Category Archives: Swatch Sunday

Swatch Sunday: Finger Paints’s Sugar Cookie for Two

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Swatch Sunday is fun today, because I’m using a brand I’ve never worn before. I’ve gotten a few Finger Paints polishes here and there at Sally Beauty sales, but this is my first time working with one. I’m wearing one coat of Finger Paints’s Sugar Cookie for two over China Glaze’s Pelican Gray and OPI’s I just Can’t Cope-acabana, as well as one coat of Alter Ego‘s She Shines top coat.

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Sugar Cookie for Two is a clear glitter topper with metallic bar glitters in gold, silver, and black. Application wasn’t as easy as I’d have liked it to be. I don’t know if the brush was just thin or the glitters just slip off the brush back into the bottle, but I had a hard time getting the glitter onto my nail. It didn’t spread well at all. I had to dip back into the bottle two or three times just to cover one nail. As a result, the glitter is really sparse in some places and clumpy in others. Overall, I got pretty good coverage with it, but I would have liked it to be more even. On the plus side, drying times were good, and the glitters feel smooth to the touch when dry. Also, the glitters are short bars, so they’re easy to work with. The longer ones want to hang off my nail like eyelashes, and I didn’t have that problem with these.

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I really like this look, all complaints aside. The glitters are super shiny and reflect tons of light and color. The combo is a little jarring, maybe, but I think it makes my nails look like luxurious little cupcakes. I’m a little curious to know what it would look like as a full-coverage glitter; I’ve worked with all-bar glitter polishes before, like the Nails Inc. Feather ones, and three coats covers up pretty much everything. This might look really nice at three full coats, though I do wonder with how this one applies whether it could achieve full coverage at all.

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Since I found Sugar Cookie for Two in a sale bin, it’s possible that it has been discontinued. Other Finger Paints polishes are sold at Sally Beauty Supply.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Sunday: Fantasy Makers’s Night Glow

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I know I said all the unseasonal polishes were over with, but I lied. Swatch Sunday’s subject is a Halloween-themed glow in the dark polish, complete with gravestone-shaped bottle. I’m wearing three coats of Fantasy Makers’s Night Glow with one coat of Alter Ego‘s She Shines top coat.

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Night Glow is a pretty typical glow in the dark polish. It’s very sheer; even at three coats, I can still see my whole nail bed. I’m not sure full opacity could be achieved. The polish did dry quickly and with a gloss. The formula isn’t bad, but I won’t say much about it; my bottle is pretty old — at least five years, if not closer to ten — and it was quite thick when I opened it, so I did have to thin it out. This is probably irrelevant. What really matters is that it glows in the dark. I got one good photo of the effect in action; it glows a vibrant green.

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I love glow in the dark polish. It is so fun and so satisfying to wiggle my fingers around in the dark when I go to bed. My boyfriend think it’s annoying but I love it. It feels a little weird, though, to wear such a sheer color without any glitter or other adornments. I’m wearing practically nothing at all. It’s like wearing a revealing dress, I suppose; when I first put it on, I’m a little insecure, but the longer I wear it, the more it grows on me, and at the end of the night I feel sexy and empowered. The analogy is a bit of a stretch, but I think you get it.

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Final word: the polish isn’t anything special. It’s probably the most available and affordable glow polish out there; I see it everywhere around Halloween. However, the quality is comparable to the glow polishes I’ve tried from China Glaze and American Apparel, so it’s whatever. If you need a glow in the dark polish, this would be a good one, but this particular one isn’t at all a must-have.

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Fantasy Makers is usually available in drugstores during Halloween. I got mine at a costume shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Sunday: Estée Lauder’s Black Plum

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Swatch Sunday!! Today’s swatch is luxurious and glamorous. I feel like such a Fancy Nancy with this on. I’m wearing Estée Lauder’s Black Plum; this is three coats with one coat of Alter Ego‘s She Shines top coat.

