NYC Matte Me Crazy Top Coat

 I finally found the NYC Matte Me Crazy top coat in stock at our store a few days ago. They have had the display for a while now but never bothered to put anything in it until last week. I've been stalking it just waiting for them to put this out and I was lucky enough to get a bottle before they were all gone.
 Matte Me Crazy is just what it sounds like, a matte top coat. It does dry completely matte and it doesn't make your base polish look hazy like you think it might by the look in the bottle. The only issue I had was it takes a bit, about fifteen minutes, for it to completely dry and see the matte finish. Picture is one coat of Matte Me Crazy over Wet N Wild Black Creme.

Sally Hansen Loves Me Not

 Hi guys! Happy Memorial Day! I had a few great finds over the weekend, what about you?
 First up today I have Loves Me Not, from the new Complete Salon Manicure collection, I couldn't wait to try this one out. It is a very dark, almost black, base with purple shimmer that at the right angle goes from blue to pink. I could see gold in the bottle but it didn't show up on my nails. I waffled on this one in the store for a while because I didn't think the shimmer would be that visible but I am glad I got it in the end, it is packed with shimmer. Formula wise it was great. It's very pigmented and if you are careful you could possible get away with one coat. Picture is two coats with top coat.

 The only complaint I have is that it seems that every bottle I have from the Complete Salon Manicure polishes has a messed up brush. Don't get me wrong, I love the shape and the way the brush works but every one of them always has at least a few stray bristles that I have to cut off, either that or chunks missing out of it.  It causes me serious rage every time, I will have to start checking every bottle before I buy it. Are any of your bottles brushes like this or is it just me?

Sugar Coated Nails

 Hi guys! I stumbled across this fake sugar powder at the Japanese store here a little while back. It is supposed to be used for decorating you phone and all that but I couldn't resist trying it on my nails.
 The base is Color Club Blue-Ming from the other day. To get the powder to stick I covered my nails with a thick coat of top coat and dipped them in the powder. I gave the top coat a minute to start drying then pushed the powder down into it and brushed the excess off. It worked way better than I thought it would!
 It's definitely not something to wear all the time, or practical at all, but it is interesting and kind of cool to look at.

 Here is a picture of the sugar powder I used.

 Have you tried anything like this on your nails before?

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Color Club Blue-Ming

 I've been surprised to see Color Club pop up at our store here on base. I've never seen it here before so they must be noticing that polish is a big seller lately and are getting in the new collections from different brands, which I am happy about but also sad because I won't be here much longer.
 Color Club Blue-Ming, from the Blossoming Collection, is a turquoise shade, more green really than blue. I am noticing I keep accumulating this type of polish but can't help it, each one is just slightly different enough in my mind that I should get it. Unfortunately, the formula for Blue-Ming was horrible! It was streaky and thick which made it hard to apply smoothly so it does need top coat to even it out. Picture is three coats.

 Is there a shade of polish that you seem drawn towards?

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BYS Matte Grey

 Hey guys! How was your weekend? It seems like time is flying by for me! We only have about a month left here in Japan. Anyways, when I stopped by the Japanese drug store last week I noticed they got BYS polishes in recently and I couldn't resist trying one of the mattes. I've been on the look out for mattes here but you don't see them much.

 Matte Grey is a basic dark grey, I wouldn't say it is very matte but it isn't as glossy as regular polishes. It's more of a satin finish. While I don't love this one it is interesting but I do wish it was more matte.

 Picture is two coats. I had no problems with this one. It didn't even smell that bad like the BYS polishes usually seem to. Since it isn't as glossy it does dry pretty quick.  

 How do you like matte polish? Do you have a favorite matte top coat? I've been looking for one and need suggestions.

