A girl and her love of nail polish

Archive for the ‘Swatches’ Category

30 Day Challenge Day 3: Yellow- Sinful Colors Let’s Meet

So I had no yellow polish except one that is sort of a green-yellow, so I went out and grabbed one. Yellow’s not my color — on anything — but them’s the rules of the challenge. It is after all, Day 3 of the 30 Day Challenge, and means we’re all committed to yellow today. I’m simultaneously doing 30 Days of Untrieds too, so both are covered.

Sinful Colors Let's Meet yellow nail polish

Sinful Colors Let's Meet yellow nail polish

I picked up Sinful Colors Let’s Meet (untried), which I would describe as a Tweety bird yellow with shimmer. I’ve been looking at some of the other bloggers’ efforts for today’s challenge, and like many of them, my first attempt at this challenge did not turn out as I had hoped so I scrapped it.

But I’m actually quite pleased with my second try, and it’s making me come around to the benefits of bright yellow polish. I’m a little sad that summer is unofficially over because I think this is a perfect summer combo.

Sinful Colors Let's Meet yellow nail polish

This is three coats of Sinful Colors Let’s Meet, and then I applied the rhinestones sandwiched between two layers of topcoat. The idea for the two-stone design came from a post I had seen earlier in the month from Chalkboard Nails, where she featured a work-appropriate manicure she had done for a friend.

Sinful Colors Let's Meet yellow nail polish

That idea stuck with me, and it was something I’ve been wanting to recreate. The ring finger originally was going to be a straight line too, but as I was laying them out on a piece of paper during mani prep they got knocked around a bit and it me the idea for this pattern … a happy accident.

Have you found a yellow polish that works for you?

30-Day Challenge, 30 Days of Untrieds

Please visit some of the other bloggers that are participating in the 30 Day Challenge this month. I know we will need a lot of encouragement to get through! Click here to see them:



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30-Day Challenge, NOTD, Swatches

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30 Day Challenge Day 2: Orange – Zoya Jancyn with Cos Bar Copper

Orange (tangerine?) was definitely the “it” color of the spring. I didn’t even own one before I bought Riveting from the China Glaze Capitol Colors collection back in March; now thanks to some I bought and a cool giveaway win, I have six or seven.

For Day 2 of the 30 Day Challenge, we’re moving onto orange. I’m simultaneously doing 30 Days of Untrieds, so both challenges are covered here.

This is three coats of Zoya Jancyn, with Cos Bar Copper (untried) from the special Shops At Target collection on the tips. I finished it off with some orange/red striping tape and a generous coat of Poshe fast dry top coat.

Zoya Jancyn with Cos Bar Copper

Zoya Jancyn is an almost-neon tangerine. It runs a little toward the thin side, so this took all three coats and really could have used one more but I didn’t have the patience.

Cos Bar Copper is more of a shimmery orange than a copper, though that’s what was called on the Target Web site when the line launched. It’s not too frosty, so I like it quite a bit. Can’t speak much to the formula since I only used it on the tips, but what you see is only one coat, so that’s promising.

Zoya Jancyn with Cos Bar Copper

For the Cos Bar Copper tips, I used Scotch tape as a stencil to get a clean edge. Your base polish has to be really hard and dry for this technique, and even then I recommend putting the tape on your skin a few times before you apply it to your nails just to reduce the stickiness a bit. I read that tip on a blog somewhere but cannot remember where.

I then added the stripping tape. Calling this vintage is not an exaggeration. I’ve had it in my little nail art box since I was in junior high or maybe early high school, so around 20 years. Perhaps not surprisingly, it’s not staying down all that well on the edges despite the top coat. Alas.

Did you go orange-crazy this year? Still loving orange polish or are you so over it?

Please visit some of the other bloggers that are participating in the 30 Day this month. I know we will need a lot of encouragement to get through!

30-Day Challenge, 30 Days of Untrieds

Click here to see all of the other bloggers that are participating in the 30 Day Challenge:


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30-Day Challenge, NOTD, Swatches

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30 Day Challenge Day 1: Red – Savina Ruby and Hearts

Here we go! Today I’m embarking on my first-ever blog challenge, and actually not just one but two. I’m going for both the 30 Day Challenge and 30 Days of Untrieds, inspired by Rachel from Polished Criminails, who is doing the same.

