Techno Teal

I own 3 Tronica polishes and have only worn one of them on its own (Gamer Glam). I don't know why I kept pushing back wearing them because I've had them at least since February. I know a lot of people were disappointed with the collection, hoping there'd be more holo in the polishes. And it's true, there isn't much holo, but I don't think they're disappointing. It stinks that linear holos aren't more obtainable, but I think these polishes are pretty in their own right.

Direct Sunlight










Shade




2 coats China Glaze Techno Teal
1 coat Poshe

This is a dark teal that looks a little more green on the nail than in the bottle, but it definitely is a blue based teal moreso than a green based teal. It is a scattered holographic that is only really apparent in sunlight or bright indoor lighting, and even then, it's certainly not an in-your-face holo. But sitting in front of my computer screen with the lights out and little outside light (because I have the blinds closed), when I look at my nails, I do see an overcast of holo. So it DOES exist in the polish, just not a ton. Even when the holo isn't apparent, it's still a gorgeous polish in its own right.

The formula was very similar to a linear holo. It's that weird, resistant formula that doesn't want to be on your nails. You need to use gentle, few strokes or the polish picks itself back up on the brush. I'd guess an aqua base might make it better, but I did not use one. It was completely opaque in 2 coats, and I did not have problems leveling the polish after the second coat despite the occasional peel up spots of polish. It did dry very quickly, though. So that was nice!

The Blue Holo Leopard

So yesterday, I was dead set on what I wanted to do for my nails today. This morning, I was still going to do it. Then I was setting up to do it and questioned if that's what I wanted to do. Because I'm using a linear holo as a base, I then started having doubts about doing a full nail stamp in case it totally covered the linear awesomeness. So I actually googled photos of the bundle monster plate I wanted to use to see if it really covered polishes that much. I even found one using a scattered holo. Ultimately, I figured eh, oh well if it ruins the linear look. It's supposed to rain at 1300 today, anyway.

So this is what I did...















4 coats Nfu Oh 65 (I added another this morning to freshen it up because I didn't use a top coat)
Bundle Monster plate BM-221 with Sinful Black on Black
Dotting with China Glaze Techno Teal

So I realized how nerve wracking stamping was going to be, and became super weary. Because I have FOUR coats of polish on with no top coat and I'm using black to stamp a full nail design, there is little room for error. There was much potential for this to be very time consuming, but I got WICKED lucky and didn't have to redo any. My right hand thumb didn't stamp as vividly as all of my other nails, but it's still fine!!

I had debated about doing the dots on the print because I didn't know if it'd ruin it. But then I thought back to the Revlon Electric stamped flowers saga (here, here, and finally here), and figured what the heck? Might as well. So if you were curious what it looked like without the dots, I did take photos, and here they are:















Now Be Honest
Do you like it better with or without the dots??

Nfu Oh 65 is GORGEOUS

I treated myself to this polish for my bday. I already own Nfu Oh 61, and that obviously means I HAVE to own more. I love this light blue holo!!















I also wanted to make sure to include some photos that show the polish NOT in sunlight (when it's at its complete holo potential).

Outside in the shade:


Indoor lighting:




3 coats Nfu Oh 65
No topcoat

Just as with 61, I used Nail Tek II and Sally Hansen Double Duty as base coats (silk wrapped nails get SH and non-silk wrapped get NT). I have never used Nfu Oh's Aqua Base, which apparently makes application super easy. When not using a specialty base, you need to be VERY gentle with this polish and use as few strokes as possible. I'm talking 3 strokes per nail MAX. If you do more than that, you start getting bald spots. So with that, you need a VERY light touch so it doesn't pull up the polish that's already applied. It's not unmanageable by any means, you just have to practice with it and be patient. I don't think I'd waste my time with this if it were a simple creme polish, but because it's a beautiful, linear holo, it gets my time.

Sunny Day=HOLO!!!!!!!!

YAY!!!!!! Woke up this morning and saw sunshine out the window. Confirmed by looking at the sky that it wasn't just a break in the clouds... NOPE!! Beautiful blue skies in a complete 360. So I freak out, take off yesterdays polish that I planned to Konad today (I thought today was supposed to be rainy),

So what holo am I wearing??

The one and only Nfu Oh 61!! I snatched it up during those recent restocks on transdesign.com. You shoulda seen me freaking out trying to order before they were all gone. I was safe, though. I ordered at night and they didn't sell out until morning. This is the second batch of the restocks.

It's a dud in the bottle but oh my good gosh is it not even close to dud on the nail!!

Ready to be bombarded with lots and lots and lots of photos of lots and lots and lots of holo??













