Color Club Bright Night and Pearl-spective

Today I've got two lacquers from the Color Club Kaleidoscope Collection (Spring 2013): Bright Night (intense, vivid, cobalt blue), and Pearl-spective (a fine flakey shimmer topcoat that flashes pink and gold). I layered Pearl-spective over top of Bright Night for this manicure; I was really happy with how much Pearl-spective stood out as a topcoat, and loved how finely milled the flakey shimmer was. 

And a shot of Bright Night by itself- sorry for the partial shadow! This really deserves a number of photos because it's so perfectly vivid and blue (not to mention utterly smooth and creamy), but I've just got this one for you today.

What do you think of these two shades from the Color Club Kaleidoscope collection?

A few festive Pirate Polish manicures!

I'm getting into the Christmas mood (Christmas music, baking cookies, wrapping presents...), and I wanted to share a few festive manicures I've done lately using some of the Pirate Polish Holiday Collection lacquers. 

Joyeux Noel, layered over a silver foil (Sally Hansen Celeb City); this one is a strong candidate for official Christmas Day manicure.

Holiday Glow, layered over Essie No More Film (which is my go-to for layering lately- it's perfect in just one coat). I love how rich and luxurious this looks.

And finally, Christmas Tree In Blue; it makes me think of snowy blue Christmas trees. A nice image!

And that's what I've got to share with you today, along with a reminder that December 10 is the last day to place an order destined for the US or Canada that will (likely) arrive before Christmas Day. So if anyone is looking to order some Christmas polishes, check the Pirate Polish Etsy shop out soon! As always, you can also find Pirate Polish on Facebook.

Thanks for looking, and happy holidays!

OPI Skyfall Collection Minis - Swatches!

It's rare that the OPI minis released with each major OPI collection contain the colours I really want from the collection, but in this case they contained every colour I really wanted to get my hands on! I have swatches of the four OPI Skyfall minis for you today.

First up I have Goldeneye- a dense golden flakey glitter in a clear base. This is two coats of Goldeneye, and if wearing this for a manicure I'd probably do a third in order to ensure opacity (in the last photo, taken in direct sun, it tends to look a bit sheer at two coats). I really love this one, and it's my favourite of the bunch. Incredibly luxurious and glitzy, I haven't come across anything like this before! 

Live and Let Die is a deep forest  green with golden-green flecks. The formula on this was fantastic- almost perfect in one coat. It reminded me slightly of Essence Walk on the Wild Side (reviewed here), but compared to that this is a darker green, and the glass fleck is more pronounced.

The Spy Who Loved Me is an extremely bright cherry red jelly with flakey gold shimmer in it. When I say "cherry red" I'm mostly thinking of that red pencil crayon that was always assigned the title "Cherry", even though it wasn't anything like the colour of a real cherry. Has anyone else puzzled over that? At least in my experience, cherries are usually a deeper red- nothing like this shade. Well, anyways, no matter how you want to describe it, this is a lovely red. It feels very festive, and holiday-appropriate!

The World Is Not Enough is an interesting one; formula-wise this was a little frustrating. It's quite sheer, and requires at least 3 coats for opacity (I used three below, and it could have used another). It's an unusual mixture of taupe/silver/pink flakey shimmer. I'm loving all the flake shimmer in this collection. Overall I like this, and appreciate how unique it is; I think I might try layering it over another colour next time, though.

What do you think of the OPI Skyfall minis? Will you be picking up any colours from the collection?

Revlon Moon Candy - Galactic

I was pretty excited about the Revlon Moon Candy (such a fun name!) duos when they first came out, and immediately picked up "Galactic", a very dark navy paired with bright blue-green flakes. The packaging is really interesting: a slim glass cylinder which unscrews on each side to reveal a brush for each shade. It was rather unwieldy, though, and tended to tip over while painting. Despite that, I still like it... it's like a little magic wand. 

This is two coats of the base colour all by itself; it's a very dark, mostly black looking navy blue. 

