Hola

Well hi everyone. How has your summer been going? Mine's been okay. Mostly classes, which are boring, but they need to get done. It's been hot, but where in the country hasn't been hot?

Uh, anyway. I needed and wanted to create a post, but I realized that I didn't really paint my nails so much this summer. I really have been rocking the base coat and nothing else pretty much. I've wore lacqure a few times, but not that much. Part of is because I was too lazy to do it. Another part is because I got a crack half way down my finger. Yeah, not fun. But I did a full blown mani today. Hurrah! I'll make a post about that tomorrow (I think) but until then here are the three polishes I actually put on my nails so far this summer. (I did a fourth-RBL's Sante Fe Road but I didn't remember to take photos of it.)

Cult Nails-Feel Me Up

Orly-Lunar Eclipse

Zoya-Edyta

I liked them all. Feel Me Up was the most difficult to work with, only because it's yellow and yellows are notoriously hard to work with. That was three coats and I was okay with it enough to stop there, although I feel a fourth would have worked out all the streaks I was having still at three coats. I'm sad I waited so long to wear Lunar Eclipse. It's a beautiful polish and I understand why everyone went crazy over that collection a few years ago. Edyta was gorgeous, but my pictures don't tell the story of it. It has shimmer and glitter that just didn't get picked up. It's the perfect dark green polish. I think it's one of those must haves polishes, especially if you like greens.

See, I told y'all I wasn't really wearing polish. I have to admit it's been nice to just wear my bare nails most of the time. I imagine I'll get out of it one of these days and run back to the color, but for now this has been it. Full mani post tomorrow. Hopefully. (Maybe Tuesday.)

Sinful Colors Olympia and Cult Nails Toxic Seaweed

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone. My last green mani for the week. Olympia is a muted mint green. I don't have Zoya Bevin or OPI Thanks a Windmillion, but I think this could be a very comparable dupe for the two if you rather pay $1.99 for the color. The formula was so-so. Not the greatest but okay to work with. A bit thick and it dried slower than you would think for a pastel-y color. It did dry very shiny though. Was surprised by that.

Added Toxic Seaweed on top because I hadn't used it yet. TS is THICK as hell and a bit tricky to work with. But it's worth it. It's sparkly and shiny. I used two thin coats and it dried pretty okay. I suggest using the two thin coats with this one and just build the glitter up.

I don't know if I love this mani or not, but it's what I'm wearing today. I definitely like it though. I don't think you can get Toxic Seaweed anymore (it was LE) but Olympia is a part of Sinful Colors Spring Cast Away collection.

Cult Nails-Time Traveler

Well, I love this. There's not much to say about it really. You may be able to find a near dupe of this somewhere (or maybe not) but there's something special about this polish that I can't really put my finger on. Oh wait, yes I can. It's called jelly.

Time Traveler is a dark navy blue jelly. A one coater jelly. Let me say that again. A dark navy blue one coat jelly. If that's not enough to make it special I truly don't know what is. This polish is fantastic. The formula was amazing as it flowed on the nail. There are a few little thin spots, but that's on me. I miss and touched the polish while it was wet and had to go back over it and...you don't care. Point is, formula on this is fantastic.

Because it's a one coater this polish dried quickly without a quick dry top coat. It did dry a bit dull so even if you let it dry by itself I'd recommend a top coat to make it shiny. But over all, this polish is love. This does stain, but it's worth it.

Also, Cult Nails turned one this week. Happy Birthday Cult Nails! For the celebration they are offering free shipping on every single purchase, no minimum amount required. I'm pretty much set with the CN polishes I have, but if you've wanted to try them out (or get this particular one) now would be a great time.

