*Barielle products provided for honest and unbiased review*
Good morning, afternoon, evening or whatever time it may be in your neck of the woods! We're well into autumn weather here in Chicago and the shorter days and brisk temperatures have me setting aside my bright polishes for deeper and more muted tones. Today's post is all about two such polishes. Barielle is a brand I've loved for awhile now. As if dependable quality and great selection were not enough, Barielle's low prices and great sales endeared me to the brand long before they approached me to review for them. Both of the polishes I have to show you today are from their Fall 2014 Jetsetter collection and they're definitely right on trend for the season!
Gondola Ride is a sage creme with a touch of grey. This is definitely more of an earthy, fall color than a spring green and I can see it being a great neutral for a semi-progressive work environment. I'm fortunate to have a job that doesn't dictate my nail color, but I'd feel comfortable wearing Gondola Ride just about anywhere.
Gondola Ride is opaque in 2-3 coats and I'm showing 3 coats here with one coat of Barielle's No Chip Speed Dry top coat (review to follow in a few days). Easy application with no dragging. It was a touch streaky for the first coat, but evened out nicely with the second and third coats.
If you're looking for a great way to transition green polish into the fall season, Gondola Ride is a perfect way to start!
Midnight in Paris is pretty much just as beautiful as its name. A deep blurple metallic with a subtl shimmer, Midnight in Paris adds a touch of dramatic sophistication to your mani. I had a hard time photographing this one, and it actually has quite a bit more purple in than is shown. It will also vary depending on the light.
Midnight in Paris is opaque in 1-2 coats and I'm wearing 2 coats here with one coat of the No Chip Speed Dry on top. This is almost a one coater, but the formula is not overly thick. I have no application issues to report.
If you're a blurple fanatic or just looking for a dramatic fall color, Midnight in Paris is a great addition to your collection!
Both Gondola Ride and Midnight in Paris are currently available on Barielle's website for $8 for a full size 13.3 ml bottle. To keep up with special offers and new releases, you can sign up for Barielle's emails on their website or follow them on Facebook.
Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed the post!
*Paint Shop Polish products provided for honest and unbiased review*
Hello, everyone! I hope you're all having a great weekend so far! Any baseball fans out there? There's a heck of a World Series going on and, though I'm much more of a football fan, I'm pretty excited that the Royals are in it. I'm from Kansas and this is the first time they've made it to the WS in 29 years! That's something to be excited about, right? Anyway, on to the polish!!
Paint Shop Polish is an indie brand based out of Pittsburgh who's been making polish for about a year and a half. I was lucky enough to swatch for Candi in the past (here's a link to that post) so when she asked me to swatch a few polishes from her Fall 2014 LE collection, I was thrilled to accept. I've got 4 polishes from that collection to show you today, so let's get to it!
Cherry Berry is first up. A raspberry colored jelly with a satin, semi-matte finish, Cherry Berry is a great fall color! And since it's a jelly, the squishy factor is high and would be fun to play with in a jelly sandwich.
This is a fairly sheer polish and I'm showing 5 (!) coats to get the opacity you see in these photos. Of course, it could be easily layered over another polish if you don't want to deal with that many coats. The formula was smooth and easy to apply, no real issues to report.
As I said before, Cherry Berry has a semi-matte finish, as do all of the polishes I'll be showing you today. You can choose to keep that finish or add a matte top coat to bump up the effect or even a regular top coat to make everything all shiny. Be careful if you choose to leave the natural finish of the polish, as they do take a while to dry without top coat.
Next up is Bad Romance. This is a hard color to describe and it's showing up much more neutral in these photos than it actually is...my camera fails yet again :( A heather grey base with pink to lavender shimmer, Bad Romance is just plain pretty. It's one of my favorite colors of the 4 and I don't think I have anything else quite like it.
