Deborah Lippmann Harem Silks From Bombay

Let's kick things off with a little PSA: If you were expecting a Twinsie Tuesday post today, we've actually decided to go on a brief hiatus of the holidays, because we all know life gets kinda insane this time of year. But we're working on coming up with at least one "holiday special" for you all before we return to our regular schedule in January!

So with that bit of business out of the way, let's talk polish. The somewhat awkwardly named Deborah Lippmann Harem Silks From Bombay is boysenberry shade with what DL calls a "matteen" finish, which is very similar to a satin or suede.

Its intended finish is sort of a dud for me. I'm not a fan of near-blacks, plus this doesn't have as much of a sheen to it as the other Lippmann matteens I've tried, Pseudo Silk Kimono and Red Silk Boxers, so it just comes across kinda flat. But slap on some topcoat and you get a beautifully dark, edgy purple shimmer!

While it may not look as good without topcoat as the other two matteens I've worn, the darker color of Harem Silks does make it easier to apply. With the previous shades, I had to be careful of brushstrokes, but Harem Silks is so dark that visible brushstrokes are a non-issue. Overall, it has a very nice formula that reaches opacity in two coats.

Butter London Two Fingered Salute

Hey all! Sorry for my absence the last few days. This is a crazy time of year at my job, so it was tough to find the time and energy to devote to my nails. But I'm back with an extra awesome Butter London for you guys today!

With high-end polishes, sometimes it can take a bit of wavering and debating before I decide to pull the trigger on a sale. But when you've got a polish as unique and stunning as Two Fingered Salute, it's not up for discussion; I'm buying it. This weathered seafoam green with green microshimmer and copper flecks has got to be one of the best polishes BL has ever produced. I've never seen anything like it. It's got an heirloom, old world vibe to it that somehow still feels wonderfully cutting edge and contemporary. It's very boho-glam.

BL formulas can be a little hit or miss in my experience, but Two Fingered Salute is one of the good ones. It applies nice and smoothly. I used three coats here.

I've never seen Two Fingered Salute in an actual store, so I think it's an online-only color, but it's absolutely worth ordering! To my knowledge, there are no dupes of this shade, making it truly worth the splurge. This polish is something really special!

OPI Coca-Cola Red

I am a (somewhat recovering) Coca-Cola addict, so Coca-Cola-themed nail polish is an easy sell for me, especially one modeled after the iconic shade of Coca-Cola red. As easy as it is to get burnt out on red polish, there's something super sexy and powerful about having that perfect, killer red.

Sooooo gorgeous! This is an instant top-five of all-time red for me. It's got a flawless formula that covers in two coats and that shine is just redonk.

What's YOUR favorite red?

Twinsie Tuesday: Manicure Suggested By Your Significant Other

I'll tell you upfront that this is probably going to be one of the most random manicures I've ever done here on Nailed. That's because my boyfriend and I tend to feed each other's weird/trashy/dorky hobbies and perhaps the best example of that, dear readers, is our shared love of professional wrestling. I know, I know, it's really stupid and basically a soap opera, but I have fond memories of watching it with my dad growing up (his favorite wrestler was Stone Cold Steve Austin) and I can't help but love the shameless spectacle and over-the-top theatricality of it all. Just because it's not real doesn't mean it's not entertaining!

So when I told my boyfriend that this week's TT theme gave him free license to suggest whatever he wanted for my nails, the answer was pretty immediate: "Well, I'm going to have to come up with the right wrestler." I will give him credit in that he didn't just pick a wrestler at random or go with who he likes the most, but instead took some time to think about which wrestler's outfits and gimmicks might work well with nail art. He wound up choosing two of the most visually distinctive wrestlers of the WWE: the tag team of Goldust and Stardust.

There are lots of directions you could take this in--I mean, look at these guys--but I think the main reason my boyfriend chose Goldust and Stardust is because he wanted to see me attempt to incorporate Stardust's gloves into my nail art design. The gloves have an interlocking design that forms a star when Stardust puts his hands together, like so:

 

Naturally, this mani had to have gold and black as its primary colors, so I started with a base of OPI Rollin' In Cashmere, a yellow gold, and topped it off with OPI Comet In The Sky to bring in some black, plus its iridescent glitters add some sparkle to play off Gold and Stardust's whole cosmic vibe . Then I freehanded the interlocking star design onto my thumbs using Rimmel Black Satin.

