Cobbling together a gel manicure: Fails and near-fails

Like any nail fiend, I am naturally drawn to almost any new nail trend or technique. Some work out, some don't (for instance, my experience with stamping and most other forms of nail art) but all of it interests me, however briefly.

I've been unable to shake my curiosity in at-home gel manicures, even though it seems silly for someone like me to want a manicure to last as long as two weeks. Convenient, fuss-free...sure, but I like changing my nail color frequently. I'm happy when a manicure lasts and looks good the entire time I have it on, but I usually get a little impatient with a color at the 4-5 day mark.

Late last year I went on a ten-day trip overseas and I did think about what I would do with my nails during that time. I wouldn't need a pedicure but I'd want my nails done and I didn't want to pack a bunch of polishes and implements to take with me. I scheduled an appointment for a gel manicure but cancelled when I realized the timing wasn't going to work out—I would have been getting the manicure almost a week before we left, so it would be half grown out by the time vacation started. I ended up giving myself a manicure with OPI Casino Royale and just taking that bottle, a bottle of Seche Vite and some remover wipes with me. I fixed small chips and redid nails with big chips. And as I suspected, I was too busy and having too much fun to really have my nails be a huge priority. (I know...bad nail fanatic, bad.)

Anyway, I've been weighing whether or not to try at-home gel manicures, but every time I was ready to pull the trigger on buying all the things to do it, I balked. I tried the Nutra Nail UV-free kit, which was horrible and wrecked my nails. Then I started seeing Nailene's Sensationail kits (about $50-$60) at CVS and other stores, and hearing good things about them. Sally Hansen now offers a gel kit ($60-$70) and a gel strips kit ($30).

This weekend I had some Extra Bucks and other coupons, so I got the SH gel strips kit for about $20. I'm glad I didn't pay full price because the strips were a huge fail. I've done fine with strips in the past but these were thick and wouldn't conform to the shape of my nail. So I ditched them and began a grand experiment in gel manicures.

First I tried curing the SH gel top coat over regular polish. Someone I know gets this done at a salon and it works for her but I think you would have to let the polish get pretty dry before you do the gel coat and cure, because while the gel coat was dry, the polish wasn't, and my nails wrinkled. Fail!

Next I used a Sensational gel polish that I got on clearance at Rite Aid. I used the SH gel coat as a base and top coat and cured my nails tediously, one by one, with the tiny gel strip light. This worked fine, but would work better with a proper gel base coat and primer. The polish on my right thumb peeled completely off in one sheet because it hadn't adhered properly.

My other nails look great, though. I love how shiny the gel stays, and that it dries so quickly. Pardon the Instagram, but here's a quick snap:

I'll definitely be going to pick up the primer and base coat to give this another try very soon.

Red holo and holo sparkle comparisons

Hi there, I'm still here! I have some NOTD photos and a product review waiting in the wings but I wanted to post these comparison photos today because they're ready to go.

 Here they are, in non-direct natural light.

1. Sally Hansen Prisms Ruby Diamond
2. Sally Hansen Prisms Golden Tourmaline
3. Hits Ares
4. Ozotic 511
5. Catherine Arley 800
6. OPI DS Reflection

Numbers 1 through 4 are linear holos; 5 and 6 are holo sparkles. I've been in search of a true red holo for a while now, and while Ozotic 511 is gorgeous I suppose I really meant to order 621 (and uh...probably will at some point!). Glitter Gal also has a gorgeous red. I bought Ares - the red from the Brazilian-based Hits No Olimpo collection - because there were a few I wanted to try anyway (and I will post about them at some point soon).

Here they are in more direct sunlight.

You can see here that the base color is closest between Ares and Golden Tourmaline. DS Reflection also approaches true red. Catherine Arley 800 is really gorgeous on - it has this great orange flash that I just adore. Ruby Diamond (1) and Ozotic 511 (4) are definitely more of a strawberry pink than a true red.

Here's a full swatch of the Catherine Arley.

Anyway, if you've been looking for a red holo or holo sparkle - hope that helps!

