Show Me Your Nails 2.0

[Tamara76]

Due to some technical glitches with the original Show Me Your Nails Thread, I am starting a new thread with @vegchililover78's blessing (She says "hello," by the way!).

Please share your nail looks, nail art and manicures!

...And don't forget to check out @Beadshopgirl's Nail Stamping Thread for stamping inspiration! ❤️  

https://community.sephora.com/t5/Nailed-It/The-Nail-Stamping-Thread/m-p/3328865

[RGbrown]

Zoya deal!

BOGO all polishes (color, not base/top etc) plus free wide brush, thru Sunday, code BGME

[WinglessOne]

@RGbrown  I went straight to my Zoya wish list as soon as I saw that email, and I'm trying to convince myself I'd rather hold my polish budget for more interesting things from other brands... but... free wide brushes... this would be a good time to try a pixie dust shade since I'd get it for free, which would make me feel better about testing a very textured polish that might end up annoying me. 😂 I might have to take advantage. 

About the Ultra Glossy Seal Top Coat, if anyone's considering it to get free shipping: I recommend letting your polish dry for at least 30 minutes before applying this top coat. I usually apply top coat 10-20 minutes after polish, but this top coat always drags polish off my nails, regardless of polish brand or type. I'm not often patient enough to wait 30+ minutes, so I use this top coat only on "bare nails" (base coat + top coat) days and to re-top a manicure later in the week (to make my nails glossy again). Your results may vary. 

[RGbrown]

@WinglessOne 

I hear ya on wanting to hold your money for more unique offerings elsewhere! Zoya makes some great basics for sure, but I've got plenty of basics these days. If they're gonna charge me shipping no matter what, I want a large cart to minimize the cost per bottle...but I don't need a bunch of new Zoyas right now. I think I've got 3-4 pixies left on my list to complete the ones I want, but eh, I can wait. 

If you do try a pixie, I hope you love it! They really are fun (if you can handle the texture).

[makeitup305]

@RGbrown I just looked up the pixie textured shades and I got the shivers from thinking of running my fingers through my hair or it getting snagged on something. Idk if I can do it lol

[RGbrown]

@makeitup305 

If you're up for trying one, they are sooooo much fun (to me, at least)! Zoya has three types, the original (typically simply called "matte textured" in the description), Magical, and Ultra. I'm not sure of the difference between Magical and Ultra, but those two seem to get their texture from just a glitter overload (I've got Thea, a Magical one, and there's none of the sandy texture that I can tell, it's just large glitter in a crelly base). The originals though is where the magic is at for me, they've got this sandy finish that feels really neat. I don't find them sharp enough to really catch on anything, and it wears down a little after a day or two, but they tend to wear really well even without topcoat, and they are super easy to touch up if you want or need to fix a chip because the texture helps hides the lines. They've got a matte finish, but also have small glitter to amp up the interest with some sparkle. I tend to leave them bare, but adding a topcoat can really change the look as well. If you ever had an OPI Liquid Sand (which I also love), these are the Zoya equivalent 💕

[Saradestin]

@RGbrown I don’t want to look!! 🙈🙈🙈🙈🙈😅

[RGbrown]

@Saradestin 

I know the feeling! Throwing in the free wide brushes makes it a bit more tempting (but I'm still going to pass, hopefully 😅)

[makeitup305]

First up of my Mooncat polishes- Ocean Lies. I don't love this one. I did two coats (it probably needed 3) and it doesn't look at all like the promo picture. In direct sunlight it looks mostly teal and light green with some yellow sparkle and a slight pink shift. Indoors and with my phone flash it looks like a blue-ish gray with a pink shift. It's very unique but not very flattering on me. it was hard to get the shifts on camera.

[ather]

@makeitup305  Oooo I like this one too! Not sure why but I’ve been obsessed with light blues lately! This one is perfection!! 

