Manicure Monday

My friends and I came up with New Year's Resolutions for each other, ranging from the absurd (A has to pet 365 dogs) to the pragmatic (T has to cook using an ingredient new to her at least once a week). The boy has to leave a review for a game before he can purchase any more (his Steam account is just ridiculously overstocked), and I have to wear all my polishes (not just new ones!) before I can repeat any, though I am allowed to re-wear things so long as the manicure contains at least one polish I haven't yet worn. So y'all will be seeing some polishes I've featured before, as well as some new and exciting ones, and I'm hoping the exercise will result in a sleeker, better polish collection.

Essie On a Silver Platter* and Sephora+Pantone Rose Dawn
My NYE mani was a great way to start the year. I layered Essie On a Silver Platter (my Christmas gift from Z!) over Sephora+Pantone Rose Dawn (one coater! which I could have sworn I'd reviewed, but apparently not...). The contrast of warm rose under the blue holo hexes and gold shimmer was really, really pretty (and actually reminded me of the guest post Z did for my birthday!). I would totally re-wear this if I could, but alas, it will have to wait. Also, I was going through a rebellious phase and didn't want to photograph with a real camera, so you get crappy phone pictures.

in sunlight

Mavala Nail Polish Reviews and Swatches

Mavala is a Swiss brand that makes mini bottles of polish (0.17 oz, rather than the usual 0.4-0.5 oz) in a stunning array of colors. As far as I know, they're not available in the US, but you can order them from Beauty Bay (which has free shipping options sometimes [editor: like right now!], as was the case when I bought mine, and even when not free the shipping is quite reasonable, ~$6 to the US), which is what I did. They run ~$4, and the greatest challenge is in deciding what shades to get! These polishes are another post-breakup purchase, and by post-breakup, I mean the day after. It took almost a month for them to get to me, though I imagine the time would be less if you're on the East Coast, and for free, I'm not complaining!

Left to right: Electric Green, Charm, Berlin, Dakar

I ordered 5 colors, but evidently one was sold out before they shipped my order (and sadface, it was the awesome duochrome one! Alas), so I have 4 to show you today.