Finger Paints Brushstroke Blush and Sparkle Top Coat

This is one of the polishes I was surprised with by my adorable little niece. Let me just say that I love the Finger Paints brush! It is soft and full, but not too flexible. The cap is very comfortable in my hands. If I could dump every polish I own in a Finger Paints bottle, I'd be a happy lady.

The formula of Brushstroke Blush was pretty shoddy. It was thin and runny. After 3 coats, I had a fairly streaky mani. So what do I do? Throw on a top coat! Sparkle Top Coat added a really nice, pearly sheen and fine, purple glitter. I really loved the end effect, and it lasted a good 3 days before chipping.

Thanks for my nail polish Miss Sarah!

Fingerpaints Special Effects Flakies and I am a Lucky Aunt!

I was absolutely thrilled when I wandered into Sally's and found the display for the Fingerpaints flakie polishes. I had completely forgotten that they were out and was surprised to find they hadn't completely sold out! I couldn't remember which ones I wanted, so I pulled up Jen's post on my phone in the store and decided to go for Twisted. I also decided not to do plain old black under it, so I threw on China Glaze First Mate, and was so happy with the result! This reminds me of a party way more than Deborah Lippmann's Happy Birthday and the many dupes of that polish.

This was 2 coats of Twisted over 2 coats of First Mate. I don't know that there are any colors that aren't part of Twisted. You will find red, blue, green, yellow, and purple depending on how the light hits your fingers.

2 coats Twisted over 2 coats First Mate

Last week I got a random (so I thought) text from Abbie because my niece (see Sarah's pretty nails here) wanted to know who my favorite Disney princess was. I decided Ariel had the best songs and Aurora (Sleeping Beauty, for those if you who aren't in the know) had the best dress. Later on, Abbie texted me from Sally's to ask my opinion on the new flakie top coats.

A few days later, a package from Sarah with the following, picked by her and Abbie. Not such a random princesses question, after all! :)

Aurora and Ariel with Asylum, Brushstroke Blush, Motley, and  Artist's Inspiration

Sarah was sick a couple of weeks ago, and like any good Aunt who happens to be a Nurse Practitioner would, gave her mom some advice. So, they sent me polishes and a super cute card!

I had just chopped my nails down and did a mani with China Glaze Loft-y Ambitions (I love the Metro Collection! Found Trendsetter in a clearance bin yesterday!) so I decided to see how Asylum would look under it. Here's the standard view...

2 coats China Glaze Loft-y Ambitions and 2 coats Fingerpaints Asylum

 And here's what it looks like with my fun new Photojojo macro lens!

The red/orange flakies are the most dominant, and flash yellow/green at extreme angles, but I think the blue flakies look really awesome over the red/purple of Loft-y Ambitions.

Many thanks to Abbie and Sarah for being such awesome ladies! 

Christmas Top Coats - Essie, Nails Inc, Fingerpaints

As I've said before, I have some serious polish fairies for friends/family. These three polishes came from fabulous ladies whom I consider both. :) 

I came into the polish world after the wonder that was Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure (I'm not a fan of the new one that just came out). I'm talking about the fabulous flakie HT. Word quickly spread that Essie Shine of the Times was a dupe, and I had to have it. Sadly, the stores here that carry Essie didn't have this one, but Bestie lives in Chicago and she loves me enough to have gotten me a bottle. 

The pic below is just one coat of SotT over Hot Topic black creme. It covers really well. It has an odd consistency... Thick but runny, maybe a little jelly-ish. You get used to how it works quickly. I imagine you need a thicker base to properly suspend the small red/yellow flakies that reflect green at certain angles. Is it a HT dupe? I have no idea, but do I love it? yes!

Essie Shine of the Times over black creme

I have a serious weakness for flakies and a Bestie who feeds that weakness. I'm okay with this. In fact, I'm trying my hardest to turn Abbie! This pic is 2 coats of Nails Inc Donmar Overglaze Top Coat over Chelsea, which is a very blackened plum. The flakies in Donmar are much larger than in Shine of the Times, but they are much sparser. It is very easy to see both the green and yellow flashes at the same time in this polish.

Nails Inc Donmar Overglaze over Nails Inc Chelsea

 Abbie gifted me my very first Fingerpaints polish this Christmas. Fingerpaints has the most comfortable handle I've ever polished with. It's long and tapered with a fairly long stem and flexible brush. There was no squinting or holding my head/hands at an awkward angle to see what was going on. Sparkle Top Coat is very pearlescent. I applied it over Hot Topic black creme and it flashed purple. Abbie says it flashes green at times, so I'll definitely need to do some experimenting with this one!

Fingerpaints Sparkle Top Coat over black creme