Swatch: Three new Femme Fatales

The products in this post were purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

Happy Monday everyone!

So after being in the nail polish game for a while now, it takes a lot for a new polish to really wow me, much less an entire collection. But lately I've been absolutely drooling over everything Femme Fatale has released! That's why I had to break my no-buy for Color4Nails' latest restock and grab some of Femme Fatale's newest polishes. I've managed to get three swatched for you, go me!

All of these had a great formula and stayed exactly where you put them. The only negative was that, since they have sheer bases, I got some bald spots on my tips. But honestly I didn't care!

First up is Lantern Waste. This has a dark slate grey base with orange-to-green flakies and red-to-gold shifting shimmer!

Femme Fatale Lantern Waste. Two coats with Out the Door topcoat.

This has such a creepy vibe! Despite the strong shimmer, it wasn't brush-strokey at all.


Next is Heart's Desires. It has a dusty rose base with green-to-blue flakies and lots of copper holo microglitter.

Femme Fatale Heart's Desires. Three coats with Out the Door topcoat.

I love the way this polish takes a "grandma" color and makes it exciting again!


Last but not least, I have Mirror, Mirror, On the Wall... I was so happy to get this one because I missed the first two restocks and was terrified that I'd missed it forever. When I first saw the swatches, I wrote that it looked like a polish a unicorn would wear, and I still think that's true! It has a very pale turquoise base with pink-to-gold shifting shimmer and lots of silver holo glitter.

The shimmer was so strong in my normal lighting that it freaked out my camera, so I got some natural light shots. I love how different it looks at various angles!

Femme Fatale Mirror, Mirror, On the Wall... Three coats with Out the Door topcoat.

There's definitely a touch of magic in that bottle, don't you think? The polish was pretty smooth after one coat of topcoat.


Well, are you as in love with these Femme Fatales as I am? If you want to grab one, keep a close eye on the Femme Fatale shop and/or their stockists, because I'm sure they've been selling out really quickly!

The products in this post were purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

Quick swatch: Maya Cosmetics Tranquillis

The product in this post was purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

Hi all! I meant to post this a couple days ago, whoops! We had a busy week looking for a new apartment with a better commute for the both of us. Moving sucks, but it's kind of exciting to think about living in a brand new place--I don't know about you, but I always like to imagine that I'm going to be so much more organized in a new apartment (and then I never am).

Today I've just got a swatch for you, no review, as Maya Cosmetics is sadly long gone. :-( Maybe you can find this polish in a destash somewhere though! Tranquillis is a dark teal jelly with a mix of shimmer, mainly gold, green and pink to my eye. I fell in love with it at first sight! This mani was already a few days old when I photographed it, so it's lost some of its shininess.

And yes, I lost a corner of my middle fingernail--the perils of square nails!

Maya Cosmetics Tranquillis. Two coats with Out the Door topcoat.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Swatch: Femme Fatale In His House He Waits Dreaming

The product in this post was purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

Happy Hump Day everyone! (Are your tax returns done??) Today I want to show you a polish that I was really excited to get my hands on, because it's exactly my style!

Femme Fatale In His House He Waits Dreaming is a red-brown (mahogany?) jelly with teal shimmer and teal holo microglitter (and I think also tiny silver holo glitter). First, I LOVE the combo of brown and teal. It seems to creep into some of the polishes I make! I also love the Cthulhu reference in the name of the polish. The shimmer definitely gives it a creepy, otherworldly vibe, don't you think?

Femme Fatale In His House He Waits Dreaming. Three coats with Out the Door topcoat.

The formula was thick, like most jellies, but went on like butter and was very easy to control. My one criticism would be that I think the base could use more pigmentation. Even at three coats, it still looks a bit patchy (which you can see in my photos), and my tips look naked even though I wrapped them.

Still, I feel like even brown polish haters might be able to get into this one. It's like a galaxy in a bottle!

I bought this polish at Color4Nails, although it's not currently in stock there. You can also check Femme Fatale's site for restocks and other stockists!

