Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Pacific Blue with Hard Candy Black Tie Optional

This is Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Pacific Blue with Hard Candy Black Tie Optional layered on top.  Pacific Blue is hands down the stinkiest polish I own. It smells like nail polish mixed with sulfur (rotten egg smell). 

Hard Candy Black Tie Optional

http://www.polishedcousins.com/2012/04/lynnderella-connect-dots.html

I have been wanting a black and white matte glitter overlay since I learned they existed a few years ago.  This one is Hard Candy Black Tie Optional worn over Wet 'n Wild Megalast Tropicalia.  Lynderella Connect the Dots was the first polish of its kind (shown right, not my picture).  The polish was only sold online by an independent seller and was so popular that you couldn't buy it.  There was a frenzy trying to get this polish and people were whining and complaining about how websites worked and this and that wasn't fair in their quest for the polish.  The woman who made the polish mostly as a hobby got fed up and quit.  Fast forward to a few years later, and you can finally find a couple versions in brick and mortar stores.  There have been a lot of imitators, but no polish has come close to the original, which was truly perfect.  As you can see, black and white glitters look great over lots of polish colors, especially brights, pastels, and neons.
  

http://enamelgirl.blogspot.com/2013/03/hard-candy-candy-sprinkles-spring-2013.html

Hard Candy recently revamped their nail polish line.  The new line has lots of polishes that are inspired by independent, online brands (most sell on ETSY.com).  One good example is Hard Candy's sprinkles selection (above, not my picture).  All their new polishes are worth a look.  If you plan to buy a glitter, take a good look at the bottle.  Some people have reported curling glitters (taco glitter).  Hard Candy is exclusive to Walmart.  The polishes are 4$ for a mini sized bottle.  The price per oz is on par with OPI or Essie. 

Sinful Colors Aquamarine

This is Sinful Colors Aquamarine topped with Hard Candy Matte-ly in Love.  I find this combo a little too bright for my fingers, but I like this combo on my toes.  That is my dog Tito in the background. 

Wet 'n Wild Megalast Heatwave

Wet 'n Wild Megalast Heatwave is a great color.  It reads a little more red indoors.  This is a red coral or an orange-y red.  It is a really nice summer color.  The index finger got nicked almost immediately after I finished this manicure. In the pic below, I used Hard Candy Matte-ly in Love to make shiny/matte and matte/shiny dots.  Every nail has a coat of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri  top coat to help extend the wear of the polish.  Then I used the dotting tool to add matte dots to the thumb and ring fingers.  I added a coat of Matte-ly in Love to the other fingers.  Then I used a dotting tool and Sally Hansen Insta-Dri topcoat to add shiny dots to those nails.

The name makes me think of Marilyn Monroe singing Heatwave in There's No Business Like Show Business.  The video I added below is more fun then Marilyn.  :)

Revlon Emerald City

Revlon Emerald City has a matte suede finish.  The finish is matte, but not as matte as you will get with a matte top coat. The first picture (big one) is without a top coat.  The second picture is with Essie Good to Go as a top coat, which gives this polish a shiny finish.  Without a top coat, this polish will begin to chip the first day for me.  If you wear a regular top coat, the finish of the polish will be shiny, like a regular nail polish.  Matte top coats do nothing to extend the wear of a manicure.  So what is the solution if you want the matte suede finish?  Lets say you are planning to use 3 coats of this polish (2 work fine, like in the first two pictures, but three wouldn't hurt).  Put on your base coat, two coats of Emerald City, one coat of top coat, and finish with one coat of Emerald City. This way you get the extended wear of a top coat and the matte suede look. 

In the third picture I did a funky french tip with Sinful Colors Green Ocean.  Pic four is Revlon Emerald City topped completely with Green Ocean in the shade, and pic five is in sunlight.  Green Ocean is a flakie polish.  The mica like glitter flakes in this sheer polish flash from blue to green to purple.  Green Ocean is part of Sinful Colors St. Patric's Day collection.  So if you want it for about 2$, you should pic it up soon.  I got mine at Walgreens.  This polish was also part of the 2011 St. Patric's Day Collection, so it may show up again next year.  The formula for Green Ocean is thick and gloppy.  Unlike Essie Shine of the Times, you need to add a top coat for a smooth finish.  Also, if you don't have a top coat, the flake glitter will pull away from the nail.  If the flakes pull away, they look like white bits of lint instead of cute color changing glitter.  This is my first time wearing Green Ocean, so I haven't fully formed an opinion yet.  You may want Green Ocean just to stare at the pretty bottle.  It glows in sunlight (see picture five). 

To do the funky french manicure I used a DIY nail art brush to paint a straight line.  Then, I used the brush that comes with the polish to fill in above the line.  If you have more skills, you could just use the polish brush to make a french tip.

The last step in this evolving manicure was to add a coat of Hard Candy Matte-ly in Love, a matte top coat (picture six).  The versions of this manicure I liked are the Green Ocean funky French and the matte suede finish.

Newspaper Nails

You'll notice as I start posting pictures of nail polish, that my manicures are never perfect.  They probably never will be either.  :)

This manicure is really easy to do, but looks impressive.  The base polish color is Zoya in the color Harley. You can use any color you want as the base color, but it must be light enough for the newsprint to show up. You cut nail sized squares of newspaper.  It doesn't matter what it says, since it prints backwards anyway.  You want to pay attention to where the paragraphs on the newspaper end, because you could end up with blank spaces on your nails.  I filled a shot glass part way with rubbing alcohol.  I dipped my nail into the rubbing alcohol.  Then I pressed the newspaper clipping against the nail for 30-40 seconds and pealed it away.  I topped my manicure with a matte top coat (Hard Candy's Matte-ly in Love from Walmart).  I wouldn't use a matte top coat with this particular polish color again, but it might be nice with a newspaper mani on a white or cream nail polish.  A normal top coat works just fine, but you must use a top coat to prevent the newsprint from wearing off. Here are a couple of newspaper mani tutorials that I have bookmarked:
Ask me What's-News on Nails
Youtube video from Cutepolish