PolisHaus Cemented In The Fall Swatch And Review

Purchased

Wow, what a Sunday!  I heard what happened in the Superbowl... I guess you could say it wasn't the Broncos' night to win.  I did see the opening play and I could predict from that alone that it was going to be a rough night for them.  Oh well!  My family and I had a sumptuous Vietnamese dinner, albeit with a rocky start - DH developed pink eye over the weekend, and LO has a cough and got car sick on the way down to OC.  I'm hoping we can make it through the week without further incidence!

If you haven't heard already, PolisHaus is closing out her store and I think there are only a few polishes left.  I snagged a bunch earlier in the month and I have for you tonight, called Cemented In The Fall.  That name perfectly sums up the color of this polish, which is a medium grey cream accented with warm copper, gold, and rust hued glitters.  The polish applied a touch thick, but I think the advantage of that allowed for less streaking, more pigmentation, and a simple two coat application.  As with most cream glitters, some of the glitters got swallowed up by the base color, with a few spots of glitter drag.  I finished it off with a coat of GlitterDaze Super Smooth topcoat.

PolisHaus Cemented In The Fall

PolisHaus Cemented In The Fall

PolisHaus Cemented In The Fall

PolisHaus Cemented In The Fall

PolisHaus Cemented In The Fall

PolisHaus Cemented In The Fall

I think the colored glitters are very unexpected against the grey cream base, and together make for a lovely package.  I'm always a fan of glitters polishes that contain an unusual shade that's not traditional, adding a beautiful contrast and making it stand out from the ho hum of the indie glitter polishes.  I'm sad to see PolisHaus go, especially after just discovering it.  If you're interested, I think you can still grab a couple from her big cartel site, or find a random bottle in a blog sale.  Are there any indies that have closed that you wished were still in business?

Purchased

Zoya Pixiedust Carter Swatch And Review

Purchased

Happy Monday!  I hope you all had a great weekend and are ready for the first full week of 2014.  Hopefully we're all sticking to our resolutions, if we made any.  As for me, it's the same as always - purge the collection(shoes, bags, polishes), buy less, eat healthier, and work out more.  Hopefully if my life isn't as chaotic as it was last year I'll be able to stick to some of those promises.  What have you resolved to do this year?

There's a current Zoya promo that starts today and it's for three free polishes with $12 shipping and handling fee(why can't it be three polishes shipped for $12?).  The code is COLOR2014 and starts January 7th through 13th.  See details here, as it seems that it might be worth it to spend $25 to get free shipping.  From what I heard, it's working right now!!

If you're looking for polishes to add to your collection, may I suggest Zoya Carter?  Carter was released during the Fall 2014 Pixiedust collection and it is amazing!  It's a sparkling dark fuchsia glitter in nearly black base that dries to matte textured finish.  The black and fuchsia come together and gives the polish a purple appearance once dry.  The sparkle factor is off the chart, and makes for a blingy vamp.  Love!  I used four super thin coats here because I heard the polish dries super slow.  I had no trouble navigating the polish onto my nail thanks to the easy to maneuver Zoya brush, and I had no pooling or clumping or dragging, as long as I let the polish dry in between coats.  It does dry super slow too, in fact once I finished I managed to ding a nail quite a while later. Of course, no topcoat here in the pics.

Zoya Pixiedust Carter

Zoya Pixiedust Carter

Zoya Pixiedust Carter

Zoya Pixiedust Carter

Zoya Pixiedust Carter

Zoya Pixiedust Carter

Thankfully despite the ding, textured polishes are really forgiving and hide imperfections well.  Once dry, the texture itself isn't as gritty as other texture polishes I've tried, which I'm thankful for because I worry that it'll be too rough for LO when it rubs against her baby soft skin.  Carter is definitely a must have Zoya IMO, and I hope that you pick it up if you don't already have it!  Are you going to jump on this sale, and if so, what are you planning on getting?  I'd love to hear about your haul! (Says the girl that is on a low buy)

ETA this is off topic but I just got an email that Barielle is having a whopping 40% with free shipping. O.m.g. Today only! 

Purchased

Hare Polish Anemone Gardens Swatch And Review

Purchased

Hello darlings!  Are you enjoying your Sunday? I haven't had the most exciting weekend so far but hopefully that will change today.  Yesterday I took my car back in to exchange the new tires because I didn't like the ride if the new ones.  Most of my day was spent doing that, but luckily we did manage to get some Indonesian food for lunch.  I got to take advantage of the Amex small business Saturday deal with that delicious lunch so I guess the day wasn't so bad after all!

I've got another glitter-tastic jelly polish for you today, and it's the newest from Hare Polish called Anemone Gardens. True to its name, this is a vibrant polish with sparkling glitters of fuchsia and purple with a sprinkling of green squares in a dusty purple base.   Similar to other Hares, the formula of this was workable but sheer and dense with glitter.  I used four coats here and had no trouble with glitter drag or clusters, but due to the density of glitters some of the circle glitters didn't lay flat. I finished with a layer of topcoat but two may have been warranted for smoothness.

Hare Polish Anemone Gardens

Hare Polish Anemone Gardens

Hare Polish Anemone Gardens

Hare Polish Anemone Gardens

Hare Polish Anemone Gardens

Hare Polish Anemone Gardens

I next decided to try layering it over a base color to see if that would tame the glitter bomb appearance.  I used two coats of Bettina Berry Merry first.   I originally wanted to use OPI Pamplona Purple but my bottle was stuck closed and settled for the wine colored Berry Merry instead.

Bettina Berry Merry

Bettina Berry Merry

Bettina Berry Merry

Next I layered one coat of Anemone Gardens over followed with a layer topcoat.  You can see that the darker base brings out the iridescent flakes.

