Pretty Little Liars: Ninja Polish Divinity

Time for a later night #RedCoatTueday!  And, strangely, I'm actually watching tonight's episode while I write my post!  Tonight's photos are sticking with the theme of oldie but goodie that I've been doing this past week, so the photos and the lighting aren't the best.  Aaaaaand the details are a little sparse.  I'm sorry!  Don't shoot me!!  Anyway, let's take a look at Ninja Polish Divinity over Orly Bus Stop Red, but first, the rules!

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The rules are easy!

• Paint your nails red, do your lips red, do a shadow design in red, or do anything beauty related that is mostly red.
• Add your blog and photo to the inlinkz!  If you don't have a blog but do have an IG, you can check this link for directions on how to use your IG for inlinkz.  If you don't have a blog or IG, you can just add your photo to the linkup or send it to Color Me So Crazy, and she will get them up for you!
• Use the #RedCoatTuesday tag when you share your photos on IG, Twitter, or Facebook!

[I purchased these polishes myself.]

Ninja Polish, the now defunct brand, came out with this lovely polish as their version of the elusive Unicorn Pee.  It's got a red base with a green to purple to gold to red shifting shimmer.  I'll have a comparison of those two soon, I promise, but I can say that it is really very close to Clarins 230, just more opaque.

The first coat of Divinity is self-leveling and almost opaque enough to be a one coater.  You only really need two coats for full opacity, but I decided to wear this over Orly Bus Stop Red.  Even though I only wore one coat, it's still got lovely depth.

In most lights, it looks like a pretty red/gold shimmer, but when you get it in the shade or look at it at different angles, you can see that lusciously gorgeous shift.

I just love how it looks like it's on fire!

Dry time is average, and the wear time is amazing.  The next two photos show this after four days of wear with only minimal tip wear.  They were both also taken in the magical box known as my refrigerator.  Heh.

I mean, look at that shift!  I loooooove this polish so hard.  I thought I may give it up after doing my comparisons, but man, these pics are helping me remember why I loved it to begin with!  This lovely lady will be used again in the near future!

Sadly, Divinity is no longer available for purchase as Ninja Polish has closed up shop.  It's such a shame, too, because this is just a gorgeous polish.  If you see it on a blog sale for a decent price, it's definitely worth the money!  So, there you go!  What do you think?  Do you have any of the "Unicorn Pee" dupes?

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An InLinkz Link-up

Pretty Little Liars: Orly Bus Stop Red

It's been a while, hasn't it?  I'm soooo sorry for abandoning the blog!  I've been really missing it and you guys, so I'm going to work hard to get myself back on track!  Especially because we're quickly approaching my 2 year birthday!  So, what better way to kick off the restart of my blog than to dive right into some #RedCoatTuesday!  

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The rules are easy!

• Paint your nails red, do your lips red, do a shadow design in red, or do anything beauty related that is mostly red.
• Add your blog and photo to the inlinkz!  If you don't have a blog but do have an IG, you can check this link for directions on how to use your IG for inlinkz.  If you don't have a blog or IG, you can just add your photo to the linkup or send it to Color Me So Crazy, and she will get them up for you!
• Use the #RedCoatTuesday tag when you share your photos on IG, Twitter, or Facebook!

So, last season, I missed the first 5 or 6 episodes of Pretty Little Liars when it first came back, and by the time I wanted to catch up, they weren't online anymore.  Womp womp!  So I was pretty much a season behind when I participated in previous Red Coat Tuesdays.  However, Netflix finally added in season 4, so I was able to catch up just before this season started!  Now, I've got it safely scheduled on my DVR, so I won't be behind again!  It's definitely a guilty pleasure show and not something that I ever thought I'd watch religiously.  I actually find myself screaming at the television more often than not because those girls are just so dumb!  Hah!  My friend Rachael of Polished for Reals pointed me in the direction of this hilarious Buzzfeed called 41 Thoughts Everyone Has While Watching "Pretty Little Liars," and it's pretty dead on. Don't read that, though, if you're not caught up.  It's not super spoilery, but it may not make as much sense.  Ok, so let's get onto the review!  (Please be prepared for some not so awesome lighting as well as some right-handage!)

I purchased this polish myself.

Color: Deep red creme.

Finish: Crème – a flat polish that finishes smooth with full opacity.

Bottle / Brush: Orly (old) round - large round bottle that is easy to hold onto.  The handle is rubber, which makes it easier to hold onto when you’re painting.  Wand and brush length are average.

