Well Howdy

Hey guys. Long time no write huh? To be honest there isn't a real reason I didn't blog for almost three weeks. I was finished with school (although summer semester has just started), I didn't move or start a new job or anything like that. I just needed a bit of a break. I think I was wearing nail polish for this blog's sake and not because I love it. So...yeah, needed the time to just paint my nails at my own leisure. Wear a color for a few hours or up to a week. Wear a color again if I wanted to. Stuff like that. I needed to be selfish with my polish wearing.

And with that selfishness I wore quite a few polishes. They're below, with a few notes.

Man Glaze Lesbihonest-My first Man Glaze polish and holy crap I love it. I need to get a few more in my life. It's a bright fuchsia matte with shimmer. I can't even begin to explain how much I love this one, and you guys know pink isn't my favorite color (polish or not) in the world. Two coats and it was perfect.

Zoya Marina-I wore this after it had been overcast and cloudy for days in my part of the world. Lots of summer storms (and already two named tropical storms. Yay summer) already. Marina matched the cloudy, greyish dark skies. I got this polish in a swap with Refined and Polish, who is one of the sweetest people ever. She taking a break to finish up her doctoral degree, but her blog is one of the best out there. If you follow this one, you HAVE to follow hers. Two coats as well.

Hits Hera-Honestly, I just wanted to wear one of the few holos I have backlogged in my untrieds box and we had like one day of sun. Woo. This is a teal holo. It's so pretty and the picture doesn't even begin to show how beautiful the holo is. I did three coats of this one, but they were thin coats. Dried relatively fast and no top coat.

Zoya Jancyn and OPI Servin Up Sparkle-I also have quite a few Zoyas backlogged as well and wanted to get another one out the way. Jancyn is a bright almost tangerine orange. I've wanted this one since it first came out a few years ago. Unfortunately I didn't love the formula. It needed three coats and it went on funky and just...bah. I think someone with more patience who like orange would love the color. I put on SUS to add a bit to the orange creme. I actually really liked that look after SUS was added.

Zoya Jo-Talking about a polish I've wanted forever. And I looooves it. It's a cornflower blue with lots of blue shimmer. Much more than what you see in the picture. I did three coats of this one as well, but it dried quickly and I didn't have any problems with the formula. Now I know why everyone loves this polish. I think it's a must have for a collection. It's not terribly unique (nowadays) but it's a basic color you should just have.

Sinful Colors Athens-I just gushed about Jo and now I have to go to this. I don't like this polish. I didn't like the color once I had it on my nails, I didn't like the formula. It looked better in the bottle than on me. Meh. No need to really talk about this one more.

A-England Order of the Garter-A denim blue with glass flecks. Yes. Just a beautiful polish from a great company. OotG is from the latest A-England collection, The Legends. It's the one non-holo and what a non-holo polish it is. I needed three coats, but other than that it was great. Drying time was a bit slow, but I don't know how much of that is the polish or the fact that I used three coats, with the second and third coats being relatively thick. But other than that it's a great polish.

So as you can see I did indeed wear a good bit of polish during the past three weeks. I also wore IKB again because, well I could and it needs to be worn as often as possible. I don't know how blogging will go from now on. I guess when the mood strikes me. I might do a post with just one polish, I may do one with seven again. At least I'll have an excuse this time? Anyway, I hope things have been going well with all of you. Any plans for the summer? I hope it's more interesting then taking summer classes like me.

Ciate-Regatta

Why, hello. Another quick post, this time in the form of Ciate. Ciate is a British polish brand that isn't sold in the U.S. I actually got this through an international retailer when they were having a free shipping worldwide promotion. Don't know if I would have gotten it otherwise.

Regatta is a denim blue with silver shimmer. It actually looks like it wants to go metallic, but it doesn't. The formula on this was thick, but highly manageable. I did two coats cause I had a few little bald spots after the first coat, but nothing major. This dries relatively okay and to a matte finish, like the first picture. Adding top coat makes it shiny, but I think I like the matte look better.

