Barry M - Berry Ice Cream

Today I wanted to share with you Barry M Berry Ice Cream, a lovely dreamy pale purple-pink creme. This is exactly the sort of colour I have an endless appetite for. I adore any kind of lilac/lavender polish- it always looks clean, flattering, and effortless to me. Right now I'm wearing this as a pedicure colour, and while it's more muted than most pedicure shades, I like it very much. This was two easy coats of Barry M Berry Ice Cream (get ready for a tonne of photos- I couldn't resist posting so many, it's just too pretty!):

What do you think of Berry Ice Cream? Is it the kind of shade that appeals to you as much as it does to me? 

I ordered Barry M Berry Ice Cream through Harlow and Co., a Canadian based website which I highly recommend- they offer reasonable (and speedy) shipping. 

Caviar Nails!

Lately I've been captivated by the "caviar" manicure, and couldn't resist picking up a few coloured microbeads at a craft store to try it out myself.

I decided to use Nicole by OPI It's All About The Glam, a pretty and soft white that has lovely shimmer in it to keep it from looking too stark. Then I added translucent soap-bubble-esque microbeads to my ring finger to make a caviar accent nail. This was the result:

I'm really happy with how my first caviar manicure experience turned out; I think having the beads on all my fingers might have been overkill, at least for my taste, but I'm really happy with this as an accent nail. It also felt surprisingly comfortable to wear! I used a top coat over it, and that helped to keep everything in place.

A friend of mine also came over to experiment with the microbeads, and this was her manicure: Chanel Black Pearl with silver microbeads as an accent.

What do you think of our caviar manicures? Have you tried this look before?

In keeping with the caviar/fishegg manicure theme, we went to see the documentary "Jiro: Dreams of Sushi" that evening. I highly recommend it, especially if you like sushi! I'll leave you with the trailer for the movie:

Dollish Polish Heart of Glass (over Sally Hansen Violet Voltage)

Today I have a fun combination to share with you! This post with showcase Dollish Polish Heart of Glass, layered over Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Violet Voltage. I decided that my brand new Walkman Domo might be a good companion for Heart of Glass, seeing as how he's clearly a music fan. I'm a Blondie fan, myself, and in fact I distinctly remember my mom buying me my first ever CD, which was a Blondie compilation disc. I was mesmerized by the song "Heart of Glass". 

We'll get to Dollish Polish Heart of Glass in a moment; in the meantime, this is what I chose to layer it over. Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Violet Voltage is a lovely light purple, with pretty shimmer running through it. I think this is new for spring 2012. The formula on this is lovely, and this was two coats of Violet Voltage:

Dollish Polish Heart of Glass is a holographic topcoat, which contains a whole bunch of Spectra Flair for a linear holo effect, in addition to larger jagged holographic shards and holographic bar glitter. The jagged, irregular holographic shards made me think of bits of a compact disc if it was shattered. A fitting connection to make, perhaps?

This is one coat of Heart of Glass over Violet Voltage:

The following pictures in direct sunlight best show Heart of Glass in all its holographic glory:

What did you think of Dollish Polish Heart of Glass? Does it bring back fond musical memories for you?

I purchased my bottle of Heart of Glass through Dollish Polish's Etsy shop, but she has since relocated to a new website; you can now find her here.

And because this post wouldn't be complete without Blondie singing "Heart of Glass", here you go! 

Just a reminder about my upcoming Lynnderella Connect the Dots giveaway: If you're interested in entering to win a bottle of Connect the Dots, click here for details on how to enter! 

Nails Inc Mirror Metallic Nail Polish in Cheyne Walk and Stratford

When I saw these new Nails Inc Mirror Metallic polishes pop up on the Sephora website, I caved to the temptation to see what they were like. At the time I ordered them I couldn't find anything online about them, so I took the plunge and ordered both Cheyne Walk (multichrome purple metallic) and Stratford (multichrome champagne metallic). Pretty much anything with "mirror" or "metallic" in the description will get me every time.

These are what they look like in the bottle:

Cheyne Walk is a purple metallic that shows flashes of a somewhat murky olive colour. The combination is interesting, but the colour shift is not as pronounced as in Stratford. 

This is probably the closest these polishes get to a "mirror" effect, but I personally classify them as a metallic. When I think of a true mirror effect I always envision the gold and silver Minx manicures. Sadly, this isn't an effect achievable through nail polish yet (or else I strongly suspect I would wear nothing else).

The colour shift in Cheyne Walk is most accurately captured in these last two pictures.

Stratford is a light champagne gold metallic with strong flashes of peach, yellow, pink, and at times, pale green. Out of the two, it's my favourite; the multichrome shift seems stronger in this than in Cheyne Walk, which I like. 

