Pirate Polish The Witching Hour over American Apparel Coney Island

This is a layering combo I've been dying to try out, and I'm glad I finally did! I love how this glitter combination looks over a stark pastel pink; it really stands out (especially the shredded metallic glitter!). I think I like it even better than the insta-galaxy nails manicure featuring The Witching Hour over OPI's Every Month Is Oktoberfest. 

What do you think of this combination? Isn't it magical? ;)

The Witching Hour is part of the Pirate Polish Halloween Collection and can be purchased via the Pirate Polish Etsy store (I do ship internationally, as well!). You can also check Pirate Polish out on Facebook.

Obligatory St. Patrick's Day Manicure (a few days late)

Okay, so this is a little late, but I was having some trouble uploading pictures. I've got it solved now, though, so here we go...

I began with two coats of American Apparel Hunter; as the name suggests, this is a hunter green creme. It has the usual lovely American Apparel formula, and is really shiny. Definitely a good St. Patrick's Day green!

Then I added two coats of Dollish Polish Palm Fronds. I really, really, love how this turned out. I don't think I totally captured how magical this looks. Palm Fronds has various sizes and shades of vibrant green glitter (including awesome large square green glitter). Green Domo is helping to model this combo, as is only appropriate for St. Patrick's Day.

The green glitter really pops agains the dark green base. I got a tonne of compliments on this, and I'm really thrilled- I'll definitely be breaking this out again!

What do you think of my St. Patrick's Day combination?

Oh, and one more thing! I wanted to let you all know that I'll be doing a small giveaway soon. I recently hit 50 followers, and wanted to celebrate by sharing something cool I found today with my readers... I'll post about in it more detail soon. This giveaway will only be open to my existing followers at the time I officially announce it, as I wanted to thank my current readers. So, for the readers who don't follow me through GFC but in some other way, I wanted to give you the opportunity to sign up if you're interested, as that will be the medium through which I will keep track of eligible participants. I'm excited! I can't wait to share this with all of you.

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?