Shopping Sarah's Stash

Hello again readers!

I know that the fad is 'shopping your stash', but my sister has a collection of her own. While I prefer oxblood, blue, or mint polishes, she has a vast array of different shades in her collection. Mine might be bigger, but hers has more variety. 

She was kind enough to let me go through her polishes and pick out some that I wanted to swatch! It's nice for me, because it lets me try out some colours I might not go for, and see if I like them enough to purchase for my own collection. 

China Glaze -In The Lime Light (Neon)

I was always impressed with China Glaze's Turned Up Turquoise (Neon) that I've loved for ages, and it turns out, the other neons in their line are just as brilliant. They have this glow to them that just attract your eyes. In the Lime Light (Neon) is, well, a neon green shimmer. Very bright! It's also very sheer. I used three coats, and it seems four might just be better. It's a surprisingly wonderful shade, that's very flattering.

 China Glaze - Pink Voltage  (Neon)

Another brilliant neon. Pink Voltage is a bright, neon pink, with a blue/violet duo-chrome shimmer. It reminds me a lot of the old-formula Sinful Colors Daredevil. It only needs two coats for full application, and its very easy to control. Not sure about the nick missing on the ring finger. Bit of a fluke really.

China Glaze - Dance Baby

This is just the  most perfect Barbie pink if there ever was one. Dance Baby is a light, blue-toned pink creme that is absolutely gorgeous! I was surprised how good I felt wearing it, and I might just have to add this to my nail polish wishlist... Dance Baby only needs two coats to be fully opaque.

Lynnderella - Connect The Dots

Probably one of the two polishes in her entire collection that I'm incredibly jealous of (the other being the original formula of Sally Hansen's Pacific Blue!). Connect the Dots is the polish that started it all. It was highly coveted, often replicated, but it doesn't beat this one. Connect the Dots is a black and white topper with square, hex, and bar glitter with a very light sprinkle of holographic shimmer throughout. It really can't be beat (even if the price tag is intimidating) and though I have dupes, it was great to wear this one. It only needs one coat!

I was very thankful for her to let me 'shop' her stash, and I hope that in the future she'll let me do it again! I hope you enjoyed!

Thanks for reading!

Saturday Spam - Nail Polish Swatches

Hello again readers!

Time again for another swatch spam. I keep getting new ones, and then never really getting around to doing individual posts about them... So, here we go!

Layla Ceramic Effects - CE14

Layla Ceramic Effects CE14 is a dark oxblood red, that has a glaze effect, like ceramics. (Oh ho! That's where Ceramic Effects comes in!) This was my first Layla polish, and I wasn't really impressed. It took three coats, and even then, I could still see my nail tip after three coats. It is unbelievably shiny though, which makes up for it a little bit... I know for sure that I took this one back, because I have others in this colour that I like more.

They retail around 8-10.

Bellatrix Lip Gloss and Nail Polish

Picked these up at Walgreens after Christmas (and you can still find them lingering around clearance...). The gloss is okay, not sticky, adds shine, and has just an okay amount of shimmer in it. It doesn't do much, just a clear gloss. The taste leaves much to be desired, as it just tastes like lip gloss. At least it's not disgusting fake fruit...

The polish was decent too. It covered in two coats, but it might have needed three, as you can still see my tips of my nail in the photos. I do like the colour, it's a bit like Listening to Blue Reed by Wet n Wild. The polish has a heavy chemical scent as well. 

They originally retailed for 5 dollars, but now they're under 2 if you can find them. Not bad, but not the greatest polish I've ever used.

China Glaze - Bump in the Night

Bump in the Night is a black creme texture polish. I have a love-hate relationship with textured polishes, the first one I ever got was the Sally Hansen Sugar Coat in Sour Apple. I still am not a fan of textured polishes, but this one is really nice. The feel of this polish isn't gritty, it's bumpy, but it doesn't feel gritty to me. It applies so well, and it was almost a one coater! I was surprised with how well it covered, since sour apple was a little thick to work with, this went on great. Picture is with two coats.

China Glaze retails for 8-5 dollars.

Orly - Macabre Masquerade

Macabre Masquerade is a polish with blue, silver, violet, gold, green, and red glitter suspended in a royal blue jelly base.  I saw this when I was in Chicago, and just had to buy it, since it was only two dollars! I tried it on, and even with three coats, it still shows through. I'm sure when enough coats, it could be fully opaque, but his is definitely a layering polish for sure. For best results, layer one coat over a royal blue polish - I used Sinful Colors Into the Blue for layering on the ring finger.

Orly retails for 8-10 dollars.

Claire's -  Splatter Paint

Splatter Paint is a black and white bar, and multi-sized hex glitter suspended in a clear base. I can never get enough of polishes like these, and they are so great for layering! I used one coat over Sephora by OPI - Caught With my Khakis Down.

Claire's polish retails for 5 dollars each.

Claire's - Culture Shock

Culture Shock has black and white multi-sized hex glitter with black bar glitter suspended in a neon green jelly base. I was really excited for this polish, but it's impossible to get opaque! It's another layering polish, and I layered it over Orly Gumdrop on my ring finger. 

