Entries from January 2010 ↓

Have you ever purchased a glitter polish thinking it looked a little sheer… but that you might be able to get away with wearing three coats, only to discover that it’s really sheer, as in six-coats-to-opacity-sheer and now you don’t know what to do with it?

I buy these sorts of polishes on purpose, and they’re dead useful. I call them “sheer glitter toppers” and the following post will illustrate various ways in which you can use them.

I’ve yet to find a sheer glitter topper that doesn’t look awesome layered over black. Almost all sheer glitters with large pieces of glitter in them will change color in the light, but it’s something that’s usually not visible until layered over a dark creme.

Pictured is one coat of black nail polish with one coat of Adorée’s “Riding Hood” over. In the bottle, “Riding Hood” appears orange with golden glitter, but when applied over black it flashes orange to green which is really cool. You certainly aren’t limited to black when applying toppers to get this effect, any dark creme will work. Last fall a lot of “nearly-blacks” were released, those sorts of colors will also work well to bring out the color-changing qualities in most sheer glitter toppers.

In addition to layering sheer glitter toppers over black or nearly-black cremes, you can layer them over other glitter polishes in order to create new combination glitters. By that I mean, the final result will show the two different glitter colors mixed and it will appear as if your polish was initially made up of more than one glitter color. (Doesn’t it look like these two bottles had a little swatch baby?) If you get bored of the glitters you have, this is a simple and interesting way to make a “new” polish.

Pictured above is two coats of Adorée’s “Wild Inkberry” with one coat of Zoya’s “Vegas Freeze” on top.

Likewise, if you have a colored creme that you wish was a glitter, a sheer glitter topper will add shimmer to your polish without changing the creme color itself. Your base color will shine through while your sheer glitter topper adds a bit of interest.

Finally, my favorite way to wear sheer glitter toppers are as French manicure polishes. While a traditional nude-tinted French manicure polish always looks nice, using a sheer glitter topper instead can turn a plain French manicure into something more interesting and fun, especially if you replace your white tips with a bright creme.

Pictured above is two coats of OPI’s “I’m Indi-a Mood for Love” as tips with one coat of Adorée’s “Ice Mist” over.

Whether you layer them over black, use them to transform other polishes into a new glitter variant or use them as French manicure polishes, sheer glitter toppers are extremely useful polishes to have in your collection.

For all Adoree glitter collection visit  EsthersNC.com, your online source for DIY home manicure & pedicure supplies and nail-related information. Featuring Non Toxic, Safer Nail Polish, Nail Art and Nail Treatment, FREE from Formaldehyde, Toluene & DBP.  Design and tutorial are provided by Asami from Nails by Asami blog. Thank you Asami.

Pink is always a popular shade for spring. So from Adoree color collection, we pick some pinks to show off – 4 colors at a time. Let’s start.

From left to right.
Adoree #139 is a sweet creamy baby pink . This pastel shade won’t show too much pink but not appropriate for french manicure because it’s kinda opaque.

Adoree #188 Cactus Bloom is slightly more pink than Adoree Exotic Pink. This is a nice pink with bluish pearly finish. Slight sheer, would need 2-3 coats to build up.

Adoree #116 Pink Taffy is a vivid barbie pink with slightly shimmer look. Somehow, the look on nails reminds me to its name, Taffy.

Adoree #144 Full Bloom is a light peachy pink with bold metallic finish.

Ok, I hope this is helpful. I’ll try to have photos of the colors on the nails. More pinks will be posted.

I’d like to share an interesting article about caring your natural nails, especially in this winter season, just to remind us once again. The article titled “From neglected to natural nails” is available here.  I have to admit that I don’t take care of my nails as diligently as I should. With a baby and a bunch of house works. I have to constantly wash my hands, but forget to apply lotion or oil to my neglected hands and nails. So this is a good reminder for me as well.

Dusty carnation pink with green and gold glitters. Really beautiful and one of the more interesting pinks I’ve run across lately. Three coats pictured above. Beautifully sparkly in the sunlight. Reviewed by Flinty from Polish or Perish blog.

This design is of easy difficulty, and doesn’t take very long to apply. There are several different ways you can wear this Starry Night look, depending on the supplies you have available and the length of your nails. This is a cute look for going out in the evenings and it looks especially good on cool skin tone. Alternatively, you can substitute black nail polish for blue and still get the starry night look if you prefer something a little darker.

