Cirque Never Nude

The sun wasn't out today, so I wasn't able to truly capture the beauty of this polish. This is Cirque Never Nude, part of the same collection as Tibetan Nights. Never Nude is a bronze beige linear holo that dries to a semi gritty finish. Top coat is a must if you want your nails to be smooth to the touch. I used two coats for the pictures above, without top coat. Unlike other holos I've tried, I actually like the way Never Nude looks when the lighting makes it look flat (when it doesn't look holographic). Never Nude is a very pretty shade, and dried lightning fast. I think this would look good on everyone - it's a neutral-warm shade that would compliment any outfit without looking out of place.
Never Nude can be purchased here for $16.

A Story on Nail Art and Tips

*Tips are at the end of the post*

Let me start this off by saying that I have little to no skill/experience in nail art. In fact, up until today, the only kind of nail art I've attempted was water marbling. I've always found that doing my nails helped me relax. Somehow I figured that doing nail art would give me the same feeling. So I decided to watch a few videos on YouTube to familiarize myself to the process before I tried doing my nails. I wasn't 100% sure I would get a good result, but I figured I had a decent chance to get it right. And if I fail, it wouldn't be a huge deal; it was only nail polish, right? With that mentality, I started my first attempt. Surprisingly enough, it went very well,  and I garnered quite a few compliments while I wore it. Incensed by my successful first attempt, I decided to do another water marble. After all, I was able to get a very good result the last time I tried it; surely my second experience would be even better! With that in mind, I started to go through the steps again. I messed up a few nails along the way, which did irk me a little, but what the hey, it's only nail polish! So I removed the duds and redid them until I was satisfied with the result. And then I smudged a nail while putting away my supplies. My right eye developed a tic at that point, and I took out my supplies once more. I can be a perfectionist at times, and this was one of those times I had to have perfect. I was under the impression that I just had to redo one nail, and then everything would work out. And you know what? I was right, I was so right that I only had to redo that one nail nine fucking times. Insert a giggle of hysteria. By the end of it I had a headache due to the fumes I inhaled (I spent 1/2hr doing nine nails, 2 1/2 doing the leftover one all in a closed space) and I was halfway into getting a panic attack from the entire experience. Needless to say, any logical person would avoid doing a water marble for a while. From the fact that I took five times as long to do one nail compared to an entire manicure, you might get the idea that logic isn't exactly my forte. I'd defend myself saying that I am a very logical person, but there would be no point as I decided to try water marbling a third, fourth, and fifth time. All ended in the same way as attempt number two. At some point I decided to stop. It was just nail polish... so I tried it one last time. Laugh at me if you will, but my sixth attempt was gorgeous. It was a-ma-zing. A warm feeling started to spread through my body. Is that what happiness felt like? Finally, I was able to reproduce a successful water marble without messing up too much. My stress began to melt away. I started to relax. And then I realized I had the SATs the next day. I closed my fist in frustration and banged it on the table. I discovered my nails weren't as dry as I thought. That eye tic came back.

The End.

***

Ever since then, I became a little wary of all things nail art (including Konad, but for a different reason). I admired it on other people but told myself that I would drive myself insane if I tried to reproduce any of the things I saw on others. But then I came across this tutorial. My curiosity led me to try it out after a few weeks of hesitation (what the hey, it's just nail polish!) and I have to say that I like the way it turned out. It was easy, took little time, and looks great. Will I try it again? Hell no. The last thing I want to do is ruin this the way I ruined water marbling. 

I used (L to R) a-england Bridal Veil, a-england Saint George, Nubar Reclaim. I sponged OPI DS Sapphire on the tips.

***

I tried a creme gradient and a holo gradient and found that holos have a smoother transition when sponged on another holo. I found that a sheer linear holo like DS Sapphire sponged on another more opaque linear holo like Reclaim gave the best gradient like effect. When sponged on a scattered holo, the effect can be a little harsh. They all look good under bright sunlight, but in an area that is not brightly lit, I'd go for linear on linear.

Linear Holos!

The sun was out this week, so I decided to try out a couple of gorgeous linear holos!
First up is OPI DS Sapphire. I got this a couple of days ago at CVS for *drumroll please* $7.29. I was really happy about the price, since this sells for $20+ on Ebay :D
This gem is a linear light blue holo that is noticeably holographic even with artificial light. It was sheer (I used three coats) and had a distinctive scent, different from the other OPI I own. I don't own any OPI that have the old formula, so it might be due to that. One thing I have to note is that the holographic effect you get on your nails is not as strong (not by much, mind you) as what you see in the bottle. I'm wearing this right now, and so far (one day), I haven't experienced any chips or tip wear. I used one coat of Poshe in the pictures below.
EDIT: After 10 days of wear, I had minor tip wear and some chipping on one of my nails. Pretty good for a holo, don't you think?

 The next polish I have is Nubar Reclaim, a beautiful grassy green holo. Unlike OPI DS Sapphire, the formula for this one was perfect. The holographicness (yes, I create new words) of this polish was very strong, stronger than the OPI. I wore this for a week and only had some tip wear before I removed this. I used two coats (you could get away with one if you are a careful), no top coat. I got this on Amazon for $8 (including shipping).