Swatch - Essie The Girls Are Out

This polish was part of the Essie Naughty Nautical collection released in 2013.

The Girls Are Out:

Plum magenta with gold flecks. The flecks are kind of confusing because they look white/pearlescent, but on the nail and in light they look gold. Flecks are not sparkly in the sun; the polish is too shiny and makes that hard to see if they do somehow sparkle. Definitely adds more interest to what would otherwise be a regular cream. I quite like this polish and don't have a colour like this in my stash~

Pictures show two coats without top coat.

Specifications:

Formula - Great! Smooth and easy to apply (shocker for Essie)

Pigmentation - Great! One coater if thick coat

Shine - Shiny

Dry Time - Faster than average cream

Removal - Easy, tiny bit more scrubbing than creams due to flecks

Staining - None

Naughty Nautical Collection: Full Steam Ahead, Naughty Nautical, Rock The Boat, Sunday Funday, The Girls Are Out, The More The Merrier.

Swatch - China Glaze Budding Romance

An unusual colour and one many would consider ugly will be reviewed today. 

Budding Romance:
Mossy mustard green crelly. Jelly-like but builds opacity nicely with no VNL. I applied 2 medium coats easily. This one is from the Avant Garden collection released in 2013.

Specifications:
Formula - Good, easy application

Pigmentation - Okay, jelly-like but two thicker coats covered everything

Shine - Shiny!

Dry Time - Average

Removal - Easy

Staining - None

Bottle Vs. Mani Colour - Darker and with brown tones instead of green on the nail vs. bottle colour

I quite like these strange, unique colours. This could also be a really handy colour for nail art maybe? Sometimes I hold on to strange colours also for nail art purposes.

Avant Garden collection polishes: Budding Romance, Dandy Lyin' Around, Fade Into Hue, Fancy Pants, Keep Calm Pain On, Life Is Rosy, Mimosa's Before Mani's, Passion For Petals, Pink-id Promise, Snap My Dragon, Sunday Funday, Tart-y For The Party.

Nail Art - *~Canada Day~*

Happy Canada Day! Hope all my fellow Canadians are having a fun time celebrating our national holiday. I tried to be as patriotic as I could with red and white tops, red lipstick and (of course) patriotic nails~ No one at work commented on my look today, other than give me strange looks due to my red lipstick (normally I wear zero makeup and VERY casual clothes at work). Guess people in America do not know today is Canada Day. Enough jabber, onto the nails!

This is a picture heavy post since I really liked how my nails turned out!

 And the right hand, which has better dotticure maple leaves because I am left handed.

 Here is a closer look at the maple leaf dotticure:

Mani Composition:
Thumb & Index - OPI Alpine Snow, Nicole by OPI It's All About The Glam, OPI All I Want For Christmas (Is OPI)
Middle to Pinky - OPI All I Want For Christmas (Is OPI), Formula X For Sephora Wham!


The abstract dot maple leaf design just kind of sprung into my mind as I grabbed my dotting tools. I'm super happy with how it looks, it's cute and pretty. Definitely gaining better control with dotting tools; practice does make perfect! This is motivation to do more nail art~

Swatch - OPI Vesper

A textured polish today~ I find it quite interesting that the textured trend seems to still go going relatively strong. Companies are still cranking out textured polishes....I am assuming this is because consumers keep buying them? Everyone in the polish world was saying texture is a phase that will phase out just as fast as "shatters". I suppose only time will tell, personally I really like them and hope they stay around for awhile longer.

Vesper:
Dark purple jelly with black specks (glitter?) liquid sand. From the Bond Girls collection released May 2013. Due to the base being a jelly this dark polish requires at least two coats for full coverage. I suppose the intent of the jelly base was to allow the black glitter particles to be visible. However, you will find this isn't necessarily the case (depending on the number of coats you apply).
One very important note: the polish colour in the bottle suggests a brownish/reddish purple, but as a manicure this is a true purple without the brown undertone.

This is what one coat looks like, where you can clearly see a purple base with black particles.

The final manicure under the sun shows two coats without top coat. Here you can also tell this polish is purple with black pieces, but not as obvious.

