imPress Press-On Manicure : Holla

 

Since joining Influenster in 2012, I have been lucky enough to receive several VoxBoxes for review and testing purposes and the imPress press-on manicure box was the newest one. I received two different patterns - Holla and Working Girl - and today I am going to be reviewing Holla.

 

As a nail art novice, this pattern appealed to me because I like lace and don't know how to stamp. I've just returned from a vacation (which was AMAZING!) and since my nails were looking a little rough I thought it would be the perfect time to test out the imPress press-on nails. I've never used press-ons in the past and was always under the assumption that fit could be an issue and you had to use nail glue which could be a PITA. I was pleasantly surprised by the application process which only consisted of finding the correct size for each nail, peeling off the backing and firmly pressing the press-on onto my nail.

 

 

These wore fairly well but I did notice them starting to loosen after having a long shower. I liked the ease of application and the finished look but I do have a couple of issues with this product. First, while super long press-ons scare me, these were a touch too short. I had to trim all of my nails down to nubbins and, as you can see, I still had to scoot the thumb nail up a bit and you could see my natural nail peeking over the top of the index finger. I've never thought I had particularly long nail beds but apparently I do. I understand these come in a longer length but you can't get all of the same patterns. Second, due to the thickness of the adhesive, there was a pretty significant gap between my natural nail and the press-on. I found that my hair would get snagged and bits of things would get stuck underneath. This gap is also what contributed to the loosening of the nails after my shower because it allowed more water to penetrate the adhesive.

 

 

Removal was quick and painless - I just squirted some acetone in the gap and after a few minutes they peeled off easily; a few swipes of remover and all of the adhesive was gone and there was no damage to my natural nail.

 

 

Would I wear these all the time? Ummm, no. I love my polish babies too much. If it was for a one time occasion and I needed something quick and easy, sure. I have to admit, these press-ons weren't as scary as I always thought but they also weren't a home run for me.

 

What do you think of press-on nails? Have you tried the imPress nails?

 

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WingDust Wednesday : Seaweed Salad

Ugh... do you find it tough to get back in the swing of things after returning from a vacation? So many blogging "I should haves..." I should have scheduled way more content in advance. I should have at least edited and loaded photos to blank posts. I should have scheduled more guest content. What are some things you do to make sure you stay on top of things when you return home?

I contemplated putting this post off until next week, but then I saw that Tia of Iced Lacquer, my WingDust Wednesday sister and apparent owner of the other half of my brain, had also posted Seaweed Salad this week and I knew it was fate. I'm a day late but better late than never, right? ;)

Seaweed Salad (description from llarowe.com)
'Mossy, cloudy, sea-weedy green jelly with holo dust and holo green glitters in 2 sizes.

This is a distant cousin to Sea Shell Bra and a fraternal not identical twin to Ocean Tears.

It is opaque in 2-3 coats.'

The formula on this was lovely. It is on the thinner side but three thin coats gave perfect coverage and depth.

Seaweed Salad is currently in stock at llarowe.com.

WingDust Collections

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Guest Post : Enchanted Polish April 2014

Howdy, folks. I am away on a much-needed family vacation but don't worry, you'll still be getting your swatch fix. ;) I roped three of my super talented blogger friends into providing guest posts and I think you are really going to love what they come up with! Enjoy! <3

Good afternoon everyone! Nina here from Model City Polish. Courtney was kind enough to have me over today to share some gorgeous lacquer and meet all of you lovely readers. To kick things off right I am going to share one of my favorite brands today, the infamous Enchanted Polish. April 2014 is a stunning smokey periwinkle blend with a soft holographic finish. As with many of Enchanted's blends, this one is heavily pigmented and has amazing coverage. In my photos I am wearing just one generous coat of April 2014 and then sealed it with a coat of HK Girl Fast Dry Top Coat.   So what do you guys think of Enchanted Polish? If you like what you see then be sure to sign up for the Enchanted Polish Newsletter for up to date stock info. These guys don't last long so clear your schedule during stock times and get ready for a heart pounding shopping frenzy. Thank you so much for having me today and I would love to see you guys over at Model City. I hope you all have a wonderful Monday and an outstanding week. <3

Thank you so much, Nina, for sharing this amazing polish with us. I missed out on this one but your pictures make up for it. :)

I want to say a huge thank you to Cass of Land of Ten Thousand Polishes, Brandi from Rainy Day Manis, and Nina from Model City Polish for providing such amazing guest content while I was away enjoying the sun. Be sure to check out their blogs - you won't be disappointed!!

Enchanted Polish

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Guest post : ILNP Sweet Serenade with stamping

Howdy, folks. I am away on a much-needed family vacation but don't worry, you'll still be getting your swatch fix. ;) I roped three of my super talented blogger friends into providing guest posts and I think you are really going to love what they come up with! Enjoy! <3

Hello everyone! I am Brandi from Rainy Day Manis.

When I'm not hard at work analyzing data, being bossy, or hiking with my foxy Shibas, I like to paint my nails. I am a huge fan of indie polish brands and live for the thrill of the nail polish hunt. Some of my favorite brands include Femme Fatale, Emerald & Ash, and Ethereal Lacquer.

You can find more of my swatches and stamping on tumblr, Instagram or Pinterest.

ILNP Sweet Serenade is a teal to purple duochrome with blue and violet microglitter. I was blown away by the quality of this polish. Unlike most multichromes, ILNP multichromes are fully opaque in just a few coats and don't need to be worn over black. This makes for a much cleaner and much quicker application. I thought the formula was great; it was easy to get close to my cuticles without flooding them.

