Untried Polish Challenge: Neutral

Remember way back when I showed you this polish fail and y'all made it my most viewed post ever with almost 800 views (that's alot for me, don't laugh). Well saddle up, because we are going to try for a new high because I have an even bigger polish fail for you today. And this time, I even finished it and documented it with pictures for you.

So day four of the Untried Polish Challenge brings us to Neutral. I wanted to try a new (to me) technique for today as well so I choose Needle Drag or as some call it Dry Marbling.

I choose 3 untrieds for today, three neutrals that I bought and then didn't use. The colors are Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Pumice and Without a Stitch. I also used Essie Mochachino. Things went horribly wrong.


It looks like a baby puked on my nails. Ick! I'm not sure if it was the color combonation that made it horrible or the design I picked but my-lan-ta it's horrible.


Just look at how gross it is. Suffice it to say, this manicure lasted no longer than 30 seconds after the last picture was taken. No way in H-E-double hockey sticks it was making it out the door. I did do a little skittle swatching for you, so you could see the three colors on their own. 


Individually I really like the colors. Mochachino (pointer) is a medium grey brown polish with a lovely shimmer in it. Without a Stitch (middle) is a beautifully nude polish that leans a little yellow on me. Pumice (ring) is a greenish grey that is very reminiscent of a pumice stone, hence the name. It's funny how three pretty colors when combined are horrible. 

So, what do you think of my huge fail? Is there a way I could have saved it?

Enjoy & until next time, Amy Lee

Manicure in a Rush: Polish Strips

Sometimes you need to do a manicure that is fun but takes no time. Such was my life over the weekend. Part of my job is planning a spring festival and it was this last Saturday. I needed something that would hold up through everything that I could throw at it and I wanted it fast. 

I've had these Sally Hansen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips in my melmer forever. I picked them up on sale at Target quite some time ago, thinking someday I will try them. Someday is here. 


Application of these strips was easy and pretty straight forward. They give you 8 different sizes x 2, so 16 strips total. I figured out very quickly that I could get 2 nails out of each polish strip, so over all I'll get two manicures out of the one box, which makes it really nice in my opinion. If you have longer nails, that may not work as well for you. 


Removal of these were easy. They took some time, but removed easily and very cleanly with regular nail polish remover and cotton balls. I don't know that I will buy these all the time, but for a quick easy manicure they are a good thing to have around. 

Funnily enough, I've got a reputation for painting crazy things on my fingers, so when people found out these were strips they were disappointed I didn't do them myself. :-) 

Have you tried the polish strips? What did you think?

Enjoy & until next time, Amy Lee

*all products featured in this post were purchased by me

Untried Polish Challenge: Three Colors

Day three of the Untried brings us to three colors. Today I also have another untried polish technique to show you. Granted this technique has been around for quite some time, but it is the first time I've ever given it a try.

So after watching about 100 Youtube videos, I give you my first ever (EVAH!) water marble.


Let me tell you, water marbling makes a hell of a mess. I taped off my fingers and did all the little tricks that they said you should do, and polish was everywhere. What a clean up job this was.

The three colors that I used for this manicure are Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Lavender Cloud, Essie Lights (pink), and Maybelline Color Show Onyx Rush. I started with a base of Lavender Cloud a white polish with subtle lavender purple leanings.


This polish was a bit gloopy in application (gloopy is totally a word and I know you know what I mean) and left some patches. I think next time, using very thin coats, I could avoid this problem. However, since I knew I would be covering this up with my water marble I wasn't to overly concerned with my how my base looked. 

Next I dropped alternating colors black, pink, lavender into my water, swirled them together and....


this was my end result. I really enjoyed this color combo, I feel like the light and dark of Lavender Cloud and Onyx Rush really stand out against the bright pink of Lights. My personal favorite design happened on the thumb. 


Which design is your favorite? Do you like to water marble? I'd love to hear what you have to say. 


