Stash Swatch Initiative: Dance Legend Be Mine

Hello!

Today's polish is Dance Legend Be Mine from the Mist Way collection.

Dance Legend Be Mine. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Be Mine is the softest lilac jelly with translucent gold flakies. This is so delicate and wonderful.

Dance Legend Be Mine. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Swatches today are one coat of Duri Rejuvacote, one coat of Sinful Colors Nail Hardener, three coats of Be Mine topped with one coat of Seche Vite. This polish is rather sheer and will bald if not dry enough. It does need a little patience during application, but otherwise, a beautiful polish.

Dance Legend Be Mine. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I purchased my bottle from Llarowe.

More soon! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: Dance Legend Albion

Hello!

Today's polish is Dance Legend Albion from their Mist Way collection.

Dance Legend Mist Way. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Albion is a sheer grey crelly with small translucent, gold flakies. The flakies are subtle and perfect for this stormy polish.

Dance Legend Mist Way. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Swatches today are three coats of Albion over my base coat (Sinful Colors Base Coat) plus one coat of NYC topcoat. Formula on this is a little finicky. It is sheer and will drag and bald if not dry enough before you start on the next coat. You'll see that's what happened to me on my thumb. Also, take care to use a thin final coat so the flakies will show up well.

Dance Legend Mist Way, matte. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I purchased my bottle from Llarowe.

Dance Legend Mist Way. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon! ^_^

NOTW: Aqua Skittles

Hello!

I have another old mani to show you today. This one is from the beginning of May, and I still absolutely love it!

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I started out with my usual base coat combination of Duri Rejuvacote and Sinful Colors Nail Hardener. Then I put on two easy coats of China Glaze For Audrey. To my middle finger, I added one coat of Color Club Galactic Garden, from the Luminous Lacquer Collection. My ring finger got one coat of Emily de Molly Majestic Flight. Everything was then topped with Seche Vite. Perfection!

More soon! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: Finger Paints Twisted

Hello!

Finger Paints Twisted. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Today's polish is Finger Paints Twisted! A coveted flakie from a collection that wasn't around long enough. By the time I new these existed, they were gone when I went to look for them. Empty displays, boo! I was so excited to find this on a blog sale recently and couldn't snatch it up fast enough.

Finger Paints Twisted. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

This beauty is a multi-colored flakie in a clear base. It looks yellow in the bottle from all the flakies packed in there. I chose to show this over black because the colors pop so well. As you can see, there's a rainbow of flakies here: deep blue, orange, green to yellow, light blue.

Finger Paints Twisted. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Swatches today are one coat of Sinful Colors Base Coat, one coat of Cult Nails Nevermore, one coat of Twisted (on all my fingers except my ring finger, which got two coats), and one coat of NYC In a New York Minute. Formula was good. One coat of this polish swiped on provides a nice flakie density, and two coats, which I have on my ring finger, is awesome!

Twisted is phenomenal over dark polish! Flakies at their best! It looks great in matte too.

Finger Paints Twisted. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Like I first mentioned, I purchased this bottle second-hand from a blog sale. It is no longer available from Sally Beauty, which is terribly unfortunate. I never thought I'd get a bottle of this, so keep an eye out, you might find it for yourself like I did!

Finger Paints Twisted. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: Nfu-Oh 51

Hi!

Nfu-Oh 51. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

So, before they disappeared from the world, I did manage to snag a couple of now-discontinued Nfu-Oh flakies. This one is #51.

Nfu-Oh 51. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

51 is a crazy polish! The vibrant purple jelly base is loaded with duochrome flakies and shimmer. I see predominantly copper/orange flakies that shift to yellow and then green.

Nfu-Oh 51. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Swatches today are over Sinful Colors Base Coat and are as follows: one coat of 51 over Cult Nails Nevermore on my pointer and pinkie fingers, one coat over Cult Nails Vicious on my middle finger, three coats alone on my thumb and ring fingers. Everything was topped with one coat of NYC In a New York Minute. I had no issues with application.

Nfu-Oh 51, matte. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I like this over black the best. The duochrome effect is amazing!

Nfu-Oh 51. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I purchased my bottle from FabulouStreet, which I was skeptical of at first because the website looked a bit dodgy, but I'm happy to report my two bottles were shipped to me freely and quickly! At the time I'm writing this, 51 is still in stock there! Hurry!

More soon! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: Layla Ceramic Effect 53

Hello! Happy Friday!!

Layla CE53. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

This is Layla Ceramic Effect 53.

Layla CE53. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Swatches today are one coat of Seche Clear, two coats of CE53, and one coat of NYC In a New York Minute. No issues with this polish. It is simply gorgeous!

Layla CE53. Outdoors, shade, no flash.

My pictures do not do this one justice. They all look red, but this polish is not red. It has a deep magenta jelly base, and it is packed with flakies that shift through the warm colors (like Nubar 2010, etc). In the bottle, this looks red, so I was happily surprised when its true magenta showed up on my nails!

Layla CE53. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

So gorgeous! More soon! ^_^

Crumpet's Laid-Back 31DC: Duochrome, Flakie, or Holo

Hello!

