Application

Application of these polishes is an absolute dream!  They glide onto your nails with ease, and every one of the colors (except the glitter) was almost opaque in one coat.  They have perfect coverage with two coats.  I had no issues with application, it was perfect…  the brushes were great, NO shrinking, pooling, wrinkling, etc.

Wear

I chose to conduct my wear test with a dark blue color called Glittery Midnight Blue.  I used the Madam Glam base and top coats, which are also very easy to apply.  The top coat has great shine, but I did find that the shine dulled near the tips with wear.  I wore this color for 10 days and after about day 7 or so there was some noticeable wear on the tips, but I didn’t experience any chipping or lifting.  On day 10 I did a manicure on a friend and used acetone and that caused the polish on my index finger to lift a little on the side as you can see in the photo below.

Removal

I roughed up the surface of my nails and then used NailMates and acetone for removal.  After 10 minutes of soaking I didn’t notice much visible change in the polish, it didn’t appear to be flaking off like some of them do.  I took an orange stick and pushed to see what would happen and the polish pushed right off with ease.  I had very little residue left over after pushing the polish off so I just buffed my nails lightly and they were perfect.  I forgot to take pictures of the removal process, but it was super easy.  This was probably one of the best removal experiences I’ve had in a while and my nails are happy about that!

Colors

I selected five Madam Glam colors, and it should be no surprise that I chose mostly purples and blues. 

Glittery Midnight Blue (#125) is the color that I used in the wear test.  It has a blackened teal-leaning blue base with teal shimmer… be still my beating heart.  I love this color, and received so many compliments while wearing it.  I was shocked when this color applied almost completely opaque in one coat on my clear swatch stick.  I’m seriously impressed.

Glittery Purple (#131) has a very similar formula and finish to the previous color, but is obviously purple instead of teal.   It’s another beauty!

Light Lilac (#324) is self explanatory!  It’s a light lilac cream.  You may recognize this color because I used as the base for my freehand doodle nail art a few days ago… see that post here. I tested this polish for fading since some mauve and lilac colors have issues, but I’m happy to report that the color didn’t change with exposure to sunlight.

Dream Diamonds (#128) is an absolutely stunning periwinkle blue glitter polish.  It has a sheer blue-tinted base and is loaded with silver and holographic glitter of different sizes.  This swatch is three coats, but it had great coverage with two.  The third coat just pushed it over the top for me in terms of glittery goodness.

Shimmer Sexy Berry (#034) is a pretty shimmery dark red.  I don’t normally wear red, but something about this color called to me.  It’s a great fall/winter color and had the same amazing formula as the other colors. (I don’t see this color available on their site right now, so it may be temporarily out of stock.)

It’s not often that I’m completely smitten, but I think it’s safe to say that I absolutely LOVE Madam Glam gel polishes!  Application and removal were both dreamy, and the durability was also very good aside from a little tip wear.  Madam Glam polishes are priced a little high at $19.95 per bottle, but Chickettes readers can save 30% using coupon code CHICKETTES30.  That makes the prices much more reasonable, and these polishes are well worth it!  www.madamglam.com

Alter Ego is a light blue/grey-ish purple with a cream finish.  I would say this has a very periwinkle feel to it.  It went on a bit thin, so I applied three coats to get the coverage that you see here.  The swatch stick that I created for this color is a couple years old and now has a brown-ish tint to it.  That’s an indication that this color may fade with exposure to sunlight, though I haven’t conducted an official fade test to confirm.

Scarlet Empress is a beautiful shimmery light purple.  It looks like it has some pink-ish tones when it’s next to these other purples, but it’s a pretty classic lilac shade.  Ink does these shimmery finishes so well.  This polish came out a little sheer, so I applied three coats for better coverage.

Capitvate is indeed a very captivating glittery dark purple with blue tones.  It has scattered flecks of blue in it that make it really pop.  I also applied three coats of this color for best coverage.

Vivid Violet doesn’t look anything like the label on the bottle, and doesn’t appear very vivid to me.  It’s is a very vampy, dark reddish purple that appears dark burgundy in some lights.  This color was opaque in just two coats and applied nicely, but just wasn’t the shade I was anticipating to come out of the bottle!

Kiara Sky recently launched a new collection called Mirror Image that is comprised of 14 new colors! I have 7 of the colors to share with you today. Kiara Sky is a 2-step gel polish (base coat is optional), and each color has a matching nail lacquer shade.  Read my previous review of Kiara Sky that included a wear test here.

These polishes are all available for purchase at the Kiara Sky website or through their distributors.  The gel polishes retail for $12.99, and the lacquers retail for $8.99.  Below is a photo of all 14 new shades in the Mirror Image Collection (click to view larger), and the lovely cardboard displays.  I have this display on my nail station right now and I love looking at it.

Heartfelt is a gorgeous bright pink cream.  This shade, as well as the other cream shades all needed three coats for best coverage.  They looked a little splotchy to me with just two coats.  When compared with my other pinks, this is a pretty unique shade.  It’s most similar to a LeChat shade that I just wrote about recently called Peony Passion, except this is a cream and Peony is a shimmer and is just slightly darker.

