Orly Space Cadet- fun with stickers

Ok Kids, now *this* is the Wow I was looking for!
Space Cadet is nothing short of awesome! This would have looked even better had I not cheated, and used my Galaxy Girl mani as a base. The duochrome, mineral, foil-y shimmer in Space Cadet is suspended in an olive green jelly base. The formula is thin but buildable.
I didn't want to leave my house without jazzing this up, and since I'm already late for work and have yet to get ready, black craft stickers to the rescue!
Mani is 3 coats Galaxy Girl buffed down with a yellow sanding block (to even out all the terrible dings and marks) topped with 3 coats Space Cadet, black craft stickers and 2 runny coats of Seche.
No clean-up because I'm in a hurry...
First 3 pics show Space Cadet at its best in bright, indirect sun.
Pics are always clickable...

Full sun;

Orly Galaxy Girl- drying problems-review

Hi Kids!
The only polish I wanted from Orly Cosmic FX collection was Space Cadet. After seeing the numerous Blog swatches and one Blogger comparing Galaxy Girl to Vanishing Venus, I ended up buying 2 bottles (of each).
I'm really hoping Galaxy Girl lasts through my work shift tonight, because I have an art idea planned.
I say that because my 3 coat mani- 18 hours after application- has not cured.

Out of all the brands of nail polish I have, Orly has always been a consistent good performer, and has never failed me. That said, I'm really disappointed with Galaxy Girl. I applied 3 thin coats at 6pm last night, went to bed at 3am, and woke up to deep hair marks on my right middle and thumb nails, a nail ding on my right ring and a scrape on the outer middle nail. My mani is now 18 hours old and it still feels "soft" when I lightly scrape a nail over it. I did not apply a top coat to this mani because it would interfere with the blending that will be involved with my art idea.

This is not my "thing", reviewing a nail polish. My fellow nail Bloggers do it so expertly, I feel there is never anything to add...except for this one.
Galaxy Girl is a very dark burnt raspberry, but indoors, it looks almost black and the turquoise flashing purple mineral shimmer looks silver. Galaxy Girl looks best in bright, indirect light, making it the type of polish that to everyone else but the wearer, just another dark, shimmering vampy.

Being a vampy lover, I don't dislike Galaxy Girl. I am, however, disappointed that it looks more interesting in the bottle and in pictures than it does irl. I expected this color to be WOW, but it fell very short. More than that, I am extremely disappointed in the non drying formula.

Here are my pictures- under different lighting- looking much nicer than what I see on my nails irl.
Full sun;

Bright indirect;

Dappled sun;

Right hand, non drying issues;
Hair marks on middle nail. 

Major scrape...woke up to ring finger nail stuck to middle nail- 17 hours after application.

The bottle I bought as a back-up (because I thought this color would be wonderful) is now labeled and destined for my frankening drawer.

My old reluable, OPI DS Passion

Hi Kids!
Wow! Super busy at the restaurant over the weekend! Thankfully, my boss (the primary owner) will be back from his 5 week vacation to Greece on Thursday. I'll be glad to send the secondary owner packing and get back to having Monday as my RDO. I always feel like I've been run over by a truck after busy weekends, and having to work 2 more days until a day off totally sucks.

In an effort to pick up my spirits, I chose to wear my old reliable; OPI DS Passion. Prior to this, my mani was Nfu-Oh #50 layered over Brucci Blue Sapphire. I've come to the conclusion that I do not like flakies on my tips, but love them on my toes.
Anyway...DS Passion is the polish I reach for when I desperately need a fill, maintenance, or a pick-me-up. The mauve base matches my ruddy tones, making it a semi neutral on me. Because the color and soft, linear holo elongates my fingers and nails, it never fails to make me feel I have something very pretty on.

Flash

Current pedi- Nfu-Oh #50 over Brucci Blue Sapphire. Don't judge- no maintenence here what-so-ever, AND I've just been on my feet for 16 hours...

Simple fauxnad flowers on Orly Rage

Hi Kids!
Lovely color, Orly Rage...Mani is 3 coats, plates; BM03 & fauxnad H3, stamped with WnW Black, 2 sizes gold, holo, hex sequins, 2 coats Seche.
Pictures look better bigger...just ignore the fact that I did not clean this mani up

I matched my mani color to the shirt I had planned on wearing. I had only worn it once before, and never took note that there were flowers on it. Honest to goodness, I had this shirt on for an hour and did not know how exact my mani matched until I passed by my full view mirror.
Check it;

It actually kind of freaked me out. I had my daughter, son and husband all come over to see the surreal duplicity, only to be disappointed that they were not as amazed as I was.
Apologies that I did not delay posting until tomorrow for some daylight photos...I could not wait (to get off work) and share this with all of You!

