Category: Review

China Glaze City Flourish Collection Spring 2014 – Peonies & Park Ave

China Glaze City Flourish Collection Spring 2014 – Peonies & Park Ave

PurchasedMyself

 

 

It’s that time of the year again! Spring collections are plentiful and I am always ALWAYS excited to see what China Glaze has to offer. When I saw the display for these polishes, I nearly expired because I wasn’t expecting them to be available just yet, especially because I still haven’t been able to find the Sea Goddess Collection…but that’s whole other story! As usual, this collection is a 12 piece collection made up of two sets so I will be swatching each set in a separate post. Since the formula and my application was exactly the same for every polish, I will show you the colors first and then I will share my thoughts. Let’s take a look at the China Glaze City Flourish Collection, shall we?

China Glaze At Vase Value 1aChina Glaze At Vase Value 2aChina Glaze At Vase Value

China Glaze In A Lily Bit 1aChina Glaze In A Lily Bit 2aChina Glaze In A Lily Bit

China Glaze Lotus Begin 1aChina Glaze Lotus Begin 2aChina Glaze Lotus Begin

China Glaze Peonies & Park Ave 1aChina Glaze Peonies & Park Ave 2aChina Glaze Peonies & Park Ave

China Glaze Petal To The Metal 1aChina Glaze Petal To The Metal 2aChina Glaze Petal To The Metal

China Glaze Spring In My Step 1aChina Glaze Spring In My Step 2aChina Glaze Spring In My Step

Ahhh….where to start with this collection? The colors are absolutely gorgeous and very Spring appropriate, but the formula. There are no words. These are definite application beasts. Like full on Satan urine in a bottle. Do you remember how horrible the formula of the neon collection from last year was? (You can read my review here.) Well, this is like round 2 of that collection. I had hoped that these polishes were straight cremes, but they are more like satin/mattes because the don’t dry shiny and tend to dry really quickly. Because of how quickly they dry, if you overwork them, they will get goopy and stringy. All of these polishes were streaky nightmares so I decided to take the same approach with all of them: 2 thin coats and a third thicker coat to smooth them out. Despite my best efforts, they were still uneven and gross-looking so I applied a thick coat of Seche Vite to try to smooth everything out. While they did even out, do you really want to baby a polish this much? As I recall, some people seemed to not have that many issues with last year’s polishes (uhm, yeah…), so maybe once again it’s just me who can’t get these to work. You may say that my swatches don’t necessarily speak to the problems I had with the formula, but trust me…they are pretty freaking difficult. I just wish they weren’t so damn pretty! Damn you, China Glaze!

wish_i_could_quit_youI am still waiting for that next China Glaze collection that will blow my socks off like the On Safari Collection. Sadly, I think I will have to keep waiting. If you’re not phased by my review, you can purchase these polishes on my blog sale so check them out. Tomorrow I hope to have the other half of this collection done, and I am really hoping against hope that they are better but I won’t hold my breath. Don’t forget to let me know what you think of these polishes. Will you be picking these up? Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Nicole by OPI New Top Coats & Treatments For 2014

Nicole by OPI New Top Coats & Treatments For 2014

PressSample

 

 

With all the pretty polish colors out there, sometimes it’s easy to forget that using a good base coat and top coat is going to be essential to keep that mani looking shiny, new and fresh. I realize that most people aren’t like me, meaning that you don’t all change your polish daily, so longevity is always important to the average consumer. This year we have some new offerings to choose from: Nicole by OPI New Top Coats & Treatments For 2014. Let’s take a look at some new products, shall we?

DSC00680Now let’s see these in action!

Nicole by OPI 3-IN-1aFirst up is the 3-in-1 Base, Top Coat & Strengthener. This is a pretty convenient product because it’s actually 3 products in one so this is perfect if you’re traveling and don’t want to carry around multiple bottles. It gives a nice shine and it worked great to smooth and prep my nails before applying my nail color. Here I have applied it over OPI Gargantuan Green Grape (purchased myself).

Nicole by OPI Quick Dry Top Coat 1aTop coats…ahhh top coats! When you find one that you love and works for you, stick with it! I found that while this top coat is nice and smooths my polish nicely, it’s not a shiny as others that I use. I also found that it is thicker than what I normally prefer. Here I have applied it over OPI Gargantuan Green Grape (purchased myself) and Butter London Tart With A Heart (press sample).

