NOTD: Pink Polka Dots with OPI, Sally Hansen, and Julep

Something about this look reminds me of the symbol used to ward off the evil eye, albeit rather loosely translated. 

The base polish is the sheer peachy pink jelly Isn't That Precious by OPI.  The lighter pink dots are Poetic Peony, a now discontinued beyond Perfect Sally Hansen polish.  The center dot is DeAnn by Julep, which looks distinctively more purple in the bottle than it does in this look.

These pictures were taken about 4 days into wear and is holding up quite well after a week, making it an easy winter to spring transition look.  Hopefully it's warding off the evil eye as well :-)

NOTD: Wined Up by Sally Hansen, or Total Seduction

You know how sometimes a look just comes together and you go "oh yeah, that works".  Well, that's how this combo of Wined Up by Sally Hansen over the black polish from the OPI Little Peanuts set hit me.  Total seduction.

An added bonus was that I only had to redo my thumb and ring finger from last week's manicure with WHO ARE YOU CALLING BOSSY???, and then top with Wined Up, leaving a small sliver of the black around the edges.  Super easy, and I love the minimalist look combined with the striking color combo.

I'm guessing Wined Up has been discontinued, as I got mine at 75% off a while back.  I'm seeing it on ebay and Amazon, however, so you can still get it.  First time I've used it, and it was a one coater with no issues I could tell.  I've had problems with fast dry polishes chipping in the past, but the below picture is after 5 days of wear, and I've got only minor tip wear.  Total love.

Linking up with The Nail Files hosted by Jennie Shaw:

NOTD: Pacific Blue by Sally Hansen

I've had Sally Hansen's Pacific Blue for several years but never wore it for some reason.  Well, this week I was craving cobalt blue nails so out she came.  Quite the pretty color!  Formula was good as well, with 2 coats giving me plenty of smooth coverage.

My tips started to show after just a few days, however, so I decided to do a tone on tone french tip with Wet 'n Wilds Saved by the Blue.  It has a metallic finish but is in the same color family as Pacific Blue, although slightly darker.

I like how this turned out, but sadly had some more tip chips within 2 days.  I'm not seeing the wear time I usually do with my polishes, but I'm not sure if that's because my nails are peeling, or that I'm wearing drugstore brands.  So, I clipped my nails, which actually looks pretty cool with just the slightest sliver of darker blue along the edges.  So, all's good:-)

Linking up with The Nail Files, hosted by Jennie Shaw!

NOTD: Graphite Gravity, Don't Blink & Androgynie

I recently received a Sally Hansen magnetic polish in the charcoal gray Graphite Gravity as part of the Summer Beauty Box from Influenster.  I was excited to see how it worked, having not tried one before.

Instructions are pretty simple.  STEP 1: Apply 1 coat of base coat. Shake Magnetic Nail Color to activate. Remove overcap with magnet and set aside. Apply 1 coat of Magnetic Nail Color to all 10 nails and let dry. STEP 2: Apply a thick second coat of color to 1 nail and immediately hold the built-in magnet over the nail. Rest the guide just below the cuticle without touching the wet nail polish. Hold for 10 seconds. Repeat for all 10 nails and let dry. Finish with top coat.

My results were a bit mixed.  Some nails showed the effect, some did not.  The key seems to be in placing a thick second coat, so perhaps the nails that did not work for me were not covered with enough polish.   Below you can see the effect on my index finger, but not so much on my middle finger.  I also managed to touch the magnet to the polish, even though there is a guard (raised ridge on the magnet cap) to prevent that from happening.  My fault - I was trying to get the magnet as close to the nail as I possibly could. 

I like the color of Graphite Gravity enough that I can see using it even without the magnet, especially since it dries quite fast.  The price for the Sally Hansen magnetics is ranging from $9-10, although I've seen then on sale for $5.99 at Walgreens online this past week.

Seche Vite did some major shrink damage to my tips, however, which left me less than satisfied with my manicure.  So, I decided to do an accent nail with NerdLacquer's Don't Blink, a light gray creme with micro silver and black giltter and larger silver hexagons.  I've seen some lovely swatches of Don't Blink, but the two times I've tried it, I wasn't in love.  Putting it over Graphite Gravity also left some black edges, so still not happy with the look.

I'm a stubborn one, though.  I went looking through my stash to see what could salvage this manicure.  Orly's Androgynie looked interesting and I hadn't tried it yet, so that was the winner.  Androgynie was part of Orly's 2011 Holiday Soiree collection and is a black jelly packed with multi-sized and colored glitter.  I've seen reviews that said this polish didn't translate as well on the nail as it looks in the bottle.  I used only one coat and I think it looks pretty good!  I'm guessing using it as a layering polish as opposed to trying to build it up with multiple coats is the way to go.  I also decided to add a layer of OPI's Pirouette My Whistle from the NY Ballet collection to Don't Blink, as it just wasn't singing to me.  If you're counting, or even still with me, I'm up to four different polishes now.

A few final thoughts.  Seche Vite, I'm about to quit you and your shrinking ways.  Amanda of NerdLacquer, if you are still out there, you need to come back and make more polishes.  I can't afford the ones on ebay and I'm reduced to doing accent nails because I only ever got mini bottles to begin with.

Disclosure:  I received Graphite Gravity for testing and review as part of Influenster's Summer Beauty Box.  The rest I bought.