Evolution of a Mani

The internet is a wonderful thing! I love how I can instantly upload a mani, get feedback, and then edit! So this is the evolution of one of my latest manicures!



First it started with me trying a new-to-me polish. After my New Year's Eve swatch party of Fair Maiden Polishes, I wanted to find a nice neutral for a fresh start to the new year. So I broke out Anna Gorelova by Dance Legend Kot Baun (Cote Bayun), which after searching the web now I see is actually discontinued. Sorry about that!



Kot Baun is the lovely nude jelly with holographic flakies scattered throughout. This polish is a stunner in the sun as well, catching lovely scattered rainbows and really adding something special to my nails.



So I wore this for three days, then I thought I've had enough of this palate cleanse – time to get to some nail art! One more shot of this stunner while it is in the shade below!



So since this was a Dance Legend polish, similar to their Wow Prism polishes I purchased earlier last year, I thought they would make a good pair. And combining one of my new year's goals to try new nail art, I did some triangle nail art using nail vinyls.



I used Beautiful Lie for the triangles and used a dotting tool to outline the outside of triangle with Holy Diver, to incorporate both of these beauties in one manicure.



All of the polishes had holo flakies in them, so I thought they would all look great together. But I felt like Beatiful Lie and Holy Diver weren't standing out like I wanted them to! So what did I do? I went to Instagram, posted a photo of the mani above and said, I feel a little meh about this look, what do you all think? And I got some great feedback, about how Beautiful Lie and Holy Diver would look better with a black background to make them pop more, so I put my brain into action and I got to work!



And boy was it a success! I got more likes on this photo on IG than I have had in a looong time! So I guess I was pretty proud! And all because of the great feedback from my nail friends online! So happy the internet can provide instant feedback like that! It is so helpful!



To complete this look, I started with two coats of black polish on my thumb, middle and pinkie fingers. And then I added two thin coats of Beautiful Lie and Holy Diver to my index and ring fingers, respectively. Then I added nail vinyls to the black nails and carefully applied Beautiful Lie and Holy Diver in every other zig zag, to create the multi color look. And then I pulled out one of my newest stamping plates Bundle Monster BM-604 and stamped with the Born Pretty Store Black Stamping Polish (see how crisp those lines turned out!?!) to create the design on the index and ring fingers.



I totally agree that black was the perfect polish to make the bling in Holy Diver and Beautiful Lie pop! I really really loved this look!

And to top this all off, I realized this manicure totally fufilled the nail art prompt in one of my nail art groups on Facebook: Stamp One, Stamp All Ten! This group is a super laid back group that poses once a week challenges with nail stamping prompts!

So I'll share the links to the other ladies of this challenge below, so you can view their awesome manis as well! And if this groups sounds like something you'd be interested in, please come join us! Next week's challenge, starting Monday January 12, is a manicure inspired by your favorite vacation!
   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

Dance Legend Different View

Hello everyone! Today I have a spectacular polish to share with you from Dance Legend. Different View is a multichrome chameleon with a stunning holo finish.

Different View is from Dance Legend's Holodays collection which has a linear holo finish from scattered holo particles. 



This polish has a purple to green shift, which leaves it looking unique in any type of lighting.



The holo particles are in scattered foil pieces, which look silver in the shade, above, but out in the sun it is mega holo amazingness!



At sunset I checked out the nails again and the green was really showing strong! I feel like the green in this is an olive color with the purple having a more bright and vibrant feel.





Overall, this polish is just amazing and delivers on so many fronts: Holo? Check! Multichrome? Check! Unique? Check!

I guess I really just love polishes that look different every time I look at them, I guess that is why this polish is called "Different View," because it's a different experience every time you look at them!

Application: Even though the scattered holo pieces can make this polish look a little textured, this polish went on smooth in three thin coats. Two would have been fine, but I wanted an ultimate shift so I added an extra coat for good measure. I topped it with a coat of HK Girl Top Coat.

Where to Purchase: I purchased this polish at Llarowe, a US stockist for Dance Legend, a Russian Nail Polish brand. It came in a 15 ml bottle and retails for $13. And good news! This polish is currently available at Llarowe! The enabler in me says you should purchase this stunner right away!

