O.P.I. Polish Review: Kermit Vs. Spidey

Two O.P.I. polishes from older throwback collections caught my attention because of their duochrome affects. They are Kermit me to Speak from the Muppets Most Wanted Collection (2011) and Just Spotted the Lizard from The Amazing Spiderman Collection (2012).

I fell in love with both of these polishes right away.  I've seen polishes with stronger duochrome affects, but these have just enough to make them intriguing.  Just Spotted the Lizard leans more towards gold with green highlights and Kermit Me to Speak has a rosier hue with soft purple highlights. Both are fantastic and I honestly can't pick one over the other.  Can you?

Seaweed and Jellyfish

I still have my trip to the aquarium on my mind.  In my last Dear Diary post I mentioned jellyfish.  I fit a few multi colored "jellyfish" into this seaweed mani.

I stamped the seaweed image directly onto my clear base coat with a blend of blue and green stamping polish ('Konad Green' and 'Wavelength' by BMC).  Then I used a few watered down pearl and metallic acrylic paints for the jellyfish.

                                                  

Blue Jelly polish

The stamping plate I used was an old plate I found on EBay a few years ago.  It was plate "M" if that helps any.  After stamping on the seaweed and painting on the "jellyfish", I coated my nails with a light wash of blue jelly polish that I blended myself.

I didn't use the Milani quick dry top coat in the top picture.  I needed this manicure to shine and with the exception of clear gel polish, Seche Vite is the shiniest fast drying top coat on the market, imo.  Obviously, Seche Vite is my all-time favorite top coat.

There you have it.  A seaweed and jellyfish manicure.  Ok, that's it for the aquarium inspired manicures.  I'm moving on now.

Dear Diary -- July 10: A trip to the aquarium

Dear Diary,

Mom and Dad were in town for the holiday weekend and we took the boys to the National Aquarium at the Baltimore Harbor.  We had a great time.  I wanted to take lots of pictures, but soon after we arrived my phone died.  I had forgotten my camera and I didn't have a charger so I had to rely on my resident teen photographer.  I think he did a great job.  I didn't have to edit a thing.

His superb photography work inspired me to do a seaside manicure.  I used a few China Glaze polishes for my gradient, and a Sally Hansen Triple Shine glitter polish for a little sparkle.

For Audrey and DJ Blue My Mind by China Glaze
Broadway Boogie by Loreal

I couldn't resist a mermaid, sail boat and palm trees.

Now I have Jelly fish on the brain.  Hmmmm.....

Revlon's Gold Glaze

Yesterday I promised you a few swatches of 'Gold Glaze', a sister polish to Revlon's 'Pink Glaze' and 'Holo Pearl'.

Pink Glaze    Holo Pearl  Gold Glaze

Once again, I wasn't disappointed.  I used both white and black base coats to get an idea of how the top coat effect layers over both dark and light colors.

After several coats (about four), I got a sheer gold shimmer over white polish.  But after just two coats 'Gold Glaze' transformed into a beautiful metallic gold over black polish.  I have metallic gold polishes that aren't as appealing as this combo.  Two thumbs up for Revlon's 'Pink Glaze', 'Gold Glaze' and 'Holo Pearl' polishes. 

Revlon's Pink Glaze Nail Polish

I can't remember the last time I visited a Rite Aid, so when I drove by one today, I had to turn around and take a look around.  After promising the kids that I'd be right back (that really means pull out your video game devices and have a good time).  I planned to do a little personal comparison to my local CVS and Wallgreens.  My plan was to look around, not shop, but when I found two sister polishes to my Revlon Holo Pearl, I couldn't pass them up.  Revlon's top coat effects 'Pink Glaze' and 'Gold Glaze'.

I was so impressed with Revlon's 'Holo Pearl' that I couldn't resist the other two.  I didn't expect them to live up to the same standard as the 'Holo Pearl', however,   simply because they are not holographic polishes.  They looked great in the bottle, though, and I do have a new found respect for Revlon, so it was definitely worth a try. 

Pink Glaze             Holo Pearl            Gold Glaze

I painted both top coat effects over white and black polish to see how they would look over dark and light colors.  I was surprised to see that the Pink Glaze showed up as a faint pinkish shimmer over white polish, but a vibrant purple iridescent color over the black polish.  'Pink Glaze' over white polish was barely noticeable, but it was absolutely stunning over black polish.  Quite impressive.  

    

After a bit of stamping

Tomorrow we'll take a look at Revlon's 'Gold Glaze'.

Ciao for now.

Revlon's Holo Pearl

      I happened upon a beautiful find at CVS.  Revlon Holo Pearl, a holographic top coat.  Since I've recently  caught the holographic micro glitter, bug I had to try this one.  My experience is that not all holographics are the same.  But, I was satisfied and quite impressed with this one.  No, I didn't see the rainbow,  but the glittery effect is outstanding.  It twinkles like a million tiny diamonds.

Unfortunately, I have to give this disclaimer first.  The following pictures do not give justice to this polish.  The beautiful, holographic, glittery effects are noticeable.  But believe me when I say this....Trust me it's fantastic!  

Beautiful in the bottle, gorgeous on the nails.  Since this is a top coat, I needed a base color.  I chose two, white and black. 

Ring finger base coat is black

I loved the polish so much that I couldn't resist a little stamping.

Kleancolor Holographics

These swatches are from the Kleancolor Holo set.  They go on rather thick, like the Kleancolor Metallics.  Two coats will do fine.  I almost considered using them as a jelly to do a jelly sandwich nail art, but they may be too opaque for that.  I like to use several coats of polish for my jelly manicures and after four coats or so, the opacity might prevent any designs from peeking through.  If you're unfamiliar with the jelly sandwich technique, leave me a comment and I'll prepare a tutorial for you.

These holo glitter polishes needed a base color underneath, so I used white except for the middle fingers which I painted black.  Which do you prefer, holo over a dark or light base?



Holo Pink, Holo Blue, Holo Chrome



Holo Yellow, Holo Green, Holo Orange



For this design Iused Holo Yellow over a green base color.

Kleancolor Metallics

In my last post, I talked about the Kleancolor polishes I purchased, for a steal, on EBay.  These are swatches from the Metallic set.



Metallic White, Metallic Black, Metallic Yellow



Metallic Orange, Metallic Fuschia, Metallic Aqua