Givenchy Vernis Miroir Multiple 771

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I have a little something different to show you today, and interesting glitter top coat.  It is, as you might have guessed from the title, Givenchy Miroir Multiple Nail Lacquer and Top Coat 771.  It's an older one that's a clear base, but not perfectly clear, the slightly yellowish kind, with lots of really bright, very fine holographic glitter.

I tested it on a nail with the last manicure still on, and the glitter reflects really bright red, green, all the rainbow colors, so I was trying to decide what to put it over for today.  Black and navy blue seemed obvious enough to take the wind out of the Givenchy's sails, I considered a bright red and concluded that I too often use that as the backdrop for glitter top coats, then finally settled on white.  Since the Givenchy does have a tint to it (I doubt it's really tinted that way, some polish bases are not completely clear), I picked the whitest white I have, which is Orly White Out.  Every time I use White Out, there are a ton of comments asking if I mean the typing correction fluid, so I'll be really clear on this one.  White Out is an Orly white creme nail polish, Wite Out is a brand of liquid paper. They're two different things and it's the nail polish on my nails.

I did a base coat, three of White Out to make it non-streaky, then two of the Givenchy, which did add a bit of  a cast to the white, making it more of a pale ivory.  That's fine with me since it diminished the starkness of the white.  I left several minutes between each coat since I'd planned to layer, and I found that the Givenchy dried to a really exceptional high shine, far more so than most top coats.  Still, that's a heck of a lot of layers of polish, so I topped it off with China Glaze Fast Forward.  Fast Forward was just right - the fact that it's not terribly shiny wasn't an issue since it went over something very shiny, and it did a really nice job of drying all those layers.  I accidentally tested it a few times, with the first being fifteen minutes after applying Fast Forward. I knocked a nail into the side of my wire-framed glasses, which is noramlly a sure fire way to make a tear in the surface and take the polish all the way off, but it didn't even dent, which was really impressive.  About an hour after that, I used a nail as a tool for something and got a deep dent, which I figured I had coming, but it popped back out while I slept and I woke up with smooth shiny nails.  Here's the manicure in sunlight - the focus isn't the best ever, but that's intentional to show the glitter a bit.  All of it sparkles like the few pieces that show.

Givenchy Miroir Multiple Nail Lacquer and Top Coat 771

It would definitely be more vibrant over a dark color, but I was up for some variety.  Know what's really funny about that packaging here?  The stem on the Givenchy bottle  is super long, and the round bottle part is as tall as the Orly White Out 0.60 oz bottle, but the Givenchy holds only  0.27 oz.  I'd previously thought the 0.30 oz Estee Lauder bottle, that giant block of glass that would make an effective paperweight in a wind tunnel, was the most masterful job of deceptive packaging, but Givenchy topped them with this one.

That's Givenchy Miroir Multiple 771 and jst about all I have for you today, Dear Reader, so until next time, love and nail polish to you!



All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen from a real nail polish blog.

Orly Prisma Gloss Silver

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I thought I'd show you Orly Prisma Gloss Silver this morning because it's an exceptionally nice fine holographic glitter top coat, my favorite of the ones available in brick and mortar stores in this area, but I rarely hear anything about it.

I started out with base coat, two coats of Orly Pixie Stix, one coat of Orly Prisma Gloss Silver, then one of China Glaze Fast Forward.  This is the first time I've used Fast Forward, and it's pretty nice.  It dried all the polish thoroughly and quickly, but it's not very shiny.  Still, sometimes I'd rather just get a manicure totally dry in the evening so I can go to sleep without getting sheet marks, then just shine it up with a non quick dry top coat in the morning, so it's nice to know this works well for the drying part.

With Prisma Gloss, using one coat was good because I usually need more than one coat to get as much glitter as I like.  Since I only use glitters like this for layering, being able to shave a coat off the total count matters - the difference between two coats of color and three isn't huge, but beyond that I always have a sense of lots of question marks around whether a manicure will dry well, and I've messed up more than I could count waiting for a lot of coats to dry.  With a total of three coats of color on this one, it's dried really well.  Here it is in sunlight.

Orly Prisma Gloss Silver, One Coat, over Orly Pixie Stix Nail Polish

I have the gold version of this as well, but I don't recall ever trying it out.  I'll break it out this week so we can see if it's as cool as Prisma Gloss Silver.


