Essie Summer 2013 Picks!

Hello again, surprised I'm back so soon? Well, I just couldn't stay away because I've been eager to try out a different camera for my nail photos and I am loving how great the photos are with the switch! Let me know what you guys think of the photo quality :)

Last time I was at CVS, I came across Essie's summer collection- full of shimmers and brights with nautical names. I couldn't resist and picked up 3. There's either 4 or 5 in the collection, but I passed on a couple of the shades.

Lots of photos in this post! All swatches are without topcoat.

Essie Rock the Boat 

Essie Rock the Boat

Essie Rock the Boat

First up is Rock the Boat, a light cornflower blue with silver shimmer. The shimmer is only noticeable in the sunlight, but I love the shade nonetheless! Its formula was decent; at first it was uneven and streaky, but 3 coats seemed to do the trick to create full, smooth opacity. 

Essie Sunday Funday

Essie Sunday Funday

Essie Sunday Funday

Sunday Funday is a bright coral/pink with the same silver shimmer that the whole collection has. The application was better on this one; it only required 2 coats for opacity. This color was really hard to capture on camera! In person, it's a little more pink-leaning. 

Essie Naughty Nautical 

Essie Naughty Nautical 

Essie Naughty Nautical 

Naughty Nautical is a sea green/muted teal with the same silver shimmer. This may be my favorite from the collection because it's so unique! The application was similar to Sunday Funday and only required 2 coats. I must say the name drew me to it as well; I can't resist polishes with cute names!

What do you think of Essie's new summer collection?

-Shelby

Butter London Bossy Boots

Good evening! Tonight I have for you a gorgeous Butter London polish: Bossy Boots. It isn't the most fitting for the fall-time, but I decided to wear it anyway :) Seasons don't always dictate my nail polish moods :P

Butter London Bossy Boots

Butter London Bossy Boots

Bossy Boots is a mossy/pistachio green creme. I've been searching for a good pistachio green, but I think this may be a tad lighter than that. This looks a little odd against my skin tone- I like it anyway! The formula was decent, but a little patchy here and there.

What do you think of Bossy Boots?

-Shelby

Essie Go Overboard & Jordana Cosmic

Hello ladies! Yesterday I tried out a combo I've been curious about for a while: Essie Go Overboard and Jordana Cosmic!

I hope all of my American readers have a lovely holiday tomorrow; eat lots of turkey! :)

Essie Go Overboard
Jordana Cosmic

Essie Go Overboard
Jordana Cosmic

Essie Go Overboard
Jordana Cosmic

Go Overboard is an extremely opaque teal creme. This color only needed 1 coat to be super opaque! Cosmic contains teal, green, and silver hexes along with micro teal glitter in a clear base! I heard that if Cosmic is paired over a teal, it is a dupe for Deborah Lippmann's Across the Universe. I would say it's a close enough dupe for the price difference! I like this a lot :)

What do you think of this mani?

-Shelby

OPI Uh-Oh Roll Down the Window & Glow Up Already!

Good morning ladies! I hope everyone's week has gone well so far. I'm super pumped because Thursday is my Friday and I am going home for the weekend, which happens to be a day longer than usual due to Veteran's Day :)

Yesterday I used a couple untried OPIs in my stash!

What I used:
2 coats OPI Uh-Oh Roll Down the Window
2 coats OPI Glow Up Already! (ring accent)

OPI Uh-Oh Roll Down the Window
OPI Glow Up Already!

Uh-Oh Roll Down the Window is the perfect army green creme! It was perfectly opaque in 2 coats and I cannot get over the name- love it! It makes me giggle every time I pick up the bottle, which is a definitely plus. Glow Up Already! contains gold, green and orange same-sized glitters in a clear base. This glitter needed 2 coats to fully cover, but it also would've looked pretty on all nails with just 1 coat!

What do you think of this mani?

-Shelby

OPI Gargantuan Green Grape

Good afternoon! Today I was in a pastel mood so I chose an untried in my stash: a birthday gift from Jennifer at Little J's Nail Corner. Jennifer generously gave me 2 polishes; OPI Gargantuan Green Grape being one of them!

Below I did 3 coats of Gargantuan Green Grape

OPI Gargantuan Green Grape

OPI Gargantuan Green Grape

Gargantuan Green Grape is a gorgeous, vibrant mint creme. It's a little brighter than traditional mints, which I like about it. The formula was okay; a little streaky and a 3-coater, but I liked it regardless! Thank you Jennifer!

What do you think of this shade?

-Shelby

Butter London Wallis

Good afternoon! Today I have for you a widely talked about polish here in the blogosphere: Butter London Wallis. I was very excited to get this polish and was hopeful that it'd live up to the hype!

