Quantcast
Channel: Chickettes Natural Nail Studio & Boutique
Viewing all 441 articles
Browse latest View live

DIY Hard Nails Swatch Gallery

0
0

This is a summary of all of the DIY Hard Gel polishes that I have swatched to-date. I will update this page on an ongoing basis as I swatch new colors. Click on the images to see larger photos, and click on the links to view or purchase the items on Amazon.com. The Amazon links are affiliate links, and I earn a small commission on each order that is placed through my links. I would like to thank you in advance if you order through any of these links as the commissions help me be able to afford to purchase more colors to swatch! If you use my swatch images please DO NOT ALTER them, leave the watermarks in place and provide a link back to www.chickettes.com!

Color Changing Gels from DIY


GELibility: Turn your regular nail polish into gel polish!

0
0

Hello readers!  Many of you reached out and asked me to review GELibility, and it’s finally here!  For those of you that don’t know, GELibility is a custom formulated clear gel that can be mixed with regular nail polish (RNP) to turn it into gel polish.  That’s right, you can turn ANY regular polish into a gel polish.  It cures in a UV or LED lamp, is instantly dry and has the long-lasting wear of a gel polish.

My sample of GELibility was waiting for me in the mail when I returned home from Cosmoprof in Vegas, and the timing could not have been more perfect!  I attended a couple of amazing parties in Vegas that were hosted by indie polish makers (read Work / Play / Polish’s write-up of the parties here), and brought home some really beautiful indie polishes that I was dying to try.  As you know, I normally write about gel polish so I was trying to think of how to incorporate some of the indies into my blog… and then along came GELibility!  Perfect!

GELibility:  Turn regular nail polish into gel polish!

How It Works

There are two major components to GELibility; “Stick It!” and “Fix It!” Stick It is basically the base coat that you apply first, and Fix It! is the clear gel that you mix with your regular polish, and also doubles as the top coat. Application steps are as follows:

  1. Apply a thin coat of Stick It! to your clean, dry nails and cure it in your UV or LED lamp.
  2. Cleanse the tacky layer from the nails using alcohol and a lint-free wipe.
  3. Put equal amounts of Fix It! and your regular nail polish of choice on a palette or in a small dish. Wipe off the brush from your regular nail polish with a lint-free wipe and alcohol.
  4. Using the regular nail polish brush, mix the GELibility Fix It! and the nail polish well. *
  5. Using the regular nail polish brush, apply a thin coat of your mixture to your nails.
  6. Cure in a UV or LED lamp. (Repeat steps 5 and 6 until you get the desired opacity.)
  7. Apply one final thin coat of GELibility Fix It! and cure.
  8. Remove the tacky layer with alcohol and a lint-free wipe.

Curing times: 60 seconds LED, 120 seconds UV

* It’s recommended that you use the regular nail polish brush instead of the Fix It! brush so that your Fix It! remains clear and doesn’t get tainted with color, shimmer or glitter. I accidentally used my Fix It! brush and now my clear gel has some shimmer mixed into it.  Oops!

This little flower-shaped mixing tray is included with the GELibility kit. This is what mine looked like as I was mixing some of the polishes. I put 4 drops of polish and 4 drops of Fix It! in each little section, and that was just enough to do three coats of each color on a swatch wheel. The downside to the tray is that it has lots of corners so it’s not very easy to clean. I would prefer a regular little paint pallet with rounded edges for easy clean-up.

GELibility mixing tray


The first indie polish that I wanted to try is called What Happens in Vegas… Ends Up on Instagram by Girly Bits Cosmetics.  This is a Limited Edition polish that was specially made for this year’s Cosmoprof show.  It will be released for sale in mid-August for $12.  Don’t miss out on this one… it will only be available for a limited time!  It’s a very dense magenta holographic polish with fine pink and purple glitter.

Below is a picture of what it looks like in it’s regular nail polish form:

Girly Bits Cosmetics:  What Happens in Vegas... Ends Up on Instagram!  Swatch by Chickettes.comGorgeous, right!?  And here’s a side-by-side picture that shows what it looks like before and after it’s been gelified with GELibility:

Girly Bits Cosmetics:  What Happens in Vegas... Ends Up on Instagram!  Regular nail polish, and after being turned into gel polish with GELibility!

It’s still gorgeous!  I was very pleasantly surprised at how well this worked.  Both swatches above show this polish with 3 coats of color.  After applying my third coat of gel color I touched a nail to see if it was completely cured… it was, but it was much more tacky than a normal gel polish.  After I applied my Fix It! top coat, cured and wiped, they were perfectly smooth and glossy and completely dry to the touch!

Now, adding the clear gel did dilute the color so it’s not quite as dense and it also lost some of the holo effect.  I wondered what would happen with other types of finishes, so I began testing on a swatch wheel.  Here are the results (3 coats each RNP and gel):

Holographic

I’ve been wishing and praying for a pure holographic gel polish (not just holographic glitter), and soooo hoped that GELibility would deliver.  Unfortunately, the gel dilutes the polish too much and the holographic effects are lost.  The holo finishes now appear to be shimmers instead.  Bummer… still waiting for someone to formulate a holo gel.  You can see that the colors are also slightly lighter and less opaque.

The three colors used in this test are all from Girly Bits Cosmetics; What Happens in Vegas… Ends Up on Instagram, Bird is the Word, and D!ck in a Box.

GELibility and holographic nail polish

Glitter

GELibility worked really well with glitter polishes.  Yes, they are a little diluted as expected, but the glitter still shines and sparkles and I actually prefer the glossy hard finish of the glitters in gel form.  RNP glitters can feel a bit textured or rough, but they are perfectly smooth to the touch after being mixed with GELibility.  You can just increase the number of coats to get the same density as the RNP form.

The three indie polishes that I used in this test are; Emerald & Ash Cuddle-Butt, KBShimmer Hexy Bikini, and Different Dimension Big Bang.

GELibility and glitter nail polish

Duochrome

So what about duochromes?  They still have duochorme effects and do show color shifts, though the effects are a bit muted and not quite as impressive.  Even my photos didn’t pick up on all of the color-shifting goodness of these two polishes from Llarowe; Show Me Da’ Money and Show Me Again! Show Me Da’ Money was pretty much opaque in one coat in RNP form, and so in gel form it still has great opacity with a couple of coats.  Show Me Again is just a real stunner with amazing purple and blue/teal shifts, but doesn’t look quite as good when diluted.

GELibility and duochrome nail polish

Cream

I expected that GELibility would work well on a cream finish and might just be a little thin, and that proved to be true.  With the creams you just just need more coats to achieve the same color.  The color used here is Morgan Taylor One Cool Cat (I couldn’t find a pure cream indie).

GELibility and cream finish nail polish


Overall, I am really impressed with GELibility and can’t wait to try it out on more polishes. It’s a great way to use up old bottles of RNP or to turn some of your favorite RNP shades into gel and make them last longer. I haven’t done a full wear test on this product yet so I can’t say for certain that it lasts as long as it claims, but I did wear it for several days with absolutely no signs of wear, chipping or peeling so it seems very durable.

It is important to realize that you are diluting the RNP with a clear base, so you may need to apply additional coats to achieve the same level of opacity. Also, special effect finishes like holos and duochromes may be diminished. (That’s probably why it’s impossible to find these finishes in gel form in the first place!)

If you’re interested in learning more about GELibility, please visit their website at http://www.gelibility.com.  The website has detailed application and removal instructions.

You can also purchase GELibility Fix It! and Stick It! in a set for $37.95.  The set is recommended as they are specially formulated to work together.

