when you can't decide what to wear...

When you can't decide what to wear... You keep layering.

And it doesn't always turn out fantastic. Here's an example of that.

Orly - Halley's Comet
One of my faves! Good start.

Color Club - Clean Break
Yes! White Crackle that works! All hail Color Club Crackle!!!

piCture pOlish - Peacock
...Not as I had hoped.
I thought the purple base and green glitter of peacock would create something magical over the blue and white base but really it just got kinda lost.

It's nice but not the best combo I've ever done.

I should have stopped with the white crackle because I loved this look! It kinda reminded me of icebergs floating in the ocean. And have I told you how much I love Color Club crackle polishes...?!

Did you guys notice that my watermark now proudly says rebeccalikesnails.com? I've finally made the jump to my own domain!
The whole blog should be transferred over within 3 days so if you have any issues with my blog right now, it's most likely due to this change. Please be patient. :)
I feel very official, owning my own .com site. Now all I need are business cards and I'll be a regular pro.

P.S. Have you entered my Zoya giveaway? Just 2 days left!

More about → when you can't decide what to wear...

Shimmer Polish - Linna & Cassandra

Here are 2 more Shimmer Polishes from Cindy. Check out her Etsy shop, her website, or her facebook for more information on purchasing. Or you can always email her directly with your paypal address and the colors you would like to purchase: 

shimmer484(at)gmail(dot)com

Here is Linna

This is my favorite of the whole bunch! I am a sucker for anything in the teal family and this is just wonderful. :) The primary color is teal, but there are hints of red, blue, and silver. For these pics I used just 2 coats. The glitter coverage is really good and doesn't require specific placement. The glitter goes where it should. 

 I think it would be cool to stamp a fish scale stamp over this.... mermaid nails all the way!

Then there is Cassandra

Does it remind you of China Glaze Snow Globe? It did for me... but in a comparison, the glitter particles in Cassandra are noticeably larger. Here is 2 thin coats of Cassandra layered over a variety of colors. Pinky Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Bubblegum Pink, Ring Sally Hansen Insta Dri Lightening, Middle Revlon Royal, Index China Glaze For Audrey. It's best to use it as a layering polish because it just has a clear base.

So magical and pretty!

 Here is 3 coats of Cassandra on it's own so you can see how it builds up.

 I had the worst sinkage with Cassandra. Just minutes after I finished shaking the bottle, the glitter had already separated and sunk to the bottom. But again, Cindy is working on these issues and has tweaked her formula since these were made.

More about → Shimmer Polish - Linna & Cassandra

Mash Up

I recently bought the M.A.S.H. image plates. I think they have released 2 sets, well I bought just the 2nd set. 25 plates for $12.99? Yeah, it's a great deal.

This is a look I tried first. China Glaze Shower Together with a gradient fade into Barielle Swizzle Stix. Then I stamped China Glaze 2030 using the MASH 43 image plate.

It  proved to be nearly impossible to photograph, but so is pretty much everything at my new place. I'm having a hard time finding the best set up....

More about → Mash Up

Zoya Beach & Surf Collection

Hi everyone! I  have a long awaited post today. Today's review is on Zoya's Beach & Surf Collection for summer 2012. The reason I took so long for this post was because two polishes got destroyed during transit so I had to order the other two. But as always it's better late than never right?

Zoya Beach Collection consists of 6 gorgeous summer colors, 5 of which are cremes, and 1 with a slight shimmer.

Reagan is a dark fuchsia creme which leans toward to a little on the purple side. 2 coats

Lara is light fuchsia creme. 2 coats

Shelby is a bright bubble gum pink creme. Very girly and barbie pink like. 2 coats

Arizona is a light orange creme. Not light enough to be categorized as pastel, but this is a pretty bright orange. 2 coats

Tracie is a light green with a semi pearly finish. This is the only one that is not a creme polish. 2 coats

Wednesday is a turquoise creme. It is a lot more greener in person. 2 coats

Overall, the Beach collection is one of my favorite collections so far for the Summer 2012. All the colors matches Summer perfectly and they matched my skin tone. The formula were pretty good, it wasn't thick or thin and I had no problems with application.

Zoya Surf Collection consists of 6 bright colors with a foil/metallic finish.

Rory is a light pink with lots of silver flecks giving it a shimmery finish. 2 coats

Carly is a reddish plum with metallic finish. This color seems to be 'glowing' if you understand what I'm talking about! 2 coats

Kimber is a reddish pink with golden flecks. This one is super bright and super gorgeous. I think this might be my favorite one of the collection. 2 coats

Myrta is a bright orange with silver flecks giving it a metallic finish look. 2 coats 

Meg is a super light midori green with silver flecks. This one is super bright and also glows. 2 coats

Zuza is a teal blue with silver flecks. My picture makes this color look so dull, but in person it's so bright and gorgeous. 2 coats.

Overall, the Surf collection is STUNNING. I love the whole foil/metallic like finish which makes the polishes stand out on your nails. The formula for these were perfect. I would've thought there will be streak marks being they're a little metallic ish, but there was none. It applied so perfectly with no problems at all.

