Swatch Sunday: Sinful Color’s Timbleberry

Welcome back to Swatch Sunday! Even though I’ve worn a lot of Sinful Colors polishes over the years, I’ve never had the chance to dedicate a whole post to one. My Sinfuls are my workhorses; they’re always there for me when I need a basic creme or a dainty iridescent glitter. Timbleberry is the perfect example of a Sinful creme; it has great coverage, it watermarbles, and it’s up to whatever task you have. For these photos, I’m wearing three coats of Timbleberry with one coat of Seche Vite.

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Timbleberry is a bright pink creme polish. Application was good; the first coat was nearly opaque, and the second brought it up to full opacity. The product consistency was still smooth and workable, despite the polish’s age. It dries quickly and with a glossy finish; I used top coat for extra shine and protection.

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Timbleberry is one of the oldest polishes in my collection, and it’s been a part of a lot of different nail looks, though only a couple have been on the blog so far. It’s a pretty unique shade for being a creme; it’s a bright pink, but it’s juicy, warm, and in some lighting conditions, it’s almost red. It’s a great color.

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Unfortunately, Timbleberry has been discontinued by Sinful Colors. Other Sinfuls are available nationwide.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Siren’s Quarter-Life Crisis

Happy Saturday! My swatch today is of a super-small-batch gift-with-purchase from a Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer holiday sale. Only 15 bottles of this were made, and I have one! This is Siren’s Quarter-Life Crisis; I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

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Siren’s Quarter-Life Crisis is a clear-based microglitter polish with shades of periwinkle, lavender, and teal holographic glitters. Application was good; the first coat has just a smattering of glitter, but coverage builds with additional coats. The polish has a lot of glitter in it, but doesn’t affect product consistency; it’s still very easy to apply. It dries quickly and with a slightly-textured glitter finish; I used top coat for smoothness and shine.

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I feel really fortunate to have this polish. These small-release BEGL polishes go fast, and this one is from 2014, before they got really popular. Look at the label, I have #11 out of 15; I nearly missed it! These are my favorite polishes to own: the ones that would be highly sought-after if more people knew they existed.

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This glitter takes off in the sunlight. It got a little washed out, but the shine and sparkle is legendary. There’s a red shimmer that’s not as apparent indoors. There’s so much going on! I love BEGL microglitters, always and forever.

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Siren’s Quarter-Life Crisis is no longer available; other Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquers are sold in their online shop.

This polish was a gift with purchase. It was not sent for review.

Manicure Monday: Vision Intuition

Happy Monday! Manicure Monday is here! I’m excited to be using a SpaRitual polish for the first time today, as well as a Lynnderella polish that’s been calling my name for a while now. For this look, I used three coats of SpaRitual’s Intuition and one brushed coat of Lynnderella’s Moonstone Magic.

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I have to admit, I don’t really know anything about SpaRitual. I’ve seen a few polishes around in communities, so I knew about the brand, but I’d never seen it in stores until I found some in a TJ Maxx in upstate New York. I got a set with two bottles and a clutch for like ten dollars. I had to buy it! I hate to say it, but I expected a little more from the formula; the first coat of Intuition was worringly thin, and while coverage improved dramatically with extra coats, it’s still not fully opaque. The shifting shimmer is nice at least. It’s still a pretty polish.

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I went through a phase where I was all about the white glitters in shimmery bases. I’m still not over it. I think half of my Lynderella collection is white glitters. They’re just so pretty! I have so many and yet none of them are the same, they all have some unique must-have quality. I chose Moonstone Magic for this look for its shifting base; it’s not quite the same shimmer as the one in Intuition, but I think they work together. It’s a little milky-looking over the purple, but it’s still dreamy and iridescent. Truth be told, though, I almost reached for Beautiful Dreams again. It was a hard choice!

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The following photos were taken in direct sunlight. In harsh light like this, you can see how thin Intuition still looks after three coats. It’s pretty disappointing. The tiny silver stars in Moonstone Magic kill me.

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Intuition isn’t in stock on the SpaRitual website; other polishes are available there. Moonstone Magic might be discontinued by Lynnderella; other Lynnderellas are available on their new site and on eBay.

I bought these polishes myself.

Swatch Sunday: Shleee Polish’s Beautiful Dreams

Welcome back, reader! I’m excited about today’s swatch; it’s from a brand I’ve been dying to try forever! This is Beautiful Dreams from Shleee Polish; I’m wearing one coat over LA Girl’s Black, China Glaze’s White on White, P2’s French Kiss (pink), and Nails Inc.’s Baker Street (blue).

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Beautiful Dreams is a clear-based glitter topper with a primarily white glitter mix — shapes include stars, moons, hearts, dots, and clouds — with silver moons and stars, iridescent hexes, and a strong blue-to-purple shift. Application was good; I didn’t have to fish for the shape glitters, and the glitters brushed on evenly. Product consistency was also good; it wasn’t too thick or thin. It dried quickly and with a glossy finish; I used top coat for extra smoothness and shine.

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When this polish came out early this year, I jumped on it. This was the first time I’d ever seen the cloud glitters, and I still get so excited about new glitter shapes, I have to buy the polish I see them in first. Beautiful Dreams is a great use for them, too; the overall look is ethereal and celestial, and the clouds just belong. It’s a perfect mix of glitter and shimmer. I am crazy impressed with it, as well as with Shleee in general.

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The following photos were taken in direct sunlight. The shift gets a little washed out — especially in midday — but still looks gorgeous. You may also be wondering why I used a white polish as a base for white glitter. I think there’s something charming about white over white; it’s giving the shift and the silver glitters a chance to stand out.

