Zoya Julieanne

       Hi people! For today, I have Zoya Julieanne, from last year's Wicked Collection. This was the same collection that delivered unto me my beloved Edyta and Cheryl, so I had high expectations for this girl going in. I'm glad to say that I was not disappointed. :D

Julieanne is a blackened grape purple base with flat, metallic violet shimmer throughout it. The shimmer has a very very very subtle duochrome effect, where it turns gold at certain angles on the nail.

Sunlight, no flash.

Ottlite, no flash.

Ottlite, no flash.

Ottlite, no flash.

Ottlite, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

     Julieanne is such a pretty color and my pictures don't do it justice at all. The shimmer is so sparkly and bright, and I love how it looks suspended in the much darker base. The contrast between the two really gives the polish a depth and sense of luxury that's just fantastic, and I really love how it looks on my nails. I've been wearing Julieanne for four days, and still am not tired of it.

    Julieanne also boasted a great formula. It was nice and smooth, and was opaque in just two coats. I went with three, just to get a little more depth in the color, but two would have been just fine.

And unrelated to this color, I'd like to thank everyone for entering my 400 Follower Giveaway. I don't think I've ever had so many entries for a giveaway, so I really appreciate you guys for being so enthusiastic! I need a couple more days to finish validating the entries, but I feel like I'll have a winner for you guys before the week is out. I'm planning another giveaway for some time in the next couple of weeks because I finally found a job, thank sweet baby Jesus, so stay tuned for that! 

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

Deborah Lippmann Today Was a Fairytale

Hi guys! For today, I have Today Was a Fairytale, from Deborah Lippmann's Winter 2010 Collection. I haven't worn some hardcore glitter in a while, so it was time.
Also, all these pictures are with artificial light and no flash because DC hasn't had any sunlight in like 500 years. I'll probably add some sunlit pictures at a later date (if I don't forget/am too lazy) because glitter is nothing without sunlight. 

Today Was a Fairytale (or TWaF as it shall henceforth be known) is a barely blue tinted base packed with big and small silver hex glitter. 

And here's a bottle shot, because I feel the first picture doesn't really show the detail well. 

       When TWaF first came out, I was not impressed. It was too expensive, seemed uninspired, and worst of all, reminded me of Taylor Swift, who I cannot stand. But beauty.com had a good sale, and I decided to pick it up despite my misgivings. Now that I have it on my nails, I feel kind of bad for dismissing it so quickly, because it's actually a little bit awesome. The glitter is super blingy and the different sizes give it some great visual texture. They also did a good job with the base, because it has just enough color for TWaF to look good on its own and layered over stuff. I really want to put it over New York Summer Amaranth for Slytherin-related reasons. But I stand by my assertion that the virgin diamond dust thing is some bullshit, because it doesn't show up on the nail. Wtf is a virgin diamond though?

    TWaF's formula wasn't bad. It went on fairly smoothly for chunky glitter, dried fast, and as long as I waited a little bit between coats, the glitter wasn't prone to shifting about. In the pictures, I have on four coats of polish and two layers of topcoat and am happy with the coverage and smoothness. 

And finally, my 400 Follower Giveaway was supposed to end yesterday, but I'm going to extend it until Monday. So if you'd still like to enter, you have a little extra time for that.

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

BB Couture Man Bug

      Hi folks!! So life has been kicking the shit out of me lately, and I needed a polish that would cheer me up and make me happay.  So I chose to wear BB Couture Man Bug, from their Ladybug Collection. 

Man Bug is a bright but soft seafoam green jelly base, stuffed with BB Couture's signature microglitter. 

Sunlight, no flash.

Ottlite (yeah, I finally got one!), no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

    Man Bug is a ball of cuteness upon my hands. The base color is bright and cheery, while still being soft and flattering to my skin tone, and the squishy jelliness of the finish is adorable. The glitter is also visible in all lights, and looks especially fabulous in the sun. You know, I kind of want to have a child now and name him Man Bug and pinch his cheeks, even though that would kind of make me a bad mom. Because no good can come of naming your child Man Bug. 