That's what I know, so until next time, Dear reader, love and nail polish to you!



All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen from a real nail polish blog.

Glitter Gal Red Holo

Good morning, Dear Reader!

The last fabulous holo I have to show you is Glitter Gal Red, which is a really cool one along the lines of Glitter Gal Purple.  It's similar in application, with both being a bit thinner than other Glitter Gal polishes I've tried and thus requiring a third coat, and Red is also an unusual shade with lots of holographic effect.

For this manicure, I used Nfu Aqua Base, three thin coats of color (after the second, it was opaque bottle color but had a few barer spots that the third tidied right up), then a coat of Diamont to finish it all off.  This is Glitter Gal Red in sunlight somewhat obscured by clouds.

Glitter Gal Red Holo Nail Polish, Three Coats

Like how all the holo pigment shows up in the front of the bottle?  I do!  This one is also wonderful and a much more red shade than other holos named "red" (they often seems to end up being a holo terracotta) with a striking holo effect, but quite frankly I don't expect anything to top or even match Glitter Gal Purple me for a good long while.  The mere fact that I'd liken this one to it is high praise.

Glitter Gal Red wraps up Glitter Gal holos for me, so until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!



All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen from a real nail polish blog.

Glitter Gal Purple Holo

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Today I have Glitter Gal Purple, a holo, to show you and I think it's probably the only existent holo that could trump all the other Glitter Gal polishes I've already shown you combined.  It's a deep purple with much more red in it than the darker purple China Glaze OMG (LOL, I think, but I never did master the OMG names) as well as a much more pronounced holographic effect.  I questioned whether I could get an adequate picture of it since clouds keep coming and going, but Glitter Gal Purple doesn't require blazing sunlight to show off.

For the manicure, I used Nfu Oh Aqua Base, three coats of color (this polish is thinner than the other Glitter Gal holos, but well worth an extra coat), then finished it off with a coat of Diamont.  It's holding up really well, even surviving a long soak in an almost uncomfortably hot tub (a hot bath usually results in chips for me, but not on this manicure).  Here it is in the not-really-full sunlight after about 14 hours wear, including that scalding bath.

Glitter Gal Purple Holo Nail Polish, Three Coats

As my dear mother would have said, "It's a thing of beauty and a joy forever."  I think had I owned this polish a few years ago, I'd never be able to show it here since it would have been the only one I'd have ever worn for the rest of my days, so I wouldn't have had a nail blog.  To get all those colors to show up, very little light is required, particularly as compared to other pretty intensely colored holos.  In low indoor light, it's really obvious that it's a killer holo, while many just look like a shimmer indoors.

This may well be my favorite polish I've ever shown you, I absolutely love it.  A couple of other Glitter Gal posts had questions regarding where to buy them, but I don't want to bombard you with fine print, so I'll just give you a link to the post ending with details of where to buy Glitter Gal nail polish, and the owner of the online store's Ebay feedback is linked as well (she'd previously sold Glitter Gal there, so the Ebay feedback is directly related).

I think Glitter Gal Purple Holo pretty much speaks for itself - this one is truly incredible.  That's what I know this morning, so until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!



All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen from a real nail polish blog.

Glitter Gal Silver

Good morning, Dear Reader!

This morning I have another Glitter Gal holographic polish, Glitter Gal Silver, that was sent for review, and it's a happy surprise.  I put this one off because in the bottle the polish is underwhelming - I figured, "Huh, Glitter's Gal's OPI DS Coronation."  In the bottle that's accurate but on the nail it's completely inaccurate.

Like the OPI, Glitter Gal Silver dries super glassy smooth, but the quantity of little holo flakes is more like the China Glaze Kaleidoscopes.  From there, if you mix in the holographic effect of Chanel Holographic, where there are a million colors, then you have Glitter Gal Silver.  I used a Nutra Nail base coat, three coats of color, then a coat of Diamont to dry it.  I waited a few minutes and then took pictures in the sun.

Glitter Gal Silver Nail Polish, Three Coats

Glitter Gal Silver Nail Polish, Closer Look at Three Coats

See what I mean?  This is perfectly glassy smooth and looks like I have a boatload of holo glitter encrusting my nails.  I can't think of a down side to that.

