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Tag: manicure

Manicure Monday | Milani Vivid Violet

Posted on July 6, 2015August 12, 2015 by Adventures in Polishland

Happy Manicure Monday! It’s time for the Alphabet Challenge to continue with the letter V. I couldn’t find a brand that begins with V in my collection, so I went with a polish color from Milani called Vivid Violet. I got this polish last year, and haven’t used it in a while. I decided now was the perfect time to put this purple on again!

Vivid Violet is a creme polish in a beautiful purple color. The formula is absolute perfection, and is opaque in two coats. I just love this muted purple shade. It’s great to wear any time of year, and I don’t even feel the need to add top coat as it is naturally glossy! Vivid Violet is definitely one of my favorite Milani polishes!

Vivid Violet isn’t sold in stores any longer, but there are a few bottles for sale on Amazon HERE. I do highly recommend this polish if you love purples as much as I do. Plus, definitely check out Milani’s permanent nail polish line at your local drugstore. Despite the affordable price tag, this brand is 100% fabulous and high quality!

What’s your favorite Milani polish? Let me know in the comments!

The product in this post was provided for my unbiased review. This post contains an affiliate link. All opinions are my own. See my Disclosure Policy for more information.

Manicure Monday | Urban Outfitters Bright Lights

Posted on June 29, 2015August 12, 2015 by Adventures in Polishland

Happy Manicure Monday! The alphabet challenge continues with the letter U today, and I decided to go for one of my beloved Urban Outfitters polishes. Urban Outfitters has quite an extensive nail polish line, and they keep up with trends in the polish world quite well. Plus, they often go on clearance, and I’ve snagged plenty for under a dollar! I shared some of my favorite Urban Outfitters polishes on Possibly Polished a couple years back in a guest post (see that post HERE), but I thought I would share Bright Lights with all of you here, too.

Bright Lights is a jelly polish that has an off-white base filled with multicolored hexagonal glitters and a slight blue shimmer. It is on the sheer side, but I love the look I get in three coats. Plus, Bright Lights is very versatile, and can be worn layered over regular polishes as well. It also reminds me of cake frosting with sprinkles!

All in all, Bright Lights is an all-around great polish. Wearing it again definitely makes me want to visit Urban Outfitters and check out what’s in stock right now. The best part is, Urban Outfitters’s polishes are fabulous and affordable at just 2 for $8! I think that’s quite the bargain, especially considering how often they release new collections. You can shop in store or online HERE. Be sure to let me know in the comments what your favorite Urban Outfitters polishes are!

Manicure Monday | Tillie Polish in Fierce and Fabulous

Posted on June 22, 2015August 12, 2015 by Adventures in Polishland

Happy Manicure Monday! The Alphabet Challenge continues, and I really had to dig in my collection for a brand that begins with T. I found a Tillie Polish shade that I love, so I decided to put it on. I don’t remember the last time I wore it, but I do remember it being my spirit color! Let me show it to you!

Fierce and Fabulous is a hot pink polish with a matte finish and subtle silver shimmer. It is everything I could want in a nail polish! The formula is excellent and opaque in two coats, and the matte finish means I don’t need to grab a top coat. I absolutely love this polish, and feel fierce and fabulous whenever I wear it!

Unfortunately, Tillie Polish is not currently open for business. However, Zoya Lola is a very close match to Fierce and Fabulous. Check out my swatch of Lola HERE if you’re interested in getting a pink like this one. I certainly hope Tillie Polish will begin selling again soon! I love the shop’s creator Andrea and would love to see more polishes in the future. Let me know in the comments what favorite brand of yours is no longer open for business and you wish would come back!

Manicure Monday | Sally Hansen XtremeWear in Blue Me Away!

Posted on June 15, 2015August 12, 2015 by Adventures in Polishland

Happy Manicure Monday! I can’t believe we’re nearing the end of the Alphabet Challenge! This week the letter S is up, and of course I had to reach for one of my favorite brands, Sally Hansen. I’ve been a huge Sally Hansen fan for years and years, way before I ever started blogging. I decided to feature one of the oldest polishes in my collection this week. Let me go ahead and show you Blue Me Away!

Blue Me Away! is a beautiful blue creme polish that is bright yet subdued at the same time. It has a great formula that is opaque in two coats, and is super shiny without top coat. I am so impressed with how this nail polish has stood up to time! My bottle is about half empty at this point, but Blue Me Away! is still going strong. The best part is the XtremeWear line is really affordable, usually around $3.00 at the drugstore. It’s one of my favorite nail polish lines of all time.