Sally Hansen Golden Tourmaline

Holographic polishes have grown on me after not really being a fan for a long while. Maybe it's the summer sun pouring through my windows, but right now I can't get enough of them. I remembered that I had a couple Sally Hansen Prisms languishing in a drawer of my Helmer, so I decided to give them a whirl. I showed you Purple Diamond last time.

This is Golden Tourmaline.

I got very excited because I thought it would be a true red holo. And it is red, but the holo effect is not as strong in this one as in Purple Diamond.

(Here's Purple Diamond, if you don't feel like scrolling back.)

I wouldn't say this was "disappointing" per se. I still enjoyed wearing it. It just bears more resemblance to a straightforward red shimmer than a holo. It's still gorgeous in bright sunlight and would probably be a fun pedicure color. (Although I like holos on my fingers...so I can gaze at them admiringly. You know, like a lunatic.)

Lastly, a comparison.

Ozotic 511, SH Golden Tourmaline, SH Pink Diamond. This picture really shows how strong the Ozotic holo is compared to Golden Tourmaline. Pink Diamond is a little stronger, and the color is closer to the Ozotic.

I also tried a Sally Hansen Prisms duochrome, which I'll photograph in daylight tomorrow and share with you accordingly.

A couple of recent colors

Hello there. It's been a busy week and I'm very glad tomorrow is Friday. The only bummer is that there's no Formula 1 race this weekend or ANY weekend in fact until the end of the month. At my house we do love our Formula 1 Sundays.

In any event, I thought I'd share some recent manicures. No real theme other than I have the photos and I wanted to post!

This is Kleancolor Metallic Green. I got some not-so-nice comments on this one along with some raves. Green nail polish is very polarizing for some reason, I guess. I like it. It's a very glowy polish. If you are into this sort of thing, it would make a good St. Patrick's Day manicure.

I have to say though that the not-so-nice comments took the fun out of wearing it a little bit. So it didn't give me the usual joy to look at it.

Someone on MUA mentioned they got this color for stamping, so maybe I'll try another fishnet manicure with this as the accent color.

I was in the mood for another holo recently and I remembered that I have a couple of Sally Hansen Prisms. Unbelievably I found these in a local Dollar Tree. I feel like so many people find treasures at their Dollar Trees and mine are always nail polish wastelands. But one time I got lucky!

This is Purple Diamond.

I don't know if this is true for all of the Prisms, but this one has a very strong holo effect. It's even visible in relatively low light.

You'll have to forgive the leftovers of Metallic Green on my cuticles. It was stain-y!

CVS sale, new summer colors

This past week has been a bit of a nail polish bonanza here at Nonsense HQ. For one thing, CVS is having a crazy sale on Revlon polishes, which are marked down to $4.99. If you have a CVS card you get $4 back, so essentially you're paying $.99 for the polish. If you have other coupons, you can actually make money on the deal. And you can buy up to six, which would give you $24 Extra Bucks!

Then, if you are like me and truly crazy, you can reinvest those free dollars into 1/2 price Essies and 75%-off Sally Hansens and Revlons (you won't get $4 back for the sale Revlons but...they come to $1.37 so you're still getting quite the deal).

I only bought two Revlons but I did grab the Essies that were half price. It's only the French Affair collection, but you really never see Essie discounted that deeply so I jumped at the opportunity to pick up two colors I've been wanting.

Anyway. I have some pictures for you!

Essie Absolutely Shore, from the summer collection. I love this polish...the formula was very nice for a pastel and the green is so, so, so subtle.

Absolutely Shore, Mint Candy Apple, Greenport. This picture is a good example of having "a lot of the same color" that are not at all the same color. U needz them all.

Sally Hansen Barracuda. Another great pastel with a nice formula. You still have that crazily wide CSM brush but, I don't have any problems with it.

American Apparel Neon Red. I am bananas and coconuts for this polish. Just crazy in love with it. Highly recommend, A+, would do business with again.

I'm a little embarrassed to post this next one because the macro setting on the camera reveals the many many imperfections, but we're all friends here right? Anyway, I love a nice nontraditional French manicure and here is one I did with Essie Blushing Bride (essentially, a clear polish, though it builds nicely) and Chanel Black Satin.

