Wet N' Wild Bloom Collection: Garden Hose...and layering

Garden Hose is from the new Bloom Collection that's been popping up in drugstores lately. The collection consists of several pretty pastel cremes, but this one jumped out at me as being a must-have. I've been loving the swatches I've seen of OPI Mermaid's Tears from the new Pirates of the Carribean collection, and I think this may be close. I don't think they're dupes, but I'm on a low-buy so Garden Hose will have to do!

This beauty is a seafoam green creme. This is three coats with Revlon Colorstay on top:





The formula wasn't too bad. I had some issues with patchiness so I needed three coats, but I'm sure someone could get away with two coats. The consistency is quite good but the brush is NOT. My brush had a few wayward bristles, and of course, the short thickness is cumbersome.

After I swatched, I decided to layer, which is something I rarely do. I've gotten really into NYX Girls polishes, and I've noticed they have some amazing glitters. I bought a few and decided to try some combos. Here is two coats of NYX Girls Maven over Garden Hose:



Maven has a teal tinted jelly base with teal, silver, and iridescent glitter particles:



Now THIS looks like mermaid tears! :)

Happy painting!

Dusty Duds

I've been meaning to do this post for awhile but I got sidetracked. I'm a big fan of dustying (or dusty hunting) for old polishes. I've scored some great ones (OPI Black Tie Optional, China Glaze Grape Crush, etc.), and some duds, which I'll show you today.

When I go dustying, I generally have an idea of what I'm looking for, but I always keep my eye out for other shades. For me, it's not about getting a discontinued polish just to have it; I only buy what I like and would actually wear. I've come across countless old shades but I'm very picky so most of them get left on the shelf. If I do like the shade and I know it's discontinued, I will buy it right then because I know I may never see it again.

The last time I went dustying, I found two old China Glaze polishes...That Look and Crocodile Lounge. That Look is a purple shimmer with what looked to me to be scattered holo. Crocodile Lounge looked to be dupe-y to OPI Creme De Menthe, which is on my wishlist. Unfortunately, both ended up being duds.

First up is That Look...this is two coats, no topcoat:



As you can see, not only is it not holo, it's frosty and brushstroke-y. Gross.


Next up is Crocodile Lounge, which has a mint green base with yellow shimmer. Two coats, no topcoat:



Again, not what I expected. This one is also on the frosty and brushstroke-y side. Blech.

These were super thick when I got them home and opened them, so I added several drops of thinner. I can't speak to the quality of the original formulas, but even after thinning, the formulas were still very hard to work with. I'm willing to add more thinner and revisit these in the future, but the day I swatched them I was so disappointed that I threw them in a box and haven't looked at them since.

This is par for the course with dustying; you win some, you lose some. It's also possible that you may think you have a dud, then one day, you realize you have a treasure (i.e. my experience with ChG Nightfall). The bottom line is that the thrill is in the hunt, and you can't let one or two duds discourage you from finding great old shades.

Happy painting!

Grudge Match: Sinful vs. China Glaze

Today I have Sinful Colors Rise and Shine, as well as a comparison between Rise and Shine and China Glaze Turned Up Turquoise.

Rise and Shine has a blue-leaning green base with fine tonal shimmer. It's absolutely gorgeous. I wore this for five days and got tons of compliments, including one from my son's classmate who ran up to me and said, "Jaylen's Mommy! I love your fingernails!" That made my day :).

Two coats, Revlon Colorstay topcoat:







The formula was pretty darn good for a Sinful. It went on nicely and was opaque in two coats. It also wore well, with only minor tipwear after five days. The only setback is that it dries matte, so topcoat is definitely needed.

I decided to compare this to Turned Up Turquoise, a shade that was previously in my top ten polishes. I say previously because Rise and Shine has now taken its spot.





Two coats of TUT on index and ring, two coats of RAS with topcoat on middle and pinky:





RAS on top finger, TUT on bottom:




As you can see, these aren't dupes at all. The base colors are similar, but TUT leans a little more blue and has lighter, frostier, more prominent shimmer. I prefer the shimmer in RAS, which is why it has replaced TAT on my list.

RAS actually wins the formula battle as well. TUT is a little less opaque, and if you look closely, you can see a little bit of VNL under TUT. TUT dries to a satin finish, so topcoat is needed for shine on that one as well.

I apologize for the quality of these photos. I got these to about 90% color accuracy, but both of these shades were simply impossible to photograph correctly.

Anyway, I'd love to know what you guys think. Which do you prefer?

Happy painting!

Ulta: Envy

Before I start this post, I just wanted to say that my thoughts and prayers are with everyone in the South who was affected by the storms, especially those in Tuscaloosa.



Today I have Ulta Envy (sorry Chaos Butterfly! lol). It's not unique at all; it's your standard jeweltone green with teal shimmer. Meh. Don't get me wrong, it's very pretty. I'm just kind of over these types of greens. This is two coats, no topcoat.