It was super weird trying to figure out how to photograph this on my own, so hopefully you get the idea of the general effect...

So yep, wrestling nails. I gotta admit, it was a fun theme to play around with and I was surprised by just how many potential manicure ideas started to pop into my head once my boyfriend told me his selection. I can't wait to see what everyone else's significant others dreamed up for them this week. I think this is gonna be such a fun theme!

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Alaina at The Little Canvas

Amanda at Amandalandish

Amber at Nails Like Lace
Anna at Going to the Showing
Bridget at A Painted Nail

Casey at CaseyLane Loves Polish

Chelsea at Nailed Blog

ChiChi at I'm Just Me...ChiChi

Cordia at Seriously Swatched

Elizabeth at Did My Nails

Erin at Paint Those Piggies

Jessica at Blue Velvet Lacquer

Kelly at Tuxarina

Lakeisha at Refined and Polished

​Lisa at The Polish Playground

​Marisa at Polish Obsession

Róisín at Cuti-CLUE-les

Stephanie at A Little Polish

Tiffany at Polished To Precision​

Sally Hansen Stocking Nude

My boyfriend and I went to a comic con over the weekend, where I cosplayed as Daenerys Targaryen from A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones. (Sooo much fun!! This was our first con together and even though it was super crowded, we still had an awesome time. I could have just stood around and people-watched all day there.) So of course, my nails had to be part of the costume as well. Since the Khaleesi probably doesn't have access to nail polish while she's roaming deserts and conquering cities, I kept it really simple with a clean, crisp nude: Sally Hansen Stocking Nude.

This beauty was a part of last year's collaboration with Rodarte for the Complete Salon Manicure line. I fell in love with it after seeing swatches online, but I couldn't find it at any of my usual polish haunts. Thankfully I was able to snag it at retail pricing on Ebay!

The formula is lovely and only needs two coats for full opacity. The CSM brush has always been a little wife for my tastes, but damn if their formulas aren't some of the best in the business!

What are you up to this weekend? After our con, the bf and I got together with some friends for an early "Thanksgiving" meal and we all are waaaaayyyy too much food! So worth it though. :)

Naild'it Birthday Balloons

Whenever I don't like the color I have on my nails, my go-to solution is to cover it in glitter. Now, you might recall that a few Twinsie Tuesday's ago that I featured Deborah Lippmann Yellow Brick Road as my pick for least favorite polish. It's not only a wildly unflattering color on me, but it's also a total ass-ache to apply. Yaaaayyyy!

After all the effort it took to put it on, I felt like I may as well wear it as a full mani rather than just a swatch, so I tried to salvage it by slapping some glitter on top--namely, Naild'it Birthday Balloons, a matter glitterbomb with a rainbow of colored hexes. Really, I'm not sure anything could save Yellow Brick Road--it looks pretty friggin' gross on me--but Birthday Balloons certainly brightens and pretties it up a bit.

Birthday Balloons was a limited edition from way back, so unfortunately this is one indie polish that's been lost to the ages. But Naild'it is still up and running, so if you dig Birthday Balloons, give their website a look! 

OPI Fifty Shades Of Grey Preview

Ugh, OPI. Just ugh... So yeah, this is apparently going to be a thing. *sigh* Let's just get through this. I think the whole Fifty Shades of Grey phenomenon is really silly, but hey, I'm sure I like plenty of stuff that other people think is dumb, so if it's your thing, more power to you.

L to R: My Silk Tie, Shine For Me, Cement The Deal

 

L to R: Romantically Involved, Dark Side Of The Mood, Embrace The Grey

 

While I won't be jumping on the Fifty Shades bandwagon anytime soonl, I will say that there seem to be some pretty greys here and it is nice of OPI to offer the whole collection in a minis set.

The Fifty Shades of Grey Collection officially launches on January 1, 2015. Will you be buying anything from the collection? Any plans to see the movie?