Color Club Halo Hues 2013 Beyond and Eternal Beauty Swatch and Review

I feel like I'm always running, running, running, whether it be to or from work, to pick up the baby, or meeting up for an appointment.  I'm probably going to burn out soon, so luckily I planned ahead and scheduled a nice dinner with DH this Friday.  It'll be just the two of us while my brother watches LO.  Now with the baby around, we really have to make an effort to make sure we spend time with each other.  Not to mention, now I've got something to look forward to at the end of my week.

Tonight I have some quick swatches of my favorite pics from the Color Club 2013 Halo Hues holographic polishes.  This is the second release of the Halo Hues, and I reviewed four from the first release in this post.  The holographic effect from these CC polishes are stunning, and the 2013 releases do not disappoint.

First I have Beyond, a rich and dark charcoal grey holographic polish that glows with rainbows in many lights.  This is probably going to knock Layla Flash Black off its pedestal as my favorite dark holo.  From afar it appears to be a standard dark vampy polish but up close the ever changing color show is in full effect.  I found the formula to be a little on the thick side and I could have used one thick coat for opacity but opted for two thin coats out of habit.  No base coat or topcoat so you can see it's natural beauty.  The first set are in my light tent.

Color Club Beyond

Color Club Beyond

Color Club Beyond

Color Club Beyond

Now, because I love this color so much and want you to see all facets of its beauty, photos taken under the bulb directly:

Color Club Beyond

Color Club Beyond

Color Club Beyond

Color Club Beyond

Color Club Beyond

Next I have my other favorite from the 2013 releases and that's Eternal Beauty, a deep dark purple holo.  I was hoping it would be a darker purple but it's more like a medium purple with a stunning dynamic rainbow.  No problems with application, this went on like butter and I used two coats for opacity without topcoat or basecoat.

Color Club Eternal Beauty

Color Club Eternal Beauty

Color Club Eternal Beauty

Color Club Eternal Beauty

I've seen swatches of the other colors from numerous blogs and forums and although none of them interest me, the holographic effect in each is truly stunning.  Color Club really hit the holographic nail on the head with the Halo Hues and I can only hope they continue the line with more colors or make them core rather than limited edition because they're truly special.  Do you plan on picking any of these up or do you think there are better holo polishes out there?

LynB Designs Haven't a Clue Swatch And Review

DineLA is in full effect this week and I can see that a lot of restaurants are really busy during an otherwise slow season.  Last night we had a lovely tapas dinner at Tres by Jose Andres and tonight we had the prix fixe at Scott Conant's Scarpetta.  The food at both restaurants was completely divine and I love that DineLA gives the opportunity to try these restaurants at a reduced price.  It's woth the extra calories to enjoy as any restaurants a possible during this city wide event.

Tonight I have a lovely blue jelly based glitter by LynB Designs called Haven't A Clue.  Blue jelly based glitters are a dime a dozen these days but I was really drawn to this one because it had shredded glitter as opposed to the typical hex glitter found in most indie polishes.  The shredded glitter really add an element of fun to this, especially in all of the bright colors.  The jelly base was nice too, it's a great shade of blue without becoming too dark.  I used three easy coats in these pictures and had no trouble with application or the formula.  The glitters spread across the nail evenly and I wasn't overwhelmed by the amount either.  I finished with a layer of topcoat to smooth it out and add shine.

LynB Designs Haven't a Clue

LynB Designs Haven't a Clue

LynB Designs Haven't a Clue

LynB Designs Haven't a Clue

LynB Designs Haven't a Clue

Is this glitter fun or what??  There's probably a million different shapes in there and I love it!  Do you know of any other polishes with shredded glitter like this? 

A England St George Swatch and Review

Happy Sunday evening everyone!  I'm having a lazy day myself, started with some breakfast at home followed with watching the Australian Open Men's finals and then took a nap.  Tonight I'm looking forward to dressing up a little and having dinner at Bazaar by Chef Jose Andres.  I hope it's better than what I remember!  

When A England released their Legends collection, I could not decide which colors to get and ordered two... unfortunately at the time, St George was not one of them so I didn't get this glorious color until recently.  Had I known what a gorgeous shade of green it was, I would have nabbed it right away.  Application and formula lived up to my high expectations, especially after seeing it on numerous blogs and forums.  It went on easily and was perfect after two coats.  No topcoat or basecoat in these pictures so you can see it's pure beauty.  Be forewarned, this is picture heavy!  These are taken in my light tent:

A England St George

A England St George

A England St George

A England St George

Now, under direct light to see if the holo comes alive:

A England St George

A England St George

A England St George

A England St George

A England St George

A England St George

I love holos that are slightly scattered like these... Linear ones are always fun but there's something mysterious about the scattered holos.  I could lose myself in this dark sea green color.  What's your preference, scattered or linear?

