First Konad!

I wasn't feeling so hot today, so to make myself feel better I got out my new Konad to try! I was really worried about having trouble with it - I read all kinds of comments online about how hard it was to use. Luckily, I did fine - I redid a few nails, which was no problem since I had another topcoat on under the Konad. Only the thumbs gave me real trouble - I have to get used to double stamping there, since I have enormous thumbnails. I cheated on the right hand and used a different image there.

I started out using an old credit card for a scraper, but decided I like the metal scraper better - the plastic took too much off. It's important to keep the scraper clean, or it won't scrape well. I'm definitely investing in some pure acetone - most of my time was spent cleaning the plate and stamper. I usually use the pink beauty secrets remover from Sally beauty, but to be honest I don't think it removes all that well, and it certainly took forever here. Plus acetone dries itself, so I can skip drying the plate. I'll also get some felt to avoid lint.

Here is my first try - it turned out pretty well for the first one I think! My husband has promised to let me practice on his nails later (the things he does for me!) so I hope to get better - I love the Konad and can't wait to try more images. I got 5 plates to start, and I can see how this could get addictive!

Konad plate m57, konad special white polish over BB Couture midnight malibu.

My right hand is making its first blog appearance here - it turned out better, surprising since I'm right handed, and usually my left hand looks better. I did cheat on the thumb, but I like how it looks with the different image. I'm most excited about the leopard and zebra print plates - tomorrow I plan to do a hot pink and black manicure with one of those. I have several hot pinks that need to get used, and I've been in an 80s kind of mood lately. I also got one of the decorative french tip plates, and I can't wait for that. I think my nails are too short for real french, but funky french is fine!

If you're thinking about trying Konad - go for it! I am usually such a spaz with nail art, and I picked this up right away. There's usually a 20% off coupon wandering around - I ordered from wowsocool.com and they were great. You don't need a kit - just get the stamper, a few special polishes to start, and whatever image plates you like. It's cheaper than I thought it would be. I hear you can use some regular polishes, but not all. I'm planning on ordering the China glaze romantique set, now that I have a use for them. I don't like them all over the nail, but love them for this!

BB Couture Midnight Malibu and new toys!

I had a really hard time getting this color to show properly! Midnight Malibu is a dark bluish purple jelly, with irridescent green glitter. It applied well, though it has drying time issues like the other BB Couture glitters - just give it extra care and you will be fine! It's slightly bumpy, but nothing that an extra coat of (non quick dry) topcoat can't fix. Since quickdry tops sink through the layers of polish to dry them, I find that a coat of regular top before the quickdry helps to keep glitters smooth.

And look what I got today!


Yes, I swore I would not be sucked into konad, but here I am! I got a few full nail designs, some small ones (including the cute Halloween one!) and one fancy french tip plate. I'm sure there is going to be a learning curve, but I can't wait to try it out (maybe tomorrow!) I got excellent service from wowsocool.com - one of my plates is out of stock, so they sent me a free plate to make up for the delay!

Barielle Falling Star

3 coats, direct sun

Barielle Falling Star is a surprise to me. I ordered it along with the other "All Lacquered up" polishes because it looked interesting, but I suspected it might be one of those "interesting, but I don't want to wear it" colors. To my surprise, I love it! Like many Barielles that I own, it dries a shade darker than the bottle color. I'm actually pleased with this, because in the bottle it looked too light for a fall collection. Instead, it's a great dark, dusty periwinkle. The glitter was not hard to work with, though it does tend to settle and needs frequent shaking. It doesn't look glittery from far away, so it's actually pretty sedate for a glitter. I love it, and plan to wear it often. My only criticism is that the brush on my bottle was terrible - the bristles were uneven, and to my taste it was rather narrow. I don't know yet if it's just this color, or whether I hate Barielle's brushes.

Indirect sunlight

Wet n Wild Nocturnal

I love black polish as much as the next person, but I'm tired of these "so dark they look black" colors. Wet n Wild Nocturnal is one of the new craze polishes. Although it looks black in the bottle, it's actually dark blue. I'm pretty impressed with these polishes - my ring and pinkie fingers above have only one coat, and you can see how good the pigmentation is. With care I think you could get away with one coat, and have pretty midnight blue polish. Unfortunately, 2 coats takes you to the black bottle color (as on my index and middle fingers.) I don't like to wear only one coat, because it makes the uneven spots in my nails show, so think one's probably not for me - but it was dirt cheap and the brush was excellent (the cap, however, is awkward and in the way.)

BB Couture Frosty Meadow, 1 minute wonder review

I chose Frosty Meadow as my first BB Couture mani. The color is gorgeous, though it was a bit hard to apply - thick in the way that glitters sometimes are. I'm also trying out Nail Magic, so perhaps that affected things (my nails tend to peel and I want to fix that.

I tried the BB Couture "1 minute wonder" drying drops over top. I was honestly not thrilled - I didn't find that they dried any faster than polish on its own. I got some smudges, but that's ok since I'm going to wear a different color tomorrow anyway. I don't get drying drops - they never work on me, and in this case the packaging (regular polish bottle) makes it hard not to smudge while applying. To each his own, but I'm sticking with my Sally Hansen topcoats!

Barielle and BB Couture

I'm always interested in trying out new brands. I've been meaning to try out Barielle and BB Couture forever, but it took the release of the All Lacquered up collection at Barielle and a sale at Overall beauty to get me to pull the trigger! I've swatched my new colors on nail wheels. I prefer clear nail wheels, because they are easier to reuse - the polish just peels right off.

First up Barielle:
My favorite out of this group is Glammed out Garnet - it's glass fleck, and similar to Ruby Pumps, only more cool toned (ruby pumps is pretty awful on me.) Blacked Bleu is gorgeous, but it is very dupey to a sinful that I have. Polished Princess is going to look terrible with my skintone, so I don't know why I bought it. Make it a latte is really pretty, and darker than it looks in the bottle.

I show Date Night here, right next to Nubar Greener. Greener is more blue based, but honestly they are nearly identical. I don't think you need both. I like Misbehaving Mistress the most out of this set - it's a blackened taupe, really unusual!


I love the muddy looking shades of course. Lava Rock is also very pretty - much more shimmery than it shows here.

The formula on these was good - only Grape Escape felt thick. Several were jellies, but they were easy to get bottle color with 3 coats, even on clear nail wheels. I am impressed.

What I am not impressed with is the packaging - my polishes arrived rattling around in a giant box with only a little piece of tissue paper for cushioning. It's a miracle that none broke (Date night got a little chip on the base, that's all.) It was seriously one of the most failed packaging jobs I have seen.

Onto the BB Coutures!


The best part of these is that none of them are dupes for me. Green goblin is not an almost black - it is obviously green in all lights. I ordered all of their greens except the pastel - I have Peppermint Patty, and that takes care of my pastel green desires. My favorite here is Grenade, which is one of the new polishes for men. It's the perfect dirty army green - I can't wait to wear it in fall!


These are all glitters in a jelly base, except for Moon Over Manhattan, which is glitter in a normal base. I love all of these so much - the shimmer is unusual and unexpected (the blue has green glitter!) All are appropriate for Fall, so I'm looking forward to trying them out this year!

I liked BB Couture's formula better than Barielle's. It was thin, which I prefer, and not streaky on the jellies. All were opaque in 3 coats. The caps are kind of long, but I think I can get used to that. I'm definitely a fan, and I can't wait until their fall collection is released! I also got their "One minute wonder," which seems to be their version of drying drops. I usually use quick dry topcoat, but I'm thinking of switching to avoid shrinkage. I'll report back on how it goes!

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.