Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer Prototype VDay 6.1

On this week’s Swatch Saturday, I’m showing you a rather unique polish prototype from Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer. I’m wearing three coats of VDay 6.1 with one coat of Ciate’s Speed Coat Pro top coat.

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VDay 6.1 is a pale green jelly with dark green and navy glitters and golden shimmer. It was really easy to apply; the glitters weren’t difficult to remove from the bottle or brush onto the nail. The first coat was thin and sheer; more shimmer than color. It could be worn as a topper over a similarly green polish. A second coat gave some color back, but was still quite sheer. At three coats, it’s sheer enough to allow each layer of glitter to shine through, but the color is as strong as it is in the bottle. Drying times were fast; the polish dried with a satin finish. Top coat gives this polish extra golden shine.

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Since this polish is green and Valentine’s Day-related, it reminds me of the French term of endearment mon petit chou, which, literally translated, means my little cabbage. I’ve also heard it can mean my little pastry, but that’s not as fun. It’s perfect, though, right? This polish has such a crisp and vegetal color, and cabbage was the first thing I thought of when I saw it. I’m such a weirdo.

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Unfortunately, as this polish was a prototype, this is the only bottle like it. Sorry! Other Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquers are available from their shop. I heard there’s a new Valentine’s Day collection coming out next month.

I bought this polish myself.

Manicure Monday: Complementary Glitter

Manicure Monday!! I love my mani today. I’m wearing three coats of Color Club’s Sparkle and Soar, one brushed coat of Digital Nails‘s Aguamenti, and one coat of Ciate’s Speed Coat Pro top coat.

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Sparkle and Soar is a shimmery orange polish with golden glass flecks and a hint of gold-to-green duochrome. Application was pretty easy, I didn’t have any problems with it. The consistency is fine; it’s thick due to the amount of shimmer/superfine glitters, but it’s easy to control. It dried pretty quickly, and to a satin finish. With a top coat, the shimmer becomes that much more vibrant.

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Aguamenti is a glitter topper with a truckload of metallic and holographic glitters in various shapes and colors. There are dots, hexes, squares, and bar glitters in blue, aqua, teal, and green. The maker says the base is slightly tinted, but I can’t tell. The application here was super easy for a glitter like this; the large glitters were easy to find and brush on, never getting lost in the smaller glitters. Also, sometimes it’s really hard to get good and even coverage with a polish like this, and that’s definitely not the case with Aguamenti. I could just brush it on and get this without any manipulation or glitter-placing at all. It’s awesome.

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I really like the way this paired together. I was going for something complementary; I wanted a glitter that would make the color pop a little more, and vice versa. The gilded orange is so rich and bright; the glitter glistens like jewels. I knew I would love this look, but I really surprised myself with how much I like it.

Sparkle and Soar is sold on the Color Club website, and wherever else Color Club is sold. Aguamenti is currently in stock in the Digital Nails shop, but has been discontinued. Definitely be on the lookout for these polishes.

I bought these polishes myself.

Swatch Sunday: Digital Nails’s Run You Clever Boy

This is exciting! For today’s edition of Swatch Sunday, I’m wearing one of my first-ever Digital Nails polishes. I got this little mini bottle of Run You Clever Boy with the very first order I ever placed. I’m wearing three coats of it with one coat of Ciate’s Speed Coat Pro top coat.

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Run You Clever Boy is described by Digital Nails as an “oxblood jelly polish with … green to red shifting microflake pigment”. I found this polish very easy to apply; as it is a jelly, the first coat wasn’t perfect, but I had perfect opacity at two coats. The maker warns that two coats will still show a visible nail line, but I didn’t encounter that. Despite that, it’s still really squishy. It dries very quickly and with a glossy finish. You’ll still want a top coat to bring out this crazy-awesome shift and additional jelly shine.

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I adore this polish. I feel pretty close to it, as it’s one of my first-ever indies, but I’ve only worn it twice, including now. There’s just nothing else like this in my collection. Depending on where the light is, it looks like two totally different polishes. Facing the light, the shifting pigment is red and blends right into the jelly base, giving it a beautiful ruby sparkle. When the light is behind me, the green pops out and the wow starts. It’s way more fun than it should be to keep moving my nails around to watch the shift. It’s just way too cool.

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Unfortunately, Run You Clever Boy was recently discontinued. I know, I’m right there with you; it was gone before I had a chance to get my own full-size bottle. It is an absolute tragedy.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Newly Impassioned Soul

Happy Saturday, reader! I have another fantastic polish from Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s My Indecisive Valentine collection. My swatch this week is of Newly Impassioned Soul; I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Ciate’s Speed Coat Pro.

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Newly Impassioned Soul is a bright pink crelly polish with tiny green pearl flakies. It was very easy to apply and dried pretty quickly to a semi-matte/satin finish. For a crelly, I found this to be pretty thick and opaque enough that two coats was enough for full opacity, but depending on your application style, you may need three or even four to get your desired opacity. You’ll notice the white pigment that settled to the bottom; no amount of shaking the bottle could mix it back in. However, this settling does not affect the integrity of the color. I’ve had this happen with a few other indie polishes, and it’s a problem that’s bottle-deep, if you will. You can see it in the bottle, but on the nail the polish looks exactly as it should.

