Stone Table

The Polish
BC: Revlon - ColorStay Base Coat
Color: Love, Angeline - Stone Table, two coats
TC: Seche Vite

Wear: Lifting starting on Day 5, removed on Day 6

Opals and Sea Lace

The Polish
BC: Nailtiques - Formula 2
Main: E.L.F. - Sea Escape, two coats
Glitter: Colors by Llarowe - Opals and Lace, two coats
TC: Seche Vite
Added a few hours later: Orly - Green Flakie Top Coat (Matte FX)

Hmm... this glitter... it has those pretty iridescent glitters, micro, hexes, and even cute squares.. and it has those delicate matte silver glitters (hex and square) like in Pirouette My Whistle. I recently purged PMW. This is definitely better, but is it better enough to keep? That remains to be seen. It certainly looks nice and galaxy-esque photographed here. We'll see where my mood leads me as I wear it.

Edit: I was all ready to purge it when I realized, "Hey, I should add a matte top coat!" And... well, that made it better. So.. I can't purge yet. Back to Purgatory Box.

Wear: Removed on Day 2

Food Fight!

The Polish

BC: Revlon - ColorStay Base Coat

Color: Girly Bits - Food Fight!, three coats

TC: Seche Vite

Food Fight! seems to be fading slightly, but despite its ugly bottle syndrome it's got going on, I still love it so much. Just look at those iridescent glitters! So perfectly done. <3

Wear: Removed on Day 6 with a little tip wear, but mostly because the growth was getting to me

Wrapped in Plastic

The Polish
BC: Revlon - ColorStay Base Coat
Color: Hare Polish - Wrapped in Plastic, three coats
TC: Seche Vite

Oooh, light box! My mother-in-law, or "back-up mother," as she likes to be called, got me a light box for my birthday, just in time for the winter. Yesterday I waited a little too long to take pictures of my nails, and it was dark by the time I realized, but never fear! Light box to the rescue! It.. kind of highlights flaws in my application, doesn't it? XD Does it also make my hands look weird? Eh, oh well. I'm sure I'll get used to it. :P

Wear: Removed on Day 4 with some chips

Special Snowflake

The Polish
BC: Nailtiques - Formula 2
Color: Maya Cosmetics - Special Snowflake, three coats
TC: Seche Vite

Hmm... I'm not quite sure what it is.. This used to be one of my very favorite polishes. I wonder why I'm not completely feeling it this time around. Perhaps because it needs a little thinning? I dunno.. I'mma put it back in the box and decide on it later.

Wear: Removed on Day 3 after a little stress picking

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

Excelsior's Table

The Polish
BC: Revlon - ColorStay Base Coat
Undies: Different Dimensions - Excelsior!, two coats
Topper: Love, Angeline - Stone Table, one coat
TC: Seche Vite

I've mentioned my inability to capture the beautiful unicorn polish that is Stone Table, and today is another example of such, unfortunately. Let me assure you, she is beautiful, especially over Excelsior! I want to wear her alllll the different ways.. over grey, over blue, in a jelly sandwich, by herself again... She's just so cute!

Wear: Some slight lifting on Day 2, removed on Day 3

Heavenly Cloud

The Polish
BC: Revlon - ColorStay Base Coat
Main: Reverie Nail Lacquer - Cloud Burst, three coats
Glitter: Revlon - Heavenly, one coat
TC: Seche Vite

Five pictures of this mani, even though I didn't enjoy it. I can never get Heavenly to look nice irl.

This is how it normally looks. Just kinda strange...

Much better in the shade.

I guess I need to try it over a dark color, but I just don't have that much patience recently.

Wear: Removed on Day 2

Food Fight!

The Polish
BC: Revlon - ColorStay Base Coat
Color: Girly Bits - Food Fight!, three coats
TC: Seche Vite

Okay, that didn't last long. This color is one of my favorites, and I just HAD to take pictures. <3

Wear: Some chips starting on Day 5, removed on Day 6. FINALLY some better wear! Thank you, Polish Goddess!

Long Winter's Nap

The Polish:
BC: Revlon - ColorStay Base Coat
Color: Girly Bits - Long Winter's Nap, three coats
TC: American Classics - Gelous followed by Seche Vite

From the swatches online, I thought that this polish was probably blue, but putting it on, I can tell you that Long Winter's Nap is absolutely grey with blue, aqua, silver, and blue-purple iridescent glitters. Even with the Gelous, this polish still dulled pretty quickly. But those glitters! Those iridescent ones, especially!

Live swatch video!:


Wear: Removed on Day 4 with some lifting. Removal of all those glitters was a pain. I need to get a new scrubby tub.

Dog Days

The Polish:
BC: Revlon - ColorStay Base Coat
Color: Reverie Nail Lacquer - Dog Days, three coats
TC: Seche Vite

Yay, the first polish from my Reverie haul! I wasn't planning on getting Dog Days, but it was on sale, so I couldn't help myself. Whoops. I went a little crazy buying there for a while. ^-^;

I wasn't expecting Dog Days's base to be so sheer. It does have a tint to it, but it's so faint, I can hardly decide what color it is. White? Green? Grey? I don't even know. Definitely not completely clear, though. Probably meant to be a topper. But the glitters are super colorful! Neon blue and yellow, plus some iridescent yellow-golds that are almost undetectable unless you're looking closely. Here's a good shot of them:

I wore this on a long-weekend vacation, and thankfully it lasted the entire time! I was picking it off in the car on the way home.

