Ulta Haul and Swatches

Hello again readers!

I think I like doing hauls this way, where I take a picture of everything and then show the swatches. That way I'm more inclined to post them on time and not have them get lost in my computer somewhere and then have to drag it out months down the line.

I went to Ulta with Ani, and I got a bunch of goodies. :)

Orly - Space Cadet

Oh gosh, I could have cried when I found this in the clearance bin. I have been wanting this polish since 2012 when I stupidly picked up Galaxy Girl instead of this one. I should have gotten both that day... I gave up on ever getting it for myself, instead on focusing on getting dupes, but I don't need to do that anymore because I found this shoved in the bottom for under 4 dollars! 

Space Cadet is a gorgeous duo-chrome polish, that flashes from copper, to acid green, to a bit of violet in there for good measure. Every time you move your hand around you see something different, and it's always beautiful. This took 4 coats since it's a little sheer, but I find it's so worth it! If you're also a bit like me and don't like the hassle of so many coats, perhaps try it over black, because then you can get a whole new experience, without sacrificing the colour shift. :)

Nyx - Raspberry Tart Butter Gloss and Crystal Hip Liquid Crystal Liner

Crystal Hip is a really pretty iridescent glitter in a clear base. I do like this one on it's own, even if it's not really that attention grabbing unless you're close, but I absolutely LOVE it over black. It's great to add a little extra for when you want to be more dramatic with your look.

My mission to have a sizeable Butter Gloss continutes with Raspberry Tart. I think I'll skip over the browns (because they look terrible on me no matter how much I wish they'd work) but I do really want to get Cupcake and Sugar Cookie to complete my collection.

Raspberry Tart is a darkened fuchsia. The container is purple, but the gloss inside leans more towards pink. This one was a little tricky to work with, needing about three coats to get the desired colour that I wanted... And even then it settled in odd places (you can tell in the photo where some places are darker than others). I'm not too put off with that, and I'm going to experiment to see if I like it worn sheer too, or over a few lipsticks. I'm determined to make it work, because I just LOVE these glosses.

Essence XXXL Shine Lipgloss - Nude Candy

This gloss DEFINITELY needs to be layered, especially for me. I picked it up because I switched from buying primarily reds, to really indulging in nudes (best decision to be made, even though I still lust after reds). This gloss settles into ALL of my lines of my lips and looks horrible... It's light, and because I'm so pale it makes me look sick instead of gorgeous... If you have a darker complexion, you'll look better in this than I do.

Orly - Push and Shove & Lay Down That Base

I tried to pass this up, but I couldn't help myself. I'm drawn to chrome-effect nail polishes. This duo comes in a little pack (you can find it at Ulta for 4.50 while they're around the clearance bins).

You need to apply Lay Down That Base first, letting it dry and then going over it with Push and Shove. This polish really is shiny (no where near chrome false nails) but it shows every ridge of your nail... If you've seen in other blogs, this polish duo does NOT play nice with ridge fillers or other base coats... which is a shame. Also, this mani is not meant to last, it's supposed to be just for a night on the town and will start chipping with wear within 24 hours. Not a polish you'd want to invest in for long time wear, but if you're drawn to it (like I was) and you can get it for a good price (which I did) then why not try it? They are attention grabbing and really pretty, even with the ridges.

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!

Saturday Spam - Nail Polishes

Hello again readers!

I have a lot of polishes to show you all, so strap in and enjoy!

Revlon - Mistletoe

Mistletoe is a charcoal base polish with gold and green glitter. I bought this forever ago on clearance for under a dollar, and never got around to swatching it. It applies in two coats, and the formula is a little on the runny side. 

Finger Paints - Colorful Collage

Colorful Collage is a clear base loaded with chunky holographic glitter. It was a little hard to get them spaced out, since they wanted to clump together, but it was easy enough separating them again. This is just one coat over Sinful Colors - Coffee.

Finger Paints - Bombshell

I keep finding the Peridot dupes everywhere, and I finally picked one up just to have one. Bombshell is a gold/green duochrome. It shows the brushstrokes, which is always a little bummy, but it applied well.

Spoiled - Champagne Siren

Champagne Siren is a gold glitter suspended in a clear base. This is packed with glitter, but not enough to wear on it's own. This polish is a great one to have to just "fancy" up your manicure. Adding a little touch of glitter to spice it up.

Maybelline - Color Show - Ageless Olive

Ageless Olive is a grey-green polish with little silver flakes throughout. I love mattes, but you definitely need a ridge filler to make them look good. I love this polish, however, and it was just gorgeous, so when I saw it when I was out with Ani? I couldn't resist! It applied in just two coats.

