Daisy DUO Soak Off Gel Polish Review: Part 1

Press Sample

Hello Loves.  I apologize for the delayed post.  We don’t get snow often in Georgia, so when it does happen we take a break to build snowmen and have snowball fights before it quickly melts away.  So I’m a little behind my posting schedule, but I’m sure you’ll agree that this one is well worth the wait!

Did you know that Daisy recently released a new line called Daisy Duo Soak Off Gel Polish?  Ester’s Nail Center was kind enough to send me a few to review for you.   As you can guess from the name, Daisy DUOs come with a matching regular nail polish.  Guess what?  They actually match!  The RNPs also apply like a dream.  I didn’t swatch those for you since they are identical in color to the gel, but I am truly impressed.

This new gel formula has a built in base coat so that all you need is the color and top coat.  This all-in-one type formula seems to be gaining popularity in gel polish, and I personally love the trend.  Not only does it allow for a faster manicure, but the lack of an additional base coat leads to a thinner coating of gel on the nail.  I don’t know about y’all, but a thick gel coating on the nail drives me nuts.  Ever try to pick up a stamping plate on a smooth surface with thick nails?  It is comical to say the least.  ;)

I received three colors from the Daisy DUO line.  Sweet Romance, Forgotten Pink, and Island Oasis.  I’m going to show you Sweet Romance and Forgotten Pink today as the first part of my review.  Part 2 will include swatches of Island Oasis, as well as the results of my wear test and removal.

Let’s get on with the swatches, and I'll end with a few thoughts.

This gorgeous baby pink cream is Sweet Romance.  This is three thin coats (in keeping with all my swatches), but the third coat was not necessary at all.  As far as pinks go, Sweet Romance has a slightly lavender undertone, which makes it a cool toned pink.  Very classic and sweet.

Forgotten Pink is a gorgeous glitter polish with super fine, dusty pink glitter suspended in a clear base.  But that’s not all.  There’s also a nice dusting of this beautiful, iridescent glitter that flashes blue when the light hits it.  The result is a very magical yet subtle polish that is simply breath taking.  My full pictures do not do it justice.

Take a look at this slightly blurred close-up of the polish on my ring finger.  The iridescent blue flash glitters show up much better here.  Gorgeousness in a bottle!

Here are my closing thoughts:

• I really like how the Daisy Duos apply.  The gel is a bit thicker with a jelly-like consistency that is a bit different from other gels on the market.  This is really nice because it helps keep the gel where you place it so that it isn’t likely to pool on the first finger while you are applying it to the others.  It also glides over the nail with ease.  They also cured perfectly at the recommended 60 second cure time in my LED lamp. 
• The color range available in this line is spectacular.  Look at all those glitters!  I’m drooling just looking at them and will definitely be adding a few more to my ever growing gel collection.

  

  Photo used with permission: Credit www.EstersNC.com

Based on the samples I received, the swatch photos from Ester's Nail Center are accurate color representations of the gel.  I’m very impressed by this.  You can view larger versions of the swatch pallets above by clicking here.

That’s all for today.  I am now going to put the Daisy Duos to the ultimate right hand wear test.  Check back in a few weeks for Part 2 of this review where I will show swatches of Daisy Duo Island Oasis and report back on my wear test and removal.

~Michelle

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Couture Gel Polish All That Glitters Collection Swatches

Press Sample

Hello Loves!  You know how much I love glitter, right?  Then you know how excited I was when Couture Gel Polish sent me these awesome chunky glitter polishes from the All That Glitters Collection to review!

I have to admit that I usually prefer loose glitter over glitter polishes.  I find most glitter gel polishes difficult to apply.  With most, the there isn't enough glitter in the bottle so any attempt to achieve dense glitter coverage on the nail results in pooling of the gel around the sides of the nail.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that Couture's glitter polishes are thick so that pooling is less likely.  When I say thick, I mean THICK.  I flipped these upside down for a few minutes like I do with all glitter gels, and I ended up with so much glitter on the brush that I had to wipe both sides of the brush before applying the gel to the nail.  I like that!  I didn't find application to be difficult at all.

There are actually 6 polishes in the All That Glitters Collection, but one isn't chunky so I didn't include it in this group.  I'll show you Classy Girl another day. 

Note:  All swatches are 3 coats over my natural nails.  I also prepared half black, half white swatch sticks and applied one coat of each glitter on top to show how they look over light and dark bases.

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First up is Sugar Daddy.  This is a slightly olive toned jelly base that is packed with green and blue hex glitters, ultrafine green and holographic glitters, and silver holographic strip glitter.  On it's own, this one isn't the best color for my skin tone, but it will be perfect layered over a solid base.

You can also see the individual glitters a bit better in this swatch stick close up.  I am definitely going to use this one in my St. Patrick's Day mani!

