Revlon Whimsical

When I bought Whimsical, I bought two bottles. One for myself and one for my giveaway. I knew I wanted to swatch it up for you so you could see all the loveliness of it, but I couldn't decided what base I wanted to use for it. I happened to be reading through my blogs and came across Lacquer Me Silly where she had just worn Tiffany Impostor. That made me think about For Audrey. And from there it was an easy jump to using For Audrey for my base for Whimsical.

I think For Audrey was a good choice for this. However, I wasn't thrilled with Whimsical. I thought the formula was a bit thin and the hex glitter was a bit too sparse. I love the pink and blue hex glitter. I just wish more of it would make it on to the nail. And the iridescent glitter shimmers wonderfully.

I used two coats of For Audrey and two coats of Whimsical for the photos below. That was then topped with Seche Vite.

Macro Shot of Whimsical

Really Macro shot of Whimsical

You can really see some of small glitter in this one

I've currently had this mani on for three days and it is holding up better than most. I usually have major chipping after a day at work, but this time I've only had minor chipping. Not sure what was different, but I'm glad for it no matter what it is!

Have you used Whimsical? Did/Do you like it?

Stash Shopping

I got to do a little stash shopping today. Made it to Sally Beauty, Walgreen's, and Wal-Mart. I picked up a few that I had been looking at and a few that happened to catch my eye.

China Glaze Some Like it Haute, For Audrey, and Dorothy Who

Fingerpaints Avante Garde Green, Where Art Renoir?, Cerulean Seascape

Essie Go Overboard, Sinful Colors Let Me Go, Revlon Smoldering, Hard Candy Beetle

Regular Nail Wear

 During the week I would usually touch up my nails as they wear or chip. And that happens A LOT! I work table games in a casino and my hands see a lot of action, especially on the craps table. However, I wanted to show what my nails go through on a weekly basis. So, I left my nail polish on for a week with no touch ups to show what happens to the poor things.

This is the manicure from my last post.

Seche Clear base coat

3 coats China Glaze Ruby Pumps

Seche Vite top coat

As you can see there is tip wear on all my nails. My right hand is hit the hardest because I am right hand dominant. The thumb and index are used a lot and really chip badly if I don't care for them properly.

For those of you with high demanding handwork jobs, what do you do to help with wear and chipping?

China Glaze Ruby Pumps

Yes, I know that pretty much everyone else has already swatched up China Glaze Ruby Pumps. But that is the color I chose to wear for this week and so that is going to be my first swatch post. The only photos I have were taken under my Ott Lamp. Today was horribly cloudy and there just wasn't enough light for decent photos.

Name: Ruby Pumps
Manufacturer: China Glaze

Color: Red Glitter in Red Jelly
Application: Seche Clear base coat. 1 thin coat Ruby Pumps, then 2 medium coats Ruby Pumps. Seche Vite top coat. Ruby Pumps went on very well. The thin coat was a bit streaky, but the next two coats evened it out beautifully.
Overall Impression: 5/5 This is a gorgeous nail color and it is easy to see why so many love it. The glitter inside seems to glow and gives Ruby Pumps a very dimensional look. It goes on nice and shiny. Seche Vite just brought out the glow even more.

Wear: I decided to do a full post about how hard I am on my nails and used this polish to do so. You can find that post here.