Saturday, December 28, 2013

Comparison: Oui and Julia

While perusing my stash for New Year's Eve polishes, I realized I have an Orly polish that looks strikingly similar to Julep Julia, which I've been wearing a lot recently. I decided to match them up and see if they are indeed dupes!

orly oui, julep julia

Below is an after shot. Two nails of each color. Can you tell which is which?

orly oui, julep julia, orly oui swatch, orly oui nail swatch, julep julia swatch, julep julia nail swatch

More three coat nails alternating polishes. Hard to tell I used two different polishes, eh?

orly oui, julep julia, orly oui swatch, orly oui nail swatch, julep julia swatch, julep julia nail swatch

orly oui, julep julia, orly oui swatch, orly oui nail swatch, julep julia swatch, julep julia nail swatch

orly oui, julep julia, orly oui swatch, orly oui nail swatch, julep julia swatch, julep julia nail swatch

Now to show you each coat by itself...

orly oui, julep julia, orly oui swatch, orly oui nail swatch, julep julia swatch, julep julia nail swatch

These are identical to me. Orly may have a tad better coverage but I generally do 3 coats but that's just me.

Orly is cruelty free, 0.6 floz/18mL, $8.50 USD. ($14/ounce or $0.47/ml)
Julep is cruelty free, 0.27 floz/8ml, $14.00 USD. ($51.85/oz or $1.75/ml)

I'd go with Orly all the way since it's cheaper, more opaque, bigger bottle. I've used Julep Julia for three or four manis (I kept going back to it, but it also kept chipping!) and I've already used about half. No big, I have a back up obviously but those Julep polishes can go quickly given their size, and I don't have large or long nails!

Thursday, December 26, 2013

New Year's Eve Manicure Ideas

Do you practice nail art or manicure ideas on fake nails or do you just go with the flow on your own? I have a hard time coming up with ideas unless I'm perusing Google or Pinterest so I like to fiddle with manicures and different colors and textures on fake nails. Here are some fun ones that just may New Year's Eve appropriate!

Barielle Edgy Barielle Tres Chic China Glaze Blond Bombshell China Glaze Full Spectrum China Glaze I'm Not Lion Color Club Sugarplum Fairy Color Club Sultry Diva CoverGirl Outlast 320 Julep Julia Milani Black Sketch Milani Holographic 3D Revlon Gold Coin Revlon Stunning Sally Hansen Malt Shimmer Tracy Sinful Colors Flower Girl, nail art, new years eve nail art, new years nail art, animal print nail art, leopard print nail art, french tip nail art, glitter animal print, glitter animal print nail art, black and gold nail art



Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Glitter Gradient

Merry Christmas! I hope everyone is having a wonderful day with friends and family, whether you celebrate Christmas or not.

This is what I am wearing on my nails today. Funny tidbit at the end of the post!

christmas glitter gradient, christmas glitter gradient nail art, glitter gradient, glitter gradient nail art, essie marshmallow



I did these late at night with low lighting, so sorry for the bad cuticles. I had tons of clean up. I think a little more color would have been nice. Some blue or green to liven it up.

christmas glitter gradient, christmas glitter gradient nail art, glitter gradient, glitter gradient nail art, essie marshmallow

I did, however, go to sleep too early I think. This is what I woke up to ...

(please excuse the iPhone picture and before clean up polish - eek!)

And a green accent nail was born!


Products Used:
OPI Matte Nail Envy Nail Strengthener
Essie Marshmallow (3 coats)
Sephora by OPI Be-Claus I Said So Topcoat
Sephora by OPI Only Gold For Me Topcoat
China Glaze Glittering Garland (accent nail)
Poshe Fast Drying Top Coat

Did you wear anything special on your nails this Christmas?

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Christmas Tree Patches

Another Christmas-esque nail art! I have been slow to edit and post which is why these are still coming out.

champagne bubbles, china glaze champagne bubbles, champagne bubbles nail art, christmas tree nail art, christmas tree patches nail ar



China Glaze Champagne Bubbles is a super saturated golden yellow with silver glitter, but it was reallllly golden and needed something on top. Little green trees a la Simply Rins did the trick!

champagne bubbles, china glaze champagne bubbles, champagne bubbles nail art, christmas tree nail art, christmas tree patches nail ar

Yes, I do paint my thumbs, even though you generally don't see them. Little fat Christmas tree there.

champagne bubbles, china glaze champagne bubbles, champagne bubbles nail art, christmas tree nail art, christmas tree patches nail ar

Products Used:
OPI Nail Envy Matte
China glaze Champagne Bubbles (3 coats)
Green, black, and white acrylic paint
Seche Vite top coat

Thanks for looking!

