OPI My Vampire is Buff

Hi, everyone. Just stopping by for a quick post today. I am getting ready to go on vacation so things are in disarray at mi casa. Today I am showing you guys OPI My Vampire is Buff. I'd heard really good things about this nude and jumped at the chance to borrow it from my friend recently.

lighting: sunlight

lighting: shade

Please pardon these photos. I don't know what's up with them but they're not awesome and my application skills don't look too hot in these pics either. Oh well, we all have our off days. Anyway, I found the formula on this to be a little problematic. Maybe it was just me since everyone seems to think this a great polish but I had a hard time getting even coverage. It took me 3 coats to get it to look like this. I know 3 isn't a ton but I am much more used to using only 2 coats. Plus I was having a hard time just getting it even.

That said, I still like this color. It's a very clean looking nude and I like that it's cool toned and not warm. I can definitely see this as being a good nude manicure look or good for nail art. I think this color was worth the application issues.  Guess that means I'll have to pick up a bottle the next time I am at the supply store. :)

Thanks for coming by. Hope you all have an awesome weekend!

OPI DS Original

Hi everyone! Today I have an oldie but a goodie. I bought a bottle of OPI DS Original way early in my nail polish days, back when there were way fewer nail polish brands and I would pick up np wherever I would find it. I have no idea where I got this but clearly I had good taste even back then. DS Original is a gorgeous medium purple with insane holo effects. Had I known then what I knew now, I would have gotten a backup of this as well as all the other DS holos.

gah - look at this holo awesomeoness

Formula on this was a little watery but nothing I couldn't handle. I did 3 thin coats to get the level of color I wanted. You might be able to do 2 but I liked the look of 3 better. I didn't use a top coat on this though I am sure you could have. Since it's the old OPI formula, it did have a very strong chemical scent. I have forgotten what those old polishes smell like and it was pretty strong when I first cracked it open.

I totally forgot to take a picture of this one in the shade. I think I was just too mesmerized by the rainbows. Even though I know there are lots of good holos being made today, I still covet the DS holos. This remains one of my all time faves and I love wearing it when I feel the need for something extra special.

Do you have a special polish that is dear to your heart?

Stashed (2): Sinful Colors, Maybelline, L'oreal, NYC, China Glaze Oh My!

It's been a while since I did a haul post but that doesn't mean I haven't been stashing. I was going to save this for the weekend but, after seeing how much I had acquired (and I am sure I am missing stuff) I decided to go ahead and post this so it wouldn't get overwhelming. I hope you guys like this haul posts. I love seeing haul posts on other people's blogs so hopefully you guys enjoy seeing them, too. Alright - on to the polishes!

l to r: Sinful Anchors Away (1197), Sinful My Buoyfriend (1198), Sinful Into The Blue (1194), Maybelling Blue Marks The Spot, Maybelline Drops of Jade, NYC Matte Top Coat

All of this was picked up on one trip to Rite Aid. Couldn't resist the new Maybellines and the Sinful summer polishes. And I have been wanting to try the NYC matte top coat which I hear is more of a satin finish.

China Glaze Wave Runner Ombre Kit: Wave Runner includes White on White, Celtic Sun, I'm With the Lifeguard, and Frostbite.

I picked up this kit as Sally's a few weeks ago. It was only $14.99 for the pack which is a really good price for 4 China Glazes. I usually get my ChG at a supply store for $3 or so and this averaged out to not much more (and my supply place isn't close). I also don't own any of these colors so win!

l to r: Heat Wave, Short Shorts, Teeny Tiny Bikini

NYC is so cheap - only $1.99 for each of these. They look fun and summery and I get top coat with it.

l to r: OPI Don't Burst My Bubble (Oz), Jessica Midnight Madness, NYC Delectable, Butter London Dosh, Mineral Fusion Axurite Sky

The OPI was a replacement that OPI sent me for my curling When Monkeys Fly (they responded to my email and shipped it super fast). The Mineral Fusion is a new to me brand that I saw at Whole Foods. They actually had a good color range and this was $7.99. The bottle shape is pretty interesting, too.

Most of the Messy Jessi Speckled collection. I just can't get enough of these speckled egg polishes.

L'oreal Berry Chic lip gloss and I Pink You're Cute Color (or is it Colour?) Riche Liptstick

More from the Rite Aid haul. This was in the new L'Oreal pink display. The gloss is awesome (hoping to review soon) and the lipstick is this crazy bright pastel coral. I have been wanting to try a shade like this for a while now. I don't know if it'll look good on me but we'll see.

Thanks for checking out my haul post. I'd love to know what you've stashed lately so let me know in the comments below. Have a fantastic week!

Cult Nails Love At First Sight

Good morning, everyone. I hope your weekend is off to a good start. I am a little bit wiped out from this week, but not too horribly. Hopefully I will be able to get some rest this weekend and recharge. On to the swatches!

