So, hi. I skipped out on nearly two years of blogging in the name of going back to school and learning to sew. I just completed my first official year as a student in the Apparel Design & Development program at Seattle Central College and I must tell you, it really ate my life. It was great! But I have not gotten rid of my polish and perfume collections or reduced my collecting habits, in fact they have grown monstrous, like goldfish with a large habitat and unending food supply. I joined SquareHue for a while, and that was fun; I expanded my horizons regarding jellies and have grown less addicted to matte-ifying everything I touch; I obsessively bought textures for a while, then kind of got over them, then relapsed, then un-relapsed. ….Good times. Anyhow, I’ve got a little time free right now and I just passed my two-year blogiversary, so I’m going to post some swatches and reviews and general mischief. This will continue through the summer and then I’ll probably lapse again once school starts. We’ll see. I have a LOT of polish to talk about, not to mention bath & body goodies and perfumes. Whee!
Let’s start with this cheap shot: What I’m wearing today!
That grey might look familiar, and it should, because Nails Inc. Covent Garden Ballet, which I posted about in August 2012, has finally gotten an official US release in the Ballet Sheers collection that has just turned up at Ulta. (It also showed up in one of the mini sets at Sephora — Winter 13, maybe? — as ‘Kensington Place’. Same polish, different name, oh, Nails Inc. Oh you and your shenanigans.) The pale pink from the same set is Hamilton Mews and is — surprise! — a pale pink matte with green and blue shimmer. It’s not marked as such anywhere on the bottle or display. It looks very nice with a glossy topcoat and is a much nicer accent with Covent Garden Ballet that way. I haven’t taken any pictures of it as such because I’m a lazy butt and my cuticles are laughable. ^_^
The formula on Covent Garden seems a little more sheer than the original release, but not dramatically so. It’s still smooth and shiny and stunning, absolutely one of my favorite grey polishes. This is two coats over Qtica Natural Nail Growth Stimulator (I’ve been using this in hopes of making my nails quit flaking. It seems to be working, but then, I also didn’t really polish them for the last three weeks of classes, so that may have had something to do with it as well). Hamilton Mews was kind of thick and dried almost too quickly to work with, that quick snap was one coat, and two is more optimal. It’s not bad, and application would have been better had I been expecting a matte rather than a sheer shimmer. ^_^;
Overall, I’m happy to have a backup bottle of Covent Garden Ballet, and I am not sad to have a pretty pale pink matte shimmer. As a side note, the white shimmer from the Ballet Sheers collection, Mayfair, also showed up in A-Listers collection from two years ago.
I bought both of these at Ulta, though they aren’t on the website yet, and presumably you’ll eventually be able to order them from the Nails Inc. website — they’re not up on the US site, but Google tells me they’re available on the UK site.
Bah. All my brain power is busily being co-opted for schooling.
Anyhow, this is a quick mani done with one of the L’Oreal Project Runway polishes, The Muse’s Attitude, plus a-england Excalibur, both with serious holo topcoats. If you’re looking for swatches of either of these, I apologize; this is not the post you are looking for. *waves fingers*
On to the photos:
.Without the topcoat, Muse’s Attitude is a ridiculously pretty deep teal-esque green foil that shows a slight purple duochrome or flash at extreme angles. It seems as though it’s pretty close to Illamasqua Viridian, as I’ve observed the same thing about it, but I don’t own Viridian myself, so I can’t do a proper comparison. This was two coats; the first was streaky and the second was opaque. I don’t think it got on well with my basecoat, but I’m a bit used to that from drugstore brands. I apologize for not taking any pictures of it without the topcoat. I’ll definitely be wearing it again before fall is out, though, so check back again later!
Excalibur is The Perfect Silver. Seriously, I will probably never buy another silver metallic polish (ask me about that in six months and we’ll see how well I’ve kept to that promise) as long as I have this. I initially applied one coat and it was opaque, but I inflicted a few dents via kitten and did another to fix them. I need more a-england polishes. I need them until I have all of them. :)
Over Excalibur, I applied one coat of Glitter Gal Silver 3D/Holo. Over Muse’s Attitude, I used my standby Piper Polish Co. Spectraflair Topcoat. You will be seeing a lot of that over the next month, as I don’t have quite enough actual holo polishes to fill a whole month, and I love playing with it.
