OPI Love.Angel.Music.Baby

Happy New Years to you all! I am being incredibly boring and working on clearing off my DVR right now while the rest of my family sleeps. Super exciting! Actually, I'll be honest-- I don't really care about staying up until midnight to ring in the new year-- especially now that I have kids and they will definitely not sleep in despite my keen wishes. I honestly haven't even really made any New Years resolutions, except for I need to get organized and pay off my debt. As for the blog, my main goal is to just post more. Oh, and get through my massive collection and not buy anymore polishes (hahahahaha).

Even though I'm not doing anything supremely exciting, I do have a lovely polish to share with you! Tonight I have OPI Love.Angel.Music.Baby, which is from the first Gwen Stefani collaboration I grabbed this on sale from Ulta awhile ago, and this was the one polish from the collection I really wanted so I'm glad I was able to snag it. Love.Angel.Music.Baby is a pretty gold that dries down to a semi-matte satin finish. This has almost velvety, soft feeling to it when it dries down-- it reminds of the Julep suede polishes from a couple years ago. I am pretty sure I used two coats here and it dried to the satin finish in good time (not so fast that you had to worry about messing up your polishing job). Unfortunately, because this is a matte/satin finish, it is prone to chipping more quickly than if you were wearing a top coat (hopefully).

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I love this gold-- it's soft and subtle and a nice metallic pop without being super showy (if you're in the mood for that). Plus, I would bet it looks equally stunning with a top coat, even though I didn't apply one here. 

Hope you all have a Happy New Years! Any resolutions? 

Zoya Veruschka

Wow, I hadn't realized that I have basically been absent the whole month of December. Ugh, sorry guys. I guess that's the price of parenthood-- I thought it was getting better but we've reached a new level of activity and parental exhaustion. Toddlers, yeesh. I hope everyone had a nice Christmas and you all are looking forward to the new year! We just returned from visiting our families for the holiday and now I have three days of work to wrap up my current job... and then I start a new one! Whew! Never a dull moment!

But on to the polish! Tonight I have Zoya Veruschka for you, which is another polish from the Matte Velvet collection. Veruschka is so, so gorgeous. Green is not usually a color I go ga-ga for, but man, I am drooling over this polish. It's so lush and has so much depth on the nail. Love love love it! This had a great formula-- two coats was perfection and it dried quickly down to the matte finish. I was very impressed with this polish-- I didn't expect to be as blown away as I was. Definitely one of my favorites from the collection!

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Did you pick up any polishes from the Matte Velvet collection? Which is your favorite?

Purple Friday: Zoya Savita

Happy Friday all! Hopefully you had a nice Thanksgiving, or are looking forward to the weekend! We had a pretty nice day-- my parents came to town, we had a wonderful dinner at my aunt's house and the kids did really well, especially given that they stayed up two hours past their bedtime!! But we all survived and had a pretty low-key day today-- no Black Friday shopping here. The weather forecasters are saying there may be snow, but I'm not holding my breath. We'll see! And my hubby has to work tomorrow, which sucks but there isn't much I can do about it!

Tomorrow is the Huskies' last regular season football game, our annual rivalry game (the Apple Cup) with our cross state university. It's being played on the other side of the state and it's supposed to be very, very cold. I can't say that I'm sad that I won't be there in person. So of course I had to paint my nails! I pulled out a new polish for this, Zoya Savita from the recently re-released Matte Velvets collection. I missed these before, so I snapped out the whole collection when they were released! And I'm so glad I decided to do that, because these are excellent polishes. Savita is a "bold, vibrant medium purple with strong red and gold shimmer." This polish goes on smoothly and easy-- two coats is all I needed. It dries quickly, down to a nice matte finish. Savita has a wonderful glow to it; it's stunning.

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Gorgeous! Savita just glows! I am completely smitten by these Zoya Matte Velvet polishes-- they are wonderful. Zoya, if you're listening, you can definitely make more of these! If you're looking for a matte purple, run out right now and get Savita as fast as you can!

Purple Friday: Sally Hansen Gummy Grape

Another Purple Friday post! Tomorrow is the last Husky home game of the season, I had to get a post up (under the wire, but whatever). This week I am wearing Sally Hansen Gummy Grape, which I picked up this last summer. Gummy Grape is a medium grape purple that leans more a little more red than blue (of course, my photos are the opposite). When this came out where there weren't a lot of purple textures on the market (at least, not real purples) so I knew I had to snatch this up when I saw it.

