Wet n Wild - Ocean Grotto

Since this is Mental Health Awareness month and its official color is green, I've decided to try to feature some of my untried green polishes this month.  This one was a birthday gift from a friend, gasp, about one year ago today.  It is Wet n Wild's Ocean Grotto from their limited edition Mermaid's Cove collection.  This collection, like all WnW limited edition collections, was impossible to find in my part of Florida.  Sadly, no stores near me choose to carry these collections and it's really a shame as they are so pretty.  I'm so glad my friend was kind enough to send some to me.  Anyway, on to the pics:

Three coats, outdoors, no flash.  (Please forgive my funky cuticles.)

Three coats, indoors, with flash.

I really LOVE this color!  It has a gorgeous green-yellow foil-y finish and went about three days without a single chip.  It does take a bit of work for opacity.  As you can probably see, there was still a bit of vnl and a few bald patches even after THREE coats.  Still, it's a great polish and I'm looking forward to trying it again layered over some sort of underwear.  (I'm thinking white or black, maybe.)  I am super-excited to have it in my stash.  I just wish my local stores would start ordering these collections. 

Back in Black with Wet n Wild

As I've previously mentioned, I recently received several Wild Shine polishes from Wet n Wild to review for you, my lovely kittens. At this time, I'd like to feature a true gem, *Black Creme. I've got to start by saying, I have been hearing for months about what a fabulous black this is. I can't imagine I was alone in thinking, "For 99 cents retail, could it REALLY be as great as everyone says?" Well, to answer that question, YES, it's that great! This polish was smooth to apply, super-shiny and...wait for it...opaque in ONE coat! I applied a second coat, just because, but honestly, it probably wasn't necessary at all. Behold, two coats, outdoors, in all it's glory:

I really can't say enough about how much I LOVE this polish! I have only finished bottles of polish a few times in my life, maybe three, but I'd say it's a safe bet that I will finish this baby.

I love love love this polish alone but, being a sparkly kind of girl, I wanted to jazz things up a bit so I added a coat of KleanColor Aurora. This is a unique (in my collection, anyway) sheer polish with both regular small and hexagonal holo glitter. There are also glitter stars scattered throughout this polish but none came out during this application. Here is the final look.  (I used Avon Nail Experts Nutri-Boost Nutri-Plus as my top and base coat):

Overall, this makes for a fun look and I will definitely wear this combo again in the future.

As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts! <3

*Disclosure: Where indicated by an asterisk, the product(s) in this post were provided to me by the company for review. Please click my disclosure tab for further information.

Wet n Wild Skittles!

Hi ho, kittens.  I know its been a while but I'm really happy to be back.  I received some lovely Wet n Wild Wild Shine shades to review for you and I decided to skittle some that I thought would be complimentary.  Today, we have, from thumb to pinky, *Caribbean Frost, *Bijou Blue, *Rain Check, *Wild Card/Invitation and *Lavender Pearlescent.  I started with a base coat of Avon Nail Experts Nutri-Boost Nutri-Plus and followed with two coats of each Wild Shine color.  Here they are, indoors, with flash:

I had a bit of vnl with Bijou Blue and Wild Card/Invitation but the other three shades were quite opaque after two coats. Some of the formulas were a little bit tricky to work with but I think they evened themselves out quite nicely after the second coat. I have to say, right off the bat, the name Lavender Pearlescent baffles me. This color is SOOOO not lavender, maybe more of a deep rose, but regardless, it's a very pretty color. Likewise, Wild Card/Invitation. My guess is that, perhaps, this color was called simply Wild Card, then re-named Invitation, then left as both names so as not to confuse shoppers but that is just my speculation. Again, very pretty color, weird name, hee hee. But, overall, considering that these polishes retail for 99 cents, I think they definitely serve their purpose. The colors are vibrant and they dry fairly quickly. I decided that I wanted to add a little sparkle to my mani so I added two coats of *Hallucinate. Here is the completed mani indoors:

and outdoors:

I have to admit, I would have only applied one coat of Hallucinate but I ended up smudging my index finger because I was antsy to do something and didn't give my nails enough time to try. I had to patch up that finger and add a second coat of Hallucinate since my "boo boo" went through all three layers of color. Then, because there was SO much more glitter on that nail, I had to add a second coat to the others, too. Hallucinate is a lovely holo glitter. It is a bit gritty, particularly after two coats, but that is to be expected with most glitters. I really like the overall look.

