Sally Hansen Greenlight

 purchased by me 

This has been a great year for Sally Hansen fans.  A new collection pops up every few weeks, but they've also added a few shades to each of their core lines.  When I noticed a blue-green jelly, well...I couldn't resist.

Greenlight is a milky blue-green jelly.

Ooohs and ahhhs, right?  Yes, I'd like it more if it was glassy instead of milky, but...I can't argue with the color.  Plus it's always good to see another jelly in a permanent line instead of LE.  It applies evenly, without the crazy streaking that some milky jellies get.   This is four coats, but two or three would be plenty for shorter nails.  I'm usually on the fence about VNL, but I like the slightly cloudy, two-tone effect this gives.

It's sheer enough for sandwiching too!

with Shake Shake (silver microglitter)

Bottom line:  Milky, not glassy, but applies well and sandwichable.  Yay!


I know I've asked this before, but how do you feel about VNL?

 all products in this post were purchased by me 

Best Of: April 2015

Glam Polish Knockout Collection: Part 2

promotional samples ahead

Hello boys and girls! Is your life feeling a bit...muted these days? Are even the neon creams that are showing up ahead of summer doing nothing to blow up your skirts? If you answered yes (or no. trust me) then I think I have found the answer in four particular shades from part two of the Glam Polish Knockout Collection.

Essie Coat Couture

 purchased by me 

Ever see a polish swatched, decide you need it, change your mind, change your mind again, switch back to wanting it, then not, repeat maybe twenty times, wind up finding it when you have good coupons, buy it, wear it, and realize it kinda leaves you flat?  Well...I have.

Coat Couture is a matte dusty purple with teal shimmer and a slight shift to purple.

Normally I'd be crazy about a dusty purple with teal shimmer.  Something here just doesn't do it for me.  The formula is probably part of the problem.  I hate to say it, but it has almost every issue a matte polish might have.  It dries so fast that it gets gloppy as you apply it and winds up uneven.  It's chalky.  The shimmer shows the brushstrokes if you're not careful...but it's hard to be careful because it's starting to dry almost before you can get it on the nail.  This is two coats and it was a struggle.

The rest of the problem?  I'm pointing a finger at the finish.  It's somehow too matte and also not matte enough.  Or maybe it's the shimmer?  It just looks kinda dull to me.

A glossy topcoat helps a lot.  The shimmer is more visible this way, but it's still more subtle than I'd like it to be.

The shift is super subtle too, which loses it even more points.  It's there, but you only really see it in perfect light and at extreme angles.

oh hey...there's the shift

Bottom line:  I don't know.  I'll give it a second chance sometime, but I'm comfortable telling you you can probably skip this one.


Sometimes you feel like you can layer your 'ideal' version of a polish that doesn't quite hit the spot.  In this case, I already have.  Has this happened to you?  What were the polishes?

 all products in this post were purchased by me 

Octopus Party Le Bon Marche: New vs Old

promotional samples ahead

Another important comparison today! Le Bon Marche went through a major reformulation ahead of the Llarowe Launch, and I wanted to make sure I got a good comparison out there so you guys can make your decisions quickly so you don't miss out!

Octopus Party Spirit Mint: New vs Old

promotional samples ahead

Reformulation is a part of life, especially with indie brands. Sometimes it is a major change and others it is practically unnoticeable. This definitely falls into the "practically unnoticeable" category. I decided to take some awkward macro pics to compare the original Spirit Mint and the freshly reformulated version in celebration of OPNL being sold at Llarowe.

Electric Seriotype

The last day is always the saddest. I could seriously dedicate an entire month to neons if I started dabbling in other brands. Maybe if I start truly running out of art ideas, I'll just start posting swatches of nothing but neons. That could be an interesting blog in of itself...

Electric Stripes, Glitter, and Gradients. Oh My.

promotional samples ahead

Are you ready for more?! We are almost done with the fangirling, I promise. Today's art is a little simpler...if neons and glitter and gradients and tape can ever be simple. 

