Raindrops!

... What's this? ...

... No, it can't be ...

... IT IS! *swoon*

The Polish:
BC: Duri - Rejuvicote
Main: Illamasqua - Raindrops, two coats
TC: Seche Vite

Raindrops has been my biggest lemming most of the year. It was hard to come by before my polish time, but shortly after I started getting into the hobby, it was rereleased, giving everyone another chance to grab it. Still, the $18 price tag scared me off. Seriously? Twenty dollars for a single polish? I wasn't THAT far gone. Yet.

So I lemmed and lemmed. Everyone on MUA NB tried to convince me that it was too sheer, but I didn't care. I like sheer. Then they tried to sell me on near-dupes, like Contrary Polish's Ain't No Sunshine. I put them on my wishlist, but still Raindrops called to me. They tried to tell me that it was dupable with Sally Hansen's Glass Slipper, so I put in my hand at the franken dupe business and made two not-so-great franken dupes. None of this did anything to satiate my hunger.

And so my gracious aunt bought it for me for Christmas. Isn't she lovely? *wiggles fingers* I am super thrilled to finally have it and very satisfied that it stands up to all of my high expectations. *happy sigh*

Wear: Six days. <3

Textured Glass Slippers

The Polish:
BC: Duri - Rejuvicote
Main color: Liquid Sky Lacquer - Glass Slippers, one coat
TC: Seche Vite

Alright, full disclosure, I got this bottle used at a blog sale, so I'm not sure about its history. With that in mind, upon first opening it, it seemed very thick. I thought it was going to be unusable without thinning first, but it applied acceptably and then self-leveled nicely, so I continued with the mani.

And then it was all nice and sparkly for a while. It's got a good scattered holo, though the color has just a little more yellow in it than I'd normally wear. Here's a picture in natural light that's slightly more color accurate.

And then it dried into somewhat of a texture polish, even after top coat. That's not intended, right? Meh.

Wear: Removed after one day. The scattered holo wasn't strong enough to compensate for the color and texture, neither of which are necessarily bad, I just didn't prefer them. Swap pile.

Edit: According to other bloggers, it IS supposed to be a texture polish. So at least I know that it's supposed to be the way that it is.

Little White Polish

The Polish:
BC: Duri - Rejuvicote
Main Color: Initial Lacquer - LWP (Winter Collection, 2013), three coats
Accent: Jelly sandwich with Colors by Llarowe - Coconut (Jelly Bean collection) and Cover Girl - Gold Rush
TC: Seche Vite

Alright, so the accent didn't come off exactly as I wanted. It's just too similar to the main color. Maybe it would have been better if I didn't sandwich it? Oh well. That aside, let's get to how much I love LWP (which stands for Little White Polish, by the way. What an adorable name.)

I do believe my lemming for Girly Bits - Eggnogoholic has been slayed. I know it's not that hard to come by, especially since there was a restock this season, but still. This one has iridescent glitters in it, which makes it at least 10 times better.

It did go on slightly streaky, which isn't a surprise for a white polish, but it evened itself out after two coats, and the third coat was perfect. I've also got some texture bumps, but I'm not sure if that's from this polish or from the residue of those horrid Fancy Glosses I wore last. Meh. Either way, it's not really a big deal. It's not really very noticeable. I've also got a teal glitter just hangin' out on my pinkie, which I swear came from the bottle. Not sure what's up with that. Oh well.

Regardless, I adore this polish. It's exactly my style, and I just know I'm going to be wearing it a lot. Here's a close up, on which my skin looks especially dry and my poor application skills are apparent but which shows the iridescent glitters better. Loooove. <3

Wear: Three days. Polish on my right hand started to peel. Turns out, you have to apply polish directly after base coat. I applied it the day before here, and I guess the polish didn't stick to it. Lesson learned.

Golden Swan

The Polish:
BC: Duri - Rejuvicote
Fancy Gloss - Golden Swan, three layers
TC: Seche Vite

It was with low expectations that I put on Golden Swan, what was supposed to be my Christmas polish this year. After the experience I had with her sister, Marry Me, I was expecting the worst. Unfortunately, that's pretty much what I got.