Hmm...that's about it with this polish. I've had it on for a day now and, unlike other mattes, it hasn't chipped yet. I'm on the fence with this one. It's a lovely polish in every regard, but I don't think it's anything near unique. In fact, I think I have one of the OPI Suedes sitting in my untrieds box that's like this. Or maybe I've worn it before. Either way, I'm pretty sure there are quite a few mattes out there that looks like this. With that said, this is, again, a really nice polish. Hmm...that's all there is to say.

Rescue Beauty Lounge-Aqua Lily

So I was trying to wait until the end of the semester to wear my RBL Fan Collection polishes. And while I have one last exam next Monday, I realized that the semester is over (no more classes or anything, just that one last exam) so why the hell not? Plus, I have no willpower what so ever.

Aqua Lily is a turquoise base with pinkish/purple-ish shimmer. Now on most pictures this looked blue, but it really is turquoise. The shimmer in it isn't so much that it overtakes the base, but it steadily there, especially in the sun (unfortunately, no sun pics. Overcast most of the day where I am).

The formula on this was good. Mostly two coats. I did do a little patch up job, but that was because of how I painted it on (I did thin coats and it was just going on all kinds of weird) not because of the formula. And this dried so fast. Much faster than I was expecting.

bottle shot so you can see the shimmer

I love this. I think if this was my creation I would have either had more shimmer or no shimmer at all (because the turquoise is just gorgeous by itself) but I didn't create it. And maybe that's why I don't create nail polish. This is beautiful as is. And unfortunately, if you didn't get AL already then you can't cause it's sold out already. :( And I have crossed out another one of my resolutions for my nail game this year-buy and wear a polish that was at least $17 in price. I think this is well worth it.

Zoya-Gemma

Another quick post. Just have to make it through this week and then I'm free. Well, for a month and then it's summer semester. Sigh.

Anyway, Gemma is a muted green base with purple shimmer in it. The base actually reminds me of a lighter Dree. The shimmer glows and it gives the polish that lit from within look. I see why everyone and their mama loved this polish when it was first released Spring 2011. (Do the kids still say that phrase?)

Hoping the shimmer is more visible with this one. A bit.

The formula on this was nice and buttery like most Zoya polishes. It took three coats for complete coverage, but that's okay. Dry time was slower than most Zoyas, but I chalk that up to the three coats. This is a fantastic polish and if you like green or shimmers then this is a must have. Kind of pissed it took me this long to get and wear this polish. Fail moment right there.

Sinful Colors-Neptune

This is a part of the Cast Away collection from...I want to say a month ago? Two months ago? Sinful Colors releases collection pretty constantly so I have no idea. It's the one named after the Greek Gods. Neptune is a dark blue (but not really navy) with lots of shimmer. The shimmer range from blue to silver to a hint of pink in it. Thinking about it, it kind of reminds me of OPI's ...Herring Problem, only darker. And a bit less shimmer. And for less. Very very pretty though.

I did two coats. It needed both coats. Sinful Colors dries on the slower end of the spectrum for me so it took a while, but that's okay. The formula was great too-not too thick or thin and easy to control. I want to say I have a color like this in my collection, or that maybe this is a dupe for something, but honestly I couldn't think of anything. The only thing I could come up with is BB Couture's Carrie, but that was darker. I really like this! If you like blues and shimmers and polishes that you can get from anywhere for $1.99 then this is for you.

(Note: All the little mess ups on my nails (mostly pinkie and pointer fingers) isn't because of the polish. It's because I'm a clumsy butterfingers and dropped the brush while I was painting, knocking my nails against a table, and getting blue nail polish all over my white shirt. After that I wasn't going to start from scratch again.)

Zoya-Lotus

I know everyone has seen this a lot already. But bare with me here.

