Friday's NOTD: Get Cracking!

Hello all! I haven't blogged in soooo long! Grad school readings are kicking my butt, but fortunately I got my head out the books long enough to snag some China Glaze Crackles. The "it" thing for nails now is a shatter or crackle effect and I decided to test it out for myself. I picked up two colors to start off with, China Glaze's Black Mesh and Broken Hearted. 

Out of all the colors to layer the black crackle over, what do I reach for? China Glaze's Shocking Pink of course! My user name isn't adorepink for nothing! 

 (Above: My right hand makes a rare appearance! And you can see why it rarely gets shown!)

There was a little trial and error when I first applied this, because I was doing either too thick or too thin coats. Once I got good amount of polish that wasn't gloopy or too thin on my brush, I was really satisfied with the crackle effect. Is it me or does this look really Halloween-ish? I cant wait to try out new crackle combos! Until I can get some more time, I'll have to live vicariously through other bloggers and readers!

Are you loving the new crackle/shatter nail trend?

♥ Lachelle

Milani Pink Hottie + Slice of Watermelon

Remember Milani's Spring 2010 neon polishes? Pink Hottie, a medium Barbie pink, was released in that collection. No lie, my mom seriously looked and my nails and goes, "Wow, I just had a flashback! That looks like the color of my Barbie's pink high heels." Um, sure. I think Barbie would go with a polish named Pink Hottie. I used 3 coats of this and of course it dried matte, being it is a neon, so I topped with Seche Vite. This being my first Milani polish, I must say I'm impressed they were able to make a neon that is not difficult to work with, formula wise.

Anyway, I decided to make a little "watermelon slice" on my ring finger to spice this pink manicure up. Totally summer smack in the middle of December. I'm not mad at it!

Can I tell you I am sooooo loving China Glaze's Peppermint Cuticle Oil? The smell is just right, and is a nice treat for my nails. I can see myself using this year around!

♥ Lachelle

This post contains a Milani polish sent for review by the company or PR firm. I purchased the China Glaze product myself. For more information about my disclosure policy, please read this post.

More Gradient Nails...

 Remember when I finally got the hang of doing gradient nails and I was so excited? Well I decided to try them again...with Zoya Charla and China Glaze's Medallion. My index finger chipped so fast! I think its because when I was sponging, I piled so much polish onto the tip to make it darker. As it turns out, I didnt wear this for long...

For some reason, I'm not loving this as much as the first time around. Hmmm, I dont know whats with that. *shrugs*

♥ Lachelle

Purple Gradient Nails

So if you knew how long I have wanted to do purple gradient nails and how many You Tube videos I have watched about it, you would wonder why it took so long for me to do them. Truth is I tried them one time and it turned out not so great and I didn't try again. Lame! 

Well I guess it took the awesomeness of Zoya's JulieAnne to get me started. I think those metallic foils are perfect for layering. I also used China Glaze's Grape Juice and Wet n Wild Kaleidoscope.

 Supplies not pictured are CND Stickey, Seche Vite topcoat and eyeshadow applicators.

What I did was put a bit of Grape Juice and Julie Ann on paper and used the eyeshadow applicator to dab the color lightly on my nails, using more pressure to make the color darker towards the tips. I did Grape Juice first as my "base" and JulieAnne on the tips. Then I put a thin coat of Kaleidoscope over the whole nail and topped it with Seche Vite. 

The whole look was super easy to do and quick. I think I did all of my nails in 10 minutes. You can find eyeshadow applicators at any drugstore for super cheap too. I like that you can do this with any color too, so maybe you'll be seeing more gradient nails in the future.

♥ Lachelle

China Glaze Secret Periwinkle

So I'm glad I decided to get Secret Periwinkle at Sallys this weekend because I love it! Its a color that's unique to my stash. I decided to do a little something different to the ring finger with NYC skin tight denim and nail art brushes.

Oh yeah, I'm still wearing my gel overlays. No breaks yet and I find that my polish stays chip free longer. I'm on my second week wearing them and I haven't applied a second coat of gel yet.

China Glaze Vintage Vixen-Part Three

The last and final installment of my China Glaze Vintage Vixen collection post brings you the polishes that I raised an eyebrow at. I'll tell you what I think and then you be the judge...

Classic Camel, a khaki creme with gold micro glitter. Hmmm. I'm not sure what skintone this color would look best on. I just know there's someone out there who likes, maybe even loves this color. But that girl isn't me.

Grey Puopon anyone?

Goin' My Way is brown frost with copper shimmer. Unlike Classic Camel, I do like this color, but I think it blends right in with my brown skin for a boring, unnoticeable manicure.

