Colorblocking!

Today I have a colorblocking manicure. The base color is Orly "Rock-It". On top of that I layered Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear's "Gunsmoke" at an angle. Lastly, I layered Nicole by OPI's "Fabulous is My Middle Name" at the opposite angle. I entered these into a nail art contest from Shelly's Sassy Nails, but I didn't win. I didn't really think I would, but it's fun to enter the contests and connect with other nail polish junkies. :)

Orly "Rock-It", Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear "Gunsmoke", and Nicole by OPI "Fabulous is My Middle Name."

Orly "Rock-It" is a shimmery magenta that was part of Orly's Mineral FX collection from 2011. It retails for $8.00, but I purchased it at Ulta during a Buy 2 Get One Free Sale. This is the first time I've used an Orly polish, but they are very high quality. Plus, you get a little more polish--Orly bottles hold .6 oz., and most polish brands hold .5 oz. I have a few more Orlys that I need to try some time.

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear "Gunmental" is a dark metallic grey. It retails for $1.99 and is available just about everywhere. As you can see from the photo above, my dog got his teeth on my bottle of Gunsmoke. But isn't he cute?:

Chewbacca

Lastly is Nicole by OPI's "Fabulous is My Middle Name". It's a glitter bomb polish containing small silver glitter, and silver, red, magenta and black small bar glitter. I believe it is a Wal-Mart exclusive color. It retails for $7, and I bought this with a $1 off coupon given to me by my sister Deana. (Here's the shout-out I promised you, Deana!) :)

Here's a shot of Orly "Rock-It" without the other colors layered on top:

Tape manicures are easy!

So this week I decided to do an angled contrast manicure using Scotch Tape. This was my first time using Scotch tape as part of my manicure, and it was easy! After my clear base coat, I put on a layer of Wet n Wild "Haze of Love", and after it was good and dry I angled pieces of Scotch Tape across the back half of my fingernails. Then I topped the remaining section with "Shine of the Times", from the Essie Luxeffects collection. Then I removed the tape and finished with my Sally Hansen top coat. I'm very happy with the finished manicure!

Wet n Wild "Haze of Love" & Essie "Shine of the Times".

Let me tell you how impressed I am with the "Haze of Love" from Wet n Wild! It's from their Megalast line. What you see in the first picture is only ONE COAT of nail polish. It's kind of a thick coat, but still! The day I bought this color I also bought another Wet n Wild Megalast called "On a Trip", a purple creme color. I hope it's just as good. The polishes in the Megalast line also have a new "Manicurve Pro" brushes, which I think I liked. If all the colors in the line are as good as the "Haze of Love" they are a great value. They retail for about $2 or less.

I bought the Essie "Shine of the Times" last month, and the effect is just wonderful! It's got these gorgeous color-shifting holographic flakies in it. I should have used it sooner. Essie is a bit pricier and retails for about $8.