The product in this post was purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

Swatch: Ninja Polish Pacific Coral

The product in this post was purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

Happy Friday everyone! Today I decided to encourage spring to come a little faster by wearing a super cheery polish, Ninja Polish Pacific Coral.

As you probably know, Ninja Polish was both an indie brand and an international stockist, but she closed down a while back. She recently reopened her shop to clear out her old stock, so I took the opportunity to grab a couple polishes off my wishlist while I still could. I was happy to get Pacific Coral in particular, because it's kind of like the platonic ideal of "coral" that I've been questing after for a while! Does anyone else know what I'm talking about?

Anyway, Pacific Coral is a bright coral crelly with Fantasy-Fire-type shimmer that shifts orange-gold-green. I tried to capture the shift in my photos, but I didn't get the whole range. I just love how in-your-face it is! I don't even care that orange looks bad on me!

Ninja Polish Pacific Coral. Two coats with Out the Door topcoat.

I had no complaints with the formula. You can sort of see my nail line at two coats, but I didn't feel the need to do a third.

As of right now, Pacific Coral is still available at Ninja Polish's site ($12 for 15 ml), so if you want it, now's the time!

The product in this post was purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

Quick swatch: Rescue Beauty Lounge Lucciole

The product in this post was purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

Hi folks! Hope you've been having a great week! Here we've finally been getting some sunny weather and a little bit of snowmelt...I'm really dying for spring to come!

So as you can see, I broke a nail this week and had to cut everything down to nubs. I hate the way my nails look when they're this short, but I thought I owed you guys a post. So try to ignore the nubs (and my torn-up skin...I've been shoveling a lot of snow lately).

I recently bought my first-ever Rescue Beauty Lounge polishes when they were having a sale. I would never shell out $20 for a bottle of polish, so I was glad to get these for a more reasonable price! This one is Lucciole, a sheer dark blue-grey with strong purple shimmer and gold flecks. Totally gorgeous and magical!

Rescue Beauty Lounge Lucciole. Two coats with Out the Door topcoat.

What's the most money you'd be willing to spend for a single polish?

The product in this post was purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

Swatch: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer Spark in the Dark collection & Siren LE

The products in this post were sent to me for review. All opinions are my own.

Happy Friday! Today I'm excited to show off an upcoming collection from a new-to-me indie brand, Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer! I was so honored that Julie asked me to review for her!

The Spark in the Dark collection is perfect for winter because it's full of different shades of blue, which made me really happy! Of course, blues are the hardest shades to photograph, so I had to color-correct some of these, and the colors still might not be 100% accurate. So I would definitely look for multiple swatches before purchasing if that concerns you!

A note on the formula: the brand states that their polishes are "designed to be opaque in one to two coats, so they may need to be thinned to your desired consistency." I found that they were definitely on the thicker side but still perfectly workable, so long as I was careful to wipe a lot of excess polish off the brush. I didn't feel the need to add thinner to any of them, but that's just my preference!

OK, let's start with an LE polish called Hypothermia! This polish will ONLY be available if you purchase the entire collection. It's described as a purple holo with purple shimmers, although to me the base color is more like faded indigo.

Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer Hypothermia. One coat with Out the Door topcoat.

The purple shimmers were hard to catch on camera, but they're definitely there in real life. The holo effect is nice and strong. This polish was a great one-coater!


Next is Bound to the City Life, a dark teal jelly with multicolored holo microglitter. It has great depth and sparkle!

Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer Bound to the City Life. Two coats with Out the Door topcoat.

Since this is a jelly, it was thicker than the others and took a little more finesse to apply evenly. I didn't find it unpleasantly goopy or sticky though. 


This is Counting Down Until I See You, which has a clear base packed with pink microglitter, as well as some larger pink glitter, gunmetal grey glitter, and silver reflective beads. Definitely the blingiest member of the collection!

Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer Counting Down Until I See You. Two coats with Out the Door topcoat (left) and Revlon matte topcoat (right).

  

Since this one's very sparkly, I added matte topcoat to my ring and pinky nails so you can see the details a little better. (Plus I think it looks great matte!) The glitter applied very evenly, and two coats was sufficiently opaque for my taste. 