 Sweet Serenade has an almost metallic finish, so I expected to have problems with brushstrokes. I am happy to report that brushstrokes are a non-issue with this polish. The slight brushstroke you may notice on my middle finger is from bad topcoat application.

Perhaps the best part of this polish is how effortlessly the duochrome comes out. Every time I glanced at my nails I could see flashes of purple and it wasn't just from the microglitter!

As soon as I finished my mani, I knew the perfect color to stamp with: OPI Love.Angel.Music.Baby. I got this polish half off from Sally's a few weeks ago and I haven't stopped stamping with it since. It is a gorgeous gold satin polish that dries semi-matte. If you add a bit of top coat the gold glitter really pops! I always enjoy it when I find a good matte stamping polish because matte stamping can add such a nice contrast to a glossy mani. 

The stamping plate I used was MoYou London Back to the 80s - 06. I am a huge fan of MoYou London's plates and highly recommend them. They are high quality, adorable, and ship quickly. What more could you ask for?

Isn't Brandi's stamping amazing? Be sure to check her out on Tumblr and Instagram to see more of her gorgeous manis. Thanks so much Brandi, for closing out the week with a bang! 

ILNP

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MoYou London

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OPI can be found at salons and other retail locations.

Guest Post : WingDust Wednesday : Steel Town Girl

Howdy, folks. I am away on a much-needed family vacation but don't worry, you'll still be getting your swatch fix. ;) I roped three of my super talented blogger friends into providing guest posts and I think you are really going to love what they come up with! Enjoy! <3

Hello there, new friends! I'm Cass, and I am the blogger behind the "Land of Ten Thousand Polishes"! I am so thrilled to be here blogging for the Polish Ranger while she is on vacation!
I know Courtney because of Reddit and an amazing little sub called redditpolish.  I have been blogging for less than a year, and in that time, I have come to meet so many amazing and creative people. I feel so incredibly privileged to be here, as a guest blogger for Courtney.

I'm sure you already know about "Wingdust Wednesday". This is a weekly feature that showcases this fantastically creative indie polish maker. I am here to show you "Steel Town Girl", which is new to me, but may not be to you.

I love this polish. I love this polish, A LOT. It's on loan to me, and I reallllllllly don't want to give it back!

Steel Town Girl is a deep teal holo base with iridescent blue, holo blue and gold flake. This polish has a little bit of everything. I wondered if all the flakes would make it hard to apply, but it wasn't...not even a little.

Sometimes flakes curl up or poke out of the polish a bit, but I didn't encounter that at all.

I mean, come on. Is this not the coolest polish you've ever seen?

I wish my light box didn't wash out the holo so much!

I waited and waited for some sunshine so I could really show you the holo aspect of this polish, but sadly, we haven't seen the sun here in quite some time!

For my pictures I am wearing three easy coats of Steel Town Girl and one coat of Seche Vite.

I want to say thank you to Courtney for having me, and letting me join in for Wingdust Wednesday! Thank you for reading, and come visit me at landof10kpolishes.blogspot.com sometime!

 

Thank you so much Cass, for such an amazing post! Steel Town Girl is one of my all-time favourites and your photos are simply stunning! Be sure to check out her blog - she's awesome!

 

WingDust Collections

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Revlon Electric Chrome Collection LE : The Amazing Spiderman 2

** This post is picture heavy. **

Ok, guys. Prepare yourselves for the mother of all posts. Today I have all SIX of the new, limited edition, Electric Chrome collection from Revlon to share with you and they are great. Like seriously drool worthy!

It's no secret that Revlon has long been my favourite drugstore brand - their prices are decent, the colours are great, and I've never had any issues with the formula - and when I saw these I HAD TO HAVE THEM. The words "limited edition" draw me in like a moth to a flame. :) The shimmer in these and the colour shift and the ease of application; wowza, I have not been this impressed with a drugstore collection in a long time. They rate right up there with some of my favourite indies, that's how good they are! Have a I gushed enough? Are you convinced? Maybe the swatches will help. Let's get to it...

I used CND Stickey base coat and Sally Hansen Insta-Dri for all of the swatches.

Gwen's Crush
Gwen's Crush has a magenta base with lovely blue shimmer and a subtle purple shift. I heart this one so bad. It's currently on my toes and is the perfect summer colour. Shown here is two coats of Gwen's Crush but with a thicker coat, I could have gotten away with one!

Spidey Sense
Spidey Sense is an orange leaning red that has a pretty shimmer and a subtle deeper red shift. Again, I used two coats but could have gotten away with one.

1000 Volts
This was the last one I picked up because I honestly didn't think I'd like it but, surprise!, it ended up being one of my favourites. 1000 Volts is a bright gold that has an orange shift which you can see on the edges of most of my fingers. Again, I used two coats.

Electrified Web
This was the other one I hesitated on purchasing but I'm so glad I decided to get the whole collection. Electrified Web is a gorgeous burnt orange with a red to yellow shift. The shift on this one was the strongest of the six and shows up best in my photos. Shown here is two coats.

 

I'm Electro
I'm Electro is a dusty blue with a pretty purple shift. This was the thinnest of the three (and also my least favourite) but I was still able to get great coverage with two coats.

Super-Powered
Oh, Super-Powered... this one was my favourite from the start but I ended up being a touch disappointed that the purple shimmer and shift isn't super visible on the nail. Still, it's a gorgeous blue and again, the formula was perfection. Shown here is two coats.

 

So, which one is your favourite? As mentioned at the top, this is a limited edition collection so I suggest you run out as soon as you can to pick these up. Revlon truly hit it out of the park with these and I LOVE five out of the six.

 

Revlon can be found at most major drugstores and chains like Wal-Mart and Target.