Stash Swatch Initiative: Color Club Magic Attraction

[Whoops! Didn't post this Tuesday as planned!]

Hello!

This bling-tastic polish is Color Club's Magic Attraction!

Color Club Magic Attraction. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I've worn this polish multiple times, but up until I 'officially' swatched it for the blog, I thought it was simply chock full of holographic micro-glitter. It also has pink micro-glitter in the mix, which really doesn't matter much because the rainbows being thrown by this polish obscure any details unless you are scrutinizing it. It is a crazy rainbow-colored sparkle fest most of the time! It is totally awesome! It's even better in person than these photos suggest.

Color Club Magic Attraction. Indoors, artificial light, no flash..

Swatches today are one coat of Duri Rejuvacote, one coat of Sinful Colors Nail Hardener, three coats of Magic Attraction, two coats of Gelous, and one coat of Seche Vite. This polish applies like any micro-glitter polish -- it's a bit thick with glitter but works just fine. It does dry gritty, so I did need three thick coats of topcoat for a smooth finish.

Color Club Magic Attraction. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

This polish is magic in a bottle. I love it! Check out how sparkly it is -- even in low, indoor lighting! I love the pastel look of the rainbow of light sparks!

I purchased my bottle from Head2Toe Beauty, where you can still get it!

Color Club Magic Attraction. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: China Glaze Champagne Bubbles

Hello!

Here's another polish that has sat untried in my Melmer forever. This is China Glaze Champagne Bubbles.

China Glaze Champagne Bubbles. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Champagne Bubbles is a shimmery yellow-gold polish with a dusting of tiny silver hex glitters. It's unfortunate that this polish is so yellow-toned. I think it could have been epic if the base color was a lighter golden color, or a peachy neutral, which would've been more indicative of actual champagne. I think we would have gone absolutely crazy for a polish like that, but in it's current form, Champagne Bubbles is just a forgotten part of 2011's Let it Snow collection. Oh what could have been...

China Glaze Champagne Bubbles. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Anyway, swatches today are a base coat of Seche Clear, two coats of Champagne Bubbles, and one coat of NYC In a New York Minute. The formula isn't too thick and applies easily. Just take care not to overwork this one because it will start to bald a bit.

China Glaze Champagne Bubbles. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I'm pretty sure I purchased this a long, long time ago from Head2Toe Beauty only because it was in one of the holiday gift sets that I wanted. The entire Let It Snow Collection, along with some of the gift sets, are still available here.

More soon! ^_^

Haul: December!

Hello!

The last haul post for 2013! And it's a small one... after last month, there wasn't a whole lot that piqued my interest! My bank account is happy about this....

First purchase came during Black Friday sales. This is the one Cirque polish I wanted, Vaudeville.

The rest came from a quick trip to Ulta. This is OPI This Gown Needs a Crown and Sleigh Ride for Two.

And a few eye shadow palettes from Essence.

I really hope these eye shadow palettes are not discontinued because they are my favorite! They're nicely designed, compact, and sturdy, and I love how all the colors work so well together! Ah well, if they disappear, I now have two backups of the neutral one!

The OPIs were on sale two for fifteen, the eye shadow palettes were on clearance for a few dollars each, I had a coupon for five dollars off a purchase of ten or more, plus expiring rewards points, so my entire purchase came to $8.88!!! Woot!

Three polishes is not bad right? ... Okay, so I did purchase two more polishes from Llarowe just a few days ago during their 12 Days of Christmas sale, but they'll be featured in January's post since they haven't shipped yet!

My 2013 was awesome! It was a big year for us: we got married, sold our house for a profit, purchased land in Minnesota, and are making plans to build our dream house. Not to mention, some epic hauls! Cheers to an even better 2014!

More soon! ^_^

NOTW: Snowflakes!

Hello!

Well, that last mani was the one and only Christmas mani I made time for this year. Good thing it wore like iron -- I had it on for twelve days! And it looked great until that last day - I only had minor tipwear. I have some other ideas for Christmas manis, but since the season has passed, they'll have to wait until next year.