Claire's polishes retail for 5 dollars each.

Rue 21 - Rue Beaute - Unnammed Polish

I really wish Rue 21 would get on the wagon and name their polishes... Even something as simple as 'blue' or 'teal' or something like that would make it so much easier to find swatches online... Anyway, this Rue Beaute polish is a bright teal. It went on great, though it was a little bit runny. I used two coats for the picture above.

Rue Beaute polishes retail for 4 dollars each.

Color Club - Positively Posh

Positively Posh is a taupe creme, that I absolutely adored. Love at first sight! It leans violet, which is okay, and goes on so nicely. I used two coats for the swatch.

Color Club polishes retail for 4-8 dollars.

Rue 21 - Pink Ice - Blue 

Once again, I wish Rue 21 named their polishes... This Pink Ice polish is a light blue with a opalescent shift in it. When I see it, I just can't get enough. With two coats, it's opaque, and it's just really a gorgeous colour to wear, and even layer with.

Pink Ice polishes retail for 4 dollars.

Rue 21 - Pink Ice - White

This Pink Ice polish is a sheer white with gold shimmer. This is with three coats, so it can't be worn alone, but if you layer it over a (light!) base colour than you can get a good enough look out of it. I wasn't wowed with this polish, and I would have liked it more if it was opaque...

Pink Ice polishes retail for 4 dollars.

Target Skull Polishes

I didn't want to put these by themselves, so it's a combination! These polishes I got from Target around Halloween for a dollar a piece. The bottles are super cute, and shaped like skulls, but the polish inside leaves room to be desired....

The first one is a bright neon pink with opalescent sheen to it. It reminds me a bit of the Sinful Colors - Daredevil, but definitely not as opaque. If this was a little more  opaque, it'd be better, but even with three coats you can still see my nail tips! If you layer this over a bright pink, it'll work, but not on it's own.

The second one is an equally bright yellow-green metallic. I was not wowed by this much at all... It was runny, it shows brush strokes, and like the pink, even with three coats it's not enough to be worn on it's own. It could be layered over a light green, but with the brush strokes being shown, it's not worth it. You can get better polish for a dollar (Wet n Wild), so if they ever pop up again don't waste your money, unless you love the skull bottles that much, then go for it.

Thanks for reading!

Swatches

Hello again readers~

This is the first of two swatch posts. I have some polishes that I haven't swatched yet, and some that I just bought that I have already swatched. It's a little disorganized.

Wet n Wild 511B Nouveau Pink

I've had these polishes for a while, and I haven't had a chance to take a picture them yet.

Now I have.

(From Left to Right)

Milani – Silver: Chunky silver glitter. This was with five coats. It's workable to give you a foil effect, and that's exactly what I was going for.

Spoiled – My Button Fell Off: Light pink creme. Two coats to become opaque.

Spoiled – Permission to Proceed: A sheer, neon-green that gives of a rubber finish. It honestly works better layered over a white, and takes three coats to become opaque. You also need to wrap with this polish.

Sinful Colors – Let's Talk: Violet Chrome, with very small hint of blue shimmer. Shows brush strokes. Two coats for full opacity.

E.L.F.:  A Grey-Green base with green shimmer. This polish smells AWFUL, and on the nail it looks almost black, not dark green like in the bottle. I'm a little upset by the scent, but it's bearable. Two coats.

Funky Fingers – Neon Green Crackle: One coat. I picked this up, because I love goo-green colors for nails (especially layered over black), and was hoping that this would be an opaque crackle (like China Glaze). It's not. It only shows up on lighter colors, and it tints them with an awful yellow. Not a fan, and I'm not even sure of the title since the label fell off.

(Edit: Neon Green Crackle)

Funky Fingers – Teal Scales: One coat. I love this one, a lot. It doesn't stand out over black (because it's so dark) but it looks so much better than the other one. I really wanted it because it looked a lot like OPI's Shatter the Scales, and I couldn't resist. 

I did spend a bit of time looking up Funky Fingers online and reviews, and I think next time I go into that store, I'll pick up a few other colours that catch my eye, because though the neon crackle failed me, there are others that look absolutely gorgeous (like Teal Scales).

Now I mentioned that I would be working on taking better photos, so I set up a little back-drop studio area just for my blogging photos. (Still figuring out the best way to photograph clothes!)

The Wicked Halloween collection is one I sort of wanted, but didn't want it enough to shell out the money for it. When I found this on sale for about six dollars, it was worth it enough.

(Left to Right)

China Glaze Ghoulish Glow layered over Sally Hansen Night Fright: I was very excited about this polish, because I can layer it over darker colors, and still have glow-in-the-dark nails. Two coats.

Glitter Goblin: Medium orange and silver-holographic glitter. One coat.

Roguish Red: Red-Orange creme. Two coats.

Bizarre Blurple: Violet base with blue shimmer. Two coats.

