Thursday, April 30, 2015

Throwback Thursday: Milani Beach Front

I am really enjoying Throwback Thursday posts. It's really helping me to rediscover so many older nail polishes that I haven't been giving a lot of love. It's also helping rediscover some real gems when it comes to nail polish. Some of the polishes of yesteryear are pretty spectacular. This next one is a Milani I had completely forgotten about.

Beach Front
Beach Front is a baby blue creme packed with a micro silvery glass fleck glitter.

Collection: Milani Spring 2012

Color: I'm wearing this color right now. This is a perfect spring blue. The color is vibrant and saturated. No, as a creme this wouldn't be original, but add that glass fleck glitter and it's one of kind.

Formula: This formula was good and applied well. It was just the slightest bit thick, but I did not have any real trouble.

Price: Fear not, you can still purchase this one. A search online will get you many different results from eBay or Amazon in the $5-$8 range.

Overall: I'm so happy I rediscovered Beach Front. This a beautiful blue springtime polish, and probably one of my favorites from Milani! I think this is one many would like in their collection.

My Rating: 5 out of 5 Paint Splatters
Happy Thursday!

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Way-Cool Mani Wednesday: Lavender & Gold

I'm discovering one of my favorite color combinations in spring is pastel shades with gold. I love the combination of soft and rich. I recently did a manicure using both of these elements I love.

Polishes Used: China Glaze Tart-y for the Party, Midnight Kiss, and Sally Hansen Big Money

Mani Description: I did 2 accent nails with this mani. The middle finger I just used Sally Hansen big Money layered over China Glaze Tart-y for the Party. On the ring finger I did a base of Tart-y for the Party and did the saran wrap technique over that using China Glaze Midnight Kiss.

Happy Wednesday!

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

L.A. Colors Fruity

I have another surprising find at Dollar Tree to show you today. L.A. Colors has some really neat glitter polishes out now for only $1! I found a whole bunch at Dollar Tree recently. This one of them I picked up.

Fruity over Zoya Kelly
Fruity is a mix of neon green, yellow, and pink satin glitters in a clear base.

Collection: L.A. Colors Color Crazy Core

Color: This is a fun mix of glitter colors. Neon glitters are not easy to find in the drugstore, much less at Dollar Tree for $1!

Formula: This can't be perfect. You do get what you pay for here. What you win in color you definitely lose in formulation. This is a very sparse glitter in a heavy clear base. It is difficult to get glitters on your nail to stay on your nail. Dabbing is a preferred method. That being said, it's not atrocious, but don't expect a glitter bomb here in the slightest.

Price: $1 at Dollar Tree

Overall: For what it is it's great! Glitters like this for $1 are impossible to find in other brands, so this a winner in that retrospect. Formula is lacking, but shouldn't detract you from purchasing if you don't have a glitter like this in your collection, but want one.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 Paint Splatters
Happy Tuesday!

Monday, April 27, 2015

LeChat Dare to Wear: Royal Crystal

I have another LeChat Dare to Wear polish to share with you today. I was immensely impressed with Honeysuckle, and I have to say this brand is continuing to impress me. It's just unfortunate this brand doesn't get any buzz, it's deserving!

Royal Crystal
Royal Crystal is a medium violet with a fine golden-pink glass fleck glitter.

Collection: LeChat Dare to Wear Mermaid Treasures Collection Summer 2014

Color: If you're curious, check out Vampy Varnish's swatch of Spoiled Are Mermaid's Real? for comparison. This was my initial instinct prior to purchasing Royal Crystal. I was consider they'd be dupes. They're not. I think Royal Crystal is better. Royal Crystal has a more red-toned and vibrant purple base and the glass fleck glitter is much finer and smooth. I love this shade of purple. I felt the Spoiled nail polish color was a bit too dull and blue-toned for my tastes.

Formula: Excellent formula. I am absolutely loving LeChat's formulas. They're apply so evenly and smooth with no effort whatsoever.. I used 3 thin coats above.

Price: I paid $3.25 for this on Head2ToeBeauty.

Overall: Royal Crystal is a beautiful color. I love the glass fleck glitter in this. Glass fleck glitter is something I feel the nail polish world is very much deprived of these days! Bring them back! The color of this is vibrant and the glitter gives it a stunning finish. Love!

