Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Born of the Sea

Happy new year, reader! We’re ringing in 2016 the same way we did 2015 — with a swatch from Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer! I’m looking forward to a new year full of beautiful polishes to try. From the Far From the Sun collection, this is Born of the Sea; I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite top coat. All photos were taken outdoors in partly cloudy conditions.

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Born of the Sea is a grassy green linear holo. Application was smooth; the product consistency was thick but workable. Coverage was good; I had full opacity in two coats. The linear holo effect was more subtle than some of the other polishes in the collection; of course, it’s most powerful in the sunlight. The polish dried with a matte finish. I added top coat for shine and protection.

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Of all the BEGLs I own, which is a lot, the greens are consistently some of my favorites. I originally overlooked this one in favor of some other polishes in this collection, but I really love the way this one looks on me. I usually don’t equate greens with summer, but there is something really tropical about this green; it reminds me of the bountiful foliage of summer, of long grass, fresh limes, full trees, the Florida backyard in general.

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Born of the Sea has been discontinued by Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer; other polishes are available in their shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Fare the Wind

Happy Saturday! We’re deep into the Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer Far From the Sun summer collection. I like to think it’s why it’s still so warm in December. This is runaway hit from the collection, Fare the Wind. I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite. All but one photo were taken outdoors in direct sunlight.

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Fare the Wind is a purple holo with blue-to-purple shifting shimmers. Application was smooth; the consistency was just right to work with and achieved opacity in two coats. The holo effect is most powerful outdoors; indoors, the color shift is more easily seen, and the tone changes from cool to warm depending on lighting conditions. It dried with a smooth finish; I used top coat to bring out the holo effect.

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It’s easy to see why this was such a big seller; in fact, BEGL released it again in their Fan Favorites collection this year, and it was the first to sell out. This polish does everything: not only is the holo effect stunning, but the color shift and shimmers just send it over the top. It’s gorgeous. It just couldn’t get any better.

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Fare the Wind is sold out (again). Other BEGL polishes are available in the Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Sail Her Don’t Sink Her

Happy weekend, reader! I trust you’re all having a fantastic Saturday. This Saturday’s swatch is Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s Sail Her Don’t Sink Her, which is from last year’s Far From The Sun summer collection. I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

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Sail Her Don’t Sink Her is a clear-based microglitter polish with pink, purple, red, gold, and orange holographic and metallic glitters. Application was easy; because it is a clear base, it took me all three coats to achieve this level of opacity. The polish dries with a textured finish; it’s not too rough or bumpy, but it is a fine grit. I used top coat for extra shine and smoothness.

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This polish looks so simple in the bottle; it just looks like a lot of glitter swimming around together. On the nail, the complexities really stand out. The colors just come together so well, so organically, that it’s hard to believe someone actually created it. This polish is full of sparkle and it’s hard to stop looking at it. It’s gorgeous and I love it.

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Sail Her Don’t Sink Her, unfortunately, has been discontinued by Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer. Other BEGL polishes are available from their shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Intersecting Lines in the Sand

Swatch Saturday, woo! This Saturday, I’m wearing Intersecting Lines in the Sand from Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer; I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite. This first set of photos were taken outdoors in partly cloudy lighting.

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This poor label. It looks like it’s been through hell.

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Intersecting Lines in the Sand is cool yellow linear holo polish with icy blue shimmers. Application was smooth; it began sheer but built coverage with additional coats. The holo effect, as always, is most beautiful outdoors in direct full sun, but is still pretty in lower lighting. Indoors, the polish is more metallic and the blue shimmers are most visible. It dried somewhat matte; I added top coat for shine and protection.

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I really love this polish. I’m pretty sure it’s my favorite from the Far From the Sun collection. I love the golden-ness of it; it’s like the beach and the sun and pineapples cooked down into polish. It’s summery, warm and cool simultaneously, depending on whether you’re inside or outside. It’s perfect. The following photos were taken indoors in the studio; you can see how the color changes and the shimmers become the focus.