Next up is It's Almost After Midnight, a smoky dark grey with strong blue shimmer. This is definitely one of my favorites in the collection--it's so moody!

Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer It's Almost After Midnight. Two coats with Out the Door topcoat.

  

This polish was sheer on the first coat but built up well on the second. I couldn't stop staring at my nails. :-D 


Here's Never Danced Like This Before, a navy holo with teal shimmer. It's gorgeous, with a jeweltone-like quality to it.

Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer Never Danced Like This Before. One coat with Out the Door topcoat.

This was another one-coater. I'm really impressed with how she manages to get such depth and opacity in a polish at the same time! The holo particles here are a little bigger and less dense than in Hypothermia.


Next is She's Electricity, a hot pink holo with pink and aqua shimmers and purple-blue iridescent microglitter. This one feels like a splash of summer in amongst all the blues!

Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer She's Electricity. Two coats with Out the Door topcoat.

The extra shimmers and glitter are visible, but they don't pop out quite as much as I was hoping. Maybe if I added some thinner? The holo effect here is the weakest of the three holos in the collection. 


Next up is The Years Have Been Short, which is a slightly white-tinted base with blue, white and iridescent microglitters, blue shimmer, and silver reflective beads. This polish just screams "snowstorm" to me!

Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer The Years Have Been Short. Two coats with Out the Door topcoat.

  

Again, the glitter applied very evenly and I was happy with the opacity at two coats. I think this would also look nice layered! 


Finally, here's Wanna Fall in Love Tonight, a red-toned purple with golden red shimmer. This dries to a semi-matte finish, so I've left it au naturale on the two left fingers and added topcoat on the two right fingers. (Pardon my huge nail ridges!)

Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer Wanna Fall in Love Tonight. One coat with Out the Door topcoat (ring and pinky fingers).

Although my nail line is visible here, I couldn't really see it in normal lighting. I probably could've gone for two coats though. As you can see, the shimmer is very fine and adds a luminous quality to the polish. 


In addition to the Spark in the Dark collection, I also received a limited edition polish in the Siren Series, which will only be restocked once. Sirens Are Made For Water, Not Snow is a blue creme with a purple flash that dries semi-matte. As above, I added topcoat only to the ring and pinky nails.

Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer Sirens Are Made For Water, Not Snow. One coat with Out the Door topcoat (ring and pinky fingers).

  

I was a bit disappointed to find that the purple shimmer is much weaker on the nail than in the bottle. (My camera couldn't pick it up at all because it was confused by all the blue.) This might be another case where adding thinner could help.


Overall, I think this is a really solid collection, especially with all those gorgeous blue polishes! My favorites would have to be It's Almost After Midnight, Never Danced Like This Before, and The Years Have Been Short. Which do you like best?

All these polishes will be released on January 12 at Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer's shop! You can get the entire eight-piece Spark in the Dark collection for just $67 (13 ml size) or $37 for minis.

Be sure to follow Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest to stay up-to-date!  

The products in this post were sent to me for review. All opinions are my own. 

An ode to brown polish

Hey there! Fall is almost here, and that means pumpkin pie, apple cider and brown nail polish!! I love brown polish of all shades, but I know that's a pretty unpopular opinion. I see a lot of comments like, "that's a nice color, but I never wear brown."

But I think brown gets a bad rap. Think about how many shades of brown there are; you are bound to find one that you like and that goes nicely with your skintone (don't forget that nude/off-white shades are technically brown too!). Brown polish can work as a great neutral/work-safe shade, or a super vampy shade that's a little less harsh than black.

I have over 30 brown polishes in my stash, and I picked out a range of them to show you how versatile brown can be. Join me, won't you??

(I apologize in advance for the yellow stains on my nails in some of these photos. I accidentally got Yellow #5 all over my fingers!)

Swatch: LynB Designs Double Bluff

The product in this post was purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

Hi all! I didn't realize it's been a week since I last posted--this week has really flown by! I put the finishing touches on my next ALIQUID Lacquer collection, so you'll be seeing that soon!

