Zoya Pixie Dusts in Godiva and Vespa

I'm loving the textured trend lately, particularly Zoya's rendition of it, the Pixie Dusts. Today I've got Godiva and Vespa to share with you. 

Godiva is a light sandy beige with lots of silver sparkles- these really are best witnessed in person in order to appreciate how much sparkle these pack. They especially come to life in the sunlight. 

Vespa is a dusty light sage green with silver sparkle. Gorgeous, and again even better in person.

While I'm loving the textured trend, I have to say one thing about it- I hate wearing textured polish while flossing my teeth! It just... feels wrong. It gives me the creeps! What do you think of the textured trend? Are you loving it?

Butter London Cuppa (plus a comparison!)

Because I have an insatiable urge to buy ALL the putty/taupe cremes I see, I've got Butter London Cuppa to share with you today! This is from the recent Butter London spring collection release, and it is (surprise, surprise) a milky/almond beige creme. Lovely formula, perfect in two coats. This first picture is taken under artificial light, which typically makes the colour appear more yellow-toned; the following two are taken in natural light, which shows Cuppa to be a lovely milky beige.

I also thought a comparison might be in order, seeing how close SpaRitual Quietness looks to Butter London Cuppa in the bottle:

Left to Right: SpaRitual Quietness, Butter London Cuppa, Quietness, Cuppa.

As you can see, SpaRitual Quietness is actually quite a bit more yellow in tone; Butter London Cuppa is more of a cool, almond shade. While I like both of these, I think Cuppa is the more flattering option. What do you think?

Layla Bubble Effect in Black Forest

Today I've got one of the Layla Bubble Effect polishes to share with you- this is Black Forest, a polish very similar to OPI's Black Spotted lacquer (which was exclusive to Europe, if I understand correctly). In terms of application, I applied this as I would a shatter topcoat: I used one medium coat, applied it quickly and evenly, and then I stopped fussing with it. The end result was this oil-on-water kind of effect. The base colour is SpaRitual Quietness. 

I also layered this over Man Glaze's Butt Taco (oh, that name...) which I think provided a more striking effect.

What do you think of Layla Bubble Effect in Black Forest? Think it would quell any lemming for the hard-to-procure OPI Black Spotted? If so, and you're wondering where you can order it, you can find it at Nail Polish Canada, which is where I ordered mine from. 

SpaRitual - Quietness (Meditate Collection Spring 2013)

Tonight I've got swatches of SpaRitual Quietness to share with you; this lacquer is part of the new Meditate Collection for Spring 2013. I haven't been able to find any other swatches of this collection online, so hopefully this helps some of you out! 

Quietness is a creamy pale beige that leans slightly yellow; it reminds me of a really milky iced coffee, or maybe of irish cream liqueur. Comparison-wise, it's more beige than Illamasqua Load, but not as yellow as China Glaze Kalahari Kiss. I used three coats to achieve full coverage, but the formula was fairly easy to work with; I did notice that it took a long time to dry, though- even thought I painted my nails in the afternoon, the polish was still slightly dent-able later that evening. 

The following two pictures, taken in late afternoon sun, show the polish looking a bit more yellow than it typically looks on the nail; I've included them here nonetheless.

The other lacquers in this collection follow in the subdued, dreamy/pastel trend- a tried and true combination for a spring collection. I think this collection with be more widely available in February, but it is currently available through Nail Polish Canada, which is where I ordered mine from. I've also noticed that it's begun popping up at other online retailers.

What do you think of SpaRitual Quietness? Do you think you'll be picking anything up from this collection?

NARS Candy Darling + Lush Lacquer Party Rockin and Flippin Out

Today's post comes to you from a slightly grumpy Lacquer Tracker. The reason why? It's 5:22pm and the last bit of sunlight is disappearing beyond the horizon. In another 20 minutes it'll be pitch black. Ugh. It's not the cold or snow that gets me down about winters here, it's the incredibly short days. And until winter solstice comes around (December 21st), the days will keep getting shorter. Ugh. Okay. End rant. Let's get onto the nails, shall we? 

NARS Candy Darling, a very light and sheer beige; this took 4 coats to reach this level of opacity, and as you can see, it's still a touch sheer. For the first several coats it was streaky as well. Can't say I'm a big fan...

But two coats of glitter should improve this manicure (and hopefully my mood as well). Enter Lush Lacquer!

This is Party Rockin, by itself, over Candy Darling. Pretty!

Even better, here it is with a layer of Flippin' Out as well.

 Well, the sunlight may be gone, but at least my nails are brighter. That helps, right?

China Glaze - On Safari (Fall 2012) - My Picks!

Tonight I've got a few of my picks from the China Glaze "On Safari" Collection (Fall 2012) to share with you. 

First up is Desert Sun. This is a really unique colour- certainly not something I've seen much of before, and it's unique in my collection. This is a burnt caramel coloured creme. It reminds me of butterscotch pudding. The formula on this was good- very easy to control. What you see below is two coats. 

Next up is Kalahari Kiss, another fairly unique creme colour. This is a beige-yellow; calling it khaki would probably be spot on. Like Desert Sun, the formula on this was good, and coverage was full at two coats. The closest thing in my collection to Kalahari Kiss is MAC In The Buff (I'll have a comparison post for you next week).

While I like this colour on my fingernails, I have to admit, it didn't make for the most flattering pedicure. I've been into wearing neutrals on my toes lately, but this just didn't work.

And last (but certainly not least!), this is I'm Not Lion. This is a gorgeous super-fine white gold glitter with tonnes of holographic sparkle. I'm crazy about this one! I absolutely love it- it's blingy and noticeably holographic, yet not overdone. I love the sugar-like texture of the glitter in this. It's also very dense, and only took two coats to be completely opaque.

Blurry pic to show the amazing holographic sparkle!

What did you think of my picks from the China Glaze On Safari collection? Which ones are your favourites? Have you picked up any polishes from this collection?

I'll leave you with a picture I took recently of a rather spectacular sunset (it doesn't quite come through in this, but the field of canola in the foreground is in full bloom and is the most amazing electric yellow).