Tag Archives: swatch

Swatch Sunday: Crayola’s Orange

Posted on by

Hello! Tonight’s swatch was delayed due to Super Bowl shenanigans. This week I’m bringing you a scented polish from a fruit rainbow themed Crayola collection. I picked this up a few years ago from a Rite-Aid while I was travelling in Philadelphia. This is Orange; I’m wearing three coats without top coat.

Orange is an orange polish with gold shimmer that is also scented with orange. It smells like orange soda. The scent didn’t last long, of course, not past a few hand washes. Application was good; the product consistency was good and was easy to use. However, it took a pretty long time to dry. I nicked one and brushed over it, and nicked it again about five minutes later. A few hours after application, when these photos were taken, they were still soft enough to be imprinted with fabric textures.

Even though I wish I’d not cared about the scent and used top coat, I rather like this polish. This particular orange reminds me of one I wore as a teen. The color is bright, the shimmer is strong, and the scent is just a fun bonus. I’m really disappointed that it got imprinted, but that’ll teach me to skip the quick-dry top coat again.

In the sun, the shimmer is crazy. I love how strong it is! It’s an unexpected treat for a polish that isn’t intended to do more than smell. These photos were taken in direct sunlight outdoors.

I bought this scented Crayola set at Rite-Aid, but you can probably find them anywhere; for instance, a quick search indicates they’re available on walmart.com.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Cuts in My Heart

Posted on by

Hello, reader! I’m excited about today’s swatch. We have Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s Crooked Hearts behind us, and in the next few weeks, we’ll see some special edition polishes, some prototypes, and some Sirens from 2015. I’m so late to the party on these, but I can’t wait to get there. This polish, Cuts in My Heart, is the first of these; it was an Addicted to Holos box-exclusive. I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Dream Polish‘s Gem Glam top coat in the Melon Baller scent. All photos were taken in direct sunlight outdoors.

There’s a wee bit of color settling on the bottom. This didn’t affect the color quality at all.

Cuts in My Heart is a deep red holo with red shimmers. Application is good; would you believe this polish is a one coater? Depending on your application style, it totally could be. I actually did have an opaque first coat, but I added more just because I like the thickness. The product consistency is very good; it’s thick but doesn’t need thinning, because it’s still easy to use. The polish dries quicky and with a satiny finish; top coat is necessary for shine.

So, I love this. Red holos are already amazing, so of course I like it. One thing I notice about this one is that I can actually see the shimmers in it. With a lot of the BEGL holos I’ve worn, the shimmers either get covered up by the color, or they blend into the color so well they’re undetectable. In this polish, I can really see them. They’re the same color as the polish, but they also stand out. I quite like it.

Cuts in My Heart, as I mentioned, was a box-exclusive and is since sold out. Other Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer polishes are available in their online shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Sunday: Cover Girl’s Pinky Winky

Posted on by

Hello, reader! For this week’s Swatch Saturday, I’m wearing another labelless vintage polish. This time, the shade label is there, but the brand label is missing. I’m pretty confident this is a Cover Girl polish, though. I’m also pretty sure this polish comes from around 2005. This is Pinky Winky; I used three coats with one coat of Dream Polish‘s Gem Glam top coat in the Melon Baller scent.

Pinky Winky is a frosty pale pink polish. Application was good, but I did have some issues with the product consistency. Of course, that’s to be expected with ten year old polish, and it’s my own fault for not thinning it out first. The polish went on well, but was thick and took quite some time to dry, even with quick-dry top coat; you can see some dings in the polish in the photos. I don’t know if this isn’t also the reason the tips show so much wear, but it could be. The polish dried with a glossy finish, but I used top coat for extra shine.

I quite like this polish, even though it’s a weird look for me. It’s probably not as weird as I think it is. It’s just so pale, so dainty. It’s pretty but I don’t feel like it suits me. It’s nearly the same color as my skin. I always wanted the perfect mannequin polish, the one that makes my nails seamless from my hands, but now I’m not sure I like. Be careful what you wish for, I suppose. I’d probably like it more if my nails were longer.

The following photos were taken in direct sunlight. The shimmer is very pretty out here, but the sun does overpower it a bit. It’s still pretty.

This polish is likely discontinued; Cover Girl polishes are sold nationwide.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s The One Worth Leaving

Posted on by

Welcome back! It’s Swatch Saturday, and I’ve swatched the last polish in Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s Crooked Hearts collection. I’ve loved wearing every polish in this set; each one was a gorgeous shimmery marvel. This last one, The One Worth Leaving, is vampy magic. I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Dream Polish‘s Gem Glam top coat in the Melon Baller scent.