I'll continue to work on my technique with this because I like the look.

That's all for now!

Oops.

Haven't I told you, internet, that whenever I say "I'm not really buying much nail polish right now," something happens in my brain and I go crazy and buy one millionty nail polishes?

It happened again.

I've had a shopping list in mind for Transdesign involving a couple of the OPI Pirates of the Caribbean collection, the two new OPI Serena duos and some New York Summer colors. Cookbook mentioned she was looking at RBL Bikini Bottom and I suggested NYS Hot Baby Blue as a (much) cheaper alternative, which got me thinking that I would like HBB as well and perhaps also Super Violet.

Well, Transdesign is out of everything. Out of the Pirate colors I want, out of the Serena duos and out of Hot Baby Blue and Super Violet.

So I set my list aside and thought I would just wait until Transdesign restocked, oh, EVERYTHING and until then I'd just continue my nail polish diet.

Except...I had some PayPal money and I really did want OPI Not Like The Movies...so I bought it...and then I also bought OPI Mamma Mia and Movin' Out.

Then today at lunch I couldn't stand not having the American Apparel neons anymore. I work close to an AA store so I went there and made them mine.

I got Neon Red and Neon Purple and, for some reason that I still can't explain, Dynasty. It's not that it isn't a nice color but whuh...whut was I thinking? I should have bought Neon Orange instead. Temporary insanity.

Then - because once you're in the rabbit hole you might as well go all the way down the rabbit hole - I went to Walgreens. I don't live close to a Walgreens anymore so I haven't been to one in months, and it was like Walgreens pulled out all the stops for me. They had the Sally Hansen crackles, the new Hard As Nails colors, new Complete Salon Manicure line, the new Revlon that's a supposed dupe for Chanel Black Pearl (and the Wet 'n' Wild eight-pan eyeshadow palettes, but that's a post for another day) - just everything that could possibly tempt a nail polish, um, collector like myself.

I did practice some restraint, however. I chose the red crackle (Cherry Smash) and a light blue, called Barracuda, from the CSM line.

Ooooooooh, Barracuda.

I also have a tale to tell you about some long-lost Milani colors, but I'll save that for another post, too.

New makeup & CVS Beauty Club

On Tuesday I was seized with the desire to buy cosmetics and, because I had some CVS coupons burning a hole in my pocket, I decided to embrace the situation.

Earlier in the week I had stopped at CVS for some face wash and I bought a couple of Revlon eye shadows, Nude Slip and Violet Starlet.

Violet Starlet has a super neat greeny flash in it.

Nude Slip is one of those colors I just can't get enough of lately. It's like the Urban Decay Naked palette has inspired me to build an entire collection of wearable neutrals. (Wow...sounds exciting doesn't it?)

The other day I wore Nude Slip under (haha) Maybelline Lux Lilac and Urban Decay Mildew with UD Mildew eyeliner. It sounds garish but it was quite subtle and I would definitely wear it again.

Anyway, it was on this visit to CVS that I joined the beauty club, which is really just a rewards system within a rewards system. You can piggyback it onto your CVS ExtraCare account. Basically you get a 10% off coupon when you join, $5 ExtraBucks for every $50 you spend and $3 ExtraBucks on your birthday.

Now initially I thought the $50 reward level was a little much. That's a lot of makeup. However, qualifying Beauty Club purchases include hair care, sun care, skin care, hair accessories, hair color and even hosiery. So there are a number of items that would get you closer to your $50 reward, provided you like and use items that can be found at CVS, of course.

So I joined, because I am a sucker, and I got my 10% off coupon and a stray ExtraBuck. The coupon is only good for three days, so when I felt compelled to go peruse the cosmetics aisles on Tuesday during my lunch hour, I went back to CVS.

I actually did "need" a few things. I am out of my Sally Hansen nail polish clean-up pens and CVS had Sally Hansen products on sale. I also had in mind picking up some Physician's Formula bronzer, as every bronzer I own seems to be destined to fall to its death on tile bathroom floors.

I chose something called "Happy Booster" bronzer.