Fairey Bomb Glitter franken

Hi Kids!
Being the busiest month of the year, August business at the restaurant sucks the life right out of me. Business is booming this year too, in spite of the economy- or rather because of it. People can't afford big vacations and are opting for southern New Jersey shore points. All those coming from north and north-west of the center line of the state, drive right by the restaurant. It's been crazy busy!
Once September rolls in, kids go back to school, trips to the beach will be weekends only. Just a few more weeks to go until I can get back to posting (at least) 1 layered fauxnad a week. Yay! I know that's what you're all here for...me too...lol!

In the mean time, instead of going on hiatus or disappearing, I'll be bringing you frankens, simple stamping and some NOTDs.
Speaking of frankens...I've been making a lot of them lately! Mixing polish, pigments and glitter is exciting and relaxing at the same time. I've made over 24 so far- half, of which, are for stamping.
Anyway, today's franken, Fairey Bomb Glitter, is not a true franken... It's Freshcover Pinky Lacquer- made better.  Pinky Lacquer is a pretty, sheer pink polish with iridescent glitter. I really loved that this polish had iridescent gold glitter(like OPI Pink Me I'm Good) in addition to multi colored iridescent.The original is long gone.... I frankened this a month after I purchased it- a year ago.  If memory serves me correct- the glitter particles were one size, and I added smaller iridescent gold, multi iridescent and holo dust to make this pretty layering polish more dimensional. Go figure- my awesome glitter bomb mani is wasted...after a 3 week drought- I woke up to a gray sky and rain.
I feel so bummed...I wanted to post something special. Irl, the holo dust looks to be floating on top of the nail tentatively-as if you could blow it off. It is wall-to-wall glitter, and so not the weak coverage pictures show.

 Mani is 1 coat Fairey Glitter Bomb over 2 coats Ruby Kisses Pink Hot Pants (another perfect polish from RK!!!).

RAOK

Hi Kids!
How cool is this? I was recently gifted with 2 necklaces from peripatetic33. Thank you so much Teresa- I LOVE them!!!
I paired the turtle necklace with a black, feathered necklace I already owned, and wore it with an alligator print sleeveless shirt on Saturday. With a long black gauze skirt, sandals and a couple of black, feathered hair picks, my whole look was super bold and organic. I love the feeling of wearing an outfit that "comes together".  My plan was to take pictures after work. I should have known better than to think I'd have energy for anything after being on my feet for 14 hours. Anyway, I took a picture today, and have included a couple more the day my RAOK package arrived.

Thank you again Teresa!

Rub-on stickers and Fimo Flowers!

Hi Kids!
For those of you who are still looking for a very pretty, soft but sassy shade of melon/coral/apricot  for summer, I encourage you to locate and purchase Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Sunrise Sunset.
Being a build-able color, this is nothing short of awesome. First coat is semi sheer melon, softly glowing with apricot, and sprinkled with a slight green shimmer. Each coat after enhances opaqueness, but still retains an overall softness. Aptly named, this polish glows like Sunrise and Sunset, but in a very subtle and delicate way. Soooo pretty- and I love it bunches.

I wore 2 coats of Sunrise Sunset as my NOTD yesterday, and added some craft rub-on stickers last night. I had less than desirable results with the rub-ons, due to the stiffness of the plastic backing, so I added whole and cut up (w/cuticle scissors) fimo flowers to help save my mani. To keep the fimo slices from looking too chalky, I gave them a coat of CND Crimson and Jade Sparkle, and topped it all off with 1 thick coat of Seche.

Macro setting on my camera picked up the demarcation edge of the rub-ons- irl these edges are not noticeable at all. All pic are clickable.

Pretty color all by itself...

Ruby Pumps - blinged out

Hey Kids!
Would you believe that this is the first time I've worn China Glaze Ruby Pumps full nail?  Having experienced this polish for myself, I can now understand why this polish is in so many top 20 lists!
I wore Ruby Pumps as my NOTD on Saturday, and amped up the bling with some layering on Sunday.
Pictures are clickable...

My camera captured the over all metallic-ness of the glitter in Ruby Pumps in these next pics.
Make them bigger to get a good look!

The "blackening" you see at the cuticle and sidewalls was done with a layer of Nfu-Oh 51. I have a deep red-purple jelly franken that would have done a better job, but at the time I did not think of it. I don't like how the flakes/glitter in 51 show green in some pictures.
I applied Color Club Mini in Abracadabra (a super chunky, flashy, sparkley glitter in an orange jelly base), heavy at the tips and dragged it halfway up the nail. 2 coats of Seche made this nice and smooth!

