[NOTD] China Glaze Ghoulish Glow

I have glow-in-the-dark nails!  I feel seven years old.

I used Orly Ridgefiller as my base coat, which right now, I'm not loving - it applied a little streaky.  Then I added 1 coat of Essie "Cloud Nine," a milky white - which isn't streaky at all.  China Glaze "Ghoulish Glow" had a good glow after 3 coats, but I added a 4th for good measure.  Since it dries fast, this wasn't an issue.  I finished with 1 coat of Seche Vite.

China Glaze "Ghoulish Glow"

"Ghoulish Glow" looks like a milky (very slightly green-tone) white on my nails in bright light.  It really just looks like sterotypical 80s glow in the dark color - a somewhat mottled, translucent, faint greenish milky white.

China Glaze "Ghoulish Glow" (indoors, tungsten light)

Like most 80s glow-in-the-dark items, the polish glows strongly after being in direct light, then its glow quickly diminishes.  I took one picture, then I took another less than 30 seconds later, and the glow intensity had already diminished significantly.

China Glaze "Ghoulish Glow" : The glow diminishes after 30 seconds.

I'm still wearing my glow-in-the-dark manicure from Thursday.  Today is Saturday, and there is minimal tip wear (and I'm rough on my nails).

Earlier in the week, I had another Halloween mani/pedi.

[Haul] China Glaze 2011 Halloween Collection

I first saw online the China Glaze 2011 Halloween Collection, Haunting.  I loved the yellow-green glitter, glow-in-the dark, and black crackle polishes.  Sally Beauty Supplies had a set that also included a rust orange polish from the 2010 Halloween Collection.  The 4-set everywhere else included a clear top coat instead, so I ordered from Sally's.

Orly Nail Lacquer Thinner | China Glaze 2011 Halloween Collection

I also picked up the Orly Nail Lacquer Thinner because I still have nail polish from high school (I graduated in 2001).  I haven't tried the thinner yet, but I've tried or swatched all the polishes.

Cross Iron 360 :: This is a medium metallic orange.  It goes on the nail lighter than it looks in the bottle.  This is an all-around good autumn color.

It's Alive :: This is a yellow-leaning green polish with small and large flecks of yellow-green glitter.  It looks ghastly against my cool pink pale skin.  With this polish, I plan to rock zombie hands this Halloween.

Black Mesh :: It's a black crackle.  I've never used crackle polish before, but I think this will create some awesome Halloween manicures.

Ghoulish Glow :: This is a glow-in-the-dark polish.  It's a stereotypical glow-in-the-dark color: faintly green but translucent.  This needs at least 2-3 coats for the glow to be apparent in the dark.

[Haul] My First Zoya Polishes

Last weekend, I took a quick trip to the mall, and I bought more nail polish.  I just started painting my nails last winter, so I don't have many polishes.  (Well, I do now.)

I was looking for polishes in autumn colors.  The local beauty supply store in the mall had nail polish on sale: buy 2 get 1 half off.  I picked up these three beauties.

Zoya "Shivon" | Zoya "Mia" | Zoya "Nina"

As soon as I arrived home, I tested out the colors.  They are all beautiful and compliment my skin color (super pale and leaning towards a cool tone).  My favorite color for fall is "Shivon," and it's on my toenails now.

Zoya "Shivon" :: This polish is a vibrant pink-tone red with a gold shimmer.  It reminds me of autumn leaves and Thanksgiving and... cornucopias.  I'm odd.  Does any nail polish remind you of cornucopias?

Zoya "Mia" :: This is a lovely slightly-muted creamy pink.  If I was Zoya brand, I'd name this color Victoria. This polish is very similar to Essie's new "Lady Like" except "Lady Like" is slightly more purple/mauve while this is more pink.

Zoya "Nina" :: "Nina" is a dark (but not too dark) milk chocolate brown.  It leans towards a red-brown, which compliments my skin much more nicely than a green-brown.

[NOTD] China Glaze "Inner Beauty" and Zoya "Shivon"

NOTD = Nail of the Day

Today on my fingernails, I have China Glaze "Inner Beauty," and on my toenails, I have Zoya "Shivon."  For all nails, Sally Hansen Double Duty is my base coat, and Seche Vite Dry Fast is my top coat.

China Glaze "Inner Beauty" (tungsten lighting)

China Glaze "Inner Beauty" is a very pale pink.  I'm wearing 3 coats.  My nail line is visible (which I like), but it is not completely sheer, and it covers up some nail imperfections.  It looks a little streaky on a couple of my nails, but the rest look awesome, so I think it is only streaky because I am sloppy when I apply polish.  I painted my fingernails on Thursday, and the picture was taken on Saturday.  Today is Sunday, and my manicure has no chips or wear - woo!  (I am rough with my nails/hands - washing dishes, kneading bread, etc.)  It appears the polish might be starting to peel off near the cuticles, but I find that always happens when I use Seche Vite as the top coat.

