Icing Blackout Swatch

I know I say this about a LOT of polishes, but this truly is one of my all-time favorites (I guess I must blog mostly about ones I like, and skip posting about the ones I don't). This is Icing Blackout. I hear there are two versions (one that's more dense with holo glitter), but this one is AMAZING. It's a deep charcoal jelly with tiny holo glitter that builds to black in three coats as shown (I'm sure you could do with one coat over a black base as well, but I love the jelly look):

Icing - Blackout

The next picture is blurred to show more of the beautiful colors.

For some reason I liked this picture even though it isn't very clear - again with the bright colors, and this isn't even in direct sunlight!

Here it is in the sun and you'll just have to take my word for it that it's much more sparkly in person! Just captivating!

I've gotten a couple other Icing polishes as well and have been quite impressed with them - awesome unique colors and fantastic formula.  I saw swatches of an gorgeous orange glitter by Icing here at Girly Bits, and it's created a HUGE lemming for me!  If anyone finds a bottle and would be willing to ship it to me, I'll buy it from you!!

Essie Wicked Swatch

Here's just a quick swatch of a nice vampy color that my mom picked up recently: Essie Wicked. It's the perfect brown-based red jelly that builds nicely in two coats.

Such a perfect fall color! I have a couple like this, but it's a classic and definitely worth having!

Kleancolor Metallic Green Swatch

I think it's a well known fact that the Kleancolor Metallic polishes are AWESOME (if you can get past the smell, of course). Well, here is yet another example of this AWESOME:

Kleancolor - Metallic Green

This has to be one of the brightest greens I own, and it is super shiny! I've tried Metallic Red as well but haven't gotten amazing pictures of that one yet. I'm pretty convinced that I need the rest of them now...

Also, my nails are really long here, and this is the length I'm hoping to get them to to try out my French tip water decals!

Glitter Gradient - Finger Paints It's an Original and Ozotic Elytra 528

Now, before you move on to the pictures I want to say that this wasn't nearly as spectacular as it looks here. The first three pictures are taken underwater, and the rainbow is much more prominent than it is in person.

This is Finger Paints It's an Original (shown alone here) with Ozotic Elytra 528 on the tips (about three coats starting father down the nail each time).

The following two pictures are not taken underwater, but are in very indirect, dim light, which is the only other time I could see the rainbow at all (besides in the water).

Unfortunately, this was so disappointing that I ended up taking it off pretty quickly. Mostly, it looked like simply teal glitter on the tips of the purple, and it just didn't "pop" like I wanted it to. Oh well, at least the pictures look pretty.

First Snow! (Orly Pixie Dust and Nubar White Polka Dot)

I can't believe it! It actually was SNOWING here in Pine, AZ on October 7th! Only briefly, and it didn't stick, but still... FIRST SNOW OF THE SEASON! I had on Orly Pixie Dust because it was rainy and stormy, so I just added a coat each of Confetti Tiara and Nubar White Polka Dot over it. Check out my snow nails - I love them!!

Orly Pixie Dust w/ Confetti Tiara and Nubar White Polka Dot

I've seen a few swatches of Nubar White Polka Dot (which, by the way, is the same formula as the Painted Nail Moon drops) over dark colors, and it looks awesome. But I'm really in love with it over a stormy grey! It has the most beautiful pearly, silvery white glitter hexagons as well as smaller while pearl and iridescent glitters. Honestly, one of my favorite glitters that I own (and I have a LOT).

And for good measure, here is Orly Pixie Dust by itself:

For Nihrida: OPI Ink and Finger Paints It's an Original

Here's a comparison for my dear Nihrida <3

OPI Ink and Finger Paints It's an Original:

OPI Ink (index and ring) and Finger Paints It's an Original (middle and pinky)

The finish is obviously different, with Ink having a slightly duochrome glass fleck thing going on, and Original is just a straight blue-purple shimmer. To me in person, the flecks in Ink make it look a bit more blue, which doesn't show in the picture. Both only take two coats.

And to refresh your memory, here is how Finger Paints looks alone (except a bit too blue, but this picture shows the vibrancy quite well... maybe it's because it has a top coat).

Finger Paints It's an Original

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Midnight Sky Swatch

Another one "from the vault." This is Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Midnight Sky. It's darker than OPI Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous and Chanel Graphite, and covers in two easy coats. I originally intended to layer something over this (like my Orly prismatic gold top coat, or China Glaze Fairy Dust) to make it more interesting, but as it turns out I loved it so much that I just left it alone.