Asian inspired fauxnad

Hi Kids!
I Love Asian inspired nail art. It's a theme that's super easy to pull together, especially if you have Asian lettering (or is it wording?). Anyway...
Several months ago, I picked up a very cool fauxnad plate, from Chez-delaney.  P49 and has a series of 12 Asian lettering(?), wording(?), sayings(?) around the perimeter of the plate in addition to 12 astrological signs in the center of the plate.
I figured it was high time to use it, especially since I have even more Asian design options with the Essence plates Tiana sent me.

The color choice for my base is an odd one, where Asian is concerned. It's the new Confetti polish My Favorite Martian. I wore this light pine, glass fleck as a NOTD before I went nutz with layering and stamping. Actually, that is the condensed version. Because I'm super busy at the restaurant, I do my manis with nail art in stages. Day 1-NOTD,  Day 2-Layering, Day 3-Stamping, Day 4-So "over" the mani and color, I can't wait to take it all off! ~Sigh~ I cannot wait until we're a bit slower so I can at least have some time to reply to your comments.
 Anyway, here are the (clickable) pictures. Deets after...

Day1- NOTD, 3 coats My Favorite Martian.
Day2- layering with; CND, Sapphire Sparkle, Jade Sparkle, Crimson Sparkle, Raspberry Sparkle, Hard Candy Sweet P, & Sinful Colors Green Ocean in arcs, thick lines and circles, all outlined with a glitter liner from US Maxim.
Day3- stamping with fauxnad plates; H23, H28, H30 & P49, Konad M66 and an unmarked, rectangular Essence plate. Stamped with Konad Special polish Wine Red, and a black Color Club mini. Accents done with a dotting tool and China Glaze Ruby Pumps. 2 coats Seche.

Etude House BL009

Hi Kids!
Move (waaaaay) over Charla and Dickweed...Etude House BL009 is the new, Mega Superstar in my polish collection. Everything about it- color, application, formula, dry time and finish is total perfection!
For the last 2 days, I've spent more time looking at my nails than doing the things I'm supposed to be doing.

Etude House BL009 is an absolute stunner- it's a crime that I put up pictures that fall so very short of what it truly looks like. I tried an image search, only to come up with pictures similar to mine.
Take the following description and imagine this polish twice as pretty as the gorgeous bottle it comes in!

Etude House BL009 is a  "blued" jelly, turquoise/emerald shimmer. ("Blued" like Zoya Isla is a "blackened" red.) The density of the micro shimmer makes it difficult to identify what shade of blue the base really is. I've included a 1 coat swatch of BL009 on a piece of clear plastic to get a better look at the base. The swatch isn't totally color accurate, looking a bit greener than it is. This might be due to my "sunset" camera setting which puts a yellow cast to my pictures. While the base is not as blue as Orly Royal Navy, it is blue enough to look blurple at the extreme edges of the nail. ~So pretty and totally cool!~ Anyway the micro shimmer is very glowy with a fair amount of tiny sparkle. Depending on light source the micro shimmer fluctuates between turquoise and emerald.

 The application of BL009 was perfection...absolutely the smoothest and most behaved polish I've ever experienced. No "oopsies", mani turned out flawless where the polish was concerned. There was no need for clean-up. The base *is* thin, and I believe that all the micro shimmer not only helped keep pooling at bay, but also helped keep the polish traveling down the whole length of my nail without streaking.
Mani is 2 coats of BL009 over 2 coats of Seche base, topped off with 1 coat of Seche tc...all done and dry to the touch in under an hour.
The only negative I had with Etude House BL009- no ballz in the bottle- to which I remedied by adding 2.

I happen to LOVE shimmers. I think they look best on my nails, making them look longer and more slender than they really are. Etude House BL009 goes even further with that optical illusion... the "blued" effect around the edges makes my nails look super slender. I want 4 more bottles...1 as a back-up and 3 to franken with!

I feel very lucky to have Etude House BL009 in my stash. I received it along with several other ETs in a swap with the lovely and mega talented Thriszha from FAB UR NAILS. Thank you sooo much Sweetie!!!
It can, however, be purchased HERE, if it ever gets restocked.

As always, pictures are clickable for the ginormous view.
These are lightbox pictures...
*edit* I did not kill this dragonfly for pictures- I found it dead but intact on our bench in the restaurant's lobby.

Washed out color directly under an incandescent 60watt lightbulb...

1 coat swatch on clear plastic...

Another lightbox pic...look at the blued edges on my nails and in the gorgeous bottle...so beautiful!!!