Super Satin Top Coat Swatches

press sample

I am so excited to share my first official swatcher post. (Yes, I have swatched before and also tested items for review. But this is the first time I have been sent a POLISH to review/ swatch! Well, top coat. Close enough ;) )

Bree at @breezylovesnails selected me to swatch her new top coat (for her brand new label, Mad Scientist) Super Satin Top Coat. It's a semi-matte finish, so while it takes away that glaring super shine of normal top coats, it doesn't completely dull the finish as a matte TC would. 

The ring finger is coated with China Glaze Fast Forward, with the other fingers Satined up for comparison. At first glance, I will be 100% honest, I could see some element of satin finish but it wasn't quite what I expected. I figured out that the longer I waited (beyond the 10-15 minutes I waited to shoot pics after swatching), the better the satin finish looked! So, for reference, the pink and grey swatches were done with a shorter dry time, and the holo polish had a few hours before being photographed. That is where you can really see the difference!! 

I did a simple dotticure using Fast Forward over Satin (over CG Sexy Silhouette). 

THIS is where the satin truly shows! Check out that picture below. I used the satin TC over Daily Hues Nail Lacquer Blaze (can you tell I've been obsessed with DHNL lately?) and did shiny chevrons using Up Your Nail vinyls & Fast Forward TC. 

Huge props to the formula being easy to work with, and the brush is great- not too skinny.

Lastly I have it over CG Tip Your Hat. 

I fully admit the first shot doesn't show it at it's greatest. Ring finger is glossy for comparison. Below, I've french tipped using Fast Forward. 

Super Satin Top Coat is launching soon, so keep your eyes on her instagram for the launch! Thanks for being my first, Bree! 

xo Shawna

Dots - October Nail Art Challenge

Hello lovely readers! Happy Friday, it's time for another edition of the twinkie nail art challenge! October looks like a great month, with a few new techniques and fun manicures planned. 

Today (the first Friday of October- where did the time go?!) brings us the theme "dots". I've had this base on since Wednesday night, it's one of the polishes rom my first indie polish that I mentioned in my blog post last Saturday, from My True Love Creations. I'm still planning a swatch post for that haul, so stay tuned! (I have to wait until I'm home alone... I've been getting complaints about the fumes of my constant nail painting from my fiancé!)

I decided to keep it simple and go for a french manicure inspired dotticure. I wasn't intending to have the dots shrink in size towards the edges, but it just kind of happened - and i liked it! This look was super quick and easy - a great way to add some interest with minimal effort. The dotting took just 6 minutes (not that I timed it or anything :-p) 

Polished Used:

MTL Creations Mia

Ciate Snow Virgin

HK Girl Top Coat

Born Pretty Store Dotting Tool (use coupon SDPX31 to save 10%!)

What do you think of this take on a french mani?

xo Shawna

Dry Brush Mani - Twinkie Nail Art Challenge

Today is the last day of the September twinkie nail art challenge, and it brings us dry brushing!

This is a new-to-me technique, but pretty straight forward. I used this simple tutorial, only modifying to add both horizontal and vertical stripes.

Polishes used:

Echoes Polish Barely There (base)

OPI Manicurist of Seville

OPI You Don't Know Jacques

OPI Love.Angel.Music.Baby

Rimmel Do Not Disturb

Ciate Speed Pro Top Coat

I have mixed feelings about this mani. It's the reverse of what usually happens - I think it looks better in the picture than in real life! I will definitely try again with different colour combinations, perhaps a more monochromatic look would look better.

What do you think of this one?

xo Shawna

Simple Duochrome & Teal French Manicure

I found a bottle of Sally Hansen Lustre Shine in my dollar store yesterday for a steal of $2, so I grabbed it. It looked pretty in the bottle, with a base of gold and a green colour shift. 

However, once I got it on the nails, the colour shift was practically nonexistent! The shade is "Plume". This swatch is two coats and you can see there is definite visible nail line.

So, this turned into the manicure I couldn't leave alone. First I added French tips in my new Rimmel "Do Not Disturb" teal. Then, I decided it was still too plain so I fully painted accent nails on each hand (ring finger on the left, index on the right). 

Lastly, this morning I still wanted more, so I added some Gold glitter top coat (Sally Beauty brand) and finally satisfied, finished off with HK Girl top coat! It's not my favourite manicure, but it has enough interest now for me to leave it alone for the rest of the weekend. 

Do you ever do a manicure you just can't leave alone? Do you wear it for a day or take it off immediately? 

xo Shawna