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.

Sunburst After A Hurricane

Found this at Ocean State Job Lot the other day. It's from the Bloom Collection that came out in Spring of this year. OSJL also had Collecting Pollen and Cherry Blossom, but I passed on those two. Def woulda bought Garden Hose and Bird Bath if they had 'em. Anyway, in an attempt to find the perfect peach color, I grabbed this with the intention of trying to franken it (which I’ve never attempted) to be that color. In the meantime, I might as well give it a try on its own.









Direct Sunlight




3 coats Wet n Wild Sunburst
1 coat Poshe

I might think this color is ugly? Myabe not ugly, but I don't know how I feel about it. It’s a yellow-toned light orange crème. Wet n Wild called it pastel. I'd say it's definitely not pastel. Light, yes. Pastel, no. It starts to remind me of the orange powdered cheese that comes with Kraft Mac and Cheese, but ultimately, I don't think it does. It definitely looks more attractive in different lighting, though. By the end of the day I started liking it more.

The application was… confusing? Gosh this polish is ridiculous. From the bizarre color to the strange formula. Anyway, it seems to be decently pigmented, the consistency doesn’t seem thin and it‘s definitely not thick… but it’s SO uneven. You can kinda tell in photos. I’m surprised the macro didn’t accentuate it! But you can definitely notice the cuticle drag on my pinkie.
Its like my base coat straight up repelled this polish and I have no idea why. I have NEVER had this problem. I have two bases I use. Nail Tek Intensive Therapy II on my non-silk wrapped nails and then Sally Hansen Double Duty on my silk wrapped nails (only 2 are silk wrapped right now). The ones with the Nail Tek REALLY hated this polish. It acted similarly to a Tronica polish. It had the drag up that holos get, but not sticky like a linear holo. I’m truly dumbfounded, but I will say use a sticky base coat if you’re applying this polish.

BONUS!!


And I had to throw in this photo of Paisley squinting up at me in the bright sunshine! Haha! So cute.

OPI Rumple's Wiggin'

I've wanted this polish for-gosh-darn-ever!! From the second I saw it. It's nothing that special, I just wanted it. The last Ulta Rewards I was able to get a polish, and I debated between Rumple's Wiggin' and What's With The Cattitude? Obviously, I went with WWTC. But my boyfriend got me RW for my birthday this year, and I've FINALLY decided to wear it!!







2 coats OPI Rumple's Wiggin
1 coat Poshe

This is a lavender that has some blue undertones. I don't know that it is one of those "bright" pastels, but it's right on that line. I wish I had this in the spring. This late into summer isn't the best time to wear this polish, but whatev!!

The formula was similar to most OPI's. Thinner, opaque in 2-3 coats. Not bad at all! The only thing is this polish REALLY brings out any imperfection on my nails. The ridge down my ring finger is super noticeable, and my silk wraps aren't as hidden as they are with other polishes. I don't know if it's because it's a creme. I don't think so because I've had that pinkie silk wrapped for 2 months (it was a VERY bad break), and this is the most noticeable I've seen it despite wearing lots of cremes.

Forever 21 Love & Beauty Pink

L&B has the most obnoxious names for their polishes. Their names are literally the color of the polish. This one is called "Pink". More specifically, it's MA120 Pink, just in case you were curious.

I have been dying to wear this because it's so similar to a peachy color I've been wanting. However, this one is just a little too pink, so I think I have to take a trip to NYC and pick up Illamasqua Purity. Anyway, here's "Pink".

**This polish was EXTREMELY difficult to photograph accurately. This first photo is as close as I could get to the actual color**


Sunlight




Shade




2 coats Pink
1 coat Poshe

This polish is one of those neon (bright) pastels. Definitely not a true neon, though it photographs almost as difficult as a neon, which is a HUGE pain. It's a bright creme salmon that goes on several shades darker than the bottle. It has more of a peachy hue than the photos show, it has almost a coral kinda feel. It is also brighter in real life. From photos I've seen, it looks VERY comparable to Orly Cotton Candy, however I do not own Cotton Candy to compare directly.

The formula was totally fine. Opaque and streak-free in 2 coats. First coat seemed a little uneven, but that was totally fixed with the second coat. No cuticle drag, either. The brush is pretty average, and that's actually not a bad thing!!

Nfu Oh 65 is GORGEOUS

I treated myself to this polish for my bday. I already own Nfu Oh 61, and that obviously means I HAVE to own more. I love this light blue holo!!















I also wanted to make sure to include some photos that show the polish NOT in sunlight (when it's at its complete holo potential).