Gel II Reaction AFTER DARK – Color Changing Snakeskin Nail Art

0
0

During my visit to the Gel II booth at Cosmoprof, I learned more about the Gel II Reaction collection and we talked about nail art and some of the fun things that you can do with these color changing polishes. If you apply the Reaction gels over colorful nail art you can create some really amazing effects!

Chickettes.com - Snakeskin Nail Art with Gel II Reaction AFTER DARK Color Changing Gel Polish

This design is based on an example that I was shown at the show. I applied two different color gel polishes to my nail and then took a fan brush to marble them a little before curing. I did this two times.  The two colors that I used are ibd Swag Bag (blue) and ibd Chic to Chic (pink). Then I applied one thin coat of Gel II Reaction “After Dark” which is a color changing gel polish that shifts from black when cold, to a light grey when warm. Before curing the layer of After Dark, I took my Gel II No-Cleanse Top Coat and added little dots of top coat with a dotting tool.  This created the snakeskin-like look. I cured after adding the dots, then applied one final layer of top coat over the whole nail and cured once more.

When my hands are cold, my nails look like the picture above.  But what do they look like when my nails are warm?  My photos didn’t turn out real great, BUT I have a video!  This is a very short time lapsed video that shows what happens when the temperature changes from cold to warm.  I apologize that it’s a little shaky.

 

Pretty cool, right?!  If you’re wondering what Gel II After Dark looks like on it’s own, I also have some swatches.  This is three coats of Gel II After Dark on its own.  You can see that it shifts from a sheer light grey, to opaque black.  In the nail art that I did above, I only used a very thin coat of the Reaction gel because the snakeskin effect wouldn’t show very well when I painted it thicker due to the opacity of the black.

Chickettes.com - Gel II Reaction "After Dark"

Chickettes.com - Gel II Reaction "After Dark" when warm
Chickettes.com - Gel II Reaction "After Dark" in transition
Chickettes.com - Gel II Reaction "After Dark" when cold

My Personal Experience at Cosmoprof North America

0
0

Many of my recent posts have summarized some of the cool things that I learned about while attending Cosmoprof North America.  A few friends expressed interest in hearing about my personal experiences at the show, and I also want to document some of this information for myself so that I don’t forget the lessons that I learned this year… because I plan on going again!

cpna_box

If you don’t know what Cosmoprof North America is, it’s a business-to-business beauty trade show that’s held at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas every July.  This event is for beauty professionals and to attend you must be a licensed tech, business owner, manufacturer, distributor or a member of the press.  As blogger, I was fortunate to be able to attend as a member of the press.  Bloggers and other media can apply for a press pass through the Cosmoprof NA website a couple of months prior to the event.  I received notice that I was approved about a month before the show.  Woo hoo!

This was my first time attending the event, so I had absolutely no idea what to expect.  In the 2 months prior, I admittedly spent a  LOT of time thinking (worrying) about what to wear and how to do my nails, how to interact with the brands, what questions to ask, etc, etc.  Thankfully I received guidance from some of the more experienced bloggers who have attended before. Krystal from Polish Galore was so incredibly helpful and patient!  I seriously don’t know how I would have managed without her help.

What I Wore

The advice that I received was to dress business casual (no jeans, flip flops or tennis shoes), and to wear comfy shoes. I worked in a corporate setting for many years so I own lots of business casual clothes (mostly pants and dressy tops), but I opted not to wear any of them! LOL I’m bored with the corporate look, so I went slightly more casual with some summery dresses and flat shoes for my show attire. I think it worked out OK… I didn’t feel under dressed.

On the first day of the show, I wore a summery dress with a geometric pattern from Francesca’s Boutique (this style – different pattern).  This is the dress that inspired my manicure for the trip, and is also the color inspiration for the other outfits that I wore.  I’m not a fashionista, so this may be a bit too matchy-matchy (as Heidi Klum would say).  My dress was a minty-teal blue with dark blue, orange, pink and white geometric patterns. Blue has sort of been my color of the summer, ever since I saw Gelish Mali-Blu Me Away, so I wanted to stick with that shade as my accent.  I purchased a pair of blue Mel by Melissa Mary Jane flat shoes on Amazon, and I picked up this blue Nine West bag at Overstock.com (the blue is a little brighter in person).  The shoes are lightweight, jelly-like shoes and were super comfy.  I wore these for 2 days… the only downside to them is that they don’t have any support.

what-i-wore

I took very few photos that first day at the show (shame on me!), but here’s a goofy picture that Katy from Nailed It took of us in the press room!

katy-andrea-goofy-faceAnd here is the nail art that I did for the show.  I wanted to highlight some of my different skills, so I used several different techniques to create this look.  Learn more about my nails here.

cosmoprof-2014-nailsI also brought several cocktail dresses and heels for my evening/party attire. The very first night, I wore a little black dress and a pair of very high heels… and that was the last time that I wore heels the whole trip. Very bad idea! I could barely walk after taking my shoes off, and my hips and lower back hurt the entire rest of the trip.  First lesson… leave the heels at home and wear comfy shoes!

Where I Stayed

I opted to stay at the Luxor since it’s more affordable (about half the price of Mandalay Bay), and is fairly close. I didn’t know any of the other bloggers personally prior to the show, so I roomed by myself. I was also hoping that my boyfriend would come for part of the trip and that we could make a little vacation out of it, but that didn’t work out. It was just as well because I wouldn’t have had very much time to spend with him. I was at the show all day, attended parties in the evenings… and then crashed from exhaustion as soon as I got to my room at the end of the day.

I arrived very early on Saturday and decided to walk over to Mandalay Bay so that I could find my way around, and pick up my press pass. It ended up being about a mile walk (15 minutes) from my hotel room to the trade show floor, and I did that walk 2-3 times a day on top of all of the walking on the trade show floor. So I did a LOT of walking over the course of 4 days. There is a tram that runs from Luxor to Mandalay Bay, but that really didn’t eliminate much walking and I found it faster to just walk over to Mandalay by going through the shops. So that was another lesson learned… next year I will stay at Mandalay Bay or THE Hotel at Mandalay. THE Hotel is the closest, so that’s what I’ll aim for. Hopefully I can find a roommate to help with the expense.

In the Press Room & Blogger Interaction

My first stop every morning was the press room.  This room had couches and tables where the press members could sit and work or converse.  Breakfast and lunch were served every day at 9-9:30am and noon, and I have to say that I was impressed by the spread.  Breakfast usually consisted of pastries, donuts, fresh fruit and beverages (coffee, tea, juice, soda, water, etc).  Lunch was a full buffet and the food was delicious.  I would go to the press room in the morning, grab a bite to eat and come up with my game plan for the day.  I also stopped back a few times throughout the day if I needed to rest my feet, do some social media updates, or organize my thoughts.

One of the things that I loved most about the press room was interacting with the other bloggers.  I have to admit that before the show I worried whether there would be any competitiveness or girl drama, but those worries quickly washed away once I met the other ladies.  Everyone was extremely friendly, accepting and helpful!  I did a little internal fangirling as I met some of my favorite bloggers… OMG, they are real people just like me!  I have only met a few bloggers in person before, so it was really awesome to meet so many like-minded people in one place.

Bloggers in the Press Room at Cosmoprof North America

Left to right: Katy from Nailed It, Me, Leslie from Work/Play/Polish, Sarah from Chalkboard Nails, Judy from Beauty Judy, and Krystal from Polish Galore

Above is a picture of a few of us in the press room.   I met and bonded with many bloggers while at the show including (but certainly not limited to) Katy from Nailed It, Leslie from Work / Play / Polish, Sarah from Chalkboard Nails, Judy from Beauty Judy, Krystal from Polish Galore, Hannah from The Dalai Lama’s Nails, Claudia from Chromatic Misadventures, and Katherine from Manicure Addict.

