Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Sally Hansen Taheati And Sparktacular Swatch And Review

Oy, I got my dreaded letter from the board stating that I need to renew my license before my birthday.  Most of the dread is seated in the fact that I have to complete 30 CE hours within the next month.  How is one suppose to celebrate a birthday when this kind of thing is hanging over my shoulder?  Blech.

It's a hot week here in LA, and I thought it would be a good opportunity to use an equally hot color.  I have from the Sally Hansen Triple Shine collection Taheati, a bright orange crelly.  I'm not accustomed to wearing orange polishes, and I have to admit that I like the way it goes with my skin tone.  The formula however, wasn't to my liking - it's with thick and gooey and applied like a gel rather than with a buttery consistency. This could probably have benefited from some thinner to improve the application.  I used three coat here, and surprisingly it leveled out and dried to the high gloss shine shown below.

Sally Hansen Taheati
Sally Hansen Taheati

Sally Hansen Taheati
Sally Hansen Taheati

Sally Hansen Taheati
Sally Hansen Taheati

Sally Hansen Taheati
Sally Hansen Taheati

Sally Hansen Taheati
Sally Hansen Taheati
 In addition, I have a new glitter topcoat that was released recently as part of the Triple Shine line, and this is called Sparktacular, a gold, orange, and green microglitter in a clear base.  I thought a glitter gradient would be a great way to layer Taheati and Sparktacular together, and started with a large sparse layer of glitter, then gradually layered thicker shorter layers starting at the base of the nail.  I finished this all with a layer of topcoat for shine and smoothness.

Sally Hansen Taheati And Sparktacular
Sally Hansen Taheati And Sparktacular

Sally Hansen Taheati And Sparktacular
Sally Hansen Taheati And Sparktacular

Sally Hansen Taheati And Sparktacular
Sally Hansen Taheati And Sparktacular

Sally Hansen Taheati And Sparktacular
Sally Hansen Taheati And Sparktacular

Sally Hansen Taheati And Sparktacular
Sally Hansen Taheati And Sparktacular
I love how the glitter mimicks a sparkling rainfall against that squishy super shiny base.  Despite the not so great formula, the Triple Shine polish really lives up to its promise of being shiny without the need of topcoat.  I'm glad that the orange doesn't recall images of Halloween or pumpkins either, which is probably why I don't normally add oranges to my collection.  This shade really helps sets up my mood for the anticipation of summer.  Have you gone out of your comfort zone lately and tried a color that's not in your norm?

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Enchanted Polish April 2014 Swatch And Review

Howdy all!  Are you enjoying your week so far?  I'm hoping this week will blow by fast.  To pass the time, I'm in the need of retail therapy, although I'm a day late for the Friends and Family sales that finished on Monday via Saks and Tory Burch.  Go figure I'd want a pair of TB shoes once the sale is already over.  A good hint to savvy shoppers - make friends with a Nordstrom sales associate so that you can get inside scoops on sale inventory and special deals.  I'm hoping my Nordys SA will come through for me and be able to pricematch the FnF sale despite being a day late!

April is coming to an end(already!) and I haven't had a chance to wear Enchanted Polish's monthly namesake polish.  This particular month's shade is a gorgeous dusty periwinkle blue holo that is completely fitting of the season.  I thought it was going to be really sheer after the first coat, but the characteristic buttery smooth Enchanted formula kicked in during the second coat and I was able to get complete coverage.  No issues with streaking or balding of course, and I used no topcoat in these pics.

Enchanted Polish April 2014
Enchanted Polish April 2014

Enchanted Polish April 2014
Enchanted Polish April 2014

Enchanted Polish April 2014
Enchanted Polish April 2014

Enchanted Polish April 2014
Enchanted Polish April 2014

Enchanted Polish April 2014
Enchanted Polish April 2014

Enchanted Polish April 2014
Enchanted Polish April 2014

Enchanted Polish April 2014
Enchanted Polish April 2014

I always have a difficult time capturing light colored holo flares when taking pics indoors, but hopefully you can see how prominent they are.  I'm sure they'll glow in sunlight and I'll be staring at them while driving.  I think the shade is very unique as well, it's not often I see a periwinkle blue holo, versus the standard aqua, teal blue, or sky blue holo.  I'm glad that Enchanted is finally moving towards presaling these darlings and making it much more accessible to polish enthusiasts.  For now, I'm content to adding a new Enchanted once a month - it seems more budget friendly to me in that I don't have to feel the need to buy up a collection from another line.  Instead I only have to buy a new Enchanted once a month and be confident that it won't already be a dupe in my collection.  Is there a line of holos that you obsessively collect?