My Rating: 5 out of 5 Paint Splatters
Happy Monday!

Friday, April 24, 2015

Black Cat Lacquer Artemis

I have a new to me indie brand to share with you today. Keep in mind, this brand isn't new, it's just new to my stash! I was perusing Black Cat Lacquer's website a little while ago and saw quite a few polishes that caught my eye. I ended up receiving a few in a recent gift exchange, and have been really impressed with them. This is one of the ones I received.

Artemis 
Artemis is a sky blue crelly (creme + jelly)  base with pastel blue holo glitters.

Collection: Black Cat Lacquer Goddess Collection Spring 2014

Color: I find crellies like this harder to find. It's easy to find very pale or white crellies with contrasting glitters. I love the monochromatic look of this medium toned blue with similarly toned glitter. It's not a subtle at all like you might think. It's a beautiful glittery polish. This shade of blue is perfect too.

Formula: Excellent and superb formula. I typically have application and formula issues with crellies. This was a breeze. This applied so easily, and I had no trouble getting the glitters on my nail. This was a perfectly blended and balanced nail polish.

Price: This is $9.00 on the Black Cat Lacquer website.

Overall: Artemis is an excellent polish. I love the color and look of the glitter. I don't make my way around many indies, and this is one I'm so pleased I have tried. I am very impressed with all aspects of this polish. Black Cat Lacquer is a definitely a brand I will be re-visiting!

My Rating: 5 out of 5 Paint Splatters
Happy Friday!

Thursday, April 23, 2015

Throwback Thursday: Zoya Happi

I have a rediscovered Zoya favorite to share with you today. This comes at perfect timing too, because the Zoya Earth Day Exchange promo is going on. I think this will be one you might want to add your shopping cart!

Happi

Happi is a warm carnation pink with a beautiful peachy-gold duochrome metallic shimmer.

Collection: Zoya Reverie Spring 2010

Color: One thing I find I miss most in nail polish lately are original pinks. Zoya Happi is a very original pink shade. First, it's not your standard spring pastel pink, this light-medium warm pink. Secondly, that duochrome metallic shimmer. That golden shimmer is stunning and adds so much dimension to this polish.

Formula: The formula on this is nice an easy to use. I used 3 thin coats above.

Price: This is $9 on the Zoya website. If you do purchase this during the Earth Day promo be sure to add 5 or more other polishes to your cart and use the code EARTHLUV. You'll get your order for 50% off plus free shipping!

Overall: I am absolutely ashamed this was collecting dust in my Helmer for so long. This is one of Zoya's most beautiful creations in my opinion. I love this original and beautifully done take on spring pink shade. I think this is an absolute must have in any nail polish collection!

My Rating: 5 out of 5 *Golden* Paint Splatters

Happy Thursday!

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Color Club Age of Aquarius

"When the moon is in the Seventh House And Jupiter aligns with Mars , then peace will guide the planets Aand love will steer the stars"

I'm doing so many manicures and reviewing polishes lately that get songs in my head! I'll never forget a nail polish if it reminds of a song. I spotted this bright Color Club in my recent Head2ToeBeauty haul.

"This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius The Age of Aquarius Aquarius! Aquarius!"

Age of Aquarius 
Age of Aquarius is a neon mint-aqua green creme.

Collection: Color Club Poptastic Collection

Color: This is a spectacular color. This is insanely bright too. I would most definitely consider this a neon even though it isn't a traditional neon color. I love the vibrancy of Age of Aquarius and I love that it's a minty green! Mint and neon is an amazing combination.

Formula: I so so so wish I could say this formula was as spectacular as the color. Sadly, it's not. I found this color to be thick, chalky, and did not apply evenly. This isn't the worst formula I've ever used, but it was pretty bad -sad face-.

Price: I paid $3.25 for this on Head2ToeBeauty.

Overall: The color is just that amazing. The vibrancy of this shade is killer, it is unlike any other bright mint-aqua colors in my collection. The formula is a major let down for me, but the color *almost* negates that. I know neons/pastel neons can have better formulas than this, I've seen it done with indies. I expect better, but I've been put under Age of Aquarius' spell a bit.

