Revlon Minted

Hi guys! I haven't posted on here in over 3 months, but I came across a couple swatches that I haven't posted and decided to put them up here! I'm still constantly polishing my nails but my time for blogging has been limited. I hope you enjoy!

I finally decided to wear Revlon Minted, a cult favorite, and used 2 coats with topcoat:

Revlon Minted

Revlon Minted

I really like this polish! I have so many mint shades so I wasn't sure how I'd feel about this one, but I think it's awesome :) This photo is from a few months back, but my nails look relatively the same now 

I hope you enjoyed!

-Shelby

Misa Little Hands!

Hey guys! I've been away for quite a while, but I am back with a post! I'm going to try and get some swatching done before my summer ends and make scheduled posts on a semi-regular basis. I've had a lot going on in my personal life as well as some changes in regard to school. I'm not going to get into them, but I just want you guys to know I haven't forgotten about you! :)

Today I'm going to show you one of my favorite minty-blue polishes, which I had some photos of already on my computer!

Misa Little Hands

Misa Little Hands

Little Hands is one of my favorite minty-blue cremes, like I said. It looks great for both manis and pedis! The application is pretty good and only requires 2 coats for full opacity. 

What do you think of Little Hands?

-Shelby

China Glaze Bahamian Escape and Liquid Crystal

It's the middle of the week and I'm back with a post! Life has been busy lately, but the weather was gorgeous today so I had to snap a few pics of my mani.

Below I'm wearing 2 coats of Bahamian Escape and 2 coats of Liquid Crystal on my ring finger.

China Glaze Bahamian Escape
China Glaze Liquid Crystal

China Glaze Bahamian Escape
China Glaze Liquid Crystal

Bahamian Escape is a bright sky-blue creme; it had a wonderful application which barely required 2 coats for full opacity. Liquid Crystal is a dense blue glitter that shifts purple in the light. It contains multi-colored larger glitters throughout and also required 2 coats for full opacity. Love the duo!

What do you think of this combo?

-Shelby

Orly Rage and Essie A Cut Above

Hello, ladies! I hope all of you are having a good start to your week. I don't know about you guys, but it's been SO hot here! California needs to cool down, fast. I have for you today a combo a did over the weekend- rose gold inspired!

Below I used 2 coats of Orly Rage, topped with 1 coat of Essie A Cut Above

Orly Rage Essie A Cut Above

Orly Rage Essie A Cut Above

Rage is a rose gold foil; it's application is good and it only required 2 coats of complete opacity. I really like this polish on its own, but I wanted to add even more pink-y bling to it. I added A Cut Above, which is a two-sized rosy pink glitter in a clear base. With one coat, enough glitter was dispersed onto each nail, without having to do the "dabbing" method. The combination was sparkly in the sunlight, which was perfect during this weather!

What do you think of this combo?

-Shelby

Nicole by OPI Am I Making Myself Claire? and Orly Plum Pixel

Happy almost-weekend! I am so relieved to be off for the summer with lots of spare time on my hands. I've been reading a lot and even joined goodreads, a book lover's dream. Today I have for you a pretty pairing: Nicole by OPI Am I Making Myself Claire? from the Modern Family collection and Orly Plum Pixel from the most recent additions of the FX line.

Nicole by OPI Am I Making Myself Claire?
Orly Plum Pixel

Nicole by OPI Am I Making Myself Claire?
 Orly Plum Pixel

Nicole by OPI Am I Making Myself Claire?
 Orly Plum Pixel

Am I Making Myself Claire? is a purple-pink-nude creme. It leans in all three directions without definitively settling on one. I added Orly Plum Pixel, a grayed-out darker purple dense multi-sized glitter, as an accent nail to spice up the subtlety of the NOPI. Plum Pixel required 2 coats for opacity; Am I Making Myself Claire? required 2-3, depending on the nail.

What do you think of this combo?

-Shelby

Sephora by OPI Havana Dreams

Hey there, ladies! Today I have for you a polish that's been in my stash for quite a while: Sephora by OPI Havana Dreams. I've worn it before, but finally decided to make a blog post on it. Without further ado, here's the photos:

Below is 3 coats of Havana Dreams with topcoat (Orly In a Snap)

Sephora by OPI Havana Dreams

Sephora by OPI Havana Dreams

Sephora by OPI Havana Dreams

Havana Dreams is a pale baby blue creme. The formula on this is super thin; it required 3 careful, thin coats for opacity. Some nails could've even used 4 coats, but I didn't want to make my nails too "thick". I do love the color and it didn't take overly long to dry. Now, I'm not sure if that's due to the new topcoat I'm testing out or the polish itself. 

What do you think of Havana Dreams?

-Shelby

Orly Lollipop

Hey there, I hope everyone is having a good start to their week! I am 3/4 done with my finals and have a bit of a break until Thursday, which is the day of my last final and my move-out of the dorms. I wanted to get a post up before it got a little hectic with studying for chem and moving out. I recently picked up Orly Lollipop on 50% off clearance at CVS. Since Orly changed their packaging, its old packaging was reduced in price. I personally don't have a preference with packaging so I took advantage of the deal since I've been eyeing Lollipop for quite a while.