Romantic Coral is a peachy coral cream.  My photos for this color turned out a little pixelated.   This shade is very close to several others in my collection including ibd Galavant, Gelish I’m Brighter Than You and Gelaze Flip Flop Fantasy.  It’s a tad bit darker and less neon than the shades I just mentioned.

The Real Teal is a light teal cream.  I own a lot of teals, and this one has a greyer tone than most.  It’s closest to Trugel Magic & Mischief.

Pinking of Sparkle is one of Kiara Sky’s signature matte glitter polishes.  It has a clear base and is loaded with light pink glitter in two different sizes, and it also has some holographic glitters sprinkled throughout.  This swatch is two coats with no color underneath.
Sweet Plum is a very similar glitter polish, but in a very pale purple shade.  I just pulled out my swatch stick to confirm that the color of the glitter looks almost white, but it does have subtle purple tones.

Iceberg is a sparkly holographic glitter polish with a sheer milky base.  This one had a strange texture that reminded me a little of Gelish Rough Around the Edges, but the Kiara Sky polish has much better glitter coverage.  I didn’t care much for the texture/consistency of this polish personally.  It applied thick in some spots and didn’t feel completely smooth after top coating.  This swatch is two coats.

Only Natural is a sheer polish with a tan tint.  This would be great for French manicures, or just for a clear coat.

Blues seem to be trending… but I’m surprised at the lack of purple in the mix.  I love wearing purple in the Spring.

AQUAMARINE

Pantone calls this shade Aquamarine, but it looks like more of a baby blue or sky blue to me. I put all of these colors in Photoshop and used my color dropper to get the exact shades and match them up with my gel swatches.

CND Creekside

Gelish My One Blue Love

Trugel Magic & Mischief

SCUBA BLUE

I love these bright, vibrant blues! Pink Gellac Gipsy Blue is a really hot seller right now at the Boutique!

Pink Gellac Gipsy Blue

Pink Gellac Electric Blue

LeChat Shangri-La

CND Hotski to Tchotchke

Rub Me the Sarong Way

LUCITE GREEN

This color looks like a lighter, minty teal green shade… my favorite color!

Pink Gellac Caribbean Blue

Gelish Party at the Palace

Gelish A Mint of Spring

Trugel Tantalizing Trapeze

Kiss Me, I’m a Prince

CLASSIC BLUE

I fell in love with classic blue shades last summer! It was my go-to color all season long and I can’t wait to wear it again this season.

Pink Gellac Kings Blue

Pink Gellac Cobalt Blue

Gelish Sugar Daddy

Gelish Ooba Ooba Blue

Mali-Blu Me Away

TOASTED ALMOND

I don’t wear neutrals often but when I do, this is my favorite shade. CND Shellac Feild Fox and ibd Dockside are my two go-to neutral shades that work well with my skin tone.

CND Field Fox

ibd Dockside Diva

Do I Look Buff?

STRAWBERRY ICE

ibd Peach Blossom

CND Fragrant Freesia

Gelish Ella of a Girl

Daisy Fairy Dream

BMC Gentle Tranquility

Pink Gellac Lollypop Pink

TANGERINE

Tangerine is a bit of a light, peachy orange.

Revel Clambake

Pink Gellac Nude Orange

Orange Cream Dream

CUSTARD

This looks like a yellow-hued neutral that may work better for fashion than nails. I’m taking some liberties with this one since I don’t really have any exact matches, but you could go a little golden with it like Gelish Allure.

Trugel Smoke & Mirrors

Gelish Allure

CND Dandelion

MARSALA

Marsala is a reddish brown that’s been growing on me lately. I think of it as more of a Fall color though.

Pink Gellac Mystic

My Jewels Keep Me Warm

She’s My Beauty

GLACIER GREY

I just painted my mom’s nails this shade a couple days ago and it was so pretty. Grey typically makes me think of Fall and Winter months though.

The Big Chill

Gelish Cashmere Kind of Gal

BMC Poised Serenity

Let me know what you think of this post and if you’d like to see future Pantone color selections.

First, do you know how to determine what the shelf life of your polish is? Most companies print it right on the label. Look for a little symbol of an open container… it will say something like 12m, 24m or 36m inside of the container. That’s the manufacturer’s recommendation regarding how long the product should be used once it’s been opened. I took a peek through my gel polish stash and found varying info on the bottles.  Here’s a sampling of what I found:

• LeChat, Pink Gellac – 12 months
• Gelish, Gelish MINI, RCM – 18 months
• ibd, Gelaze, ProGel – 24 months
• Kiara Sky, INK, Couture – 36 months
• and some are non-existent or so small they’re impossible to read!

I try not to worry too much about the shelf life though.  I’ve had many of the polishes in my collection for several years and they’re still usable because I care for them properly.  Here are some helpful tips on how to care for your gel polishes to help extend their usable life.

