Agro and a decal fail

My eyes are heavy tonight, so I'll make this short and, well, not quite so sweet.
First up, I've been dying to try out Agro and thought it would be the perfect fall green.  I was NOT wrong!

*1 coat Gelous base
*2 coats China Glaze Agro
*2 coats OPI DS Classic (accent)
*1 coat Sally Hansen Dries Instantly top coat
*1 coat Out the Door

I love the way that the pictures above shows how complexly beautiful this olive green is!  Agro has a gorgeous golden glow to it and I am really digging it!  I couldn't really decide what to do with it to make it more interesting, so I used trusty Classic, an easy, smooth nude/golden holo.  Here comes the fail, part 1...

Poor Chuck.  He never catches a break, does he?  I added a Thanksgiving decal that I bought from RLR Creations last fall.  I used the decals on nekkid nails last time and some of the lines got a little rough.  These Peanuts designs (my other hand has Peppermint Patty, who matches Agro beautifully!) are more delicate that the others I've used, so I learned last night to carefully peel the decal from the paper with tweezers instead of sliding it so that the design doesn't rub away, and they transferred perfectly.  This, however, was NOT the proper background for the decal and it's really hard to see.  Totally not doing this adorable set justice!
My second fail of the night was a new top coat.  My Out the Door is getting thick and stringy as it nears the bottom of the bottle, and the store I usually purchase it from (because it is cheaper there than anywhere else I've found) also happens to be one I can't bring myself to enter (since I quit working there almost 5 months ago and still don't feel free of the way it crushed my spirit).  SO, I thought I'd try a new one, and Sally Hansen tends to be pretty good.  Pro?  It dries SUPER fast.  Con?  It's not great.  Well, it's okay, but super thin.  It's not as glossy as I like and doesn't give that awesome, glassy feeling that I like.  While really not noticeable to anyone else, I also feel like the polish doesn't look as good under it, not quite as deep and dynamic.  That's why I gobbed it on my left hand for pictures. 
So, long story still pretty long, I just ordered an insanely huge bottle on Amazon Prime and tomorrow will be able to just about bathe in Out the Door!

Holo Harvest

I love the fall.  I love sparkles.  I love Northern California.  I love pumpkins.  I love RLR Creations decals.  Hence, this mani :)

*1 coat Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Hardener
*2 coats OPI Embarca-Dare Ya!
*2 coats OPI DS Classic
*1 coat Out the Door

I chose this second photo because, if you enlarge it, you can see the purple shimmer that adds depth to Embarca-Dare Ya!.  It is a gorgeous magenta foil finish, shimmering and so easy to apply.  I absolutely love it!  I knew that I wanted to use DS Classic, an unbelievable nude/pale beige polish packed with scattered micro holo glitter, but could not for the life of me figure out what to pair it with.  I didn't really want to go full-on orange to match the pumpkin decal that I fell in love with, and was just looking for a good fall color.  I loved how these looked together and now can't wait to wear Embarca-Dare Ya! again.

If you haven't tried water decals, I highly recommend hopping over to Etsy and checking out this shop!  She has tons of designs, changes them regularly with the seasons, does not charge shipping, ships FAST, and has a great product. 
Not convinced yet? 
These babies are SO easy to use!  You cut the little decal off of the sheet it comes on (about 2 dozen decals to a sheet) put it in water for 15 seconds, then take it out.  I use tweezers to pick it up, my finger to slide the paper back off, and place it with the tweezers.  If you dip the nail you are applying to in the water first, it lets you slide the decal around really easily for perfect placement.  Dab it dry, then add a layer of top coat and done!  I love these ones because the decals are on a clear sheet that does not really show on the nail when applied. I've worn these on bare nails, solid colors, and now a holo and, aside from how intricate and perfect the pictures are, you really can't tell it's a decal on the nail.  LOVE them!
I liked this Thanksgiving/fall look because it was kind of subtle and clean.  Have you found any color combos you were pleasantly surprised with?  Share 'em below!

Classic Fozzie

In the spirit of fall (which you can feel every once in a while in San Diego) I have been really into my deep colors, especially browns and purples.  I was really excited to give Warm and Fozzie a try, but then I saw this combination over at Adventures in Beauty and knew I had to hold off until I picked up OPI DS Classic at Ulta (with a $5 off coupon!). 

Autumn love!

Of course, DS Classic applied liked a dream!  It really could have been 1 careful coat if my nails were shorter.  I used 2 coats to make sure that nail lines wouldn't show through, but there really wasn't much of a color difference between one and two coats.  A-mazing!

Ahhh!  Look at that sparkle!  I am a sucker for glitter, shimmer, sparkle and anything else that catches the light.  This micro silver holo is unbelievable!  There is a lot of hype (and a decent price tag) on these DS polishes, but I have yet to be disappointed in them.  Classic is a warm beige (it looks more golden here than it does in real life because of my flash) and it is so packed with holo that it almost looks like a linear holo in the sun instead of a scattered one.  The soft color is understated on the nail, especially indoors, and is one I would venture to say may even be work-appropriate. 

Warm and Fozzie is from the Muppets collection OPI put out last Christmas.  My mom got me most of the glitters last year (isn't she rad?) and this one was included.  I was surprised by it when I applied the polish.  It is almost a super-dense glitter.  The base is tinted brown, but very sheer and LOADED with metallic glitter.

The previous picture helps show the colors of glitter in this one.  It is predominantly a warm, coppery-brown, but there are plenty of red-pink ones and golden ones in there too.  The tiny particles give a metallic, foiled look on the nail, sparkling copper with flashes of red.  The color combo is so pretty on the nail, but very sheer.  I used 3 coats, but might do a 4th in the future.  The color is so rich that I didn't want to risk it not translating from the bottle!

Just look at the colors in that that sparkle!

 

 

So there they are!  The danger with gorgeous polishes like this is that I can't take my eyes off of my hands!  I look at them way too much when I'm walking around because they are so pretty in the sun!  Do you own either of these?  Have you found any creative ways to pair or use them?  I can't wait to try Classic again in the summer--it looks like a sandy beach and I think it will be gorgeous with a bright blue!