Year in Review Part 1: Glitter Mosaics

Since my super sparkly glitter nails are still holding up and they took so long I can't bear to take them off, I'm going to do what I've been putting off for a while, and that's to do my 2012 year in review post!  Yes, I realise it's the 30th of January but I've done 390 posts on this blog and I want to reflect a little.

There's too much here to fit in one post so let's start with the first part of my three part reflection.  Gotta start with glitter, right?

Top Glitter Mosaics of 2012

 5.  Most Complex Glitter Mosaic

My most recent and most complex glitter mosaic comes in at number five.  It's sparkly and took forever but the holo glitter I usually use is even more sparkly and is a better colour combination.  I can still see where there glitter surface is uneven, which annoys me, but as a whole, it's still awesome.  

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4. Harlequin Glitter Nails

Another recent post, I was really happy with how my red and blue harlequin nails came out.  This also, unsurprisingly, took a long time to do and nearly sent me cross-eyed.  It's at number four because I love a good rainbow but makes it on the list because while the colours are clearly separate up close, from a distance it looks purple, with pretty red flashes.  I love that I got the glitter to line up so neatly, it makes me happy.  

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3. True Rainbow Fish Nails

I usually stick to using small glitter because I HATE it when pieces of glitter don't sit completely flat on my nails. That's when I cave half a day in and end up picking it off.  Anyway, I have a large collection of little pots of glitter and decided to give the larger pieces a go, because they work so well together, colour wise.  I even had the time to trim the glitter so it sits properly at the cuticle and nail tip.  Yay rainbow fishies!

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2. 3D Geometric Glitter Nails

Diamond shaped glitter is always tricky to work with because it so easily sticks up and catches on things.  I was playing around with it one night when I realised that I could make cubes out of it!  I wasn't sure about making a full coverage mani with it so I let the cubes meander around my thumb and ring finger.  Turns out, that works pretty well!

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1. Stained Glass Glitter Nails

I've done a ton of different manis with this holo glitter but the one that started it off were my stained glass glitter nails I did for my friend's birthday.  All night people commented on my nails, asked if they were stickers, basically showered me with attention which is pretty much all I ask for in life.  I can see things I want to fix here, but it's sparkly so it's ok. 

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Yay glitter!

Review: OPI Push and Shove - Fussy but Awesome

This is weird, I think this might be like my first two-in-a-row swatch posts in forever!  I had things to say about the new Finger Paints flakies and I also have things to say about the new OPI Gwen Stefani chrome, Push and Shove.  And it's good things this time!  I'm really impressed with all the different polishes OPI has been coming out with lately - the Liquid Sands, the interesting glitters, etc - and Push and Shove is really interesting. 

I've seen quite a lot hate for Push and Shove, mostly for its ability to show every lump and bump on your nails.  You know what?  I don't care, because LOOK AT HOW REFLECTIVE THIS IS.  I can't be hating on it when OPI tries this hard, even including a special base coat.  Now, for full disclosure: I didn't use the Lay Down That Base base coat here.  I tried it, and it was pretty good.  Stunning from a distance but just ok up close.  I was doing some reading and saw someone layered it over Seche Vite and OMG the difference it makes is awesome.  It just gets super mirrory and awesome.  So, for best results, apply a base coat, a coat of Seche Vite and once that's all completely dry, just the one coat of Push and Shove.  It's really fussy and shows up the brush strokes if you do more than one coat and push the polish around too much.  

 The Verdict:  Sure, you can't use this polish exactly as directed, you can't use more than one coat, you can't push the polish around and the wear time isn't the best but somehow I'm ok with that.  OPI made a polish that's come the closest I've ever seen to a full mirror polish so who cares how that mirror is achieved.  My glitter mosaics never last that long and I spent hours on them.  Think of this as special occasion nails.   I mean, you can see my finger reflected on my thumb, for crying out loud!  KEEP DOING YOUR THING OPI.