PROPER STORAGE

Gel polish bottles should be stored away from exposure to natural sunlight.  Don’t leave them sitting out in front of a window or in a bright room that gets a lot of light.  Ideally they should be stored somewhere dark like in a closet, box or drawer.  I personally like to see my polishes so I have them prominently displayed on shelves, but they’re in a room on the back of my house that gets very little light.  I usually have the blinds drawn in that room as well and the wall that my polishes are on never gets direct sunlight.

UV light is what causes gel polishes to cure/harden.  Most gel polish bottles are opaque, but some may allow small amounts of light in which will ruin your polish over time.  Gelish, for example, has the tiny little window that allows you to see the color (horrible design if you ask me).  And some bottles are heavily tinted, but don’t block 100% of the light.

You should also avoid storing your polishes in locations that are exposed to extreme temperatures, hot or cold.  An even, mild temperature is best.  I’ve heard some people say they store their polish in the refrigerator.  I can’t personally vouch for that though… if I put my polish in the fridge, there wouldn’t be any room for food. 

Also be sure to close your bottles properly after using them.  Clean any excess polish off of the neck of the bottle with a lint-free wipe or cloth and some alcohol to ensure a tight seal.

SHAKING / MIXING

When polishes sit for a long period of time the ingredients can start to separate.  It’s a good idea to shake them up once in a while.  I used to hand-shake my bottles, but I’ve been spoiled since buying my Robart Shaker.  I always give my polishes a good shake before using them, and sometimes I just randomly shake polishes that I know have been sitting for too long.

Shaking helps improve the consistency of your polish.  It prevents them from thickening, and it also helps with things like the opacity and shrinkage when applying.  A well shaken polish will always apply better than one that’s not.  There are a few different electric polish shakers available.  Check out some of these:

• Robart Shaker ($34.99)
• For Pro Shaker ($35.99) – this one is quieter than the Robart and doesn’t move around as much.
• OPI ProShaker ($99.99) – the mother of all polish shakers.  I want this one, but haven’t taken the plunge yet.

THINNING

If your gel polishes do start to thicken, try using a few drops of gel polish thinner to improve the consistency.  Use a shaker to mix the polish well after adding the thinner.  I’ve rescued a few bottles that were on the edge of going bad this way.  Don’t try using acetone or remover to thin your polishes though.  Check out some of these options:

• Gelos by LeChat
• INK Gel Polish Thinner
• Beauty Secrets Gel Polish Thinner

What tips and tricks do you have regarding the proper care of gel polish? Leave your feedback in the comments below!

MelodySusie sent me their newest nail lamp for review, a 24-watt LED lamp.  I recorded a full video review with a demo that you can watch below.  I’ll just recap the highlights real quick…

• Available in 3 colors; silver, black & white
• Three timer settings; 15, 30 and 60 seconds
• Fits all 5 fingers at once
• Lightweight and portable
• Awesome curing power at 24-watts (twelve 2-watt bulbs)
• Extremely affordable
• Sleek design

I really love everything about this lamp.  It’s nice to look at, and very easy to use… just press your timer setting and the lamp automatically turns off when the time is up.  It doesn’t have a sensor or any extra bells & whistles, but it does the job!

This MelodySusie lamp has all of the qualities that I look for in a lamp… it fits the whole hand, is portable, powerful and affordable!  I also like the MelodySusie 12-watt LED lamp (see that review here), but this one has double the curing power.  If you’ve ever read or watched any of my previous nail lamp reviews or posts, you’ll know that I dislike the small 4-finger low-wattage lamps.  They just don’t have enough power to cure all polishes, and I hate spending extra time curing my thumbs separately.

If you’re in the market for a good quality LED lamp, I definitely recommend this one.  I’ve been using it for swatching over the past few weeks and haven’t had a single issue with it – all of my polishes have cured perfectly.

You can find the MelodySusie 24-watt LED lamp here on Amazon.com.  It’s currently on sale on for $69.99 (retail $99.99).

Chickettes readers can also save an additional $10 on this lamp!  This offer is only valid for 2 days and expires on March 19th at midnight PDT.  Use coupon code KMQYY5EA when checking out on Amazon to receive this discount.

EDIT:  There is an issue with this coupon code that I’m trying to get resolved ASAP.  Please leave a comment below to be notified when I have an update on the coupon issue!! 

VIDEO REVIEW:

Products seen in the video:

• MelodySusie 24-Watt LED Lamp
• Pink Gellac Velvet Purple
• Pink Gellac Ultra Shine Top Coat
• CND Shellac Wisteria Haze (worn on my left hand)
• Pink Gellac Naked (worn on my right hand)

Yes, I have two different hands as usual… blogger problems…

This is the Garden Muse Collection from CND Shellac, consisting of six “intense floral hues” for Spring. Similar shades are also available in CND Vinylux weekly polish. Four of the colors in this Shellac collection are new shades, and two were already existing shades in the CND line (Hot Pop Pink & Water Park).

I’m loving the more vibrant shades in this collection! I like to wear bright, bold colors so these are much more in line with what I would typically wear. And each shade is unique to my personal collection… I couldn’t find any other colors that were like any of these.

