Nubar Peacock Feathers

           Today, I wore Nubar Peacock Feathers. I don't really know why I decided to put it on...it just seemed like a good time. But of course, as soon as I put on something that kind of depends on good light, a huge storm (complete with grey clouds) rolls up on my little corner of the US. So I'll probably revisit this one when there's more sunlight, because it really deserves a better showing that what I've got at the moment. Okay, on to the (crappay) pitchas. 

Peacock Feathers is a saturated shimmery royal purple duochrome, that flashes green and peacock blue. 

Artificial light, with flash. 

This is why I never use my flash..it looks so crazy. smh. 

Natural light, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Natural light, no flash. 

      Because there was not one single solitary drop of sunlight today, I can't say that I've seen everything that Peacock Feathers has to offer. But just from what I have seen, I'm in love. Now, I don't really think that the duochrome is THAT wonderful. It's an obvious and pretty effect, and what you get in the bottle, you get on your nail, which I truly appreciate. But I'm more impressed with Peacock Feathers' gorgeous shade of purple, and for me, that's where a little more of the wow-factor comes from. 

     Along with gorgeousness in spades, Peacock Feathers also boasts a nice formula. It went on very smoothly, with no bubbling, dragging, streaking, or other forms of tomfoolery. I know my cuticles are looking crazy as hell, but that was a combination of not putting on the topcoat right and not cleaning up well. It's not the polish's fault. My only complaint though is that I felt that the formula was a tad bit thin. I used four coats of polish, and imho, Peacock Feathers needed every one.

   And with that, I am all done for today...there's homework sitting on my bed, glaring accusations at me, and it will no longer be denied. ;__;  Have an awesome night guys!

Nubar Forest + Nfu-Oh 40

           I don't have a new color to show today, because the weather was supposed to be crummy and with my schedule today, I didn't think I'd have enough time to take good pictures. It turns out I was only half right, because the weather was just peachy. It looks like fall is finally coming! But anyway, instead of using an untried, I had some layering fun with  Nfu-Oh 40 and Nubar Forest.

The green here is too dark because of the lighting conditions, but the flakes were the point anyway. I love the colors they show!

Sunlight, no flash. 

Natural light, no flash.

Interestingly, I think flakies look better with less light. Does anyone else think do, or am I just weird/blind?

Detail view of the ring finger.

The flower came from a nameless, brandless packet of decals, and the gem in the center came from a Nailene set. Of course, I put it in all lopsided. lol!

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

     To make this, I started off with three ultra-smooth coats of Nubar Forest and one layer of topcoat. I put the decal and gem on next, followed with two coats of Nfu-Oh 40, and topped off with a final layer of Poshe and Essie drying drops. I tried to wait before falling asleep, but I did end up with sheet marks. 

  I must admit to a little regret...I wish I had used Greener instead of Forest. But what I have now is okay too. It makes me think a little of a green opal. I think if I used a really deep green under Nfu-Oh 40, it would have been more similar:

I love green opals.

    Additionally, I have to let out a big fat YAY!!! Yay, because The Phalanges Files actually has over 100 followers! That's so exciting to me, because I started this blog as a way to keep track of my rapidly expanding nail stash.  I didn't think anyone would find it, much less read it. LOL. So thank you guys for reading, commenting, and/or following. I appreciate every last one of you, forreal forreal! ^_^

   Have a great night! 

CQ Gem Green

            Okay, confession time. My nails currently look a hot mess. I've been wearing Masquerade Ball since Saturday, and haven't had time for a full change. And because of the chips, I can't just layer something or konad over it. Add in that we are having some crappay weather here in the District, and you have a recipe for blog fail. So I'm going to show you guys something from my backlog. Meet CQ Gem Green, from the core line.

          

Gem Green is a pale and silvery mint green polish, with very weak holographic shimmer. My camera has a blue fetish, so it gave the pictures a bit too much turquoise. In reality, it's actually thisclose to being a perfect match for those green snuggies.  I forgot to take a picture of my hand next to my snuggie. 

But here's a generic picture:

If you don't have a snuggie, please get one. It will change your life.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

     Gem Green was such a wonderful find for me. I think the shade of green is pretty unique. I can't even really describe it correctly. It's like there was a pale mint green, and they added a little bit of turquoise, a little bit of silver, and a touch of grey, and they all came together to make this gorgeous dirty green. When I leave my hand flat on the table, I see the dirty mint green, but when I lift my fingers a little, there's a more vibrant green that comes out in the center of the nail. It's very pretty. I'm a fan of the shimmer too, even though it doesn't make for a very good holographic effect. Like, if I look closely or hold my hand a certain way, I can see the holo-ness. But most of the times, I can't. 