Thanks for reading~

Stone Cold - NOTD

Hello again readers~

This polish has been swatched dozens of times, but  how about one more? I picked this up when I was with Cory weeks ago, and finally got around to painting my nails with Stone Cold by China Glaze.
 

(The above picture is not mine!)

Stone Cold is representing District 2 from the Hunger Games, and was my favorite polish from the entire Hunger Games collection. (Agro came in a close second!)

At first when I applied it, I was really pleased that it was a one-coater, which is great for me since I'm inpatient. Though it turned into a disaster, because I was so focused on getting it perfect, that it would dry! It's a one coat polish because it dries matte very quickly so to apply it you must be fast!

I really do like the matte finish of it, and the  silver shimmer just makes it look amazing. Though the reason I really wanted this polish is due to how it looks with a top coat over it.

Instant love. :)

Thanks for reading~

Gets, and reviews

Hello again readers~

It was a crazy past couple of days! Thursday night, Akira ate! Though, he REFUSES to eat the fish flakes (his usual diet) and will only eat the beta pellets, so that was easy... 

Though today he's been doing well. He's been eating regularly, and has been responding to my voice again, and has been swimming! Just yesterday, he barely got off the pebbles on the bottom, and today he's swimming all over the place. It's a wonderful change. :)

REVIEWS

Wet n Wild Baked Palettes in: Baked, Not Fried, Bake-Off Contest, and Baking a Cake, and Wet n Wild I ♥ Matte palette.

Ohhhh it flipped my photo to the right! But here are the swatches of Baked, Not Fried and the accompanying eyeliner! I was pleased, since this a great shimmer palette in neutral tones. Applied in pairs, top is dry, bottom is wet.


Swatches of Bake-Off Contest and the accompanying eyeliner. Each is sectioned into pairs, the top is applied dry, and bottom is applied wet.

Swatches of Baking a Cake and the accompanying eyeliner. Applied in pairs, top is dry, bottom is wet.

Now for the review!

I love how when applied wet, the pigmentation is just glamorous and incredibly amazing, even without the use of a primer. The eyeshadows are silky, and glide on smoothly.

Pros:
- Baked, so can be applied easy wet, or dry
- Looks AMAZING applied wet
- Affordable (5 dollars for 6 colors)
- The eyeliners suit the palettes well

Cons:
- The palette lids aren't attached to the palette, so it takes some effort to open and close the palette.
- The palettes don't come with brushes, or makeup sponges.

Overall: 4/5
I love the colors, I love the palettes, though the lids and the lack of brush/sponges is a hassle, they are still so great. Made up my mind that baked palettes are my favorite.


Swatches of I ♥ Matte. Left dry, right wet.

I did like this palatte, though the black was a let-down. I was hoping for a more carbon black, and it's more of a really dark brown-black shade. The blue, violet, and the neutral colors blew me a way, and the green is also sort of a let down as well.

Pros:
- When applied wet, is really pigmented
- Many shades to choose from
- Easy to obtain
- Cheap (5 dollars)

Cons:
- It says 'matte' but some of the shades have a slight shimmer to them, so it's not a true matte.
- The black color is a let down.
- The white is really chalky.

Overall: 4/5
This is a good pallete for the money I spent on it, and it is very versatile!


Today was pretty relaxing, though I did a lot. My parents took my sister and I to the mall, and to lunch~

First off: The mall~

Got these sweaters are Rue 21 for $7 each! They are perfect for me, and go all the way to my bum, so it's the style that I like, and colors I like too!

I kept trying to tell myself to stay away from printed T's, but who am I kidding? While at J C Penny's, I got a 'vintage' Batman shirt, a Pikachu shirt, and a Disturbed shirt!

And at Hot Topic, I got the "Welcome to Boo-tiful Newark, NJ" 10th anniversary t-shirt, THAT GLOWS IN THE DARK! You heard me right, it glows in the dark, and is something that I wanted since it was released, and my mother gave me the okay, so while she was buying Cardinal shirts with my sister, my father and I went to get it. I love it, so so so so so much!

Then we went to Sally Beauty. I was just going to get two nail polishes, but since my mother wanted a wallet that came free if you bought 3 Finger Paints colors, and Sarah needed me to pick 2 to make that happen, I picked a couple I wanted, and even found an alternative for a polish I wanted!

China Glaze in First Mate, Finger Paints in Where Art Renoir?, Finger Paints in Tiffany Imposter, and Orly in Androgynie, and Sally Girl Baked Eyeshadows in violet and gunmetal.

Close-ups for Orly Androgynie, and for Finger Paints in Where Art Renoir?.

Swatches of violet (left), and gunmetal (right). Dry, sliced, and applied wet.

REVIEWS


Tiffany Imposter: A nice polish that applies nicely, needs two coats to apply evenly.

First Mate: A thick polish that was a little hard to work with. Needs two coats for even application.

Where Art Renoir?: A brilliant polish, that glides on easy. Can be applied in two coats, put two on the swatcher for good measure.

Androgynie: Goes on sheer, definitely needs at least two coats for an opaque application, I suggest three.

Thanks for reading!