Nail Layering with Sally Hansen and NARS

I REALLY need to get better about the timing of my posts- I took these pictures last fall. I guess that would be fine, but the two Sally Hansen polishes I used were limited edition and no longer available. I suppose a few may be floating around on eBay if you get desperate enough.

I LOVE layering. It's rare these days for me to wear just one polish by itself. Some times the layering experiments are huge fails and some times they turn out awesome. This was one of the awesome times. I layered Sally Hansen All Aglow, a purple foil-y polish, over NARS Midnight Express, a dark blue jelly, and slapped Sally Hansen Crystal Beading, a sheer multichrome that flashes from teal to blue to purple to pink, over the top. My pictures didn't manage to capture the best duochrome actions, but it was fabulous. Trust me.

Maybe I Need To Stop Buying Nail Polish- A Haul

So I may not be posting as much but that does not mean that my spending on nail polish has waned. In fact, it has probably increased. In the past year or two the amount of polishes available to consumers has exploded in conjunction with the popularity of nail polish itself. We now have available to us polishes from countries around the world along with the always innovative polishes from indie sellers. Big name brands have taken notice of this and stepped up their game offering a wide variety of creative colors and finishes. Now is definitely the time to be a nail addict. I'm definitely happy, but maybe my bank account isn't! These are all polishes I've bought in 2013. And there are probably more that I've stashed away in a Helmer that I've forgotten about (bad girl!).

Hard Candy polishes. From left- Crush On Pink, Crush On Tin, Fun 'N Festive, Pixie Pink, Cocoa Smore, and Gummy Green.

Sigh. I'm so, so impressed with Hard Candy and bringing out this completely revamped line of 45 polishes. I literally want every single one. I don't think that has ever happened to me before. There are maybe a few I could live without. It was almost torture limiting myself to these 6. The bottles are small at almost half the size of a standard polish, but the price is right at $4 a bottle. Just be prepared to go hunting at WalMart to find them. (Here is a list of all the polishes)

Hit Polish. From left- Tes-Stained Linen, Turq-ish Delight, On Angels Wings, and Lilacs in Bloom.

Unf. These are so pretty. I'm most excited about Tea-Stained Linen. It's so unique!

Cult Nails polishes. From left- Disciplined, Untamed, Scandalous, Flushed, Annalicious, I Got Distracted, and Spontaneous.

I finally picked up the Cult Nails polishes that had been on my wishlist when they had a sale recently. You can never go wrong with Cult Nails.

Etude House Sweet Recipe Ice Cream Nail Polishes (not sure if they have actually names but the colors are numbered 1-4).

I was REALLY excited for these. The whole Etude House Sweet Recipe collection looks amazing, but these called out to me the loudest. These polishes were shipped all the way from South Korea (Etude House is a Korean brand) and I couldn't be happier. Korean cosmetics and skincare are becoming a new obsession for me. (I bought these on eBay)

Hits Mari moon Modern set. From left- Cool, Dreamer, Trendy, and Cutie Pie.

More foreign polishes! These are from Brazil and I bought them from Ninja Polish. I have the Unique Set (and posted about it here) and need the Modern Set to round out my collection. These polishes are a must in any polish lover's collection. Especially Cutie Pie. I think I need a back up of it.

From left- Ninja Polish Divinity and Nebula, A England Dragon, Hits Salsa and CanCan.

The rest of the polishes from my Ninja Polish order. You can't tell from the picture but Divinity is a multichrome in the same vein as Clarins 230 and Max Factor Fantasy Fire. The bottle of Nebula is backward because it shows the color shift in the bottle better. The A England polish is a long time lemming that I'm super excited to finally have. And lastly the two Hits polishes are color changing flakies in a colored base. It's hard to tell with Salsa, but it has the same color flakies as Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure and Essie Shine of the Times.

From left- Orly Orange Crush, China Glaze Beach Cruise-r and Surreal Appeal, Essence Oh My Glitter!

Some random polishes. The first three I think I got on clearance at Ulta or Sally Beauty. Something like that. It was a busy polish buying day.

From left- Rainbow Honey Be Mine, Urban Outfitters Chilly, Ulta XOXO and Diva, and OPI Fresh Frog of Bel Air

Last batch of random polishes. I needed Be Mine by Rainbow Honey to round out my Valentine's collection from them. The Urban Outfitters glitter polish I'm really excited about. I wish I had bought a few more polishes while I was there but I was trying to be restrained. And the last three were Ulta impulse purchases.


And theeeeeeeeeeeere we go. I really should stop buying polishes faster than I can wear them. Do you see anything that catches your eye?

I'm Captivated By Cult Nails' Devious Nature

Geez, all my blogging motivation seems to have *poofed* away. So I guess you'll continue to see sporadic posts from me until it comes back. And seeing as my last several posts have all been about nail polish,  I seem to have lost my makeup mojo as well. Working at a cosmetics counter seems to have burnt me out on it a little. One thing that never wavers in my undying obsession with polish. This layering combo is from a few months ago when two of my Cult Nails polishes jumped out at me from their Helmer drawer. Looking at it in these pictures makes me want to do this again. Actually I just bought Scandalous from Cult Nails so I might try Captivated over that next.

This is one coat of Cult Nails Captivated over two coats of Cult Nails Devious Nature.

Cult Nails Captivated over Cult Nails Devious Nature

Cult Nails Captivated over Cult Nails Devious Nature

Cult Nails Captivated over Cult Nails Devious Nature

Here is an uncropped picture just for fun. My hands are huge!

