Category Archives: Swatch Sunday

Swatch Sunday: Marc Jacobs Enamored in Lux

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Hey reader! Welcome to Swatch Sunday! I might have been looking forward to this swatch since I bought this polish, but it’s been a long time coming; I’ve had this polish sitting on my desk since before my camera broke, and for months I was looking at it and dying to wear it. This is Marc Jacobs’s Enamored in Lux; I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite.

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Lux is a yellow chartreuse creme polish. In some lighting conditions it looks more green than yellow. Application was okay; the polish went on thinly; there was barely any color on the first, okay coverage but some streaky spots left on the second, but by the third, everything had come together for full opacity. I’m actually unsure whether I should be blaming the formula or the brush, because I wasn’t completely fond of the brush, either. It felt short, like there wasn’t enough brush to carry the lacquer. It did, however, dry quickly and with a very glossy finish. Top coat wasn’t necessary at all for shine, but I still used it for extra protection.

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Despite the application woes, I really like the polish. It seems like I should have a hundred dupes for it already, but I don’t think I do. It’s not the run-of-the-mill yellowish-green we all have in our stash; it’s too yellow to be a true green and too green to be a true yellow. It’s a perfect blend of both colors. That said, there probably is a cheaper alternative if paying $18 for a bottle of polish isn’t your thing. For this polish, I don’t feel like the quality is completely worth the $18, but I still feel like a Fancy Nancy with it on.

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Lux and other Marc Jacobs Enamored polishes are sold at Sephora.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Sunday: MAC’s Neptune

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Happy Sunday! I’m excited to show you today’s polish; it’s a souvenir from one of the coolest vacations I’ve ever taken. This is MAC’s Neptune, and it was purchased from the Macy’s flagship store in New York City. I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

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Neptune is a metallic burnished gold polish. Application was easy; coverage was buildable, and it took me all of three coats to achieve this level of opacity. The consistency was thin but smooth and cooperative. It dries quickly and to a semi-glossy finish. There’s a slight duochrome effect to this polish; it leans slightly green when in certain lighting conditions. I used top coat for shine and to accentuate the shimmery finish.

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I mentioned before that this polish is a souvenir, and it is. Last year, I had the opportunity to tag along on a road trip from Jacksonville, FL to Niagara Falls. We passed through New York City, and being sentimental and a shopaholic, I stopped in every flagship store and bought at least one thing, just so I could say “Yeah, I got this from the Herald Square Macy’s”. I almost wonder if that wasn’t the whole reason I wanted to go to New York.

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I really like this polish. Apart from its being a vacation buy, it was one of my first MAC polishes, and probably also one of my first makeup-brand polishes. I tend not to buy those since they’re so easily dupeable, but this had been a special occasion, and sometimes it feels good to overpay for something. It feels like a luxury.

Neptune was part of MAC’s long-gone Aquatic Allure collection and is discontinued. Other MAC polishes are sold at counters and stores nationwide.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Sunday: Lynnderella’s Chef Kitty

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Did I mention how happy I am to be swatching again? I have missed it so much. I know I’m out of practice, so please bear with me while I get back into the swing of it. This Sunday, I’m wearing my first Lynnderella polish, Chef Kitty; I’m wearing one coat over Mac’s Queen’s Honor (red), Essie’s Roarrrrrange (orange), OPI’s I Just Can’t Cope-acabana (yellow), Revlon’s Posh (green), and Nails Inc.’s Baker Street (blue) with one coat of Seche Vite.

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Chef Kitty is a shimmery glitter topper with mostly white glitters in various shapes and sizes, as well as accent glitters in various colors and finishes. The maker describes it as an “’everything but the kitchen sink’ approach to cuisine”, and I have to agree with that; the variety of glitters in this polish is staggering. Considering the amount of glitter in this bottle, it spread very well over the nail; I had no trouble getting even coverage at all. It dried pretty well, all things considered. I used to top coat to smooth everything down and really bring out the shimmer in the lacquer base.

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I know Lynnderella is old news for most people, but I had to see what the fuss was about and, last March, purchased Chef Kitty. I loved the mental image; I pictured my own fat fluff wearing a chef’s hat and knocking every herb and spice I own into a bowl. I was amazed by this polish and its quality, so impressed that I bought 24 more since then. They’re just so gorgeous! Lynnderella’s been in the indie polish game a long time, but everything they make is still creative and gorgeous.