Today I have one of my newest acquisitions from an indie brand I'd never tried before. This is LynB Designs Double Bluff, which comes from the collection inspired by the British TV show Qi (short for Quite Interesting)! I looooove this show, and if you like interesting factoids and funny people, you will too! (It's on YouTube, shhhh!)

Double Bluff is a metallic grey linear holo with a strong reddish-purple shimmer. Very sexy!

LynB Designs Double Bluff. Two coats with Out the Door topcoat.

The formula was on the thick side, but I didn't have any problems getting it to level out. It is pretty sheer--I think if my nails were longer I'd probably need three coats. The holo effect isn't ultra strong, but strong enough to still be visible indoors.

I think this is actually a great fall/Halloween polish. The shimmer makes it look slightly eerie, don't you think?

The product in this post was purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

Swatch: Powder Perfect Deceptively Sweet

The product in this post was purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

Good morning! I was so pumped to get my first ever bottles of Powder Perfect the other day! If you don't know the brand, Powder Perfect is an Australian indie who also happens to be a stockist for international brands--including ALIQUID Lacquer!! When I sent Jacinta some of my polishes to sell down under, she sent back some of hers for me!

Deceptively Sweet appeared in my Gimme That Polish! for June, so I was especially happy to get my hands on it! It has a warm lavender base (slightly warmer than it appears here) with gold shimmer. What makes this polish especially interesting is that I think the gold shimmer is actually purple with a gold flash, so you end up with a combo of muted purple and sparkly gold flecks. Check it out:

Powder Perfect Deceptively Sweet. Two coats with Out the Door topcoat.

Can you see the little purple flecks? (Click the picture to enlarge it if need be.) They give the polish a very subtle texture that makes it more interesting than just gold shimmer alone would. It's understated but very classy!

I was happy with the formula (on the thinner side), opacity and dry time. The polish dries with a slightly gritty texture that was smoothed out with topcoat. The only thing I wasn't totally in love with was the brush--it's somewhat mop-like, although not to the point of making application difficult.

You can buy Deceptively Sweet at Powder Perfect's shop if you're in Australia; they also have a list of stockists there for international folks! The shop is going on vacation for about month starting Sept. 15, so get your orders in soon!

The product in this post was purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

Review: Makeup by One Direction in Up All Night

The products in this post were sent to me for review. All opinions are my own.

Hope you're having a lovely week so far! Today I have a brand-new makeup kit to show you. It's a limited edition One Direction set called Up All Night! I have to confess that I can't name a single song by One Direction, so I had my husband sing me one (he keeps up on pop culture much better than I do). Anyway, I'm sure there are a ton of One Direction fans out there who are dying to hear about this kit!

The set comes in a tin with a plastic sleeve, which you have to remove every time you open the box--slightly annoying.

Here's the inside of the tin. You can see all the products are in there pretty securely.

Let's look at all the makeup you get in here!

Nail Polish: Na Na Na

Makeup by One Direction Na Na Na. Three coats with Out the Door topcoat.

Na Na Na is a teal/green shimmer. As usual my camera is making it look more blue than it actually is. In real life it's a pretty mermaid green. The formula was pretty sheer for my taste; even at three coats there is still visible nail line. Other than that I had no problems.

Eye Products

From left: Stand Up, More Than This, Gotta Be You, Save You Tonight, Another World, Up All Night

Stand Up eye and body crayon: This is a fat denim blue crayon that can be used as eyeshadow, liner or for body art (along with the included stencils). In my opinion the crayon is a little too fat for eyeliner, but hey, I'm old. The pigmentation seemed good; the arm swatch lasted through 24 hours and a shower.

More Than This: A peachy pink eyeshadow with slight shimmer. It was hard to tell how pigmented this was because it matches my skintone almost perfectly.

Gotta Be You: A taupe-grey shimmer. This one barely showed up on my eyelid when I tried it.

Save You Tonight: This one is my favorite shadow in the palette. It's a shimmery light turquoise. I found that this one went on my eye nicely, but tended to fade when I blended.

Another World: A sparkly royal blue. This one had MAJOR fallout problems. The bits of sparkle basically don't cling to skin (even with primer), so as soon as I blended the shadow it lost all its color.