Savina Ruby, Savina Hearts

Day 1’s theme is Red. Not only does this manicure include untried colors for me but also an untried brand, Savina, which is available at Nordstrom Rack. This mani includes:

  • Savina Ruby (untried)
  • Savina Hearts (untried)
  • NYC French White Tip (untried)

Savina Ruby, Savina Hearts, NYC French White Tip

Savina Ruby, Savina Hearts
For my nails I used two coats of Savina Ruby, followed by one coat of Poshe fast dry top coat. On the accent nails, I used three coats of NYC French White Tip, one coat of Savina Hearts and one coat of Poshe.

I didn’t think of myself as a fan of red nail polish, but I actually liked this one quite a bit once it was on. It’s more of a jelly polish with a red shimmer. It went on very smoothly and seemed to dry pretty quickly, though the finish was a little bit bumpy. Definitely needed the Poshe.

Savina Ruby, Hearts

White polish can often be tricky, and NYC French White Tip was no exception. First coat was extremely streaky, second mostly covered, third did the trick. I was a little disappointed with Savina Hearts. Since the bottle is jam-packed with heart-shaped glitter, I hoped it would go on with decent coverage. But that wasn’t the case for me. I had to fish out and place the glitter.

I tried dabbing; that didn’t work so well because I was just getting lots of the base with none of the hearts. In the end I grabbed a toothpick and used that to place them on the nail. It turned out a little messy.

Savina Hearts

Next time I will try to apply a coat of Savina Hearts that has no glitter at all, just so I can build up a good base of the iridescent shimmer first, and then fish out and place the hearts.

What do you think? Any tips and tricks for applying polishes with large glitter?

Please visit some of the other bloggers that are participating in the 30 Day this month. I know we will need a lot of encouragement to get through!

30-Day Challenge, 30 Days of Untrieds

Click here to see all of the other bloggers that are participating in the 30 Day Challenge:


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30-Day Challenge, NOTD, Swatches

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Sally Hansen Magnetic Nail Color Silver Elements

Today I’m showing you Sally Hansen Magnetic Nail Color in Silver Elements, my first foray into the world of magnetic nail polish.

I actually don’t own this one but was able to borrow it (sorry, no bottle shot!). We were at a family gathering in Rhode Island when all of the pre-teen/barely-teen cousins started an impromptu polish party on the front porch. I of course had to check it out to see what they were doing, and what they were doing was putting on this polish, which one of their moms had purchased for them.

This was the tail end of our gathering, and all of the menfolk were champing at the bit to go home, so this was a very quick application for me. Really I just wanted to see how it worked, and I have to say that I was more than pleasantly surprised.

The polish went on very easily and looked great on its own (like a silver foil). But then the magnet creates darker black holographic-ish waves, eye-catching but not too flashy.

Sally Hansen Magnetic Nail Color Silver Elements Magnetic Nail Polish

The magnet, which comes as a separate cap over the top of the bottle, has a small guide to help you line it up at the cuticle end and not hit the top of your nail. I found it very easy to use. My trick was to turn my finger so that I was basically pointing at myself; that let me see where to place the guide and how far it was from the top of my nail so that I could make sure it was level.

I followed the instructions on the bottle: put one coat on all of your nails, apply a thick second coat to one nail and then hold the magnet over it for 10 seconds. Move onto the next nail and repeat.

Sally Hansen Magnetic Nail Color Silver Elements magnetic nail polish

I happened to have a small stash of polish, including my Poshe topcoat, so this is two coats of Silver Elements plus one coat of Poshe. I got a little over-confident in Poshe’s drying ability — maybe not taking into account that it was a thick second coat — so I ended up dinging my index finger in the bathroom, which is why it’s not included in these photos. *sigh*

But all in all I really liked this polish. It’s an easy way of applying “nail art” without requiring too much time, energy or skill.

Sally Hansen Magnetic Nail Color Silver Elements magnetic nail polish

I recently used my Ulta Rewards to procure a bottle of Layla Magneffect, so we’ll see how that one goes. Right off the bat, the magnet on it looks like it will be harder to use than the Sally Hansen one, but who knows. Will show you what I end up with!

What magnetic polishes have you tried? Any favorites?

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Swatches

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Aphrodite Lacquers RumRunner

In honor of today’s launch of the Aphrodite Lacquers Friday Night Glitter Bombs collection, here’s a look at one of Rebecca’s older polishes, RumRunner.

Aphrodite Lacquers RumRunner

Aphrodite Lacquers RumRunner

Aphrodite Lacquers RumRunner was actually the second-ever addition to my ever-growing collection of indie nail polishes, but for some reason I hadn’t swatched it yet.

RumRunner is part of Aphrodite’s The SandBar Collection, which celebrates summer-y cocktails. Genius!