Katy and I hung out together quite a bit and she actually spent the day with me on the 15th, which was MY BIRTHDAY!  It was the last day of the show, which ended at 2pm.  Katy and I changed into our bathing suits and headed to “The Beach” (the pool) at Mandalay Bay for the afternoon.  We hung out there for several hours, drinking cocktails, talking and people watching.  Then we caught a cab and went to In-N-Out Burger for dinner!  Oh, and we did a little gambling.  I lost all of my money, as usual… but Katy got an awesome hand at the Blackjack table where she split 7′s four times and won!!

On the Trade Show Floor

The Mandalay Bay convention center is HUGE and there were over 900 exhibitors with booths at the show.  It was very overwhelming as a newbie.  Luckily there was a numbering system on the floor, printed maps, and an awesome interactive phone app that helped with navigating the floor and finding the booths. (View the floor map here).  My game plan going into this was to just focus on the brands with gel polish lines first, and if I had time afterwards I would venture out and explore other areas.  I’m actually very lucky that my focus is so narrow because I can’t imagine how a general beauty blogger would begin to prioritize their visits.

I did reach out to a few brands ahead of time to request meetings, which turned out to be a very wise thing.  Next year I will schedule more appointments like that.  I could walk into most booths and browse and ask questions, but there were no guarantees.  There were also a couple of larger booths that you couldn’t enter without an appointment (OPI & CND for example).  So making appointments just ensures that you get some one-on-one time with a representative.

I apologize that I don’t have any pictures of the actual floor… I wasn’t sure if it was allowed.  Only members of the press are allowed to take photos, and you have to ask first.  Some of the products and information that’s disclosed at the show is embargoed, which means that it can’t be released until a certain date.  So you also have to ask if and when the photos or info can be released.  In one case, I was asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement.

I have to admit that on the first day, I didn’t take many photos and didn’t take good enough notes.  I did improve some over the next couple of days, but next year I will try to be much more diligent and organized.  I also didn’t have a prepared list of questions and just kind of went with the flow, letting the brands guide me and dictate what they wanted to share.  I began to learn how to better interview and interact as time went on and I know that I will be much more prepared next time.

I had several awesome meetings with gel polish companies, but my favorite visit was at the Hand and Nail Harmony (Gelish) booth.  You all know that I’m one of the biggest Gelish fans, so this visit made my day.  I got to see all of the new collections that are coming up all the way through next Spring (sorry, can’t share much of that yet!), and I even met the founder Danny Haile.  I was totally kicking myself afterward for not asking to take a photo with him.  The other thing that I found really cool was that they already knew about me and my blog!  With this being my first time at the show, I didn’t really expect anyone to know who I am, but several of the brands that I met with were already familiar with Chickettes.  Yay!

Parties

I also had the privilege of attending several parties. Saturday night I attended the Get Together Party that was organized for all Cosmoprof attendees and exhibitors. Anyone that had a ticket, press pass or booth could go to this event.  It was a meet & greet party with beverages and food.  This was where I first met many of the other bloggers.  I spent all day Saturday alone, walking around and at the pool and then I got dressed up and headed over to this event by myself.  I hoped and prayed that I would see someone that I recognize!  After about 20 minutes I spotted a whole group of bloggers congregated in one area and made my way over there for introductions.   I found my blogger pack!   We ate and mingled for a short while, and then headed off to another party.

The next event was the Shine & Social Party at PRESS lounge at the Four Seasons.  This party was hosted by SuperChic Lacquer and was attended by many bloggers, indie polish makers and a few people from NAILS Magazine!  We had a nice time mingling and drinking wine.  Below is a group picture that was taken my NAILS Magazine at the end of the evening.  I’m the 5th from the left in the black dress in the center.

Photo courtesy of NAILS Magazine

Photo courtesy of NAILS Magazine

Sunday evening I also attended two parties.  The first was the Sparkle & Wine party which was hosted by Crystal Rose of KBShimmer and Pam Heil of Girly Bits Cosmetics.  I met and mingled with lots of amazing indie polish makers at this party.  They each had displays setup featuring items from their product lines.  I love indie polishes because the color and glitter combinations that they come up with are so darn unique!  It was really cool to see all of their wonderful creations.  I’m not sure why, but I didn’t take many photos at this party.  You can see pictures and find some more info about these indie events at Work / Play / Polish and The Dalai Lama’s Nails.  Also, the goodie bag of indie samples that I took home was also absolutely amazing!  I can’t wait to feature some of these beauties on my blog.

Hannah and Andrea at Sparkle & Wine

Hannah of The Dalai Lama’s Nails and Me at Sparkle & Wine. Photo courtesy of Hannah.

Afterwards, I headed over to the Margaritas & Manicures party which was hosted by Katie Corzola of The Painted Nail, and sponsored by Nail It! and NAILPRO Magazines.  This was another great opportunity to mingle with some amazing people!  We also learned about some new products that The Painted Nail is coming out with, including swatch strips… clear peel-off strips that you can apply to your nail and paint over.  When you’re ready to change your polish, you just peel it off!  These will be great for swatching colors.

Below is a picture of some of the bloggers that attended this party.  In in the back row, third from the left.

Bloggers at Margaritas & Manicures Party

Photo courtesy of Nail It Magazine

Summary & Tips

This post ended up being a lot longer than I anticipated, but thank you if you stuck through it all.  Overall, my Cosmoprof experience was absolutely amazing!  I loved every second of it and am so grateful for the experience and to have made so many awesome connections with bloggers and brands.  I was on information overload, and since I’ve been home I’ve been trying to organize all of the information that I gathered so that I can share it all with you.  I’ve already written a few summary posts, but I also have a lot of new products to review which will take some time yet.

I hope you enjoyed a look into my personal experience.  If you’re a blogger and are considering going, I highly recommend it.  Over the course of my trip, I carried a notebook with me.  One of the pages in my notebook was a list of things that I wanted to remember for my next trip.  This is the actual list that I wrote for myself:

  1. Wear comfy flats with very cushioned/supportive soles!  No heels!!
  2. Bring Ibuprofin. (oh my aching hips and back!)
  3. Bring a bag/suitcase on wheels to carry brochures and samples.
  4. Stay at Mandalay Bay or THE Hotel.
  5. Bring an extra suitcase, bubble wrap, and gallon baggies to pack up samples for the trip home.
  6. Only bring 50-100 media kits. (I brought way too many)
  7. Prepare a list of questions and take better notes!
  8. Take more pictures!!
  9. Schedule meetings with brands in advance of the show.

Some other tips for bloggers attending with a press pass:

  1. Bring lots of business cards, you will be handing them to just about everyone you meet.
  2. Print copies of your media kit to give to the brands/exhibitors.
  3. Take advantage of the free meals in the press room (breakfast is at 9:30, and lunch is at noon).  Everything in Las Vegas is expensive, and I paid $5.50 for a bottle of water!

Fun Pastel Circle Glitter Gradient!

0
0

I’m in the mood for something fun! I’ve been busy writing summaries and doing reviews, and I felt the need to do something light and carefree… and this is what I came up with. I purchased a bunch of circle glitters recently, and I got this little colorful pot of glitter from Born Pretty.  This dotted gradient came out of my head, but it may have been inspired.  I feel like I’ve seen this type of design somewhere before, but unfortunately I don’t remember where…

I love glitter gradients and designs over a clear base, so I kept this pretty simple.  I applied and cured a layer of Gelish Foundation.  Then I added a second (very thin) layer of the foundation gel onto my nails and placed the circle glitters into the wet gel.  I did this one finger at a time.  After getting the glitters in place, I cured the nail for 5-10 seconds and then moved onto the next nail until complete.  I then cured the whole hand for 30 seconds in my LED lamp, and then added two coats of Gelish Top It Off over top of the glitters to hold them in place.  I very carefully capped the tips of each nail and made sure to go around the edges really well so that the TIO bonded with the foundation gel around the glitter pieces to prevent them from lifting.

