Infamous Starry Starry Night & Life of the Party Swatches

Hey Lacquer Lovers!

I have two really awesome swatches to show y'all today! Starry Starry Night and Life of the Party were part of the 2016 Retro Revival set from Essie. Below I will be going over each of these swatches individually.

Starry Starry Night 

Okay, this one has a tiny bit of back story to it. Apparently the original was released in 1985 and was absolutely amazing! The original formula contained actual diamond dust which caused everyone to go completely gaga over it. So naturally, everyone became extremely upset when this polish was discontinued in 1998 due to a lack of diamond dust to keep up the quality that was expected. The sudden high demand caused this polish to be sold for a whopping $250 on eBay in February 2014. Unfortunately, according to everyone in the polish community, the re-release isn't nearly as good.

My thoughts on this are actually quite high. The only thing I have against this polish is that the application is a bit funky. It takes several coats to get the color over the entire nail; my only guess is it's due to the very jelly-like nature of the polish itself. Now as you can see, the end result is beautiful! Notice the tiny silver and blue glitters suspended in a blue jelly base to give this polish a wonderful galaxy-looking finish. Overall, despite the hate this re-release has gotten, at least to this blogger, it is still worth getting.

Life of The Party

This one will be far easier to review. Originally released in 2002, the shimmery burgundy has made a large comeback in the Retro Revival set. Now, the popularity of this one isn't nearly as high as Starry Starry Night, but I'm sure by some it was missed dearly.

I personally love this color! The bright, hard-to-miss shimmer is definitely a good ending to a manicure. This color is absolutely beautiful to look at, and it catches the light wonderfully. It was opaque in only two coats, and I only had to cover it with a clear glossy top coat to finish this effect.

So far I am extremely happy with my decision to add the 2016 Retro Revival set to my collection. Click here to view the entire set I purchased from eBay, Until then, I hope you enjoyed these swatches as much as I did and I will see y'all next week!

May your paws stay polished and have a safe weekend!

-Randi

Nail Mail and a Heartfelt Apology

Hey everybody!

I first want to start this post out with a sincere apology. Between the holidays and being sick the last couple of weeks, I wasn't able to get to a computer regularly to keep up with blogging. But this year, even if it is just a simple swatch post, I will get something up every week as I have stated. I will be testing out a variety of different posting topics, and I would love to get your feelings on each as I make them.

For starters, I'd like to start doing a segment called Nail Mail, where I'll be showcasing different sets of colors from all around the nail world as I receive them in the, you guessed it, mail! I'll give my input, the specific style, how well it works, etc etc and so forth! That gives all of you an idea if these might be sets you'd be interested in buying! I'll even post a link to each seller so you can check them out yourself!

This first set I found while I was browsing eBay (as we all know we do). I stumbled across the Retro Revival set from January 2016 for a measly $20, and I jumped on it! This includes six of what some would consider a set of Essie's most beloved colors:

• Starry Starry Night
• Cabana Boy
• Birthday Suit
• Bikini with a Martini
• Life of the Party
• Sequin Stash

I tested each of these colors and I love most of them. On that note, I'll give each individual polish a moment in the spotlight with a swatch, posting two a week for the next three weeks to cover everything you'll need to know about them. 

So until next time, may your paws stay polished and pristine!

-Randi

L.A. Colors--Test

Hey everybody!

Oh my gosh, so much to catch y'all up on! To start, a sincere apology, a mixture of phone issues and some other things have kept me away. Now, I'm back, new phone with a better camera (yay!), ready to get back at it! :)

So jumping right into it, I'm sure you have seen the "Guaranteed to last" or "Will last up to..." claims that these companies make to try and sell their product to anyone they think might fall for it. Well I found one that I decided to put to the test... Check it out!

L.A. Colors has a line that claims to 'last up to 10 days', well like most skeptics, I didn't believe a word of it! So they were a decent price, I got them from Walmart at about $2 a piece. They said it only works with their matching 10-day top coat so I got the top coat too.

The color is a blue green shimmer polish with a slight glittery undertone. After reading the instructions (simply because I was curious) I saw that it states not to use a base coat (or so it seemed). So in an effort to make this test as accurate as possible, I only didn't use it on my pinkie finger in case the color stained. Here is what is looked like when I started:

Beautiful color! Decent coverage as well, 2 coats to full opacity. My pinkie finger is the only one without a base coat and I used their 10 day top coat to finish it off. I treated this manicure the same way I do the other ones, I might have been even harder on it just to test its limits. Here is the end results after a full 11 days of wear: 

As you can see, this lasted pretty well, only minor wear around the edges! Pretty impressive actually because I am not nice to my nail polish. -lol-

Well I hope you enjoyed this post guys. Again, I am so sorry for the long absence!

Thanks for following my blog and I will catch y'all next time!