Cult Nails-Tied Up

So I haven't done a post since November 26. Holy crap. I'm so sorry about that you guys. Right after Thanksgiving til now I've been obsessed with all the papers and exams I had for the end of the semester. When I said that professors liked to assign everything right before Thanksgiving I wasn't lying. But they also like to get in everything they wasn't able to the entire semester right before the end of it. Muy frustrating. But I digress. Anyways, everything is done and I should be doing better with the nail painting again. :)

Tied Up was a limited edition polish Maria was offering during her Black Friday sale. She had about 100 bottles of several polishes that didn't/haven't made it to her final line for whatever reason and Tied Up was one of them. I don't know why this hasn't because this polish is awesome. My pictures don't show this polish all that well. In person it's a dusty medium blue creme. This is two coats, and the first coat went on a bit streaky, but evened well with the second.

Indoors, artificial light

Tied Up dried really well too. I think a bit quicker than most Cult Nails polishes. There's not much more to talk about with this polish. It's a beautiful dusty medium blue creme. I LOVE blue nail polish (as I've stated before) so I'm very happy to welcome this into my collection. I'm glad I got it before it sold out. Considering I've been in naked nails mode since my last post (really, I hadn't even put on a base coat in about a week and a half) this feels like putting on a sexy blue dress. On my nails. Or something like that.

Indoors, artificial light

Nina Ultra Pro-Sailor and Cult Nails-Unicorn Puke

Why must professors hand out so many assignments right before Thanksgiving and the end of the semester? Gah. Anyway, I found some time to do my nails today and decided to pull out a polish I've had in my stash seemingly forever and play around with the awesome known as unicorn puke.

indoors, artificial light

First I put on Nina Ultra Pro in Sailor. Sailor is a navy blue creme. Nothing that hasn't been seen before, but it's a gorgeous polish anyway. I'm sure you all have a polish like this already in your stash, and several brands have come out with a polish similar to this for fall. The formula was amazing. It was thinner than most, but could go on thick. This was one coat. It dried faster than I expected for a navy blue. The picture is without topcoat. I have to say, I love this so much. Again, I know I have something similar in my collection already (and have my eyes on another like this) but for me I can never have too many navy blues.

indoors, artificial light. sorry about the blurriness.

Because I haven't properly played around with Unicorn Puke I finally put it on. Um, can we say wow? This is so much more amazing than I thought. I love it against this dark blue. The rainbow effect changes just a bit with this, makes it a bit darker. Plus, you get just the right hint of the multicolor flakies when you glance down at your nails. Love it so damn much I can't even speak correctly.

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I love this mani so much! This is right up my alley. Navy blue, awesome flakies. What could be better?

Cult Nails-Enigmatic and Orly-Fowl Play

I decided to wear my last Cult Nails polish from the fall collection, Enigmatic. Enigmatic is a dark purple with shimmer that flashes red, purple, and even blue. It's pretty, if not particularly a color I go to first. I think I said in a previous post that I don't have a huge amount of vampy purples, so this is probably much needed in my collection.

indoors, artificial light

The formula on this was thin. I should have done three coats but I hate doing three coats. Dried okay. I have to be honest, I'm very much meh to this, and I thought I'd love it. It's why I saved it for last. I was pretty bummed about the polish and ready to take it off, and then my eyes caught Fowl Play just sitting there and I said what the hell.

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Now that's more like it! I don't know if it's visible in the pictures, but Fowl Play made the purple darker and added those gorgeous red and blue flakies.

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Now, I love this combination! I didn't have to do two coats of FP, and it greatly improved Enigmatic to me. This together is a winner in my book.

indoors, closeup

I still plan on wearing FP by itself sometime before the year is out. But I love this mani so much right now I'm okay with not getting to it soon. Or at least as soon as I was expecting too.

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Cult Nails-Living Water

I know I'm ridiculously late with this polish, but I finally got it over the summer and just decided to wear it today. Besides, I think it fits in the whole Halloween theme thing right now. I keep looking at it and thinking that this is a perfect polish to wear if you dress up as a witch. It's giving me that vibe for some reason.

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Anyhoo, Living Water was a part of the inaugural Cult Nails collection. It's a dark (darker than navy) blue almost jelly with blue and green glitter. It's gorgeous. The first coat is streaky, but two coats is nice and even. Dry time was a bit slow, but I expect that from darker colors.

indoors, artificial light

I know when this first came out people had a little bit of a problem with the glitter eating their topcoat. I have no idea if Maria revamped the polish since then, but I had no trouble with this at all. I used one coat of Seche Vite and everything was all good.

indoors, artificial light. close up.