Chickettes.com dotted glitter gradient with round pastel glitters

This could be a fun mani for a birthday or celebration!  What do you think?  :)

Chickettes.com dotted glitter gradient with round pastel glitters

The Gelly Sandwich Technique! Mixing Gel Polish & Regular Nail Lacquer

0
0

I’ve been asked many times, “What is a gelly sandwich?”  A gelly sandwich (aka gellie sandwich or gel sandwich) is when you apply regular nail polish (RNP) in between a gel base and top coat.  This technique usually prolongs the wear of regular nail polish by a few days, but it generally doesn’t last as long as a full gel polish manicure.

This is a gelly sandwich that I did this week with a gorgeous polish that I received from Llarowe called Here Come the Brides.  This polish has a light, creamy base and is loaded with purple, black and holographic glitters in different sizes and shapes.  I love it!  I sandwiched this in between my Gelish Foundation and Top It Off.

Chickettes.com - Llarowe Here Come the Brides - gelly sandwich style!

Here are the steps that I recommend to achieve a successful gelly sandwich:

  1. Prep your nails for a gel manicure (shape, buff, cleanse, etc).
  2. Apply a layer of gel polish foundation, capping the tips.
  3. Cure the foundation gel in your UV or LED lamp for the recommended time.
  4. Wipe off the tacky layer.
  5. Apply your regular nail polish color of choice, waiting several minutes in between each coat, until you get the desired opacity.  Do NOT cap the tips.
  6. WAIT! WAIT! WAIT!  Let the regular nail polish dry.  I mean COMPLETELY dry… like for several hours (4-6 hours).
  7. Apply a layer of gel top coat, capping the tips.
  8. Cure the top coat in your UV or LED lamp for the recommended time.
  9. Optional: repeat steps 7 & 8 for some extra strength.
  10. Wipe the tacky layer with a lint-free pad and alcohol or nail cleanser.

The technique is rather simple, but it does require patience for it to be done right.  And that is probably why I’ve never written about the gelly sandwich before… I lack patience!  I can’t stand waiting for nail polish to dry, which is why I switched to gel in the first place.  I want to be able to get up and go as soon as I’m done and not have to worry about denting a nail.  If you don’t wait for the polish to dry completely, there’s a really good chance of it denting or wrinkling (even under that hard top coat).  I swear every time I try this and I think the polish is dry after an hour or so, I go to wipe the tacky layer and they get messed up.  So that’s why I say to let them dry for a few hours.

I also recommend not capping the tips with the RNP, but do cap with the gel.  This is so the gel top coat bonds with the gel base on the tips.  This should help prevent chipping.

Gelish Get Color-Fall Collection (2014 Fall Gelish Colors)

0
0

Gelish Get Color-Fall Collection Swatches by Chickettes.com

I have swatches of the new Gelish Get Color-Fall Collection for you!  These Gelish MINI polishes can be purchased at Sally Beauty Supply.  The six colors in this collection are inspired by the brilliant colors of nature in the fall.  Each of my swatches demonstrates three coats of color.  The formula of these polishes was great and very easy to apply.  Keep in mind though that I am using the MINIs, so the full size versions could be slightly different.  So let’s get to the colors…

Gelish Do I Look Buff

Do I Look Buff is a neutral cream.  It has a very slight shimmer to it that’s hardly noticeable in pictures.  I think this is my perfect nude!  It falls right in between Need A Tan and Skinny Vanilla Latte on the color scale.  This color does fade (darken) slightly over time.

Gelish Do I Look Buff swatch by Chickettes.com

Gelish Berry Buttoned Up

Berry Buttoned Up is a lush, shimmery purple!  I’m in love with this shade.  It’s totally unique to the Gelish line, but is similar to CND Shellac Tango Passion and ibd Indian Sari.  In my opinion, this one is the best of the three.  It has the best coverage and the most shimmery finish.

Gelish Berry Buttoned Up swatch by Chickettes.com

Gelish Clean Slate

Clean Slate is a very sheer blue/grey.  I have heard from other people that the full size bottle is a completely different color – a light grey with full opacity.  I have a full-size bottle on the way to do some comparisons, but I didn’t want it to hold up my swatches.  If they are indeed different I’ll be sure to post an update here.  I did confirm with my contact that the MINI version is sheer.

So I wouldn’t actually wear this polish on it’s own because I don’t typically like visible nail line.  I have used this color in two nail art designs though, and it’s a great base for lace designs!  You can see the two designs that I used this in here, and here.

Gelish MINI Clean Slate swatch by Chickettes.com

Gelish Rake in the Green

Rake in the Green is a dark grey/green cream.  This color is similar to Gelish I’m No Stranger to Love, but this is a little lighter and has more grey.  This is a great dark shade for fall and winter.

Gelish Rake in the Green swatch by Chickettes.com

Gelish Whose Cider Are You On?

Whose Cider Are You On is a gorgeous shimmery brown!  This is another unique color. This shade is much darker and much more rich and shimmer than Gelish Sweet Chocolate.  I think this will be a very popular color this fall.  Love!

Gelish Whose Cider Are You On? swatch by Chickettes.com

Gelish Hello, Merlot!

Hello, Merlot! is a rich, berry cream.  I have a lot of shades of red, but this one is a little different from all the rest.  It has a slight pink-ish tone to it that makes it more of a berry color than a pure red.  I typically shy away from reds, but I really like this.

Gelish Hello Merlot! swatch by Chickettes.comSo which is your favorite?!  For me it’s a toss up between All Berry Buttoned Up and Whose Cider Are You On?

Gelish Get Color-Fall Color Comparisons

0
0

Many of you asked me to put together some comparisons that show how the new Gelish Get Color-Fall Collection colors compare to some existing colors, so  I pulled out my swatch sticks and took some photos.  You can click on these images to view them at full size.

Let’s start with Berry Buttoned Up… an absolutely gorgeous new shade of purple.  I mentioned in my write-up that is is a little similar to some purples from other brands, so let’s see how they compare.  From left to right, this photo shows Gelish Plum & Done, ibd Indian Sari, Gelish Berry Buttoned Up, CND Shellac Tango Passion, Gelaze Flying Dragon and Gelish Starburst.  ibd Indian Sari and CND Tango Passion are the closest contenders, though they are both a little more reddish-purple and Berry Buttoned Up has a bit more of a frosty finish.

comp-berry-buttonedWhose Cider Are You On? is another favorite from this collection and I don’t think any other browns in my stash come close to it.  Most of my dark browns are cream finishes except for Sweet Chocolate, and it’s just not as rich and lush as Cider.  From left to right, the colors here are Gelish Sweet Chocolate, Whose Cider Are You On?, Strut Your Stuff, Double Shot Espresso (only available in mini size), Want to Cuddle? and Lust at First Sight.  Whose Cider You On is a must have!

comp-ciderAre You Feeling Buff? is the new nude/tan polish.  I actually put two swatch sticks with this color side by side so that you can see that it does fade a bit… it turns a little more yellow-tan.  It has a nice subtle pearly finish, and is a few shades darker than Need a Tan.  The colors seen here are Gelish Do I Look Buff (faded), Do I look Buff? (new), Need a Tan, Skinny Vanilla Latte (only available in mini size), ibd Dockside Diva, and Taupe Model.  I want to point out that Skinny Vanilla Latte and Taupe Model also fade and these are likely the faded versions since I’ve had these swatch sticks prepared a while.

