How To Paint A Jelly featuring Chaos & Crocodiles Narwhals Are Unicorns Too!

Glittered jellies and crellies can be a pin to paint. At least theywere for me. I used to avoid these kinds of polishes altogether, but I was missing out on so many great colors. I used to use them only with a base color and then the jelly glitter over the top, but sometimes the base is just so unique I can't find anything to match. I've only recently found a method of application that works for me: super-thin coats.

I thought I would show you just how thin I mean. I used Chaos & Crocodiles Narwhals Are Unicorns Too. You can see how much the coats build up. For photographic purposes I should have done a fourth coat, but in real life this is all you need.

Chaos & Crocodiles Narwhals Are Unicorns Too
Index: 1 coat
Middle: 2 coats
Ring & Pinky: 3 coats

Very important: Before starting your next thin coat the previous coat should be dry to the touch. I do these thin coats for all my polishes and it really helps to decrease denting and increase wear. Keep practicing and you'll get control of those lovely glittered jellies and crellies!

Chaos & Crocodiles Narwhals Are Unicorns Too
Hex Nail Jewelry Unicorn Head No 1
A lovely blue with blue and gold glitters

Was it wrong to use the unicorn charm? It just went so perfectly with the polish!

Chaos & Crocodiles Narwhals Are Unicorns Too
Hex Nail Jewelry Unicorn Head No 1

What glittered jelly or crelly are you going to try this with?

Selected Products:
Chaos & Crocodiles
Hex Nail Jewelry

Have you loved your cuticles today?

Hare Polish for Fall 2013: The Coin Operation

I just wanted to write a quick note that my first giveaway is over, the winner has been notified and the prize sent! Thank you to everyone who took a look and decided to stick with me, it means so much :-)

How is it that my week off has become so busy? While I have been getting a lot done, unfortunately nails are not one of them. So I looked into my photos to see if I had any nail art to share and I found some Hare stuff I did in September, yay! I literally own every HARE polish, I can't get enough of what Nikole does! And also bunnies. I did these before officially blogging so I don't remember all the specifics and I think my color-adjusting was off.... I also think I ended up having to pull the green-blue one off of Pinterest because I lost it, too, so photo quality isn't the greatest. But I still love these manis and think they are fairly easy concepts for most people to try or get inspired from.

The polishes I used in today's nail art are from The Coin Operation. All of these beautiful polishes have "flakies of gold and silvery white" (in Nikole's words). These all have excellent formula and coverage, paint carefully though because the flakies can be tough to clean up.

Peepshow Magique & Test Your Love!

Peepshow Magique is a baby pink and Test Your Love! is a bright raspberry pink, both have the lovely gold and silvery flakies. I used a basecoat of a pale pink creme and painted Peepshow on, then sponged Love! closer to my tips with a cosmetic sponge. Love! isn't as bright as alone but I liked the look. I decided to go crazy and add gold studs, too.

So remember how I said earlier flakies can be tough to clean up? Yeah, I had flakie herpes BAD when I was done. I photographed these the next evening after clean-up, showering, and gently scrubbing to get the flakies off. I even used an Elmer's shield around my cuticles. So yeah, won't be doing that again, but isn't the gradient beautiful? If you are afraid to try gradients practice on paper to get the feel of it first. I use cheap-o sponges from Wal-Mart that I cut in half and then cut into even more smaller triangles.... I'll have to take a picture for a future gradient post.

Read My Biorhythm & Zoltar Speaks

Read My Biorhythm is a grass green jelly and Zoltar Speaks is a teal-leaning blue jelly, again both with the gold and silvery flakies. This was my favorite look, and possibly one of my favorite manis of all time.

Index: Read My Biorhythm with pale gold studs
Middle, Thumb (not shown): Read My Biorhythm
Ring: Zoltar Speaks, stamping with Vivid Lacquer plate VL005 and Revlon Gold Coin
Pinky: Revlon Gold Coin
I never tire of skittles--quick, easy, and high-impact!

I also noticed I used different hands for each set of photos. Some days the right hand somehow turns out better than the left, weird! I hope some of you feel inspired to try some nail art looks with indie polishes. If you come up with anything inspired from these manis post them on my facebook wall :-)
Have you loved your cuticles today?

Jindie Nails Rainbow Connection Exclusives: Rainbow White & Midnight Dancer

***Provided for honest review by Jindie Nails

I have some exciting polish today! Jindie sent me two exclusive polishes for Rainbow Connection, an indie brand supplier in the UK. Jindie consistently impresses me with her creativity and formula which keeps her among my top favorite indies.

The first polish I have is Midnight Dancer. She (yes, I made this polish a girl) is a deep blue jelly packed with all sorts of blue, gold, and red holographic glitters and shimmer. Big gold holo circles in here! I feel like there are hidden gold flakies, but this may be the shimmer playing tricks on me. This is a polish you can get lost in.

