Category Archives: Swatch Sunday

Swatch Sunday: Prevail’s City of Dreams

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Happy Sunday, and welcome back! My Sunday polish this week is a souvenir from my last vacation. This is City of Dreams from Prevail; I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

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City of Dreams is a coral creme polish. Application was good, though the product consistency was a little thin. After two coats, some nails were still a little streaky and needed a third coat. The polish dries quickly, though, and with a smooth and glossy finish. I used top coat for extra protection.

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So while the polish itself isn’t special, the sentiment is. A couple years ago, I was in New York, and I was buying polish everywhere. I got a few bottles from the Macy’s on Herald Square and the Times Square Sephora; this particular bottle is from a Penn Station Duane Reade. I don’t know why I remember this, but I do. I ran in to get a new powder compact and just grabbed whatever interesting things I saw on my way to the register. This polish was one of them! I got some GOSH polishes at the same time. And I didn’t miss my train!

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I like this polish, and I liked the formula enough that I’d buy it again if it ever turned up in Florida. I admit that I don’t know much about this brand, and that’s kind of the whole reason I bought it, I just wanted things I wouldn’t normally find where I live. While I wouldn’t go out of my way to grab another bottle of Prevail, I’d totally get a few more if I had the opportunity. In the meantime, Sinful Colors is good enough for me.

Prevail, given that I’ve never seen it anywhere else, may be a Duane Reade exclusive brand. Check Duane Reades in New York to buy them.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Sunday: Pretty & Polished’s Pretty Chameleon

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It’s another Swatch Sunday! I get to show you a thermal this week and I’m super excited. Pretty Chameleon from Pretty & Polished has been on the blog before, but never on its own. I’m wearing three coats of Pretty Chameleon with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

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Pretty Chameleon is a pink thermal polish with fine pink and blue glitters. Application was good; the product formula was very easy to work with, and I achieved full opacity in two coats. The colors change with the temperature of the polish; the pink is deep when cold and pale when warm. The glitters, though sparse, get lost in the creme; most of it just looks like blue dots with very little sparkle. It dries quickly and with a satin finish; I used top coat for extra shine.

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Pretty Chameleon is one of the first indie polishes I ever bought — the eleventh, to be exact, and my second thermal — and it’s always been a polish I’ve loved. Thermals were new to me back then, and being pink made it all the better. I think the color difference was a big stronger when I first got it, but that tends to happen with thermals as they age. I’m surprised this one still changes at all, given it’s three years old. Also, because it’s hot in the house as well as outside, it was difficult to keep the cool effect long enough to get photos of it. As soon as I pulled it out of the ice water, it warmed right back up again.

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These photos were taken in direct sunlight outdoors. I used pool water to effect the temperature change. It heated back up almost immediately.

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Pretty Chameleon is out of stock; check Pretty & Polished’s website and etsy shop for other polishes.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Sunday: The Polish Bar’s Midnight Kiss

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Welcome back! This Swatch Sunday is all about my first-ever polish from The Polish Bar, Midnight Kiss! Midnight Kiss was an Addicted to Holos box exclusive, and it’s the whole reason I became acquainted with this brand. In these photos, I’m wearing three coats of Midnight Kiss with one coat of Seche Vite top coat. Photos were taken outdoors in mostly cloudy conditions.

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The photo on the left was taken outdoors, the photo on the right indoors.

Midnight Kiss is a deep blue holo with blue-to-purple shifting pigment. Application was good; while the product consistency is a good thickness, the first coat went on a bit thin. Opacity and evenness improved with additional coats. The holo effect is subtle in this polish, taking a backseat to the shift. The holo shows up best in the sunlight, and the shift is most intense indoors. The polish dried quickly and with a semi-glossy finish; I used top coat for extra shine and sparkle.

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As I mentioned, this is my introduction to The Polish Bar, and I’m super impressed with it. This polish is just so fun to wear. As with any shift, this one is perfect for circling my hands around to watch the colors change. The color is already deep and mysterious, and adding the holo effect just makes it even more stunning.

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The shift looks best indoors, so here are some photos taken under LED lights. This shift is GOOD.