Gummy Grape went on fairly well-- the first coat was a little streaky but a second coat took care of that. Because this is a texture, it did dry fairly quickly. Although this is technically a "creme" texture, it does dry to a slightly shiny finish.

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I even said in my notes I needed to incorporate this into a Football Friday manicure... and here we are! Really I would like to use this with some vinyls or something, but that will have to wait I suppose! I really like this texture and will definitely be using it in the future. Gummy Grape is still listed on the Sally Hansen website, though as a "Sugar Shimmer," not a "Sugar Coat" like my bottle, so... I'm not sure if they are the same or different. That's annoying!

So, purple creme texture: yay or nay?

Two-fer Tuesday! L'Oreal Jean & Tonic and Distressed Turquoise

Hey all! I am hoping that this will become a regular (or at least sem-regular) feature on the blog where I will show you two polishes that are either the same color, same brand/collection, or same finish (and potentially all three!). I thought this could be a way to combine a few of my swatching photos and hopefully inject some life into my blog! We'll see if I can keep it up!

 For my first Two-fer Tuesday I am bringing you two L'Oreal polishes, both from the Miss Denim textured collection that was released this spring. First up is Jean & Tonic, a teal textured polish. Personally, I love the name, mainly because gin & tonics (or any drink with gin, if I'm honest) is my favorite libation. This applied really well and I used two coats here:

And then we have Distressed Turquoise-- which you'd think, from the name, would be... I don't know, turquoise, right?! Hahaha! You would be fooled, then. This is a light, sky blue polish that doesn't have any turquoise that I can see. This also had a good formula and applied easily. I used two coats here.

I actually grabbed this whole collection (and do have the other polishes to show you at some point) but overall, given that I'm a big fan of textured polishes, I really loved this collection. These are great colors, for any time of year, really, and they have a great formula. I can't say anything bad about them! The only thing is that Jean & Tonic does want to stain if you are not careful, so I would definitely double up on base coat.

Deborah Lippman Careless Whisper

Today I have my first ever Deborah  Lippman polish on the blog! Technically not my first Lippman polish, because a friend gave me Glitter In The Air for my birthday, which I haven't worn yet! Nail blogger problems, yo. I love the way these bottles look and have often found myself wanting polishes from her collections but never took the plunge until recently. But a month or so ago I saw that there were some Lippman polishes on sale at 6pm.com, so I decided to snag a couple. Careless Whisper was a bit of a gamble on my part- did it pay off?

Careless Whisper is a pinky beige nude with a very pretty pink shimmer to it. A little Googling tells me this was released in 2013 (as part of the spring collection). This can be used as a (relatively) sheer polish, but here I used three coats to make it opaque. I actually decided to wear this to a job interview I had recently (my first in over eight years!) and it was perfect for that. Unfortunately, I didn't get the job-- though I think it came down to a timing issue more than anything else. But as I now have to search for a new job because I am being laid off (ugh) I might be pulling this out more!

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I'm glad I took a chance with this polish; it's a great neutral! I think it's really pretty for an understated polish. This polish appears not to be available for sale for anymore, so if you like this you might be out of luck. However, I was really pleased with my first Deborah Lippman experience and can't wait to play with the other polishes that I got!

Sunny's Body Products Fall Exclusive Box

I have a slightly different post to share with you today! After I got into the world of nail polish, I followed that by becoming interested in hand care products and so hearing about Sunny's Body Products came at a great time! I have very dry hands so I love having new hand creams and cuticle products at the ready! Sunny has started offering seasonal boxes filled with a variety of her hand products and it's a great way to try several different ones all at the same time! I actually have two other boxes to share with you but... busy busy blah blah.

Anyway, these product boxes are great! You get 1 full size cuticle balm, 1 full size cuticle oil, 1 full size intensive therapy oil, 1 full size lip balm, 1 one ounce hand cream, and one 1 ounce hand scrub! So many goodies!

Sunny's Hand Cream- Pumpkin Apple Butter: notes of orange, apple, pear, pineapple, and cherries; middle notes of pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove; with base notes of warm vanilla.

Theoretically I should like this a lot, but this smells way too sweet to me and it's clear that, for myself, this type of sticky sweet scent is not my favorite.