Butterfly Queen is hands down my favorite color in this collection.  It’s a bright, vibrant fuchsia that’s loaded with glitter and has great coverage with just two coats as seen here.  I wore this color for several days and received tons of compliments.  I hope CND will release more colors with this type of finish.  The swatches I’ve seen of the Vinylux version of this polish weren’t as impressive… the Shellac formula seems to be more glittery.

Wisteria Haze is a unique blue-ish purple cream.  It has some hints of periwinkle, but is a little more on the purple side.  This is one of those shades that’s more purple than my blues, but more blue than my purples… a classic blurple.

Beckoning Begonia is a lovely lilac-leaning pink with a shimmer finish.  This is another favorite of mine.  This shade is also one that falls in between color groups since it’s more purple than my pinks, and more pink than my purples.

Lost Labyrinth is a bright frosty teal blue.  This one goes on a bit iridescent and builds up to opacity.  I believe I applied three coats of this color – all other swatches were only two coats.  I like the color, but I’m not crazy about the finish since it shows brush marks and can appear a little streaky if not applied carefully.

Water Park is one of the colors that was already in existence in the Shellac line.  It’s a very frosty medium blue.  Of all the colors, I was least thrilled with this one and I normally love blues.  The tone is a little cool and didn’t seem to work as well with my skin tone and it leaves very heavy brushstrokes which you can see here.

Hot Pop Pink is the other shade that already existed.  It’s a medium-to-dark bright pink cream that’s awesome for the Spring and Summer months.  The shade is a little darker than most of my pink creams.  It’s not neon, but is very vibrant and really pops!

Which colors are your favorites??

I’ve come to realize that I’m a terrible blogger when it comes to school!  I think my updates will be less frequent than I had originally planned, but at a minimum I’m going to cover the three phases of the program.  I haven’t taken many pictures because we really don’t do much nail art, and we haven’t started sculpting yet.  The pictures below were taken this past Thursday when my mom came in for a mani and pedi. 

The first phase called Intro/Alpha was seven weeks long and involved mostly non-clinic hours (77), and only a few clinic hours (21.5).  We spent the first five weeks in the classroom covering most of the textbook.  Our project for this phase was a book report where we had to find a book about sales and write about 13 different sales techniques that could be used in the nail salon environment.  It only had to be one page typed, so it was super easy.  I wrote two pages because it was almost impossible to fit that much info on just one page.

We practiced manicures, Shellac manicures and pedicures on live models in week 4 and then tested out at the end of week 5.  The test out consisted of a written test that covered all of the chapters that we learned so far, and we had to perform a manicure and pedicure on a live model which we were scored on as well.  Everyone in the class passed, which meant that we got to start working on the floor and taking clients in week 6.

Applying Shellac on my mom

I was so nervous about working on clients, but I’ve been doing it for 3 weeks now and it gets a little easier each time.  Luckily, my very first client was a 14-year-old girl that was getting her very first manicure, so she had no idea whether I was doing it right or not!  LOL  Of course I did my best, but it took the pressure off knowing that she wasn’t judging my performance.  She was completely thrilled with her first manicure experience, which I was relieved about.

I still prefer doing Shellac manicures over regular ones since it’s what I know best and am most comfortable with.  We use Zoya nail polish for our regular manis and I dislike working with it because it gets thick really fast.  Brand new bottles are easy to apply, but after a few uses they are goopy and difficult to use.  Ugh!

I was absolutely dreading doing pedicures on people, but it’s not quite as bad as I had imagined.  I enjoy doing the massage part of a pedi.  It’s really hard on your body to sit in that position for an hour at a time though!  Major props to people that do it all the time for a living, because my body aches after doing just one usually.  Feet are still a little icky to me, especially soggy feet that have been soaking a while.  I’m dealing with it.  LOL

Doing a pedicure for my mom

On the days when we work on the floor we either take appointments, help out in the mani and pedi rooms, or we play on our fake hands in the classroom if there’s nothing to be done.  Usually Thursday nights are slow, but I’ve been asking my family & friends to make appointments on that day to keep me busy.  Saturdays are an absolute zoo and we work all day long.  The past two Saturdays I’ve done two manis and two pedis, which is a lot for a beginner.  And because my first name starts with A, I am first in the rotation when clients call to book so I’m busy all the time.  The girls that have names further down the alphabet are hardly getting any clients, which doesn’t seem like a fair system at all.  They really need to find a way to rotate the schedule better.

I passed the Intro/Alpha stage with an overall score of 98%!  Woot!  The second phase is the Beta/Gamma Phase, which began last week.  In this 7 week phase we’ll spend most of our time on the floor working with clients and only one evening a week in the classroom.  Our project consists of creating a resume with a cover letter, thank you letter, job application form and we have to answer potential interview questions and come up with our own questions for a potential employer.  We’ll be learning artificial nail services including tips, wraps, and acrylics, and we’ll do mock state board test outs.

