Sally Hansen Liquid Gold

Purchased

Hi, guys. Look, I'm back! I had a really fun, whirlwind trip to Atlanta last weekend. I can't believe that I am back already. My polka dot manicure held up really well and was oohed and ahhed over. I am probably going to take it off tonight but I had a lot of fun wearing it. So today I have another of the Sally Hansen Color Foils to show you. This one is called Liquid Gold and, as you can imagine, it's a gold chrome.

As noted in my previous swatch of another Color Foil shade, this one had a slightly problematic formula. I originally tried this over base coat and that was a big mistake. It was super patchy and weird over base coat so I took it off and had a much easier time applying it. For this swatch I used 3 coats without top coat. 

You definitely need a steady hand when applying this, as every little bump and mistake will show. It does smooth out a bit as it dries so it wasn't too bad. 

Chromes aren't for everyone but I think this will be good for stamping. I haven't tried them for that yet but I'd like to soon. 

That's it for today, folks. Hope you're all having a great hump day!

Sally Hansen Minted Metal

Purchased

Good morning! Look, posting twice in one week. I wonder how long I can keep this up. :) Today I have Sally Hansen's Minted Metal from the most recent Color Foil collection. Foils and chromes are coming back with a vengeance and I like them. Sure, application can be a bitch but it looks really cool when it's done right. They are also great for stamping. I only picked up 2 polishes from this collection because they were kind of pricey ($6.99 I believe).

Minted Metal is a blue-green foil. I tried this over base coat first and that was a big mistake. It was really patchy and weird so I switched to no base coat, which worked a lot better. Minted Metal is a weird shade and looks green in some lights and blue in others. This dried a lot lighter than I thought it was going to and it ended up being a sort of seafoam silver. The formula was pretty pigmented and I only needed 2 coats for the swatches here. No top coat used. I don't know if it really would have affected the finish but I didn't feel as if I needed it so I just skipped it.

As with most chromes, application was a bit tricky but if you're careful it should not be too hard to get a smooth finish. Just be sure that your nails are smooth and free of any bumps or even dust, because this polish will showcase all of your nail imperfections. 

 

I haven't tried to stamp with this yet but I plan to soon. This is a very fun polish that requires a bit more work but is worth it in the end. 

What do you think of the new chrome trend? Do you love it or hate it?

OPI Push and Shove

Purchase

Look, it's two posts in one week! I hope your week is going just swimmingly. I am continuing on with the OPI Gwen Stefani collection today with Push and Shove. Push and Shove is a silver chrome polish. Chromes are notoriously finicky to apply and show every bump and imperfection on your nails. To combat this, OPI sold Push and Shove with its very own top coat, Lay Down That Base, that is supposed help smooth out the nail base and help with an even application.

First I did one coat of Lay Down That Base on clean, bare nails. Next I did 2 careful coats of Push and Shove. This was extremely pigmented and I could probably have gotten away with one coat if my application had been perfect. It wasn't, of course, so I ended up with 2. Shown without top coat.

Push and Shove had a really interesting formula and application. It was a little water and hard to control so I tried not to have too much polish on the brush. When I was painting my nails, I thought it was going to be brush stroke city but, as the polish dried, it dried to a smoother finish with way less brush strokes than expected. I probably could have done with a bit of clean up around my cuticles but I was being lazy that day. 

I am pretty lucky in that I don't have a lot of bumps or ridges on my nails. So I wasn't really worried about those kinds of imperfections showing up. I could not tell if the base made a big difference since, as I said, my nails are pretty smooth to begin with. If you do have ridges on your nails, I would definitely suggest a base coat, maybe even a ridge filler.  

My nails looked super shiny and metallic with this polish and I think it delivered as a chrome. While you have to be careful with application and prep your nails accordingly, the end result is pretty cool looking. 

What do you guys think of this one? I kind of miss all of the chromes that used to be available. It can be an unforgiving finish but it looks great when done right. I would love to see a black or grey chrome or even some jewel tones. Thanks for stopping by today and have a wonderful day!