MAC Dry Martini

Dry Martini is definitely one of those polarizing colors - people either love it or hate it. Personally I love it, and it works with my skintone. Curiously, I've seen photos where it looks very brown, but on me it is always olive green. It took 3 coats for even coverage, but the pigmentation is good - just a little uneven in the way MAC polishes occasionally are (I love them personally, but they can be picky.)

Of course, on the 2nd day I added a Konad.


This is plate M65 with China Glaze FYI as the stamp. I have the entire OMG collection - they are so great, both on their own and as konad stamps. I love holos though, and have way too many in my collection! Anyway, this is a gold holo that is noticeably gold on the nail. I like how this pattern is very 70s - it goes with the olive polish very well!

I'm thinking of doing a series of posts on polishes that work with the Konad, as I know many people have questions about that, and I have been experimenting with many different ones. So look for that soon, along with more glitters (I have been in a glitter mode lately!)

Spiderman nails with the konad

We're going out tomorrow and wanted something sexy on my nails. I thought of the fishnet pattern, and I recall seeing it before over red with black tips. So...


I love the fishnet pattern (plate M57) - it's the only one I've used more than once so far! The only problem is that it is a bit narrow in my opinion - if you aren't careful to line it up with the edge of your nails you end up with a bare spot (as in my middle finger here.) It's not even close to being wide enough for my thumbs, so I improvised!

This is the spider from plate M28, the plate with all the scary snakes etc on it (and a unicorn!) My husband saw this and said "Holy crap, you've got Spiderman themed nails!" He's right, so I'm going to go with that name!

These were pretty easy to do. I applied 2 coats of China Glaze Ruby Pumps and a quick dry topcoat (the topcoat is so that if you make a konad mistake you can remove it without starting all over.) Then I used Konad black polish to apply the stamps. The tips are done with Art Club's Black Holo striper polish. I love these polishes for french tips - I have short nails, and they are the perfect width for me! The non-glitter shades also work really well with the Konad, so the only Konad polishes I feel like I need are the black and white. I finished the manicure with a coat of Konad topcoat, followed by Sally Hansen Insta-dry. I find that this combo dries everything fast and leaves a hard coating that is impossible to dent or chip for a really long time.

China Glaze Fly

I was not exactly overwhelmed by China Glaze's summer collection this year. Lots of toned down neons that are all similar to each other? No thanks. I got this color and Custom Kicks (I do love Custom Kicks, I'll show that sometime!) Both colors I got from this collection were thick and hard to apply. I thinned them, and that helped, but they were still tricky. Fly is a magenta with pink shimmer, making it hard to photograph. It goes more pink in photos, but in real life it is rather more purple. Fly is prettier on the nail than in the bottle - the shimmer comes out a bit, where in the bottle it just looks dull. I did have trouble applying it - China Glaze's brush just doesn't fit my nails - it's too thin, and I have giant nails. It remains to be seen whether it's going to dry or not - sometimes (often) I will get smudges hours or days later with this brand. I love the colors, so I keep buying them, but I am just not thrilled with the formula. Ah well!

I'm trying to get through my summer colors before Autumn arrives - I am ready for fall, but I don't want to leave anything untried! I prefer fall and winter colors. I am over brights at the moment, so I'm less than thrilled with all the brights in the fall collections.

China Glaze Turned up turquoise

3 coats, direct sunlight

I'm trying to burn through all my untried brights before fall arrives. All the magazines say that magenta will be big this fall, but somehow I doubt that neon teal is going to look appropriate in November.

I love China glaze - it's one of my top three brands, with OPI and Zoya. Unfortunately, I do have one issue with them - about half of them never dry. I always use a quick dry topcoat, and almost never experience any drying issues, but half the time my china glaze colors end up with wrinkling hours after application. I don't think it's a big 3 free issue either - I have some super old china glaze colors with the same issue. I'm going to try using only CG products with them - perhaps that will help, the way that the Zoya color lock system vastly improves their wear on me (but only with Zoyas.) This color wrinkled when I tried to type an hour and a half after application, so I never got to try it with glitter (I had a plan!)

NOTD: China Glaze Emerald Sparkle

2 coats, direct sunlight.

I held off on buying China Glaze's Emerald Sparkle forever. I know - what's not to like, with the green and the sparkles? Well, it's often compared to Ruby Pumps and Lubu heels, and I don't much like either of those. I do like Ruby pumps over black, making my own version of Lubu, but on it's own it's disappointingly sheer, and for some reason it doesn't dry. Lubu is pretty in the bottle, but not sparkly enough on the nail, and again it is rather sheer.

Well, I was totally wrong about emerald sparkle! I have the newer version, which has a blackened base. I think I prefer this one, because otherwise I might have layered it over black on my own. I find it similar in a way to NYX Las Vegas, a glass flecked looking green jelly. They are not dupes however, as ES has glitter and the black base.

Application was very good - unlike Ruby Pumps, this polish was nice and thin, not at all runny or gloppy. It dried almost immediately with a coat of Sally Hansen Mega Shine on the top. I did experience one small chip during the day, but I was doing a fair amount of work with my hands.