THEME WEEK - My Favorite Neon

I've gone rogue.

My favorite neon is totally not a neon. It's a stark white. I love neons. I really do. But for every neon I've worn, I've worn a stark white mani twice.

Orly White Out


(3 coats)

Whatever, dude, this isn't cheating: Stark white is just as eye catching (or eye-searing) as any neon, particularly against my brown skin. I also really crave stark whites when the sun is beating down on me. I put on White Out and I feel like I'm in Miami - tanning, lazing about and wearing maxi dresses everywhere.

White Out is my favorite stark white (I also really like Misa's Heaven White). It looks good in three easy coats. It's not a complete nightmare to apply and it levels out pretty good.

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THEME WEEK - My Favourite Neon

This is one you've seen before - Nfu.Oh 497. And, as before, I have failed utterly at getting a colour-accurate picture. This is such a great neon. It's bright but deep, a proper primary blue Crayola colour with a hint of green. It's awesome.

But Jesus Christ on a bike, is photographing it ever a pain in the arse. I think Nfu.Oh must put some weird plasticisers in their polish that deflect light (it applies a lot like seche vite, it feels more like molten plastic than polish and has a super shiny opaque jelly type finish) because they all go through some kind of insane hall of mirrors transformation in front of a camera. Through my viewfinder, it looks like this amazing bright teal blue. On my focussing screen, it looks like either light azure or royal blue. So I wrestle with the settings, try again...still whacked. Swear a bit, fiddle some more, all to no avail. So, um, try and imagine it like this, but with more of a cyan undertone, brighter, and about thirty times better.

Last time I photoshopped the frack out of it to get it even half way close to the real colour. This time I gave up and tried to trick my camera with my car's paintwork. I mentioned previously that it's very close to my car's colour. While it turns out that my camera also hates my paintwork, it hates it a bit less, so I thought that might be a useful comparison swatch. You can see the green undertone better in my car! So, erm, try to imagine that in the polish. Yes.

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THEME WEEK - My Favourite Neon!

As the weather gets warmer and warmer (in the Northern Hemisphere), we thought it was only fitting for the final Polish or Perish THEME WEEK to be showcase neons! Each day a PoP blogger will show you their fav retina-searing polish. Get your sunglasses out, kids!

FAVOURITE NEON WEEK

This is polish I usually reserve for my toes (in fact, it's on my tootsies right now!) but in the summer if I'm feeling frisky, I will bust this one out for a mani! In fact, it's the ONLY neon in my collection, and I'm quite attached to it! Essie Perky Purple...

Why yes, I do suck at photographing neons! I had to colour adjust a bit (*cough*somuchit'sridiculous*cough*) to try to get it to show up as it looks in real life, but trust me, it's a screamer! This may not be the only neon I own very soon, because I may be picking up one or two of the new Essie Poppy Razzi neon collection....

Do you wear neons? Just in summer or do you brave it in winter as well?

kittytokaren

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THEME WEEK - My Favorite Holo!

Nfu.Oh 066

It's so strange to see photos of my nails this long when I've had shorties for the past year or two... but anyway, here is Nfu.Oh 066. Holy holo!! :D Give me a good linear holo any day... although, admittedly, it's been awhile since I've worn a really good holo like this one. 

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THEME WEEK - My Favourite Holo

I don't have enough sun to swatch a holo properly - since I'm in the Southern Hemisphere, I'm sitting here shivering in my ugg boots with a mug of hot tea! So this is an old swatch of China Glaze TMI, a salmon-pink holo polish from the OMG collection. I don't know if it's my FAVOURITE holo - holo is holo is holo is awesome! Other ones I love are DV8, LOL and Nubar Reclaim... plus I have a DIY spectraflair topcoat, so argh. How is one supposed to pick a favourite??

I guess this is the dilemma that mothers supposedly have when they can't pick a favourite child. I used to think it was weird when people said they couldn't pick their favourite fur baby - I mean, it's an animal, not a child - but now here I am with my holo kids. Sigh.

Mmm rainbows! Here it is with some stamping - ulta3 Orchid with a BM plate.

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THEME WEEK - My Favorite Holo :)

I remember when Ozotics first started popping up on the NB -- I was amazed and jealous that I couldn't get them easily. Now, you can get them from Ozotics from Llarowe easy peasy but before her, only obtainable through swaps with the land down under. [quick note: the 500 series multichrome/holographic/Elytra and Mish Mash series are being discontinued, so if you want some, hurry and get them!]