Rimmel Mercury and Saturn

 purchased by me 

If you saw my Bronze Bird stamping yesterday, you've already gotten a bit of a look at these two polishes.  They're new to the US, but they originally came out last fall in the UK.  I'm a little surprised that they're just tucked into the side of the big display without much fanfare...and that the collection doesn't seem to have a name.  British bloggers Polly Polish and Imagination In Color have swatches of the full collection, but I picked the two that drew my eye the most when I found them in CVS a little while back.

Mercury is a light pea green metallic.

I hesitated on this one.  The bottle was hinting that it might be on that metallic/frost border.  It is.  Dunno exactly how I feel about that.  Hanna of Polly Polish was 100% correct when she said it had a 90's feel.  This could absolutely be a Street Wear from the olden days.  The formula is as iffy for me as the frostiness.  One coat was enough to cover, but I needed a second to even things out.  This is a polish you have to coddle to keep from getting excessive brushstrokes.  The brush itself makes that tricky, because it is MASSIVE.  I had a little bit of my old nemesis, pinprick bubbling, on my middle nail.  I think in this case it was caused by having to go a little thick to reduce the brushstrokes.

Polishes like this cry out for sponging.  I added a third coat that way and it really improved things.

Saturn is deep brown with tons of greenish-gold shimmer.

No doubt at all here.  I really like this one!  It's got that darker around the edges effect that always wins me over.  The formula is a lot easier, though it is really thick.  This is two coats.

It's happened so many times before, but mattifying turned like to love yet again!

with OPI Matte Top Coat

Bottom line: The brush is very wide.  Between that and the big, round cap, I found them somewhat difficult to apply.  If you're a fan of wide brushes though, you should check out the Salon Pro line.  Both are thick, so they stamp well.


Have you tried these or any of the other Salon Pro polishes?  What do you think of the brush?

 all products in this post were purchased by me 

Electric Dotticure

Yesterday we did lazy, abstract, relaxed. Today we have controlled and (sorta) precise. As precise as I can be without pulling my eyes out. 

Bronze Bird

Something weird happened yesterday.  I felt kinda alright for the first time in weeks.  It was wonderful!  All kinds of stuff was set aside while I was an allergy zombie, but it can wait.  I wanted to do my nails!  Spring can bite me at this point (it feels like it already has), so I went with fall colors instead.

My review for Rimmel Saturn and Mercury will be up soon, but the tl;dr is that Saturn is great to wear and Mercury stamps beautifully.  The plate I used is BM-720, Feathery Lullabies, from Bundle Monster's Secret Garden set.  The bird part of that plate seemed right for the oiled bronze look of Saturn.  The result looks like something you'd see on an ornate picture frame.  At least I've moved on from brocade fabrics, right?  Well...for now.

I could definitely have placed the bird better, because the face is a little hard to see.  I'm happy with it otherwise.  The oiled bronze look is stronger when it's matte, but I liked it glossy too.

Maybe the bird should have been a little smaller.  You'd need really long nails to get the whole beak-to-tail image.

I love the plate anyway and I'm really happy that Bundle Monster got in on the buffet/infinity style action.


So am I back?  Well...I hope so!  I have missed my life so much.  I hope my fellow allergy sufferers are starting to get some relief too.  I wish trees could find a way to reproduce that didn't make us sick!

 all products in this post were purchased by me 

Electric Brushstrokes

More neons? Oh, yes. Yes yes yes. I think I might be dedicating this whole week to this magnificent color palette. But since I am sadly out of swatches, let's get down to some art.

Go Commando: China Glaze Electric Nights

Is the internet still aflutter about these neons? I know I am. They are pretty damned amazing, in formula and color. I only picked up three (thus far) but I can almost promise the rest of the collection will be coming home with me soon enough.

Baroness X Eerie-descence and Opulent Oddity

promotional samples ahead

The time for glittery things is upon us. Warm weather is coming (I swear) and the time for sparkly things around bonfires at night is almost here! One of the only things I miss about the southern US in-the-summer is the lightning bugs. Happily, Baroness X has created a polish that will fill the hole left by those sparkly little critters.

