Color Fever: Vintage Gray

I would like to make a toast to second chances! I bought this polish a few months ago and when I first swatched it, I was not a fan. Don't know why, but I decided to reswatch it for this blog. Well let me tell you, I changed my mind. I ended up wearing this as a full manicure. It is a soft milky gray. So pretty! The color actually came out a bit darker than the bottle color. This is three coats + a top coat.

 

What do you think?
I just wish there was more than 0.25 oz of it :)
I'm assuming because of small bottles size, but there are no ingredients listed on it. I'm confused as I thought this was required to be listed at least on the outer packaging (which it had none)... anyone know if these are B3F?

Brand: Petites
Collection: Color Fever
Color Name/Number: Vintage Gray 519

Thanks for reading!
Anutka

Sally Hansen Lilac - A definite keeper

This is a muted pink/lilac with a gray undertone. It has a hint of purple shimmer in the bottle which I was really hoping to see on the nail, but I guess it just wasn't meant to be. It does not show up on the nail, except for maybe in direct sunlight. Since it has been raining here for days now, I have yet to test that theory.

I did catch a moment when it stopped raining, but it was still too overcast and not sunny enough to see the shimmer. :(

outdoors (overcast)

Do you see the shimmer in the bottle? Look close...

Here it is briefly making an appearance on the nail...

Brand: Sally Hansen
Collection: Hard as Nails
Color Name/Number: Lilac

I applied 3 coats to get it fully opaque then added a top coat for shine.
I really liked the color over all. It looks very clean and professional. The application was good.
My bf even commented that he really likes the way it looks and asked if I would pretty please not take this one off. How could I say no to that? We'll see how long I manage to keep this on before my fingers start itching to try something new. :)

That's all for now,
Anutka

Royal Wedding Prince William and Princess Kate live

Royal Wedding Prince William and Princess Kate

Prince William and Kate Middleton have been pronounced man and wife at Westminster Abbey.

Some 1,900 guests watched the couple exchange their vows, with many millions watching at home.

They left the Abbey, with Kate Middleton now the Duchess of Cambridge, amid cheers from thousands of well-wishers lining the procession route.

They are now at Buckingham Palace where the Queen is hosting a buffet reception for 650 guests.

The couple travelled in an open-topped 1902 State Landau carriage for the procession, which was used by Prince William's parents for their wedding in 1981.

The couple are due to appear on the balcony at about 1325 BST.

Street parties

Prince William has been given the title of the Duke of Cambridge by the Queen, and Miss Middleton has become Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge.

The church service ran smoothly but the prince did struggle to place the wedding ring on the duchess's finger.

Following a long tradition, the ring has been fashioned from Welsh gold given to Prince William by the Queen. 

 

The dress was designed by Sarah Burton

 

After the couple said their vows, in which she did not promise to obey William, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend Rowan Williams, declared: "I pronounce that they be man and wife together, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen."

They spent a private moment together with their families, as they signed the marriage register.

The duchess, who managed to keep her wedding dress a secret, is wearing an ivory and lace gown by Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen. The prince is wearing the red tunic of an Irish Guards colonel - his most senior honorary appointment.

Prince William has been given the title of the Duke of Cambridge by the Queen, and Miss Middleton has become Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge on their marriage.

Well-known faces spotted at Westminster Abbey included singer-songwriter Sir Elton John and his partner David Furnish, former England rugby coach Sir Clive Woodward, and former England football captain David Beckham and his wife Victoria.

Actor Rowan Atkinson, a close friend of Prince Charles, Prince Harry's friend Chelsy Davy and film director Guy Ritchie were also there.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife Samantha, Australian prime minister Julia Gillard, former British PM Sir John Major, and current Home Secretary Theresa May were among the politicians present. Mr Cameron did not cause an etiquette upset and wore a morning suit despite initially suggesting he might not.

For those lining the route, large speakers broadcast the wedding service, and it was anticipated the event would be watched by hundreds of millions of people worldwide on television.