Bad Romance is opaque in 2-3 coats and I'm showing 3 with no top coat here. Another nice formula with no streaking or dragging issues. I wish I would have used a matte top coat on this because I think it would have looked spectacular, but I'll have to save that for another time.
Bad Romance is a great, soft polish that would transition well from work to whatever you have planned after. The color is unique but not in-your-face...I think you'll catch yourself staring at your nails a lot with this one ;)
No Plain Jane is an orchid metallic with a bit of blue shimmer. You know I love a purple polish, so this one is a bit of a no-brainer for me.
Opaque in 3-4 coats (I'm showing 4 here), No Plain Jane has a smooth application and I experienced no issues at all with the formula. Of the 4, NPJ has the least satin finish I thought so I'd definitely recommend a matte top coat if you want to emphasize that.
A pretty color and a good formula, what more could you ask for?
Last but not least (especially since it's my favorite of this post) is Blue Steel. The name of this polish makes me giggle because all I can think about is Zoolander...I'm not sure if that's what Candi intended when she named it, but there it is nonetheless. Blue Steel is a gunmetal grey with shimmery bits throughout...love, love, love this color! Especially for fall!
This is the most opaque polish of the bunch, almost a one coater though I'm showing 2 coats in these photos. The formula was near perfect with no streaking or dragging and a beautiful finish. If you're tempted to pick up only one of these polishes, Blue Steel is a must-have!
All of these polishes are currently available on the Paint Shop Polish Etsy site for $5.50 for a 5ml mini bottle and $10 for a full size 15ml bottle. This is a Limited Edition collection so don't wait to grab any you may like, they won't be around forever! Be sure to follow Paint Shop Polish on Facebook to keep updated on new releases and other important info!
Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed this post!
Hello again! I've got a full Sunday Similarities post for you guys today so let's get a-movin'! Mint remains a popular color choice no matter what the season and since I have about a billion of them in my stash, I decided to swatch a few and compare them for you.
These mints are in the teal family and are all cremes. I'm comparing 4 polishes in this post: from left to right in the photo above are Sinful Colors Teal the End, NYC Tudor City Teal, Sally Hansen Triple Shine Dive In, and Sinful Colors Open Seas.
As you can see, Open Seas and Tudor City Teal have a bit more green and grey to them than Dive In and Teal the End, which are pretty much dupes. Of the 4, Tudor City Teal has the sheerest formula, requiring 4 coats to get the opacity shown here. Each of the others are shown in 2 coats here with no top coat on any of them.
Do you need each of these polishes in your life? Probably not, unless you're a nut like me ;) Obviously, Teal the End and Dive In may be redundant, but Open Seas and Tudor City Teal differ by a shade or two. I don't think Open Seas is still available in stores, being from a couple of seasons ago but I just picked up Teal the End for $1.99 at Walgreen's last week. Tudor City Teal is available anywhere NYC is sold for $0.99 a bottle on average and Dive In tops the price list at around $4.99 wherever you find Sally Hansen products.
I hope you enjoyed this post and thanks so much for reading!
*Nothing to disclose*
Hi everyone! I've got the second set of polishes from No Blank Paper that I promised you all on Sunday, including my favorite of the bunch! If you missed the first set, you check them out here. I'm so excited about this bunch I say we just get right to the photos, how 'bout it?
Starting things off is Between Rage and Serenity, a blackened purple creme with fine blue and pink glitter and pink and lavender hexes. Mysterious and dark, this polish is saved from murkiness by the glitter picking up the light and creating a lovely sparkle.
I'm showing 2 coats of Between Rage and Serenity and I did use one coat of Seche Vite with this as the polish has a slightly matte finish on its own. It was slightly streaky on the first coat, but did even out nicely on the second. Other than that, the formula was smooth and easy to work with.
Between Rage and Serenity will make a great Fall polish, or a sultry one for a night out. A beautiful color with just the right amount of sparkle!
Spoilers, Sweetie is a dark teal shimmer with silver and blue hexes and a smattering of pink squares. I love the color here! The shimmer adds a lovely depth to this polish as well.
