BB Couture - Shaded Ash

This is the color most of the time.

Outside in Strong sunlight.

Inside the office.

Hello again everyone! This is the fifth of the six BB Couture "Shades of Grey" collection I have blogged about. I have to say I like this polish ten times more now that I have tried it. The first thing I noticed that it went on so easy I felt like I knew what I was doing. I only put a second coat on so that I wouldn't be at work and notice a nail that needed more polish. So the pictures are shown with two coats and no topcoat. My SV is getting gooey and I didn't feel like messing with the restore. Also the high shine makes showing the color harder. I always get too many reflections. This shade really goes good with a number of shirts I own. I like green shirts because it brings out the green in my hazel eyes. It really bothers my daughter that some days my eyes look blue and other days brown or green. They totally pick up on what I'm wearing. This polish is a nice greyish green. It reminds me of Revlon Spanish Moss but with more grey in it. This will be a great polish I can wear to work. It isn't too dark or too bright, it is a nice conservative color that is perfect for the workplace.

This polish is really true to BB Coutures high quality and interesting shades.

BB Couture for Men - Night Ops

I think this one captures it best.

Daytime Over Cast

Direct Sunlight

Ignore the camping toilet int corner!

This is one of my early purchases from when I first got into polish. I found a great selection of colors that were geared towards guy in the BB Couture for Men polish line. This one is called Night Ops. It is a really dark greenish blue with lots of shimmer buried in the polish. I would classify it as a jelly. it required two nice even coats, or three with my skill level. I am mesmerized buy this polish, it looks like I'm looking into it. I think that is why the light is so important in how it changes. I haven't yet figured out the best light or angles to show this polish. It randomly shows me how awesome it is when I am going about my work.I just hope people don't catch me staring at them! I can't believe how freeking big my thumb nail looks in these pictures! It just seems disproportionately large. I might have to change my name to Hagrid!

I hope to try out another of the Shades of Grey collection from BB Couture next.

BB Couture Starry Starry Taupe

BB Couture Starry Starry Taupe is another of the Shades of Grey Collection. This one has a small amount of scattered holo particles in the polish; just enough to see why it is called Starry. The formula is great. I used two coats plus a top coat of Seche Vite.  I enjoyed wearing this polish and loved how it would twinkle at me now and then. I felt totally comfortable wearing this color.  I have three more from this collection to share. However, I am going to show you an awesome polish from the men's line first.  Night Ops will be up next. I hope you will love it as much as me.

BB Couture - Puce

This is the second polish I have tried from BB Coutures "Six shades of Grey" Collection.  I like the Holographic particles that are scattered through out the polish. There is just enough to add a little interest to the polish without taking the focus away from the color. I had to debate whether a second coat was even necessary. Shown is two coats with SV topcoat. In the LED lighting I used to take the pictures, it looks more brown than grey. I will add a picture in sunlight in the morning.  I find this color to be very unique and another polish that will be a great addition to my daily wear polishes. In my opinion, this collection would be equally appropriate for their mens or womens line of polishes.

In summary, this is a unique polish, with a great formula, that is terrific for fall or anytime.

BB Couture - Briquette

Fun early Halloween toes.

Hope everyone's weekend is going well! I got some nail mail yesterday. I ordered the new BB Couture 6 Shades of Gray collection.I decided to take this one with me to my first fill of my nails. The nail tech really liked this color and the application was so easy. Two coats was all that was needed.to get a nice even coverage. I can't wait to try the other five polishes. This whole collection is really good for me. They are light to medium grays. Everytime I wear a darker color, people think it is black and I'm trying to be goth or something.One nice feature of this polish is the scattered shimmer that adds some interest to the color. I don't know why glitter has to be a woman's domain. If I can put it on my car, I should be able to put it on my nails!

So I mentioned I went for my first fill of my acrylic overlays, it was an enjoyable experience. I love chatting while she does her work. We talked about our kids and how we both transplanted to Hawaii. I have to admit, half the fun in going to the salon is the interaction with the nail techs; this is the main reason I went to a salon that is not run by non-English speaking people. Last night when I went with my aunt to our pedicure appointments at her favorite place, I got so annoyed when I couldn't get the lady to say the amount of the bill. I had forgot my reading glasses and am blind without them to read. We had to get the owner over to finally get the amount. The only redeeming quality of the place is the young nail tech that is totally into nail art. I am a big fan of hers. She did the art on my toes above. We always have fun deciding what to do. I'll keep going there as long as my aunt is still with us, then I will move to the place where I get my nails done. My nail polish addictions is my only real vice, I don't smoke, drink or do drugs, so it is in the entertainment part of my budget. If I smoked a pack a day I would spend four times that much. If I went to a bar once a week, I would still spend a lot more. Perfect I have now just justified my spending on polish and pampering!

BB Couture - Key Largo

No Flash.

No Flash

With Flash.