The One Worth Leaving is a wine polish with purple shimmers. Application was good, the product consistency was great and I had no issues. The first coat goes on a little sheer, but builds with additional coats. I like that it’s a little sheer, so that those shimmers get seen. After three coats, my shimmer didn’t seem as strong as it looks in the bottle, but it does pop up wherever the light hits it. It dries with a glossy finish; I used top coat for extra shine.

I enjoyed wearing this polish. I’ve talked before about my relationship with burgundy polish, and I mentioned Monday how short nails like this reminds me of my youth and my days as a nail biter. I get a nostalgia buzz from this polish, too; plums and berries and wines were among my favorites back then.

Outdoors, this polish warmed up to a deep and gorgeous red. You can see the translucence out here; you can see the actual specks of shimmer, not just the ones the light activates. These photos were taken in direct sunlight.

At publication time, the BEGL shop is temporarily closed, but I’m pretty sure The One Worth Leaving was in stock before the hiatus.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Sunday: Color Club’s Poptastic

Posted on by

Swatch Sunday! I hope you like neons, because I got the neons. It’s just what I needed this weekend. This is Color Club’s Poptastic; I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Dream Polish‘s Gem Glam in the Melon Baller scent. No white undies were used.

Homemade label; the bottles came without them and I had to make my own.

Poptastic is a neon pink creme. Application was good; the product consistency was a little thin, but I got good coverage with multiple coats. I had no issues at all with drying times. The polish dries with a glossy finish.

I’ve been wearing a lot of bright pinks lately, and it’s been so much fun. Neons just feel so good to wear, like I’m always thinking summer thoughts every time I look at my nails. I’ve had a ton of fun wearing this. It even looks good on my tiny pinky nail! Also, thanks to everyone who sent healing vibes, they totally helped. Also, bacitracin. It doesn’t look so bad now, and it stopped hurting.

Poptastic and other Color Club polishes are available on their website.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Sick Inside Wondering

Posted on by

It’s Swatch Saturday! Today’s post is very late, but it is still Saturday somewhere. My polish today is Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s Sick Inside Wondering; I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Dream Polish‘s Gem Glam top coat in the Melon Baller scent.

Let me address the bandage. If you follow me on Instagram, you saw the photo of the break I posted. I won’t post it here, but go there to see the gore. Long story short, I hit the nail, it tore off, it was very painful and it bled a lot, hence the bandage. I hope it’s not too distracting from the swatch; I went for the novelty Pac-Man ones, because I never get a chance to use them.

Sick Inside Wondering is a kelly green polish with blue shimmer. Application was easy; the product has the perfect consistency and went on with no issues. The polish dries with a satin finish.

I love green polishes, and BEGL makes some of the best. I love the shimmer in this; it’s a subtle shimmer that only really comes when the light touches it. This was my favorite from the collection when it launched; the green is vivid, and the blue shimmer cools it off. Allow me to remind you, again, that this is a Valentine’s day collection.

I have some outdoor photos for you, and like last time, I’ve taken photos of Sick Inside Wondering with its original finish and with top coat. The original finish is on the left, top coat is on the right. The shimmers stand out a bit more with top coat, but satin-finish lovers will enjoy the softness of it.

Sick Inside Wondering and other Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquers are available in their online shop, though currently they are on hiatus. The Pac-Man bandages were from Paradise Arcade Shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Sunday: Claire’s Mystery Pink (Hot Stuff)

Posted on by

Swatch Sunday is back! Today’s polish is an oldie, one of the first I ever bought as an adult. This polish, whose shade label came off years ago, was purchased in 2007 or ’08 and saw a lot of use in those days. I’m wearing it at three coats with one coat of Dream Polish‘s Gem Glam top coat in the Melon Baller scent.

This mystery pink, as you can see, is a neon pink creme. I can’t speak much for its formula, product consistency, or application, since it is old and I thinned it out prior to this use. It was pretty thick and goopy before that. Coverage was okay; it took three coats to even out the opacity. It dries with a matte finish; I used top coat for shine.

