Revlon Jaded

Picked this up a while ago when it was on clearance at Target. I love these mint green/blue type of colors. I just really like how they look when I look down at my hands (moreso than looking at them in photos). I think they help my hands look tan :)













3 coats Revlon Jaded
1 coat Poshe

This is exactly what I picture for Essie Mint Candy Apple, but MCA isn't this color (it's far more blue). Jaded is somewhere between a light mint and light sea foam green creme. Definitely more green than MCA. Ironically, the application was extremely similar to MCA... not really a good thing =/

Working with this polish is extremely similar to how I have to work with Essie cremes. Not the first coat necessarily, but the way the polish started reacting. First coat started uneven and patchy which made me nervous. Second coat was that uncomfortable "do I do another coat and risk it looks too puffy and thick" or "do I leave it at two coats when it's a little patchy". I went with three. The polish didn't seem to like the third coat, it kinda dragged. A top coat did help to even it out to give it a smooth finish, but it's still kinda bumpy. When I look down at my nails, you can't really tell at all, though. How to solve this problem? I have found is to let the polish rest in between nails. I have to use this "technique" a LOT with Essie polishes. Be prepared that applying this polish is not going to be a quick process. Do a nail in as few strokes as possible, then let the brush rest in the polish. You can't quickly go from nail to nail. You may be able to get away with that for the first coat, but after that you really need to let the brush sit. I think had I been more patient, it would have had looked a little nicer.

OPI Fly

I've been LOVING teal for a few months now. I fell in love with it when I moved and was trying to decide on a color scheme for my living room. I settled on greys, whites, and blacks, but I still needed color. Teal. So now I'm obsessed with teal. I never really had a favorite color besides when I was a child and I liked pink and my sister liked purple. But once I started shopping for home stuff, teal came in!! I realized I didn't have any true teal polishes. I have and love Orly Bailamos, but it wasn't exactly the teal I had in mind. Unfortunately, I don't know that this is either, but it's so close that it's the best I have right now!! While I'm not a huge OPI fan, I do love Nicki Minaj and I love teal, so this polish was def a win for me!!









Fly is a pretty straight forward teal creme. In some lights the green stands out more than the photos show. It's a beautiful, simple color.

The formula was fine. Opaque in 2 coats with no problems. Per usual, I hate OPIs brush, but paired with a good formula, and it was totally fine.

Orly Prelude to a Kiss

As soon as I saw the press releases for this polish, my interest spiked. As soon as I saw swatches, I knew I HAD to have it!! I've been searching for a similar color for quite some time. The right peachy, vintage-y, not too neon, not too pink, not too orange, not too dark color. I still want a polish a little darker, but I'm loving this for now. I saw Essie A Crewed Interest swatches and fell in love. Then I saw The PolishAholic's comparison to Prelude to a Kiss and obviously I'll pick Orly over Essie! Essie's pastel/light creme formulas frustrate me to no end!!
I went to my Sally's that doesn't usually carry new collections. I didn't see it out, so I started to walk out the door when the SA asked what I had been looking for. I told her I was looking for the new spring Orly collection but didn't see it. Then I re-asked to confirm that they don't sell new collections? She told me they're starting to get new collections in and she's sure she saw that collection in the back! I honestly couldn't remember the name of the polish so I looked it up on my phone quickly. She went to the back, grabbed that polish for me, and here we are!! Yay for AWESOME Sally's SAs! Not my usual experience with Sally's, but they're getting FAR better!! I'm so excited!

Side note, not gonna lie... I hate the name of this polish. I swear Orly really sucks sometimes at naming polishes. It's almost as annoying as Fancy Fuchsia.











2 coats Orly Prelude to a Kiss
1 coat Poshe
*photos taken on 3rd/4th day of wear (put on Thursday evening, photos taken Sunday morning).

This color is beautiful. As I said above, it is a light peach creme that does not lean too pink or too orange. It's not fleshy, I like it on my yellow/olive toned skin, don't know how it'd look on very pinky toned skin. It's a brighter pastel without being a neon pastel. It has a vintage feel that I am SO excited to do some pretty nail art to.

The formula was not fantastic, but it's what I expected for a pastel peach. The polish is thick and pigmented but very manageable. Completely opaque in two coats. Did have a little trouble with cuticle drag on the second coat, but the polish self levels pretty well, so it essentially fixed itself. This is one of those polishes where you need to let the brush rest in the bottle for a second before you go from nail to nail. But it wasn't bad.

Essie Wicked... I think?

Ocean State Job Lot is a store in New England that is just like a small discount store with a... dingy kind of feel? Don't picture TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Ross, or something like that. It's like a little less nice than Big Lots. There's no dressing room but they sell some clothes. They literally sell everything. Cosmetics, books, food, clothes, kitchen stuff, bathroom stuff, toys, everything. But anyway, they're constantly getting new, random stuff. This is where I get polishes from collections that have just been discontinued. For example, Revlon Carbonite was here, Wet N Wild Bloom polishes, and they sell Chi polishes as well as OLD Maybelline polishes. I don't know, a ton of random stuff.