Foxy is a burgundy frost with golden shimmer. Foxy feels a little mature to me...

Bogie. Plum frost. This one actually looks the most like a "frost" out of the whole collection. I like it by default because its purple! But the name? I have no idea about what it means.

So there we have it, the China Glaze Vintage Vixen collection in its entirety. For the most part, I like this collection. My favorites are Midnight Mission, First Class Ticket, Swing Baby, Emerald Fitzgerald, Jitterbug & Bogie. Application was very easy, because I find most creme polishes are easier to apply, but that may just be me.

What do you think about CG's Vintage Vixen collection? Own any already?

♥ Lachelle



This post contains a product sent for review by the company or PR firm. For more information about my disclosure policy, please read this post.

China Glaze Vintage Vixen-Part Two

 Well its been a week since I took you back in time for China Glaze's Vintage Vixen Part One, but its been a busy week for me in real life. Now I have Part Two for you and I don't think these colors disappoint. Not to waste anymore time, lets get right to it!

First up, Emerald Fitzgerald. Sparkly green frost and enabler to my current fling with green nail polishes. Its very gorgeous.

 In my personal opinion, it takes a lot for a "greige" polish to stand out to me because I don't believe its a color that flatters my skin tone. However, Ingrid fits the bill with the copper glitter being enough to make me appreciate it it.

Riveter Rouge is a bold, saucy red. I'm not partial to red polishes, but this one makes me want to dare anyone to say anything about it. Its a tough little red, but the dazzling shimmer in it lets you know it has a soft side.

Midnight Mission is a navy blue with silver shimmer. Perfect name for this color because this color evokes images of dark, starry nights. Yeah I went there...but no its not a dupe for the infamous Essie.

One more part of Vintage Vixen polishes to go...

♥ Lachelle



This post contains a product sent for review by the company or PR firm. For more information about my disclosure policy, please read this post.

China Glaze Vintage Vixen- Part One

Ready to take a trip back in time? I have the Vintage Vixen collection to show you and I'm really excited about it! This is the first of 3 posts because I separated the collection up into 4 colors a post.The Vintage Vixen collection is all about 40's era glamour. I really like the theme of this collection and I think there's something for every modern day "vixen" out there in this collection.

 L to R: Hey Doll, Swing Baby, Jitterbug, First Class Ticket

Swing Baby is a personal favorite of mines. In some light it looks gold and in others it appears silver. Either way, I love it!

First Class Ticket,wherever you're going, that's where I want to be! Gorgeous deep purple with blue shimmer. I swear purples never cease to amaze me.

With the Vintage Vixen collection, you can rethink what you though about frosts. I know I did! Three of these pretty polishes are categorized as frosts by China Glaze. They may not dry as glossy as cremes but they make up for it in sparkle.  I wonder if the Vintage Vixens of the 40s would have actually worn these colors? The name fits each polish so well, I started daydreaming while swatching these. Well, back to the future! But remember, we've got two more Vintage Vixen posts to go, so see you soon! :-)

♥ Lachelle



This post contains a product sent for review by the company or PR firm. For more information about my disclosure policy, please read this post.

China Glaze Custom Kicks Polka Dot Mani

Here's a recent manicure I did with CG's Custom Kicks from their Kicks Collection. It is a really gorgeous vibrant blue with golden shimmer, but what else do you expect from CG? They are my favorite nail polish company for blues and greens. This is one coat of Custom Kicks, its really opaque! I added polka dots just to do a little something different.

China Glaze Pool Party + Sun Worshiper

You've seen the greatness that is the CG Poolside collection. I knew these colors were neon, but until saw them on my hands I didn't realize how scorching they were!

Pool Party was an instant favorite. An intensely hot pink made for summertime pedicures. This is two coats over white. It gets no complaints from me.

Sun Worshiper is a bright orange attention grabber. I described it to someone as bright highway vest neon orange because that's what it reminds me of. I had a hard time using this one, but it may be attributed to the white polish I used underneath. I switched from the Wet n Wild polish I was using to a white Nailene polish I had laying around. The Nailene polish had a horrible brush and was so thick! Not that white polishes are notorious to work with anyway... That plus the fact that Sun Worshiper liked to pool around my cuticles made for a application nightmare! Even so, that wasn't enough to keep me away from this color, its just so unique to my stash.

By the way, China Glaze won some of the ALU Superlatives in the Class of 2010! Which ones? Check it right here.

This post contains a sample product sent for review. For more information about my disclosure policy, please read this post.

