Swatch Sunday: Julep’s America

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Happy Sunday! My swatch today is a patrotic offering from Julep, simply called America. There’s a part of me weirded out by shows of patrotism like this, especially between holidays, but it’s so glittery and flashy that I almost don’t care. For the post today, I’m wearing three coats of America; the first six photos are taken without top coat. All photos were taken in direct sunlight outdoors.

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America is a clear-based glitter topper that consists mostly of fine red metallic glitter, but also contains larger blue and silver glitters and silver stars. Application wasn’t bad; the product consistency was pretty thick, edging on goopy; three coats of goopy polish isn’t fun for anybody. After it dried, which was about five minutes after each coat, it left a finely-textured crust of glitter. I did add two coats of Rica‘s Glossy Glam to smooth it out, which looked fantastic, but added yet another thick layer of stuff to my nails. The tips shrank up right away.

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Patriotic or not, this is a gorgeous polish. The red glitters shine like ruby slippers, and the blues and silver stars are bonus. In fact, it’s entirely possible I bought this just because it has star glitter in it. With or without top coat, this polish is very shiny, especially in sunlight. It’s just a ton of fun to wear. The following photos were taken with top coat.

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America may be discontinued by Julep, as it’s out of stock on their website.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Saturday Night: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Tact is Just Saying Not True Stuff, I’ll Pass

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Swatch Saturday!! Today’s post is late because I make bad choices (and I have really good parties). The polish I’m wearing today is Tact is Just Saying Not True Stuff, I’ll Pass from Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer; I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Rica‘s Glossy Glam top coat. Photos were taken in direct sunlight outdoors.

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Tact is Just Saying Not True Stuff, I’ll Pass is a cool greige holo with a pearly green shimmer. Application was easy; the product consistency is smooth and easy to use. I had full coverage in two coats. I had no issues with flooded cuticles or goopy polish. The polish dried quickly, about five minutes until it was dry to the touch, and it dried with a satin/matte finish. The holo effect is subtle but still bright. Top coat really helps make it shine.

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Tact, as I’ll call it, is one of the more subdued polishes from the Once More With Feeling Collection. The companion polishes are made with brighter colors, stronger holos, and more intense shimmers and flashes, but that doesn’t mean Tact isn’t incomplete. It’s actually pretty refreshing. The color is neutral and work-friendly, but the holo effect and green flash make this polish pretty, fun, and unique.

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Tact and the rest of the Once More With Feeling Collection are currently available from the Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Manicure Monday: Studded Luxury

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Welcome back, reader! It’s Monday again, and I have another mani. I’m pretty fond of this one; it looks like I put some actual effort into it. I mean, I did; it took me a long time to glue these studs on. I’m wearing two coats of Color Club’s Pucci-licious, two coats of Deborah Lippmann’s Boom Boom Pow, and one coat of Rica‘s Glossy Glam top coat.

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I always end up putting purple and yellow together. I am quite the fan of complementary color combinations, but purple and yellow might be my favorite one. Purple is such a bold and stately color, and adding gold to it just makes it even more luxurious and even more beautiful. I can’t tell you how I pleased I am with myself and my manicure right now.

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Pucci-licious is fantastically creamy, so I knew it could stand up on its own. Boom Boom Pow, however, wasn’t the glitter beast I anticipated, so I put on a second coat and added the studs. I think the studs really make this look; it ties in the gold on the accent nails, which was kind of incongruous to the rest of the mani. The studs add much-needed balance and squares off the look. Get it, because the studs are square.

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I got my Pucci-licious from an outlet store. The Deborah Lippmann is from Sephora. The studs are by The New Black, which I purchased from Ulta.

I bought these polishes myself.

Swatch Sunday: Jesse’s Girl’s Glee

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Swatch Sunday!! I love today’s polish, even if my thickening top coat doesn’t get along with it. This is Jesse’s Girl’s Glee, a Rite-Aid grab from last year’s vacation. I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Rica‘s Glossy Glam top coat.

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Glee is a teal jelly with fine blue-to-green iridescent shifting shimmers. Application wasn’t bad; the first coat was thin and streaky, and it didn’t really even out until the third. The jelly is still translucent after the third coat, and not only can you see my visible nail line, you can see how the polish changes color over the whites of my nails. This only really happens in bright light, thankfully; it’s not too obvious anywhere else. The drying times were good, and the polish itself dried with a glossy finish. The only thing that really bugged me was the square brush cap. I thought it was pretty awkward to hold and use. I added top coat for additional shine and protection, but since I’m getting to the end of the bottle, it’s a bit thick and shrank a little. It’s unfortunate for sure.