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Midnight Kiss was a box-exclusive polish and is no longer made by The Polish Bar. Other Polish Bar polishes are available from their etsy shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Sunday: Polish Addict Nail Color’s Fireflies

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Welcome to this week’s Swatch Sunday! Today’s swatch is a fun one; I’m using an older polish from a new-to-me brand. This is Fireflies from Polish Addict Nail Color; I got it in a destash mystery box, and the only thing I could find out about it on Google was that it came out in 2013. I’m wearing three coats of Fireflies with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

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Fireflies is a pastel yellow crelly with pale yellow hexes, orange bars, pink and purple butterflies, and blue shred glitters. Application was okay; the pale yellow is very streaky on the first coat, almost nonexistent, and did leave some streaks by the third coat. Though the glitters are on the larger side, they were easy to retrieve from the bottle. I did have the glitters pile up in some places. The product consistency was good, though on the thinner side. The polish dries with a glossy finish. The larger glitters, especially those that piled up, did leave a bit of texture, even after top coat was applied.

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I’m not really familiar with PANC, even though I’ve seen them around the indie polish internet quite a lot. This is my very first one, and I’m not even its original owner. Despite that, it’s always fun to revisit older polishes and see how far the maker — and indie polish in general — has come. That said, I’m kind of torn on how I feel about this polish. The nostalgia factor is certainly fun, the concept and colors are fun, but I feel like the overall look is a little lacking. I would really love to see a reformulation of this polish in today’s indie style.

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In the sun, this polish looks about the same. There’s no shimmers or anything in this polish, there’s nothing really that comes to life in direct sunlight.

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Fireflies is probably discontinued by Polish Addict Nail Color; other PANC polishes are sold in their online shop.

I bought this polish myself via mystery box.

Swatch Sunday: Philly Loves Lacquer’s The Best Day of the Year

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Welcome back, reader! I’m excited to share today’s swatch; it’s my first-ever Philly Loves Lacquer! This polish is a box exclusive from a previous Beauty Quartet Box (now called the Magic 8 box), and you may have some trouble getting your hands on it. This is The Best Day of the Year; I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

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The Best Day of the Year is a magenta jelly with holographic pink and silver glitters in various shapes and sizes. There are large dots, some medium sized shapes like stars and diamonds, and then lots of fine hexes and shimmers. Application was very easy with this polish; it has a great consistency, and it’s not hard to get a good mix of glitters on each coat. The large dot glitters are common; I got at least one on each nail. Also, as this is a jelly polish, it will take all three coats to achieve this opacity. The polish dries quickly with a shiny and mostly smooth finish; I say mostly because the dots don’t always lie flat on the nail. I added top coat for extra shine and protection.

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My favorite thing about this polish is the jelly; it’s a rich, lovely shade. The jelly consistency, too, is just right; it’s perfectly squishy, building opacity but never disguising the glitters. The glitter mix is just the right combination for the jelly, too; everything shines beautifully together. This polish is very well done.

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Unfortunately, it rained on the day I took these photos, so there are no sunlight shots, which I really regret, but I know this polish would be a stunner in the sunshine.

The Best Day of the Year was a box exclusive from 2015 and is no longer available. Other Philly Loves Lacquer and the Magic 8 box are available from their website.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Sunday: Peita’s Polish’s Serenity

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Welcome back, reader! I meant to have this post up hours ago, but due to some unforseen events regarding my web host, it’s going up now. The polish I have for this Sunday’s swatch is a fun one: it’s from a new-to-me brand, it’s from Australia, and it’s a charity polish! Serenity from Peita’s Polish is a polish exclusive to the Lighthouse of Hope box that benefits I Need a Lighthouse, a depression and suicide prevention awareness network. I’m wearing three coats of Serenity with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

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Serenity is a sky blue crelly with turquoise holographic glitters in various sizes and a slight green shimmer. Application was very easy; the product consistency is very smooth, even with all the glitter in it. The glitter and polish spread evenly over the nail, leaving no streaks, spots, or excess polish in the cuticle. It dries quickly and with a semi-glossy finish. It also dries with a smooth texture, which surprised me a bit, since there’s a bit of glitter in it. I added top coat anyway for extra shine and smoothness.

