Nubar Dolcetto & Pink Dot: The Return of the Glitters

I have an update for you, Dear Reader!

I just got an email from Nubar that they're now taking preorders for the Cleopatra Collection and Pasadena Purple to ship on March 30 (Monday).  That means there's plenty of time to get in an order using the coupon code they're running through the 31st, nlphle2050, which is good for 20% off an order of $50 or more.  Their free shipping still applies to orders totaling $75 or more after the discount, so have a nice haul!

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Today I have a mani with a pair of nail polishes that turned out exactly like I wanted it to.  I went back to The Big Box o' Glitter and took out Nubar Pink Dot, and I matched it with Nubar Dolcetto for a base color.  

I showed you Dolcetto a while back when I showed you the Vineyard Collection - it's my favorite from that collection.  Here's two coats of it on its own.

 

 

So that's the starting point.  To it I added two coats of Pink Dot, which made it a million times more fun!

 

 

Pretty dang festive, huh?

That's what I have for you today, Dear Reader.  Until tomorrow, love and nail polish to you!

Jessica Jessana Mischievous

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I have something different for you today, a Jessica nail polish from their Jessana line.  To be honest, I don't really know what the difference is between their regular Jessica colors and the Jessana ones is, other than that the Jessanas come in a 0.25 oz (half sized) bottle and cost a little less.  I only have a few, and I don't think I've shown you one before.

I checked the label of it for any of the Big 3 chemicals I'm avoiding while testing the new Big 3 Free nail strengthener, and didn't see any on it.  Don't quote me on that though, because I'm open to being corrected - I'm no chemist, and just because toluene, formaldehyde, and phthalates are not explicitly listed doesn't mean I'm not missing something reading the label.  I thought my read was good enough to go ahead and use it though.

The color is really rich - it's a blackened red with a strong sparkly red shimmer.  The shimmer is strong enough to show up in regular light, so the polish does not look black on the nail.  The only down side was that after three coats, I can still see through it on a few nails.  I've been getting spoiled by using polishes that are opaque in two coats lately!  The finished manicure is nice though, and I like it.

 

 

That's my mani for today, Dear Reader.  I was about to wrap up, but then I just remembered something...

I also had a request for you, something I forgot to ask yesterday.  A reader let me know that there had been some difficulty with the new comments feature, where a comment just disappeared.  If you've had any problems with it, please let me know and I'll see what I can do.  For the most part, it seems to be working well.  The reader who contacted me and I tested a few things, and we managed to establish that it's working properly now, but the question of the comment that disappeared prompted me to ask you if you've had problems too.  Just email me if you have, and we can hammer out any details that still need to be fixed.

That's really all for today, Dear Reader.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!

CNY New York New Year with Nubar Gilded Gold

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Today I have yet another glitter mani for you, although I didn't plan it that way.  My original plan was to just use Carolyn New York's New York New Year, but that didn't turn out so well.

I mentioned recently that mixing Big 3 Free products with old school chemicals can make weird things happen, so for the time being, I'm trying to stick to Big 3 Free because I started using a new base coat that's Big 3 Free.  It's a nail strengthener, and so far, so good, but I want to give it a solid six week test before I call it good.  I found out that the problems I've recently had with minor breaks (as well as major ones!) could be attributable to the formaldehyde in what I was using (NailTek II), which can dry out the nails, so I switched.

In any case, Carolyn New York is Big 3 Free, so I pulled out New York New Year and gave it a try.  It's a gorgeous color, but much to my dismay, I could not get it even.  You can see in the pictures, it's somewhat blotchy.

 It's still a great color and I didn't particularly feel like starting over, but having bald spots on my mani would likely drive me nuts today.  My solution?  A little trip over to the Big Box o' Glitter.  I gilded my New York New Year with Nubar Gilded Gold.  It changed the base color a smidge, but it also covered all the bald spots, so I'm happy.  Here she is.

 

 

It's not quite what I'd planned on, but it worked out well in the end.  There are actually a few other polishes I want to show you, but I have to find where I put the box!  It's one of those little 6-pack boxes, and I put it somewhere safe, wherever the heck that is.  I'll try to find it and have something fun for you tomorrow.

Until then, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!