INM Out the Door vs. Julep Fast Drying Topcoat

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Hello there. I promised to give a comparison of Julep Fast Drying Topcoat and INM Out the Door (OTD) Fast Drying Topcoat, so here it is. Both topcoats are thin, almost watery (My bottle of OTD is a little thicker because I've been using it longer). They have a similar odor, although Julep's topcoat smells the slightest bit like skunk in the bottle, not on the nail.

The Julep brush holds a lot of polish, so it was necessary to wipe it off several times before applying it to the nail. I have a 2.5 oz bottle of OTD, so the brush is very long and hard to handle. I actually use an old Revlon topcoat bottle for OTD instead, because it is smaller and the brush is a little wider; I think it prevents the topcoat from thickening too quickly too.

Both topcoats were dry to the touch within 2 minutes. OTD seemed to cure against dents slightly faster than the Julep topcoat. The major difference between these two topcoats was in terms of shine. If you look at the pictures above, you can clearly see the window grille reflected in the nails painted with OTD, whereas you can only make out the shape of the window in the Julep coated nails.

Let me show you pictures of my nails after 4 days very tough wear (I actually broke 2 nails over the weekend). If you are sensitive to chippy nail polish, please read no further.

First, a disclaimer, that terribly chipped left middle finger was mostly the result of a silk patch falling off my nail. Overall, the two topcoats performed about equally in protecting the manicure from damage. That said, I will continue to use INM Out the Door Fast Drying Topcoat. If I need a bottle, I can just hop in the car and go to Sally's to pick one up and I love a shiny topcoat.

What is your favorite topcoat? What do you like about it?

My next manicure is China Glaze Optical Illusion. I'm wearing both topcoats again to see if there is any difference with the glitter, but I don't think I'll have anything to report on that front.

Revitalizing a fading manicure with Fantasy Fire

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I wore Illamasqua Load with a matte finish and stamped with Revlon Buttercup last week. The polish held up surprisingly well, but started to look a little dull after four days. To liven up my manicure, I painted it with Max Factor Fantasy Fire. I am very thankful to darling Jaime-Lee of Jai Geeks Out for sending me this beautiful polish. Check out her blog. It is a really fun read.

I was hoping that a little of the stamped art on my original manicure would show through Fantasy Fire and as you can see, it did. I wanted to do a paler layer of fantasy fire so that the stamping would show better, but needed three layers of Fantasy Fire to get even coverage.

It is a stunning polish, a sheer purple with shimmer that shines red in most light, but in low light, the shimmer takes on a turquoise green shine.

What do you think of Fantasy Fire on top of Illamasqua Load? What layering combinations do you like for sheer polishes?

I am comparing topcoats over Fantasy Fire and will tell you a bit about that comparison later this week. Until then, why don't you check out the BlogLoveTherapy blog hop?

Take care.

~Alexis

Illamasqua Load done matte with subtle stamping

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Hello, lovelies. Do my nails look like embossed velvet? Because that was what I was going for. Let me quickly tell you about this manicure. I painted a three layer base of Illamasqua Load followed by Essie Matte about you. It took a very long time to dry (but I do usually use INM Out the Door fast drying topcoat). Load's application felt a little sticky or stringy, but I did end up with even coverage. I dinged up the polish a bit before stamping the image. I used Revlon Buttercup on Bornprettystore's m60. I then painted some of the details on my left ring finger with Sonia Kashuk Golden Ticket, Revlon ColorStay Rich Raspberry and Bare Bones. I didn't use a topcoat over the stamping or it would have eliminated the matte finish on the base polish.

I did not take this polish off after four days, but it was starting to look a little tired. Oils from my hands and lotion had eliminated a lot of the matte finish and I was left with more of a satin finish. I ended up with one chip on my left middle finger that was easily patched. I was actually very impressed with how well Illamasqua Load fared. All fingers had only the tiniest bit of tip wear and they still looked quite presentable, especially surprising with such a light colored polish and after using a matte topcoat instead of a more protective topcoat.

Do you wear matte polish? What kind of wear time do you get out of a matte topcoat?