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The Lighthouse of Hope product listing states Serenity was based on the cool sparkling waters of Australian beaches, as the ocean can be a relaxing, serene place for people. I think they did pretty well with that imagery. The crelly here is the polish, and not merely the vehicle for the glitter; it’s very sheer, and subdues the glitter from previous coats without completely covering it. The glitter twinkles in the same way the sun glints off the water. It’s very pretty.

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The following photos were taken in direct sunlight outdoors. The blue crelly seems cooler, and you can see the under-glitters better.

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So let’s talk about the Lighthouse of Hope box. Available from Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer, this box contains eight exclusive polishes from eight different indie makers. I’ve already swatched another polish from this collection, Grows Hope from Alter Ego. The box costs $80, but $60 of that goes to I Need a Lighthouse, a favorite charity of Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer. It’s easy to balk at the cost, but in this case, it’s actually a very worthy splurge. See the BEGL store listing for box details, the I Need a Lighthouse website for information about the organization, and the BEGL maker’s blog to learn why the box exists in the first place. The box is still available in limited quantities.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Sunday: P2’s Artful

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Happy Sunday! I’m happy to bring you today’s post, because I get to show you polish from Europe! I’ve worn P2’s Artful on the blog before, but that was ages ago, and you never got to see the polish on its own. Here’s Artful at three coats with one coat of Gelous gel coat.

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Artful is a teal creme polish. Application was easy; the polish is rich and very pigmented, giving me an almost-opaque first coat, and complete opacity in two. I remember this polish staining me the last time, so I made sure to use two coats of base coat (I use Orly Bonder) this time around. The product consistency is very good; it’s very easy to control the polish with the brush. It dries quickly and with a glossy finish; I used top coat for extra shine and protection.

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Apart from details about the polish itself, I can’t tell you much else about it. The polish was sent to me by someone in Germany, so I don’t know where to tell you to look for it — other than Germany, obviously — but I recommend it. I don’t know if it’s a 3-free formula, or if the EU even has such a thing, but that doesn’t bother me much. Both the color and the formula are so rich and vibrant that I really wish I could get them more easily. The shade itself isn’t hugely special, but I love using polish from another country, and maybe it’s a good thing it’s not so widely found in the US; I probably wouldn’t like it so much.

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Both indoors in the studio and outside in cloudy lighting, this polish looks a lot more turquoise than it does in real life. In real life, it’s darker and greener. Also, my cuticles got a bit stained anyway, despite my best efforts, but that tends to happen with blues and greens in general. Also, and this is likely why, I got stuck trying to clean my cuticles up with non-acetone polish remover, because it was the only thing I had in the house. It didn’t work well at all; the polish didn’t come off, it made my brush feel dry and brittle, and it has this weird cherry cough drop smell. If you see any spots that look bubbly or bumpy around the edges, that’s totally not the polish’s fault.

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Artful and other P2 polishes have to be available somewhere. If I knew, I’d tell you.

This polish was a gift. It was not sent for review or consideration.

Swatch Sunday: Orly’s Space Cadet

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Happy Sunday! It’s been a long day, and I’m excited to finally bring you today’s swatch! I’ve been dying to wear this polish, and I’m thrilled to be showing it to everyone. This is Orly’s Space Cadet; I’m wearing three coats of Space Cadet with one coat of Gelous top coat.

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Space Cadet is a purple, copper, gold, and olive multichrome polish. The polish is a deep indigo base; the mutlichrome effect comes from the larger pigment particles in the polish. If you look closely, you can see where they didn’t cover the nail all the way and the blue color of the base is more visible. Application was easy, and product consistency was good; the polish wasn’t too thick or thin, and the polish spreads well over the nail. I needed two coats for full opacity. The shifting effect is strong and occurs in any lighting condition. It dried quickly with a smooth and glossy finish. I added top coat for extra shine and protection.

