The Blogging Year Recap

2016 is over. Wow. When I flip back through pages of blog posts, it feels like so little time has gone by. In fact, 2009 feels a lot like yesterday. (Well things were full of change and hope back then).

I'm still enjoying blogging, and that's key. I hope you are enjoying the polishes with me.

There are many changes in blogging and I don't think social media blogging has eradicated bloggers like me, yet. Yet. The challenges for me is time and accessibility. Instagram is very phone-centric, so I hope the new Sony A6000 will be up for that challenge.

I'm off the SinfulColors mailing list, much to my relief, and I don't have anyone offering me polish. Yay! So while I am not super timely with new things, my reviews will be my own. It's hard to be objective when you have free stuff arriving in the mail, despite disclosures and disclaimers.

This year I plan on trotting out a heck of a lot more indies and more stamping. I have to say I love both and with a better camera it's only my skillset that won't do right by it.

Finally, here are a few of my faves from 2016, enjoy!



FUN Lacquer Anna

OPI Into the Night and RBL Pardonne Moi stamped with white pearl (if I recall!) and topped with Orly Precious Metal

Maybelline Sand Storm stamped with Sally Hansen Frost Freeze

Guppy 77 over Sally Hansen Gray by Gray

Borghese Capriccio Blue stamped with Revlon Captivate

Sally Hansen Model Behavior

Illamasqua Muse

OPI Ro-Man-ce On The Moon accented with Milani Silver Dazzle

China Glaze All Wrapped Up

Petites Banish

Essence Back to Paradise

Diamond Cosmetics Tranquility franken

Nicole by OPI Sing You Like a Bee topped with Hidden Treasure all over Color Club Coastal Creme

American Apparel Tshirt

Dior Equis

Layering: Revlon Snow Bunny franken, SinfulColors Pinky Glitter, and Cover Girl City Lights

Morgan Taylor Making Waves

Dear Readers, thank you for reading my little nail polish journal!

Happy 2017!! (fingers crossed!!)

Teal Swatchfest

I have been pulling a lot of my teals out, I've ignored many for many years. So much so that some took a lot of shaking to mix them back up.

It's amazing to realize that I have been building a really nice collection of cremes and haven't blogged them. Sheesh!

I won't compare them, but will comment on formulas. As usual, no top coats!

Ciate Superficial:

Three coats, no top coat.

This was a bit of a popular color when it first came out a few years ago. It's still available online at the Ciate London site. I found mine at Ross ages ago and it's sat, unused forever. It took a ton of shaking to get it mixed and, as you can see from the photo, it kind of still could use a shake.

To me it is a true teal, though they call it dark green on the Ciate site and it looks nothing like my bottle.

I found it a wee bit uneven, but not impossible. I am not a big fan of the bottle, so much so that the brand, for me, is pretty much fallen off the radar.

It's thick so I might try it out as a stamping polish down the road.




Finger Paints To-Teally Chic

Three coats, no top coat.

Excuse the three finger shot, I had a pug hair that got completely ignored while taking photos. Ugh.

Meanwhile, three coats, very excellent formula. I don't go to Sally Beauty much any more - it's 30 miles away -  but it was part of their core line. Looks like it's no longer part of the stable, so it might show up on eBay, etc.

Three coats, less deep than the Ciate, it's a  nicer polish, that's for sure. High on my list because it's got a great little formula and a color that doesn't slip into the vamp realm!
Fun!

If you have missed this one, try to find....




Illamasqua Muse

Looooooove. J'taime, j'taime! *hearts bubbling around my head*

Three coats, no top coat.

I have to say that the formula on this bad boy is stunning.

These pop up on eBay often and Hautelook as well. In fact, since Illa does ship to the US, it's not hard to get this or any of Illa's great polishes.

They get it. It's refreshing. Love it.




Bonita no name teal

Here's a surprise. Ross multi-set that is pretty much a mystery as far as titles and full of pretty shades. I have a nude from this set and it's another win, so this was no surprise. Not a perfectly smooth formula, but very close. Bonus on the glossy finish, too.

If you see these Bonita sets, I suggest grabbing them. Bonita also sells in my Walgreens in special displays, they don't seem to have a regular spot in my Rite Aid or Walgreens, which is unusual, but I think in many ways they are pushing the envelope of Drug Store polishes into the Salon realm.

Happy find!



China Glaze Well Trained

Three coats.

While darker, it's not quite Indian Teal, and I love the HELL out of this one.

It's amazing. China Glaze really came through. They rarely let me down, and this is no different.

This is from the autumn 2014 All Aboard collection.  Still listed on China Glaze's site and still available on many etailer's sites. Win!


Hope you enjoyed!

Thanks for reading my little nail polish journal!

Turquoise Pearl Mystery

I love turquoise and I love a mystery, or two.

I have this old Maybelline Express Finish I found at the ol' Dollar Tree. Unfortunately it never had a label.

With a lot of research, I think - think - it's Timely Turquoise.

Three coats, no top coat.