I’m looking forward to learning acrylics, but we don’t perform acrylic services on clients so I’ll only be working on my fake hand.  I’ll be in seek of some volunteers who will allow me to experiment on them. 

Also now that I’ve been working with products there are a whole slew of new things on my wishlist!  LOL  I really really want to buy a towel warmer because the hot towel treatments are amazing… but do I really need that in my home just for me?  Probably not.  I also want every Aveda product imaginable.  I bought a few of them already, but I’m holding off because I believe we earn a commission that we can spend on products when we upsell to clients.

In celebration of turning 3 years-old, Gel II has released a limited edition Birthday Bash collection!  The collection consists of three sparkly glitter gel polishes that can be worn on their own or used as toppers over other colors to add some extra glitz and glam!  The three glitter gels can be purchased as a set or individually.  Gel II is a professional brand and a license is required to purchase.  Click here to view the Birthday Bash Collection on the Gel II website.

Gel II is a two-step gel polish that doesn’t require a base coat.  All of the swatches below are two coats with no base color applied underneath.  You can use these glitters over various base colors or apply them over your favorite nail art for some added sparkle!

Extra Sprinkles is a holographic silver glitter topper.  It has holo silver microglitter as well as some larger hexes sprinkled throughout.

Surprise Party! is packed with medium-sized pink hex glitters and a few larger holographic silver hexes .

Celebration is my favorite of the three glitter gels in this collection!  It has pink holographic microglitter and some larger silver holo hexes.

I’ll also have swatches of the Gel II Carousel Collection soon, and I’m conducting a full wear test on this brand!  More to come!

Gel II recently launched the Carousel Collection for Spring, which consists of six creamy pastel shades.  These are exactly the types of colors that make me think Spring!  Below are photos and descriptions of each color in this collection.  I found that the polishes had nice opacity and most of the swatches are shown with just two coats of color, except where noted.  Also I didn’t find any fading issues with any of these colors.

Peppermint Pony is a minty teal green cream.  This shade is in the same color family as a few other teals in my stash, except this is the only one with a cream finish.  Some very similar shades with a shimmer finish are Kiara Sky Scarlett, Ink Cameo, and Couture Million $ Tweet.

Frou Frou Blue is a pale pastel blue with a cream finish.  This is one of the palest blues that I own, and is very similar to Gelish My One Blue Love.

Merry Go-Berry is a really lovely pastel lilac shade.  The only color in my stash that is somewhat similar to this is Sensationail Heirloom Lilac, but it has a shimmer finish.  I really adore this color for Spring!

Prancing Peach is a pale pastel peach with a cream finish.  This is the palest peach shade that I own to-date.  I was afraid that this color would make my skin look washed out, but it looks really nice.  I wore this to school the other night and a few people grabbed my hand to look at the color and everyone loved it.

Mauvelous Melody is a light, but bright shade of pink that reminds me of bubble gum.  I had some difficulties with the formula of this particular polish.  Gel II claims that their polish never separates, but this polish was very separated and no amount of shaking seemed to fix the problem.  I  found it to be a little runny and had to apply three coats to get it to look as opaque as the others.  I don’t have any other pinks quite like this one though.

Bare Bear is a pale neutral brown.  I was also surprised by how much I liked this shade.  I’m not normally a fan of neutrals and most make my hands look washed out, but this color has a lovely warm tone that seemed to work very well with my skin tone.  ibd Dockside Diva is the most similar shade that I have to this, except it has cooler / greyer tones than Bare Bear.  This may be my new go-to neutral!

I’m conducting a wear test with Gel II Peppermint Pony and will report on my findings soon! I’d love to hear your thoughts and experience with the Gel II brand. And let me know which of the shades from this collection are calling your name.

I have a few new Daisy gel polishes that were sent to me by Esther’s Nail Center. Each of these polishes has a clear base with small matte glitters that build up to opacity in two or three coats. They come in Daisy Duo sets that include a free matching nail lacquer as well, and they are two-step gels that don’t require a base coat. There is an optional base coat available. I personally prefer to use a base with two-step gels for easier removal.

These glitter gel polishes are very fun! You can use them as a topper over another color or build them up in layers as I’ve done here for a unique look.

Bubble Pop has pale purple and silver holographic glitter.  This swatch shows two coats of Bubble Pop over my natural nails.  The little dark spots are the holographic glitters that aren’t reflecting in the photo, but there aren’t any visible dark spots in person.
Tropical Waterfall has small teal blue and black glitter and cures to a matte finish.  I topped it with a glossy top coat to give it a shiny appearance, but these polishes also look neat with a matte finish.  This swatch is also two coats.

Kool Berry has small reddish-pink and holographic silver glitter.  I applied three coats of this glitter to get better coverage.  When I glanced at my nails it looked like dark pink polish with some silver holo flecks.  I almost couldn’t tell that it was individual glitter pieces unless I looked closely.

Check out some other new Daisy Duo swatches at The Dalai Lama’s Nails.  Hannah also conducted a full review with a wear test!

The Daisy Duo gels can be purchased at Esther’s Nail Center.

