Shining Sea

The Polish
BC: Revlon - ColorStay Base Coat
Color: KleanColor - Shining Sea, three coats
TC: Seche Vite

Oh, this is cute! Shining Sea is a dense blue (and silver?) microglitter in a blue jelly base with an iridescent shimmer. It simply GLOWS at two coats, so much so that I'm tempted to call it metallic. I did add a third coat just to make sure that it would be completely opaque, but I think I could easily get away with two, especially if the second is thick. This is my favorite thing I've worn in a while!

Wear: A chip on Day 2, some lifting on Day 3, removed on Day 4

Masked Ceremony

The Polish
BC: Revlon - ColorStay Base Coat
Color: Orly - Masked Ceremony, two coats
TC: Seche Vite

Hmm, another black polish I think I like? Sure. This black creme has a strong silver shimmer, silver squares, and small purple hexes that almost disappear in most lights. Yeah. I think I'm digging it.

Three hours later: Nope. Not digging it. I know the hexes are barely visible in normal light and in the pictures, but.. I know they're there. And they're purple-almost-red and I don't like them. If I want a black, I have better choices. Purge.

Wear: Removed on Day 3 for something new.

Ocean Breeze

The Polish
BC: Revlon - ColorStay Base Coat
Color: Revlon - Ocean Breeze, two coats
TC: Seche Vite

Ugggh, what? Pearly? Whyyy? Why do pearls exist? I wore this metallic, pearly teal for two weeks on my toes, and it was super cute. I. Just. Can't. Do pearls on my nails.. :/ But.. keep for my toes? Yes. Keep for toes. I should post a pedi sometime.. when I get my toes looking nice. :P

Wear: Removed on Day 4 with lifting (even though I was enjoying it more by that point!)

Etoiles d'eau Salee

The Polish
BC: Revlon - ColorStay Base Coat
Color: Scofflaw Nail Varnish - Etoiles d'eau Salee, three coats
TC: Seche Vite

Hmm... This polish... Google Translate says it means "Salt Water Stars," and it's a soft white-grey with... blue and holo microglitter? It's hard to discern, in the pictures and even on the nail. It's cute, but it's definitely got the formula of a white. I'm trying to decide if it's cute enough to be worth it, but if I have to think about it, that means it's not, right? I don't have time for anything I have to fuss with. I want to love everything I put on, so this one goes.... right into purgatory. >_> Okay, look, I can't just toss into the swap box after one wear... *sigh* I'm hopeless. ^-^;

Wear: Removed on Day 3 with a little chipping

Bay

The Polish
BC: None
Color: Zoya - Bay, two coats
TC: None

Bay was the ONE Zoya I wanted from their summer collection this year. It's a bright aqua blue and gold texture polish, but on my nails, I keep going back and forth whether I actually like it or not. I think I do. At this moment, I do. It's not the greatest texture polish, but it's cute. It works. Keep. :)

Wear: Removed on Day 3 for something new

Sea Escape

The Polish
BC: Revlon - ColorStay Base Coat
Color: Elf Nail Polish - Sea Escape, two coats
TC: Seche Vite

Okay, but this one, though. This is what I'm talkin' about. This untried is so deliciously unexpected. It shows as beautifully on the nail as it does in the bottle! <3 Sea Escape is a beautiful black creme with teal shimmer. It's ALMOST a one-coater, but I did two just to make sure that the depth showed nicely. I was considering layering some cute glitter over it for an easy galaxy look, but I decided to let its natural beauty show through for this first time. LOVE!

Wear: Removed on Day 3 after a couple of chips started and I exacerbated them with anxiety picking.

Servitude

The Polish
BC: Revlon - ColorStay Base Coat
Color: LynB Designs - Servitude, three coats
TC: Seche Vite

I, uh.... hmm.. I... I don't think so. I really WANTED to like this untried. I like this look so much in swatches, and I still want a polish that has this look, pretty iridescent flakies in a black jelly base, but I just don't think this is the one. The formula isn't right. It's a little bit thick and too finicky for me. It would be fine for someone who has more patience for it, but that person isn't me. Purge.