I'm very impressed with all the Glitter Gal polishes I've tried, and Silver is no exception.  That's all for today, Dear Reader, so until next time, love and nail polish to you!




All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen from a real nail polish blog.

Glitter Gal Copper 3D Holo

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Today I have another Glitter Gal holo to show you, Copper. It's about the color of copper and super duper holo-y. For the manicure with it, I used one coat of Nfu Oh Aqua Base, two of Glitter Gal Copper, then Poshe followed up with a coat of the shiny Sally Hansen top coat. The polish is thinner than Glitter Gal Marine Blue, but still easy to control and good in two coats. This is Glitter Gal Copper Holo.

Glitter Gal Copper 3D Holo Nail Polish, Two Coats

That's really holographic! For me, it's another hit because of that. The color is a pretty standard one for holos, but it's so well done with this one that I like it a lot.

That's the scoop for today, Dear Reader. Until next time, love and nail polish to you!



All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen.

Glitter Gal Marine Blue

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I have a new-to-me brand to show you today, Glitter Gal.  It's an Australian made brand, and their new U.S. stockist got in touch to ask if I'd want to try some out, so she sent a few for review.  I have the first of them today, Marine Blue, and it's really a nice one.

It's a holo, not too surprisingly marine blue in color.  I used Nfu Oh Aqua Base, then two coats of Glitter Gal Marine Blue.  The polish is much thicker than many holos, like Nfu Oh's or China Glaze's, more like some of the Nubar ones.  That made it a lot easier to apply and control.  After the two coats of color, I added Poshe and the Sally Hansen shiny top coat.  Here's Glitter Gal Marine Blue.

Glitter Gal Marine Blue Nail Polish, Two Coats

Nice one, huh?  I have two more I'll show you this week - I'm excited to try them.  I applied this last night (I'll update that Revlon post - the polish dented badly a few hours later) and did about an hour of housework this morning with no thought of avoiding chips until I was finished, so it's clear to me that the wear on this is better than many holos, which can be a bit on the chippy side.

I tried to take a picture of Marine Blue's little bottle, but my camera lens fogged up really badly and all of my bottle pictures look like I took then through a frosted shower door (like it's an aging starlet!), so I'll just give you all the details.  The bottle is small by U.S. standards at 9 ml rather than our usual 14-15 ml and is similar to Color Club's in shape and proportion, so it's a practical shape.  I hold the bottle in the hand I'm painting when I apply polish, so bottle shape actually matters to me, especially smaller ones that can be harder to hang on to, but this one was good.  The stockist has just opened a brand spanking new site where we can buy them for $14 a pop, and it does accept Paypal.  The owner of the store was previously selling them on ebay, where she has a good deal of 100% positive feedback, so there's a history available even though the site is new.  The price is a little less on the store site than it was on ebay because the seller is able to reduce the price without the ebay fees (which are steep).

That is Glitter Gal Marine Blue and what I know about the brand, so until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!



All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen.

Revision Nails

Civil Twilight - Letters From The Sky

I have a short attention span. I always have and probably always will. It doesn't affect me all the time, just when I have to do something really boring! I can get totally engrossed in something I enjoy and waste away hours on end without even realising but as soon as I have to concentrate on something I'm not interested in for more than twenty minutes, everything else becomes infinitely exciting. Even cleaning starts to look like a more appealing option that what I'm doing.

It's not a good trait to have when it comes to studying.

I have a lot of exams coming up and I kept giving up on my revision to paint my nails so I decided I needed a mani that I wouldn't want to take off.

I know glitter is a massive pain to remove so I decided to apply a very thick, glitter manicure that I wouldn't be tempted to remove any time soon due to all the effort that would entail.

I decided on Models Own Juicy Jules because I absolutely love this holographic glitter polish but I've never worn it on its own before.

There are loads of pictures because I just couldn't narrow it down. This polish is so pretty.

Gosh Holographic
Models Own Juicy Jules
NYC Top Coat

I applied 2 coats of Gosh Holographic first because I didn't trust the glitter to cover the whole nail without leaving little gaps.

I probably used 4 or 5 coats of the Juicy Jules to make it super removal proof and then a few coats of NYC Top Coat to smooth things over.

In Sunlight

And slightly blurry so you can see the rainbow.