Extra note: Sorry I only posted twice this week, still adjusting back to regular life after my lengthy trip I returned from last week. Next week should be business as usual – Monday, Wednesday, Friday!

Dance Legend Holy Diver

Holy Diver is another of the Spring Wow Prisms from the Russian nail polish maker Dance Legend. Holy Diver is an aqua-leaning teal that is made of glass fleck holo pieces – the holo effect is a unique one too, which is why I love the Wow Prisms so much!



The glass flecks, while they look like they are texture, definitely give the polish some depth and that holo effect is just great. It was hard to capture on camera, but in real life it is just wow!



And because, too often, I can't just leave a nail polish alone, I decided to stamp over this color with a tribal like design over my nails using MoYou Pro Plate 06.



Overall I did like this look, but felt like the stamping might have taken away from the beauty of this polish a bit.



Application: This applied well with two thin coats and though it looks textured, it is not. It has an easy removal process and is easier to clean up when applying because holo particles are larger. I topped this with HK Girl Top Coat.

Where to Purchase: I purchased this polish from Llarowe for $13 and it is currently in stock so go check it out!

The Perfect White Holo - Dance Legend Blanco

Awhile ago I became obsessed with finding the perfect white holo polish. While browsing the Makeup Alley Nail Boards, I saw some posts about how beautiful and awesome Dance Legend's Blanco was. Immediately I knew this was what I was searching for.



Dance Legend Blanco is from their Holodays line, a newer release, and I also have another beauty from this collection to show you later.



This really is even more vibrantly holo in real life, I'm sorry I didn't capture it better in these photos. Outside the holo is so intense. But because sometimes I need to nail art all the things! I ruined this a bit by stamping with Winstonia plate W111 over the polish. I thought, "rainbows over my holo polish! That's clever right?"



It was cute, but unfortunately it dulled the holo a bit, in my opinion.



I really did love this polish, but wish I hadn't have stamped over it. Oh well, you live you learn!

Application: This polish went on smoothly with two thin coats. I remembered thinking it might go on a little textured, because of the bigger holo pieces in this collection, but I as pleasantly surprised at how smooth the application was. It looks more textured than a regular holo, but the application is smooth. Topped with with HK Girl Top Coat.

Where to Purchase: Dance Legend polishes can be purchased through their website. I purchased this polish on Llarowe. They retail for $13. Purchasing from the Russia site will take a long while to reach the US from what I've heard. This polish is currently in stock on Llarowe so what are you waiting for?!? Time to try out the most perfect white holo!

Dance Legend Spring Wow Prism Beautiful Lie

As soon as I saw a swatch of Dance Legend Beautiful Lie I knew it had to be mine. It's that ultimate shade of blue that I have been searching for with that wonderful scattered holo finish that I am absolutely obsessed with.



Even in the shade below, the color payoff is still beautiful!



And as an added bonus, I found a perfect blue creme polish that matches perfectly with this polish – Essie Chills and Thrills. This seriously is like the blue of the year for me. It's a lavender leaning blue that is soft but not quite pastel. Very unique. And so I paired Beautiful Lie with Chills and Thrills using some nail vinyls and I was quite pleased with the result!





Chills and Thrills is a trick color to photograph. It shows up in my photos more cobalt leaning than lavender, but trust me, it works perfectly with Beautiful Lie.





I apologize for some of the tip wear in some of these shots. I really loved this manicure so I wore it for several days!

So on to nail vinyls, they are this incredible invention and they come in various shapes such as straight lines (which I used for this manicure) or chevrons (which I used for this manicure). They also come in lightening, single chevron, zebra print and more. They retail for about $6.00 a sheet (which have 100 pieces a sheet). Order them here, they are amazing!!! An application tip: use tweezers while applying and removing and make sure to remove the nail vinyls while the nail polish is still wet, you'll get less mess ups that way! Here is a quick tutorial that shows how to do this with a gradient (haven't tried this yet but want to!). Totally not my tutorial, but I just You Tube searched nail vinyls before applying for tips.

Application: As for the application of Beautiful Lie, it went on perfectly in two thin coats. Chills and Thrills was a little patchy (and goopy) and required two quick quotes before removing the nail vinyls. I topped the whole look off with HK Girl Top Coat.

