{Mad About Nails} Summer Sea Nails

I've had quite a few people comment on my nails in the past ask what I was using or wish I'd done a close-up so they could see better, etc., etc., and had a realization: Why not do a feature on nail polish? It's not book-related (Unless you're wearing the new HUNGER GAMES-inspired line from China Glaze, but I'm not even going into how wrong that is...), but it's fun. Plus, if I do this feature, I'll be more likely to re-paint my nails this week and less likely to let them chip their way to the bare bones (which would mean that I could see my nails...and if I see them, I want to bite them!).

Welcome back to another edition of Mad About Nails! 

It's been a while since I posted again!

Sorry about that...

I have images on my phone...I guess I should catch up?

Here's a peek at one of my favorite manicures so far this summer.

It's really hard to catch the lighting on this one, so here are three different images so you can see the way the holographic glitter changes based on lighting!

For my Base Coat/Top Coat:

These two are POWERHOUSES for
long-lasting manicures!  One lasted
1.5 weeks, the other for 2!!!

I started off with a basecoat of ORLY "Bonder."  Many of the professional nail studios use this as a basecoat when doing nails for their clients.  It's a rubberized coat that helps polish adhere to the nail.  It stinks, but it's great!

I finished the base color off with a top coat of Revlon's "Quick Dry Top Coat."  I'd heard it was a rival for the legendary Seche Vite, but with fewer harsh chemicals.  It also doesn't go bad in the bottle or shrink when used.  I was intrigued, and so far, this stuff is FABULOUS.

Together, this combo has made my nails last, on average, 1.5 to 2 weeks. They're both awesome!

NOTE:

I put the Top Coat over the black base ONLY, not the design. I didn't put it over the design for about 3 days instead it started to get worn and I wanted to make the manicure last longer. I like designs best when they're sharp, and a top coat gives the design a blurry look.
 

What I did:

I was shopping at Target and saw this awesome endcap of all these different Essie colors. I immediately fell in love with "Ruffles and Feathers" from the Summer 2014 Collection.

So I did my base color as this vibrant green:

I meant to do a base coat of white to make it more vibrant buuuuuuuuut I forgot. Oops. Next time?

After the Essie had dried a bit, I added some holographic glitter! I used Sally Hansen Triple Shine "Hypnautical." This is a new Summer 2014 addition to the Triple Shine line.

Sally Hansen came out with this, a greenish holographic called "Scale Up" (Which I also have somewhere), and a pinkish one (I'm not sure what it's called. I opted out of buying it since I own something similar by Zoya called "Chloe").

Holographics are awesome because they change color based on both the base color and the lighting in the area. I especially love looking at them over deep, dark colors like black. The holographic looked really pretty over the green, too. It looked like flecks of seaglass. Perfect for summer!!

 Is anyone else obsessed with nail polish? What are you wearing right now?