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Chef Kitty is available from Lynnderella’s Storenvy; other Lynns can be purchased via eBay auction.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Sunday: Love, Angeline’s Emeralds Are a Girl’s Best Friend

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Welcome to this week’s Swatch Sunday! I’m excited to show you a polish from a new-to-me brand called Love, Angeline. This polish, Emeralds Are a Girl’s Best Friend, was a Beauty Quartet Box exclusive, so it’s also not a common one. I’m wearing three coats of Emeralds Are a Girl’s Best Friend with one coat of Seche Vite top coat. All photos were taken outdoors in direct sunlight.

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Emeralds Are a Girl’s Best Friend is a deep emerald green holo with fine emerald glitter throughout. The holo effect is pretty subtle; indoors, it’s basically invisible, but outdoors it’s much more potent. The glitters are visible in any light and give the polish a jewel-like finish. Application was easy; the product consistency was on the thicker side, but I had no problems with it. It dried quickly and with a somewhat glossy but smooth finish. I added top coat to really bring out the glitter shine.

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This is a really lovely polish. The jeweltone effect is really cool. The holo isn’t the focus of this polish, and I think that’s really interesting; there’s just enough of it to be pretty, but the glitter is the real star of the show. It makes the polish.

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Emeralds Are a Girl’s Best Friend was a box exclusive polish and is no longer sold new. Other Love, Angeline polishes are available in their shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Sunday: L’Oreal’s Target Red

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We’re seeing red this Swatch Sunday! L’Oreal’s Target Red is one of my favorite and most well-loved red cremes. I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite.

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Target Red is a red creme. Application was easy; because this is an old bottle, it was actually pretty dried out and I was able to create my perfect consistency with thinner. I used three coats, but I had really nice opacity after two. Drying times were good, and it dried with a very glossy finish. I added top coat for even more shine and protection. I had no issues with this polish, but during cleanup I did notice it gets really smudgy with acetone. Seriously, I looked like a murderer.

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Target Red was a Target-exclusive shade way back in 2010. There was a liquid lipstick, a traditional cream lipstick, and this nail color. This really is an old polish, and it’s been used a lot; there was a time when I used this polish — together with the liquid lipstick and a pair of matching red glasses — almost exclusively. As a result, and you can’t really tell this from the photos, it’s only about a quarter full. It’s been good to me. I ran out of the lipstick years ago, but I’m glad there’s still some of the polish left.

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Target Red appears to have been discontinued, but other L’Oreal polishes are available in stores.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Sunday: Literary Lacquers’s Grey Cat/Grey Fence

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Swatch Sunday is here again! Today I’m wearing one of the first indie polishes I ever bought, as well as one of my first Literary Lacquers. This is Grey Cat/Grey Fence; I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

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Grey Cat/Grey Fence is a gray crelly with black, white, and iridescent glitters in squares and hexes. Application was easy; though sheer, the crelly goes on evenly and without streaks or patches. The glitters also spread evenly and show nicely through many layers of polish. I had no issues at all with it. The product consistency was perfect; it supports the glitters without being thick or blobby. It dries quickly and to a glossy, somewhat smooth finish. I added top coat for extra shine and smoothness.

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Grey Cat/Grey Fence is inspired by a passage from O. Henry’s Gift of the Magi. As quoted by the maker:

“Della finished her cry and attended to her cheeks with the powder rag. She stood by the window and looked out dully at a gray cat walking a gray fence in a gray backyard. Tomorrow would be Christmas Day, and she had only $1.87 with which to buy Jim a present. She had been saving every penny she could for months, with this result. Twenty dollars a week doesn’t go far. Expenses had been greater than she had calculated. They always are. Only $1.87 to buy a present for Jim. Her Jim. Many a happy hour she had spent planning for something nice for him.”

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I’ve had this polish for two years now, and I’ve only worn it once before. Even though Literary Lacquers makes some breathtaking holo polishes, there’s a special place in my heart for this polish, and it might be my favorite LitLacq to date. It’s simple by today’s indie polish standards, but two years ago, when I was new to indie polish, this was unlike anything I’d ever seen before, and the fact that someone was making polish inspired by books was pretty much the greatest thing I’d ever heard.

Grey Cat/Grey Fence has been discontinued, but other Literary Lacquers are available from their etsy shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Weekday Swatch: Lavish Polish’s Mint to Be

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Happy Thursday, reader! Today’s post would have been this week’s Swatch Sunday if I hadn’t gone out of town. This is Lavish Polish‘s Mint to Be. I’m wearing three coats of Mint to Be with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

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Mint to Be is a mint green crelly with sky blue, fuchsia, white, and baby pink glitters, as well as hot pink and white heart glitters. Application was challenging; the product consistency is quite thin and didn’t really stay put on the nail. It also didn’t seem to be able to support the glitters, because they didn’t distribute well inside the bottle, no matter how much I rolled, shook, or stirred it. This is especially true for the large glitters; I just could not get them out on the brush and really had to dig for them. On a positive note, the crelly looks fabulous with the bright matte glitters; the translucence is perfect for the layered glitter effect. This polish dried pretty quickly, about five minutes per coat, and dried with a semi-glossy finish. I added top coat to smooth out the glitters and add shine.