There’s really nothing like a holo nail for distracting you when you’re walking in the sun.
I bought Muse’s Attitude at a Walgreen’s, but I’ve seen them other places as well. Glitter Gal is available various places (Llarowe, Ninja Polish, Beautometry). a-england polishes are also available at all of those retailers, but I got this one straight from their site during a sale. Piper Polish Co. is on etsy. *whew*
Another super-quick post, this time because it’s way past my bedtime. :)
This is All Hail The Queen. It’s pretty, sparkly, and beige.
BUT WAIT. In the sun, it shows off a delicate scattered holo! :D
It’s not a strong holo, but it’s definitely present. Application was easy, this is two moderately thick coats of polish and one coat of a Butter London topcoat.
This was probably the strongest image I got, also in full sunlight.
I think this may be the shortest post I’ve ever written. XD
I got this from a new limited sale site called Coterie (yes, that’s a referral link. I do get credit if you click it, sign up and buy something.), but I get my Butter London more often via either Nordstrom or direct from Butter London.
Next time: …I’m not sure, actually. I’ve got a couple of sets of photos in my camera, but I’m not sure which ones have photos that look decent. :)
Presented largely without comment because I’m posting in a hurry, here is Enchanted Polish I Am The Walrus, another super-lovely multichromatic holo from their Beatles collection.
It’s basically my idea of the perfect autumn color. It shifts from cranberry red to fiery orange to brilliant gold with a skip by greenish on the way. If fallen leaves were sparked with a rainbow gleam, this is what they would look like.
The holo is not the strongest, and totally disappears without bright light, but it’s beautiful when it shows.
I loved wearing this and got several compliments. This is three coats; the first was a little sheer, the second was mostly opaque, but I think the third was perfect. I used the Butter London PD Quick topcoat.
More of the red.
I’ve only got a couple of the Beatles collection, but they’re so gorgeous; I want them all. I’m glad she expanded it, and am dearly hoping that she continues to do so as she finds new and interesting pigments.
I have bought all my Enchanted Polishes from Llarowe.
Next post is a verrrry subtle holo that I just got via an amazing online deal.
So school has been whupping me soundly. It’s been fantastic and I’ve been very happy to be back in the books and papers mode, but my energy levels are not what they were ten years ago. How embarrassing! So I’ve been being a bit lackadaisy with both doing my nails and photographing them.
Today’s polishes are older ones that do not belong to me, rendering this a sort of guest-post. Lent to me by one of my dear peeps, the Scientifically Awesome S., please meet rather vintage Sally Hansen Aqua Chrome and Black Pearl Chrome. (Please also forgive the complete lack of cleanup and relatively sad lighting. I wanted to take very quick pictures because, lacking use of a base or topcoat, I was worried that they might chip within a short amount of time.)
I chose these two entirely because the skirt I was wearing had both blue and silvery-black as part of the design, and was very pleased. They are still very shiny, very brushstroke-prone, and very pleasing.
I don’t own any of the more recent chromes (e.g. Essie) to compare these to, so I cannot make any statements on how they might stand up to those. They did bubble a bit, but considering how old they are, I thought these did quite well.
The Black Pearl Chrome was especially lovely. It’s a dark, somewhat tarnished-looking silver that does indeed resemble photos of black pearls.
Mmm, brushstrokes. Clearly I was a little more careful on the accent nails than on the rest.
And here is her full collection. I may sneak over sometime later and borrow other colors, too. Fun fact: I hadn’t taken these off by the next day, which was the first day of school, so I layered three coats of Butter London Knackered over the top and it looked fabulous.
Nothing here was purchased by me, though I have found these around the internet for prices varying from $4-15 each, depending on where you look.
October is Holo Month, so you will be seeing a lot of rainbow action of all types on my nails. I think my next post (which may be tomorrow or may be next weekend. I’m still figuring out exactly how to manage my energy levels with school.) will be Enchanted Nails I Am The Walrus, a very lovely multichrome holo.
Vanitas Rex 