New e.l.f Nail Polishes Part 5--Last One!

This last e.l.f polish is the main indicator that the brand is trying to go for the current trends. Mint Cream is exactly what you would think it to be! A gorgeous mint green that leans a little towards sea foam green.  Not sure how it stacks up against other mint greens but if you all want a comparison, tell me in the comments and I'll dig up all my mints and swatch it up!

Inside, no flash

Outside, direct sunlight

I really wish you could all smell these!

Mint cream was a thin polish as well. It was opaque in 3 coats.

E.l.f was really consistent in the formula for these polishes. Which is great, you know what your getting! Compared to e.l.f polishes I've purchased previously, these five seem kinda thin. However, they were easy to work with and had great shine without top coats! They dried pretty quickly, but tip wear was apparent after less than a day. Overall, for $1, they're fantastic! I really loved these colors, except Innocent, and recommend trying them out!

*Disclaimer* 

Though I did receive these polishes for free, they were a gift combined with a purchase and therefore considered paid for by myself. I have given my honest opinion and will not receive any compensation for that opinion.

New e.l.f Nail Polishes Part 3

Click HERE to view Part 1 

or

  HERE for Part 2!

Next stop on our journey through the new e.l.f polishes is Lilac. Lilac is a pastel dusty purple that in the bottle looks like OPI's Done Out in Deco with a tiny bit of Parlez-Vous OPI? mixed in. I knew that I would like the color the moment I saw it. Seasoned GGC followers will recall my love for dusty purples. I can't get enough of them! 

In the bottle, Lilac looks to be a creme but when it was on my nails the consistency and drying reminded me of a jelly. It certainly does not look like a creme on the nails. Though, that is not bad. It actually looks pretty darn good on the nails.

Indirect light, no flash

Look at that shine! (No Top Coat)

This picture is true to color.

Direct Sunlight

Direct Sunlight with some Lilacs!

Indoors, flash

Lilac was a very sheer polish when applying the first coats. These pictures are 4 coats, no top coat. It needed four simply because of its jelly-like consistency, it made thin areas really stand out. Three coats can even it out and look fine but I like to add a security blanket of an extra coat. Smooth application but a little thin, however out of all the polishes this one was the least messy. By far my favorite! 

I know a lot of you like purples, too. How does Lilac compare to your favorites?

New e.l.f Nail Polishes Part 2

Click HERE to view Part 1!

Welcome to Part 2 of the e.l.f series! Today's featured polish is Innocent. 

In the bottle, Innocent looks like a nude polish that has a slight hint of pink in it. You can definitely tell right away that it's going to be a sheer. It's the kind of color I would tend to stay away from just because sheers are a hassle.  

I started out swatching on just my thumb to find out if I wanted to do a full on manicure. After two thin coats I just decided to do a full mani. I wish I hadn't.

Remember when 'mannequin hands' was big? I hated it then, and I hate it now. Innocent has proven to be way to close to my mannequin hands! Yuck! I'm sure someone with darker skin, even just a tan, could pull Innocent off, but I can't. I took one picture and quickly took it off. 

Ick. Definitely not my color.

As far as application goes, it applied just fine. Same consistency as Desert Haze, a little thin but not bad. This was about 4 coats, I think. After the second one I stopped caring because it looked terrible. 

New e.l.f Nail Polishes Part 1

Hi everyone!


This week is going to be a series! Whoo, lots of posts! Yay!


I recently received an email from e.l.f, with a code for their 5 new nail polish colors free with a $20 order. Uh, done. :) I got the package in the mail on Friday. And I'm so excited to show you guys their new colors! (Plus two bonus polishes I bought to get to $20! :D) I was sad to find that I couldn't share the code because it's already expired! I'm a bad blogger for not checking that earlier! Next time, I'm posting the code right away!


The colors are all very "trendy", and include a mint green, lilac, dusty brown, gray-taupe, and a soft pink.  Clearly, e.l.f is trying to hit all the favorites. I'm not hating them for it! The colors are gorgeous in the bottle...but do they impress on the nails? Here's a sneak peek at what you'll see this week.

All this week I will do a post dedicated to each polish and give you the info on them. At the end of the week, I'll let you know how I feel overall. 


First up? Desert Haze.


Desert Haze looked gray in the email and on the website so I was a little disappointed when I got it and it was more of a nude/taupe.  I swatched it anyways, fully believing it would look awful and I would hate it. I don't hate it. In fact I love it. It's quite gorgeous. Desert Haze is definitely a color you could wear to work and people would comment on the gorgeous, unique color. In my opinion, it's chic and classy. 