Specifications:

Formula - Ok, easy to apply but a bit sheer

Pigmentation - Sheer, for such a dark colour I expected this to be a one-coater, needs 2 coats

Bottle colour similarity - Very different, there is no brownish undertones (bottle) when worn on the nails

Shine - None (liquid sand)

Removal - Average for textured polishes

Staining - None

Definitely a unique polish! Not my favorite, but it is strange enough to make me want to bust this out and pain my nails with it.

Are you still on the textured polish bandwagon? Or has the trend past for you?

Swatch - OPI Sleigh Ride For Two

Another one from the OPI Mariah Carey Holiday collection to be shown today.

Sleigh Ride For Two:
Shimmery chocolate plum. This is like a hybrid of Every Month Is Oktoberfest with I Knead Sour-Dough. Since I like both those polishes this is an automatic like! Depending on the lighting, this polish changes in colour.

Pictures show two coats with top coat.

Specifications:
Formula - Great, applied like butter, self-leveling
Pigmentation - Good, two thin coats needed
Dry time - Faster than average creams
Shine - Little, top coat recommended
Prone to - Brush strokes slightly, apply with light touch
Removal - Easy
Staining - None

To make this short and sweet: sophisticated and classy is how I would describe this colour.

How do you guys like colours in this family? Which Mariah Carey Holiday polishes were your favourite?

Swatch - OPI All I Want For Christmas (Is OPI)

It was time to wear something classic and clean. I was in the mood for a good red cream, no shimmer or lit from within glow, just a straight cream. A craving for red nails is far and in between nowadays, so this was a great palette cleanser and way to try on this red cream from the new-ish OPI Mariah Carey Holiday collection!

All I Want For Christmas (Is OPI):
Deepened classic cherry red cream. Depending on whether a light or dark hue is desired, you may apply one or two coats (respectively).

Two coats without top coat is shown in pictures.

Specifications:
Formula - Great, applied like a dream
Pigmentation - 1 or 2 coats (depending on shade desired)
Dry Time - Average
Shine - Shiny
Removal - Easy
Staining - Stainer!

As this polish was being applied (a few months ago), Mariah Carey's new single that released on the same day was playing in the background. I felt it was all very fitting!

Do you ever use red as a palette cleanser?

Swatch - OPI Pussy Galore

Pink polish anyone? Is it weird that pink is often times not people's favourite polish colour? Maybe it is just too average compared to the array of colours and finishes that now exists after nail polish's popularity exploded? Admittedly, I cannot say it is my favourite polish colour either. However, I do like it as a palette cleanser, which brings us to this post!

OPI Pussy Galore:
Cotton candy pink frost with pink glitter liquid sand. This was a little sheer. On the first coat there was VNL and depending on the thickness of your second coat you may or may not see VNL. I did a thicker second coat to get rid of the VNL. This guy is not glitter-tastic like what we have seen previously from OPI. It just shimmers delicately in the sun (no shimmering indoors, sadly).

Pictures show two coats without top coat.

Specifications:
Formula - Okay, easy application but on sheer side
Pigmentation - Below average, VNL on first coat but thick second coat fixes that problem
Dry time - Average for liquid sands (personal experience: slower than regular polish)
Shine - None, this is a liquid sand
Wear - Tip wear on second day
Removal - Average for textured polishes (harder than creams, easier than glitters)
Staining - None

Well I must say I didn't like this polish as much as I thought I would. I went into this knowing it wasn't going to be sparkle-licious, but maybe this was a little too boring for me. However, this polish is great for work! It's a soft, subtle colour; yet the texture makes it more interesting than a regular pink cream. Plus, seeing people's reaction to the polish name is pretty amusing ;)

What are your thoughts of this polish? Is it too boring or does the texture make up for it?

NOTD - SF Blues

Another Nail of The Day look to be shown. As anyone who owns a large stash of polishes would know, you always have a stash of "untrieds" as well. Overwhelmed by acquiring so many new polishes, naturally there was a desire to wear everything at once. If only humans had ten sets of hands instead of just one, huh? Since I am not a mutant, a compromise in the form of a skittle mani was created. The mani is mostly made up of polishes from the OPI San Francisco collection, hence the post name.

