Archive for category Blue
Celebrating the Arrival of Spring With New(ish) Nail Polish Pretties!
Posted by Latoya in Blue, butter London, Chanel, China Glaze, Coral, Green, Nail Polish, Sally Hansen, Spring 2013, White, Yellow on March 20, 2013
Though I’ve been in somewhat of a nail polish slump, similarly to filling in gaps in my makeup collection, I’ve been picking up polish shades here and there that fit in nicely with the array of colors I already have. For the most part, I’ve been beefing up my existing collection with shades that are generally thought of when we think ‘spring’ – pale, pastel-like shades that have a fresh, soft, feminine quality to them. I know that there’s no need to stick to ‘seasonal’ colors any more, but I personally like to change the tones I wear (for both makeup and nails) each season, and typical spring shades are no exception.
I actually don’t own a large array of pale nail polishes, as I normally gravitate toward broodier, richer tones, but this season I’ve accrued five new shades that I’m totally digging, which means I now have a good handful or two of polishes that are just perfect for the spring season. My two favorites from past years have been Zoya’s Marley and MAC’s Mischievous Mint, and now joining those two are: Sally Hansen Barracuda, a pale yet bright blue; China Glaze Dandy Lyin’ Around (new from this season’s Avant Garden collection), a shimmering white; butter London’s Bossy Boots, a pale pistachio green, and Jasper (new from the Sweetie Shop Spring 2013 collection), a pale lemon yellow; and Chanel Orange Fizz, a slightly muted coral orange.
Sally Hansen Barracuda is a Complete Salon formula, which is supposed to mean that its the full meal deal, with base & top coat qualities rolled into the one polish. I actually do find these polishes to wear better without base coat, and the swatches below with sans top coat – as you can see, this baby is SHINY. There really is no need for top coat unless you need a quick drying one to get it on and get out the door. I found it did require three coats to achieve full opacity and to look it’s best, so if you’re in a hurry you may need a fast-drying top coat anyway. However, I found that it dries relatively quickly on it’s own, so its not an absolutely necessary step. Also, I have to mention that I adore the brush on these polishes – it’s wide and thin and covers almost my whole nail bed in one go. Application is a breeze!
China Glaze Dandy Lyin’ Around was a recent lemming of mine, having only first seen it on All Lacquered Up (a blog, by the way, I’m pleased to see back in action!) this past week. A couple weeks ago, Taylor of My Lucite Dreams posted about a white polish, and it looked SO lovely on her but I knew the white polish trend was NOT going to be my friend. However, when I saw Dandy Lyin’, I had a feeling that it’s softer, sparkling quality might be a way for me to try the trend, and I was right!! I really like this polish a lot, even despite the fact that it’s sheerness and slightly streaky quality requires three coats – just be careful in your application. It’s worth the effort for me as I’m loving the look on my hands! I can’t wait to try it on summer toes 
Note that no top coat was used, and I don’t feel it needs one, unless you want to get that smooth, uber-glossy look.
butter London Bossy Boots has NOT been a recent lemming; in fact, I wanted this bad boy last year but held out until a couple months ago when I got it on discount. As a general rule, I do not like green nail polish – not on others (typically) and definitely not on me. However, light greens are totally exempt and I love the way they look. I’m not 100% sold on the yellowish undertones in Bossy Boots as being the best for me, but I still enjoy this shade and am glad I finally picked it up. The application was good with no real troubles – shown is with two coats – although it would benefit from a top coat to give it a bit more gloss and shine (no top coat used in photos).
butter London Jasper was another longer-term lemming of mine since the launch of the Sweetie Shop collection earlier this year. I could have easily bought every shade from the release, but held myself back to just this one. I don’t own a single yellow, and dislike most versions of the shade, but this pale shade hooked me from the get-go. I love it on and it just screams spring to me. I’ve read conflicting reviews on this color’s formula – I don’t have a lot of experience with pale yellows, but I think that this formula is pretty darn good. It does require a bit more attention to application, but as far as it goes this is a good formula with minimal issue, for me at least! I did go with three coats just to get the best opacity, but it wasn’t that much of a pain. Like Bossy Boots, it would benefit from a shiny top coat, which I did not use in these photos.