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Black Plum is a deep blackened plum (surprise) with a subtle lilac shimmer. The shimmer didn’t translate well to the nail, but it looks gorgeous in the bottle. You can see it somewhat in the sunlight (photos below), but in the studio it’s basically invisible. However, this formula was a joy to work with. I had perfect opacity in two coats, and the consistency was on the thin side, but not to thin as to be watery. My favorite thing about this formula, though, is the high gloss it dries with. This is some wicked shiny nail polish. In fact, I think I dulled it when I put on my top coat. It looks like plastic leather sexiness when it dries. It’s absolutely gorgeous.

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This is my first Estée Lauder polish; in fact, I don’t have much experience with the brand at all, apart from some lipsticks and skincare minis from gifts with purchases. This polish was also in a gift with purchase, probably the only thing from it I’ve actually used. I’m really impressed with it. I’m disappointed the shimmer doesn’t capture well, but I love it anyway, so much so that there’s definitely a trip to the Estée Lauder counter in my future.

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Here are those sunlight photos. You can see the tiny lilac shimmer if you look really hard. Otherwise, it just presents as a rich plum creme. I’m totally fine with this.

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You can get this polish wherever Estée Lauder is sold. I get mine from Belk.

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

Swatch Sunday: Emerald & Ash’s California Stop

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Swatch Sunday comes to you in a more timely manner today. I’m excited to show you California Stop from Emerald & Ash. It’s from their textured Road Trip collection. I’m wearing three coats without top coat.

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California Stop is a brick red jelly with shimmer and reflective silica beads; the silica beads are what gives this polish its texture. The texture is fine and still pretty smooth to the touch. I thought the drying times were good; my nails were bathroom dry in about fifteen minutes. Applying it was tricky; with all the beads and reflective goodness in it, the brush widened quite a bit, and was wider than my smaller nails. This made application on my thumb really nice, but made a mess on my pinky. I don’t blame this on the polish, just on my small hands. I got perfect opacity in three coats, though those who use lighter coats may need more.

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Inspired by the ever-present red stop sign, this color is the exact shade of sun-aged red found in signs all over my neighborhood. To me, it evokes childhood memories of being in the car with my mother, driving around in my grandparents’ suburb, seeing the faded signs, the palm trees in every yard, and the sun in my eyes. Now that I think about it, that car was the same color as those signs.

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The polishes in the Road Trip collection were the first textured indie polishes I’d ever seen, and I just thought they were really cool. They aren’t as coarse as mass-market textures, and they are beautiful in their shimmery monochrome simplicity. Also, at the time, I was getting ready to embark on a two week long road trip with a friend, so I was all about road tripping. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get any of the polishes until recently, and by then, three of the seven were out of stock. It’s a shame, because there really isn’t anything else like them in my collection.

The reflective effect works best in dimmer, direct light, so in bright midday sunshine, it’s not as obvious. Out here, you get the shimmer and color of the polish, but not the reflective effect.

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California Stop, as well as three of the other Road Trip collection polishes, are still in stock on the Emerald & Ash website. They are clearance priced, so it’s likely quantities are limited.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Sunday: Essie’s Marathin

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Swatch Sunday’s polish this week is Essie’s Marathin. I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Alter Ego’s She Shines top coat.

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Marathin is a dusty mauve creme polish. Applying it was easy; the formula is pretty even, so the first coat was almost opaque; a little streaky, but filled out with another coat. I had full opacity in two coats. It dried well; I didn’t notice any long drying times, and it was still pretty glossy and smooth before top coat. It’s a good quality polish.

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Marathin was my first Essie polish that wasn’t from the LuxEffects line. You can be sure I bought all of those first. I just happened to spot Marathin in a sale in at Walgreens, and even though it’s not my style, I bought it anyway. I don’t have a lot of enthusiasm for this one, you can probably tell. This color just reminds me of that dreadful time when the only nail polish colors I had access to were my mother’s, and the only colors she had were variants of dusty mauve. It’s not a bad color, I’m just still burnt out on it after all these years.