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I really love this polish, even though I didn’t do the best job applying it. The color is so deep and rich, but only because the shimmers are so potent. It’s either emerald green or ocean blue, twinkling and almost metallic, mermaid polish at its finest.

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Story time: I know, I’ll try to keep it short. I had never even heard of Jesse’s Girl until I was in a Phildelphia Rite-Aid. Believe it or not, my area does not have Rite-Aid stores; there are only two in Florida, and the closest one to me is in Georgia. I pop into Rite-Aids whenever I’m lucky enough to be near one. If I didn’t, I’d miss out on beauties like these. I hope I’ll be able to score some more of these soon!

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s We Saved the World, I Say We Party

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Welcome to Swatch Saturday! This Saturday, I’m wearing a polish that’s been languishing in my collection for a year. I spent the past six weeks swatching Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s April Showers collection, and though each polish was a unique beauty, I’d been looking forward to new things. I’m moving into last year’s Fan Favorites collection, a re-release of some of the most popular BEGLs. This is somewhat relevant, since this year’s collection is due to launch soon, and because this week’s polish is actually for sale. We Saved the World, I Say We Party is also part of the recently re-released Once More With Feeling Collection, based on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Rica‘s Glossy Glam top coat.

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We Saved the World, I Say We Party is a light pink linear holo with a darker pink flash. Application was easy; the polish starts out sheer but builds coverage. The product was just the right consistency for smooth application. It dries quickly and with a smooth satin finish. I used top coat to add shine and protection.

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When the Once More With Feeling collection originally launched, I skipped this polish because it was too dainty. Yeah, we’re gonna talk about this again. I mean, it’s not that I didn’t like the polish, because I did. At the time, I just couldn’t afford to buy the whole collection, so I bought the ones I’d like the best: the glitter topper, the black, and the red. When a few were released in the Fan Favorites collection, I got as many as I could; a few of them weren’t offered, and a few were already sold out before I could get to them. It was a long road to get this polish.

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Fortunately for you, for once, you can buy this polish! Because the Once More With Feeling collection is so popular among BEGL fans, the maker just re-released the whole thing. The polishes have been reformulated for better coverage, and a couple of them were totally reworked. You can buy We Saved the World, I Say We Party and her counterparts from the BEGL shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Manicure Monday: Summer in Springtime

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Good evening, reader! After all the festivities of the day, I’m just getting around to posting today’s Manicure Monday offering. I’m wearing three coats of Color Club’s Warhol and one coat of Nails Inc.’s Chelsea Embankment Gardens with one coat of Rica‘s Glossy Glam top coat.

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It’s been a long time since I’ve worn a good neon. Warhol is an incredible polish. I’m a little weirded out by how different it looks in the bottle and on my nail; it’s a little more reddish after putting it on. I mean, not that I care, I think it’s gorgeous. It’s just not what I expected. I can’t stop looking at it, though. It’s so bright and big. I think I want to be this polish.

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Chelsea Embankment Gardens is a mouthful. It’s also a unique little polish. Part of Nails Inc.’s Floral glitter topper collection, it pairs pretty pastels with large and dense glitter. This particular shade — sadly, the only one from the collection I own — is packed with fine baby pink hexes and mini bar glitters, as well as the five-petal daisies in pink, blue, and yellow. The collection was the first time I’d ever seen this glitter shape, so I bought one just to try them out. I really wish I’d bought more. My favorite Nails Inc. polishes are the glitter toppers, because they make the best color combos.

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It was maybe a little unorthodox to mix neon and pastel, but I like the way it turned out. They both stand out away from the other. Each polish gets its due attention. It’s also seasonally appropriate; the flowers say springtime, but the neon says unofficial first day of summer. It’s two extremes put together. It’s also the best of both worlds.

Color Club is sold at colorclub.com; I got mine at an outlet store. Nails Inc. is sold at Sephora and Ulta.

I bought these polishes myself.

Swatch Sunday: Indigo Bananas’s Suneater

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Welcome to Swatch Sunday! I get to swatch a holo today. I haven’t worn one since March; yes, I went back to check. Now that we’re in the summer months, the sunshine is abundant except on the days I wear holo polish. This is Indigo Bananas‘s Suneater, worn at three coats, with one coat of Rica‘s Glossy Glam top coat. All photos were taken outdoors in partly cloudy conditions.