Below I used 2 coats of Wallis

Butter London Wallis

Butter London Wallis

Wallis is a dark olive green with tons of gold shimmers. So gorgeous!

The application was pretty good. 2 careful coats for full opacity. Wallis is a stunner in the light or in the sunlight. Also, it was a hit with my boyfriend :) Definitely lived up to the hype!

What do you think of Wallis?

-Shelby

31 Day Challenge, Day 22: Inspired by a Song

Good afternoon ladies! I put a lot of thought into today's challenge- I had plenty of ideas, but not the correct stamping plates to do most of them. I decided on the song I'm Like a Bird by Nelly Furtado; this song is special to me because I sang it for karaoke one of the first few times I went over to my boyfriend's house :)

What I used:
2 coats Revlon Vixen
Essie Penny Talk (stamping)
OPI Live and Let Die (dotting)
Cheeky jumbo plate B

Revlon Vixen
Essie Penny Talk
OPI Live and Let Die

Revlon Vixen
 Essie Penny Talk
OPI Live and Let Die

Revlon Vixen
 Essie Penny Talk
OPI Live and Let Die

I am head over heels for this manicure! This was my first time using Revlon Vixen- a gorgeous, easy to work with wine creme. I was very impressed and plan on using it a lot this season! I thought that Live and Let Die was the perfect accent dot color- a shimmery forrest green. I also had never stamped with Penny Talk before- it worked great! No complaints about this mani :D

What do you think?

-Shelby

Check out the other lovely ladies:

-Kimber at Kimber's Lacquer Korner
-Kat at Hooked On Polish
-Diana at Nails By Diana
-Aly at Wonderland Beauty
-Meredith at Perfectly Polished
-Nicole at The Color Republic
-Kate at The Painted Pony Nails
-Cee at Absolutely Cee
-Sam at Polished Art
-Nail Narcotics
-Nicole at Nicole Gets Nailed
-Shelby at Shelby's Swatches
-Stephanie Louise at All Things Beautiful 
-Mixed Mama
-Joanna @ Sweet Polish of Mine
-Patty Greenberg
-Liz and Lisa @ Lozlosa 
-Mari at Nailista 
-Greta at How Was Your Day?
-Miss L at Beauty by Miss L 
-Gini at Sassy Paints 
-Chameleon Stampede 
-Pam at Nail-E-Glance
-Me, Myself, and Polish 
- Robin Sparkles 

Sephora by OPI Caught With My Khakis Down & OPI The Living Daylights

Good afternoon ladies! Today I was in the mood for a very fall-esque mani, so I chose an army green shade: SOPI Caught With My Khakis Down

I added OPI The Living Daylights to my thumb and ring finger. I really like how versatile this glitter from the new collection is!

Below I did 2 coats of Caught With My Khakis Down & 1 coat of The Living Daylights

Sephora by OPI Caught With My Khakis Down
OPI The Living Daylights

Sephora by OPI Caught With My Khakis Down
 OPI The Living Daylights

Sephora by OPI Caught With My Khakis Down
OPI The Living Daylights

Caught With My Khakis Down is a gorgeous muted army green creme! The formula was pretty good, but the drying time was a little too long for my liking :/. The Living Daylights is full of teal, copper, gold, silver large hexes in a clear base. This also had a long drying time, but was well worth it!

What do you think of this mani?

-Shelby

31 Day Challenge, Day 14: Flowers

Good evening! I know I'm a little late with this challenge day post, but I've had a busy day! I've been running around getting things for my dorm that I realized I needed once I was there. I actually did this mani last night, but didn't photograph it until today. I was super excited for this challenge day, I love flowers! I decided to do an untraditional flower print, rather than do the norm :)

What I used:
Essie Mint Candy Apple (as base)
China Glaze Devotion (for stamping)
Cheeky plate Ch12

Essie Mint Candy Apple
China Glaze Devotion

Essie Mint Candy Apple
China Glaze Devotion

Essie Mint Candy Apple
China Glaze Devotion

Surprisingly, this was my first time using Mint Candy Apple. I have so many mint shades, which caused me to put off using this one, but I'm so glad I finally used it! Mint Candy Apple is more vibrant on the nails than it appears in the bottle, which I adore! I recently got my hands on some of the China Glaze Romantique collection polishes, Devotion being one of them. It is great for stamping! I thought it was a silver metallic, but in some lights it is also purple, way cool!

What do you think of this floral mani?

