Zoya Godiva

Today I have another Zoya Pixie Dust to share with you-- Godiva! As in, Lady Godiva, who allegedly road her horse naked through the streets of Coventry (covered only by her hair). With that in mind, it's entirely appropriate that Godiva is described as a "soft nude with a sugared sparkle." Nailed it in one, Zoya!

This is only the third Pixie Dust polish I have tried, but Godiva did not disappoint. It is a lighter color, so it goes on a little sheer in the first coat, but builds up nicely. I *think* I used three coats here, just to make sure I had covered my visible nail line. Godiva dried down quickly and I had no issues applying it. It really is an elegant neutral with just a touch of sparkle, making it easy to wear for pretty much any occasion!

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I continue to really enjoy the Pixie Dust line from Zoya! They are easily to apply, build up easily, last a long time, and are easy to remove! Perfect all around. Remember these polish line has been discontinued, so if there's one you like, you better get it before it's gone for good!

Two-fer Tuesday (x2): Maybelline Rebel Bloom Collection

Double bonus two-fer Tuesday this week! I have all four polishes from the Maybelline Rebel Bloom Collection that is currently available at your local drugstore-- I wanted to get these all up together because this collection has been popular. After seeing these over on Fashion Footing I decided I needed to have them all, so when I stumbled across them you can believe I snatched them all as soon as I could.

There were only four polishes in this collection, but a very nice grouping. All of the polishes have a creme finish. Beach Blossom is a pinky beige nude, which is very close to being my mannequin hands shade. Rose Candy is a very bright pink leaning coral. Fiery Tulip is a magenta pink, while Purple Madness, as the name suggests, is a deep blue-leaning purple. The formula on these was all pretty good-- I think I used three coats with Beach Blossom and two coats with all the other polishes. They were all nicely pigmented and went on easily, no issues at all! Pretty much perfection.

Beach Blossom: 

Rose Candy: 

Fiery Tulip: 

Purple Madness:

None of these colors are necessarily ground-breaking or unique but they do make up a really pretty capsule collection and are perfect for spring and summer. The colors are all incredibly flattering and have great formulas. Plus, the packaging is cute and the price point is good, so if any of these colors appeal to you, I'd run out and get them asap.

Barry M Blood Orange

Today I have a new to me brand to share with you, Barry M! This isn't a new brand-- Barry M has been around since the 80's, selling various cosmetics. Being a UK brand, I think the products were more difficult to obtain for a time, but it's become much easier thanks to the internet! So tonight I have a polish from the Gelly Effect line, which promises a "gel-like shine" as opposed to being a jelly finish. Today I have Barry M Gelly Blood Orange to share with you! I bought this on sale at Llarowe back in March.

Despite the name, Blood Orange does not really have any orange in it! Instead it's a lovely, classic red. This does have a slight jelly finish to it, as is usual with these types of reds. I didn't have any trouble applying this-- it went on smoothly and easily. I believe I used three coats here, just to get a little more coverage of my nail line, though two coats would have done just fine. This dried to a nice shiny finish, though I did apply a top coat over it.

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Overall, I was pleased with this polish-- it was easy to apply, dried well, and was nice and shiny as promised. I have another polish from this line that I'm eager to try-- hopefully I like it as much as Blood Orange! I have high hopes.

Sally Hansen Babe Blue

Today I have a quick post for you! I feel like all my Monday posts are quickies-- probably because I haven't gotten into the swing of week yet. This is Sally Hansen Babe Blue, which is a polish from the spring collection. Babe Blue is a pretty periwinkle blue with a slight shimmer-- the shimmer is practically invisible but you can catch a little glimpse of it here and there. The formula is ok-- it's a little on the thin side, so I needed three coats to make sure I had completely opaque coverage.

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It is a pretty color, though the formula was just ok. My photos are a bit brighter here than this polish actually is in real life, but it's a nice traditional color for spring. Not all that unique, unfortunately, but pretty nonetheless! What colors are you craving for spring?

Happy Monday everyone!

Deborah Lippmann Pseudo Silk Kimono

Happy Saturday everyone! Hope you had a nice one-- the weather was beautiful here in Seattle today. My husband took our kids to visit his parents this weekend, so I have the whole house to myself (our au pair is at Coachella, which makes me feel particularly old, hah). I went to one of the Julep parlors and got a pedicure and then had a nice long lunch with my former boss. When I got home I worked on some reviews and am working on cleaning up my DVR. Ahhh, it's so nice.

Tonight, unfortunately, I have a polish that is a bit of a disappointment to me. This is Deborah Lippmann Pseudo Silk Kimono, which was from her Holiday 2013 collection, a group of polishes with a silk finish. This was on sale at 6pm.com, so I snagged it. It was on sale, I was curious about it, so why not right? Of course, since it's a silk finish, that was probably what drew me in. I knew going in there might be issues, but ugh... this baby was troublesome. First of all, there is pearly shimmer to this which means brushstrokes! Secondly, with the matte finish, this polish dries quickly and you are liable to drag the polish away from your cuticles if you go back over any areas. Personally, I had a lot of issues applying this and finally resorted to using a sponge to even out the finish because it was driving me crazy. I am pretty sure in my photos I used 4 coats-- 3 applied normally, with a fourth sponged on.

It's a real shame I struggled so much with application of Pseudo Silk Kimono, because I like the silk finish and I like the white color of this polish. But four coats (having to sponge the last one on, no less) is annoying and too much work.

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Generally I don't comment on wear because pretty much all polish chips on me fairly quickly, no matter what I do. But the wear on this was particularly bad, even for me-- I had giant pieces flaking off less than 24 hours after I applied it. Overall, sadly, I wasn't that impressed with this polish, which is sad because I think this is a really gorgeous polish. Frustrating! Also, I will admit that I wasn't at my most patient when I applied this, so perhaps it would be better upon a second, more careful application.

