Garnet Glittering Gradient Grid Gels

It's the first day of the 31 Day Challenge! If you're totally confused about what's going on, be sure to check out my 31DC FAQ page, which will answer all of your questions.

The first prompt of the challenge is "red," and -- what luck -- I was already wearing red rockstar glitter gel nails!

So the big goal for this manicure was to try to improve on my gel gradients, which were not as strong as I want them to be. I picked black to use as my gradient color, and sponged it on with clear gel to create the fade.

Truthfully, the method I used for this gel gradient is the same as if I were using regular polish, but with a few small modifications. Here's the gist:

• Cut your makeup wedge sponge into a thin strip to help minimize mess.
• Paint stripes of the colors you want to use on the sponge.
• Tap it LIGHTLY on to the nail. Don't overtap, as this can pull the gel back up off the nail. If you're used to sponging gradients with regular polish, you'll definitely have to modify your pressure to make it lighter.
• Clean up any mess on your fingers before you cure in your gel lamp.
• Cure between each round of sponging.
• I did four or five rounds of sponging, cleaning, and curing for this manicure.

After the gradient was looking good, I painted on a black grid that faded away into the darkest parts of the nails.

Products used:
CND Shellac Base Coat and Xpress5 Top Coat
Recollections glitter in Cherry
DIY Hard Nails - Black Cat (black gel)
Akzentz Gel Play in black (grid pattern)

My previous red 31DC manicures:
Crab print and nautical mix

Red mix and match
Red watercolor
Barielle - Elle's Spell

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Nude and Mauve Ombre with Lacy Glitter

I recently received a package of some current Color Club shades. As I pulled the bottles out of the box, fate took control and lined up four of the shades from lightest to darkest. They looked gorgeous in an ombre together, and I had to oblige the universe's wishes.

Of course, I was still missing a fifth shade, and while I was searching for the perfect polish, I figured it couldn't hurt to add some glitter, either.

So, the four fated Color Clubs that I was destined to use are:
Color Club Blank Canvas (white)
Color Club Barely There (light tan)
Color Club Get a Mauve On It (mauve)
Color Club Midnight Mulberry (plum)

Then, I grabbed A England Elaine for the thumb, and added a layer of Sally Hansen Eyelet from the Luxe Lace line on all the nails. The glitter density was good, but I ended up with a lot of bubbles on the nails. Not sure what happened there.

I haven't done an ombre in a while, but I totally should wear them more often. They're really gorgeous and chic, especially in shades of nudes/neutrals like this. Big thanks to the universe and to Color Club for setting me up to hit one out of the ombre park (IMO)!

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How To: Party Like a Rockstar (In Purple Glitter Gels)

Whether you call them glitter gels or rockstar nails, there's no denying that the smooth, glassy finish of this gel style is to die for. They're super easy to do -- all you need is your gel foundation and topcoat, plus a loose glitter of your choice.

Rockstars are fun, whether you're wearing them as a full manicure like this or using them as an accent to nail art. They have great staying power, and DAT SPARKLE! Read on to learn how to get this gel look for yourself.

I was taught this rockstar method in nail school. Some of the students there had previously learned different methods, so there are other ways to do these, but I think this process produces the best (and sparkliest) results.

1. Prep your nails for a gel manicure. Push back your cuticles, remove any dead tissue from the nail plate, buff your nails, and cleanse with a nail cleanser solution and a lint free wipe.
2. Apply your gel foundation/base, and cure in your LED or UV lamp. Curing time will depend on your lamp type and product of choice.
3. Apply another coat of gel foundation. DON'T cure.
4. Sprinkle loose glitter over the wet gel. I like to do this over a piece of paper or a small paper cup so I can put the extra glitter back into the jar afterwards. Lightly tap your nails to remove any excess glitter, but remember that the nails aren't cured yet!
5. Pop your nails into the lamp and cure.
6. Using a nylon brush or other stiff bristled brush, brush away any glitter that did not get cured into the base gel. You can be pretty vigorous with this, as most of the glitter should be cured onto the nail.
7. Apply one coat of gel topcoat and cure.
8. Cleanse the sticky layer off of your nails, and then use a fine grit buffer (240 or higher) to lightly buff the gritty glitter smooth. Cleanse off any dust that you generated.
9. Finish with a final coat of topcoat to bring back the shine. Cure and remove the sticky layer.

I know it looks like a lot of steps, but rockstars are SO easy once you get the hang of it. 

Your options are endless when it comes to choosing a glitter to use. You don't need to use cosmetic grade or solvent resistant glitter, because it won't have a chance to bleed into the gel. At school, we used the Recollections glitter sets from Michaels (don't forget your coupon!). This manicure features Artiglio by Sarah Bland's "Heather" glitter. 

Just keep in mind that finer glitters usually produce better results (and they're easier to work with, too). 

Happy glittering!

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P2 - Mint Flavour Dots, layering and swatch

Let's have a small pause from the textures and look at some glitter instead!

I was happy to find this polish called Mint Flavour Dots from P2's LE Just Dream Like; spring fav nail top coat. It's a clear base filled with tiny white dots, white matte shredded glitter and matte hexagons in light and bright green and blue. I used three dabbing coats here over the aqua colored KIKO - 341. This teal blue ensemble is also my contribution to Blue Monday where you can check out more blue manis.

I'll show KIKO - 341 alone in a future post and all and all I liked Mint Flavour Dots. I'm really fond of shredded glitter. xD

Closeup of the glitter ^^

Bought at DM for (I think) 2.25 euro.