In Artificial Light

The colours sparkle more under artificial light. I spent a lot of time admiring the glitter when I was in my exam because there were fluorescent lights which made it super gorgeous and distracting!

And blurry for the holo-ness...

China Glaze Tickle My Triangle

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Wearing a holographic polish in the sun was so fun that I picked another China Glaze  Kaleidoscope for today, this time the pink one, Tickle My Triangle.  I think it's gorgeous since I love bright pinks and I love holos, but I'd want it even if it was awful just for the name.  Earlier this year, I was asked for my pick for the sexiest nail polish name, and I picked this one.  If you take the link to read the short article, be sure to read the "Sexiest Color" quote on page 3, which despite being a perfectly valid opinion, is funny when you're reading it linked from here. I hadn't mentioned the article at the time it was published because it wasn't directly relevant to a post, and I felt ill at ease subjecting you to a "Not getting enough of me here?  Go look at this page for even more!  Me!  Me!  Me!" so I didn't...

Anyhow, this is the version of Tickle My Triangle with a black label and white print (the three free version), and it only took two coats and was easy to apply.  Here it is in the early morning sun, which I drove over to a parking lot to get (houses and trees are blocking it at home!).  Now even more local residents have had the joy and the honor of watching me take a picture of something I'm hiding in my hand.

China Glaze Tickle My Triangle Nail Polish, Two Coats

Again today, what's not to love about this polish?  I'll tell you what's not to love about these nails - they're still uneven.  I had every intention of evening out yesterday, but completely forgot about it until I checked to see if Tickle My Triangle was dry enough to go out and take a picture this morning, and I said, "Hey!  They're still uneven!"  It's rare that something just drops out of my brain for a full day, but this did.  I'll take care of it soon, although today's chock full of activity so I'll just get to it eventually... It's a good opportunity to test my theory that no children will go to bed hungry because my nails don't look their best.

That's what I know this morning, Dear Reader.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!

China Glaze Black Mesh & Sexagon

Good morning, Dear Reader!

This morning there's no real sun out to accentuate the glory that is China Glaze Sexagon, but I still didn't have the heart to remove it, so I added a coat of China Glaze Black Mesh.  I went with Black Mesh rather than OPI Black Shatter because I find Black Mesh easier to apply more thinly so the cracks are greater in both number and size - I really wanted Sexagon to show through well.

It worked.  Black Mesh-ing went well, then I added one coat of a clear to it, just one I had around, to smooth it out a bit before sealing it with Diamont.  It's not as smooth as when I've used Gelous rather than the random clear, but I think one additional coat of the clear would close that gap, although it's smooth enough to not bug me at all with just the one coat I've used here, which is what I'm really after.

China Glaze Black Mesh Crackle Glaze over China Glaze Sexagon

I think it looks cool.  I believe the conclusion I've reached is that I most like the crackle polishes over holos and neons, as long as it's smoothed out well at the end.  I was reflecting on my initial reaction to trying out OPI Black Shatter - I recall proof reading the post and getting frustrated because I didn't want to keep using the word "hideous" to describe it, but that was the only word displayed on a flashing neon sign in my brain, which made it really hard to drum up others.  I'm glad I found a way to use it that appeals to me, because now I think they're a fun second-day addition to a manicure that I really like and want to draw out for another day, like Sexagon.

I don't really have any good stories to tell you today.  This has been an amazingly long week, scurrying about taking care of loose ends on old stuff and making slow but sure progress on establishing new and better things, so for the most part there have been a whole lot of unrelated events in close succession, which doesn't make for a very good tale.  I do have a good short funny for you though, a quote from one of my dear college friends.  I was blessed with a bunch of the brightest, funniest quirkiest friends anyone could ask for in college, and more often than not we were making each other laugh like fools.  Here's an example of how...

I'd stated that I found the very existence of this seemingly normal jar candle priced at $375 disturbing (I see that it's sold out despite the cap on quantity one may purchase in 30 days, which is even more disturbing).  My friend's explanation after reading the item's description was this:

"It creates 'a mystery that unravels with time.' It would probably be cheaper if the mystery unraveled all at once. Time-release mystery is ALWAYS more expensive."

On that note, I'll wrap it up.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!

China Glaze Sexagon

Good morning, Dear Reader!