All in all, I’m loving Blue Me Away! just as much as I did years ago when it first became part of my nail polish collection. Sally Hansen was one of the inspirations for my blog’s tagline – “Your Guide to Fabulous and Affordable Nails.” I’ve always loved finding a great bargain, and no matter how many nail polishes I get to test, Sally Hansen will be a staple in my collection. You can find Blue Me Away! at your local drugstore or department store. Be sure to let me know in the comments what your favorite XtremeWear polish is!

Manicure Monday | Revlon Nail Art Expressionist in Pop Art

Posted on June 8, 2015August 12, 2015 by Adventures in Polishland

Happy Manicure Monday! I skipped last week’s Alphabet Challenge because I couldn’t find a polish in my collection that began with the letter Q, but I’m back this week and am onto the letter R. I’ve had this Revlon Nail Art Expressionist in my collection for years now, but I almost never use it. I decided this was the perfect time to put it to the test!

The Revlon Nail Art Expressionist in Pop Art is a dual ended nail polish. On one side is a blue nail polish with a regular size brush, and on the other is a pink polish with a thin striping brush. I began with two coats of the blue, and was impressed with how great the formula is. Then, I used the pink to add some simple triangles. The pink formula was a bit thin and watery, so that made it difficult to have straight lines in my nail art. I still really like the way this look turned out, though!

All in all, I’m glad I took the time to test out this Revlon Nail Art Expressionist! I’ve seen these polishes on clearance at my local drugstore, so if you are looking to try this one out I definitely recommend seeing if you can get a deal. This polish is also just $3.04 on Amazon HERE, but as I type this there is only one left in stock! Definitely snag it if you’re interested! Have you ever tried a polish from Revlon’s Nail Art Expressionist line? Let me know in the comments!

The polish in this post was a gift. This post contains an affiliate link. All opinions are my own. See my Disclosure Policy for more information.

Guest Post | Indie Manicure with Born for a Storm featuring Elevation Polish + Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer

Posted on May 28, 2015May 5, 2015 by Adventures in Polishland

Today’s guest post comes from Born for a Storm! Thank you for sharing!

I wanted to take a minute to post a really gorgeous manicure today! Elevation Polish El Cap 2 and Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer You’re Def My Bra.

Julie of Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer knows how to pick ’em. And make ’em. She picked out this beautiful Elevation to start with. She’s an Elevation connoisseur so I trust her judgement for sure. Then, she MADE this glitter just to go with this polish! That’s incredible. This combination is truly stunning, as you’re about to see…

I MEAN REALLY. The Elevation is a stunning periwinkle with a strong flash. The BEGL is a periwinkle microglitter, which is just so exciting to me… mostly because I’ve been pestering Julie for periwinkle everything lately. I’m wearing one coat of the BEGL over two coats of the Elevation with base and top coat on everything. (With microglitters I add a coat of Gelous before my topcoat to make it extra smooth!)

The macro doesn’t disappoint.

This beautiful BEGL was a gift (and cannot be purchased at this time)! You should definitely check out her shop for other gorgeous polishes, though! If you are interested in Elevation, I highly recommend the brand.

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Manicure Monday | Pahlish Typewriter Keys + Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Peachy Breeze

Posted on May 25, 2015August 12, 2015 by Adventures in Polishland

Happy Manicure Monday! It’s time for the letter P in the Alphabet Challenge, and I grabbed both a brand that begins with P and a polish name that begins with P. Might as well go all out, right?! Anyway, I received this Pahlish as a gift a while back and rediscovered it in my collection a couple weeks ago. I decided to pair it with a bright pink, and I think it’s a match made in heaven. Let me go ahead and show it to you!

For this week’s manicure I began with a base of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Peachy Breeze. This is one of my all-time favorite polishes. It really does dry quickly, and the formula is perfection. I’ve used it time and time again! When it was dry, I added one coat of Pahlish Typewriter Keys. This is a glitter polish with black, white, and holographic glitters. I’m obsessed with this combo! I can’t believe I never thought to pair these together before! I think these polishes were made for each other, don’t you?!

All in all, I think this is one of my favorite Manicure Monday posts yet! Unfortunately, Typewriter Keys is no longer available, but you can shop other Pahlish polishes on this indie brand’s website HERE. Sally Hansen Peachy Breeze is available on Amazon for the low price of $3.99 HERE. I highly recommend snagging that one up for your collection!

Some of the products in this post were provided for my unbiased review. All opinions are my own. See my Disclosure Policy for more information.

