Victoria

In honor of Australia Day, and since the Australian Open takes place in Melbourne, I’m wearing Nails Inc. Victoria, a deep wine jelly:

Picture taken in natural light. The formula was a tad sticky but otherwise applied well in three coats. I adore all of these wine polishes, and this color looks particularly amazing in a proper jelly finish. The red wine base you can see with the first coat builds to the sexy dark shade you see by the third. It’s truly worthy of the description “vampy.” I was doing this mani while watching Nadal beat Federer in the semis (I can’t wait to watch Djokovic/Murray tomorrow morning!), and even then I had to stop and admire the incredibly glossy look of this polish. I paired this with LA Splash Glitz & Berry on my toes.

<3sarah

Imperial Purple

After seeing how long my nails had gotten, I filed them down and I thought a dark color like this would be perfect to put on newly-shortened nails.  American Apparel Imperial Purple (Fall 2011) is a deep royal blurple creme:

Picture taken in sunlight. (This doesn’t look quite as blue in real life as it does in the photo. Why do these never photograph properly?)  This applied well; it was nearly pigmented enough for one coat but I ended up using two. You have to take care to not overload the brush with polish, as the excess will run down the long brush stem. I feel like this blurple leans more towards purple as opposed to having lots of blue, but it’s so dark that these subtleties in tone aren’t really noticed unless you really look at it in the light. I wish it was more of a straightforward purple (I feel like it would look more royal/regal that way), but it’s undeniably a very rich color, plus it was very pigmented and smooth.  I paired this with Sephora by OPI Break a Leg-Warmer! on my toes.

<3sarah

Whitehall

After loving Houses of Parliament so much, I was eager to try another magnetic polish. I filed my nails right after that mani, so I waited for my nails to grow back to that same length to try Nails Inc. Whitehall (Magnetic Polish), a deep teal green metallic shimmer:

Picture taken in artificial light (In the absence of good sunlight, artificial light will have to do.) This applied well; it was very smooth and pigmented.  The finish has that liquid metal look, but it looks shimmery instead of having horrid frosty brushstrokes.  Again, I applied the first coat to all my nails, then, nail by nail, applied the second coat followed by holding the magnetic cap over. It’s important to use the magnet immediately after applying the polish; if you move too slowly the magnetic effect won’t happen. I was mistaken the first time I tried Nails Inc.’s magnetic polish; the magnet doesn’t create lighter stripes; it creates the darker ones, while the light areas are the original color. I really don’t know how I didn’t see that before. I can’t explain why, but the effect/finish combined with the color give off a sort of jungle-like, reptilian vibe to me. I love this look; I keep staring at my nails! I paired this with OPI Cuckoo for this Color on my toes.

<3sarah

Zulu

As this is a green, I’ve attempted to try this in December for two years running, only to run out of days for NOTDs. I really should have tried this by now, but better late than never. NARS Zulu (my bottle is from the Vintage Nail Polish Collection, Fall 2010) is a blackened hunter green jelly:

Picture taken in sunlight. This applied very well; I used three coats for full coverage and opacity. Like a true jelly, you can see the base color (a lovely shade of yellow-toned hunter green) with the first coat, but the shade gets deeper with each coat. You can only really see that it’s green in bright lighting conditions; most of the time it does look black. But I’m okay with that ’cause it’s Zulu! Its deeply blackened look is just part of what it is. I love how smooth, clean and reflective it looks! I didn’t mind doing three coats at all since the polish went on quite effortlessly and I acheived this stunning vampy look. Having missed out on the original release and the original re-release, I’m glad I was able to get it this time around. I paired this with Sephora by OPI I’m With Brad on my toes.

<3sarah

Bobbing for Baubles

The 2012 Australian Open is underway and I’m trying to get used to the odd hours I have to stay up in order to watch it live. I don’t think I’ll be doing kit color-matching manis the entire fortnight like I did last year; I just have lots of dark vampies I want to try this month (it’s summer in Australia so there are lots of bright kits). But I watched Novak Djokovic play last night and he had some red and blue accents on his white kit, so that’s what I have on today (albeit in more wintry tones.) Essie Bobbing for Baubles (Winter 2011) is a dusty dark blue creme:

Picture taken in natural light. This was quite pigmented and applied well in two coats. I’m used to seeing dark blues that are of the navy variety, so this is a nice change of pace. The color isn’t jewel-toned like I would expect from the name and the theme of the collection; this is a more greyed, smoky, industrial shade. I paired this with Orly Poison Apple on my toes.