After we arrived at a group consensus yesterday that Revlon Blue Lagoon was a complete failure, I felt a need for redemption and reached for something reliable for today.  I selected China Glaze Sexagon from their Kaleidoscope Collection of holographic polishes, and this is the version with a white label and black print.

Sexagon is the silver, and a particularly spectacular silver at that.  I like it because it has both the super fine holo pigment like the China Glaze OMG Collection or the Nfu Oh holos, and it also has little holo bits like the Milani holographics.  It's a good one, and I had fantastic sunlight to take a picture of it.

China Glaze Sexagon Nail Polish, Three Coats

What's not to love about this polish, right?  The manicure is a base coat (just some bottle I had lying around, I'm not sure what), three thin coats of Sexagon, and one coat of Diamont top coat.  The polish is somewhat thin, but that makes it easier to apply than some holos, and it dries very quickly and to an unusually smooth finish.

I haven't racked up any experiences worth telling you about yet today, so all I have for you now is nail polish.  I figure since that's most likely why you stopped by in the first place, that works out just fine.  Until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!

Sephora by OPI Celibacy Club and Sue vs Shue

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Today I have a manicure using two of the Sephora by OPI Glee mini set exclusives, Sue vs Shue and Celibacy Club.  I got the mini set on Valentine's Day when Sephora was giving out a free bottle of Sephora by OPI Access 24/7 with any order - I've had my eye on that one forever, and I was interested in the minis, so now they're here.

When I opened the set's box to check out the polishes, I noticed Celibacy Club, described by Sephora as a diamond top coat.  That was the one I was least interested in before seeing them in person - I figured, another fine silver glitter top coat can't be too different than any other.  It looked like it might be holographic when I was sizing it up, so I set it aside to try out.  I looked at what to put it over, and I chose Sue vs Shue, a pretty standard navy blue shimmer (which I wouldn't be astounded to hear was just the regular $OPI navy rebottled).

Sue vs Shue applied very well, with one coat being just shy of enough for even coverage.  I used two coats, then added one coat of Celibacy Club before finishing it off with a coat of Poshe.  For this, I wish I had sunlight, but I don't.  I took about seven billion pictures to get one that would even hint at the glory that is Celibacy Club, and this is as close as I could get in artificial light.  It's pretty impressive at full size, so give it a click to see a full screen version.

Sephora by OPI Celibacy Club over Sue vs Shue, Glee Mini Set Exclusives

Here's a blurry picture from the same batch that shows the colors reflected by the glitter pretty well.

Sephora by OPI Celibacy Club over Sue vs Shue, Blurred to Show Glitter

The real kicker is that this is how the manicure looks in regular indoor light.  Truthfully, I'm a little bummed that Celibacy club isn't offered in full size.  It's the coolest polish I've seen from the Sephora by OPI line (and I'm a fan of $OPI despite the price tag), so selling it only as a limited edition mini seems like a waste of a dang good polish.

That's the scoop for today, Dear Reader.  Until tomorrow, love and nail polish to you!  

Nfu Oh 65 & Chez-Delaney H2

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Today is a reader request day, with the request being for a chevron manicure in any colors, something I haven't done in recent years.  I like them well enough for an occasional change of pace, but they take me forever because I'm picky.  I find it distracting if the chevron is even a hair asymmetric about the center line, so when I placed my first order for Chez-Delaney plates, I was interested in the chevron tip plate.

It turns out that I eyed the plain chevron, but I bought the modified one.  I figured it's close enough, so I went with it anyhow.  I chose Nfu Oh 65 over Aqua Base for the main color, then stamped the tip pattern from plate H2 in Blue Konad Special Polish.  I used Konad Top Coat and another coat of quick dry top coat to seal it.

Nfu Oh 65 Nail Polish with Chez-Delaney Plate H2

What struck me about this pattern  is that even at this length, my nails are only marginally long enough for this stamp.  I got a little chip in the edge of my left ring nail and smoothed it out a few weeks ago, and on that nail the solid part of the stamp, the part closing the intersection of all the lines, didn't quite fit despite the fact that I placed the stamp with the sides closer to the cuticle than usual.  The other thing is I don't always get the very edges with a solid stamp, so I painted over the spots that had something missing.  The difference in opacity of the Konad polish shows in the picture, but not without magnification.

