NYX Girls: Pop Culture...and Melmer

NYX Pop Culture is bright orange with subtle shimmer. It reminds me of the inside of an orange...very juicy looking! Two coats, no topcoat.






The formula was fine. Not too much to say about this one, other than I love the color and it's cheap!


Also, I finally got my Melmer. I put it together by myself and it only took me about 30 minutes. Unfortunately, it's almost full already, so I'll need another one in the next few months. FAIL.



Bottom drawer (Kleancolor, Orly, Wet 'N Wild, L'Oreal, MAybelline, Revlon, Sally Hansen, Ruby Kisses, Sinfuls)



Middle drawer (Color Club, NYX Girls, Ulta, Zoya, Carolyn New York, Goldie, Mia, Essie)



Top drawer (OPI and China Glaze)



I haven't organized them yet, so that will be next on my list along with updating my spreadsheet. I have way too much free time right now...

Happy painting!

Kleancolor: Holo Orange

Today I have Kleancolor Holo Orange. I went to a couple of beauty supply stores looking for the new glitters, but nobody had them so I "settled" for some holos. I did a small haul today and also got my Melmer (pics tomorrow). Holo orange has a tangerine tinted clear base with lots of orange and holo glitter. Three coats, no topcoat:





Formula-wise, this was pretty thick and gloopy, but I didn't mind. I think this polish would look better layered over an orange creme, so I'll be giving that a try soon.

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!

LA Colors Magnetic Force...and a note

I picked up this polish from a Dollar Tree. This is my first experience with this brand, and I must say I'm pretty impressed. Magnetic Force is from the Color Craze line, and it's a pinkish-coral with tons of gold shimmer. For some reason, it's more pink in the bottle than it is on the nail, where it leans orange. This is two coats, no topcoat.

Shade:



Sunlight:





My photos don't really pick it up, but in person, it looks like it wants to be a neon. It's a pretty interesting shade, and I can see it on both my nails and toes this summer. The formula was surprisingly good. It looks like I'll be making a trip back to the Dollar Tree.

On another note...

I just wanted to say hello and thank you to everyone who has visited my little blog, especially those outside of the US. I'm ashamed to admit this, because it makes me kind of a dork, but I love to click on that map in my sidebar and see where my visitors are from. I get all happy every time I see a new dot pop up. :)

Happy painting!

Misa Duochromes: Bojangles and Persian Carpet

My love affair for Misa continues in this post. First up is Persian Carpet, a jewel-toned purple shimmer that flashes amber. This is three coats, no topcoat.

Natural light:



You can see the amber here


Sunlight:


Reminds me of OPI Catherine the Grape here


The second shade is my favorite of the two; Bojangles. It's a warm pink shimmer that flashes orange. This is also three coats, no topcoat.

Sunlight:



You can see the orange here



Natural light:


In this picture in the shade, it reminds me of sherbet:



Formula wise, these were close to perfect. The first coats went on sheer, but the second coats were opaque. I added third coats but I really didn't need to. They both dried fast and I had no chipping issues.

I hope Misa releases more duochromes in the near future. Misa, are you reading this? Please make this happen...

Happy painting!

Misa Too Much Gossip

Misa Too Much Gossip is a pretty orange creme from the Girlfriends collection. I think this is a very wearable orange. It has just enough brightness that it looks cheerful and springy without being over the top.

Two coats, no topcoat.

Natural light:


Sunlight:


Indoors:


The formula was great. Misa has been pretty consistent for me, formula-wise. They generally apply well and wear for several days with no chipping. I think this may be one of the more underrated brands.

Happy painting!

Chelsea Baja Orange

Baja Orange is really beautiful in the bottle, but it's kind of average on the nail. The base is a burnt orange creme, but there's this gorgeous hidden gold shimmer. And when I say hidden, I mean it. I tried my hardest to capture it, but it eluded me in all but a few pictures.

Three coats, Revlon Colorstay topcoat on top. Please excuse the messiness around my cuticles.


Natural light:



Sunlight:






The formula was interesting. The first coat? Like butter. I couldn't believe how smoothly it went on. The subsequent coats went less smoothly; the second coat was streaky and the third coat wouldn't level. I had to use topcoat just to even everything out. I've never had that happen before. This is my only Chelsea polish, so I don't know if this is the case for other shades or if it's just this one.

Anyway, I love the color and I definitely want more Chelseas.

Happy painting!

Carolyn New York - Times Square

Times Square is a frosty, shimmery pale orange shade. It's not really my kind of color, but I do think it's pretty. Carolyn New York had some great polishes and such cute little bottles. The rubber handles really aid in application. Unfortunately, CNY is now out of business.

Three coats, no topcoat.

Natural light:



Sunlight:



Indoors:




The formula was ok. The finish is a little brushstroke-y, but not overly so.

I really miss CNY! Does anyone remember that huge sale they had a couple of years ago? If only some of the bigger companies would do that (with Zoya being the exception. Thanks Zoya!).

Happy painting!