U-Neek Polish: Hearts Collection Swatches & Review

Hola lovelies! Today I have some really beautiful Valentine's Day Polishes from U-Neek Polish's Hearts Collection. Every one of the 4 colors has, you guessed it, heart glitters! Let's get to it...

How About A Tutorial?

Good evening my polished pals! I was feeling a bit better at about 6 am so I decided to try and play with my polish for a while. I wanted to do something Christmasy but EASY since I am still feeling yuck and quite sore from all of the coughing. Candy canes came to mind instantly. I wasn't optimistic enough to attempt to do a tape mani, which I love because of the precise lines and my OCD, so I decided to use the stripe mani I did a while back for inspiration. This is my day 12 mani from the 31 day challenge.

Day 27 Inspired by Artwork

Goooood morning polish world! I have completed yet ANOTHER day in the challenge! Surprised my polished pretties? If you are I can't say I blame you! Today is suppose to be inspired by art. When thinking of what I wanted to do for this the only thing I could think of was watercolor paintings. So here is my Art inspired mani for day 27. I am half asleep, so this is going to be quick! 

31 Day Challenge: Day 7 "Black & White"

Good mornin y'all! My second post today is my Black & White mani! If you haven't seen my super early post  this morning go check it out here. There is a little info on there for everyone! =)

 

I've been wanting to do this mani for a while now, I was planning on doing it for my Rainbow post but I have come up with a new concept for that.

 

What I have for you all today is Spun Sugar.

 

 

Colors used:

 Pure Ice Super Star

Zoya Raven

China Glaze Fairy Dust 

Nail Pattern Boldness Ninja vs Pirate

 

2 coats of both Super Star & Raven

 

1 coat of Fairy Dust

 

1 coat of Ninja vs Pirate on my middle finger.

 

 

 

Now the spun sugar part. =)

 

I really love this mani. It works well with pretty much any colors, any polishes. Plus it looks great without being hard to do. It just takes a little patience.

Well I hope you gals like it!

 

Don't forget to check out the mani's the other ladies have done!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cee:Absolutely Cee

Stephanie Louise:All Things Beautiful

Miss L:Beauty by Miss L

Mandy:Chameleon Stampede

Kat: Hooked On Polish

Kimber: Kimber's Lacquer Korner

Liz: Lozlosa

Lariesa: Me, Myself & Polish

Mixed Mama:Mixed Mama

Mari:Nailista

Diana: Nails By Diana

Pam:Nail-E-Glance

Becca:Nail Narcotics

Nicole:Nicole Gets Nailed
Patty: Patty and Goldie's Day Off

Meredith:Perfectly Polished

Sam:Polished Art

Shelby:Shelby's Swatches

Joanna:Sweet Polish of Mine
Nicole:The Color Republic
Kate: The Painted Pony Nails

Aly: Wonderland Beauty




Favorite Things Day 8: Hearts/Love

This mani did NOT go as I had planned it. It was suppose to be love letters and hearts with kisses and such, but the stupid stamp plate was not cooperating. I am blaming the design because I got several others to work.

I started with 2coats of my brand new Zoya (yay!) Dove. I was so happy to get this because I needed a nice cream gray!

On my thumb and pinkie I applied a coat of China Glaze Full Spectrum, from the Prismatics collection. This one has a pink duochrome very pretty. Then for a bit of extra shimmer I applied a coat of Orly Be Brave. Now I wasn't sure how much I'd like this but after seeing it on my nails! WOW! I love how the glitter changes color...it's pink but flashes the entire rainbow in the light! Simply beautiful. this was part of the FX collection but also part of the Breast Cancer Awareness polishes they released as well.If you can find this get it!

My hearts (and lips) are:

 Pure Ice Iced Merlot & Flirt Alert

L'Oreal Penthouse Pink

Sinful Colors Ruby Ruby

Finger Paints Black Expressionism

Only 2 days left in this challenge! I can't believe how fast it went!

Nail Pattern Boldness: My First Indie Purchase

This is going to be long post...Sorry!