Next is Make An Entrance. This is your classic silver holographic mix in a clear base.  Again, we have ultrafine silver holographic glitters, large silver holographic hex glitters, and silver holographic strip glitters.  It reminds me of a disco ball and will be perfect for New Years.  :)

I failed to really capture the holographic effect in the close up on this one.  I apologize for that, but I promise it is there. 

This gorgeous gold glitter is Put A Ring On It.  This one is a slightly gold tinted jelly base with gold and holographic ultrafine glitter, large gold hex glitter, silver holographic strip glitter, and random large holographic silver hex glitters thrown in for good measure.  The result is a very festive topper that makes me think of Christmas.

I lost the holo effect of the silver strips in this one as well, but they are the same silver strips that appear throughout these swatches.

Fireworks is one of my absolute favorites out of this group.  The sheer, red jelly base is packed with red and holographic ultrafine glitters, large red hex glitter, and the silver holographic strips. 

 You can see the holographic color shifts very well over the black in the closeup swatch below.

Drama Queen is a gorgeous light blue glitter mix that is tied with Fireworks as my favorite in the bunch.  This light blue jelly base has a similar mix of ultrafine glitters, larger hex glitters, and the holographic strips.  But something about the blue just screams my name.  It has that glittery sparkle yet is calming at the same time.

 I'm not really sure why, but this one makes me think of rain drops.

Finally, the last of the chunky glitter polishes is Material Girl.  This one is a bit different than the rest in that the pink jelly base is much darker, which make the glitter a bit more subtle.  The same glitters are there, though - ultrafine, large silver hexes, and the strips.  There seem to be fewer large hex glitters and strip glitters in this one.

As you can see in the picture below, because of the darker jelly base, this one does tint the black side a considerable amount. 

What do you think of Couture's All That Glitters Collection?  Do you have a favorite?

~Michelle

Note:  All polishes shown in this post are press samples that were provided by Couture Gel Nail Polish for my honest review.

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Valentine's Day nails with Red Carpet Manicure

Personal Gift Purchased by Me

Hello Loves.  I have Valentine's Day themed mani to show you today.  Can a girl go wrong with glittery polish, stamping, and a DIY rhinestone?

There' s a lot going on in this seemly simply manicure.  I started with a base of Red Carpet Manicure Socialite Status from the Limited Edition Hamptons collection on the pink nails and Couture Ooh La La French for the white.  This the Socialite Status.

I then topped Socialite Status with Red Carpet Manicure Swaggin, which was a gift from the lovely Tiffany at Polished to Precision.  Be sure to pop over to her blog and check out her gorgeous polish swatches!  The picture below is Swaggin on it's own - three coats without undies.

I stamped the middle finger with Pure Ice Silver Star and an image from Pueen 33 from the Love Elements set.   I used a dotting tool to add RCM Swagging to the heart shaped leaves and freehanded a few extras for balance.

The ring finger is the most exciting of the two accents for me.  I have had these little heart frames in my collection for a while - so long that I can't even remember where I got them.  But I've never really known what to do with them.  Then Kim from Ten Little Canvases shared this awesome tutorial on making your own stones using Gelish Structure.  Jackpot!  I followed Kim's instructions and applied the frame to the nail first.  I then filled the frame with Swaggin and topped it with Structure.  Check out Kim's video at the link above for the specific steps.  :)

I'm very pleased with the final result.  This one might be one of my favorites!

~Michelle

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Featured Artist: ARoseAmongThorns from Instagram

Hello Loves. I'm currently doing a few polish tests that require I actually wear a manicure longer than a few days, so I asked one of my dearest friends to allow me to show off her Valentine's Day manicure instead. :) Pamela (aka Instagram user ARoseAmongThorns) is also a gel user, which makes for a dangerous friendship. We feed off of each other and our wallets suffer. But it also works out well for us because our tastes are polar opposites. I wear my nails longer and she rocks the shorties. She loves cream finishes. I love shimmers. It is rare that we love or hate the same polish, so we end up doing a lot of swapping.

Enough of my rambling and onto the nail art. Pamela is a stamping fan as well, so she threw together this adorable stamped skittlette manicure.  As usual, details to follow.

Base: Couture Gel Nail Polish Wardrobe Change on the index and pinkie.  Couture Ooh La La French on the ring and thumb.  Kiss Galaxy on the middle finger. 
Stamping images:  Fun 12 on the ring finger and QA28 on the middle and thumb
Stamping polishes:  Sally Hansen Insta-dri Silver Sweep and Mundo de Unas Mexican Pink.

I love skittlette manicures, but it drives me nuts that we rarely see what is on the thumb nail.  Thankfully, Pamela sent me a shot with her thumb too.  Check out that adorable little kiss!

If you like Pamela's art and her adorable shorties, go follow her on instagram! 

