ombre effect. However, I wish there was a better distribution of colors here. #2 and #3 are pretty close in color, while #1 is significantly paler and #5 is much darker. I like how #4 has a different finish than the rest, which could make for some interesting designs, but I don’t think it works as well in the “a shade for every finger” format that the package suggests. I can’t wait to try a sponge gradient with these though!

Plus, if I ever do Twilight Sparkle nails again, #3 looks like an almost perfect match for her body, while #2 could be her outline color.

I saw this set in pink as well, but didn’t buy that one. Anyone have this in other colors? I’ve love to get this in a teal or coral set if those exist!