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So I’m really, really impressed with this polish. I know it’s been out a while, I know how late I am to the party, but man this polish is awesome. It’s probably the strongest shifter from a mainstream polish I’ve used yet. You can see the pieces in the polish and how large they are; it’s basically a fine glitter in there, so those it’s not as smooth as a multichrome from I Love Nail Polish might be, this one performs about as well as those do. The color shift requires very little effort to see — all one has to do is move their hands a bit and their nails will look completely different. There’s such a wide variety of colors between the shift, too, that one rarely sees the same color twice. It’s absolutely stunning. I tried so hard to capture the shift, but I did not do it justice. The shift is pretty intense, and I guess the camera couldn’t handle it.

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This is my favorite. I got all the colors!

I got some sunlight photos. The colors are warmer in natural light, and you can see the tinted base out here. Again, the shift occurs pretty easily.

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Space Cadet and other Orly polishes are available where salon-quality polish is sold; I got mine from Sally Beauty Supply.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Sunday: OPI’s Y’all Come Back Ya Hear?!

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Welcome back! Swatch Sunday is a fun one this week, because I don’t think I’ve worn a jelly polish alone. This is OPI’s Y’all Come Back Ya Hear?; I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

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Y’all Come Back Ya Hear? is a tangerine jelly polish. Application was easy; though I admit I took extra care with this polish to avoid streaks and bald spots. The first coat, obviously, was thin, and though color strength built, it never turned fully opaque. The product consistency is good; it’s thicker than one might expect for a jelly. The polish dried quickly and with a glossy finish. I added top coat for extra shine.

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So I remember getting this and a few of the other jellies from the Texas collection and being really disappointed when they were so sheer. Even now that I know what jellies are and what they can be used for, I still feel a bit naked wearing something this sheer on its own. The coverage is actually better than I thought it would be, but it still feels like something is missing. I have that feeling like my nails aren’t polished, but they totally are. I was really afraid of messing up this polish, because jellies aren’t very forgiving if you smudge or dent them; I wouldn’t be able to just add an extra coat and hide it. My favorite thing about this polish is the shine, because it’s wicked smooth and shiny on its own, so shiny it probably doesn’t even need a top coat. I guess maybe trading some opacity for a ton of shine isn’t such a bad deal.

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Y’all Come Back Ya Hear? has been discontinued by OPI. Other OPI polishes are sold in stores nationwide; I got this one from Ulta back in the day.

I bought this polish myself.

 

Swatch Sunday: Octopus Party Nail Lacquer’s Universal Loner

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Happy Sunday! It’s Valentine’s Day, so it’s a great day to wear red! This beauty is Octopus Party Nail Lacquer‘s Universal Loner. The name is kind of appropriate, too, isn’t it? I can’t tell. I’m wearing three coats of Universal Loner with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

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Universal Loner is a true red creme polish; it’s meant to be equally balanced between warm and cool. Like a lot of red cremes, the tone changes in lighting; my outdoor photos leaned more warm, and my indoor photos were cooler. The product consistency is very nice; the polish is a bit sheer on the first coat, but works up to full opacity on the second. It dries quickly and with a glossy finish; I used top coat for extra shine and protection.

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This polish was one of the four indie creme offerings in the inaugural Creme a la Mode box. I love this box because some awesome makers — some of my favorites, even — realized that cremes are an overlooked but necessary part of a great indie manicure. Cremes are common in any polish addict’s kit, but it weirds me out sometimes when I’m still using polishes that might not be five-free or cruelty free or what have you. I know these brands and I know their reputations for quality products, and it puts my mind at ease knowing there’s nothing in this polish that’s going to harm me or be ethically questionable. I have a dozen red cremes, but I trust this one.

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Here’s the outdoor shots, where it looks way more tomato than cherry. I still love it. The shine kills me. It’s my favorite thing.

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And because it’s Valentine’s Day, I used it as a base for a quick-and-dirty Valentine’s mani. The glitter here is Lynnderella‘s Love the Nail Mail. Nail polish is totally my valentine this year.

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Universal Loner is out of stock; other Octopus Party Nail Lacquers are available in their etsy shop.

I bought this polish myself.