My Rating: 3 out of 5 Paint Splatters


Happy Tuesday!

Friday, April 17, 2015

HPB Presents: April Showers Manicure Link-Up

It's time for another monthly Hobby Polish Bloggers link-up post. This month's theme was "April Showers".

"Drip, drip, drop, little April showers....."

Since I'm pretty much incompetent when it comes to nail art I decided to do a little abstract interpretation of the theme.

 I did a glitter gradient using Essie Bikini So Teeny as a base and Essie Stroke of Brilliance as the glitter. I then topped it off with Essie Shine of the Times for a little rainbow effect. My thinking was that the glitter represented the "showers" and the flakies where the rainbow after the rain. That works in my head! I had fun with this theme and I really love my result!

For your entertainment...


Check out my fellow HPB friends manis below!


Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Way-Cool Mani Wednesdays: Mo-heat-oes and Mambo

I'm going to declare it. Spring and summer are my favorite seasons for nail polish. I'm sure I'll say the exact opposite come September in October, but for right now I just love brights, pastels, and neons. I can't get enough. One of my favorite colors this time of year is mint. I love anything in that mint, soft green, and pale green family. This was a color I used to avoid at all costs thinking it looked bad on me, but I've been reformed.

Here is a fun mani I did recently.


Polishes Used: OPI Feel the Moe-heat-oes with Krafty Gurl Mambo in Miami

I really like this mani. It's hard for me not to think of the Golden Girls with these colors. I wouldn't be surprised if Blanche Devereaux had a blouse in these colors! The Golden Girls house alone was decked out in colors like this!

"Miami, Miami, you've got style!"



Happy Wednesday!

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

LeChat Dare To Wear: Honeysuckle

When I placed my last Head2ToeBeauty order, they were out of stock of a Color Club color I wanted, so they asked me to pick a substitute. I had heard of LeChat Dare to Wear brand before, but had never tried it. I looked through their selection, and found quite a I few a liked. This shade definitely stood out to me, literally!

Honeysuckle
Honeysuckle is neon lime green creme.

Collection: LeChat Dare To Wear Floral Fantasy Collection Summer 2013

Color: Wow! This is bright! I love this color. It's not green and i'ts not quite yellow, but it's more green-toned to me. I love the vibrancy and pigmentation of Honeysuckle. This is such a fun color, and not a typical neon shade I see done often.

Formula: Even more wow! This formula was amazing. This had a perfectly smooth, easy to apply, even, and level formula. I was very impressed. Neons typically have tricky formulas and this was like buttah. Ah-mazing. I have clearly been missing out by not having any LeChat polishes!

Price: I paid $3.25 for this on Head2ToeBeauty.

Overall: Blown away. Totally. I love discovering new to me brands that are excellent in every way possible. I am so impressed. Honeysuckle is a fun and vibrant color with an impressive formula. I have absolutely nothing but glowing things to say about this nail polish and this brand so far.

My Rating: 5 out of 5 *Golden* Paint Splatters
Happy Tuesday!

Monday, April 13, 2015

Color Club Poptastic Pastel Neon Remix Collection (Glow in the Dark)

I don't often have entire collections to share with you all, but I do today. I glanced by this collection on Head2ToeBeauty about 2 weeks ago and I was very intrigued. I understand the repetition we get in seasonal collections. Spring=Pastels, Summer=Neons/Brights, Fall=Vamps, and etc. I like these types of colors enough, but I'm always wanting something extra. I want to see these types of seasonal colors amplified.

This is what I saw with this Color Club collection. They took pastel neons and made them into jelly glitters and glow in the dark. Thank you! I bought this blind without seeing swatches or anything, so it was a bit of a gamble, but I'm pleased!

This is going to be a rather extended review. I really want to give you the best review possible, since I see very few reviews of these so far from bloggers.

