My Picks from Sinful Colors Bright Essentials

Sometimes Sinful Colors displays are fraught with confusion.  This is one of those times.  Some Walgreens stores got the shelf display shown on Nouveau Cheap.  The ones around me got either this endcap display (I'm mad at myself for not keeping track of all of the shade names in there! I think Exotic Green was there.)...or never got the collection at all.  Between finding a different display and passing on some of the colors, these swatches don't completely correspond to the shelf display.  I skipped Over It, Cream Pink, and Eva So Bright and included some that are in the endcap, but not the shelf version.  Most of these shades aren't really neons, which are slightly sheer and dry a bit matte.  Some aren't even that bright.  Still, there are some really good things ahead.


Burning Bright is a slightly dusty azure cream.

Sadly, Burning Bright isn't a one-coater.  Two.  I don't even care.  It's still a great blue.  Frequent readers will know how I am about blue creams.  I can't think of any dupes off the top of my head.  Weirdly for a blue, these photos are pretty close to the true color.

High Strung is an acid-green cream.

I think this might be a dupe for OPI Did It On 'Em, but that's another I don't own.  The color is awesome, but the formula's not the best.  Four coats, but still thick-ish.  The result is a little lumpy.  I still like it!

The color looked familiar...and I found a near-match in the kitchen.

The "SuperTool" for my Zoku popsicle maker is only a touch bluer.  I've had the Zoku for a couple of years, but I'm tempted to review it sometime anyway.  One of the best xmas presents ever!


Clementine is a bright warm orange cream.

I think I'm starting to like orange!  Clementine (originally from the Wow Pop display) is almost exactly the color of the powder in $0.40 mac 'n cheese mix.  It's....kinda awesome.  This is three coats, but it applied very well.

Another almost-match here.

Energetic Red is a bright red "neon" that borders on orange.

Its tough to call a red a neon, but Energetic Red applies kinda like one.  It's sheer, taking three to four coats and it dries slightly matte.  It's also almost impossible to photograph correctly.  Neither of these is *quite* it.  There's something orangey to it, but it's still red.  Odd shade, but bright and summery.  It was also part of the Wow Pop last summer.

Outrageous is a bright-ish berry pink cream.

Another brought back from Wow Pop.  The name though?  Outrageous?  Hmm.  High Strung should have switched names with this shade.  The formula's decent, taking two coats, but the shade's a bit ho-hum for the theme.

Dream On is a red-violet neon.

A true Sinful Colors classic!  A real neon too!  It's the perfect '90s brunette Barbie purple.  I've worn it over white before, for full intensity, so I decided to try it on its own this time.  Three coats and still pretty intense.  Absolutely needs topcoat because of the neon finish.  Also completely baffling to cameras.  You need to see it yourself.  No...you need to own it!  Every Sinful Colors fan should have this shade.

Tempest is a bright lilac cream.

So close to being a one-coater, but it wound up needing two.  Good formula anyway.  Tempest is on that pastel/bright border, so it's in my comfort zone and I like it.

...and a couple of reruns here.

Endless Blue is a vivid ultramarine cream.

I wanna wear this again sometime soon!  It's perfection.  Simply perfection.  Happily, it's a core shade at Walgreens and Target.


Exotic Green is a vibrant leaf-green crelly.

Easily in my top 10 Sinful Colors shades!  I love it!


Bottom line: Other than the classic, Dream On, and Endless Blue (which is also core) I don't think any of these shades are must-haves.  Still, I really like Burning Bright, High Strung (in spite of the formula), and Clementine.  Energetic Red is cool too and stands out among my many other reds.  Tempest is pretty, but Outrageous looks ho-hum alongside more intense shades.


My vacation is going a little too well in some ways.  Having a blast, but getting way less swatching done than I wanted.  Only a few days left before I *sob* go back to work...gotta make the most of the downtime I have left.  So much polish, so little time!

Layla Turquoise Splash vs Orly Halley's Comet

When I recently tried the Layla Softouch polish, I mentioned that it reminded me a lot  of Orly's Halley's Comet. I decided that I needed to do a comparison post, because the Layla stuff isn't as easy to come by as the Orly, but good lord it's pretty. 

In the bottle, they are damned close. Nearly indistinguishable. They both have a pretty bright blue base with blue and green sparkly bits. 

On the nail, they are pretty different. The satin finish of the Layla shows off the fine green sparkles, while the Orly has larger foily bits. Application-wise, I prefer the Layla, as it's not as thick and therefore easier to control. But there is no denying the appeal of that Orly. It's as though the polish has slivers of jewels suspended inside. Both are definitely eye-catching, but the uniqueness of Layla's satin finish has my heart.

