Smoke Nails with Bundle Monster Gel Polish (Plus an Update)

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Hello Loves.  I have a new mani to show you today and an update.  Let's start with the mani.  Then we'll get to the update.

I've  seen so many smoke manicures lately.  I'm really not sure who created this look originally, so please let me know in the comments if you know!  All I know is that I've been wanting to try it for a while...with gel polish, of course.  Since I haven't had much time to swatch, review or even write lately, I figured I should at least give this look a shot.

I started with a base of two coats of Bundle Monster Speed Gel in You're So Tragic.  This is still one of my absolute favorite black gels.  I adore the iridescent sparkles that give it depth and dimension.  You can see my original swatch here.  Here's a sample nail.

I then tried to do the smoke with white gel polish thinned with alcohol, but it didn't turn out quite like I wanted.  So I scrapped that idea and Grabbed my Bundle Monster Stamping Polish in Angelic White.  I put a drop on a piece of foil and mixed it with a few drops of acetone until it was runny.  It needs to be very watery so that when the acetone evaporates, it leaves a ghostly image that allows the black to show through some.  If the mix it too thick, it won't give the right effect.  I tried to take a picture, but white on foil doesn't photograph well.  Here's the shot anyway.  The consistency is a little thinner than fat free milk.

Usually I would resist the urge to use acetone over gel polish without a top coat to protect the color coat first, but You're So Tragic is a One Step Gel so it has the top coat built it.  So it really was the perfect base for this type of art.  :)  I used one of my Elf Concealer Brushes that I use for cleanup to dab the diluted polish onto the nail.  As it evaporated, it left the perfect smeary, smokey white designs!

Now it's time for color!  There are lots of sheer, jelly finish gel polishes popping up right now.  Of course, I went with the Mosaic Glass gels from Bundle Monster.  I brushed Sea You Clearly over parts of the nail and Locked In Secrets over other parts, blending slightly as I applied it.  I did go back and add a second coat of each color in my manicure, but I only did one coat of color below.

Finally, add a top coat to seal the design and you have an awesome smokey look!  Here are the three stages side by side.

I absolute adore this look.  Want to see another shot of my finished mani?  Of course you do!  One tip if you decide to give this design a try...don't over-do it with the white.  Dab it on and leave it alone!  If you mess with it too much, you'll end up losing the smoke effect like I did on my pinkie nail and a little on my ring finger.  But hey, it was a first attempt and I'm pretty smitten with the results anyway!  Oh, and the thinner the polish mixture, the more wispy the smoke...like on my thumb nail.  ;)

If you love this look, you can find all of the items needed to recreate it on Bundle Monster's website here (minus the acetone and the brush...but any brand of those will do)!  Or just click the links throughout the post to purchase these items through Amazon. :)

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Ready for my update?  So, a lot has happened in the month since I last posted...over a month ago.  I know, I know.  I keep going MIA on you.  I promise, I'm not leaving you.  I'm just having a bit of a time right now.  I've been burning the candle at both ends lately and dealing with some health issues that have left me absolutely drained.  Hopefully that part will be straightened out soon.  I'm working with my doctor to adjust my medications to combat the fatigue.  But, let's not dwell on the negatives.  There is a lot of positive happening too!

As I mentioned in my last post, I made the difficult decision to leave Artistic Expressions Hair Salon.  I miss my AE family so much!  But it was a move I had to make for my family.  And I'm happy to announce that I found the PERFECT spot for my little nail business.  I'm now at Adam and Eve Hair Designers in Athens just a few miles from home.  I couldn't have found a better fit.  Seriously.  Y'all know how obsessed I am with nails, right?  The science.  The products.  The artistry.  Nail health.  Helping people feel good about themselves through my services.  I love every bit of it.  And I seriously found the hair match to my nail love at Adam and Eve.  These guys (yes, guys...and a few gals) take hair to the next level.  They live the science behind a good cut and color.  Watching them work is like watching da Vinci paint the Mona Lisa.  But at the same time, they know how to keep things relaxed and fun.  Needless to say, I AM HOME.