Nicole by OPI Matte Top Coat 1aNext up is a Matte Top Coat which I think had a nice consistency and wasn’t too thick. It mattifies nicely!

Nicole by OPI Oil To Go 1aAnd lastly, we have this Oil To Go which is such a convenient way to give constant TLC to your poor battered cuticles. I keep this at my desk at work and apply some product after I wash my hands which is a lot of times throughout the day.  I am always cautious of these types of products because if they are heavily scented, I probably won’t use them. The scent of this product is rather sweet and smells kind of tropical to me, but it’s not overpowering. While I would like a more subtle scent, it doesn’t really bother me.

Have you tried any of these products? Are you a cuticle product fanatic like myself? Considering the amount of abuse I put my hands through, I have to make sure that I keep my hands and cuticles super moisturized. Anyway, I hope you’re having a nice day, and I will talk to you soon!

Carrie Underwood For Nicole by OPI – Swatches & Review

Carrie Underwood For Nicole by OPI – Swatches & Review

PressSample

 

 

I don’t know about you, but I am always excited when I see interesting and fun celebrity collaborations. When I first heard that Carrie Underwood would be teaming up with Nicole by OPI, I was thrilled because I looooove her. I can’t say that I’m still an American Idol fan, but I still remember when she won her season and how awesome I thought it was. Now that she because a huge superstar in her own right, I’ve continued to follow her and her music despite the fact that I’m not a typical country music fan. As soon as I received this collection, I set out to swatch it because I was so excited. Let’s take a look at my swatches for the Carrie Underwood for Nicole by OPI Collection, and then I will share my thoughts with you.

Nicole by OPI Love My Pups 1aNicole by OPI Love My Pups 2Love My Pups
Let’s “paws” for this adorably sweet pink

Nicole by OPI Carnival Cotton Candy 1aNicole by OPI Carnival Cotton Candy 2Carnival Cotton Candy
This spun sugar pink is all about fun

Nicole by OPI Color Me Country 1aNicole by OPI Color Me Country 2Color Me Country
This soul-ful hot pink makes me want to sing

Nicole by OPI Some Hearts 1aNicole by OPI Some Hearts 2Some Hearts
You can’t beat this romantic coral dream

Nicole by OPI Sweet Daisy 1aNicole by OPI Sweet Daisy 2Sweet Daisy
A bouquet of southern peach blossoms

Nicole by OPI Southern Charm 1aNicole by OPI Southern Charm 2Southern Charm
Frankly my dear, this nude shade looks charming on you

Nicole by OPI As American As Apple Pie 1aNicole by OPI As American As Apple Pie 2American as Apple Pie
Tradition runs deep in this classic red

Nicole by OPI Goodbye Shoes 1aNicole by OPI Goodbye Shoes 2Goodbye Shoes
Hit the road, but leave me this standalone gray-green

Nicole by OPI Fisher Queen 1aNicole by OPI Fisher Queen 2Fisher Queen
I’m hooked on this deep, deep eggplant

Nicole by OPI Lips Are Dripping Honey 1aNicole by OPI Lips Are Dripping Honey 2Lips are Dripping Honey
This multi-gold glitter is sweet on you

Nicole by OPI Backstage Pass 1aNicole by OPI Backstage Pass 2Backstage Pass
I want access to this brown with purple nuances

Nicole by OPI Party Bus 1aNicole by OPI Party Bus 2Party Bus
Celebrate on-the-go with this party-perfect confetti glitter

Nicole by OPI Sing You Like A Bee 1aNicole by OPI Sing You Like A Bee 2Sing You Like a Bee
Put some of this frosty ice on that, honey!

Nicole by OPI Carrie'd Away 1aNicole by OPI Carrie'd Away 2Carrie’d Away
Carrie’s own gold record signature shade

Wow, that was a lot of swatching! This 14 piece collection is composed of 8 cremes, 4 glitters and 2 shimmers. All of those crèmes made my heart happy!  The two best crèmes—formula-wise—are American As Apple Pie and Goodbye Shoes. American As Apple Pie is one of those perfect one coat reds that I can always appreciate. The 6 other crèmes were nice, but I did find that they required a little more work because they all applied streaky on the first coat. I left plenty of dry time in between coats so that I could eliminate and dragging which unfortunately creates bald spots.  I just love pink polish so I was so excited with all the pink here. The light pink nudeish shade, I Love My Pups, will require multiple coats and you may still have some visible nail line. Despite this, the color is very crisp and lady-like so I’m diggin’ it.