Thanks for peeking and do feel free to share your thoughts on this mani, Wet n Wild in general, or anything else your little hearts desire.
xoxo,
K

*Disclosure: Where indicated by an asterisk, the product(s) in this post were provided to me by the company for review. Please click my disclosure tab for further information.

Sky Blue Mani - For Eli

Today's mani is, once again, in support of a friend in memory of her son, Eli, who tragically passed away during his infancy. Her sweet boy would have been six months old today and several of her friends and I are showing our love and respect by doing sky blue manis. For my mani, I began with two coats of OPI What's With the Cattitude.

I followed up with a topcoat made by a fellow member of several of my polish groups on Facebook, Lori. Her friends have dubbed it the gLORIous topcoat and she made it by mixing SpectraFlair powder with a Wet n Wild clear topcoat to make a stunning holo topcoat. Here it is indoors:

and outdoors:

This goes out to baby Eli and his mama, with love. xoxo

More Fruit Sprinkles!

So, I decided to venture out of my apartment yesterday (a feat in itself, lately, but that's another story) and decided to take a peek at Walgreens.  As you may or may not know, I've been on a self-imposed polish no-buy for several weeks and have been doing quite well with it.  I've purchased two or three "top coats" but that's about it.  However, I had heard through the polish grapevine that some stores were selling Wet n Wild two-packs featuring one of the "TV Collection", for lack of a better term, polishes along with a free clear top coat.  As you may have read HERE, I've been having some fun making what I call "Fruit Sprinkles" frankens using Wet n Wild Party of Five Glitters, clear coats, a bit of white polish and different colored polishes.  I figured if it was a bogo AND I needed both items to franken with, I could justify spending $1.98 on the twin pack, assuming I could find it, which led me to Walgreens.  I looked ALL over in the usual places and was about to give up in defeat when I ventured away from the cosmetics department and found the free-standing display an aisle away.  Woo hoo!  So, I picked up one twin pack and tonight, I decided to create what I call "Grape Sprinkles" to join the rest of the Fruit Sprinkles family.  Here she is with the rest of her fruity clan.

From thumb to pinky they are Strawberry Sprinkles, Lemon Sprinkles, Kiwi Sprinkles, Blueberry Sprinkles and the new baby, Grape Sprinkles. Let me tell you right now, based on my experience with my previous Blueberry Sprinkles mani, these are AWFUL to remove. The chunky glitter will definitely put your polish-removing implement of choice to the test but I think they look so cute that the misery is worth it. This is three coats of each color.

Thanks for peeking and do feel free to comment and share your frankening experiences. I love to hear from all of you!

xoxo

Blueberry Sprinkles!

Meow, kittens. Today I'd like to introduce you to one of my franken creations...Blueberry Sprinkles! Inspired by Rebecca at rebecca likes nails, I decided to play with Wet n Wild Party of Five Glitters and assorted clear, white and colored polishes (the names of which I know I wrote down somewhere but I sure as heck don't remember where) and came up with the "Sprinkle Collection." Trust me, Rebecca's tutorial is far better than anything I could come up with so be sure to click her link to check it out. Anyway, here is a shot of all my sprinkles to date, from left to right, Strawberry, Lemon, Kiwi and, today's star, Blueberry Sprinkles. Now, on to Blueberry Sprinkles indoors: and outdoors: I am soooo in love with this color. Application was a bit tricky, with the polish being a little thick in places, but I think it's worth the effort. I applied base coat and three coats of Blueberry Sprinkles. I love how it looks like a jelly sandwich but achieved with just one polish. The depth of the layers fascinates me and I can't stop looking at my nails, despite the fact that I cracked my left thumbnail at the tip of my finger, hence my new nubbins. *Tear.* I am eternally grateful to Rebecca for inspiring me and I'm super-excited to try out the other colors I made.