But...home is never easy.  See, what had happened was...I was given a blank and mostly ugly room as my canvas.  Grant (the salon owner), told me straight up that he has no clue how to set up a nail room and turned it over to me.  Of course, I was thrilled that I could design my own little space, but there were also a few challenges.  The salon was previously the office of web designer before Adam and Eve moved to this location, and well...I think my room was the server room.  There were wires and conduit everywhere.  Wanna see?

The room is 8ft x 8ft, so quite small.  The mess you see in this picture started dead center of the wall that you see when you walk in the door.

Here's a shot that shows how it extends around the corner onto the neighboring wall.  So a good portion of the room was a hot mess of wires and conduit.  Not really an inviting space, right?

Well, have no fear.  I have an amazing husband who is quite skilled with his hands.  He managed to clean up all of those wires and built a box to cover what he couldn't remove.  He also painted the room for me...white to brighten it up a bit.  This is a photo he sent me before the second coat of paint to show his progress.  So much cleaner!

Of course, then I had a little magic to work too.  After dragging Keith to Ikea two weekends in a row and a few Amazon shopping sprees, my little nail room went from ugly to perfect!  This is what you see now when you walk in the door.  Disregard my purse on the desk.  lol

This is the wall behind me that the client sees when sitting at my desk.  I adore how my product displays turned out!  Aren't they precious?

All of my gel polishes are in helmers that make up the base for a small table just inside the door.  Of course, the 300 or so that I have at the salon are swatched and hanging on the wall.  This will be changing soon...I need to add a cabinet on that wall to hold more supplies.  Originally Grant didn't want to offer pedicure services.  He has since changed his mind so I'm working on the setup for that now.  Yes, I know...I don't really have room for a pedicure chair, but I'm creative and can make it work with a few mobile pieces.  ;)  Oh, and ignore the stuff on the side table.  I was still putting things away when I took this picture.

Finally, my license and a clock are on the wall behind the client.  :)

Since the room is so small, it was difficult to take photos that really show my setup.  I'll do a video tour when I get my pedicure set up figured out.  :)

So, that's all for now.  Be sure to follow me on Instagram and Facebook (if you aren't already) to see my client work as I settle into my new space!  I'll be back as soon as I can with some new swatches and product posts.  I promise!

~Michelle

*The gel polishes used in this post were provided by Bundle Monster for my honest review.  This post uses Amazon Affiliate links.  Purchases through those links generate commissions that help fund this site.

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Bundle Monster Moroccan Mystique Matte Gel Polish Collection

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Hello Loves!  I have the BMC Moroccan Mystique Gel Polish Collection to show you today.  This one has been out for a little while.  Yeah, I know...I'm way behind on my reviews.  Anyway, this is another unique collection from Bundle Monster.  Moroccan Mystique consists of 6 two-step gel polishes.  By two step, I mean they don't need a top coat.  Just a base gel and two-three coats of color.  They cure to a beautiful, satin matte finish!  Let's take a look at the colors first, and I'll follow up with my thoughts on application, wear and removal.

The first color is called Casablanca.  Casablanca is a soft, pistachio green with a beautiful matte finish.  Unfortunately, it just looks like a cream color on me.  I promise, the hints of green are there.  This is three thin coats.

 

Next up is Jardin Bleu.  This is a slightly teal leaning blue cream with a satin matte finish.  My photos might look a little blue depending on your monitor.  On my phone (Galaxy) they are dead on accurate.  On my laptop, the green tone is missing.  I swatched two coats here.

Spellbound is a gorgeous purple cream with a satin matte finish.  I love the shade of purple on this one.  Not too light, not too dark.  Not too bright, red or blue.  It's just...purple.  :)  This is two coats.  I want you to take note of the index nail in these swatches.  I'll explain why in a few minutes, but take a look now.  ;)

Arabesque Ceramic is a slightly pink toned red cream with that same satin matte finish.  It is opaque in two coats.

Tangier-ine is a classic orange cream.  Again, with the satin matte finish.  This is also two coats.