comp-buffHello, Merlot! is the new creamy red. This red looks a little more cranberry to me than the other shades that I have.  Below are some of the darker red shades from my Gelish stash.  Seen in the photo from left to right are Gelish Black Cherry Berry, Touch of Sass, Elegant Wish, Hellot Merlot, Lady In Red, and Backstage Beauty.  This is probably one of my favorite reds.

comp-merlotClean Slate is an opaque, medium blue-grey.  I previously posted that this one was sheer, but I found out that my bottle had the wrong formula… so scratch that!  The colors seen here are Gelish Cashmere Kind of Gal, Let’s Hit the Bunny Slopes, Clean Slate, Midnight Caller and Fashion Week Chic.

comp-clean-slateAnd finally, let’s compare Rake in the Green, a dark grey/green cream.  I put this next to a couple of dark blues and some of the darker greens from my stash.  It falls somewhere in the middle… it’s not a pure green, but it’s not blue either.  It’s very close to No Stranger to Love, but is just slightly lighter and more grey.  The colors from left to right are Gelish I Heart My Instructor, Is It An Illusion?, Rake in the Green, No Stranger to Love, The Dark Side and Race You to the Bottom.

comp-rake-green


Bio Seaweed Gel UNITY All-In-One Color Gel Polish Review

0
0

I was very excited to see that Bio Seaweed Gel (BSG) had a booth at Cosmoprof because I’d heard so much about their gel polish, but hadn’t tried it yet.  Their booth was one of my very first visits while I was there.  I learned that they have two lines of soak-off gel polish; UNITY – which is a one-step gel polish that has the base and top coat built in, and a 3STEP gel polish system that require a base and top coat. They have a No-Sanding Base Gel, Diamond Shine Top Gel, and No-Wipe Top Gel.  They have a very wide variety of colors and finishes to choose from (189 colors between the 2 lines), and they claim that the removal only takes 5 minutes!

I received two UNITY colors, the No-Sanding Base and No-Wipe Top to try.  I did two different wear and removal tests with one of the UNITY polishes.  I wanted to try it on its own, and with the base and top coats.  Bio Seaweed Gel recommends only using UNITY on its own when used on your toes, but they do recommend using the base and top coat on your fingernails for best results.  One of the bottles that I received has this information about expected wear on the label:

  1. Just UNITY: Lasts 1-7 days
  2. UNITY + BSG Base Gel Polish: Lasts 7-14 days
  3. UNITY + BSG Base + BSG Top: Lasts 14+ days of high shine chip-free wear

Application

For my first wear test I applied BSG UNITY #126 Magenta directly onto my nails.  The application was a dream.  The color went on perfectly from edge to edge with no shrink back issues, and this particular color was opaque in just two coats.  The UNITY gels also do not have any tackiness after curing, so you don’t have to wipe them clean after your application.  The picture below shows the end result of my first application.  Even without a top coat, the UNITY gel had a good shine. (This is my left hand, the wear test was conducted on my right).

Bio Seaweed Gel - #126 Magenta - Swatch by Chickettes.comOn my second wear test I also applied the base and top coats in addition to two coats of UNITY Magenta.  I also had no issues with the application of the base and top coats.

Wear

Test 1: Just UNITY

As I mentioned, I first tried UNITY on its own without a base or top coat.  According to the label, this should have lasted 1-7 days.  My manicure stayed in good shape right up until day 3 or 4, and then I noticed a few little cracks on some of the nails.  I’ve heard about gel polish cracking, but never experienced it until now.  I think the cracks occurred because my nails actually bent.  They didn’t feel very strong with just the two coats of color on.  Even with the cracks, the color still stayed in place up until day 7.  On this day I did some gardening and house cleaning and at the end of the day I noticed that the cracks were more severe and I actually had a couple of small chips.  The finish also dulled a little. Here is what they looked like on day 7:

Bio Seaweed Gel UNITY - 7 days of wear with no base or top coatTest 2: UNITY + BSG Base + BSG Top

I had slightly better results while wearing the base and top, as expected.  Unfortunately, my nails still didn’t feel very strong.  I was able to bend them, which I don’t typically experience with gel polish.  They wore great up until day 5 when I bumped my middle nail on the side of my sink while wiping the counter tops.  I could feel the nail bend and I thought it had broken, but the nail didn’t tear.  I did have a visible crack though where the nail bent, which you can see here:

bsg-day5-test2I continued with the test and over the next few days my tips did begin to show some wear, and by day 10 I had a couple of small chips, and a few more cracks.  Now it was time for removal.

bsg-day10-test2Removal:

BSG advertises 5-minute removal, which had me super excited.  Normally soak-offs take at least 10 minutes or more, so I was hoping this stuff would just slide right off.  Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.  I was also surprised that the removal experience was almost identical in both tests.  I used my Nail Mates and pure acetone for the removal process, which is now the method that I use for all of my soak-offs since it’s easier and more effective than the foil method.  After 5 minutes of soaking my nails looked like the picture below.  They were basically unchanged. The scuff marks that you see are from me filing through the top coat.  I tried pushing the polish off with an orange stick, but the polish wasn’t ready.

bsg-removal-5minsI continued soaking for another 5 minutes before checking again.  When I removed the wraps they still looked the same, but this time I was able to scrape some of the polish off.  It seemed to want to come off in layers and not all at once.  This is what they looked like after scraping.

bsg-removal-10minsI continued soaking for another 5 minutes.  Once again they didn’t look very different, and I did some more scraping.  Most of the polish did come off, but it felt and looked like I had a film on my nails.  I was also very uncomfortable with the amount of scraping that I had to do.  I was worried that my nails might be getting damaged.  This is what they looked like after 15 minutes of soaking and scraping.

bsg-removal-15minsAt this point I decided to take a buffer to my nails to finish the removal process.  After buffing off the remaining gel and cleansing, my nails were back to normal as seen in the photo below.  I had a small layer chip off of the top of my index fingernail (you can see the little crack in the photo above where it was coming loose).  And you can also see the visible cracks in my middle finger nail where I bumped it.  The nail wasn’t ripped, but it did bend easily where the cracks are.  I ended up reinforcing this nail afterwards with the acrygel technique to keep it from breaking.

bsg-removal-done

Summary

I was very impressed with the ease of application with this product, and I also thought the shine on the UNITY gel without a top coat was good for a one-step.  The No-Wipe Top provided the extra shine that I would expect in a gel.  I thought the wear was average; I had cracks and chipping even with the base and top coat and my nails didn’t feel as strong as I would expect with a gel.  The removal process was below average with the total process taking about 20 minutes with lots of scraping.

Floral Stamped Nails using Bio Seaweed Gel and Wistonia

0
0

I applied this gorgeous creamy purple polish from Bio Seaweed Gel (BSG) called Star Struck to my nails to take a swatch picture, and I didn’t want to take it off!  Star Struck is a very unique shade of dark purple that sometimes appears to be more of a blurple (blue-ish purple).  I thought it would work great as a backdrop for a colorful design, and this is what I ended up with.

Floral stamped nails by Chickettes.com - Bio Seaweed Gel Star Struck Stamped with Mundo de Unas and WistoniaI added this floral design over top of BSG UNITY Star Struck using a floral pattern from the Wistonia Wedding Bliss stamping plate. This plate has some really adorable wedding-themed images, which you can see in the image below.  If you’re getting married, or know someone that is, this plate would be great for creating some cute shower or wedding nails.  I love the little “I DO!” bubble.

I applied the stamps with my XL squishy stamper and a pink stamping polish from Mundo de Unas.  I also used the pink polish and a dotting tool to create the dots on my index finger and pinky.  I wanted to make the leaves on the floral image green, so I used a small nail art brush and a green Mundo de Unas polish and traced over the stamp.  The green might be a little too bright, but it works.

