Essence Sparkling Sand in Me and My Lover

purchased by me

I have been pleased with most of the Essence polishes I've purchased, and Me and My Lover is no exception.  Me and My Lover is a medium red classic textured polish.  The formula is smooth and workable, it's opaque in two coats, it dries quickly, and it's a dupe for OPI Magazine Cover Mouse at 1/4 the price!

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Essence polishes are available in Ulta stores and on Ulta's website for $1.99 each + any applicable tax and shipping.

nails inc. Pop Art 2-IN-1 Cavendish Place & Sheraton Street

purchased by me

nails inc. recently came out with the Pop Art collection, combining a glitter and a crème polish together.  I couldn't resist Cavendish Place, a crème that looks blue in bright light and grey-green in low light and Sheraton Street, a blue, black and white glitter.  Cavendish Place was smooth and well-behaved, opaque in two easy coats, and the glitter spread on Sheraton Street was enough to cover my nails without hiding the base coat.  Sheraton Street does dry a bit bumpy, so a good top coat is a must.

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So far, I've seen these 2-in-1 polishes from nails inc. at Ulta and the nails inc. website for $14.00 each.

Pixel Oh Golly Gee!

purchased by me

My second polish from Pixel is Oh Golly Gee!  It's a red-toned brown with pink and copper shimmer, flows nicely and is opaque in two coats (but I should have used three on my longer nails, oops!)

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Pixel polishes are available on Ulta's website for $2.49 + any applicable tax and shipping.

Pixel nail lacquer in Dark & Handsome

purchased by me

Pixel is a new-to-me brand that I discovered when it was on sale on Ulta's website.  Pixel polishes are minis, .05 ml/bottle, which is fine for me because I rarely go through an entire bottle of polish!  I tried Dark & Handsome first, of course, because purple!   Dark & Handsome is a red-toned purple shimmer with a distinct blue flash.

The formula was thin but not runny and very well-behaved.  At a conversational distance, my nails looked fine with two coats, but much richer with three, so my index and middle finger in the swatches are two coats each and my ring and pinky fingers are three.

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Pixel polishes are available on Ulta's website for $2.49 + any applicable tax and shipping.

Zoya Magical Pixie Dust polishes for Summer 2014

press samples

I know it has been Texture Central around here for the last few weeks.  What can I say?  I'm in love!  And I'm just as in love with the new Pixie Dust polishes as I've been with the rest of the line.

Lots more pictures after the jump!

Sneak Peek: 05/25/14-05/29/14

press samples/purchased by me

Rimmel Sweetie Crush collection: Violet Swizzle

purchased by me

It will come as no surprise to those who know me that this is my favorite Sweetie Crush.  It's purple, which is a big part of why I love it, but I also love that it was a blue-toned purple in bright light and a much more pinkish purple in lower light.  It was easy to work with and opaque in two coats.

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I got my Sweetie Crush polishes from a display at Rite Aid, but I also saw them tucked in a corner at Walgreens, so they're still out in the wild in some places.

Rimmel Sweetie Crush collection: Fizzy Applelicious

purchased by me

Fizzy Applelicious was the sheerest of the Sweetie Crush polishes I got, a soft mint green that needed three coats for opacity.  The pearl base was the most evident in this one--you can see how shiny it is in low light and even shinier in bright light.

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The Sweetie Crush collection polishes are limited edition and available at Walgreens, Rite Aid and CVS.

Rimmel Sweetie Crush collection: Blueberry Whizz

purchased by me

The Rimmel Sweetie Crush polishes are limited edition textured polishes with pastel pearl bases. They're also mini-bottles containing 0.27 oz of polish.

 Blueberry Whizz (which clearly does not mean in the UK what it means here!) is a light blue.  The three Sweeties I got were all nicely formulated, thin enough to require 2-3 coats but thick enough to support the texture.

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Because the Sweetie Crush polishes are limited edition, check your local CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid for them now!

New summer colors and patterns from Incoco

press release

Black Phoenix Trading Post's new feature: a monthly poll!

LUNACY MAY POLL

The goblins of Trading Post have pilfered some bottles from Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, and it’s up to you to help decide their fate! Each month, a selection of scents from the BPAL catalogue will be posted here. The voice of the people will determine the month’s winner: the label artwork for that scent will be made into a tee, and the scent will be translated into a Trading Post medium that will also be determined by vote – candle, atmosphere spray, hair gloss, or bath oil. You will have one week to cast your vote!

Nicole by OPI Roughles: Rock the Look

purchased by me

Rock the Look is a bit of a chameleon, shifting from a true pink in bright light to more of a salmon pink in lower light.  It's not my favorite of the three, but it's going to make an adorable nail polish necklace for one of my nieces!  The formula was the same as the previous two polishes, i.e. very good.

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I did see these on ebay, but since the only seller who had them was using pictures stolen from Vampy Varnish, I'm glad I waited to get them from CVS.

