Saturday, March 29, 2014

Sally Hansen "Vanity Flare"



Hi everyone!  So now that the end of March is here I feel like it is really Springtime!  (Even though it is still very cold here!)  And Springtime means bright colored nails!  So this week to celebrate brighter colored nails I picked out Sally Hansen's Triple Shine polish in "Vanity Flare."  The Triple Shine formula is a newer line by Sally Hansen that is meant to be extra shiny and to stand up better to wear and tear, according to the Sally Hansen website.

Sally Hansen's "Vanity Flare" is a bright purple creme nail polish and it is very shiny once it dries.  Formula wise it was interesting.  It wasn't that it was too watery or too thick but the polish seems to dry quickly so sometimes it was difficult to get it on my nail fast enough.  I found the brush to be very wide and by wide I mean I only had to use one pass on my pinky fingers to cover them.  But the coverage is amazing!  After one coat my nails were almost entirely opaque and I only added the second coat of polish to make the color pop more!  As for chipping "Vanity Flare" only lasted two days and then it start to flake off the ends of my nails, which was especially disappointing because Triple Shine is advertised as a long lasting polish.  However when I removed "Vanity Flare" it didn't stain my nails, which is always nice!

Overall Sally Hansen's "Vanity Flare" is an okay nail polish.  The formula and color are great but the extra wide brush and the fact that it chipped after only two days was definitely disappointing.  I am having a hard time deciding if I like or dislike this polish, but I am willing to wear "Vanity Flare" again because the color is nice.

Thanks for reading my blog!  :)

You can get this polish for yourself on Amazon (affiliate link)

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

OPI "Nomad's Dream"

 

Hi everyone!  So after a glitter last week I decided to try out a neutral polish this week!  I picked out OPI's "Nomad's Dream" which is an older OPI color.  I purchased it on Amazon and I have never seen this polish in any store.  (Also sorry for the slightly blurry picture but I wanted you to see how much shimmer "Nomad's Dream" has!)

"Nomad's Dream" is light brown beige polish with a lot of gold shimmer.  It is an interesting color and I actually really like it!  Formula wise "Nomad's Dream" is pretty good, though it is a tiny bit on the watery side, but it was still easy enough to apply.  After two coats of polish "Nomad's Dream" was completely opaque.  However there was some streaking caused by the amount of shimmer in the polish.  In terms of chipping it started almost instantly because the polish didn't seem to want to dry at all!  Over half my nails got smudged and "Nomad's Dream" just practically smudged off my nails, which was majorly disappointing!

Overall I am disappointed by OPI's "Nomad's Dream" because it chipped so quickly!  The color is nice, the formula is good, and it was completely opaque after two coats but since I couldn't wear this polish out of the house I don't particularly care for this polish.  I will probably give "Nomad's Dream" a second chance to see if its refusal to dry was just a fluke but I am not sure I will wear this polish much.

Thanks for reading my blog!  :)

Snag this nail polish for yourself - it's on Amazon (affiliate link)

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Wet n Wild Fergie "XoXo"


Hi guys!  I hope everyone has been enjoying their weekend!  (We might finally be seeing the end of winter and I am so excited!)  So this week I decided to try out a major glitter nail polish!  I picked out Wet n Wild's "XoXo" which is part of the Fergie collection.  I picked up "XoXo" at Wal-Mart, but it appears it is available at a few drugstores and online at Amazon.

“XoXo” is a glitter nail polish made up of small round micro-glitter in a clear base.  The glitter is a mix of dark purple and sky blue.  Now “XoXo” probably isn’t meant to be worn on its own, but I decided to try it out anyway.  (The picture above shows how it turned out.)  I used two coats of polish and while it clearly isn’t opaque it does look kind of fun!  The formula of “XoXo” is pretty good for a glitter, I was able to make nice smooth passes over the nail and the glitter spread evenly.


Since I think “XoXo” would make an awesome accent I decided to try it out on top of a crème polish.  I looked through my collection and settled on a solid black nail polish which really shows off the glitter.  The black polish is Sally Hansen Hard As Nails in “Black Heart.”  I applied a clear base coat (I used Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in “Invisible”), then one coat of “Black Heart,” followed by one coat of “XoXo” and finally topped off with a quick drying top coat (I used Orly’s “Sec’N’Dry”).  I think it turned out really nicely!  I was able to wear this combo for a couple of days before it began to chip.  Also the pictures above don't do justice to how gorgeous the glitter on "XoXo" shimmers so here is a better picture of the prettiness:  (Look at all that glitter shining in the light!)