Up All Night: Blue glitter in a clear base. I didn't try this on my eye, but I'm skeptical about how well it would stay on.

Little Black Dress mascara: Forgot to take a picture of this one! It's a pretty decent mascara. Not the most amazing one I've ever worn. More on the wet side than the crumbly side.

Lip Products

I Should Have Kissed You: A bubblegum pink creme lipstick. Good pigmentation, but on the dry side; after a little while I got creasing. Seems to be long-lasting. I thought the stick was a little too wide, as I had some trouble staying in the lines.

Taken: A hot magenta lip gloss with tiny glitters. This one glows orange under UV light, although unfortunately I couldn't test that! Formula seemed typical for a lip gloss, not too sticky. The glitters are really hard to remove!



My Verdict: The eyeshadow palette was a disappointment, but everything else seems to be of decent quality. While the nail polish is sheer, it could be pretty over a base color. The colors in general definitely skew toward a younger crowd, not surprisingly!


The three Makeup by One Direction kits will be available at the following stores in the US:

Macy's - now available!
Stage Stores - August 25th
Dillards - August 25th
Beauty Brands - August 25th
Lord and Taylor - August 25th

You can also like Makeup by One Direction on Facebook!


The products in this post were sent to me for review. All opinions are my own.

The Neverending Pile Challenge: Two teals

Happy weekend! This is my last Neverending Pile Challenge post for now. This has been a great challenge for me, just because I finally shortened my untrieds list (temporarily at least)! I'll have to keep making an effort to wear untrieds from now on!

This prompt is dupes: match an untried with a tried. Well, the polishes I picked looked pretty similar in the bottle, but turned out to be completely different on the nail. So these aren't really dupes at all, but they're pretty so I'm going to show them to you! I have OPI AmazON...AmazOFF on my index and ring finger, and Julep Lena on the others. They're both gorgeous teals with a little bit of shimmer.

As usual, my camera can't photograph teals, so this picture has been color-corrected. That's why it looks slightly weird.

I love both these shades, but I think the formula on the Julep was better (it's a one-coater!). Both of these will stain your cuticles, so be careful!

Total untrieds tried: 72 + chevron decals + 3 stamping plates


 

The Neverending Pile Challenge: China Glaze in the Lime Light (Neon)

The product in this post was purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

Hey folks! It's time once again for the Neverending Pile Challenge! Actually, despite its name, the first round of the challenge does end in two weeks, and I think I'll bow out at that point. Doing so many challenges per week really clogs up my blogging schedule and I haven't done much nail art lately. But wow, have I tried a whole lot of untried polishes!

Today's theme is neon, perfect for summer! I'm not a huge neon nut because I have such pale skin that neon doesn't always look great on me. I definitely prefer cooler neons rather than pinks and yellows. So today I'm wearing China Glaze In the Lime Light (Neon), a neon green with aqua shimmer. I don't know what the story is behind the parenthetical in the name--I'm guessing there is/was also a non-neon version of this polish?


Anyway! As you can probably tell, my camera panicked a little bit with this polish! It's actually a bit darker than it appears here.

China Glaze In the Lime Light (Neon). Three coats with Out the Door topcoat.

I love this shade of green, but sadly the formula was no bueno. It was very sheer and streaky--even at three coats you can still see my nail line a bit. I also had some problems with bald spots. I suppose it could have been worse though. Like most neons, this polish dries matte, but I like it glossy better because it brings out the shimmer.


Total untrieds tried: 68 + chevron decals + 3 stamping plates


 

The Neverending Pile Challenge: Revlon Naughty

The product in this post was purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

Happy weekend! This weekend is special for us because tomorrow is our first anniversary. We're going out to eat a giant steak dinner, so I'll make sure to post pics on Instagram and make you all jealous!

Today's Neverending Pile theme is dirtiest-named polish. Sadly I don't have a whole lot of polish with dirty names; the worst I've got is Revlon Naughty. I think the name fits the polish pretty nicely!

Revlon Naughty. Two coats with Out the Door topcoat.