Hello this is the third of the five BB Couture polishes I have to try. It is a light pale blue with a hint of green. With all the shimmer in it, the color changes slightly depending on how the light hits it. I swatched it on one nail and just had to keep going. The more I looked at it, the more I liked it. It is now my NOTD. It isn't a nail color I would usually wear out on my nails, but I am feeling daring today and it is too pretty to take off. This would be a great polish for a spring or summer pedicure. I was amazed how easy this polish was to apply. I almost didn't put a second coat on. The pictures shown are without a top coat. I decided to wear a pair of old blue jean shorts today and noticed how awesome this polish goes with faded jeans.

As more and more guys start wearing polish, I hope that someday the color of the polish a guy can wear is simply a fashion choice, nothing more.

BB Couture - American Gigolo

Inside without flash.

Inside with flash.

Yesterday I received some wonderful nail mail from Cindy at BB Couture. I have five new colors to show you in the coming days. The first one, shown above, is American Gigolo. It is a light kind of olive green frost. The color really changes depending on how the light hits it. It only took two coats to look even and that saying a lot with my lack of skill.

When I choose a polish, there are three main categories. First, there are "Conservative" polishs I can wear on my nails anywhere. Second, there are the "Weekend" polishes that I will wear on my nails when I am running around. The last category is "Fun" polishes, those are the ones that are bright or are more typically feminine colors. I reserve those for pedicures. because it seems like people just don't care what you do with your toes. My classifications are strictly from the perspective of a guy wearing polish. The ladies have their own  criteria for choosing polishes.

I would classify American Gigolo as a "Weekend' polish. It catches the light so well and I find my self looking at my nails a lot. I am going to have to wear this polish out to the store and see if I can get some feedback from store clerks. I wish today were Saturday so I could leave this polish on longer. This polish, In my opinion, will appeal to polish lovers of either gender. 

BB Couture - Lazy Bum

I was feeling like wearing a brown since my hands and arms are tan from all the outside work I have been doing. My first choice is always BB Couture Rustler. However, I haven't tried all the BBC Sinfully Polished collection. I really like this color. I had to apply three coats to get it even. I waited five to ten minutes beteen coats. The second coat still produced drag marks. It may just be me pressing too hard. Even after the top coat, I am not happy with the job I did. The test will be if I have the same trouble doing the right hand. If so, I will tend to blame the polish. After a disaster, I normally will go back to one of my favorites like My Private Jet to make sure it's not me. I never have any problems with MPJ. It has been six hours since doing my left hand, now we will see how it goes with the right. I am pretty ambidextrous and I write or draw with my left hand, so any problems with the right won't be from polishing with the left.

My final opinion on this polish is that it requires more skill than I currently have for a professional looking polish application. I was going to wear it tomorrow, but I think it will just annoy me every time I look at my nails. Only one thing bothers me more than chipped nails and that is application that looks like you let your toddler do it.

BB Couture - Widow Maker

BB Couture - Widow Maker, a photo by Guy Polish ( Jim) on Flickr.

I have been experimenting with colors to wear on my nails when I feel like being different. The blacks are associated with Goth and rockers, which clearly I am neither. I am not trying to look feminine so I wouldn't wear pinks or reds. So far I like grays like My private Jet and greens like BB Couture Grenade and Mariner. I have no plan to wear polish on my nails all the time, since they get messed up in a blink of the eye. My job requires me to reach into machines with all sorts of sharp edges and other nail polish destructing obstacles. I have trouble navigating the house with out some how messing them up.

I went to the pharmacy with this polish on. The cashier made the comment "fancy nails" to which I replied "Thanks" and left it at that. Reading between the lines, I interpreted that as she noticed but didn't know what to think of it, but felt compelled to not let it go with out saying something. With MPJ, I got an actual compliment. I wear polish on my toes because I like how it looks and enjoy pedicures. The nails I do when I want to be noticeably different and enjoy watching and hearing peoples reactions. I would love to have long nails for a couple of days just to see what it would be like and to see peoples reactions.

BB Couture - Enraged

Outdoors in full sun

Indoors with flash

Indoors with out flash

Prior to trying Enraged, I thought I didn't need another blue. However, I love this polish. The shimmer/glitter in the polish is so fine and evenly distributed that it gives it almost a satin finish. In direct sunlight it sparkles like Edward from Twilight. This polish is definitely a good color for a guy. It looks great with your old comfortable jeans. I have read comments about BB Couture's polishes for men, that question if the colors were really created with men in mind. I think the problem is that a lot of people really think all polish is inappropriate and may only concede the use of  the typical dark male colors (black, gray, blue). Just like women, men actually do like a range of colors. However, we feel pressured to stay within the guy zone. When I wore red the other day, I was afraid a flag was going to be thrown and someone was going to take my man-card. It really is silly that people label color as manly or feminine. Colors are just colors.

BB Couture - Desire

This polish is from the new "Sinfully Polished" collection for men. It is a very pretty red with gold shimmer.  I love how it looks on my feet.  Shown is a base coat of Nail Envy with two coats of Desire and no topcoat. It covered real well. Anytime I don't have issues with application, I know it is a good polish! I am not sure how others will feel about red on my toes. My daughter said "thats awfully red!"