I must admit it is terribly cute.

Supposedly these are "mood boosting" bronzers and blushes. I mean, okay, sure. I can't speak to the veracity of that claim but it does what a bronzer should do otherwise.

The back of it reads like a bad translation to English: "The sweet scent of Violet provides a feeling of joy each time you apply." Hm well if you say so. It does have a scent so if that kind of thing bugs you, be warned.

See? Cuuuuute.

Plus these come with a $3 off coupon on the package and you get $7 ExtraBucks when you buy it. So it's almost like getting it for $4 instead of $14. Yay coupons! I will spend the $7 on something boring like contact solution. (Or maybe Easter candy. I will keep you posted.)

My Sally Hansen correcting pens are different now.

First I hyperventilated a little bit when I saw this, but honestly it's the same thing. Plus they're $5.49 now instead of $9.99. BOGO 1/2 off right now at CVS!

You can also get ExtraBucks rewards right now for buying Maybelline or CVS brand skincare products, and Revlon cosmetics (including the Top Speed polishes) are BOGO 1/2 off too.

I'm not one of those super savvy couponing people but I am a huge cheapskate so CVS' reward program gets a thumbs-up in my book.

Oh and because this site is called "Nail Polish Nonsense" and not "Makeup Nonsense" or "Plain Ol' Nonsense," here is some nail polish I wore recently, Like It Like That from one of the more recent Misa collections. It's more grass green and less teal in real life.

Birthday Bash

I recently celebrated a birthday and naturally I chose to treat myself to some nail polish. This sounds less newsworthy than it actually is - I haven't been much interested in purchasing a lot of polish lately. For one thing, I'm saving for a new laptop. So when I pick up a bottle of polish in the drugstore and hold it lovingly in my hand, I have to really, really want it. Because otherwise I just think of it as $4 or $6 or $8 dollars that I could be spending on sweet sweet MacBook goodness.

Also...there hasn't really been much in the way of the new collections that's been pushing my must-have button. I never got too excited about China Glaze Vintage Vixen. Barielle's recent collections didn't do much for me. I didn't even get very worked up about the OPI Swiss collection although there are some I wouldn't mind having. But, you know? With more than 400 polishes in my Helmers..."wouldn't mind having it" isn't a good enough reason to buy anymore. The only thing I've really been wild for are the Tudor wives polishes from Rescue Beauty Lounge, and I passed on the pre-order because I couldn't justify the expense at the time.

Chanel always gets me, however. As the saying goes on MUA "there's no regret like Chanel regret" and I have found that to be true. Initially I was tempted by the Soho Story colors but when I saw swatches and heard the initial reports I did not feel a burning desire to own them. I cannot however say the same for Khaki Vert, which is on its way to me as we speak. It was the first birthday nail polish I purchased for myself and I'm very excited for it to arrive.

Anyway...on to the other finds...

My boyfriend very kindly agreed to come with me to Rite Aid on my birthday and I had such good nail polish birthday karma going that I still can't really believe it. They had some Halloween displays (I passed), the new Borghese collection, new-ish Sally Hansen Xtreme line, the new Sally Hansen Insta-Dris and the new Revlon Suedes. What!! This never happens. The only downfall of Rite Aid, really, is that they don't carry Milani. Or at least the ones around here don't.

I chose Powder Puff and Emerald City from the Revlon Suedes. I really wish that "Emerald City" would be retired as a nail polish name, FOREVER. I get it...it's green and sparkly...I don't know, at this point I would accept "Peridot City" in lieu of "Emerald City." At least it would be something new.

I received Mystic Lilac and Concrete in a swap from an awesome MUAer, so I just picked one SH Xtreme: Fireberry Red. To be honest this looks a bit similar to other polishes I have (namely, China Glaze's Ruby Pumps), but it was so pretty that I caved. At about $2.70 each, SH Xtremes have great bang for your nail polish buck.

