Yet another two-month hiatus – good work, Bethany.

I'm blaming work (i.e. endless crying over MATLAB) for this one. But, with four days left of my internship and half a month until I move back to Providence, I've found myself suddenly motivated to post & design new art as a last hurrah of sorts.

Why are my photos still uploading blurrily...? Manual HTML adjustment isn't doing anything.

This is a look from early summer, immediately after the design from the last post. Minimalism (laziness?) is apparently my current theme – sub intricate detailed brushwork for a bit of metallic hardware and sparkle. Honestly, the coolest thing about this mani is the piercing... That's about it.

So, linear holographic pigment + smooth, smooth silver = a futuristic discothèque? Maybe. I don't think that's terribly far off, at least.

Gotta have a blurry shot to show that sunlit holo.

I'll leave this post pretty short; the compulsion to paint my nails is still MIA despite (halfhearted) efforts to muster it up for the past two months. The advent of school means that I'll have even less time to attempt new nail art, so let's hope the mani I'm working on right now (right now!) proves worthy of a post...

Products used (links are swatches):

• L'Oreal Masked Affair – lavender-grey intermediate holo (neither linear nor scattered)
• OPI Push and Shove – ultra-smooth silver chrome
• Silver studs, clear Swarovski flatback crystals, a silver jump ring

Thanks for reading (especially if you're from my personal Snapchat) :•)

All aboard the hype train... a year after it first passed.

I've got a surprise find today – L'Oreal Masked Affair, from the Dark Side of Grey collection that had nail bloggers pretty much screaming last year. After hearing reports that pretty much all L'Oreal displays had been purged of Masked Affair and seeing it go for $25 on eBay, I never thought I'd get to see it in person. Until a routine rummaging through Marshall's nail polish bins, where I found a purpleish-silver metallic. Commence: "Oh my GOD, IS THAT MASKED AFFAIR?"

Yep. For $2, no less.

Well, I'm here to belatedly answer all the questions, after they've been answered by every popular nail blogger out there. A mainstream holo? Could it be? Just how holo-ey is it? And is that actually purple or just the light? Is it worth it or should I stick to my ILNPs and Color Club Halo Hues and a-Englands and other indies???

Simply put: I love Masked Affair.

Is it holo? It's a mesmerizing mix of large and very small holographic pigment, which means it's definitely linear but also has a slight scattered feel to it. You can tell in that picture above that it's most definitely linear in direct light, but the particles are unmistakably larger than your standard buttery-smooth fine linear holo (see: Color Club Blue Heaven [Aw, first swatch post. So cute and so unprofessional]). Result: a unique holo finish where it seems like there's ultrafine linear action going on beneath the surface (like a CD, almost), overlaid by larger silver particles.

Blurry for optimal holo goodness.

How did you apply it? A coat of Essie's ridge-filling base, 2 coats of Masked Affair, a tiny bit of Essie All-In-One Base as topcoat JUST on the free edge, and one more coat of Masked Affair to seal it all in. Worked perfectly – the finish is as smooth as a normal crème, and wear time was fantastic (a week with minimal tipwear).

More blurry holo goodness... I have no chill when it comes to holo. None.

Just what color is it? In the bottle, it reads as a silvery lavender. It dries true to color, though it does tend to shift colors under different types of light. (Unfortunately, not a duochrome. How I wish...)

How does it look in indirect natural light? See below! Due to its larger holo particles, it doesn't look totally boring and dull in indirect light. The larger particles show up as silver microflecks, adding some dimension to the darker grey of the base. This is where the underlying sheen of CD-like holo really shows up. It's super subtle and totally overlaid by the silver flecks, but it's definitely there and I definitely love it.

Normal, natural light. There are way too many photos, but I told you already – no chill. 

Is it worth it? At Masked Affair's current running price on eBay for $10 - $40, definitely not. If you do chance upon it at a local discount retailer, though... snatch it.

L'Oreal Masked Affair

Price: $6.00, standard retail // $10 - $40 on eBay (VHTF status) 

Size: 0.39 fl oz (standard, on the smaller side) 

Finish: Large & small holo particles in a silvery-lavender metallic base
Formulation: 5-free.