Don't forget to go see what the other ladies participating came up with for today. You can find them here:
Jonochi of  Just Add Polish
Masha of Lost in Lacquer
Raine of Lacquer Lily
Sam of Polished Art
LizJane of Organic Neglect
Kristina of Lacuqer Fetish

Enjoy & until next time, Amy Lee

*all polishes featured in this post were purchased by me



Animal Print & Floral

Sometimes I get these crazy ideas and then things happen way to late at night. I've got 3 major things happening on 3 of the post dates for the Untried Polish Challenge. So I was all "I'm going to be productive and get a few posts done early." I did that and then suddenly, it was 11:00pm and I had nothing to post for today. AUGH!! And I had used up all my inspiration. So I was just going to paint my nails a plain color and call it. Just a swatch day. But then I remembered this video and I was all "how hard can it be?" 

MISTAKE!!! It really isn't that hard, just time consuming. Luckily, I finished it up and got these pretty pictures for you before passing out. 


Unlike in the video, I chose to do roses just on my ring and thumb as accents. This was my first time doing the roses, and I like the colors, but I should have picked colors that contrast more. They're hard to see in the photos, but the detailing looks nice in real life. 


Color break down is as follows. I think this design takes the most polishes used award, so far. 
Base - OPI Glints of Glinda
Tips - OPI Glitzerland
Leopard Spots - China Glaze Kalahari Kiss (light) & China Glaze Mahogany Magic (dark)
Leaves - China Glaze Gaga for Green & Maybelline Color Show Tenacious Teal
Roses - Butter London Snog (Pink) &  Butter London Pillar Box Red

What do you think of this design? To much or just right?

Enjoy & until next time, Amy Lee

Untried Polish Challenge: Two Colors

Today is day 2 of the Untried Polish Challenge. Today not only will I show you two colors that I've never used before but you'll also see a brand new technique, at least I've never tried it before.

For day two, I've chosen to use China Glaze's Ride the Waves and OPI's Gone Gonzo. Ride the Waves is a neon jelly from the summer 2012 collection. Gone Gonzo is a glitter topper from the Muppets Collection.


Being a jelly polish Ride the Waves goes on super sheer, but then again it's supposed too. Here you can see it after two coats.


Then I topped it with a coat of Gone Gonzo. This glitter topper applies wonderfully. One swipe and you get a great glitter payoff. 



The blue glitter in this polish blends in with Ride the Waves but the big silver hex glitters really pop.


You can kind of see them better in this picture. After giving Gone Gonzo a bit to dry, I then went back in with Ride the Waves and topped it all again with one more sheer coat.


And there you have it. Jelly Sandwich! I've never tried this technique before so it seemed only natural that I would give it a go for the Untried Polish Challenge. 


The glitters really glow under the final layer of polish. I really enjoyed the way this turned out. I see many more jelly sandwiches in my future.

What do you think? Have you tried Jelly Sandwiches?

Don't forget to check back in for the next installment of the Untried Polish Challenge. And don't forget to go see what the other ladies came up with. You can visit them here:

Jonochi of  Just Add Polish
Masha of Lost in Lacquer
Raine of Lacquer Lily
Sam of Polished Art
LizJane of Organic Neglect
Kristina of Lacuqer Fetish


Enjoy & Until next time, Amy Lee

*all polishes in this post were purchased by me

A England Tristam

Today I just have a polish swatch to show you. I know, I know....GASP, Amy left a polish alone. Well darn it, sometimes there is a polish that is just to pretty to mess with. A England Tristam is one of those polishes.


Tristam is from The Mythicals collection and is described as a "night blue sky with starlight glimmer and glow." This description is spot on. The polish does seem to glow from within. As with all A England polishes, the formula is excellent. The color is so dark that I could have gotten away with one coat, but I did a second because I'm paranoid. The dark color of this polish makes it hard to capture, but hopefully you get a sense of the pretty that this polish contains.


Like I said, some polishes you just have to leave alone. Tomorrow is day 2 of the Untried Polish Challenge, so be sure to come back and see which two polishes I went with. 