-Shelby

Check out the other lovely ladies:

-Kimber at Kimber's Lacquer Korner
-Kat at Hooked On Polish
-Diana at Nails By Diana
-Aly at Wonderland Beauty
-Meredith at Perfectly Polished
-Nicole at The Color Republic
-Kate at The Painted Pony Nails
-Cee at Absolutely Cee
-Sam at Polished Art
-Nail Narcotics
-Nicole at Nicole Gets Nailed
-Shelby at Shelby's Swatches
-Stephanie Louise at All Things Beautiful 
-Mixed Mama
-Joanna @ Sweet Polish of Mine
-Patty Greenberg
-Liz and Lisa @ Lozlosa 
-Mari at Nailista 
-Greta at How Was Your Day?
-Miss L at Beauty by Miss L 
-Gini at Sassy Paints 
-Chameleon Stampede 
-Pam at Nail-E-Glance
-Me, Myself, and Polish 
- Robin Sparkles 

31 Day Challenge, Day 9: Rainbow

Good morning! I am excited to show you my post for day 9 of the 31 day challenge, which incorporates a rainbow design! I decided to use my dotters for this mani to create a gradient dot effect; you guys know how much I've been into gradients lately! :P

Polishes I used:
Sally Hansen White On
China Glaze Hey Sailor
Sally Hansen Sun Kissed
China Glaze Lemon Fizz
Essie Mojito Madness
Essie Mesmerize
China Glaze Spontaneous

Rainbow Dotticure

Rainbow Dotticure

I think this turned out pretty awesome! I think my dots for the darker colors could have been slightly bigger, but I don't need to nit pick the fine details :P. These remind me of Skittles; not the skittle mani, but actual Skittles! haha.

What do you think of this mani?

-Shelby

Check out the other participants:

-Kimber at Kimber's Lacquer Korner
-Kat at Hooked On Polish
-Diana at Nails By Diana
-Aly at Wonderland Beauty
-Meredith at Perfectly Polished
-Nicole at The Color Republic
-Kate at The Painted Pony Nails
-Cee at Absolutely Cee
-Sam at Polished Art
-Nail Narcotics
-Nicole at Nicole Gets Nailed
-Shelby at Shelby's Swatches
-Stephanie Louise at All Things Beautiful 
-Mixed Mama
-Joanna @ Sweet Polish of Mine
-Patty Greenberg
-Liz and Lisa @ Lozlosa 
-Mari at Nailista 
-Greta at How Was Your Day?
-Miss L at Beauty by Miss L 
-Gini at Sassy Paints 
-Chameleon Stampede 
-Pam at Nail-E-Glance
-Me, Myself, and Polish 
- Robin Sparkles  

Essie Stylenomics Collection Swatches

Good evening! Essie recently came out with their fall line: Stylenomics. I thought some of the colors were nice, but they looked like colors I owned or have seen before, so instead of buying full-sized bottles, I bought a cube of 4 minis. The set included Don't Sweater It, Stylenomics, Head Mistress and Skirting the Issue!


Below I did 2 coats of each color. I apologize for the last 2 photos; my light box wasn't cooperating!

Essie Don't Sweater It

 Don't Sweater It is a light brown creme with a tinge of gray in it. I didn't really like the formula of this, unfortunately. I figured it'd be the best, considering the other 3 are darker shades, but I was wrong! I like this color, but I feel like its been done a million times and the formula turned me off a bit. I probably will use it, though.

Essie Stylenomics

Stylenomics, the namesake of the collection, is a dark green/teal, almost black creme. The formula on this was pretty good! A little thick, but manageable :). I don't really wear black polish, so I'm not sure how often I'll wear this, but I like it nonetheless!

Essie Head Mistress

Head Mistress is a sheer, red creme. I was least excited about this shade, but it is my favorite out of the 4! The formula was thin, but still great for a red! I will definitely be wearing this during the fall :) This reminds me of last year's Size Matters, also by Essie!

Essie Skirting the Issue

 Skirting the Issue is a sheer, wine creme. This was my second favorite of the bunch! The formula was also thin like the last polish, but very workable!

What do you think of this collection?

-Shelby

Sation Little Horse on the Prairie Swatches!

Hello ladies! I am very excited to share this post with you today! I've been wanting to try the newly formulated and packaged Sation polishes and decided to place an order last week! I bought 4 polishes from the new fall collection, Little Horse on the Prairie: Ring Around the Horsie, Blue Sky's the Limit, Weed Out the Wimps, and Rock-a-Guy-Blue! These polishes turned out to be awesome, so I couldn't wait to show them to you!

Below I did 2 coats for each polish, without a topcoat! Since the formula on these were all the same, basically, I am going to address it after all the color descriptions!