Wear: Removed immediately after some hesitation

Pink Yet Flush

The Polish
BC: Revlon - ColorStay Base Coat
Undies: Orly - Flawless Flush, two coats
Glitter: OPI - Pink Yet Lavender, two point five coats
TC: Seche Vite

Meh, I am not satisfied with either of these untrieds today. Flawless Flush is a nude-leaning pink with a nice gold shimmer, but it's just rather boring. It almost needed three coats if I hadn't put a topper over it. Purge.

I was more excited for Pink Yet Lavender because it's a cute mix of pink hexes and holo microglitter, but it didn't wow me either. The glitter was super sparse for me, even after having been stored upside down for a few days prior to application. I needed some fishing just to get hexes out. It's kinda cute on the nail, but just not something I could ever expect to pick up over everything else I have. Purge.

Though here's a picture on Day 2 of how it looks in normal lighting. Okay, NOW purge.

Wear: Removed on Day 3 for something new, no visible wear

It's All Surfers Now

The Polish
BC: Revlon - ColorStay Base Coat
Main: Essie - Pret-a-Surfer, two coats
Accent: Tough as Nails Lacquer - It's All Over Now, three coats
TC: Seche Vite

I don't normally do purples OR Essies, but I've been liking Essie cremes more and more recently, so I thought I'd try this blurple. I THINK it's blue enough for me not to hate it on my nails! Also kept the accent from last mani, 'cause it's super cute irl.

Day 2, ignore the dry skin, but this is what it looks like normally.

Also, look! More live swatches! Whaaaat! :D

Wear: Slight lifting starting on Day 3, removed on Day 4

It's All Opal Now

The Polish
BC: Revlon - ColorStay Base Coat
Main: Gothic Gala Lacquers - Opal Jamila, three coats
Accent: Tough as Nails Lacquer - It's All Over Now, three coats
TC: Seche Vite

Uhm, no. No, thank you. To begin with, check out this awful bottle. What is WITH that dumb, long handle? And... are you seeing this? They put the label... ON THE CORNER OF THE BOTTLE? UGH! My OCD is so furious at you right now! >_<

Okayokay. Okay. Let's judge the polish on its own merits, shall we? ... In which case, it still fails. Streaky, pearly, silverish white... just not gonna do it for me. Please get this thing far away from me.

It's All Over Now is pretty cute, though. Blue, purple, silver, and iridescent hexes and silver shards in a grey base. The base is more sheer than I expected, so I had to layer three coats to get it to look nice, but once it's there, it sure is cute. <3 Not that you can see it in this picture, though! Will definitely have to revisit.

Wear: Removed the offending polish on Day 2 but kept the accent for the next mani

Androgynous Al Frisco

The Polish
BC: Revlon - ColorStay Base Coat
Main: OPI - Dining Al Frisco, two coats
Accent: Orly - Androgyny, two coats
TC: Seche Vite

Two more untrieds today. Dining Al Frisco is a pearly ocean blue with sparse green micro-glitter. Androgyny is a black jelly with iridescent hexes and silver micro-glitter. I used Androgyny as an accent because I thought I'd like it less than Al Frisco, but actually the obverse was true! Al Frisco is cute with its color scheme (and it showed up nicely in the pictures!), but the pearl is just too much for me. Androgyny, on the other hand... I'm such a sucker for iridescents. <3

Wear: Al Frisco had some small chips on Day 3, a little lifting from both colors on Day 4, removed on Day 5

Proud Peacock

The Polish
BC: Revlon - ColorStay Base Coat
Color: KB Shimmer - Proud Peacock, three coats
TC: Seche Vite

Well, this is an interesting polish! We've got black, blue, aqua, purple, and holo silver hexes, as well as black micro glitter and holo silver bars in a teal jelly base. It's an alright look, but I have a friend who embodies this polish. These are her COLORS, so this is a gift that she would appreciate way more than I can. :)

Wear: Started stress-picking on Day 2 :( Removed on Day 3 to prevent more

Vampires Suck

The Polish
BC: Revlon - ColorStay Base Coat
Color: Enchanted Polish - Vampires Suck, two coats
TC: Seche Vite

Oooh, my goodness, this polish!! I had no idea! I got this polish from a friend, and I didn't really expect much from it at all. What a surprise! Now I guess I'm starting to understand the Enchanted hype.. :P

Vampires Suck is a deep brown linear holo that flashes red in some lights. The holo is so strong that my camera kept getting confused while trying to focus. (Note to self, the "Food" option on the Galaxy S7 is ALWAYS the superior option when taking nail pics.)