Aphrodite Lacquers RumRunner

The polish is a berry-colored jelly with dark pink and silver glitter.

Aphrodite Lacquers RumRunner

RumRunner was a dream polish for me. It went on smooth with great application; the formula was perfect for me and it was easily removed, no staining. Plus not too many stray glitters left stranded on my skin, which is often a problem with glitter polish after removal.

This is a base coat of Gelous, two coats of RumRunner, another coat of Gelous and a coat of Poshe.

Aphrodite Lacquers RumRunner

RumRunner is currently available via the Aphrodite Lacquers shop on Etsy, along with the new Friday Night Glitter Bombs. And check out my weekly Restock Radar blog post for more indie polish launches coming this week.

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Indies, Swatches

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KBShimmer Band Geek

I recently went away on vacation, and when I came back, I had two awesome pieces of nail mail waiting for me (best way to end a vacation!). One was a quartet of A England polishes I nabbed during their recent sale, and the other was this dark beauty, KBShimmer Band Geek.

KBShimmer Band Geek indie nail polish

Full disclosure: yes, I was in band, so of course had to get this one based on name alone. But also my old high school colors were black and gold (Go Hornets!) so it also hit fairly close to home in that regard as well. Will pause here to say that I also was a varsity cheerleader, so a bit of a weird mash-up, I know.

But back to KBShimmer Band Geek: I love, love, love it!

KBShimmer Band Geek indie nail polish

It’s a very complex, layered, deep polish with a black jelly base and gold, silver and bronze glitter. You can actually stare into it and see all of the different glitters at different levels on your nails. It’s crazy.

KBShimmer Band Geek indie nail polish

I found this very easy to apply, and it had great coverage. I’ve been trying a lot of different indies recently and have had some trouble with the formulas and glitter placement, but not with Band Geek: little to no glitter dabbing/placement needed.

KBShimmer Band Geek indie nail polish

This is two coats of KBShimmer Band Geek, one coat of Gelous and one coat of Poshe.

KBShimmer is sold on Etsy and Harlow, plus KBShimmer has a new fall collection coming out on September 1 so set some of that polish budget aside.

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Indies, Swatches

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Sinful Colors Swatch Spam

Like a lot of polish groupies out there, I took advantage of last week’s Walgreens sale to stock up on Sinful Colors. The company recently made headlines for all the wrong reasons in the Blogosphere after stealing bloggers’ photos for its advertising materials. Shame on them (parent company Revlon has since issued what seems to be a sincere apology on Facebook). Despite the drama and calls from some bloggers for a Sinful Colors boycott, I was still curious to try out their polishes since their colors are pretty rich and their prices are extremely low. They were only $0.99 during the sale, but even at full price they’re only $2, so I felt like it was a good chance to try some colors out that I might not have spent more on (I actually had a yellow shade in my cart for awhile but couldn’t commit to it in the end!) These are a few of the bottles I picked up, and I really liked each of them. The formula on all of them seemed pretty consistent, which is to say they went on pretty easily. I apologize in advance for the increasingly sloppy manicures; a storm came on very quickly and I was losing my light for outdoor photos. Here’s a look at what I got:

Social Ladder is a sheer-ish pink polish with a subtle iridescent shimmer. This is three coats, no top coat.

Sinful Colors Social Ladder

Sinful Colors Social Ladder

Sinful Colors Social Ladder

Next up is Frenzy, which sports purple and teal micro-glitter in a clear base. Here’s one coat over Social Ladder, no top coat. It was pretty hard to clean up. You can see remnants of it around the edges after I switched to the other colors. But it’s very eye-catching.

Sinful Colors Frenzy over Social LadderSinful Colors Frenzy over Social LadderSinful Colors Frenzy over Social Ladder

This one is my favorite of the group, Cinderella. It’s a really nice, elegant pale blue with a very subtle pink shimmer. This is two coats, no top coat.

Sinful Colors CinderellaSinful Colors CinderellaSinful Colors Cinderella

Moving on to Slate, a medium gray with frosty silver shimmer. I think this would be a great color underneath a lot of the popular glitter layering polishes. This is two coats, no top coat.

Sinful Colors SlateSinful Colors SlateSinful Colors Slate

Last of this bunch is Amethyst, a grape purple cream. After taking these photos I added a coat of Poshe and wore this one for a week with only minimal tip wear, so very pleased with its longevity.

Sinful Colors AmethystSinful Colors AmethystSinful Colors Amethyst

That’s it for now. What Sinful Colors did you pick up in last week’s sale?

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Swatches

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