<3sarah

Tinsel Town

In anticipation of the Golden Globes tomorrow, I’ve picked a polish that, in name, is perfect for an occasion that celebrates both film and television on the same night.  China Glaze Tinsel Town (Let it Snow, Holiday 2011) is a dense silver glitter in a gunmetal base:

Picture taken in artificial light.  (This is one case where, in the absence of good sunlight, my artificial light photos turned out better than my natural light ones.)  Edit: I’ve replaced my original photo with a much better one taken in sunlight.  This is actually a completely new mani; the original popped clean off my nails after hours of cooking and washing up.  This applied well; for full coverage I first put down one thick coat, followed by a thinner second coat.  It’s hard to tell at a quick glance but there is small hexagonal glitter mixed in with the regular glitter.  Since the glitter is so dense, though, it all just blends together when looked at from a distance.  It’s great that this is able to reach opacity on its own, and with the dark base it almost looks like a layered mani.  Despite it being loaded with silver glitter, the gunmetal still comes through.  Best of all, it’s amazingly sparkly!  It’s perfect for getting me in the mood for awards season.  I paired this with Essie Over the Top on my toes.

<3sarah

Sapphire in the Snow

Nowadays I try to use a polish soon after I buy it, but I still have some old polishes that I just have to check off my list. This was one of them. OPI Sapphire in the Snow (Holiday Wishes, Holiday 2009) is a deep blurple creme:

Picture taken in natural light. (I’ve given up trying to photograph blurples accurately; they always turn out much bluer than in real life.) This applied well in two coats. I don’t think the name really matches the color. I picture a much truer blue when I think of sapphires. Regardless, it’s a very pretty and richly pigmented color. While this is a blurple, and it is very blue toned, I think this is actually one where the purple tones are more obvious. It’s quite dark but it has a certain element of dustiness that keeps it from looking pitch black.  I paired this with Color Club Rad Nomad on my toes.

<3sarah

Savile Row

Since this brand became available at Sephora, I’ve slowly started to build my collection, and it’s about time I start trying more of them.  Nails Inc. Savile Row is a plum wine creme:

Picture taken in sunlight.  This applied well in two coats.  This is a gorgeous, dark vampy color so it can be hard to tell the exact color at a quick glance.  In the light, however, the plummy tones become clear.  I love the vampy, sexy look of this polish, but admittedly I wanted it more for the name, since the color’s not really that unique.  Savile Row makes me think of bespoke suits, and I LOVE seeing men in well-tailored clothes.  I paired this with Sephora by OPI Dark Room on my toes.

<3sarah

Houses of Parliament

To break up the monotony of vampy cremes, I’ve prepared shimmery or glittery polishes to wear over the weekends.  Nails Inc. Houses of Parliament (Magnetic Polish) is a silvery purple metallic shimmer:

Picture taken in sunlight.  This applied well; it was very pigmented and went on smoothly.  I followed the directions given, which were to apply one coat to all the nails, then, nail by nail, apply a second coat then hold the magnet over.  I do like that the cap has that little piece that I can rest on my finger to keep the magnet from actually touching the nail.  I’d wait a couple of extra minutes before applying topcoat, since it could smear the stripes.  This may be a metallic  polish, but it’s the shimmery kind, not the brushstoke-y frosty kind.  The magnetic effect does look really cool, revealing the lighter silver-purple shade against the darker.  It looks like there’s a permanent glint of light on my nails.  I got the trio of metallic polishes and now I can’t wait to try the rest!  I paired this with Milani Dot Com on my toes.

<3sarah

Unnatural

I have a slew of vampy polishes to try this month, and I’m just getting started.  Illamasqua Unnatural is a burgundy jelly-creme:

Picture taken in natural light.  This takes three coats to build up in color and opacity, and I did extra tip-wrapping as a preemptive measure against tip pull, but it’s worth it.  The formula is buttery smooth and the end result looks great.  The color looks more red on the first coat, then gets progressively browner and deeper with each successive coat.  This isn’t one of those polishes you can get away with doing one sheer coat with, though.  Even with its good formula, until it’s opaque it looks a little streaky.  Still, the finish of the completed mani looks so glassy smooth.  I almost wish I had my long pointy oval nails back, ’cause this would make for a great vintage, burlesque-type mani.  It’s so deliciously vampy.  I paired this with Orly Enchanted Forest on my toes.

<3sarah