Boogie All Night

 Boogie All Night is a soft bubble gum pink jelly packed with iridescent glitter. (3 coats)

Call Of The Disco Ball
Call of the Disco Ball is a peachy-creamy orange jelly packed with iridescent glitter. (3 coats)

Soul Sister
Soul Sister is a soft marigold yellow jelly packed with iridescent glitter. (3 coats)

It's Electric!
It's Electric! is a pale neon yellow jelly packed with iridescent glitter. (3 coats)

On The Flip Side
On The Flip Side is a pale spring green jelly packed with iridescent glitter. (3 coats)

Get Down Tonight
Get Down Tonight is a soft sky blue jelly packed with iridescent glitter. (3 coats)

Feel The Funk
Feel the Funk is a soft lilac jelly packed with iridescent glitter. (3 coats)

Glow the Dark:
Mind you, I've never photographed glow in the dark polishes. In all honesty, I do not have the right camera or skills to capture these decently, but I have put together a collage of what I could capture to the best of my ability. I used my phone for these photos.
Collection: Color Club Poptastic Pastel Neon Remix Spring/Summer 2015

Color: When I got this I hoped they would be opaque. These can be paired with the Color Club Pastel Neon collection which are just cremes. I do not own those. I didn't want to layer these because I feel you would get virtually the same result by just adding a coat of one of those thousands of iridescent glitter toppers out there by doing that. I've never seen pastel jelly glitters, and I wanted them to be exactly that! These do achieve opacity easily (mostly) in three coats. Yes, these colors are pale and soft, but they are definitely opaque! My only concern would be if you have long nails or if your nails are stained, you may need a 4th coat.

Glow in the Dark Effect: These definitely glow brightly, after I put them under the light. The glow doesn't last long,but it is a cool effect. When I photographed the bottles by themselves the glow color did someone coordinate to the color in the bottle not glowing. When I added my fingers to the pictures my camera went funky and all the glow colors looked relatively similar. In person I noticed a difference which did not pick up on camera well for me.

Formula: These formulas are thick, but workable. I found 5 out of the 7 polishes to be easy to decent to work with. These were not the perfect formula, but they were decent to good. I'm the most impatient with formulas and these didn't bother me.  The blue-Get Down Tonight and neon yellow-It's Electric had the trickiest formula.. These two were clumpy, patchy, and pooled really thick on certain spots on my nail. I think you maybe able to remedy this with some nail polish thinner, but these 2 formulas wise were a pain in the butt.

Price: I purchased these for $3.50 each on Head2ToeBeauty.

Overall: I am so excited and impressed with this collection. I love that this offers something totally different in the mainstream market. I'm over the moon these are opaque too, and I really love the soft look of these colors. They're not perfect though. The formulas are not ideal, but far from bad or not manageable outside of 2 colors. You can absolutely layer these too, and I'm sure they'd look beautiful. I just really wanted to be able to wear these on their own! This is the type of collection that makes me get excited about nail polish all over again.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 Paint Splatters
Happy Monday!

Sunday, April 12, 2015

Share With You Sunday: 4/5/15-4/12/15

I want to get right to the chase today, as I've spent the past 2 days doing swatching, editing, and writing. I'm a bit burned on blogging for the next few days! I do have some stuff I wanted to share with you this week though!

Imperfectly Painted Posts:
Sinful Colors Zest of Times
Throwback Thursday-Sally Hansen Burmese Ruby
Love, Angeline Lapis Ensemble

Favorite Posts of the Week:
Polish Obsession swatches the Color Club Poptastic Pastel Neon collection.
Marine Loves Polish shows us her "Into the Clouds" manicure.
Wacky Laki shares with us her delicate stamping manicure.

Favorite Products of the Week:
Bath & Body Works Twisted Peppermint Deep Cleansing Hand Soap: Yes, it's April, not Christmas time. I love Twisted Peppermint though, and if you're like me you end up having immense excess of Bath & Body Works holiday collection stuff. I love this scent though. It's fresh, clean, and bright. I also prefer the deep cleansing formula much more than the foaming. This gets your hands clean and smells great! You probably can't get this currently at Bath & Body Works, but if you're like me, you probably have one laying around.

ScentSationals Bee Sweet Scented Wax Cubes: Again, with the wax cubes. I love these! One of my all time favorite scents is pure honey scent. This is exactly that, nothing frilly or perfumey added to it. Straight up honey! I stocked up on this one! I found this at Walmart for $2.

