Thursday, July 26, 2012

Once Upon a Polish Queen of Hearts - Review, Photos, Swatches

Another Once Upon a Polish polish! This is Queen of Hearts, an amaaaaazing clear base with large white hex, small white hex, medium black hex, medium gold hex, black heart, and red heart glitters. Did I mention this is totally, awesomely, infinitely amazing?! There are. No words.

Over OPI Don't Touch My Tutu

Not much more to say, really. This is really, truly beautiful. Formula was great, as is my experience with this brand. If you want a more detailed review of Once Upon a Polish, see Scuttle here. You can buy Queen of Hearts and more at the Once Upon a Polish Etsy shop here!

Monday, July 23, 2012

Rainbow Honey 20% Cooler, Mare of the Moon - Swatches, Review, Photos

Retook some photos, so I have a couple more Rainbow Honey polishes for you!

20% Cooler, described as a "shimmery and sheer light blue base with a veritable rainbow of glitter":
Two coats on their own
L to R: One coat over Sin Cinderella, Zoya Wednesday, Maybelline Go Go Green
Two coats over Julep Claire

Mare of the Moon, described as a "deep and mysterious indigo polish with a violet color shift and a sprinkling of silver moon crescents and holographic glitters":

For a more in depth review on Rainbow Honey, check out my previous entry here.

20% Cooler is easily one of the neatest glitters I own! One of my RH favorites so far, along with A Little Kindness. Its light blue shimmer base makes it lovely on its own and it's equally gorgeous layered over creamy robin's egg blues. The glitter is plentiful and spreads evenly. Mare of the Moon is ultra-unique - it seems strictly a dark blue shimmer, but there are flashes of holographic indigo in the iridescent base. The formula was a bit thick and quickly became tacky, but these small qualms become fairly inconsequential once you lay eyes on those awesome crescent moons. Crescent moons!! Overall these two lacquers make me SO excited to paint my nails, and isn't that ultimately what matters?

These two beauties (and others) can be purchased for $10 on the Rainbow Honey website.

What do you think?

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Rainbow Honey Nail Lacquer in Hoof Wrassle, A Little Kindness - Photos, Review, Swatches

I'm drawn to shiny things like the very most flamboyant of magpies so it was only a matter of time before my instinct to hoard sparkly objects made me succumb to placing an order from Rainbow Honey, an indie brand that can be found here. The inspiration behind the line (nostalgic video games and kids' TV shows, according the the website) is easy to spot in the bright, fun colors and shimmering glitters. Today I have photos of two nail polishes for you (the packaging pictures have four polishes because I meant to review four, but I'm unsatisfied with some of the photos. Those will be retaken and posted soon!). Both lacquers are from the Equestria collection.

L to R: Hoof Wrassle, A Little Kindness, 20% Cooler, Mare of the Moon

Each polish comes in a pretty white box with a heart cut-out. The packaging is lovely and crisp, totally my style. Packaging is simply an additional (but sometimes forgotten) medium through which the creator may express him or herself; of course what's inside is most important, but these unique, extra features can really set a seller apart. I appreciate the attention to detail!

First is Hoof Wrassle, which is described as a "shimmery copper orange base studded with gold, copper, and orange hex and square glitter, and a sprinkling of iridescent and holographic glitters":




A Little Kindness, described as "rose, white, gold, and soft green glitters float in a delicate and sheer yellow base with an iridescent pink shimmer" -



Two coats
L to R: One coat of RH Kindness over the following: Nicole Kim-pletely in Love, Spoiled Let's Get Sushi, China Glaze Hang Ten-Toes

Do you see A Little Kindness?! Do you?? AMAZING. AWESOME. MARVELOUS. It's sweet on its own but positively SINGS as a topcoat. So complex and gorgeous, this is one of my favorite glitters ever. Very, very cool and special. Hoof Wrassle is great too - the base is an interesting subdued/burnt orange for which I have no dupe.

The texture of these is... different. Not 'bad' different. Firstly, the bottles are so packed with glitter that in opening the tops I almost fear letting out an explosion of sparkles, a Mount Vesuvius of glitter and shininess. No fishing needed here! The polish itself is super thick, but not goopy. With polishes I'm used to them moving a bit after a brushstroke, receding back from the tip slightly and evening out. That's not the case here - where you apply is where the lacquer stays. Again, this isn't bad; just takes a bit of getting used to and might be a little surprising. Overall, though, Rainbow Honey has some truly excellent shades that are worth any application issues, if it's awkward at first try. Unique, unusual, and pretty darn cool.

You can purchase Rainbow Honey polishes here. The are priced $10 each.

Thank you for reading! I also noticed a few new followers - thanks so much! It means a lot :)

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Nails Inc Special Effects Sprinkles in Pudding Lane, Sweets Way - Photos, Swatches, Review

I've been waiting and waiting and eyeing swatches longingly and waiting for the Nails Inc Sprinkles Special Effects collection to hit US shelves - and a couple of weeks ago, I finally spotted these new lacquers on the Sephora site! Hooray! I adore glitter in opaque bases, and bonus points for the yummy dessert tie-in. I'm  still (despite being well into my twenties, sadly) a sucker for colorful, sprinkled pastries that are decorated as if they are meant for 4-year-olds, and this Nails Inc. series brings out that sort of irreverent, childish fun!

Here's Pudding Lane, a bright blue with blue/green/gold glitter:

This is Sweets Way, a soft white base with pink/blue/silver glitter:

Photos were taken with two coats. I am pleasantly surprised at how opaque and jam-packed with glitter these lacquers are - each dip of the brush brings forth a treasure-trove of sprinkles so there's no worry over fishing or uneven distribution, though you need a layer or two of topcoat to achieve smoothness. They are lovely and fun and perfect for the beach-y summer weather. I see more Nails Inc Sprinkles in my future...

Nails Inc Special Effects Sprinkles are available at Sephora for $9.50 each.

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Maybelline Color Show Nail Polish in Green With Envy, Go-Go Green - Swatches, Photos, Reviews

You may have seen a display at your drugstore of the new Maybelline Color Show Nail Lacquers. I picked up a few the other day, and swatched my two greens so far:

Maybelline Color Show in Green With Envy, a pale sea-green creme:

Go-Go Green, a bright yellow-tinged grass green:

Both were swatched with two coats. Color me ultra-impressed with the formula! These were super creamy and pigmented, very nearly one-coaters. The consistency is fantastic - neither runny nor goopy, streak-free (the blemish you see on my pointer finger is an unfortunate tear in my nail and nothing to do with the polish itself), and easy to control with the brush. I'm not exaggerating when I say this is probably the best drug-store formula I have tried. The colors are gorgeous, and I particularly love Go-Go Green for the summer. Especially for the $4.99 price tag, these new Maybelline polishes are an excellent buy!

I have a couple more shades to show you in the near future (one which has a funky matte-/rubberiness going on), and I have high expectations based on these two colors. Can't wait!

Maybelline Color Show Nail Lacquers are available at drugstores for $4.99 each.

Thanks for reading! :)