I said it was a reader request day,and it's a two-fer  An animated  gif of a holo was also requested (again, any color - I like vague requests!), so I made one.  I've never had a reason to make an animated gif before, so this is my first try at it.  I had to use artificial light for today's pictures, so there is variance between the one above and the ones below.  I chose the picture above because it's color accurate on my monitor, and the ones below because they show the holo well and line up well enough that you don't feel like you're watching Pong.  

Fun with Nfu Oh 65

That today's update, Dear Reader.  Until; next time, love and nail polish to you!  

Golden Rose 119 & Plate XL A

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I tried out a new to me brand for today's manicure, Golden Rose.  Golden Rose 119 is an almost black holo (I've seen it called black,but next to black it looks dark charcoal).

The bottle for this one is super small at 6 ml ( as opposed to the standard 15 ml), but the price is proportionately lower so it's just like buying a tiny amount at a time.  As for using the tiny bottle and brush for application, it was a little weird due to bottle size, but along the lines of the old Laura Mercier bottles rather than a mini.  I wish the brush were better because the polish itself is very nice, with the brush being the only drawback for me.  The application was unusually smooth and even for a holo (no "bald spots" like with Nfu Ohs, China Glaze OMG's, or Sally Hansen Magicals), it only took two coats to be even and opaque with a better than average drying time, and when dry the surface of the nail is mirror smooth.

After I applied Golden Rose 119 and was surveying my work, I thought that the polish wasn't as holographic as I'd like it to be, which prompted the memory of an entire post from a while back where I told you what a difference Nfu Oh Aqua Base makes under holos.  Then I remembered my lengthy holo kick last summer, during which I consistently used Aqua Base and found it livened up every holo polish I used over it, which leads me to believe that Golden Rose 119 needs another run over Aqua Base.

To perk it up in the meantime, I stamped my tips with a pattern from tip plate XL A using Nfu Oh 61 for the stamping, and here's what I came up with.

Golden Rose 119 Nail Polish, Two Coats, with Plate XL A

It's not bad, but I'm still kicking myself for using the wrong base.

That's about it for today, Dear Reader.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!

Chez-Delaney Plate XL B

Good morning, Dear Reader!

As I was warming up the car to go to the post office early this morning, I was admiring my Japanese OPI DS Original in the sun (the sun returned today!), and it struck me that I didn't have the heart to remove it after one day, so I conceded that I'd just not post today.  Then I went over to the PO, and lo and behold, guess what was waiting for me?  Well, since you read the title, I don't have to give you a lot of guesses - my plates A and B from the XL series arrived, and I scurried home to check them out.

The actual plates are giant but about as thin as regular, so they'll need more delicate care not to bend.  My plate B has a dent in it that looks like something pointy fell on it from a reasonable height, but it's next to a pattern, not on it, so I'm hoping that pattern works.  Otherwise, I have 83 big tip patterns that look fine, so I can't complain too much.  I used a pattern from plate B, and I was able to get a picture in sunlight.

Chez-Delaney XL B over Japanese OPI DS Original Nail Polish in Sunlight

I can tell I'm going to love these!  For the stamping, I used the regular Konad stamper and Konad Black Pearl Special Polish.  I tried the new giant stamper for two stamps, but I don't like it yet.  The surface is a squishy silicone, and it didn't pick up as much of the image as the regular stamper, so I didn't use it.  When I was done stamping, I used a coat of Konad top coat, then a coat of Poshe.

There's nothing quite like getting a new toy, so the arrival of the plates really made me happy.  That's what I have for you today, Dear Reader, and until next time, love and nail polish to you!

Japanese OPI DS Original

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

I had another huge ENAS failure, so I didn't have anything worthwhile to show you today until some more Japanese OPI Designer Series polishes landed here.  Now I have DS Original (DS 003-JP) to show you.  Of the 3 more I found, it was the only one I could get open.  I'll tell you more about that at the end.

So Japanese DS Original... It's fabulous, and few things can top a fabulous purple holographic nail polish.  The only down side is that like our DS Original, it's sheerer than looks right tome, so I needed four coats.  On the plus side, the polish is quite thin, so that's not the usual four-coat quantity I have to let dry.  I took pictures in natural light, but there hasn't been sun in forever, so they were so washed out from the lack of light that the color wasn't even close and no holo showed, so I reverted to artificial light.