Sinful Colors Mint Apple + China Glaze Medallion

I've had CG's Medallion for a while and haven't used it very much. It is an amazing gold glitter that (if you're brave enough) can look great own its own after a couple of coats or simply layered over any polish. While looking through my stash I rediscovered it and decided to pair it over Mint Apple for today's manicure.

On it's own Medallion can make your nails feel a little bumpy/rough but that's nothing I couldn't fix with my favorite topcoat Seche Vite.

China Glaze Black Diamond

This is the other polish I won in Landa's Bright Lights Big Color contest. Black Diamond is a shimmer and is a part of China Glaze's core line. 

China Glaze Recycle

Thanks to the contest on the fabulous Bright Lights Big Color  blog I am the proud new owner of two wonderful China Glaze polishes. The one I'm showing today is China Glaze Recycle, an oldie but a goodie. Before I got into nail polish like I am now, I never would have entertained the thought of a gray nail polish. Now, I will accept a gray polish with open arms!

Recycle is a medium gray creme from the China Glaze Spring 2008 Ecollection, which by the way gave us the beautiful blue Shower Together and the gorgeous spring green Tree Hugger.

On to the pictures!

Shown here are two coats of Recycle + Seche Vite. These pictures were taken in about day 3 of the manicure, but the polish is holding up well. What can I say that CG that hasnt already been said? Application was a breeze, the polish flowed onto the nail like butter, dried quickly and is holding up nicely. While this polish is nothing new, I am glad to be able to add it to my collection!

China Glaze The Ten Man

The Ten Man is from China Glaze's Wizard of Ooh Ahz collection released late last year. I didnt even want any polishes from that collection and happended to pick this up at Sallys on clearance without realizing it was from that collection! Its a bit on the the sheer side, but buildable with layers. Thats not even what I dont like about it though. I dont like that its not shiny, even with my super shiny Poshe topcoat and I think that has something to do with its frosty finish. So distract from the lack of shine, I did a little nail art on this manicure. I just used my black Art Deco nail art polish to add some stripes and polka dots and now I can live with it.

  

See how sheer it can be?

 Now that I've whipped out some China Glaze and done some nail art, maybe I can get ideas for the Nail Blog Network contest?

China Glaze Vermillion

Sun shot 

So much to love about this polish. Sigh. Too bad I don't like reds, but honestly this is the best red polish I own. For a girl that doesn't like red nail polish, I sure do feel like I have a lot of it!   The formula is AMAZING. This stuff glides on like butter and is opaque in one coat, but I did two for this manicure. Vermillion is apart of China Glaze's core line and they describe it as a creme, but honestly I think it kind of has a jelly consistency. If you a red lover or are looking for a perfect red polish, I suggest you pick this one up!

China Glaze Skate Night

I'm just now getting around to posting picture of this craptastic manicure. I love China Glaze, I really do. However this polish chipped so fast on me! I believe Skate Night is from their Retro Diva collection, which had some real gems in it. However, Skate Night just didn't do it for me. You know, I was on the fence about this color to begin with because its a little red to me. Oh well, my mom loves it. I might let her have it.

This is two coats + Poshe topcoat.

Essie Matte About You + My Favorite Purples

One of my lovely friends on Twitter, RebeccaKaz, sent me Essie Matte About You topcoat! So this post is possible because of her! Thanks again! I love Essie's Matte About You, I mean its a great solution to the matte nail trend. You can use it to make any nail polish you already own matte. It has a smooth velvet texture when it dries. There's nothing I don't love about this topcoat! So while looking through my stash, wondering what to try it out on first, I came across Sinful Colors Daddy's Girl. I also gathered 3 more of my favorite purples to try out. Here they are:

L to R: Zoya Hope, China Glaze Grape Juice, Hot Topic Iridescent Purple, Sinful Colors Daddy's Girl

The before picture: 2 coats of each polish with no topcoat:
L to R: Daddy's Girl, Iridescent Purple, Grape Juice, Hope

These polishes are already so gorgeous, lets see them with Essie Matte About You.

I love all of these polishes with the matte topcoat! But guess which ones are my favorite?

Zoya Hope + Matte About You. Isn't this a great purple to matte? I didn't cover all the polish with topcoat though,so a little glossy polish still remains by my cuticle. Besides that, I love this!

I saved the best for last. Hot Topic Iridescent Purple is already gorgeous. With the matte topcoat, I think it becomes even more dramatic. I love it. I'm going to do a whole manicure with this one and the Essie topcoat. You can see the purple and blue shimmer in it as well.

I'm sold on Essie Matte About You. That's coming from someone who didn't like the matte trend at first! Did you love these purples with a matte topcoat? I did!