Desert Haze is the perfect name for this polish, when you look at it you are reminded of sand and the slight hint of gray brings on the haze. I love the name! I want to be the person who names polishes...but then of course we'd get some strangely named polishes. ;)

Indirect sunlight

Direct sunlight

Desert Haze applied smoothly, though it may be slightly thin but no major cuticle pooling.  It starts out slightly sheer but is completely opaque with 3 coats. I had tip wear the next day but I did work 8 hours and it was rough on my nails. I would say that it would last longer under different circumstances.  For $1, it would be worth the buy!  I would recommend getting it! Super gorgeous!

Kayla

P.S. Funny story! On Friday, I was answering the phones at work when a woman called to speak to someone in cosmetics.  Well, no one would pick up the call so I thought, "Hey, I know a thing or two about cosmetics! I'll take the call from way back in the fitting room. haha"  What was the woman looking for?  Hidden Treasure. It was hard not to giggle at the irony. I had to unfortunately inform her that we only carry the core Sally Hansen line. I desperately wanted to ask her if she blogs. haha I'm a dork. She sounded disappointed and hung up before I could tell her where I got my HT. I hope she found it! There aren't many places to find it here. *Gasp* What if I got the only two bottles in all of Fargo....nah. That would be crazy though! 

Hidden Treasure Swatches (FINALLY)

Happy Mothers' Day to those of my followers that are moms! I hope your kids spoiled you rotten, today!

I know this post has been put off for some time now. Ridiculous! Let's just get into it!

The night I bought HT I decided to fill a nail wheel with different colors and cover them in the sweet deliciousness that is HT. This is the result:

Inside, no flash.

A lot of the darker colors look the same, but they aren't. There's a black, chocolate brown, dark blue, and a dark plum.

Flash made things go blah. :(

See? Not as pretty. LAME.

This was taken a different day and in a different room. The bathroom, where I found the lighting made HT light up on my nails! So gorgeous! 

This was in the "shade" or rather in the shower behind the curtain. I couldn't believe how gorgeous it looked! 

I threw some Matte Magic over one to see how it looked. 

The whole wheel just glows! I love how it looks different on each color! It takes on the color/softness of the base color so well. And over reds, FIRE! So amazing.

Turned the wheel for a better look at the darker colors.

Here's my first mani with HT, I lost the better quality photo when my photos were deleted. But you still get the idea. It's the same orange/peach as on the wheel.

This was after I removed the swatches from the nail wheel, and the sun happened to show up for a little bit. I chose 5 colors to quickly swatch HT over. SH Wet Cement, Rimmel Black Satin, the coral is either Finger Paints Drawn To This Shade or CND Poppyfield (Hmmm, very close to each other...must do a comparison), OPI Jade Is The New Black, OPI Done Out In Deco, and HT on its own.

Better Pic. Polish on the far left is a franken I did. It was supposed to be a clear polish with holo and black glitter but it was so thick I had to thin it out and the black glitter became silver and the polish is now a sheer black jelly. I then added some HT to the mix. You can kind of see it...perhaps I should add more...

Well, those were my swatches. Overall, Hidden Treasure is definitely worth the hype. In just one coat it looks fabulous and you can't go wrong with what color you put it over. It shows up on most polishes. It does pop more on dark colors, but pastels are given an opalescent look that can't be beat! For those who can't afford Nfu Oh flakie polishes, HT is a great substitute.  It'll hold me off until I finally break down and pay for a Nfu Oh. 

I have to win the lottery first. 

If anyone is having trouble finding it, let me know. I'll see if I can track down a bottle for you and maybe we could do a swap or something. 

Stay glamourous, Geeks! 

Kayla

50th post!

Welcome to my 50th post! Woohoo! Yay! etc.

Nail art. I love it. I wish I had konad so that I could do some decent looking nail art on my nails. I've recently just been testing out looks on nail polish display wheels. I'm happy with the results so far. I just need to transfer that to my nails.

I think I'll grow them out a bit and then they'll be bigger canvases to work on. :) That's what I'll do! Hopefully in the near future I'll start featuring some nail art.

I have a simple design on my nails today. Kind of a geometric style.

Here are the colors I used:

L-R: Color Club Bizerk Turq, Claire's Grey Matte, and Rimmel Minerals Black Satin

Here's the finished look:

I decided to just do the thumb on my left hand and the ring finger on my right. I didn't want it to overwhelm my tiny fingers! I love the color combo! Gorgeous! :)

My contest has gotten a few more entries in the last couple days! Spread the word so we can get a ton of entries and make it a little tougher! Everyone has done a fabulous job! It's so exciting! 