Salon Perfect - Shocked

I actually returned this, so I don't have it worn on the nail, but Shocked is made up of hot pink and blue glitter in a clear base. You can wear it over a colour, or on it's on with three coats. I did four to be safe. It would need a couple layers of top coat to be smooth, since it's gritty to the touch otherwise.

Salon Perfect - Kaboom

Kaboom is a neon green and blue glitter suspended in a clear base. It's a dupe of Floam, so i you want to save a few dollars this is a good alternative. It applies with three coats, four to be safe, or layered over a colour. It also needs a couple layers of top coat if you want it smooth, otherwise it will be gritty.

Orly - Matte FX - Green Flakie Topcoat

Orly Matte FX in Green Flakie Topcoat is something I'm really glad to have in my collection. It's a nice blue-themed flakie, that is said to dry matte. I think it dries more of a semi-matte, since it still looked so shinny! I tried one coat over Wet n Wild Teal Slowly and See, and over Maybelline Ageless Olive.

Essie - Skirting the Issue

One of the many shades I just can't get enough of - blood reds. Essie - Skirting the Issue, is a beautiful blood red jelly. This is with three coats, and as you can see, you can still see some nail tips/gunk. Yuck! I think this is a fantastic polish for jelly sandwiches, but I don't see myself wearing this on it's own.

Funky Fingers - Jawbreaker

After seeing Pretty in Polished's version of Jawbreaker, I was itching for one for my collection. Lucky for me, I found an almost-dupe with Funky Fingers - Jawbreaker. It's a fantastic polish, that wears alone with just three coats. Packed with colourful glitter that just makes you think of candy, it's a wonderful polish to have. I even bought one for my sister!

Charlotte Russe - Periwinkle

Periwinkle is actually not the name of this polish. Charlotte Russe doesn't have names for their polishes, or even colour numbers, so I had to name it myself. However, 'nameless' as it is, this is a wonderful polish. It applies in two coats, dries pretty quickly, and didn't give me any problem. I also really love the bottle as well. 

Thanks for reading!

Orly - High on Hope

Hello again readers~

I have a quick swatch for you! I bought Orly High on Hope when I went with my sister, and didn't want to swatch it until today. 

It's a dusty blue creme with purple/gold shifts. The shifts remind me of Crush on Lava/Space Cadet! It's a  very unique polish, and definitely interesting.

At first it seems extremely sheer, but is opaque with two coats. Takes a long time to dry though...

Thanks for reading~

NOTD

Hello again readers~

Just a super quick post for you today.

NOTD:

I used two coats of Orly - Gumdrop, and one coat of NYX - Gilded Glitter. 

I was excited to try Gilded Glitter, since the swatches I saw of it online were so gorgeous, and I was slightly disappointed. It's not the glitter payoff (Which is nice, not too little, and not too much!) but the glitter has a yellow-tint to its base, that shows up on lighter colours like Gumdrop.

It made some gross streaks to the manicure, and it just made the anticipation fizzle. It looks much better over darker colours, but I'll be keeping it away from lighter colours. 

From afar, you can't notice it so I wasn't too concerned, but knowing it wasn't as well as I hoped bummed me out a bit.

Thanks for reading~

NOTD

Hello again readers~

Here is my NOTD looks from the past two weeks. :)

NOTD 1 - Orly 'Androgynie'

I used Orly 'Androgynie' over Wet N Wild Fast Dry in 'Ebony Hates Chris'. Androgynie can be layered to stand on it's own, but the pay-off is much better to put it over a black base. 

 

I absolutely love this polish (have worn it a few other times, but only pictured it now). It's a black base (a bit sheer) with holo glitter, and hexegonal glitter. 

The only problem, is that there isn't the metal balls inside to mix the glitter around, so the glitter sits at the bottom of the bottle. I'm working on getting this fixed (ordering a packet of the metal balls so I can fix this, and make my own), but for now it has to be stored upside-down to get glitter.

Previously, I have worn it alone, though with applications it eats up the glitter and dulls it. If you layer it over a black polish, it really stands out, and is just brilliant.

NOTD 2 - Orly 'After Party'

I'm so glad I picked up this polish when I did. 'After Party' is a navy blue base, PACKED with blue, pink, and purple shimmer. It's asolutely GORGEOUS. 

I included the shade photo, because the colour of the bottle, is really how it looks on the nail. I just couldn't get it to photograph correctly on my nails, but it's absolutely beautiful.

Thanks for reading~