Review: Sephora Formula X Jolt with Black Matte, White Pearl and Silver Dazzle Glitter!

Ooooo I'm excited today because I have the fruits of late-night eBay binge to show you!  I got so carried away the envelope the glitter came in was HEAVY.  My boyfriend handed it to me like it was bomb, going to explode glittery all over him.  Inside, FIVE new circle glitters, three of which have that amazing finish the OPI I Snow You Love Me has.  I FOUND THAT GLITTER GUYS.  So of course I had to bung a bunch on my nails.  Over an amazing hot pink, no less. 

I think I might have to do a whole post on the base colour I used here, the amazing Sephora Formula X Jolt.  There's just so many flakie particles in the hot pink base, it's just stunning up close.  The blue shimmer in the bottle doesn't translate on the nail the strongest but the matte finish is great.  Anyway, after applying three coats of Jolt, I went nuts with my black matte, white pearl and silver dazzler circle glitter.  When working with such big pieces, you have to apply a really thick base of your slow drying top coat.  You then need to press each piece deep into the top coat - without it spilling over the glitter - so that it sits flush.  As usual I started with a column down the middle and worked outwards.  Because I pressed the glitter deep, the finish here is amazingly smooth after two coats of Seche Vite.  I haven't lost any pieces yet!

The Verdict:  I'm kinda loving the colour combo and how the different finishes interact with each other.  From a distance it looks like I have studs and rhinestones on my nails and that's always awesome.  The fact I FINALLY got circle glitter this big to sit flat is awesome too.  So winning all around!

All glitter is from The Glitter Store UK on eBay.  I bought all the glitter here myself :)

I Think This is it: My Sparkliest Nails Ever (So Far)

For almost two years and five hundred posts, I've been working to be the most sparkly I can be.  I love glitter and nothing makes me happy quite like having sparkly nails.  I was delighted to see OPI I Snow You Love Me as not only did it have circle glitter but it has that dazzle finish that's so very sparkly.  I'm not the biggest fan of fishing glitter out of a polish so I went one better - I found similar dazzle glitter on eBay.  Let me therefore present to you what might be the most sparkly mani I've ever done.  

I did actually do a full mani with the OPI polish.  I wasn't totally happen with the finish or the photos, mostly because I used a black polish for the base and it didn't totally work.  This time I decided on a matching silver base to blend it all together.  So after applying the usual three coats of Sally Hansen Celeb City - two would do but I like a deep base for the larger glitters - and went to town with my glitter.  I did the usual stripe of top coat down the middle of each nail and placed the glitter as close together as possible.  When the gap was too small to fit a full piece of glitter in, I cut a piece in half using my little sewing scissors and fit it in.  I let the end pieces hang over the edge of my nail, and trimmed them off when they were dry.  Cap it off with a coat or two of Seche Vite and I'm done.

The Verdict:  I love how this turned out although I'm a little sad because where the hell do I go from here?? Although I am thinking I could put smaller glitter pieces in the gaps between the circles....

The Sparkliest Nails I've Ever Done, But in Red! Cos Why Not!

Ok so considering I did what might have been my most sparkly nails ever the other day and that I have that same glitter in two other colours, there is hardly surprising I'm going to do the same thing again.  I just like looking at this glitter.  It's just so interesting in it's dazzle finish, and so sparkly.  It's much better to talk about the sparklies rather than how angry I am at my inability to take photos of red things.  Look how blown out my fingers are here!  Admittedly it's better than my last attempt at red nails but still bugs me.  Oh well, sparkly!  

I've found that when working with circle glitter, it works better to pair the glitter with a matching base, rather than a contrasting one.  It helps hide any placement issues and from a distance just helps it look all over sparkly.  Which is generally the goal.  My glitter is a deep, rich red so I started off with three coats of Essie Toggle to the Top.  Turns out it's just about a perfect match.  I went with three coats because this glitter is just so big and thick.  You want a nice thick base to press each piece down into.  Working with my usual slow drying top coat, I applied a thick stripe down the middle of each nail, laid the centre column of glitter and worked out to each edge, trimming pieces to fit as necessary.  There's a video at the bottom, if you're curious about the trimming.  Sparkly!

The Verdict: Of course I love how this came out.  I'm even happy it doesn't look like I've been in a fight in my cuticles.  I had to do this to show off to Lindsey (my now IRL friend I met on Instagram who also does nails) because who would I be if not someone to maximise any and all attention, especially in person? Sparkly!

MEGA-SPARKLIES YESSSSSSSSS GOOD TITLE, LAURA

Ok so this may look familiar.  I have used this glitter before, it's just that it's so sparkly, I can't help it. Like, the most sparkly.  Sure, it's a pain because you have to be careful you don't get two pieces stuck together and the glitter won't sit flat flat but LOOK AT THE SPARKLIES.  I even made a time-lapse video of how to do it!  It's like, if I say I'll do something a thousand times, I might actually do it! Also, sorry about the lobster fingers, sparklies > normal skin tone. 

I wanted a really sparkly base to match the glitter so I started off here with two coats of Sephora Formula X Freaky Like Freud, a ridiculously sparkly micro-glitter polish.  Then, I applied my usual thick coat of top coat down the middle of my nail, laid down my first column of glitter then laid out each side.  The good thing about using matching base colours is that you don't really have to bother about cutting your glitter to fit.  Looks better without it for once.   Two coats of Seche Vite and you're done.  Just make sure you press all the glitter down as you go.

The Verdict: THIS CAME OUT SO SPARKLY I CAN'T EVEN WORDS GOOD. Like, SO SPARKLY. LIKE, SO SPARKLY. I love you, glitter, for always.

Pink Mega-Sparkly Nails!

It's hardly a secret how much I love sparklies.  If it were at all practical, I would make my middle name Sparkly.  Laura Sparkly Tucker.  That does have a nice ring to it.  Anyway, this adoration of all the sparklies means just about my favourite thing ever is dazzle glitter.  It's like a bunch of tiny pieces of glitter were smushed together into a larger piece.  And oh, so sparklies.  I've done red and silver manis using this glitter before so that's the perfect excuse to use the pink.  That makes sense, right? 

For once, I actually have a video to show you how to do this.  It's exactly the same process here.  I started with a similar base polish - in this case the gorgeous Sephora Formula X Fine like Einstein - and applied two coats.  When using dazzle glitter, it helps to have a holo base in a similar tone. Means you don't have to spend as much time filling in the spaces around your cuticles because the gaps just don't show that much.  I then applied my usual line of glitter down the middle of my nail, filled out each size and trimmed any excess glitter off the ends of my nails.  Two coats of Seche Vite is good here too. 

The Verdict:  Well, this is awesomely sparkly and dazzly and of course I love it.  The base polish did its job, it didn't even really show when I lost a few pieces of the ends of my nails over the course of the day.  

You can find this glitter in a set with three other colours over at The Sparkly Shop.  I totally wouldn't hate it if you just had a look, sorry!