One of the ones I wanted the MOST though was Ozotic 518. A RED holo. Yumyum. I got it and then saw someone else post 621. A TRUE RED. I knew that I must have it and got it through another swap.

So pretties. But because I love both, I used both for this holo post. I mean, they are both red and from Ozotic... so it's okay, right? 518 is a linear holo, but more of a strawberry red than a true red. 621 is a scattered holo (which I actually prefer) but a true red. I love holos but prefer scattered holos over linear because I feel they have a bit more "oomph" and sparkle akin to real glitter. In the case of 621, it seems more like a firey glow, hard to capture on camera, sadly!

So here she is, the beauty that is red. 518 is on my ring finger, no top coat. 621 does have top coat, but only because it was matte when it dried. I use Aqua Base as my base, as I do for all holos. :)

in the shade

So, if you are into holos, what do you prefer? Scattered or linear?

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THEME WEEK - My Favorite Holo

OPI DS Diamond

(2 coats)

This was the polish I wore to my graduation 3 years ago! It's a pale lilac (weirdly though, the color in the bottle looks like it's turning taupe, but on the brush it's still lilac) with a really subtle linear holo that only shows up under certain lights.

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THEME WEEK - My favourite Holo!

Nfu.oh 65. Massive pic spam ahead.

Would you believe it? It's another blue! I know, I know. This must come as a terrible shock to you all. I really love this one because a) it's blindingly holographic and b) it's such a beautiful shade, which I actually find quite wearable rather than being too OTT. I'm even wearing this to a colloquium today. What my supervisor thinks remains to be seen, but I'm sure it'll be fine.

It is, unsurprisingly, a bit of a pig to apply. It's kind of granular and it can be tricky to get it to even out. I used my usual base coat, then aqua base, then three coats and then top coat. I personally refuse to go without top coat - they chip quick enough as it is, so I can live with it being slightly less holographic if it lasts longer than two days - but if you're worried about this, I find doing a top coat sandwich works well with Nfu.Ohs. Just put an extra coat of polish over your top coat, and it'll last much longer but still retain the super holo finish. I don't actually think the difference is very noticeable either way, but at least that's an option that makes wearing the more fragile holos a little less of a chore.

But ultimately, who cares when a polish is this pretty?

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THEME WEEK - My Favourite Holo!

Polish or Perish THEME WEEKS continue - this time with a sunshine-appropriate theme! Every day a PoP blogger will share their favourite holographic polish - will someone pick your favourite? Check back with us every day this week to see!

FAVOURITE HOLO WEEK

Picking my favourite holographic polish was easy! The hands-down (ha!) winner for me is OPI DS Design...if only because it is the only holo I own!

I'm not the biggest holo person, but this one I actually really really like! I think that the reason for that is because it's nude - that way the only thing going on is the unique finish. For me a coloured holo feels a little like overload and makes my brain hurt! (For the ultimate brain-pain polish see me wearing Claire's Yel here - taken while I was held captive by Piff.) DS Design is rather sheer though, so here I put it over Essie Jazz and I think it makes it show very true to colour. 

Now c'mon holo-heads! What's your fav??

kittytokaren

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THEME WEEK - My favorite nude!

Misa Whimsical Wish

I'm not one for nudes (kind of like how I'm not one for reds), but I really loved this one. Light, fairly neutral but with some beautiful shimmer. Go figure that my idea of a neutral nude includes shimmer. I have one of the RGB HIPP polishes but haven't found the opportunity to wear that one yet: I'm holding out hopes that it's the MNBB that I've always dreamed of (except not really, because I don't really wear nudes). But I loved this one.

Just moved earlier this week. Moving = urgh. Nails look like crap. :(

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THEME WEEK - My Favourite Nude

Sit down, boys and girls, it's story time with Lab Muffin...

My first ever manicure was a discount deal early last year - $30 for a mani-pedi and a set of eyelash extensions. I wanted the extensions for a photo shoot, so the mani was just a pleasant extra. I had my nails done using an OPI nude, and being me, I forgot to ask the name. For the next week, I smiled every time I looked down and saw my pretty fingers.

Then it chipped off, and THE HUNT BEGAN. Of course, it would've been easiest to just go back to the salon and ask for the name. But the lovely ladies there were Korean and didn't speak English very well, so that would've been awkward, and I spend most of my waking hours avoiding teh awkward. I went to the department store and tried to match a bottle to my nails - no luck. I scoured countless nail blogs, opening a plethora of new tabs that promised "OPI - nude". I went through MakeUpAlley and stalked anyone with skin shade NC25.