A Delicate Sky

promotional samples ahead

When I got this pale blue polish from Emily at CNC, I was worried. All of my googling led me to swatches that were either heavily layered or sheer...and with my yellow tips, sheer was not for me. This polish has a very ethereal quality to it, and I struggled to figure out how to show that...until I got some new creams. It's like fate stepped in and slapped me in the mouth.

LASplash Nagini and Sirius

 purchased by me 

Maybe I should thank the pollen for delaying this post.  LASplash has created a major stir with their Smitten Lip Tint Mousse, so much so that they keep popping in and out of stock.  The last time I sat down to try to write this post, both Nagini and Sirius were both temporarily gone.  They're back!  I'll admit that I panicked a little the first time they went out of stock, which lead to me pouncing on them the moment they came back.  I've been known to go a little crazy over their lipcolors before.  There was no way I could risk not having these two beauties in my life!

Note- The color of my skin in the closeup photos is a bit weird.  My elderly camera got a headache and turned me all kinds of colors.  I opted to keep the product color as true as I could, even if it meant that the green swatches make me look pink and the blue makes me yellow.  Sorry about that.

Nagini is deep emerald green.

freshly dry

AAAAAHHHH!!  I think I have a new favorite lip color!  Nagini is everything I wanted Envy to be.  It is matte as matte can be.  The color is flat-out phenomenal.  I'm not just impressed, I'm astounded.

It gets better...  It wears well too!  I left it on for much longer than I usually would for swatching, probably half an hour or more.  I talked to The Beard, I licked my lips (bad habit I've never kicked), I gushed to McGee about how much I love this color....and it stayed put so much better than I'd ever have expected!

slight wear

See that pink part showing through?  Nothing, and I mean nothing, I've ever tried can get lip color to stick there, but Nagini clung on way better than most.

I wasn't going anywhere that day, but I felt like it needed a real test, so I went and bugged The Beard again, closer up this time.  Kissing is the ruin of so many lip products, so how'd Nagini do?

after kissing

That is after kissing!  After!  I don't mean a little peck on the cheek, I mean actual kissing.  There was some flaking.  You can see a tiny speck of it under my lower lip.  Flakes of green wound up on him too, but they brushed off without making a mess.  Intense colors tend to be fussy and need touchups, so I am elated by how well Nagini passed the kiss test!

I can't pretend there aren't any drawbacks to the formula and packaging.  This stuff isn't the easiest to apply and I think my upper lip came out a little crooked.  Their strong chemical smell could be a problem for some people.  It also settles into every crease and crinkle.  The feel while it's on is dry dry dry, but it doesn't seem to be terribly drying once it's off.  The removal needs a mention too.  The flip-side of the great wear is that it's tougher to remove than most.  I'll be reviewing their special remover when I review my Lip Couture picks, but I'll tell you now...it's not the only way to remove it.  Anything greasy will do.  A thick coat of balm and a little bit of rubbing works just as well as the remover.

The usual question for colors like this is "will you actually wear it?"  Damn right I will!

I kept my eyes subtle this time.  The shadow is a palette from H&M, maybe the brown one?  I might do this exact thing again the next time I get dolled up.

Sirius is navy blue.

Maybe I have a new second favorite lip color too.  If Nagini is an improved version of Envy, Sirius is kinda a better version of Greed.  Kinda.  It's darker, and navy instead of royal.  The formula is the same as Nagini, but I didn't wear it for as long or do a kiss test.

Here's my whole face again, despite the seriously botched job the haircutter lady did on my bangs.  This is after a lot of little snipping attempts at fixing it.  Ugh.  I think I also need to change my brow stuff.  This is too brown for my new hair color.  Anyway....face...

Both of these make my eye color glow and I love them even more for that.


Bottom line: I adore both of these!  Mind-blowing color and great wear earn them all the points in my book.  They do feel dry and strange while they're on, but they're not particularly drying once they're off.  The strong chemical smell fades quickly and they don't really need the special remover.  I'd call them completely worth the $12 price tag, which is monumental praise from a cheapskate like me.  if you're waffling at all on them, do it.  You'll love them.