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Intersecting Lines in the Sand has been discontinued, but other Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquers are available in their shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Manicure Monday: Violet Gradient with Violet Glitter

Happy Manicure Monday! I don’t feel like this mani is my best work, but I still rather like it. For this look, I used Essie’s She’s Picture Perfect, Revlon’s Amethyst, and Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s Might Not Recover, all with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

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I put She’s Picture Perfect and Amethyst together for their similarities: they’re both shades of purple and they both have a strong pink/purple flash. I thought it would be great to see that pink/purple flash show up in both colors of the gradient, like this unifying shimmer that really pulls everything together. Unfortunately, it’s not easily seen in the gradient, either in photos or in real life. Also, the colors didn’t blend as easily as I expected them to; the deep purple just looks so sponged-on, even after three rounds with the sponge. It’s still pretty, but it’s really not my best work.

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I added Might Not Recover as an accent nail at the last minute, and I gotta tell you, I’m stunned. I just can’t believe how much it sparkles. Like it was sparkly in the bottle, but damn. I also chose this polish for its similarities in color, but I like that it stands apart from the rest of the mani while complimenting it. The bling is just a tad bit overwhelming, which means it’s just the right amount (like there’s a such thing as too much). I always have an issue with microglitters still having some texture after I put down top coat, but this one has stayed nice and smooth, and I love it.

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In the end, everthing goes together really well, yeah?

I got She’s Picture Perfect from Walgreens and Amethyst from Big Lots, though both brands are sold nationwide. Might Not Recover and other Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquers are available in their shop (which is temporarily closed). The Fimo bow is from Claire’s.

I bought these polishes myself.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s If You’re a Seascape

Hi, reader! Welcome to Swatch Saturday. We’re really back in the swing of things now that we’re back to our regularly scheduled Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer polishes. This beauty from the Far From the Sun collection from 2014, is called If You’re a Seascape. I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite. All photos were taken outdoors in direct sunlight.

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If You’re a Seascape is a coral pink linear holo polish with hot pink shimmers. Application was super-smooth; I had perfect opacity at one(!) coat. The consistency is thick, but workable; it’s thick enough that I get super-awesome coverage in one coat, but not goopy or clumpy thick. The shimmers give the polish a metallic finish on top of the holo effect. The color also seems much cooler and more mauvey in real life than in the photos, but I can’t tell if the color just changes in lighting, or if the shimmers make it appear cooler than it is. This polish dries with a satin finish; I used top coat for extra shine and sparkle.

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This is beautiful shade. It’s cool, it’s warm, it’s summery and shimmery. It’s soft, but it holds its own. This is a perfect fall shade, but it’s also a really nice transition shade, too, especially for work.

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If You’re a Seascape and other Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquers are available from their shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Ocean Warmed by the Sun

Guess what, reader! My camera is fixed, and Weekend Swatches are back in action! You may notice that this is actually my second post today; that post is important, so make sure you check it out! These photos were actually taken a couple months ago; it was the last Swatch Saturday post planned before the camera broke. The polish is Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s Ocean Warmed by the Sun; I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite. All photos were taken in direct sunlight.

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Ocean Warmed by the Sun is a turquoise linear holo with hot pink shimmers. It went on pretty well; it was almost opaque in one coat, and two sealed it up. The color is bright, and the holo effect is pretty strong. it even kind of upstages the pink shimmers, because they’re a bit hard to see. It dried quickly and with a glossy finish; I used top coat to really bring out the holo effect and shimmers.

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This is a super-summery polish. It’s the color of the sky when I’m near the ocean; it’s bright and cheerful and flawless. I want to live in a universe where the sky is this blue a hundred percent of the time.

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If you follow me on Instagram, you know I used Ocean Warmed by the Sun in my birthday mani. It was just the right blue to match the Nails Inc. glitter I used. I know holos have been around a while, but I still get excited when I use one. It must be how a dog feels every time it gets a treat.

Ocean Warmed By the Sun has been discontinued by BEGL, but other polishes are available in their shop.

I bought this polish myself.