Lotus is a medium to dark purple polish with pink shimmer. I love this so much. It's one of those where you think the darkness of the base color would overtake the shimmer, but it doesn't. The shimmer is beautiful in the light and give a bit of a lit from within look.

The formula on this was perfect. It was smooth going on and I had no problems. I maybe could have done one coat, but I did two. It dried well; not the fastest but not the slowest. Basically the typical awesome Zoya polish. This is my Easter mani. Not a cute design, but it's springy and pretty and that's enough for me. Hope you all have a Happy Easter! :)

OPI-I Have a Herring Problem

It's not a bright blue, but this is what I wore for World Autism Awareness Day. I Have a Herring Problem is from the recently released OPI Holland collection. As much as I have a fascination with almost all things Dutch, I was only really intrigued with this, A Roll in the Hague (which I have), and I Don't Give a Rotterdam (which I don't have).

I Have a Herring Problem is a medium dusty blue with lots of silver and gold shimmer. Or maybe micro glitter. Actually, what's the difference between the two? The shimmer is very obvious in person and you can easily tell the two colors, but in pictures it's sketchy.

The formula on this was thin and I needed three coats for complete coverage. But I also applied it thinly. Maybe thicker coats will results in only two being needed. It dried okay. Not as fast as I was thinking for a thin formula, but not slowly either. Hmm...there's not much else to really say about this polish. I did end up liking it more than I thought I would after it dried even if it took three coats. Okay, there's that. If you love OPI and blue polish then I suggest getting it. It's nice to have.

Hunger Games Week: China Glaze-Agro

I kept on Fast Track a bit longer than normal. That's how much I loved it. But on to a new polish and it's Agro.

Agro is a olive green with green and orange shimmer. The shimmer is visible in the bottle and right after applying. It adds a bit of dimension to the polish itself. The problem is that the shimmer isn't really translated once you add a topcoat (or try to take a picture of it). Trust me when I say, it's visible when you actually look at it.

The formula was great. Two coats, but if I added it thicker with the first I think it could have been a one coater. It dried really quickly as well. Nice polish. It's not my favorite so far, but it's nice if you like greens.

Hunger Games Week: China Glaze-Stone Cold

This is going to be Hunger Games week here on Doing My Nails. Not that I've read the books or anything. Nor do I plan on seeing the movie. But I loved some of the polishes in the collection and had to get them. And since the movie is releasing this week why the hell not?

I didn't intend to start with this polish, but since I'm currently swamped with school work this one came in handy. Stone Cold is the matte polish of the group. It's a dark grey with lots of silver shimmer. Or is it black with lots of silver shimmer? Either way, it's awesome. I actually don't have any other grey or black mattes in my collection so I can't really compare it to anything unfortunately. This reminds me of the OPI Suedes that came out a few years ago, with all the silver shimmer in it. The formula on this was very much like a matte. Thick, but went on well. I did two coats because I got a few streaks, but I'm pretty sure that was all in how I applied it. And it dried like a typical matte, very quickly.

Nothing else more to say. I really like this one. It actually got me thinking, why didn't China Glaze release a matte collection like all the other companies did two-three years ago when the trend was hot? They gave us the topcoat, but not the polishes itself. (If I'm wrong about this please correct me.) I wish they'd release one. I think they got the matte formula down.

Julep-Leah

St. Patrick's Day is this Saturday and I have a few greens in my untrieds to wear so this week will be green week here at Doing My Nails. First up is Julep Leah. I got this as a part of my Maven box in...January? Let's say January. The polish in the bottle is so pretty, but once on the nail...meh.

Leah is a kelly green creme with just the hint of green and silver shimmer. I actually think this color reminds me more of grass then anything. The color above isn't the true color of the polish, and I didn't really get it with the second picture below, but it's MUCH closer. The shimmer just doesn't really show up. The green just kind of swallows it up.