So let’s take a look at the new shades… and I’ll start with the shimmery finishes first.  All of these shimmers have immense depth to them, and if you look closely you can pick out different colored speckles.

Shimmer Lavender (#238) is a dark plum-like purple with a blackened base.

Glamorous (#327) is reddish-pink with some silver shimmer speckles throughout.

Bombshell (#162) has the exact same type of finish as Glamorous but it’s a bit more of a muted pink.  I really like the uniqueness of this shade.

Milkyway (#096) is a really dynamic metallic silver shimmer.  If you look closely at this one you can see purple, blue and gold flecks.  It’s absolutely stunning in person!

Now let’s check out some of the glitter gels.  It’s so rare to find a glitter polish that provides full coverage with just a couple of coats, and that soak off easily.  I don’t normally like wearing glitter gel polish for long periods of time because they can be extremely difficult to soak off.  When wearing these polishes with the Madam Glam base & top, they come right off in 10 minutes like any other polish.  My classmates have also fallen in love with the Madam Glams… they can always tell when I’m wearing that brand.

Stardust (#117) is probably my favorite of the three that I have today.  It’s loaded with gold glitter and holographic hexes.  I’m actually wearing this polish right now and don’t want to take it off.  It’s to die for!

Sparkling Hearts (#325) is exactly the same except it’s pink!

Sandy Sparkles (#061) is also similar to the other two, except it’s a peachy orange.  I didn’t think I was going to like the way this color looked on me, but I kept it on for a while and it quickly grew on me.  This is the only polish that I applied three coats of.  It had decent coverage with two, but I just felt like one more coat would really bring it home.

And lastly, I have two cream finish blue polishes.  I don’t believe these were part of the new colors just released, but Madam Glam threw them in the mix for me because they know I love blues and teals. 

Deep Sea Dream (#051) is a very dark blue with some teal undertones.  I admit that I did a little color manipulation on this photo (the nails only).  My camera kept making this shade look like a deep navy blue no matter what I did, but it absolutely has some teal-ish tones to it so I tried my best to make the color look like what I see with my eyes.

Vintage Blue (#310) is a lighter teal-leaning medium blue cream.  My photos of this color all looked slightly grainy, but the polish doesn’t look grainy at all in real life.

The Madam Glam gel polishes retail for $19.95 each, but you can SAVE 30% using coupon code CHICKETTES30.  This brings the price per bottle down to $13.97.  They have also been running some great promotions lately where you can save up to 40% on your order, so be sure to watch for promos.

This was only my second time using OPI GelColor.  I really like the feel of the bottles and the brushes, though I did find that most of the colors needed three coats for best coverage.  I found all of the creams to apply a bit streaky even though I shook them with my Robart before applying.  Since I don’t own any other OPI colors, I can’t provide color comparisons within the brand but I will let you know when a shade is similar to another that I’m aware of.

OPI Just Lanai-ing Around is a pink-leaning mauve with an extremely subtle shimmer.  This polish had a fabulous formula and provided full coverage in just two coats.  I would put this color in the Marsala category (the Pantone color of the year), and it’s very similar to Revel Passion.  Coincidentally, I have this color on my toes too because I picked it out at the salon the last time I went for a pedi.

OPI Hello Hawaii Ya? is a medium-to-dark, grey-leaning purple cream.  Both of the purples in this collection are pretty unique to my stash and I didn’t find any close comparisons.

OPI That’s Hula-rious! is a pastel minty green cream.  This shade is more green than most of my minty shades, but is very similar to Revel Envy.

OPI Is Mai Tai Crooked? is a light-to-medium orange cream.  Most of my orange shades are either coral or pink-leaning, but this is a pretty true orange shade.  The closest shade that I have to it is LeChat Lollipop, which is just a hair darker than Mai Tai.

Aloha from OPI is a red-leaning coral cream.  This is a gorgeous, bright color for summer!  It’s very similar to Gelish Tiger Blossom and Progel Lifeguard on Duty.

OPI This Color’s Making Waves is a unique shimmery blue with tiny gold shimmer flecks.  This color is a bit opalescent with a frosty finish and applies a little sheer, but builds up to opacity in three coats.

OPI Do You Take Lei Away? is a nude beige cream.  These neutral shades seem to be popular this summer since the last three or four collections I’ve swatched have all included one.  This is probably the palest shade of beige that I own.  It’s very similar to ibd Dockside Diva, which is one of my favorite neutrals.

OPI Suzi Shops & Island Hops is a baby pink cream.  I have several similar shades in my stash including ibd Funny Bone, Gelish Ella of a Girl and LeChat Cotton Candy.

OPI Lost my Bikini in Molokini is a vibrant shade of purple that seems to lean slightly blue.  I love the color, but wasn’t impressed with the formula.

OPI My Gecko Does Tricks is a frosty lime green.  This one also applied a bit opalescent and built up to opacity with three coats.  It’s a unique shade to my personal collection.