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I don’t see Marathin on the Essie website, so it might be discontinued. I get my Essie polishes from Walgreens.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Sunday: Enchanted Polish’s March 2014

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What’s this? Two holos in a row? Yes! This is another swatch I am totally thrilled to bring you, because it’s a polish I thought I would never own. This is March 2014 from Enchanted Polish; I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Alter Ego‘s She Shines top coat. All photos are taken outdoors in partly cloudy/overcast lighting.

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March 2014 is a spring green linear holo with baby blue shimmers. I loved putting this on; the holo effect is very powerful right from the first coat. I reached perfect opacity in two coats. The formula was a little thin for me, but it went on evenly. Drying time was good. I’m really impressed by the holo effect in this polish; the rainbow really pops out in nearly every kind of lighting. Only when a room is really dim does it fail to show up.

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I mentioned that I never thought I’d have my own bottle of March 2014. I hadn’t heard of Enchanted Polish until about March 2014, when I started seeing this exact color all over the nail blogosphere. It was beautiful, and when I found out it wasn’t for sale for very long, I just admired it from afar. I forget when exactly it was, probably the summer or early autumn, I happened to see it for sale in another blogger’s destash sale. I bought it for 24 dollars. At that time, it was the most money I’d ever spent on a bottle of nail polish. I felt guilty for days after.

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I had really hoped for more sunshine, because I wanted to see just how big and crazy these linear rainbows get. I feel like this is a really good show for just overcast skies. I bet this is crazy stunning on a clear day.

Like I said, March 2014 is only available if you’re lucky enough to find someone selling their bottle. Subscribe to the Enchanted Polish newsletter to find out when the next restock is, so you don’t miss this year’s March polish.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Sunday: Ellagee’s Chronic Badass

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For this Swatch Sunday, I’m wearing my first-ever polish from Ellagee! This is Chronic Badass; I have on one brushed coat over China Glaze’s Pelican Gray, Essie’s Pilates Hottie, and LA Colors’s Daisy, topped with Digital Nails‘s Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That top coat.

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Chronic Badass is a clear glitter topper with black matte and holo glitters, metallic pink dots, black holo stars, and purple and holo silver butterflies. It was really easy to put on; the glitters brushed right on, and I didn’t have to fish for the stars or butterflies. All the glitters lay flat on the nail — even the butterflies — and are perfectly smooth with one coat of top coat. Drying times were good; I had no issues with prolonged tackiness. It has a really great formula.

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Chronic Badass was part of a fibromyalgia-themed duo collaboration with Digital Nails. Both polishes were made with purple, the color for fibromyalgia awareness. Chronic Badass also makes use of the butterfly, a symbol embraced by fibro patients. Both polish makers have fibromyalgia and made this cool little polish box to raise awareness of this and other invisible illnesses. I admit I didn’t know a whole lot about it until this box went for sale last spring. It was an awesome thing for them to do; it makes me so happy to see polish makers use their time and materials (and glitter) to educate people and make the world just a little better.

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I have some sunlight photos! The holo glitters love the sunshine, and shine a lot brighter than they do indoors. I really love this look; it’s so colorful and cheerful.

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Originally, both polish makers had this duo box in their shops; Digital Nails no longer carries it, but it looks like Ellagee still has it in stock.

I bought these polishes myself.

Swatch Sunday: Elevation Polish’s Pitaraq

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Hello, reader! For Swatch Sunday this week, we’re going to look at Pitaraq by Elevation Polish. I’m wearing one coat of Pitaraq over two coats each of Maybelline’s Poolside, OPI’s OPI… Eurso Euro, and Marc Jacobs’s Midnight in Paris with one coat of Digital Nails’s Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That top coat.

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Pitaraq is described by Elevation Polish as a shimmer topper; it consists of a clear base packed with blue, silver, and white flakies and blue shimmers. This topper is very easy to apply; one brushed coat is enough to cover the nail in wintry shimmer. The consistency is perfect; it’s not thick or goopy like toppers sometimes are. Drying times were good; I didn’t notice any excessive or prolonged periods of wetness or stickiness. It’s really easy to put on and use.