Today I have Cult Nails Love At First Sight from their recent Dance All Night collection. I don't usually buy whole collection (on pre-order no less) but I loved the colors and all pre-orders came with a free bottle of the new Cult Nails Wax Top Coat. I haven't tried that yet but am really excited about it since I love Fetish, the polish I have of theirs that has a wax finish.

Love At First Sight is a really beautiful lavender with pink undertones. It's pulling more blue in my photos but, in real life, it leans more red. The formula on this was fantastic. Super creamy and smooth. It was a little thicker than I like my polishes but it made for a very creamy application. This was almost a one-coater for me but I did 2 just to even it out a bit. Shown here with top coat.

In my notes I put this down as "dreamy" and yes, it is pretty dreamy. Gorgeous color and fantastic formula. I can't wait to try the rest of this collection!

Cirque Never Nude

Happy hump day! Hope everyone is having a really great week. I am finally feeling a little less tired from the wedding craziness last weekend and am slowly catching up on things. I am hoping to get a bunch of swatching done this weekend, as it's looking like it's going to be very sunny. And speaking of sunny, today I have a polish that really dazzles in the sun.

Yup, you guessed it - it's holo time! This is Cirque Never Nude, a lovely beige holo. I picked up a bunch of Cirque polishes last month when they had a big sale and this is one of the ones I was most excited about.

lighting: shade

lighting: sunlight

In the shade, Never Nude is a cool champagne colored polish. But of course it's when the sun hits that the magic happens. Never Nude had a great holo effect that had me staring at my nails in the sun. 

The formula on this was just OK for me. I found it to be thicker than I wanted and I did have a few issues with patchiness. It also dried a bit gritty, which I wasn't expecting, and I definitely needed top coat to get it nice and smooth. But these were minor issues and the results are totally worth it. I only needed 2 coats to get the finish you see here. Now for a bunch of pictures because holos are awesome.

If you like holos, Cirque is a great brand to try. I also love the packaging on their bottles. Super modern and chic. I have a bunch of other Cirque polishes to try as well and I am hoping that they are all as gorgeous as this one.

Is anyone else obsessed with holos?

OPI Tiffany Case

Good morning, everyone! Did you all have a good weekend? I went to a close friend's wedding this weekend and it was super fun but also super exhausting. I actually did the bride's nails which was really cool and I hope to have a post about that soon.

Today I have a polish that I don't actually own. I was at a friend's house recently and she showed me some of her recent polish purchases. In her haul was a bottle of OPI's Tiffany Case from the recent Bond Girls collection. I had eyed Tiffany Case before but it just looked so similar to some of the JulieG Gum Drops polishes that I had so I kind of dismissed it. But seeing it in front of me, I decided to give it a go and swatch it on one hand to see if I liked it.

Tiffany Case is a really pretty medium blue with tons of silver glitter in it. It is very similar to the JulieG Gum Drops collection in texture and finish. I prefer this type of glitter finish for my textured polishes (vs the cremes). Tiffany Case was extremely pigmented and I only needed 2 coats. I let each coat dry thoroughly to get maximum texture.

Unfortunately this did stain my nails quite a bit. I would definitely recommend base coat with this to minimize staining. While i think this is really pretty, it does look really close to Blueberry Fizz from JulieG. I ended up doing a comparison of the two which I'll post in the near future.

If you like the finish and don't have Blueberry Fizz, I'd say go ahead and get this. And just for kicks I took a pic of Tiffany Case while holding a skein of yarn I had bought that day since I didn't have a bottle to hold. 

Has anyone else picked this up? 

Cult Nails Fetish

Oh Cult Nails Fetish. How I was lusting after you. When there was finally a sale, I didn't hesitate to pick you up and I am so glad that I did. As you might be able to tell, I am in LOVE with this polish. It's so simple but there's just something about it. The first time I saw a swatch of it, I knew I had to have it. I love the smooth black finish that't not quite matte and not glossy. With a name like Fetish, I think it's supposed to look like smooth, black leather, and it really does.

Formula on this was excellent. Like with any matte type polish, imperfections in the nail or application are going to be really noticeable so you have to be really careful when applying just so you get that really smooth finish. Because you don't use top coat, it is easier to ding and damage the finish. Below is 2 glorious coats.

I recently bought the Cult Nails wax top coat. I am really hoping that it gives polishes a finish similar to this one. I just love it and wouldn't mind trying all of my polishes with a wax finish. Imagine the possibilities. :)

Fetish is definitely going into my favorite polishes of this year so far. Does anyone else have this polish or other wax finish polishes? Let me know because I could always use more. :) Thanks for stopping by and have a good weekend!

