Curious Puppy Prints...

I often get the urge to try a gradient with similar colors within a collection. Just as often it doesn't work out as I imagined since the colors are too similar. Such was the case with Color Club Incognito and Give Me a Hint. Give Me a Hint turned out to be too light and sheer to create a nice gradient. Rather than give up and start over, I added Barielle Tight Knit into the mix to darken up the tip of the gradient.

The puppy and the paw prints were stamped using Barielle Unraveled Rust and Shany plate SH08. The puppy was just what I need to cheer me up. He is so cute. What shall we name him? ;)

I would love know what you think of this!
Do you ever create a silly manicure just to cheer yourself up?

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

One Stroke Flowers over Color Club Get a Clue

I decided that Color Club Get a Clue would provide a lovely background for my first one stroke flower attempt. I have seen lots of tutorials on the technique, but have been hesitating to actually try it. Turns out is it not as scary as one might have imagined. I used white and periwinkle blue acrylic paint along with a flat angled brush to create the flowers...

The first attempt is a basic one, but now that the ice is broken I will hopefully be playing around with one stroke flowers a lot more...

I would love to know what you think of this! Have you tried the one stroke technique before?

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

Color Club - Alter Ego: Reveal Your Mystery Collection

Thank you so much to everyone that stopped by this weekend to wish this blog a happy 1st birthday. It means so much to me!

Today I have for you swatches of half of Color Club Alter Ego collection. The collection consists of two sets of six colors. One half are the light colors in a set named Reveal Your Mystery. The other half are dark colors and the set is named Keep it Under Cover. I only own the Reveal Your Mystery set of the collection and it is what I'll be sharing with you today. The collection was released in Spring 2011 and just like all of the other Color Club collections that I own, I'm about a year behind in getting to play with them, but better late than never...

Get a Clue - a dusty pink with a hint of lavender. The formula was OK, but slightly streaky. It did even out with the third coat. I added a top coat which helped even it out further. Aside from the formula problems, this is a lovely color...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Color Club Collection: Alter Ego: Reveal Your Mystery Color Name/Number: Get a Clue Number of coats: 3 Top Coat: Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

Revealed - a soft peach with a hidden pink shimmer. I couldn't get the shimmer to come out for the camera, but it is ever so slightly there in real life. This polish reminds me a lot of Sally Hansen Sweet Pea. You can see the shimmer in the sun on those photos. The application was patchy, formula tended to drag. Three coats for full coverage. This is with a top coat...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Color Club Collection: Alter Ego: Reveal Your Mystery Color Name/Number: Revealed Number of coats: 3 Top Coat: Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

Incognito - a sheer beige jelly. Application was good, but this took four coats to build up to what you see in the swatches. The nail line is still slightly visible. This would be a perfect "mannequin hands" polish for me if it were not so sheer. However, I do like that this is a jelly formula...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Color Club Collection: Alter Ego: Reveal Your Mystery Color Name/Number: Incognito Number of coats: 4 Top Coat: Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

Give Me a Hint - a mushroom taupe color. This is a cross between a jelly and a creme. I had no problems with application of this one. This is three coats with a top coat...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Color Club Collection: Alter Ego: Reveal Your Mystery Color Name/Number: Give Me a Hint Number of coats: 3 Top Coat: No Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

Sheer Disguise - a dove gray with a hint of blue. This again is a cross between a creme and a jelly. I like this finish since it is provides the good coverage of a creme and the shine of a jelly. My top coat, however, hates this finish. It seems to bubble every time without exceptions. I wish I would have skipped the top coat (as I did for Give Me a Hint). This is three coats with a top coat...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Color Club Collection: Alter Ego: Reveal Your Mystery Color Name/Number: Sheer Disguise Number of coats: 3 Top Coat: Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

Secret Rendezvous - a sweet lilac creme. This was probably my favorite color out of the set. It is just perfect for spring and seems to put me in a happy mood. This again is three coats with a top coat...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Color Club Collection: Alter Ego: Reveal Your Mystery Color Name/Number: Secret Rendezvous Number of coats: 3 Top Coat: Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

Overall I think this set has a lot of lovely colors for spring. Some had formula issues, but nothing that didn't get evened out with enough coats. It just depends how patient you are. The set also came with a Milky White base coat which I used as a base for all of these polishes. I don't tend to be picky with my base and have a hard time judging them since I only wear my manicures for a short period of time. I had not problems with this particular base coat. It worked well and I had no staining with any of the colors.

I would love to know what you think of this set. Did you get it last year?

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)