u/ManicPolishDreamGirl

Have you ever layered a colorful magnetic topper over a contrasting color base and thought it looked muddy or “off” ? I added a red magnetic topper to a dark blue base and noticed it was a little weird/muddy.

Then I remembered that most of my magnetic polishes that have the most colorful and extreme shifts usually have a shimmer added to it. Think of the classics you’ve seen before (and probably own!) >! Like Emily de Molly’s Sunset Over the Bay or ILNP’s Mad House !< both are magnetic, duo-chrome shimmers with a contrasting magnetic stripe. So I decided to experiment by adding a shimmer topper to see if it helps camouflage some of that muddiness, and it does!

I highly recommend adding a coat of a shimmer topper over your magnetic topper.
I like to pick a shimmer topper that matches the base of the polish I used. It helps disguise some of that muddiness, making it look more seamless. I don’t think it will work as well with lighter colors, but I’ll need to experiment some more with it!

I’m always looking for a way to utilize my toppers and jellies so I can dupe more polishes and expand my collection a bit and this tip is going to be a game changer for me, personally!

Learn from my mistakes. I thought to myself “oh i’m just going to fold laundry, no big deal, i can hold off on oiling till after” - do not do this!! After i folded laundry i thought “let me just hit the restroom first, I’ll need to wash my hands anyway, i’ll oil right after” — a mistake.

I’m so lucky my nailbeds are deceptively short that it is only a little painful, my ego is bruised though 💔💔💔

Always oil after a shower! And probably also after washing your hands!

Products used: holo taco peely basecoat (this is ALWAYS at the scene of a crime when i break a nail 😭), cracked ridge filler basecoat, painted polish’s She The People, kbshimmer smooth moves, cuticula limitless quick dry topcoat

Hi friends, after spending sometime swatching and reorganizing my collection i have found out I have a shocking gap when it comes to blue polishes.

Could you tell me what your favorite blue polishes are?

Picture is one of the few i own and a favorite moody blue, Witch-ful Thinking by Lyn B Designs. I own a few blue chonky glitters (holo taco Midnight Sparks, holo taco Water Works, holo taco 8-Bit Blues, dam polish What a Batty, dam polish Cotton Candy Store) but not many in other formulas!

Nakey and stained! I feel like this is as long as i can grow them out until it gets impractical and i need to file it down a bit.

It’s funny, when they are polished i convince myself that they aren’t that long, but looking at them in the pictures they look soooo long lol

Only product pictured is jojoba oil

Nakey and stained! I feel like this is as long as i can grow them out until it gets impractical and i need to file it down a bit.

It’s funny, when they are polished i convince myself that they aren’t that long, but looking at them in the pictures they look soooo long lol

Only product pictured is jojoba oil

This combo is mesmerizing

Basecoat: nailtiques formula 2 with Cracked’s ridge filler basecoat

Polish combo: Holo Taco’s Work bestie, with Holo Taco’s scattered holo topper, topped with Sassy Sauce’s Cock-a-doodle-doom over it all

Topcoat: Cuticula’s limitless quick dry topcoat. I also recommend using DRK Nails seal glaze over holo taco’s creme polishes — their creme polish bleed so much and the Seal Glaze topcoat really helps!

Well, can you tell I have a type??
This kind of magenta-pinky purples have a chokehold on me, this swatch ring doesn’t even include the other formulas i have of this color that are creme or chonky glitter, but i love the color so much i apparently buy every polish released in this shade. And then i also discovered that I *love* purple polish with green-blue-purple shimmer so now it’s gotten out of control.

I’m on a low buy, but I’m switching to a no-buy for purples 💔 at this point i have dupes for my dupes, its ridiculous lol. I have passed up on two magenta-y purples just this past month! I felt sad about not purchasing it, as if i don’t have a factory inventory of magenta-y purples lmao!

Featuring my stiff hand joints post mani lol

Basecoat: Holo Taco’s peely base and Cracked’s ridge filler basecoat

Polishes: Essie’s Licorice (black polish),
static glitter is one layer of ILNP’s The Lighthouse, 2 coats of Paint it Pretty Polish’s Licorice Layers (HHC) and one coat of Holo Taco’s reflective glitter taco

Topcoat: kbshimmer’s smooth moves and Cuticula’s limitless quick dry topcoat

I feel like this one is an underrated gem, sooo stunning in the sun and in the shade. Also really hard to photograph lol! Maybe thats why its underrated

Basecoat: nailtiques formula 2 and cracked ridge filler basecoat

Polish: Mooncat’s The Glory of Innocence

Topcoat: Cuticula Limitless quick dry topcoat

I feel like this is an underrated gem! Gorgeous in the sun and in the shade, i feel like my camera can’t capture how gorgeous the color is

Basecoat: nailtiques formula 2 and cracked ridge filler

Polish: Mooncat The Glory of Innocence

Topcoat: Cuticula Limitless quick dry topcoat

Did anyone else have issues with this formula? I am not new to mooncat or magnetics but this is the first time i’ve purchased mooncat in forever and omg y’all. This polish was so difficult to work with. Took easily twenty drops of thinner which is insane considering there are no flakies or glitter in the formula. I usually prefer thinner formulas and will thin out all of my mooncats but this was something different.