OPI Go With the Lava Flow is a unique coral-leaning red with a golden shimmer.  This color had a nice formula and only needed two coats.

OPI Pineapples Have Peelings Too! is a frosty gold with multi-colored glitter mixed in.  I find this to be a very odd combination and am not sure how it fits in with the rest of this collection… is it an April Fools joke?  This is a total miss in my opinion, and I would never wear it.  I’ve never said that about a polish before!  I actually made myself keep this on for a whole day to see if it would grow on me, but I loathed it more the longer I wore it.  LOL  Am I crazy?  Do you like it?

Whew!  That was another long post.  Let me know which of these OPI colors are your favorites.

Can I just tell you all that I sometimes miss the days when I could get away with posting just one color at a time!  LOL  I’ve posted 21 swatch pics so far this week and it’s only Wednesday! 

Pink Gellac released 5 new gorgeous gel polish shades for Spring, and four of them are currently available at Chickettes Boutique.  The fifth color apparently sold out fast because it’s on back-order, but I should have it in stock in about two weeks. 

Pink Gellac #155 Satin Grey is a light grey with a frosty shimmer finish.  This is a stunning shade that’s opaque in just two coats.  It applied slightly patchy near the cuticle area on the first coat, but the trick to getting full coverage when applying light polishes like this is to float the brush over the nail and not push too hard.  This shade is darker than Gelish The Big Chill and Cashmere Kind of Gal and has more of a silvery feel to it.  Satin Grey looks really lush!

Pink Gellac #156 Tropical is a bright, fun coral-leaning pink cream.  This color is opaque in 2-3 coats, and is in the same family as Gelish Watch Your Step Sister and Gelish Passion.  I love this shade for Spring & Summer!  It certainly has a tropical, beach-y feel to it.

Pink Gellac #157 Sky Blue is a really unique blue cream.  I don’t own any other colors quite like this one, and Sky Blue is the perfect descriptor.  This color goes on a bit sheer, but builds up to full opacity with three thin coats.

Pink Gellac #158 Candy Pink is a frosty, medium pink shimmer.  When compared with my other pinks, this shade appears to have some mauve tones to it.  It’s opaque in two coats, and will show your brush strokes so be sure to apply from edge to edge to get a perfect finish!

Natasja of Love Life Lacquer also swatched and reviewed the colors in this collection, which you can see and read here.  She has the fifth color, Nude Beige, which I will have in about two weeks.  Her photos of Candy Pink look a little brighter than mine.  I’m wearing the color right now and don’t consider it to be a bright shade.  Also, pop on over to Pink Beauty Club’s Facebook page to see some user photo submissions of these colors.

These polishes can be purchased at Chickettes Boutique for $12.95.  Save 15% on your order through the end of the month using coupon code SPRING15!

Also, you can sign up for the Boutique’s mailing list to receive notices about updates and specials. 

LeChat Happily Ever After is a creamy pastel yellow.  This shade is in the same color family as Gelish Doo Wop and CND Shellac Bicycle Yellow.  Yellow makes my skin tone look very red, but I think it would really pop against darker skin.

LeChat Pink Lady is a nice pale pink polish with a very subtle shimmer.

LeChat Lollipop is a medium orange cream polish.  This is one of the very few true orange shades in my stash.  It’s in the same color family as LeChat Orange Blossom and Gelish Orange Cream Dream, both of which have shimmer finishes.  This is a great Summer color, and I think would look great in a gradient using Happily Ever After.

Sorry I’m a little short on words today… I have to go study for my exam this week.  We’re already testing out of the beta/gamma phase with a written test that covers the whole book, and a mock State Board exam.  Wish me luck! 

When I posted swatches of Gel II‘s new Carousel Collection a couple weeks ago, I mentioned that I was going to conduct a wear test to see how the polish holds up and removes. Well, I’m back with my findings!

I conducted the test using the color Peppermint Pony, a gorgeous minty teal green. Below is what Peppermint Pony looks like when it’s freshly applied. Application was great – it had a very nice formula and provided full coverage with just two coats! Gel II is a two-step gel that doesn’t require a base coat, so I applied the color directly onto my prepped nails.  I used the Gel II No Cleanse Top Coat which has a tack-free finish.  Gel II polishes and top coat require a 60 second LED cure.

I conducted the test on my right hand, which is my dominant hand. I forgot to take a before picture (the pic above is of my left hand), but below you’ll see what it looked like after 10 days of wear. It was still perfectly in-tact with very minimal tip wear, and it still had a decent shine. Keep in mind that this is also after working on clients’ nails and using acetone repeatedly, so I’m impressed!

For removal, I roughed up the surface of my nails with a file and then used my new Steam-Off removal system (I’ve been using this more and more – love it!).  I pulled my hand out at the 5 minute mark to see if there were any visible changes and this is what I saw:

After 5 minutes, the top coat was flaking off and some of the colored polish was also starting to lift.  After 5 more minutes (10 minutes total) I pulled my hand out again.  I could see that the polish had loosened a little more and I began pushing with an orangewood stick.  You can see in the photo below what my index finger looked like after pushing – the polish was almost completely gone, but there was a tiny bit of residue.  The polish didn’t come off in large flakes, but it came off in tiny little chalky bits like most one and two-step gel polishes do.  I’ve also learned over time that one and two-steps tend to hold on pretty well and that last little bit of remaining residue usually has to be buffed off.