Zoya did an excellent job with the Beach & Surf collection. There is not a single color I did not like or enjoy. But I got the most compliments with the Surf collection!

Well that's all I have for today, what do you guys think of these two collections for summer?

(These were sent to me for review, except Tracie and Meg, which were purchase by myself)

More about → Zoya Beach & Surf Collection

Spoiled - Plenty of Fish in the Sea

Here is an awesomely vibrant blue/green mermaid polish. Some slight visible brushstrokes, but nothing too terrible. The shimmer really makes it look like the polish is glowing from the inside.

What do you think? I'm pretty impressed for only $1.99

More about → Spoiled - Plenty of Fish in the Sea

Born Pretty Store - Bullion Beads/Microbeads

I mentioned that I also received the Bullion Beads. They can be found here for $3.33. It comes in a wheel of 12 different colors. The beads are so tiny that they got a little mixed together despite the different compartments. It's a nice array of colors that are available in this wheel. I chose to use the dark teal on the top right of my picture.

 It was a perfect match for Essie School of Hard Rocks. This is 2 coats.

 I applied a generous coat of Seche Vite and then poured the beads over the nail until they covered the entire thing. (Remember the "caviar" debate?)

One solid nail used up a good bit of my beads of that color, so for the rest of the nails I just outline the half moon area with a line of beads.

 It's not a terribly long lasting manicure, but it's cute and a novelty. :)

More about → Born Pretty Store - Bullion Beads/Microbeads

OPI - Shatter The Scales

You know, the new Spiderman movie kinda bums me out. I liked the old ones! Don't change my Spidey!
And sadly, I've gotta say, the OPI Spiderman Collection is a bummer for me too.
Only one polish interested me enough to buy it - the shatter! It's a pretty awesome polish in a collection filled with "meh."

OPI - Shatter The Scales
This is a dark green shimmering shatter polish that worked pretty flawlessly for me. Sometimes shatters can be a total pain (I'm looking at you, Turquoise Shatter) but this one is easy to use.
It dries matte, but really comes alive with topcoat!

I layered this polish over OPI - Skull and Glossbones to show off its green hue the best.
I wish the other colors from this collection had been more fun! Frosty pink... streaky blue... off-white... goldy-green over-done dupe... Bleh! At least the shatter is fun.

And now for a comparison!
I had some requests for a comparison of Shatter The Scales and Teal Scales from Funky Fingers!
In the bottle, you'd think they might be pretty similar. But over white, the real difference shows!

OPI Shatter The Scales / Funky Fingers Teal Scales
As you can see, the true color of these polishes is totally different!
That being said, when you layer them over certain colors, they can look more similar.

It's hard to see them over black, but what you can see is hard to tell apart.
So, depending on the color you layer them over, they can look pretty similar, but truly they are really different! And you can totally justify having both.

More about → OPI - Shatter The Scales

Born Pretty Store - Striping Tape - Design & Review

Reviewing another product from the Born Pretty Store. This time it's the Striping Tape you can find here in a pack of 12 different colors for $6.29. I've recently seen a lot of new nail art looks that are featuring striping tape, so I was excited to try it myself. 

I wanted to recreate this look in particular. Her's was much neater and better photographed, but this isn't a contest, right? Enjoy.

I used the gold striping tape from Born Pretty. The polishes I used were Sally Hansen Lavender Cloud, China Glaze For Audrey, and Essie Navigate Her.

As far as a review goes.... The tape was very easy to use. Same concept as using Scotch Tape on your nails, but without the pain of having to cut it into tiny strips. I just cut off a small section big enough that it would over lap the edge of my nail. Then I came in close with a pair of cuticle nippers to cut it exactly to the edge. The tape adheres well and lies flat under top coat. I didn't have any trouble until day 2 of my manicure when the topcoat had worn off some and the edges of the tape were exposed and started getting caught on everything.

I also got some Bullion Beads from Born Pretty, that's coming up next!

And you can get 10% off by using my coupon code!

More about → Born Pretty Store - Striping Tape - Design & Review

glad in plaid!

Good afternoon darlings!

Today I have a really fun tape technique to show you. Instead of using tape to create relief patterns, you use the tape to make your own nail stickers!
I saw this cool mani on The Beauty Department, which is a really fun site that I am guilty of stalking.

Can you spot the tape? Haha! The trick is to paint some tape, let it dry, and cut it into shapes to put onto your nails. It helps you create super even and straight lines, which is a good thing for me because I am awful with a striper brush.

I broke up the intensity of the plaid with a solid accent nail, which I think looks pretty cute!

I took a whole bunch of pictures of this mani because I was really proud of it!

It can be kind of difficult to cut the tape into small pieces so take your time, and then once on the nail, use cuticle nippers to clip the edges. I also used a file to smooth the edge of my nail a little, to stop the tape from hitching.

The polishes I used are:
Urban Decay - Superfreak (gold)
Urban Decay - Woodstock (pink)
OPI - Fly (teal)
Essence - You Belong To Me (light blue/green)
The base color is a light gray franken I made.

What do you guys think of this fun way to use tape? I think I'll definitely be trying it again!

More about → glad in plaid!