I have been checking out a lot of nail blogs lately, and one thing they all have in common is their love for Indie label polishes. So of course I needed to check them out. I've become quite obsessed actually! The problem is they are sooooo popular and very limited so they sell FAST! Well it just so happens that I managed to catch a limited restock for Nail Pattern Boldness...OK, OK! I was kinda STALKING her  Blog and her Facebook Page. LOL

Aaaaaanyway, I managed to snag a few bottles.

I did a few swatches first...

This is a bottle JAM PACKED full of fine glitters.

Mostly matte white, with some yellow, green, blue, red and even a little purple.

I'm 100% positive that this would look Aaaaaamazing in direct sunlight pix. I unfortunately didn't capture any...I will next time though.

1. 3 coats of NPB Mrs.White

2. 1 coat L'Oreal VIP Status and 2 coats NPB Mrs.White

3.1 coat Pure Ice White On and 2 coats NPB Mrs.White

Now, this polish can be pulled off as a "full coverage" polish BUT you have to let it dry completely between coats or it will clump and end up looking ragged like my #1 nail does (I'm impatient)

I actually like the solo look the best. Next time I will let it dry properly to wear it this way.

My second favorite is #3. It adds a subtle glitter look since most of the glitter is white...it looked much better in person than in this picture.

I like #2 but it's not my fave. I need to work on what darker color this would look fabulous on because the VIP didn't do it for me.

What do you think?

Next up: Ninja vs Pirate

That is 2 coats of  N vs P.

It's filled with very chunky black and white matte glitter that look like glass shards.

It, obviously, is meant to be a top coat and not a stand alone polish.

I decided to use this one for my full mani.

I alternated Sinful Colors Midnight Blue and Wet n Wild Red Red.

I then dabbed a bit of Wet n Wild's Spoiled in Daddy's Credit Card...a silver metallic color...with some saran wrap on each nail, to give it a bit of a silver shimmer.

I then added 2 coats of Ninja vs Pirate.

On top of that I added NPB Glitter Food.

This nifty stuff is a two in one polish. It's a top coat that was specially formulated for thirsty glitter polishes, to even them out and keep the finish from being rough or bumpy.

It's also good to, as Allison from NPB says, Fix A Flat...flat glitter polish that is.

For those polishes you have that their base formula couldn't hold up the glitter. There is a better explanation for this process at this link... Fix a Flat.

I used Glitter Food on all but my pinkie nail. I then topped them all with Sally Hansen Mega Shine. (Glitter Food dries to a satin finish, so it is recommended that you add a top coat like my favorites SV or SH Mega Shine to give it a glossy look)

I used 2 coats of the Mega Sine on the pinkie and it was still very bumpy and rough vs the rest of my nails which were relatively smooth. So the Glitter Food was money well spent! 

I am so happy with how this turned out. I am in love with Ninja vs Pirate!

I am so glad I was a stalker! I plan on making another purchase as soon as NPB makes another restock!

Breaking Bad

Since one of one of my favorite shows just had the season premiere

I decided to do some Breaking Bad nail art.

First I applied my SH Salon Manicure Base Coat, 

then a coat of SC Last Chance, a dark green cream polish.

I hand painted (obviously, LOL) the show's theme Br & Ba.

Then I water marbled my thumb and pinkie with Sinful Colors Exotic Green and Last Chance, Sally Hansen Green With Envy and Pure Ice First Time.

Then I painted my ring finger with SC Cinderella for my "blue crystal".

That's A Wrap!

I've been seeing so many Pins on Pinterest with Saran Wrap nails I wanted to try it out for myself

I started off with a base coat and then 2 coats of Pure Ice Flirt Alert.

I let that dry completely and then I painted on 1 coat of Sally Hansen Pacific Blue.

Then I bunched up a piece of Saran Wrap and blotted it on my nail before it dried.

Then I topped it off with a coat of Sally Hansen Extreme Shine.