Have you gotten these or any of LASplash's other recent liquid lipcolors?  Do you love them as much as I do?

 all products in this post were purchased by me 

Earrings, Mice, and Peanuts

promotional samples ahead

This is a first for me! I am reviewing an accessory! Woooo! Watch out now, or I might become a fashion plate! Seriously though, I love earrings, and when my friend from Little Mouse on the Prairie said she needed some honest reviews to get the word out about her shop, I was glad to help.

Carpe Noctem Cosmetics: Read Or Die Collection

promotional samples ahead

I love when inspiration strikes. I love it even more when it smacks someone with the superawesomeskillz to create pretty things for me to wear. Emily from Carpe Noctem Cosmetics found inspiration in the Read Or Die saga, and we are all benefiting from it with this bad-ass trio of polishes.

Use It Or Lose It: Q1 After Action Report

It has been far too long since I have posted about this, but that doesn't mean I have given it up completely. I have been committed to the cause, even if I've been a bit quiet about it in 2015. I just switched gears a bit, and tried to start finishing some things off. It is easier than it sounds.

Supercharged Seriotype

It has been a while since I tried to use every polish I've ever seen in one manicure, so I figured I was due. I had a bunch of polishes that I hadn't put away, so I decided to toss them all together in my magical seriotype blender and see what came out.

Dance Legend Velvet #637

 purchased by me 

Sorry I've been so scarce lately.  It's sneezin' season once again and it's really knocking me out this year.  Summer collections are starting to pop up and I still have a bunch of spring stuff to swatch!  So when I felt good enough to do my nails for the first time in what felt like years, what did I put on?  Possibly the least spring-timey thing in my swatching bin...

Velvet #637 has green-to-fuchsia shimmer in a deep plum base. It dries to a satin finish.

Satins from Dance Legend...it's kinda surprising that I only have one, right?  I just got it too, even though the collection came out last year.  If you've read any of my Dance Legend posts before, you know exactly what kind of gushing review to expect.  This time's no exception.  I adore this polish!  I just wish it had a name instead of a number.  It reminds me of Revlon Mesmerized, but I think I like it even more.  It has that same brooding, "magical" look to it, but it doesn't need undies, isn't brushstrokey, and doesn't...grrr....bubble.  The shimmer's coarser too, which gives it depth and twinkle and keeps it clear of frost territory.  The contrast of purple base and green shimmer, the shift, the soft glow....lovelovelovelovelove!   Like all satins, it's even better in person.  This is two coats, which was kinda surprising.  The first coat had me thinking it would need three or four for coverage, but it built up with just two.

You know I -had to- gloss it up too!  When I did, I fell in love with it all over again.

Weirdly, the shift is easier to see in person when it's satin, but easier to photograph when it's glossy.  It's stronger than photos really show.  This is one of those polishes it's dangerous to wear while driving.  I did manage to catch this sneaky shift, but it took some maneuvering.

Bottom line:  You need it....and I need #633, #642, and maybe a few others.


I bought it from Llarowe, but it's also on the Dance Legend site.  They're on hiatus right now, but they should be back some time this month.  Shipping to the US takes 6-10 weeks, but it is 400% worth the wait if you go that route.  My Dance Legend love grows every time I try another of their polishes.

 all products in this post were purchased by me 

Baroness X La Luz

promotional samples ahead

I promised an amazing color today, and by god I will deliver! I have been in love with this color since first opening the box of swatchin' things. I even hinted at this one on instagram. I have found that special color that will transform me into a majestic unicorn.

Baroness X Aurora Sparks and Borealis Bubbles

promotional samples ahead

It is time for shiny things and sparkly bits from Baroness X! On the menu for today is 2/3 of the newest bubbly set...and good news, it's blue!

Fool's Gold?

 purchased by me 

Esperanto!  That's what that was yesterday.  McGee and I decided to do the dorkiest thing possible for April Fool's.  We confused and annoyed our Facebook friends too.  It was great!  The nail treatment I reviewed in yesterday's post is just as befuddling as a language you can't figure out.