The smell was the worst part. It really is that bad. It's just awful.

Second was that the white base wasn't visible on the nail. Turns out it's more of a clear base than a white crelly or even a jelly, like I was expecting. If I had known that, I would have layered it over a white jelly. Since I didn't know it, I slathered on three thick layers, trying to get the white to show. As a result, the glitters were sliding all over the place, and I wasn't quite sure what to do with the Seche Vite. I ended up kind o.f.. dabbling it on thinking to myself all the while, "Oh, this mani is hopeless."

It was so bad that I just couldn't bring myself to put it on my other hand. Nope, I'll just have to find some other polish to be my Christmas mani, because this terrible stuff doesn't deserve it. Meanwhile, both Fancy Glosses are going into the swap pile. Yes, they're both pretty, but I just can't keep them around if they're going to smell that bad.

A Vanilla Marriage

The Polish:
BC: T.I.P.S. - The Incredible Protection System
KleanColor - Vanilla Villa, two coats
Fancy Gloss - Marry Me
TC: Seche Vite

Oh my GOODNESS, I should have titled this "The Stinky Mani." Let's take it from the top, shall we?

To begin with, I tried out T.I.P.S., which I found at a thrift store for a quarter. Not sure what it's made of, but I'm pretty sure it's some kind of an oil. I've been hearing nothing but praise on the nail board about oiling nails before your mani, so I thought I might as well try this. The instructions I found online say to apply and rub it into the nail and cuticles, so that's what I did. But man... I'm not sure if it's just my bottle, but there is a strong smell of cigarettes coming from it. It could have belonged to a smoker before it found its way to the thrift store, or maybe it always smelled like that. Who knows. What's important to me is that my bottle stinks.

Next we have Vanilla Villa. KleanColors are notoriously smelly, but this one just so happens to be vanilla scented. So I wasn't really sure what to expect with this one. It didn't really seem to smell like anything, really. I mean, it just smelled like nail polish to me. I assumed the vanilla came after it dried.

Then Marry Me, a polish I have been excited about for a month now. She's sooo cute, right? Look at those gorgeous matte white and iridescent glitters. *swoon* But soon after I started to apply it, I started getting a whiff of some major chemicals going on. Maybe it's the KleanColors just now catching up to me, I thought. So I topcoated and did my right hand to double check.

NOPE. DEFINITELY THE FANCY GLOSS. It became apparent as soon as I opened the bottle again. I quickly covered it with Seche Vite to try and hide the smell. (And what does THAT say, huh? So bad that even Seche Vite smells better? Wow.) The odor lingered for hours afterward and wasn't completely gone until after sleeping on it.

And even aside from that, the glitters poked up past the top coat, creating an uneven texture that drove my hands crazy. Baah. But... isn't she CUTE!? I'm totally willing to overlook all of her shortcomings because of how gosh darn pretty those glitters are... (I just probably won't be wearing it often.)

Wear: Three days. So... turns out TIPS isn't a base coat. Yeah. My bad. Lesson learned.

Blue-berry Sweet on You

The Polish:
BC: None
Nicole by OPI - Blue-berry Sweet on You (Gumdrops collection), two coats
TC: None

My first texture polish! I was in CVS and decided that it was time. I couldn't resist the blue any longer.

I'm not usually one to complain about a wide brush, but man, this one... It was just a combination of factors: the short stem of the brush, the width of the brush, the consistency of the polish... the odds seemed stacked against it, and the brush was a little unwieldy. You can see the mess I made on the first picture.

But as for the polish itself, woah! The first thing I said to myself was, "It sure is sparkly!" The sparkle doesn't show on images, so even after seeing swatches of this online, I was still surprised by by just how much sparkle this little guy had in him. It really is just a really thick glitter, huh?

And the texture itself hasn't even been as much of a nuisance as I expected it to be, either. In fact, I really enjoy feeling it, and I've found myself touching my nails often with it on. I guess I may be seeing some more textures in my stash soon.

Wear: Four days. Although I wore it for five days, I can't say that I got five days of wear out of it because I needed to take it off but ran out of time. Started to chip on day three (though more from the base than the tips, which is unusual) and was visible by the end of day four.

