Mo' polished blues...

Rimmel - Marine Blue (index and ring fingers)
NDB - Tahitian Pearl (middle and pinky)
Maybelline - Jaded Blues (accent)
Application: Both the NDB and Rimmel went on nicely. However, the Rimmel was a tad difficult because of the flat wide brush. I used a separate brush to apply the Maybelline stripe.
Coats: 2 of each.
Source: NDB from Skyline Beauty, Rimmel from one of the drugstores (CVS, Rite Aid or Walgreens), and Maybelline from Dollar Tree
Comments: I realized I hadn't worn any of my NDB colors as a full mani, so pulled out Tahitian Pearl. Then, I shopped my swatches for a color that was close to it and found the Rimmel. These are quite close, but the NDB Tahitian Pearl has more green shimmer in it. I couldn't get my camera to capture that accurately (grrr!). In the bottle, the Maybelline also looked similar to the NDB, but with much more green shimmer, so I used that as an accent instead.

Responses to Comments

I received two comments on my last post (my first franken), that I would like to respond to:

jaljen said... A lovely franken. How do you know what will work well? Is it experience or sheer good fortune or a good eye for colours?

jaljen, I absolutely have no idea what would work well (lol)! However, I had used this blue in this post before and found it a little too dark for my skin tone. I figured I would just try a lighter version of it, hence adding white. I started by mixing drops (keep count) of each on a palette and when I got the desired color, kept the same ratios when I poured them into a bottle.

Taki J said... I haven't tried to franken yet. I feel like whatever I end up with will end up the color of mud..lol. I'll try it sooner or later but will enjoy the creations of others in the meantime.


Taki J, I feel like I would probably end up with brown too if I didn't have an end color in mind. In this case since I already knew what color I was starting with, it was just a matter of trying it out on a small scale before moving on to larger quantities. A few drops on a surface is all you need to start. I started with one drop of blue, added one drop of white, mixed it up with a paint brush, added more white.... and eventually added the third color just for the shimmer.

My first franken - Blue Horizon

Application: Smooth
Coats: 3 for full opacity
Source: Franken - a mix of 3 Sally Hansen polishes
Comments: I was thrilled at getting this color, and was able to use one of my otherwise useless sheer shimmer polishes in it. However, after looking through my stash, I realized I already have two similar colors - one for which this could be a dupe. I really like this blue. I've had it on 3 days already and will probably keep it on till the weekend.


Source polishes Sally Hansen Baroque Frost, Denim Creme, and Boo Creme (my favorite white)


The shimmer from the Baroque Frost is more visible with the camera flash on.

Indirect sunlight

Had to embellish a few fingers after two days. Added stickers.

Comparison: Left - Maybelline Button Fly, Middle - my franken, Right - Sally Hansen Mosaic Creme. My new polish is a dupe for Button Fly based on my swatches.

Orly Lollipop vs. Sally Girl Blissful Kiss

This is obviously not a full-blown comparison, but I really wanted to put the Sally Girl color on my nails to see the difference. I decided on a reverse chevron on the ring finger.

But of course I couldn't leave it alone. Had to also add some Cover Girl City Lights to the mix.

Still feeling like something was missing, I plopped a rhinestone sticker at the cusp.
Much better!

Orly Lollipop

Application: Streaky on coat 1. Smooth on coat 2
Coats: 2
Source: Skyline Beauty Supply - downtown L.A.
Comments: Gorgeous color - more pink in real life. Strangely enough, while I put it on I felt like I'd seen it before. I pulled out my bottle of Sally Girl - Blissful Kiss to compare (3rd photo). Yup, same family, but more pink.

400-plus tips

This reminds me of a show on HGTV that has something to do with color - can't remember it's name. Either way, if I need any incentive to stop buying nail polish, this is it.

I put all my swatched tips in color groups (not as easy as I thought it would be) and here they are. I like this configuration because I can store these by color and the polishes by brand. This way I can "shop" for a color I want to wear, use the tip number to find out what bottle it is, and go grab the color. This is usually the way I decide what polish to wear. Enough talk. First is the pic of all of them, then close-ups of each side.


Bottom left = my only three holographic polishes.