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I like this polish because it’s pink and sparkly. There’s no better way to win me over. Polishes that fit this description, though, tend to be outside a lot of comfort zones. Though this is a really big color, I don’t think it’s so bright that it’s garish or distasteful; the flakies give a subtle elegance to a beautiful pop of color. It’s gorgeous.

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As of this publication, Newly Impassioned Soul is currently available in the BEGL shop. It has been discontinued, so what’s left in stock is all that remains. It’s also been discounted, so grabbing this lovely at a low price is a win/win.

This is the last of this collection we’ll be seeing for a while; I have others, but since they were part of a second fan-favorites collection, they were purchased later and are lower in the swatch queue. I can’t wait to bring them to you. In the meantime, we’ll be looking at some BEGL prototypes, the last of the 2013 winter collection, and the spring collection from 2014. Most of those I haven’t even used yet. I’m so excited.

I bought this polish myself.

Manicure Monday: Blue Bomb

For Manicure Monday this week, I pulled out a crackle polish that had been languishing in the collection. For this look, I’m wearing P2’s Blue Bomb over Essie’s Mint Candy Apple, a dusting of China Glaze’s Fairy Dust, and Ciate’s Speed Coat Pro top coat.

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I know we’ve seen crackle polishes on the blog before, and each time I’m always conflicted about wearing one; it’s something between “Man, this is super cool” and “Dude, what was I thinking?” I mean, I like the look in general; I always get compliments on crackle polish whenever I wear one out, and I like how unpredictable it is and how two nails never look exactly the same. I feel pretty meh about this look, though. I even tried to dress it up with Fairy Dust, which was a last-minute impulse, and even then it’s like 2010 called and asked for its manicure back.

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Individually, I love these polishes. Mint Candy Apple is a nice baby blue creme that was opaque in two coats. Fairy Dust is the most beautiful kind of subtle. Blue Bomb is special to me because it’s from Germany and I got it in an awesome Reddit swap. I normally like it, but today I’m not feeling it so much. I guess that’s a really rude-as-crap thing to say about a gift. Sorry.

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Final word: It looked better in my head. It also looks nicer in person, because the glitter is more glittery.

Swatch Sunday: Different Dimension’s Orion Nebula

I’m really excited to bring you this week’s Swatch Sunday! Different Dimension‘s Orion Nebula is a polish I’ve been dying to try since I got it, and today’s the day I finally got around to it. I’m wearing three coats of Orion Nebula with one coat of Ciate’s Speed Coat Pro top coat.

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Orion Nebula is a black jelly with metallic hot pink dot glitters in various sizes and large holographic pink dots. It is absolutely laden with these glitters. I had no trouble getting them out of the bottle or applying to the nail. As it is a jelly, the first coat does go on a bit thin, but evens out on the second coat. Considering this and the glitter content, I probably didn’t need the third coat. Drying times were good, and it dries with a glossy finish; top coat was definitely necessary to smooth down the huge glitters, as well as to bring out even more shine.

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This polish is so much fun to wear, I can’t even tell you. I love this look. The big glitters catch so much light, and the smaller ones add just enough shine to keep it from looking bare. I seriously can’t stop looking at my nails, and I squeed a little looking through the photos. It’s deep and mysterious, but also full of shine and color. I love this and I never want to take it off, but I have to because I actually lost a few of the big glitters washing dishes. Pretty sure this is an issue in my application and no cause for alarm; Speed Coat Pro wasn’t made with these ginormous glitters in mind and didn’t really stand up to them.

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Orion Nebula is available from the Different Dimension shop. How nice is it to finally see something on this blog that you can actually still buy? I definitely want you to get this.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Idealistic Future

My swatch this Swatch Saturday features the gorgeous glitter topper from Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s 2014 Valentine’s Day collection. I’m wearing one coat of Idealistic Future over L’Oreal’s Broadway Boogie, Julep’s Martha, and Essie’s Navigate Her, as well as one coat of Ciate’s Speed Coat Pro top coat.

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BEGL describes Idealistic Future as a clear glitter topper “packed with gold, pink, purple, and red glitters in hexes, squares, glass dots, diamonds, and hearts.” These glitters, even the big shapes, were easy to get out of the bottle and spread well over the nail. Drying time was about what I expect now from a BEGL, about five minutes, even where it’s applied thickly. It was really easy to put on and wear.

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I love BEGL glitter toppers, and I really love this one. I love the colors in it: romantic pink, soft lilac, rich gold, fiery red. I especially love the glass dot glitters. This was the first time I’d ever seen them in a polish, and though they’re elusive, it’s so much fun to see one on the nail when you finally discover it. Can you see the one I got on my middle finger? I didn’t notice it myself until I was looking at the photos. It just looks like a round clear circle in the photo, but in real life it’s about the same color as my undies polish. Fun, right? I think it’s fun.