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Color Club Magnetic Force Steel Of The Night

 Hey guys! I've never tried magnetic polishes before and, surprisingly, I found the Color Club ones here back when my mother-in-law was visiting and snagged a few to try. If you haven't used them before there is a learning curve I think. To use them you polish like normal but on the last coat, while the polish is still wet, hold the magnet above the nail without touching it. On the Color Club it says to hold it for 15 seconds but I have found the longer you hold the magnet over the polish while it dries the better the design turns out. I held mine for about 30 seconds. It also helps to keep both hands very steady or it could blur the design. The Color Club magnet has a ridge on it to place near the cuticle so you can rest the magnet to help keep it steady and from touching the nail.   

 Steel Of The Night is a dark gunmetal grey in the bottle but once you use the magnet the black appears. These do dry insanely quick so you need to be fast. The only issues I had was on a few nails the magnet didn't seem to work on the sides and had to redo them. I'm not sure if it dried too quick, my nails are too curved or if it was just the magnet. The magnet is a bit narrow so if you have wide nails it might be a problem too. Also, all the magnets for these polishes are the same so there isn't much variety. 

 Picture is two coats with topcoat. Be careful when you add topcoat with these, if you apply too much pressure it can easily drag the design. 

 On my ring finger here I turned the magnet sideways for a different design so you can use it any way you just won't have the ridge to help you keep it steady.

 Below is Steele Of The Night before the magnet. 

 Have you tried any magnetic polishes yet? Which is you favorite?

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Cult Nails In A Trance

 Hey guys! How was your weekend? I spent most of it making moving plans, more on that later. I missed the second Cult Nails sale this weekend but did any of you pick up anything from it? I am curious to know what Nevermore is like.
 Anyways, today I have another Cult Nails polish. In A Trance is a gorgeous olive green with shimmer that ranges from gold, green to a reddish orange. There isn't much else to say about it other than I love it. Picture is two coats, it went on smooth with no problems.

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More Cherry Blossoms, Geisha, And Newsprint

 Ever since I did this design, inspired by Robin Moses, I decided it had to be tried again when we actually went to the cherry blossom festival.

 I used Cult Nails Manipulative as the background to make it look like the sky instead of doing the tan, old paper look from the first time around. The rest is acrylic paint and Japanese newsprint. I used this picture as inspiration for the Geisha. I couldn't make up my mind on whether or not to use the newsprint on it but in the end did and realized I don't care for it with the blue and wish I would have left it off. 

 Here are a few pictures at the festival last week.

 On a separate note, I was pretty sad to hear that Maurice Sendak passed away on Tuesday. If you don't know who he was, he wrote and illustrated many children's books including Where The Wild Things Are, one of my favorites. I actually did a design on Where The Wild Things Are which is pictured in my header and it's still one of my favorite designs to date.

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Whimsical Nail Art Giveaway Winner!

 Thanks to everyone that entered! I have emailed Leann and if she does not respond within 48 hours I will draw another winner. 

 And now I will leave you with a picture of the beautiful cherry blossoms from this year. 

Cult Nails Manipulative

 Hi guys, I hope you all had a great weekend! We have been really busy the past few days checking out the cherry blossoms and other sights close by before my mother-in-law has to go back to the states. The past week has felt like a blur but we have had a lot of fun!
 Today I have another Cult Nails polish. Manipulative is a light blue with a hint of green, it also has silver and blue shimmer. It's gorgeous, I have a few blues similar to this but Manipulative has a better formula for me and the shimmer just makes me like it even more. I really love these types of polishes, they're perfect for summer!
 Pictures is two coats. It was on the thick side but nothing too troubling to work with.

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Cult Nails Captivated

 Hey everyone, I hope you had a great weekend! Did you do anything exciting?
 Today I have Cult Nails Captivated to share. Most of you have probably seen this one or have it but it is too stunning for me not to post it. When I pulled this one out of the box my husband was standing next to me and commented it was the coolest polish he has seen. I knew then it was going to be awesome, he never says anything more than "that's nice" about any polish. Anyways, Captivated is a coral jelly loaded with an orange/gold glitter that at certain angles appears green to blue, so pretty!
 Picture is three coats. It applied great, not too thick or thin and dried pretty quick.

 If you haven't heard of Cult Nails or tried any of their polishes, I highly recommend checking them out! Do you have Captivated?

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