L.A. Girl Fruity scented polish: Blissful Blackberry

purchased by me

Last summer, L.A. Girl came out with a line of scented polishes.  I passed on them when they were first available, but curiosity got the better of me this year and I grabbed Blissful Blackberry.  Sadly, it was a disappointment.  The color is pretty, but the duochrome visible in the bottle isn't visible on the nail, the formula was thin and prone to pooling, it took four coats to be almost opaque, and it smells like fruit-scented wax. *sigh*

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The Fruity collection seems to be back at my local drugstores, but it's also available on the L.A. Girl website and at Cherry Culture.  Prices range from $3-$5 US + shipping.

L.A. Girl 3D Effect collection: Sizzling Pink

purchased by me

My third and final purchase from the 3D Effect collection is Sizzling Pink, which lives up to its name.  It's a blue-based hot pink jelly with a wagonload of holographic shimmer.  The formula was thin but easy to work with.  It did require three coats for complete opacity, but I'll still wear it!  My hands were shaking like crazy the day I tried to photograph this (thanks so much, MS), that I only have one photo.  Still, it shows off Sizzling Pink in the sunshine.

The 3D Effect collection is mostly sold out at my local Rite-Aid drugstores, but it's available on the L.A. Girl website and at Cherry Culture.  Prices range from $3-$5 US + shipping.

Blue Monday: L.A. Girl 3D Effect collection in Teal Dimension

purchased by me

Another stunner from L.A. Girl!  The display at my local Rite-Aid had emptied by the time I decided I wanted Teal Dimension and Sizzling Pink, so I ordered these two from the L.A. Girl website (fantastic experience, btw!) and it was SO worth the wait!  Two effortless, smooth coats and ta-da, a gorgeous sparkly blue-green jelly packed with holo shimmer that kept me looking at my nails all day.

In the sun:

Indoors without flash:

Indoors with flash:

The 3D Effect collection is mostly sold out at my local Rite-Aid drugstores, but it's available on the L.A. Girl website and at Cherry Culture.  Prices range from $3-$5 US + shipping.

L.A. Girl Sand Blast collection: Sandals

Purchased by me

The L.A. Girl Sand Blast polishes are non-glittery, textured, matte polishes in eight colors.  Sandals is the second polish I purchased from this collection, and it's a bright, coral-toned pink.  My favorite thing about this polish was how tan it made my super-pale skin look!  It was opaque in three coats, dried fairly quickly, and the formula was on the thick side but still easy to work with.  All swatches are three coats.

Indoors with flash:

Indoors without flash:

The Sand Blast collection is available on the L.A. Girl website, at Rite-Aid and other drugstores, and at Cherry Culture.  Prices range from $3-$5 US + shipping.

L.A. Girl Sand Blast collection: Sandstorm

Purchased by me

L.A. Girl entered the world of textured polishes recently with their Sand Blast collection.  The Sand Blast polishes are non-glittery, textured, matte polishes in eight colors.  Sandstorm is one of the two I purchased, and it's a soft, yellow-toned tan.  It's darker and warmer than Zoya Godiva.  It was opaque in three coats, dried fairly quickly, and the formula was on the thick side but still easy to work with.  All swatches are three coats.

Indoors with flash:

Indoors without flash:

The Sand Blast collection is available on the L.A. Girl website, at Rite-Aid and other drugstores, and at Cherry Culture.  Prices range from $3-$5 US + shipping.

Blue Monday: L.A. Girl 3D polish in Brilliant Blue

Purchased with my own funds

On my last visit to Rite Aid, a display of new polishes caught my eye (of course it did!) and I picked out one polish to come home with me.  For $4.80 + tax, it turned out to be one of my best decisions lately!  The L.A. Girl 3D collection is strongly reminiscent of the holo jellies in Zoya's Ornate collection.  I'm planning to go back for three of the others if the display hasn't already been picked clean, but in the meantime, here's a review of Brilliant Blue.

Brilliant Blue was easy to apply, neither too thick nor too thin, shiny without top coat, completely non-gritty and absolutely stuffed with holographic shimmer/glitter particles.  In indoor light it looked sparkly and in the sunlight it blazed.  It wore for three days before chipping, removal was a snap and it didn't stain my nails!  All together, I can't recommend this color enough if you love blues.  All swatches are three coats and no top coat.

Indoors with flash;

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In the sun:

All I can say here is WOW.  Brilliant Blue was an unqualified success for me.  If you don't see the 3D polishes at a local drugstore, you can buy them at the L.A. Girl website for $5.00 + shipping.

I Dream of Mermaids

Right now, the one polish on my wishlist I know I'll never get my paws on is Deborah Lippman's Mermaid's Dream.  It's just plain out of my price range.  So I did my best to fake it with some layering.  I used one coat of Color Club Kiss Me Mistletoe, one coat of Zoya Zuza, one coat of Sally Hansen Bling-tastic,  and one coat of L.A. Girl Purge.

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Not bad--it's certainly a pretty combination, but it needs more blue to match my dream polish.

L.A. Girl GNL272 burgundy magnetic polish

It always irritates me when brands don't bother to name their colors. This is a pretty standard burgundy metallic, but the shape of the magnet was brand new to me. I'd never seen a bullseye before, and basically bought the polish for the magnet alone. The polish was opaque in two thin coats, and was very pretty even without the pattern.

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More after the break!

L.A. Girl Copper Alloy

Copper Alloy was part of the Metallic collection from L.A. Girl, and while I haven't seen it in stores, it's still available at some etailers. I got mine from Cherry Culture. It's a beautiful red-copper foil shimmer, and for my swatches I used three coats. I should have used four, and while that's a lot of layers, the color on this beauty is totally worth it. It's unlike any of the other coppers in my stash, and ya'll know I have quite a few! ;)

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L.A. Girls Purge: review and swatches

Purge was part of my last haul of 2011, and it's a very pretty polish I plan to use for layering. It has green microglitter and green hex glitter in a clear base, and it's not opaque in three coats, which is what I used for the swatches below:

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Last haul of 2011

Quite literally--I bought these on New Year's Eve! I hit Discount Drug Mart for OPI Fresh Frog of Bel Air, Sally Hansen Gem Crush in Bling-tastic, L.A. Girls Glitter Addict in Purge, Kiss Nail Dress in KDS10 and Broadway Nails Stick-On Strips in in DMT286, then Walgreens for Sinful Colors GoGo Girl, San Francisco and Fiji.