Swatch-O-Mania part 2!

I did the last 12 swatches a little differently ... 4 at a time. I was so over painting by this point, and they are collections, so it seemed right to show them side by side on the nail.


Avon's Mirror Shine collection (I am missing one color, a light pink, I didn't want it, lol)

From Index to Pinky: Peach Ice, Blaze, Polish, and Glisten

Avon Mirror Shine is a line of 5 metallic foils/chromes (I didn't buy the 5th color, Pink Ice). These babies apply great! The foils are usually thin, and these are no different. As long as you take care not to have too much polish on the brush, they are very easy to control. The great thing about foils/chromes in general, as well, is that they dry super fast and rarely need more than one coat! They also remove nice and clean. Wear is generally poor for this type of polish because it has a tendency to rub off, but I'm sure a good top coat would take care of that. I prefer not to use a top coat with these though because some of the coolness of finish is lost with the clear coat.


The next set is something special ... at least I think so.

I was in Ross the other day, just scoping it out when I ran across a set of 7 minis by Blush. I'm pretty sure Blush is just a kiddie type brand, as I have seen other sets of polish and lipgloss and fruity lotions and whatnot. All the other polish sets were just blah, but this one SCREAMED at me. I've also thrown in Cover Girl Candy Corn because there were 7 polishes in the set and 8 nails in the pics, lol, and Candy Corn really seemed to fit in. Check them out ...














How fantastic are these?!?! SQUEEEE!!! I LOVE THEM!!! Neon Jellies!!! None had names, so ... yeah, call them what you wish. ALL applied great. They started to dry right away too. In the first set of 4, both the purple and blue are 2 coats. Green and orange are 3 coats. In the 2nd set of 4, purple, red and Candy Corn (a creme, not jelly, not neon) are 2 coats and the weird yellowy greeny brown is 3 or 4 coats. That shade was the only disappointment because it looks super cool in the bottle, but kind of uck on the nail ... well, MY nail (it reminds me of some diapers I've changed during the kids' infant days, eww, lol). I bet it would look amazing on tan or brown skin though. I'll be getting a ton of use out of them over the summer for sure.

The best part about this set is that it was only 2.99!!! Well, Candy Corn I snatched up from Walgreen's for 1.89 or something like that on clearance ... The worst part is that they are minis and my Ross only had one set. :( I want a back up ... or 4.

Whatcha think??

Swatch-O-Mania Part 1

Man, I took a picture of all my unswatched polishes yesterday, and was FREAKED OUT. I looked like this:





Soooo ... I took THREE HOURS today, and swatched TWENTY FOUR polishes!


Here's the list:

Claire's Green Matte
Maybelline Berry Persistent
Claire's Ocean Breeze
Cover Girl Luxe Lilac
Sally Hansen Salon Shrimply Divine
Spa Ritual Free Spirit
Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Crushed
Sally Hansen Salon Mangoes Loco
Color Club Lazer Pink
Color Club Amp'd Up
Color Club Power Play
Color Club Limelight
Avon Mirror Shine Peach Ice
Avon Mirror Shine Blaze
Avon Mirror Shine Polish
Avon Mirror Shine Glisten
Blush no name lime
Blush no name dark purple
Blush no name orange
Blush no name blue
Blush no name magenta/purple
Blush no name snot yellow
Blush no name red
Cover Girl Candy Corn

Claire's Green Matte







This is NICE. ONE COAT is all you see here. Green Matte will probably be a go to for me if I'm in a hurry. Easy application, smooth, not too thick, wasn't drying on me too fast. No complaints whatsoever.


Maybelline Berry Persistent






OK, this was photographing a couple shades lighter and a little on the orange side ... It's definitely a darker burgundy leaning red. This belonged to my mother-in-law I believe, as it's not a shade that I would *ever* buy. It's been chilling in the bathroom forever though (MIL lives with us), so I scooped it up, lol. Anyway, I was surprised to find out that I actually really like this color!! I didn't have any trouble with application ... it started to dry right away, and it could be a one coater as well! 2 fingers in these pics have 2 coats and 2 only have 1 coat. Can you tell which ones???


Claire's Ocean Breeze






What a mess. I don't like it. First off, none of the other colors come through! It's just that top layer of blue. Second, well, as far as application is concerned, I think the pictures speak for themselves. Uck. And WHAT the hell do you do when it starts separating?!? Look how nasty it looks in the bottle there. I'm over it. Layered polishes = FAIL.


Cover Girl Luxe Lilac









Preeeeeetty ... I really like this one despite being apprehensive about it. It was super easy to apply, nice thin formula, opaque in 2 coats. I have no complaints whatsoever. I really like that it has an almost jelly appearance. The color of Luxe Lilac is similar to Zoya Zara (no where NEAR dupes though), so might be a nice alternative if you can't get Zoya.


Sally Hansen Shrimply Divine











OK, here's another one that wouldn't photograph well. It's not this light. Much much brighter and a little darker, actually. Another polish that went on like a dream, perfect in 2 coats. These are on clearance all over the place right now. I plan on scooping up every color I can find. Very very nice.


Spa Ritual Free Spirit







It looks so pretty, right? Too bad it was a huge pain to apply. This polish is supposed to be a sheer, but the first coat goes on SO streaky, it'd be impossible to actually wear as a sheer. Pictured is 3 coats, and it could have used one more to be completely even/opaque. I wore this once before, and it held up REALLY well. I don't think it's worth the premium price tag though. I picked this up at Marshall's for $3 on clearance though, so I'm happy. I'd pick this brand up again on sale like that, but won't be paying full price.


Sally Hansen Crushed








Look how dry my fingers are getting in these pics, LOL! Since I was swatching like a maniac, I didn't moisturize in between polish removal, so from here on out, you'll see scaly skin, lol.

Here's another color I was pleasantly surprised with. A medium reddish orange shimmer, the pic is a little lighter and redder than the true shade. Nice formula, easy to apply, opaque in 2 coats. I have had trouble with dry time with this brand in the past though, and I didn't actually wear it long enough for it to dry ...


Sally Hansen Salon Mangoes Loco







I'm pretty sure this is another one that photographed much lighter than it looks in reality. This is 2 coats, and there's still a little VNL. When I wear this as a NOTD, I will add a third coat. I have no formula complaints at all. Nice and thin, easy to control, etc, etc.



OK, I'm going to finish up with the Color Club Neons I picked up at Five Below last week. I don't know WHY I'm even bothering to post these because they came out TERRIBLE in the pics. Colors aren't even CLOSE to what they really look like. Oh well. I painted the nails, and took the pics, so you're gonna look at them!


Color Club Lazer Pink








This is SO much brighter IRL. It's a cool, shocking pink. I can't remember if this is 2 or 3 coats. I had minor application issues, but nothing upsetting. Poshnail has a slightly better representation of this color (and Power Play).


Color Club Power Play







I. LOVE. THIS. COLOR. Like I said, the pics are WAY off. It's darker, brighter, awesomer ... Great application. Love it. Check out the Poshnail link above, her pics are way better.


Color Club Amp'd Up




Yet again, came out way too light in the pics. Amp'd up is an awesome, BRIGHT reddish orange. Here's a better pic: NAILGAL


Color Club Limelight








Do I need to say it? Yeah, color not accurate. It's SO bright IRL. Hawt. Here's a good pic at Nailgal. (and OMG, fingers so dry and scaly!!)


Hope you enjoyed! It'll prob take me another day or 2 to get the rest up ... stay tuned!