All this design entails is applying your blue nail polish, adhering your stars, and coating everything with a clear topcoat so it’s ideal if you’re just starting out with nail art. You will need two nail polishes to create this look, (as well as some stars which we will discuss later in this post.) Pictured are the Adorée’s “Ice Mist #237” and “Harbour Blue #162“.

Begin by placing your French manicure guideline stickers. Gently rub the stickers against your nails to ensure there are no air bubbles that could lead to a smeared edge upon removal. Wrap the free-edge of the stickers around your fingertips to prevent them from getting caught in your wet polish while you wait for it to dry. Do not remove your guideline stickers until your colored tips are almost completely dry. Pictured is two coats of Adorée’s “Harbour Blue #162.” (Adorée nail polishes are formaldehyde, toluene, and DBP free like OPI and Zoya.) Choose a navy or dark blue for this manicure, as any light blue paired with stars won’t result in a nighttime-themed look.

Swipe on one coat of a glittery clear, or nude-tinted clear polish, something suited to French manicures. I prefer to use a glittery clear for this particular look as I think it adds to the star theme, but if you prefer you can use a traditional French manicure nude instead. Pictured is Adorée’s “Ice Mist #237″ which contains very small pieces of blue, green and orange glitter. Using a glittery clear over colored tips is an easy way to turn a regular French manicure into something more interesting.

Coat one finger with your French manicure shade, and while your polish is still wet adhere your stars. Then coat your next finger, and attach your stars. Feel free to leave a few nails without any stars to keep this look from going overboard. What can you use as stars? Fortunately, star-shaped nail deco items are pretty easy to find. You can use star-shaped rhinestones like I have, or you can use star confetti which comes in many colors. If you can’t find star-shaped confetti, gemstones, try nail stickers.

You need not place stars on every finger, and it’s best if you don’t place them in identical spots in order to add variety. In general, it’s best to keep your stars to one or two per nail, and place them low to overlap the border of your French tip. Placing them there will draw more attention to them than if you were to set them near the top where your polish is clear.

As the final step to this look, seal in your stars with a clear topcoat.

All items needed are available at EsthersNC.com, your online source for DIY home manicure & pedicure supplies and nail-related information. Featuring Non Toxic, Safer Nail Polish, Nail Art and Nail Treatment, FREE from Formaldehyde, Toluene & DBP.  Design and tutorial are provided by Asami from Nails by Asami blog.

Just want to tell you all that our Sooo Smooth Callus Dissolver is on sale now for only $7.50 per bottle. Regular price is $9. So hurry and stock up now because this offer lasts for this month only.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with this item, I just want to tell you that this product works like magic. Many of our customers raved about this callus dissolver. It’s also popular among nail salons. It breaks down calluses in 2-3 minutes so you can simply file or buff them away.

How to use Callus Dissolver: After soaking the feet, liberally spread Callus Dissolver over calluses. Wear gloves or rinse finger well after applying. Allow it to penetrate 2 – 3 minutes depending on callus buildup. Then use a file or buffer to gently remove callus. Wash thoroughly with water after use.

Available at EsthersNC.com on the manicure pedicure page. Size 4 fl oz.

I just saw the photos of celebrities wearing these hot winter-shades on MSN Lifestyle and thought on how to get similar shades with Adoree Nail Polish. Here are the celebrities with their matching colors and how to replicate the shade with Adoree.

• Kim Kardashian was a biker chic and wearing grey metallic color. To get this color,  just mix Adoree Pilgrim Haze #104 with Adoree Space Black #195, and adjust the mix to get the level of grey you like.
• Nikki Reed’s make-up artist applied on her nails two coats of a dusty rose polish and topped it with one layer of a softer ivory pink to create a delicate pink. To replicate this shade, use Adoree Lilac Pink #118 or Adoree Pink Pansy #201 as the dusty rose polish and Adoree Country Pink #142 as the ivory pink.
• Whitney Port was spotted wearing blue nails. To get this color with a shimmer finish, use Adoree Harbour Blue #162.
• And Ashlee Simpson with her bright red nails. If you’ve got fair skin and dark hair like Simpson, a scarlet shade has a sweet, Snow White-ish charm. To achieve this shade, get Adoree Scarlet #215, Adoree Heritage Red #145 for creamy finish or Adoree Rose Parade #210 for shimmer finish.

Now I’d like to know what your favorite winter shade. Feel free to leave me a comment.