The formula on this was crap. Thick but thin somehow. Streaky as hell. Dried slowly. It also dried a little flat. Not matte, but just flat. Top coat is definitely needed if you want this shiny, and having it shiny is the only way you'll see the little bit of shimmer.

The polish is bright and very spring-like. There, something positive about it. I don't know how this looks on me. I like the color but maybe not on me? I don't know. Again, meh.

BB Couture-Carrie

I haven't tried BB Couture polishes before now. I've liked quite a few of them, but just never felt the need to order some. Well, that changed last week when I decided to order a few from Overall Beauty. (Also got two of the new A-Englands but I'm waiting for them at the moment). One of the polishes I decided on was Carrie, from the new spring Girls on Tape collection. All the polishes in this collection is named after films. Carrie is one of  my personal top 5 movies ever plus it's blue so you know I had to get it. And holy omg you guys. This polish is a winner.

Carrie is a navy blue polish with lots (and I mean LOTS) of shimmer. The shimmer looks blue and silver and a few bits of reddish pink here and there. It's so pretty. My pictures do not do it any justice whatsoever. It's just gorgeous. I'm not wearing a topcoat in these pictures, but I did eventually put one on and the topcoat didn't dull the shimmer at all. It's still sparkling like crazy. The formula on this was like butter. One of the best I've ever worked with. I did two even coats and the polish dried fairly quickly, though I wasn't really timing it. It wasn't on the slow side of the spectrum is what I'll say about the drying time.

If you're a blue polish lover you have to get this polish. HAVE TO. It's absolutely beautiful and I don't know if I have something like it in my collection. I think BB Couture is only available from Overall Beauty, so you'll have to get it there. (And can I take a moment to say how awesome OB is? Kim, the owner, is so lovely and has amazing customer service. Great shop she has there.) I will definitely be getting more BB Coutures in the future. Great polish.

Essie-Armed and Ready

Hey guys. Sorry it's been a little while. Been quite busy. School, as always, is kicking my butt. And I finally got a new computer. Woot! But I've been playing  around with it more than doing anything with my nails unfortunately. Hopefully that'll end soon. If only school could get itself in line. Oh well.

Armed and Ready is a polish I've been eyeing since seeing swatches of it in early January. I finally bit the bullet and just purchased this for full price at my local drugstore. It's a greenish/brownish/greyish creme with dark gold/copper shimmer. I can't even begin to describe how pretty this is. When the light hits it just right the shimmer really pops. I used two coats here and it needed both (first coat was streaky). A&R dried fast. Like, super "I just put on a quick dry top coat" fast. Well, maybe not that fast, but still fast enough where I didn't put on a top coat. Still don't have one on and after two days my polish haven't chipped yet (which is a minor miracle as y'all know).

I love this polish. Love it. Again, I got this from my local drugstore for the regular retail price, and I'm happy with it. I've sung the praises of the Essie drugstore formula before and I'll continue to. It's fantastic and I've never had this much success using their salon formula polishes (actually, has anyone noticed a difference between the salon Essie polishes and the drugstore version?) If you like these type colors I highly recommend getting it. Very nice. 

Hits-Powerpuff Girls Elemento X

Quick post tonight. Guess who has to read all of Don Juan by Lord Byron by tomorrow? Yay.

Elemento X is another polish from Hits, this time from their Powerpuff Girls collection. This is the only one that really caught my eye. Let me say now, this polish looks so much better in person than in these pictures. These pictures suck in comparison, but I adore this polish so I had to make a post.

Elemento X is...I actually don't know how to describe it. A black polish with tons of green shimmer? A dark hunter green with lots of the same color shimmer that leans black? I don't know, but I will say that it looks black (or dark green) the majority of the time and when a light hits it it glows green. It's so damn awesome.