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Even though I had a tough time applying it, I really like the look I got. This is part of a Valentine’s Day trio, but it’s not overtly, obviously lovey-dovey. It’s colorful and cheerful, it’s perfect for springtime, and it’s not mawkish or over the top romantic. It’s adorable. This is my first Lavish Polish, and I’m looking forward to trying some new ones.

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Mint to Be may be discontinued, as it’s no longer listed in their inventory. Other Lavish Polishes are available from their shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Sunday: LA Colors’s Animated

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Welcome back! I’m excited to be wearing a red polish for this week’s Swatch Sunday. This is Animated from LA Colors, worn at three coats with one coat of Seche Vite top coat. Also, unfortunately, I had a break and now my nails are awkwardly short. Please bear with me for the next few weeks while they grow back out.

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Animated is a red polish with a matching shimmer. Application was good; the product consistency was thin but well-pigmented. After three coats, though, I never really achieved full opacity. I can still see the moon of my thumbnail through the polish. The shimmer effect is very subtle, but does stand out more in certain lighting conditions. The polish dries quickly and with a glossy finish.

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I paid a dollar for this polish, and I’m really impressed with it. I had no issues at all with it. The color is vibrant, and the polish wears well; I’m actually on my third day of this manicure and it looks exactly the same as in the photos. I cannot believe this only cost me a dollar. It’s definitely one of the best dollars I’ve ever spent.

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LA Colors is sold at drugstores and other shops. I got mine from Dollar General.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Sunday: Kunimitsu’s Lucky Goldfish

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Happy Sunday! I’m so excited to bring you this Sunday’s swatch. I bought this polish ages ago and I’m just getting to try it out. I’ve been looking forward to it for so long! This is Lucky Goldfish from Kunimitsu; I’m wearing four coats with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

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Lucky Goldfish is a royal blue jelly with metallic orange glitters. Application was easy; as a jelly, the first coat was expectedly thin, but coverage built with added layers. The product consistency is good; the lacquer is just the right thickness and distributes the glitter well. The jelly is thin enough to show the glitter from previous layers, giving it a proper jelly-sandwich look. Drying times were good, and the polish dries with a glossy finish and smooth touch. I used top coat for extra shine and to bring out the shine from the glitters.

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When I saw this polish had orange glitter in a blue base, I knew I had to have it. You may know that I’m a huge fan of complementary colors, and when I saw two in one bottle, I fell in love. The colors are bright and gorgeous; the blue absolutely glows, and that’s thanks in part to the orange glitters. This is also why the orange glitter stands out so strongly. Both parts work together to create a fun and colorful look.

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Lucky Goldfish and other Kunimitsu polishes are available from Kunimitsu’s etsy shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Sunday: Gothic Gala Lacquers’s Wop Bam Boom

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Welcome back! This week’s installment of Swatch Sunday is all about Gothic Gala Lacquers‘s Wop Bam Boom, another polish from June’s Beauty Quartet Box. It’s still weird wearing something so new, something that hasn’t had to sit in the Helmer for a year before I got to it. I’m wearing three coats of Wop Bam Boom with two coats of Seche Vite top coat. All photos were taken outdoors in direct sunlight.

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Wop Bam Boom is a full-coverage microglitter polish with glitters in bronze, teal, dusty rose… There are so many colors and finishes of glitter in there that I can’t even pick them all out. Application was fine; the product consistency was very thick and goopy, and I had to thin it out quite a bit. After thinning, it went on easily. I got full coverage in two coats. The polish dries matte; the glitter still shines, but there’s no gloss at all, and it dries with a slightly gritty texture. I added top coat for smoothness and shine.

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I really like this polish. I love the colors of the individual glitters; they pair together so well. There’s a ton of dimension. There’s something really summery about it, too, even though it’s not bright or cheerful. It pairs beautifully with sparkling swimming pools, deeply tanned skin, and mai tais in tiki mugs.

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Wop Bam Boom and the rest of the Beauty Quartex Box were pre-ordered limited editions and are now unavailable. Other Gothic Gala polishes are available from their shop.

I bought this polish myself.