Tag Archives: swatch

Swatch: Formula X for Sephora’s Demolition

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Welcome back, reader! I’ve been slacking on my swatches, but I’m still working on them. Today I have a glitter topper someone once told me was “terrifying” because it looked difficult to remove. This is Demolition from Formula X for Sephora; I’m wearing one thick coat (basically two) over Marc Jacobs Beauty’s Shocking (pink), Butter London’s Tea and Toast (taupe), Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s Lighthouse by the Lake (blue), a nameless vintage Maybelline (brown), and Sally Hansen’s Sun Kissed (orange).

Demolition is a clear-based glitter topper; the glitters are hexes of various sizes and pastel shades, which focuses largely on pastel pink. Application was good; the polish consistency is a little on the thick side, which is necessary to carry these chunky glitters. It dries quickly, though, and with a somewhat textured finish; top coat is definitely required for a smooth-to-the-touch finish.

I know these chunky glitters have fallen out of style, but I am still about them. I was super excited to find a polish like this from a mainstream brand as well; they had several color variations on this formula and I bought several of them. It wears pretty well despite being on the thicker side; a lot of heavy glitter toppers like these are quick to chip, but not this one. My only real complaint is that it takes quite a bit of top coat to smooth it down.

The Formula X brand was discontinued by Sephora.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch: Bee’s Knees Lacquer’s Cozy in There?

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Welcome back, reader! Today, I have the last of Bee’s Knees Lacquer‘s Walking Dead trio from The Indie Shop Atlanta. This one is called Cozy In There?; again, I have no idea what this is a reference to. I’m wearing three coats of Cozy in There? with one coat of Seche Vite.

Cozy in There? is a pale cool nude with a golden shimmer, multichrome flakies, and a little bit of holo. As is true with all of the Bee’s Knees I’ve worn so far, this one is an absolute dream to apply and use. This one needed two coats for full opacity, but everything else is spot-on; the product consistency is perfect and is very easy to apply. It dries with a smooth, glossy finish.

I love this polish. The nude base is merely a vehicle for all the other good stuff in here; the multichrome flakes lend a colorful finish to the polish, and the shimmer and holo add dimension and complexity. Something that’s true for this polish, and the trio as a whole, is that all the colors are oddly safe for work; RIP Nameless Horse is probably the boldest of the three, but they’re all nice neutrals with lots of fun additions. I feel fortunate that I was able to snag these for myself (and a couple other people!).

Cozy in There? was an Indie Shop Atlanta event exclusive; other Bee’s Knees Lacquers are sold on their website.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch: GOSH’s Frosted Purple

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Welcome back, reader! My swatch today is one of the polishes I bought while I was in New York a few years ago. Many people buy postcards and t-shirts as souvenirs, and I bought nail polish. This is GOSH’s Frosted Purple; I’m wearing three coats without top coat.

Frosted Purple is a shiny glittery purple textured polish. Application was good; the product consistency seems a bit thin for a textured polish. It’s a good thickness to carry all the glitter and bits, but is very easy to work with. I had an opaque first coat, and used additional coats to build up the texture.

This polish reminds me of a druzy; it’s super textured and super metallic. It’s actually pretty unique for a textured polish. I was always skeptical of the Liquid Sand imitators, because a lot of them just weren’t that great and didn’t carry the same quality. This one does.

Truth be told, I don’t know where to tell you to buy GOSH. I got this in a Duane Reade in New York. I’m pretty sure you can order it online in any case.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch: Bee’s Knees Lacquer’s Don’t Open Dead Inside

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Another day, another swatch! This blogging from Starbucks thing is really working for me! I don’t know why I didn’t think to do this sooner. For today’s swatch, I have Bee’s Knees Lacquer‘s Don’t Open Dead Inside, which is another Indie Shop Atlanta event exclusive. I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

I always read this as Don’t Dead Open Inside.

Don’t Open Dead Inside is a cool-toned brown polish with a strong green-to-gold shifting shimmer, iridescent flakies, and a smattering of holo. Application was great with this polish; I had an opaque first coat, and only used additional coats because I like the thickness of it. The polish dries with a glossy finish; I used top coat for shine and protection.