Enjoy & until next time, Amy Lee

*all polishes featured in this post were purchased by me

My Picks: OPI Bond Girls Collection

OH HOLY CRAP PEOPLE! I've been obsessing over this collection since they announced it a few months ago. I may have been that annoying girl calling Ulta asking if they were in yet. And finally...finally I got my greedy little hands on the four colors I wanted. Also, this means that I am now officially on the textured polish bandwagon. So yeah, that happened. Anyways, lets take a look at these pretties.


I picked up four of the six colors available. I've got Jinx, Pussy Galore, Tiffany Case, and Honey Ryder to show you today. Solitare (white with pink shimmer) and Vespa (dark purple) just really didn't do it for me, so I choose to leave them behind at the store. I'm sure someone else will give them a good home.

Lets talk formula first. Overall, these polishes were great. They apply easily, dry fairly quick, and don't disappoint. I know the directions say don't apply with a base coat, but I always use my Orly Rubberized Bonder under these and never have any problems.

Up first we have Pussy Galore. Bravo to OPI for naming a polish after the most controversial Bond Girl, namewise, out there. And let's face it, his girlfriends have had some jacked up names over the years (I'm looking at you Dr. Holly Goodhead).


I kinda wish I had waited a while longer to take this photo, because the ring finger doesn't look totally dry in this picture. Pussy Galore is a soft baby pink and while it isn't my favorite of the collection, it goes well with my skin tone. It's the softest of the four shades I picked and in my book, it's a winner.


Next up is Honey Ryder. Side story: I totally swatched these while watching Dr. No. Yes it was on purpose. I had to get in the mood right? Anywho... Honey Ryder is like the textured version of OPI Glitzerland. I didn't pull out my bottle to check, but I feel like they would be a perfect match. This is a warm shade of gold and I also love this softer shade from the collection.


Next up we have Jinx. I know this polish is everyone else's favorite of the collection, but for me it's in second place. It's a close second, but my heart is elsewhere. I love the shade here. It's leans red-orange-coral with gorgeous gold shimmer. It's classy but with spice.


And finally we have my favorite of the collection. This is Tiffany Case and boy do I love it. Never before have I been swatching polishes and been stopped in my tracks by the pretties. I ended up wearing this almost 2 full days before finally taking it off and swatching the others for you. This polish still has the fine glitter but unlike the others it also has some larger hex glitters in there and they give it some extra shine. 

I highly recommending buying at least Tiffany Case and Jinx from this collection, but I love them all. I'm so happy with my selections. And I have some nail art ideas involving these, I just don't know if it's possible. I see some experimenting in my future. 

Did you bring any Bond Girls home? I'd love to hear your thoughts. 

Enjoy & until next time, Amy Lee

*all polishes featured in this post were purchased by me

Untried Polish Challenge

Hi there Polished Peeps!

I hope everyone is having a great weekend so far. Usually I only post on the weekdays, but recently I agreed to participate in a polish challenge. Eek I know!

Jonochi over at Just Add Polish came up with the idea to do an Untried Polish Challenge. The challenge calls for at least 19 untried polishes, and I have at least that many. Today is the first day in the challenge and then every third day from here on out. Below you can see the Challenge Schedule. 

I'm defining untried as hasn't been featured on the blog. Granted most of them will still be "untried" in the truest sense of the word as well. As an added challenge to myself, I also want to try new techniques as well, so look for those within the challenge as well. 

So for today, we have the One Color post. I decided to go with a pretty purple I've had sitting untouched for to long. I give you Anemone of Mine.


This is a dark purple with red leanings. Kind of a beet type color. Anemone of Mine is by Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure. I really do love this brand. For drugstore polish, I've never had a single issue with any of the ones I own, and boy do I own a lot of them. 


This was two easy coats and perfection. It wears great. Be sure to go see what the other ladies posted for the challenge. You can visit them here:
Jonochi of  Just Add Polish
Masha of Lost in Lacquer
Raine of Lacquer Lily
Sam of Polished Art
LizJane of Organic Neglect

Enjoy & until next time, Amy Lee

*all polishes featured in this post were purchased by me

Paint Drips with the Avant Garden Collection

Lately I have been painting. And not painting my nails painting (well I've been doing that too), I'm talking painting rooms in my house. I've screwed up my neck painting ceilings, thrown my back out crawling along the floor painting trim, and tomorrow I'm going to spend the day painting my front door. So I've been dreaming of paint and dreading paint. So I decided to try out the paint drip design. 