Indoors Near Window


iPhone Indoors


Close-Up!! (all the same nail)


3 coats 61

I used Nail Tek II and Sally Hansen Double Duty as base coats (different nails get different things depending on their status lol). I had problems with this polish dragging up, which can be a common problem with holos. I do not own the Aqua Base that Nfu Oh makes for holos, but I have used Essie Matte About You as a base coat for the China Glaze OMG collection, and have had GREAT success with it not pulling up. I was just way too excited to think about using it wit this. I just wanted it on my nails ASAP.
When applying this polish, use gentle strokes and do not mush your brush onto the nail. Let it glide gently over the nail. Also use as few strokes as possible. Regardless of base coat, these tips will reduce pulling up and patchiness.
I did not use a top coat. I usually use Poshe (previously Seche Vite), but I wanted to skip it because there's always a question whether or not a top coat dulls a holo... and I wasn't taking chances! Great thing about this polish is that even though I used 3 coats, it dried all the way through very quickly. I use quick dry top coats because I have zero patience when it comes to waiting for polish to dry. This polish was just great. I'm so glad because I was looking forward to wearing this so badly and I would've been that much more upset if it were disappointing.

This is crazy linear holo. If you've gone through my blog, you know I'm a nutcase and post like a thousand photos of a simple creme polish. I just couldn't handle all of the amazing photos of this polish.

You can definitely note the holo indoors as well. It's not as exciting as when you're in the sun, but it's still impressive and noticeable. That's the intention of my iPhone photo. The iPhone is great for photos like that because my camera needs the proper light setting and technique to capture polish indoors without natural light. The iPhone is just quick and accurate when it comes to this. And as you can tell, you can definitely still see holo without a doubt.

I think one of my fav things about this polish is it looks fake. It looks like Minx or something. With the exception of my middle finger, which doesn't have a clean swoop at the cuticle, it really doesn't look like polish at all. Looks like that inside and outside, too.


And I wanted to show photos of the bottle. This is my first Nfu Oh. I knew it had the corset on the front, but I don't recall ever seeing the back of the bottle. It's amazing all the way around. I love that it has a train coming down the back of the bottle, not just the corset on the brush.



Bonus Photos!!
My Jack Russell, Paisley, soaking up the sunshine!!

China Glaze Gamer Glam and stupid USPS

I had my Mom choose my polish today and she picked Gamer Glam. She likes it to match my outfit (which I generally don't care about), so she had to know what I was wearing first lol.
I was initially planning on doing a dotted nail, but I had just bought dotting tools online and they haven't arrived yet. Oddly enough, they were in Shrewsbury, MA at 1 something in the morning... But then, 17 hours later they were in Nashua, NH. Let me point out that I live in CT. So in 17 hours, my package, which initially came from GA, went even MORE north than I live. I've tracked packages that go to Shrewsbury, but then they come to CT. Not New Hampshire. Even better, they then backtracked all the way to Wallingford, CT... and THEN, it will be partially backtracking AGAIN to get to where I live. Just because this is so astounding to me, let me show you a map (courtesy of Google) of all the destinations my package will have hit prior to getting to my house:

The path of travel is in order:
A - Shrewsbury, MA
B - Nashua, NH
C - Wallingford, CT
D - Where I live
The darker blue lines are because it had to travel back over the same route it already took. I really don't understand why the heck it went to New Hampshire, only to travel back the EXACT same route to get to Wallingford. Why didn't it just go straight from A to D? Ridiculous...

Anyway, onto Gamer Glam
Click the photos to enlarge them to see how much more gorgeous they really look!!













Not in sunlight:




Close-up


2 coats Gamer Glam
1 coat Poshe

Gamer Glam is part of China Glaze's Tronica collection. There was a lot of pre-hype about this collection with very high hopes that it would be similar to their OMG or Kaleidoscope collections. OMG polishes are more of true linears, and Kaleidoscope polishes are a weird mix of linear and scattered holo. Ultimately, I think many people who anticipated this collection ended up being disappointed. The Tronica collection is not a linear holo collection. They are scattered holo. With that, I'm going to describe the polish to those standards, and not go on about how it's "disappointing" that it's not a linear holo.
For brief clarification on linear vs. scattered holos, I only have 2 (at the moment) linear holos from the OMG collection and NO polishes from the Kaleidoscope collection, so I suggest referring to this post by My Simple Little Pleasures. She does a great comparison of the collections. Linear holos make the entire nail look like one solid rainbow of color. Scattered holos are little speckles of rainbow holo all over the nail. I hope that makes sense.

Now, Gamer Glam. This is a light purple scattered holo. Typically with holos, you should use a specific made base coat for holos, or use a matte base coat. I got through about 3 nails and realized I did not use either of those things, so I'm just using a regular base coat. For what it is (a scattered holo), I think this is a lovely polish. Easy to apply, beautifully opaque with 2 coats, and no problems. Like all holos, sunlight is needed to get the full effect. However, indoors it has a very subtle holo effect that makes the polish look almost 3D. It's a very interesting finish that does not look glittery or shimmery. It's like a holo suede polish with a shiny top coat. Despite it not being linear, it's a great polish with a different quality. I do not recommend wearing this on a non-sunny day, though. Just because all holos need that sunlight to be fully gorgeous!!