Thursday, February 9, 2012

Tart Deco by Essie


I know, it's on the first week of February and I'm already dipping into my Spring colors. It's just that when I come across colors this gorgeous, I can't help myself. I bought this gem amidst an armful of purples and glitters, but I just loved it so much. In the bottle it's almost a genuine orange, but on the nail it's much closer to coral. I'd describe it as coral-tangerine. It was hard to catch the true complexity of the polish with a picture. The application was a breeze, and only required two coats. I know Spring collections are being released by the truckload, but if you're on the hunt for the perfect Spring color, Tart Deco should definitely be in the running. 

Rating: B

Monday, February 6, 2012

Bumster by Butter London


Today's color is very dear to my heart, because it is actually my first attempt at yellow. As we all know yellows can be scary and sometimes impossible to pull off. Unless you've been blessed with a perfect yellow-friendly skin tone, finding the right shade can be a nightmare. So as you can imagine, when I found this warm golden hue I was nearly ecstatic. Butter has never led my astray before, and this was no exception to the rule. 

The color itself can be seen on my pinkie, ring finger, and thumb. My index finger is sporting OPI's You Don't Know Jacques, and my middle finger features many layers of my custom copper glitter which I layered on top of the other colors as well. The application was hassle free, and I achieved total opacity with just two coats. Not too dark, not too light, and not a single streak in sight--is this the perfect yellow, or what??

Rating: A+

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Lo by Zoya


After falling so deeply in love with China Glaze's Kiwi Coolada , I knew I had to get my hands on some more neon. I'd had such a great experience with my first Zoya polish that when I came across this gorgeous color I knew I couldn't go wrong. Lo is a neon candy pink that adds an electric pop without looking cheap. The application was a piece of cake, it only required two coats and I didn't encounter any streakiness, and it wore really well. The polish as a gel quality that I love in my pinks--it gives them a great depth without being too harsh. I can already tell that there will be so much more neon and Zoya in my future. 

Rating: B+

Crushed Candy Crackle by China Glaze


I have experimented with crackles before, and I've consistently found them hard to use. This time around I determined to figure out the secret to crackle success, and I DID! Now, first things first for any crackle beginners--you can't brush over any portion of the nail that you've already put crackle polish on. This is not a multi-coat friendly nail effect. The second thing to know is that it's best to be generous. Often times if you put the polish on too thinly the crackling won't really be dramatic enough. So, you only have one chance to get the perfect amount of polish onto the nail. I've always tried to accomplish this with one broad swipe with the brush on the center of my nail. THAT IS NOT THE BEST WAY. When using the China Glaze crackle I figured out that I should start from one side of my nail and work my way across! This allowed me to completely cover the nail with two or three side by side stripes of color. This method was so much less stressful, and I LOVED the result. 

Now that we've covered method, let's talk color. This polish is very similar to China Glaze's For Audrey (which we will get to at some point in this journey). I paired it with Essie's Fall 2011 gem Powder Clutch (which we will also discuss in further detail down the road), and I adore how the two colors contrasted with one another. A huge benefit of crackle is not having to wear about tipwear or chipping, because it looks like it was intentional. That being said, I was still impressed with how well this manicure held up. I wore it for an entire week and it looked just as good on day 6 as it did on day 1. 

Rating: A+



Kiwi Coolada by China Glaze


As evidenced by the SS'12 collections we've been seeing on the runway, neon is finding popularity that it hasn't know since the acid wash days of the '80s. I love this trend for so many reasons. Neon can definitely be overwhelming, but the right pop in the right place can do wonders for any outfit. That's why I was so excited to get this incredibly vibrant neon green polish. Even though it's probably more suited to be worn poolside than in the middle of January, the break from shimmers and "fall" colors was definitely welcome. The polish itself was a little hard to work with. This picture shows three coats, because after my ideal two coats the finish was still streaky. After getting past the streakiness, it wore like a dream. I fell so in love with the color that I wore it for almost an entire week, and I didn't have to battle any tipwear. On a side note, I feel like this color is an amazing candidate for being worn matte. As soon as I try it out you guys will be the first to know what I think of the result. 

Rating: A-

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

No More Waity, Katie by Butter London


I loved by first Butter London experience so much that I knew I needed more. After perusing the website for almost an hour, agonizing over each gorgeous shade, I found this beauty. Inspired by KATE MIDDLETON herself, it certainly lives up to its name. The base color is a deep lilac, and the silver glitter is incredibly fine. The coverage was outstanding, and the manicure lasted a full week before I had to force myself to move onto the next color. Really though, between the brand and the namesake, how could you go wrong??

Rating: A+

Excuse Moi! and Pepe's Purple Passion by OPI


Two add to my family of Muppets polishes, I received these two impossibly sparkly colors as Christmas gifts. Excuse Moi! is a deep pink based glitter with flecks of purple and silver. The overall effect has a lot of depth; this is something that can sometimes be missing from polishes made entirely of sparkle. Pepe's Purple Passion is equally unique in that it appears purple, but it has flecks of pink glitter throughout. They had hardly been seen in the picture, but in the sunlight they appear to be almost the same shade that is found in Excuse Moi!. These colors were perfect together, and made for a nice change from all the Christmas-themed hues. 

Excuse Moi!: B+
Pepe's Purple Passion: B