I have to say, I really dig this polish. I love the zombie-chic aesthetic it goes for, because it does it really well. It’s something unique in my collection; I don’t have anything like this. I also appreciate the kitchen sink approach to this polish, and this applies to all of the Bee’s Knees Atlanta exclusives; they’re so multi-faceted and complex. Zombie nails never looked so good!

Don’t Open Dead Inside was an Indie Shop Atlanta event exclusive; other Bee’s Knees Lacquers are sold on their website.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch: Finger Paints’s Psychedelic Hue

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Welcome back, reader! Even though I’m swatching a lot of new stuff from The Indie Shop Atlanta, I still have some swatches in the slush pile waiting to be published, and this is one of them. This is Finger Paints’s Psychedelic Hue; I’m wearing one coat over Sally Hansen’s Grey Area (gray), Deborah Lippmann’s She Bop (pink), and Zoya’s Chantal (nude), as well as a coat of Seche Vite top coat.

Psychedelic Hue is a clear-based flakie topper with green-to-blue shifting flakies. Application was good; the flakies distribute very easily over the nail when brushing it on. The product consistency is on the thin side, but the flakies suspend very well. Drying times were good, and the polish dries smooth to the touch. I used top coat for extra shine.

I adore flakie top coats. This one’s pretty basic as far as flakie toppers go; of course, this one’s been around a while and they’ve come a good way since then. I wanted to show this one over a few different colors, and unfortunately, the bright natural sunshine kind of washed it out over the lighter colors. With the lighter shades, the individual flakies aren’t as defined, but the shine and iridescence are still visible. Over the darker color, it looks fantastic; everything is nicely defined and exciting. The following photos were taken in the shade, attempting to show off the color better over the lighter colors.

I believe Psychedelic Hue was discontinued by Finger Paints; other Finger Paints polishes are available at Sally Beauty Supply.

I bought these polishes myself.

Swatch: Bee’s Knees Lacquer’s RIP Nameless Horse

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Hello, reader! Welcome back! Today on the blog, I’m continuing my swatches of polishes I scored at The Indie Shop Atlanta 2018! This is a Bee’s Knees Lacquer event exclusive called RIP Nameless Horse. I know this is a Walking Dead reference — they made quite a few polishes with this theme — and having never seen the show, I really have no idea what it’s referring to. Feel free to school me! I’m wearing three coats of RIP Nameless Horse with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

RIP Nameless Horse is a brick red holo polish with some iridescent flakies. As with the last Bee’s Knees I swatched, application was very nice with this; the polish has a thicker consistency, but it also covers very well, almost opaque on the first coat. The holo flame is also pretty strong, even indoors. The polish dries with a glossy finish; I used top coat for extra shine and protection.

Before The Indie Shop, I knew Bee’s Knees was popular; I offered my services as a polish fairy/pack mule, and Bee’s Knees was the only brand I was asked to shop from. Between #ForClementine and this polish, I’m starting to see why. These polishes are intense. They glow. They have such a big payoff. I love using polish like this, because it’s really a dream to use.

RIP Nameless Horse was an event exclusive for The Indie Shop Atlanta; other Bee’s Knees Lacquers are available on their website.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch: Creative Cuticles Nail Polish’s Purity

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Welcome back, reader! I have another Indie Shop Atlanta swatch for you today. This is my first-ever Creative Cuticles Nail Polish! I’ve been admiring CCNP from afar since I found out they were local to me, and I’m super excited about trying them out! This is Purity; this polish is part of a collaboration between CCNP and Ribbits Stickits. I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

I love handwritten labels!

Purity is a deep frosty green polish with some fine golden glitter. Application was easy; I had no issues at all with the product consistency or drying time. The polish is pretty well-pigmented, which is great for coverage, but is unfortunate for the glitters; they get lost in the base a little bit. Also, there still seems to be a bit of visible nail line, despite the coverage. The polish dries quickly and with a satin finish; I used top coat for shine.