Formula was pretty good. Thick, but I've come to expect that from Hits polishes now. I was able to work with it easily though. The bristles in this was okay. Not as bad as in Cool, but not perfect. (After checking Llarowe's Facebook page I see several of the Mari Moon polishes had funky brushes. Booo Hits.) This dried really fast. Much faster than I expected, especially considering I did a pretty thick second coat for this mani.

Again, I love this polish. Pretty awesome. This is one you have to see in person to get why it's great. If you're a lover of green nail polish then I highly recommend this. I'm trying to think if there is a dupe of this out there somewhere and I can't come up with anything. Pretty unique and, again, awesome. I got this from Llarowe, per usual.

SpaRitual-Howl

Another SpaRitual polish. And another disappointment unfortunately. I was looking forward to this one ever since I saw swatches of it last fall. I don't know, maybe my expectations were too high. Maybe I didn't paint my nails the way others did. I just know I didn't particularly like this when I finally wore it.

Sorry for the bad photos. And ignore my Michigan football shirt. :)

Howl is a dark brown with gold and red shimmer inside it. That sounds like an amazing combination, but to me the brown was too much. You could hardly see the shimmer unless in the right light. And even then it was very little.

showing the shimmer a bit more

The formula was okay. More thick than thin and a bit streaky. I used two coats. It dried okay. Nothing to write home about. These SpaRitual polishes are turning out to be a bummer for me. Damn. :(

SpaRitual-Deep and Hidden Reef

My first SpaRitual polishes! I had a aveyou gift certificate I needed to use and they had the Spring 2012 Water collection already in stock (think it's not supposed to be released until February). I didn't get them all but I got the two that caught my eye first, Deep and Hidden Reef. Was a bit excited going in. Not so much now. Let's start with Deep.

Deep is a dark gray creme with purple shimmer. I love the thought of this. It's why I got it. A dark polish with a shimmer contrasting it. It sounds like a winner. The problem is the purple shimmer doesn't really show up in the polish. I think the darkness of the grey overtakes the shimmer to the point where you really can't see it. I will say that it's way more visible without top coat on, but even then the grey takes over the polish.

close up. hoping the shimmer is a bit more visible.

The formula was okay. Kind of streaky but nothing too bad to work with. It did dry quickly so I can't complain too much about it. I was most excited about this one because, again, I love the idea of it. I just think the execution wasn't that great.

Hidden Reef was the second polish I got. Now usually I wouldn't get a polish like this, but in an attempt to step out of my comfort zone this year I got the pink. This turned out to be my favorite of the two. This is a rose pink with shimmer running all through it. The shimmer looks gold and it really shows up in the light, even if you can't see it too well in my pictures. It's pretty. Just pretty.

horrible photo is horrible. but this is the actual color of the polish.

The formula was again okay. A bit like Deep in that it was streaky and wanted to go on weird, but even out at two. I have a bit of VNL with this but I don't care all that much about VNL so I'm good. If you do then maybe three coats would be best.

All in all, I'm a bit disappointed with my first SpaRitual experience. I really wanted to like these a lot more than I actually do. I do like Hidden Reef and have a feeling I'll pull it out when Spring actually comes along later this year. Deep however...I don't know about that one yet. I have two more SpaRitual polishes that I'll be wearing so hopefully those change my opinions on the brand because SR is one of those I've wanted to try for a while now. Here's hoping.

Sinful Colors-Slate

Quick post today. Not just because I have no time (again, damn professors and assigning everything right before Thanksgiving and two weeks before the end of the semester) but also because I'm very meh on this color.

indoors, artificial light

Slate is a medium grey with a hint of shimmer. It's...okay. I don't know, seeing swatches of this online I was looking forward to it. Even when I first picked it up at Walgreens I was excited about it. But now having it on my nails...again, meh. The formula on this was very thin and I needed three coats for full coverage (another strike against it). The drying time was sloooow.

indoors, artificial light. close up.