Below is 2 coats of Lollipop without a topcoat.

Orly Lollipop

Orly Lollipop

Orly Lollipop

Lollipop is a purple-leaning pink creme. The application on this wasn't bad, but was a little on the thick side. Not all pink-purples suite my skin tone (like Lucky Lucky Lavender), but this one looked quite nice! I think that may be because of the amount of white undertones in the polish. Also, don't mind the mark on the bottle, I took off the clearance tag and it left some adhesive behind :)

What do you think of Lollipop?

-Shelby

China Glaze Man Hunt!

Hey again! I hope you all have been having a good week so far! I finished my last class today and am starting finals this weekend, wish me luck! :P Today I revisited a color I featured on my blog before: China Glaze Man Hunt from their On Safari collection. That post was one of my first and is a poor excuse for swatches, so I am going to attempt to re-do some of my very first posts. What do you guys think about that? Anyway, onto the polish!

China Glaze Man Hunt

China Glaze Man Hunt

China Glaze Man Hunt

Man Hunt is a high-gloss dark blue, almost navy, creme. The application of this polish is wonderful and two coats made it perfectly opaque. Sometimes dark colors can be a pain, but this one gave me no problems at all! Man Hunt has almost a jelly quality to it; extremely shiny and rather jelly-like on the first coat in terms of opacity. I love this color year-round! 

What do you think of Man Hunt?

-Shelby

Essie In the Cab-ana (Resort 2013 collection)!

Happy late Monday (or early Tuesday to some of you)! I have another Essie post in store for you guys today- swatches of In the Cab-ana from their 2013 Resort collection. The line had a lot of lovely shades, but I only picked up 2, one being ItC!

Below is 2 coats of In the Cab-ana without topcoat:

Essie In the Cab-ana 

Essie In the Cab-ana

Essie In the Cab-ana 

In the Cab-ana is such a gorgeous bright aqua creme! This is the epitome of summer; in fact, when I held my nails up next to my pool, they practically were the same color! The formula on this was rather thick, so I may thin the polish out. Due to the thickness, the application was tricky, but wasn't unmanageable. Two coats created perfect opacity.

What do you think of Essie's 2013 Resort collection?

-Shelby

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

OPI My Very First Knockwurst and Essie Beyond Cozy

Happy weekend, ladies! :) I am so relieved to be home for the weekend! I'll have some down time to just relax, which also means time to catch up on blog posts! I think I may make a few scheduled posts for the next week or two since I am finishing up my current University year.

Today I have for you a simple mani I did a week or so ago: OPI My Very First Knockwurst with a slight glitter gradient of Essie Beyond Cozy.

OPI My Very First Knockwurst
Essie Beyond Cozy

OPI My Very First Knockwurst
Essie Beyond Cozy

My Very First Knockwurst is probably my favorite pink-nude creme in my collection! Its formula and application is a dream and I love how it looks against my skintone. I added a slight gradient effect to my ring finger with a recent purchase of mine, Beyond Cozy, which is a silver and gold fine glitter. I love this combo together!

What do you think of this pairing?

-Shelby

Essence Let's Get Lost and Sally Hansen Secrets Frost

Happy Wednesday everyone! I hope you're all having a good first half of your week; mine has been rather long. I have tests this week and other things going on so the weekend could not come any sooner!! I am SO pumped to show you my mani that I did probably about an hour ago. Usually I photograph and take my sweet time a) uploading my photos to my computer and b) actually making a post about said photos, but I just couldn't wait to show off this beauty of a manicure!!

I recently did a combo nail/wax swap with Dana from Polished Claws Up and she gave me a couple vintage polishes from Sally Hansen. I only have a few vintage polishes myself, one being a Sally Hansen, so you better believe I was excited. Without further ado, I'll get into my mani details!

Below I used 2 coats of Essence Let's Get Lost and 2 coats of Sally Hansen Secrets Frost.

Beware: photo spam. I repeat...major photo spam! :)

Essence Let's Get Lost
Sally Hansen Secrets Frost

Essence Let's Get Lost
Sally Hansen Secrets Frost

Essence Let's Get Lost
Sally Hansen Secrets Frost

Essence Let's Get Lost
Sally Hansen Secrets Frost

Essence Let's Get Lost
Sally Hansen Secrets Frost

Essence Let's Get Lost
Sally Hansen Secrets Frost

I cannot get over how flippin' gorgeous this manicure is!! I know I've been doing an excessive amount of manis with accent nails, but this one is extremely special. Let's Get Lost is a bright blue/teal creme that was almost a one-coater. I added 2 coats for good measure and to fill in slight patchy areas (very very slight I might add). I've had odd luck with some of Essence's polishes, but Let's Get Lost gave me zero issues, I'm totally smitten! Now I am in love with Secrets Frost. It is a scattered, finely milled silver holographic glitter. Although you can't see the holo in the photos very well, I promise you that the holo is clearly there in person and twinkles. Secrets Frost had a great application and completely covered my nail in 2 coats. I love the formula of this polish! It probably has tons of nasty chemicals in it, but I can sacrifice for one polish ;) Overall, I can't get enough of this mani!!