I wish I had more to say, but everything I've ever said about a Cult Nails polish applies here. Good formula, amazing color, LOVES IT SO MUCH. I'm getting so damn repetitious when I do a CN post. It's kind of awesome.

Butter London-Chimney Sweep

Remember that Butter London salee back in September at Ulta? Well, unfortunately I got there late and there was only a few polishes left. Chimney Sweep was one of them and since I wanted a dark grey anyway I got it. Really happy I did because I'm digging this polish.

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Chimney Sweep is a dark, charcoal grey creme. That pretty much sums it up. It's that regular dark fall/winter grey that's popular this time of year. I did two thin coats and maybe I could have done a third (or made the coats a bit thicker) but I'm happy with it. The formula, while thin, flowed on nicely. This is different from my other two Butter London polishes, which gave me such a hassle that I was a bit put off by them. No problems like that here.

indoors, artificial light

This dried normally. Not too fast but not too slow. Pretty damn nice. I had some Halloween stickers so I decided to put a few on. I can't konad for crap so stickers it is. I didn't put a topcoat over the stickers cause, well, I'm lazy.  But the stickers have held on even with my relentless  handwashing/cuticle creme reapplying so it's all good.

And today I finally was able to pick up the one and only Unicorn Puke! Yep, I also pre-ordered this beauty. I got bottle #4. I don't know why that makes me happy, but it does. I wanted to see what it would look like on a dark background like this, so I tried it out. I like it!

So, that's it. I'm sorry I haven't been around. It's my go-to excuse, but school really has taken up almost all of my time. About six more weeks and the semester is over. Woot!

Cult Nails-In A Trance

It felt like fall this weekend you guys! It barely got up to 70 degrees. We actually had to break out sweaters and light jackets. You have no idea how happy this made me. It's suppose to go back up to the upper 70's later this week, so I'm going to enjoy the cool weather while it lasts. And because we had fall like weather I broke out one of the Cult Nails Fall Collection polishes I've been saving until it feel more like the season, In A Trance.

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In A Trance fills the olive green quota that so in season this year. This is on the darker side of the olive green spectrum with gold shimmer going throughout it. One coat was amazing, but this is two coats and as expected it's a bit darker.

indoors, artificial light. hoping you guys can see some of the shimmer.

As per the norm with Cult Nails, the formula was fantastic. Went smooth and perfect and only needed two coats. Dried quickly too. I only regret not being able to get any sun pics with this. I kept forgetting my camera when I left home. But it's beautiful out in the sun as well.

indoors, artificial light

I'm so digging this olive/military green trend this season. If you get just one polish of this color you won't be disappointed with In A Trance. That gold shimmer really brings out the color and makes it a bit unique compared to some others that are out. Also, Cult Nails is having free shipping til the 6th of this month (Thursday you guys!) because of their 2K likes on Facebook. I'm actually trying not to buy any new polish (my untrieds box is pretty much overflowing plus I'm trying to save every last dime to buy a new computer during the holiday season) but if you have $10 this is well worth it. This and pretty much every other Cult Nails polish. :)

Cult Nails-Let Me Fly

Super quick post today as school is, as always, kicking my butt. Let Me Fly was released as a part of Cult Nails summer collection. Or was it spring? I missed my chance getting it the first time around, but when it was offered again I didn't think twice. And I'm happy about that.

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Let Me Fly is a turquoise in real life leaning green polish with multicolor shimmer in it. I know it looks blue in photos, but, for me, it looks green. At least indoors. The microglitter is blue, green, silver, and I can even see a little pink. It's ridiculously pretty. It brings to mind Essie Smooth Sailing, only less blue and you can see the glitter indoors, not just in sunlight.

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The formula on this was, per usual, amazing. Went on like butter. This is two coats but I could have done one. Dried quickly as well.