Snowflakes! Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Today's nails were inspired by this mani from The Nail Network. I started with my usual base combination of Duri Rejuvacote and Sinful Colors Nail Hardener. Then, I layered up three coats of Revlon Spooky Skull, which has sadly discolored to a warm, yellow-toned white over the year since I last used it. Super bummed about it... but I embraced the yellowed look and used one coat of Essie As Gold As it Gets over top, followed by Seche Vite. Once dry, I stamped the snowflakes from BM-323 with Konad Special Polish in White. A quick coat of NYC In A New York Minute sealed and glossed everything over.

I then tried stamping single snowflakes in gold like the inspiration mani, but they didn't show up at all. So I left it at this. I thought the yellowed base color would work out due to the warm tone of the look. It almost does, but in person, it comes off more like discolored nails. Is there any save for a yellowed and discolored bottle of polish? Help!

More soon! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: Butter London West End Wonderland

Hello!

My last polish from Butter London is swatched for you today. This is West End Wonderland!

Butter London West End Wonderland. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

West End Wonderland is a full.-coverage microglitter mix composed primarily of gold glitter with a bit of copper and silver. Very sparkly!

Butter London West End Wonderland. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Swatches today are a base coat of Seche Clear, three coats of West End Wonderland, and one coat of NYC In a New York Minute. This polish has a nice formula. It glides on smoothly and builds to complete opacity in three coats.

Butter London West End Wonderland. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I purchased my bottle during Coterie's incredible introductory sale (basically four Butter London polishes for like twelve dollars, or something equally as crazy), but they sort of fell into obscurity after that. You can check out Butter London at places like Ulta.

More soon! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: KBShimmer Kringle all the Way

Hello and Merry Christmas!

KBShimmer Kringle All the Way. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I saved a very Christmas-y polish just for today. This is KBShimmer Kringle All the Way.

KBShimmer Kringle All the Way. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Kringle all the Way is a fabulous glitter topper in a clear base. I see four sizes of circle glitter in holographic green, red, gold, and silver plus holo dust! It's very shiny and gorgeous!

KBShimmer Kringle All the Way. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Swatches today are a base coat of Seche Clear, and two dabbed coats plus NYC In a New York Minute and Gelous over my base colors of Zoya Sooki, Pure Ice Wild Thing, and Zoya Trixie. The glitter coverage is rather sparse if you try to brush this on. I found it best to capture a bunch of glitter on the brush and dab it on to place the glitters where I wanted them.

KBShimmer Kringle All the Way, matte. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I purchased this bottle from KBShimmer's website. They offered Kringle All the Way as part of this year's holiday collection. It was their charity polish -- they donated a part of the proceeds from each bottle sold to Toys for Tots. According to their Facebook page, they raised nearly $3000 for the charity!!! Amazing! This one is still available for a few more days, but the charity part is over. If you're after this one, get it now! They announced recently on their Facebook page that this was going into retirement and may or may not return next year.

KBShimmer Kringle All the Way. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Happy Holidays! Enjoy the good times, family, and feasts! More soon! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: China Glaze Glittering Garland

Hello!

Today's polish has been in my collection untouched for far too long. This is China Glaze Glitter Garland!

Glittering Garland is a deep evergreen jelly packed with gold and green flecks. It's lovely.

China Glaze Glittering Garland. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Swatches today are a base coat of Seche Clear, three coats of Glittering Garland, and one coat of NYC In a New York Minute. This polish is a bit thin and streaky on the first coat, the second is better, but I did need three coats for the best result. Other than that, this polish had no other issues, and application was easy even with the thin formula.

China Glaze Glittering Garland. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Green still isn't my favorite color for polish, but I have to admit that this is beautiful and festive! It looks beautiful in matte as well.

China Glaze Glittering Garland, matte. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Glittering Garland was a part of the China Glaze holiday collection in 2011 called Let it Snow. I purchased mine from Head2Toe Beauty, I think, where it is still available.

China Glaze Glittering Garland. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: Zoya Posh

Hello!

A festive red polish for today -- this is Zoya Posh!