Outdoors, shade, no flash.

I am unashamedly copy-cating someone else's manicure today. I saw this linked on the Crumpet's Nail Tarts Facebook Group's page, I thought it was so awesome that I had to try it for myself! And as soon as possible! Go see the original on Caitlin's blog, it's great! I'll wait.....

Outdoors, sunlight, no flash.

Okay! So, I didn't have the same polishes, so I went with what I did have. As a result, my version ended up a darker, less Rainbow Fish, and more Dragon! I started with a base of Seche Clear, two coats of the gorgeous OPI Every Month Is Oktoberfest!, and Seche Vite. On top of that I layered one coat each of Nubar 2010, Zoya Maisie, and Zoya Chloe. After more Seche Vite and some time, I used AEngland St. George to stamp the closest image I had to scales, the fishnet design from Bundle Monster plate BM-209. The stamping was very subtle over this dark and brooding mani, maybe too subtle, so you may have to look closely--it's there! I may revisit this someday with different base polishes so the stamping will show up better.

Outdoors, sunlight, no flash.

While not bright and awesome as my inspiration, I was enthralled with this version too. What a great idea! Thanks for inspiration, Caitlin!!

Check out the other challenge participants below! More soon!! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: Zoya Gilty

Hello again!

Zoya Gilty. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I snagged Zoya Gilty during one of Zoya's promotional sales. This is a limited edition gold flake topcoat.

I used one coat of Zoya Gilty over a base of China Glaze For Audrey (sick of seeing that one yet? I can't seem to wear it enough lately.), plus a coat of Seche Vite. No issues with application, and I was pleased with the coverage for one coat. Not too busy, but not too sparse either.

Zoya Gilty. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Gilty is still available, if you're interested. Check it out, here!

Zoya Gilty. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: Essie As Gold As It Gets

Hello again!

A quick one today. This is Essie As Gold As It Gets from their Luxeffects Collection.

Essie As Gold As It Gets. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

This is one coat of As Gold As It Gets over last week's swatch of Suzi Says Feng Shui plus a coat of Seche Vite. This has a ton of gold shimmer and some tiny gold flakies in a clear base. One coat was plenty of shimmer for me over the blue, but I bet layering this up over a gold base might be fun, too. Formula was fine--nothing to report there.

Essie As Gold As It Gets over OPI Suzi Says Feng Shui. Indoors, artificial light, with flash.

Overall, this is a fun addition to my collection. It's got some versatility to it, and I think it's going to be great for the holiday season.

Essie As Gold As It Gets over OPI Suzi Says Feng Shui. Outdoors, natural light, no flash. I put this on here so you can good idea of what the shimmer looks like up close.

I found mine at CVS recently but have also spied the displays at Walgreens and Target. It should be easy to get your hands on!

Essie As Gold As It Gets over OPI Suzi Says Feng Shui. Indoors, artificial light, with flash.

More soon!! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: Essence Gorgeous Bling Bling

Hello again!!

Today I have my very first Essence polish to show you! I finally lucked out and found a display at Ulta that wasn't completely empty! It was only half empty! --_^ So, I snagged three interesting looking ones. This one is Gorgeous Bling Bling.

Essence Gorgeous Bling Bling. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Swatches today are a basecoat of Sinful Colors Nail Hardener, three coats of Gorgeous Bling Bling, and one coat of Seche Vite. I only needed two coats for opacity but waited a few days to snap some pictures, so, because of some minor tipwear, I touched up with an additional coat of color plus topcoat.

Essence Gorgeous Bling Bling. Outdoors, sunlight at sunset, no flash.

Formula was fine, but the brushes on these are big and paddle-like (similar to the Sally Hansen Gem Crush series), which are not my favorite. That aside, this is a gorgeous burnt orange creme with small gold flakies. I love the flakies in this--they're transluscent gold, I think! The base color is unusual. It's almost tomato-colored, but more orange. Reminiscent of Spaghettios sauce color for me--hehe.

Essence Gorgeous Bling Bling. Outdoors, sunlight at sunset, no flash.

In the US, I only know to find these at Ulta. I'm loving the little bottles and the price tag. They seem to have some winning colors as well. I've been on the hunt for Blue Addicted (I hear this is a Deborah Lippmann Across the Universe dupe, and Deborah Lippmann polishes are outside of my current polish budget!) since I saw it swatched somewhere ages ago. Wish me luck!

Essence Gorgeous Bling Bling. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon!! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: Zoya Chloe

Hello again!!

Zoya Chloe over Zoya Shelby. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Here is Zoya Chloe from the Fleck Effect Collection.

Zoya Chloe over Zoya Shelby. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

This is a flakie topcoat!! Chloe has mostly yellow to orange flakies but I see some green ones in there as well. The base is a sheer pink and hardly noticeable on the nail. My favorite way to wear this so far has been over pinks. I've layered one coat of it over yesterday's Shelby swatch. The formula is great, however, it does take awhile to dry.

