Across the Ocean and Back Again

Hello! I am back from my month-long vacation which took me to/through 15 states plus one country outside of the U.S. It was a journey with a lot of different events and modes of transportation which took me and Mr. Karen to places both familiar to us and new. I put neutral (but a tiny bit sparkly because I'm me) polish on my toes and packed fake nails for my fingers and off I went. A few days before we left, I put on this set from imPress called Wash Away. It has light blue solid nails, light blue with tiny iridescent glitter nails, and light blue with a turquoise and navy flower and butterfly design nails. These started out medium length and square, but I cut and shaped them so they felt more comfortable and practical for me, as I often do with the longer fake nails.

 

Still looking good on day 6 (with the limited edition "XP Flavored" Coke limited edition).

 

I had a few nails loosen and need new adhesive tabs during the week I wore the blue set, so pretty standard. The next set of nails I used were from the Kiss Gel Fantasy Allure line. The box didn't have a name on it, but I looked online and these appear to be called How Dazzling. They have multi-sized iridescent glitter on a translucent ivory base. (The box was a bit worse for wear after being stuffed in a pocket of my suitcase for a week at that point.)

 

I used adhesive tabs for these, not the glue that came with them. I clipped and shaped them as I had the blue set. On the left, as they came from the box. On the right, how I wore them.

 

I wore the glittery nails for the whole second week of the trip. When it was time to change, I reached for a set I'd gotten off the Temu app, where they were described as "Press On Nails, Short Square Fake Nails, Beige French False Nails with Glitter Design, Glossy Clear Full Cover Acrylic Nails for Women and Girls; Color: Beige Cat Eye, Style: Gentle". The picture didn't appear to match a lot of those words, but for $3.48 I was willing to risk it.

 

These came with adhesive tabs. They were not short, so I clipped and filed them. They were a bit sheer, so before I shortened them, a hint of my natural nail tips showed through the fake nails in strong light.

 

Six days later, I hadn't lost a single nail. Those adhesive tabs were strong. I'm sure it helped that I didn't have my laptop with me, so wasn't banging my nails on a keyboard for a few hours a day like I tend to do at home.

 

I'd planned to change my nails again before the next phase of our trip, a seven-night transatlantic cruise, but they were holding up so well, I still had them on the day we boarded, a week after I'd applied them.

 

I figured I'd change to the last set I'd packed when I started to lose the beige cat eye ones as the adhesive got weakened, but they just kept hanging in there, so I ended up wearing them for the whole cruise and the multi-day drive home from New York to Idaho. There was definitely a gap at the base of my nails by that time, but given the neutral color of the nails it wasn't too noticeable.

 

On the trip, I was really trying to focus on experiences rather than buying things, so even though I saw polish and fake nails I don't have easy access to at home, I bought none of them. I'm kind of amazed at my self-control. I will have a display post up once I get through all the photos; hoping that won't take too long.

Wheel D15: Magnetics

 

1. Bee's Knees Lacquer The Magician (3 coats)
2. Bee's Knees Lacquer The Fool (3)
3. Bee's Knees Lacquer The Band of Exiles (3)
4. Bee's Knees Lacquer Banshees Are In (2)
5. Bee's Knees Lacquer S.S. Georgie (2)
6. Bee's Knees Lacquer King Ghidorah (2)
7. Bee's Knees Lacquer Can't Stop the Train Baby (2)
8. KB Shimmer I Feel Pine (2)
9. KB Shimmer Universal Appeal (2)
10. Essie Lil' Boa Peep (2) [the magnets on the cap on these Essies seemed weak]
11. Essie Repstyle (2)
12. Essie Sssssexy (2)
13. Essie Snake Rattle and Roll (2)
14. Essie Crocadilly (2)
15. Essie Snake It Up (2)
16. Revlon Star Attraction Starry Eyed (2)
17. Revlon Star Attraction Star Pop (2)
18. Revlon Star Attraction Reality Star (2)
19. Revlon Star Attraction Star Crush (2)
20. Revlon Star Attraction Star Watch (2)

Bottles 1 through 5:

 

6 through 9:

 

10 through 15:

 

16 through 20:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ICEGEL Star Galaxy Magnetic Gel Polish

Sample provided for review

 

When I posted the Haruyama gel polishes that NashlyNails sent me for review, I teased that I liked another polish they sent so much I wore it as a full mani. Today I'm sharing that polish: ICEGEL IM POLY Star Galaxy magnetic gel polish in 1153, a warm tan shimmer. I used a ring magnet held diagonally to make the pattern. On some nails, the pattern spread a bit more than others before I cured the polish. I used two thin coats for full coverage.

 

I was just fascinated by how the silvery design pulled out by the magnet shimmered and shifted as I moved my nails to different positions.