Excuse the tip wear, but I waited a couple of days before taking these photo's. Now you guys know which polishes didn't wear as well~

All fingers had two coats of polish with top coat, except the pinky (1 coat polish and top coat).
Thumb - OPI Haven't The Foggiest
Index - OPI Peace & Love & OPI
Middle - OPI Dining Al Frisco
Ring - Zoya Natty
Pinky - Zoya Hazel

I should adorn skittles more often, they are quite fun and allow maximum number of polishes to be worn. Right off the bat, Hazel is drawing me in becoming a favorite!

Which of these five are your favorite? Do you wear skittle mani's often?

Swatch - Essie Lots Of Lux

Originally, I wasn't going to get this polish after seeing the first couple of online reviews. But after reading so many reviews of the collection and seeing how everyone's favorite is this polish. I decided to give it a try. What do I think? Keep reading~

Essie Lots of Lux:
Royal blue with purple, gold and blue microglitter texture polish. This is from the Encrusted Treasures collection released in November last year? I believe this collection is Essie first release of textured polishes. Does this polish remind you guys of a HTF polish? I'm thinking OPI Absolutely Alice. Obviously they are different (far from being dupes), different in shade, one is glitter, one is textured. The idea is the same: blue with gold shimmer.

Shown is two coats without top coat.

 Some blurred pictures to show the sparkle of this polish!

Look at how it sparkles in the sun:

Specifications:
Formula - Great, not to thick and easy to apply (application tips below)
Pigmentation - Excellent, could be a one coater if do thick coat
Application tips: More polish on brush is better than less to eliminate patches/streaks. Try not to over work the polish because it will cause dragging leading to bald spots. Otherwise, this polish is a synch to apply as long as you are a seasoned polisher.
Dry Time - Average for a textured polish
Shine - None (textured)
Staining - Yes
Removal - Tough, harder to remove than pixie dust and liquid sand. Still a bit easier than glitter.

I am head over heels for this one! What a beautiful polish! Essie should keep cranking out awesome polishes like this (instead of nudes and *ahem* lavenders...).

Do you own this polish? How do you like it?

NOTD - Dark But Glittertastic

A dark and beautiful mani to be shown today. This is one of the most beautiful mani's I have worn, where I am fully mesmorized everytime I look at my nails. I am very much in love with this manicure and hope you will like it just as much!

Just look at the holo goodness on the middle finger - AMAZING. It is on the sheer side but a base of colour will fix that easily. As for the other glitter, I have nothing like it in my collection nor have I come across anything similar - a truly unique polish. The OPI's black shimmer came as a surprise, since I didn't expect the shimmer to be so strong - a very pleasant and welcomed surprise. Unfortunately, this polish is old and HTF. I found it while at a polish warehouse doing some dusty hunting.

Mani Composition:
Thumb & Index - 2 coats OPI Baby It's "Coal" Outside!
Middle - 3 coats Essie On A Silver Platter
Ring & Pinky - 3 coats Morgan Taylor All The Right Moves


The two glitter polishes that make up this manicure are definitely part of my all time favorite glitter polishes. They are that amazing and you should definitely hunt those polishes down because you will regret not having them!

Polished by KPT - Ophelia's Love

Woot! Woot!  Thermal polish today. These are always exciting to wear and highly anticipated by myself. Reason for the anticipation is that I only wear thermals when my nails are long. During the nail-growing wait time, the excitement builds and builds and when the time comes I am thinking "finally I get to wear a thermal polish"!

Ophielia's Love:
Hot - clear (can see nail line) with grey tinge and pink glass flecks
Cold - dark smokey purple with pink glass flecks

This polish could benefit from a good base of nude or nude jelly under it, if visible nail line bothers you. Shown in the pictures is two coats with top coat. I should note that the pink glass flecks show up very strongly in real life, but can be barely seen in the photos below.

