(Lame) Halloween Mani

   For Halloween, I wanted to do something cool and interesting, but I didn't have any time. I hate how there aren't enough hours in the day. So I will just show you guys the nails that I slapped together, and we can just move on to more fun things. Like CHRISTMAS!! Eeeee. 
Also, all pictures are under an Ottlite with no flash.

This was three coats of Color Club Wham! Pow! (damn unnecessary punctuation), with one thin layer of China Glaze Black Mesh on top. 

      So yep...that was it. Orange creme with black crackle. Way unoriginal, but it came out well so there's that. And it was the first time that people have stopped me to try to guess my nail color! I embarrassed myself with the first person because I assumed she was also a nail fiend and started blabbing away until I realized that she was staring at me like I was some kind of sick freak. I played it cool with the other people though, so lesson learned.

And that's all from me today! Thanks for reading, and have an awesome Thursday! ^_^

China Glaze Orange Knockout + Lightning Bolt

      You know, one thing The Phalanges Files has been missing this summer is neons. I have very few neons, probably because I don't really buy polish in the summer and that's when all the neons come out. But one of the few that I have are China Glaze Orange Knockout, and I'm going to show that to you today. Yay!

But sorry about the craziness that is my skin...my camera just freaks out man. 

Orange Knockout is a neon, traffic-cone orange creme.

Sunlight, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

    Orange Knockout will always have a special place in my heart because it was a gift from my friend Sayra. She's an awesome nail tech and used to blog at Totally Nailed It!, but stopped a few months back, which was sad. But yeah, she sent me this and even though it's not the most unique thing in the world, I love it! It's such a pretty and fun color to wear and there really is nothing like burning out the retinas of innocent bystanders with your nails. 

      It was also very easy to apply...I went with three coats for full opacity, and Orange Knockout went on nice and easy with no tomfoolery of any kind. 

After enjoying Orange Knockout for a while, I used China Glaze Lightning Bolt on top, and followed that with a layer of Essie Matte About You. 

Sunlight, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

      Orange Knockout was great on its own, but with Lightning Bolt, I really love it! It's like a radioactive creamsicle and me gusta! 

And that's all I've got for you guys today!! Thanks for reading, and I hope everyone is having a great weekend! 

Sally Hansen Distressed Denim

    After enjoying Diamond Cosmetics Hot Summer Pink by itself for a bit, I topped it with Sally Hansen Distressed Denim, from their recently released Crackle Overcoat Collection. 

Distressed Denim is a cracking (haha I almost wrote crackhead) cobalt blue jelly.

Sunlight, no flash.

lmao at how my skin goes back to normal with the crackle shielding some of the pink insanity. 

Natural light, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

     I really like Distressed Denim. The bold shade of blue is really pretty to look at, and I am loving the jelly finish. Obviously, the jelly does have its limitations...over darker colors, Distressed Denim completely disappears because it's so transparent. But it looks amazing over sparkly things...I tried it over A-England Merlin and it was like O__O. Hopefully, I can show you it with glitter in a future post.

    In terms of formula, Distressed Denim is tricky tricky. The tips that I can give are to shake it up every few fingers, load a little more on the brush than you think you will need (because Distressed Denim is thin and the brush is skinny as hell), and to not worry about correcting bald spots or unevenness. And don't give up after one try! The first time I tried this, I was like wtf is this shit because it didn't really do anything. But after practicing with it a bit and getting a feel for how to apply it, it actually worked really nicely. 

  And the last thing is that I would not recommend that you buy Distressed Denim (or any of the Overcoats really) at full price. I paid $7.99 for this one at Walgreens and it's not worth that much, partially because it's not foolproof. So wait for a sale or coupons or something and you'll probably be much happier. 

And that's all from me today!! Thanks for reading, and enjoy your Saturday!

Color Club Magic Attraction + China Glaze Black Mesh

       Today, I'm gonna show you guys Color Club Magic Attraction, from the Glitter Vixen Collection. And all the pictures are in sunlight, without flash.

Magic Attraction is made of small multi-sized and multi-shaped silver and holographic glitter pieces, densely packed into a clear base. 

Blurred for sparkliness.

   Magic Attraction is amazing...definitely one of my favorite Color Clubs. It's ridiculously blingtastic in sunlight, and even sparkles in lower lighting conditions. And the size of the glitter gives it this wonderful refined quality. Like, instead of looking childish (some glitters look childish) it just looks really airy and delicate. Throw in the fact that it only costs like $2 or $3 USD, and you have a polish that you really cannot go wrong with.

   Formula-wise, Magic Attraction was a typical glitter bomb. It went on fairly smoothly and dried fast. I used three coats of color and two layers of topcoat in the pictures, and I'm very satisfied with the coverage and smoothness that I ended up with.

