Diamond Cosmetics Starshine

    Hey guys!! I know I haven't posted in a while, and I'm sorry about that...I've been running around getting stuff and packing up for school and I literally have had no time for nails. I've actually been rocking naked nubbins for almost a week now, so I haven't even had anything to  show you guys. I did find these lurking in a corner of my picture folder though and I haven't seen too many swatches of this color floating around, so I thought I would post them. Here's Diamond Cosmetics Starshine, from their most recent winter collection. 

Starshine is a dark and slightly frosty shimmery navy blue base with lighter blue microglitter.

Sunlight, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

     I actually bought Starshine hoping it would be a more ramped-up version of RBL's Under the Stars, but I was wrong wrong wrong. It's more frosty and the little flecks of blue microshimmer are even less obvious here than they are in UtS. However, I still really like Starshine. The color is pretty and the hint of frost really makes me think of a really clear wintry night. In the woods someplace. Or maybe on a lake. Idk. 

    Formula-wise, Starshine was okay. Not too thin or too thick, it was opaque in three coats and dried pretty quickly. I did find that it was a tad bit brushtrokey, but I'm not the best nail polish applier, so that could actually be my fault. 

And that's all from me today! Thanks for reading, and have a nice evening!

P.S. I promise that for the next post, I will try to find something bright and cheerful. Even I'm getting tired of all these dark colors around here. 

Misa Toxic Seduction

      Even though it's still summer, I'm at that point where I want fall to come so badly that I just start wearing fall colors. I haven't gotten a chance to get any of the new fall colors, but I do have an abundance of old ones and I'm gonna show you guys one of those today! Here's Misa Toxic Seduction, from their Poisoned Passions Collection. 

Toxic Seduction is a rich and deep blue-toned green base with lots of emerald green shimmer. 

Sunlight, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

   Although I'd heard a million and one good things about Toxic Seduction, I really dragged my feet on getting it, and I will tell you guys right now to not be like me. This polish is stunning stunning stunning, and if you like greens you really do need it. Even if you don't like greens, get it, and I bet it will make you like green. It's just so deep and gorgeous in all lights, and I really love it. Get it, okay?

   Formula-wise, Toxic Seduction was just fine. The consistency was good to work with, it was opaque in three coats, and the dry time was pretty good. 

And that's all from me today! Thanks for reading, and have a great day! ^_^

Vacation Stuff + Spectraflair Nails!

       Hello guys!! As promised, I have a few pictures from my little vacation, including the mani that I wore most of my time there. That's at the bottom, so if you don't care about the trip, go ahead and scroll down now LOL.

 We were there for like two weeks, the first which was spent at whole first week at Universal Orlando, kind of bouncing between Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios. Both were entertaining, but for me, it was all about The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Seriously, if it wasn't for that, I would have stayed home. Shh, don't tell my mom. 

This is the entrance to Hogsmeade.

And the Hogwarts Express. (Duh right?)

And Hogwarts!!

There were other Harry Potter mainstays around, but I suck so...yeah...didn't get any of those. Sorryyy. I did get some pictures from the little demonstration some Durmstrang guys and Beauxbaton girls made.

Very manly, no?

lol, they were very nicely choreographed.

There was also Pumpkin Juice (which I skipped) and Butterbeer, which I definitely did not skip. Instead, I gorged myself upon its sweet, icy, butterscotchy tastiness. 

And I will probably never drink Butterbeer again. 

So if you ever get the chance, I'd definitely recommend heading over there. It's only a small section of the park, but the rides are good, and one of the only places where you know everyone else is just as much of a dork as you are. I mean...I saw some outlandish things. A grown man squealing like a little girl, a mother disregarding the hungry cries of her children as she searched for the perfect wand at Ollivander's, and a couple fighting over a single cup of butterbeer. I believed the boyfriend's exact words were, "Go get your own". It was heartbreaking but hilarious. And totally understandable. 