Special Snowflake

The Polish:
BC: Duri - Rejuvicote
Maya Cosmetics - Special Snowflake (Holiday 2013), three layers
TC: Seche Vite

Upon seeing the swatch posted on Facebook, I knew I HAD to have this polish. I bought it first thing Black Friday, and I was sooo excited! Kat even included a free mini of It Can't Rain All the Time in my box, which made me even more giddy to open it up! What a wonderful lady. <3

Special Snowflake is a gorgeous mix of silver, matte grey, and iridescent glitters in a pale blue base. I wouldn't really call it a jelly base because of the consistency, though it is similar in appearance. The blue is very pale on the first couple of layers but comes out fully at three coats. (I liked it at two coats but added another for the pictures.) And oooooh my goodness, those glitters... *swoon* It's those iridescents that really get me. (I've come to realize that I'm a sucker for iridescents.) But there are also small matte grey glitters hidden in there that are beautiful, too.

The abundance of glitter causes a small amount of texture, even after Seche Vite, but it didn't bother me much. In fact, this polish is pretty much perfect, in my opinion. My only regret is that I don't have a camera good enough to capture its beauty appropriately. *sigh* I have my eye on that new Windows phone. You know, the one they're calling "the best camera phone," or whatever? But we'll have to see how that turns out...

Wear: Four days. My first experience with Seche Vite's shrinkage effect (do I need to add thinner to it?), and then the polish started wanting to peel at day three. A poor manicure for such a pretty polish--how disappointing! I think the peeling was definitely from Rejuvicote, so I'll have to wear a different base coat next time I wear Special Snowflake, and I guess I'll find out what's up with Seche Vite next mani.

Lunar Excelsior!

The Polish:
BC: Duri - Rejuvicote
Main color: Different Dimension - Excelsior!, two coats
Accent: Northern Star - Lunar Glow (Limited Edition released for Black Friday, 2013), one coat
TC: Seche Vite

I've been lemming Excelsior! for a few months, though I didn't know much about it. Honestly, I think I put it on my wishlist after seeing a swatch of it on the nail board (which I guess I saved to Pinterest) and then promptly forgot about it. But when I saw it come up on a swap site, I remembered that I had wanted it and grabbed it immediately.

Turns out it's a soft, pretty white holo. No wonder I wanted it. I'm such a sucker for pretty whites. The holo is fainter than the bottle would have had me believe, though, and it only shows up in direct light. In the shade, it just looks like a pink shimmer, which is fine, too. Regardless, another freshly-fallen-snow white I'm glad to have.

Lunar Glow is a dusty, denim blue holo that was available for a short time during Black Friday sales this year. I kind of hemmed and hawed about getting it, since it's a bit darker than I normally wear. But it was just too gorgeous of a color to let it pass. Plus, at $6, it was the cheapest polish I bought that day. (I, uh.. *cough* kind of spent a lot of money that day. Shh. Let's not speak of such things.)

Lunar Glow is slightly on the thicker side, and since it's a darker color, I couldn't help but make a little bit of a mess of it on myself. Whatever. Still pretty despite my poor application. Only one coat needed. Look how bluuuue it is!

Wear: Lunar Glow chipped at five days. Removed at six.

Hallucinating Raindrops

The Polish:
BC: Duri - Rejuvicote
Hallucinating Raindrops, a franken, two coats
TC: China Glaze - Matte Magic

I've thoroughly enjoyed this franken on my toes, so I thought I'd give it a chance on my nails. Turns out I don't like it here as much, but that's okay. It's still great for toes.

Besides, isn't the bottle just lovely?

I just couldn't achieve color accuracy on my photos, however. I've been taking the pictures inside, in the brightest room of my house, since it's overcast-y winter now, but they never turn out exactly right. The color is a slightly lighter, prettier grey than what shows here. Plus the glitters had a great depth that didn't show up, either. Maybe it's time for a new phone with a better camera...

This last one was with the top coat, by the way. Matte Magic isn't really all that matte (or magic) after all. Maybe next time, I'll try two coats of this? Would that work?

Wear: Four days. Pretty good for a matte, right?