The formula was fine; I had no issues. It wore pretty well.

This is a fairly recent purchase, so I'm not sure what made me buy this when I have so many other greens like it. Impulse buy, I guess.

Happy painting!

Quick NOTD: OPI Green-wich Village

Just popping in to post a quick NOTD. This is Green-wich Village from the OPI Mod About Brights collection. Two coats, no topcoat:



Formula is standard OPI creme; it applied perfectly. I love the color...it's very fresh and perfect for spring.

Happy painting!

CQ: Gem Green

Happy Earth Day! Today I have a really beautiful, really unique polish to show you. I picked this one up from Rite-Aid the other day.

Gem Green is really hard to describe, but I'll give it a shot. It's a frosty pale green shimmer that flashes gold and taupe. Is it a duochrome? It almost looks like it could be a holo, but it's not. Anyway, check out the pics. And disregard the "NEW" sticker, as this has been around for awhile. Three coats, no topcoat:







The formula was ok; it was a tad on the sheer side and needed three coats, but it was an easy three coats.

I think I've found another drugstore brand that I really like. I picked up another CQ which I'll post about tomorrow.

Happy painting!

Sinful Colors: Envy

Hello strangers! I haven't been around much because the semester is winding down and I've had grad school application deadlines and research papers and graduation stuff to contend with. I had a lull today so I decided to stop by Rite Aid on my way home and I picked up this beauty.

Envy is from the new spring collection. I had my kids with me, which means I was distracted and didn't pay attention to the display, so I don't know what the collection is called. Sorry! Envy is a dusty hunter green creme, and it is fabulous. Two coats, no topcoat:

Indoors:



Sun:


The formula was quite nice; I had no issues, and it was fully opaque in two coats. Sinful hit it out of the park with this one. It's totally unique to my stash. I also saw a silver, which I purchased and will post about later, and a pretty coral and two pinks. I may have to go back for the coral...

Happy painting!

ETA: See how fried my brain is? I forgot to add that I think this is dupe-y to OPI Jade is the New Black. I don't have Jade so I can't compare, but from pics, Envy looks mighty close.

Revlon Street Wear: Envy

Today I have an oldie but goodie. Just a sidenote: Don't ever visit Pretty Random. You will be overtaken by lemmings and you will find yourself scouring ebay for Revlon Streetwears and the like. Not that I did that. *ahem* (Seriously, Kaz's blog is awesome! You should definitely check her out.)

Anyway, Envy is a recent purchase of mine and I'm so glad I got her because she's gorgeous. Envy has a light olive green base with silver and gold shimmer (at times I think I even see flashes of pink). Three coats, no topcoat:


Shade:



Sunlight:





Application was like butter. It was a three-coater for me, but it was an easy, thin three coats so I'm not complaining.

It's a gorgeous, sunny Sunday here but I'm going to be spending it in the house writing papers and harassing my professors for recommendation letters. I guess I'll live vicariously through the rest of you as you frolic and paint your nails and whatnot. Enjoy your day, and...

Happy painting!

Color Club Starry Temptress: Swatches and Review

Let me preface this by saying that I am not a glitter kind of girl. I only have three glitter topcoats, and I've only used one of them twice. With that said, I love the Starry Temptress collection. I think it's the combination of neon and glitter, and the warm spring weather that are making me feel this way. I have a feeling people are either going to love or hate this collection. I don't foresee there being a middle ground on this one.

Ok, on to the swatches. All swatches have two coats, Revlon Colorstay topcoat on top with shade pics first, then sunlight.

First up is Space Case. This is a bubblegum pink with holographic glitter. Sadly, the holo doesn't really show up on the nail, so it mostly looks like silver glitter. That suits me just fine, and this one is actually my favorite of the collection. The formula was ok on this one; the consistency was good. Space Case is the only one that didn't dry matte. It may be because this is the only one that isn't a true neon.




Next is Ultra-Astral, a hot pink neon with holo glitter. As with Space Case, the holo doesn't really translate. The formula on this one was a tad bit thick.




Next is Wink, Wink, Twinkle. This is a mid-toned neon purple with holo glitter. To save myself some time, I'll just say that the holo in each of these is lazy and likes to lie around in the bottle rather than coming out to play. This one gave me the most trouble when it came to accurately capturing the color. Just know that it's much more vivid in real life. Also of note: the formula on this one was the best for me. It was the thinnest of the six.




Next is You've Got Soul-ar. Neon orange with holo glitter.




Glitter Envy. Neon green with holo glitter. Here is where things start to go south. I'm not sure why, but the glitter in this and Otherworldly looks white, rather than silver. The formula on this one was thick.





Finally, Otherworldly. Neon blue with holo glitter. Formula was a tad thick.




Removal was typical for glitters. A pain in the butt. Please excuse the wayward glitter specs in my swatches, but those things hung on for dear life.

I didn't use the glitter topcoat because I'm not ready for all that just yet lol. Each of these dries to a bumpy finish, but a good clear topcoat smooths them out just fine.

