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 Tease-y Does It

The last time I wore this polish was over a year ago when it came out. It's from the Burlesque collection that way released last winter. I picked it up on clearance at Ulta. The reason I haven't worn it since was because I really did not like it when I first wore it and saw no reason to really wear it again (I'll go into that after the photos). But anyway, here it is. Giving it another shot.















Bottle Shot




2 coats OPI Tease-y Does It
1 coat Poshe

Tease-y Does It has a deep black/brown base with a deep pink/red shimmer with very minimal flashes of a golden shimmer. Disappointingly, this polish looks a lot more dynamic and lovely in the bottle. I should add a disclaimer. Vampy, deep colors are not my favorite. I'm sure that this is an amazing polish for those who like blackened colors. But the bottle shows significantly more shimmer with a dark pink to gold shift that doesn't translate as well on the nail. The shimmer is not very apparent. I tried to get the polish at a ton of different angles to show that there is a bit of shimmer. But I think the first photo is more accurate at how dark and... plain this polish really is. Nothing like the bottle. :(

The reason I didn't like this polish the first time was because I remember I had gone out with a bunch of coworkers and I had at LEAST 3 people comment on my "black" nails. I mentioned it's not black, but in the lighting we were in, you couldn't tell there was anything more to it. It just annoyed me because I spent money on what looks like a "black" polish to other people... and to me. That's why I didn't bother to wear it again.

If you've read my blog, you know I don't like OPIs brushes. Apart from that, the formula was perfect, opaque in 2 coats. It seemed to migrate a LITTLE towards my cuticles, but stopped before it got there. It was kind of funny, actually!

While I wasn't a fan of this polish, I just want to reiterate that if you like these nearly black colors, I'm sure you'd find this one beautiful!!

Holy Freakin' Unreal Emberstone!!

Be prepared to be bombarded by photos. No joke, I have like legit 8 pictures. I took these a while ago and this is quite a late post. I've been trying to cut down on the number of photos, but since I had already cropped and tagged all of these, I figured I'd just include them.



















2 coats Orly Emberstone
1 coat Poshe

Emberstone... is amazing. I'm a HUGE fan of the Mineral FX collection, as I posted Stone Cold back in December. Emberstone is beautiful. It has almost a coral type of feel. This polish is definitely easily worn in the summertime, I thought it was going to be more of a cold red. Some photos show it as a cherry red, but there are a couple that show the orange-y coral feel, and you definitely see that quite a bit in real life. It also has this hot pink feel to it. I definitely see hot pink flakes in this polish, just a little less frequent than the orange. This isn't really a glitter, they're more particles of shimmer than anything IMO. It's a little different than Stone Cold in that the particles aren't as separate. They're much more fluent with the base of the polish where as they stood out far more in Stone Cold. This does not make the polish any less amazing. I still stand by what I said with Stone Cold and that is words and photos cannot describe this polish.

Seriously, you have to wear these polishes. When you wear them, they're so much more lively that photos show, than they look in the bottle, or even how they look as swatches in the store. Don't underestimate these. They're not a regular shimmer.

The formula was totally fine. It glided on great, not too thick. Polish went and stayed where I put it. Amazing to work with, great coverage. Beautiful all around.

Sinful Colors Cinderella

I'm a fan of light blue polishes. I'm also a fan of cheap polishes. So when Sinful released Cinderella and people went crazy, obviously I had to have it! I picked it up at Walgreens for 99 cents. But unfortunately, I wasn't as in love as I had hoped...









3 coats Sinful Cinderella
1 coat Poshe

Cinderella is a pale blue with subtle shimmer of pink with a gold/orange shift. This polish had the potential to be something really special... but I really think it missed the mark. The shimmer just isn't right. It's not present enough to be interesting, but it's not subtle enough to just a little something extra. As I looked at my nails throughout the day, all I could think of was LITERALLY a Disney Princess polish for a 5 year old girl. I generally have no boundaries when it comes to polish color. Nothing is too bold, young, old, tacky, I'll wear any of it. But this just looked cheap and young. Not flattering IMO.

This was by far the oddest polish ever. You know how some polishes self level? Like they look uneven, maybe streaky, then they settle into one smooth, even layer on their own? Well this polish started to settle... then kept going. The polish sort of pooled to the perimeter of each nail, leaving the center of the nail thinner. I've never seen anything like this. It's bizarre.
I've mentioned before that my nails are quite convex. I don't have flat nails. I imagine that someone whose nails are not as heavily curved as mine probably would not have this problem. But because I do have this problem, it makes my nails look wide and fat.
Two nails came out perfect. My right hand middle finger and index finger. The rest didn't look very nice. I don't know why I disliked this polish so much, but I did. I could not take it off fast enough!!

Zoya Freja

Did you know it's been almost TEN months since I posted a Zoya polish!? Well, prior to posting Rica. Not that I have a ton of them, but I haven't even posted half of what I have! (In my defense, I've posted 4... I have 9). So after reorganizing my Helmer this week, I decided it's definitely time I posted another Zoya! So I picked Freja.













2 coats Zoya Freja
1 coat Poshe

Freja is a beautiful charcoal grey metallic-y polish with a faint shimmer and almost a lilac/blue undertone (which is why I have so many photos). It's not metallic in a chrome sort of sense, but more of a metallic shimmer. I'm going with that. Metallic shimmer. I feel like if this weren't grey, it'd just be a shimmer and not necessarily metallic. Does that make sense?

