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

Swatches, NOTD, and goodies in the mail!!

Hey! Today was a loooooong day. Things didn't go as planned but my day brightened when I got home. I had to packages waiting for me. I was so excited, mostly because it had been awhile since I ordered one of them and had no idea what was in it! It was my order from NYX when they had their dollar sale. My other order came from Victoria Nail Supply. I think I'll do a separate post of what was inside those packages for tomorrow. Suspense!

I did manage some swatches from the impromptu CVS haul. It took me forever to get a picture and its still not the best quality. Apologies in advance! I swear I'll get a better camera someday....

From L-R we have Milani Diamond Dazzle, Sally Hansen Plum's the Word, Black Platinum, and Sephora by OPI Call Your Mother.

I added Call Your Mother because I thought that it would be similar to Plum's the Word. Its actually quite a bit lighter. Which I was thankful for, I'd rather have them be unique! Anyways, that picture gives a good idea of Diamond Dazzle's glitter but isn't true to color for the rest. Here is a blurry picture that gives true color:

Terrible quality, true to color. I hate my camera. 

I really love these polishes. Plum's the Word is just a darker Call Your Mother but there is something about those dusty purples that I love. Black Platinum is gorgeous. I mainly got it so I could see what it looks like matte...LOVE IT! Wish I had a picture...*mumbles about worthless camera*.

I did get some pictures of my LOTD featuring Black Platinum. This was actually yesterday's LOTD but whatever.

I added a coat of Diamond Dazzle on my ring finger and a heart shaped rhinestone on my thumb. I think this is a nice Valentine's Day manicure. Why? Because its not the average pink mani you get for the holiday. Its got an edge, yet still has a red heart. My kind of Valentine's Day mani!

For tomorrow:  Hauls!!!! And a LOTD.

Kayla