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.

Light as a ... Hottie?

The layers:
-Two coats of Duri - Rejuvicoat, applied days before, one layer per day
-Ring finger, three coats of Sinful Colors - Hottie
-Other fingers, one coat of NYC - Matte Me Crazy, as a smoothing base coat for the holo, and three coats of Glitter Gal - Light as a Feather.
-One layer of Seche Vite over everything.

Finally, my beautiful Light as a Feather. I've been lemming her for about six months because all the swatches of her are simply gorgeous. I finally bit the bullet and bought myself a bottle. I was sooo excited to put it on this morning that I could hardly get to sleep last night for anticipation. Haha, I'm so lame. :P

I really wanted this mani to be something special, since this is the first time I'm wearing it, so I thought for a long time about what to wear with it. My first thought was an accent nail of the only other holo I have, a pink BEGL prototype, but I thought maybe that would be too bold next to the subtle LaaF. Then I thought maybe a one of my nice blue-greys, like Lady Muck, would look good, but when I pulled it out and sat them next to each other, the color was too similar. I like my accent nails to be distinctly different. I finally decided on Hottie, thinking the nice blue shade and pretty iridescent glitters would complement the silver-grey holo of LaaF. In hindsight, it's not quite what I wanted either, but it's still pretty enough.

I'm just happy to finally have this polish after admiring it for so long. I love watching it in the sunlight. *happy sigh*

Wear: Removed at five days. LaaF started chipping at four days, and peeled at five. (Because of the Rejuvicote?) Hottie wore strong as steel.