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear - Midnight Sky

Tuff Scent Wisdom and Inner Strength Swatches

Today's swatches are "from the vault" seeing as I REALLY don't want to take off my Magneffects polish (I have Velvet Groove on right now...  LOVE) and also because I'm waiting for the breaks in my nails to grow out.

I ordered these Tuff Scent polishes directly from their site a little while ago, and had an excellent experience.  I originally ordered Wisdom and Loyalty (as a present for my mom because her favorite scent is Lilac).  When they arrived, the Wisdom had been open a bit and dried out in transit.  I contacted them about it and their co-owner Sylvie got back to me right away and let me know that they'd send another out immediately and they she'd throw in another bottle of my choice for the trouble.  And that's how I ended up with Inner Strength as well.

Here they are!

Tuff Scent - Wisdom (grapefruit scent)

I love gold glitter, so Wisdom was a winner right off the bat. However, the formula is kind of "gloopy" (even the non-dried out one), but not unmanageable. Also, in the bottle it looks more pale and warm-toned, but the slightly yellow-tinted base gives it a more bright cool-toned look overall. The scent is very nice and not overwhelming, and really does have a nice grapefruit smell once it dries.

Tuff Scent - Inner Strength (almond scent)

Inner Strength reminds me of all the other taupes out there these days, but it's still a very nice chic color. It's a little sheer, so it took me three coats for this picture and it may still have a couple bald spots. Also, I'm not sure of the scent on this one. Maybe I didn't wait long enough for it to dry all the way (since this is only a swatch), but it was a little bit strong. I'll have to try it again for a full mani and see if the scent becomes lighter once it's fully dry.

I'll have to borrow Loyalty (lilac scent) from my mom sometime to do a swatch, but I CAN tell you that both I and my mom have tried it on and it's a beautiful two-coat dark blue and the scent is very nice.  I definitely recommend Loyalty.

I do recommend buying Tuff Scent polishes from their site - they are truly unique in the scents they offer, and they have EXCELLENT customer service!  I will definitely be ordering more in the future!

Finger Paints It's an Original Swatch

Just a quick post today. This is Finger Paints It's an Original, and it's one of most bold, beautiful blue-purples I own. If you've seen Sinful Colors Let's Talk in person, then just imagine a darker version but just as saturated. It's a tiny bit more purple in person than in the picture.

Finger Paints - It's an Original

I think this makes a perfect "Halloween purple" because it's dark and vampy and goes very well with orange. If I was awesome at nail art (I'm not, I tried) I'd totally do orange pumpkins with pretty green leaves with this as a background.

Layla Magneffect Swatches

I recently had the chance to purchase some of the Layla Magneffects line at AveYou.com during a SaveMore sale (I got $75 worth of stuff for $35, and with an order of $50 or more, you get $1 shipping... all in all I payed only $38.50 for these five, and they normally retail for $15.50 each!). I am SO glad I decided to try these out! They are AWESOME!

The pictures below show one thick coat on index and ring fingers, and two thick coats on middle and pinky.

Layla Magneffect - Velvet Groove

I'm pretty sure this is my favorite one. At two coats it truly looks like soft burgundy velvet... LOVE.

Layla Magneffect - Golden Nugget

This was a color that at first I thought "Ewwww, that doesn't look attractive." Somehow I changed my mind and it ended up in my order, and I'm glad it did!

For this one I lined up the magnet vertically with my nails, and it's hard to see in the picture but it really makes them look VERY 3D and awesome. Although I like the diagonal stripes, I think this is my favorite orientation - it even makes my short nails look long and pretty in person. It's hard to capture the 3D effect in a still photo, but trust me: try this at home!!

Layla Magneffect - Blue Grey Flow

Another neat color. The metal parts end up looking silver and the spaces in between become a navy blue.

Layla Magneffect - Purple Galaxy

The first coat of this looks like a nice rich purple, and with two coats it becomes a vampy dark plum with metallic accents. Very classy, in my opinion!

I'm not too big of a fan of the horizontal stripes, though...

Layla Magneffect - Metallic Sky

And my third favorite of the bunch. The brightest one of all, and just stunning in person.

Now I've been playing with frankening lately, and these made me very curious as to how they would look with holographic or duochrome pigment (doesn't it sound like it'd be awesome?!). However, I'm not ready to decant any of these new preciouses to try it, so I figured I'd try layering them over a holo (the holo-est holo I own - Nfu-Oh 62). Here are the results:

Layla Magneffects over Nfu-Oh 62

Disappointing, no? Oh well, at least I'm not gonna worry about combining them with holo pigment anymore. However, I still think that if they could somehow make a magentic pigment that is also duochromatic, this could produce one of the most epic polishes in the WORLD!