I LOVE Extreme Shine! That paired with Sally Hansen Salon Manicure Base Coat, WOW!

My mani lasts for so long with that base/top coat combo. This one lasted for a week no chips. It would have lasted longer but I couldn't holdout any longer and HAD to change my color.

I love this color combo! The blue blended with the pink and made a kind of purple outline.

Neon Spun Sugar

Every time I go to Sally's I eyeball the new summer neons by Orly. I've, for some reason, been drawn to the yellow one especially. It's like it calls my name and begs to come home with me. I would even pick it up and walk around with it but still I would put it back and think about how I should have gotten it once I got home. Well my last trip I decided I was tired of mulling it over and I was going to get it! So I get to Sally's and *gasp* I don't see it! Oh wait, someone took the last one and shoved it behind another color! Too bad, it's mine now! HAHAHA! I got the yellow and the blue.

Now, the big question...what can I possibly do with a neon combo that wont look like I dipped my fingers in radioactive goo???

Spun Sugar.

That's what it looked like without a top coat. I actually liked it better without the top coat.

To get this look I started off with my base coat.*

These colors were pretty sheer so I put on a coat of Pure Ice Super Star (white) first.

Then I put 2 coats of Orly Glowstick on all but my ring fingers,

those got 2 coats of Orly Skinny Dip.

Then I just inverted those colors to do the spun sugar look. It takes a little bit of time because you have to wait for the polish to dry to the right consistency to get it to do the strings, but it moves pretty fast after that part. It's also a bit messy, but cleanup can be made easier with the use of an oil around the nail...I used coconut oil but Vaseline would work well, I just didn't have any!

Here's what it looks like with the SV top coat.

It looked fine with the SV but it was difficult to get it on in one coat because

 of how bumpy it is. Plus it took the cool texture away from the design.

Either way it's a great summer time mani!

*Note*

I've found out after I did this mani that my base coat has been my problem problem with premature peeling polish. No one likes PPP! O_O Lol Anyhow...It was a yellow stopper with UV protection that I picked up at Sally's because all of the constant polishing has caused some severe yellowing on my nails. I double checked before I got it to make sure I was suppose to be used for a base coat and not just a solo polish. Yet it peels, after about 18-24 hours, after my mani was finished. So I will only be using it solo from now on. I've found a new one since...Sally Hansen Smooth and Strong Base Coat. It say’s it’s a gel like polish. We shall see if it lasts longer than 24 hours on my next mani.



Iron Man? Is that you??

LOL. Ok, so it's not really Iron Man but wih the color combo on this mani

it really reminds me of the super hero.

For this look i used the following:

1 coat Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear #485 Golden-I.

I sponge applied Pure Ice Iced Merlot.

and with just a tad of the Golden-I to blend it all, two times.

Then, of course, toped it off with a coat of SV.

When i first attempted to do gradient sponging it was not successful.

 There are a few things that most tutorials usually leave out.

1. Make sure your sponge is damp *not dripping wet - not dry* DAMP.

I dip my sponge in room temperature water and ring it out to get it the right dampness.

2. The thinnest and lightest color should go on as your base color.

Some of the tutorials out there make it look easy just put it on the sponge and push it on to your nail.

NOT! You need to have a base color for the other colors to stick to and blend with. I've noticed the thicker the polish the better. Just because the color is dark does not mean it will work well.

3. Don't just set your sponge on your nail. Dab it two or three times.

This helps transfer the colors and blend them. Do not dab it to much or you will lift the color!

Two or three times is plenty. Move on  to the rest of your nails and if you want the color to be darker/brighter do it again after it has had time to dry.

4. Make sure you change your sponge often enough or you will end up with pieces of clumped polish or sponge on your nice mani.

5. Don't worry if it looks rough or like it hasn't blended enough, once you put your

 top coat on it will smooth out. This is also a great time to use that top coat that 

smudges and drags all your nail art, it will really help blend it even more.

I just love these 2 colors togehter! So much shimmer!

 I hope my rundown helped anyone who has been having trouble getting this technique to work