I tried to liven this manicure up by topping it with Max Factor Fantasy Fire. I'll show you the results next week. I also plan to do a comparison between Julep and INM Out the Door fast drying topcoats. One of these topcoats already has a big lead in terms of shine, but that's a topic for later.

Check out all the manicure fun at The Nail Files-Week 17. Have a good weekend.

~Alexis

TARDIS Galaxy Nails

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Hello, readers. Tell me, are there any other Doctor Who fans out there? I've watched some of the old episodes and some of them are pretty good, but I am addicted to the series that came out in 2005, helmed by Russell T. Davies and now Steven Moffat. The most recent new episode aired on Christmas and the next season isn't due until this fall!

I needed some new Doctor Who and found it through looking at the little TARDIS on my ring finger all week. Strangely, it did soothe my longing. Let me tell you a little bit about the manicure.

I painted a base two coat of Wet n Wild Black topped with INM Out the Door Northern Lights. I then sponged nebulae on all of my fingers except the left ring finger using Wet n Wild White. I sponged over each nebula using three different polishes per finger and edged each nebula with Julep Melissa and Hard Candy Beetle. I dotted white stars all over my nails. Finally, I topped the entire galaxy mani with another coat of Northern Lights. I love that holographic topcoat! It really was the icing on the cake for the manicure's starry effect. Here is a video so that you can see the flashiness of the topcoat. It was a gorgeous day and it seems that everyone in my neighborhood was mowing their lawns, so I apologize for all the motor noise.

For my TARDIS accent nail, I painted the shape in white and topped it with Revlon Royal. Using a small nail art brush, I painted the windows, sign, and lights on the police box. I used a thin line of Revlon Midnight Affair to outline the corner and roof.

Ugh, was this a chippy mess! By three days in, I had about 5 noticeable chips that just kept getting bigger. If I hadn't worked so hard on the manicure, I would have removed this after four days (five days at the most). Wet n Wild Black will go back to being a stamping or dotting only polish.

I really love galaxy nails. It is a bit time consuming to create the manicure, but I think the results are worth the time investment. If you're interested in trying out galaxy nails, you can check out the same video tutorial that I used. Emerald Sparkled's video shows just how easy it is to create these celestial bodies. Have fun!

Have you done galaxy nails? If you have, I'd love it if you provide a link to photos if they're online. Doctor Who fans, how do you deal with the long absence of the Doctor between seasons?

If you have a moment, you might want to check out the awesome giveaway on Colores de Carol. The giveaway is great, but her blog is fantastic!

I'll be showing you some very subtle stamped nail art on Illamasqua Load next week. Have a good week.

~Alexis

Earth Day polish swatching and nail art tip

Pin It We polish lovers would be heartbroken to give up our colorful nails. However most nail polish removers contain at least some petroleum based products, so if we can find ways to cut down on the use of nail polish remover a little bit, it would benefit the earth.

One of my favorite nail art tools is a reused cottage cheese or 32oz yogurt container lid. The lids are not accepted by my town's recycling program, so they would end up in a landfill if not reused. They are #2 recyclable, so if I need to use a bit of nail polish remover, the plastic remains intact. I very seldom need to use nail polish remover on the plastic though because it is quite easy to peel dry polish off the plastic.

Reusing these lids is earth friendly in a couple of ways. First, as I mentioned, the lids end up in a landfill if not reused. Secondly, I don't need to paint single use nail art wheels for every swatch I do (I only use the nail art wheel for swatches shared on this blog). I also can easily test out color combinations for nail art without creating a full manicure that might have the wrong shade of base color. I also use a lid under my stamping plates and it dramatically cuts down on post-manicure cleanup.

You can see on my very messy swatching lid that I compared polishes (OPI Designer de Better vs. Sonia Kashuk Golden Ticket) that really don't look much alike, checked polishes for possible layering (Nfu Oh 51 and Max Factor Fantasy Fire over several polishes), and scraped excess nail polish off a stamping plate. You can also see how I created a dry "water" marble on a cottage cheese lid in this post.