The flakey glitter side of the polish is really something special- huge blue/green glitter shards. I really love how this looks layered over the deep navy shade. It's gorgeous, although the formula was an absolute pain. It was hard to get the flakes out (mainly because the base was very thick and gel-like), and you really have to dab them on otherwise they won't spread out nicely on the nail. Despite that, the end effect if quite stunning:

You'll also want to load up on topcoat in order to smooth those giant flakies out. They feel really jagged without topcoat, and you'll need at least 2-3 coats of Seche Vite to make it manageable. Even with all the hassle, I still say this manicure was worth it! I couldn't stop staring at my nails when I wore this.

What do you think of Revlon's "Moon Candy" collection? Did you pick any of the colours up? 

Experimental Layering Post

I've been meaning to do this post for ages, as I've accumulated requests for the last month or two. Anyways, finally it's here! 

Top to bottom we have Lynnderella Chocolotta Love over a white base, Ozotic 505 over black (which makes the colour shift look incredible!), Picture Polish Mask-a-rade over black, and Up Colors Beijo na Boca also over black. 

On the thumb you can see Nails Inc Cheyne Walk over black, which doesn't really discernibly change the look of it so much; with one more coat it would look the exact same as it would without any base colour.

I hope these layering swatches were helpful for you! Out of these, I think Ozotic 505 and Picture Polish Mask-a-rade benefit the most from being layered over black- it really brings out the colour shift.

UP Colors - Beijo na Boca (flakey topcoat)

After wearing a neutral base colour for a day (Oh My Gosh "Nude Champagne"), I decided to add a flakey topcoat to it to add some interest. I also find that layering a topcoat over an existing mani is a great way to extend wear time by an extra day or two. 

I decided to try "Beijo na Boca" by UP Colors. Beijo na Boca is a mixture of green, orange, and tiny blue flake glitter in a pink tinted base. While the pink tint shows up in the bottle, it's non-existent on the nail.

This is my first time trying a polish by UP Colors (I believe it's a Brazilian brand), and I'm pretty smitten with the bottle. It's like a little ice cube! Do keep in mind that it's not a full sized polish, though- this is only 10ml, instead of the usual 15ml.

I know it's pretty common to layer flakey glitter polishes over a black or other dark coloured polish in order to get the most impact, but I really like how subtle this looks over a neutral polish. It's very understated, but still quite interesting to look at.

Unfortunately, the brush on this was a little wonky. Not near as bad as the last Brazilian lacquer I tried, and easily fixed with some trimming, but still a bit of a let down.

I purchased this lacquer via Llarowe, and since I ordered this one they have expanded their stock to include a whole bunch of intriguing UP Colors shades (including a whole bunch of holographic polishes).

Do you like layering flakey topcoats over neutral colours? Or do you prefer layering them over something darker to create a more dramatic effect?

Topcoat Comparisons (featuring China Glaze Luxe and Lush)

After I posted pictures of China Glaze Luxe and Lush yesterday, Maria asked if Luxe and Lush might be similar to another China Glaze glitter called Snow Globe. Today I have comparisons between China Glaze Luxe and Lush and China Glaze Snow Globe, as well as several other flakey and glitter topcoats.

The first comparison will feature Sally Hansen Insta-Dri "Mint Sprint" as a base lacquer. While described as a mint, I would rather call Mint Sprint a "faded jade green". To me it doesn't really fit as a mint green- it's too dark and leans more towards teal. The topcoats featured are Orly Winter Wonderland, China Glaze Snow Globe, China Glaze Luxe and Lush, and OPI Crown Me Already (not a flakey glitter at all, just an awesome one that I wanted to include anyways!).

Here is a bottle comparison of China Glaze Snow Globe (left), and China Glaze Luxe and Lush (right):

A close-up bottle shot of Snow Globe, made up of reflective, multi-coloured, round sequin-like glitter:

And a close-up bottle shot of Luxe and Lush, which is made up of jagged, irregular flakes:

Here they are on the nail (one coat over Mint Sprint):

Left to right: Orly Winter Wonderland, CG Snow Globe, CG Luxe and Lush, OPI Crown Me Already

In the last picture it's possible to see how the particles in the two China Glaze lacquers are different shapes, but somewhat similar in colour/reflective qualities. Snow Globe also applies more uniformly, whereas Luxe and Lush is more tricky to get even. 