Where to purchase: Essie polish is widely available at drug stores, online etc. I bought this bottle off of Color4Nails for $5. Dance Legend polishes can be purchased through their website. I purchased this polish on Llarowe. They retail for $13. Purchasing from the Russia site will take a long while to reach the US from what I've heard. Beautiful Lie is currently out of stock at Llarowe, but she frequently restocks. 

Review and stamping with Dance Legend High Hopes

One of my newest favorite polishes are the Dance Legend Wow Prisms. There is something so lovely about their scattered holographic finish, I just love how when it sparkles in the sun, the depth of the sparkle surprises me.


Dance Legend High Hopes is a light pink scattered holo polish with a lot of rainbow sparkle.


Please excuse the blurriness of the last shot, I was just trying to show off the wow of the holo finish. Very beautiful yes? And because I must nail art most of my manicures, I stamped a scalloped design using MoYou London Sailor Plate 04.



It beautiful in artificial light, above, and sunlight, below!




Application: This polish went on beautifully with two coats and I have absolutely nothing to complain about when it comes to formula for these beauties. There is no bumpy finish, like some sparkles have, this is a beautiful flat finish that looks like it has depth and texture (without actually having texture!).

Where to purchase: The Dance Legend Wow Prisms are a bit more expensive than their multichrome brothers and sisters and it is because they come in a larger bottle. Dance Legend polishes can be purchased through their website (but shipping with take awhile since they are a Russian polish company). I purchased this polish on Llarowe for $13.

Review: Dance Legend Strutter

Earlier this month I used Dance Legend Strutter in a nail art post and I forgot to get shots of this beautiful polish solo so without further ado, here it is in all its green glory!







This is the perfect emerald polish with small holographic flecks. I originally put this polish on because I was trying to decide how many of the Dance Legend Spring Wow Prisms I actually wanted to purchase during Llarowe's restock.

From other swatchers online, and now because of my own experience with others, Strutter has the least holographic shimmer of all of the Wow Prism lines, but that doesn't make it any less beautiful. This is a perfect deep green and the flecks in it give the color a depth that is very unique.

Application: The polish goes on in a two perfect coats and I was pleasantly surprised to find that the color did not stain upon removal (I used a base coat of course).

Where to Purchase: Dance Legend polishes can be purchased through their website. I purchased this polish on Llarowe for $13.

Looking ahead: I did end up purchasing two of the Dance Legend Wow Prism Spring colors: Holy Diver and Beautiful Lie. Stay tuned for reviews of those soon! I also used another Wow Prism in some nail art recently, so that will be posted soon as well!

Review of Dance Legend Strutter with Holo Stamping Fun

I have to say that Dance Legend Strutter is amazing. I unfortunately did not get a shot of this polish without my subtle stamp on top, but it is amazing prismatic bright in-your-face green!



This was a bright green with a subtle holo and it was just this amazing perfect green. I stamped a Color Club Beyond chevron (which is a holo-tastic grey polish), and the results were a rainbow party, but very hard to capture on camera.



See the little waves of holo rainbows? It was a subtle stamping job, but I thought it made my nails pretty original. Below is with no sunlight, so you can better see the stamping job, without all that holo getting in the way.





Overall this Dance Legend Wow Prism polish is absolutely amazing, I wish I had gotten a shot of this alone, but that just encourages me to wear it again. And believe me, I will be pulling this polish out again for sure. I'm super tempted to get more Wow Prisms, but I'm holding off on buying polish for the moment.

Application: Strutter went on perfectly with two thin coats. There was nothing to complain about regarding it's formula, not too thick or watery, did not flood the cuticles either. Upon removal there was also no staining (I used a base coat). Color Club Beyond was also super easy to stamp with, and I'm sure I'll be pulling it out again as a stamping polish!

Where to Purchase: Dance Legend polishes can be purchased through their website. I purchased this polish on Llarowe (was part of my packages that were stuck in USPS purgatory). They retail for $13. Purchasing from the Russia site will take a long while to reach the US from what I've heard. Strutter is not currently in stock at Llarowe, but some of their other Wow Prisms, if that tempts you!