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The very last bottle of Idealistic Future sold out a couple days ago, so unfortunately, this one is no longer for sale. As of this publication, one of the My Indecisive Valentine polishes is still available, and supplies are limited. That polish is Newly Impassioned Soul; we’ll see it next week on Swatch Saturday.

I bought this polish myself.

Manicure Monday: Pottery-Inspired Gradient

For today’s Manicure Monday, I got my sponges out and did a gradient for the first time in months! This particular mani was inspired by a piece of pottery I saw in a museum. This is Sally Hansen’s Hard to Get with Disney’s Villain Varnish in Cruella de Vil, topped with one coat each of Ciate’s Speed Coat Pro top coat and Hard Candy’s Mattely in Love matte coat.

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Hard to Get is a white creme. It’s my favorite of the white cremes I’ve tried so far, and I use it so often I’m on like my fourth bottle. I actually emptied my current bottle on this manicure, so maybe I’ll pour a little of something out for it. Or maybe I’ll just another bottle. My feelings on Cruella de Vil aren’t so firm. I love the way this polish looks, but I don’t like the formula. It smears when top coat touches it (exhibit A: the thumb smudge), and it stains cuticles (exhibit B: pinky). It is an absolutely gorgeous polish, but sometimes I hate using it.

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As I mentioned, the gradient was inspired by a piece of pottery. I was in the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia on my birthday a couple of years ago, and I saw this lovely vase that was a deep red at its curved bottom, then faded to white at its fluted tip. I immediately “I am going to do this on my nails” and took a surreptitious photo with my phone for reference. I’d planned to keep it around and show it on the blog once I finally did the mani, but then I lost my phone in Philadelphia (long story) and the photo is gone. I guess that means I have to go back and take another photo.

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This is not my best gradient, not by a long shot. It’s pretty tough doing a gradient with a bright color and white, and when you use a smudgy red like this one, it’s even tougher. I was really looking forward to this mani, and I’m disappointed it didn’t turn out so well. I will definitely try this again.

Swatch Sunday: Del Sol’s Pretty in Pink

I am so excited about today’s Swatch Sunday! When I was on vacation last year, I happened upon the Del Sol store in Savannah, Georgia, and I bought a few of these fun polishes that change color in the sunlight. I’m so excited to finally feature one of them on the blog. This one is called Pretty in Pink; I’m wearing three coats of it with one coat of Ciate’s Speed Coat Pro top coat.

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Pretty in Pink is a pearly white polish with a strong pink flash. In the sun, it turns a deep rose. It’s rather sheer; you can easily still see my nail line, and you can see some brush strokes, but I really like this at three coats. Application was okay; the consistency of the lacquer was pretty nice, but the square brush cap didn’t sit well in my hand and was hard to use some of the time. Drying time was about average, and was glossy when dried. The photochromic change did take a little while to occur, but it does occur, even with a top coat.

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I love this polish! Indoors, it’s demure and soft, but in the sunlight, it’s bold and summery. Wearing this polish in the middle of January is a ton of fun. I mean, I’m already dying for summer to be here right now; thinking about how much fun this polish will be to wear by the pool or at the beach is making me even more impatient.

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Here are the sunlight photos! These were actually taken the day after the first set, because there wasn’t enough sunlight the same day to get these photos. Unfortunately, there is some tip wear because of that, and I do apologize. As I mentioned, it takes a couple of seconds for the UV light to effect the change, but it does happen. I admit I was skeptical at first when it didn’t change immediately like a thermal might, but I was surprised when it did. It’s such a subtle change that I didn’t notice it happening until it was finished.

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I have a few more Del Sol polishes, and I can’t wait to try them out! I only got four because I was “exercising restraint”, but they had a ton of different colors and glitter toppers. I really want to buy a few new bottles, because I don’t know if my summer will be complete without them.

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So, yeah. Can it be summer now?

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Flash Forward Fantasy

As the Valentine’s Day merch pops up in stores, it’s also popping up on blogs, specifically this blog. The next few of Swatch Saturdays are going to cover some of Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s 2014 Valentine’s Day collection, My Indecisive Valentine. The first one I’m going to show you is Flash Forward Fantasy; I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Ciate’s Speed Coat Pro top coat.

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Flash Forward Fantasy is a sheer nude with iridescent flakies and a gold-to-pink shift. Application was very easy; the consistency was just right, and though the polish is sheer, I had no issues with streaks or patchy coverage. It dries quickly to a matte finish. The shift is very delicate and was hard to capture in photos. It’s a very lovely polish indeed. I love wearing nudes; they’re like mascara for my nails. And dare I say it, this might just be my perfect nude!

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I love the BEGL seasonal collections because they’re so loosely based on the occasion. Though this is a Valentine’s-themed collection, most of the polishes reflect this in concept, not in appearance. There’s a glitter topper with heart glitter in it, obviously (we’ll see this next week), as well as a pink and a red, but those polishes were not the favorites from the collection. The best ones were the unconventional ones, like the blue (blue in a Valentine’s collection, how striking!), the nude, and the orchid holo (which I was not lucky enough to get).

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As this collection was from last year, it’s been discontinued. A few bottles from the collection do still linger in the BEGL shop, but not this particular one. Sorry!