Nicole by OPI Roughles collection: On What Grounds

purchased by me

On What Grounds is the second of the three Roughles polishes I got, and the formula was exactly the same as I'm Stucco on You.  However, even though I only had it on for about 45 minutes, this one did stain my nails.  Next time I wear it, I will double up on base coat, because the turquoise polish with blue textured bits is adorable and I love turquoise for both spring and summer!

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As I said yesterday, don't worry if you haven't seen these yet, just keep your eyes open and I'm sure they'll arrive eventually.

Nicole by OPI Roughles collection: I'm Stucco On You

purchased by me

I'd given up all hope of ever seeing these beauties in my backwards corner of NE Ohio, so it was a lovely surprise to find them at a not-really-local CVS.  The formula for the three I bought is the same--smooth and easily flowing, opaque in two coats and quick-drying.  I'm Stucco On You has a light lavender base with blue and lavender texture, and I'm really enjoying the look.

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If you haven't seen Roughles in the wild yet, don't worry, they might still be coming!  As I said, I found mine at CVS for $7.99 each plus tax.

Color Club Modern Mosaic: Love You to Pieces

purchased by me

Love You to Pieces has the same clear base and matte micro-glitter as Blue Beaded, just in a different color scheme.  Love You to Pieces has purple, red and white micro-glitter.  I used two coats over Essie Full Steam Ahead.

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I haven't seen the Modern Mosaic collection in brick and mortar stores, but it's available at Head 2 Toe Beauty and Transdesign.

Color Club Modern Mosaic: Blue Beaded

purchased by me

Happy Monday!  *ducks*  Okay, if you're blue today, I have a pretty polish for you.  The Modern Mosaic collection from Color Club is described as six polishes made up of "tiny blue bead[s]".  Blue Beaded is blue and white matte micro-glitter in a clear base.  I've used two coats over a light blue base (Seche Casually Cool).  Blue Beaded dried just slightly gritty, but not enough to qualify as a textured polish.  Because the glitters are so tiny, I think it would take about 4 coats to completely cover the nail, and I didn't feel like trying it.

The clear base was thick enough to support the glitter, but not so thick that I had to dab on the polish.  Overall, I'd say both polishes I got from this collection reminded me of Floam polishes but with smaller glitter.

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I haven't seen the Modern Mosaic collection in brick and mortar stores, but it's available at Head 2 Toe Beauty and Transdesign.

Sneak peek: 5/12/14-5/16/14

purchased by me

Introducing the Soccer Championship Collection from Incoco!

press release

L'Oreal Gold Dust Too Dimensional?

purchased by me

Too Dimensional is a lighter indigo textured polish than Sexy in Sequins, but definitely a member of the same family!  I need to try doing a gradient with the two...Anyway, the formula is great, thick enough to be opaque in two coats, but very quick-drying and packed with glitter.

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I believe the Gold Dust polishes are now part of the permanent L'Oreal line.  At least at my local drugstore they were in the polish rack rather than a counter display!  You can find them wherever you buy L'Oreal cosmetics.

L'Oreal Gold Dust Sexy in Sequins

purchased by me

Sexy in Sequins is a beautiful textured polish with a dark indigo base and a ton of multicolored sparkle.  It was on the thick side, but that just meant I was done in two coats, because it still dried quickly.

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I believe the Gold Dust polishes are now part of the permanent L'Oreal line.  At least at my local drugstore they were in the polish rack rather than a counter display!  You can find them wherever you buy L'Oreal cosmetics.

Zoya Tickled & Bubbly together

press samples

Just a quick post with pictures of the Tickled & Bubbly collections layered!

Binx & Rooney:

Staasi & Tilda:

Alma & Wendy:

Muse & Ling:

Kitridge & Harper:

Zoya Bubbly collection

press sample

The second summer 2014 collection from Zoya is Bubbly, six jelly polishes stuffed to the gills with gold and holographic glitter.

All six needed three coats for opacity, applied beautifully and dried smooth despite all the glitter.  All swatches are without top coat.  Pictures after the jump!

Zoya Tickled collection

press sample

For summer 2013, Zoya brings us the Tickled and Bubbly collections, and today I have the Tickled polishes for you.  They're an assortment of bright, lovely crèmes in saturated summer colors.  All were smooth and easy to apply and reached bottle color in two coats.

Revlon Spiderman collection: Gwen's Crush

purchased by me

Gwen's Crush is a deep fuchsia glassfleck with blue shimmer.  It's opaque in two perfectly-behaved coats, shiny without top coat and so, so, pretty!

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The Revlon Spiderman collection is limited edition.  I got mine at Walgreens and Ulta, and while some stores are sold out, some still have full displays.  I'd suggest keeping your eyes open or calling your local stores.

Revlon Spiderman collection: Electric Web

purchased by me

Electric Web is a gorgeous glowing orange glassfleck polish with pink and gold .shimmer  It was opaque in two smooth, easy coats and shiny without top coat.

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The Revlon Spiderman collection is limited edition.  I got mine at Walgreens and Ulta, and while some stores are sold out, some still have full displays.  I'd suggest keeping your eyes open or calling your local stores.