Happy St. Patrick's Day!! Since today is a celebration, it called not just for greens, but for the most festive greens I could find. So of course, I had to whip out that good sparkly stuff.
First is Ivanka, from Zoya's Sparkle Collection.
Third, we have Adventures of Alice, from BYS Wonderland Collection. This one is especially near and dear to my heart, not just because I won it in a giveaway at Bec's Beauty Buzz, but because I'm obsessed with all things Alice in Wonderland. So I submitted my entries with a prayer and a kiss for good luck, and when I won, I actually got up and did myself a nice little jig around my dorm room. Thank goodness I have a room to myself, or it could have been really embarrassing. -____-
First is Ivanka, from Zoya's Sparkle Collection.
Ivanka is a bunch of multi-sized, emerald green, flaky, metallic particles in a sheer emerald base. The little particles come together to form that sparkly-foil finish that was freaking everywhere last year.
Sunlight, no flash.
Natural light, no flash.
Sunlight, no flash.
Sunlight, no flash.
By the time I bought Ivanka, I was so sick of this type of finish that I just kind of chucked it into my polish drawer and never looked at it again. But after taking a break from it, I really like it again, lol! In sunlight, the little particles catch and reflect light so beautifully, and it's so sparkly and festive. And in lower light, you get this really pretty glow, which combined with the visual texture of the polish, makes me think of a snake. My only complaint is that in the bottle, you get this great blue duochrome that doesn't show up all on the nail. So boo.
Formula-wise, Ivanka was much like the other polishes in this collection. It was a little bit thin, so I ended up using three coats for full opacity and depth, and a layer of topcoat to punch up the shine. But it applied really smoothly, and as long as I gave it a few minutes between layers, I didn't have to deal with dragging.
More glittery fun after the jump! ^_^
Next is OPI Glow Up Already! from their Burlesque Collection.
Glow Up Already is a riot of multi-sized and multi-shaped pale golden-green glitter, interspersed with orange, gold, sky blue, emerald green, silver, and purple bits of glitter.
Sunlight, no flash.
Natural light, no flash.
Sunlight, no flash.
Sunlight, no flash.
I'm a little bit disappointed with Glow Up Already!, because it ended up more gold than what I expected. It's not ugly, but I would have preferred something that read more green. Nonetheless, I like Glow Up Already!. It's like a more greeny version of OPI Mad as a Hatter, and as such, it has that same uber-blingtastic, demented quality that I love so much. However, I could do without that dumb exclamation point in the name...I hate unnecessary punctuation. -__-
In terms of formula, Glow Up Already! is a typical glitter bomb. Goes on relatively smooth, dries quickly, and is a bitch to clean up. The only way that I could improve Glow Up Already!'s formula would be to put even more glitter in it...as is, the glitter is not really dense, so I needed four coats to get that totally encrusted look that I like. I also used two layers of topcoat to smooth the finish and enhance the glitter, because yeah man..it was rough and dull without.
Third, we have Adventures of Alice, from BYS Wonderland Collection. This one is especially near and dear to my heart, not just because I won it in a giveaway at Bec's Beauty Buzz, but because I'm obsessed with all things Alice in Wonderland. So I submitted my entries with a prayer and a kiss for good luck, and when I won, I actually got up and did myself a nice little jig around my dorm room. Thank goodness I have a room to myself, or it could have been really embarrassing. -____-
Adventures of Alice is cool and light jade green glitter, with bits of amethyst, orange, silver, and gold glitter, all in a green-tinted base.
Sunlight, no flash.
Natural light, no flash.
Sunlight, no flash.
Sunlight, no flash.
Ahhh this color is so awesome! I love the shade of green that they chose for the main color...it's so unusual, and has a pretty bluish cast to it. I also enjoy the little pops of color that you get from the rest of the glitter. Add in the fact that it sparkles like mad, and you have a slam dunk polish, worthy to be associated with Alice in Wonderland.
However, the formula of this gave me issues, despite being chock full of chemically goodness. It went on okay, dried quickly and was surprisingly smooth, but it was so sheer. The glitter wasn't dense at all...what you see in the pictures are four thick coats (and a layer of topcoat) but I still did not get the coverage that I wanted. Next time I wear this, I'll probably use it over another, denser glitter polish, like Color Club Magic Attraction, just to give it a boost.
And finally, we have BB Couture Bonnie, from the ladies' half of the Infamous Lovers Collection. While it's not as sparkly as the others, I feel like it would be disrespectful to not include at least one BB Couture green in a green celebration.
Bonnie is a rich leaf green jelly with lots of gold and lighter green microglitter.
Sunlight, no flash.
Natural light, no flash.
Sunlight, no flash.
Sunlight, no flash.
I don't too much care for the historical figure Bonnie or her partner Clyde, but this is a gorgeous polish. The color of the base is so beautiful and saturated...there's nothing quite like a green polish that proudly declares its greenness. And the bits of glitter (while a bit subtle) are wonderful. I love me some glitter bombs, but there's something to be said for this type of delicate glitter that isn't ostentatious or overwhelming, but just sparkles and glows enough to make its presence known.
I also enjoyed Bonnie's formula...it took three coats to reach full opacity and depth, and topcoat was necessary, but the polish applied so smoothly and nicely that I didn't mind at all. ^_^
And with that, I am done for today. If you've managed to make it this far, I shake you warmly by the hand and you get claps and snaps, for that's no mean feat. Thanks for reading, and have a great night!!