Sunny's Intensive Cuticle Therapy- Caramel Apple: the aroma of a big red juicy apple dipped in warm, buttery caramel.

This smells exactly like the name promises: caramel apples! The sweet caramel scent is very strong in the bottle but when I apply it the caramel dissipates quickly and all I smell is the juicy apple.

Sunny's Cuticle Oil- Autumn Harvest: Crisp apples, vanilla, nutmeg, sweet pumpkin and cinnamon make this a perfect Autumn blend!

This is my second favorite scent from the box! The apple scent is strongest when first applied but fades and the spice comes through more.

Sunny's Miracle Balm- Pumpkin Crunch Cake: aroma of creamy pumpkin pie filling; surrounded with freshly baked yellow cake, melted butter, pecans, and hints of spice.

At first I wasn't a huge fan of this scent-- it was a little too sweet for my taste, but when I apply it the sweetness dissipates and it takes on a more spicy smell which I really like.

Sunny's Hand Sugar Scrub- Autumn Mums: features a sparking top note, a floral heart combining neroli, rose, carnation and marigold, with a base note of twigs and earth.

This is probably my favorite scent of the whole box! It smells exactly like fall to me.

Sunny's Lip Saver- Pumpkin Pecan: A delicious blend of pumpkin spice and pecan cream filling!

To me, the pecan scent is very strong and it's not my favorite (which is sad because I freaking love her lip balm!) but when I start wearing it the scent fades and it's not as noticeable.

Overall, this box was a little disappointing to me, but that's entirely based my scent preferences-- you might love this, especially if you like sweet scents! I have thoroughly enjoyed the other two boxes I got from Sunny's Body Products and I can't wait until her Christmas box comes out! The Fall Exclusive Box is currently still available from Sunny for $22 at her website.

Purple Friday: Illamasqua Faux Pas

Hey all! I'm technically squeaking this post in on Friday, though most of you will probably see it on Saturday. I've decided to shift from Football Fridays to Purple Fridays, because that's the weekly "spirit day" we have at UW before every football game. Plus, I figured that calling it Purple Friday would be more of a reason to actually review the polish. Or something. In any case, I'm giving it a try!

Tonight I have Illamasqua Faux Pas to show you. Faux Pas is described as a "blue violet" with a rubber finish. This was released several years ago (in 2011) but I grabbed it a couple years ago when it showed up on sale at Sephora. This was my first exposure to Illamasqua as a brand and I was definitely pleased. Faux Pas has a great formula and applies really easily. This could also be a one coater, but I used two in photos below-- I have wide nail beds so it gets a little draggy if you try to use too many strokes. While Faux Pas does take slightly longer to dry down to the rubber finish, it didn't feel like it was very long and you can complete your manicure fairly quickly (always a bonus in my book). The rubber finish is a not a true matte but as a subtle shine to it, making it look kind of like vinyl. Personally, I really love the finish but if you're looking for a true matte, this isn't it. Overall, I love this polish and I regret not buying all the other rubber finish Illamasqua polishes when I had the chance. Maybe they will re-release them someday (I can only hope)!

Quick note: photos are making this a bit brighter and more blue than it is in real life.

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Faux Pas is still available to purchase, but unfortunately you can't buy Illamasqua at any brick and mortar stores in the US at the moment-- you can only buy it from their website and then pay to have it shipped from the UK... which means $$. But Illamasqua will definitely ship internationally so that's an option if you really want this and have money to spend!

Colors by Llarowe Black Gold, Texas Tea

Today I have a Colors by Llarowe polish to share with you-- I think this is the first time I've posted one on the blog (well, for a full review)! I've actually had this polish for over a year, but only just got around to wearing it. I was craving something dark and thought this black holo would give me what I wanted. Black Gold, Texas Tea is a jet black linear holo. As I remember, the formula on this is pretty decent-- I think I only used two coats here. In case you didn't know, "black gold" and "Texas tea" are euphemisms for oil, which is of course drilled in Texas. (I knew about black gold, but had to google Texas tea! Thanks Wikipedia!)

I had a devil of a time photographing this polish. I mean, in the bottle, Black Gold, Texas Tea is a amazing:

But unfortunately, I feel like the holo got swallowed up in the base color on the nail. Maybe the black base is too black? I'm not sure if it had something to do with the top coat I was wearing (Cult Nails Wicked Fast) and that dulled the holo or what, but it definitely looked flat on the nail.