Enchanted Polish December 2014

Hope everyone had a decent Monday and your week is off to a good start! Mine was pretty good, though it was a rainy day in my corner of the PNW and it feels like winter is back again (or for the first time, given how mild our winter was). Come back, spring! I have another beautiful polish to share with you today! This is Enchanted Polish December 2014, which is one of the limited monthly releases the brand puts out. December 2014 is a bright sky blue with a scattered holographic finish. As with all the Enchanted Polishes I have used so far, I had no issues applying this and it went on smoothly and easily. Two coats was perfect! The holographic effect is much more subtle than some EP's-- while there is a slight linear quality to it, it is mostly scattered. I don't mind the scattered finish; in fact, there are times when I prefer it over the linear finish.

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Gorgeous! Definitely reminds me of a cold winter's day, when the sky is cloudless and the sun shines but there's little warmth.

Short and sweet post tonight, but I'm trying to get back in the groove (again) after being sick (again).

Julep Becky

Hope the weekend is treating everyone well! We are dealing with another bout of colds at our house, which suuuuuucks. I am so over cold and flu season-- kiss my butt, germs, and gtfo of my house! Our poor au pair was at her wits end on Friday-- clearly, we all need the weekend to recover. Despite all the sickness, we have been pretty productive so far. 

Today I have a polish from the February Julep Maven box. I have to say that I still get my monthly Maven box but have less time to use the polishes, so I tend to opt for the beauty products. But I tend to buy the more interesting or unique polishes Julep offers, and my polish today, Becky, is one of those. Becky is described as a "oil slick duochrome silk." Of course, I can not resist a silk or matte finish so I knew I had to have this. On the nail and in the bottle, Becky looks like an oily grey with strong purple and green flashes. The green shimmer was really pulled out with my flash. As I recall, I didn't have any issues applying this, and I believe I used two coats here. This dries more quickly than a typical, non-matte polish, but not so quickly that it is hard to work with. As you can see in my pictures, it isn't a flat matte finish-- it has a satin like sheen to it. 

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Isn't the shift so pretty?? I don't there are many duochrome mattes out there (of course you could always mattify a regular duochrome polish I suppose) so Becky has a unique place in my collection. I'm really glad I decided to pick up this polish! 

Colors by Llarowe You've Been Served

Hopefully everyone had a nice Easter! Or at least a relaxing weekend! Our weekend was not particularly relaxing because of Easter, but we did have a really excellent time and the boys had a great time running around and exploring. It was really nice to be with family, though!

Tonight I have You've Been Served from the New Year, New CbL collection. This polish is a gorgeous-- just stunning. It's so rich and deep. You've Been Served is a "bright cherry red pink holo" and the holographic effect is a scattered on. While the linear effect is often blinding and can be show stopping, the scattered effect here serves to enrich and give depth to this color. Jaw-dropping, stunning, gorgeous! As per my current inability to keep notes these days, I am fairly certain I used two coats here, though you might possibly be able to get away with one. I didn't have any problems applying this at all; it went on like a dream!

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This is such a gorgeous red! I wore this for Valentine's Day and it was definitely the right choice. This does want to stain, though, so be warned-- you may want to double up on base coat or be prepared to do a little bit of scrubbing when you removed this. This polish is still available if you decide you can't live without it!

Colors by Llarowe Yes, I AM the Tooth Fairy

Happy Friday! If you are celebrating the Easter holiday, I hope you have fun-- my parents are coming up to visit, so I'm looking forward to it, even though I know it won't be very relaxing. There will be good food, though! Tonight I have a polish from the New Year, New CbL collection: Yes, I AM the Tooth Fairy! I saw this and couldn't resist it-- I was craving some winter white when this collection was released.

Yes, I AM the Tooth Fairy is a white crelly that has holographic micro glitters and pink shimmer. For a white based polish, this was pretty easy to apply and built up easily. I am pretty sure I used three coats here, just to make sure I had completely opaque coverage. Two coats might also be sufficient, depending on your nail length and how you polish your nails. This does dry to a slightly textured finish (due to the glitter, I assume) so if you need a top coat to make it nice and glossy and smooth. I used two layers of top coat here, as I wanted the smooth finish.

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I think this is such a beautiful polish-- not only during winter, but the whole year! I love that it's not stark white, but has a slight greyish tint to it. And the pink shimmer! Love it! Definitely one of my favorites.

Sally Hansen Velour

Ok, I've been writing this post in my head for ages. Mainly because of the name of this polish makes me think of Futurama-- specifically Zapp Brannigan, who in one episode has a line that goes "Leela, it's real velour!" (refering to his bedspread, while he is trying to seduce Leela.) This always cracks me up, especially because I think velour is considered to the cheaper version of velvet.

If you want to see the clip, you can watch it over on Comedy Central. But really, if you haven't watched Futurama, you should. It's hilarious! And sweet, and heart-felt and just plain old good!

ANYWAY... let's get back to talking about the polish Velour. This is the last polish from Sally Hansen's Velvet Texture collection. (Whew, we made it through!) Velour is a rich, medium purple with the same textured finish as the others. This one had a very nice formula, easy to apply, and I only needed two coats. This dried down quickly, but unfortunately chipped quickly, which was on par with my experience with this range of polishes (and tend to be very common with matte polishes as well).

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Even though I'm not sure I would have given this polish the name Velour (I tend to associate that word with the color red), it is a fun texture and I can definitely see myself using this during football season. Now that we're done with these velvet textures, do you have a favorite? Or are you over the texture trend altogether?