Another great formula, very smooth and easy to apply. I'm showing just two coats here, with one coat of Seche Vite. Spoilers, Sweetie does dry with a semi-matte finish so if you like a shine, you'll want a top coat. I also think the shiny finish helps show off the shimmer in the polish.
I can't think of any real criticisms for this polish. Beautiful color plus great formula equals an easy, gorgeous manicure!
And now we come to my favorite polish of the six, I Stole a Time Lord. This midnight blue beauty is packed with all kinds of blue glitters and holographic sparkle. It's like wearing a galaxy on your fingertips!
I'm showing 2 flawless coats here with one coat of Seche Vite. Again, I think the top coat is called for here to bring out the depth of sparkle in this polish. The formula was perfect, no dragging or streaking and I can't get over the color! If you're a fan of blues and sparkle, you really want to grab this one!
Currently, all of Erin's polishes are offered in 5ml mini bottles that retail for $3 each. Pretty much a steal if you ask me! You can skip on over to her Etsy store to nab these and other lovelies. To sweeten an already pretty sweet deal, Erin has generously offered a 15% discount to my readers with code: TOPCOAT15. You might want to hurry though, the discount expires in a couple of weeks!
I hope you enjoyed this post and thanks so much for reading!
*Nothing to disclose*
Hello, hello! Do I have some gorgeousity to show you today! Mod Lacquer LLC is a new-to-me brand and when I saw her latest collection, I knew I had to snag a few! Above Top Secret is an all holo, UFO-themed, 7 polish collection. I would have loved to buy the whole set, but since my budget isn't unlimited I picked my two favorites and I have those to show you today.
Majic Eyes Only is a silvery, lavender linear holographic polish. As far as I can tell from the two I purchased, Mod Lacquer does not skimp on the holo...rainbows everywhere! This color is so beautiful! It's actually a lighter purple than I thought it would be from the listing photos, but I don't care at all.
Seriously, look at that holo halo! This polish will wow you in the sunshine, but the effect is also strong enough to be seen in regular indoor lighting. The formula was easy and smooth, opaque in 2-3 coats. I didn't not top coat this so all the shine is just Majic Eyes Only. After I took these photos, I top coated Majic Eyes Only and wore it for 3 days and noticed only a small amount of tip wear, no chips. Definitely passes for durability! And the top coat did not dull the holographic effect at all.
If you're looking for a purple holographic polish that will knock your socks off, I'd highly recommend Majic Eyes Only. And if you're saying to yourself, "Well, I already have 4 purple holos..." then you're probably in the wrong place ;)
Next up is Men In Black. This gunmetal linear holographic polish is a stunner! I had a hard time describing the base color of this polish. I was expecting black, the listing says charcoal, and my boyfriend thought it was gold lol Whatever you chose to call her, she's mysterious and dark...just like her classified namesake.
Another beautiful formula here, again opaque in 2-3 coats and shown without top coat. And again, the holo effect was easily noticeable in regular indoor lighting, though you'll get the strongest effect in sunlight. I did top coat Men In Black after I took photos and noticed no dulling of the holo.
Overall, I have no complaints to report about either of these polishes and I'm hoping to grab a couple other polishes from this collection in the very near future!
Majic Eyes Only, Men In Black, and the rest of the Above Top Secret collection are currently available on the Mod Lacquer Etsy store for $11 for a full-size, 15ml bottle. Please follow her Facebook page as well, to keep up with new releases, sales and other important info!
Thanks so much for reading!
*Nothing to disclose*
Happy Friday everyone! I'm enjoying an unexpected day off. Since I have some free time, I figured it was a great idea to post the second half of swatches from my Sinful Colors Destination Color haul! I've got 3 more polishes to show you today and if you missed the first half of the post, you can find it here. Let's get started shall we?