For the next set of comparisons, I wanted to use the holographic topcoats I own. I used American Apparel African Violet, a bright and saturated purple creme, for a base. It's so beautiful I want to post a few pictures of it alone before getting to the sparklies:

Isn't African Violet gorgeous? So incredibly shiny and pigmented. I love it- it's the perfect purple creme!

The holographic-glitter topcoats I chose to layer over it are (left to right in the swatches below): China Glaze Nova, OPI Servin' Up Sparkle, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Strobe Light, and China Glaze Fairy Dust. I totally neglected to take a bottle pic for this one, so please forgive me for that!

CG Nova is most similar to OPI Servin' up Sparkle, but the latter has large silver/holographic hexagon glitter that Nova lacks. Sally Hansen Strobe Light is slightly pinkish (more evident in person), and has more uneven, jagged holographic particles, while CG Fairy Dust is simply made up of tiny holographic specks. I won't even call it glitter, as the effect is far more subtle. 

My favourite topcoats from the first set are Luxe and Lush and Crown Me Already (which could be worn by itself, as it is quite dense and builds well). From the last set, I love OPI Servin' Up Sparkle (I'm a sucker for hex glitter), and Fairy Dust, which is so understated and pretty. 

Which of these do you like best? Do you own some of these? And more importantly, isn't American Apparel African Violet one of the best purples ever?

China Glaze Luxe and Lush

I thought my Sally Hansen Smooth and Perfect mani in "Sea" (a very pale sea foam green) might make an interesting base for China Glaze Luxe and Lush. Luxe and Lush is from the new Hunger Games collection, and is a topcoat filled with large, jagged, reflective flakies. The predominate colours reflected are peachy-gold and blue, but this changes a bit depending on the lighting.

I applied one thick coat of Luxe and Lush, and topped it with a coat of Seche Vite. It is relatively smooth to the touch. I didn't find it too difficult to manage, although the larger and irregular shape of the flakes did make it more challenging than other flakey topcoats I've tried- Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure, for example. The overall effect is also more subtle than Hidden Treasure- to my eye, it does not contrast as much or appear as reflective. Instead it almost looks like crushed glass. Or crushed ice. Or, if you're feeling extravagant, maybe crushed diamonds. ;) Anyways, the overall effect is of large, jagged flakes that will catch the light and subtly reflect it in interesting way. I'm very pleased with this, and think it's unique from other flakey topcoats I've tried. I can't wait to try it over other colours!

Do you have China Glaze Luxe and Lush? What do you think of it?

Finally, I want to take the time to thank two very sweet bloggers for giving me awards.

Arfblat at SPLAT (tell me you don't have a blast saying that!) awarded me the Laine Blogger award. Definitely stop by her blog to check out the really cool skittles mani she did using contrasting shiny dots on a matte background. I love the contrast between glossy and matte, and this is a very cool rendition of the standard skittles mani! Thank you, Arfblat!

Niki at the newly minted For Lacquer of a Better Term, thoughtfully awarded me the Versatile Blogger award. I can't wait to see what she posts next, and I think she has one of the cleverest blog names I've come across in a long while. Thank you very much, Niki!

Nfu Oh 60 (layered over Quo by Orly Night Sky)

Nfu Oh 60 consists of multicoloured flakes in an black jelly base. It's dark and murky, and unlike the other Nfu Oh flakey polishes, the jelly base almost seems to obscure the flakes. Despite that, it's actually a neat effect, and I think it makes a nice companion to Quo by Orly's "Night Sky"lacquer. Night Sky lends a purplish cast to the Nfu Oh which is interesting.

In the bottle it looks really cool- kind of like a crystallized oil slick. Here is how it looks on the nail:

The flakes flash orange, gold, green, and red in the sun.

I feel like I should put this on around Halloween- wouldn't it make a good spooky polish?

Finally, I want to show you my order from Llarowe, which just arrived. I'm pretty excited to try out my new lacquers, and tomorrow I'll have Apolo, from the HITS No Olimpo collection to show you.

Left to right these are A-England's Ascalon and St. George, Ozotic 505 and 507, HITS No Olimpo Dionisio and Apolo. The last two are not from Llarowe, but are recent purchases. One is Cling On from the China Glaze Magnetix collection, and the other is Liquid Crystal from the new Prismatic collection. Is there any one in particular you'd like to see?