The two shimmer shares (Bastage Pass and Fisher Queen) are great dark and vampy colors. At first I felt the formula was lacking pigmentation, but the second coat evened out my polish perfectly. I think these shades are super welcome in this collection because of the sugary sweetness of most of the crèmes.  We all need some variety…amirite?

The four glitters include two glitter toppers that I quite liked. I wouldn’t say that Lips Are Dripping Honey is revolutionary, but boy did I love how it looked. In fact, it’s my favorite glitter from this collection. Party bus is cute but I’m always cautious about big glitter. I didn’t notice any curling with the bigger flower-shaped glitters and I left this on for a day. I may have to try it out again because I suspect it might curl a bit. The two other glitters are somewhere between fine micro-glitters and texture polishes. I didn’t think that they were quite as rough-feeling as most texture polishes out there but they still had that sandy look to them and they dried fairly satin-y and matte. Carrie’d Away, in particular, is super sparkly. Even though I’m not a fan of gold polishes (I’m looking at you, Gold Master V!), Carrie’d Away is so bright and sparkly that I know I’ll be using it again. The one thing I didn’t like about these last two polishes is that the glitter gets into every nook and cranny. I used pure acetone to remove these polishes and I still had glitter embedded in my cuticles, under my nails, up my arms, in my nose…ok, maybe not in my nose but you get the picture.

Overall, I really like this collection. If you’re like me (or like Lesley), you’ll probably want these bad because they are Carrie Underwood polishes. While the colors aren’t something groundbreaking, you get a nice variety of colors and finishes. I’m not going to lie: I love that this collection has 8 cremes. I love crèmes. I have always loved crèmes and I always will. My favorites are: Goodbye Shoes, Carnival Cotton Candy, Color Me Country, Backstage Pass, Fisher Queen and Lips Are Dripping Honey. So now that I have rambled on and on, what do YOU think about these? Thank so much for the visit, and we’ll talk soon!

From Nicole by OPI

Nicole by OPI formulas are long-lasting, fast-drying, and salon-quality.  This limited edition collection will be in newly designed bottles featuring the NEW Nicole logo.  These shades will be available January 2014 for $7.99 each at retailers including select CVS, Duane Reade, HEB, Kroger, Kmart, Ulta, Walmart, Fred Meyer, Meijer, and Harmon locations.  In Canada, these shades will be available for $10.99 each at Shoppers Drug Mart, Target Canada, Walmart Canada, Jean Coutu, London Drug, and Loblaws. For more information, visit nicolebyopi.com. Follow Nicole by OPI on Twitter @NicoleByOPI and become a Facebook fan!

Gwen Stefani by OPI Collection

Gwen Stefani by OPI Collection

PurchasedMyself

 

 

As a huge Gwen Stefani/No Doubt fan, I have been patiently waiting for this collection to come out so I wasted absolutely NO TIME in getting it swatched. There is a degree of excitement surrounding this collection precisely because it’s tied to Gwen whom I have always loved. Being born and raised in Orange County, I can remember watching No Doubt explode and feeling proud of my fellow OC’ers. When I first got the press release for the Gwen Stefani by OPI Collection, I was so freaking excited that I am sure I annoyed a few people. Why is it that some people can’t understand how awesome this collaboration is??? My poor nail guy pretty much felt harassed by my multiple weekly calls to ask him if he had received this collection yet. Imagine my elation when he finally told me they had come in! I raced there after work and grabbed everything so I could come home and play with them. Are you ready for GS awesomeness?

OPI Hey Baby 1OPI Hey Baby 2It’s no secret that I am a rabid lover of hot pink polishes, so you’re not really going to hear me complain about OPI Hey Baby…well, not much anyway. This pink is the kind of color that I like to sport because it’s super bright and looks great on my skin tone. Any time I wear a pink like this, people always comment on my nails. I do love the color, but the formula was a little bit of a pain because it was so darn streaky. After two coats, I could still see a lot of uneven coverage so I applied a third thick coat to smooth it all out.