I'm going to start with my least favorite of the new colors I nabbed. Green With Ivy is one of the 9 Walgreens exclusive polishes from this set of collections. I love the name but really dislike pretty much everything else about this polish. Don't get me wrong, look at the color in the bottle. Isn't it pretty? If that was the color that showed up on the nail, I'd be thrilled. Unfortunately, this polish is so sheer, I'm not sure what you can do with it.
Green With Ivy is a teal jelly with holographic hexes and bars. In these photos, I'm wearing SIX coats! With the exception of my middle nail, where I started with an undies base of Sinful Colors Snow Me White. That nail has 4 coats of Green With Ivy over the base. Even as a layering polish, I'm not sure how you'd use it. One coat over the white base was barely visible, and it was completely invisible (except for the glitter) on my bare nail. I'm very disappointed in this polish because I can't find a practical purpose for it. The formula was fine, it didn't drag or get gloppy but it's just so sheer!
I'll be interested to see if any other blogger/nail fanatics come up with a great way to use this polish. As for me, this one may be going straight to my blog sale :( The good news is that Sinful Colors is so reasonably priced at $1.99 a bottle, it's hard to get too upset about it.
On to happier reviews! Yellow Out There is the third Walgreens-exclusive jelly polish. The bright, lemony yellow jelly base is sprinkled with holographic hexes and bars. My only real complaint about this polish is that I wish they had been a little more liberal with the glitter. It's a tad sparse and somewhat difficult to get a good application of it over the whole nail.
Overall though, I like this polish. The color is perfect for summer and, though it's a bit sheer (4 coats shown here with a bit of visible nail line still showing), it would build up nicely in 2 coats over undies. The finish on this polish is shiny and I'm showing it without top coat to give you an idea of what it looks like alone. I had no issues with the formula, just a nice, smooth application.
A pretty color, a nice formula, and a little sparkle...what more could you want? ;)
Curry Up is one of my favorite polishes from this haul. A bright, limey green creme with flecks of rusty red and a bright turquoise shimmer, Curry Up is another unique color combination. Another hit with the name as well, I'm always a fan of a good, punny name!
I almost didn't notice the red flecks in the bottle, so I'm pleased they showed up rather well on the nail. I hesitate to call them glitters as I think they might be actual glass flecks since they don't seem to have a regular shape. Either way, they're neat-o! I'm showing 3 coats here with no top coat. You will most likely be able to get by with 2 coats here, although I still had a bit of streakiness after the second coat...so I went with 3! Other than that, no application issues to report.
I'm going to have purchase a few more of the polishes from this set! Overall, I'm really happy with the ones I bought and I know there are 3 Walgreens-exclusive textured polishes in the display, as well as 3 "opalescent" toppers exclusive to the store. Additionally, on the top of the display, there are 4 (I believe) different sets of nail "tattoos" which seem to be just water decals. They had some cute designs so I may have to grab a couple of those, too! It seems as there's a bit of everything for everybody!
I hope you enjoyed my post and thank you so much for reading!
*Shirley Ann Nail Lacquer products provided for honest and unbiased review. All other products mentioned were purchased by me.*
Hello there! I've got a fun collection to show you today from Shirley Ann Nail Lacquer. One of the many things I love about indies are their fandom polishes. If you've fallen in love with a T.V. show or a comic book series, chances are at least one indie has a polish line to go with it. Today's collection was inspired by the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. If you're as old as me, you might remember watching the cartoon in the late 80's and early 90's. I loved the Turtles and even went to the theater to see the live action movie in 1990. So I was thrilled when Cherish asked me to swatch this collection. Her TMNT collection consists of 5 glitter toppers and one shimmer. Four of the glitter toppers are named after the Turtles themselves and are made up of their signature face mask colors. I knew I had to do a little extra outside of your run-of-the-mill swatches for these guys, so take a look see and let me know what you think ;)
Up first, we have Raphael. Raphael is a clear base with red hexes in several sizes, red microglitter, and a sprinkling of holographic glitter. I'm showing it here (and all the other polishes in this collection except April O'Neil) over a gradient created with O.P.I.'s My Vampire is Buff and Wet 'n' Wild's Get Lucky. My accent nail was created with Essie's Mojito Madness, black striping polish, and Wet 'n' Wild's Red Red. Innit he cute?? :)
As always, Cherish's formula was great. The base is a perfect consistency and I had no trouble getting the glitters out of the bottle. This is two coats of Raphael with a top coat of Seche Vite.