Overall I really like Wet n Wild’s “XoXo.”  It is a fun but not too wild glitter nail polish that looks great as an accent over a crème polish.  I definitely plan on trying out “XoXo” with other crème nail polishes in the future!

Thanks for reading my blog!  :)

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Sally Hansen "Cherry Red"



Hi guys!  Since today is the official start of Spring I thought I would wear a fun bright nail polish!  I am so excited for warmer weather and leaves on trees again!  I decided to pull out a very bright color to celebrate the return of Spring (and color back into the world!)  The color I picked out is Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear's "Cherry Red" which is a bright red, in case the name didn't give that away!

"Cherry Red" is a bright red nail polish that is very cheerful.  The formula is good and was easy to control.  After two coats of polish "Cherry Red" was completely opaque and had no streaks.  I have noticed with many red nail polishes that it often shows many flaws, but that was not the case with "Cherry Red" which didn't show many flaws at all!  As for chipping I was able to wear this nail polish for six days before any chipping started!  I was very impressed with how long "Cherry Red" lasted!  In terms of removing this bright red polish it was very easy and left no stains on my nails!

Overall I am very very pleased with Sally Hansen's "Cherry Red" because of its great formula and how long it lasted before chipping!  I definitely plan on wearing this polish over and over again!

Side note:  I used this polish last fall in my Disney Nail Art post so be sure to check it out: http://perfectlypolished12.blogspot.com/2013/10/disney-nail-art-post_10.html

Thanks for reading my blog!  :)

Monday, March 17, 2014

Hard Candy "Jubilee"



Hi everyone!  And Happy St. Patrick's Day!  So today is St. Patrick's Day and that means green nail polish!  This year I found a fun green nail polish by Hard Candy called "Jubilee."  Hard Candy is a drug store brand which I buy at my local Wal-Mart and their nail polish is fairly inexpensive at about $4 (USD) a bottle.

"Jubilee" is a jelly polish with multiple kinds of glitter in it.  The base color is green and it has small glitter pieces which are dark green, big glitter pieces which are gold, and bar glitter which is copper colored.  Now this isn't a nail polish color I would wear every day but it just seemed perfect for St. Patrick's Day because it is green and the gold glitter reminds me of a pot of gold!  Formula wise "Jubilee" is pretty good.  I used three coats of polish for the picture above and while it isn't completely opaque it is fairly close.  Also I believe you could use a creme polish as a base coat and then apply "Jubilee" on top and create a nice look.  As for the glitter I read several blogs complaining about how the copper colored bar glitter was curly and didn't want to lie flat but I didn't experience that at all, but I did apply a very thick amount of a quick drying top coat.  (I use Orly "Sec'N'Dry.")  As for chipping I haven't seen any so far but I only plan on wearing this polish through the end of the day.  Basically I think "Jubilee" is great for St. Patrick's Day but it is not necessarily a polish I would wear regularly throughout the year!  In terms of removing Hard Candy's "Jubilee" I was surprised how well it came off, though some of the tiny glitter pieces wanted to stick to my skin.  Also I was pleased that "Jubilee" did not stain my nails!

Overall Hard Candy's "Jubilee" is a pretty nice polish.  The formula was good and I am happy that all the bar glitter pieces laid flat on my nail.  Also it was very easy to remove which is awesome for a super glittery nail polish!  While "Jubilee" isn't necessarily a polish I would wear on a regular day it is perfect for St. Patrick's Day and it could probably work well for Christmas too!  I will definitely be wearing "Jubilee" again!

Thanks for reading my blog!  And Happy St. Patrick's Day!  :)

Thursday, March 13, 2014

New York Color "Skyline Blue"



Hi guys!  So this week I decided to tone it down this week with a nice sky blue with the hopes that the Spring weather will show up!  I picked out New York Color's "Skyline Blue."  I originally purchased this polish for football season, as I am a huge UNC Tarheels fan, and it works great for that but it surprised me because it has a hidden silver micro-glitter!  In the bottle the micro-glitter is almost invisible and it wasn't until I got the first coat of "Skyline Blue" on my nails that I realized it was there.  (And my apologies for the picture not showing this polish off enough!)

Aside for the gorgeous color "Skyline Blue" also has a nice formula.  After the first coat of polish there was a fair amount of streaking but after the second coat it looked much better.  There was still a few minor streaks after two coats but it was nearly invisible.  As for chipping "Skyline Blue" lasted about two days before the chipping started, though I was able to wear the polish for a third day before it looked too terrible.  As for removal I really got a sense of the glitter when I tried to remove "Skyline Blue."  It wasn't the worst glitter removal ever but it did take a few extra minutes to work the glitter off!