Finally, Saffron Gold is a gorgeous gold toned yellow.  This one is a little more transparent than the others.  I swatched three coats here.  Four might be opaque for someone with weaker VNL, but I'm not sure.  I kind of like the sheer matte look, though.  There are tons of nail art possibilities here.

Now that you've seen them, let's talk a minute about application.  First things first, these need a good shake every time you use them.  The pigment or additive that makes them matte will settle fast.  I had one on its side and it settled around the neck of the bottle.  Freaked me out for a second.  lol A good shake restores them without issue.  One they are mixed well (and you've applied and cured a base gel), apply one thin coat.  Now pay attention.  This is important.  Don't go back and stroke over the nail too much before you cure.  The pigment/additive that makes them matte also allows them to dry a little on their own.  If you stroke over them, you end up with the drag marks like I pointed out in the swatch of Spellbound.  Here, let me show you that picture again so you don't have to scroll back up.

Got it?  Ok.  So let's talk about curing.  I don't know how to say this gracefully, so let's just go with "Holy Heat Spike!!!!".  Yeah, so the heat spike with these is super intense.  If you use a stronger lamp like the Gelish 18G or Cuccio Max Pro 5, you're going to have a spike.  I'm not sure about weaker lamps, but I suspect by the intensity I felt that they will spike in weaker lamps as well.  But that's no biggie.  You just have to know how to deal with heat spikes.  :)

If you're using a polish that is prone to heat spikes, you have to start the chemical reaction slowly.  There are a few ways to do that.

1. Hold your hand just inside the glow from the lamp, but not inside the lamp.  Pass your nails in and out of the glow a few times.  This allows the reaction to start slowly.  You can then place your hand into the lamp and cure as usual.
2. Turn the lamp on with your hand inside for 1 second and turn it back off.  Wait a few seconds and repeat but leave it on for 2 seconds.  Repeat one more time for 3 seconds.  Then you should be able to cure the full time as usual.

Just remember, if you feel a heat spike, TAKE YOUR HAND OUT OF THE LAMP!  Sorry for screaming, but there is so much misinformation out there about heat spikes.  They can be caused by a number of things ranging from personal sensitivity levels to product formula.  But regardless of the cause, if you feel heat, removing your hand from the lamp and angling your nails away from the glow (so they are in shadow) will stop the spike and slow the reaction.  When you place your hand back in the lamp, the hot feeling should be gone.  If it does spike again, take your hand out of the lamp again.  Remember, all products are different!

Ok, so now that we've touched on heat spikes, let's go back to the gels themselves.  Before they cure, they all appear to have jelly finishes and will be less opaque.  Surprise!  Once they cure and the matte effect occurs, the opacity pops up.  :)  The color also changes due to the matte finish, so don't be surprised if the uncured gel in the bottle looks different than the color on your nails when you're finished.

So, how do they wear?  I found wear to be average.  Well, as average as it can be for me these days.  I destroy my gel polish while working on clients at the salon, so nothing still looks good after a week.  But based on that week, it held up as well as three step systems for me.

Finally, I have a nail art look to show you.  I decided to play with matte and glossy.  I needed a polish that doesn't need a top coat for the art so as not to wreck the matte finish.  Bundle Monster Speed Gel in Cocktail Dress was perfect!  So I added a few black french tips and random swirls with Cocktail dress.  I love how it turned out!  The glossy art makes the matte finish look almost velvety.  :)  Oh, the base is Arabesque Ceramic.  :)

If you want to give the Moroccan Mystique collection a try, you can order the individual colors or the full set on Bundle Monster's website here or on Amazon here. :)

~Michelle

*The Bundle Monster Gel Polishes featured in this post were provided by Bundle Monster for my honest review.  This post includes Amazon Affiliate Links.  Purchases through those links generate commissions that help fund this site.  All other links are courtesy links and do not benefit ManicTalons.com
 

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Bundle Monster Snake Charmer Collection

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Hello Loves!  As much as I love my gel polishes, at this point it is hard for me to get super excited about a polish.  You can imagine that after swatching hundreds of colors, they all start to look the same, right?  Well, I have a collection to show you today that really got my heart pumping.  I received the package in the mail and started swatching them less than an hour later!  This is the Bundle Monster Snake Charmer Collection.  Six fabulous, sinfully shifty multichromes!  Let me tell you, these little bottles of magic do not disappoint.