Eventually I narrowed it down to the two most likely candidates: Malaysian Mist and Cuddle by the Fire. Since CbtF was discontinued, I bought them off the evilBay. After impatiently waiting two weeks, they arrived... and they were Not. The. Colour. Ah, the crushing disappointment that only comes when you wait two weeks for a lemming and it doesn't perform!

I've resigned myself to the fact that I'm probably never going to find that nude again, and even if I did, it wouldn't be anywhere near as pretty as I remembered. So I've grown to love Malaysian Mist (struggling with CbtF) - I'm still on the hunt for more awesome nudes, since Malaysian Mist is the only one I can wear without thinking "bleh". So here it is:

OPI Malaysian Mist - 3 coats. It starts off sheer, but I prefer it when it's opaque. Drying takes forever, but that seems to be standard with milky polishes.

I love glitter-on-nude manis, and gold is my favourite - here's Essence Make It Golden layered on top:

So... does anyone have NC25 skin? Recommend me some nudes? :P

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THEME WEEK - My Favorite Nude :)

My collection of nude polishes is quite... sad. Even with all the polishes I have! I did purchase a lot recently from the recent Zoya Earth Day promo because I feel as if I would need some more work safe polishes as I will foray deeper into the world of lawyers... But I do have a favorite! I think I discovered it from someone's recommendation many many moons ago. It's Sally Hansen Complete Manicure in Cafe au Lait. It used to be more mannequin hand on me but I like it anyway! 

I love the shimmer in it, too. Keeps it interesting :D

And of course, I added glitter on top. Lynnderella polishes are so beautiful but need to be layered on top... I had tried a black lace sort of look with a nude polish and black glitter (LA Girls Uninhibited) before, so I wanted to try the white version this time :)

This is 2 coats of Lynnderella Love, Lace and Lilacs on top of Sally Hansen Cafe au Lait. So delicate and pretty :D

Every try nudes below a glitter without an opaque base? Try it!

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THEME WEEK - My Favorite Nude

I have so many nudes I like. I have sparkly nudes, sheer nudes, pink nudes, peach nudes, holo nudes. It goes on and on. In the end, the choice was clear.

Sally Hansen Wet Clay



I have had a hard time finding a great creme nude, because "nude" is usually nude for white people. Thse nudes can still look great, but they're too light and they just don't "read" like how they're suppose to read. Bandaid-but-better is a concept I long lusted after but had difficulty finding.

That's why I love Wet Clay. It reads ~nude~ on me. And the formula is the bomb. Two easy, creamy coats. Boom done. Off to interviews and client meetings I go.

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THEME WEEK - My Favourite Nude

OPI Samoan Sand


This one was so tricky for me. Not because I don't like nudes (I do!) but because I have yet to find my perfect nude. One of these days I'll have an epic Essie splurge and just wade through a bunch until I find my winner, but right now I have lots I like, but few that stand above the rest. My current favourite is actually a combo - Essie Brooch the subject with Illamasqua Spartan - but I thought it would be kind of cheating to choose a combo for this purpose.

So here's Samoan sand, which is the one I usually reach for. It's a good match for my skin, non-streaky, and it looks good with one, two or three coats (this is three). Dries quickly and is very shiny. It's sort of winner by default. But it is, to be honest, a bit boring. I tend to prefer opaque colours with something more about them.



Any suggestions for great edgy nudes for my skin tone?



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THEME WEEK - My Favourite Nude!

More THEME WEEK action here at Polish or Perish... This week we're getting frisky and sharing our favourite nudes with you! (Ooh la la!) Keep checking back - every day a different PoP blogger will reveal their favourite!

FAVOURITE NUDE WEEK

I thought it would be harder for me to pick my favourite nude, since I have and love so many! (I'm even known as the blog 'nudist'...scandalous!) But when I got to thinking about it, there was really only one answer for me - Essie Jazz.

Two coats of creamy, dreamy gorgeousness are all you need of this cafe au lait nude. I really like that it's not too pink-fleshy - those nudes often seem to look wrong on me. (I'm looking at you, OPI Tickle My France-y.) A long-time standby, this is the equivalent of a pair of nude pumps for me - a total classic, goes with everything, and makes my fingers seem longer and more elegant than they really are.

What's not to love?! If you had to pick, what would you say is your favourite nude?

kittytokaren

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