    Formula-wise, Man Bug was okay. It was a bit sheer and took four coats to eliminate all VNL and be perfectly even. But the coats went on pretty smoothly and dry time was surprisingly good.

 And unrelated to this color, my 400 Follower Giveaway is ending in a week, so don't forget to enter! I'm adding Wet n Wild Behind Closed Doors (their version of Lippmann Ruby Red Slippers) to it as well, so don't miss out!

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

China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy

     Hello guys! With the weather being so rainy and dreary here as of late, I thought it would be nice to show you all a color that is the exact opposite. So behold Flip Flop Fantasy, from China Glaze's Poolside Collection.

Flip Flop Fantasy is a coral-pink neon creme.

Sunlight, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

   Flip Flop Fantasy is fabulous. It features a unique, pretty, and super-flattering shade of the coral, and I love how it glows, especially in the shade or under artificial light. 

    Its formula was also pretty good. I used one layer of China Glaze White on White as a base and then did three layers of Flip Flop Fantasy on top. I did experience a little trouble with streaking on the first two coats, but by the third, everything was nice and smooth. And as with all neons, it did dry to a satin-y finish, so topcoat is a must if you'd like it shiny. 

If you'd like a chance to win your very own bottle of Flip Flop Fantasy, make sure to enter my 400 Follower Giveaway! It's one of the prizes, donchaknow. ^_^

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

Sally Hansen Opulent Cloud

     Hi folks! As some of you may know, I have a slight problem when it comes to rare polish. After painfully lusting after them, hunting them down to the ends of the Earth and finally acquiring them, I can't bring myself to wear them. Instead, I keep them locked tightly in my polish drawer, only taking them out to gently caress them and make sure that they are okay. For today, I have one such polish, Sally Hansen Opulent Cloud.

Opulent Cloud is a silvery-lavender base with lots of golden shimmer.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash

Natural light, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

  Opulent Cloud is just okay for me. I like the slightly fuzzy finish the shimmer brings to it, as well as how Opulent Cloud seems to shift colors according to the lighting. It just has this really nice ephemeral and soft feel to it that I enjoy. But I don't like the actual color. It seems kind of dingy, and I don't think it flatters my skin at all. I'm still going to keep Opulent Cloud though, because it's not ugly and I put in way too many hours hunting it down. Letting it go would be like capturing a unicorn and then setting it free because it kicks you. Just silly, you know?

   Opulent Cloud's formula was also okay. It needed three coats to be perfectly opaque, and went on pretty smoothly, without bubbling, dragging, or brushstrokes. 

And that's all from me today! Thanks for reading, and enjoy your Labor Day!

400 Follower Giveaway! (And Back to School Nails)

     Happy September everyone! I know it's been a while since my last post, but I'm hoping that once I get settled down, find a job, and can figure out when I get sunlight in my new room, I can go back to a more regular posting schedule. So please don't abandon me, lmao.


*Giveaway is now closed! Thanks for entering!*


In the meantime, I finally have that 400 follower giveaway that I've been talking about having for kind of a long time now. So without further ado, here's what's up for grabs:

Sinful Colors Adventure Island Collection (minus Rise and Shine)

And some polishes donated by the beautiful people at China Glaze!

R-L: Liquid Leather, Flip Flop Fantasy (which I'll be posting soon), White Cap, and Fairy Dust

Everything is brand new and has never been used, as far as I know. The Sinfuls are kind of a toss up because they come from the drugstore, and someone may have opened it. But if that did happen, rest assured, it was not moi. >_>

And that's it! Good luck to everyone, and thank you all for reading, commenting, participating, following, and basically not leaving me to blog....

.

*Giveaway is now closed! Thanks for entering!*

I also have a few pictures of the nail look I wore for the first day of school! 

I used two layers of Zoya Phoebe as a base and then put two layers of Diamond Cosmetics Chunky Red Glitter on top of that. I wanted to matte-ify it, but I can't find my Matte About You, so I just used regular topcoat. I really liked it and got lots of compliments too! A guy in the student store said that it looked like a Smurf with chicken pox, which was pretty funny. 

Sunlight, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

And that's all from me!! Thanks for reading, and have a fantastic Thursday!