I'm Gassy

Or Gas MASKY at least. :-D Chris, the 'lovely dude' (<--he liked being called that the other day on the blog) who I speak of on occasion here on the blog, turns a whopping 40 years old today. Seriously ancient. (just him, this doesn't apply to any other 40+ year olds) In honor of his getting older, I decided to paint the logo that he paints on EVERYYYYYTHING, his gas mask. :-D

I used OPI Here Today, Aragon Tomorrow as a base, with L.A Colors Striper in White (I didn't use the brush, just the polish). Topped everything off with Essie Matte About You.

On another note, my silicone nub finally fell off my f key, so now I have to press really hard. lol

Some swatches of the new Sally Hansen Xtreme wear polishes...

This past weekend, I went to Ulta, and I can honestly say it wasn't my idea, it was my daughters, lol. I will be honest though, I didn't put up any kind of fight. Well while I was there, lo and behold, there were the new Sally Hansen Xtremes! Mystic Lilac, along with her friends, came home with me. Now, don't get me wrong, I love both Mystic & Purple Gala, but not so much the others. I should have known I wouldn't like them because they contain string glitter, which I have never been a fan of, but the semi holo attracted me. Well here they are, I didn't get them all.

Purple Gala





Cosmic Blue

Mystic Lilac

Purple Fiesta

Cherry Punch

New! Essence Studio Nails - Nail Fashion Sticker

Hi! I was just browsing through one of my favorite sites PinkMelon and I found these! I'm so excited, I just HAD to share! Essence is really good at coming up with new stuff that makes me drool. They will release nail stickers in 14 different designs to choose from! I'm guessing they're not the same as the ones we know by Incoco but maybe Minx? According to Essence: Whether striped, hip or cool, wild and colorful or subtle and elegant - these self-adhesive nail stickers are the ultimate accessory to spice up your look.

Price & Availability

Retail price will be €1.99 per design, that's so damn cheap! Essence Nail Fashion Stickers will hit stores in October and will be a part of their coreline, so I'm guessing these will be widely available!

What do you think of these?

source: PinkMelon

2010 China Glaze Awakening Swatches.........

So I was SOOOOO excited to get home today because I had an order waiting for me!!
The main item, is the 2010 China Glaze Awakening collection for Halloween. This collection is AMAZING, the glitter is so pretty!
These swatches are all 2 coats w/ 1 coat of SV.

The 1st one is Mummy May I. Its a Black Jelly base with medium sized bright purple glitter!

Then there is Zombie Zest. This appears to be an olive green base with lime green/yellow glitter.

Ick-A-Bod-Y is the most Halloween looking polish IMO. It too is a black jelly base with medium sized orange glitter!

Review: Orly Bonder

A while ago I asked everyone to let me know their base coat recommendations. Nailtek Foundation II and Orly Bonder were the ones that stood out from the crowd. I had the chance to order Bonder so I went at it. I've been using it for some months now so I figured a little review wouldn't hurt!

According to Orly:

"This exclusive rubberized bond grips polish to the nail surface for adhesion that lasts. Prevents nail color from peeling, chipping or wearing off for up to two weeks."

let's see about that!

Extending wear, good application, creating a smooth canvas, protecting my nails from peeling and staining, are all things I find really important when it comes to a base coat. And I have to say...

...Orly Bonder scores very well if you takes these criteria into consideration.
Orly claims that manicures will last up to 2 weeks, which I find a bit daring to say. This all depends on your body chemistry, nail polish and top coat you will use, and don't forget about your daily activities. I noticed I can wear manicures around 4 or 5 days when I use Bonder, which is quite impressive, to me. But nowhere 2 weeks! It also applies easy peasy, and it dries pretty fast, allowing me to apply my first layer of nail polish almost immediately.

Is it all that?

Bonder leaves a rubber-y layer on your nail, I guess this helps a lot when it comes to chipping, since it adheres very well. I've heard some people experienced peeling and splitting nails, but I haven't, and I've been using it for a few months now.
But, yes there comes the but, preventing stained nails is a huge factor to determine wether I really like a base coat or not. Well, Bonder isn't that good at this. I've noticed that my nails stain horribly when I use nail polish with a lot of red in it, somehow Bonder isn't capable of fighting these devilish red pigments off.

Conclusion

I grew quite fond of my Orly Bonder. I love the way it applies, the rubber cap, the brush, the way it prevents chipping.. But that staining has got to go! So for now, this is definitely one of my favorites, but I'm still on the lookout for that one base coat that will steal my heart forever. I might give Nailtek Foundation II a spin after finishing this one. How do you feel about this base coat?

Orly Bonder costs 7 USD for 18ml (prices may vary depending on where you buy). You can get Orly Bonder from Boozyshop (starting tomorrow) or find a store near you using the Orly Store locator.

My favorite manis from the past. I'm playing catch-up!

Okay so I wanted to share a few of my past nail designs. So here they are. Please feel free to ask about any one of them. There are a lot I know, but I have been a member of MUA for a while now, and took pictures for my NOTD on there, so now I am playing catch up for you guys. Starting from now, I will be posting my daily manis, designs & step by steps on how I do them.