Wistonia Wedding Bliss Stamping PlateAnd here’s the swatch picture that I took of BSG UNITY Star Struck.  Isn’t the color lush?  I did a full wear test and review on a different Bio Seaweed Gel polish last week.  Click here to read my review.

Bio Seaweed Gel UNITY Star Struck swatch by Chickettes.com

New DIY Color Changing Gels & a GIVEAWAY!!

0
0

 
DIY Hard Nails has three brand new color changing gel polishes! Everyone seems to really be love these color changers with glitter (myself included), so you’ll be excited to hear that two lucky people will be able to win some of these beauties! The GIVEAWAY info is at the bottom of this post, don’t miss it!  But first, let’s check out the new colors.

DIY Hard Nails Purple Panic shifts from a light lavender shade when warm, to a dark blurple (blue/purple) when cold.  This is one of my favorites and I’ve been wearing it a couple of days now.  When I take photos of the color changers I use hot and cold water to assist with the shifts, so my photos usually show the colors at the extreme hot and cold phases.  I want you to know that these colors actually shift quite a lot throughout the day, and usually the color falls somewhere in between the extremes.  Right now my nails are a gorgeous medium blurple with a slight gradient.

DIY Hard Gel "Purple Panic" Color Changing Gel Polish - swatch by Chickettes.comDIY Hard Nails Sun Glow shifts from light orange when warm to a dark burnt orange-red shade when cold.  While the other color changers have white glitter and hexes in them, this one has a fine golden glitter.  This is a great summer shade!

DIY Hard Gel "Sun Glow" Color Changing Gel Polish - swatch by Chickettes.comDIY Hard Gel Jade Glitz shifts from a light yellow-green when warm, to a dark jade green when cold.  If you’re a fan of green, this is a must-have!

DIY Hard Gel "Jade Glitz" Color Changing Gel Polish - swatch by Chickettes.com

Free VIP Program

Have you tried DIY Gel Polish and LOVE the product?

Join the FREE VIP Program and get Promo Codes for Gel Polish and Beauty Products.

Go to www.VIP.DIYHardNails.com to Sign Up Today!

GIVEAWAY DETAILS!

The Prizes:

1st Place: 3 DIY Color changing gels of choice plus 3 other DIY gel polish colors of choice = 6 DIY gel polishes total!
2nd Place: 1 DIY Color changing gel of choice plus 2 other DIY gel polishes of choice = 3 DIY gel polishes total!

The Rules:

  • The giveaway will run through September 2nd.
  • Entries will be collected via Rafflecopter only.
  • The winners will be selected randomly via Rafflecopter and announced on September 3rd.
  • The winners will be notified via email, and will have 48 hours to claim the prizes or new winners will be selected.
  • This giveaway is only open in the U.S. only.  The winners must have a valid U.S. shipping address.
  • Entries will be verified.

GOOD LUCK!

Enter the Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

CND Shellac Modern Folklore Collection Swatches

0
0

CND Shellac Modern Folklore Collection Swatches by Chickettes.com
The colors of the CND Shellac Modern Folklore Collection caught my eye.  This is a new collection that is out for Fall 2014.  CND describes these colors as rich, romantic and sophisticated… I would have to agree.  Take a look at these nail art ideas from the CND website… such gorgeous color combinations.  While the individual colors may not be entirely unique, they work really well together as a set.  There is also a Modern Folklore additives set that goes along with this collection.

This is only the second CND Shellac collection that I have purchased.  I typically shy away from this brand because of the high price for a smaller bottle, but I have to say that the quality of these polishes is really fantastic.  I love the thin brush because it makes it easy to get into the curves and get close to the cuticle area.  The formula of the polish is also great.  It’s very easy to apply thin coats, and typically two thin coats will provide full coverage.  The CND Shellac polishes are only guaranteed to cure with the CND UV lamp, but I was able to cure all of these using my 18G LED lamp.

Fine Vermillion is a gorgeous shimmery burnt orange.  I don’t own another shade of orange that even comes close to this color.  It’s darker and richer than all of the orange shades currently in my stash.

CND Shellac Modern Folklore Collection - Fine Vermillion - swatch by Chickettes.comIndigo Frock is a dark grey-ish blue.  In some lights this color looks more like a slate grey, and in other lights it looks dark blue.  The only color in my stash that looks similar to this is Gelish Midnight Cover, but Indigo Frock is more opaque and provides better coverage.

CND Shellac Modern Folklore Collection - Indigo Frock - swatch by Chickettes.comLocket Love is a frosty gold.  I felt that this color needed 3 coats for best coverage.  You also have to apply this color carefully because it will show your brush strokes if you don’t apply it from edge to edge in one stroke.  The closest color that I have to this is Gelish Meet the King, but Locket Love is less of a yellow-gold and is a bit darker.

CND Shellac Modern Folklore Collection - Locket Love - swatch by Chickettes.comCrimson Sash is a dark shimmery red.  It is darker than Gelish Queen of Hearts, but has a similar finish.  It’s actually very similar to, but is slightly lighter than Daisy Rumba Red.

CND Shellac Modern Folklore Collection - Crimson Sash - swatch by Chickettes.comRose Brocade is a bright, creamy red with a jelly-like consistency.  It is very sheer and shows visible nail line with just two coats, so I applied three coats for this swatch to get better coverage.  The closest red that I have to this is Gelish Lady in Red.

CND Shellac Modern Folklore Collection - Rose Brocade - swatch by Chickettes.comPlum Paisley is a shimmery dark purple.  The shimmer is somewhat subtle, but it’s very pretty.  The closest color to this in my stash is Gelish Diva.

CND Shellac Modern Folklore Collection - Plum Paisley - swatch by Chickettes.comSo what do you think of the colors in this collection?  Are there any that you have to have?  Fine Vermillion is probably my favorite of the set since it’s the most unique shade.

I’m not planning to do side-by-side comparison photos of this collection just yet.  I have some other fall collections to share with you soon, so once I’m done swatching all of them I will do some comparisons.

Plum Paisley Stamped Nails and Liquid Palisade for Easy Nail Art Clean-Up

0
0

Liquid Palisade for easy nail art stamping clean-up! Chickettes.comI posted swatches of the CND Shellac Modern Folklore collection the other day and I was inspired by the color Plum Paisley to actually create plum paisley nails.  The paisley image on Bundle Monster stamping plate BM-315 is one of my favorite patterns.  I’ve created other nail art looks with this stamp in the past, so it may look familiar.

To get this look, I started with a base of CND Shellac Plum Paisley.  After applying and curing my base color, I added a thin layer of gel top coat, cured and wiped the tacky layer. I decided to stamp my nails twice with the BM-315 paisley pattern, but using two different colors – a Mundo de Unas purple and China Glaze Passion.  BTW, China Glaze Passion is one of my favorite gold polishes to stamp with… my bottle is almost empty!

Before stamping, I prepped my fingers with a product called Liquid Palisade by Kiesque.  If you’ve never heard of Liquid Palisade, it’s a liquid barrier that you paint onto your skin around the nails to make cleaning up polish mishaps easier.  It’s great for nail art, stamping and water marbling.  The photo below demonstrates how the product works.  When you apply Liquid Palisade to your skin it starts out a light purple shade like you see in the bottle, but it quickly dries and becomes darker and more transparent as seen on my ring finger below.  On my middle finger I demonstrated how easily the product peels off, and you can see that it also removed all of the excess stamping polish with it.  And my index finger shows the end result after peeling off the product… perfectly clean skin, no polish remover needed!