Chanel Orange Fizz was sort of a random buy, which happens very rarely these days. When I picked up a few things from Chanel earlier this year, I was disappointed with the spring shades released but wanted a new polish. This one grabbed my attention and I’m super-happy that I bought it, it’s a stunner! This shade is obviously more pigmented/intense than the other shades I’ve shown above, but it still has a soft quality to it that feels spring-like to me (though this will also be kick-ass in summer!) The formula is thicker (typical of many Chanel polishes, I’ve found), but flows well and is self-leveling – again, just take care in your application and you should have no problems. I love the glossiness of this polish on it’s own – no top coat needed! I used three coats in these swatches, and you can still see slight VNL, but in person it’s hardly noticeable, and you could probably opt for two coats – I’m just fussy 
So there you have it! A handful of pretty polishes – a perfect way to shove usher in spring
So! What spring shades are you lemming/have you picked up? Do you go with softer shades or stick to whatever floats your boat at the time?
The Perfect Every-Season Shade – butter London’s Royal Navy
Posted by Latoya in Blue, butter London, Nail Polish on January 28, 2013
I’m feeling very antsy and at odds today and I’m not entirely sure why. I think partly it’s because I work tomorrow and Thursday night at Clinique so those two evenings are shot, and I have a late doctor’s appointment Wednesday which means I won’t get home till super-late as well. So essentially my week is over, good night 
Anyway! The best kind of posts for when you can’t sit still is a nail polish post – you can make ‘em quick and dirty (unless you tend to be chatty like I am). Today I have for you a GORGEOUS polish which I sadly couldn’t capture in it’s full glory (but trust me – its effing AMAZING): butter London’s Royal Navy.
With flash, you can see how seriously blue this polish can be – however, when worn, it’s rather dark and the blue tones are quite elusive. It looks more like the shot below, like the Atlantic Ocean – super dark blue-black with just a hint of it’s true colors around the edges:
For those of you who don’t live near the Atlantic Ocean, it seriously looks just like this – the Pacific Ocean, alternatively, is like this crazy aquamarine! – totally shocked me when I went to New Zealand.
I tried and I tried and I TRIED to get the polish to photograph as beautifully as it looks when worn, but to no avail. Sunlight didn’t bring it out; actually, when it looks it’s most stunning is in diffused, indirect, warm lighting – which is a bitch to photograph in. Needless to say, I’m not happy….but I tried my best!
The second shot is where I captured its beauty most, but the polish is so damn shiny that it kept reflecting off the flash (argh!). But that is essentially how it looks at it’s most entrancing.
This last shot makes it almost look like a jelly, but it’s not. Two coats to full opaqueness, although it’s nearly done in one. Applies easily with a good flow to the formula, though because of it’s darkness you do need to be a bit more careful than usual with application.
I love this polish with all my heart! These kinds of super-dark shades work best for me, rather than mid-tones or more muted/dusty ones. I also like ‘em dark like this because I feel like it transcends seasons – this would be suitable no matter what the weather or situation, because it’s essentially a neutral…..a BAD-ASS neutral, too
Any polishes you fallen head over heels for lately?
So Many Products, Not Enough Time…Interim Quickie Polish Post
Posted by Latoya in Aqua/Teal, Blue, China Glaze, Comparisons, Nail Polish, Orange, Summer 2012, Zoya on July 13, 2012
Hello everyone! I have an insane backlog of products I want to show you desperately, but have just NOT had the time to take photos of anything – such is the way Summer goes, I guess! We’ve been having just the most spectacular weather you could imagine which means I’m outside as much as possible, which is absolutely lovely Tomorrow I plan to get up and do a major photo and swatch session so hopefully in the coming days you’ll have a ton of eye candy to ogle In the meantime, I’m going to do a post a la Liz (aka Beauty Reductionista) to fill the void. Enjoy!
Zoya Arizona
It looks different in different light eh? I’d say the last photo is the most color-accurate. This is a sad polish. The formula was atrocious, gloppy and streaky (this is three coats) and while I liked the color, I didn’t love it so much that the crappy formula was worth dealing with. I wore two full mani’s with this, but I’m am DONE. Swap!
China Glaze For Audrey
Another slight color-shifter. It’s most like the second photo I would say. Since I broke the seal on aqua polishes with Zoya Wednesday (which was a counterpart AWESOME to Arizona’s TOTAL FAIL), I decided to go all in and pick up this cult shade to wade in the aqua pool a bit further. I like it! I don’t think aqua will ever be a ‘go to’ shade for me – I still this it looks much better on fairer skin – but it’s a fun shade to wear in Summer, and I’m glad I found a few to play nice with This was an easy-to-use formula, no issues. Here it is compared to Wednesday:
(No, I did not wear these as a mani/pedi combo LOL!) In the first photo, with flash, they look quite similar, but in the second you can see that Wednesday is dustier and more muted. I think I’d actually prefer the reverse to this – Wednesday on fingernails and For Audrey on toes. But they’re both pretty
China Glaze Ridin’ the Waves
I’ve already shown swatches of Ridin’ the Waves, but I wanted to show it again when I wore it as a full mani, with a coat of white polish underneath to make it really pop! Although I don’t like the sheerness of this polish – it tends to be a bit streaky, so even over white it was tricky (as you can see in the first & second photos) – I love the shade; it’s vibrant without being too in-your-face, and the jelly texture is a nice switch-up. It’s not quite as bright as shades like Nails Inc. Baker Street, but it comes close.
