Another birthday present to myself. Not much to say about this color because it's perfect. I had to have it when I saw it. Somewhere between eggplant, purple, burgundy, and brown, a linear holo from Enchanted. Get your hands on this...sigh...I think this will look bad on my short nails, so I won't be seeing it for another 8 weeks at least. 

Holiday 2013 sunlight.

Holiday 2013 sunlight/shade.

Holiday 2013 sunlight.

Holiday 2013 sunlight.

Holiday 2013 sunlight. Bottle.

Holiday 2013 sunlight. Bottle.

the purple side

I wouldn't categorize Insouciant as exclusively purple as it looks grey and possibly even taupe in some lights, but it's mostly a soft and dusty purple and a great piece of work from RBL. I have nothing to complain about in the formula here except it's a bit streaky in application and just when you think it will never even out it does. If RBL formulas have one saving grace it's their self-leveling quality. 

This polish has a soft cerulean and an even softer, hidden fuchsia shimmer. Truly beautiful and a pretty decent color for most people probably. I was super lazy getting pics here, probably because my nails were a bit nubby :/

Rescue Beauty Lounge Insouciant. Indoor Sunlight.

Woman from Tokyo. Sunlight.

Finals are over and I'm looking forward to to having some downtime to take pictures and posting.

I made two orders from Llarowe (though only one went through) and came away with some of her beautiful holo polishes. 

First up is Woman from Tokyo, a beautiful, dark eggplant-ish purple with a deep linear holographic finish. 

Woman from Tokyo. Sunlight.

The formula was a bit thick on this, but the staying power was pretty decent and the effect is dazzling.

Woman from Tokyo. Indoor light.

On the rocks

After an unintended hiatus for midterms and finals (this class has a lot of tests!) Here's a new liquid sand that I didn't like as much as I thought. It chipped a little too quickly (though maybe it's me and the dry weather) and lost its texture, or did I imagine that? 

The sunlight brings out more shimmer depth (golds, pinks, and other colors). I'm wondering how others are feeling about recent OPI collex...I'm not sure how I'm feeling about a lot of the recent OPI collections including San Francisco and Holiday (so much red), but I am really wanting to get the holiday sands! PS. Is this my first "blurple?" I think yes.

Alcatraz Rocks. Indoor Sunlight.

Alcatraz Rocks. Indoor Sunlight.

Alcatraz Rocks bottle.

Such a Tease

Teas-y Does It is a color that actually did tease me in photographs for quite awhile. I was pretty sure it wouldn't look good on my short nails (though I am rethinking that now) and it looked so different in different lighting and swatches that I wasn't sure if it was right for me. When I got it in a swap though, I marveled at it's beauty in the bottle. 

It has an inner glow that lends a beautiful color shift brown-burgundy red-violet purple and has a shimmer/glass fleck that is either red or gold. Which is it? I don't know, both? Anyway, definitely worth having. I hope to acquire more from this collection, it's one of OPI's best in the recent years, imo.

Teas-y Does It. Sunlight.

Teas-y Does It. Sunlight.

Teas-y Does It. Sunlight.

Teas-y Does It. Sunlight in the car!

Enchanting

This polish looks like magic in a bottle. I had to have it and I'm so anxiously awaiting the next Enchanted restock. It's over black here and I think that makes it look a bit more potent. I'm lazy, so that was a pain, but it only took took coats after that and it was just striking indoor and out. I don't think I've ever had more compliments...pic heavy.

Time to Pretend. Outdoor Light.

Time to Pretend. Outdoor Light.

Time to Pretend. Outdoor Light.

Time to Pretend. Outdoor Light.

Time to Pretend, bottle. Outdoor Light.

Time to Pretend, bottle. Outdoor Light.

Vampy Vesper

Vesper is my last bond girl Liquid Sand from OPI, I thought I had posted it, but I hadn't. I think this might be surprise my favorite. My bf picked this out. It looks really ugly and brown in the bottle--but don't be fooled ;) The black glitter effect in the dark purple sheer polish is just beautiful and gem-like. 

I think it takes about 18 hours to dry into the gorgeous blackened purple--so give it a chance before dismissing it as a plain black. The longer it dries, the lighter it gets. I've worn it twice already and I love it. It takes 2-3 coats to get fully opaque.

Pardon the tip wear. 

Vesper on a grey day. Sunlight.

Vesper on a grey day. Sunlight.

Vesper on a grey day. Sunlight.

Vesper, bottle shot. Sunlight.

Lucky Me

What a day...I'm very tired, but it's been a good and productive day, so I'd thought I'd put up a polish I got by good fortune from a good polish friend (and as a gift from a thoughtful someone). 

It's more marvelous in real life--though imo--different than in pictures. I've already worn it four or five times despite the fact that it takes 18 hours (on me, at least) to dry to 100% hardness, even with my fastest drying topcoat. Is it just me, or have others noticed a relationship between long dry times, shrinkage, and long wear? 