Outside in the shade:


Indoor lighting:




3 coats Nfu Oh 65
No topcoat

Just as with 61, I used Nail Tek II and Sally Hansen Double Duty as base coats (silk wrapped nails get SH and non-silk wrapped get NT). I have never used Nfu Oh's Aqua Base, which apparently makes application super easy. When not using a specialty base, you need to be VERY gentle with this polish and use as few strokes as possible. I'm talking 3 strokes per nail MAX. If you do more than that, you start getting bald spots. So with that, you need a VERY light touch so it doesn't pull up the polish that's already applied. It's not unmanageable by any means, you just have to practice with it and be patient. I don't think I'd waste my time with this if it were a simple creme polish, but because it's a beautiful, linear holo, it gets my time.

Love/Hate Relationship with Gargantuan Green Grape

I stared at my Helmer for a good 20 minutes today trying to decide what to wear. I even went through my spreadsheet and tried to pick an untried. Everything I wanted to wear was either blue, pink, or glittery. I've been wearing SO many different blues and pinks lately, and I'm avoiding glitter due to numerous (4) silk wraps because removal would be awful. And I flat out refuse to wear any dark/vampy colors during the summertime. I also wanted to use my new BM plates with whatever color I chose.

And finally I chose OPI Gargantuan Green Grape, which I haven't worn in a LONG time. You'll read why after the photos.

**These first photos in the sunlight are more accurate color-wise**



















4 (Yes, FOUR) coats Gargantuan Green Grape
1 coat Poshe

GGG is a delicious bright, pastel springy green. It does NOT look like snot on your nails like it could have potential to. I have not found another green like this despite my numerous searches. It's very unique and just so lovely.

The problem is a HUGE downfall. Aside from my disdain for the ProWide brush, this formula is crap. You have to be prepared to baby this polish. It is thin and streaky, requires a delicate touch, and you cannot use too many strokes or it will give you cuticle drag like whoa. Even after 4 coats, it coulda used another because there are some bare spots, but they're not too noticeable.
I don't understand why OPI would put out such a terribly quality polish. Maybe because they know it's a gorgeous, unique color and if they changed the formula, it'd change the color.

It's unfortunate because this would be such a staple polish for me if it weren't for the formula.

Frisky Print

Frisky was another one of those polishes I knew I'd do something more with. I had this idea when I initially wore Frisky, and I was tempted to just do this then. But I figured I'd wear Frisky on its own for a day before doing this.
I got the new set of Bundle Monster plates for my birthday and was super excited to use them. This is what I did:







Not Direct Sunlight


2 coats Orly Frisky
1 coat Poshe
Bundle Monster plate BM-224 with China Glaze Techno Teal

I never had much of a problem with the size of the full nail designs with the old Bundle Monster, but these new ones are definitely huge!! I wasn't used to that, so it was like I was relearning because it was so difficult for me to pick up the image fully and evenly, which is why some areas are a little spotty. But ultimately, I like that this is subtle but still noticeable, and the pattern makes those spotty areas much less obvious in real life.

Orly Frisky

Frisky is one of the polishes I got for my birthday. It recently came out in Orly's Happy Go Lucky collection, along with 3 other bright polishes with simple, fun names (Frolic, Flirty, and Fresh). This is one of those polishes I wanted more for the name, but I also LOVE blue polishes, so that was an extra plus!!









2 coats Frisky
1 coat Poshe

Frisky is a bright teal, turquoise kind of blue. In comparison to China Glaze's For Audrey, Frisky is much brighter and obviously more blue, due to it's lack of strong green undertones.

The formula was another amazing creme from Orly. I don't get why more people aren't all over this brand for its great cremes. It could be opaque with one thicker coat, but I used 2 medium coats. It glided on beautifully, there was no cuticle drag despite the thickness of the polish. It stayed completely even with no streaking.

Forever 21 Mint Green

MY BLOG!!!!!! I've missed you!! I know I only posted 3 days ago, but those nails were actually from almost a week ago. I have had an INSANE week with no time to sit down and do anything. I didn't even get to do Fourth of July nails :( That really sucks because I had SO many ideas and I was SO excited for them, but I worked the first through the third and can't wear polish to work. So that was out. And I was trying to hurry up to get to the beach with some friends on the 4th. I tried using these nail polish strips from Nailene, but they were SO horrible I gave up after 3 nails. I'll make a post about those soon, hopefully.