Anyway, wandered myself in and found a whole box of Essie polishes for $3!! Oddly enough, 90% of the bottles were labeled "Clambake", and I don't think any of the polishes were actually Clambake. The rest were labeled "Geranium" and "Downtown Brown" (which I think was legit). Some where salon bottles, some were retail bottles, some were in between. So I picked some colors I like and ultimately determined this one was probably Wicked.











2 coats Essie Wicked
1 coat Poshe

Wicked is a gorgeous deep dark blood, maroon-y red creme. Not so dark that it looks black. It's a pretty sexy red, actually.

The formula was great thankfully, as I tend to have bad luck with Essie's formula. This polish is SUPER glossy without top coat I also didn't want to put one on! I did not have problems with cuticle flooding. It's on the thinner side, but a good thinner. Very happy with it.

China Glaze Up All Night

Sorry I've been MIA. No excuse other than I've been very busy and it's difficult to find time to upload photos. I have to do it at my parents house because they have a desktop I'm used to working with and I'm currently using a Mac and it drives me nuts to crop and tag on. So I only upload photos when I can get to my parents. Anyway...

I picked up Up All Night a couple of yeas ago at Sally's when it was on clearance. I grabbed it along with some polishes from the X Collection (VII and VIII). I've worn it here and there since, mostly in the colder weather because I tend to wear "appropriate" colors for the season. It's a pretty nice, basic polish.

Direct Sunlight








Not direct sunlight






2 coats China Glaze Up All Night
1 coat Poshe

Up All Night is a deep, dark blue that I actually don't think tends to look black. You know how some vampy, dark colors just look black when you look down at your hands? This boarders pretty dark in some lights, but I never noticed it truly looking black. The bottle has a shimmer that doesn't translate clearly on the nail and it looks like more of a creme finish with some extra shine.

The formula was fine. I found that it's not perfectly opaque in 1 coat like I'd expect colors like this to be. Not a problem, though. It looked amazing after two coats and I will never complain that a polish requires two coats. That's like a standard. The consistency was great. On the thinner side so it was very workable, but not so thin that it would flood cuticles.

Orly Poison Apple - The Best Red EVER??

I'm continuing on with Orly's Once Upon A Time collection that I intended to have finished in November, but that clearly did not happen. So here we are in December, but now is a pretty good time to be wearing reds, so I figure it worked out!!

These first photos were taken in artificial light*








These photos were taken in natural light*












1 coat Orly Poison Apple
1 coat Poshe

*I have two "sets" of photos because the second ones make the polish look very blue-based. I wanted the first "set" so you could see that it's not as blue-based as it appears. And so my description doesn't make me sound like a nut. Lol. Oh, and the indoor/artificial light photos were taken today (after 2 days wearing the polish).

This is a subtly rusty red creme, not your typical bright, blue-based red, so it's not super in-your-face and aggressive. For that reason, it also leans warm, though I think it'd be INCREDIBLY flattering on any skintone. It appears blue-based in some photos, but it's almost got a tomato-y quality. Like I said, subtly rusty, almost with a hint of vintage red. I really do think it's the perfect red for any skintone. Seriously.

I have very high expectations for reds. You figure there are SO many reds out there, there's no excuse for a red to be too thick, too thin, require too many coats, be streaky, etc. Application needs to be nearly flawless and Orly didn't disappoint!! This polish flowed beautifully, only requiring one coat for full opacity. I'm a big fan of Orly's brush, and I think the amazing formula paired with their awesome brush made application that much easier. There is NO clean-up in these photos. The polish went on where I put it, did not flood my cuticles, and just glided on to shape to my cuticles perfectly. An amazing formula to match possibly the most amazing, universally flattering red EVER!! Own this. Seriously.

Orly Mirror Mirror

I had planned on doing all of the Orly Once Upon A Time collection back in November, but it didn't happen. So I'll try to finish it up in December! So here we have Mirror Mirror.













2 coats Orly Mirror Mirror
1 coat Poshe

Mirror Mirror is a light grey creme that can look a little different in different lights. Indoors in not so bright like, it looks blue-ish almost with a lavender feel, and in brighter lights it can look like a light cement or it can be a little darker. Regardless, it always looks like a lovely light grey-light/medium grey. I would expect this polish to not work great with my pale, warm toned yellow/olive skin tone, but it actually works very well.

The formula was unfortunately NOT like most Orly cremes. Orly does a great job with pigmented, smooth, flawless, opaque cremes that are amazing to work with. This polish did not fit that standard. It is on the thinner side, which would generally be an ok thing, but the pigmentation isn't there. If you use too many brush strokes, the polish already put down lifts from the nail. By the second coat, it is completely opaque, but it is VERY uneven. Uneven in the sense that it's not smooth. I have like 2 ridges in 2 nails, and the way this polish leaves the finish makes it look like my nails are not smooth and have lots of ridges.

