Essie Braziliant

Essie Braziliant is one of the four pack of clearance Essie minis I found recently.  This orange is much brighter in person then in the picture.  It is another polish that is so bright it glows.  Since it is so bright, I think it is better suited for summer.  I really like this color.  It is the prefect orange for me (if it was less bright).  I was going to pony up for the big bottle.  But, since I only plan to wear this color in the summer and we only have 2 months of summer here, I'll stick with the small bottle.  Sorry, I can't remember how many coats this was.

Wet 'n Wild Megalast Bird Bath

This is Wet 'n Wild Megalast Bird Bath.  It was a limited edition polish from their Spring 2011 collection.  This is one of my favorite nail polishes.  I just adore this color and it wears extremely well (6-7 days). 

This color always cracks me up, and here is why.  My sister is not a make-up girl.  She can grow out lovely nails if she wants to.  She grew them once and only once in her life, for her wedding.  I also believe that was also the one and only time she has wore nail polish (French manicure).  I have many nail polish colors she does not like,  but she really despises this one. The hate for this polish seems to burn out of her eyes.  I think she is trying to burn it off my fingers with the power of her eyes.  It cracks me up because this polish is one of my favorites. 

Cheap Thrills: Jordana Blush

Coral Sandy beach, Touch of Pink, Redwood

Jordana makes great blushes.  They are very pigmented and last through out the day.  The best part is you can get these for about $2.50 at K-mart.  They need a bit of blending, but I don't think that's a big issue.

Coral Sandy Beach, Touch of Pink, Redwood

Jordana calls Coral Sandy beach a gold toned peachy pink.  They describe it as a duo toned luster and having pearl reflective color.  I'd call it coral with a satin finish, with some subtle shimmer.  I hate shimmery blush in outdoor summer light.  However I can wear this one in summer without fear of sparkling in the sunlight.
Jordana calls Touch of Pink a coral pink with a matte finish.  I always find matte finishes to be chalky.  This blush isn't chalky at all.  This is a subtle soft pink color that does lean slightly coral.

Coral Sandy Beach, Touch of Pink, Redwood

Jordana calls Redwood a pink red with pearl reflective color.  I don't find this one to be shimmery on the skin.  This is one of my favorite blushes in winter.  In summer it can sometimes read sunburned.  I like to pair this with red lipstick and subtle eye shadow.  In the video, the only pink make-up I am wearing is the Redwood blush. However, because of the lovely red/pink color of this blush, the whole make-up look reads pink.

Zoya Venus

This is three coats of Zoya Venus.  Zoya wears like iron for me, 6-7 days.  Zoya calls this a metalic, cool  light/mid toned purple with an opacity of 4 out of 5.  I'd call this a warm purple (although technically all purples are cool I guess) with a soft shimmer.  I wouldn't refer to it as metallic.  It does take 3 coats to be completely opaque.  I think this is a lovely spring color and when/if I finish this bottle, I'll buy another bottle to replace it.

Don't throw out your nail polish!!

I used to toss nail polish when it got thick and gloppy.  I used to pass on clearance nail polish that was separated and looked icky.  Polish that looked like it was "going bad".  Those were the dark days before I knew that nail polish never gets old.
 If your polish has separated, shake it. It will mix back together again.  Essie polish is notorious for separating.
If your polish is thick, add polish thinner.  Add it drop by drop, shaking to combine, until the polish is back to its normal consistency. I've used polish thinner to thin both nail polish and top coats. Top coats need something more on the order of squirts of thinner vs. drops of thinner.  Nail polish gets thick as the chemicals in it evaporate.  Thinner replaces the chemicals that have evaporated.    Never try to thin polishes with nail polish remover.  Polish remover is designed to break the chemical bonds in polish.  This is not something you'd want to add to your bottle of polish.
The nail polish thinner I have is Beauty Secrets Nail Polish Thinner from Sally Beauty Supply.  It is about 4$.  It is three free, if that is a concern.  In the past few years, most polishes have become three free.  I've read if you have older polishes, you may prefer Seche Vite Restore.  It contains toluene, one of the three chemicals that are missing in three free polishes.  The old polishes once contained toluene, so it makes sense that a thinner that contains it would be better for old polishes.  Seche Vite Top Coat contains toluene and Seche Vite Restore is supposed to work better for thinning is.  I thinned my Seche Vite Top Coat with my Beauty Secrets Thinner and it seems to be working just fine. I've read you can even bring completely dried up polishes back from the dead, although the quality may suffer some.
You do want to keep polishes away from heat and sunlight.  I've read this can cause the polish change color.

Easter Manicure, featuring "Bar Fight" Bunny

Happy Easter (in a few days).  For my Easter manicure I painted my nails in an array of pastels and then used a dotting tool to make dots.  I bought a set of dotting tools from Amazon, but I've read you can also find dotting tools on E-bay.  If you plan to make dots on a regular basis, dotting tools work much better then tooth pics or bobby pins, etc. 

These are the polishes I used.  This is more nail polish then you own?  The irony isn't lost on me.

I labeled the base polish colors that are still being sold.

The bunny smeared when I added the top coat.  I call her "Bar Fight" Bunny.  I roughly followed this video tutorial.  I used Essie Smooth Sailing as the base, Sally Hansen Insta Dry Whirlwind White, Sally Hansen Nail Art Pen in Light Pink, and a random black polish.

 For the chick, I painted my nails in Sally Hansen Insta Dry Whirlwind White.  Then I cut a piece of scotch tape in a jagged shape.  I applied it to the back of my hand to remove some of the sticky.  I applied the tape to my nail and painted with a two quick coats of Wet n Wild Spoiled Mind Your Own Beeswax.  Remove the tape immediately.  I used a dotting tool to add the eyes and nose.  Eyes are a random black polish and nose is Essie Meet Me at Sunset.  Have a great Easter and eat lots of chocolate!