Mammoth

The Polish:
BC: Duri - Rejuvicote
SuperChic Lacquer by Wonder Beauty Products - Mammoth (Sleigh Ride Wonderland collection, Holiday 2013), three coats
TC: Seche Vite

Mammoth is a light grey crelly with silver, gold, and iridescent blue glitter and a fine shimmer. It's gorgeous, and I just love the mix of glitters, especially the iridescent blue! Soooo pretty!

I just couldn't pass it up, so I had to swallow my pride and buy it, my first SuperChic polish. You see, I've kind of been avoiding this brand because of the awkward bottle. Now that I have it, it fits just fine on the shelf next to the other bottles, but I still think it's a little weird. See how awkward it is to hold? I know it's meant to be unique, so I try to cut it some slack. It DID have a great brush, after all, and so it gets a lot of credit for that!

Anyway, I did experience some slight dragging during application, but nothing the dabbling method couldn't solve. The glitters kind of stick up past the base just a little, even after Seche Vite, and I keep rubbing my fingers over it. Hopefully I can keep it on through the weekend. Must not pick, must not pick, must not pick!

Wear: Six days of gorgeous. I caught myself staring at my nails often since they looked like pretty little sparkling, grey galaxies. <3 It was quite convenient for wearing over Thanksgiving, actually. Any time I got bored talking with extended family, I just entertained myself by looking at my nails.

Green Holo

The Polishes:
BC: Duri - Rejuvicote
Urban Outfitters - Green Holo
TC: Seche Vite

Ooooh, my goodness, I'm in love again! Green Holo is another polish that I fell in love with immediately upon application. It has a very clever, original name, I know, but just LOOK at that gorgeous linear holo! Eeeek! It's so strong! <3

And that soft green color is lovely, and the formula was a dream. One nice, smooth coat was all it took. I could hardly be believe it! My right hand had a few bumps from having an uneven base, but I hear that's common with holos. It's hardly noticeable in person, anyway. Just an all-around great polish. *swoon*

Wear: 6 days! I've heard that this brand is notorious for chips, but it wore like iron on me. I started to get minor, unnoticeable tip wear on day three, but by day six, it hadn't changed at all. I could have even worn it for another day, but I could tell that it was getting ready to peel (perhaps just because of the Rejuvicote), so I went ahead and took it off.

That was also, by the way, the easiest removal I've had in a long time. Maybe it's because I've been wearing so many glitters, it was only easy by comparison, but I just stuck my fingers in the scrubby tub for five seconds, and the entire mani just melted away. So nice! <3

Pinkie Linen

The Polish:
Duri - Rejuvicote
Sally Hansen - Linen (Smooth and Perfect line)
Wet n Wild - Pinkie Sweet (Megalast line)

I took some pictures of Linen on its own, too, but they turned out terribly. Dreary winter weather has begun already. As can also be seen in my cuticles. Also, ugh, come ON, peelies. Grr, driving me crazy.

Anyway, my honeymoon with the Smooth and Perfect line is definitely over. I fell in love with them when I was still a muggle, and now I see why they don't get any love from the girls on nail board. First, some bubbling. Second, the pearly finish. Not as brush-stroke-y as some other things I've tried, but still enough to be annoying. It fades after a couple of days and is hardly noticeable with a layer of something prettier (like my Pinkie Sweet) over it, so I'm not going to throw them all in the swap pile immediately, but I am a little frustrated that I have a full set of something I don't actually care much for. What I do still adore are the brushes and the bottles. I half want to just pour them all out and decant something nicer.

But yeah, nothing bad to say about Pinkie Sweet, on the other hand. My mom asked for a mani, and after putting it on her, I couldn't help layering it over Linen, which I currently had on my own nails. Made a world of difference.

Catch Me in Satin Sheets

The Polish:
Duri - Rejuvicote as base
Revlon - Satin Sheets (Sweet Nothings collection)
The Lady Varnishes - Catch Me Dancing (I'm Not Finished collection)

Mid-week I was looking for something super sheer, so I decided on Satin Sheets, which is basically nothing but a faint red shimmer. With one coat, it's just barely noticeable, as you can see. Simple and perfect for what I needed at the time.