In direct light (as seen above), some very minor brushstrokes might become evident, but I definitely don't classify this as a brushstroke-prone polish. Overall I quite like the finish.

Stratford really looks fascinating in certain lights and at certain angles; in the picture above you can really see the range of colour in this lacquer.

These last two pictures are truest to how Stratford looks the majority of the time: a smooth shiny pale gold, with touches of yellow and peach.

Overall I'm happy I ordered these. I'm a huge fan of any chrome, metallic, or duochrome finish on a polish, so these made me quite happy. I also suspect that these might be somewhat close to the Deborah Lippmann Mirrored Chrome Nail Lacquer collection that recently came out. In particular Stratford seems kind of similar to "Sugar Daddy" from that release. I don't have them to compare, though- I'm just going by some of the swatches I've seen online. Does anyone have an opinion on possible similarities between these? 

What do you think of Nails Inc Mirror Metallic Cheyne Walk and Stratford? Which one is your favourite? 

Claire's Magnetix - the best magnetic polish I've ever tried!

I'm really loving the magnetic polish trend; I think the pattern created usually looks interesting, and frankly, the whole concept is just cool. They can be a bit hit and miss, though: the Nails Inc design is great, and very user-friendly, while on the other hand, China Glaze kind of missed the mark with their magnetic polishes (awkward to use, hard to get a clear design).

Unfortunately, magnetic polishes are often a good deal more expensive than regular lacquer. That's why I'm thrilled that my new favourite magnetic lacquer is also the cheapest I've ever come across! Claire's Magnetix line costs about half the price of a Nails Inc or Layla magnetic polish, and applies as well or even better.

Have a look at the green polish from Claire's Magnetix line:

Sadly, this colour doesn't have a specific colour name assigned to it; I guess I'll just have to call it "awesome". Because it is, isn't it? Great application, easy to use design, vivid colour, crisp magnetic pattern. All in an affordable polish! I'm a happy, happy lacquer tracker.

If you like magnetic polish, or want to try it for the first time, this is the one to pick up. Now all you have to do is muster up the courage to actually go INTO Claire's... I know I always feel utterly conspicuous going in there to peruse cosmetics along with all the pre-teens. Luckily, this is well within the boundaries of "things I will do for pretty nail lacquer".

What do you think of Claire's Magnetix green?

Dollish Polish Travelin' the Nile

I decided to add some sparkle to my Sally Hansen Aquamarine Chrome manicure, so I layered Dollish Polish "Travelin' the Nile" overtop. Travelin' the Nile is a nice mixture of vibrant, shiny, blue glitter; it varies in size and shape, which makes for a cool effect. It also has some holographic glitter in it, so in the light it really sparkles.

Because I can never take nice pictures of my nails when I'm trying to hold onto a mini bottle, this time you get a substitute prop for nail pictures- tropical flower Domo will be standing in for the mini bottle on this one!

 He looks so excited, doesn't he?

I originally envisioned this over a darker blue/purple creme (maybe something like Essie No More Film), but I think the chrome base is actually kind of interesting. What do you think?

This reminds me of water droplets!

I wore this combination to see B.B. King play one evening a short while ago; it was a really great show to see. At the age of 86 (amazing, right?!) his voice might not be as strong as it once was, but he's still got it. Here's a video you might enjoy (this is from '93, I think). Enjoy!

Sally Hansen Aquamarine Chrome

Like my previous post about Sally Hansen Tourmaline Chrome, this is another blast from the past: Aquamarine Chrome.

This is a lacquer I distinctly remember owning, and loving, nearly 15 years ago. As I lamented before, I wish I had held onto all my Chrome polishes! Nonetheless, after a trip to ebay, I now have several lovely Sally Hansen Chrome polishes to share with you. This is Sally Hansen Aquamarine Chrome, a deep metallic chrome blue (2 coats):

See how reflective it looks in this next picture?

While this has a somewhat similar finish to Models Own Dream Stream, it isn't quite as intense and vividly blue. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing- to me, this looks more chrome-like. It also doesn't stain like Models Own Dream Stream (word of warning- my nails are STILL hugely stained from Dream Stream, even after several changes of polish. Better double, or triple up on base coat!).

If you're looking for Sally Hansen Chrome polishes, this is the ebay listing through which I purchased mine (not affiliated), and I have no complaints about the service I received- everything arrived safely and in a reasonable time frame.

What do you think of Sally Hansen Aquamarine Chrome? Was this one in your stash years ago?

Interested in winning Lynnderella Connect the Dots? Check out my Connect the Dots giveaway!