I put my pedicure after the jump in case you don't want to see my feet.  (They are not gross, just... feet.)

[Haul] Trans Design Nail Polish

All Essie polishes were (and still are) on sale on Trans Design for only $4/bottle.  I love Essie!  So I went crazy.

My order from transdesign.com

That's what 14 bottles of nail polish (plus 1 bottle of cuticle oil) looks like. O_O

I just doubled my nail polish collection.

I wanted polish in autumn and holiday colors.  It appears I bought mostly reds for the holidays and nudes for winter.  Red and nude nails - classy.

I tried to snap pictures of swatches, but the light was quickly fading (since it was a rainy day here), so I'll show you just the bottles for now and follow with descriptions/first impressions of the colors.  I also have a (good!) review of the Trans Design customer service at the end.

China Glaze "Ruby Pumps" | China Glaze "Deck the Halls" 3/pack

China Glaze "Ruby Pumps" :: This polish looks just like Dorothy's ruby pumps.  It's a medium red jelly base with tiny red glitter.  I love it.  It's a perfect festive Christmas color.

China Glaze "Glittering Garland" :: I am typically not a fan of wearing green (as it doesn't go with my complexion), but I bought this polish to create Christmas manicures.  The base is green with tiny green flecks of glitter.  This is a beautiful glitter polish.

China Glaze "Holiday Berry" Cuticle Oil :: I have never used a cuticle oil before.  I normally hate scented things, but this smells really lovely, like Christmas fruit cake - fruity and spicy.  It's red though, so it is noticeable when I apply it.

China Glaze "Champagne Fizz" :: I didn't try this one out, but looking at the bottle, it seems to be a gold metallic polish with some silver glitter.

Essie Winter 2011 Cocktail Bling Collection in colors "Size Matters" and "Bangle Jangle"

Essie "Bangle Jangle" :: The color is a muted light lavender.  It appears to be a one-coater.  I look forward to wearing this polish in the winter.

Essie "Size Matters" :: This one is a very dark wine red with a slight blue undertone.  It almost looks like a deep wine stain.  I think this is a one-coater as well.  Yay for one coaters!

Essie "Size Matters" | Essie "Plumberry" | Essie "Watermelon" | Essie "My Place or Yours"

Essie "Plumberry" :: This polish is a dark raspberry (blue-pink red) color with very slight shimmer.  I love this color.  I picked this polish as the first to try out, but I totally botched my manicure.  I even got nail polish on my face (how? why? how?).  This one takes two to three coats for total opaque-ness.

Essie "Watermelon" :: This is summery medium bright pink.

Essie "My Place or Yours" :: I think any place else, this color would be called "Guava."  It's a corally light pink.  I think this will be a great color for summer.  It matches my bikini!

Essie "Pink Glove Service" | Essie "Cloud Nine" | Essie "It's in the Bag" | China Glaze "Inner Beauty"

Essie "Pink Glove Service" :: I already own this polish, and I'm giving away this bottle.  It's a sheer pink-toned polish.  It is wonderful as a it-doesn't-look-like-I'm-wearing-polish, healthy-nails look.

Essie "Cloud Nine" :: This is a sheer white jelly.  It's not streaky at all.  I foresee this on my fingernails most of the winter.

Essie "It's in the Bag" :: Maybe it's just me (I don't apply polish well), but this is a little streaky.  However, with three coats, it's almost opaque.

China Glaze "Inner Beauty" :: This could be worn as one coat or more.  It's an incredibly pale (almost white) sheer pink.  The nail line is visible with three coats, but I like that.  It's not streaky.  It's demure, and I love it.  I'm wearing it now.

Orly "Witches' Blue" | Orly "Candy Cane Lane" | Orly Ridgefiller base coat | Orly Flash Dry drops

Orly "Witches' Blue" :: This is a mini bottle of polish.  The color is sapphire blue and shimmery and gorgeous.  It might be a bit too dark for my pale skin, but I love the color.

Orly "Candy Cane Lane" :: This color is a deep red red, like the red part of candy canes (whoulda thunk it?).  I think it has a jelly-like finish, but it's hard to tell in this poor lighting.  This doesn't apply as well as the Essie or China Glaze polishes.  It's only my second Orly polish (the other is a glitter), so I don't know if this is true of all Orly or not.  Also, the bottle didn't arrive 100% full.  I don't know if that's typical or not. 

And that's all except the for the Orly Ridgefiller base coat and Orly Flash Dry drops, which I haven't tried yet.

How was my experience with transdesign.com?  Awesome!  I placed my order Friday night.  On Sunday, I noticed an email from the company stating that my credit card wouldn't go through.  (Long story short: bank canceled the debit card because it might have been "compromised.")  Trans Design said they would hold my order for 10 days, and I could email or call to pay or cancel the order.  On Sunday, I called and placed the order with a new card, and it shipped that day, and it arrived to me on Thursday.