Hot

Cold

Cold

Now comes the reason why I love wearing thermals - the gradient! This is why long nails are best for thermals. When you are warm but your surroundings are cold, you get a cool gradient at the free hanging edge of the nail. Of course, the longer your nails, the wider the gradient.

Specifications:
Application - Easy, try not to over work because polish will get tacky potentially creating patchiness
Formula - Great! Smooth, self-leveling formula
Pigmentation - Okay, little patchy on first coat but second coat gives full coverage
Shine - None, dries to this rubberized finish (top coat highly recommended)
Prone to - Nothing
Dry time - Average
Wear - Great! Did not get a chip until day 4
Removal - Easy
Staining - None

Originally, I had wanted to get Nostalgia (OLs sister polish without the glass flecks) instead of this guy. But I ended up getting both when KPT had a year end inventory clearance sale. The two are actually quite different in person, versus what is seen on the website. There is nothing bad to be said about this polish. It's a thermal, which means automatic LOVE - end of story.

Have you given thermal polish a try? Which brand is your favorite?

NOTD - Surreal Monet Layering

An awesome layering combo will be shown today. What was initially a quick pick of two polishes for a fast mani turned into something divine and unexpected. The colors were soft and reminded me of Monet's Water Lilly painting (my favorite painting). I got a lot of compliments on this mani and also comments on its similarity to an OPI polish. Let's hop to it!

(Picture heavy to show all angles and the crazy duochrome of this combo!)

Mani Composition:
Base - China Glaze Queen B (one coat)
Topper - Orly Angel Rain (one coat)
Seche Vite top coat (one coat)

The duochrome of this mani is incredible! Mostly it shines purple but the green is strong at certain angles. Brush strokes were not noticeable as long as application of Angel Rain is even with a light touch. Having a dark blurple like Queen B really gave this mani it's personality making it dark and blurple. Angel Rain doesn't really lighten the shade of Queen B, instead AR adds duochrome to the dark blurple.

I was getting comments that this layering combo looks similar to OPI Peace, Love & OPI. I, also, thought the same thing while wearing the mani, so here's a quick breakdown in words:

OPI is a duochrome also of purple and green. However, OPI shine mainly a different shade of green (nicer green in my opinion) and flashes purple at certain angles. Also, OPI has a charcoal/pewter base colour as oppose to blurple. All in all, the two mani's are very different.

I looooved this mani! If you guys have these polishes, you must give this layering combo a try, you won't be disappointed.

Do you like to layer duochromes on creams or wear them on their own?

Swatch - OPI Solitaire

Today, I will be reviewing a liquid sand from the OPI Bond Girls liquid sand collection that came out in May last year. I am having a dilemma with whether or not to get the final polish from the collection: Honey Ryder. Many reviewers seem to really like it, but I'm not sure if it's sparkly enough... only time will tell (because seven months of time hasn't been enough :P). Few months ago I made a tutorial on how to convert any of your regular polishes into a liquid sand/textured manicure using OPI Solitaire. Click here to check out that tutorial!

OPI Solitaire:
A pearl white with silver glitter. This liquid sand twinkles in the sun, and is not as sparkle-tastic as some of the Mariah Carey liquid sands. It's a nice soft white that doesn't look chalky or like white-out.

Shown below is a comparison of what the polish looks like with a few coats of top coat to create a glossy surface. Personally, I prefer Solitaire without the top coat because with it the texture is emphasized instead of the sparkle (which is the case for some textured polishes).

Index and ring have top coat, whereas middle and pinky do not.

Specifications:
Formula - Great, easy application
Pigmentation - Great, slightly sheer on first coat and second coat gives full coverage (no VNL)
Dry time - Faster than other liquid sands I have tried, but not fast drying by any means
Shine - none, textured and matte finish that is supposed to be worn without top coat
Wear - Good, did not chip after 2 days of wear
Removal - Same as other liquid sands

After wearing this polish for a couple of days, I must say I am growing quite fond of it. I think this is a good palette cleanser making it a great alternative if you do not feel like wearing a nude.

What are your thoughts on OPI Solitaire or liquid sands in general? Do you own any polishes from the Bond Girls collection?