Happy 2012! — Milani My Network & Silver

Happy New Year everyone!

Right after Xmas I went away to NYC again for another week, which is why my blog has been so terribly neglected. I'm back now, though, and for a while. I'm taking one of those Winter Term courses that crams a whole semester into three weeks of January. So when I'm not studying or attending Intro to Oceanography, I hope to be blogging!

This is the manicure that I had on starting Xmas Eve, and made it all the way to New Year's morning. These pictures completely suck and really do not do it justice. I used two coats of Milani My Network as the base. It's a very shiny and metallic neutral gold foil. It was part of a seasonal collection a couple years ago, so I'm not sure if it's still available anywhere. Milani Silver is large silver hex glitter in a clear base, and is available on their website. I tried to do a gradient effect with the most of the glitter concentrated at the base of the nail. I was only partially successful, but the final result is so blingy and fun it doesn't really matter.

Many people noticed and complimented me on these nails. They were very appropriate for the festive season. I hope everyone had a fabulous holiday and that it hasn't been too difficult readjusting to all the usual activities and responsibilities!

China Glaze Prize Winning Mare

Here's a polish from China Glaze's Fall 2008 Rodeo Diva collection. Prize Winning Mare is a rich gold with a strong hint of brown.  It's got complex, multicolored shimmer.

China Glaze Prize Winning Mare

China Glaze Prize Winning Mare

I used two coats and application was fairly easy. This collection came out around when companies had just switched over to the new B3Free formulas, and it has a little of that odd runny/thick texture, but it's easy to overcome those issues with a little extra attention and care.

Zoya Cheryl with Art Deco inspired nail art

The rich brown sparkle of Zoya Cheryl makes me think of elegant dark wood furniture in Art Deco styles. That's what inspired this experiment in nail art, which is not particularly good but why not show it to you anyway? I used a striping brush and Cover Girl Bronze Beauty.

And here is each polish on its own:

Zoya Cheryl is another one of Zoya's gorgeous glass-fleck sparkles. It takes two coats for opacity and applies easily. Cover Girl Bronze Beauty is also opaque in two coats, and gives no trouble with application. It's a sort of pale gold with coppery bronze flecks which give the shade complexity.

Wet n Wild The Gold & The Beautiful

Here's a polish I picked up in CVS last week for about $2. Wet n Wild is a pretty awesome brand; they make nice polishes and they're very affordable. The Gold & The Beautiful is basically just dense gold glitter. I swatched it with three coats. It covers pretty well, but the nail line is still visible.

I think this polish is best for layering. You could layer it over a gold foil if you just wanted extra blingy gold nails. I layered one medium coat over four different colors to get a sense of the possibilities. (Index: Misa Heaven White; Middle: Wet n Wild Black Crème; Ring: Wet n Wild Teal of Fortune; Pinky: Zoya Mimi.)

This is definitely not a delicate gold shimmer, as you can see. I also think this polish would work very well for adding gold sparkle to a frankenpolish. If I can find an empty bottle, I may come up with something!

Drugstore Chanel: Revlon Carbonite

Once again, metallics are in for fall. I know this because Chanel released a trio of them, and wherever Chanel goes we dutifully and happily follow.

Revlon has come out with their version of Graphite, which they call Carbonite. I don't have the original for comparison, but it looks to be a very faithful approximation.

 

 Carbonite applies easily and is perfect in two coats.

 I found my bottle at a local CVS a couple weeks ago. It was in its own seasonal display with enough slots for about eight bottles.