Twinsie Tuesday: Triple Layering Experiment

This week's Twinsie Tuesday theme comes courtesy of our very own Cordia! Cordia came up with the idea of a "triple layering experiment." Essentially what you do is you layer three random polishes together any way you like, so long as it's not a jelly sandwich. The idea is to let your imagination run wild and see what you come up with--for better or for worse!

For this theme, I pretty much just went with whatever popped into my head. I have the windmill display for the OPI Holland Collection sitting atop my stash drawers and OPI Did You 'Ear About Van Gogh? caught my eye. So I decided to use it as my base, since it seemed like starting with a nice neutral would be a good idea in preparation for whatever craziness was going to wind up on top.

I knew I wanted to add some sparkle to this mani and the idea of a metallic glitter jumped out at me. I was rummaging through my stash and came across China Glaze Blonde Bombshell, a gold glitterbomb. So on it went!

 

I really loved this combo so far and I was kind of afraid to mess it up with another layer. But I've always liked gold and purple together (very regal, I suppose) so I thought I'd add some purple to this mani. The first purple glitter I saw in my stash was a polish from the very same collection as Blonde Bombshell: China Glaze Marry A Millionaire! I wasn't sure if Marry A Millionaire would make my mani super fug or weirdly cohesive, but in the spirit of this challenge, I slapped it on top as my third layer.

 

 

Y'know, I actually think it kinda works. It's very glitzy and the neutral base lets the colors really pop. I certainly could have come up with worse combinations! I've never really experimented with layerings before (I generally like to have a set combo in mind if I'm doing a layered mani) but this was really fun and I'm surprised I came up with something that looks pretty cool!

 



I'm extremely curious to see where my fellow Twinsies took this challenge today...

 

Amanda at Amandalandish
Anna at Going to the Showing
Anne at Grape Fizz Nails
Ashley at Art Evolve
Brandi at The Collegiate Nail
ChiChi at I'm Just Me...ChiChi
Cordia at Seriously Swatched
Elizabeth at Did My Nails
Jenn at All That Is Gorgeous
Jenna at I'm Still Thinking...
Katherine at Haul of Fame
Maribeth at Obsessive Cosmetic Hoarders Unite!
Marisa at Polish Obsession
Meredith at Polish and Charms
Nory at Fierce Makeup and Nails
Rachel at Top Coat It
Sarah at See Sarah Swatch
Tara at Polishy of Truth

Zoya Shelby

Hopefully your morning is off to a better start than mine today. I feel super sick but have to muster up the energy to go to work. Ugh... How about some polish as a nice distraction? I've got Zoya Shelby for you today. Shelby is a bright, blue-based pink creme. I am drawn to this type of pink, especially for lip colors and blushes, but I didn't really have anything close to it in my polish stash.

I really like this color. Unfortunately I can't remember if this was two or three coats. :-/ I will tell you thought that it dries noticeably darker than how it appears in the bottle and even with basecoat, it stained my nails pretty badly. I don't think I've ever had a pink polish stain my nails before, so I was really surprised, but I guess there's a first time for everything. You'll definitely want to double up on your basecoat for this one!

Staining aside, it's a fun polish--nice and bright! It makes me miss summer already! The weather has been garbage here lately. I think I may pop this on my toes for my next pedi. She's not your average pink--an eye-catcher for sure!

LynBDesigns Five Orange Pips

Have you ever watched the BBC series Sherlock? I haven't, but my boyfriend is a huge fan. I do, however, have a lovely Sherlock-inspired polish to share with you today: LynBDesigns Five Orange Pips! You can purchase LynBDesigns on Jenna's Etsy shop, where she has an entire Sherlock-themed collection. Five Orange Pips is a shimmering orange base with orange hex and heart glitter.

What you see here is three coats of Five Orange Pips all on its own. This polish applies well but I did have to fish a bit for the heart glitters. Unfortunately though, I had a much bigger issue with Five Orange Pips: it stained my nails to holy hell.  My nails were orange for at least a week--like, Snooki orange. It was not cute. Only after a good soak in some lemon juice, then another soak in a water/hydrogen peroxide mix, then two more soaks in a hydrogen peroxide/baking soda paste were my nails starting to return to normal. It was an ordeal, to say the least. I know, I know, first-world problems.

I've always felt my nails are more prone to staining than most and I did wear a glue basecoat with this instead of my normal Seche basecoat, so those could be contributing factors. Obviously your mileage may vary with this polish and I think it's perfect for fall. It makes me think of cider and crispy leaves. But unfortunately I can't see myself wearing it again after the epic staining it left behind.