Verdict: I've been under a lot of stress lately, and swatching these made me happy. I love all but the last two, but I still love the collection as a whole and I appreciate that Color Club takes the risks that it does.

You know what else I love? That I can buy an entire collection for $8 at Ross. :)

So what do you think? Love it? Hate it? Not sure yet?

Happy painting!

Essence: Choose Me!

Hey Essence, you don't have to ask me twice. I saw this beauty on the shelf at Ulta and put in right in my basket. Choose Me! is a turquoise shimmery, foil-finished beauty that flashes green and has flecks of silver shimmer. From what I've seen on other blogs, it's a dupe for Zoya Charla, but I don't have that one to compare.

This is two coats, no topcoat:





As you can see, I definitely could have used a third coat, but I didn't mind the VNL here for some reason. The formula was great, especially for a $.99 cent polish. I've been wearing it for three days with no topcoat, and it looks as good as the day I put it on.

Essence, I choose you.

Happy painting!

Wet n Wild Sweet Spot Collection: Toss Me a LIFESAVERS

Wet n Wild has a new (?) collection out called Sweet Spot. Nouveau Cheap has pics of the display. I came across these at a RiteAid, and the only one that stood out to me was Toss Me a LIFESAVERS, a bright lime green with pretty shimmer. This is three coats, Revlon topcoat on top:

Sunlight:




Shade:



The formula was not good. It was sticky and thick, and I had cuticle drag. It's nicely pigmented and should have been a two-coater, but because of streaks, I needed a third coat for evenness.

It sucks, because I love this shade so much. It's very spring-y and it's bright but not neon. That said, I can overlook the formula for $.99. I'm easy like that. :-)

Happy painting!

Revlon Top Speed: Jaded, and Crackle

Today I have Revlon Top Speed Jaded, which is not to be confused with Revlon Jaded, an old discontinued shade. This version of Jaded is pale mint green with very, very subtle shimmer. I don't even think my camera picked it up. Two coats, no topcoat:




The formula was streaky, but it evened out surprisingly well on the second coat. I really expected the worst with this one, but was pleasantly surprised.

Then I added China Glaze Broken Hearted*, a hot pink creme from the Crackles collection. One coat of Broken Hearted on top of Jaded, no topcoat:






I absolutely love pink and green together. LOVE. I really think I should have been an AKA. Anyway, Broken Hearted is gorgeous. I applied one thick coat and got the results above, but I plan to play around with different methods and see what I can come up with.


Happy painting!


*This product was sent to me for review.

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear: Going Green

Going Green is the perfect St. Patrick's Day shade. It has subtle teal shimmer, which adds something to the base color but doesn't overpower it. I got this color during a deal at Rite-Aid, and I'm so glad I did because I don't have a green like this. This is two coats, no topcoat. For some reason, my pics don't show the vividness of this color. It's brighter in real life.





The formula on this was surprisingly good. Sally Hansen's formulas have been very hit or miss for me, but this one applied like butter. I wore this as a full mani for a few days and had no chips, just minimal tipwear. This one is a winner for me.

Happy painting!

China Glaze Tronica Collection: Laser Lime

Ok, I confess. I like scattered holo more than linear holo. I know that's not a popular opinion, but it is what it is.

With that out of the way, let me introduce you to my new love: Laser Lime, from the ChG Tronica Collection. I believe this is a limited edition Sally's exclusive, so get them now while you can so that you won't have to pay eBay prices for them one day.

Laser Lime is lime green with subtle rainbow holo. This is two coats with Revlon Colorstay topcoat:

Sunlight:






Shade:



I really hate that I bought this, because now I want them all. I went to Sally's to buy one just to try it out, fully expecting to be disappointed, but I fell in love.

Formula wise, it was a little sticky and goopy, but it wasn't thick and it still applied well. Weird. Like most holos, this dried super quick to a satiny finish, so topcoat is a must if you want shine.

What's a girl to do? I'm running out of storage, plus I'm really cheap and hate to buy things for full price. I could do without the purple and the teal since I have those colors from other collections, but the others are calling me. Decisions, decisions...

What do you think of the Tronica collection so far?

Happy painting!

Ruby Kisses: Neon Green

When I saw this, I knew I had to have it. I generally only go for blackened shimmery greens, and the occasional holiday green glitter or dusty green or pastel creme. This is my first bright green, and it's about as conspicuous as you can get.

Neon Green is a vivid grass green jelly. This is three coats with Revlon Colorstay topcoat. It dried matte like all neons, so topcoat was a must.




The formula was fine for a cheapy brand...I didn't have any major issues. It was thin and watery, but it dried quickly. I did have to go back and wrap my tips because it shrank a little.

Overall, I love the shade and I can't wait to wear it as a full mani.

By the way, I just hit 50 followers! You know what that means...it's giveaway time! Stay tuned for details...

Happy painting!