OPI I Sing In Color 1OPI I Sing In Color 2OPI I Sing In Color is one of those colors that can look almost black. It’s a dark brownish red with an outrageously glossy finish. The finished look of it makes my creme loving heart beat faster. The formula on this was a little thin, in my opinion, so you have to let each coat dry a few minutes before going back over it. I created a lot of bald spots with my second coat so I applied a third coat to even out the coverage.

OPI In True Stefani Fashion 1OPI In True Stefani Fashion 2Are we all silver/holo glittered out? I have so many versions of OPI In True Stefani Fashion that I wasn’t super excited about this. It’s just a lot of small silver holo glitter with some squares thrown in. My lighting doesn’t really show how pretty this looks in sunlight because it really does shine.

OPI Love.Angel.Music.Baby 1OPI Love.Angel.Music.Baby 2I think I’ve said plenty of times how much I DON’T like gold polishes, but OPI Love.Angel.Music.Baby is actually my favorite polish from this collection. It’s not an obnoxious ghetto gold, but rather a delicate and classy version that I am totally in love with. This polish has a satin finish so you should not apply top coat to keep the satin effect. Let me tell you about the formula on this baby: it’s creamy like butter and applies beautifully. It looks a little sheer at the first coat but it’s fully opaque at two coats. This is like the gold equivalent of This Gown Needs A Crown from the Miss Universe Collection.

OPI 4 In The Morning 1OPI 4 In The Morning 2My second favorite from this collection is OPI 4 In The Morning. I really do like black polishes and this one seems a little unusual with its satin finish so don’t apply top coat to keep the soft effect. I also loved the formula on this baby as it was super opaque and easy to apply.

OPI Push And Shove 1OPI Push And Shove 2Let’s be honest here: how many of us are dying for a polish that accentuates and magnifies every single ridge and imperfection on our nails? Me, me, me…NOT! Well, OPI Push And Shove does just that if you don’t buff your nails and/or use a good ridge filling base coat. In fact, this polish comes with a mini “Lay Down That Base” base coat that is recommended before applying Push And Shove. I don’t think that I have any polish quite as reflective and metallic as this one, and I was beyond surprised that it wasn’t as brush stroke-y as I feared. The funky thing about this polish is that the packaging states that it is a one night only polish which I guess means that it will start to chip/flake almost immediately. Personally I don’t have a problem with this since I change my polish so often, but I thought it might be important to note.

So, let’s get down to it. Did I love this collection? Meh. If it wasn’t a Gwen Stefani collaboration, would I still purchase these polishes? Not all of them. And that, my friends, is the genius of marketing. This whole collection does not scream Gwen Stefani to me, and I’m a little disappointed. For those of you who are wondering about why there isn’t a red here considering it’s Gwen’s signature lip color, there is a red in the collection called Over & Over A-Gwen but it comes in a special boxed set that wasn’t available when I picked these up. If you’re as polish obsessed as me, I’m sure that you’ll run out to get these as soon as they are available–especially if you’re a Gwen Stefani fan. Overall, I love Love.Angel.Music.Baby and 4 In The Morning. Shockingly, I also like Push And Shove even though it’s a chrome. I just like how reflective it is and I can definitely see myself wearing it for a special occasion.  The Gwen Stefani by OPI Collection will be out next month sometime and you will be able to purchase it at the usual OPI retailers such as Beauty Brands, Beauty First, Chatters, Dillard’s, JCPenney, Pure Beauty, Regis, Trade Secret, and ULTA.

And here is my question: What do you think of this collection? If you’re not a huge fan of the colors, will you purchase it just because it’s Gwen Freaking Stefani? I’m really curious to hear your thoughts on this so let me know. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!

*Edit: I’m selling these: 37.25 for the 6 polishes including priority shipping in a box.* email me if you’re interested.

Crown Brush HD Set Review

Crown Brush HD Set Review

PressSample

 

 

I know I’m a slacker. I haven’t been posting regularly and I kind of miss it, but at the same time I am really enjoying not putting pressure on myself to post, post, post! If this starts feeling like a job, then I won’t want to keep doing it so I think this is a very welcome break. The review I have for you today is for a set of Crown Brushes that I received a few weeks ago and that I tested for a bit before making any judgments. Let’s take a look at the Crown Brush HD Set, shall we?

1The set comes in a nice little zip case which is very helpful if you’re looking for a travel set. Since I have a lot of make up brushes, I have a huge brush roll that is not very convenient for travel so I appreciate the size of this case.