It's a rich, pearl finish and positively glows. It is quite unforgiving of bumps with the brush or lint, but when things go right, it's quite a beauty.

Next I compared it to an unknown Color Club turquoise pearl:

Left to right:

CC unknown

Maybelline Timely Turquoise

CC unknown

Maybelline Timely Turquoise

All are three coats and no top coats. 

Maybelline was pretty smooth by comparison to the Color Club. I couldn't find the win on this one at all. It showed even the slightest tremor. Eep!

I wonder what this Color Club is called. It was in one of the last packs I purchased at Ross several years ago and I can't really find anything online, either.

If you have a guess, I'd love to know!

Finally I compared it to my beloved Illamasqua Strike:

Left to right:

Illamasqua Strike

Maybelline Timely Turquoise

Illamasqua Strike

Maybelline Timely Turquoise

You can see that Illamasqua is more blue, less of the yellow undertone.

These are three coats, no top coat.

I love Illa, and Maybelline is a good backup.

Nice!

Illamasqua Strike is discontinued, but might pop up online etailer or blog sale. I think it's worth it.

Maybelline is readily online, at a good price point, too.

The color club? No idea. I can't even find it online.

Thanks for reading my little nail polish journal!

Blue Depth

So deep you will get nitrogen narcosis if you come up for air too fast.

Illamasqua Phallic.

Sometimes, just sometimes, photography happens for me.

I. Mean. Really. I. Am. Dying. Here!

Three coats and a no top coat. 

Purchased a long time ago, but not sure where. I put off swatching it because in the bottle it seemed to be a fairly generic navy glass fleck. Oh. Hail. No.

I don't mean to gush, but I am in love with this baby.

Not sure if my photos do it justice, but this has such depth and beauty I was loath to remove it!

Unfortunately Illamasqua no longer sold by US retailers, but Illamasqua does ship to the US. As I was writing this, I poked my nose into their site, but I it was down and I couldn't see if Phallic is still available, which I think it is, when I looked at their site about 6 months ago.

Meanwhile, if you do get a chance to get one glass fleck navy, you probably need this rather than just want it. The formula, color payoff and just gorgeously is absolutely 5 out of 5, should I rate polishes. 

Thanks for reading my little nail polish journal!

Illamasqua's Potpourri

I'm speaking of Illamasqua Melange of course.

Muted mint green creme base with glass fleck red and gold in a dense, beautiful combination that makes this polish feel very complex.

The formula is quite gorgeous, as is every Illa I've used. 

Three coats, no top coat, very easy to use. I wore this for three days after I did the manicure and it was just lovely, wore like iron. 

This feels like a tweed suit of a polish, but with flair, like a springtime Chanel suit.  Extremely lovely and yet almost reserved.

Here's a macro:

Often when red and green are paired, they consume each other, but this red reads almost russet and the gold adds depth to the mix.

A true favorite.

I found mine on eBay for a normal price and it's still available there. I don't know who sells Illa in the US any more, nor do I know if they ship to the US. There have been some tricky things going on with mailing polish internationally and I'm not completely up to date. Recently they had some Illa at a special sale at Hautelook, which was full of some great basics ( I wonder if it was just the end of the line for some retailers, boohoo).

Meanwhile. This is a super fave of mine. 

Thanks for reading my little nail polish journal!

Green Jelly Franken

Almost!

A few weeks back I finally did the SinfulColors' Holiday 2011 collection. A number of great shimmers and one deeply greeniful green called Last Chance.

I mentioned frankening it into a jelly so I added about 1/4 of a bottle of Last Chance to about 1/2 a bottle of some clear polish.

I pulled out Illmasqua Rampage, because it was the closest thing I have to that kind of jelly dark green and you can see the similarities and the differences.

Illamasqua Rampage is on top with two coats, my Last Chance Franken is on the bottom with three coats.
You can see that Last Chance is a touch more yellow and perhaps three coats is too much, because as I look at the photos, I see that it is less jelly than I'd hoped and still rather dense.

Another side by side comparison:

Left to right:

• Franken
• Rampage
• Franken
• Rampage

Here you can see the franken is a bit more translucent, and a bit more light/yellow than Rampage.

Still, a worthy polish to franken a dark green jelly, that's for certain!

Thanks for reading my nail polish journal!

Strike! Illamasqua Style

I received Illamasqua Strike in a swap. I think it is amazing...

Three coats, though I feel two would be fine. It is a pearl shimmer that is quite a beauty.

There is a soft green flash in there hither and thither that is a nice mix.

Better seen in the bottle:

The formula is pretty amazing. It dried so fast, the wear was great and I can find little to fault. There is something rather perfect about a shimmering aqua blue.

Last winter I blogged about Maybelline's Teal Appeal here, and I really do love that one, too, but this one seems to have quite the "next level" feel about it.

These photos were taken in the afternoon sun. My lens needed a cleaning, but my does it add a little "movie star" glisten to the polishes? Well, that has been remedied!

Thanks for reading my little nail polish journal!