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Such a beautiful polish. Another one where I can't stop staring at my nails. If you get a chance to get this (especially when Maria has a sale) don't think about it, just get it. You won't regret your purchase. Not in the least.

Cult Nails-Awakening and Hypnotize Me

My Cult Nails fall collection pre-order came in earlier this week! I know I say I usually wait to buy when polishes go on sale, but I loved the colors that were offered here so I decided to splurge a bit and get it. Now, the mani I was planning on doing was In a Trance and Hypnotize Me, but since someone already beat me to it I decided to go for the creme. And what a lovely creme it is.

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Awakening is a dark teal creme. In the bottle it looks more blue but when you put it on and after it dries it leans more green. I love it how it is, but I was hoping it kept that original dark blue teal color. On the lookout for a color like that now.

outdoors, sun. sorry about the shadow.

The polish here was thin but good. This is two thin coats. Went on amazing, per usual with Cult Nails. Dried on the quicker side of things too. I don't know what else to say, this is a great creme polish. If you adore teals like me then this one is a must I think.

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Now, Hypnotize Me is a blue/green glitter in a very light/pale/limeish green color base. I would never wear this on its own, but layered on top of a creme? Hell yes.

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So pretty. My pictures don't do it justice. It shows purple as well as green and blue. It's thick so I only did one coat, but one coat is packed with lots of glitter. It went on well and covered the base teal really well.

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I love these two polishes together. And I love Awakening alone. I'm going to hold off on wearing the other two polishes, just because it does have a decided fall feel to them (as do these two) and it's still hitting mid 90 degrees in Charleston. I think I want to wear them when I can break out a sweater. But I'm in love with this collection already.

Cult Nails-My Kind of Cool Aid

So another polish you all have seen a million times before that I'm just getting around to wearing. This is the second polish I bought during Cult Nails 4th of July sale I referenced to here.

outdoors. please ignore the horrible cuticle on my middle finger.

When I first saw this I was intrigued by it and nothing has changed that. My Kind of Cool Aid was the first polished released by the company back in January. I think of it as a muted purple greyish color with silver shimmer. I love the base color. I don't know how well it works on me, but I love it anyway. Doesn't matter. I kind of wish the shimmer showed up more, but I think that's what makes this polish work, you know? The fact that the shimmer is subtle. You really can't see it  unless you're out in the sun or underneath a direct light source.

outdoors, sun. i hope you guys can see the little bit of shimmer.

The formula was so great. I thought it was a bit thin, but two smooth coats did the job. Dried pretty well too. I'm really digging Cult Nails. I pre-ordered the fall collection and I can't wait until it ships. I have a feeling they'll be as good as the two I have now. :)

Cult Nails-Iconic

Yes, I have finally joined the Cult. :) I took advantage of her Fourth of July sale and bought two colors I wanted since she first introduced them. I wanted to get Let Me Fly as well but it was sold out by the time I ordered. Oh well.

First polish is Iconic. I've seen this describe as a red/berryish polish with red flakies. And I can't disagree with that. The thing is, it's darker than what I was expecting. It's darker than what is in my pictures. Although to be fair, it's been super overcast and rainy the past few days in Charleston so I didn't get an opportunity to see this in the sun. Maybe in the sun it's more berryish than red. But what I see now is a dark red almost wine like color. It's still pretty, but I was hoping for the berryish color.

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The flakies in it makes this polish. The flakies are a smidge lighter than the polish. And it has hints of gold in it. Or at least that's what it looks like. So while it's not the color I was expecting and hoping for, it's still so very pretty.

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The formula was perfection. I did two coats, but if I put it on thicker for the first coat I don't think I would have needed two. The polish flowed on my nails, wasn't too thick or thin. And dried pretty quickly. And I have to say, Seche Vite usually gives me shrinkage (which I don't care all that much about since I change my polish every three or so days) but not with this polish. Score!

indoors, artificial light

So I like this. Really like it. I just wish I would have realized the swatches of this from earlier this year aren't necessarily true IRL. If I wasn't expecting pink/berryish I think I would have loved it then. Darn expectations.