Zoya Chloe over Zoya Shelby. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Not that this polish is meant to be used this way, but I wanted to show you it on it's own so you could get an idea of how sheer the base really it is. Like it's sister, Maisie, I think the colored base is just there so it looks pretty in the bottle. This is one coat of Chloe on my pinky finger, two on my ring finger, three on my middle finger, and four on my index finger.

Zoya Chloe. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

This is a fun addition to any stash with lots of possibilities for layerings. If you are lusting over this pretty, don't hesitate to grab it. Zoya has said (via a Facebook) that the Fleck Effect Collection isn't a part of their regular line-up and won't likely be reproduced once they're gone. Chloe's blue sister, Maisie, is already gone!

Zoya Chloe. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

As I've said before: I bought my bottle from Zoya's website. They offer a lot of great deals, especially if you're plugged into their social networking, so like them on Facebook! They also offer deals to their existing customers (those who have an account set up at their website) on occasion. If you don't have an account and want one, you're welcome to use this link to make a new account. It's my "Share the Love" link, which if you do sign up by using it, I'll get points to use towards more deals on polish and, as a first time customer, you'll get a free bottle of polish when you order! Awesome! My link takes you to the seasonal collections page; you can create a new account by using the link at the top of that page that says "Create An Account". Once your account is set up, if you go to "My Account" then click "My Coupon Codes" you'll see the code for a free bottle of polish. I believe you have to order more items to use it, so it's not a total freebie.

More soon!! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: Zoya Maisie

Hello again!!

Today we've got Zoya Maisie from the Fleck Effect Collection!

Zoya Maisie. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

This collection is a limited run. And, unfortunately, Maisie is gone. Her sisters, Chloe and Opal, are still available, however (or at least they were when I wrote this post!). I've got Chloe coming up next week, but didn't pick up Opal because it looked so similar to Maisie. I may have to grab more of these if I can once my 'low-buy' is over (let's face it, I can't do a no-buy!!).

Maisie is packed with blue and green flakies in a very sheer blue base. The blue base is hardly noticeable on bare nails, but it makes the polish look extra pretty in the bottle! First, I have this over yesterday's Ibiza swatch, which is my favorite way to wear Maisie so far. They're perfect for one another. This is one coat of Maisie over Ibiza plus topcoat:



Zoya Maisie over Zoya Ibiza. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

While this polish is definitely meant to be worn as a topcoat over something else, I did want to show it over bare nails, so you can get an idea of the sheerness of the base. Here is Maisie over my bare nails. Pinkie has one coat, ring has two, middle has three, and index finger has four coats.

Zoya Maisie. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

As I've said before: I bought my bottle from Zoya's website. They offer a lot of great deals, especially if you're plugged into their social networking, so like them on Facebook! They also offer deals to their existing customers (those who have an account set up at their website) on occasion. If you don't have an account and want one, you're welcome to use this link to make a new account. It's my "Share the Love" link, which if you do sign up by using it, I'll get points to use towards more deals on polish and, as a first time customer, you'll get a free bottle of polish when you order! Awesome! My link takes you to the seasonal collections page; you can create a new account by using the link at the top of that page that says "Create An Account". Once your account is set up, if you go to "My Account" then click "My Coupon Codes" you'll see the code for a free bottle of polish. I believe you have to order more items to use it, so it's not a total freebie.

 

Here's a comparison--one coat of Maisie over Ibiza (left) and three coats of Maisie alone (right):

 

I'm away on vacation, but my blog is not! I might not be able to respond to comments or emails right away, but posts will continue! So... More soon!!! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: Barielle Elle's Spell

Hello again!

Barielle Elle's Spell. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Today I have Barielle Elle's Spell for you! This is the polish that made me try this brand. I was enticed by the flakies. ^_^

Elle's Spell is a red jelly with red and orange flakies. I see some of the flakies shift to a yellowish gold at times as well, but it's not as abundant as the red and orange. This is a lovely polish. I had no issues with the formula. It's great for layering or wearing alone.

First, I layered one coat of Elle's Spell over yesterday's Wet n Wild Eggplant Frost swatch.



Barielle Elle's Spell over Wet n Wild Eggplant Frost. Indoors, artificial light, with flash.



Here it is on it's own. This is a base coat of Sally Hansen Nail Protix, three coats of Elle's Spell, and I skipped the topcoat on this one because it was pretty and shiny all by itself.

Barielle Elle's Spell. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I'm not sure where Barielles can be found in the real world. I ordered mine from the interwebs at Barielle's website. I recommend liking Barielle's Facebook page. They do flash sales for their fans on occassion, which is why I ordered when I did (they offered a code to their Facebook fans that gave me 40% off everything--including shipping!). My only gripe is the packaging. My three bottles came in a large, slightly padded envelope-type mailer but were not individually wrapped up, so they could bounce around in there and bump into one another. Thankfully, my order arrived unbroken, but I can see the potential for breakage in transit.

Barielle Elle's Spell. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon!! ^_^



Barielle Elle's Spell over Wet n Wild Eggplant Frost, Indoors, artificial light, no flash.