Accidentally in Matte...

I saw this tutorial from from Confessions of a Polishaholic. For some reason I just had to try it. The tutorial recommends using a light color as a base, but I already had the Wet n Wild Caught Red Handed on... Plus, I thought that black print on a red polish would actually look good. So I gave it a try.

Sadly none of the print actually transferred, but what I end up with was a matte nail. I tried it on a few other nails with the same result. I choose to blame my flop on the topcoat. I will definitely have to try this technique without the top coat on and see if the text actually transfers. :)

Left hand - ring and pinky fingers matted, index and middle finger original w/topcoat...

Right Hand - middle finger is matte, ring finger original w/topcoat...

This is by no means the most obvious matte effect. It just caught me by surprise, so I thought I'd share. I have yet to try the matte topcoats that are available, but from swatches I have seen they produce a much stronger effect.

If you want a slight matte effect and want to try this, here is what I did:
1. Cut out squares out of the newspaper that are slightly bigger than the nail.
2. Fill a small container with rubbing alcohol (the tutorial recommends vodka or spirit, but who wants to waste that???)
3. Soak nails for a few minutes in rubbing alcohol until they are nice and wet. Apply the newspaper squares to the nail and hold for at least 30 seconds
5. Remove the newspaper and there you have it... matte nails
6. If you were lucky enough to get some of the print to stick, but didn't want it, you can just rub it off.

Some questions to ponder and things to try... if one was to use colorful tissue paper, would the color transfer? Could one crinkle it and make some cool effects? Could one print images from the computer and transfer them to the nail? Hmmm...

Thanks for reading :)
Anutka

Wet n Wild - Caught Red Handed

It must have been the gloomy and rainy weather outside that made me want to try this bright red to cheer me up. It is not what I would normally wear, but it was exactly what I needed. It makes me think of a nice pair of red patent leather heels, but since I can't wear those to work, this will have to do :)

This was three coats plus a top coat. The nail line was still visible as this is a pretty transparent color. The visible nail line doesn't bother me much and out of principle I generally won't do more than three coats. My only complaint about this polish is that the brush was crooked and uneven making it difficult to apply a clean line near the cuticles.

Brand: Wet n Wild
Collection: Megalast 
Color Name/Number: 214AP Caught Red Handed
Big 3 free (Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP), Formaldehyde  and Toluene)

Have a bright day!
Anutka

Summer Lawn Collection 2011 by Khaadi

Comparing the sheers

I love these light colors. They usually look great with my skin tone. I have tried a few that I wasn't a fan off, but these four have been my go to colors when I need something quick and clean looking. I did a swatch of NYC Nail Glossies 215 yesterday, so I thought I would do a quick comparison to my other light colors.

The colors are as follows:
Index: Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Sheer Vanilla
Middle: Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Sheer Ivory
Ring: N.Y.C. Nail Glossies 215 (wish they would name it)
Pinkie: No brand "French Pink" that came in a gift set someone gave me :)

I did three coats of each polish, except for the French Pink which was four coats. Even with the four coats though, it was the lightest of the bunch, with the most visible nail line. Non of them completely covered the nail line, however, as they are all pretty sheer. No complaints on application for any of them. NYC had the best brush in my humble opinion, just a tad wider than the rest and slightly flattened.

Both of the SH colors were nice and creamy. Sheer Vanilla is just a bit off white, giving it a nice soft look. Sheer Ivory is more toward beige. Had it been any more yellow, it wouldn't be a keeper for me. NYC is very similar to Sheer Vanilla except that it has a very subtle micro shimmer. French Pink is very, very light as evident by the number of coats it took. However, it is probably my 1st choice when doing a traditional french mani. It is just enough to soften the stark white without covering it completely.

My favorite for everyday wear is definitely NYC. I just love the shimmer when the sun hits it... here is hoping for more sunny days in Seattle :)

Take care!
Anutka

Latest Summer Collection 2011 by STONEAGE