Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Monster’s Tea at Tiffany’s

Posted on August 9, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

I love today’s swatch! This is Monster’s Tea at Tiffany’s from Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer; it’s a Tiffany blue polish with green-to-red shifting shimmer. I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite.

Monster’s Tea at Tiffany’s is a really easy polish to work with. The consistency is just right, and it dries quickly to a semi-matte finish. Full opacity is acheived after two coats. All you need here is a top coat to bring out the shimmer.

What sets this polish apart from any other old Tiffany blue is the shifting shimmer. At most angles, generally when the light is behind you, you’ll see green. You’ll see the red when the light is in front of you. Mind you, I’m using studio lights to capture the green shimmer, and regular CFL lighting in my office to get the red. I could not manage to get the shift in the studio at all.

Because the light is everywhere outdoors, the shimmer doesn’t lean one way or the other, at least not in photos. The green is easy to see, but the shift, while it does appear to occur, is not very strong. The color itself, though, stands out beautifully. It is absolutely gorgeous out there.

I love this polish. I love walking from room to room and seeing my nails change.

Monster’s Tea at Tiffany’s is, as of my writing this, currently available from the BEGL shop, but stock is very low. Do yourself a favor and pick up this polish. It’s such a fun twist on a classic color, and you really need to see it to believe it.

Swatch Sunday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Is That a Technical Term, Jiggery Pokery?

Posted on August 3, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

So my swatch this week is something I’ve been dying to wear since I got it. It goes by the name Is that a Technical Term, Jiggery Pokery? (and will henceforth be referred to Pokery); it’s described by Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquers as “hot pink jelly base with silver, pink, and hot pink holo glitters”. What’s not to love? Then this happened:

Nail vs. Dryer door handle.

So, on my freshly-clipped nubbins, I give you Pokery in what’s left of its hot pink majesty. I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite.

Pokery is probably my favorite BEGL offering thus far. Look at the plethora of glitters in here; there are so many I can’t really even identify them all. I just know there are tons of butterflies, tons of stars, tons of shining silver hexes. It’s magical. Even though the colors don’t vary much, there’s still a lot of glitter diversity with all the different finishes. No nail looks exactly the same, because no two nails have the same glitters on them. I love that.

In the sun, you can see the glitter variety better. The pink jelly stands out less, and the glitter shapes more.

For now, Pokery isn’t available from the BEGL store, but I heard a rumor it’s coming back with a new Doctor Who collection in September. Definitely stay on the lookout for it, you need this.

I hate how short my nails are now. I still can’t believe it just ripped off at the base like that. This is what my nails looked like when I was a biter, and it’s not a look I care much for. They were the perfect length a day ago, and now they’re this. Regardless of my nail length, I’m super excited to be wearing this polish. Nails will grow back, after all.

Swatch Saturday: American Apparel’s Andromeda

Posted on July 26, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

It’s Swatch Saturday, and I’m wearing the last American Apparel polish I bought on vacation. It’s the only one of them that isn’t a neon. This is Andromeda, and I’m wearing three coats of it with one coat of Seche Vite.

Andromeda is a pretty unique polish; it’s a thin lavender jelly laden with metallic turquoise and iridescent purple glitter shreds. It’s like a purple counterpart to Sinful Colors’s Green Ocean. I decided to wear this polish alone because I wanted to see how opaque the jelly base would get. It’s still quite sheer, and my nail line is still visible, but the glitter covers the nail well.

Unfortunately, application with Andromeda is not easy. The lacquer consistency is very thick and takes quite a while to dry, even with quick-dry top coat. The glitters tend to stick together and clump on the nail, leaving thick bulges in the polish. Also, it doesn’t always sit flat on the nail, so even with top coat, there’s still glitter that sticks up and keeps the polish from being smooth to the touch. It’s beautiful, so I think it’s worth putting up with.

Outdoors, sunset

There you have it: I’m done with American Apparel polishes for a while, and I’m going to start up my weekly Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer swatches. I’ve missed them.