I'll be back in a few days with a mani of my own, I promise.  I have a few fun reviews coming up too.  ;)

~Michelle

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Messy Mansion Purple Stampers Review

Purchased by Me

Hi Loves.  Today's post is a bit off schedule, but I couldn't wait to show you!  I ordered the Purple XL Squishy Stamper and Purple Rectangular Squishy Stamper from Messy Mansion and they came in earlier this week.  Since I managed to get the boys in bed early, I decided to do a video review.  :)  It ended up a little longer than I prefer, but I really wanted to show you the size and quality in addition to how they stamp.

I hope you enjoyed my review. As always, I'll be happy to answer any questions in the comments.

~Michelle

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I wrote a guest post for Chickettes.com :)

Hi loves!  I am honored to have written a guest post for Andrea at Chickettes for today.  Head on over to Chickettes to see my how I created this Key To My Heart design with loose glitter and gel polish  :)

~Michelle

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Not One Stroke Flower Nail Art

Purchased by Me

Hello Loves.  So I got the bright idea that I would do a one-stroke flower manicure.  I have tried this technique a few times before and failed, but I was feeling brave so...yeah, I failed again.  I'm convinced after watching a million youtube tutorials that my brush is to blame.  After getting frustrated and almost throwing the brush across the room, I decided to say the heck with it and go back to what I know: layered flowers.  I absolutely love how this one turned out.

For this mani, I started with a base of Couture Gel Nail Polish Little Black Dress.  This is my go-to black gel.  I love the depth of the polish and that it is completely opaque in three thin coats.  I have swatched this one before, but since it was before my new lighting setup, I snapped another picture. :)

I then used a thin nail art brush and acrylic paint to freehand the flowers.  I started with the red petals and then went back and added the pink to the inner portions and dabbed a little yellow on for the center of the flowers.  The leaves are a dark green acrylic paint with a lighter green layered on top to highlight parts.  Simple, yet so pretty.  :)

This mani is NOT topped off with a gel top coat.  I used Oh So Wet regular polish top coat instead.  It is a big of a an experiment.  The last time I did a manicure with acrylic paint sealed with a gel top coat ended up being a disaster.  Once the gel started to wear thin on the tips, water was able to penetrate the layers and the acrylic paint turned to mush.  The mani only lasted a few days before the top layer lifted and chipped off.  Since I have found that RNP wears like iron over a complete SOG mani, I'm hoping this one will last without the gel top coat over it all.  I've been wearing this one for 5 days now and so far it still looks perfect!  I did apply a gel top coat over the black base before the art work.

Here are a few closer shots.  :)

~Michelle

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Tutorial: Simple Dry Marble Technique

Purchased by Me

Hello loves!  As I mention in my last post, I put together a quick tutorial on how I did this dry marble base for my Mani Using Three Purples. I hope you enjoy the tutorial.  As always, if there is anything I need to clarify, leave your questions in the comments and I will do my best to answer them.  :)

~Michelle

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Stamping Challenge: Mani Using Three Purples

Purchased by Me

Hello Loves.  I decided to give the Adventures in Stamping Sunday Challenge a try this week.  I'm not in love with the result, but I guess I can't love them all.  :)

Working backward, I stamped this one with Mundo de Unas Lilac stamping polish and the reverse flower image from MoYou London Pro Collection XL 13.

For the base, I started with Ink Scarlet Empress.  Scarlet Empress is a slightly sheer, pastel purple frost.  When I wear it alone, I usually wear it over a white base to make it opaque.  This is 3 coats without the white base.  The second picture shows how the light bounces off of the frosty finish.

 

I then dry marbled Scarlet Empress with Ink Secret Desire.  Secret Desire is a darker, shimmery purple.  Random note, but this is the first Ink I ever owned.  :)  As you can see in the second picture, when the light hits the shimmer it shifts to a slightly lighter shade of purple.

 

Finally, here's a shot of the base before the stamp.  I absolutely love how this marble turned out! I almost couldn't bring myself to finish the challenge and stamp over it.

Check back later this week for a video tutorial on how I did the dry marbled base for this mani.  :)

~Michelle

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Simple Blue Flowers

Purchased by Me

Hello loves.  I've been a bit under the weather with a nasty cold, so I opted for something simple this week.  Since this cold has me feeling a little blue, I decided on a deep blue base with frosty flowers.

For this mani, I started with a base of Couture Gel Nail Polish After Midnight.  I have swatched this one before, but I decided to take another swatch picture since the last one is from before I updated my light box and is rather dark.  I think this picture shows the color much better. :)

I then added a few simple flowers and dots in Couture Share My Yacht? with a nail art brush.  I topped them off with a few small silver studs.  Simple, yet effective.

As you may have noticed, I also updated my watermark.  It feels much cleaner than my previous mark.  :)

~Michelle

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