Holographic glitter polish comparison

COMMENTS: Left to right in this and all subsequent photos:
1. Holo glitter franken with pigment from TKB Trading (Holographic Hola Glow)
2. Holo glitter franken with pigment from nail supply store (worn in previous post here) - smallest glitter size
3. Holo glitter polish from Claire's called "Glitter Topcoat" - largest glitter size

Two coats of each with 1 coat of Beauty Secrets fast finish topcoat:

And with a second layer of topcoat:

Let's step back a bit from the bling:

Out of focus:

UP NEXT: Golden Rose Paris - 88

Kleancolor - Fashionista

APPLICATION: Smooth
COATS: 2
TOPCOAT?: After nail art added - Beauty Secrets Fast Finish
SOURCE: Nail supply store in downtown Los Angeles
COMMENTS: I've loved this murky olive color since I first laid eyes on it. It's been compared to a few pricier polishes in this helpful post on the blog My Latest Obsession. I'm so glad she did that comparison because the RBL in this color (No More War) is the only polish in that brand I've really considered buying, and I already had Fashionista. $1 vs. $18? Thank you very much!

*I've read a lot of complaints about the smell of Kleancolor polishes, but it doesn't bother me at all. I'm actually more disturbed by the smell of Seche Vite than I am by this brand, but of course everyone is different! No topcoat in the first three photos.

The longer outer handle came off long ago, so I polished using the short stubby base - kinda cute.

The next morning I added accents with some rub-ons from Big Lots:

And back home in the evening, played around with combining it with China Glaze - Zombie Zest using tape. You can see where the tape was stuck to my skin - LOL!:

UP NEXT: Holographic glitter comparison

Kleancolor - Vikini Green and Quirius - Erin Island

**Sorry, had to edit this post because I gave the wrong name for the polish I sponged on the tips. It's Quirius - Belmont Garden.

APPLICATION: Smooth
COATS: 2 of Vikini Green (is that supposed to be Bikini? The label has Vikini), Erin Island Belmont Garden sponged on tips
TOPCOAT?: Yes, 1 coat of Beauty Secrets Fast Finish
SOURCE: Local discount clothing store and www.qnail.com respectively
COMMENTS: I knew I was in trouble when I tried to take a photograph of the base color and my camera threw a fit. Then I tried to take one of the bottles together and the camera saw them as the same exact color! I tried to get this as close as I can, but these colors are both just a little on the neon side of the spectrum. So, no bottle pics, sorry.

Indoors - had to change camera settings:

Natural light at work the next morning - still had issues, the best photos I could manage are of my mani reflected in the window! The colors are more vibrant in real life. I'm sad I couldn't show them well.

From a thoughtful and generous co-worker...

Well actually she's my team lead. However, she went on vacation recently and brought some nail-related stuff back for me (and I didn't ask for anything)!
It was such a wonderful surprise - and my favorite part of her gift was a much coveted Japanese Nail magazine. It's got soooo many pictures that are  inspirational, as well as steps for creating many of the designs. I took a few random photos. She also got me some glitter (though it's called gel color powder?), and two sets of nail decals - one of which is hello kitty. Isn't she awesome? I plan to try some of the designs in the magazines, and will post the inspiration photo as well when I do.

ABOP Franken - Holographic MicroGlitter

APPLICATION: Okay for a glitter
COATS: 2
TOPCOAT?: Yes -2 coats of Beauty Secrets Fast Finish
SOURCE: Clear nail polish  + This holographic glitter + Love My Nails Dazzling
COMMENTS: I wanted to see what this glitter would look like without any color added, and here it is. It's still a little see-through at 2 coats, but pretty enough. Of course, being gritty, it ate up 2 coats of topcoat. I later added yet another coat (the next morning). My attempt at nail art on this turned out so-so. I think the black lines were just too much contrast. The gems are ones I picked up in a pack from Dollar Tree, and they're actually red, not orange.

ABOP Franken - Black-ish holo

*Oops! - edited to add missing composite photo...
APPLICATION: Smooth
COATS: 2
TOPCOAT?: Yes -1 coat of Beauty Secrets Fast Finish
RECIPE: Sally Hansen - Pink Rose Diamond (the darker one) + Black
COMMENTS: You know how I previously mentioned that I prefer scattered holographic glitter polish to holographic pigment polish? Well, I changed my mind after making this one - I like them both! Pink Rose Diamond is one of the few older Sally Hansen holographic polishes that showed up at Dollar Tree stores last year. I picked up a few, and realized I have two different versions of it. I used the darker one for this franken and added black (don't remember which one, sorry!) polish until I got a color I liked.

INDOORS:

OUTDOORS:

UP NEXT: I don't know, but I got OPI - DS Original (Thanks K!) in the mail and it put this holo to shame in just one coat - I swiped it right over the existing mani:

Polka dot tips - black and white

TOPCOAT?: See Below
SOURCE: Diamond Cosmetics - White, I'm Raven About You (black), Sunset in Sedona (index accent)
COMMENTS: I've wanted to do black and white polka dot tips for a loooong time! I'm so glad I ended up getting around to it. Love this!

I must cite some of my inspiration though. These are bloggers/blog posts that have inspired this mani:
Tartofraises - This post
And more recently, Chloe0602/Erika - This post
There are many others - I'm sorry, I can't remember them now!
Here's my version - before topcoat:

Fun! Even my short right thumbnail (silly vertical split) joined in:

After topcoat. Got some smudging before I realized I should just topcoat the tip first then come back and do the whole nail!

Diamond Cosmetics - White

APPLICATION: Smooth
COATS: 2
TOPCOAT?: Yes, 1 coat of Beauty Secrets Fast Finish
SOURCE: www.diamondcosmetics.com
COMMENTS: I know, this is so unlike me - a plain french mani! It's just base coat (Beauty Secrets moisturizing base coat), 2 coats of color freehanded on the tips following my natural curve, and topcoat. Yes, it's a little dull but I did it because someone from work requested it. You know I'm itching to jazz it up after she's seen it, right?

UP NEXT: Same mani, different style - my fave - pollka dots!