I overall suggest that you make sure you use a generous coat of a thicker top coat (SV, Poshe, etc), and if you have imperfections on the surface of your nail, use a good base coat or a ridge filling base coat to help smooth the nail and give you a good surface. Other than that, the uneven surface is combated well with a thick topcoat. And the color of this polish is just beautiful.

China Glaze For Audrey

What a classic polish. I'm assuming just about everyone has this polish in their collection, and if you don't, you're missing out on a staple polish! It's so lovely and simple.











*Please note that I apologize for the poor lighting. I've recently moved and I'm trying to learn the best place to take photos.
2 coats China Glaze For Audrey
1 coat Poshe

For Audrey is a Tiffany blue (arguably) creme that came out in its own collection named for Audrey Hepburn. I say arguably Tiffany blue because as you probably know, the Tiffany blue is a trademark color. The arguably comes in because if you look at different products from Tiffany's, they're all a little different. From bags to boxes to fabric bags, they all vary slightly.

I don't know if it's just my bottle, but it has a HUGE issue with separating. I need to plan to shake this bottle like 15 minutes in advance before I go to put it on. It hates me. It's also not the nicest formula. It's one of those where it tends to dry on the brush quickly, so while it doesn't exactly streak, it doesn't easily glide on. Again, this might just be my bottle and I've had it for a while, but it was this way when I first used it. It's around halfway used give or take, so I'll be getting a new bottle soon enough, anyway.

Gorgeous Orly Enchanted Forest

Welcome To My 100th Post!!
Was gonna do something special for it, but couldn't think of something. Lol, so bad I know. But instead...
Continuing on with my Once Upon A Time polishes, here is Enchanted Forest. One of my FAVORITE greens, creme or otherwise. It's just beautiful. Have a look...











Direct Sunlight








2 coats Orly Enchanted Forest
1 coat Poshe

The color of this green is beautiful. It's an obvious blue-based dark green creme, which I think is a nice change from yellow-based greens (which I love too!). I've seen some photos that make this polish look yellow-based. No idea how that was managed, but let me assure you it is definitely blue. In some lights, it almost looks like a deep green teal. Those "some lights" is the lighting as I sit in front of my computer typing this. Anyway, I think the name Enchanted Forest fits it perfectly. I imagined Orly choosing the name Enchanted Forest for an unknown color, and this is what they came up with.

The formula was lovely. Not as thick as some of Orly's newer cremes, but beautifully and easily opaque in 2 thin coats. First coat seemed a little uneven, but it was perfectly evened out with the second coat.

Prince Charming

I'm so sorry I keep disappearing :( This is the second polish I'm showing from Orly's Once Upon A Time collection. Again, I'm going over this entire collection because I think it's one of the best collections ever, especially for fall. Orly captured everything about the fall season with the collection. It's amazing.













2 coats Orly Prince Charming
1 coat brand new, super thin/runny Poshe

First off, this polish was like painting with chocolate. Does it look like chocolate? Eh, not totally. But you know how when you melt chocolate, it looks lighter and darkens as it hardens? This polish darkens enough so that the second coat going on is lighter, so it legit reminds me of painting my nails with melted chocolate... and now I want a s'more with the yummy melted chocolate and my delicious vegan marshmallows!! lol

So more about the actual color since it isn't identical to chocolate. It's definitely in the taupe family. I spent half the day thinking it was warm toned and the other half thinking it was cool toned, so I'm going to say it ends up being fairly neutral. It almost has yellow-ish undertones, but there is such a purity to the taupe color itself that I find it hard to pull out true undertones. At one point I swear I saw grey undertones and another time I definitely saw violet undertones. Regardless, it's beautiful.

The application was great! It was actually unlike Orly's more recent cremes. Orly's newer cremes seem to be opaque in 1 coat and on the thicker/highly pigmented side, while still being perfectly manageable. NOT the think/pigmented/dries on the brush in like two seconds and is goopy and pulls and is difficult to work with. But this polish is thinner but still well pigmented. The first coat was kind of uneven and is where I saw more yellow-ish undertones. If you thickened the first coat, it wasn't uneven. But either way, it went to perfectly opaque and perfectly even with the second coat. A very easy to work with polish.

Side Note
I feel awful about these big gaps in not posting. As I said, I'm moving on November 1st, and as a result, I've been OUTRAGEOUSLY busy. There are tons of things I need to get, and I've been picking up tons of hours at work on top of going to school (where I've had two exams in this past week). And I've been sick for the past week as I sit here with my left ear completely blocked and coughing like whoa (no stuffy nose, though! And I've still got energy). Ugh. So anyway, I haven't photographed too many of my nail designs. I'm going to have to go back and redo things as I've already worn another one of the Once Upon A Time colors but never took any photos. I'll try my best to get on it!! The other crappy thing is I have two silk wraps on my photographing hand (my index finger and ring finger), so I'm avoiding glitters and it stinks because I have so many new glitters!! Gahhh!!!!