There's a new giveaway going on right now over at Yardsticks 4 Lunatics! She's curing our summertime blues by giving away some beautiful blue polishes! Check it out:

And she says there's more to come! Exciting!! Get over there and check it out!

Have a great weekend! I hope you have fantastic weather to enjoy! I'm off to work in an hour so I need to go enjoy the great weather while I can! 

Kayla

Where did you all come from?!? and more swatches!

Hello new followers! I am amazed. I've gained almost 15 followers in the last 5 hrs. Every time I finish a post I have a couple more! Thanks for following! I love you already! :) P.s. Check out my contest! I need more entries! And I have a feeling you all have some talent! So....DO IT! haha


Yesterday I posted that I got six OPIs at Regis for only $10. Do you want some swatches? Do ya? OK!

Look at the new pretties:

L-R: Parlez-vous OPI?, Clubbing til Sunrise, Yoga-ta Get This Blue!, Bronzed to Perfection, and Eiffel For This Color. (Not pictured is You Don't Know Jacques, it now belongs to my mom!)

Parlez-Vous OPI?:

Direct Sunlight (aka sticking my arm out my window!)

Parlez-Vous OPI? is a dusty purple. As you may or may not know, I love me some dusty purple polish! Flawless application, opaque in two coats! It's a new favorite! :) :) :)

Clubbing til Sunrise:

Indirect Sunlight

Clubbing is a sunny, shimmery orange. Perfect for summer! Two coats to be opaque, easy application! My favorite orange I've ever tried! Can't wait to sport this one in the summer! Stunning!

Yoga-ta Get This Blue!:

Indirect Sunlight

Yoga-ta is a gorgeous navy blue shimmer. In the bottle it looks like it has a teal flash but on the nails it does not. I think I did two coats. It was almost completely opaque in one coat. Very stunning. I love it. It would be great in the winter. 

Bronzed to Perfection:

Direct Sunlight

Bronzed to Perfection is a burnt orange with tiny orange flakies in it. The flakies are stunning in the bottle. On the nail? Not so much. I'm not a fan of the color. No application problems besides not getting the flakie loving that I needed. Extremely disappointed. Far from perfect.

Eiffel For This Color:

Direct Sunlight (Yeah I was half way out the window/on the roof) haha 

Eiffel is a deep burgundy/dark purple with shimmer. Indoors the shimmer is not existence but BAM! in the sun it's so gorgeous! Two coats. No application problems. Love it. It is another winter color, but hey I'll sport it whenever!

What do you think? Did I strike gold with any of these colors?

Savvy Femme Couture Swatches

Earlier this month, while scooping out the goods at my local Sally Beauty Supply, I spotted a new display of Savvy colors. It said it was the new "Femme Couture" collection. All of colors were gorgeous, definitely go check them out soon (Sally's having a Buy 2 get 1 free sale on all nail polish!).  I picked up three of, I think, 8. Here they are:

L-R: Mango, Golden Honey, and Melon Fusion

I'm not sure if they all had food names, but if they did...it just doesn't make sense. Femme Couture does not make me think food. Weird.

Mango:

Indirect sunlight

Mango is a light coral, almost nude, color.  Applies kind of thin, I think this was three coats. I think you could get away with two though. It's a strange color, I think it would look better on darker skin tones. I still like it though. Not sure how often I'll wear it.

Golden Honey:

Indirect Sunlight. (Pic from NOTD post)

Golden Honey is, well, gold. Opaque in two, I did three. Applied great, no problems. I don't have any other golds to compare it to, but it seems like your standard gold. When photographing the bottle, I thought I detected a very fine holographic glitter/shimmer in it. But it wasn't noticeable on the nails. Nice color, but easily duped I'm sure.

Melon Fusion:

Indirect Sunlight

Melon Fusion is a gorgeous hot pink that is almost coral. I immediately put it on my toes! I love it! Applied fabulously, opaque in two coats! Worth the buy! Go get it! :) haha I love it. Perfect for your toes for summer!

These were my first Savvy polishes! I'm very impressed. They are great! No problems with them at all! Definitely check out the new Femme Couture collection, there's a gorgeous teal and a holo glitter! I'm probably gonna go back and get more!

How does Savvy rank for you? Great? Terrible? Average?

Kayla

Pure Ice Swatches

Happy Friday! Yay weekend! Boo, I work all weekend! :(

I've got the first round of swatches all ready to go! Shall we just dive in?

Here's the complimentary bottle pic that comes with every swatch view:

L-R: Magic, First Time, and Risk Taker

Magic:

 Indirect Sunlight

Magic is a gorgeous chocolate brown shimmer. It's opaque in two coats, which is how many you see in the pic.  Applied smoothly, no problems at all! I almost like the color better in the bottle but I still like it very much on my nails!