Sation Ring Around the Horsie

Sation Ring Around the Horsie

Sation Ring Around the Horsie

Ring Around the Horsie is a burnt red creme with a lot of brown in it! I really like this shade and think it'll be great for fall! A dream to apply :)

Sation Blue Sky's the Limit

Sation Blue Sky's the Limit

Blue Sky's the Limit is a powdery, sky blue creme! I think this could be a year-round color. I never get tired of shades like this!

Sation Weed Out the Wimps

Sation Weed Out the Wimps

Weed Out the Wimps is a dusty, army green creme! Oh my goodness I adore this color! I don't have anything like it in my stash and it's probably my fav of the 4 I purchased!

Sation Rock-a-Guy-Blue

Sation Rock-a-Guy-Blue

Rock-a-Guy-Blue is a navy creme! This may be my new go-to navy creme. Couldn't ask for anything better. What a cute name too :)

Overall, I am very impressed with this collection! The formula on these was a little thick, but still easy to work with! They were all practically one-coaters, but I added a second coat for good measure. I didn't do any cuticle cleanup since they were all easy to work with! I'm not sure the drying time, but a good drying time would be icing on the cake! Amazing collection. It left me wanting to buy more Sation than I should!

What do you think of this collection?

-Shelby

Untried China Glaze Swatches!

Good evening ladies! I was looking through my stash today and decided to swatch a few of my China Glaze polishes that I haven't tried yet. I had more than 3 untrieds (my untrieds keeps expanding!), but I decided to keep it short and sweet this time :P. I chose to swatch Dorothy Who?, IV, and Four Leaf Clover!

China Glaze Dorothy Who?

China Glaze Dorothy Who?

 Dorothy Who? is a stunning blue glitter! In the sun it sometimes looks blue, but it also flashes silver! This color was perfectly opaque in 2 coats and didn't give me a single problem! This is from the Wizard of Oz collection; I wish I had more polishes from it since I'm a fan of all the WOZ characters!

China Glaze IV

China Glaze IV

IV is a sheer, jelly-like salmon/coral creme! I was worried this wouldn't be opaque in 3 coats since there was quite a bit of VNL after 2, but I was pleasantly surprised! This is the perfect summer color! I don't hear about it much; I'm not sure why it goes unnoticed! It was made to celebrate China Glaze's 4th birthday I believe!

China Glaze Four Leaf Clover

China Glaze Four Leaf Clover

 Four Leaf Clover is a true kelly green creme! I'm sorry if my hands look a little yellow; I had to adjust the color a little since this shade did NOT want to photograph! This is a very unique color and it screams "leprechaun" to me! This went on pretty well and was opaque in 2 coats. This is from the Up & Away collection. I'm still trying to obtain every color from this collection. I'm drawn to pastel shades and for some reason want this whole set! haha

What do you think of these shades? Do you like random untried polish posts?

-Shelby

31 Day Challenge, Day 4: Green

Good morning! As you can see by the title, today's challenge theme is green! I like green; it happens to be the color of my eyes & my boyfriend's favorite color :). For this mani I decided to do a little bit of stamping to jazz it up! I did this mani last week (that's why my nails are shorter) and decided to save it for this challenge day!

Below I did 1 coat of OPI Don't Mess With OPI (could have used two) and Sally Hansen Black Out for stamping. I used BM305 for the design! I added a coat of Essie Matte About You to mattify it!

OPI Don't Mess With OPI

OPI Don't Mess With OPI

OPI Don't Mess With OPI

Don't Mess With OPI is a gorgeous darker green shade. It applied wonderfully! If I was a little more careful, I wouldn't have the little patchy area on my middle tip haha. I originally wanted black lighting bolts, but Black Out wasn't opaque enough, so they turned out a forresty green color. I actually like that better! It's green on green, can't go wrong there :P. 

What do you think of this green mani?

-Shelby

Check out the other participants:

Kimber at Kimber's Lacquer Korner

Kat at Hooked On Polish

Diana at Nails By Diana

Aly at Wonderland Beauty

Meredith at Perfectly Polished

Kate at The Painted Pony Nails

Cee at Absolutely Cee

Sam at Polished Art

Nail Narcotics

Nicole at Nicole Gets Nailed

Shelby at Shelby's Swatches

Stephanie Louise at All Things Beautiful 

Mixed Mama

Joanna at Sweet Polish of Mine

Patty Greenberg

Liz and Lisa at Lozlosa 

Mari at Nailista 

Greta at How Was Your Day?

Miss L at Beauty by Miss L 

Nicole at The Color Republic

Gini at Sassy Paints
Mandy at Chameleon Stampede