I hope some day there won't be boy and girl colors, just colors.

Sinfully Pollished

Sinfully Polished, the new collection from BB Couture for Men.

The flash picture doesn't do them justice. However, It has been rainy the last few days. I will have to wait for better weather to show you each of the polishes. This collection is truly geared towards the taste of men. The red may be the only daring color. These colors are great for the guy who likes to wear polish, but isn't trying to draw a lot of attention. These are more like your comfortable jeans. I will try and show all of them during November. Right now, I still have my new Halloween pedicure.

Selfish on a rainy day. 

I tried this last weekend on a rainy Saturday. It is a dark brown with shimmer. I like dark browns and near black colors for my hands. Unfortunately, my daughter hates when I wear any browns. She says it reminds her of poop! (nice) I will try this again when we finally get a sunny day when I am off work. I have found that it is a waste of time trying to take pictures of polish when the sun isn't shining. I'll build a lite box someday.

More Lizard Belly pics

BB Couture - Lizard Belly

My toe nail is a bit mangled from being ingrown.

I couldn't wait until the sun got up. I had to post a picture of this polish. I can't decribe how much I love it. In average light it just looks like a really dark green. However, when exposed to bright light it comes alive! When my daughter put her phone in flashlight mode and shined it on my foot, I was dumb struck how awesome it looked; there should have been sound effects to go with it. The sound the progressive insurance lady makes in the commercial. The picture above was taken with my phones flash. I can't wait to get a picture of it in bright sunlight. I'll post better pics tomorrow. I'm praying for sunshine!

Too many choices

Today is pedicure day after work. I keep changing my mind on what polish to take. The blogger in me wants to take something I have never worn before so I can post about it. On the other hand there are my favorite colors that I never get tired of. Also, I  noticed the new nail tech has let my nails get a little longer. Without polish there actually is a natural line along the tip. I've never had a french pedicure. The part that is killing me is that I am spending way too much time pondering this decision. Maybe I'll just put a couple of options in my pocket and see which one comes out when she asks.

As you can see above, I fell back on a color that I really love. BB Couture Mariner is an awesome green. I became real fond of it after my manicure with this color.  I may go ahead and try and do my nails to match. I hope I can do a good enough job that it won't drive me crazy to look at. If there is polish where it doesn't belong, it drives me nuts.

BB Couture Playboy

I was walking in the front yard and decided to take a picture of Playboy next to the fallen flowers. I like this color with jeans. It is a nice color but it doesn't wow me. Like most BBC colors, the coverage is good and only needed two coats. I am into colors that have a little more bling to them right now. Two times in a row I met my soon to be ex and she didn't say anything about my toes. She must be trying to stay on my good side!

BB Couture Playboy

I really like this color. I tried it on my nails since I didn't want mess up my last pedicure. I still can't do it as nice as the nail tech. I definitely will be taking this color to a future pedicure. I really liked how the polish went on. It looked really good with two coats. Someone with talent could probably do it in one. I am going to stick with the browns, silvers and blacks for the times when I want to wear polish on my hands.  I would love to wear polish to work sometime to see how they hold up doing my job. Maybe Halloween will be a good opportunity?

BB Couture - Pipe Bender

This color is one of my favorite BB Couture colors. Before buying this color, I wasn't a fan of greens. This falls into the group of colors that I wear that I feel totally comfortable with. BB Couture has a wide range of colors for guys; some are typical guy conservative colors and others are really pushing the boundaries. I searched and couldn't find where I posted this color before. If I did, Sorry.

Wore BBC Rustler on our trip to Kona side of the island.

Practicing Zebra stripes.

We drove to the other side of the island to go to Costco and I decided to leave on the nail polish on my fingers. The only comment I got was from the guy at the check out; he said "did you lose a bet?" My daughter had my back and gave him a look to indicate that was the case. I didn't even know she had done it until after the fact. I love that kid! So, I took her and my aunt to the Parker Ranch food court for lunch.

The Zebra stripes were not on my nails for our trip, It is amazing how distracting they are. It must be the white on the brown, because they just jump out at me. I want to get good, so I can do it myself and save the extra cost at the nail salon. Also, I am really having fun with it. My dad was a commercial artist and my sister went to Philadelphia college of art; maybe I can develop my hidden artistic abilities. I don't think I will wear the above mani out in public.

Test driving a color for my toes

I bought BB Couture Rustler a while back and haven't got to try it yet. So I tested it out on my fingers to see if I would like it for a pedi. I had been looking for a brown that doesn't have any visible red in it and this is it! If I ever decided to were polish on out on my hands, This color could work. It's not that I don't like browns with red in them. I have worn OPI Suzi says da and liked it. I just wanted a true brown in my collection.

I have been on a path of brighter and bolder lately. I think as I become more comfortable with my toes, I want to try colors that I've seen and liked. A lot of them are not seen on guys toes very often, or at least not in public. OPI Yodel me on my cell is the color I bought for my next pedi. Who knows what will happen now that they know I like nail art, I may come out with something totally different. I am a sucker for pretty women who want to use my toes as their canvas.