23This is what the brushes look like inside the set. The case has nice pockets for the brushes so that they remain in place, and it also comes with a set of tweezers and a mirror. Now let’s get to the meat of this review: the brushes! I am going to be showing the Crown brushes next to other similar brushes (mostly MAC) just to compare the size.

Pro Powder Brush

4Here it is between the MAC 129 and the MAC 150. The Crown Pro Powder brush is a pretty standard powder brush. It’s very soft and I used it to set my foundation with powder. It worked nicely.

Tapered Blush

5Here it is between the MAC 168 and the MAC 116. This was also a decent brush that I used to apply blush and bronzer. Because of it’s size, I found that it worked well for contouring. My problem with this brush is that it sheds. I washed it a few times already and it continues to shed so I don’t see myself really using it too often.

Deluxe Contour

6Since I don’t really have a similar brush in size, I was really excited about this one. Although it’s a contour brush, I thought that it would be perfect to blend out concealer under the eyes because the size is perfect. It did a great job of that, but it is impossible to clean. I always clean my brushes because I don’t want to keep putting bacteria on my face, but it remains kind of greasy feeling. I’ve used MAC brush cleaner, ELF Brush Cleanser and even Dawn soap, but it still remains dingy and greasy. I won’t be dealing with a brush that I can’t clean!

Crease Blender

78I’ve compared this brush to the MAC 224 and the Sonia Kashuk Blending Brush. I thought it did a fine job of blending out eye shadow and it is a good staple brush to have. However, my absolute favorite brush of this type is the Sonia Kashuk one so that’s the one I reach for the most.

Chisel Shadow

910This comparison might be a little unfair because the MAC 239 is my favorite brush ever…except for maybe the MAC 187. This brush didn’t do such a great job of picking up the product, and I got tons of fallout. I think that it worked a lot better with creme products so I will stick with those.

Detail Liner

1112Here it is compared to the Bare Escentuals eyeliner brush. To be honest, I don’t really have much to say about either of these brushes because I don’t like to wear gel or cream eyeliners and this is what these brushes are used for. I tried using the Crown Detail Liner with a cream liner and it worked well except that it didn’t give me a very fine line because the bristles still felt kind of fluffy.

Overall, these brushes are ok. I think it’s a decent set for someone that’s just starting out with make up or if you just want a set that you can easily travel with. These brushes are synthetic and vegan friendly which I know is important to a lot of you. This set can be purchased here for $27.95 and it looks like there is 10% off code on the Crown website as well. Let me know if you’ve tried any of these brushes in the past. Do you have any favorite brushes? Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!

Tom Ford Black Sugar

Tom Ford Black Sugar

PurchasedMyself

 

 

If you’re reading this, it appears that you have survived the gluttonfest known as Thanksgiving. I had a pretty uneventful day with the fam which involved eating, talking, eating, playing with my nephew, eating, watching movies and finally eating some more. Did I mention we ate a lot? Since I haven’t been playing with nail polish much lately, I was super excited to finally get to try out and share Tom Ford Black Sugar with you. Let’s take a look, shall we?

Tom Ford Black Sugar 1Tom Ford Black Sugar 2Tom Ford Black Sugar 3Tom Ford Black Sugar 4What can I say about Tom Ford Black Sugar? It looks creamy and glossy like melted milk chocolate…and that’s all the nice things I have to say about it. I feel thoroughly deceived by this polish. Do you remember how much I pined for it? I went to the mall about 4 separate times just to look for this polish and came home empty-handed every time. I think that this made me want it even more. This whole thing reminds me of James. James was this cute guy in my American Literature class who had this quiet and mysterious allure. Maybe it was the way he wore his Chuck Taylors or the way he looked at me when I presented my paper comparing the heroines of Jean Anouilh’s Antigone and Kate Chopin’s The Awakening…I was intrigued by his perceived intelligence and his nerdy aloofness. I admired him from afar until we ran into each other at the student union and we had lunch together. Let me tell you that after spending an hour with him, I wanted to swallow poison just to get away from him.  He wasn’t interesting at all…in fact he was dull and disappointing. Anyway, this is how I feel about about Black Sugar: thoroughly disappointed and bamboozled.The formula is…not good. It appeared thick, but it was very streaky and would not apply smoothly. I decided to use thin coats and build it up but after 3 coats, I still didn’t think it looked good. I applied a 4th and that seemed to smooth it out enough and give me full coverage. The beautiful shimmer that you see in the bottle completely disappears on the nail and can only be seen at certain angles…in the sunlight. I haven’t had such a disappointing polish experience in a long time, so let me take a moment to swallow down this thirty-two dollar bitter pill.