After wearing Magic Attraction alone for a day, I put on some China Glaze Black Mesh. 

I know you guys are like omg again?! but don't worry...I won't be using crackle polish again for a while after this. 

  These pictures do not do this look any justice, and the video I made won't upload right, but trust me...this is awesome. Definitely the best crackle combo I have ever done. I love how the sparkles and holo flashes peek through the cracks. I got lots of compliments on it too. ^_^

And that's all I've got today! Thanks for reading!

China Glaze Lighthouse + Crushed Candy

           I was picking out a color to wear today when it hit me that I really need to get rid of some of my children.  I love them, but this is getting out of control. Plus, I have to go home soon. My family hasn't seen my stash in a year, and it's kind of doubled in size. I don't want to hear any concerned speeches or have to deal with Hoarders knocking on my door, so yeah...time to purge. I've gone through my worn polishes, so now I just have to start on my untrieds.
First on the chopping block is China Glaze Lighthouse, from the Anchors Away Collection.

Lighthouse is a sheer lemon yellow base packed with gold glass-fleck shimmer pieces.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

I blurred a little to show off the sparklies.

Natural light, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

    I went back and forth on Lighthouse, but I'm glad that I bought it. It would look better on someone with a darker skin tone, but I don't think it looks terrible on me. And objectively, Lighthouse is quite pretty. The shimmer keeps me from looking like I have a terrible nail disease, and I love how it sparkles in the sun. 

   But as pretty as Lighthouse is, the formula gave me a headache. It applied smoothly, but it was so sheer and thin. I ended up doing one layer of Barielle Natural Nail Camouflage, another layer of Essie Limo-Scene, three layers of Lighthouse, and one layer of topcoat. It was so hard. Haha that's what she said. But no really, it was alot of work. 

I also added some China Glaze Crushed Candy to the mix. This was a combo that I'd been wanting to try forever, but the results were less than...awesome. 

   It would have been nice, but those damn ripples came along and messed it up. I don't know if they were because of all the layers or what. 

 But anyway, Lighthouse can stay. It is unique in my collection, plus I really do like it.

And that's all for today. Thanks for reading, and have a nice day!

Milani Cyberspace + Blue Iguanas!

  Firstly, Happy Happy Earth Day to everyone! I hope everyone is wearing their party pants, because it's a celebration! 

I sure am. n_n

Today's animal is the Blue Iguana. It also goes by the Grand Cayman Iguana.

    Blue iguanas can also be grey, green, or brown, but the blue ones are the prettiest, I think. They live on Grand Cayman island in the Caribbean, and were being wiped out because their homes were being used to build roads and houses. They also get killed by cats, dogs, and people driving in their cars. The good news is that people are working hard to keep the left over ones safe. But there are still very few of them on Earth and they have to live on preserves, which is sad. 

Since these iguanas come in so many colors and today being what it is, I went with Cyberspace, from Milani's amazing 3D Holographic Collection.

Cyberspace is a cornflower blue base with lots of flat and kind of flakey holographic particles in it. The particles come together to form a fairly strong and shattered but linear holo effect. If that makes sense. And as always, my camera dulled the holo some. Hater. -____-

Sunlight, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Gratuitous thumb shot. 

I like thumbs. They give you the power to tie your shoelaces and text.

Sunlight, no flash.

    Well, I have little to say about this guy. Clearly, it is gorgeous and fabulous. If holos get your motor running, I highly suggest waiting for a Milani BOGO and then marching to your nearest drugstore and picking Cyberspace up.  

    Formula-wise, Cyberspace was okay and application was straightforward. All I needed were three easy coats and a thin layer of topcoat for a perfect look. 

Then I had the brilliant (read: stupid)  idea to put some China Gaze Black Mesh on top. I like the color combo, but the holo-ness was ruined. *sad horns*

    I really hope that we can take out some time today (and every day) to really appreciate our spectacular planet. It truly is special...it's the only one in our solar system and most likely in our galaxy that can support life as we know it. So if we mess this place up, that's it. There really isn't anywhere else for us to go, and even if there were, it would suck butt. It would be like Wall-E or Pandorum or Bladerunner. Or even The Matrix. I don't want my descendants to live messed up lives because my generation couldn't get our shit together. So we should all do our very best (even if it's kind of inconvenient) to be nicer to the Earth and to get others to be nice as well. 

Also, if you have some extra time today, I urge you to calculate your footprint. And watch Planet Earth! It's fun and  educational too! ^_^)

Okay, I'm done now. Thanks for reading, and have a most beautiful Earth Day!!