When Sally Hansen's new-ish 18K Gold Hardener started turning up, there was some confusion.  Is it a gold flake topper, along the lines of OPI Man With The Golden Gun and similar?  Nope.  I bought it and I can tell you now, the confusion only starts there.  There's a lot I don't understand about this stuff.  It's meant to go on bare nails, either alone or under polish.  My nails are stained like crazy, so that's not something you want to see.  I shrugged, threw caution to the wind, and used it as a topper.

over All Bark...because Sally isn't the boss of me

I kinda feel like there should be a disclaimer on the box, since the "gold" bits you see aren't real gold, 18K or otherwise.  The first time I found a bottle in-store, I went right to the ingredient list, looking for answers.  You can see it for yourself on Walgreens.com.  There is real gold in this stuff, but it's colloidal.  Invisible.  Why is it in there?  I have no idea.  Everything I could find seemed kinda questionable.  Gold is barely reactive at all.  That's why it doesn't tarnish quickly and it's safe to use in things like piercing and dentistry.  Put it on your nails and it'll probably just kinda sit there....being microscopic.  Yay?  So what is the "gold" stuff we can see?  It's there in the ingredients if you're patient and stubborn enough to find it.  It's listed as "Synthetic Fluorphlogopite", or man-made mica.  It makes this a subtle, but eye-catching topper.  Wait a second though...this is supposed to go under polish, not over it.  Why bother putting mica in something you won't see?  Marketing?  That's the only answer I can come up with.  Once you look past that, this does have decent potential as a strengthener.  There are some good ingredients mixed in with the weird ones.  It's got a large dose of copolymers and plasticizers, so it dries nice and hard.  That's great for protecting soft nails.  Hydrolyzed wheat protein is also on the list, a good ingredient for a strengthener to have.  It's also got pea extract, apricot seed powder, and a preservative derived from radishes.  As confusing as this list is, it does add up to a strengthener that I'd call worth trying, especially if you're looking for something without formaldehyde....and if you don't mind there being gold-ish flakes on your otherwise bare nails or under your polish.  I'm gonna keep being rebellious and using it over polish.  I put Contrary Polish Better Together over this manicure last week, and coverups usually accelerate chipping...but all I've got is tipwear.  My nails don't seem as bendy with this stuff as they usually are, though I do use several other strengthening/hardening products.  I can't say how it'll do on you, but it's lasting wonderfully on me....and it's pretty too!

over All Bark

While I've still got you, let's look at All Bark on its own too.


All Bark is a medium brown crelly.

I do love a good brown, but it's a near-dupe for OPI Ice-bergers And Fries and that has a slightly better formula.  All Bark is core though, and Ice-bergers isn't...so there's that in its favor.  This is three coats, because of the hint of crelly sheerness.


Bottom line: 18k Strengthener has potential as a treatment, but could make polish look lumpy or patchy because of the flakes.  I like it a lot as a topper.  All Bark is a little on the sheer side and dupey, but I like it.


Thanks for putting up with my silly thing yesterday...and extra thanks to the three of you who replied in Esperanto!  I didn't think it would be so many.

Sorry I haven't been posting much recently, by the way.  Allergy season is kicking my ass extra early, extra hard this year.

 all products in this post were purchased by me 

Pinspired: Gentle Gradient and Gold

Pinterest is a housewife's dream. So many projects (that I'll never do), so many recipes (that I'll never make), and so many art pieces (that I'll never afford). Thankfully, I have fingernails and a little dedication...and a lot of time.