[makeitup305]

@RGbrown @Titian06 @Saradestin you guys were right, a third coat (I even did four but I think three was ok) did the trick in making it look more like the pictures on the website. I still don't think it looks quite like the promo pics but it definitely is like the pictures submitted by customers. I played with it today and tried it by itself with 3-4 coats, over a cream/white base, over a light green base, over a black as a topper, and with a matte top coat. Excuse the application and picture quality, once again it is almost midnight when I'm doing my nails lol. It honestly hadn't even occurred to me to do a third coat since I don't do shades like this often but I'll keep it in mind for next time. Also, huge props to the CS team at Mooncat. I wrote a review saying it wasn't what I expected and they reached out right away and sent me a $16 gift card to get a different shade, which is really awesome. Some quick side notes- I really like the brush and how smoothly the polish applies but it seemed to not get along that great with the base shades. Maybe I need to let the base shade fully dry and also see if it reacts that way on top of my other polish brands.

Spoiler

Did not expect this chameleon green, yellow, orange shift over black. Lost of sparkles even with only 1 layerDefinitely much more teal now, awesomely sparkly in person. Index finger has the matte top coat, it didn't improve it much, just made it lighter and less funThe pink shift was impossible to capture in pictures but was much more visible

[Saradestin]

💥 BOOM!!! What a difference @makeitup305 !! Wow! I am amazed at the color resulting from using a black base! So beautiful! 😍😍😍😍😍

[makeitup305]

@Saradestin I think you would like it once it's built up. It reminds me of the beach.

[Titian06]

@makeitup305 - Wow, what a difference that third coat made!  I'm glad that worked.  I really like how this looks as a topper on the black--definitely unexpected! 😆

[makeitup305]

@Titian06 Now that I know how to use it properly, I would love to wear this on my toes for the summer. It definitely gives the mermaid vibes the description is going for (plus the name). I'm also going to be wearing this as a topper for sure, it's so shifty and sparkly.

[RGbrown]

@makeitup305 

Oh yay, that looks so much more vibrant with three coats! 😍

I giggled at "matte just made it less fun" 😅

[makeitup305]

@RGbrown I like matte top coats on hex glitters but it can dull down holo sparkle a lot. 

[WinglessOne]

@makeitup305  Whew, I'm glad a 3rd coat got you closer to what you wanted. With some Mooncat shades, 3 coats are necessary for full impact unless you apply over a base color. Same goes for some ILNP shades, for me anyway; I'll do 4 coats of some of those. Some Cupcake shades also really need 3 coats for full effect. I suspect the Mooncat promo photos for this shade show 3-4 coats and/or a base color. I do wish all polish brands would note that on their photos, so we'd all know what to expect before buying. 

I love the way this shade looks on your nails, especially that intense shift over the black base! What happened with the polish disagreeing with the base coat? I can't tell there's anything funky going on in your photos. Did you get some bubbles, or maybe streaking, or did the brush drag some base color off your nail(s)...? 

And hooray for Mooncat's customer service team! Good to know they're quick on the draw and aim to please. 🙂 

[makeitup305]

@WinglessOne I agree! You're right about the ILNP, too, although I use those a lot as toppers and didn't remember that. I think it should be in the description somewhere to help newbies like me. The polish just moved my base color (the white and the black) a bit, kind of picked it up and moved it, making it a little patchy. It could just be an issue with the formula. Static Nails doesn't seem to like other polishes, it seems to me. It chipped really easily on top of another polish last week, when it usually lasts incredibly well on my nails. I could have also just not let them dry enough since I was just playing around. I'm looking forward to trying more of the shades now that I know what to expect.

[RGbrown]

@makeitup305 

So pretty! 💚

Yup, definitely different from the promo shots; I've seen a few folks say the same about at least a few of their polishes. I do think a third coat would help get you closer though! I bet it would make a fun topper too

[Titian06]

@makeitup305 - I like the color and I think it looks like the pics on the website.  However, the pics on the website look like there are three or four layers of polish with an undercoat of white or beige and the photos were taken with targeted lighting.  In other words, don't judged your effort against a professional!

I think this would look good as a topper on a cream or a sparkly that isn't sparkly enough. 😁

[Saradestin]

So sad that you are not too happy with that one @makeitup305 . I think it is beautiful but it should have better coverage 😕