Swatch Saturday: American Apparel’s Neon Violet

Posted on July 19, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

It’s Swatch Saturday, and I’m wearing the last of my American Apparel Neons. Of course, this one is the weirdest I’ve worn yet. Neon Violet is a gorgeous color, but changes dramatically in every lighting condition. In the studio and outdoors, it’s a cool magenta, but in others it’s a very dark purple. I’m wearing three coats of it with one coat of Seche Vite.

Since this is such a dark color, the application was easy with this one. The first coat went on opaque, which didn’t happen with the rest of the neons. It’s so dark and opaque that my white under-coat was completely unnecessary. As with the other neons, Neon Violet dries matte.

Outdoors, it’s even brighter than in the studio. It’s weird, isn’t it? The photos after the outdoor shots were taken in my kitchen, and the color shown here is much more representative of what it really looks like. This color is the one I’m more likely to see, because I’m rarely in harsh light like in the studio. This color change is odd, and while I usually notice a change, it’s never this drastic.

Outdoors, overcast

Indoors, incandescent light

Next week is the last of my American Apparel haul, so stay tuned if you feel like it.

Swatch Saturday: American Apparel’s Neon Green

Posted on July 12, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

Swatch Saturday is a little late today due to World Cup and oversleeping. I’m almost done swatching all of the American Apparel polishes I bought while I was on vacation, and this is my penultimate neon polish. This is Neon Green at three coats; two nails have two coats of white polish under them. All of them are topped with one coat of Seche Vite. Note: I put this on in a hurry, and so it’s not my best work. There are some dings in the polish; those are entirely my fault.

Neon Green is awesome. Seriously. It is crazy bright, probably visible from space. Compared to the other neon polishes, this one was a little thinner than the others, but it’s not too bad at the third coat. It looks really nice at three coats, and the color really pops. Neons are the best!

I put white polish on my ring and pinky nails, as I have with every other neon review so far. I’m not sure how obvious the difference is with this one. The ones with white undies aren’t all that much brighter than the ones without. It’s almost not even worth doing.

I took a couple photos outside, even though it’s gray and stormy outside. The color looks amazing outside, but in the photos it’s not much of a change.

I’ve been looking forward to next week’s swatch for a long time now. I can’t wait to show it to you guys.

Swatch Saturday: American Apparel’s Neon Yellow

Posted on July 5, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

I’m taking a brief break from the Summer of Untrieds Challenge to bring you the regularly scheduled Swatch Saturday. I’m still working through my American Apparel neons haul, and I’m still having a ton of fun with them; I like each one better than the last. This week, I’m wearing three coats of Neon Yellow. My pinky and ring nails have white polish beneath the neon. All nails are topped with one coat of Seche Vite. Photos were taken indoors and outdoors.

So this polish is a little different from the others I’ve worn so far. This one has the most discernable difference between the nails with the white undies and the ones that don’t. This difference is especially visible in my outdoor shots; on the index and middle nails, it’s duller, more greenish, and more transparent than the other two. It’s like lemon and lime. While the white undies makes a difference, though, I’m not sure which I like better. The white foundation gives the color some solidity, but I like the color of the foundation-less nails.

This is the best neon yellow I’ve used so far. All the ones I’ve tried before have been really thin and streaky and basically require three coats over white polish. This one has a great formula and covers well, even though I think it’s a little thinner than the other neons from this line. Despite that, you still get a great look. If you buy any neon yellow polish this summer, make it this one. Seriously, I can’t stop staring at these. They’re so loud!

This photo is the one that, I think, shows the best difference between the white undies and no undies.

I really love these neons a lot. I’m a little sad I only have two more to go.

Swatch Saturday: American Apparel’s Neon Coral

Posted on June 28, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

Swatch Saturday is right on time this week! We’re on the second bottle of my most recent American Apparel haul. This is called Neon Coral, though I think it’s really more of an orange. It’s the perfect polish to wear today, too; it’s 97 degrees outside and this polish looks the way the weather feels. I’m wearing three coats of Neon Coral with one coat of Seche Vite. As with last week, the pinky and ring finger nails have two coats of white polish under the color.

I am really into these neons! I am so glad I bought all the ones I didn’t have. The formula is a bit thin, but is still easy to work with and covers well. The color payoff is huge, even without the use of white polish. It’s so bright, my fingers look instantly tanner. It’s delicious. These neons absolutely cannot be beat.