While Scrangie shrank like heck on me, I can wear this beautiful baby for (shhhh, eek) five days, yes five...I know with no chipping and hardly any tip wear. By that time, I'm hardly tired of looking at my nails, either--with the color shifty and the interesting reddish undertone--why would I be? 

It took three coats and the third was a little thick/thin...but truly worth any trouble. Pic heavy and shows three different applications. I hope I won't be needing a backup ;)

PS. Ahhhh that last nail shot is so funky...my camera does not do great in low light, it always fuzzes out the focus :/

Rescue Beauty Lounge: Scrangie. Natural Light.

Rescue Beauty Lounge: Scrangie. Natural Light.

Rescue Beauty Lounge: Scrangie. Natural Light.

Rescue Beauty Lounge: Scrangie. Artificial Light (school edition!).

Rescue Beauty Lounge: Scrangie. Artificial Light.

Rescue Beauty Lounge: Scrangie. Bottle in natural Light.

jo'mean it's only $7?!

I was lucky to find this and a couple other Illamasquas for $7 at the JCP Sephora sale! Awesome! 

After seeing getting this for a friend and seeing many swatches, I actually thought it was a purple that might work for me and a gorgeous color in general. One of those "neon pastels" that is so interesting. I think they describe it as "electric lilac." 

Formula? Perfection. Color? Amazing--a bit hard to get a good pic, better to see in person.

Not really a fan of any of my glitter attempts. Did the crop to give an idea of how it looks sans toppings.

Jo'mina. Sunlight.

w/Lynnderella (l-r) Evermore, Magic Fairy Stars, LLL

Jo'mina. Love, Lace, and Lilacs Sunlight.

Jo'mina. Bottle. Sunlight.

another pretty from Enchanted

I haven't really seen swatches for this yet and don't have any, but it's way better in person than the few pics I've seen online and in the sun, holy jeez. Check out these bottle shots (in a stupid format I can't fix) of Enchanted February 2013. I'd love to see some swatches from others!

Enchanted Polish February 2013

Enchanted Polish February 2013

Enchanted Polish February 2013, holo detail.

Enchanted Polish February 2013

Doh...

I realize I only did four posts last month! Boo. Hoping for more this month despite holiday madness. 

Here's Nicole Just Busta Mauve, a Target exclusive. I would love to have the other glitter colors from this collection. See Scrangie's swatch of this, it's much better than mine. I probably should have used four coats and she may have...I only used three and there's some vnl. I think a dreaded four coats would have given a bit more depth and color here, as the polish was surprisingly sheer.

I found this to be a pretty awesome and different glitter. If I remember correctly it's a super concentrated fine tiny plum (I don't see mauve but I guess it could be dark mauve) and cobalt blue microglitter in a sheer base. I'm going to double check this though.

Double awesome is that even though it's a glitter, it has a duochrome effect. Yes! It shines warm plum, deep copper, and a strange sort of grey in different lighting. Amazing. Have you been tempted by any of the awesome Nicole colors lately? I love some of the holiday colors.

Just Busta Mauve. Natural Light.

Just Busta Mauve. Natural Light.

Just Busta Mauve, blurry sparkle. Natural Light.

Just Busta Mauve, close up. Natural Light.

Just Busta Mauve. Bottle shot. Natural Light.

Just a Little Swatch

Not a lot to say, just a little swatch.

Here's Rayanne by Nostalgic. A mizzh schmizz load of purples, pinks, fuchsia, and some silver glitter and a sheer purple base. Easy application and probably best used as a topcoat because it requires three coats for color intensity shown below.

Find her here: http://nostalgicnaillacquer.com/ She's come out with my favorite collection yet, recently, based what I can glean to be the Breakfast Club. I also loved her Pretty in Pink collection, but had some glitter issues, to be discussed later. If you're worried about that though, Erin of Nostalgic was very pro about exchanging my polishes. These bring back the good old days :)

Three Coats of Rayanne. Sunlight. (Extra long ring finger D:)

Rayanne Macro Bottle.

A Brief Interlude

I had to take a quick break from my Sprinkles swatching to show you another sweet polish--one of my fav Pretty and Polished, if not my favorite. This is Candy Coated. Its lovely pinky lilac or lilac-y pink with multi-sized pink and purple hexes seemed to glide onto my nails. It’s versatility allows it to look beautiful in two coats (slightly sheer) three coats (opaque), and one coat (over another polish).

While I normally prefer multicolor glitters, Candy Coated is really a standout for me. Part of it is surely the formula, but the pretty girly-ness of it, without being sickeningly sweet really appeals to me. It's a pretty unique combo, as well. I tried it as a jelly sammich with Beclaus I Said So $OPI and I thought that was pretty cute. I have a crappy picture of this.

I would recommend not using a quick dry topcoat over this, unless you have one that results in minimal shrinkage, because I think I noticed some. It goes on smoothly without a topcoat though, so you may skip all together. I was wondering if Candy Coated is anything like Tart, but I don’t own both. Thoughts?

Candy Coated (two coats). Artificial Light.

Candy Coated (three coats). Natural Light (overcast).

Candy Coated (three coats). Close up.

Candy Coated. Macro.