Flakie Fun!

Cosmetic Arts, China Glaze "Luxe and Lush",

 and Color Club "Snow-Flakes"

My love of Flakies all started with a missed opportunity that I am still kicking myself over to this day. I was cruising my local Sally's Beauty Supply looking for new polishes to add to my budding collection. There was a display of Finger Paints Special Effects polish. Well I was new to polish and the words "Special Effects" made me think there was some process needed to make your nails like the picture. I had just learned of Gel nails and how UV lamps were needed for them, so I avoided the polish. I figured I'd go home and do some research to figure out what it was before I bought it. Seems like a logical thought, right? So later that week I finally get around to looking it up and OMG it was beautiful and just a glittery topcoat. I go back to Sally's with my next paycheck and they were SOLD OUT! Everywhere it was sold out. I should have bought it that day. I really should have. *sigh* Anyway, still smarting over missing the boat I decided I NEEDED a flakie. 

Fast forward a few months and China Glaze is releasing their Hunger Games collection. Lo and Behold, a Flakie! I had to have it. No way was I gonna miss out on a flakie again. 

China Glaze "Luxe and Lush" over Wet n Wild 

"Ebony Hates Chris"

Ha! Got it! I went home and put it on and...well...was that it? I put it on over black like the websites recommended and it was cool, but I was still vaguely disappointed in it. Was this what everyone was oohing and aahing over? It was just chunky shredded glitter. The color shift was neat but I just wasn't totally in love with it.

One Coat over Black. It lies flat. The spur at the tip is from the 

cheap plastic nails I use for swatching not the polish.

There is a bit of a linear color shift.

It got added to my stash and I never really paid attention to it again. Jump ahead to that fall and I'm killing time before work at Ross. Never cared for Ross, always seemed like kinda of a junk store to me, but a Blogger I respect (Soguesswhat11) swears by the polish she finds there so I was giving it a shot. I found tucked away on a shelf another flakie for only a dollar. Never heard of the brand Cosmetic Arts before but for a dollar I'd be willing to give it a chance. I'm glad I only paid a dollar. Worst polish I'd bought in a long time. Very thick and unpleasantly chunky. There was a color shift but it wasn't linear. The flakes stick up like shards of glass and no amount of top coat will smooth it down. At least the China Glaze laid flat. I've added thinner in an attempt to make it work and it's still not nice to use. This all convinced me that Flakies were stupid.

Cosmetic Arts. I can't seem to find a name for the polish. One 

coat over "Ebony Hates Chris"

The shard on the right side is not from the cheap plastic 

nails. Its from the cheap polish. The glitter just doesn't 

want to lay flat. Very much NOT linear colors.

Wait! Before you lynch me, this story has a happy ending. Just before this past Christmas I found Color Club at my Sally's. I thought it was odd cause I don't usually see that brand at Sally's. But, ugh, it was another blasted flakie. For some reason I picked it up anyway. The flakes looked smaller in the bottle, there was a definitive color shift, and Soguesswhat11 suggested Color Club and I had none of the brand anyway. 

1 or 2 coats (I forgot how many I did) of Color Club "Snow-Flakes"

 over "Ebony Hates Chris"

I take back everything bad I ever said about Flakies. I am so in love with this polish its ridiculous! The polish goes on so smooth, the color shift is gorgeous  and the flakes lie so flat that you wouldn't even know it was a type of glitter. The only downside I can think of is when I tried this over a pale purple the flake disappear, so it is best over darker colors. According to the sign at Sally's when I bought this it is supposed to be scented, but I don't smell anything, but I'm fine with that.

Amazing linear color shift!

I can't stop staring at the colors skittering over the nail!

This polish is just so different than the China Glaze or Cosmetic Arts that I now refer to those ones as "Shard Glitter" or "Shred Glitter" and the Color Club one as a Flakie.