 

Manicure Monday: Autumn Moons

Happy Monday, reader! Today’s Manicure Monday finds me with very short nails; I went bowling on Saturday night and kind of trashed them. At least they grow back. I went for a mature yet cute look today to remind myself that these are, in fact, not a child’s hands. I used Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s Newborn Solstice Sun, Essie’s As Gold As It Gets, and China Glaze’s Angel Wings. All nails are topped with one coat of Seche Vite.

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I wore Newborn Solstice Sun on its own quite some time ago when I swatched it. Even though it’s gorgeous on its own, I wanted to try something new with it. I went through the bag of tricks: rhinestones and loose glitters, vinyls and striping tapes. I wanted to get really crazy with it. Once my nails were unexpectedly cut down, though, I decided to keep it simple. I’m wearing Newborn Solstice Sun alone on two nails, as well as the darker shade in the half-moon. It’s a beautiful polish; the color is so deep, and the glitters add depth and sparkle. This is a huge BEGL favorite for sure.

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I used Essie’s As Gold As It Gets as the undies for my half-moon. It’s so soft, you can barely tell I used anything there. I wanted just a hint of sparkle, and that’s exactly what I got. I used China Glaze’s Angel Wings as an afterthought; I actually had an accent ring finger nail that was just covered with red and gold rhinestones, but it looked too Gryffindor, so I took it off and just used the gold glitter instead. It still looks out of place to me, but at least it’s not as ridiculous as the rhinestones were.

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Newborn Solstice Sun was a limited edition polish; other BEGLs can be purchased from the BEGL shop. As Gold As It Gets and Angel Wings are available wherever Essie and China Glaze are sold. I got my rhinestones from Amazon. The red bow vinyl is from Monster Polish as part of their Doctor Who collaboration with BEGL. I always associate the red bowtie with Pee-Wee Herman, though.

I bought these polishes myself.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Siren Seashore

Happy Saturday! I’m excited to bring you today’s swatch, because it’s the first of a small-batch series by Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer. Each month since August 2014, BEGL has released one Siren polish, and more often than not, they sell out in minutes. Siren Seashore, the oldest Siren, is the one I’m wearing today. I’m wearing three coats of Siren Seashore with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

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Siren Seashore is a sheer nude crelly with gold, copper and blue glitters in various sizes and finishes, as well as a fine shimmer throughout. The product consistency was really nice; the lacquer is thin, but supports the glitters well. The glitters spread easily and evenly over the nail. It’s quite sheer; even after three coats, my nail line is still visible. This also means it layers beautifully over the glitter. The polish dries with a glossy, smooth finish; I added top coat for extra shine.

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I think the Siren series polishes are among BEGL’s best work. Siren Seashore is my favorite of the recent BEGLs I’ve worn. I really love the nude crelly, because it blends right in with my nail. The glitter really stands out from it. It’s a soft neutral look with just a bit of color and lots of sparkle. It’s absolutely beautiful.

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Siren Seashore is no longer available from BEGL, and the BEGL shop is currently on hiatus.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer Prototype SLE 1.1

Happy weekend, reader! I’m excited to show today’s polish, a golden holo prototype from Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer. It’s the most summery polish I’ve worn this summer so far! This is Prototype SLE 1.1, and I’m wearing three coats of it with one coat of Seche Vite top coat. All photos are taken outdoors in direct sunlight.

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SLE 1.1 is a yellow linear holo with a golden flash and blue shimmer. Application was easy; though the product consistency was on the thinner side, it still went on smoothly. It did leave some brush-strokes, which are most apparent in the shimmer. The holo effect is subtle, and I can’t tell if it’s being overpowered by the gold or if there just isn’t much to begin with. Because of this, the polish really comes to life outdoors; indoors, the holo effect doesn’t really happen at all, it’s just the golden shimmer, which gives it a metallic look and is actually pretty cool. The polish dries quickly; I used top coat for shine.

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So yeah. I like this a lot, and I’m kind of mad I didn’t wear it sooner. It’s like sunshine in a bottle. Summer is nearly over — though in Florida it’s unofficially summer pretty much all the time — and I’m just discovering another perfect summer polish. Of course.

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This polish is a prototype and there are no other bottles. Other Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquers are available from their shop.

I bought this polish myself.