Naughty has a smoky brownish-grey base with a sexy purple glow. Definitely quite sultry! The formula was OK--too runny for my taste, streaky on the first coat but evened out on the second. I did get some minor bubbling too. In indoor lighting the shimmer gets hidden a bit.

What's YOUR dirtiest-named polish?

Total untrieds tried: 67 + chevron decals + 3 stamping plates


 

The Neverending Pile Challenge: The Lady Varnishes Lothlorien

The product in this post was purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

Happy Friday! I have another pretty swatch for you today from an indie I've been admiring for a long time. For today's Neverending Pile prompt, green, I wore The Lady Varnishes Lothlorien. I mean, Galadriel is one of my favorite characters from The Lord of the Rings, so I basically HAD to buy this polish, right?

(Apologies for the lobster hands!)

The Lady Varnishes Lothlorien. Three coats with no topcoat.

Lothlorien is a minty/seafoamy green matte polish with silver and gold microglitter and green shimmer. This color is exactly up my alley--very dreamy and magical, just like the elves! As you can see, it's fairly sheer, as my nail lines are still visible under three coats. The formula was thick but manageable, but not 100% self-leveling. The polish dried slightly gritty due to the tiny particles in it. Dry time was nice and fast, always great for a matte.

I wore this polish with a topcoat too, and I think I actually prefer it this way because it lets the shimmer really pop!

The Lady Varnishes Lothlorien. Three coats with Out the Door topcoat.

Lothlorien is available at The Lady Varnishes' Etsy shop ($11 for 15 ml)!


Total untrieds tried: 63 + chevron decals + 3 stamping plates


 

The Neverending Pile Challenge: Red tips

Hi! I hope all the dads and their families out there had a great weekend! We just got back from a short trip to visit my in-laws and celebrate my sister-in-law's engagement! I did this mani before we left but didn't have time to post it then.

The theme for Friday's Neverending Pile Challenge was red. Red is another of my not-so-favorite polish colors, so I decided to mix it up by pairing red with a nice complementary polish. I used Nina Candi Apple on my index and pinky and the French tips, and Happy Revolution Flip Flip Flipadelphia on the two middle fingers (this was a collaboration between Happy Hands and Polish Revolution and is currently for sale at Polish Revolution). I like the way the red glitter ties everything together!

I loved wearing this mani! There's a reason the French tip is such a classic look!

Total untrieds tried: 60 + chevron decals + 3 stamping plates


 

The Neverending Pile Challenge: Bejeweled skittles

Happy Monday! Today's Neverending Pile Challenge theme is skittles. Definitely a good opportunity to burn through some untrieds! If you read my Museum-Worthy Manis post for April, you might remember the beautiful gemstone nails done by Chalkboard Nails, who also created a tutorial for them. Well, Cait at Polish Hound suggested I try to recreate this mani for the Neverending Pile Challenge--what a great idea! So here goes nothing!

So they aren't as good as Chalkboard Nails' version (duh), mostly due to the fact that I can't paint an even line to save my life. But I couldn't help staring at them anyway! I have always had a soft spot for jewel tones. The polished I used were Zoya Giovanna, Zoya Song, China Glaze Coconut Kiss, and Orly Radiant (all untried), plus Revlon Stiletto and Maybelline Porcelain Party for creating darker/lighter shades.

This was a fairly time-consuming mani (about two hours to do four nails), mostly because I had to do a lot of mixing to get all the shades of each color, but technically it was pretty simple, so you should definitely give it a try!

Here's an in-progress shot I took where you can see my "palette"!

Total untrieds tried: 41


 

The Neverending Pile Challenge: Spell Polish Troll

I won the product in this post in a giveaway. All opinions are my own.

Good morning everyone! Today's Neverending Pile Challenge theme is giveaway/blog sale polish. I've only won a couple giveaways (but I keep on trying!), but here's one I won but haven't worn yet: Spell Polish Troll.

Troll is a clear base with lots of teal/green/gold shimmer that shifts in the light (almost a frost/metallic finish), plus a smattering of holo glitter.

Spell Polish Troll. Two coats with Out the Door topcoat.