I decided to pull out all my selections from the China Glaze Avant Garden collection to execute this design. I've shown you Fancy Pants and Snap My Dragon, so I decided to swatch the remaining colors I had for you, before getting to the design. *WARNING* This is going to be a picture heavy post. 


Up first we have Keep Calm, Paint On. This polish for me is the perfect in-between of China Glaze For Audrey and Re-Fresh Mint. KCPO has a pretty subtle shimmer and it applies easily. I've done two regular coats here. 


Next up we have Tart-y for the Party. What a fun bright pastel purple this is. Does that even makes sense? It does in my brain. I love this color. So pretty. It applies easily and I've shown two normal coats here. 


For thirdseys, we have Mimosas before Manis. Based on this name, uh...yes please. In fact, can we all meet up for Mimosas. Like now. How about tomorrow? Anyways, onto the polish, this color was hard to photograph, but I love it. It's this pretty corally orange shimmer polish. Oh so pretty. It applies easily and again you see two normal coats. 


Now we have Fade into Hue. I'm not quite sure how to describe this one. It's kind of a denim pale blue with some purple thrown in. Also, with the subtle shimmer, it makes for a fun polish. I have nothing like this in my collection and I'm so happy I decided to get it. This polish also applies easily and two normal coats are shown.


Finally, I have Dandy Lyin' Around. Now I have heard some people say they hate this polish, it's goopy, doesn't apply well, this WAS NOT my experience. It does go on a little sheer, so it took three easy coats. This polish for me was like every China Glaze I own (except you Lemon Fizz, hate you) and I had no issues. I love the shimmer in it as this makes it a very unique white. 


Finally on to the paint drips. I saw these coming out better in my head. But they are okay I guess. I started with a base of Dandy Lyin' Around on all my fingers, the did paint drips skittles. My thumb is Fancy Pants, ring is Mimosas Before Manis, middle is Keep Calm, Paint On, ring is Tart-y for the Party. 


On my right hand, I reversed the colors. Also, my right hand sucks at taking pictures and is a little beat up, so don't judge it. 

Currently, I am wearing this mani covered in real paint. As I may have painted more trim yesterday. 

Have you tried paint drips? Any tips for me to make them come out better?

Enjoy & until next time, Amy Lee

*all polishes featured in this post were purchased by me

Nail Potion #9: Tears of Mer

*this polish was provided to me for my honest review

I have been sitting on this post for a while, and let me tell you I could not be more excited about it. Recently Angela from Nail Potion #9 sent me her polish Tears of Mer to swatch & review. And OH HOLY CRAP do I LOVE this polish. Sorry things are exciting, and sometimes I need to shout my love for things. I can't control it. Warning, this is going to be a pic heavy post. 


Angela has this beautiful description of her inspiration for the polish "Mer the common word for all the species, are a brave and noble race. They have at their disposal the entire ocean floor and they're quite content with just that....for now. It's said that while most races living under the deep blue have no use for tears the Mer are a passionate race. It's further said that a Mer's tears can burn the foulest and grouchiest mortal in the most emotional of people."

This polish looks like a vile of gypsy tears to me. It is so freaking pretty and sparkly.  Tears of Mer has a blue jelly base packed with gold glitters and flakies that flash in the light. Have I mentioned that I love this polish yet, because I do.


This is one coat of Tears of Mer. It goes on very sheer, but the good news is it does build up nicely. 


Here you see two coats, it's starting to get some good color. Man, look at that glitter. It is packed in there. 


This is three coats of the polish. 


And finally four. Keep in mind that I did very thin coats, so that I could see how the polish applied. I would guess that if you do 2 normal coats, you would also get to this level. After trying out the polish on bare nails, I was curious, to see how it look layered over other polishes. 