What do you think of this mani?

-Shelby

PS: I just realized while writing this post that the names of these two polishes rhyme. Ha!

China Glaze Secret Peri-Wink-le and Sinful Colors Rainstorm

Hello, friends! I've had a long, yet relaxing weekend. I'm back at school for the week and settling into my normal routine. I wanted to share with you a manicure I wore a couple weeks ago. I've been very much into doing different dotticures lately and I especially like this one!

What I used:
2 coats China Glaze Secret Peri-Wink-le
Sinful Colors Rainstorm (dotting)
medium & large sized dotting tools

Secret Peri-Wink-le is very true to its name; it's a periwinkle cream! I love all shades of periwinkle and this is no exception. I feel like this specific polish started the periwinkle trend since this came out far before others did. The formula on this polish is not my favorite. As you can tell, there are some patchy areas (index finger). I used two coats here, but three coats or two super careful coats would've been better. I then took two sized dotting tools and decorated with Rainstorm, a dark blue creme. I love the pairing of the two colors from the same color family!

What do you think of this mani?

-Shelby

Ulta3 Mulberry and Ulta Boogie Nights

Hey there! I have quite a few posts I need to make, I've been stocking up whenever I can on photos of my manis, just in case! I'm hoping my back up photos will help me not take such a long break again :)

Below I used Ulta3 Mulberry and Ulta Boogie Nights!

Ulta3 Mulberry Ulta Boogie Nights

Ulta3 Mulberry
 Ulta Boogie Nights

Ulta3 Mulberry
Ulta Boogie Nights

I never can get enough of glitter gradients! This one is no exception. Mulberry is a wine leaning berry creme. In some lights it takes a purple tint. Unfortunately, the formulation of this polish was pretty bad, but I added some polish thinner to remedy it. It's gotten a bit better, but still not ideal. Although, I really do love the outcome and the polish was nice and smooth :). Boogie Nights is a gold glitter with lots of rainbow medium-sized glitters throughout. This glitter will go with almost any color since it contains all the colors of the rainbow. Also, the formula was easy for a reverse glitter gradient. 

What do you think of this mani?

-Shelby

Orly Silver Pixel, Orly Gumpdrop and Nicole by OPI Confetti Fun

Hello there! I have a mani to show you today that I wore last week and totally loved! I paired a fun, bright spring shade with a metallic and glitter accent nail :)

What I used:
2 coats Orly Gumdrop on all my nails except ring finger
2 coats Orly Silver Pixel on my ring finger
1 coat Nicole by OPI Confetti Fun on my ring finger

Orly Gumdrop
Orly Silver Pixel
Nicole by OPI Confetti Fun

Orly Gumdrop
Orly Silver Pixel
 Nicole by OPI Confetti Fun

I definitely loved the look of this mani! Unfortunately, the formula of Gumdrop kind of made the process a hassle. Gumdrop was on the thicker side and was hard to make perfectly even. With that being said, I may be able to add some thinner to the polish and see if the formula improves! The painstaking process is worth it because the color is gorgeous- a bright blue/mint creme. I added Silver Pixel, a new shade added to Orly's FX line, to my ring finger for an accent. Its formulation was very easy- I love the different sized glitters in Silver Pixel because it just adds some nice dimension. Confetti Fun, from NOPI's Selena Gomez collection, tied the silver and aqua together with its rainbow large and small glitters. Confetti Fun was easy to work with and it wasn't hard to get an even amount of glitter on each nail. Overall, I love the look of this mani!

Do you have any of these shades? What do you think of this mani?

-Shelby

OPI Can't Find My Czechbook and Simmer & Shimmer

Hello ladies :) I hope you all are having a wonderful Wednesday! I am so glad the week is already halfway over, I can't wait to come home and see my boyfriend this weekend. It'll be nice to relax after a long week. Last night I tweaked my back a bit and can't ride my bike around campus. So I'm hoping by this weekend I'll be feeling much better!

A couple days ago I wore a couple new polishes I got recently: OPI Can't Find My Czechbook (Euro Centrale collection) and Simmer & Shimmer (Burlesque collection)

Below I wore 2 coats of each; CFMC on all fingers but my ring finger, S&S as an accent nail:

OPI Can't Find My Czechbook
OPI Simmer & Shimmer

OPI Can't Find My Czechbook
OPI Simmer & Shimmer

I love this combo! When I first saw promo pics for the Euro Centrale collection, Can't Find My Czechbook immediately stood out to me. It's the perfect bright blue for summer and man, did it not disappoint! It applied flawlessly and I have nothing negative to say about it (other than my photos which do not do the color justice)! I finally got my hands on a couple more of the Burlesque glitters- I am in love with the glitters from that collection and was more than stoked to get more! Simmer & Shimmer is a dense uniform-sized glitter in blue, pink, gold silver, etc. I love the small-sized glitter in the same color, especially because it fully covers the nail in 2 coats! I love glitters like this!

Do you have either of these polishes? What's your go-to glitter-cream pair?

-Shelby