Almay Clear Gel Sensitive Skin Antiperspirant and Deodorant: Any name brand deodorant after a month or two of use breaks me out in horribly itchy rashes. I've been told to switch to natural no this or no that. I can't. I live in Florida, it is spring time. We're averaging 90 degree days with 60%+ humidity. I can't go natural without the antiperspirant. I am sorry. I sweat a lot. I'm not one of those fortunate people who do not sweat. I sweat even more in the heat and humidity. It is gross. It smells and I do not want to subject the inhabitants of earth to my sweaty stench. This Almay deodorant works for me. I've been using it consistently for 3 months without any beak outs or itchiness. It keeps the sweat to a minimum, and keeps me from stinking! I purchase this at CVS or Walgreens for around $4-$5. I

New To Me Products of the Week:
Pacifica Coconut Crushed Pearl Bronzing Body Butter: I'd say I have light skin, not super fair. I am afraid of most tanning products in fear of the result, but sometimes I want a bit of a bronze glow to my skin without that commitment. I thought I found that with this body butter. This adds a bronze glow to your skin without tanning it. I do like this, but I live in a humid climate. This took FOREVER to dry on me, and it will stain your clothes. This took in Florida humidity even in air conditioning about an hour to fully dry. It was semi-dry after 5-10 minutes. It wasn't soaking wet on my skin for an hour, but it did not feel completely dry until an hour later. I didn't feel comfortable moving around too much or touching my arms to my shirt in fear of it smearing on my clothes. I so wanted to love this, and perhaps if you live somewhere drier this would be better for you. I also wasn't a fan of the scent. It smells like coconut brownies or something of the sort. It's a delicious scent, but it completely overtakes you. You can't add any other perfume or body spray. You just smell like a coconut brownie all day. There are worse things, but I don't tend to like smelling like a baked good. I purchased this at Ulta for $18.

Wet n' Wild Fergie Shimmer Palette in Hollywood Boulevard: I've been getting into highlighters more as the weather warms up. I'm over matte by now, and want glowing and radiant makeup these days. I've been using this lightly as a cheek highlight and LOVE it. It's a beautiful champagne gold color when all the colors are swirled together. This really gives sa very luminous look without being glittery or tacky looking. You only need a light touch! Super cheap too. I paid around $5-$6 for this at CVS. Check out swatches on NouveaCheap!

The Body Shop Honeymania Lip Butter: I picked this up when it was on sale at The Body Shop recently. I love lip products. I'm sure most of us do. I love the Honeymania scent also. Clearly, this meant I needed to try this product. This is a very luxurious lip butter. It's very conditioning and thick in a pleasant, not gross way. I use this at bedtime and wake up with moisturized and soft lips. This is $6 at The Body Shop, but I'm sure they'll be a sale soon and it will be $3 again.

Happy Sunday!


Friday, April 10, 2015

Love, Angeline Lapis Ensemble

I have a new to my collection indie brand to share with you today, Love, Angeline. I made a purchase a little awhile ago of some of the polishes from the Harmonious Gemstones collection, and this is one I picked up.

Lapis Ensemble over a navy creme
Lapis Ensemble is a unique micro glitter mix of navy, periwinkle, silver, and gold holo and metallic glitters.

Collection: Harmonious Gemstones Fall 2014

Color: I have to be honest here. I am disappointed in the color. I feel I'm mostly to blame, while I think some of the photos on the site confuse me. Some of the swatch photos (mainly the macro images) show this as a deep and rich blue glitter, while others show exactly what my swatch looks like--a lighter silvery blue. I'm sure all this had to do with photography, lighting, the angle of the picture, the camera of that particular swatcher, etc. I don't think anyone was trying to be intentionally deceitful, but I should of known better.

I had an inkling that maybe those macro images of the color were not going to be my result, but those macro images made me want to try anyways. Unfortunately, I do find the silvery and lighter color glitters in here really wash out the richness of the inspiration of gemstones and lapis in my opinion.

Formula: The formula on this was great. You could layer this on its own, but I found putting it on top of a base made the glitter pop a bi tmore. I did two coats in the above swatch. The formula is thick, but workable and very opaque.

Price: This is $12 on the Love, Angeline site.