Here I've done layered skittles, pinky is OPI Can't Find My Czechbook, ring is China Glaze Man Hunt, middle is Maybelline Color Show Shocking Seas, pointer is Maybelline Color Show Onyx Rush, and thumb is Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Ivory Skull. Each of these different "undies" brings out a different glow in the polish. Personally I really like it over the black polish, holy cow...the sparkle!



Here I've layered two coats of Tears of Mer over OPI Can't Find My Czechbook. CFMC turned out to be the perfect base and does this polish glow. 


Overall, I am in LOOOOOOVE with this polish. Application was easy, the color is gorgeous, and it shines in the sunlight. Taking this polish off is similar to glitter, you've got to let the acetone soak for a moment, and then it is all good. I got a ton of compliments when I wore this polish. For my first experience with an indie brand, I couldn't have asked for a better one. Angela is a huge sweetheart and her polishes are beautiful and well made. Go check out her shop here. As for me I have Blood of Basilisk on my wish list. 

Is this a polish you would wear?

Enjoy & until next time, Amy Lee

*the polish was provided for me for my honest review

Dreaming of Summer with a Neon Gradient

The other day I showed you some new polish babies. After wearing my Green Tea manicure for a day, I took it off and went to my new neon polishes. Holy crap do I love these colors. They make me happy. I want summer to be here soooo bad. It's been in the 40-50s here and it's mid April. Mother Nature needs to get her freaking act together. 

I started off just swatching these to see the colors. I started off with a base of China Glaze White Out as a base for both of these colors. Here you see 3 thin coats. This polish is finicky. The pay off is good, but it is a giant pain in the ass to make look good. It's all streaky and patchy. 


After getting a good base of white down, I started off with Studio M's Orange Sunset. This polish is so bright and yummy. It was also incredibly hard to photograph. At first I was worried about this brand since it was new to me, but boy did it pay off.. Orange Sunset applied easily and took one coat over the white. The brush was easy to manipulate. Overall I really like this brand so far. 


Next up, I have Studio M Thunderbolt. This neon purple isn't as in your face as Orange Sunset, but I still love it. All the good things I said about the orange polish, apply here too. It is applied over a base of China Glaze White Out. 


After swatching these, I decided I wanted to do a fun gradient with them. I added in China Glaze Pool Party a bright neon pink, between Orange Sunset and Thunderbolt. It was the perfect color, it really helped the gradient flow smoothly between the two Studio M colors. It took two "stampings" essentially to get the colors as bright as you see them here. 


I topped the gradient with coat of Seche Vite and it smoothed the colors out nicely. I loved the gradient so much. I should have left it alone. Did I? No.


I decided to stamp it up with Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Silver Sweep and Bundle Monster plate 316. I actually really like the stamping on it. I think it adds something fun. I did decide to do the inverse stamp on my ring fingers as an accent, and I wish I had just done the same stamp on all 5 fingers. This is one of those times, where not having an accent nail is better. I need to get better at recognizing those moments.

Are you wearing any polishes and dreaming of warm weather lately?

Enjoy & Until next time, Amy Lee

The Attraction of Green Tea

So, I promised you a look with a few of my new polishes. Here it is. I started off with a base of the Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure's Green Tea.


I am in love with this minty, light jade color. OMG it is so pretty. Totally a wear on its own color. It applies like butter. This is two normal coats here topped with Seche Vite.

I wanted to go for a look like this, she executes it beautifully and I love the straight line instead of the typical half moons. This is what I ended up with.


I did the glitter in Studio M's Magical Attraction. And I hated it. Sigh. Don't get me wrong here, I like the color combo. I just don't think it's a good look for me. It makes my nails look shorter than they are. That's partially because I had to trim them down again (traveling was rough on them). Also Magical Attraction didn't build up to opacity like I had hoped.

I'll try this look again, but I've learned a few things. 1. Start with the glitter as your base coat 2. Choose an opaque glitter. With these changes I think I could pull it off in the future.

What do you think? Yay or nay?

Enjoy & until next time, Amy Lee

*all polishes featured in this post were purchased by me
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