 

 

 

I discovered this one also glows orange under black light. That's a fun bonus!

 

I added a spider design on one nail from a second set of IBDI water slide decals NashlyNails sent (see the other set in last week's post).

 

 

When I did my second hand so I could wear this polish as a full mani, I held the ring magnet in place longer and cured sooner, so the lines are more focused. The great thing about magnetic gel polish vs. conventional magnetics is that until you cure it under the light, you can move the magnet around and get just the look you want, no fear of it starting to dry while you work.

 

I wore this polish for a full week. I did get chips on some nails, which I attribute to not pulling the polish over the ends of my nails (capping) on the first hand because I didn't plan to do a full mani at that point as well as my usual issue with not paying attention and jamming my fingers into walls/cupboard doors/etc. which is hard on nails and polish. Removal was no problem when the time came. Here's what one hand looked like mid-week, in the filtered sunlight in my car.

 

There about 20 different colors of the Star Galaxy ICEGEL polishes, including a few purples and teals that I find very intriguing. They are $14.99 for each 9ml bottle; if you buy one of the sets, per bottle cost is between $13.50 and $14 a bottle depending on the set. Use code frazzle10 for 10% off your first order at the NashlyNails website.

NashlyNails Website    Facebook    Instagram

 

 

The polishes shown in this entry were provided free for review purposes. The content of the entry was not dictated by the provider, and I get to keep the polishes for my own use.

Wheel G14: Magnetics

Today for Nail Wheel Wednesday I've got magnetics, mostly brands I had to travel or trade to get. Standard magnetic wheel rules applied: because I was doing 20 in one sitting, I didn't always leave the magnet in place long enough to make a strong pattern, and because the tips are close together, I sometimes couldn't get the magnet where I would if I were doing the pattern on a real nail.

 

(all two coats with top one magnetized) 1. Dona Mirelle Opti Grow Magnet MG05
2. Dona Mirelle Opti Grow Magnet MG15
3. Dona Mirelle Opti Grow Magnet MG06
4. IsaDora Magnetic Nails Electric Violet
5. IsaDora Magnetic Nails Magnetic Mania
6. IsaDora Magnetic Nails Steel My Heart
7. L'Oreal Star Magnet Silver
8. L'Oreal Star Magnet Grey
9. L'Oreal Star Magnet Prune [I smudged this, not the polish's fault]
10. Ludurana Aurora Magnetic Explosao de Luz
11. Essence Metallics Steel Me [used generic bar magnet for all Essence ones; I don't know if they had their own and I misplaced it or what]
12. Essence Metallics Nothing Else Metals
13. Essence Metallics Iron Goddess
14. Essence Metallics Copper Rules
15. Eye Candy Magnetic Quilt Bordeaux
16. Eye Candy Magnetic Quilt Peacock
17. Deborah Lippmann Love is a Battlefield
18. Deborah Lippmann Hard Knock Life
19. Deborah Lippmann Magic Man
20. Deborah Lippmann Pink Princess

Bottles 1 through 5:

 

Directions on the Dona Mirele ones, which I bought in Minsk, Belarus on a business trip:

 

6 through 10:

 

11 through 15:

 

16 through 20:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wheel O10: Various Magnetics

Back to our regularly scheduled programming this Wednesday with a wheel of magnetics. They're popular in the indie world now, but not so long ago, it was easy to pick them up at retail stores, which is how I got the polishes featured in this episode of Nail Wheel Wednesday.



(all are two coats except for the LA Girl, which are one; some have enough texture that they would have benefitted from topcoat, but I skipped it in favor of moving on to the next shiny thing that distracted me the day I painted this wheel)

1. Ulta Put a Ring on It [these first four minis came in a set; the magnet is this ring on the cap of this first one]
2. Ulta Polar Opposites
3. Ulta Opposites Attract
4. Ulta Rules of Attraction [has a different formula than the other three Ulta magnetics; didn't get much change out of it, though perhaps I just wasn't patient enough]
5. LA Girl Magnetized [magnets for the LA Girl are in a piece that pops out of the top of the caps; different colors have different designs]
6. LA Girl Positive Charge
7. LA Girl Attract
8. LA Girl Electrostatic
9. LA Girl Repel
10. LA Girl Magnetic Field
11. LA Girl Magnetic Force
12. LA Girl Polar Opposite
13. Magna Nails Silver [magnets for the Magna Nails are on a separate piece which has a nail tip glued to it showing the color of the polish and the pattern the magnet makes]
14. Magna Nails Wind
15. Magna Nails Water
16. Magna Nails Titanium
17. Magna Nails Gold
18. Magna Nails Earth
19. Magna Nails Copper
20. Magna Nails Fire


Bottles 1 through 4:



5 through 8:



9 through 12:



13 through 16:



17 through 20:






















Destash notes: