Tag Archives: swatch

Swatch Sunday: Wet ‘n Wild’s Everybody Loves Redmond

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Welcome to Swatch Sunday! Here’s the second swatch of the weekend. I’m wearing Wet ‘n Wild’s Everybody Loves Redmond today; here’s three coats with one coat of Seche Vite.

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Everybody Loves Redmond is a red creme. Application was good; at the first coat, the color goes on really nicely, though it has a jelly/crelly-like sheerness. With additional coats, the coverage gets better, but my nail lines are still visible even after three. The polish dries quickly and with a glossy finish; I used top coat for extra shine and protection.

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I like this polish. It’s not fancy, but I’m really impressed with how it looks alone. The VNL is kind of annoying, but the color intensity and shine are both really gorgeous. Of course, this polish is also suitable as the color for a glitter sandwich, or anything you may need a jelly-ish polish for. I’ve enjoyed wearing it! It’s definitely not bad for the price.

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So I did some checking to see if Wet ‘n Wild still sells this Fast-Dry line; they do, but on their website it’s marked down and some shades are unavailable. Wet ‘n Wild polishes are sold in stores nationwide.

My father gave me this polish for Christmas last year, haha.

Swatch Saturday on Sunday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s The Years Have Been Short

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Hi! So this weekend we’re doing both weekend swatches in one day, because I was irresponsible yesterday and spent all day shopping instead of blogging like I should have been. Sorry! I’ll post what should have been yesterday’s post now, and today’s post will follow. Let’s get started! My Saturday Swatch is Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s The Years Have Been Short; I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite.

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The Years Have Been Short is a thin white crelly with a mix of fine white and blue glitters. Application was easy; the glitters spread well over the nail while the crelly adds a creamy, glossy finish. The crelly is very thin and the whites of my nails are still visible, even through three coats. Though it’s fine glitter, the polish dries with a coarse texture and top coat is necessary for a smooth finish.

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I’m almost finished with the Spark in the Dark collection! Though I have my favorites from this collection, I think The Years Have Been Short is the most unique of them. It’s like a grown-up cousin of the vintage BEGL First Frost; they use the same crelly base and the same glitter colors, but the glitter is finer and the look is a little more elegant and wintry. I felt super fancy wearing this!

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In the sunlight, you can see how thin the crelly is, which I really love. These photos were taken in direct sunlight.

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The Years Have Been Short has been discontinued by Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer; other BEGL polishes are available in their online shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Sunday: Urban Decay’s Naked

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Swatch Sunday is back again! I’m excited about this week’s swatch. Remember when Urban Decay released the six mini Naked polishes? I’m showing one off on the blog! This is Naked, the nude creme from the collection. I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite.

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Posing with mini bottles is the worst.

Posing with mini bottles is the worst.

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Naked is a nude creme polish. Application was easy; the product consistency is just right and is very easy to use. The first coat is almost opaque, and the second solidifies it. Of course, it’s in a mini-bottle, and applying polish with the mini-brush is not my favorite thing. The polish dries with a glossy finish; I used top coat for extra shine and protection.

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Naked is one of a set of six polishes inspired by the hugely popular Naked eyeshadow palette. The set contained polishes that went all the way down the Naked spectrum; there are nudes, plums, browns, even a black with silver glitter. I regretted buying this set at first, because it was $28 for six minis, or something like that, and then the set was discontinued and I felt good about having them. I kinda feel for everyone who missed out on this; the polishes are very high quality, and the packaging is sleek and modern, just like the Naked palettes.

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If you’re one of the unlucky ducks who missed out on this set, I have some good news for you. Urban Decay recently released a new set of Naked polishes on their website! The six from this set aren’t part of it, but they’ve drawn inspiration from the other palettes and have shades that are similar, and some I like much better. Commando is probably the closest to Naked; these polishes are exclusive to urbandecay.com. Grab some!

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Counting Down Until I See You

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Happy Swatch Saturday! Today I’m trying out my favorite polish from the Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s Spark in the Dark collection. This is Counting Down Until I See You; I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite. Also, one thing I want to mention: I published my 500th blog post this week! Yay!

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Counting Down Until I See You is a clear-based microglitter polish with gray and pink glitters in various shapes and sizes. Application was easy; the glitter is very easy to distribute on the nail. The product consistency is very easy to work with. The first coat leaves some bare spots, so you could wear this as a dense topper if you wanted to. The second coat fills up the bare spots. The glitter leaves some texture behind, so add a third coat for extra texture if that’s the look you’re going for. I used top coat for smoothness and shine.

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There are some great polishes in this collection, but for me, none of them tops this one. When the collection launched, I expected She’s Electricity to be my fave, because bright pink holos usually are my favorites. However, this polish knocks it out of the park. It’s pink, it’s blingy, and the various shapes and colors add so much nuance. It’s mostly hexes, but there are some squares, and perhaps the most obvious shape is the diamond-shaped glitter hanging out in there. The peppered-in grays are just enough to break up the monotony. I love this polish so much.

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Unfortunately, since it’s been cloudy outside all this week, I don’t get to show you what this looks like in bright direct sunlight. I bet it would be blinding, though.

Counting Down Until I See You is — you guessed — discontinued by Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer. Unforunately. Other BEGLs are available in their online shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Sunday: Ulta’s Blue Streak

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It’s Swatch Sunday again! This week’s polish is an old Ulta creme. Remember these square bottles? I’m not even sure they have these anymore, I think their polishes come in the round bottles with the big caps now. I’ve probably had this since 2010 or something. I love these blasts from the past, old polish is still good polish! This is Blue Streak; I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite.

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Blue Streak is a deep blue creme polish. Application was good; I have no issues to report with the product consistency or formula. The first coat was a little streaky, but the next one evened it out nicely. The polish dries quickly and with a glossy finish; I used top coat for extra shine and protection.

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I’ve had this polish a long time, but it still goes on like it’s brand new. It’s a great creme with a great formula that wears well and looks fantastic. And, much to my surprise, it’s still available. I actually can’t believe it. I forgot how nice this polish is, and I feel sorta bad that I’ve been ignoring it.

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Blue Streak and other Ulta Collection polishes are available from Ulta.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Hypothermia

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Happy Saturday, reader! Today’s Swatch Saturday is good. We’re looking at Hypothermia, a special Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer that’s never been sold alone — except during the annual Depression Awareness charity auctions — you always had to buy the winter collection as a whole. Perhaps it will make a return in this year’s winter collection! Here’s three coats of Hypothermia with one coat of Seche Vite. All photos were taken outdoors in direct sunlight.

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Hypothermia is a steely lavender holo with purple shimmers. Application was very easy; this polish has the usual perfect BEGL formula and product consistency and was very nice to work with. Depending on your application technique, you may only need one coat of this polish for a completely opaque look; others should stop at two. The shimmers, are easily detected in this polish, though it does blend in easily with the holo effect. The polish dries with a somewhat glossy finish; I used top coat for extra shine and holo emphasis.

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So, yeah. Hypothermia is a BEGL classic, and if you don’t own it, you’ve gotta get it. It’s the perfect purple for winter; it’s a deep, greyed-out shade, but the holo effect is strong if you’re lucky enough to get some sun. I definitely recommend grabbing this the next time it becomes available.

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From left to right: Direct sunlight, cloudy conditions, direct light again, but tilted for shimmer visibility

As I mentioned, Hypothermia was never sold separately outside of special events and was a gift with purchase of previous winter collections. Keep an eye on BEGL news to see if this lovely comes back. Other BEGL polishes are sold in their shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Sunday: The New Black’s Gold Leaf Foil

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Welcome back for Swatch Sunday! Today’s swatch is of a mystery polish from The New Black I’ve just been calling Gold Leaf Foil. The New Black doesn’t label any of their shade names, which is kind of frustrating. I’m wearing Gold Leaf Foil over Sally Hansen’s Black Out (black), Octopus Party’s Universal Loner (red), and Indigo Bananas‘s Klein Trink Wasser (blue) with one coat of Gelous.

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Gold Leaf Foil is a clear-based glitter topper with metallic gold shredded glitter. Application was easy enough; the product consistency delivered the glitter well enough and wasn’t too difficult to work with. The glitter itself was the troblesome part. The glitter pieces are unevenly shaped; some pieces are very large and others are barely there. The very coarse pieces don’t always lie flat, which sometimes leads to them getting snagged and/or pulled off. It does dry quickly and with a good shine; I used top coat for extra smoothness.

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Coarse shredded glitter is probably my least favorite glitter shape. I mean, I love how they look, their shine and madness is unmatched. I love how this looks over the cremes. I just don’t like how these large glitters stick up. If you look at the sunlight photos in the next set, you’ll actually see that my pinky nail has more glitter on it than the studio set. That’s because, between the time I took the photos outdoors and indoors, the glitter actually got pulled off somehow. In the studio photos, you can just see where it used to be.

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Here are the sunlight photos. I took these a bit late in the afternoon so it’s not the harsh sunlight I usually shoot in. Like I said, this is a pretty cool looking glitter, even if working with it is kind of annoying.

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So I can’t find a source on where to get The New Black these days. I got this set — this polish came with a black creme and a set of gold studs — from Ulta when it was in the clearance section. Sephora’s website has a two bottle set in their clearance section as of this writing. Other than that, they seem to have been discontinued.

I bought these polish myself.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Wanna Fall In Love Tonight

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Swatch Saturday is here again! We had so many special manis this month that I almost didn’t have time to swatch. Almost. The lovely BEGL I’m wearing this Saturday is Wanna Fall in Love Tonight; I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Gelous.

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Wanna Fall in Love Tonight is a purple polish with an allover golden shimmer. Application was good; the color is well-pigmented and glides on easily, achieving opacity in two coats. The product consistency was very nice as well, being thin enough to manipulate without being floody or streaky. The one issue is that one may end up with brushstrokes in the shimmer if one isn’t careful. The polish dries with a matte finish; I used top coat for shine.

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Indie polish is all about shimmers right now, and I feel like BEGL was ahead of the curve with polishes like this. I love constrasting colors, and having purple and gold in one polish is seriously exciting. It’s a minimalist kind of polish; it says all it needs to while saying very little.

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This polish seriously glows in the sun. The golden shimmer really comes alive and just warms up the whole look. It’s very nice. These photos were taken in direct sunlight.

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Wanna Fall in Love Tonight has been discontinued by Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer; other BEGL polishes are available in their online shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Sunday: Tenoverten’s Rivington

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Swatch Sunday!! I’m still excited to be swatching again. Today’s polish is one I’ve had unused in my collection. It was a souvenir from the flagship Sephora store in Times Square. This is Tenoverten’s Rivington; I’m wearing three coats of Rivington with one coat of Seche Vite.

Before I go any further with this post, I want to talk about some concerns I have with this polish and potential color fading. When I bought this polish, it was a deep turquoise, and as you can see here, it’s now a lighter jade. Comparing my own photos to swatches of Rivington online show a big difference. With this in mind, I’ll be reviewing the polish as I see it. If you own a bottle of Rivington, or any Tenoverten polishes, please let me know if you’ve encountered any fading or changes in color with your own bottle.

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Rivington is described by the brand as a bright turquoise creme. Application was very nice; the product consistency is just right for a creme; it’s easy to work with and isn’t too thin or thick. The first coat was a little streaky, but the second evened it out pretty well. The polish dries quickly and with a very glossy finish.

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I’d not heard of Tenoverten until the day I found this one. I’m sure I’ve told you all the story of how I was in NYC, lost my mind in Sephora, and had to be dragged out by my travelling companions. I picked up this polish because it was new to me. It’s a cool polish, and a cool brand; Tenoverten claims an 8-free formula, which I didn’t know was a thing, and the bottle presentation is really sleek and modern. The bottle cap itself is metal or something, because it makes an unusual but satisfying tinkling against the neck of the bottle. The only real downside is the price; $18 for a creme is a little expensive.

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I’m a little bummed that the color doesn’t look the way I remember it, but I have to admit this is a pretty neat color. I love greens, and I love cremes. I’ll definitely try to work this into manis in the future.

Rivington and other Tenoverten polishes are sold online and in stores; see their website for the complete list of stockists.

I bought this polish myself.

Swatch Saturday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s Never Danced Like This Before

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It’s Swatch Saturday!! For the first time in two weeks! It’s been so long since I did an actual swatch that I think I forgot how. To ease myself back in, I’m wearing a stunning sapphire holo from Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer. This is Never Danced Like This Before; I’m wearing three coats with one coat of Seche Vite. All photos were taken outdoors in direct sunlight.

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Never Danced Like This Before is a deep blue linear holo with matching flakies. It leans indigo in some angles. Application with this polish was a dream; the product consistency was very easy to work with, and the first coat was practically opaque. Yes, I said one coat! I say practically because on some nails, there were still some bare spots that needed a second coat, but it was very nearly there. I definitely did not need the third coat I used. I’m really impressed with it! The polish dries quickly with a smooth, semi-matte finish; I used top coat for shine and protection.

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So this polish is seriously amazing. The jewel-like blue, the holo, the extra sparkle from the flakies, the ease of use… There is nothing about this polish that isn’t perfect. The color is trendy and flattering for anyone. The only catch is that it’s discontinued, and I am so, so sad for anyone who didn’t get a chance to pick it up. Polishes like this are why I buy everything BEGL makes, even if I think I don’t want it, because I know I’ll regret it later.

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As I mentioned, Never Danced Like This Before is discontinued by Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer. Other BEGLs can — and should — be purchased from their online shop.

I bought this polish myself.