This is a pretty nice polish, and I definitely want to try more CCNPs. The base color is very rich, and the set it comes in is a pretty good deal; you get the polish, a small bottle of Ribbits Stickits’s acetone additive, and a full-size of their liquid latex skin barrier. If you’re an avid nail polisher like I am, both of these things will come in very handy for you.

The In Death CCNP x Ribbits Stickits collaboration set is still available from the Ribbits Stickits site. Other Creative Cuticles Nail Polishes are available on their website.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch: Bee’s Knees Lacquer’s #ForClementine

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Hey, reader! I decided to try something new: blogging from Starbucks before work! I come here to drink coffee and kill time before work, so I might as well do something with the time I waste. Hopefully this means I’ll be able to deliver more actual blog posts, because I’m so behind. I miss you guys. This is my first Bee’s Knees Lacquer, and it’s the one from The Indie Shop Atlanta VIP bag. It’s #ForClementine; I used three coats with one coat of Seche Vite.

#ForClementine is an intensely shimmery cobalt blue polish with shifting shimmers in flakies in pink, purple, green, and gold. Application was great; even though there’s a lot of pigment and sparkles in this polish, the consistency was very good and easy to work with. It was very easy to achieve full opacity with this one for the same reason; it was nearly opaque on the first coat. It dries with a satin finish, again, because of the pigment; I used top coat for extra shine and protection. One thing I also want to note is the smell; it’s quite a bit different from other polish, or perhaps it’s just a bit stronger than usual. It does carry across the brand.

I do want to mention that I failed to do this polish any justice, because it’s much more beautiful in real life than I show it here. The shimmers are much more luminous and intense than in these photos. It’s so shimmery, so colorful, and the natural sunlight really washed it out. I managed to capture the shift, at least; the shift is very strong and it’s absolutely gorgeous.

I do apologize for the photo quality here. The color is what matters!

#ForClementine was a VIP bag exclusive. Other Bee’s Knees Lacquers are sold on their website.

I got this polish in a VIP bag, which I bought myself.

Swatch: Alter Ego’s Sherbet vs. Shebert, It’s All the Same to Me

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Hello, reader! I’m swatching one of my recent acquisitions for you today. This peach creme was in my VIP bag at Indie Shop Atlanta, and it’s the first thing from the show that I’ve swatched. This is Sherbet vs. Shebert, It’s All the Same to Me from Alter Ego Body Care. I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite.

Sherbet vs. Shebert, It’s All the Same to Me is a peachy orange creme. Application was great; the product consistency is very easy to work with. Colors like these tend to be a little streaky, and though that was definitely true for the first coat, the second coat built it up to a good opacity. The polish dries with a glossy finish; I used extra top coat for shine and protection.

I love this shade. It’s such a great springtime color, and it reminds me of a lip color I wore when I was younger. This was definitely an appropriate shade to find in my VIP bag in Atlanta, too, when Georgia peaches were the theme. I don’t know if everyone got the same one or not, but I hope so.

Sherbet vs. Shebert, It’s All the Same to Me is available in Alter Ego’s online shop.

This polish came in my VIP bag, which I bought myself.

Swatch: Baroness X’s Live Long and Pawsper

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Hi readers! Today I have the final Cats in Space swatch for you, and it’s a doozy. Live Long and Pawsper from Baroness X is a stunning polish and I’m excited about showing it to you. I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite.

I feel like Pawspurr should be the spelling they went with.

Live Long and Pawsper is a purple jelly polish with the notorious pegasus pee shimmer and a dash of holo. Application was easy with this one; the consistency is perfect, and the polish is loaded down with the shimmer. It’s supposed to be a jelly, but I had great coverage with it. At three coats, there is just the slightest bit of visible nail line. The polish dries with a satin finish; I used top coat for shine.

This polish, reader. It’s amazing. After hearing about unicorn and pegasus pee for years, I finally have a polish that’s made with it, and it’s astonishing. I love the base color; that, alone, is a pretty unique shade. Adding the shimmer to it makes it really special.

THAT SHIFT.

Of all the Cats in Space polishes, this is the only one that’s not still available on the Baroness X site.

I bought this polish myself.