Besides the polish disappointment, I have had a pretty awesome week. I’ll have 4 days off this week so I’m enjoying being absolutely lazy. It feels delicious. I had a really great time with my family yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed spending time with our little peanut. He is getting so big!

bbIsn’t he just the cutest little thing ever?? I know it looks posed, but he totally did this on his own. I am grateful for so many things in my life…even the ones that aren’t “perfect.” I hope that you all had a great Thanksgiving and that you enjoy the rest of your weekend.

 

LCN Homecoming Collection – Winter 2013

LCN Homecoming Collection – Winter 2013

PressSample

 

 

Let the Thanksgiving gluttony begin! Today we had a Thanksgiving luncheon at work and we stuffed our faces with trip tip, delicious carb-loaded sides and way too many desserts. Whatever happened to my diet, you ask? Erm…what diet? Anyway, it was fun to fart around with my colleagues for a few hours today. As I’m getting ready for Thursday’s cook-a-thon (I swear I wrote cock-a-thon like 4 times), I have a short but sweet collection to share with you: the LCN Homecoming Collection for Winter 2013.

LCN Knitting Wool 1LCN Knitting Wool 2Fist up we have LCN Knitting Wool. This is a mild creamy yellow that applies a little streaky but it builds up nicely. I always expect streak city with these types of colors so I was pleasantly surprised that it looked good with two coats.

LCN Home Sweet Home 1LCN Home Sweet Home 2I love all the gorgeous and inky blues that have come out this Fall/Winter, so LCN Home Sweet Home is definitely a great color to add to your collection. This color is so pigmented that it could almost be a one coater but I think it does need that second coat. It dries super glossy and best of all: it doesn’t stain!

LCN Chocolate Fudge 1LCN Chocolate Fudge 2LCN Chocolate Fudge made me a little hungry. This looks so delicious! It’s a very rich brown that fits in well with the season. The formula was very pigmented and super buttery.

LCN Berry Punch 1LCN Berry Punch 2And lastly we have LCN Berry Punch. It’s a pretty magenta shimmer that has some duochrome type of effect when you look at the bottle. To be honest, I wasn’t that excited about this color, but it is pretty.

Overall, I find this collection to be nice but a little uninspired. The colors aren’t really exciting, but the formula on all of these is pretty fantastic which is what I have come to expect from LCN. Each polish in the LCN Homecoming Collection retails for $7.50 and they are available now at the LCN Boutique. Be sure to follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest to stay up to date on all of their announcements. Are you over these Winter collections? Let me know what you think!

Dare To Wear Kiss The Rain

Dare To Wear Kiss The Rain

PurchasedMyself

 

 

Oh, hai there! Yes, I’m still around. I know I’ve still been posting regularly, but I feel that I’ve been kind of absent. I haven’t really been playing much with polish–it’s like I lost my polish boner, but my Viagra kicked in when I decided to swatch Dare To Wear Kiss The Rain. Ahhh…Kiss The Rain. Do you guys remember that Billie Myers song from the late 90’s?

I get so nostalgic when I hear old 90’s songs because this song came out right around the time I graduated from high school. My first year of college was kind of a strange experience–but in a good way. Anyway, let’s get back to the polish! Let me show you the beauty that brought me back to my senses.

Dare To Wear Kiss The Rain 1Dare To Wear Kiss The Rain 2Dare To Wear Kiss the Rain is a beautiful steel blue-gray with scattered holographic glitter. The formula feels a little thin, but it builds up very easily. I applied 3 thin coats for my swatches, but I think I could have gotten away with two coats. The polish dries rather dull and still doesn’t look super shiny after a coat of Seche Vite. I decided to change my lighting up a bit so you could see the beautiful holo.

Dare To Wear Kiss The Rain 3Dare To Wear Kiss The Rain 4Now you can really see the holo, right?! This is pretty close to what it looks like in sunlight. Holy Fish Jesus, this is pretty!