Nail Pattern Boldness Bigger on the Inside

Hello again and happy hump day. I have a short week this week as I am taking Friday off to help my friend with her wedding. I am also doing her nails for the event (I also did her engagement picture nails). Hopefully we will get some pictures of them that I can show you.

But today I have an indie polish that I swatched a while ago but never got around to posting. Bigger on the Inside is by Nail Pattern Boldness and is a really vibrant bright blue jelly glitter. The name of this polish is a reference to Doctor Who. Though I do not currently watch the show, I appreciate its inherent nerdiness and I also love the color.

I needed 2 coats to get the color below. Formula dried quite matte and very gritty and a lot of top coat was required to get it nice and squishy looking. It's very sparkly and pretty. I just adore these types of royal and cobalt blues and can never say no to them.

This actually looks really similar to Orly Royal Navy. I don't think they are exact dupes but they are pretty close. I may have to do a comparison one day. 

Anyone else loves these bright blues? 

OPI Honey Ryder

Hello, Monday! Hope everyone had a fun weekend. I spent the weekend just doing stuff around the house and watching Star Trek (the first from Joss Whedon) over and over. There was some nail polish purchasing though as I found myself in several drugstores and also received some nail mail. I am really going to try not to buy any more polish for a little while since I have so many awesome ones I still need to try. Also, my wallet needs a break.

So today I have OPI Honey Ryder, which I ended up buying over the weekend. I bought a mini pack of the Bond girls liquid sands that did not include this shade a while ago. I didn't think I would need it but I kept seeing it on blogs and such and it looked so pretty. So I caved and grabbed a bottle when I was as Nordstrom Rack this weekend. Below is 2 coats without base or top coat.

Formula on this was slightly thick but not too hard to work with. Honey Ryder is such an interesting color. It's a cool toned gold that, up close, seems to be made up of cool gold and warm gold bits. It usually looks more cool toned but sometimes, in the right light, it looks quite warm and yellow. I don't think I have anything like it in my stash. I

Glad I bought this one finally. It's such a unique color and I think it a classy shade but the texture makes it quite edgy. This color would look good with any outfit.

I think that's the last one from the Bond Girl set that I want. I kind of wish that they weren't all liquid sands and that there had been some regular cremes or shimmers but oh well. They are definitely fun and I think OPI made a really interesting collection with this one. I am super excited about the upcoming San Francisco collection though since that's my hometown hood.

This post was long. Thanks for sticking with me. Have a great week!

JulieG Shark's Cove

Happy Friday! I love Fridays and I have summer hours so hopefully I will be getting out a bit early today and will be able to enjoy some daylight. Today I have a very pretty and summer appropriate color from JulieG called Shark's Cove. I love turquoise blue colors like this. I just can't say no to them. This light blue has a touch of green and a really awesome shimmer/sparkle going on. You can really see it in the photos below under the sun. Super pretty and fun. Shown is 2 coats with no top coat.

I am really enjoying these JulieG polishes. The colors are great and they're so affordable (only $3.99 at Rite Aid). I really hope they put out another new collection soon. Thanks for hanging out. Have an awesome weekend!

Bondi New York Horny Mistress

**It has recently come to my attention that there have been issues with Bondi and their subscription box. I, personally, had no issues with ordering and receiving my polishes, but recently other people have. Though I don't know all of the facts, you may want to do some research on the brand before purchasing and exercise caution. A simple internet search should give you more info and you can check out the reviews on their Facebook page.**

Happy hump day! Bondi New York is a brand that is pretty new to me. Profits from their sales all go to various charities which sounds like an awesome idea. They are a bit pricey ($12.50 each) but they were having a BOGO sale over Memorial Day weekend so I decided to grab a couple of colors to see how I liked them.

So I admit that I picked this color, Horny Mistress, based on name alone. I mean how could I resist? Horny Mistress is a medium toned blue based red (looks a bit more orange in my pic than real life). The formula was good and I had no issues with it. Bondi New York is 5-free meaning no formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, camphor, toluene and DBP. Here I am wearing 2 coats with no top coat.

This isn't the most exciting color but, if you like a good red creme and don't have one already, this might be a nice addition to your collection. Like I said, I got it for name alone and am quite happy with it. The color selection for Bondi isn't necessarily the most innovative but they have some pretty shades in there. They are a bit pricey I think for what you get but they do seem to have frequent sales. I also really like that the proceeds go to charity so I can justify my nail polish spending even more. :)

Have you ever bought a nail polish based on name alone? C'mon, I know you have!

**It has recently come to my attention that there have been issues with Bondi and their recent subscription box. I, personally, had no issues with ordering and receiving my polishes but other people have. Though I don't know all of the facts, you may want to do some research on the brand before purchasing and exercise caution. A simple internet search should give you more info and you can check out the reviews on their Facebook page.**