Japanese Version of OPI DS Original Nail Polish, Four Coats

Not too shabby, huh?  I'm really thrilled to bits with this one.

I mentioned I found three more - I found them on ebay for $14-$16 each.  I tried a search that I figured would either give me gold or twenty thousand meaningless results, and I struck gold.  It seems the seller was asking somewhat gauge-y prices for regular OPI DS polishes when in fact it was the Japanese version she was asking a fair price for.  They arrived without their boxes, and for some reason the seller rolled up the actual bottles in really cheap packing tape before bubble wrapping them - I guess word of the advent of screw-on lids hadn't arrived yet.  Anyhow, this super cheap tape just shreds when I try to remove it, and in the picture I'm hiding all the gross tape bits and adhesive still stuck on there.  Yuck.

I looked to see if the others were still waiting there, and they were, but it seems the seller figured out what she had.  They now indicate that they're Japanese, and the prices went up $10-$12 each, which bummed me out. I'd planned to offer a link via email to anyone who's name I might recognize, but alas, these are now about as poorly priced as those from the really shady seller.  What bothers me about that is that my seller was content with whatever profit she would get with the price I paid, but a week later she got greedy.  

However, I still think that if you want these,you should hold out for a $15-ish or better price.  The fact that a few people hold these hostage as infinitely listed Buy It Now items doesn't mean that's what they're worth at all - they just go quickly when they're fairly priced.  So save a search and patiently wait, and then you'll get what you pay for.  Or pay whatever the heck you want to - it's your money!  ☺

That's my little lecture and my nail polish for today.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!  

Japanese OPI DS Design

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Today I have the last of my Japanese OPI Designer Series polishes, OPI DS Design (DS 012-JP).  This one is holographic like the others, but the holo pigment is much finer in Design.  Its main color is kind of a beige, very subdued.  The polish was a bit thinner than the others, and Design needed three coats to be good.

Japanese OPI DS Design Nail Polish, Three Coats

I really like polishes like this when I don't want something too over the top but still want something fun to peek it, like holiday gatherings (other than Christmas, as Christmas nails are my equivalent to Christmas sweaters).  DS Design's holo effect is quite strong (light bright enough to show the color washed out the holo a bit in the picture), so it's one of those that's really entertaining to play with in the light.

That's what I know this morning.  I bet I'll know a little more after some coffee, and I'd wager I'll be fully equipped to face the day after some vitamins.  Since the coffee and vitamins have yet to happen, you know what I know so far today, so until next time,  love and nail polish to you!  

Japanese OPI DS Couture

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I'm wearing out on the cremes this week!  I took another break from them today to wear the Japanese OPI DS Couture (DS 004-JP).  This one is a warm kind of peachy shade with the same strong rainbow holographic effect as the Japanese OPI DS Luxury.  Couture also took only two coats to be totally opaque and even, and it's also unusually smooth to the touch when dry.

Japanese OPI DS Couture Nail Polish, Two Coats

It's another great one.  The shades of the Japanese OPI DS's seem to be a little more girly, and they're far more sparkly.  I'd trade in the US versions for the Japanese in a second, given the chance.

That's just about all I have to tell you about at this early hour.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!  

Japanese OPI DS Luxury

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I really needed a break from cremes, so today I decided to wear the Japanese version of OPI DS Luxury (DS009-JP).  It's  a rose holographic polish with a really pronounced holo rainbow.

DS Luxury only needed two coats and it was good to go, and it's remarkably smooth to the touch when dry.  Here it is under artificial light.

Japanese OPI DS Luxury Nail Polish, Two Coats

This is another pretty that is unfairly hard to find, but it doe show up every now and then.  When it does, there are usually quite a few available, so if this is a polish you want to hunt for, it'll show up on ebay for about retail eventually.

That's it for today, Dear Reader.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!  

Giveaway now closed

My 300 follower giveaway is now closed and I'd like to say a big thank you to everyone who entered. I'm swamped with a school assignment at the moment so I won't be able to run through the entries until the end of the week but I will announce the winner on or before Sunday. I promise.

Plate: Bundle Monster - BM11
Base Colour: GOSH - Holographic
Stamp Colour: BYS - Glittering Purple
Green star sequins from Viva La Nails
Top Coat of NYC