Anyway, I was at Forever 21 recently with my sister, and I picked up 3 polishes. Can I please say again how much I LOVE Forever 21 polishes (they're actually called Love & Beauty)?? Huge selection of colors and finishes and great quality. Best thing? They cost $2.80. Worst thing? They have the most stupid and frustrating names. Online the names look better, but when you're in the store, the names are just dumb. I picked up "Mint", "Lime", and "Taupe". The most frustrating thing is there are different polishes with the same names.

Anyway, today I'm wearing Mint.

DISCLAIMER
These photos make my cuticles look disgustingly dry. That's NOT my cuticles. This is the result of a brand new bottle of Poshe that was so not-viscous it leaked all over my cuticles and dried so it makes my cuticles look all nasty. Please compare to my previous post to prove my cuticles aren't actually gross.







2 coats Mint
1 coat Poshe

I got a defective brush with this one :( This is the only bad brush I've gotten from Love & Beauty. I have 7 others were perfect brushes. I'm going to say this is my own fault for not checking. The 2 others I bought that day have perfect brushes. I even opened this polish to check consistency. I wanted to make sure it looked like it was going to be opaque. But I paid no attention to the brush. It actually wasn't THAT bad, but the spread of the brush was uneven, and the bristles just weren't dense and even. The result of this was I had to be more meticulous around my cuticle. Other than that, it was okay.

The color is lovely. It's a very light, blue based mint green. It's very fresh looking and will make your hands look SUPER tan.

The formula was fine, but the wonky brush made it a little difficult. It was opaque with 2 coats, not too thick or too thin, just a great creme. As a result of the brush, I had quite a few bubbles that I noticed with my macro photos. Not noticeable in real life. But I do remember seeing bubbles when I painted, and I know it's because of the weird bristles and spacing of the brush.

Essie French Affair

I'm mad at myself for not painting my nails on Sunday. After work on Saturday, I went over to a friend's house for dinner and then woke up early the next morning with no time to paint my nails. I went to the Chief's Show, which I'm sure will interest no one who reads my blog!! Haha. But it's basically a fire expo with lots of fire trucks, ambulances, vendors, etc. Way more fire than EMS based, and I'd prefer it the other way around, but I had a nice long talk with the rep from the company who makes our stretchers, so that was entertaining. Saw a few ambulances up there that I have personally worked in, which was also neat.

Anyway, back to nails. So I had intentions of doing something really awesome and fire/EMS related. Didn't happen at all. I went with naked nails :(

So when I went to paint my nails last night, I knew exactly what I wanted (something that hasn't happened for a while). Generally I tend to go for more flashy, bright, non-typical (not work appropriate) colors with awesome finishes. For some reason, I just wanted to wear a simple light pink creme and French Affair was that.

**Please note that even if my photos look a little wonky, the polish looks perfect in real life**













3 coats French Affair
1 coat Poshe
*Another side note:
My pinkie had been out of commission due to a horrible, horrible break a few weeks back. It finally grew out enough for me to silk wrap, and is back in my photos!! Woo!! And if you paid attention the the green blob on my palm, that's the reflection of the 50% off sticker I didn't take off the bottle.

Good GOSH this application was terrible. I don't understand how Essie manages to repeatedly put out pastel cremes like this. It was streaky, too thick, dried quickly on the brush, and had awful cuticle drag. This polish is a mess, I am so disappointed. The photos you see are actually a re-paint because the first one I stared at closely and realized would look horrendous in Macro photos. I lost a lot of patience dealing with this polish. This is one that you need to be prepared for. Because Nice is Nice was from the same collection and the formula was fine there, I was really hoping it would be great here, too. Nope. It followed in the footsteps of Mint Candy Apple (which I was prepared to deal with having worn it plenty of times, so it wasn't that bad) and joins with the application of Topless & Barefoot, also from the same collection.
Please don't get me wrong. Don't let the application deter you from this polish. Just be aware that it requires some babying and it won't be a quick out-the-door polish.

The color on the other hand, is gorgeous, and is why you really shouldn't be so weary of the formula. It's a cool-toned pastel pink that gets totally opaque, looks beautifully creamy, and has a brightness to it that doesn't make your hands look dead. It's a creme that keeps me staring at my nails. I've found some lighter pinks can look messy and childish. This is not one of them. It's so gorgeous. I love the contrast of the cool-toned polish with my warm/olive/yellow skintone. I think it's so lovely and as of now, will be my go-to baby pink. I would also say that it is in the realm of being one of those perfect Barbie pinks, just the light version as opposed to the bright, fun version that is Orly Fancy Fuchsia.

Bonus!!
My amazing little pup dog, Paisley, chillin' in the sunshine!! Caught this photo mid-sniff lol. She was lying out while I was taking photos this morning. Her nickname is Small Dog.