But anyway, the next week, we went to Busch Gardens Tampa and it started off as the worst experience ever. It rained rats and frogs, and we spent most of our time huddled under the eaves of some building. But they gave us a voucher to return again (nice folks) and the next time was better! The rides were so much fun, and there were cutey cutey animals (my mom's words) everywhere. 

Like this baby flamingo that I wanted to steal.

And this lazy (or maybe bored) cheetah.

I call it lazy because this picture was taken about 40 minutes after the first one, and literally, this was as much as it moved. 

And a lazy kangaroo. 

Albino kangaroo!!

But moving on to the nails, I wore Deborah Lippmann Across the Universe and China Glaze Go Crazy Red as well, but I spent most of my time with this beauty on my nails:

It's a Spectraflair franken created by one of my favorites, Kris from My Lucid Bubble.

Ahh I want to roll in this stuff. (The polish, not the spectraflair. I feel like that would kill you.) It's so beautiful!!

And that's all from me today! Thanks for reading, and have a great one!

Diamond Cosmetics Plum Pie in the Sky

    Hi guys!! So I'm home from Florida at last and although it was lots of fun, I'm glad to be home. Mostly because I missed internet and blogging. ^_^ In the upcoming week, I hope to show some pictures from vacation and to finally finally do that 400 follower giveaway I've been mumbling about for the last month or so. But in the meantime, I have another Diamond Cosmetics polish from my backlog. This time, it's Plum Pie in the Sky from their Fall 2009 Collection!

Never Glum Plum is a deep blue-based purple creme. 

Sunlight, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

   I've really fallen in love with Diamond Cosmetics' cremes, and Plum Pie in the Sky is no exception. I love the richness and depth of the color, and the creme finish really helps accentuate the opulence of the shade. It's also nice that it always retains its purple-ness, even in lower light. 

    Formula-wise, Plum Pie in the Sky was really good. It was perfectly smooth and opaque in two fast-drying coats, and didn't bubble or act weirdly in any other way. 

And that's all from me today! Thanks for reading, and have an awesome Sunday!! ^_^

Color Club Snakeskin

    Hey peeps! For today, I have Snakeskin from Color Club's Untamed Luxury Collection. 

Snakeskin is a slightly frosty green-toned pewter base studded with tons of gold microglitter

Sunlight, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

    Snakeskin is fab. I really like the slightly grungy quality of the base and the microglitter gives it a luxe feel that really makes it at home with the rest of the collection. I also love how Color Club managed to imbue the shade with a snakeskinness without making it too literal. Like, it doesn't have the visual texture of snakeskin, but you can see where the inspiration comes in. My only sadness is that these pictures definitely do not do Snakeskin justice, so at some point, I'll have to take another run at it. 

   But anywho, Snakeskin wasn't particularly tough to apply. I did have a bit of an issue with brushtrokes and bubbles, but I'm willing to chalk that up to user error because I rushed this swatch a bit. Next time, I'll just take more time and it'll probably turn out better. On the upside, Snakeskin was really opaque...I only needed two coats to get full coverage, and it dried quickly to boot. ^_^

And that's all from me today! Thanks for reading and have a happy Friday!!

China Glaze Emerald Fitzgerald

    For today, I have China Glaze Emerald Fitzgerald, from their Vintage Vixen Collection. Can ya'll tell I'm ready for fall to be here already? ^_~

Emerald Fitzgerald is a rich blue-toned emerald green base with tons of lighter green shimmer in it. 

Sunlight, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

    Emerald Fitzgerald is another stunningly beautiful polish. The shimmer gives it the depth, lushness, and opulence that I look for in these types of greens, and it looks great in both sunlight and natural light. It also gets extra points for being super flattering and having such a cute name lol. 

    China Glaze also managed to knock it out the park with the formula on this. It was opaque in two coats and went on very smoothly. Dry time was also very good, even without the assistance of topcoat. 

And that's all from me today! Thanks for reading!