Speaking of nail polish, I would be remiss if I didn’t let you know about the contest going on at Nail Polish Canada – they’re giving away a lifetime supply (approx. 25 years worth) of CND Shellac to one winner! Though I know a few people were a bit offended by the somewhat poorly delivered joke about living too long to surpass the ‘lifetime’ claims, regardless, this is a pretty sweet giveaway for anyone who loves having their nails polished to perfection but doesn’t want to deal with the hassle of upkeep. “CND Shellac is a cross between nail polish and gel. Shellac is applied like regular nail polish and then cured using a UV lamp. Shellac lasts much longer than your regular manicure; up to 14 days without chipping or peeling. Dry time is instant, making the application process fast and ensuring your polish doesn’t smudge.” This would almost be a sort of hell for me because I love changing my nails so frequently, and so the fabulous technology would be completely lost on someone like myself, but I can think of a number of gals who would LOVE to win something like this and put it to very good use!
The winner will be selected August 7th, and contest is open to residents of Canada and the US (excluding Quebec), so boogie on over to NPC and check out the full details! Best of luck to all who enter!
I hope everyone has a lovely weekend full of tons of sunshine!! Get ready for a barrage of posts coming next week – it’s gonna get a little crazy
Thoughts? (about Arizona/For Audrey/Ridin’ the Waves/Nail Polish Canada joke/life in general)???
Filler Post Alert! Essie’s Bikini So Teeny, Take One
Posted by Latoya in Blue, Essie, Nail Polish, Summer 2012 on June 22, 2012
I am not too bright on Friday’s it seems! I had this fantastic post (well…ok, I had A post) written that I was going to put up today, but I left my USB at work so I’m totally out of luck until Monday. Stupid dummy! (That’s what I said to myself when I realized my mistake) Anyway, I’ve been slower posting lately with all the moving business etc., and I don’t like it, so I’m going to give you SOMETHING to look at this evening if it kills me. Maybe even two things, if you’re lucky
My alternative post, which I planned on putting up at some point soon anyway, was my first ‘Summer Polish Combo’ of the season, but goodness gracious – I could NOT for the life of me capture the vivid neon of China Glaze Beach Cruise-R, AGAIN, like I wasn’t able to capture most of the bright shades from the Summer Neons collection last month. I even have it layered over white polish, to make it pop, and of course my fab shiny new camera takes infinitely better pictures, but it’s near impossible. I’m sure a better photographer than me can do it no sweat – I just don’t have the patience/skill (yet). So you’re gonna get a runner-up to the runner-up post! How do you like them apples?
…Yea, that’s pretty shabby of me, I know. But what do you do? So, I’m going to show you Essie’s Bikini So Teeny – shots that unfortunately aren’t my favorite just because one of my fingers has a small nick in the cuticle and it’s generally not my best mani – it was taken a few days after application and I had some tip wear – but the color is fairly accurate and I absolutely LOVE this polish, so I won’t mind re-posting better shots down the road. Hope that’s OK with you!!
So, here it is:
With flash
Indoor lighting
Fab, Fab, Fab. I adore this color so much!! What’s really hilarious is that it is super-close to Essie’s Lapiz of Luxury from a few years ago (it looks to be a bit darker than ‘Bikini’), which I bought, tried, HATED on my skin tone, and promptly swapped it on MUA. Those were still the early days of funky nail polish colors, and it was probably one of the first I tried that wasn’t your standard pink/red/purple/neutral shade. Now several years later, I am LOVING these colors, and this one in particular I think stands out in a good way on my skin.
It’s very similar in tone to Lippmann’s I Know What Boys Want – just lighter
I’d almost given up on this polish, as I hadn’t seen it around in stores anyway, and I’d made a pact with myself not to buy it online – but it popped up in Shoppers last week AND it was on sale, so I snatched it up – and I’m so glad I did! I have China Glaze’s Sea Spray from Spring 2011 which I though was like, THE standard pale blue, but it’s so greyed out and doesn’t really look all that nice on me, so I rarely wear it. This is pale but at the same time bright, and not a true sky blue but more of a periwinkle, in my opinion. It’s just really lovely, and the formula is pretty good for an *almost pastel* creme. Two coats to opacity if you apply them with a steady hand; I had a couple nails I had to do a third coat on as they were showing just a hint of patchiness.