Champagne Bubbles

Champagne Bubbles by China Glaze is a blast from the Christmas Past. It's an interesting mix of frosty, metallic, golden yellow and silver glitter. 

china glaze, china glaze champagne bubbles, champagne bubbles, champagne bubbles swatch, champagne bubbles nail swatch, china glaze let it snow collectio



I'm not too wild about this one. It's a pain to paint on due to the streakiness from the frost and the glitter making it a lumpy mess.

china glaze, china glaze champagne bubbles, champagne bubbles, champagne bubbles swatch, champagne bubbles nail swatch, china glaze let it snow collectio

I'll show you later some fun Christmas Tree Patches I added to it.

Layering
OPI Matte Nail Envy Nail Strengthener
Champagne Bubbles (3 coats)
Revlon Quick Dry Top Coat (sucks. period.)

Thanks for looking!

Christmas Ornaments

I love Christmas tree ornaments. Very fun and bright. 

christmas nail art, christmas nails, christmas ornaments, christmas ornaments nail art, revlon lagoon, winter nail art




christmas nail art, christmas nails, christmas ornaments, christmas ornaments nail art, revlon lagoon, winter nail art


I really liked the ornaments hanging and the snowflake/ice on the nail edges really anchored the design so the ornaments weren't just floating. Sometimes that small detailing can make a huge difference.

Used:
Barielle Nail Rebuilding Protein
Revlon Blue Lagoon (6-7 coats for opacity!)
Black and White Acrylic Paint
Kleancolor Metallic Orange
Kleancolor Metallic Fucshia
Barielle green polish (I can't find it, sorry!)
Color Club Foil Me Once
Seche Vite


I really loved this one!

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Poinsettia

I love poinsettias. 

christmas nail art, nail art, poinsettia nail art, poinsetta nail art, finger paints flecked, sally hansen black heart, barielle dinner at 8, barielle big apple red

I decided to do something a little different and do the accent design on the forefinger. Plus, I changed the other nails to have a little more bling.

christmas nail art, nail art, poinsettia nail art, poinsetta nail art, finger paints flecked, sally hansen black heart, barielle dinner at 8, barielle big apple red

This design was based on this Poinsettia nail art.

Products Used
Barielle Nail Rebuilding Protein
Sally Hansen Black Heart
Finger Paints Flecked
Barielle Big Apple Red
Barielle Dinner at 8
Color Club Lumin-Icecent
Rhinestones (unknown brand)
Seche Vite

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Santa's Belt

Nail art doesn't always have to be complicated. Sometimes a nice, sophisticated dark polish with a fun accent nail is beautiful. A little glitter on the accent nail never hurt anyone either.

christmas nail art, santa belt nail art, sally hansen red carpet, sally hansen black heart


The black polish looks dark blue or dark green for some reason. Strange.

christmas nail art, santa belt nail art, sally hansen red carpet, sally hansen black heart

A close up of Sally Hansen Red Carpet. I love the depth this polish has. The red sparkles like it's on fire from deep within the polish. LOVE.

christmas nail art, santa belt nail art, sally hansen red carpet, sally hansen black heart

Products Used
Barielle Nail Rebuilding Protein
Sally Heart Black Heart
Sally Hansen Red Carpet
China Glaze Passion
Seche Vite

Design based on this nail art.

Monday, December 16, 2013

Purple Christmas Tree

This design was done very recently, based very loosely on this nail art. I did it in purple glitter instead, which brings a little of "me" into the mix.

christmas nail art, christmas tree nail art, purple glitter nail art, nail art, purple nail art, milani purple sketch, kleancolor purple, revlon stunning


Products Used:
Barielle Nail Rebuilding Protein
Kleancolor Metallic Purple
Milani Purple Sketch
Revlon Stunning
Seche Vite

These were fun to wear! I still need to work on my french tip skills, but I'm getting there.

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Very Bare and In Good Taste

Rounding out the five polishes of Barielle's Nude & Naughty collection are In Good Taste and Very Bare. 