Holy gosh I would put this polish on every day... if it would change colors =P. This polish was actually FUN to apply. The combination of Zoya's brush and the formula of this polish made it just amazing and easy. If you're a beginner with polishes or you need something easy to apply to help practice your technique, I HIGHLY suggest this polish. Like I said, not only have I not posted a Zoya polish in close to a year, I also haven't worn one. I don't remember if they all apply is great or if Freja is a stand out.

Here's why it was awesome. The brush is a perfect width for my nails. It is not perfectly round, but not flat. It's obvious which was the brush should be turned to allow the bristles to fan out properly. The tip of the brush is straight, not rounded or curved. The bristles were perfectly soft and flexible so they spread evenly but were stiff enough that you still had complete control of how the bristles fanned out depending on the pressure you used. The density of the bristles was also perfect in that it hid brush strokes very well, and each individual bristle was the right size so this also helped.

The formula could have gone two ways. Opaque in 1 thicker coat or opaque in 2 thinner coats. I chose the latter. This really was an amazingly friendly polish to work with. Formula alone should make you pick this up!!

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.

Swatches & Review - E.L.F. Holiday 2011 Nail Polish Set at Target

This is the second 5 pack of ELF polishes I own... bringing my total to 10 ELF polishes lol. This is the 'tis the season to be beautiful set that is currently at Target for $5, I found mine on an end cap with a bunch of other holiday sets. I couldn't say no. I mean, there are some interesting looking polishes and 5 polishes for $5? Yes, please!!

I don't usually review polishes. I guess I always write a review on my polishes when I post them, but I'm treating this as more of a formal review, hence the title. I'm just swatching the polishes and talking about the formula. Instead of waiting for me to wear these, I figured I'd do it all at once. I hate when I can't find swatches of cheaper polishes, so I hope this helps you decide if picking up this set is worth it!!

The 5 polishes in this set are:
Mod Mauve
Royal Purple
Red Velvet
Metal Madness
Golden Goddess

The cap is NOT a vanity cap. You will be painting with the square cap, but I did not have any problem doing so. The brushes are oval and very slightly flattened. It is obvious that there are two sides to the brush for you to paint with because it is not round. Overall, the brushes were better than the spring set I reviewed, but two of them could still improve.

Scroll all the way down for photos of each polish with Golden Goddess top coat

Mod Mauve





2 coats Mod Mauve

This was the worst brush, but it wasn't that bad. It had one stray bristle that stuck out the side of the brush. But it was just one. This was also the widest brush of the 5, not necessarily a bad thing. It wasn't too wide. The end of the brush wasn't even, it was on a slight slant, which made it a little difficulty to paint evenly around my cuticles. But it still wasn't that bad.

Mod Mauve is a kind of chocolately mauve creme, kind of an auburn almost. Definitely looks different in different lighting. I don't think it's too "old" of a color. Something about it (the chocolately part?) makes it seem more current. Nice, simple.

The formula was smooth, not streaky but seemed uneven, then it self leveled and was not uneven. The consistency was great. Medium consistency, nicely pigmented. Not too bad at all!!

Royal Purple






2 coats Royal Purple

This brush was fine. Royal Purple is a blue based fuchsia-violet with a shimmery sheen. The shimmer seems almost silvery in the bottle, but comes across fuchsia/purple on the nail. Very pretty.

The formula was FANTASTIC. Reminded me of the old, non 3 Free polishes (but it is 3 Free). Thin, easily workable but very pigmented despite it being thin and flowy. Smooth and not streaky at all. I like this formula better than mod mauve, but it's that formula difference between a creme and a shimmer. I find that it's not uncommon for them to be different and have their own qualities.

Red Velvet






2 coats Red Velvet

This brush was a little thinner than Royal Purples. Not in a bad way, just an objective thing.

The color looks much richer with a second coat. I was skeptical when I saw the first. But with the second coat, it's a lovely, foil-y berry undertones red that I'm going to say is perfect for a darker winter/Christmas red. I liked Golden Goddess best over this color.

The formula was just like Royal Purple. Like exactly the same.

Metal Madness






2 coats Metal Madness

This brush was going back to being like Mod Mauves, it had kind of a slant.

This is a charcoal base with holographic micro glitter. Very interesting. The glitter is more prominent in real life than in the photos.

The polish went on without problems. It does need two coats, it was kind of sheer with just one, but totally opaque with 2. Wasn't streaky, stayed even, thicker than Royal Purple and Red Velvet but seemed less pigmented, which is probably why the two coats is necessary.

Golden Goddess




This is a glitter top coat in the bunch. It will not become opaque, which is fine seeing as how I'm assuming that was not the intention of the polish.

It is well packed with gold micro glitter and it was round iridescent glitter. The round glitter isn't too plentiful when on the nail. Just painting it on gives you several pieces, but not a ton. They don't have a problem sticking to the brush, I just think there's SO much micro glitter and not as much of the round glitter. Not a bad thing, still pretty.

Here is Golden Goddess over all of the other colors:


Over Mod Mauve


Over Royal Purple


Over Red Velvet (my fav)


Over Metal Madness


So overall, is this set worth $5? ABSOLUTELY!!