3 coats each, no topcoat

I added a coat of topcoat to each color, and that's when the true differences shine through. The Layla has fine glitter/foil in it that really glows with the addition of a topcoat. The bits are so fine, there is no simple reflection at all. Orly's larger foil bits can't really compete in this part. While it's a lovely polish, I personally prefer a finer shine and more glitter.

one coat each of topcoat

Finally, I mattified them both. Again, the Layla is my clear favorite. With the addition of the matte topcoat, the deeper teal tones of the Layla are evident. The extra matte drowns the normally prevalent green flair and makes the teal just glow. Orly looks more green in person overall when matte. Because of the larger foil pieces, it still reflects more light than it's competition. Not bad, but just not as good.

2 coats of Butter London Matte Topcoat.

TL;DR: if you can't find the Layla's anymore (they were on clearance at my local Ulta as of last week) then Orly Halley's Comet will do just fine. You definitely don't need both of them. I may end up swapping the Orly at some poing in the future.

Soft Metals Gradient

Nothing fancy today, just another gradient. I got the unnamed Cynthia Rowley polish in the travelling swap box. I have a serious addiction to all things rose-gold. Dunno why, but I love and adore it. I knew it could look interesting when paired with a soft champagne color. In person, it definitely reminds me of tarnished/distressed metals. Though, as with almost any metallic, the rosey color is very frothy and brush-strokey. It definitely benefits from Amanda's sponging technique. But to make up for that, it's pretty opaque at one coat so I shouldn't complain too much. It's great for a quickie bit of nail art!

Colors Used:

unnamed Cynthia Rowley metallic rose gold

Color Club Antiquated 

I love these collages. makes uploading a lot faster! 

Review: Revlon Photoready 3D Volume Mascara

Mascara is one of those things that makes a huge difference in a look. For some women (and men. Mascara is good for everyone.) it can be all they need to look pulled together and fabulous. I've tried so many brands over the years, and they all seemed to do different things. When I was younger, I preferred a natural look as I had nice, long lashes. But as I've gotten older, my lashes have definitely suffered. Now I need volumizing and lengthening. It kinda sucks, but thankfully there are 1,000,000 products that will do the job.

it looks HUGE

My newest test subject is Revlon Photoready 3D Volume in Blackest Black (001). I like some other things from the Photoready line, so I figured I'd give this a try. It isn't bad, at all. I definitely feel like it gave me a lot more volume than no mascara at all. It has a thick rubbery brush, as opposed to the spoolie-style that traditional mascaras have. It also has that funny little bulb on the end, which is good for coating those tiny baby hairs in the corners. 

there are few things more beautiful.

All in all, I like it and would recommend it. I wore it for 12 hours yesterday, with minimal crumbling. It is pretty good about clumps too, though I've been using Clump Crusher for a few months, so I'm a little biased now. The color I chose, Blackest Black, is pretty darn black. I did spy two other shades: black and brown-black, but if you're fair haired and want a natural look, you should probably look elsewhere. 

L to R: mascara'd and not. A definite difference

Slimdown Saturday: Vacation Edition

Not really doing one of these today.  I had two days where I gave myself free rein and pigged out...and I'm doing it again on Monday.  I'm on vacation!  My "diet" is a lifestyle change, so I don't feel like anything is ruined.  I ate soooo much at the fair on Thursday, but I went right back to behaving myself yesterday and I've been good today.  Overeating makes me feel a little sick now, so I'm not tempted to do it all of the time like I used to.  I'm up 3 pounds this week (after a low of 200.5lbs at the start of the week), but I've done this before...it's mostly water.  It'll come right off.  My point is that this was a choice, not a failure and I'm not sweating it.  ...now back to the swatching!

My Picks from Sinful Colors Country Charmer/Country Chic

Sinful Colors is at it again, spoiling us with new shades!  First the Country Charmer display was spotted at Wegmans by cyndiinphilly and reported to Nouveau Cheap.  I was giddy because I shop at Wegmans all of the time.  Took me a couple of days to find it, but I finally bought all but Vacation Time last week.  Most of the shades are new!  Then these same shades showed up in an even bigger display at Walgreens with even more new stuff!  Eeeeee!!  I haven't found the Walgreens display yet, but I figure I should get this post up while the Sinful Colors 2/$3 sale is still on.  Tomorrow's your last day!  Get on it!  Hope you have better luck finding the new display than I have so far.  It's worth finding because there are a few possible OPI dupes.  I'm sure I'll find it right after the sale ends.  Once I do, I'll put those shades up, along with more comparisons.  Today's shades are all in the Country Chic section of the big display.  They really do have a "western" vibe to them, so I had a little fun with one of them.  What can I say...I'm not into country music (aside from Johnny Cash), but I did just watch a pig race yesterday so I guess I'm feeling a bit country!