And then on Friday, I got my latest nail mail, Catch Me Dancing, delicate glass flecks in a milky white base. I couldn't help but put it on right away, without even taking Satin Sheets off. You can still see the red shimmer shining through.

The Lady Varnishes lets her customers choose a scent for her polishes, and she has quite a wide range, too. I chose a jasmine scent to be mixed in with Catch Me Dancing, but it smells more... grape? Meh, oh well, it's still so pretty! Like a white version of Illamasqua's Raindrops. <3 Maybe one day I'll be able to capture how lovely it is in my pictures. *sigh*

Heavenly Cotton Candy

The Polish:
Essence - Cotton Candy (Nude Glam line) - three coats
Revlon - Heavenly - one coat
Seche Vite

And now for something sparkly. I just adore all iridescent glitters. They're so lovely. <3 Probably the best glitters, for sure.

As much as I like Essence's new cute little bottles and their fabulous wide brushes, I'm not super fond of this polish. It's an alright color, nothing spectacular, but not bad either. It was just SO streaky. I was only planning on wearing Heavenly as an accent nail, but I had to cover up all of the streaks.

Wear: Uhm.. Why didn't I even put on a base coat? I remember days when I didn't have to wear base coats, but these are NOT those days. I somehow got three days out of this mani, though it started to peel off within twenty four hours. On the third day, I stress-picked at work. Note to self: bc is no longer optional. Treatments are apparently adequate base coats.

Retry Skittles

The Polishes:
Thumb:  Essence - Grey-t to be Here - three layers
Index: Cover Girl - Gold Rush (Boundless Color line) sandwiched between OPI - Sweet Heart
Middle: Raindrops franken dupe over Revlon - Phantom Angel (Masquerade collection) - two layers each
Ring: Wet n Wild - Star of the Show (Fast Dry line) over Orly - Au Champagne - two layers
Pinkie: Sally Girl - unnamed iridescent glitter over Sally Girl - Coconut - two layers

Again, taking advantage of Nail Board's Skittle week, I decided it was a good time to go through some polishes I hadn't worn in a while in hopes of purging some.

Grey-t is one of my favorites of the bunch. I adore the wide brush, the smooth formula, and the cute color. Perhaps others may be frustrated with the sheerness--I used three coats to cover the nail line. But I'm not one of those people. Nail lines don't bother me, and for everyday wear, two coats is fine by me.

Oh my goodness, my finicky Sweet Heart again. Your poor bottle is so muggle abused. And look at those bubbles! Yeah, it's not the greatest polish, and the old, thin brush may be sub-par, but I just can't bear to get rid of it yet. No one would want her. There's not much left, and it looks fine sandwiching glitter. I'd much prefer to just use as much as I can and then toss.

Gold Rush, again, is a perfectly reasonable glitter. Nothing spectacular about it, but it looks fine in a sandwich. I initially tried to leave it as a topper, but I just don't prefer that look. I had to add another layer of Sweet Heart.

Phantom Angel has been concerning me for a while now, as I've gone through my stash. It's a bit on the pearly side, and I don't like pearls. It's a sheer white, which I like, but, honestly, I have enough sheer whites, and those ones aren't pearls. Purging this one.

And here's my first Raindrops franken dupe attempt. There's not much left because I poured most of it into another franken glitter. I just wanted to see what it would look like on top of something else. *shrug* It's okay. In the shade, you can see the flakes from Glass Slipper, though, which are pretty.

Oh, Star of the Show. How I love-slash-hate you. I love your stars. I hate how sparse they are. You know, I have other star glitter. It's tough for me, but I suppose it's time to give you up. Purge.

Au Champagne is another one I have trouble with. I always hate it when I'm thinking about it. A frosty white? Sounds terrible. But on the nail, it somehow works, especially with two layers. I guess it has enough self-leveling power to settle the brush strokes into a fine matte. It's especially tolerable if I'm only wearing it as undies. Keep.

And my Sally Girls. Coconut has a creme finish that's just barely frustrating to work with, but the lovely coconut scent totally makes up for it. And the pretty pastel blue color.