I find it interesting that the use of white polish makes such a small, almost undetectable, difference. I’ll continue to do this with the rest of the neon polishes, just to see if it really is unnecessary. It seems like this was always the disadvantage to neon polishes; the colors are beautiful, but they don’t cover and require white polish. If all six of these manage to break that trend, I will be incredibly pleased.

Swatch Saturday: American Apparel’s Neon Red

Posted on June 21, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

This week, I’m taking a break from swatching my Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer collection to try a few I bought while I was on vacation. I had a habit of shopping at places just because I could; my city doesn’t have American Apparel stores, so when I saw one in Philadelphia, I had to stop in. The first time I’d ever been to one was on my birthday trip to Atlanta last year, and I bought six polishes, one of which was a gorgeous neon pink. I was so impressed with it that I swore to myself, if I ever see another American Apparel store, I’m going to grab all the rest of their neon polishes. Well, here we are. Today I’m trying Neon Red. I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite.

Neon Red isn’t really that red; it’s more of a bold coral. It’s a beautiful color, certainly. As I did when I reviewed Neon Pink, I put down a coat of white polish, to see how much of a difference it makes. If you look closely at the middle and ring finger nails, you’ll see there’s a very slight difference in color. On my ring and pinky finger nails, I’ve got the undies coat. On the first coat, there was quite a visible difference, but as I added the next coats, the coverage built up and narrowed the gap. I wouldn’t say the white foundation wasn’t a total waste; in some lighting conditions, I can still my nail line on the no-undies nails. The white gives it a little more solidity, even if the polish doesn’t really need the pop.

I’m so happy I grabbed these. For neons, they’re pretty high-quality; you get great coverage and huge color payoff without a lot of white polish. I can’t wait to show you the rest!

Swatch Saturday: Blue Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Don’t Worry, I Don’t Bite

Posted on June 14, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

This Saturday, I’m wearing Don’t Worry, I Don’t Bite from Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer. This is another beauty from the Once More With Feeling collection that was released last August. It’s a gray linear holo, shown here at three coats with one coat of Seche Vite. Photos were taken indoors and outdoors.

Don’t Worry, I Don’t Bite is a gorgeous polish. It applies very easily, dries quickly, and the holo effect is vibrant and powerful, even in indoor lighting. The only thing I regret is that it’s mostly cloudy outside and my outdoor shots are not fantastic. I assure you, this is absolutely stunning in the sunlight, but right now it’s not very sunny at all. It’s disappointing.

Sorry this post is kind of short. I feel like this polish speaks for itself. Also I have soccer to watch.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Birthday Wishes

Posted on June 7, 2014 by Stacie Wacie

Swatch Saturday is back! This weekend I’m wearing Birthday Wishes from Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer, a royal blue with pink shimmer. As usual, I’m wearing three coats with top coat. Photos were taken in both indoors and outdoors. I’ve wanted to try this one for a long while now, so let’s take a look.

I love how this turned out. In the bottle, especially in my office where the lighting is lower, the blue polish with the pink shimmer makes it look purple. I don’t get that effect on my nails in the studio, but I definitely do in other lighting conditions. In the studio, the shimmer isn’t as potent, but outside it’s vibrant and strong. It’s a really cool effect; my nails look different everywhere I go.

The formula was a little worrisome at first; the first coat was barely-there thin, and I wasn’t totally sure I was going to get even coverage. It looks fantastic in three coats, though. It’s even and opaque. I love wearing this.

On a side note, I bought a ton of polish while I was on vacation. I had to visit drugstores a lot during the trip, and grabbed one or two whenever I stopped in, especially if I saw some things I’d never seen anywhere else. I got a few new brands, shopped at stores for the sake of shopping there, and did some indie shopping while I was bored in train stations. I think I ended up with about 60 bottles by the time I got home. As a result, I may be taking a quick break from my BEGL swatch streak, just to fill in the gaps in the Polish List. I’ve got a couple more BEGLs in the pipeline, but I’ve also got these American Apparel neons I can’t wait to try. See you next week!

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