Swatch - Butter London Wallis

Long time no post on my part. I did not anticipate to have such a HUGE gap from my last post, so I apologize to those who have been wondering where I've disappeared off to. Life has been quite a whirlwind over here at Miss Intensity Nails. To put it all in nutshell, I got a new job and moved to a different country. This is a very exciting new adventure for me~ I don't know how some of you blogger girls manage to post everyday even with a full-time job, but I have new found respect for all of you! I will try my best to keep up ^^

Of course, during my layover at an airport what do I buy? Polish! This was my first Butter London purchase. I have never bought any before due to the price ($15), but since there is a deal at the airport store I thought I would treat myself to my first Button London polishes. Today one out of four polishes purchased will be showcased: Wallis.

Wallis:
Dark moss green with an overlay of gold particles reminding me of antique brass. I was instantly gravitated to this colour, it is so unique and I have nothing like it in my stash. Truly beautiful, very appropriate for fall and winter. One thing to note is that this polish is streaky and patchy after two coats, but only noticeable at one very specific angle (basically not noticeable unless you really try to look for streaks).

Photos show 2 coats with top coat. Sorry for the smudge on my pinky, it was harder to see in person than in pictures.

Specifications:
Formula - Bit thick, easy application but bit patchy and streaky after two coats (not noticeable)
Pigmentation - Good, 2 coats (1 coat is patchy)
Shine - Some
Dry time - Slow (but not snail-pace slow)
Staining - None
Removal - Requires bit of scrubbing (just like any other foil polish)

There is nothing bad to say about this polish besides that the dry time could be faster. Colour is one-of-a-kind gorgeous! I would highly recommend this colour.

How do you like the colour of Wallis? Do you own any Butter London polishes?

Tutorial - Textured Mani By Layering

A few months ago I had come across a blog that talked about how to make any of your polishes textured (like a liquid sand) by layering over a textured polish. I tried to find the blog post but couldn't, so I am unable to provide a link. If anyone knows which blog did this a few months back with Zoya Godiva please let me know; I would like to give credit to my inspiration!

July 11 Edit: Big thanks to Michelle from Lacquer or Leave Her (who also did a posting on this topic here) for reminding me where my inspiration came from. I first saw this layering technique on Bee Polished!

Anyway, the idea is to take a regular polish and layer it over a textured polish to create any textured mani of your wishes. This is great for two reasons: first you are not limited to only what is on the market, and second (the real winner) you save money! Who doesn't love saving a few dollars? Using OPI Solitaire as the base textured polish is the same in theory as using white undies for neons. My thinking is this will give great colour using only a thin coat of regular polish. What I have here today is a step-by-step picture tutorial. Enjoy~

Step 1: Put on your favorite base coat (or not, I didn't for this tutorial).

Step 2: Apply one coat of OPI Solitaire and let dry for 10 mins
Giving a generous amount of time for this coat to dry will maximize the texture before the next step. You can apply a second coat if you wish, but I like a fast mani. Either one or two coats of textured polish will give you a textured result at the end.

Step 3: Apply a thin coat of regular polish to cover the white textured polish.
Try to do as thin a coat as possible that will still allow coverage of the entire nail. You want this thin in order to maximize the texture. The thicker the coat, the smoother the finish (less texture).

Step 4: Clean up and you are done! Simple right?

I tried different types of polishes (duochrome, glass fleck, foils, etc) and they all worked well.

Thumb: OPI Her Majesty's Secret Service

Index: OPI I'm All Ears

Middle: OPI Just Spotted The Lizard

Ring: OPI Warm & Fozzie

Pinky: Zoya Aurora

I also tried layering 2 polishes on the textured one: OPI Oy-Another Polish Joke on top of OPI I'm All Ears. However, this reduces the texture; there is still texture but it is very smooth. This layering combo looks like a hybrid of OPI Magainze Cover Mouse and OPI Jinx (or Pink version of Jinx).

I tried this technique using different types of polishes, and I like the results with foil polishes best (eg. OPI HMSS). Especially the OPI ones because they are made of so many coloured particles that you give a beautiful sparkle in the sun.

If you have anymore questions about the tutorial or method, let me know in the comments below! Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed this tutorial~

NOTD - Fourth of July Nails

So fourth of July has come and passed, which means time to show what mani I sported for the American holiday! Since I did not get the chance to do a Canada Day inspired mani, I knew I had to come up with something for July 4th. Yes, I finally went out and bought a white polish (this was tough considering the public subway system was on strike).

Trying to think of a design that would only use tape was tough, but in the end I really like the design. The colour-block nails kind of remind me of a famous painting that I cannot recall right now.

Mani Composition:
All fingers had 2 layers of OPI Alpine Snow as a base.
Thumb & Pinky - OPI Gettin' Miss Piggy With It, Color Club Beyond The Mistletoe
Other fingers - China Glaze Phat Santa, OPI Dating A Royal

I am very pleased with the end result after many hours of thinking of a design and actually doing it. A friend of mine even commented that my thumb and pinky nails looked like fireworks! The holographic glitters in BTM definitely added a bit of "oomph" to nail. Hope you guys had a great Fourth of July holiday weekend and thanks for stopping by~

What did you sport on the Fourth of July?

Dupe? - Beyond Revvvolution

Happy Canada Day to all my fellow Canadians~ Sadly I do not have a Canada Day inspired mani to show, because during the chaos of packing I forgot to bring a bottle of white polish *face palm*. But who doesn't love looking at holographic polishes? That's what I have for you guys today. Time to compare some holographic polishes my friends! I actually did this comparison awhile back and just never got around to posting it. Either way, it's here now and we are looking at two Color Club holographic black polishes: Beyond and Revvvolution.

Color Club Beyond 
Darker colour, true black compared to Revvvolution. Holo is more linear and stronger.

Color Club Revvvolution
Due to the prominence of coarse silver holographic particles, this "black" polish looks more like charcoal (dark grey). Holo only visible under sun.

In all the pictures below:
            2 coats polish and no top coat
            Index & ring - Revvvolution
            Middle & pinky - Beyond

These two are not dupes. All specifications of these two polishes are the same, the only differences being colour and holo strength. Personally, I like Beyond more due to the colour being a true black. I mean a black holo of this strength is just too amazing to pass up, right?

Which of these two do you have? What are you thoughts on black holo polishes?