This collection is actually quite versatile, besides being named after a Ninja Turtle, there is nothing to stop you from using this as a Christmas polish or as a great red accent.
Leonardo is a blue glitter topper in a clear base. The glitter mix in this one consists of bright blue squares, blue holographic hexes and baby blue microglitter.
Leonardo was also a dream to apply, not gloppy or weird in any way. Again, two coats of Leonardo with one coat of Seche for a topper. None of the glitter toppers in the collection are exceptionally rough, but I do suggest a good top coat to smooth out any uncooperative bits. Also, in my photo it looks like the squares might be curling, but I assure you that I had no issue with glitter curling at all and it's just some strange camera thing.
Another winner in my book!
Next up is Michelangelo. Another single color glitter topper, Michelangelo has matte and metallic orange hexes in a couple of sizes. This actually turned out to be a favorite of mine. I've noticed that with the long, drawn out winter we're having that I'm gravitating much more towards warm oranges and yellows in the hopes that spring and summer will finally arrive.
I'm afraid we're going to get a little broken-record-y when it comes to formulas on these polishes. Cherish just has a great base for her glitter toppers and Michelangelo follows suit. Again, two coats with one coat of SV.
If you like oranges (which I know not everyone does), Michelangelo is definitely worth adding to your collection!
The last Turtle-named polish is Donatello. It's no surprise that this is another favorite for me with my affinity for purple. Here we have bright purple squares and large lavender and fuchsia hexes suspended in a clear base...what's not to love?
Another great formula and another 2 coats shown with one coat of SV. I guess I should copy and paste these descriptions at this point lol
If you're a purple lover, Donatello is a great topper for you! Radiant orchid is this year's Pantone Color of the Year after all ;)
April O'Neil was the Turtles' friend and sidekick on the show and that's certainly how she comes across here. A cheery golden-toned yellow shimmer (the color of the character's signature jumpsuit), April O'Neil compliments the collection nicely.
This was another good formula, especially for a shimmer as they can be streaky. I didn't have any trouble with streaks, dragging, or anything else here. I'm showing 3 thin coats with a coat of SV to top it.
I created April's face for my accent nail out of O.P.I.'s My Vampire is Buff, Sally Hansen's Copperhead, Wet 'n' Wild's Get Lucky and Temptation, black striping polish. She was actually a lot easier to paint than those turtle faces, believe it or not...I had to redo those guys like three times before I was happy! lol
The final polish of the collection is fittingly called Turtle Power. TP is the fifth glitter topper of the collection and consists of different sized hexes in green, yellow, and copper. This was my favorite in the bottle and I love how it translate to the nail. However, I can't say that I love my TMNT logo so much here lol I tried my best, but fonts just aren't my thing!
Again, no formula issues, though I did find the glitter a little sparser in this combination. I am still wearing 2 coats, but I had to fish a bit for the larger hexes. Not a big deal, but you may want to turn your bottle upside for a few minutes before application.
*Shirley Ann Nail Lacquer products provided for honest and unbiased review. All other products mentioned were purchased by me.*
Overall, I really love this collection! Cherish's glitter toppers are always a treat to apply and she's got such fun combinations. If you're interested in purchasing any of these fantastic polishes, you can find them over at Shirley Ann Nail Lacquer's Etsy store. I'd also recommend following her on Facebook to keep updated on new releases, sales, and giveaways.
Thanks so much for reading!