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I was hoping that the holographic qualities would be a lot stronger, given how this looks in the bottle. You can still see the holo, but it's not very strong. I was a bit disappointed overall, so maybe next time I will wear this I will either wear a different top coat or none at all. Maybe another coat would have helped? I'm not sure. I really do wish I had fallen in love this, but sadly I'm not. But never fear-- there are other polishes by CbL that I love! You'll see more of them soon (I hope).

Sally Hansen Batbano Blue

Today I have Sally Hansen Batbano Blue on the blog! Side note: I keep wanting to call this "baltano" or "boitano" (as in Brian Boitano). I think I have twin brain dyslexia. Batbano Blue was a LE polish that was released this summer-- I passed it by several times before finally grabbing. This color is mesmerizing. Batbano Blue is a deep but bright shimmery blue. The formula was a little thin, which feels typical of polishes like this, but opacity built up nicely in three coats.

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Stunning! I wore this as a pedicure for weeks! It's so gorgeous in person and loses something in photos-- it's incredibly vibrant in real life.

Nicole by OPI Sand in My Shorts

Bear with me, I've got a leftover spring/summer polish to share with you today. Sand in My Shorts was my favorite of the Nicole by OPI Roughles polishes and so when I saw these at a local drugstore, I decided to grab it. Yay textured polish! Sand in My Shorts is a yellow texture polish with orange flecks in it.

I used two coats here and that gave good coverage. In fact, this polish was almost good in one coat (surprising for something with a yellow base!) but it's true. I needed two to eliminate visible nail line. This didn't seem to dry quite as quickly as some of the other textured polishes I've used, but maybe I was just being impatient. I have a ding on my index finger due to that-- because I almost had a polish disaster; I grabbed the bottle and the top wasn't screwed on all the way and it almost spilled all over my living room. Disaster averted, thankfully, but it was a scary few seconds.

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This polish is so cheerful; I can't help but smile when I look at these pictures. What do you think of this polish? Did you pick up any polishes from the Roughles polishes? Which was your favorite?

Football Friday: Pac-12 opener

Sorry there weren't Football Friday posts the last two weeks. Busy, tired, unmotivated... yadda yadda yadda. I'm back! This weekend conference play starts and we are playing Stanford. This week is our "blackout" game, where fans are encouraged to wear black. This usually occurs for night games, but our game on Saturday is at 1, so it seems a bit silly. Oh well. I'll be out there in my black jersey, cheering along!

I decided I wanted a bright polish for the game, so I pulled out one of my favorites: Illamasqua Prosperity. This polish has a "rubber" finish and dries to a shiny semi-matte finish. I love it! Prosperity is a vivid purple with magenta tones, though of course my camera hates it and makes it look very blue toned. I'm pretty sure I used two coats here (sorry, no notes) and was incredibly easy to work with. Definitely a winner for me, whether or not we win the game on Saturday.

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I want to show you what a little chameleon Prosperity-- in real life it's much brighter as well!

Go Dawgs! Have a great weekend everyone!

Sally Hansen Mint Tint

Today I have Sally Hansen Mint Tint, a polish from their "Sugar Shimmer" line, which I believe is permanent-- at least, I have seen these polishes in the regular displays in the drugstore. I bought this on a whim (and maybe also because I thought it was LE, haha whoops) and because I liked the idea of the gold shimmer in a mint base. Magpie, that's me! I had high hopes for this polish-- but did it live up to them?

Mint Tint is a minty green textured polish with gold shimmer. Sadly, though, the gold shimmer doesn't really translate onto the nail and gets lost in the textured finish. The green also leans a little yellow and I wasn't in love with the way it looked on my nails. I used two coats here (no top coat, of course!) and I didn't have any issues with the formula.

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Ok, guys, this is going to sound ridiculous, but here it is: I don't love the texture of this polish. I know, what a silly thing to say about a textured polish, right?! Well, sort of. Textured polishes have a wide array of finishes, and Mint Tint has a very scratchy textured that I'm not in love with. It did wear down eventually, but I wasn't thrilled by it.

In the end, this polish was a bit of a disappointment to me. I think the idea was a good one and I would love to see another version of this but I don't think I'll be wearing this again.