Barielle Blossom

        Hello guys!! For today, I have a polish that I was lemming for like a million years, so I'm excited to wear it and show it to you guys. Meet Blossom, from Barielle's Wildflower Collection!

Blossom is a pale but saturated peachy pink creme. 

Sunlight, no flash.

Natural light. no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

     I really love Blossom's color. It's very cute and ladylike, and satisfies the intense craving I've been having for peach and coral polish. I don't know why, but I just really want to wear them. And I like that Blossom is probably more wearable for most people (including moi), because it leans more towards pink than orange.

    However, Blossom was again kind of hard to work with. It was thick and gluey, and needed three coats to be opaque and streak-free. And really, I'm kind of reaching a point of annoyance with Barielle over this. It's easily solved with thinner, but I'm lazy in my soul and don't want to go through the trouble of thinning the polish. I have to open the bottle and then pour it and shake it and test it....ugh, I don't want to do that stuff!! Whyyy? *rolls around in bed*

But enough whining...time to go find something productive to do with my life. Have a beautiful evening and thanks for reading!!

Essie Haute as Hello

       So quick post today, because I need to go run errands and if I don't leave soon, I will be too lazy to leave ever. If all goes as planned, hopefully, I can have some good news for you guys tomorrow. But for today, I have Essie Haute as Hello from last year's summer collection.

Haute as Hello is a pale but bright peachy-coral creme. 

Sunlight, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash. 

  Haute as Hello is beautiful! In the bottle, it doesn't really look like all that, but on the nail, it was so much better. The color looked more interesting...like more orange-y, and instead of the soft pastel coral I was expecting, it was shockingly, almost blindingly bright. It actually made me think of a radioactive RBL Patrick Starfish (RIP).
   However, I did have some issues with the formula. It wasn't too bad, but it was streaky and didn't level itself well. Even after four coats, there was still some streaks, but the topcoat helped smooth those over a bit.
   Even though the formula was troublesome, I really like the color on me (plus the name is too cute), so Haute as Hello can stay. 


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

BB Couture Catalina Cutie

       For today, I have BB Couture Catalina Cutie from the California Beaches Collection. 

Catalina Cutie is a peachy-coral jelly base, packed with gold microshimmer, as well as tiny gold and green opalescent glitter.

Sunlight, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash. 

        As a color, I think Catalina Cutie is okay. The base shade won't flatter everyone, but I do think it's cute and quite appropriate for a summer day. Of course though, my favorite part of the polish would definitely have to be the microshimmer and BB Couture's signature glitter. In sunlight, they both come to life and give the polish this warmer, more orange-y look. They aren't as visible in lower light though, which is unfortunate.

      Catalina Cutie's formula was not so good. It was overly sheer and had a weird, kind of gluey texture. It also went on pretty streaky and didn't level so nicely. After trying it a few times, I ended up with three coats of color over one layer of Essie Limo-Scene, and that turned out fairly well, although some jelliness was lost in the process. Anyway, I think I'm actually gonna put this one in the purge pile. It's nice, but I'm not...that into it, I guess.

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

Zoya Lulu + Axolotls!!

     Today's animal is kind of weird, because people breed them for pet-keeping and research purposes, so it's probably not actually going to disappear from the Earth altogether. But the wild type of it is very endangered. Meet the ridiculously adorable and Pokemon-esque Axolotl, also known as the Mexican Walking Fish. And I guess people who breed them as pets call them Water Dragons:

They don't all look like that...they can also be golden, grey, black, brown, and olive green, but I think this kind is the cutest.

But anyway, these lovable little guys are amphibians native to Mexico, and are friendly and gentle. That's why people like to keep them as pets...they're like goldfish, but are cooler, smarter, and have better personalities. However, they are dying out at a rapid pace in the wild, due to water pollution in their habitats and intrusive species eating all their babies. 

  I didn't have a color that would match the Axolotl exactly, but the closest thing I had was Zoya Lulu:

Lulu is a pale peach jelly.

Sunlight, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

      Lulu is beautiful. The color is demure without boring and pale without being stark. I also love the soft, dreamy, and appropriately squishy texture of the finish. This is actually the kind of finish that I would have preferred for Diamond Cosmetics Tranquility.

     However, Lulu's formula was pretty bad. It was very thin and sheer, and I had trouble with streaking and uneveness. I ended up needing four coats (and even five on some fingers) to get enough coverage and smoothness for my satisfaction. Bleh.

And that's all! Thanks for reading!

Color Club Revealed

     For today, I've got Color Club Revealed, from the Alter Ego Collection. 

Revealed is a peachy-pink creme base with super secret rose pink microshimmer. 

Sunlight, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

    Lately, I've been craving these more demure shades, and Revealed is a cute one. It's soft and pretty, and pastel without being chalky or stark. I also liked how it made my nails look perfect...they seemed longer and squarer with this polish on. But I did not like how I could barely see Revealed's shimmer. It shows up fine in the bottle, and I expected it to be subtle on the nail, but it ended up being invisible, which sucks. It's such a lovely color of shimmer in its own right, and looks particularly nice with the base color. Why would they not want people to see it? o_O

   I also hated Revealed's formula. It has that weird sticky-thick syndrome and went on in streaky patches. The pigmentation wasn't that bad, because it was opaque in three coats, but I ended up having to dab polish into the bald spots, and then applying one more thick coat to try to even up the streaks. Luckily, with the help of topcoat, Revealed dried to a fairly smooth and creamy finish, but that doesn't negate the nightmare of applying it.  