Oro de Malsagxulo?

 aĉetita de mi 

Kiam 18K Gold Hardener de Sally Hansen alvenis en vendejoj ĝi konfuzis homoj. Ĉu ĝi estas aŭtentaj oro flokon, kiel OPI Man With The Golden Gun kaj similaj? Neniu! Mi aĉetis ĝin kaj mi povas diri al vi nun , la konfuzo nur komenciĝas tie. Restas multa mi ne komprenas pri tiu produkto. Ĝi estas signifis por iri sur nuda najloj, aŭ sole aŭ sub najlo glazuro. Mia najloj estas makulitaj kiel freneza, do tio ne estas io, kion vi volas vidi. Mi rompis la regulojn, kaj uzis ĝin sur supro.

supre sur All Bark

Mi sentas kiel ĝi bezonas malgarantiilon sur la skatolo, ekde la "oro" bitoj vi vidas ne estas realaj oro, 18K aŭ alie . La unuan fojon mi trovis botelon en-vendejo, mi iris rekte al la ingredienco listo, serĉante respondoj. Vi povas vidi ĝin por vi mem sur Walgreens.com. Tie estas reala oro en ĉi tiu produkto, sed ĝi estas koloida. Nevidebla. Kial estas tie? Mi tute ne scias. Ĉio mi povus trovi ŝajnis cuestionable. Oro ne reagas facile. Jen kial ĝi estas sekura por la odontología . Metu ĝin en via najloj kaj eble ĝi faros nenion...kaj ĝi estas mikroskopaj. Hura? Do kio estas la "ora" kiu povas vidi? Estas tie en la ingrediencoj se vi estas pacienca kaj obstina sufiĉas trovi ĝin. Ĝi estas listita kiel "Synthetic Fluorphlogopite", aŭ homfarita glimo. Aspektas bela sur najlo glazuro. Atendu duan kvankam...ĉi supozas iri sub verniso, ne super ĝi. Kial meti flokoj en io vi ne vidas? Vendi pli? Tio estas la sola respondo mi povas veni supre kun. Iam vi rigardas pasinteco ke, ĉi tio havas decan potencialon plifortigi. Estas iuj bonaj ingrediencoj miksita kun la strangaj aferoj. Ĝi estas ricevis grandan dozon de copolímeros kaj plastificadores, do ĝi sekigas malmola. Tio estas granda por protekti mola ungojn. Hidrolizar tritiko proteino estas ankaŭ sur la listo, bona ingredienco por strengthener havi. Ĝi estas ankaŭ ricevis pizo ekstrakto, abrikoto semo pulvoreco kaj konservativan derivita de rafanoj. Kiel konfuzanta kiel tiu listo estas, ĝi faras aldoni supren al strengthener ke valoras provi, speciale se vi serĉas ion sen formaldehido....kaj se ne gxenos vin tie estante "oro" skvamoj sur via alie senkovra najloj aŭ sub via glazuro. Mi estas gonna observu esti ribelema kaj uzante gxin super glazuro. Mi metis Contrary Polish Better Together super ĉi manicura lasta semajno, kaj aldonante novajn tavolojn kutime kaŭzas pli blatoj...sed cxiuj mi havas estas tipwear. Mia najloj ne ŝajnas kiel malforta kun tiu traktado kiel ili kutime estas. Mi ne povas diri kiel ĝi faros pri vi, sed ĝi estas duradera mirinde min ....kaj ĝi estas bela ankaŭ!

supre sur All Bark

Dum mi ankoraŭ havas vin, ni rigardu All Bark sur ĝia propra tro.


All Bark estas mez bruna crelly.

Mi faros ami bonan brun, sed ĝi aspektas kiel OPI Ice-bergers And Fries, kiu havas iomete pli bonan formulon . All Bark estas permanenta, kaj Ice-bergers ne...tiom All Bark estas pli facile trovi en magazenoj. Mi uzis tri mantelojn, ĉar ĝi estas diafana.


Lasta linio: 18k Strengthener povus helpi ungo sano, sed glazuro povus rigardi neegala pro la skvamoj. Mi ŝatas ĝin pli supre de glazuro. All Bark estas iom diafanaj kaj similas OPI Ice-bergers, sed mi ŝatas ĝin .


Ĉu vi sukcesas legi tion? Se vi faris, bonvolu komenti en la sama lingvo sen diri kio ĝi estas. Dankon! Ĉu vi parolas tiun lingvon? Pardonu se mia gramatiko estas malbona.

 ĉiuj produktoj en ĉi tiu post estis akirita de mi