Twinsie Tuesday: 3D Manicure

Sorry for the late Twinsie Tuesday post this week, everyone. I've been battling the virus from hell the past several days so I'm behind on everything in my schedule that isn't sleeping and popping meds.

But I've risen from the (near) grave to give this week's theme a go: 3D mani! I went with a simple idea but I think it turned out really cute. I started with this chameleon pencil topper, like the kind you get in the cheapo candy machines at the grocery store:

 

I love how the wonky painting on his one eye makes it look like he's totally judging you.

 

Next I went with a color I thought would be fairly close to the chameleon: OPI Red Lights Ahead...Where? Then I just plopped the little guy on top of the wet polish on my thumb, almost like he was trying to use it as camouflage!

 

 

Please pardon the lack of clean-up. It's not exactly the most practical mani, so I only wore it for a few minutes. The chameleon isn't an exact match for the polish, but I think the idea still comes across.

 

Ready for more 3D mani fun (which may or may not feature judgmental chameleons)? Check out the other TT blogs below!



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

MAC Bad Fairy

Have you ever had a lemming for so long that you A) can't remember when you first started wanting it and B) pretty much give up all hope of ever owning it without paying an arm and leg for it? Well, that was the story of me and MAC Bad Fairy. Luckily I had a polish angel, my friend Sam, who cut me a great deal since she was looking for a new home for her bottle! Thank you, Sam!!

If you, unlike me, have not stared lustily at swatches of Bad Fairy before, then allow me to introduce you: Bad Fairy is a shimmering metallic red with gold duochrome. It originally came out as part of MAC's Disney Villians Collection but nowadays, more or less the only place you can find this legendarily HTF polish is to throw yourselves to the wolves and pay a jacked up price for it on Ebay. I own a ton of MAC make-up but this is actually my first MAC polish ever! Not bad for a first try, am I right? ;)

The gold duochrome is soooo gorgeous! I love how prominent it is and I could watch it flash and change in the light all day. I used three coats for this mani and had no problems with application. Longevity, however, left a bit to be desired. I had chipping and visible tip wear within 24 hours. I did some touch-up though and wore this mani for three days total, because it's so gorgeous!

I'm surprised this isn't one of those polishes like Chanel Peridot where every brand seems to have its own version of it or that MAC hasn't brought it back. There's certainly a collector's market for it. But if you can get your hands on Bad Fairy without paying an arm and a leg for it, do it! It truly is a stunning polish and I can definitely see why there is so much hype surrounding it.

China Glaze Cirque Du Soleil Worlds Away Preview

China Glaze will be teaming up with Cirque Du Soleil this holiday season to release a collection of 12 new polishes inspired by Cirque Du Soleil's upcoming movie, "Worlds Away." These beauties will be launching in December and I gotta say, it looks like a really awesome collection!

It's A Trap-eze!

Whirled Away

Get Carried Away

Escaping Reality

Surreal Appeal

Def Defying

Running in Circles

Hanging in the Balance

Water You Waiting For

Creative Fantasy

Bend Over Backwards

Igniting the Love

Obviously I am loving the glitters but the rest look promising as well! I think it's going to be a solid collection overall--sparkly and bright, just how I like it! See any that have made your wishlist?

OPI Die Another Day

Prepare to be shocked: I wore the same red polish for four days. For someone who paints their nails as often as I do, it's rare for me to wear any polish that long and unheard of for me to wear a red that long. We may as well be filing a joint tax return now. (Yeah, tax humor--I went there. So edgy.) But OPI Die Another Day is not just any red. Okay, maybe it's not the most unique polish in the world, but I still fell hard for it. This is easily my favorite red in recent memory. It just glows so brightly and beautifully!

I took these shots on day four of this mani, hence some of the little dings and scratches, but aside from those and one tiny chip on my other hand, Die Another Day held up remarkably well. The formula is excellent and covers in two coats.

You red collectors out there likely have something very similar to Die Another Day already, but for someone like me who is super choosy or apathetic about reds, it would make a brilliant addition!

November 8 for No H8 Manicure

Bullying is not funny. It is not cool. It is not right. And more importantly, it is not okay. 

 

Most of us are thankfully residents of countries that support tolerance and many of our families have settled in these places simply for that reason. Generations later, it is our responsibility to perpetuate that message of tolerance across our new social platforms, including the internet.

 

As members of the nail polish community, we all share a love of beauty, color, and lacquer. Other than that, we are remarkably different: from our race to our religion to our hair color and even to our polish application techniques. To look down on anyone because of those differences is completely unacceptable and today I take a stand against that. I refuse to allow other people's view of "normal" dictate how I behave, believe, and blog. 

 

In solidarity with a multitude of bloggers linked below, my purple manicure represents my proud commitment to the No H8 movement. Today, November 8, I dedicate my post to ending bullying of any kind and to encouraging diversity and imperfection among our colorful community.

 

For my purple No H8 manicure today, I went with China Glaze Urban Night. I received this polish in a swap with Tara from Polishy of Truth. I thought it was fitting to choose a polish gifted to me by a friend and fellow blogger for today. I am so fortunate to have met so many amazing ladies through blogging and they are a testament to what a wonderful community we have going in the nail polish world.

 

Nicole by OPI CVS Exclusives Preview

Nicole by OPI will be unleashing seven new CVS-exclusive shades this month. According to NOPI, the theme of the collection is "new neutrals." Let's take a look!

I Sea You and Raise You

Always A Silver Lining

Don't Overpink It

Feeling Grapeful

A Pinker Shade of Pale

Personally Speaking...

Marooned In Paradise

 

I don't really see anything here that excites me; it's just not my taste. I guess that's good news for me though because we don't have a lot of CVS stores around here, so I won't be trekking around town searching for these! Will you be on the hunt for any of these polishes this month?



Twinsie Tuesday: Canadian's Choice

Did you know two of our wonderful Twinsies are Canadian? Yes, Ash and Anne rep the Great White North in our little group and we honored them with this week's theme: Canadian's Choice! For this challenge, we were randomly divided up into two groups--Team Ash and Team Anne--and given a top secret theme from our fabulous Canuck leader. I was on Team Anne, where our theme was to do a mani inspired by Canada's famous woodlands!

You know that nail art and I don't exactly go together, but I tried to push myself for this one. My apologies in advance to the nation of Canada. Here's the end result:

It ain't art, but I really did my best! It could have been worse. On my thumb, I did a maple leaf (vaguely) like the one on the Canadian flag. My pointer finger has some little fish on it to represent rivers. My favorite nail has got to be my middle finger (probably because I didn't attempt any wonky nail art for it) where I used Rainbow Honey Sakura Matsuri to mimic the look of a meadow.

My ring finger has a little pawprint on it to represent all the woodland critters. Unfortunately the black bled when I was doing the toes of the pawprint, so the end result was a bit wonky. But it's still worlds better than the design I originally drew on my ring finger: a beaver that looked like the spawn of Satan. It was super busted-looking, so I took it off and put the pawprint in its place.

Then for my pinky nail, I used Butter London Scuppered because it looked autumnal and kind of "woodsy" to me. This is such a gorgeous polish and I am dying to wear it as a full mani!

So that's my Canadian woodlands mani. We have many much more talented nail artists than myself in TT, so be sure to check out the rest of Team Anne's take on the woodlands and find out what Team Ash was up to!

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