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Suneater is a metallic gold/cool green duochrome linear holographic polish. There’s so much going on! Application was easy; the product consistency was on the thin side, which I sometimes find harder to work with. I made a mess with it a little, but it wasn’t too bad. The coverage is still a bit sheer, even after three coats; I still see a little bit of visible nail line. The holographic effect is strong outdoors, and less so indoors, though it’s visible in most lighting conditions. In dim lighting, or in the shade, the green duochrome effect is more obvious. The polish dries quickly and with a smooth texture; I added top coat to add shine and really bring out the holographic effect.

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Indigo Bananas is still a pretty new brand to me, even though I’ve had a few of their polishes for a while. I bought four at once about a year ago and this is the first time I’ve used one for a full mani. If only I’d known what I was missing! Suneater is a gorgeous polish; even just as a metallic gold, it’s pretty and interesting. The green shift and the linear holographic effect are just cake.

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Suneater and other polishes are available from the Indigo Bananas website.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Dogwood

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For today’s Swatch Saturday post, I’m wearing the last polish from Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s April Showers collection. This collection was so much fun to wear, and I’m a little sad about this being the last one. This is Dogwood; I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Rica‘s Glossy Glam top coat.

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Dogwood is a white crelly with white shimmers and iridescent flakies. As you can see, it’s still pretty translucent after three coats; my nail line is still pretty visible. A fourth coat might have given me full opacity, but as a rule, I don’t like to put on more than three. Application was pretty characteristic of BEGL polishes; the polish consistency is on the thicker side, but still easy to use and apply. As with the other polishes in this collection, the shimmers and flakies were more pronounced in the bottle than on the nail. In this case, since the shimmers are the same color as the pigment, they get lost pretty easily. When I’m in the right light, though, it’s gorgeous.

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My favorite thing about Dogwood is definitely the translucence. I love how it covers yet doesn’t cover at the same time. The shimmer is barely there. Everything about this polish is subtle and soft and wispy, just like the flower it’s name after. I love that. Every polish in this collection really conveyed the delicate non-permanence of spring flowers. No matter how gorgeous it is, it never lasts.

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Dogwood has been discontinued by Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer, but other BEGL polishes are available from their shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Manicure Monday: Bedspiration

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It’s Monday again, and you know what that means! My nails this Manicure Monday were inspired by the bedding set in one of my guest rooms. I’m wearing Julep’s Korin and China Glaze’s Recycle with OPI’s White Shatter, all with one coat of Rica‘s Glossy Glam top coat.

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I know lots of you look at something and can automatically translate it to nail art. It’s impressive and I’m totally envious. I’m not as big into intricate nail art as I used to be (even when I was, I was awful at it), so it’s rare that I look at something and think “Yes, I want my nails to look like this”. It’s even rarer that I act on it. When I saw this comforter, even before I realized it, I knew I could do a quick-and-dirty nail art version. Green polish, gray polish, and white crackle. It could be done. When I grabbed Korin out of the storage container, I knew I had to try it out.

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Unfortunately, I think it looked better in my head. Crackle polish is unpredictable sometimes, and though that’s the one thing I love about crackle polish, I really didn’t think it would cover up most of my nail. It defeats the purpose of the whole thing. I was hoping for a jagged but even grid of crackle, leaving the colors beneath somewhat visible. Oh, well. I still like it, even if it’s not what I was going for at all.

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I got Korin from julep.com, Recycle from Sally Beauty Supply, and White Shatter from Publix. If you’re curious, the bedding is from Target.

I bought these polishes myself.

Swatch Sunday: I Love Nail Polish’s Nostalgia

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As promised, here is the second Swatch Sunday post for today. With this, I’m all caught up. This polish is a doozy, so make sure you’re sitting down! I’m wearing three coats of I Love Nail Polish‘s Nostalgia with one coat of Rica‘s Glossy Glam top coat.

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Nostalgia is a deep pink-to-deep green multichrome polish. The color shift is very dramatic and occurs easily in any lighting condition. The color turns dark green when frontlit, rosy or red when backlit. Between the extremes is a lovely gold. Application was easy; the product is just the right consistency and went on smoothly. It dries quickly with a metallic finish. I added topcoat for extra shine, but it doesn’t detract from the polish’s original texture.

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I gotta tell you, this is the first time I’ve used a multichrome, and I am in awe. I’ve never worn anything like this before. It’s the coolest thing. I could swirl my fingers around all day and see a color I haven’t seen yet and I would never get tired of looking. I don’t even know what else to say about it. It’s beautiful and awesome.

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ILNP’s multichromes have been around for a while now, and I know there are other companies doing similar things, but I’m not completely over this look. This is easily the most exciting thing I’ve put on my nails in a really long time.

Nostalgia and other I Love Nail Polish polishes are available at ilnp.com.

I bought this polish myself.