Overall: This is no doubt a beautiful glitter with a gorgeous mix of colors. There is nothing wrong with it, but it didn't really live up to its potential for me for my personal expectations and taste. I really would of preferred a more rich and deep blue glitter with less silvery glitters. My personal thoughts aside, this is a well made and beautiful glitter. I feel many people will absolutely love this, but I do also feel some people based on the inspiration and macro images may end up a bit disappointed too.

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Paint Splatters
Happy Friday!

Thursday, April 9, 2015

Throwback Thursday: Sally Hansen Burmese Ruby

Story Time:

Today, for Throwback Thursday, I have the oldest polish in my collection to show you. I'm not sure if it's the oldest in age, but it's the oldest as far the polish I've had the longest. I bought this sometime in high school I imagine, and somehow it managed to find it's way from Dallas, TX (where I grew up) to with me now in Orlando,FL.I liked nail polish, and maybe had 5-8 bottles in high school, but my obsession didn't start until 2008, so I'm surprised I hung on to this one so long!

I actually know why I bought this color. My high school colors were red and blue. I was a flute player in marching band in high school. In marching band you wear uniforms that include gloves. Flute players were allowed to cut the fingers off their gloves because we needed to be able to cover up holes on the keys of the flute that a glove could obstruct. We were instructed that we could NOT wear nail polish because it could be distracting on the field and not look uniform with the rest of the band.

I internally said screw that, and wore nail polish anyways. I was such a rebel, thankfully, no one noticed or said anything. I had to have a nail polish that matched my school colors though. This was the early 00's probably 2001ish(?), and around when Sally Hansen had this chrome line that was so amazing in nail polish. I picked up a red one and wore this to almost every football game I marched at!

Burmese Ruby
Burmese Ruby is a true red chrome-frost shade.

Collection: Sally Hansen Chrome Early 2000's (?)

Color: I think this is an atrocious color now. This is so frosty and full of brushstokes. This is something I would never wear now and if it weren't for the nostalgia, I'd just trash it! It is a nice shade of a red, but this finish of nail polish is ugly and dated for 2015.

Formula: Shockingly this formula didn't need any reviving. It was easy to use, but you get tons of brushstrokes. I didn't wear this as real mani, but from what I remembered in the past was this was chip central.

Price: Shockingly too, you can still purchase this if you want it. There are many e-tailers who have it if you search it on Google in the $3-$4 range.

Overall: Burmese Ruby will always be in my collection for good ol' times sake. I do love it for sentimental reasons,  but it's no longer a color I find is cool or nice.  I did have the prettiest nails of the J.J. Pearce Mighty Mustang Band flute section even if I wasn't supposed to!

My Rating: I think it would be unfair to rate this. I would rate it poorly by today's standards, but I'd feel like it would be mean. I had some good times with Burmese Ruby!

Happy Thursday!

Monday, April 6, 2015

Sinful Colors Zest of Times

I feel like the past month I've been catching up on nail polish. I have barely purchased any nail polish this first part of the year. It hasn't been because I haven't wanted to, it's just I had not got around to it. I've probably purchased 30 bottles the past month, and I'm still not caught up on spring collections. They'll have to wait until my wallet is a little fuller though! I did pick up this newer Sinful Colors pretty in that little haul.

Zest of Times over Sinful Colors Cream Pink
Zest of Times is a sheer hot pink jelly base with a sparkling pinky-purple glass fleck shimmer.

Collection. Sinful Colors Citrus Twist Spring 2015

Color: I love the vibrancy and sparkle of Zest of Times. I think it's a great summery sparkle shade, I just wish it wasn't so sheer.

Formula: This is sheer, It is meant to be layered, but I wish it had an option of building it up easily on its own. I've seen other bloggers do it and say it takes 4 to 4+ coats. I didn't find this build up opaquely on my nail, and the more coats I added the more fussy the formula got. The formula started to get thick and drag and smudge on the nail. Not nice. That being said, this layered looks great. I can't entirely fault this polish since it is a layering one.

Price: I paid $2 for this at Walgreens.

Overall: I do like Zest of the Times for it's color, and I think it looks great layered over a base. It has excellent sparkle that isn't subtle at all. My only complaint is more of a personal one. I do wish I could wear this one on its own easily in 3 coats. I love seeing glass fleck glitter/shimmers on the market again, and this would of been nice if it could be worn by itself.

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 
Happy Monday!