Thursday, May 30, 2013

Spectrum Cosmetics Nail Polish

*Purchased by me

Hello, dear reader. It's really hot today. Like the third hot day of the year, and I don't like it.  I'm not a hot weather kind of girl.  I prefer things to be cool or even better down right cold.  If it's hot, my brain gets all muddled and I just plain can't think. That is my entire summer in a nutshell. It's amazing I get anything done. In a round about way, I guess I'm saying be prepared for rambling or complete loss of topic. Now, on to the polish.

I've wanted to try this company for ages, and I've finally gotten the chance.  I've known about this Etsy store pretty much since I opened my store in 2011.  I loved their names and their shadow colors.  It wasn't until recently that I discovered they sell nail polish. I would love to try their eyeshadows, but I'm wary of them because I have super oily lids.  I wasn't until super recently that I could wear anything but eye liner. Thank you UDPP, while not making the situation perfect, my shadow at least lasts for several good hours without creasing.

Celaeno:
This polish is part of the seven sister collection and when translated means swarthy.

Personally, I think it's far from swarthy, it's really pretty. It reminds me of China Glaze's Wagon Trail. Which was my third ever China Glaze color, that I bought last summer.  I'm a new comer to China Glaze.

Celaeno is a black base with all sorts of golden shimmer, it's really quite stunning.  It also reminds me of my own Dalekanium polish, but a bit more shimmery.

I did two coats with absolutely no issues. Because it's black, it covers really well.

You can find the entire Seven Sisters collection here. I would really suggest you check them out.  They're all black based with different colored shimmer.  My kind of collection.

Belladonna:
This is the polish that sparked me to buy from Spectrum.  I'm a sucker for blues, but even more so for ones that have something interesting going on. Belladonna did not disappoint.

My pictures can't do this color justice, there is so much purple and pink shimmer in here it's crazy. 

I was looking at this polish again and noticed that in certain lights the shimmer even looks green. HIDDEN COLOR SHIFT! Yes, that's meant to be yelled.  I love hidden color shift, it's like a little present in each manicure.

I just love the tone of this blue, it's kind of a blurple.  One of my favorite shades of blue.

The formula on this was a unique slightly thick jelly.  It wasn't hard to work with at all, and three coats was perfect.

Damson:
I saved my favorite for last, and one is want to do.  I love this color, it's another blurple but with greenish blue shimmer. 

Oh, the shimmer. It makes me drool and weep.  Overall, not a pretty sight. 

There's just so much to love about this polish, It's shimmery, it's a blurple. What do you get when you put those two together? Awesome, that's what.

The coverage on this was a little sheer even with three coats, but I'm willing to bet money it would look smashing over black.  

I'm such a nail nerd that I went on an internet search to find pigment like this.  It's color shifting, but it's subtle.  I think it might be my favorite kind of color shift.

All of these polishes were a dream to work with, and I can't wait to try more.  There are a couple that are catching my eye right now.

You can find Spectrum Cosmetics on Etsy and on Facebook.

Disclaimer: I bought these with my own money and all opinions are my own.










Monday, May 27, 2013

Not Too Polished- Skeeter

*Provided for the purpose of review

Today I have a polish based on a not so much loved Harry Potter character.  I've never met a Harry Potter fan that loved Rita Skeeter.  She just has an acidic personality.

Her polish on the other hand is a different story, while it perfectly captures everything that is Rita Skeeter it also is pretty and very easy to work with.

I consider this base to be slightly on the mauve side of pink.  It's still a very pink base, but there's a dinginess to it.

I love the varying green glitters, if I were to make a polish based on Rita Skeeter I would use a very similar glitter palette.  I love the acid green color small holo hexes, it's the perfect match for her quill.  

I did three coats of this beauty and had no issues with glitter placement or coverage. Which is saying something because my nails can be stubborn when it comes to full coverage.

Overall, this polish was a dream to work with. In fact, all of the Not Too Polished colors are easy to work with.  

You can find Rita Skeeter on Etsy, and Not Too Polished on Facebook.

Disclaimer: I was sent this polish for the purpose of review and all opinions are my own.




Tuesday, May 21, 2013

A Study in Polish Part Two

*Purchased by me

I'm back with more gorgeous polishes from A Study in Polish.  My first review can be seen here. I was so impressed with them that I just had to get more.  I have two colors for you today. Prepare to be dazzled.

221B:
I love a simple glitter topper and this is exception. 221B is a black and gold topper that embodies the flat perfectly.

I did two coats over one of my own Sherlock polishes, Eloquent Dust. I picked a color that black and gold could really stand out on, and this grey did the trick.

Application was perfect and removal gave me very little trouble as well.  I did spend a lot of time staring at my nails though.  I loved this color combo.

Overall, this polish was a dream to work with, and I loved the simple black and gold color combo.

Mind Palace:
I knew this color had to be mine.  I LOVE the base color and then you toss in holographic tendencies and it's a dream come true.

I used three coats of the beauty and could not stop staring at my nails.  SO GORGEOUS.

The holographic qualities of this polish are subtle, but gorgeous when you get into the sun.  So, that's what I did.

There are so many great things to say about this polish, it applied like a dream.  It was a gorgeous color, and I can't wait to wear it again.

You can find A Study in Polish on Facebook and their store.

