Franken Friday Week 6- Absolutely Alice dupe

Absolutely Alice has been a lemming of mine for a while.  This is the second dupe I tried to create of it.  Not exact, but I'm satisfied and no longer need Absolutely Alice.  I had read in a few places that Milani Blue Flash was similar to A.A.  I got me a bottle and immediately poured it into my diminished bottle of OPI Spark De Triomphe.  The gold glitter is 2 sizes compared to the single gold glitter in A.A.  That is the only diffrence as far as I'm concerned. 

 

 

 

I saw these Jordana polishes and immediately thought "Jelly Frankens".  I bought all three hearts.

 

Lilac Hearts, Red of Hearts, and Pink Hearts

The heart confetti is rather minimal and I had great difficulty fishing them out.

I managed to pour out half of the base polish into another bottle to create a future franken and now the hearts are dense enough to brush on.

I'm not sure what color jelly I want yet.  Some of the hearts snuck into the bottle but they won't be a problem.

 

A-England Merlin over Essie Gradient

Lately I've been addicted to gradient nails.  It's simple, fast to do, and looks great.  I needed something to to layer my new A-England Merlin over.  I went with Essie Playdate and Bikini So Teeny.   This pic is without a topcoat so it looks textured.

 

 

This is one thin coat of Merlin.  It looked "incomplete" so I added gems for detail.  Seche Vite for the top coat and that was it.

Blue Gradient

OPI Russian Navy, Swimsuit I Nailed It, and WNW Teal or No Teal have been sitting on my dressor waiting their turn to be used as a gradient.  The result turned out fantastic! I've had Russian Navy for awhile but never got around to wearing it.  It is a beautiful dark blue. Now I know why it's so popular.  In the bottle, it's has red micro glitter that makes it look purple.  On the nail it's a shimmery navy.  Russian Navy was almost a one coater (it may be a good stamping polish).  Teal or No Teal is a color I almost gave away since I never wanted it in the first place (it came in a makeup set).  The irony is that I've been using Teal or No Teal way more than Teal of Fortune which settled my Catch Me in Your Net lemming.

Please ignore the messy cleanup. Russian Navy ran into my cuticles during cleanup
and made it look worse than if I had left it alone.

Of course I'm not one to leave well enough alone.  I added Kaleidoscope Eyes from the new Fergie line for WNW.  It's a combo of gold, teal, blue, and green chunky glitter in a clear base. The glitter goes on sparse and was the perfect finishing touch for this manicure.

This is one of those manicures that sparkle like crazy and
catch everyones attention.

Franken Friday Week 5-Facets of Fuchsia

Wow, that was a lot of Fs in the title.  Yep-it's another Franken Friday.  This time it's just a small tweak that was for the better.  Revlon Facets of Fuchsia was a favorite of mine as soon as I bought it last year.  A 3 coater due to its sheer base, my bottle had gone down significantly.  Last December, the formula became so thick and lumpy that the polish wouldn't even dry.  Instead of adding polish thinner, I filled the bottle with OPI Siberian Nights to make the base more opaque and lessen the amount of coats.  The finished result is a major improvement!!  Now it's a 2 coater, less lumpy, and the glitter is spread out and looks "suspended" in the base (which is now black and not sheer).  Facets of Fuchsia still dries matte and slightly lumpy, but it's not anything 2 coats of Seche Vite can't fix.

Ascalon

Hello there, today I have another polish from A-England, Ascalon.  I am truly enjoying all of these colors.  I haven't bought any polish since I received my order.  Nothing can compare to the beauty and quality of A-England polishes.  They are just amazing!!!
When I took Ascalon out of it's bubble wrap, I thought-Oh no, not another Not Like the Movies/Gray's Anatomy.  But this is way more than that.  Ascalon is a duochrome, scattered holo.  It shifts from silver to purple to blue.  I used Out The Door in between coats so it wouldn't chip so fast.

A-England Dragon

My green polish stash is growing! Dragon is my latest addition.  It is a scattered holo that is also a duochrome. This is a one coater, but I did 2 to bring out the orange duochrome.  I wanted to do some stamping, but changed my mind because the color shift was so pretty to look at.   I have never seen a green polish like it! I was trying to catch the duochrome/holo on camera, but it has been cloudy and I wasn't able to take an outdoor pic.

Do any of you have a favorite go to green polish?

Franken Friday Week4-Green with Envy

It's week 4 of my 12 week segment.  Sally Hansen X-treme Wear Green with Envy is the oldest polish I own-which is about 3 years old. This was back when I was going through a lot of life changes including a move and polishing my nails was not on my to do list.  But now I'm a polish hoarder who does my nails frequently.  I was quite tired of Green with Envy since I overused it in the first 6 months (I only owned 2 at the time, everything else got tossed before the move-gasp, I know).
I no longer toss polishes.  They get given away or frankened. 
For this franken, I added SH X-treme Wear Disco Ball and Sinful Colors Neon Melon.  The Disco Ball glitter is not noticeable on the nail and just made the consistency of the polish lumpy. Seche Vite smooths it out, but it's still rather annoying. 