Application: Explained in detail above; summary: Essie ridge-filling base, 2 coats of Masked Affair, a bit of Essie's All-In-One base as topcoat exclusively on the free edge, a 3rd coat of Masked Affair. Dried perfectly smooth (sans topcoat) and wore very well. 

Brush/bottle: L'Oreal's square glass bottles are a little taller and straighter than Essie's, although the circumference is identical. The straight, smooth plastic cap has a matte gold finish, and it holds a medium-length, medium-width brush with a curved end that easily fans out for application. I was able to get a flawless cuticle edge with no cleanup in one go. 

Overall: I'm very pleased that a drugstore brand has finally come out with a new holo. (Sally Hansen Prisms, when will you come back?) It's not the most holo-ey of holos, but it is absolutely unique and still very much gorgeous. And it's a drugstore holo. How many times can I mention that?

As a sidenote, I totally felt like one of NCLA's hand models while wearing this shade.

All credit to NCLA's Instagram and their product pages.

Y'know, these? Perfect cuticles and glossy, glossy finish. And rounded oval nail shape (not so much for the one on the right, but it's the closest shade match). After weeks of wearing somewhat uneven crèmes, the smoothness of Masked Affair made me feel as if my nails had been elevated to mannequin glory.

This is my last post from sunny California – I'll be on a plane to Providence by the time this posts. What is snow?!?

Thanks for reading :)
Bethany
Currently listening to Losing Myself by State Champs.

All products in this post purchased by author. Photos taken with an iPhone 6s and color-corrected in Adobe Photoshop CC 2015. 

Another indie swatch for today! This is the gorgeous Pay Day by F.U.N Lacquer, a longtime lemming.

You can vaguely see me in my nails!

I'm not even sure where to start with this polish. According to the label sticker, Pay Day is a foil effect from the Luxury Duo (and unfortunately, I don't have the other half of this duo). This is not a glitter, nor is it your typical foil – Pay Day is loaded with sterling silver flakies, and the resultant shine is absolutely astounding.

When viewing my hand from a distance, it almost looks like silver mirror Minx. That's just how reflective this polish is. I received several compliments while wearing this! That's more than usual for a solid, plain mani @_@ (Sounds pretty sad, but true.)

Pay Day in strong, direct light to showcase the shine.

 I mean, just look at it. Mmmm. Am I fangirling too hard?

F.U.N Lacquer Pay Day

Price: $15, from Llarowe (the actual site appears to be down)

Size: 0.4 fl oz • 12 mL ($37.5/fl oz)

Color: Silver/champagne, depending on the light

Finish: Extremely shiny foil/metallic; nearly mirror. Or crushed, shiny side of foil.

Application: No issues whatsoever!

Opacity: These pictures depict 4 thin coats with Essie All In One Base, an Elmer's glue base, and no topcoat. As simply brushing the polish on tended to sweep away the flakies, I often pressed the side of the brush to the nail to "pat" on the flakies. That worked very well! 3 coats was probably enough to achieve full opacity, though.

Brush/bottle: Soft bristles, with a clear wider side. The bottle itself isn't the most unique, but it's certainly elegant with the logo in gold print. 

+ : Lives up to its luxury moniker. So reflective! The sterling silver works magic in this shade. 

– : It does take a lot of coats to really build up that shininess, but that's just about it for a downside. Totally worth it. 

The golden/champagne side of Pay Day.

 In certain lights, Pay Day looks more pale gold/champagne than silver. I've noticed that it took on its most golden hue in the white/blue fluorescent lights of my shower, lol. However, this picture was taken in the warm yellow light of my room.

If the earlier pictures weren't enough to convince you of its mirror-like quality, here's one that shows the blue reflecting off my waterbottle. Most reflective polish I've ever seen... I can finally cross a long-term lemming off my list!

Next up: spring/Easter manicure. Potentially featuring yet another new indie polish? ;)

Thanks for reading!

Quick post today! Finally decided on a more fall-appropriate manicure (somewhat), with a gorgeous muted dark teal from Essie and a warm flecked silver from Chanel. As I only have one nail art brush (what) that isn't particularly thin, I struggled in getting the edges smooth and points precise. This mani was inspired by a similar geometric triangle design, but I unfortunately can't remember where the original came from.

I didn't think I'd like the end result as I painted on random triangles. It came out better than expected!

More pics and details after the jump!