Manicure Monday

GUYS! I DID IT! I finally finished wearing every single one of my polishes. It would have happened sooner if I could have stopped myself from picking up new ones, but...whatever. New Year's resolution DEFEATED. Boom.

This is a pretty massive post, so I'm going to try and keep it short(ish) and sweet(ish). I got gradually less successful at being brief over time...

Sally Hansen Rosy Outlook with Wet N Wild Waves of Enchantment, taped

WoE is sheer, but it's really pretty layered over Rosy Outlook.

Manicure Monday

Betcha didn't think I'd be posting again so soon, didja? I'm so on top of things, guys.

Sinful Colors Ice Dream
I saw this one at the drugstores last winter and passed on it, only to later decide I wanted it and go back to find it gone. So I was very happy to see it again this year, and snatched it right up! It's a very sparkly, very pretty silver shimmer with blue small hexes (I think they're hexes, at least; they're very wee!).

You can build it up to opacity on its own in 3 coats, but I was lazy and just did it over one coat of Wet N Wild Silvivor, which gave almost exactly the same effect. Only one coat of top coat needed, too. Very wintry! Here's hoping we get snow this year so I can wear it and feel like the Ice Queen.

Manicure Monday

I've been having some digestive issues lately, which hasn't left me feeling particularly bloggy, but I have procured some new polishes––nothing quite like colorful sparkle fingertips to take away from stomach malaise, no? (Also, due to the discomfort and concomitant resurgence of CFS symptoms, I've been rather absent from the blogosphere, too, which I must apologize for! It's gotten to the point where I'm so far behind on commenting that the thought of trying to catch up gives me anxiety, so while I have been reading and loving y'all's posts, I may not ever write the comments to prove it. I'm sorry! Feel free to not comment on my posts for a few weeks...)

Nubar Iris Dust
This is actually about a year old, but I don't think I've ever shown it here. It's a super dramatic multichrome, shifting from a deep purple to a bright yellow. I wasn't able to capture all the shades, but the shots below capture how it looks most of the time.

It's a perfect fall polish, since it matches the glorious trees. It's very, very sheer, though, so I recommend layering it; I did two coats of Iris Dust over two coats of Wet N Wild Under Your Spell. I neglected to photograph it until a couple of days after applying, hence the tip wear, but I find the wear to be pretty typical. You can find it on eBay for ~$5, which is where I bought mine.

Manicure Monday

More manicures! This is going to be brief, again, because I have a bunch of quizzes to grade and a sure-to-be-confusing syntax article to read (the life of a grad student is just an endless party, y'all).

OPI Every Month is Oktoberfest
I caved and bought this when I spotted it in New York. Yes, I hate OPI's terrible punny names, but the color is SO GORGEOUS. And after using it, I have to say the OPI formula (okay, based on a sample size of 1, so take it with a grain of salt) is fantastic. I will be paying more attention to their other collections now! And I will be wearing this polish all the freaking time.

Sinful Colors Nail Polish in All About You Review and Swatches

All About You is the sheerest, wateriest of all the Sinful shades I got.  It's a gold and copper foil (when built up enough) that shimmers and glows in the light.  It reminds me of a candle (but without the risk of getting burnt!).

All About You

Sinful Colors Nail Polish in Hottie Review and Swatches

Next in our series on Sinful's glitter polishes is the blue Hottie.  I'd seen swatches of it on Shimmer Kisser and thought it looked gorgeous, so I decided to pick it up when they were half-off.  I've come to realize that I don't actually like blue fingernail polish, so this is one that will have to be relegated to my toes, but I have some (rather messy) finger swatches for you, since I didn't know I didn't like blue on my fingers until after I'd gotten done painting them.  Live and learn, I suppose!

Hottie

The same problems with formula plague Hottie as did Nail Junkie and Pink Sparkle; it's thick and goopy, and trying to do thin layers is impossible.  It has a similar mix of sparkle as the other two, with a combination of small sparklies and bigger flakies.

One coat Hottie over Scotch tape

2 coats Hottie over Scotch tape

1 coat Hottie over Wet N Wild Black Creme on Scotch tape

2 coats Hottie over Black Creme on Scotch tape

2 coats Hottie on nails under fluorescent inside light (I was doing my nails at night); I'm sorry for the messy application, but I wasn't willing to wear it long enough to fix it

3 coats Hottie on nails (application is even worse!)

It's nice, but it's not love for me.  If you like blue, though, this might be right up your alley!  See my review of Nail Junkie for application and removal issues.

Overview

$1.99 for 0.50 oz, available at drugstores

Quality: 8

Effectiveness: 5

Ease of Use: 3

Senses: 4

Pigmentation: 4.25 (one coat is plenty pigmented if you're layering, but it takes 3+ coats if worn alone)

Duration: 3.75 (I'm assuming it's the same as the other Sinfuls I've tried)

Consistency: 3 (thick and unwieldy, even worse than the others)

Price: 4.5

Value: 5 (even though it's not a color I love, I won't dock points for here, because I must learn to be more objective)

Grade: B-

What do you think of Hottie?

Sinful Colors Nail Polish in Pink Sparkle Review and Swatches (very pic heavy!)

Next up for Sinful sparkles: Pink Sparkle.  It's exactly what it sounds like, you'll be shocked to hear.

Pink Sparkle in sunlight

Sinful Colors Nail Polish in Nail Junkie Review and Swatches

This is one of the 5 Sinfuls I bought from Walgreens during their sale.  It's super pretty, and super sparkly: love!

Nail Junkie in sunlight