The Snake Charmer Collection consists of two sets of three polishes each.  Set 1 is made of up Blue Venom, Copperhead Charm and Slitherine.  These three polishes are multichrome flakies in a clear base.  They apply like a glitter polish and build to full coverage with amazing shift.  Like glitter polishes, application can be a bit tricky, but it well worth it in the end.  For these swatches, I started with a thin layer.  The second coat was a little thicker but I still had gaps in coverage.  I added a third thin coat that evened everything out.  In hind sight, two regular coats would have provided the same coverage.  These are not swatched over a black base.  :)  Ready to see them?

First up is Copperhead Charm.  This is the one color in the whole collection that reminds me most of a snake.  It shifts through red, brown, gold and green.  So freaking pretty!  I feel that it is also the shiftiest of the polishes in Set 1.  Just look at all those colors!!!

The next polish in Set 1 is Blue Venom.  This one shifts through teal, blue, and purple with a coppery flash at extreme angles.

Slitherine is the final shade in Set 1 of the Snake Charmer Collection.  She goes from blue to purple with a little copper or gold at extreme angles.  I actually found this one to be very similar to Blue Venom and had a hard time telling the swatch sticks apart before I labeled them.

Let's take a look at Set 2 from the collection: Fangtastic, Give Me a Hiss and Medusa.  The polishes in Set 2 are made with pigments instead of flakies.  They are much smoother and tons easier to apply.  I swatched three coats for each of these, but they would offer full coverage in two if I used regular layers instead of super thin.  Surprising fact - I tried these over a black base and found they didn't shift as much as they do on their own.  So all of these are swatched over my natural nail with no black base.

Fangtastic shifts through blue, purple and red with a gold flash at extreme angles.  I found this one the most difficult to photograph.  The purple and blue wanted to blend together on film.  In person, the shift is there but is not as pronounced as some of the other polishes in the collection.  So if you like a little shift but don't like your polish dancing all over the place, Fangtastic is your color.

Give Me a Hiss is my current favorite of the collection and the one I'm still wearing.  I've had so much fun blowing people's minds at the salon with this one.  They keep looking at my nails like they're on a psychedelic trip.  Its so funny how many of the finishes we see in the nail world that blow minds for those who don't follow a million blogs.  But I digress.  Give Me A Hiss has an incredible range of colors.  It shifts through purple, red, copper, gold and green...hitting every color in between.  Every time I look at my hands, I see a different color.  My camera didn't capture them all.

Finally, poor little Medusa is the odd ball of the group.  But don't let her fool you...she has bite!  Medusa shifts from gold to green with blue/green at extreme angles.  I also found her to be the most unforgiving when it comes to showing flaws in my nails, but I think that's due to the lighter color.  Oops.  Now you know my nails aren't perfect.  lol

So there you have it - the amazing Snake Charmer Collection of Gel Polishes from Bundle Monster.   Before I go, I want to talk a little about the price.  Bundle Monster is known for affordable gel polishes.  These are also affordable in my opinion, but they are priced higher than we are used to seeing from Bundle Monster ($13.99 each or $34.19 per set).  That might be a shock to some of you, so let me touch on why.  In my experience through working with a few Indie companies, the pigments and flakies used to make these amazing shifters are super expensive compared to their non-shifty counterparts.  Unfortunately, the result of more expensive ingredients is a higher priced polish.  I fully believe they are worth the extra cost.  I have tried several duochrome and multichrome gel polishes over the years and these have the best shift I have seen hands down.  If you need them but can't justify purchasing them all (trust me, you need them), hopefully my pictures and review will help you narrow it down to the best colors for you. :)

These collections are not on Amazon yet, but you can buy them direct through Bundle Monster's Website here.

~Michelle

*The Snake Charmer Collection Polishes featured in this post were provided by Bundle Monster for my honest review. All links within this post are courtesy links and do not benefit ManicTalons.com.

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