Jindie Nails

Midnight Dancer

Exclusively for Rainbow Connection

With all the goodness going on in here I was a little worried. Luckily the formula was good--not too thick and easy to work with. Shown is essentially three coats. I started with a thin first coat (paint carefully this can be a stainer!). I didn't want all of my circles to be dabbed on top, so in between the second and third coats I started placing a few. There were some red dots which were a little shy but I diligently fished to get some! I used two thick coats of KBShimmer Clearly On Top for a smooth finish.

Jindie Nails

Midnight Dancer

Exclusively for Rainbow Connection

If you are a circle glitter fan Midnight Dancer is a polish for you. I love the color combination and how much shimmer is packed inside. Plus, when my husband saw this he went, "That is cool." I always feel like polish approved by men gets extra points ;-)

Jindie Nails

Midnight Dancer

Exclusively for Rainbow Connection

The second polish is Rainbow White. She is a white jelly with satin, matte, and metallic glitters in white, red, orange, melon, aqua, teal, and blue. Shapes include circles, squares, hexes, and stars! Really lovely colors and glitter mix.

Jindie Nails
Rainbow White
Exclusively for Rainbow Connection

The formula is excellent, exactly what I expect from Jindie! She really knows what she's doing with her jellies. Overall nice glitter spread. I used three thin coats and then a little fishing and dabbing for the stars and wherever I wanted to fill in. I used two thick coats of KBShimmer Clearly On Top for a smooth finish.

Jindie Nails
Rainbow White
Exclusively for Rainbow Connection

Thoughts: I LOVE this white jelly and all the accent nail color possibilities. Midnight Dancer might be my husband's pick, but this one is mine. White jelly heaven, yes please!

Jindie Nails
Rainbow White
Exclusively for Rainbow Connection

I decided to do a look with China Glaze Too Yacht To Handle and a white bow a la The Lacquered Owl (love her, go check her out!). *Sigh* this mani makes me want summer.

Jindie Nails Rainbow White, made exclusively for Rainbow Connection
Accent of China Glaze Too Yacht To Handle with bow from Born Pretty Store

You can purchase these polishes exclusively at Rainbow Connection. Please note, Rainbow Connection does not ship outside Europe due to Royal Mail restrictions.
For other great Jindie polishes check out Jindie Nails!

Have you loved your cuticles today?

Renaissance Cosmetics Review: Nightshade & Emerald Envy

Purchased By Shelby Lou & Press Sample

I have some absolutely gorgeous polishes to show you today from Renaissance Cosmetics. After I reviewed Curio/Curiosity (my holy grail black & white glitter) I was contacted by Meghan to do some more reviews for her. RenCos, as I have affectionately nicknamed it, is made by Meghan from Will Paint Nails For Food. She is a true artist and, as it turns out, her vast experience with polish has made her into quite the indie maker!

First I have Nightshade from the RenCos debut line. Nightshade is a deep blue jelly with golden shimmer (it takes on a gold-green shift in the blue jelly) with gold, copper, teal, and wine glitters. I feel like I see some holo or iridescent finishes in there too, and the wine glitters are the perfect touch. This one is like instant galaxy nails! I would love to try a galaxy mani over this one....

Renaissance Cosmetics - Nightshade

In my swatch I have shown three generous coats and one coat of KBShimmer Clearly On Top. Surprisingly, this polish applies like a buttery creme. There is a lot of pigment and sparkle in here, so keep an orange stick handy to clean up any flooded cuticles as you go. Also looks to be a little stain-y, so double-up on the basecoat. I originally had just two coats but wasn't quite happy with how it photographed and felt like I was missing some of that fantastic shimmer I saw stuck to the sides of the bottle. I went back and scraped the sides down with a toothpick, stirred it up, and shook it--Toothpick Method works every time! My third coat had more glitter and I love the depth it made.


Next is Emerald Envy from the Wunderkammer Collection. Emerald Envy is an emerald green holo with teeny holographic lime and gold glitters as well as gold shimmer. My swatch leans more teal than it looks in real life. I kind of love green and this polish made me faint a little. I am pretty seasonally snobby but I can see myself wearing this polish for late summer (which I totally am today), fall, winter, and of course March. I also must note, my husband was sitting next to me while I was swatching both polishes and he exclaimed, "Wow! That is a nice polish!" when I had this one on. See? It's man- and mani-approved.

Renaissance Cosmetics - Emerald Envy

Emerald Envy is thick but in a good way, I didn't have to add any thinner and you know I love my thinner. I have shown two coats, leave plenty of drying-time in-between for best results. I also think this could be a one-coater for the careful painters and those with shorties. There is major staining potential here, so again keep an orange stick handy and clean up as you go. And double-up on the basecoat.

Has anyone else tried RenCos? I continue to find RenCos polishes to be unique and so perfectly formulated, they are quickly becoming one of my fav indies. Check them out on instagram and facebook for a look at their classy new labels and swatches of six new polishes (of which I'm already plotting my purchase). Shipping is from Canada so it might be a little pricier for those outside the country, I recommend a group order with some nail buddies ;-)
I will have two other RenCos polishes later this week to show you so stay tuned!

Products:
Renaissance Cosmetics

Have you loved your cuticles today?