I almost didn't get anything from the new Insta-Dri line. I keep passing these up, and even the ones I've purchased I mostly end up swapping or giving away. For some reason the colors never really do it for me and the brush is...well... a nightmare. It's huge. Wide. Gargantuan. And...shaggy. But for some reason I felt compelled to buy Metallic Momentum, which someone on the nail board likened to Chanel Kaleidoscope, which, hm, maybe? I don't know. I DON'T HAVE THE CHANEL. Which is something I'm getting very used to saying. Haha.

I used MM to do a chevron manicure - the only form of "nail art" I can successfully execute - over OPI Mrs. O'Leary's BBQ.

I'm a big fan of the chevron look, I just often find myself much, much too lazy to actually do it. I feel like this would be a good holiday combination. MM is a very pretty polish, however, it cements my theory that I am just actually not all that fond of metallics on my nails. But perhaps if you despair of ever acquiring the Chanel, this will quench your thirst.

Finally, here is Borghese's Mediterraneo Sea, from the very sparkly Scintillaire collection.

Boy, Borghese. Talk about a brush I hate. It's like they are deliberately butchered to provide the worst application possible. They are literally terrible. This is why I don't own many Borgheses...it took me a long time to warm up to the $8 price tag, and then when I discovered that awful brush wasn't an anomaly but rather standard issue...well...sigh. But this is a pretty, unusual glitter/color combination.

I look forward to showing you more of these on the nail...as always, thanks for looking!

Weekly update

Here are some colors I've worn lately; enjoy!

Quick Hits

So....I've been kind of bad about taking pictures of my nails lately. I know, I know, bad addict. Bad addict! I think I forgot to photograph Nina Ultra Pro Brandywine, which I picked up on clearance at Sally. I wasn't even there for nail polish! But as always, the siren song was too strong to ignore. The display of China Glaze's Wizard collection was largely decimated (not that I was terribly hot for it to begin with), but they had a full display of the Nina Velvet collection, so I also grabbed Velvet Seas. I really like these Nina polishes -- very affordable and they apply nicely. The color selection doesn't offer an overwhelming amount to write home about, but if Purple-Xing and this Velvet collection are any indication, maybe there are more fun surprises in store.

I also didn't photograph Sally Hansen American Beauty. A Canadian exclusive! Sorry about that one.

So, here is where I was going to show you a picture of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Purple Pizzazz, but all my pictures were super bad. But! This is a really, really cool polish and it's so purple. Like grape popsicle purple. So it's this vibrant purple jelly base with either red or dark pink glitter (sometimes it looks red to me...sometimes more magenta/pink), and it applies very well. For whatever reason, it also stinks to high heaven, but then again so does all nail polish to some degree. This is the only new Xtreme Wear I bought, although Wet Cement, The Real Teal and Pacific Blue all looked interesting to me. I guess I felt they were too dupey or potentially dupey (especially the grey).

Wow...think of how many way more important things happened in the world in the time it took me to write that. Sorry.

Here is Zoya Astra, and I just have to say, holy wow.

So this is light pink and dark pink glitter in a slightly pink jelly base, which, I'm guessing, is part of what allows these UltraGlitters to be opaque in two coats. I knew when this was going on that it would be a terrible pain to remove but, I just have to say, WORTH IT. After wearing this, I've decided I would really like a purple glitter just like it, with dark and light purple glitter in a light purple jelly base. (Perhaps the new Sparkles from Nubar will fit the bill). The effect is just stunning, way more stunning (in my opinion) than one single color of glitter. RECOMMEND.

Aaaaand that brings me to yet another color I didn't photograph: China Glaze Flying Dragon. I hated this polish: gloopy, muddy, gritty, gross. It's beautiful in the bottle and hopeless on the nail. I've heard other people say they have problems with this one, but, ugh. If you've ever eyed it, skip it.

Ugh -- I want to talk about Orly Nail Rescue, and Illamasqua and Rescue Beauty Lounge but that will all have to wait. More soon!