In short: BUY THIS POLISH. I can’t imagine it not looking wonderful on everyone and anyone – but then again, I’m biased. Be sure to keep an eye out for me posting this again in the future; it really deserves better than the photos I’ve taken above!
Here’s the failed Summer Polish Combo attempt – so frustrating! The pedi shade – Zoya Wednesday – came out accurately, why can’t Beach Cruise-R!?!?!
Since I’m crapping out on you on pretty much all fronts, I’ll just throw out the general question of: Thoughts??
China Glaze Summer Neons Collection: Part II (Swatches and Review)
Posted by Latoya in Blue, China Glaze, Coral, Green, Nail Polish, Pink, Purple, Summer 2012 on May 23, 2012
You remember how yesterday I talked about my admiration of those fabulous bloggers who were in the business of swatching full collections of nail polish on the regular? Well today I’m in admiration of anyone who buys a home!! Holy moley, let me tell you – it is SUPREMELY exciting to buy your first home (I guess, any home really!) – but there is so much to learn and info to absorb, wowza!!! It’s a lot for a brain to handle. Thankfully we’ve had absolutely stellar people working with us to find the condo and get our financing in order, but its been a relatively consuming pastime for the last few weeks. Well worth it, but mindblowing all the same!!
Anyway, we spent some time at the bank tonight wrapping things up, then come home to make dinner, then talked numbers some more…suddenly my evening has gone *poof* and I’ve hardly even done anything! I really wanted to get the second part out for the Summer Neons collection from China Glaze though, so here I am! The second half is just as eye-popping as the first, so get ready!
I’m With the Lifeguard is a ‘glimmering lime green,’ and while I love this shade in theory – makes me think of lime koolaid! – I’m not liking it on my skintone at all, though it is lovely to look at. The last picture is the most accurate for how bright this is. I found 3 coats was best to even out a bit of streakiness, and it had a similar formula as most other shades – thicker but fairly easy to work with. This dried semi-matte.
Sunlight
Sunlight
Sunlight (different setting)
The description of Ride the Waves - a ‘dark ocean blue’ – is so terribly enticing to me. Due to the sheer, thin, jellyish formula, it really made me think of the deeper waters of the Caribbean! To avoid any VNL, 3 coats is absolutely necessary. I really like this shade – it reminds me of Nails Inc. Baker St. (which Beyonce was apparently wearing shortly after she had Ivy Blue, hence everyone wanted it) but it’s not quite as electric, though it’s still really very eye-catching. It’s darker and not as cool-toned in real life, and the squishy nature looks like you could just drink it up. As I was wearing it as my mani this week, I realized it would be perfect as a base for Lippmann’s Across the Universe!
Indoor lighting
With flash
Natural light
Sunlight
Just as juicy and ripe-looking as the fruit to describe it, Under the Boardwalk, a ‘fluorescent raspberry’, has almost the same formula as ‘Ride the Waves’, but not quite as jellyish. Again, 3 coats best, though 2 is workable here, and it’s deeper in tone than it looks in photos. I feel pretty ‘meh’ about this shade – it’s quite nice but nothing stand-out to me in any way.
With flash
Sunlight
Sunlight
Love’s A Beach, a ‘sizzling hot pink’, is slightly warmer than ‘Hang-Ten Toes’, but the differences are slight and I personally wouldn’t feel it necessary to own both. If I had to chose, I think I’d pick this shade, as the blue-leanings are less pronounced. Formula was good; it applied easily without fuss. 3 coats were used here for good measure.
With flash
Natural light
Sunlight
In theory, Surfin’ For Boys would be the ultimate shade: a ‘glistening bright coral’? Sign me up! However, there’s something off about this color for me; I think it’s the shimmer which looks almost purplish in certain light, and just feels a bit gaudy to me. It’s actually remarkably similar to another shade I own, LA Colors in Magnetic Force, except I think I like that polish better (well, at least the color). However, I think this is still a great shade for summer, and definitely a perfect pedi shade. It went on very easily in 2 coats, and dried semi-matte.