Wear: Removed on Day 4 with some lifting

Armed and Polarized

The Polish
BC: Revlon - ColorStay Base Coat
Main: Essie - Armed and Ready, three coats
Accent: China Glaze - Polarized, two coats
TC: Seche Vite

I'm starting to like Essies more and more lately now that I'm getting better at applying cremes. Armed and Ready is.. a bit difficult to describe. It is, at times, in different lights, olive, brown, or dark grey. There is a gold shimmer that shines in the bottle and outside but hides completely indoors. I tried to take a number of pictures to catch the various perspective of colors, but I'm also navigating a new phone (Galaxy S7), so it was tricky!

Polarized doesn't match as well as I had hoped because I hadn't accounted for the gold shimmer in Armed and Ready, but I still enjoy it more that I probably would without an accent nail. It REALLY didn't want to be photographed, though. Polarized is a foil-y silver with.. what appears to be red, green, and silver hexes. Swatches online show that when it came out in 2012, there were a lot more colors, but they must have faded. I thought it would make a good silver for an accent nail, but.. it's just kinda plain. If I want a silver accent nail, I have so many better ones to choose from. It's difficult for me to put this perfectly fine silver directly in the purge, though, so purgatory box for now and will probably be purged later when I can be more strict with myself.

Wear: Removed on Day 4 with a chip from a peelie and some anxious picking. :/

Cameron

The Polish
BC: None
Color: Julep - Cameron, two coats
TC: None

I'm starting to think that I just really don't like purples on me. :/ Kinda sad. Purples are nice colors, but I think I'd rather wear purple clothes than purple nails.

Cameron is a silver-purple texture, though you can hardly tell it from these pictures. But hey, they're not bad for an application that I did while riding in the car on a road trip, pictures that were taken on a cloudy, rainy day. *nod* Anyway, yeah, purge.

Oh yeah, I have SO comments for this one, too! While holding my hand, "...That is just, ALL glitter." XD

Wear: Removed on Day 5 (a lot longer than I expected), ruined with housework

Petal Vortex

The Polish
BC: Revlon - ColorStay Base Coat
Main: Color Club - Polar Vortex, two coats
Glitter: OPI - Petal Soft, one point five coats
TC: Seche Vite

I was looking forward to this mani with two untrieds from the most recent swap, but now that I have it on, I'm not so sure about it.

Polar Vortex is a really nice blue-dark grey-black color, but it's pearly. I'm getting better at application, so it's not that much of a deal breaker as it once was, but I still don't prefer the look of it. I think I would only wear it under something else. Into purgatory for now.

Petal Soft isn't as much of a pain as I thought it would be. It's super adorable with its three sizes of small, pastel pink hexes and white flower shape-y glitters. I DID have to fish for the flower, but it's staying on really well and isn't annoying me at all! I did get a bunch of excess base on that nail that turned out looking wonky once the SV dried over it, but.. I could just consider this as a pink glitter and forget about trying to fish out the flowers. Still cute. It gets to stay with the rest of the stash.

Wear: Removed on Day 4, ruined from house work

Mermaid Dream

The Polish
BC: Revlon - ColorStay Base Coat
Color: Northern Star - Mermaid Dream, two coats
TC: Seche Vite

Hmm.. not sure how I feel about this one, either, honestly. Mermaid Dream is a green-leaning teal linear holo with almost unnoticeable blue and green (gold?) microglitters sparsely scattered throughout. It IS cute, but maybe not my favorite. I'll keep it around for a little bit and see if it grows on me.

Wear: Removed on Day 5 with a couple of chips from housework.