And the iridescent glitter--actually one of my favorites from this batch of polishes. Simple and cute. Love it. <3

After I came back inside from taking pictures, somehow I found myself putting Seche Vite over top without thinking about it. After two nails, I said, "Wait. What am I doing? I'm not actually going to wear this, am I? To work?" (I'm a teacher at a private school.) Then I told myself, "Whatever, no one cares," and finished the Seche Vite. Somehow my index finger still got dented, anyway, so I probably won't wear it past a couple of days.

Purge number this time around: Two. I guess it's better than last time!

Sinful Skittles

The Polish:
Thumb: Sinful Colors - Rain Storm (Haute Rebel collection)
Index: Sinful Colors - Sugar Rush (Sugar Rush collection) (two coats)
Middle: Sinful Colors - Cool Gray (Haute Rebel Collection) (two coats)
Ring: Sinful Colors - Beau Khaki (Haute Rebel Collection)
Pinkie: Sinful Colors - Social Ladder (two coats)
Over Beau Khaki: Sinful Colors - Out of this World
Over everything else: Sinful Colors - Green Ocean (Saint Patrick's Day 2013)

Since this is Skittles week on Makeup Alley's Nail Board, I decided to take this opportunity to go through my Sinfuls and see if I could purge anything. There are some that I know I can keep, like Glass Pink, Cinderella, and even Glow in the Dark, but the others I needed to revisit.

Rain Storm is a delightful one-coater. It's such a beautiful, dusty shade of blue that I enjoy so much. I'm still not sure if I enjoy it on my nails or not, and it takes a steady hand to apply, since it's so thick, but I just can't bear to part with it. Not yet at least. (It got messed up here, due to some cat hair. Ugh. I need to do my nails in a clean room or something.)

Sugar Rush, on the other hand, was just as frustrating as I remember it being. It's one of those streaky cremes that I dislike, and I have other polishes that are similar in color. Purge.

Cool Gray is also streaky, but I don't have any other colors that are similar. It's such a nice color, too. Keep.

Beau Khaki has a formula similar to Rain Storm, though not quite as nice. It's a pretty color, though, again, I can't see myself wearing it much on my nails. Keep for now.

And Social Ladder. How could I forget how much I liked you? A pretty sheer, shimmery pink, delightfully delicate and dainty. Keep, of course.

This is the first time I've work Out of the World over something. It was boring on its own, and I was about to purge it months ago until I realized it might make good frankening material. I've never made a franken I've been super excited about, but theoretically it sounded good. But now I see that it's also nice enough over a creme. So, keep for now.

And finally, Green Ocean. Ah, Green Ocean. I keep going back and forth about you. I really don't like flakies, particularly how it's hard to get them to lay flat, and I definitely don't like the awkward green-tinted base this one's in ... but look at that pretty iridescent shine. It's especially pretty over a darker color, like Rain Storm. Even though I never wear darker colors. *sigh* I can't get rid of you yet, either, I suppose.

So... I only managed to purge one? Gah. Oh well.

Pure Pearl-dupe-tion

The Polish:
-Thumb, middle, and pinkie: three layers of Essence - Glitter topcoat
-Index and ring fingers: three layers of Essie - Pure Pearlfection (Luxeffects collection)
-Over all nails, Sinful Colors - Quick Dry, followed by a layer of Duri - Rejuvicote

Okay, my first lesson for this mani is that Rejuvicote does NOT go over Quick Dry liquid. I'd cleaned most of it up by the time these pictures were taken, but it made a big mess when the Rejuvicote slid around with the liquid rather than adhering to the polish. Lesson learned.

That aside, since I had these two similar polishes in my collection, I wanted to compare them. Here's how it went: on first layer, the Essie had noticeably more shimmer than the Essence. On two+ layers, they appeared identical.

The top coats somehow killed the shimmer, though. I'm not sure if it was the Sinful, the Rejuvicote, or what, but what was a translucent based shimmer suddenly became a sheer whitish pink under the topcoats. Huh.

Anyway, not exactly dupes, but close enough. I definitely don't need both, but I haven't figured out which to purge yet. The Essie would definitely get more from a swap, so I'll probably get rid of that one.