With flash
Sunlight
Sunlight - different setting
Last but not least, we have Flirty Tankini, a ‘shimmery strawberry smoothie pink’ with a particularly good formula. I could have done 2 coats with no problem but I did 3 to be nitpicky. I really liked the sweetness of this shade and though it went particularly well with my skintone. The shimmer was understated (as it didnt’ contrast with the base color) and I’m looking forward to wearing this as a full mani very soon!!
With flash
With flash
Sunlight
That wraps it up for the China Glaze Summer Neons collection! I liked this half equally as well as the first, and I have my faves – Ride the Waves, which grew on me, and Flirty Tankini, which is just too darn pretty! Though I enjoyed the formula of most shades as a whole, it was a bummer to apply 3 coats for almost all of the polishes here. A suggestion was made that I could layer these shades over a white polish to let the neon qualities really pop, and I think I’ll take that recommendation to heart. Every single shade was majorly bright, and to enhance that aspect would only serve to make this collection that much more special (and allow less coats of color overall!).
As a whole, I found a few of the shades in the collection not as unique as I’d like – some seemed to replicate shades I already have in my stash. However, I chose those shades for a reason, so what’s not to like? lol One complaint I have about the collection as a whole is that there are a fair amount of shades that are quite similar to each other – there are no dupes, but they’re close enough that I personally wouldn’t feel like I needed to own both/all. However, in person the differences between them are more obvious, so you may refute me there and I would be OK with that Really, this collection is the epitome of fun, splashy shades for Summer, and if you want them all, who am I to argue?
What is your idea of the perfect Summer polish shade(s)? Would you try out a neon polish?
*Product samples were provided to me by the PR company/brand for my unbiased consideration.
China Glaze Summer Neons Collection: Part I (Swatches and Review)
Posted by Latoya in Blue, China Glaze, Coral, Nail Polish, Orange, Pink, Purple, Summer 2012, Yellow on May 22, 2012
Before I begin, I just want to give some serious accolades to any bloggers out there that have swatched an entire nail polish collection for our viewing pleasure. O.M.G. I’ve done maybe 4 swatches at a time, which was still quite a task, but 12 shades!?! Good grief! I spent most of my day Saturday and part of my day Sunday painstakingly applying each of the 12 shades of the Summer Neons collection from China Glaze, fearful that I was going to lose my sun, waiting between coats, hydrating and rehydrating my cuticles, and taking shot after shot of my nails to capture each shade as accurately as possible. Man Oh Man. It was truly exciting to have the opportunity – receiving the big box in the mail and knowing I’d never otherwise have such a chance – but I just wanted to give a shout out to the more established bloggers who are used to this sort of thing. You rock!! It’s quite a job, and I will forever have a different appreciation for collection swatches moving forward. Thank you, my lovelies 
Ok, with that out of the way – let’s get to the polish, shall we? Today I bring you the first part of my swatchapalooza; there really wasn’t a defined split between the shades, so I just kind of put them together in a way that made sense to me. The collection as a whole was a surprize hit for me. In promotional shots, I was unsure how I felt about a bunch of neon shades with shimmer – typically odd colors like electric green and eyeball-searing yellow do NOT do it for me, and I’m not a fan of shimmer overall – but somehow they made it work in a big way with this collection.
First up, we have Sun-Kissed, described as a ‘hot highlighter yellow’, and it was exactly that! I would never in a million years imagine I’d like a shade like this, but consider me converted! Somehow, this super-bright shade won me over, and I definitely see a full manicure with this in my near future. Obviously, I don’t have much experience with yellow polishes, but from what I hear they can be tricky to work with – this shade, while slightly streaky, was relatively painless to apply; you can get away with 2 coats but I applied 3 for the best opacity. Like many shades in the collection, it dries semi-matte.
Indoor lighting
With flash
Sunlight
Sunlight
Next up, Orange You Hot? - a ‘bright orange with attention-grabbing gold glimmer.’ I find the shimmer particles very fine, and the gold tone is lost in the base shade, but it’s still lovely. I liked it but didn’t love it on my skintone – I think it’ll be more of a pedi shade in my rotation than anything else. I felt similarly about the formula; it was good but not great. I applied 3 coats to get the smoothest application possible.
Indoor lighting
With flash
Sunlight
Sunlight
~Ah~ Pink Plumeria. My personal favorite of the whole collection. A ‘light pink with gold shimmer,’ it came out more like a coral-pink on my nails, and was soo flattering. It retains quite a neon look but in a way that’s tasteful and eye-catching rather than gaudy – it’s actually brighter in person than I was able to capture in these photos. The gold shimmer really gave it an extra-pretty sheen. Application was pretty good – 2 coats was sufficient, and how I wore it as a full mani, but I think 3 would probably be better, as it had a hint of patchiness on a few nails.