In other Earth Day news, I ran in the Envirun 5k race yesterday. It was a cold, rainy morning on Goat Island in Niagara Falls, NY. Even on such a dreary day, I couldn't help but being struck by how amazing it is there. I ran by the rushing white waters of the Niagara River and caught glimpses of the Horseshoe Falls near the end of the race. Living so close to one of the wonders of the world for so much of my life, I sometimes take the beauty of Niagara Falls for granted. I think it is important to remind myself of what I'm trying to preserve on all those days that I don't allow myself the convenience of single serving foods,  or I air dry my hair, or sit in my house during the winter while wrapped up in two sweaters, a blanket, and wearing wool socks on my feet.

Do you have any Earth Day tips to share? Do you find this tip useful? Runners, do you have any tips for me as I begin training for a 10k race this summer?

Have a good day.

~Alexis

Stamped art on Nfu Oh 61 and Julep Renee

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Hello again. Here is another mangled manicure. I was truly smitten with this manicure. I think that Julep Renee is a perfect spring polish. The formula was a little thicker than most, but still super smooth and creamy. I stamped over Renee with Revlon ColorStay Amethyst using bornprettystore's m69. I had some trouble getting the image to pick up and apply completely, but I was pleased with how the two purples complimented one another. The purples brought me right into the springtime mood. I don't have a holographic polish basecoat, so I used essie matte about you as the basecoat. I topped the tip of the nail with Nfu Oh 61. The application was a little streaky and difficult, but I think that it's just a matter of practice to determine how much polish you need on the brush to get even coverage. I then stamped over the join of the purple and holographic polish with bornprettystore's M19.

Here is where I made my mistake. I will not use a topcoat over holographic nail polish again. The manicure looked nice, but would have looked worlds better with the full holographic effect of the polish. As I mentioned in a post earlier this week, topcoat eliminated the purple flash from the holographic polish.

This was definitely a short-lived manicure. After only 4 days, I experienced some significant chipping. I tried to touch up the tips, but the polish just wanted to keep chipping. Normally, when a polish chips so quickly, I don't wear it again except as accents, but Nfu Oh 61 is so spectacular that I will accept it as a one to three day manicure and just enjoy staring at its flashiness for those few days.

What polishes or colors bring your mind to spring? Any favorite holographic polishes?



Head over and take a look at some of the beautiful manicures at the nail files-week 16.

I'll be sharing my TARDIS Galaxy nails next week. I am in Doctor Who withdrawal right now, so I decided to soothe my longing with some nail varnish therapy. Happy polishing.

~Alexis

How to turn your holographic polish into a flat, boring manicure

Pin It . . . Or "Why I didn't follow the instructions of many wise bloggers who know tons more than I do about getting the most out of holographic nail polishes."

I read it on several blogs. "When using a holographic polish, do not use a topcoat." But then I found a single commentary suggesting that once a topcoat is completely dry, your holographic polish returns to its stunning appearance. Lies!

Two facts about holographic polish that bear repeating: 1. Holographic polish chips very quickly. Do not expect to get a week's wear out of it. 2. Adding a topcoat to holographic polish dramatically decreases the holographic effect of the polish.

I figured, given fact number 1 about holographic polish, that the diminished flash of the polish would be worth it if a topcoat increased wear time. Topcoat didn't add wear time. The polish had chipped on several nails by the end of two days. And the topcoat completely eliminated the purple flash from the polish. It was still pretty, but compared with the beauty of the pure polish, it looked like a flat grey. So, please heed my warning. Enjoy your holographic polishes topcoat-free.

I now want to take a moment to thank two wonderful bloggers for nominating me for "The Versatile Blogger Award." Thank you Ria of rialovespawlish.com and Emma of emmas-advice.blogspot.com for really making me feel the love.

There are a number of great blogs out there and I enjoy all of the ones I follow. Here are a couple that I really love visiting:
Nail Polish Anonymous: She makes me drool over gorgeous indie polishes.
Konad & Me: She never disappoints with her creative stamped nail art and her "eye of the day" pictures are beautiful.
Colores de Carol: Her manicures cover the entire spectrum, from elegant and ladylike to whimsical and fun. Tons of inspiration to be found there.

Have any of you found a good way to increase holo wear time? What are some of your favorite blogs?

I will show you the complete manicure pictured above later this week. Despite it's quick chipping and some other little problems, it has to be one of my favorite manicures so far. I hope you all have a wonderful day.

~Alexis