I layered Green with Envy with OPI Y'all Come Back Ya Hear? and Bright Lights, Big Color. The stamp was BM-309.  My heart was not really in it , since I am over this lime green.  I removed it right after.

Do any of you have a polish that you keep around even though you really don't like it anymore?

Sally Hansen Magnetic Silver Elements

There was a sale at Walgreens two weeks ago and I bought another magnetic polish.  Sally Hansen Silver Elements. This one has fine glitter in it.  In the bottle, its a silver and once the magnet is applied is turns a dark silver with a pale silver contrast.  The evening I did my nails, the contrast was bolder.  I shouldn't have applied a top coat.  It smeared the effect.  I added some BM-309, BM-316 stamping with SH X-treme White On. 



This was taken the next day and it already had a chip. 

I also did my toes with Silver Elements minus the magnetic effect.  It looks pretty on its own with some white stamping and pink heart gems. (No pic included)

Lady of the Lake

This is the first polish I'm trying from A-England.   Lady of the Lake applies just like a OPI DS. The formula is so smooth and it's a one coater. The holo is scattered instead of a linear like my OPI Couture.  This is my favorite shade of purple.  I wanted to do some stamping without covering too much of this beautiful polish.  BM-319 and BM-321 plates were used with Nabi metallic silver for the puzzle designs.  *Just for the record-my pics did not do this polish justice.

I was totally loving this and it only lasted a day. The polish peeled right off.  It may be because I used Out The Door in place of a base coat. 

Franken Friday Week 3-Dark Hearts

Hi everyone, it's Franken Friday again! Today I have a polish I call Dark Hearts.  It is a 50/50 mix of OPI Siberian Nights and Nicole Step 2 the Beat of My <3.  The result is a jelly! A raisin jelly filled with glitter!!! It's a 3 coater for opacity.  The heart confetti is barely there (what's left of the hearts is stuck to the sides of the bottle).  It didn't look like much in the bottle, but on the nail it's a beauty.  Makes me want to create more glitter jellies.

Liebster Award

I was totally excited and grateful to Fingers and Toads and Try it with Carmella for giving me the Liebster Award.  Thank you!  That was really nice of both of you! 

The award is for bloggers who have under 200 followers. 
Here are the rules to participate:

1. You must post 11 things about yourself.
2. You must answer the 11 questions the "tagger" has set for you.
3. You must create 11 more questions to ask bloggers you have decided to tag.
4. You must then choose 11 bloggers with less than 200 followers and tag them in your post.

5. These lucky bloggers must then be told.

6. There are no tag backs.



Okay, so here are 11 things about myself:
1. I like to micro manage. I always feel a need to organize. Even my polish is micro managed.
2. My children are so precious to me and I value every moment spent with them.
3. An introvert by nature. I have to make an effort to socialize.
4. I attend a Southern Baptist church every Sunday and enjoy it.
5. I became a widow at 29 and lost the love of my life.
6. I love art and used to watercolor until I had children.
7. I don't like to sweat and avoid traditional exercise.
8. Bargain shopping is my "thing".  I usually know all the inside sales, shipments, clearance, and where to get the best deals on what days.  My 3 year old can fill you in on it too.
9. Cooking is not my thing.  I do it out of necessity.
10. I don't have an absolute favorite color.  I'm drawn to purple, but also like blue, orange, green, and yellow.
11. I could use more hours in my day.

 11 Questions from Try it with Carmella

1. If you didn't have to get up for work etc., would you be a morning or night person?
A morning person.
2. What is your biggest frustration with blogging?
Lining up my pics on my other page. They keep shifting every time I add a new image.
3. What country are the majority of your readers in according to your Stats?
 USA
4. It's time to buy a snack but you can only get one. Do you go with the salty snack (chips, popcorn, pretzels) or do you go with the chocolaty snack (chocolate bar, cake, pudding)?
Popcorn.  It's my favorite snack.
5. If you're a nail blogger, how often do you do a new manicure? (If not nails, how often do you like to post about your topic?)
Usually twice a week, sometimes three.
6. What decade were you born in?
The 80's.  All that hairspray and neon clothing.
7. What's your favorite TV show at the moment?
Vampire Diaries.  I've been watching it on Netflix.
8. What type of weather do you love the most?
Sunny with a slight breeze.

9. Do you have any children?
2 girls under the age of 5.


10. Do you have any jewelery that you wear every single day?
I have a silver cross that I rarely take off.
11. If you could save one sad situation in this world and give them a happy ending, which would it be? Families losing their homes.



Here are the questions for my nominees
1. What else would you blog about besides your current interest (e.g. polish, beauty, etc.)?
2. Where is the location of your dream vacation?
3. What is your favorite time of year?
4. Do you have any pets?
5. What is your favorite t.v. show?
6. What are you reading now?
7. What is your favorite color polish to wear?
8. When you very little, what kind of career did you want?
9. Are you a movie goer or do you prefer to rent instead?
10.Do you have any phobias?
11.Do you have a number limit as to how many bottles of polish you want to own or a cutoff limit to stop buying?