I'm putting these together because 
a) They are my least favorite out of all the colors
b) I have the least amount of pictures to show you the polishes

It's not because I'm trying to save time and key strokes. (What? Me? Lazy?)

barielle in good taste, barielle, in good taste, barielle in good taste nail swatch, swatch

Barielle In Good Taste is a deep chocolate brown creme. I didn't realize I was having to much reflection from the trees on my nails. It's a great color, very smooth. No topcoat and it's beautifully shiny.

barielle very bare

Barielle Very Bare is a lovely pale pink creme that has good coverage. Above is two coats on the tips. It's the closest swatch I have. It was the last color to photograph and in the sunset, every picture came out super orange and saturated and I couldn't fix the color balance. I'm so sorry.

Here is an example of my attempt to color correct the photos.


See? Not very helpful! 

Barielle polishes are 3 free and cruelty free. Polishes retail for $8/each but a set of 5 is $25. This polish is included in the Nude & Naughty collection available here.

Thanks for looking!

Friday, December 13, 2013

Blue

I decided to try my hand at a double liner. I was pleasantly surprised at how it came out. Not perfect, but much better than I was expecting. This was taken before I went to go see the latest Hunger Games film during Thanksgiving weekend.






My inspiration was from Viola at Killer Colours (ie totally copied it as closely as I could - I'll link post when I can find it again) and Phlox at EyeGraffiti has a great one using a different color Wet N Wild liquid eyeliner!


I thought this was a super fun look except for the fact that my eyes watered the entire time. I don't use liquid eyeliner much and my eyelids get this really weird almost numb feeling after I start applying it. I don't know if my eyes are sensitive to an ingredient or if it goes with liquid eyeliner that has to dry or set on your lids. Anyone else get that feeling? Should I be avoiding a certain ingredient? Please let me know!

Product List
Face
  Philosophy The Present
  Too Faced Amazing Face Oil Free Foundation in Warm Vanilla
  Make Up For Ever Lift Concealer in Medium Beige
  Sephora Mineral Matte Setting Powder
  Rimmel Natural Bronzer in Sun Bronze
  Milani Baked Blush in Dulce Pink
Eyes
  Urban Decay Primer Potion in Original
  Buxom Stay There Eyeshadow in Beagle
  Elf Eyeshadow in light purple (unnamed, from kit)
  Wet N Wild Mega Liner Liquid Eyeliner in Blue (862)
  Urban Decay 24/7 Liquid Liner in Perversion
  Lime Crime Nymph (highlight)
  Maybelline The Falsies Flared in Blackest Black
Lips
  e.l.f. Nostalgic topped with e.l.f. Classy to pink it up a bit

A word of advice - I recommend doing it the way Phlox recommended. A thick line of the colored liner followed by a thin dark line near your lashes. I think if I had tried to do a steady line of color above the black eyeliner, it would have turned out much differently, and likely not as good.

I think this could be really fun using gold or silver to spice up a Christmas party look!

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Pillow Talk

Barielle Pillow Talk is a gorgeous pale peach. Very soft and warm and surprisingly flattering.

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 barielle, barielle pillow talk, pillow talk, barielle pillow talk swatch, barielle pillow talk nail swatch

Lovely creme polish, opaque at three coats. 

Barielle polishes are 3 free and cruelty free. Polishes retail for $8/each but a set of 5 is $25. This polish is included in the Nude & Naughty collection available here.

Thanks for looking!

Monday, December 9, 2013

Very Bare French tips

I was thinking if No Not Now is a great mannequin hand color, I should try doing a french tip on it and see what it looks like. I used Barielle No Not Now and Barielle Very Bare for the tips. 

I'm obviously still working on my french tip skills.

Barielle No Not Now, Barielle Very Bare , barielle, barielle french tips


Barielle No Not Now, Barielle Very Bare , barielle, barielle french tips

Below are my between swatch pictures so I can remember what polishes I used!

Barielle No Not Now, Barielle Very Bare , barielle, barielle french tips

Barielle No Not Now, Barielle Very Bare , barielle, barielle french tips

Do you ever do random colors to make french tips before you change your polish? Or am I the only crazy one that does that?

