New Ways To Follow Nailed! Also, Corgis.

Just a quick update today to let you know that Nailed now has its very own Facebook page! I figured now that Google Reader is going bye-bye, the time is right for me to try and give you more ways to follow Nailed. Click HERE to check out Nailed on Facebook! There's not much going on with the page at the moment, seeing as it's only a few hours old, but I'm hoping to keep it updated with photos and links to all my latest blog posts!

You can also follow Nailed on Bloglovin'. Bloglovin' is a great resource for all us soon-to-be-former Google Reader users, because it lets you import your blog list right into Bloglovin'. 

Or, if e-mail's more your style, you always have the option of subscribing to Nailed via e-mail by scrolling to the "Follow By Email" box (right above the "Popular Posts" tab) in the righthand column on your screen. That way, you'll get all your daily swatching goodness right in your inbox!

Okay, okay, enough with all the shameless plugging. As promised, here is a picture of my Corgis for your trouble. :) Taxi, the brains of the operation, is up top, and Natalie, diva extraordinaire, is in front!

Twinsie Tuesday: Fishtail Mani

I have been dreading this week's TT theme: a fishtail mani. But one of the goals of TT is to push ourselves out of our comfort zones and try things we normally would never attempt, so I checked out some tutorials and gave it a go. I always thought fishtail manis looked difficult and well, they are--at least for me! It took me a couple attempts to create something I would even dare to photograph! Here is the relative "best" of my fishtail manis.

For my base, I used Color Club Evolution (sent for review, with a full review coming soon) then I used Sally Hansen Celeb City and Pixi Very Violet for my braided stripes. I opted for brands that have thinner brushes, thinking that would make it easier for me to do my striping, but honestly I still had a hard time with this mani.

So there you have it. It's not the greatest, but I tried. I just don't think my hands are steady enough to freehand straight lines and--maybe this is me having a blonde moment--knowing where to alternate which color stripe was kind of confusing as I went along. Oh well, better luck next week!

In other news, if you check out the list of TT girls, you'll see there have been a lot of changes! We have three new members--Kelly, Lakeisha and Traci--so be sure to stop by their blogs and see what our newest ladies are up to his week!

Amanda at Amandalandish

Anna at Going to the Showing

Anne at Grape Fizz Nails

Brandi at The Beaulieu Review

Chelsea at Nailed Blog

ChiChi at I'm Just Me...ChiChi

Cordia at Seriously Swatched

Elizabeth at Did My Nails

Jamie at Polish, Please!

Katherine at Haul of Fame

Kelly at Tuxarina

Lakeisha at Refined and Polished

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

Traci at DrinkCitra

Review: Nail Pattern Boldness Glitter A-Peel

Got a stash full of glitter polish? Can never have enough sparkle? Then you need to check out Nail Pattern Boldness' new peel-off basecoat called Glitter A-Peel! Glitter fiend that I am, I had to give it a try! I purchased a bottle of Glitter A-Peel from Nail Pattern Boldness' Etsy shop and have been using it virtually non-stop since it arrived! This, ladies, is some good stuff. If you have always wanted to rock glitter non-stop without having to worry about when it comes time to take it off, I think Glitter A-Peel may just become your new best friend!

As you can see, Glitter A-Peel is not a glue basecoat. It looks and applies just like regular basecoat. The texture is a bit thicker than most normal basecoats, but it's still very easy to work with and dries super quickly. I use one coat, wait a few seconds for everything to dry and then I am good to go. Glitter A-Peel creates a smooth, even surface that makes polish application a breeze. There are no bumps or residue whatsoever. My polish goes on the same as if I were using a normal basecoat.

Compared to glue basecoat, I'd say Glitter A-Peel is more durable and I also find it easier to work with--both in application of the product itself and applying polish over it. There's no waiting around for it to dry or worrying about any lumps or ridges where the basecoat pooled like there is with glue. With Glitter A-Peel I can be as rough on my hands as I want without having to really worry about accidental peeling. I only had one instance where some of my polish popped off before I was ready to take it off--and trust me, I did not baby my hands one bit! I went through long work days, prying things open with my hands, cleaning, etc. Some polishes seemed a bit more prone to chipping with this basecoat, but otherwise I was extremely pleased with how durable my manis were with this basecoat. The only advantage glue basecoat has over Glitter A-Peel is the price, but I feel like Glitter A-Peel performs and applies better, so it's worth the extra price. (A 0.5 oz. bottle sells for $8.)

Removal is a sinch. I wriggle an orange stick under one of the edges and then the polish comes off nice and smoothly. It's oddly satisfying. Polish usually came off in big pieces--oftentimes all in one piece--so there's no picking and scraping to try and pry off remaining bits of polish. It doesn't leave any type of film or stickiness behind on your nails either. Here's a quick snap of my Darling Diva Bitches Have Birthdays mani--post-removal, of course!