Liquid Palisade for easy nail art stamping clean-up! Chickettes.com

Note that when the Liquid Palisade is on your skin, you don’t want to let your finger tips touch one another.  They will stick together and it could cause the Liquid Palisade to peel off prematurely.  Also, if you mess up while stamping and use nail polish remover to remove the pattern and start over, you will also have to reapply the Liquid Palisade again because it will also come off in the process.  I have done both of these things, so I just thought I’d mention it.  LOL

Here are a couple photos of the final nail art look after I finished the clean-up and applied a top coat.  My poor thumb has a plain color on it because I’m babying it due to a bad break.  I broke it all the way down to the quick and repaired it with acrygel.  I don’t want to soak-off my acrygel until it grows out a little, so I’m just applying regular nail polish over top until then.

Chickettes.com Plum Paisley Stamped NailsChickettes.com Plum Paisley Stamped NailsYou can learn more about Liquid Palisade, and watch some video demonstrations on the Keisque website at http://www.kiesque.com/

Orange and Blue Argyle Nails

0
0

Orange and Blue Argyle Nails by Chickettes.com
This is another simple look that I created using one of the new colors from the CND Shellac Modern Folklore collection. I love this shimmery burnt orange shade called Fine Vermillion, and I figured it would pair well with a dark blue.  I decided to stamp this argyle pattern over Fine Vermillion using a pattern from the Cheeky European Romance Jumbo Plate.  The blue polish is a dark blue stamping polish from Mundo de Unas.

It wasn’t until after I applied the stamp and top coated that I thought it would look even better with a third color.  I wish I had thought to do a stamping decal and filling in some of the spaces with gold.  Maybe next time!

To learn more about stamping patterns over gel polish, please watch my stamping video.  In this video I mentioned that I couldn’t get the XL squishy stamper to work, but after replacing the stamper head it’s my new favorite stamper!

GELibility Take 2: Success at creating a holographic gel polish!

0
0

Chickettes.com - A Elevation holographic polish, turned into a gel with GELibility!I’ve been playing with my GELibility again, and this time I was successful at creating a holographic gel polish!  Woo hoo!  If you don’t know what Gelibility is, it’s a custom formulated clear gel that can be mixed with regular nail polish (RNP) to turn it into gel polish.  I did a full review of GELibility a few weeks ago (read it here), and in those trials I was unsuccessful at getting holographic effects when mixing a holo polish with the gel.  I did a drop for drop ratio when mixing the RNP with GELibility.  After writing that post, the creator of GELibility did some of her own trials and discovered that one drop of GELibility actually has more volume than a drop of regular nail polish so I was actually adding too much gel into my mixture which greatly diluted the colors and effects.

GELibilityIn my recent trials I switched to a ratio of 1 drop of GELibility for every 2 drops of regular nail polish… what a difference!!  Of course the effects will vary depending on the polish that you’re using, but I found this combination to work much better.  Below is a picture that demonstrates the side-by-side comparisons of the RNP to the GELiblity mixtures.  I applied three coats of each.  From left-to-right, the colors shown here are Llarowe Show Me Again!, KBShimmer Shore Thing, Elevation Polish Haleakala, Glitter Daze Flowers Are a Girl’s Best Friend, and Girly Bits What Happens in Vegas Ends Up on Instagram.  These are all indie polishes, and a couple of them are also colors that I used in my first trial.  The first color on the left, Llarowe Show Me Again, is a gorgeous duochrome, and with this new ratio the effects are much improved.  Obviously adding a clear gel to any color is going to dilute it somewhat, but I’m pretty happy with how these finishes turned out.

GELibility - turn regular nail polish into gel polish!I’m most happy that I was actually able to get a holographic effect!  Below is another shot of my nails with Haleakala by Elevation Polish.  This is a highly pigmented holographic polish, and adding the gel only muted the effect slightly.  I was also sure to only apply a very thin layer of top coat over the color coats because I know from past experiences that a thick gel top coat will also mute holographic effects.

Chickettes.com - A Elevation holographic polish, turned into a gel with GELibility!In these trials I used a nail art color palette from Bundle Monster to mix my gel polish creations.  This dish was absolutely perfect for this use since it has several round pods to hold the different color mixtures.  I also found this tray very easy to clean when I was finished.  I just took a paper towel with some alcohol on it and wiped each little pod out.

Bundle Monster nail art paletteI also used one of the brushes from my Bundle Monster UV Gel / Acrylic Nail Art brush set.  This set of 6 is perfect for using with gel polishes.  The first angled brush is great for cleaning up along the cuticle area before curing your gel polish.  The brush all of the way on the right is the one that I used for this experiment.  I also cleaned the brush with a paper towel and alcohol.

Bundle Monster UV gel / Acrylic brush set


Image Map

LeChat Perfect Match Rustic Retreat Collection for Fall 2014

0
0

LeChat Rustic Retreat Collection Swatches by Chickettes.com

Ready or not, fall colors are here! I have been eagerly awaiting the release of the LeChat Rustic Retreat Collection since learning about it at Cosmoprof in Las Vegas this past July. This collection is comprised of six lush woodland shades for fall. All six colors have cream finishes. Most are thick creams and were opaque in just two coats. Usually I apply three coats when swatching, but it wasn’t necessary for these shades except where noted below.

LeChat Wild Berry is a gorgeous purple berry shade.  This might be one of my favorites from this collection.  It’s a red-ish/pink-ish purple, and is a totally unique shade compared to my other purples.

LeChat Rustic Retreat Collection - Wild BerryLeChat Tranquility is another amazing color.  This is a grey-ish blue/green shade that reminds me of a much darker version of Gelish Seafoam.  With as many blues and teals that I own, I don’t have any colors in my stash that are quite similar to this.

LeChat Rustic Retreat Collection - TranquilityLeChat Down to Earth is a dark, grey-ish green.  Again, this is a totally unique shade compared against the colors that I own.  It looks very green on the screen to me, but when compared side-by-side with my greens it actually looks more grey.

LeChat Rustic Retreat Collection - Down to EarthLeChat Maroonscape is a dark burgundy cream.  I applied three coats of this color because it seemed just a slight bit patchy with two coats.  This shade falls in between Gelish A Touch of Sass and Gelish Black Cherry Berry.  This color feels very vampy to me.

LeChat Rustic Retreat Collection - MaroonscapeLeChat Hazelwood is a creamy medium brown and is a nice, warm fall shade.  It’s similar to Gelish Lust at First Sight and Gelish Want to Cuddle.

LeChat Rustic Retreat Collection - HazelwoodLeChat My Serenity is a rich, dark blue cream.  The formula of this polish was a little thinner than the others and it required three coats for full coverage.  This shade is most similar to Gelish After Dark, but is a little lighter and not quite as bold.

LeChat Rustic Retreat Collection - My SerenityI was very surprised by the uniqueness of the shades in this collection, though they left me pining for some metallic or shimmer finishes.   Wild Berry and Tranquility are probably my two favorites from the set, but like them all.  I’m least likely to wear Down to Earth just because I don’t think it’s a great match for my skin tone.

Which are your favorites?

VIDEO: MelodySusie 12w LED Nail Lamp Review

0
0

I’m often asked for affordable LED nail lamp recommendations, so I jumped at the chance to review the MelodySusie 12w LED Light Gel Nail Dryer.  This is a small, portable lamp that is intended for at-home use.  I did a full video review with a demo.  And if you don’t have time to watch a video, I wrote up a quick recap below!

 

Included in the box are:

  • 12w LED nail lamp
  • Power adapter (110V-240V)
  • Cuticle nippers
  • User guide
  • Satisfaction guarantee card (1 year warranty)

ms-lamp

This is an LED nail lamp that can be used with any LED-curable gel polish.  I tested this for about a week and was able to cure all of polishes that I tried with no problems.  I know a week doesn’t seem like a long time to most of you, but I did about 20 gel polish swatches in that short period of time!  I didn’t ever feel any heat spikes while using this lamp.  Some lamps cure very quickly and you can actually feel the heat on your nails – this usually happens with clear coats and/or when the polish is applied too thick.  I also tested it with dark colors and had no issues.