Saturday, December 7, 2013

Rose D'Oro

It's snowing here. Not a light dusting either. Full on cold snapping wind and large beautiful snowflakes coming down. I think we've had 6 inches. This may not seem like a lot to you up north, but I grew up in South Texas, so this is a whole lot to me! I decided to share a look I did a few weeks ago when it first got chilly. I was rebelling against the cold temperatures and did very warm, orange makeup. Obviously it didn't work. Winter is here. 

milani rose d'oro, urban decay deep end

I tried to focus on warm, golden colors with the blush and eyes, which was actually the same color. The highlight flashes orange, which you'll see better below and bright orange lips. The little bit of turquoise in the eyes was a nice pop of color against all the warmth.

Full face! Sorta. 

milani rose d'oro, urban decay deep end, milani lip flash flash light, milani lip flash full coverage shimmer gloss pencil, milani lip flash full coverage shimmer gloss pencil flash light


milani rose d'oro, urban decay deep end

Below is a picture that happened to focus on my inner corner. Let's pretend it was on purpose and use it to highlight the highlight color. It's Make Up For Ever Star Powder 90940 which is described as a white with orange highlights. I love that it picks up that orange when the light hits it. It was nice to use to brighten but not whiten and the orange shimmer was lovely.

milani rose d'oro, urban decay deep end

 milani lip flash flash light, milani lip flash full coverage shimmer gloss pencil, milani lip flash full coverage shimmer gloss pencil flash light

Product List
Face
  Unknown foundation. Sorry! I know it looks super heavy and thick and that's exactly     
      how it felt.
  Milani Baked Blush in Rose D'Oro
  Sephora Mineral Matte Setting Powder
Eyes

  Urban Decay Primer Potion in Original
  Milani Baked Blush in Rose D'Oro
  Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Deep End
  Make Up For Ever Star Powder in 90940 (inner corner highlight)
  Maybelline The Falsies Flared in Blackest Black
Lips
  Milani Lip Flash Full Coverage Shimmer Gloss Pencils in Flash Light


Thanks for looking! Hope everyone is staying nice and warm this winter season.


Friday, December 6, 2013

No Not Now

Barielle No Not Now is a fabulous cool toned light brown with fantastic silvery rainbow shimmer. It's included in the Nude & Naughty collection.

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I think without the shimmer this may have been a perfect mannequin color for me. Or close to it.

Barielle No Not Now, barielle, no not now, Barielle No Not Now polish swatch, Barielle No Not Now swatch, Barielle No Not Now nail swatch, barielle nude and naughty, barielle nude & Naughty


Barielle No Not Now, barielle, no not now, Barielle No Not Now polish swatch, Barielle No Not Now swatch, Barielle No Not Now nail swatch, barielle nude and naughty, barielle nude & Naughty

Barielle No Not Now, barielle, no not now, Barielle No Not Now polish swatch, Barielle No Not Now swatch, Barielle No Not Now nail swatch, barielle nude and naughty, barielle nude & Naughty

This last one is blurry but I wanted to show the shimmer. It's not over the top, and mainly looks silvery in most lights, but it does have a rainbow of colors sparkling. 

Barielle No Not Now, barielle, no not now, Barielle No Not Now polish swatch, Barielle No Not Now swatch, Barielle No Not Now nail swatch, barielle nude and naughty, barielle nude & Naughty


Barielle polishes are 3 free and cruelty free. Polishes retail for $8/each but a set of 5 is $25. This polish is included in the Nude & Naughty collection available here

Thanks for looking!

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

I Got A Headache

These names crack me up. This whole collection has me blushing a little but this one is the cheekiest!

Barielle I Got A Headache is a great warm brown with golden bronze shimmer. Interesting base color but the shimmer really steals the spotlight. I tried to really capture it in the picture below.

Barielle I Got A Headache, Barielle I Got A Headache nail swatch, Barielle I Got A Headache swatch




Barielle I Got A Headache, Barielle I Got A Headache nail swatch, Barielle I Got A Headache swatch

Barielle I Got A Headache, Barielle I Got A Headache nail swatch, Barielle I Got A Headache swatch

Barielle I Got A Headache, Barielle I Got A Headache nail swatch, Barielle I Got A Headache swatch

This was the first set of swatches I could edit without much trouble with color balancing. Hopefully the others will follow soon!

Thanks for looking.

Barielle polishes are 3 free and cruelty free. Polishes retail for $8/each but a set of 5 is $25. This polish is included in the Nude & Naughty collection available here

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