First Time:

Indirect sunlight, pic looked better on my camera! :(

First Time is a lovely frosty green.  I wasn't sure if I would like the color but it was so pretty in the bottle, I had to buy it! Applied just as great as Magic, again two coats til opaque! Not loving the color on me!

Risk Taker:

Indirect Sunlight

Risk Taker is my favorite of the three! It's a gorgeous gun metal frost! Two coats = opaque. Applied beautifully! It's just a fantastic color. I've always been partial to gun metal/pewter colors, so this one was a no brainer! Love it!

Do you own any Pure Ice polishes? What do you think of the brand?

Kayla

Old NOTDs

I was organizing my photos into an "archive" on my computer when I found two NOTD that I hadn't posted. Scratch that, one I have posted--but on a blog I had before this and then deleted and started this one; and the other I thought I had but then didn't. Unless I'm blind, but I looked back in my posts and didn't see it.

First up: I believe this was my first attempt at water marbling. I think I used China Glaze Spontaneous and Caribbean Blue. Turned out better than I thought it would! I was impressed, didn't smudge it at all!

 

My pinky is definitely the best. 

Next, we have China Glaze Lubu Heels.  It's like Ruby Pumps' goth sister. It's gorgeous.

 

For some reason, I took a picture of it under inside my hanging lamp. Gave it a cool effect.

 

Brings out the red glitter. 

Well, that's it. Now I can officially archive these! Yeah, I'm a dork.
Kayla

Dupes? Uh, no. & tomorrow's NOTD

Lazy day today. I've sat around watching Alice (SyFy Original Miniseries) on DVD. It's a great modern day twist on the classic Alice in Wonderland. I love the ending...I'm a sucker for a good romantic happy ending. Check it out! They also did The Wizard of Oz a few years back, Tin Man. Another great one to check out! Anywho.......


This gave me time to do my purple comparison. I didn't find any dupes. But they sure are pretty, so here's the results.

Once I lined up the five polishes--two pairs to test for dupes and one thrown in for fun--I knew they weren't dupes. Could have sworn they were twins when they weren't side by side. ;)

1st pair: Sephora by OPI Call Your Mother and Sally Hansen Plum's the Word

Middle: China Glaze Spontaneous randomly thrown in (cause it's pretty)

2nd pair: OPI Done Out in Deco and China Glaze Light as Air
Edit: Ugh terrible lighting. Sorry!

Do I even need to show you the results? Yup.

 

Same order as previous pic from thumb to pinky.

Two coats on every one but the pinky (which is three) because I needed to get rid of the Matte Magic. All lovely. All unique.

And here they are matte:

 

Simply divine. A matte purple makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. 

This look I just finished about an hour ago and it was a complete accident. I was trying to make a diagonal line across my nail and my tape moved (grr) so I took my art brush and swished it across my nail with anger. Anger quickly turned to, "Oh hey, that looks pretty cool". Et voila: 

 

This is Wet n' Wild Nocturnal over Orly Rage. Topped off with Matte Magic.

I was extremely frustrated with my camera. I wanted a super close up shot of this. This was as close as I could get it without it being blurry.  That brings me to the question of the day: What camera do you use to capture your nail art in full detail? 

Another thing that hinders great picture taking?

 

Yes, I have a hot pink wall in my room. And depending on the time of day, the whole room is tinted pink. 

Doesn't help that my curtains are also pink. That may need to change. 

I need a light box. 

Maybe I'll DIY it. Oh, who am I kidding?

New simple layout. Yay or nay? I'm experimenting with Photoshop again. Layout may change again. Or just the header.

Completely unrelated note:

Remember my Chuck post?  And how I said I would run away with John Casey? Well, next week's preview has him looking like a bad guy. If this turns out true, my heart is broken. Why, Casey? Why????

Kayla

It's a secret!

Hey!
Just a quick post to tell everyone that Trade Secret has OPI on sale: Buy one, get one half off! And if the Trade Secret near you has as big of a selection as mine did...you'll be there for ages deciding what to get.

I dove head first into the new Hong Kong collection and got Jade is the New Black and Suzi Says Feng Shui.

I also discovered that they sell Essie! The only place in town that I've found so far! Since Essie wasn't on sale I didn't grab any. Next time? Perhaps.

So here are my recent purchases:

 Orly: Rage and Gumdrop.

 OPI: Suzi Says Feng Shui and Jade is the New Black

 China Glaze: Light as Air

And here's Rage on my nails:

 

Matte Magic on the thumb to see how it looked. Meh.

Kayla