Zoya Posh. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Posh is the third, and final, Matte Velvet I purchased when the collection made it's quick return last month. It is a rich, matte red.

Zoya Posh. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Swatches today are simply two coats of Zoya Posh. Of the three I have, I think this has the best formula. I didn't have any issues with it, and got perfect coverage with just two coats.

Zoya Posh. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Sorry to be a tease, but this polish was a limited edition and is sold out! Check out Zoya's Facebook page for any future announcements about the availability of this collection.

More soon! ^_^

NOTW: Santa and Blitzen!

Hello!

I am so excited to show you my first holiday mani this year!

Merry Christmas!

After my usual base coat combination of Duri Rejuvacote and Sinful Colors Nail Hardener, I started with two coats of Zoya Elisa on all my fingers except the middle and ring finger of my left hand, which got two nice coats of Zoya Flynn. Once that was good and dry, I started on the nail art.

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

For my left hand, I was inspired by this pin on Pinterest. The santa face was really easy to do. I placed a piece of scotch tape across my nail and used one coat of Zoya Elisa to fill in the hat, removing the tape immediately. Then, I used a dotting tool dipped in Milani White On the Spot for the hat's details. I used a small nail art brush and the same polish for his beard. I love how the brush strokes turned out to look like hair! A smaller dotting tool and Cult Nails Nevermore for eyes, Zoya Sooki for his nose. How cute!?

Indoors, artificial light, with flash.

The reindeer is another story. I wanted to use the image from Bundle Monster plate BM-H01, but as with all my attempts to stamp a large expanse of polish, I failed repeatedly. Once I got most of the image transferred, I gave up and used a small nail art brush to fill him in. I used Zoya Louise for his face and ears, and Zoya Cheryl for the antlers. Zoya Robyn and Cult Nails Nevermore rounded out the eyes. This took forever, and once I was done I was so worried I'd ruin him before he dried! Freehand is just not my thing!

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

My right hand was stamped using Konad special polish in White and Bundle Monster plates: BM-H03, BM-SE1, BM-302, and BM-H01.

Everything got a generous coat, or two in some cases, of NYC In a New York Minute.

I am SO happy with how this turned out! It's worn like iron, and nine days later, still looks great!

More soon! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: Milani Jewel FX Gold

Hello!

A polish I've had unswatched since the beginning! This is Milani Jewel FX in Gold.

Milani Jewel FX Gold. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Jewel FX Gold is a simple glitter topper in clear base. It is loaded up with super shiny, gold hex glitters.

Milani Jewel FX Gold over Zoya Savita. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Swatches today are one dabbed coat of Jewel FX Gold and one coat of Gelous plus NYC In a New York Minute over yesterday's Zoya Savita swatch. My bottle has gotten a bit thick and sticky with age, so I had some issues with the glitter wanting to clump up. Even so, I think this glitter might be a bit challenging to apply from a fresh bottle because there is so much of it packed in there!

Milani Jewel FX Gold over Zoya Savita. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I've found that this is a great staple or basic polish to have and have reached for it often to use for nail art. I found this bottle at CVS, where I think it was still in stock last time I noticed. The Jewel FX collection has several colors to choose from as well, so happy shopping!

Milani Jewel FX Gold over Zoya Savita. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: Zoya Savita

Hello!

Another Zoya Matte Velvet to tease you with today! This one is Savita!

Zoya Savita. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Savita is a beautiful, saturated matte purple with pink shimmer.

Swatches today are just two coats of Savita. This polish is a little better than Dovima was in terms of formula and application. It is more opaque and less streaky, so I only needed to use two coats.

Zoya Savita. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I tried Savita glossy as well, and that pink shimmer explodes! It's really pretty with both finishes. I love how the purple is so deep and rich.

Zoya Savita. Indoors, filtered sunlight (window), no flash.

I purchased this bottle directly from Zoya, but it was a limited edition run and sold out! Sorry!

Zoya Savita. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: Sinful Colors: Faceted

Hello!

Today I have a surprise Walgreens find! This is Sinful Colors Faceted!