Street Wear - Nothing

Application: Smooth
Coats: 2
Source: Old stash
Comments: Beautiful neutral color with subtle shimmer. I stamped a konad butterfly on my ring fingers then used nail art striper colors to fill in part of the wings. Then I used the same colors to accent my thumbs as well. I like!

Maybelline Jean Jacket

Application: Yucky brush, polish was lumpy at first but fine after thinning.
Coats: 2
Source: Dollar Tree
Comments: I love this color in the bottle - where it also has a purple shimmer. That shimmer didn't show on my nails though, so this mani lasted just one day. I put a sticker on my ring finger - didn't help much.

French - Boo Creme, Violet Water, Cristallo Shimmer

Hello! I was out of town for a while and unable to post. Just got back and want to put this up before I go to sleep.

Sally Hansen - Boo Creme
Maybelline - Violet Water
Borghese - Cristallo Shimmer

Application: Smooth, but my hands aren't the steadiest.
Coats: 1 of each
Source: Target, my stash, and Big Lots respectively
Comments: Colors used are listed above. I made the mistake of using a ridge filler underneath this, so the gel-like purple doesn't look as good as it could. I also free-handed the tips, so not too neat. This was done in a hurry, so turned out kinda blah. Passable for work though. I love the stickers - $1.79 at wallyworld.

Fingerpaints hubby style

Colors: Calligraphic Calico - Now Museum Now U Don't - Mural, Mural on the Wall - Signed by the Artist - Mystery Muse
Application: Smooth
Coats: 2
Source: Sally Beauty Supply - they were having half off red-tagged items as well as buy two get 1 free, which ended up being 3 bottles for $3.49. The range of colors on clearance wasn't that exciting, but for the price, I grabbed 9.

Comments: After seeing my odd polish combo for my previous ugly awesome post, my husband said "I'm picking the colors for your right hand". Turned out he was picking for both hands since I definitely wasn't keeping those colors on. I made him pick from the new Fingerpaints, and this was his selection.

Calligraphic Calico - Now Museum Now U Don't - Mural, Mural on the Wall - Signed by the Artist - Mystery Muse

And the resulting mani

ABOP's Ugly Awesome Polishes

Brooke over at Getcha Nails Did had this fabulous concept about nailpolish that is ugly to the point of being awesome. You should definitely read her post about it if you haven't yet.

Well, I dug up a few of these (and there are many more, but I believe in giving each bottle in my stash a chance to shine).

Maybelline Passing by Pink, Sally Hansen Classy Frost, Chill Frost, Forsythia, and Sation Purple Royal

Colors are in reverse on my nails:

3 coats of each - mostly because the chalky Passing by Pink (on pinky) was still streaky on the second coat. Yes I know, I have a dent in my middle finger.

They're starting to grow on me at this point. I can't stop looking at Purple Royal (thumb). Is it a "jelly"? Classy frost (ring finger) went from looking like mud in the bottle to chocolate on the nails.

And then of course I do with these what I do with manis destined for destruction. Try out some stamps on them of course!

What happened to Tropez?

In my last post, I mentioned the awesome black polish from the Tropez brand. This weekend, I went hunting for some more colors. I tried Rite Aid, where I had purchased this. Nope. I then went to a Walgreens I KNOW had a permanent display of Tropez. Gone. Whaaat? Does anyone know what's happened to this brand?

I have to report though, that after this manicure, I had chipping on my tips the very next day. I'm not going to say it was the polish yet, because I also used a base and top coat combo (Seche Clear and Seche Vite) that have resulted in chipping before. I'll have to use the Tropez again soon with another base and top coat to see if the loss of this brand is a true loss or a blessing in disguise.

Tropez Black Satin and Sally Hansen Baroque Frost

Application: Smooth on both
Coats: 1 of each (awesome!)
Source: Tropez was from Rite Aid, SH was from Dollar Tree (though I found a dupe in my stash too)
Comments: Five words - ONE COAT QUICK DRY BLACK. I've never tried Tropez before, because the colors never appealed to me. I may have to reconsider though. This black was opaque in one coat, which was perfect! I wonder if these would work for konad stamping?

Of course I had to add something to it, so I layered a sheer and otherwise useless (on its own) Sally Hansen over it. Turned out fab! I'm finding that sheer polishes like this one are also great for adding shimmer to frankens without affecting the color. More on that another time.