Category Archives: matte

Matte Burgundy and Flakie Goodness!

Posted on January 30, 2013 by Lindsey R| 3 Comments

I haven’t done up any flakies or matte manicures for a while, which is a shame because flakies and matte polishes is one of my favourite nail polish trends! This is two coats of OPI Diva of Geneva and one coat of Essie Shine of the Times followed by a coat of China Glaze Matte Magic.

I love how Shine of the Time shifts from orange to gold to green. And while I do enjoy these types of flakies over black polishes, reds and burgundys really seem to make the colour shift pop more. The dulling effect of the matte polish makes the flakies stand out even more– it lightens the polish and then BAM! It’s like a bonfire on my nails!

What are your favourite polishes to top with flakies? What are some of your favourite ways to wear matte polish?

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Posted in burgundy, China Glaze, Essie, flakies, matte, OPI

Sand Art matte glitter nail polish

Posted on August 3, 2012 by Lindsey R| 8 Comments

I gotta tell you– I’m so into this matte glitter stuff right now. It started with Nailventurous Floam and then went into a few polishes from Amy’s Nail Boutique, and now I am all over Pretty & Polished Sand Art. Holy crap, can you look at that awesomeness?

This is three coats of Pretty & Polished Sand Art. Sure, I could have done two coats over a base polish, but I didn’t want any base to distract from this awesomeness! Sand Art includes matte glitter in like, every colour. Pink, purple, blue, green, yellow… okay, there’s a few shades missing, but it’s so freaking awesome. LOOK! Damn. I did two coats of Seche Vite to smooth things out, which worked wonderfully, but I always get shrinkage at the tips. I tried to repair, which is why my tips look a little wonky. The Seche Vite shrinkage on these types of matte glitter polishes are the worst! But I can deal because this polish is awesome.

Have you picked up any Pretty & Polished polishes? I’m itching to get my hands on a few others if I ever manage to get my timing right again!

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Posted in Glitter, matte, Pretty & Polished

Matte Floam Nail Polish!

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Lindsey R| 3 Comments

Nail-Venturous Floam is such a fun polish, and like all “glitter” polishes, I like to make ‘em mattee! This is two coats of Nail-Venturous Floam over one coat of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Brisk Blue. On top of that, I added one coat of China Glaze Matte Magic.

I do like this matte, but I prefer it glossy. What do you think?

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Posted in blue, Glitter, Green, matte, Nail-Venturous, Sally Hansen, Yellow

Flakies + Matte Top Coat = Magic!

Posted on March 14, 2012 by Lindsey R| 4 Comments

How can flakies get any better? By adding a matte top coat, of course! This was from my Flakie Comparisons post from the other day.

As a reminder, these are all over black (Nicole by OPI Razzle Dazzler).
Index finger: Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure (one coat)
Middle finger: Essie Shine of the Times (one coat)
Ring finger: Maybelline Colorama Ruby Rays (one coat)
Pinkie finger: Barielle Elle’s Spell (one coat)
Aaaand a coat of China Glaze Matte Magic!

Still diggin’ Essie Shine of the Times the best. The addition of the matte top coat really brought out some blue in those flakies. What do you guys think?

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Posted in Barielle, black, blue, China Glaze, comparisons, duochrome, Essie, flakies, Glitter, Green, matte, Maybelline Colorama, orange, Sally Hansen

Orange & Black Hallowe’en Manicure with a Twist!

Posted on October 7, 2011 by Lindsey R| 3 Comments

Here’s a bit of a snazzier take on the standard orange and black Hallowe’en-themed manicure. Instead of flat colours or just the Pumpkin Spice/Fortune Teller style (black with orange glitter), I added an inverted colour accent nail.

This is one coat of Nicole by OPI Razzle Dazzle and two coats of China Glaze Fortune Teller. The ring finger accent nail is Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Sun Kissed with L.A. Girl Glitter Addict polish in Uninhibited.

Black glitter gives a strange look, but I kind of like it. This is the first brand I’ve seen do black glitter. Wet n Wild has one out now as well. Are there any others?

And just for fun—the same manicure but with China Glaze Matte Magic over top.

Let me know what you think!

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Posted in black, China Glaze, Glitter, Halloween, L.A. Girl, matte, Nicole by OPI, orange, Sally Hansen

Deborah Lippmann Happy Birthday Dupe Update

Posted on October 5, 2011 by Lindsey R| 2 Comments

As you may remember from my Happy Birthday Dupe City post, I have a bit of an attraction to rainbow glitter. I recently added to my collection with NYX Girls polish in Carnival and thought I should update my comparisons.

Pinkie finger: NYX Girls Carnival
Ring finger: Clarie’s Bedazzled
Middle finger: Milani Gems
Index finger: Wet ‘n’ Wild Party of Five Glitters

This is one coat of each over two coats black polish (Nicole by OPI Razzle Dazzler). As you can see, WnW is pretty sparse even when globbed on. My findings last time was that Clarie’s Bedazzled is my preferred rainbow glitter because of the emphasis on the blue (small blue glitters among the larger hex pieces). NYX Girls Carnival has smaller silver glitter, which is okay but I prefer the blue. BUT! The gold/yellow glitter in Carnival is much brighter than any of the other polishes. It’s also pretty dense to boot! So now I have a tie: Bedazzled and Carnival.

Just for fun, and because I love me some matte glitters, I put a coat of China Glaze’s Matte Magic on top. Oooh, aaah!

What is your favourite rainbow glitter? How do you think these compare to Deborah Lippmann’s Happy Birthday?

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Posted in Claire's, comparisons, Glitter, matte, Milani, NYX Girls, Wet n Wild

China Glaze White Cap Tips

Posted on August 17, 2011 by Lindsey R| 2 Comments



China Glaze’s White Cap polish is pretty interesting—looks like a frosty sparkle in the bottle, but layered over black you can see the gold, peridot, and the occasional red sparkle. It’s beautiful!

I recently received this and China Glaze Matte Magic in the mail (thank you eBay!) and really wanted to play with them. This is two coats of Nicole by OPI Razzle Dazzler, one coat of China Glaze Matte Magic, and two coats all messy on the tips of China Glaze White Cap.



My husband was concerned that the tips weren’t straight across. I told him it was supposed to look like that, kind of like ice caps or dripping ice… or something.



I’m digging Matte Magic more than I thought I would. I may have to pick up another bottle—I didn’t realize it came in a smaller size than the regular China Glaze polishes. It dries fast and looks consistent. I tried ORLY’s version of matte top coat before and wasn’t impressed at all. I’m glad I bought the China Glaze one!

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Posted in China Glaze, Glitter, Gold, Green, matte