Very pretty and ethereal--magical even (hey, it's Spell Polish after all)! This is supposed to look good over black too. Since there's no base color backing up the shimmer, it's a fairly sheer polish. Application was fine.

I did have a couple problems with the formula though. First of all, it was very slow drying. By that I mean it took forever to reach the point of "tacky but non-liquid" that most polishes hit pretty quickly; while I was cleaning up my cuticles I kept accidentally making the polish slide around on my nails. Once I got my topcoat on, it seemed to dry normally.

The second issue I had was the smell: this polish has a very strong, unusual smell (not due to any of the "big 5" chemicals, just a characteristic of the particular suspension base used). It was so strong I had to breathe through my mouth while I was applying the polish. For someone who plays with nail polish all day, that's saying a lot! The smell kind of hangs around until the polish is dry. If you are very sensitive to smells you might have a problem with this brand.

On the bright side, the bottle is beautiful, and I got a free sticker along with the polish.

Troll is available at Spell Polish's shop ($17 for 15 ml).

Total untrieds tried: 35

I won the product in this post in a giveaway. All opinions are my own. 

The Neverending Pile Challenge: Maybelline Wine & Dined

The product in this post was purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

Hi everyone! It's positively summery outside today, and I finally opened a window for the first time since last fall! (Then the dog next door barked at Trudy so I had to close it again.)

Today's Neverending Pile Challenge theme is drugstore. I only had time to do a swatch, so I'm wearing Maybelline Wine & Dined, a decidedly NOT summery polish.

Wine & Dined has a sheer brown base with burgundy shimmer and gold and purple sparks. Super vampy!

Maybelline Wine & Dined. Three coats with Out the Door topcoat.

I needed three coats for full opacity. I was happy with the formula--somewhat on the runny side, but it applied smoothly and easily. This polish was slow-drying. Wine & Dined actually reminds me of a couple polishes from my Silmarillion collection!

Total untrieds tried: 15

The product in this post was purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

The Neverending Pile Challenge: Zoya Adina

The product in this post was purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

Hello and Happy Passover to all who celebrate! Right now I'm probably enjoying a lovely breakfast of matzoh and cream cheese. (I wrote this post on Friday, shhhh!)

Today's Neverending Challenge prompt is everyone's least favorite finish, the frost. I don't have too many frosty polishes, since they were already out of style when I started collecting. The polish I decided to try does have some frosty shimmer, but I think it pulls it off.

Zoya Adina is a sheer purple polish with strong green shimmer that shifts to red!

Zoya Adina. Two coats with Out the Door topcoat.

I think Zoya made a great discovery here: if you make your polish so funky it looks like a Star Trek alien should be wearing it, people will probably ignore that brush-stroke-y shimmer! I actually love this color combination. The sheerness of the base makes the polish look eerie. I didn't have any issues with the formula (other than the aforementioned brushstrokes).

Adina is available at zoya.com ($9 for 15 ml)!

Total number of untrieds tried: 8

The product in this post was purchased by me. All opinions are my own. 

Swatch: Zoya Dillon

The product in this post was purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

Good morning! Is it spring yet where you are (or fall, for you southerners)? After a cold and insanely windy day here yesterday, it looks like the weather is finally starting to warm up for good! To celebrate, I put on one of the new spring shades from Zoya!

Dillon was my #1 lemming from this collection. It's a pale seafoam green with silver and gold shimmer and glass fleck (a little more green in real life than in my photo). Very cheerful yet delicate!

Zoya Dillon. Two coats with Out the Door topcoat.

Love this one! It has so much shimmer that it skirts the line of becoming a frost, but holds back just enough. Zoya actually describes it as a metallic, but I'm not sure I'd go that far.

The formula on Dillon was pretty nice, maybe a tad runny for my taste, but better than some Zoya cremes I've used. It left some very faint brushstrokes, but not noticeably unless you look closely. (The lines on my ring finger are just my crazy deep ridges!) If you tend to use thin coats, you might need three with this polish.

Dillon is available at zoya.com ($9 for 15 ml)!

The product in this post was purchased by me. All opinions are my own.