Sinful Colors Faceted. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Faceted is an incredible mix of iridescent bar glitter and teeny, tiny lavender square glitter in a clear base. This one is crazy-unique! And really pretty.

Sinful Colors Faceted. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Swatches today are one and a half coats of Faceted and one coat of NYC In a New York Minute over yesterday's Zoya Dovima swatch. By one and a half coats, I mean that I swiped on one coat and went back over to dab and wiggle the brush so the bars were randomly aligned. Other than that little extra step, this polish applies easily with no formula issues.

Sinful Colors Faceted over Zoya Dovima. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

My awesome husband spied this one on the shelf and brought it over to me. I was instantly intrigued because it looks amazing in the bottle. Those iridescent bars create a duochrome effect in there, which you can see in the bottle shot (however, it is slightly exaggerated because my camera is red and reflecting in the center-most part). Once I got this home, I was so curious about what it was that I swiped some on a piece of paper. Over a white base the iridescent bars show up as a translucent pink, flashing to blue. Over a dark base they pop from orange through green to blue. The shiny purple squares show up nicely over both the light and dark base. The name is appropriate too -- in direct sunlight, all definition of the glitter shape is lost and it becomes a wild, sparkle fest. I couldn't capture that well on camera, but it was pretty incredible as well.

Sinful Colors Faceted over Zoya Dovima. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

My favorite way to wear this is with a matte topcoat. It glows! Totally amazing.

Sinful Colors Faceted over Zoya Dovima. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Sinful Colors is sold at Walgreens, which is where I bought this bottle. I found it recently -- within the last few months. I highly recommend hunting this one down!

Sinful Colors Faceted over Zoya Dovima. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: Zoya Dovima

Hello!

The Zoya Matte Velvets returned for a short time at the end of November, one of my picks is the lovely, Dovima.

Zoya Dovima. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Dovima is a matte black polish with a hint of shimmer.

Zoya Dovima. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Swatches today are just three coats of Dovima. This polish is surprisingly sheer. It dries quickly, but streaky on the first coat. I needed three coats to even it out. Dovima will show any imperfections on the nail, from ridges to fuzzies!

Zoya Dovima. Indoors, filtered sunlight (window), no flash.

I added topcoat to this and whoa! I think I like it better shiny! It has a fine, gorgeous shimmer that flashes teal and purple. With this finish, Dovima is eye-catching.

Zoya Dovima. Indoors, filtered sunlight (window), no flash.

I purchased this bottle, along with two others, directly from Zoya's website. Unfortunately, if you missed them, they're sold out already. Zoya is really great about interacting with customers and announcing new collections and promos via their social media -- follow them and you'll know beforehand if these ever make a third return!

Zoya Dovima. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon! ^_^

NOTW: Copycat Mani Stained Glass

Hello!

Finally! Back to some nail art!

I was inspired by this mani that Cris from Let Them Have Polish did a week or so ago. When it was time for a new mani this week, I just couldn't get the color combination she used out of my head.

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

After my usual Duri Rejuvacote and Sinful Colors Nail Hardener base, I used Zoya Rose for the base color of my gradient, which took 3 coats to build up to where I was happy with it -- this should've been a sign for me to reconsider my polish choices, but I carried on, adding one coat of Seche Vite to speed up dry time.

Next, I applied Zoya Paloma to the tips. I used a make-up sponge to blend them together rather unsuccessfully. These polishes are both too sheer to make a smooth gradient easily. I ended up with a blocky, not very nice gradient. So, although all I wanted was the gradient with some holo sparkle, I ended up hiding the disjointed gradient under this beautiful stamp from the FUN Plate #3. I stamped it with Konad Special Polish in black. I used a coat of NYC In a New York Minute to protect the stamped image before applying one coat of INM Northern Lights.

The end result is, fortunately, quite nice. My coworkers ooh-ed and ahh-ed over this one, and we decided that the design looks a bit like stained glass.

Next time I attempt this color combo in a gradient, I'm definitely going with Zoya Flynn and Zoya Reagan instead!!

More soon! ^_^