So after just 10 minutes of soaking (or steaming), and then a little pushing, the polish was mostly gone.  I took a fine grit buffer and gently buffed on the remaining residue, cleansed the nails and applied some hand lotion.  This was the end result…

I’m extremely pleased all around with the application, wear and removal of Gel II!  Please feel free to share your experience with this brand in the comments.  I’d love to hear what you think!

RCM My Big Break is a gorgeous shimmery red unlike any others that I have.  It’s a bit simiar to Gelish Just In Case Tomorrow Never Comes, but the shimmer is more scattered and less frosty, and it’s a shade or two brighter.  This is a great year-round color!

RCM Sorbet Soiree is a medium teal blue cream.  I’m a total sucker for this color as most of you know.    This shade is slightly darker than Gelish Rub Me the Sarong Way and Radiance is My Middle Name, but they are in the same color family.

RCM A New York Minute is a lighter teal cream with some grey-ish undertones.  This shade is similar to ibd Jupiter Blue, but has better coverage.  Both of these teals are great for Spring & Summer.

RCM Mink Coat is a shimmery pink-leaning bronze metallic polish.  This is very similar to Gelish Oh What a Knight, and may even be an exact dupe.

RCM Blue-Delicious is a creamy sky blue.  It’s very similar to Pink Gellac Sky Blue, but just a shade lighter.  I’m crazy about this shade of blue as well.

I’ve been practicing my French manicure skills for class recently, and I thought I’d share the two applications that I did using Pink Gellac.  I’m often asked for recommendations for base colors that can be used for French manicures, and these two colors worked perfectly!
For this first French manicure I used Pink Gellac French Pink as the base, and Soft White for the tips.  This polish was specifically designed with this purpose in mind, hence the name.  French Pink is a sheer gel polish with a pink tint, providing a very natural look.  I applied two coats of this, and then applied white across the tips with one stroke from side to side.  I went over the tips twice to ensure perfect, even coverage.

I created a video that shows how to accomplish a French mani with gel polish a while ago… watch it here.  In this video, I applied white across the tip and then used a brush dipped in alcohol to perfect the smile line which is a great trick if you aren’t able to paint the smile line exactly how you want it.

For my second French manicure I used Pink Gellac Blush Orange with Soft White.  Blush Orange is a popular neutral shade at the Boutique, and I wanted to experiment and see how it would look in a French design.  I absolutely loved the result!  It’s not quite as classic of a look as the other, but it really seemed to pop on my nails and they looked a little like they might even be enhancements and not just polish.  I received a lot of compliments from this mani!

These Pink Gellac polishes can be purchased individually at Chickettes Boutique, or they can be purchased together as a set for an additional savings!  And don’t forget to check the banners on the homepage for the latest special offers. 

You can now also order gift certificates at the Boutique!  They can be purchased in any dollar amount of $10 or more.  The gift certificates are delivered immediately via email, so they make a perfect last-minute gift for a gel polish enthusiast!

This was my first time swatching an entire Cuccio Colour Veneer collection and I really enjoyed working with these polishes.  They had nice formulas and most provided full coverage with just two coats.

Cuccio California Dreamin’ is an orange-leaning coral cream.  This is a perfect shade for hitting the beach!

Cuccio Pink Cadillac is a medium-to-dark pink with a subtle purple iridescent shimmer.  This is a really lovely shade, and is probably one of my favorites of the collection.

Cuccio Good Vibrations is a soft yellow cream.  I found this one to require three coats for best coverage.

Cuccio Soul Surfer is a soft, grey-leaning lavender.  This color applied really nicely, and I just think it’s so pretty.  I would wear this shade year-round.

Cuccio Roller Skate! is a shimmery iridescent blue with some purple flashes.   This color applies very sheer and builds up to opacity.  The swatch shows what it looks like with three coats, and you can see that the nail line is still barely visible.  It was very hard to capture the purple, but in the light this one flashes blue and purple… it’s really very pretty.  I think this would be a great color for layering over other colors to get a unique look.

Cuccio Muscle Beach is a dark teal blue cream.  I own a lot of teals, but this one is unique to my personal collection.  It’s as dark as Gelish Garden Teal Party, but is a bit more green-leaning.

Cuccio A Star is Born is one of the two chunky glitter toppers in this collection.  I find both of these glitters to be very fun and festive with their unique color combinations.  A Star is Born has purple, teal and pink glitters.  This photo shows what it looks like without a base color underneath.

This is A Star is Born applied over Good Vibrations.

Cuccio Mimes & Musicians has pink, yellow and pale purple glitter. Below is what it looks like without a base color.

And this is Mimes & Musicians applied over Muscle Beach.

What do you think of this collection?! Which colors are your favorites?