what I’m wearing and my poll results

Just a quickie post today to show you what I’m wearing on my nails.  But also to give you a little update on that poll I put together last week.

I kinda wish I was still wearing those peacock nails from my last post.  They were epic.  But the base coat I was wearing made the design peel right off.  Boo freakin hoo!  I will have to fill you in on this lamo calcium-building base coat soon.  But anyway, since the work week is in full effect now… I went with a quick mani sans nailart.  It’s a nice purple holo that I swatched only once here and have been wanting to wear again.  It’s called Aurora by AVON and it’s from their special Cosmic Collection.  I have been obsessing over every AVON polish I’ve gotten recently.  Their formulas are great, and the brushes?  I dunno what it is about their brushes, but I love them, especially when it comes to painting my dominant hand.  My AVON manis come out looking so clean and professional, even on my “Cinderella hand”.

Originally I wore two coats of Aurora and got perfect coverage.  It dried so fast that I was able to go to bed afterwards without seche vite on top, and still, I got no sheet marks in the morning!  That is unheard of for me.  I think I must lay directly on top of my hands or something because sleepy Jacqui can be a real manicure wrecker!  That’s why I cannot live without seche vite.  But this quickie dry polish was a nice surprise.  AND THEN…. then today I broke two nails!  Whhaaa?  Yup, two.  I think that calcium builder I’ve been using really sucks. So I had to file my nails down, to get them to all match.  But I’m okay with it, they don’t look too short.  So after filing them down I added another coat of Aurora to nicen it up.  So these photos are: one crappy base coat, and three coats of AVON Aurora, and no topcoat.  But really, you should only need two coats of this one.

Now, on to my poll results.  Remember last week I asked your opinion on changing my font?  Well, the results are in and it’s been a really close call between B and C!  Initially after posting this poll I got cold feet about changing my font… I thought I was really gonna miss my little hearts from my current Craftynail logo.  But you know what, my readers have spoken and it’s time for change!  I’m going balls to the wall and taking it one step further too!  I’m changing the whole look of my blog!  I’m keeping the shabby chic appearance, but I’m doing a full re-vamp.  So stay tuned.  Within the next week I should be unveiling my new and improved Craftynail blog !

And I just wanted to say thanks for all your support.  I love you guys. 😀

 

Holo Feather Motif (inspired by pinterest) for #NAILLINKUP

I love the N.A.I.L. theme this week : INSPIRED BY PINTEREST!  I have over 1600 pins (most of which are nails) so I had no problem finding a nail art pin that inspired me.  When I pin pics I always think “Oooooh I love this nail art design,  I’m pinning it so I remember to try it later!”  But do I ever try it?  NO.  See, this is why I love this week’s theme!

I tried one manicure and it was an epic fail, but my second one came out great!  Let’s see….

This handpainted feather motif was inspired by just1nail’s pin of her instagram pic posted here.  Something about her design really stood out to me!  I love how the opaque pastel feather stands out against the dark holo background!  So pretty and sorta retro. Thanks for the inspiration Paola!

I didn’t have the same polishes as Paola so I changed it up a bit. Here’s what I’m wearing…

♥ Duri Rejuvacote – one coat as my basecoat

♥ Zoya Payton – two coats as the maroon holo base color

♥ Wet n wild I Need a Refresh-Mint – blue accents painted with a skinny brush

♥ Seche Vite – topcoat

 

13 – 19 January – Inspired by Pinterest :

Holos: AVON Cosmic Collection

AVON recently released their new Cosmic Collection of nail enamels described as having ‘holographic pearl effect’.  When I saw them in the brochure I knew I had to have some of these new scattered holos!  At $3.49 a piece I was tempted to buy all 10 shades but managed to whittle my list down to four.  Here’s some swatches for you!

All photos are in natural sunlight and sans top coat. 

Celestial: A powder blue scattered holo.  It went on pretty sheer so I think you’d definitely need three coats.  I really love the cool glimmery effect of this one. ↓

Starlight: Starlight is a funky yellow shade with an almost greenish tinge.  I needed 3 coats for opacity with this one.  I think Starlight is an odd shade but it’s a real eye-catcher.  I can’t say that I’ve ever seen a polish like this one!  ↓

Radiant:  Radiant is a nice neutral beige-y shade.  In real life the holo is subtle and demure.  In indoor lighting it looks like a nude.  Like the others, I needed three coats for opacity.

Aurora:  Aurora is probably my favorite of the bunch!   This purple holo was surprisingly streakier than the others, but it covered perfectly with the second coat.  Finally!  I was hoping to find a two-coater in the lot!  I think it’s just gorgeous.  ↓

Even though the Cosmic Collection wasn’t quite as holo-rific as I anticipated… each one of these polishes is stunning in it’s own way.  I was a little bummed that most of them required three coats, but I am now realizing that the shades I picked were the lighter ones in the collection.  They also carry red, teal, black, etc and I have a feeling that those may be more opaque.  Removal of these was easy.  They don’t contain any glitter, so they came off with nail polish remover with as much ease as standard cream polishes do.  Considering the low price and range of colors… these Cosmics are a great way to add some more holographic goodness to your stash!  What do you think of these?

And here’s a quick reminder of the upcoming July nail art challenge that I’m hosting with Brijit’s Digits and Eeeek! Nail Polish!.  I sincerely hope you join us!  The challenge is called “Oh Mon Dieu! It’s the Rather Awesome 31 Day Challenge Giveaway!” and we have fondly nicknamed it the OMD Challenge :D. Entries open up on July 1st (my brithday hehe) and I don’t want to you to miss a second of the fun!  So please contact me if you have questions.  Check out our awesome themes!