-Randi

Haunting Graveyard Mani

Hey everybody! 

It's officially one of my favorite months of the year! Mainly because it leads to one of my favorite holidays of the year, Halloween! In honor of this awesome holiday I will doing Halloween themed manicures that you could rock no matter what costume you are wearing. 

We are starting this awesome month off with one of my favorite haunted places, graveyards! Here is the finished product:

Here is what you will need to complete this awesome look:

• Nail Polish: Light purple, Pink, White and Black. 
• Tools: Sponge, Small brush, Acetone and Liquid latex (optional)

You will need a white base to start, I used Sally Hansen's - Get Mod. While you're letting that dry, if you have liquid latex, paint this around nails and cuticle area. You could also use tape to accomplish a similar end result. 

Your next step involves the light purple and pink polishes as well as the sponge.  You will be creating a sponge gradient for the background of your graveyard. Have the purple closest to your cuticle for a 'sunset' type look on all of your nails. See below for an example of this:

After this dries you will want to make hills on your nails using your black nail polish. Feel free to make them as different and unique as you want, they will just end up looking more natural. Here is shot of mine after I added my hills to them:

After that use the black nail polish, I used China Glaze- Liquid Leather, to create your tombstones. For normal tombstones start with a light touch pushing slightly as you go down your nail. For crosses, you will need a small thin brush and the same black nail polish and carefully paint the crosses at whatever heights you would like. 

Put on a glossy top coat and you're done! However I'm sure it would great with a matte finish as well

As usual thanks for reading!

Until next time,

-Randi

Nail Care and My Go-Tos

Hey everybody!

  Oh my gosh, it has been SO hectic the past month but I am hoping to get back to posting regularly again.

  So I thought for my first post in a while I would let y'all in on what I like to do to keep my nails healthy and strong. Let's get started! :)

  So my first and probably best tip I can give y'all is getting a good nail/cuticle oil. I use Simply Pure by Bliss Kiss. I was introduced to this product by Simply Nailogical and it has all but saved my nails. Before I started using this product, my nails would crack and split very easily and I constantly had hang nails (Ouch!!). After only a week of using this nail oil my nails were stronger and I had gotten them to a length that I could have never imagined before. I was in love! On top of the good oil I also like to use a lotion that is labeled as 'hand and nail care', this type of lotion will typically have more vitamins in it that are good for keeping your hands and nails properly moisturized. I use Mane&Tail's Hoofmaker, it smells great and works really well, especially if you have dry hands like I do.

 

*Please excuse the old polish lol*



My second big tip that I have for you, as weird as this is going to sound, is to avoid prolonged exposure to water whenever you can. Soaking your nails weakens them and makes them more prone to breakage or tearing. This is easier than you might think, the only real time that this will become a concern is when you are washing dishes or cleaning.. all you need to do is start wearing the latex (or non-latex) cleaning gloves. Like these here.

This is my favorite tip because it is by far the most fun. Never Be Nude... I'm not talking clothes, I'm talking nail polish. The polish gives your nails a sort of shield from the outside world, making it just that much harder for them to break. This doesn't make them break proof but it does help them quite a bit. So rock those colors and show off those designs!

My last tip that I have for you is.. don't do dangerous things with your nails! Need to open a coke can? Grab that spoon. Got a sticker-y situation? Soak it in hot water and go after it with alcohol (don't forget your gloves!). Be careful and mindful of what you are doing with your nails and they will last longer.

That about wraps this up. Just remember, wear your gloves, never go nude and be mindful of what you are putting your nails through. Add those in with a bit of time and you will have long strong nails before you know it!

Thanks!

Until next time!

-Randi











Trust Fund Beauty- Champagne Socialite *Review Request*

Hey Socialites!

Oh you aren't socialites? Well you will be after trying this beautiful shade from Trust Fund Beauty. It's called Champagne Socialite and it is a really nice pale pink shimmer. Check it out!

It's a wonderful formula, goes on smooth and covers in an easy 2 coats! The picture is a typical coverage, 2 coats and a top coat. It lasted about 10 days with little chipping or wear. 

Well I have to say I am very impressed with this shade from Trust Fund Beauty. It will be a regular wear for me I think. I would say this is definitely a shade you should consider for your collection. 

Until next time!

-Randi

Trust Fund Beauty - I Can't Even *Review Request*

Hey again everybody!

I am here today doing a review on Trust Fund Beauty's- I Can't Even. It is a basic black creme polish and took a standard 2-3 colors for full coverage. 

In my opinion though, wow check out that shine! Looks great and wears well, with 3 coats and a top coat. It lasted a full 5 days with nearly no chipping.

I would definitely recommend adding this to your collection! Go check out Trust Fund Beauty's website for a look at their other colors!

Until next time!

-Randi