On a more serious note, I'd like to share that I polished my nails baby blue to show solidarity with a friend who tragically lost her infant son. Several friends of hers are joining in on this effort to honor him on July 4th. I won't name her here as her story is her own to share but if she is reading this, please know I am thinking of you and will definitely have you and your boy in my heart tomorrow, as always.

If you are American, as I am, I wish you a very happy and healthy Independence Day and to my friends around the globe, I hope tomorrow will be a lovely day for you, as well.

xoxo,
K

My Stash - In Photos

I'd like to open this post with a shot of one of my beloved furbabies, Sydney Rory Bristow, with his mama's favorite polish, to date, Zoya Tallulah.

Inspired by my friend Debby, I decided to photograph my polish stash. Currently, I have them stored in two Caboodles (yes, old school. I wish they still made ones like the ones I have), and two photo/scrapbook boxes. Thus, it was quite a project to get them all lined up and ready for their close-ups. However, undaunted, I took on the challenge and the following pics are the result:


As of today, I am the proud owner of 227 nail polishes, not including base/top coats. Not to be ignored, here is my other beloved furbaby, Spencer Snapdragon, taking a closer look at Wet n Wild Ocean Grotto:

I hope you enjoyed this small glimpse into my insanity, um, I mean polish love?

And Now for Something Completely Different...

Well hello, dear readers. Today's mani features the lovely Wet n Wild Fast Dry Waves of Enchantment. This color is part of the new Mermaid's Cove collection that, not unlike every other WnW limited edition collection, seems to be impossible to find in my town. I received a super fantastic birthday package on Monday from my sweet friend, Erin. (As you may or may not know, May 10 was my, gasp, 38th birthday.) Here' what I received:
Check out my swag! I received three WnW polishes from this collection, Ocean Grotto, Diving for Pearls and the aforementioned Waves of Enchantment, as well as a beautiful card and sweet treats galore. I have some fabulous friends, that's for sure.
Now, onto the mani. This is two coats and wowza, what great coverage. It's quite opaque, as you can see, and the application was smooth and easy. To get back to the title of this entry, along with it being my cheeky nod to Monty Python's Flying Circus, it refers to the fact that I never EVER wear "warm" polish colors. If it's not evident from my hand shots, I am fair skinned with cool undertones to the extreme. I've always considered most peachy-orangey colors "warm" by definition and have therefore avoided them in makeup and polish. I'm no expert but I figured this was a safe way to go. However, as soon as I saw my first swatch of this color, I knew I wanted to try it. I'm quite into "sparkle" lately and when Erin asked me which three polishes in this new collection I liked the best (after reading my "whining" about not being able to find them around here), I didn't hesitate to name them and, voila, a few days later, they arrived in my mailbox. (I was giddy, seriously.) Wearing a color like this is SUCH a departure for me but you know what? I LOVE it! Now, don't think I'm going to change my color profile completely. Blues will ALWAYS have a cherished place in my heart, sky blue, in particular, but I am SO glad I (and Erin) took a chance on this one. I know I'll be wearing the heck out of it (and its been on since yesterday, with no top coat because I've been lazy, with NO chips or visible wear yet). Wet n Wild definitely has a winner in this one.

Holo at Ya Girls!