Normally I'd save the playful part until the end, but today...maybe it's being on a break from work...I feel like showing you the "fun part" first!  My review of Coffee is further down the page, first here it is stamped with China Glaze Swanky Silk and No Plain Jane.  I saw this image on the Cheeky Happy Nails plate and I had to!

Then, me being me, I mattified it.  I love the leather look of Coffee when it's mattified!

...and now the swatches and reviews...  There are a TON.  This post is massive.  That's why it's over two hours late.

Song Of Summer is a muted warm green pastel cream.

Great formula on this one!  It went on really smooth and was so close to being a one-coater.  I used two.  It's a bit more muted than it looks here.  I *think* it might be dupe-ish for OPI Stranger Tides, but I don't have it to compare.  Nichole hates it and has forbidden me to ever wear it again...but she's not the boss of me!  I like it.


Skylark is a warm pastel peach cream.

Not flattering on me.  No other way to say it.  I look gray with Skylark on.  It would probably look good on pink-toned people or someone with a tan.  This is two coats and the formula is surprisingly decent for a pastel.


Southern Belle is a blue-toned medium pink cream.

One coat!  Yay!  Not just that, it's also self-leveling and does that same OPI bubble thing where a little bubble forms but surfaces and smooths out on its own.  I'm very impressed.  The color is interesting, sort of a bright raspberry.  I'm not sure how I feel about it personally, but it is a very nice shade all-around.


Graine De Poivre is a "deep but not dark" cool-toned taupe cream.

I'm very strongly reminded of OPI You Don't Know Jacques here.  I'll have to compare them and see.  The formula's really good.  This is another one-coater.


Coffee is a deep brown cream.

I might be way off, but I think this might be close to OPI Suzi Loves Cowboys.  Maybe it's just the brown with a country theme that's making me think that.  I'll be comparing them in a future post.  Good formula on this one too.  I used two coats on all but the middle, just one there.  I don't think you can tell the difference.


Flirting Nails is a metallic antique gold with hints of silver.

This is the only non-new shade I picked up from this display.  I've glanced at it many times in the past.  I should have gotten it sooner.  It's a bit conservative, but that's fine with me because I can wear it to work.  I already have.  The formula's decent, two coats and minimal visible brush-strokes.


Rain Song is a fine purple/blue/teal/green multichrome shimmer in a clear base.

over Graine De Poivre

Yowza!!  Words....they fail.  Just look.  This is one smooth, easy coat over Graine De Poivre.

over Graine De Poivre

over Graine De Poivre

over Graine De Poivre

over Graine De Poivre

I also wore Rain Song over Southern Belle.  It brings out completely different aspects of the color shift.

over Southern Belle

This is also one coat of Rain Storm.  The vibrant blue flash is much more visible in this combination.  It's almost surreal the way it glows at some angles in the right light.

over Southern Belle

In G.'s post at Nouveau Cheap a few possible dupe questions were raised.  I did three comparison sets.  There are no complete dupes, but one is very close.  All comparisons are one coat of the shimmers over nude and black bases.


Rain Song vs Bali Mist

I-Bali Mist * M-Rain Song * R-Rain Song * P-Bali Mist

I-Bali Mist * M-Rain Song * R-Rain Song * P-Bali Mist 

I-Bali Mist * M-Rain Song * R-Rain Song * P-Bali Mist

Rain Song vs You Just Wait

I-You Just Wait * M-Rain Song * R-Rain Song * P-You Just Wait

I-You Just Wait * M-Rain Song * R-Rain Song * P-You Just Wait

I-You Just Wait * M-Rain Song * R-Rain Song * P-You Just Wait

Rain Song vs Let Me Go

I-Let Me Go * M-Rain Song * R-Rain Song * P-Let Me Go

I-Let Me Go * M-Rain Song * R-Rain Song * P-Let Me Go

As you can see, Rain Song and Let Me Go are virtually identical.  The shimmer particles in Rain Song are slightly finer...but not that much.  I don't think "normal people" need both, but I don't mind having two this close.


Bottom line: See what I mean about a strong country theme?  I'm really impressed over-all.  Rain Storm blew my mind and left me speechless, but you might not need it if you own Let Me Go.  Flirting Nails and Graine De Poivre went right into my work-appropriate drawer after I swatched them.  Coffee applies so well and I always love deep browns.  Song Of Summer was a pleasant surprise (despite what Nichole thinks), but Skylark is not for me.  I'm on the fence about Southern Belle.  It might find a new home with Nichole some day.


My vacation at home is going great so far!  I'm having fun swatching and the fair was a blast last night.  You can see photos here, but there are more I haven't uploaded just yet.  Hope to keep the ball rolling and get even more swatching done on the rest of my days off!