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?

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?

Layla Soft Touch in #07 Queen Bordeaux + Jindie Nails Candy Cane

Today I've got another festive manicure to share with you- this is Layla Queen Bordeaux with Jindie Nails Candy Cane as an accent nail. I was extremely excited to try out the new Layla Soft Touch line; it features a fairly unique finish, a combination of suede/matte/rubber finishes. It's not as stark or chalky as a straight matte, and the shimmer isn't as evident as with the OPI suede polishes. This has a lot  of depth- it's not immediately apparent in these photos, but Queen Bordeaux has a fiery red metallic shimmer in it, although it's rather subtle. I don't have anything similar to it; Man Glaze's Fatty's Got More Blood is more plum toned, and has very different shimmer. 

Overall, I'm very pleased with how this manicure turned out. I also opted to do an accent nail using Jindie Nails Candy Cane, in order to amp up the festive holiday theme. Candy Cane is a lovely white jelly/creme with different sizes and shapes of red and green glitter in it. It's quite sheer, so expect to use 3-4 coats for full opacity. The end effect is glorious- like crushed candy canes on your nails! 

I think this picture in full sun brings out the depth of Layla Queen Bordeaux the most. Isn't she beautiful?

What do you think of my festive manicure? Are you intrigued by the Layla Soft Touch line, or have you had enough of matte/suede/rubber finish polishes?

Availability: I purchased Layla Queen Bordeaux from Nail Polish Canada, and Jindie Nails from her Etsy shop.