Disclaimer: I purchased these with my own money, and all opinions are my own.  I was not compensated for this review, and I'm not affiliated with the BBC, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, or any of the Sherlock team.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Not Too Polished Zombie Collection

*Sent for the purpose of review.

Elizabeth over at Not Too Polished was kind enough to send me a few goodies to review.  I couldn't be more excited.  The first two I have are from the zombie collection.  I'm not into zombies, but I do love creme polishes based on creepy things. The Zombie collection has 6 colors in total and I want to try all of them.

Desiccate- a deep bluish grey creme.  I do love this color,

I did two coats of this gorgeous color, and it was fully opaque, not an issue to be found.

I can honestly say I've never seen a color quite like this one.  It's a deep gray blurple.  I wore it alone, but I really think it would make glitter pop.

Elizabeth says this color is reminiscent of a fresh bruise and I can totally see it.  For me, this is now a must have color.  It filled hole in my collection.  You can find Desiccate on Etsy for 7.50 a bottle.

Flesh- A dusty grayish green. It's the color I associate with zombies.

Flesh, not really a pretty color is it?  It's one of those colors that looks great once it's on, but certainly isn't what one calls traditionally pretty.

I did three coats of this color. It would have been fine with two, but I like to even things out with a third. I think this color is a greenish grey color that really does remind me of rotting flesh.

You can find Flesh on Etsy and it's just 7.50 for a full 15ml bottle.

You can find Not Too Polished on Etsy and on Facebook.

Disclaimer- These were provided for review and all opinions are my own.



Thursday, May 9, 2013

Last of the Time Lords by: Lucky 13 Lacquer

*Purchased by Me

A few weeks ago I saw a post on Facebook that Kyoti was moving and putting all her stock on clearance.  I've wanted to try her beauties for months and I jumped at the chance to get my hands on some.  I got four in total from two different collections.

The first two are from her Doctor Who themed collection called Last of the Time Lords (hey don't I have a polish called that?) I'm sure all of you know how I feel about the Doctor by now, but let's just get it out there, I love it all.  I have yet to delve into original Who, but I'm hoping I'll be able to at some point.  Until then, I guess I have to live with own all of New Who.

First up Life is Short and You are Hot:

I can't picture a better name for this polish. It gave me name envy as soon as I read it.

So many things to love about this polish.  It's PINK, it's a jelly, it's got holo glitter.  It's hit my swoony trifecta (Google doesn't recognize trifecta as a word. Anyone else find that odd?)

I did two coats of this beauty over some old coral color from Sally Hansen.  I'm not naming names because I forgot what it was called, and because they don't sell it anymore.  While I loved the bright coral color, I didn't love the icky coral stain it left on all my nails.

I did try wearing this all by it's lonesome, but it was still pretty sheer in three coats.  I do love a jelly polish, and this one makes such a gorgeous jelly sandwich all on it's own.

When I placed my order I ordered all minis, but Kyoti was out of minis in this polish, so she upgraded me.  How awesome is that?


I just realized both the polishes I got have names from the same episode.  In all fairness, Blink makes it into my top five all time favorite episodes.

Oh, blue.  I love these so, and in a jelly form that's so squishy it hurts.  Wibby Wobbly is another that I knew I had to have from first glance and it does not disappoint.

I did two coats with no undies and look at all that sparkle.  I did notice some curling in the larger hex sized glitter, but nothing bad.  I got all of them to lay flat with literally no effort.

There are some great holo bits to this polish that the cloudy Michigan weather hides, but trust me it's there.

I do love this polish, I mean how can I not.  Blue is my go to polish color.

Overall, these were both great polishes, and I can't wait until she's got her shop stocked again.  I'm going to grab some more goodies.  You may be wondering where the other two polishes are. Well, those are going to happen on another day since they're from a different collection.

You can find Lucky 13 on Facebook. Or you can shop her store and read her blog.

Disclaimer: I bought these with my own money and all opinions are my own.





Saturday, May 4, 2013

Orly- Glowstick

*Purchased by Me

Anyone who's read my posts, polish descriptions, or Facebook statuses knows I can't wear yellow nail polish.  Something about my skin tone just doesn't jive.  I've created some really great yellows, but I can't pull them off.

That is until I found Glowstick.  I saw it on someone in a YouTube video and I've been intrigued ever since.  When I got the chance I went to Sally's, but they never had it in stock.  It wasn't until I went to Ulta for the first time ever that I saw it.  There was only one bottle and it was on sale.  Glowstick was finally mine.

My camera threw a fit when I wanted to take neon pictures.  I had to calm it down a bribe it with new batteries. I cannot tell you how excited I am that a yellow exists that I can wear.  

As in love as I am with this polish, there is a downside.  It takes four coats, and even at that there was some splotching.  I wanted to see if it's black light reactive, but I can't find my black light anywhere.  I knew where it was before I moved last June, but I haven't seen it since.  It's kind of putting a damper on my new Neon Ballroom collection too.  

I really love the super brightness of this color, and I have to fight the urge to wear it every time I do my nails.  I've done well so far and only worn it twice, but in the back of my head it's become a go to color.

Overall, this polish is a winner.  I don't often say that about store bought polishes.  I really just prefer to wear indie brands, but I have yet to see a neon yellow that works as well as this one.  Even with it needing four coats.  I'm working on a prototype of something similar for my Better in Books extension. If it works, it's going to be AWESOME!

Disclaimer: I bought this polish with my own money, and all opinions are my own.