Here are my nominees in no particular order. I have under 11 because everyone else I wanted to give it too already had a Liebster Award or had over 200 followers.

http://lacquernirvana.blogspot.com
http://tipsandtopcoat.blogspot.com
http://polishcrazed.blogspot.com
http://perkynails.blogspot.com

OPI DS Couture

This is a polish that I like only for its holographic qualities.  The color itself is not flattering on me.  This is OPI DS Couture.  I was in the mood for a holo while I waited for my A-England holos to arrive. Ironically, my order came in the same day (excitement, joy).  

I did some stamping over and then the sunlight ran away so I couldn't catch the holo on camera.  I used BM-320 with OPI Paint my Moji-Toes Red to stamp.

Franken white with nail art

Today, I have the do over of my Friday Franken.  I finally had the time to try it again.  I used 3 coats of my grayish white and 1 coat of OPI Pirouette My Whistle.  I almost wanted to stop there because the delicate sparkles made it look so complete and fresh.  Bundle Monster plate BM-323 was used for all designs with Konad black and OPI Manicurist of Seville (for the roses).  I was really happy with the outcome this time.

Franken Friday and Layering

Happy Friday! Todays franken is a Sally Hansen French Tip stark white that I never use mixed with a bit of "Skull and Glossbones" from OPIs The Pirates of the Carribean.  I've had my eye on "My Boyfriend Scales Walls" from the OPI Amazing Spiderman collection for a time and just can't justify paying $8.50 for a color I will rarely use.  However, I needed this color as a base for a stamping idea I had.  The formula is definitely not I dupe, but I am satisfied with the shade result.  I needed 3 coats to even out streakiness.

The stamping idea I had in mind was an epic fail that is too awful to show you.  The more I added to it, the worse it became.  I needed to remove the entire thing and didn't have time to redo all the layers.

Of course, I can't leave you for the weekend with just one picture of an off white polish.  I had a layering mani idea lined up to do for my Tues post.  I decided to paint it on now and redo my stamping for Tues instead.  This is 3 colors layered. 

• Seche Vite base coat
• 2 coats OPI Siberian Nights
• 1 coat OPI Color To Watch
• 1 coat NYX Dreamy Glitter
• 1 coat Revlon Quick Dry Top coat

The result turned into a frosty blue that kind of resembles "Into The Night" from the Amazing Spiderman.  I was picturing a purple/blue duochrome effect that leaned more purple.  It has depth and looks spacey and magical.  Love it!  Next time though, I'll save myself the layering and just use Dreamy Glitter over Into the Night.

Here is the bottle shots.  The blue flash in Color to Watch became dominant over the dark purple Siberian Nights..

 



OPI DS Indulgence and Luxurious Press Release

Indulge in Luxurious Lacquers!

OPI Launches New Diamond Dust-Infused Designer Series Shades for Fall 2012

 OPI releases two new high-shine hues – DS Indulgence and DS Luxurious – to join the Designer Series by OPI collection this fall. Fusing fashion and technology, the Designer Series lacquer formula is enhanced with real diamond dust, offering light reflecting, multidimensional color.

DS Indulgence, a radiant red-violet with a shimmering, golden finish, will launch along with DS Luxurious, a captivating coral-red with a golden glisten. With these two additions, Designer Series by OPI will offer 12 glitter-filled, highly-saturated, breathtaking colors.

                               

                                                     

                                                    DS Luxurious

                                                

                                                 

                                                 DS Indulgence

          “Red nails are the epitome of glamour, and this fall OPI is adding two dazzling reds to the Designer Series line,” says Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, OPI Executive VP & Artistic Director. “With vivid color and intense shimmer and shine, these lacquers create a bold, high-fashion accessory statement. DS Indulgence provides a deeper, classic red look, while DS Luxurious incorporates rich auburn pigments.”

Designer Series by OPI nail lacquers contain no DBP, Toluene, or Formaldehyde, and each includes OPI’s exclusive ProWide^™ Brush for the ultimate in application. DS Indulgence and DS Luxurious will be available beginning September 2012 at Professional Salons, including Beauty Brands, Beauty First, Chatters, Dillard’s, JCPenney, Pure Beauty, Regis, Trade Secret, and ULTA, for $12.50 ($14.95 CAN) suggested retail for each Nail Lacquer. 

For more information, please call 800-341-9999 or visit www.opi.com.  Follow OPI on Twitter @OPI_PRODUCTS and become a Facebook fan!

ABOUT OPI

As the world leader in the professional nail care industry, OPI is committed to providing high-quality products and services to both salons and their customers, along with a focus on industry safety and innovation. Known for its exceptional formula, fashionable colors and iconic names, OPI’s heavily-pigmented lacquers are super rich, long-lasting and chip-resistant – offering an affordable luxury to consumers. OPI nail lacquer is available in over 200 shades and contains no DBP, Toluene, or Formaldehyde. Each lacquer features OPI’s exclusive ProWide^™ Brush for the ultimate in application. Currently, OPI is available in over 100 countries and retails a full line of professional items, including nail treatments, finishing products, lotions, manicure/pedicure products, files, tools, gels and acrylics.