Even though I love this polish, I do admit it’s not the most high-quality polish. You know how some polishes just feel thick, like the pigment never really blends into the polish base, and it’s like you’re just brushing wet pigment onto your nail? That’s what this feels like, like the ingredients just didn’t fully incorporate. I wish I’d taken a photo of it without the top coat, because the top coat disguises the poor quality. It dries matte, but not in the chic way, but the cheap way. Like I said, I really like this polish and I hate to call it poor quality, but I’ve used way better polishes. Also, as I mentioned, this is a nearly ten year old bottle of polish, and I don’t intend to judge all Claire’s polish by this one. If you’re still preteen enough to shop at Claire’s — and I know you are — don’t let this one dissuade you from trying others.

Claire’s polish is sold at Claire’s.

Update: Melanie of Polish is the Key to My Heart recognized this shade as Hot Stuff! Thanks for the tip, Melanie!

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Cold Inside Me

Posted on by

Welcome back to Swatch Saturday! Last week, we took a break from Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s Crooked Hearts collection to have a look at a limited edition Siren. We’re jumping back in with another shimmery beauty, Cold Inside Me. I’m wearing three coats of Cold Inside Me with one coat of Dream Polish‘s Gem Glam top coat in the Melon Baller scent.

Cold Inside Me is a teal polish with blue-to-purple shifting flecks. I didn’t realize the flecks were shifters until I was processing these photos, so none of my photos capture it. I do apologize. As it is shown here, however, was what it looked like most often on my nails, so I do feel that it is represented accurately. Application was good; the first coat was nearly opaque, just a slight hint of translucence without streaking or gaps in coverage. The second coat evened it out very well. The consistency is very smooth and easy to work with. It dries quickly and with an interesting satin finish; I have photos of it in the sunlight set toward the end of this post.

How gorgeous is this, seriously? The base color itself is already very cool, but then the glass-fleck shimmers come in and make the whole thing sparkly and shimmery and BEGLesque. I love it.

The following photos were taken outdoors in direct sunlight, but you’ll notice these photos are also comparisons; the photos on the left are at two coats and without top coat, while on the right it’s at three coats and top coat. I prefer the glossiness of the top coat, but the satin finish is pretty enough that I had to photograph it.

Cold Inside Me and other Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquers are available from their online shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Sunday: Ciaté’s Chinchilla

Posted on by

Swatch Sunday is here again! Today’s polish is Ciaté’s Chinchilla. It’s the cutest blue I’ve used in a while. I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite.

Chinchilla is a dusty blue creme. My bottle had some separation, and I had some difficulty getting it back together; when I shake the bottle, I don’t hear the agitator balls, which makes me think there aren’t any in there. I had to add my own. Good thing I had them just laying around, right? Once I got it back together, though, the product consistency was good. My first coat of Chinchilla was streaky, as you might imagine, but it evened out by the second. It dried quickly and with a glossy finish. I used top coat for extra shine and protection.

These tiny bottles are a pain to pose with.

I really like this shade, and I feel like it’s a unique one in my collection. It’s the perfect dusty blue; every blue I have is bright or deep and there aren’t many in between. It would be a great base for nail art; in fact, I think I got this in a Ciaté set that came with caviar beads or dried flowers or something.

Chinchilla looks like it’s discontinued by Ciaté; other Ciaté polishes are available on their website and at Sephora.

I bought this polish myself.

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

Posted on by

Hello, reader! Swatch Saturday is going strong in 2017! Today’s polish is Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s Siren Sweetheart; I’m wearing one brushed coat over Zoya’s Chantal and Essie’s Fiji and Mint Candy Apple.

Siren Sweetheart is a clear-based glitter topper with iridescent hex and square glitters and denim blue hexes in a mainly-white glitter mix that includes rectangles, stars, hearts, diamonds, and squares. Application was okay; the consistency was pretty thick, which is not unexpected, seeing how much glitter is in the bottle. The glitter is very dense, so I got tons on the brush and didn’t have to fish for the larger shapes. The polish dried quickly with some texture; I used top coat for smoothness.

The white glitter topper is one of my favorite mixes, because it can be worn over anything. I only swatched it over pastels here, but you could put this over any creme and have an interesting look. The iridescent glitters shift colors based on the lighting, so there’s some color in the polish, the white glitters add texture and fun, and the blue glitters break it all up. I am having a ton of fun wearing this.

These photos were taken outdoors in direct sunlight. In the sun, the iridescent glitters look a little washed out, but out here, you can see just how much glitter is on each nail. The studio photos seem a little deceptive by comparison.

Siren Sweetheart was a numbered limited edition that has since sold out. Other Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquers are sold in their online shop.

I bought these polishes myself.