Yes, ladies. Kari is FINALLY dipping her toes into the world of holos. Though it's just a glittery, sparkly, smattering of holo, it has won me over. I am pleased to feature Wet n Wild Kaleidoscope both flying solo and layered over NYC New York Color Skin Tight Denim Creme.
Above is Kaleidoscope as it appears in the bottle and brushed (one coat) onto my color wheel. As you can see, you get a nice amount of silver glitter with larger, silver, holographic "dots" (for lack of a better word) mixed in. I wish I could have done a better job of capturing the beautiful prism of rainbow colors shining from the holo dots. Hopefully you can see them better in the shot below where it is layered over one coat of NYC New York Color Skin Tight Denim Creme.
Voila! I must say, I LOVE Skin Tight Denim Creme, too. It's not often that one can a nice level of opacity in just one coat but this NYC color definitely succeeds in that arena. I paid just $.69 (plus tax) for the Wet n Wild polish (Walgreens is featuring Wet n Wild makeup/polishes regularly priced at $.99 for just $.69 until, I believe, May 28th). I paid around $.94 (plus tax) for the NYC polish at Walmart. (I may be wrong about that but I know it was less than $1.00). I have to say, often in life you get what you pay for but in the cases of these two polishes, I think the quality far exceeds what you'd expect from a "cheap" polish. Color me happy!

Swatch Madness!

Yes ladies (and gents, in the event that any ever decide to follow me), it's an all-out Swatchapalooza! I finally broke down two days ago and spent the whopping $5.00 (if you know me, you know that even $5.00 constitutes a "whopping" purchase, these days) on one year's membership to the Sally Beauty Club. If you're not familiar, for that $5.00 you receive a discount on everything Sally Beauty Supplies sells (off regular prices) AND (this was the kicker for me) you receive a $5.00 credit to spend starting the very next day after you join. So, basically, you reap the rewards of membership almost immediately. Theoretically, you could go in, plunk down your five spot, spend NOTHING else that day, return the next day, choose a $5.00 item, and get it for free. Then you also get the awesome benefit of discounted pricing for a WHOLE YEAR and if you spend $25.00 in a month, you'll receive a 15% off coupon to use the next month (if I'm not mistaken. I'm a Sally Club newbie so I think I've got this all right.)

Anywho, I decided recently that I wanted to purchase color wheels so I could swatch my entire polish stash. Since the wheels are $5.99 for a pack of 10 at Sally ($5.39 with the club card), I bought my membership on Monday, went back yesterday with my $5.00 credit and bought my wheels for a whopping $.42 (including tax). PAR-TAY! I swatched most of my collection last night and finished it off today. I actually posted on a polish Facebook page (Zoya, to be exact) asking for advice on how people generally organized their wheels (sorted by brand, color family, etc., how many coats, you know, the important stuff) and found that it's about a 50/50 split between those who sort by brand and those who sort by color family. At first I couldn't decide but I finally realized that, for me, it was best to sort by brand. This way, I can add more colors as I purchase them and my OCD tendencies won't kick in when, gasp, the colors go from light to dark and back again, lol. Now they're laid out simply by brand and it won't cause me heart palpitations when red is followed by green, then purple and maybe even back to red again. Whew! I'll post better shots of the wheels in small groups below. Enjoy!

Adina and Gray's - What a Pair!

Above, feast your eyes on Zoya Adina (pinky and middle finger) and Wet n Wild Gray's Anatomy (ring finger and pointer). Adina is two coats and Gray's is three coats. I must be honest, I was shocked at how sheer Gray's turned out to be. It just goes to show that the bottle alone does not tell the story. However, I was delighted with Adina. Zoya describes this color as "Violet metallic multichrome. A frosty hint of green and magenta creates a unique "oil-slick" look." Adina definitely reads more purple or green, depending on the angle, and it is a gorgeous and, to my knowledge, very unique color. I'm not bashing Gray's, it's just not as opaque as I'd hoped it would be. I think that it will be a GREAT color for layering and will give other colors a bit of a duo-chrome effect. Please, do share your thoughts on these colors if you have them or even if you don't. I'd love to hear what YOU think!