Manicure Monday | OPI Louvre Me Louvre Me Not

Posted on May 18, 2015August 12, 2015 by Adventures in Polishland

Happy Manicure Monday! I can’t believe we’re already on to the letter O in the Alphabet Challenge. Time flies when you’re having fun! This week I reached for an OPI classic that I’ve had in my collection for years now. My mom gave me Louvre Me Louvre Me Not as a gift years ago now, and it’s one that I used to use a lot. Let me show you this pretty purple!

Louvre Me Louvre Me Not is a beautiful purple polish with magenta shimmer. It has a perfect formula that is opaque in two coats. I love the flat brush that OPI polishes have, and using this one made me want to expand my OPI collection. I definitely stay away from OPI because of its price tag, but I’ll have to make room for an OPI in my budget every now and then. I know I’ll always get a quality polish!

I’m so glad I got the change to use Louvre Me Louvre Me Not again. This polish was originally part of a limited edition collection, but is now available as part of the permanent line. You can purchase it on Amazon HERE for under $7.00! Make sure to let me know what your favorite OPI polishes are in the comments!

Guest Post | Blobbicure Nail Art with Nail Envy

Posted on May 14, 2015August 12, 2015 by Adventures in Polishland

Greetings Adventures in Polishland readers! My name is Emily and my blog is Nail Envy. Today I’m in for Christina while she’s away, so I hope I’m a reasonable substitute! =D

The design I created here is featuring the blobbicure technique. The first time I created a blobbicure, I did it with uncertainty. It was for a nail art challenge, and I had never heard of a blobbicure before. After a Google search, I wasn’t super impressed with how it looked, although the technique did look like it would be fun to try. So I tried to change it up a little by making blobby shapes instead of just blobs. My first blobbicure mani turned out kinda cute, but I managed to dodge the challenge because I wasn’t really a fan of the look.

Well it’s been a while since then, and I’ve seen lots of blobbicures popping up all over the place. I’ve not only been won over to the blobbicure, I’ve been inspired by so many of the designs I’ve seen to create some interesting combos of my own!

Like so many other nail polish addicts, I recently purchased China Glaze’s Electric Nights collection. I’m still finding my way through all of the polishes and all of the combos I want to try, so I decided to use three polishes from this collection: Violet-Vibes, DJ Blue My Mind and Treble Maker. I used some Elmer’s Glue (which I keep in an old nail polish bottle) to coat the skin around the nails of my index and pinky finger. (The glue dries clear, is easily removed and takes all the excess paint off that would have got on your skin.) After the glue dried, I used some pieces of sponge to create a sponged design of the three polishes on those fingers.

For the blobbicure, I polished Violet-Vibes on my thumb, middle and ring finger, and when the first coat was dry, I put on a thick second coat and quickly blobbed on DJ Blue My Mind and Treble Maker. I waited a while for my blobbed nails to dry since the polish is so thick (about 15 minutes) before I finished my whole mani with a coat of Seche Vite.

My first official blobbicure is complete! I have more ideas of other combos to try, and can’t wait to do another and see if I can perfect this technique. If you haven’t created a blobbicure yet, you should give it a try!

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Manicure Monday | ncLA As If + Miss Sunset Strip

Posted on May 11, 2015August 12, 2015 by Adventures in Polishland

Happy Monday! I’m all caught up with the Alphabet Challenge now, and I’m moving on to the letter N. I really had to dig in my collection to find an N brand, but then I found two purple polishes from ncLA that I thought would go perfectly together. ncLA is a boutique brand that makes 5-free polishes in the USA. I’ve never purchased directly from ncLA’s website, but over the years I’ve received a few bottles in subscription boxes. It’s been quite a while since I’ve put them to use!

I began today’s manicure with a base of As If, a pastel purple polish with a creme formula. As If is a bit on the streaky side, but because I was using it in a glitter manicure, it worked out just fine in two coats. If I was wearing it alone, I would layer on three very thin coats. To top of As If, I added one coat of Miss Sunset Strip, a clear base filled purple and silver hexagonal glitters. I love the formula of Miss Sunset Strip, as tons of glitters come out with one coat, and it applies really smoothly. These polishes go so well together!

All in all, I’m glad I reached for these ncLA polishes in my collection. I would not buy them regularly, as they retail for $16 each, but if you are looking for a splurge polish I think this is such a fun brand. If you sign up for the brand’s email list, you’ll be sent a 15% off coupon, so definitely snag that extra savings. You can shop online directly from ncLA HERE.

Have you tried ncLA? Let me know in the comments!