Sunday, April 27, 2014

Rimmel Sweetie Crush Fizzy Applecious Swatch And Review

Remember how I mentioned that I've been watching the extreme couponers on Instagram?  I sort have caught the bug and this weekend I've been on a couponing rampage because it's coincidentally employee appreciation weekend.  Meaning, I'm getting 30% off on top of the coupons and the Extra Care Bucks(unfortunately not the sale prices).  So I've been racking up the ECB and basically paying nothing for hundreds of dollars worth of stuff.  I picked up a ton of drugstore nail polish and will hopefully get around to swatching some of them soon!

One of my coupon purchases is a Rimmel texture, called Fuzzy Applecious from the Sweetie Crush Line.  It's a small sized bottle of 8mls, but the shimmer inside tantalizes me and makes me hope that it has a finish similar to the Zoya Pixies.  The retail price is reasonable at about $2.50 a bottle(I bought it during a BOGO 1/2 off, plus two $1 off coupons).  I haven't heard too much about Rimmel polishes lately either.  Fuzzy Applecious applied like any other texture polish and dried quickly.  It did run more sheer than I'm accustomed, so I used three coats here, making sure that I allowed each coat to dry fully before applying the next.

Rimmel Sweetie Crush Fizzy Applecious
Rimmel Sweetie Crush Fizzy Applecious 

Rimmel Sweetie Crush Fizzy Applecious
Rimmel Sweetie Crush Fizzy Applecious 

Rimmel Sweetie Crush Fizzy Applecious
Rimmel Sweetie Crush Fizzy Applecious 

Rimmel Sweetie Crush Fizzy Applecious
Rimmel Sweetie Crush Fizzy Applecious 

Rimmel Sweetie Crush Fizzy Applecious
Rimmel Sweetie Crush Fizzy Applecious 

Rimmel Sweetie Crush Fizzy Applecious
Rimmel Sweetie Crush Fizzy Applecious 
It's got a nice crystally finish once dried, but it doesn't have the shimmering glitter effect that the Zoya PixieDusts are so well known for.  On the nail, it's a shade lighter than the color in the bottle, which is a light mint green.  The finish reminds me more of the JulieG texture polishes which were extremely popular when they first came out.  Overall, for the price I can't complain... I don't think you'll be able to find a texture polish for any cheaper other than the Essence one I reviewed a few weeks ago, and the Sweetie Crush Collection has at least 5 or 6 pastel colors total in the collection.  Not too shabby!

Friday, April 25, 2014

Barielle Spring 2014 Vibrants Swatch And Review


Today I have the gorgeous Spring 2014 collection by Barielle called the Vibrants.  These are all bright saturated colors that range from pastel to almost neon.  Every shade in this collection is a trending color for this season, and I have to say, I love each and every one of them.  The collection consists of all creams, and all needed only two coats for full opacity.  The application was liquidy smooth and easy to apply, but make sure to not overload your brush to avoid pooling.  The only one that didn't self level well was Money Talks, which coincidentally is also the most pastel of the collection.  None of the swatches below are with topcoat so you can see each actual finish on its own.

First is Designer's Shoe, a cornflower blue cream. I love dusty blues like this!  I can't seem to find enough of them.
Barielle Designer's Shoe
Barielle Designer's Shoe
Barielle Designer's Shoe
Barielle Designer's Shoe
Barielle Designer's Shoe
Barielle Designer's Shoe
 Next is a bright orangey red shade that leans a bit jelly in finish.  See how squishy it is??
Barielle Fire Me Up
Barielle Fire Me Up
Barielle Fire Me Up
Barielle Fire Me Up
Barielle Fire Me Up
Barielle Fire Me Up
 Money Talks is a lovely light mint cream.  This color is always a winner!
Barielle Money Talks
Barielle Money Talks
Barielle Money Talks
Barielle Money Talks
Barielle Money Talks
Barielle Money Talks
 Next is My City Apartment, a light concrete grey cream.  I've forgotten how lovely light greys are.  This would look great with some nail art.

