Ulta3 Jade

The story.

I had removed my nail polish the night before but it got to late for me to paint them. The following morning I headed out to the shops with *gasp* naked nails. I finished at the shops and came home to drop off some shopping and decided I couldn't handle it any longer. I gave in and decided to paint my nails  >.<


I used Sally Hansen Triple Strong for my base coat follower by 2 coats of Jade. Although Jade is quite frosty, I found that as long as I kept my hand steady I easily got nice straight lines so the brush-strokes weren't terrible. Jade applied very smoothly, so this Ulta3 was a hit :) Since I was heading back to the shops soon I used OPI RapiDry Top Coat to finish my manicure. I did this mani in about 15 minutes which is quite an achievement for me!


Please excuse any mess as I took these photos before I headed out again :(

Ulta3 Jade in Artificial Light

Ulta3 Jade in Artificial Light

Ulta3 Jade in the Shade

This is such a gorgeous colour! I swear it's like it glows! All I have to say is that I love this!

China Glaze Westside Warrior

When I first saw China Glaze Westside Warrior I had to get since I adore khaki greens and I can't believe it has taken me so long to finally put it on! Westside Warrior is part of the China Glaze Metro collection.

I started with a coat of Revlon Calcium Gel Nail Hardener followed by two coats of Westside Warrior. I'm assuming Westside Warrior didn't like my base coat because it kept forming bald patches RIGHT BEFORE MY EYES! Ignoring this the actual application was smooth. Luckily the second coat worked to give a lovely even finish and a coat of Seche Vite to finish the job :)

These photos were taken in artificial light that night.

China Glaze Westside Warrior in Artificial Light

China Glaze Westside Warrior in Artificial Light

Then the following morning I took these photos in the bright, bright sunlight. Lol please ignore the edges of my nails! I managed to rake my fingers down the stupid front door mesh *sigh*.

Love. It. This is such a gorgeous khaki green creme and it perfectly matches the khaki green clothes I have lol! I would definitely wear this one again it's just so pretty and, ignoring the weird balding tantrum, it was a dream to apply :)

OPI Go On Green

I was in the mood for some green! So I chose OPI Go On Green from the Brights collections. Go On Green is a gorgeous duochrome that shifts from light blue to green.

I applied one coat of OPI Nail Hardener as my base coat. Then I applied three coats of Go On Green which was very sheer. I found the application very easy - the brush was easy to control and although thin the formula was still easy for me to work with. Then I applied a coat of Seche Vite to seal the manicure.

These photo's were taken in artificial light.

OPI Go On Green in Artificial Light

OPI Go On Green in Artificial Light

OPI Go On Green in Artificial Light

OPI Go On Green in Artificial Light

Then the following day I took these photo's in the natural light.

OPI Go On Green in Natural Light

OPI Go On Green in Natural Light

OPI Go On Green in Natural Light

I adore this colour! Each time I see this colour it instantly reminds me of mermaid scales.I really can't wait to try this over black, I think it will make the colour 'pop' even more! I really love this colour but it is very sheer and seemed to pull away from the edges of my nails before I put my top coat on.

Rimmel Green Grass

I wanted something nice and bright so I chose to apply Rimmel I (Heart) Green Grass.

After applying my Revlon Quick Dry base coat I added two thin coats of Green Grass. The formula on this was horrible. It's very thin making it difficult to control and to make matters worse the brush is very large so it makes things even more difficult. Rimmel has the largest brushes of all the nail polish brands. Below is a photo of the brush - see how wide it is!

To seal my manicure I used one layer of Sally Hansen Mega Shine top coat. The photo's below are in artificial light.

 

 Rimmel Green Grass in Artificial Light

 Rimmel Green Grass in Artificial Light

Still enjoying the summer heat I took these photo's in the sunlight.

 

Rimmel Green Grass in Natural Light

 

Rimmel Green Grass in Natural Light

Since I did such thin coats Green Grass needed a third coat to be completely opaque. Looking at my nails up close there is still a visible nail line (VNL) which I would prefer not to have.

Green grass is a gorgeous bright green, the colour of healthy looking grass in cartoons at least! It is a beautiful vibrant green, not a neon but it definitely has quite an intensity to it. I really like the yellow green colour although I would prefer the application to be easier. However, since I bought this for about $3 when it was on special I'm not that fussed. I think this would be a great base colour to create a colourful Konad design. For some reason this colour makes me want to go eat a nice green apple!

China Glaze Glittering Garland

Every since it arrived I've been dying to try China Glaze Glittering Garland from the Christmas Let It Snow Collection. Glittering Garland is a dark green jelly base with yellow/green toned shiny microglitter. When I first saw swatches of it I was reminded of China Glaze Emerald Sparkle which I don't yet have but has been high on my Must Have list.

I had been hoping to wear this one for Christmas but didn't get a chance to change my manicure and so I took the opportunity to try it on now. I applied my usual Revlon Quick Dry Base Coat and then two layers of Glittering Garland. It was opaque with one coat but I decided to put on two in the hopes of longer wear. A coat of Seche Vite Dry Fast topcoat and my favourite Sally Hansen Quick Dry Drops and my manicure was complete!

These are the photo's I took in artificial light that night after completing my manicure.

 

China Glaze Glittering Garland in Artificial Light

 China Glaze Glittering Garland in Artificial Light

Application was smooth and there was almost no clean up. My only complaint is that I found that once I added a topcoat the microglitter was somewhat muted. However, the full effect of the yellow/green microglitter still came through clearly in the sunlight - but not in my photo's!

The next photo's were take the next day in the natural light. Although the microglitter was shining through like crazy every time I tried to take a photo the glitter wouldn't photograph unless it was blurry.You can get an idea of what the microglitter looks like from the photo's in artificial light.

 

China Glaze Glittering Garland in Natural Light

China Glaze Glittering Garland in Natural Light

I am an absolute sucker for greens, add glitter and I'm a complete goner! China Glaze Glittering Garland is currently my favourite green, it is just so pretty with all that sparkling green and in the sunshine it is simply gorgeous! If you don't have this one yet in my opinion it is a definite must have.

China Glaze Holly-Day

I removed my Velvet Bow manicure which went quite well especially considering I had a coat of Seche Vite and a Konad Top Coat to get through. I don't think my nails had ever been so rock hard! I didn't have any staining from Velvet Bow which surprised me since I come to expect it from most dark nail polish colours.

I decided to go with a green for my next Christmas themed manicured and ended up choosing another from China Glaze's Let It Snow Collection. This time I chose Holly-Day, a dark forest green creme. This weekend is new nephews Christening so it seemed like a suitable colour to wear.

As with Velvet Bow the application was very smooth and needed very little clean up. I used Revlon Quick Dry Base Coat followed by two coats of Holly-Day and then topped it all off with a top coat of Seche Vite.

I took some photo's in artificial light after applying the polish that night. At night it appears as a much darker green but still manages to be a gorgeous colour.

 

China Glaze's Holly-Day in Artificial Light

 

 

China Glaze's Holly-Day in Artificial Light 

The next morning we had actual sunshine so I took the opportunity to take some photo's in the natural light. In the natural light it definitely lives up to its name-sake, a vibrant holly green creme.

 

 China Glaze's Holly-Day in Natural Light

 China Glaze's Holly-Day in Natural Light

I LOVE this colour! The moment I saw Scrangie's swatch of Holly-Day it immediately jumped to the top of my Must Have List and I must say I am not disappointed. Green's have got to be one of my favourite colours to wear and Holly-Day is no exception!