Curious, Yellow Misfits

The Polish
BC: Revlon - ColorStay Base Coat
Main: Literary Lacquers - Curious Yellow, two coats
Glitter: Native War Paints - We're All Misfits, one coat
TC: Seche Vite

Uh.. yellow, huh? Yep, that's definitely yellow. Nearly a gold, too. You really ARE just trying everything now, aren't you, Holly? Well, alright then.

Neither of these polishes really seem like me, do they? We're All Misfits is pretty close, though. It's a nice, sparse glitter, just a splash of festive color. I bet it would make any creme pop, and it even does great over this shimmer. I could have used more coats to make the glitter more apparent, but this sparse look is super cute.

Curious Yellow is the shimmery, yellow-gold version of those nice white-silvers I enjoy so much. It's a little bold, but ALMOST a soft, gentle. It's really great for summer, but I think it goes back to the swap. Here's a shot of it by itself. It dried to a satiny matte, which was rather nice.

Wear: Some lifting on Day 4, removed on Day 5. (Longer than I expected to wear this, for sure, but life.)

Make My Gray

The Polish
BC: Revlon - ColorStay Base Coat
Color: KBShimmer - Make My Gray, two coats
TC: Seche Vite

Hmm.. not too sure what to think about this one. It's an adorable mix of grey, teal, and hot pink (I know it kinda looks coral. It's actually hot pink) hex glitters in a white jelly base, but it seems a bit... thick. Maybe it needs some thinner? Or maybe I just needed a layer of Gelous under the SV.

Wear: Glitter sticking out drove me crazy until I picked it off on Day 1. Removed on Day 2. Yep, definitely needed some Gelous. Plus it had somehow not completely dried down to the bottom layer...

Moonlit Waves

The Polish

BC: Revlon - ColorStay Base Coat

Color: Rain City Lacquer - Moonlit Waves, two coats

TC: Seche Vite

Okay, not the best pictures today because I didn't get a good glitter distribution, but I love this polish. I love the light blue jelly and the mix of glitters--it's like a glittered version of Raindrops instead of a flakie-d one!

Wear: Removed on Day 3, wrecked from housework

Strut Your Stuff

The Polish
BC: Revlon - ColorStay Base Coat
Color: Essie - Strut Your Stuff, two coats
TC: Seche Vite

I love this color. It's almost surprising because of how completely a creme it is, but it's just such a great summer color. I don't even know where I got it from (must have been a local swap), but I've worn it on my toes probably three separate times already this summer. Digging it.

Wear: Removed on Day 5 with some chips (pretty good for an Essie creme!)

XOXO

The Polish
BC: Revlon - ColorStay Base Coat
Color: Sally Girl - XOXO, two coats
TC: Seche Vite

Oh, okay, magenta today, huh? Not sure what convinced me THIS was a good idea. Oh yeah, I just grabbed a bunch of neons during a Sally's sale when they were all $0.15 each. Alright. Poor application because I don't care and don't expect to have it on long.

Wear: Some minor tip wear immediately on Day 1, removed on Day 2.

Crazy

The Polish
BC: Revlon - ColorStay Base Coat
Color: Sally Girl - Crazy, three coats
TC: Seche Vite

Oh man, this neon orange creme! Bam! It screams at you until you wear it to a blacklight party. It is sooooo incredibly orange! It's a great summer color, especially for toes, but I think ultimately I have a friend who will love this more than I do.

SO Comments
Me: Look. *holds up hand*
SO: ... I'm not even sure what I'd call that color. Red? Orange? Pink? I think I'd call it R.O.P.
Me: Uh... it's actually orange, but okay. ^-^

Wear: Some minor lifting on Day 2 (the right pinkie nail again, what is the deal?), minor chips on Day 3, removed on Day 4.

Epic

The Polish
BC: Revlon - ColorStay Base Coat
Color: Sally Girl - Epic, two coats
TC: Seche Vite

Oh MAN, this bold, blurple creme is adorable. I loved it a lot more than I expected to. SO kept calling it blue, but it's definitely blurple.

Wear: Didn't keep super close track because I was on vacation. Some lifting starting around Day 4-ish? Right pinkie nail lifted off around that time, and by the time I got around to using remover on Day 7, all nails had some chipping or lifting, bah.