Indoor lighting
With flash
Sunlight
Sunlight
Hang-Ten Toes was actually the first polish I tried on from the collection; a ‘bubblegum neon pink with iridescent purple shimmer’, it looked and sounded far too enticing to pass up. In person, this shade is searingly bright – I found it difficult overall to capture the true neon nature of most of the polishes in the collection, this one in particular (I took about a million shots of this polish, and I’m still not satisfied!). Easy flowing with good consistency (you don’t need too much on the brush), it dries to a semi-satin finish. At an angle, the shimmer is somehow both obvious and elusive, which gives it mysterious depth. 2 coats is enough to reach good coverage, but 3 erases any VNL. I found the drying time of this shade was slower than I’m used to – which I found for a handful of shades in the collection (perhaps because I was applying 3 coats for many of them).
Indoor lighting
With flash
Sunlight
Sunlight
On of the best formulas of the bunch, Beach Cruise-r is a ‘glimmering fuchsia grape’, which only required two smooth coats to full opacity. On the nail, it reminds me a lot of American Apparel’s Neon Violet except with shimmer. This kind of color is a bit unexpected in Summer I think, because it has a deeper jewel tone that makes me think more of Fall, but the brightness makes it appropriate and fun for the warmer months too. Like Neon Violet, I’m slightly ambivalent toward it as a mani, but quite like it as a pedi shade. It’s brighter and more richly hued in person – closer to the last shot, below.
Indoor lighting – looks so purple!
Sunlight
Sunlight
Sunlight
Finally, we have Splish Splash, a ‘bright sky blue shimmer,’ also with a great formula, though 3 coats is still best. This is not at all my kind of shade, but is an absolutely glorious color on it’s own – I want to own other things in this shade (just not wear it on my nails). Looking at these photos, I’m mesmerized by this color; but with my skintone, it looks a bit garish. In person it’s much more blue than aqua like it looks in these photos – closer to the last shot, below.
Indoor lighting
With flash
Natural light
Sunlight
Sunlight
And so we conclude Part I of the Summer Neons collection! Overall I felt that there were some beautiful shades, even if they all didn’t ~go~ with my skintone. While many of the shades required 3 coats to look best to my liking, I still felt that the formulas overall were quite good; they didn’t dry too quickly and cause dragging, and applied very easily for the most part, with an excellent consistency in formula. Mostly I found that they were just a touch sheer and just the slightest bit patchy, but applying 3 coats cleared any of those issues up with ease. I also normally do a fast-drying top coat, whereas I used none in the swatches above (nor base coat), which could be why they seemed to take longer to dry than normal. In any case, I liked some of the shades so much that I’d be more than willing to put up with the extra coats. They all scream Summer to me, and just make me happy looking at them!
What are your thoughts on these shades from the collection? Are you into neon brights? Would you prefer them with or without shimmer?
*Product samples were provided to me by the PR company/brand for my unbiased consideration.
I’ve Got the Blues: L.A. Girl Color Addict in Idol and Essence Denim Wanted in My Boyfriend’s Jeans
Posted by Latoya in Blue, Drugstore Finds, Nail Polish on January 6, 2012
Something is very wrong with me lately – I have next to no interest in buying any new nail polish! Even most of the Spring shades that are cropping up here and there hold no real allure for me. So unlike me! My dedication to wearing polish hasn’t waned, but buying it sure has. I think it might be due to the fact that within the next 10 months, I have plans to travel to Jamaica (just booked – we’re going to the Sandals Whitehouse!!), possibly Vancouver, possibly Montreal, possibly Alaska/Yukon, Newfoundland, and New Zealand (for five weeks!!!!). So….yeah. Looks like my priority this year is travel, with cosmetics taking a (slight) backburner – though don’t fret, it just means my purchases will be more thoughtful, and by extension, totally awesome 
ANYWAY (I apologize for my tendency to ramble lol). I have unworn/unswatched shades to show you, that will tide you (and me) over until that day comes when I once again feel the call of the polish (wow, I’m dramatic tonight, aren’t I?!). Let’s see what I got!
The first polish I’m going to show you is Essence My Boyfriend’s Jeans, from the Denim Wanted collection last year, which had I think three shades. I first mentioned this polish when I finally got my hands on Lippmann’s Across the Universe. Essence is a very reasonably priced nail polish company that’s made in Scotland (though I think it is a German brand) – you can buy it at Shoppers Drug Mart for between $1.99-4.99. My Boyfriend’s Jeans is a medium blue creme with a slight teal leaning. Almost fully opaque in one coat, it has an easy flowing formula, with good consistency that’s not too thick or thin. It’s fairly shiny on it’s own, as you can see below (no top coat was used). Two coats and you’re good to go!