    Gem Green also had a nice formula. It wasn't too thick or thin, and it didn't apply badly. I needed two coats for opacity, and then one more  thicker one to make it perfectly smooth. In these pictures, I didn't add topcoat, because the holo was already super weak, and I didn't want to completely kill it. But even without the topcoat, dry time was good. By the time I was done taking pictures (about 15-20 minutes) it was completely dry, and had a little gloss and shine to the surface. 

   And there's a winnah for my giveaway! I only had ten entries, so I thought that Random.org would be overkill. I asked the security guard to pick a number between 1 and 10, and he picked 9. Entry 9 was Li Lian from shortwidenails, so she was the winnah! Yayy! And thanks to the lovely ladies who participated! ^_^

And that's all I've got for today. Take care, everyone!

   

Vampy Week: Confetti Masquerade Ball

            Woww, this has been the wackest vampy week ever, huh? LOL. Foolish life, getting in the way of all my  hopes and dreams. But anyway, for today, I tried to pick a good one to end the week on, and (if I do say so myself) I think I did a pretty good job. Behold, Confetti Masquerade Ball:

Masquerade Ball is a thin black base with a crapload of coppery-red microshimmer. The shimmer is like the colored of freshly dried blood. The overall effect is a glowy, blackened burgundy polish. 

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

          Masquerade Ball has to be one of the best reds I own. To be fair, I own like pretty much no reds because I tend to hate them, but still...this color is seriously hot. The shade of red itself is super rich, very pretty and flattering. And the overall effect of the polish is gorgeous...there's a ton of depth, and it does that thing where the center of the nail is red and the edges are black. It's not the most unique thing out there...I'm sure you'd be able to find a dupe for it. But but but...Masquerade Ball was only $1.99 so I think you'd be hard pressed to find a cheaper dupe.

         Masquerade Ball's formula was pretty middle of the road. It went on okay, but was a little thin, so I needed three coats to get it to bottle color. Dry time was pretty good though. 

        And as a reminder, this is the last day to enter my wittle giveaway. So if you'd like to enter, please leave your comment by midnight, EST. 

        Have an awesome Saturday, guys!

Nubar Unfaithful Red + Fauxnad

            Man...today was one of those days where halfway through, I had to stop and ask Jesus to take the wheel, because if not, I would have driven the car right off a cliff. I'm so le tired. But I just wanted to write a quick post about the konad that I did on my mani from yesterday, because I actually like this one. 

I used the little scrolly pattern from BM12, and stamped it on with China Glaze 2030. 

Then I put a little clear gem where the scrolly part was skinniest. 

Sunlight, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash. 

      Lol, in all the frustration, embarrassment, misery, confusion and despair of today, my nails were the one thing that kept a smile on my face. And really, isn't that how it should be? 

Have a good night, everyone!

Vampy Week: Nubar Unfaithful Red

           Today, I'm wearing Nubar Unfaithful Red, from the Liquid Metals Collection. I'm not sure if it really counts...it ended up brighter than I expected, but whatever. I'm still counting it. lol!

Unfaithful Red is a bold, saturated, and slightly deep crimson red in a metallic finish. There's also an undercurrent of gold shimmer throughout, although the gold is way more evident in the bottle than it is on the nail. 

 

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

      Unfaithful Red is super hot...I'm looking forward to wearing it again when my nails are longer. It has a little bit of that awesome quality where it's bright in the center and darkens at the edges of the nail, and the faintly gold shimmer is a wonderful little detail. I felt so grown up (in a good way) wearing this today...much less like the Zoloft blobby. I'm only a tiny bit sad because I would have preferred something darker. Maybe a little closer to burgundy. 

     The formula was also very agreeable. Unfaithful Red was opaque in one smooth, buttery, trauma-free coat. I used two coats for security and out of habit, but I think I would have been able to get away with just one. It was already glossy, but I put one layer of topcoat anyway. It also dried really fast...thirty minutes after application, it was just barely dentable. So yay for Unfaithful Red! 


Oh yeah, and there are only three days left to enter my giveaway!