Overall I really like New York Colors "Skyline Blue" because the color is fantastic and the formula is nice.  As for chipping three days is fair though I love the color so I wish I could have worn it longer!

Thanks for reading my blog!  :)

Monday, March 10, 2014

Beautifully Disney "Broken Arrow"



Hi everyone!  I hope everyone has survived the time change, losing that hour is rough!  So last October when I went to Walt Disney World in Florida I purchased some Disney nail polish and I am just now getting around to trying it out!  I bought two mini set, with four bottles of polish per set.  Each set has their own name and all of the polishes are themed from Disney movies, mostly princess movies.  So this week I decided to wear Beautifully Disney's "Broken Arrow" which is themed from the movie Pocahontas and comes from the set Fiery Spirit.  Here is what the mini set looks like:



"Broken Arrow" is a unique yellow colored polish.  It is a pastel but it also has a hint of mustard, the best I can describe it is a honey mustard color.  Formula wise "Broken Arrow" is pretty good, but because it is a mini bottle the brush was very tiny and it was a bit difficult to get enough polish on my nails.  But after two coats the polish was completely opaque which was nice.  However "Broken Arrow" is a pastel and with the added disadvantage of the very tiny brush there were streak marks on many of my nails, especially the large nails like my thumbs and middle fingers.  But overall my nails still looked nice!  As for chipping "Broken Arrow" lasted about two days before beginning to chip off the tips of my nails.  However my nails looked okay until day three when the chips started to get worse.

Overall Beautifully Disney's nail polish seems to be pretty good.  The formula is nice, though the miniature bottles small brush did make it a bit difficult to get on some of my nails.  I also like the unique color of "Broken Arrow."  I do wish I could have worn this polish longer but three days is an okay amount of time to wear a polish.  I think Disney World did a really nice job on their nail polish.

If you want to purchase some Disney nail polish you can buy it at Downtown Disney in Orlando, Florida.  But if you can't get to Florida you can go to Disney's website and purchase this mini set (and others) for $21.95 (USD) a set.  Or if you just want this color a full sized bottle can be purchased on the site for $9.95 (USD).  However be aware that most nail polishes are considered "hazardous" in the United States and tend to be shipped via the USPS's ground shipping and not on airplanes so their may be some restrictions on where Disney ships to.

Thanks for reading my blog!  :)

Friday, March 7, 2014

China Glaze "Strawberry Fields"



Hi everyone!  I hope y'all are enjoying the fact that Spring is going to be here anytime now!  (Of course it continues to sleet and snow and Winter shows no sign of ending any time soon!)  This week I decided to pick another very Spring-y color!  I picked out China Glaze's "Strawberry Fields" which is this gorgeous bright pink with gold micro-glitter and perfect for the upcoming Spring!

China Glaze's "Strawberry Fields" formula is fantastic!  It went on very smoothly and in nice even coats without much effort, and it left zero streak marks which is wonderful.  "Strawberry Fields" was almost completely opaque after one coat and I applied the second coat to make to the color pop and ensure absolute complete coverage.  In terms of chipping "Strawberry Fields" lasted about two days before it began to chip.  It was weird though because it almost looked like it was getting scrapped off my nails as I was going about my day. However after two days my nails looked awful because the tips of my nails were missing a decent amount of polish.

Overall I am split about China Glaze's "Strawberry Fields" because the color is so fantastically gorgeous and the formula was so lovely but the fact that it chipped/got worn off my fingers after only two days was very disappointing!  I am definitely going to wear "Strawberry Fields" again with the hope that it won't chip as quickly!

Thanks for reading my blog!  :)

If you'd like to try out "Strawberry Fields" it is available to buy on Amazon (affiliate link)

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Essie "Mojito Madness"

 

Hi everyone and happy March!  So I consider March to be Spring (which here in North Carolina has not arrived yet, we got snow yesterday!) and that means brighter, happier nail polish colors!  I decided to start out bright this week with Essie's "Mojito Madness" which is a grass green polish.

Essie's "Mojito Madness" is a nail polish I have heard a lot about and couldn't wait to try it out!  First off I love the color!  It is so bright and Spring-like and it reminds me of fresh cut grass and warm weather!  The formula is pretty good and went on well. After two coats "Mojito Madness" was completely opaque and only had a couple minor streaks.  As for chipping I was able to wear Essie's "Mojito Madness" for five days before I saw any chipping at all, which thrilled me!  As for removal it came of without much difficulty and didn't stain my nails at all!

Overall I am very happy with Essie's "Mojito Madness"!  The color is fantastic (and many people complimented me on it!) as is the formula and how long I was able to wear this polish before it chipped!  I will most definitely be wearing this nail polish again and again!

Thanks for reading my blog!  :)