L.A. Girls Color Addict in Idol was a shade I picked up way back, when I was desperately on the hunt for a shade similar to Dior’s Bond Street, a beautiful dark slate-blue. This doesn’t really compare, but is still pretty nonetheless. It’s a dusky, muted, grayed-out deep blue with golden shimmer. It’s also quite opaque, with a slightly thick formula that isn’t really problematic. If you were in a rush you could get away with one coat (I’ve got just one on the pinky nail for reference), but I don’t recommend that kind of application as it can chip much faster. It’s also pretty glossy without any top coat (as shown below).
I appreciate that the shimmer in this polish is readily apparent, and you don’t have to get it at certain angles, or in sunlight, to make it show up. It’s a rather unique shade and I like that the golden shimmer in a cool-toned base make it wearable for warmer and cooler skintones. L.A. Girls polishes retail at Lawtons for around $4-5CAD, so it’s a pretty good deal too.
I quite like both of these polishes, maybe more so the L.A. Girls due to it’s uniqueness, and they’ll be sticking around in my stash for a while. Yay to polishes I like! Blue is definitely one of my favorite shades, I just find it works with just about everything and anyone.
Is anyone else on a polish hiatus? What do you think causes this phenomenon? Any suggestions on how I can get out of it??
Technical Difficulties…
Posted by Latoya in Blue, China Glaze, Deborah Lippmann, Metallic, Nail Polish, Neutral, Pink, Rescue Beauty Lounge on November 23, 2011
So, our wireless internet is frigged – but not on my bf’s computer, just mine! Super annoying. Currently I’m sitting on the floor near the modem with my computer actually plugged IN, as it’s the only way to get online. But DAMN this hallway is chilly so I won’t be hanging out here for long! In the interim, here’s some polish spam for you to keep to busy until I get this whole thing straightened out:
China Glaze 2030. I also swatched Hi-Tek at the same time, but stupidly forgot to take photos, so that’ll be for another time. This one is actually up for swap – its flattering on me but I’m not really into this kind of look. Plus it’s a little annoying to apply as it dries fast and can get patchy easily. Pass!
Yuk. This is an LA Girl polish that I got in a swag bag, but the name is missing (sorry). Anyway, I hate colors like this – SUPER not my style. Though, this polish had one kickass formula – perfectly thin, but opaque in two coats, and with an awesome glossy finish. Too bad about the icky shade (though I’m sure it’d look great on someone!).
I should have titled this post: ‘Polishes I Hate’ because here’s another one that I’m not a fan of (maybe hate’s a strong word…but there is NO love lost). This is Deb Lippmann’s Satin Doll, one created for Mariah Carey. In theory, its quite pretty – its very complimentary to my skin tone, but I am not liking the old Granny shimmer at all. It makes this look really dated, which it very well could be – when did this come out? One of the awesome gals at Mills Brothers gave it to me because I spent an hour arranging the Lippmann polishes just so, one night while I was working at Clinique (hello, OCD!). This’ll go up for swap too like the others I suspect…so sad.
Rescue Beauty’s Piu Mosso. Bah! I’ve had this swatches for ages but just COULD not get the pretty fire-red shimmer to come out and play. And in all truthfulness, it really made this shade kinda disappointing to me. I know ‘secret shimmers’ are all the rage, and I loved me some Chanel Paradoxal, but for some reason this one didn’t translate the same. Maybe because its similar to Zoya’s Cynthia, which has my heart completely, that this seemed to be a dud in comparison. Which is weird because of the awesome shimmer…that you can only see in perfect sunny light. Meh. I’ll likely hang on to it for a while, then move on.
That’s all for now, I’ve caught up on almost all my backlogged polish swatches now I hope this gives you a lil something until I can get this ridiculous internet problem solved! My computer must be faulty (*Guess it’s time for a new one* heehee)
I hope everyone is well, be back soon!!
Love and Hate: MAC’s Ming Blue
Posted by Latoya in Blue, MAC, Nail Polish on November 16, 2011
I had big plans for the blog last night – I’m planning on implementing a couple new things that should be helpful to my readers – but luck was NOT with me, as my internet was down all evening. What a waste of my time!!! Grrr. I definitely went to bed cranky, that’s for sure. Anyway, I seem to be back up and running today!
