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.