Opacity: High – opaque at two coats!

Glitter Application: N/A

Consistency: Medium – applies easily and doesn’t flood the cuticles.

Overall Ease of Application: Easy – applies well without pooling, dragging, streaking, or balding.  Spreads evenly and smoothly.

Stampability: Not tested for stamping.

Dry Time: Medium – dry to the touch with minimal smudging in 3-8 minutes.

Overall Thoughts: I wore this polish a long time ago, so my recollection of it isn't as awesome as I would have hoped. However, I do remember that it was super easy to apply, and it wore well with Ninja Polish Divinity on top for several days without chips. It didn't stain my nails, but it did slightly stain my skin when I took it off as you can see on my thumb. It doesn't help that this is my non-dominant hand, so my application wasn't exactly tip top! Although, I'm super proud of my hand poses! They usually look so horrible with my righty, but these only look slightly awkward! Hah! Anyway, Bus Stop Red is a lovely creme, but it's not super unique. I have others in my collection similar, so I ended up selling it. If you're looking for a blood red creme, though, this would be a great option!

You can purchase Orly at Sally Beauty, Ulta, and other beauty supply shops.

I purchased this polish myself.

Comparison Thursday: Guest Post Style - Polish for Reals

Hi guys!  I'm Rachael from Polish For Reals!  I'm so excited that Julie asked me to do a guest post.  I followed her blog long before I actually knew her.  Now I consider her a friend and I'm very lucky to be able to say that.

So what I have for you today is a set of dupes...or not?  You'll find out!  The polishes I have are from Priti NYC and Orly.

Orly Royal Navy retails for around $8.00.  You can find Orly at Sally's Beauty Supply, Ulta, CVS, and many other stores.  It's very easy to find and readily available.  Priti NYC Spring Gentian retails for $13.50.  You can find Priti NYC at some salons and online.

It was hard to get macros of these bottles due to light reflecting.  Below is Spring Gentian.

And here is Royal Navy.  Both polishes are what I would term a bright navy or dark cobalt.  Both also have teal shimmer.

You can see that in the bottle, these polishes already look identical.  The Orly is .6 fl oz while the Priti is only .43 fl oz.

The Orly Brush is a standard polish brush.

Priti has a flat brush that I really love.

You can clearly see the Orly brush is much larger but I think it can be a bit unwieldy.

Below is one coat of each polish.  Spring Gentian is on my index and ring finger.  Royal Navy is on my middle finger and pinkie.

And this is two coats.  Do you see a difference yet?

The teal shimmer is a bit more evident in the Orly than the Priti.

Royal Navy macro.

Spring Gentian macro.

The last photo is where you can see how the Orly has more of a matte finish while the Priti just shines.  I have not used top coat for these photos.

Are they the exact same polish?  Almost.  Do you need both?  No.  Which one is better?  Spring Gentian.  If you haven't tried Priti NYC, don't let the price deter you!  The formula makes them well worth it and they frequently have sales.

Come check me out on my blog, Polish For Reals and enter my giveaway!

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If you haven't checked out Rachael's blog yet, you definitely should!  She's got gorgeous nails, and I'm so stoked that she did a Comparison Thursday for us!  I don't have either of those polishes, but now I want both.  Ahhh, c'est la vie, I guess!  ;)

Tutorial: Orly Nail Rescue

Well, I keep getting a break on my swatch hand index finger in the exact.  Same.  Spot.  It is infuriating.  I'm having to interrupt a wear test to patch it, which is annoying.  I'm still going to finish the wear test, but I'll just have to note that my index finger was redone on day 3.  Anyway, since I'm having to patch my nail tonight, I thought I'd post a tutorial on how to use my favorite patching tool - Orly Nail Rescue.  The break and photos are from a thumb break just before Valentine's Day.  Unfortunately, I broke it too badly, so the patch only held for about 3 days.  I have, however, successfully patched my index finger for over a month until the damaged part grew out.  I really like this Orly product.  It's pretty simple to use, and it actually helps.  The only negative I have is that it dissolves in acetone, and since acetone is my preferred method of removal, I have to redo my patch each time I take off my mani.  Let's take a look at how to use it.

Here's my break from a few weeks ago.

First, remove any polish on the nail with the break.  Be careful when you remove it so you don't make the tear worse.  

Next, gather your tools.  

You'll need the Orly Nail Rescue kit, which comes with a tiny buffer, the Nail Repair powder, 

and a brush on glue.  