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Beautiful Dreams is currently not in stock; other Shleee Polishes are available in their etsy shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Siren Scales

It’s Saturday, and you know what that means! It occurred to me a few days ago, while looking at my Instagram, that I’ve been on a pretty long blue polish streak. Today we’re extending it! This is Siren Scales from Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer; I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

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Siren Scales is a deep blue jelly with blue, navy, and teal flakies. Application was easy; the polish brushes on easily and imparts good color and coverage on the first coat; coverage builds with additional coats. Most of the flakies are fine, but some are pretty coarse, and don’t lay totally flat on the nail. The product consistency is a little thick due to all the flakies. The polish dries quickly and with a satin finish; I used top coat for extra shine and smoothness.

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Siren Scales has an amazing glowing shimmer from all the flakies, and it really makes the polish, and sets it apart from the rest of the deep blues. The large flakies, though uncommon, add a fun texture with the occasional bump in the polish. I’ve enjoyed wearing this; it’s not the most summery shade, but it’s mermaidy, and that’s what counts!

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In the sunlight, the flakies really glow. It almost looks metallic. You can see the larger flakies in the outdoor photos a bit better than indoors.

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Siren Scales was released as a numbered limited edition in November 2014, and has since sold out. Other Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquers are available in their online shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Empties Roundup: July 2016

Welcome back! It’s a little late, but here’s the Empties Roundup for July 2016! I don’t think it’s as impressive as last month’s post, but I’m excited anyway. Let’s get started!

Toni & Guy Cleanse Dry Shampoo

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So I am super lazy and I hate washing my hair. Even though I love the way it looks after I wash it — my curls and waves are never as happy as they are after a good shampoo — I put off washing as long as I can stand it because I hate doing it. suffice it to say, I use a lot of this stuff. This is my first time with this particular product, but I really liked it. It didn’t leave a lot of white powdery residue like a lot of dry shampoos do, and it was pretty affordable. It didn’t absorb oil as much as I would have liked it to, but I’d buy it again. It’s not the worst I’ve ever used.

Bath and Body Works Waikiki Shower Gel and Lotion

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I ran out of these at about the same time, and that never happens for me. Why do Bath and Body Works make their shower gel bottles so large but the lotions so small? Usually I run out of the lotion when the shower gel is still half full. Complaint aside, this scent was really nice. It’s fruity, floral, and tropical, the way you’d expect a Hawaiian-inspired scent to smell.

(Seed) Grapeseed Enriched Healthy Hand Cream

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I actually won this in a giveaway from Polish Galore! It actually was a really nice hand cream. It was fragrance-free and formulated without parabens, phthlates, petrochemicals, and common allergens, and is cruelty-free. The product is quality, but even the effort they make to keep bad ingredients out makes me want to get another tube. It’s very moisturizing, but still a bit light; I’ll still need something heavier after I’m done washing dishes.

Lancôme La Base Pro Primer (Sample)

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This is my favorite primer in the history of makeup primers. A Lancôme rep sold me on it years ago when I was foundation shopping. I ended up returning the foundation — it oxidized like mad and made me look like a Simpson — but the primer was definitely a win. This was a sample I had sitting around in a cosmetic bag, and I used it just to use it up. I don’t know if I’ll repurchase this right away — I’ve got another one I want to use up first — and honestly I’ll probably buy Smashbox Photo Finish when I’m out of that, because it’s a bit of a better value. However, my heart will always belong to La Base Pro.

I’ve got a lot of things that may make their way into August’s roundup! I’ve got a tube of BB cream that feels a little light, a lip gloss pot I’ve been working on for ages, and I finally hit pan on my Dallas bronzer! It feels so good to empty a product, and writing these roundup posts — as well as reading so many others — makes me want to keep doing it.

That’s July’s Empties Roundup! What did you finish up this month?

I bought these products myself.

Manicure Monday: Bridal Gradient

Welcome back to Manicure Monday! I’m excited about today’s look, because the first-ever Wacie Nail Company polish is part of it. I feel like I made this polish a lifetime ago! This is Bridal Bouquet over a gradient of China Glaze’s For Audrey and Orly’s Water Lily.

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Bridal Bouquet was the reason I started making polish. I’d had ideas for polishes and ordered customs from other indie makers, but this was an idea I wanted to do just for myself. I still remember how exciting it was to receive all the glitters and bottles and lacquer supplies in the mail; I still remember the satisfaction of shaking it together, brushing it onto a swatch wheel, and knowing I’d gotten it right. That was two years ago. It feels so good to come full circle.

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To keep the marriage motif, I went for a Tiffany-inspired gradient. For Audrey, everyone’s favorite Tiffany blue, had to be used. In testing, I tried Bridal Bouquet over many blues, but For Audrey was my favorite base for it. As an afterthought, I added Water Lily to create a little bit of dimension beneath the glitter. Though Water Lily is a deeper, brighter turquoise, the gradient is very subtle, barely even there. The glitter is such that the gradient is covered up and on display at the same time.

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The following photos were taken in direct sunlight. When the sunlight is harsh like this, the iridescent glitters get washed out. The gradient looks fantastic, though, and there is a bit of sparkle yet. I’m pretty happy with this look, overall. How long has it been since I last did a gradient? Much too long.

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Follow wacie.com for Bridal Bouquet release info, as well as other Wacie Nail Company polishes. China Glaze and Orly are available in stores nationwide.

I made this polish. Other polishes were purchased myself.