Elevation Polish Alphubel topped with Lynnderella Snow Angel

Whew, we made it to another weekend!  I'm looking forward to enjoying another three day weekend with my LO and BFF who is visiting for the weekend.  She's here on business but it's actually fun business - we have to visit hotels and event sites to scope them out for future events that she will be planning.  For example, we're having dinner at the SLS hotel's highly acclaimed and super expensive Bazaar restaurant on Sunday night so she can discuss details with their event manager.  I wish my job had perks like this!

Tonight I have another Elevation polish to share with you, and that's Alphubel, a light blue cream with a glowing teal shimmer.  Well, there's a shimmer in the bottle at least, the shimmer on the nail is very difficult to see but it's there.  I'm not terribly upset about it because it was gifted to me.  I used two coats in these pictures with no topcoat so you can see the finish.  It dried with a slight shine on its own.

Elevation Polish Alphubel

Elevation Polish Alphubel

Elevation Polish Alphubel

Elevation Polish Alphubel

I topped this with Lynnderella's Snow Angel.  There's something about light blue creams and white glitter that I can't resist.  I think that it reminds me of looking out upon a snow covered field below a cloudless sky.  Snow Angel's application was a little disappointing, surprisingly there glitter wasn't as dense as I would have liked and I didn't get as many large glitters with each stroke.  I used a layer of SH Insta Dri to smooth it down. 

Elevation Polish Alphubel topped with Lynnderella Snow Angel

Elevation Polish Alphubel topped with Lynnderella Snow Angel

Elevation Polish Alphubel topped with Lynnderella Snow Angel

It still turned out as a very pretty mani but I'm disappointed with both brands overall.  The shimmer in Alphubel was very slight once on the nail - I guess you can say I'm not a fan of hidden shimmers.  I like shimmers to be a little more visible than this.  I have denser white glitter toppers than Snow Angel but maybe that's the beauty of it, maybe it's suppose to look delicate.  For $23 a pop, I expect an amazing polish and this wasn't IMO.  What do you think, do indie polishes warrant the higher price tag if they don't perform as well as you'd expect?

YSL Wintergreen Swatch And Review

I have a slew of guests staying over the next few weeks - my BFF, my brother, my parents, and my in-laws are all going to be here over a span of three weeks.  I think I'll get one night without guests, if I'm lucky.  So, tonight was another night of me trying to move all my untrieds into hidey spots around the kitchen.  Hopefully I'll be able to find them all once the guests are gone!

I'd been wanting to swatch this one forever, okay, since last year because the color appears so magical in the bottle.  This glorious color is YSL's Wintergreen, a dark green with teal shimmer.  I was really hoping the teal would translate onto the nail, but unfortunately not so well unless the light hits it at the right angle.  On the upside, the formula and application of this was glorious!  Superb!  Magnificent!  I forgot how amazing a really good polish can apply.  I only needed one coat and got full opacity, and it self leveled on its own.  In fact, the application and color really reminded me of another favorite polish of mine, OPI's Live Or Let Die, but in a lighter shade of green.  I used a layer of topcoat to hasten drying but it didn't need it for any additional shine.

YSL Wintergreen

YSL Wintergreen

YSL Wintergreen

YSL Wintergreen

YSL Wintergreen

YSL Wintergreen

I used my light tent for the above photos - I figured I'd get it out while I had the chance.  I won't be able to use it while my guests are here.  So what do you think, is this shade gorgeous or what?  And how do you like the pictures?

Pahlish Stroke Of Luck over Essence Walk On The Wild Side

A quick one for tonight, I have to wake up at dawn again tomorrow morning and then it'll be run, run, run, all day long.

I adore greens and I couldn't resist picking this Essence up when I was at Ulta last.  It's caled Walk On The Wild Side and it's a gorgeous dark shimmering olive green.  The formula was perfect and really well pigmented.  I only needed two thin coats to get full opacity and it had a pretty great shine on it's own.  I didn't like the brush however - I've complained about it before I'm sure - it has a really wide brush and it makes it difficult to maneuver it on my narrower nail beds.

Add caption

 Essence Walk On The Wild Side

 Essence Walk On The Wild Side

 Essence Walk On The Wild Side

 Essence Walk On The Wild Side

 Essence Walk On The Wild Side

I decided to try another untried and use Pahlish's Stroke Of Luck over it.  Stroke of Luck is a stunning multi sized green glitter mixed with gold microglitter in a sheer green base.  I had no trouble with application and used two coats followed with topcoat.

Pahlish Stroke Of Luck over Essence Walk On The Wild Side

Pahlish Stroke Of Luck over Essence Walk On The Wild Side

Pahlish Stroke Of Luck over Essence Walk On The Wild Side

Pahlish Stroke Of Luck over Essence Walk On The Wild Side

Pahlish Stroke Of Luck over Essence Walk On The Wild Side

I don't think Stroke Of Luck could be worn with its own because the base is too sheer.  Instead of using green as a base next time, I might try gold and see how it turns out.