Barielle My City Apartment
Barielle My City Apartment

Barielle My City Apartment
Barielle My City Apartment

Barielle My City Apartment
Barielle My City Apartment
 Another blue shade in the collection is My First Class Ticket, a sky blue cream that is the epitome of a spring blue.  I think Easter Eggs and a clear blue sky.
Barielle First Class Ticket
Barielle First Class Ticket
Barielle First Class Ticket
Barielle First Class Ticket
Barielle First Class Ticket
Barielle First Class Ticket
Finally I have Take Me Shopping, a beautiful pink leaning coral.  I can't seem to get enough of this color now that I've discovered it.
Barielle Take Me Shopping
Barielle Take Me Shopping
Barielle Take Me Shopping
Barielle Take Me Shopping
Barielle Take Me Shopping
Barielle Take Me Shopping
I think Take Me Shopping and Fire Me Up are my favorite shades of this collection, most likely because I've been gravitating towards warmer shades lately.  I love that this collection ranges from blue to red, with a beautiful grey and mint green in the middle.  These are colors that I would be comfortable reaching for regardless of the occasion.  Barielle is a nail fanatic staple, and luckily the barielle.com website regularly runs specials, like 30% on top of the normal BOGO 1/2 off.  Make sure you sign up for emails so you can be alerted of their sales.  This collection is definitely collection worthy!

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Orly Interglactic Space and Wet 'n' Wild Matte Finish Topcoat Swatch And Review

I have to admit, having my nerdy little brother(reformed brat) visit me for a weekend is pretty nice!  He hooked up my entertainment center with a new audio receiver, added an HD antenna, and programmed a digital universal remote so I could get rid of the three remotes that we were originally juggling.  Sweet!  I don't want to know what it cost, but I'm sure it wasn't cheap.  Tech items aren't something I'd splurge on, so having a generous and nerdy little brother is much appreciated!

Today's polish has implanted one of my all time favorite Beastie Boy's song "Intergalactic" into my brain.  I can't say I'm annoyed by it since I haven't heard it for a long time.  This polish is called Intergalactic Space by Orly, and with its purple jelly base and abundance of purple, pink, and gold glitters, it does remind me of one of those colorful photos of space.  There's also a smattering of matte white circle glitters that were shy coming out, and I imagine those would be considered the suns among the golden stars.  Application was surprisingly easy considering the saturation of glitter, and I needed only two coats for full coverage.  No streaking or clumping here!  I finished with a layer of topcoat because it dried with a slight matte finish.

Orly Interglactic Space
Orly Interglactic Space

Orly Interglactic Space
Orly Interglactic Space

Orly Interglactic Space
Orly Interglactic Space

Orly Interglactic Space
Orly Interglactic Space

Orly Interglactic Space
Orly Interglactic Space

Orly Interglactic Space
Orly Interglactic Space
 A glitter polish with this much density absolutely requires a matte topcoat to fully enjoy all that glitter, so I found this the perfect opportunity to try out Wet 'n' Wild's 99 cent version.  I heard a lot of good reviews about it and was excited to finally try it out.  I managed to score a bunch of these recently for free with the $1 off coupon in the circulars a couple weeks ago.  It applied easily despite the wonky brush and dried super fast to a wonderfully matte finish with no hint of satin shine.  Faboo!

Orly Interglactic Space With Wet 'n' Wild Matte Topcoat
Orly Interglactic Space With Wet 'n' Wild Matte Topcoat

Orly Interglactic Space With Wet 'n' Wild Matte Topcoat
Orly Interglactic Space With Wet 'n' Wild Matte Topcoat

Orly Interglactic Space With Wet 'n' Wild Matte Topcoat
Orly Interglactic Space With Wet 'n' Wild Matte Topcoat

Orly Interglactic Space With Wet 'n' Wild Matte Topcoat
Orly Interglactic Space With Wet 'n' Wild Matte Topcoat
Those tiny iridescent glitters are much more prominent with the matte topcoat, and thus much more appreciated visually.  I'm so happy that I don't have to hunt for anymore of my former favorite matte topcoat by Essie and I don't have to spend a chunk on BL's version either.  And don't forget free!  I heard there's another WnW coupon coming out in the circulars sometime in the next week or two, so don't forget to cut it out so you can get a bottle for free too.  But then again, 99 cents ain't half bad either!