Cult Nails Captivated over Cult Nails Devious Nature

I Have A Golden Ticket! Pretty Serious Cosmetics Golden Ticket Swatches

So, I really do have a golden ticket. Don't believe me?

I was one of 10 lucky people to receive a bottle of this polish. There were only 10 bottles of this polish created and it was randomly given to 10 different orders purchasing at least one polish from the Christmas Without Snow collection. I was only able to order two polishes and was ecstatic to open my package to reveal not two polishes, but three!

I love, love, love the boxes, too.

I feel a teensy bit bad showing off this polish that completely unavailable, but it was too pretty not to share.

This was 2 coats of Golden Ticket with base and top coat.

Pretty Serious polishes can be purchased from their website here.

Rainbow Honey Sweet Talk Collection Valentine's Day 2013 Sweet Talk And XOXO Swatches and Review

Welllll, wow! It's been a little while hasn't it? I didn't expect to take a two month hiatus from the blog. The holidays just hit me a little harder than I expected and you know how it goes- life gets in the way.

But, I received these two beautiful polishes from Rainbow Honey's Sweet Talk Collection and just had to share them with you (check the end of the post for a $5 off coupon code). I'm completely in love with all the polishes I've used from Rainbow Honey. The polishes are unique, and the branding is professional, creative, and beautiful.

Image courtesy of Rainbow Honey

There are three polishes in this collection-

• Be Mine- "A lovely kiss of pink on your nails with a dusting of microshimmer and gold flecks."
• Sweet Talk- "A decadently sweet collection of pastel glitters in a white jelly with hidden shimmer."
• XOXO- "A ravishing blend of glitters and flakes in a clear base for easy use over any manicure."

I received the two I was looking forward to most, Sweet Talk and XOXO for review.

The polishes came in this cute cellophane bag.

Right- Rainbow Honey Sweet Talk, Left- Rainbow Honey XOXO

I love Rainbow Honey's boxes for their polish.

Right- Rainbow Honey Sweet Talk, Left- Rainbow Honey XOXO

Right- Rainbow Honey Sweet Talk, Left- Rainbow Honey XOXO

These are the Goldilocks of brushes- not to thick, not too thin, not too stiff, and not too floppy.

Rainbow Honey Sweet Talk in the sun

This was 3 coats. It looks a thicker in some places than others, but that is more to blame on my application than anything else. You could layer it over an opaque white, but I like the slight translucency of the white base.

Rainbow Honey Sweet Talk in the shade

Rainbow Honey XOXO over Sweet Talk in the sun

This was 1 coat of XOXO over Sweet Talk. Man, this polish is gorgeous. It would be my pick of the two polishes and I was really expecting to love Sweet Talk more. Wait until you see this one over a dark base!

Rainbow Honey XOXO over Sweet Talk in the shade

Rainbow Honey XOXO over Estee Lauder Black Plum

This is one coat of XOXO over two coats on Black Plum. Ugh, this is sickeningly gorgeous!

The Sweet Talk Collection is available from Rainbow Honey for a limited time here.  Until February 28th 2013, you can recieve $5 off your order with offer code SWEETTALK$5.


Disclosure: I was provided these polishes for consideration by Rainbow Honey. My opinions are my own and as always, my first priority is you lovely people who read my blog.

Chirality Nail Polish in Cu2+ (Blackened Teal Holo!)

Whew, where did the time go? It's been awhile since I posted. I don't understand myself. I take the time to swatch things and take pictures, but just leave them sitting there on my camera memory card collecting (figurative) dust. So, if you missed me- I'm sorry! And if you didn't even notice I was gone, well, I didn't either. Time flies!

I've been collecting polish lately like a crazy person. I bought a second Helmer to store my polishes and apparently that gave me the go-ahead to go on a polish spending spree. I've been trying to pick up more indie polishes lately too. This polish is from one of my first indie orders.

The polish I'm showing you today is a blackened teal holo. It's a GORGEOUS color and one of the most unique holos I've ever seen. The holo effect isn't the most pronounced, but it still visibly, crashing your car because you're starting at your nails, there. Chirality Nail Polish makes some great holos at an even better price. Full size bottles are only $7. I plan on picking up some more, including their newer glitter shades, when I get a chance.

I believe I used two coats with a base and top coat.

Chirality Nail Polish in Cu2+

Chirality Nail Polish in Cu2+

Chirality Nail Polish in Cu2+

Chirality Nail Polish in Cu2+

Chirality Nail Polish in Cu2+

Chirality polishes can be purchased here. Also check their Facebook page for specials, swatches of other colors, and news on upcoming releases.

Nubar Reclaim Swatches (Green Holo!)

Nubar Reclaim may look a little familiar to you if you read my last post. It was the polish I was wearing in the picture holding the palette. Now this is a polish I've wanted for years. 3 years, 5 months, and 4 days to be exact. Which is the date I read about the Going Green collection from Nubar at Scrangie's blog. And was this polish ever worth the wait! It's green and it's holo; what more is there to say? My only regret is that I waited this long!

This was 2 coats with base and top coat.

Nubar Reclaim

This polish doesn't have the most intense holo effect, but it is visible. Typically holos ship easily on me, but this wore really well. I'm in love with formula on the 3 Nubar polishes that I've worn.

Nubar Reclaim

Nubar Reclaim

Nubar Reclaim

I love this polish and i think it's one every polish fanatic needs in their collection. Even in the 3 and a half years this polish has been out, it still seems pretty unique. I'm not sure I've seen another holographic green polish exactly like this. I bought this polish on Amazon for $5.49 with free shipping. Not bad considering Nubar polishes retail for $8 on their website and you still have to pay shipping.