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Nicole By OPI - Gone Wishin' - with Claire's matte top coat

Yesterday I showed you Gone Wishin' from NOPI and today I'm showing it matte by adding Claire's matte top coat. I actually like it matte much better and Claire's matte top coat is a favorite among matte tc's at the moment. Which version do you like best?

And also, this weekend will be unusually quiet, as I mentioned we have guests this weekend so there's little time for internet in general. I'll be back to normal at Wednesday. :)

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Nicole By OPI - Gone Wishin', swatch

This polish has tiny glitter in metallic blue and warm toned purple in a clear base. I first tried using it on it's own but that didn't work so well so I gave up, took a coat of a black creme and then used 3 coats to achieve this look. I wanted the glitter to be really dense but it could definitely work with just 1-2 coats too. I like the look even though it's not a favorite. In the pictures I got 1 coat of tc but I realize that I should have used 2, because the surface is still somewhat "gritty". What do you think about the glitter? And what do you think about the bottle of the NOPI's?

Bought in Walmart in Canada. Think it was 5-6 CAD.

Oh and we will have guests this weekend but I'll try schedule some posts. Hopefully I will have some time off in the evening for "me-time". :)

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China Glaze Electric Nights for Summer 2015 Swatch and Review

China Glaze's new summer collection, Electric Nights, draws inspiration from the electronic dance music culture with nine neon cremes and three neon glitter toppers. It's not my scene but these polishes sure are! They're bright, they're fun, they're bumpin'. Read on to check out my swatches!

Point Me to the Party - One coat over white
A rainbow neon glitter topper with pink, magenta, orange, green, and blue neon glitters. The glitter density was good and it's just so FUN! You may have seen something like this from indie brands before, but it's pretty cool to see a major brand embracing the neon glitter.

Let the Beat Drop - One coat over white
A neon glitter topper with pink, magenta, and orange glitters.

Can I Get An Untz Untz - One coat over white
A neon glitter topper with blue, green, and purple glitters.

Daisy Know My Name? - One coat over white
I wish my camera had been able to accurately convey how neon this one is! It's a super bright neon yellow, especially when layered over white. It went on smoothly and evenly.

DJ Blue My Mind - Two coats over white
I'm pretty obsessed with this gorgeous deep sky blue creme. Of the two blues in this collection, this one is my pick.

Glow With the Flow - Two thin coats over white
This is another one where the brightness just did not translate well to my camera. This bright pink creme is super gorgeous. It's very Barbie-esque, but in the best of ways.

Home Sweet House Music - Two coats over white
A neon creamsicle orange. So citrusy, cheery, and bright!

PLUR-ple - Two coats over white
A bright purple creme. I'm obsessed with this shade of purple. So deliciously bright. It went on a little streaky but mostly evened out after the second coat.

Red-y to Rave - Two coats over white
A bright neon traffic cone red-orange. This is another standout for me, it's great!

Treble Maker - Two coats over white
A bright kelly green.

UV Meant to Be - Two coats over white
A light sky blue creme. This is the lighter counterpart to DJ Blue My Mind. A great pool blue for summer!

Violet Vibes - Three coats over white
The bright magenta huge on this one is gorgeous, but I found the formula to be a bit finicky. It was streaky for the first two coats but evened out on the third.

Overall, I found the formulas to be on the thinner side. During application, it was best to get a slightly larger bead of polish than I would normally use, and polish it on to the nail with a light touch to minimize streaks.

As you may have noticed, I decided to swatch all of these over a white base to boost the brightness. I wasn't sure which ones would need it and which ones wouldn't. As it turned out, not all of them needed it. You can check out jessface90's swatch video to see many of them swatched alone.

I wish that the neon-ness of these had come across more clearly! They're bright and happy and lovely. Overall, it's a classically China Glaze collection full of bold, fun colors and trend-setting glitters. This collection is set to release in April, so start gearing up for summer now!

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Silver snow flake glitter on a black base

Time for a little product review for Born Pretty Store. This time I'll show you flat snow flake glitter in silver. I estimate the size to be about 5 MM and a good thing is that the glitter i soft and also curved. At first I was like "oh no, they are curved", but soon I went to "oh yes, they are curved!:D" which means that they lay perfectly flat on the nail, since the glitter is following the nail shape! I used a dotting tool to pick them upp and pressed them down in the wet base. After I had placed them I dotted down the "arms" of the snowflake to make sure it lay down perfectly flat. Then I finished of with 2 coats of top coat for a smooth surface.

This time I decided for a dark manicure, a black creme base to really show off the silver glitter. I also think that black and silver is an awesome color combo. I decided to make all nails the same and I think the result looks quite elegant. I can definitely recommend this glitter.  Hope you'll enjoy this design. :)

Polishes and materials used:
ZTIZ (black creme)
Snowflake glitter from Born Pretty Store

The glitter comes in this huge jar so there is plenty of glitter making this a good buy. Here you can also see what I meant with curved glitter, perfect since our nails are naturally curved.

Born Pretty Store always has free world wide shipping and if you're interested in purchasing you can always use my code NGL91 which gives you 10% discount on this and/or all products at BPS. Original price is $3.73 but with discount ~$3,36. Here's the direct link: Snow Shiny Tiny Glitter Powder Sheets Tips Nail Decoration

 
***Some product(s) in this post has been provided for review, however it has not changed my opinion about it***

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