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Inspired by the icy winds of Greenland, Pitaraq evokes, to me, the fierceness and cruelty of nature, as well as inclement weather and extreme conditions. It’s like an ice storm in a bottle. The cremes I used for undies were completely transformed; they are now shimmery, metallic, artcic versions of themselves. This is such a fun topper; even though it looks tame and demure in the bottle, but it really packs a punch.

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Because spring is coming, we’re getting more sunshine, and so I’m able to start taking outdoor photos again. Look at this in the sunshine! It’s crazy. Every flakie reflects light and makes it super shiny. It’s absolutely mesmerizing.

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As of this publication, Pitaraq is for sale at the Elevation Polish shop, though it has been discontinued. Act soon if it’s something you’re after.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Sunday: e.l.f.’s Nude

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For this Swatch Sunday, I’m wearing nubs! I broke a nail brushing my hair. I’m also wearing e.l.f.’s Nude at three coats with one coat of Digital Nails’s Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That top coat. Mostly though I’m wearing nubs.

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Nude is pretty much what it sounds like. It’s a nude creme. The lighting in my house is inconsistent, so I find the color changes based on lighting; in some rooms it’s more of a dusty mauve than a nude, and in others it’s a cool caramel. It’s very well-pigmented; I had perfect opacity in one coat, believe it or not. Drying times were very fast, and Nude dries with a satin finish. Top coat gives it a very dramatic shine.

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I’ve heard some pretty bad things about e.l.f.’s polishes, so I’m really surprised by the quality of Nude. I can’t believe that I’d gotten such good coverage in one coat. I can’t believe I didn’t get any streaks or bald spots. I had a fantastic time applying this polish. The formula was a good consistency, and the brush was just the right size for my little nails. I’m really happy with how this swatch went.

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Nude came in a Disney Villains-themed set with eleven other polishes. Specifically, this one is part of Cruella de Vil’s mini-set. I’m sensing a pattern. This set was available at Walgreens a couple years ago, but it looks like, as of this publication, there are a few available from independent sellers. Like the Disney Villains Varnish set I talked about last week, it’s probably not worth hunting down unless you really need the Villains packaging. The polishes are nice, but they aren’t that nice.

Swatch Sunday: Disney Villains Varnish in Cruella de Vil

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For Swatch Sunday this week, I got to do something I rarely get to do: wear a red creme polish. I know I’ve talked lot about how red cremes are my favorite, but I don’t wear them often. I’m glad one turned up in the queue. This is Cruella de Vil from the Disney Villains Varnish set. I’m wearing three coats plus one coat of Ciate’s Speed Coat Pro.

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Cruella de Vil is a pretty run-of-the-mill red creme. What you see is what you get with it. The consistency was just right; it was wet enough that it was easy to apply, but not enough to flood into cuticles. It dries quickly to a glossy finish; I added top coat to make it super-glassy and to protect the color. The one thing that sucks about this polish, though, is how smudgy it gets. You’ll notice the stained cuticles; it also stained my cleanup brush. It also would have turned my top coat red if I didn’t wipe the brush off between applications. My cuticles actually look worse in photos than they do in real life, but it’s still frustrating to look at. I spent ages trying to get all the red off and it just wouldn’t come off. That’s a pretty big issue for me, but other than that, this is a lovely red creme.

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Cruella de Vil is no stranger to the blog; it was part of the first-ever mani I posted, and has been featured in a few others since. I love the polish, but to tell the truth, it’s not really any different from any other red creme. There are probably others that aren’t as smudgy, but considering price (this came in a set that was pretty pricy, if I recall correctly), quality, and availability, this one isn’t worth seeking out unless you really love the Disney Villains motif.

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The Disney Villains Varnish set has been discontinued, unfortunately, so this polish and its sisters are no longer for sale. I bet you can find them if you look hard enough, though.

This polish was a gift, but was not sent for review or critique.