The three colors that I used in the video demo are:

The lamp has 4 timer buttons that are easily accessible on top, and can be set for 30, 60, or 90 seconds, or for 30 minutes. The curing time depends on the brand of polish that you use.  Always check the bottle or manufacturer website for the recommended curing time for the specific polish that you are using.

The lamp does not have a sensor that detects your hand when you it goes in the lamp, so you just press a timer button to turn it on and then it will automatically turn off after the time is up.  It’s large enough to fit all five fingers at once.  I personally think it’s just slightly too big for my own travel use, but it’s very light-weight and is portable so you could travel with it if you desire.  On the inside of the lamp, there are lights on the top and the sides are reflective.

I found the cord to be a little on the short side and had to use an extension cord, but that’s not a deal breaker for me.  I don’t have an outlet near my nail station so I normally use extension cords anyway.  I believe the power adapter can be used in Europe with the proper converter.

And finally, the price point is great at just $46!  It’s very reasonably priced compared to many of the pro brands, and it works very well.  I recommend the MelodySusie LED lamp for anyone that is doing, or wants to do gel manicures at home.

More information about MelodySusie can be found at:
http://www.melodysusie.com/
https://www.facebook.com/MelodySusieOfficial

Elegant Neutral and Black Stamped Nails

0
0

Chickettes.com neutral gel polish with a black stamp & studI’ve been wanting to create a simplistic black & tan nail art look for a while.  I think this look is simple and elegant, and can be worn just about anywhere.  I started with three coats of ibd Dockside Diva, which is probably one of my favorite neutral shades of all time.  I stamped the pattern onto each nail using my DRK-A stamping plate and Mundo de Unos black stamping polish.  (Mundo de Unos is currently not shipping internationally, but a good substitute would be Konad black polish.)  And finally, I applied a black stud to each nail.

I’m planning to create a short video to show how to apply studs with gel polish since it’s a popular question that I receive.  I dab a bit of Gelish Foundation gel onto my nail where I want the stud, press the stud down into the Foundation, and then cure it.  I often also take a very fine brush and brush some of the Foundation gel around the stud, and cure again.  This just helps hold it in place better.  And finally, I apply 1-2 coats of top coat over the entire nail, including the stud.

Chickettes.com neutral gel polish with a black stamp & studHere’s another look at this design at a slightly different angle.  I took tons of photos of this design in an attempt to get a few shots of the stamping detail without the glare from my lights.  I’m pretty pleased with this design, and will probably wear it for several days (hey, that’s a long time for me!).

Chickettes.com neutral gel polish with a black stamp & stud

Premium Nails Elite Gel Polish Review

0
0

premium-nails-elite-gel-polishI learned of a gel polish brand that I hadn’t heard of before during my trip to Cosmoprof North America.  While walking the trade show floor, I came across the Premium Nails booth and saw that they had a line of gel polish called Elite.  I stopped to chat and learn more about Elite, which is a 3-step gel polish that is LED curable.  They have a wide range of colors, with 72 different color options.  I received their three most popular colors in the Premium Nails Mani-Pedi kits, which include an Elite gel polish color and a matching nail lacquer.

I also received a bottle of the Elite DUALCOAT, which is a base and top coat in one!  This is nice because it saves money and space.  I was eager to do a wear test on this brand and try the DUALCOAT product.  I prepped my nails by buffing and cleansing, and then applied a coat of DUALCOAT.  This product has a very thin consistency and needs to be applied sparingly (or it can spread and pool in your cuticle area).  I learned this the hard way of course, but once I figured that out the application was a breeze.  I also had a really great experience with the color application.  I applied two coats of the pink shade called Love Struck, and it went on from edge-to-edge flawlessly in just two coats.  Gotta love a two-coater!  I also finished the manicure off with a coat of DUALCOAT and was very pleased with the high-gloss shine.  Here’s a quick picture of the DUALCOAT bottle.

elite-dual-coatI wore my Elite Love Struck mani for 7 days with absolutely NO chipping, peeling or cracking.  My nails felt strong, and the high-gloss shine was maintained the entire time.  Unfortunately, on day 8 I messed them up pretty bad.  I did some heavy work in my garden, in the rain, for several hours.  I had damp gardening gloves on all day.  At the end of the day when I removed my gloves the manicure was ruined… the polish on every nail was peeled up and I pulled it right off.  I’ve never had that happen before, but I’ve also never worn damp gloves for several hours, so I feel that these conditions greatly impacted the wear.

I still wanted to test the soak-off, so I actually re-applied my Elite mani and left it on for a few days before attempting a soak-off.  Since top coats are usually pretty durable and hard to penetrate with acetone, I was worried about how well the DUALCOAT would soak-off.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that it soaked off very easily.  After soaking in acetone for about 7 minutes, the polish lifted right off in sheets with absolutely no scraping needed.  I would have to say that it was my easiest soak-off in a very long time.

Overall, I was very impressed with the application, wear and removal of Elite.  The only drawback that I found was that it didn’t wear well in extreme damp conditions. I had no problems with things like showering and doing dishes, so my experience was probably not common.


So let’s take a look at a few of the most popular Elite shades!  This is Love Struck, which is the shade that I did the wear test with.  This is a gorgeous, shimmery bright pink with some purple iridescence. This shade is very similar to BSG Magenta (horrible removal) and Gelaze Purple Panic (shrink-back issues).  As stated above, Love Struck doesn’t have any application issues!

elite-love-struckFlawless Diamond is a super sparkly, dense, silver glitter polish.  This one did require three coats for best coverage, but it was also decent with two coats.  This polish would be great for accent nails, or for a holiday party or celebration.  It’s pretty bling-tastic!

elite-flawless-diamondFirst Class is a bright, orange-red shade.  When I see it on the nail it looks very red, but when comparing this shade to my other swatch sticks it actually looks more orange than red.  I guess you could say it’s more of a coral shade.  It’s darker than any orange or coral in my stash, but brighter than all of the reds in my stash.  So even though it may look like a classic red, it’s a pretty unique shade!

elite-first-class


The Premium Nails Elite polishes come in full-size (0.5 fl oz/50mL) bottles. They can be purchased individually through the Premium Nails website for approximately $15 each, or they can be purchased through one of their distributors.  The Mani-Pedi kits with a matching nail lacquer will be coming out soon, but are not yet available for purchase on the Premium Nails website.

If you’re interested in trying this brand, they have a great deal on an intro kit. For $24.95 you get two gel colors, a bottle of the DUALCOAT base/top coat, and a small bottle of Tri-Bond which is a primer that assists with the gel polish adhesion. I always find that primers help if you have problems with gel polish peeling or lifting prematurely.

Visit the Premium Nails website for more information, or to learn about their other products at http://www.premiumnails.com

LeChat Perfect Match Swatch Gallery

0
0

This is a summary of all of the LeChat Perfect Match polishes that I have swatched to-date. I will update this page on an ongoing basis as I swatch new colors. Click on the images to see larger photos, and click on the links to view or purchase the items on Amazon.com. The Amazon links are affiliate links, and I earn a small commission on each order that is placed through my links. I would like to thank you in advance if you order through any of these links as the commissions help me be able to afford to purchase more colors to swatch! If you use my swatch images please DO NOT ALTER them, leave the watermarks in place and provide a link back to www.chickettes.com!
My Serenity

My Serenity

Mood / Color Changing Polishes:

Viewing all 441 articles
Browse latest View live




Latest Images