Hare Polish Anemone Gardens

Hare Polish Anemone Gardens

Hare Polish Anemone Gardens

Hare Polish Anemone Gardens

I like the less glitter overwhelmed look of the layered mani but I'm not entirely happy with the base color.  I think Pamplona Purple may have worked better because it has less red tones and leans purple than Berry Merry.  Overall I adore the combination of glitters in Anemone Gardens, but I do wish the formula had a more pigmented base or less glitters. I would much rather Nikole's intended base color not get muddled when layered over another color.  On the other side of the coin, a polish can have more versatility when layered over different colors.  Nevertheless, for an indie created polish, this is genius in its coordination of colors. The fuchsia and purple glitters play off each other to create the illusion of a magenta effect when seen from afar.  The green squares set it all off and truly makes the name of Anemone Gardens.  The clever wordplay of the polish names by Hare always bring a smile to my face.  I love that polish makes me happy, don't you?

Purchased

I Love Nail Polish Cygnus Loop Swatch And Review

Purchased

It's Tuesday and I'm back at work.  Yesterday was a lovely day, and I was sad to see the minutes tick by knowing that it would be over soon enough.  I didn't get to do any shopping, but I did go to the park with LO and helped her crawl up the jungle gym for the first time.  We went down the slide together and she had a blast, and was eager to do it again, and again, and again.

I'm on a multichrome roll, so tonight I pulled out another color changing polish that I ordered a few months ago but didn't get a chance to swatch.  This is I Love Nail Polish Cygnus Loop, released as part of breakthrough Ultrachrome collection that was released early this fall. Cygnus Loop is a stunning fuchsia to purple to blue multichrome shimmer that reflects mostly eggplant purple but turns race car blue and berry red at odd angles.  The formula on this was slightly sheer and I needed three coats to achieve opacity.  If you look closely enough, you can see some brush strokes as well, which is typical for shimmers but the multichrome properties disguise them well enough.  I did experience a little shrinkage with my Poshe/GFC topcoat mix, a first for me with this topcoat combo.  Next time I'll remember to wrap my tips!

I Love Nail Polish Cygnus Loop

I Love Nail Polish Cygnus Loop

I Love Nail Polish Cygnus Loop

I Love Nail Polish Cygnus Loop

I Love Nail Polish Cygnus Loop

I Love Nail Polish Cygnus Loop

I Love Nail Polish Cygnus Loop

I Love Nail Polish Cygnus Loop

Strangely, on camera the fuchsia and blue are easy to capture and the eggplant purple is more elusive.  I love the dark color of this polish - it's like a vampy multichrome, perfect for the colder months.  I Love Nail Polish still has this collection available and have since added holographic versions of the Ultrachromes.  I'm tempted to get them but I think I'll try adding a holographic topcoat instead to help maintain the color integrity.  With the multichrome explosion, have you picked any up?  Or are you not a fan?

Purchased

Rimmel Metal Rush Collection Swatch And Review

Purchased

Hello lovelies!  I hope you're enjoying your weekend!  I plan on getting a ton of relaxation before heading into the work week, I hope you're doing the same or having fun.  I can't believe how quickly this month is already flying by!

When I was at the drugstore last, I was luckily able to snag the entire new Metal Rush collection that was released by Rimmel this fall.  Each polish retailed for $1.99, and on the display itself there was a coupon for $1 off a Rimmel item.  Score!  These are all duochrome polishes and for the most part are unique to my collection.   And be forewarned, being a duochrome collection, this post is uber picture heavy with weird hand poses so you can catch some of the duochrome magic!

First is Gold Save The Queen, a duochrome that shifts from a chartreuse tinted gold to a dark golden brown.  I've never quite seen a duochrome that shifts this way, and I really thought it was perfect for fall with all the gold and brown color shifts.  I used two coats here, but three probably would have been best. No topcoat here, or any of the swatches for that matter.

Rimmel Gold Save The Queen

Rimmel Gold Save The Queen

Rimmel Gold Save The Queen

Rimmel Gold Save The Queen

Rimmel Gold Save The Queen

Rimmel Gold Save The Queen

Rimmel Gold Save The Queen

Next is my favorite from the collection, Bronze Princess, a dark purpley grey to green shifting duochrome.  I've definitely seen variations of this type of color shift, but I liked this particular version because it was easily opaque after two coats.

Rimmel Bronze Princess

Rimmel Bronze Princess

Rimmel Bronze Princess

Rimmel Bronze Princess

Rimmel Bronze Princess

Rimmel Bronze Princess

Rimmel Bronze Princess

The last of the collection is Pearly Queen, another gorgeous duochrome that shifts from a pearly gold to lavender.  It's a really delicate and lovely color, and the color shift is more obvious IRL than it is in the photos.  I thought this one was really unique as well, and unlike anything in my collection.  The formula of this was the sheerest of the three, and I used three coats here with some VNL still slightly visible on camera but not IRL.

Rimmel Pearly Queen

Rimmel Pearly Queen

Rimmel Pearly Queen

Rimmel Pearly Queen

Rimmel Pearly Queen

Rimmel Pearly Queen

Rimmel Pearly Queen

Overall, I thought this collection was a pleasure to swatch and a great addition to my collection.  The colors in general are unique and the formulas weren't difficult to work with.  I think Pearly Queen might be transformed when used over a dark basecoat, but perhaps I'll save that for another day.  The pricepoint on these were amazing, especially when used in conjunction with a sale or with the $1 off coupon.  Have you been able to catch any of these at any of your drugstores? 

Purchased