You know, I don't think there's anything here that stands out for me. I wish a bit more shimmer was in it so it could stand out a little more. I wish the formula wasn't so thin. I wish it didn't take so much time to dry. I wish I wish I wish. Anyway, here's Slate.

Meh.

L'Oreal-Owl's Night

I know I said I'd try to do some Halloween manis, but I couldn't NOT wear this beauty. I know this has been hard to find for some people, but when I went to Rite Aid the other day there were several in the little collection case thing. *shrugs* Maybe Charleston as a whole doesn't care about nail polish like other cities. Anyway, enough of my blah blah blahing and on to the polish.

indoors, artificial light

Owl's Night is a part of the LE Project Runway collection. I actually still really like PR. Do you guys watch it? Anyway, it's a dark brown with olive green shimmer. Or...something. I truly can't sum on what this polish is. When I first saw it I thought olive green, but on the nail it reads brown. I don't know, I just know it's gorgeous. (Speaking off, are there any brown and (preferably olive) green duochromes out there? I'd LOVE a polish like that.) The shimmer is out of this world. It glows, even inside. There's also a hint of orange shimmer in the polish.

indoors, artificial light

This is two coats. Maybe I should have done three, but oh well. There's a slight (and I mean slight) little streak that's visible in pictures, but not really in person. But I blame that on how I was painting my nails. I did a few with very thin coats and the others with very thick. But the formula itself was pretty good. Dried okay I guess. Not fast but not super slow. Very much average.

outdoors, closeup

This is my first L'Oreal polish so I was curious about the brush. I don't like it. It seems too...stiff. I know not everyone has the OPI wide brush, but I think it can be better. Or maybe I just need to get used to it. And I love the bottle design. I partial to square bottles, what can I say? It's really cute and I like the top. Not the a-typical black circular top.

outdoors

I love this so so so very much. Maybe there's a dupe out there, but I don't have anything like this in my collection. It's really unique. I think this may be my favorite polish of the fall collections so far. (I feel like I say that all the time, but it's true!) Are all L'Oreal polishes like this? I may need to see what else they have. Damn my nail junkie tendencies. :)

Sinful Colors-Secret Admirer

It's been a week since I last post. Wow. Sorry about that. I blame school. It's taking up all of my time and I just haven't been able to polish my nails much. But I did get this in last week, the only polish I was able to get it. Bah. Darn you college!

outdoors. please ignore my horrid cuticles.

Secret Admirer is a black jelly/creme (I can never really tell with blacks) with lots of silver shimmer. This is said to be a pretty good dupe of one of the China Glaze Halloween colors this year, Haunting, but I don't have that so I can't judge. But from the swatches I've seen the CG polish seems to have bigger glitter in it (which is lovely on its own). The formula on Secret Admirer was pretty nice and a-typical with Sinful Colors. Thin and a bit watery, but nothing to get upset about.

outdoors, closeup

I used two coats for this. The first coat was streaky and such, but the second one even things out nicely. Drying time was average to a bit slow, but I chalk that up to it being a black polish. No black polish I know dries all that fast. Also, I've had this on since Wednesday (seriously, last Wednesday was the ONLY day I've been able to have a little free time to do my nails. smh) and no chips. I don't freak out about chips (because my nails peel horribly and look terrible without polish) but the fact that there isn't even a chip on the parts that have peeled? Holy crap.

another closeup, only this time indoors, artificial light

I love this! I'm not a big Halloween polish girl (I know, I know-blasphemous!) but this is a nice one to get if you're in a crunch and you want to throw something on right before going to a Halloween party. It's way more interesting than the regular black polish, plus it's easily available. Or heck, if you love black nail polish like me it's great to have in the collection. Sometimes I forget that SC makes great polishes.

indoors, artificial light

(Speaking about Halloween, I know I just said I'm not a big Halloween polish/mani girl [and I'm not] but if time allows I'm going to try to get a few Halloweeny colors and/or manis in. If time allows.)

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.

outdoors

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. :)