The only thing I am not 100% on board with about Glitter A-Peel is the smell. This is not a three-free basecoat; it contains Toluene, which has a distinct odor to it, kind of like rubber cement. But as I mentioned, Glitter A-Peel dries quickly and the smell vanishes as soon as it dries, so you don't really have to deal with the smell for long. It's more of an observation than a complaint. Glitter A-Peel works so wonderfully that I don't mind if it smells!

I suppose you could technically use this basecoat with non-glitter polishes as well if you don't want to go through the process of regular removal or maybe just want to give your nails a break from all that acetone. I've been using only Glitter A-Peel for over a week straight now and my nails seem to be appreciating their acetone-free holiday. :) There has been no damage to my nails whatsoever and if anything, they look and feel less dry.

Overall, this is an amazing product and an absolute godsend if you love glitter but hate the hassle of removal. I highly recommend Glitter A-Peel and I hope Nail Pattern Boldness keeps making it for a long time to come, because I would be a customer for life! In fact, I've already ordered a back-up bottle so I'm never without this stuff!

Candeo Colors Jelly Bean

A pastel yellow base with baby blue and pink glitters and small square glitters in pops of gold and green, Candeo Colors Jelly Bean is a perfect polish for spring. This was my first foray into the Candeo Colors brand and I really fell in love with it. Jelly Bean reminds me of those malted milk egg candies you see around Easter time and it's so cute with its fresh pastel color palette.

Jelly Bean is as sweet as its candy namesake. It's such a cheerful shade of yellow that it's hard not to smile when you look at it. The yellow base color can be a touch streaky in places, so while you can wear it alone, I think Jelly Bean would do best layered. I think something like China Glaze Lemon Fizz would make a great match. Other than a few streaky areas, the formula is very solid. The glitters distribute nice and evenly across the nail. I used three coats here.

You can purchase Candeo Colors from Llarowe or the brand's website.

Pahlish Blood Red Jam

Another Lana Del Rey-inspired polish from Pahlish equals another eager purchase from me. I really am powerless when something involves two of my favorite things: indie polish and Lana! Blood Red Jam is a deep red jelly base filled with sparkling red flakes and iridescent purple/orange sparks. It's a dark, sensual red that perfectly captures the brooding femme fatale side of the singer's persona--and heck, it's just pretty to look at!

The formula is stellar and covers in two coats. I highly encouirage clicking to enlarge these pics, because there's more going on in Blood Red Jam than might first meet the eye! It's packed with red flakes and those fun pops of purple and orange that really make this polish come alive, especially in the sunlight. It's a deep, classic red with a modern, sparkly twist!

You can purchase Pahlish from Llarowe and Etsy

Ruby Wing Sunflower

Ruby Wing Sunflower is a color-changing gold glitter from the brand's spring collection. Ruby Wing polishes change color when exposed to sunlight. Indoors, Sunflower is a sparkling gold. It's opaque enough to be worn alone but could also be layered if desired. I used three coats of Sunflower alone here.

Outdoors, Sunflower changes to a more yellow-based, warm-toned shade of gold. The color shift is more subtle than that of its collection mate, Poppy, but it's still noticeable.

I didn't really notice much of a scent with this polish like I did with Poppy, which was a bit of a plus in my book since Poppy's scent was sometimes a bit too much for me. Admittedly I am not a huge fan of scented polish though.

I have to confess that I was pretty indifferent towards this in the bottle, but once it was on, I really liked it. It has this almost gilded look to it that's very rich and ornate. Sunflower definitely wouldn't be out of place on a fancy night out but it's a perfect fun, summer-y polish too.

You can purchase Ruby Wing at the brand's official website.

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

Darling Diva Bitches Have Birthdays

If you could somehow take a cupcake and put it into nail polish form, I'm pretty sure the end result would be Darling Diva Bitches Have Birthdays. This polish is like a love letter to everything cute and girly: there are pink and white heart glitters, silver holo butterflies, various shapes and sizes of teal, magenta and silver glitter...and of course, the pink jelly base. No girly polish would be complete without a healthy dose of pink! Bitches Have Birthdays is a great mix of fun and traditionally feminine elements. It really does remind me of an adorable little birthday cupcake, covered in pink frosting and rainbow sprinkles!

I love how there's so much going on in the base of this polish with all the different colors of glitter, but to me, the real show-stopper is the addition of the larger glitter pieces. There are a lot of them in this polish, especially the butterflies, so you do have to be a bit mindful of where you place them, otherwise you can wind up with way too many big glitter pieces on a single nail. Other than that little quibble though, the formula is great and delivers complete opacity in three coats. There's a lot of different elements to Bitches Have Birthdays, but they all work together beautifully to create a polish full of sugar, spice and everything nice. (I was an enormous Powerpuff Girls fan as a kid, what can I say.)

You can purchase Darling Diva at Etsy and Llarowe. In addition to making gorgeous polishes, the owner of Darling Diva, Carrie, delivers amazing customer service and I can't recommend her and her polishes highly enough!