The color is gorgeous, a true vampy witchy dream come true, but the formula was so incredibly finicky. I even had to keep adding thinner while painting because the polish would thicken up mid mani!

Basecoat: nailtiques formula 2 and cracked ridge filler

Polish: Mooncat Black Widow

Topcoat: DRK Seal Glaze (this has been a lifesaver with magnetic polishes for me!) and Cuticula limitless qdtc

Did anyone else have issues with this formula? I am not new to mooncat or magnetics but this is the first time i’ve purchased mooncat in forever and omg y’all. This polish was so difficult to work with. Took easily twenty drops of thinner which is insane considering there are no flakies or glitter in the formula. I usually prefer thinner formulas and will thin out all of my mooncats but this was something different.

The color is gorgeous, a true vampy witchy dream come true, but the formula was so incredibly finicky. I even had to keep adding thinner while painting because the polish would thicken up mid mani!

Basecoat: nailtiques formula 2 and cracked ridge filler

Polish: Mooncat Black Widow

Topcoat: DRK Seal Glaze (this has been a lifesaver with magnetic polishes for me!) and Cuticula limitless qdtc

Left hand is slowly catching up, it’s been sooo long since both hands have cooperated with me! All credit to jojoba oil, nailtiques formula 1+2, and wearing polish 24/7 lol

I always felt like we don’t have a lot of square shape representation, especially when we’re talking about natural nails, but i am a forever square shape fan. I swear, growing them out square and nail polish have changed my nail beds so much! They used to be so flat and flare out, but the square helped create some gorgeous c-curves.

Is it weird to be obsessed with c-curves and natural apexes?? Because i totally am 🙈

Products used:

Basecoat: nailtiques formula 1 (finally switching from formula 2 to formula 1 🙌) and Cracked’s ridge filler basecoat

Polish: Holo Taco’s Deeply Superficial

Topcoat: Cuticula’s Limitless quick dry topcoat

This combo just screams summer and orange creamsicles to me!

Side note, i am *obsessed* with the Sugar Rush collection from Dam Polish—i used the orange one for this look (duh) but they are soooo good for combos, layering, and duping other polishes.

Basecoat: holo taco peely base with cracked ridge filler basecoat, nailtiques formula 1 on the back of the tips of my nails (my trick so my nails don’t break while wearing peely base)

Polishes: Dam Polish’s Sass Squash (orange creme) and Dam Polish’s Soda Pop Lock and Drop It (silver and orange reflective glitter)

Topcoat: kbshimmer smooth moves (glitter grabber) and cuticula limitless quick dry topcoat

White whale on the left, a polish from a previous HHC, and my dupe attempt at the right.

The HHC polish was the kind of polish i dreamt about lmao not to be dramatic but i couldn’t stop thinking about it and regretting let it go by. So when I saw a white/black glitter flakie topper available during another HHC month i knew i had a shot of recreating my dream polish.

I used the black/white glitter topper over a holo silver flakie bomb that I already owned. For the red sparkle i used another silver / red glitter bomb i had and i think it worked well!

And it turns out i actually really like the topper I got from HHC and i’ve already been experimenting layering it over other sparkly polishes. I layered it over a sparkly glittery pink and i love the Avril Lavigne vibes!

All in all, a win, but its also a good reminder that I can recreate “dream” polishes i miss out on 🙌

After the sales bananaza this past month, i refuse to break my plans because of a pretty sparkly polish I can dupe at home!

I was diligent with my spending, i stayed on budget, i prioritized the polishes i was going to get, i calculated which ones i was going to leave for black friday sale, i completely skipped over sales of brands that i *love*, and i’m too dang proud to break!

But god is it pretty. And completely dupable using a purple jelly, red flake topper, and a gold holo topper 💜

This month has been a heavy Emily de Molly month for me lol, wearing this polish made me think this could be a dupe / better option for Mooncat’s Treachery in the Blue. I’m not a huge fan of what the warm state pink looks like with my skin tone, but it is definitely a pink-purple to blue thermal. The cold state blue is also gorgeous!

Basecoat: cracked ridge filler

Polish: Emily de Molly’s Rebel Bloom (pink to purple to blue themal polish with green shimmer)

Topcoat: Cuticula limitless quick dry topcoat

I’m not a fan of hot sunny weather, but it is the perfect weather for some sparkles! As much as i love the frosted metal/metallic polish formula, i always try to break it up with another polish in some sort of combo or skittle. I just get really overwhelmed using them for a full mani lol, but these two polishes look *SO* good together

Basecoat: holo taco peely base with cracked ridge filler basecoat

Polishes: holo taco birthday brat and cuticula polished and proud (HHC)

Topcoat: kbshimmer smooth moves and cuticula limitless qdtc