My glue glued itself shut, so I purchased this ibd 5 second glue from Sally's for replacement.  Try to store your glue right-side up to ensure that it doesn't glue itself together.  You'll also probably need another buffer since the one it comes with is flimsy and doesn't have much grit.  I use a medium / fine from Sally's.

Brush on one thin coat of glue.

Try to push the split pieces together for just a second so that the two pieces adhere to one another.

Next, while the glue is still wet, dip your nail down into the powder.  Press it in to pack the powder onto the nail.  Shake off the excess powder into the little tub.

Once it's relatively dry to the touch, wipe off the excess powder from around and on the nail.

Repeat the gluing and powdering steps once more.  The break should be repaired at this point, but repeat again if you feel like it's still flimsy.

Next, take your buffer and buff the patch down until it's smooth.  Don't over-buff or else the patch will be too thin.

Lastly, swipe a little bit of remover over the nail to remove any access powder and debris.

There you have it!  That's how to use the Orly Nail Rescue kit.  It's seriously a life saver for me since I tend to have flimsy nails due to my thyroid's never ending revolt against me.  I purchased my repair kit from Sally's for about $8, but I'm pretty sure it's also available at Ulta as well as other online retailers.

Do you patch your nails when they break, or do you cut and file them down?

Happy Holidays Giveaway: Prize Three

Wow!  Sorry about last night.  I got caught up doing some work, and then my computer decided to die...  Then my printer decided to be a pain in the ass.  Yeah.  I was about to go Office Space on their asses.

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Then, tonight, the hubs and I decided we should probably go get our tree.  We usually get our Christmas tree from the baseball team of the high school nearby.  This year, though, we waited too long, so we went to Pike Nurseries instead.  They had some pretty gorgeous trees for only $30, so I think that it worked out alright.  We try to usually shop locally instead of through chains, but it just couldn't be helped this year.  We drug the tree in and put it up.  Now our kitten, who has never seen a tree before, is going bananas trying to figure out what it is and how he can play with it.  I'm afraid we're going to have this situation going on before the holiday is over...

Anyway, enough about my crazy week, let's talk shop.  Tonight we're going to talk about the Holiday Giveaway prize number three!  

First, let's take a look at Soflajo Yule Tidings.  Yule Tidings is an olive green based shimmer polish full of holographic micro glitters in red, silver, gold, and green and giant gold hexes.  Application was great!  Everything came out of the bottle easily and spread on my nail without any extra effort on my part.  This was two coats with one coat of NYC Grand Central Station.

Check it out blurry so you can see how awesome the holo glitters are.

Here's a closeup so you can actually see the colors better.

Next up is Girly Bits Long Winter's Nap, which is a grey creme base that leans a little toward dusty purple.  It is filled with periwinkle, bright blue, and gunmetal hexes of varying sizes.  Like all Girly Bits polishes, I had no problems with application.  This is a jelly, but it's more opaque than normal jelly glitters, which means you only need a few coats for full coverage.

This is the perfect polish to wear on a chilly winter day.

Color Club Snow Flakes from the Winter Affair collection is pretty much a dupe of Essie Shine of the Times.  I don't think the combo I used here does Snow Flakes any justice.  It really is a pretty polish, it applies well, and the scent isn't too bad.  However, it doesn't really look very good over Ho Ho Holiday.

Maybe the green interfered too much with the color shift, but the macro is lackluster.

Orly Miss Conduct is an absolutely gorgeous bright pink scattered holo!!  It is extremely pigmented, so it didn't take much for full coverage.  The holo came out to play even with indoor lights.  The only down side - it stained my nails even though I was wearing my Rejuvacote base coat.  So my nails are little pinkish orange now.  Womp womp!

I don't know, though.  I think it's worth it.

I mean, look at that holo!

Lastly, I present to you Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer the Man Who Makes the Toys.  MWMtT is a red jelly with green and red shimmer, red and green hexes, iridescent hexes that shift from blue to green, and holo gold stars.  The polish builds up easily in two coats, but I used three for the photos.  The stars aren't as difficult to get out as they are in other polishes, which was a pleasant surprise!

You can purchase Soflajo from Jody's site and her Etsy store. You can purchase Girly Bits here, here, here, here, and here.  Lastly, you can purchase Orly and the Color Club scented Winter Affair collection at Sally's Beauty Supply.

Ok, you've seen 3/4 of the prizes so far.  Have you picked your favorite prize pack yet, or are you waiting for number four to make your decision?