Nicole by OPI Kardashian Kolors Holiday 2012 Preview

The Kardashian Kolors are back for yet another installment and the names are just as vomit-in-your-mouth terrible as ever. Oh Kardashian Kolors, never change... I'm sure I'm not the only one that not-so-secretly likes these Kardashian sets!

Kardashing Through The Snow

A Gold Winter's Night

All Is Glam, All Is Bright

Deck The Dolls

Here We Kome A-Karoling

Keeping Up With Santa

 

So typing "Here We Kome A-Karoling" made my head want to explode. Also I have to say, I saw this collection at the store earlier this week and nothing really jumped out at me. I am considering picking up Kardashing Through The Snow though... I'm a sucker for sparklies and if nothing else, the Kardashian Kolors always bring the glam.

 

Are you a fan of the Kardashian Kolors?

Rainbow Honey Kitsune

I have the last of Rainbow Honey's new polishes to share with you today and in my opinion, I've saved the best for last: Kitsune! Kitsune is a khaki base (think like China Glaze Classic Camel) with rich gold shimmer, plus red holo, orange and brown glitter. It's definitely one of the most unique polishes I've worn in recent memory. I really, really love this one!

The formula on Kitsune applies very easily and is opaque in two coats. The base is jam packed with glitter but still goes on super smoothly. Unfortunately it rained all day here so I didn't have the benefit of direct sunlight, but hopefully these pictures give you an idea of how amazing the gold shimmer in Kitsune really is. Throw in all that extra glitter on top and you have one awesome polish! Are we all that surprised that my favorite of the Yokai polishes also happens to be the most sparkly of the bunch?

I also want to mention that I love the inspiration behind this collection. Each polish is named for a different Japanese spirit. Kitsune is Japanese for fox and in Japanese folklore, Kitsune have multiple tails--up to nine--to signify their power and wisdom. If you're a child of the 90s like myself, chances are you may already be familiar with Kitsune without even realizing it!

Ninetails from Pokemon, anyone?

If you missed any of the Yokai polishes, you can check out Kawako HERE and Oni HERE. All three polishes will be available for purchase at Rainbow Honey's official website on October 13. They're limited edition so if you like any of them, be sure to make your move before they're gone!


Disclosure: This polish was sent to me for my honest review. For more information, please see my disclosure policy.

Rainbow Honey Oni

I am extremely particular about brown polishes. Don't ask me why, but I am. Brown isn't one of those colors like green or blue where I'll hoard half a dozen polishes with virtually imperceptible differences between them. So when I find a brown that I not only like, but love, it's safe to say it's pretty darn awesome. Without further ado then, meet Rainbow Honey Oni from the new Yakoi Collection! Oni is a deep chocolate brown with gold and purple shimmer.

 

I absolutely love that this has purple shimmer in it. It gives Oni a ton of dimension and to me, it's what makes this polish so stunning. Oni applies flawlessly and covers in two coats. If you're into browns (or hey, even if you're not--take me, for instance), Oni is one worth checking out!

 

The Yakoi Collection was a bit of a surprise for me since Rainbow Honey is mostly known for glitter, but so far I'm happy to say this collection is absolutely up to par with their previous polishes. It's super sparkly, uniquely inspired and a little unexpected--very much in keeping with the Rainbow Honey brand! You can purchase the Yakoi Collection from Rainbow Honey's official website starting October 13. I can't wait to show you the last Yakoi polish tomorrow... It's my very favorite of the three!

 

 

Disclosure: This polish was sent to me for my honest review. For more information, please see my disclosure policy.

Rainbow Honey Kawako

I'm extremely excited for today's post because I have an amazing sneak peek of Rainbow Honey's upcoming Yokai Collection! There are three polishes in the collection, all of which I'll be sharing with you this week! First up, let's take a look at Kawako. Kawako is a midnight blue shimmer filled with silver and blue glitter pieces, plus some larger purple-y iridescent flakies scattered throughout. In my experience, the flakies are pretty elusive and you can only see them when they catch the light at certain angles, but they give Kawako a little unexpected extra something.

The bigger flakies slide around a bit during application and you have to guide them away from the tips, but that's par for the course when you're dealing with flakies. Overall, Kawako applies beautifully and covers in two coats.

Kawako really grew on me. I liked it when I first put it on, but absolutely loved it by the time I took it off nearly three days later. I think there's something very elegant about this polish. They're not dupes , but if you've been lusting after Essie Starry Starry Night, I think Kawako would make a gorgeous (and much more affordable) alternative. I kinda get the same vibe from Kawako. The Yokai Collection is limited edition and will be available on Rainbow Honey's official website starting October 13!


Disclosure: This polish was provided to me for my honest review. For more information, please see my disclosure policy.