Nails Of The Day: Sally Hansen Mint Sprint

I own a couple of these Sally Hansen Insta-Dri polishes, and um...hm. I like the idea of a quick-drying polish that achieves complete coverage in one coat, but I am not a fan of the brushes on these babies. First of all, the brush stem is wide and flat -- too wide and flat to wipe excess polish off on the neck of the bottle. So, it's very difficult to control the amount of polish you have to work with. In addition to being pretty wide (which I don't mind, I ride for OPI's ProWide brush, although this is a ProWide and a half), the brush is thick and kind of jagged across the bottom. This is the first Insta-Dri I've tried, so perhaps my bottle of Mint Sprint just has a bummer brush. Still, it was hard to get the polish to look neat across the bottom of my nails, which annoys me. I suppose I should get used to it, however -- the new Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure colors and the new Rimmel range in the square bottles have similar brushes. So I guess it's the wave of the future. And as with anything, practice makes perfect.

Anyway: I love the color. This is what I put on this morning after removing OPI Pamplona Purple, which I did end up wearing to work on Thursday and Friday, and much as it pains me to tell you...I forgot to photograph it. The manicure fell apart really quickly because of all the cleaning and dishes I had to do after my sink backed up and overflowed...but that's a story best left for my regular blog at some point. There are no overflowing sinks in Happytime Nail Polish Land!

You can find Mint Sprint at drugstores, but hurry...it's a new release and from what I can tell, getting snapped up in a hurry.

Minty Fresh

I love this.

It's Claire's Dream Catcher, supposedly a dupe or at least a very close relative of the sought-after Chanel Jade. But $4, instead of whatever godawful amount of money somebody wants on eBay.

Here are some other tasty minty greens, too.

L-R: Essie Greenport; Essie Mint Candy Apple; Dream Catcher; Sally Hansen Mint Sprint.

Mint Sprint! I love it!

Nail Party, Christmas Edition

So I don't really condone Christmas sweaters or candy cane-shaped earrings, but I do like decorating myself for the holidays. Nail polish is ideal for this because of the variety of colors and the extent of the "bling" factor -- and since the glitter/color is confined to a very small area, you can really go all out. (By the way Bridget Callahan, I am waiting to hear how those fancy Zoya glitters worked out for you.)

Below are some Christmasy polishes I have in my vast stash. I'll post more as I change my own nail polish over the next couple of weeks. What colors are you wearing for the holidays?

A deep, dark holiday green reminiscent of evergreen. Slight shimmer. You can buy Butter London at Beauty.com. If you use Drugstore.com or VisionDirect.com, you can earn discounts and rebates that are applicable on Beauty.com. This is good if spending $14 on nail polish -- plus shipping -- is not appealing.

Known on MUA as "The Jesus," Illamasqua Rampage is truly one of the most stunningly beautiful polishes I own. It looks like green glass on the nail. You can get Illamasqua at Sephora or direct from Illamasqua. This is another pricey polish, but WORTH IT. Practically applies itself.

This gal is harder to lay hands on because it is a Sally Hansen product exclusive to Canada (at this time, anyway). But very festive and Christmasy with the dark green jelly and twinkly gold glitter.

Here's one that's inexpensive and easy to find: China Glaze Emerald Sparkle, available at Sally Beauty stores and many, many e-tailers.

Mattified, this polish looks even more exceptional with a matte topcoat from Essie. There are other matte top coats from Orly, China Glaze and other companies; I like Essie and it's widely available. Try Ulta if you must have it.

So far as I know, Zip is still available, though it is part of a limited edition fall release from the ever-elusive Sally Hansen. Anyway, it's a great, glistening holiday red, with that molten glass look I like so much.

Applies beautifully, does Misa. These are great, great polishes -- high quality, fashionable colors, fantastic application, and typically less than $3. This is a beautiful and sexy bright red, perfect for a holiday date, if you do such things.

If you like a more retro, Joan Holloway-type red, this Dior fits the bill. May be hard to find at this point, but you can find a similar one in almost any polish range.

This is a holiday OPI exclusive to Ulta stores. Just a very pretty, sparkly purple. It would probably look killer with a matte topcoat, so maybe I'll try this color again before the end of the year and mattify it.

Another holiday OPI, but this one should be available anywhere OPI is sold, including e-tailers. This is a purple jelly, so it looks better over a red, purple or black creme base coat. In my opinion, anyway.

More to come, I'm sure...ho ho ho.