   Even though Revealed is inexpensive and I love me some Color Club, I have to say that this one was a bit of a fail. If I could do it again knowing what I know now, I'd definitely put that $2.50 towards something else.  Like a sammich.  n_n

And that's all I've got for today. Thanks for reading, and have a beautiful Friday! 

Rescue Beauty Lounge Starfish Patrick

           After like...weeks of wearing nothing but glitters and shimmers, my eyes needed a break. The light reflecting off my tips was burning out my retinas. So for today, I wanted to wear something demure, but still pretty and interesting. I recently acquired a color that perfectly fit the bill and that I'd been wanting to try, so I slapped it on. Here's Rescue Beauty Lounge Starfish Patrick, from the Spongebob Squarepants Collection.

Starfish Patrick is tough to describe. RBL's website calls it as a "peachy coral", which isn't inaccurate. But looking at it on my hands, I think it pulls a bit orange. But not like...disgusting orange. More like a milky, warm, pinky-cantaloupe shade.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

    Okay, I adore Starfish Patrick.  It's very sophisticated and adult looking, but thanks to the slightly squishy-looking texture, it's still pretty fun and young. It also has this sandy feel to it that makes me think of the beach and the ocean. And best of all, it looks like Patrick! How can anyone hate something that looks like Patrick? He's so lovable and cute. Although it's ironic how arguably the dumbest character in the whole show would inspire what I think is the most refined-looking polish in the collection. 

   But as much as I love the shade, Starfish Patrick's application nearly made me weep. It was extra streaky, and even after three coats, there was still uneveness and bald spots. I ended up dabbing polish in the bald spots, letting that dry for a few minutes, and then going over the whole thing with one more coat to make it more even-looking. I think that worked pretty well, because from afar, it looks smooth. But close up, I can see uneven patches. And there are bubbles, which displeases me. On the upside, the dry time was quite good. And despite the thinness of the formula, it was very easy to control. In the pictures, I used one layer of Barielle Natural Nail Camouflage, four medium thickness coats of color, and one layer of topcoat. 

OPI Peach-A-Boo!

            Today, I'm wearing Peach-A-Boo! from OPI's Retro Fun in the Sun Collection, released Summer 2008. I was in the mood for something light and girly, and this definitely fit the bill.

Peach-A-Boo! is a sheer, pale, and slightly metallic shade of apricot, packed with pink shimmer. It's not showing up really in the picture, but it's there. There's also a bit of gold and pink duochrominess going on.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

This one shows a little of the duochrome. 

Sunlight, no flash.

This one shows more of it. 

     I really like Peach-A-Boo!. This is exactly what I wanted Nubar Peach Sherbet to be. It's very delicate and feminine thanks to the pale shade and the sheerness, but the sparkle and duochrome keeps it from being too boring. In fact, I kept on looking at my hands today, trying to figure out exactly what Peach-A-Boo! was. Sometimes, it would be more pink, and other times, it would be firmly peach. Sometimes, it would just be shimmery and sparkly, and other times, it looked more like a frost. I didn't like when it looked like a frost, but whatever. The main point is that it was interesting and fun to look at. And the name is just adorable. 

    Applying Peach-A-Boo! was rather easy. Being a sheer polish, it did have a thin formula, but it was easy to spread across the nail. There was no bubbling, dragging, or any other sort of tomfoolery. The pictures are with four thin coats of color, and one layer of topcoat. To reach opacity, I'd imagine that one would need about six or seven coats. And there's always the option of layering over a black, or a creme polish in a matching shade of peach. I'm sure it'd look awesome over black.

    Okay, that's all I have for today. Have a great night!

Revlon Peach Smoothie

            Today, I'm wearing Revlon Peach Smoothie, from the Scents of Summer Collection. I'd like to get these documented and out of the way, so I plan on wearing all the ones that I own consecutively. I decided to start with Peach Smoothie, because I was really curious about what it looked like on the nail, and because it's a nude, which I wouldn't be caught dead in unless there was no other choice. Today is Sunday, and I'm staying in all day to study and pack, so no one will ever know. No offense to nude lovers, but man....I don't like most nudes. Naked Ambition was cool beans though. Okay, enough rambling.

Peach Shimmer is a pale peach creme, with subtle gold micro-shimmer. The color here isn't accurate...this is too dark. 

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash. This picture is more true to color, in my opinion. In the bottle, it was a pretty even-keel peach...equal parts white, orange, and pink. But on me, it starts to tilt just a little more to the pink side, which I don't mind.

Natural light, no flash. The lack of sun really washes it out.

Sunlight, no flash. This shows more of the sparkle.

This is what made me so excited to wear this. At the top of the bottle, there's lots of shimmer, and then in the bottom, there are all these little iridescent flakes. They don't show up so well on the nail though.

       Peach Smoothie is an okay color. It's not ugly, but it is very...middle of the road. There's nothing very special about it, except for the fact that it smells like peaches. The smell itself is pretty good! Of course, it's going to smell artificial (it's nail polish), but it lasts a long time, and is recognizable as peach.

      But while the color is nice, the application was sad. It was fairly opaque in two coats, but it went on streaky and gross. Some of my nails have three coats, and some have four, just because I was trying to get the finish even and smooth. The topcoat helped smooth it out alot, but when I look at my right hand, there are still spots where brushstrokes and bald spots are visible. No bueno.

    So while I like Peach Smoothie, and think that it may come in handy for situations when I can't have fun with my nails, I'm glad that I didn't have to trouble myself to get it. My Walgreens is in easy walking distance from my school, and it's right on my way to work, so it was easy to get this. If I had to get on the bus or train to get to the Walgreens, I would have been too mad. Because Peach Smoothie is nice, but in all honesty, it's not really worth the fare or the trouble.