NOTD - Surreal Monet Layering

An awesome layering combo will be shown today. What was initially a quick pick of two polishes for a fast mani turned into something divine and unexpected. The colors were soft and reminded me of Monet's Water Lilly painting (my favorite painting). I got a lot of compliments on this mani and also comments on its similarity to an OPI polish. Let's hop to it!

(Picture heavy to show all angles and the crazy duochrome of this combo!)

Mani Composition:
Base - China Glaze Queen B (one coat)
Topper - Orly Angel Rain (one coat)
Seche Vite top coat (one coat)

The duochrome of this mani is incredible! Mostly it shines purple but the green is strong at certain angles. Brush strokes were not noticeable as long as application of Angel Rain is even with a light touch. Having a dark blurple like Queen B really gave this mani it's personality making it dark and blurple. Angel Rain doesn't really lighten the shade of Queen B, instead AR adds duochrome to the dark blurple.

I was getting comments that this layering combo looks similar to OPI Peace, Love & OPI. I, also, thought the same thing while wearing the mani, so here's a quick breakdown in words:

OPI is a duochrome also of purple and green. However, OPI shine mainly a different shade of green (nicer green in my opinion) and flashes purple at certain angles. Also, OPI has a charcoal/pewter base colour as oppose to blurple. All in all, the two mani's are very different.

I looooved this mani! If you guys have these polishes, you must give this layering combo a try, you won't be disappointed.

Do you like to layer duochromes on creams or wear them on their own?

Swatch - Orly Royal Navy

Hey everyone~ This one is a beauty today. Lately, I have been obsessing over these royal and evil eye blues that are really popular this year. I feel like I need to have every polish released in this colour category. Few weeks ago, Sally's was having a BOGO sale so I checked out my local Sally's. Unfortunately, their selection is not great and neither do they seem to keep up with recent collections. Therefore, the BOGO event turned out to be the perfect chance for me to get some more Orly's! I really liked Sparkling Garbage (used in this mani) and the price was too good to pass up. I'm happy to say I only bought colours unique to my collection. Today, I am reviewing one of the Orly's I got from Sally's BOGO event.

Orly Royal Navy
Dark royal blue jelly with blue shimmer. Odd thing about this polish is I do not see any VNL in real life, but the camera reveals it...weird. For a jelly, this polish is not sheer at all; very good pigmentation. Without top coat, this guy is unimpressive but with top coat? Oh boy, does it shine! You get incredible depth and shimmer with top coat!

Funny story with this is I applied this polish at a subway station while waiting for a friend. Ghetto, I know. I never thought I would be one of those girls who does a manicure in public, shame on me. Desperate times call for desperate measures my friends! Pictures show two coats with top coat.

Sorry for the blurry picture, but this lighting showed the shimmer in the polish well. Colour accuracy wise, the first two pictures are more accurate.

Specifications:
Formula - Thick, gloopy and a bit tough to spread resulting in thick coats
Pigmentation - Great, a one-coater if thick coat
Dry time - Slower than average
Shine - Between matte and rubberized finish (Top coat highly recommended!)
Wear - Tip wear in a day (but I was on vacation using my hands a lot)
Removal - Easy
Staining - Minimal to none, which is surprising

All in all, I'm very happy with this colour and will definitely be wearing it again. I can't get over how amazingly juicy it looks with top coat on; the transformation is day and night. If you love these dark, vibrant royal blues I highly recommend Royal Navy. You will not be disappointed.

Are you on the royal blue trend bandwagon? How do you like Orly polishes?

NOTD - Blue Jewels

Another Nail-Of-The-Day post for you guys~ I have been doing a lot of these skittlette mani's because I have been wearing regular mani's mostly for quite a few months now. This mani was truly spectacular and I didn't want to remove it, so I ended up wearing it for a whole week!

Most colour accurate for CC Bright Night 

Mani Composition:

Thumb & Ring - Color Club Bright Night (2 coats with top coat)

Index & Middle - OPI Tiffany Case (2 coats without top coat)

Pinky - Orly Sparkling Garbage (3 coats with top coat)

Each finger reminded me of a jewel. Holo and sparkling texture...of course...but the vibrant blue of Bright Night reminded me of a sapphire. Gorgeous! The colours of the polishes went really well together as well. There is a very good chance I will wear this exact same mani again because I love it so much!

How do you like this skittlette? Have you fallen in love with a mani of your own recently?

NOTD - Neon Leopard Holo Garbage

Any thoughts on the odd title? I just had to use the word "garbage", you will know why later if you do not already know. Recently, I got to go to one of my favorite polish supply stores! Yay~ I actaully had quite a bit of self-control in the store to my own surprise. When I got home I couldn't wait to use my new pretties! Awhile back Rebecca Likes Nails did a leopard mani using a couple of polishes from the China Glaze Sunsational collection. Needless to say I loved the combination and had to recreate the mani! My version is identical to her's except I wore Orly Sparkling Garbage on my pinky (hence the title).

The leopard print was kind of butchered, since I had to use a very awkward tool (the flat head on the back of a tiny needle). After searching all over the apartment for a "dotting tool" this was my best alternative. Should have brought my dotting tools! Anyway, I'm calling this "abstract leopard" haha.

Mani Composition:
Index & Middle - 2 coats China Glaze That's Shore Bright (with Top Coat)
Thumb & Ring - 2 coats China Glaze Highlight of My Summer and ChG TSB leopard print
Pinky - 3 coats Orly Sparkling Garbage

Gosh! I am loving everything about this mani: the colours, the combination and that holo glitter! Thanks for the inspiration Rebecca~

How do you guys like this mani? Do you own any of the polishes used in this mani?