So…whatdaya think? Isn’t it beautiful? I am soooo obsessed with finding older and unique Dare To Wear polishes so I’m going to have to make a trek out to my polish warehouse to see what else I can discover amongst the ruins of collections of yore. Anyway, I’m going to cut this short because I’m about to go out with a friend so we can catch up. I need to get out tonight! Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Essie Luxeffects 2013

Essie Luxeffects 2013

PurchasedMyself

 

 

My arm hurts. It’s very sore. You want to know why? From carrying around my nephew! That sounds crazy to me since he’s just under 8 lbs, and it’s not like I held him all day–just an hour or two yesterday and now my arm hurts? I’m still totally smitten with the cutie pie so I’ll take a little soreness any day! I feel like I have completely neglected my usual blog stuff like swatching, responding to comments and reading my usual favorite blogs, but I’m sure you’ll all forgive me. Well, I’ve had these swatches done for a while now and I just kept forgetting to write up the post. Today I have the Essie Luxeffects 2013 offerings to share with you. I don’t always have the best color pairings, but I actually like how these look on the base colors I chose. I’ve seen some other really cool parings that make these top coats look very awesome.

Essie Sparke On Top 1Essie Sparke On Top 2First up, I have Essie Sparkle On Top. I applied this over a dark maroon polish and I like how it looks…kind of icy and winter-like. It applies very smoothly and it’s a combination of shard and flaky glitter.

Essie Jazzy Jubilant 1Essie Jazzy Jubilant 2Essie Jazzy Jubilant is a typical multi-colored hex glitter polish topper. It’s very easy to apply the glitter evenly so that’s always a plus.

Am I super jazzed about these two new additions to the Luxeffect line? Nope. They’re nice but nothing I’m excited about. It should come as no surprise that they are now on my blog sale, right? Anyway, I hope you’re enjoying your Wednesday, and I will talk to you soon!

Dare To Wear Gold Crush Holiday Lacquer Set

Dare To Wear Gold Crush Holiday Lacquer Set

PurchasedMyself

 

 

Hi there! Yes, I am still on a baby high, and I can’t wait to see my little nephew again because he is just the cutest little thing ever. Since there was so much baby commotion this weekend, I didn’t get a chance to do too much swatching, but I did manage to swatch this fun holiday set. Dare To Wear by LeChat is a brand that I am really keeping a close eye on because they have some amazing polishes. Let’s get to the swatches of the Dare To Wear Gold Crush Holiday Lacquer Set.

DSC00131First of all, here is the box set. Pretty, right? So festive!

DSC00134If you are familiar with this brand, you may notice that the bottles are very different. I was told that the bottles were redesigned recently and that all new polishes will have this new bottle design. Personally I find them very substantial and kind of luxe looking. Someone who shall remain nameless made some jokes about the caps being “ribbed for her pleasure,” but we will just move right along from that comment.

Dare To Wear Holly Berries 1Dare To Wear Holly Berries 2What would a holiday polish set be without a staple red? Dare To Wear Holly Berries is that staple red polish. The formula on it is pretty great as it can be a once coat polish. The color is very saturated and extremely smooth so it’s definitely a great polish even if it is a staple color and very expected.

Dare To Wear Gold Chalice 1Dare To Wear Gold Chalice 2Gold. Barf. Ok, I just can’t get on the gold polish train (I’m looking at you, V!) Dare To Wear Gold Chalice is a ghetto gold foil-like polish that applies rather smoothly. I applied two coats and that was enough for full coverage. Other than that, I don’t have much to say about this polish.

Dare To Wear Holiday Lights 1Dare To Wear Holiday Lights 2I wasn’t expecting to like this glitter as much as I do, but Dare To Wear Holiday Lights is just so freaking festive that it made me happy to have such shiny and bright colors all over my nails. The glitter in this polish is rather small, but it managed to apply rather evenly as only two coats were needed. I’ve got to warn you, though: removal was a pain.

So what do you think of this holiday set? Is it something that you’d purchase? Since I have similar colors, I have put this set up on my blog sale in case you’re interested. Are you familiar with this brand? If you have any polish recommendations from this line, please let me know because I absolutely love what I have tried from Dare To Wear. I bought a second holiday trio that is blue based so hopefully I get around to swatching it for you soon. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will catch up with you soon.