I’m still struggling through a handful of untrieds/unswatched (only 10 left to go!), but finally we can cross this one off the list: MAC’s Ming Blue from last Fall’s Jin Soon collection. There were so many gorgeous colors in that collex, but this is the one that came home with me. I was all over this last year, but haven’t worn it at all since. I think it’s another color in which I waited too long and forgot how gorgeous it was…
This is one of the few shades of blue I have (and I have many) that looks straight up blue – not teal or aqua, faded, or near black, but blue. Its sort of like a less-blackened version of MAC’s Biker Blue, which came out earlier this year (which collection? Hell, I dunno, I can’t keep up!). I prefer this shade, as it’s just so rich – the base shade isn’t as dark, and the beautiful bright blue micro-shimmer isn’t at such a contrast, which kind of tricks the eye. There is some major intrigue going on in this polish – the shimmer is so fine you don’t notice it at first, but it catches the light (and not just sunlight!) so well that you have to take a second look.
MAC polishes aren’t my favorite formulations generally, though I can’t really say too much because this is only the second one I own (lol). Both tend to be a bit thicker than I’d like, although Ming Blue in particular doesn’t cause any issues, per se, just a preference for a thinner formulation. This is two coats, though if you’re in a rush you could get away with one thicker coat which would almost be fully opaque. The brush is slightly wonky (a touch splayed), but it didn’t cause any problems either. The polish went on smoothly without a hitch.
There are two complaints I have with this polish (uh, well, I guess I had a few others above eh? So…yeah. Ok, I have a couple more ): One is that it chips fairly quickly. I had forgotten that until I noticed a small nick in my thumb an hour after I had applied it. Arghhhh. Though I’ve gone all day today without any other incidents, so it could just have been the old base coat I used last year.
The other problem with this polish is that it STAINS.LIKE.A.BITCH. (I recognize that phrase doesn’t really make sense). I can wear this for one day and when I remove it, my nails are left with inky leftovers – blech. I can’t imagine the effect after wearing it for longer! It’s annoying, but since I continuously wear nail polish, it’s not a huge deal to me (though I know some people who really hate it). I’m going to be changing my polish tomorrow to prepare for our one year anniversary Friday (Yay!!), so that was partially the reason I finally got around to wearing this polish – I knew it wouldn’t be on too long! Edit: Just removed the polish, and YAY! – no staining! And the reason? My butter London Nail Foundation base coat. I LOVE when I find a solution to a problem!!
Despite it’s shortcomings, I still adore this polish. I kept glancing at my nails today, admiring how pretty the blue is. Of course, it’s jerky of me to show polishes that are since discontinued, but you can dream, hey? ~evil laugh~ 
How do you feel about staining? Are you willing to deal with it and/or other polish issues, if the color is right?
Some Kinda Gorgeous: Zoya’s Cynthia
Posted by Latoya in Blue, Nail Polish, Zoya on November 7, 2011
I was going to post something else tonight, but when I was reviewing photos of different product swatches I’ve taken in the past couple days, I was mesmerized by how GORGEOUS this polish is! Holy crap!! And I just had to share it with you ASAP.
Cynthia is from the ‘Smoke’ side of this Fall’s collection from Zoya, and somehow, despite all the beauty blogs I read regularly, I don’t think I’ve seen swatches of this shade done justice properly. Now, I don’t have a great camera – in fact, my camera is kinda crap – but I think the shots I’ve taken capture Cynthia pretty accurately. Let’s check them out, shall we?
In natural light, the polish is a dusty, dark indigo – it looks exactly like the bottle shade. Very sophisticated and cool.
In the shade, the polish looks almost black, and impossibly glossy. As you may know, I’m not too into near-black shades, but for this polish I’ll make an exception, because…
POW! Look at that!! GAWD. These photos were taken under indoor lighting. And note – this is just the polish alone, no top coat, so it’s really just.that.shiny. all on it’s own. The indigo tones are easily apparent, and just so insanely, amazingly beautiful – I can’t even stand it. 
I find this shade makes my hands look so elegant, and because it’s a deep dark shade, it’s got an edge to it too. I am in total and complete love.
As for the formulation, it’s near perfect – so easy to apply, but it’s thin, so it needs two thick coats or three thin (my preference). It’s a touch jelly-ish, which is kind of interesting, and helps give it that juicy quality. This is an absolute must-have shade, in my books!
Just as a heads up: I’m in the (slow) process of reviewing a few different skin care products, as well as MUFE’s HD Primer and Microfinishing Powder, so in the meantime, I’ll likely be showing more and more polish shades to fill the gap until I feel like I can accurate review all of the other products. Hope you don’t mind
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