Wear: Lifting on Day 5

Hawaii Iridescent Freeze

The Polish:
BC: Nail-Aid - Extreme Steel Hardener
Main: Cover Girl - Blue Hawaii, two coats
Accent: Cover Girl - Purple Freeze, two coats
Main Glitter: Sinful Colors - Nail Junkie, one coat
Accent Glitter: Confetti - Pink Confetti, one coat
TC: Seche Vite

I tried to like this. Really I did. My mother in law has been enjoying these little glosstinis recently, and grabbed a couple for me for Christmas. I can see why she likes them. They're bright colors with an easy, two coat formula. In a different color, they might even be something I'd love. These ones just aren't doing it for me. The blue is an awkward almost-okay color of teal, and that purple is too red-leaning to work with my skin tone.

I even tried to cover it with a glitter to make it bearable for a couple of days, but it just wasn't meant to be. Purge.

Wear: Removed immediately

Stone Table

The Polish:
BC: Revlon - ColorStay Base Coat
Color: Love, Angeline - Stone Table, three coats
TC: Seche Vite

Sometimes I forget how awesome things are between wears. I knew I loved Stone Table, but putting it on again, I remembered just how much. Stone Table shines like a mystical unicorn on my nails. That sheer white like soft fur, that green shimmer and iridescent glitter..! Just perfect. Still couldn't capture it as well as I did in the macros I took the first time I wore it, but trust me--it's amazing.

Sometime I should really try it over a creme, maybe a nice, soft blue? But I just love it on its own so much!

Wear: Removed on Day 4 with minimal wear

Guided By Starlight

The Polish:
BC: Revlon - ColorStay Base Coat
Color: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer - Guided by Starlight, three coats
TC: Seche Vite

Hmm.. I had been avoiding wearing this one because it's finicky. I'd managed to wear it successfully as an accent once, but mostly I just didn't want to deal with it. Since I've been trying to purge lately, I thought I'd make a final decision about it.

It IS pretty cute. Last time I tried laying it on thick, so this time I thought I'd try going the thin route. That didn't work, either, though, because it's a streaky white. Meh.

But the glitters! So many glitters! Allllll of the glitters. Stars and moons and diamonds and circles and squares and hexes and micros.. holo gold and holo silver and iridescent.. oh my goodness! I wish it was easier to deal with, but I just don't care enough. Someone who cares more can deal with it. Not me. Purge.

Wear: Removed on Day 3 with slight lifting. Hmm.. I'm not getting nearly as good wear as I normally do.. I wonder what's going on. It's not just needing to use cuticle remover because I used it just before this mani. There must be something else messing with me.

Pucci-licious Iridescents

The Polish:
BC: CND - Stickey
Undies: Color Club - Pucci-licious, two coats
Left Index: Revlon - Heavenly
Left Middle: Jordana - Lunar Lights
Left Ring: KleanColor - Take a Hint
Left Pinkie: Zoya - Monet
Right Index: Colors by Llarowe - Opals and Lace
Right Middle: Cameo Colors - Let It Snow
Right Ring: Confetti - Pink Confetti
Right Pinkie: Sally Hansen - Disco Ball
TC: Seche Vite (under the glitters and over)

Iridescent glitters are my favorite. I love how ethereal they look, and they always catch my eye. I've been collecting them for a while, and I'm pretty sure I can say that I have too many. It's time for a purge. I've swatched all eight over a neon-ish purple creme, Pucci-licious. Let's try not to cling too tightly to these, now, Holly, no matter how difficult it is. I need to get rid of some, so I have to be ruthless. It'll feel better when I'm done. It'll be nice only having a few that I absolutely adore.

And of course I would start with Heavenly. I've had Heavenly for a while.. since I first started collecting as an adult, if I recall. It has such nice squares and hexes.. it's super cute.. and unique! So I'm keeping it. >_>

Lunar Lights and Take a Hint are pretty similar. They have both larger hexes and smaller microglitter. They're nearly dupes, but Lunar Lights has a little more microglitter while Take a Hint has more larger hexes. It breaks my heart to choose between them, but if I'm honest with myself, I need to choose Take a Hint. I like the ratio of glitters better. It's just so hard to put Lunar Lights into the purge box because it's sooo super pretty in the bottle... *sigh*

Monet, on the other hand, is easy to purge. It has a pretty poor consistency. I had heard that when it came out, and that's why I didn't buy it. It came up during the local swap, however, and that's why it ended up in my hands, anyway. But it's just not as good as my other iridescent glitters, so back out it goes.

Opals and Lace and Let It Snow are similar-ish. They both have small hexes, microglitter, and these adorable matte white glitters. Let It Snow, however, only has hex whites, but Opals and Lace has a mix of tiny white squares and hexes mixed in with the larger white hexes. The latter also has some almost undetectable yellow shards floating around. It's difficult to choose between them, but need to admit it--Let It Snow smells. It has a strong odor. The brush in mine has also become stiff, so it's difficult to apply. It's a hard thing to do, but Let It Snow needs to go into the purge box... :(

Pink Confetti and Disco Ball are both only microglitter. Looking very closely, I can just barely tell that the glitter in Pink Confetti are just the tiniest bit larger than Disco Ball, so.. I guess Disco Ball... to the Franken box. *nod* I'm pretty sure I can find a Frankening use for it eventually.

Hey, maybe Lunar Lights can hang out with it in there! ... No.. I can't do it. I just can't get rid of Lunar Lights, even if it's only to the Franken box. It's too pretty in the bottle. It can hang out on the shelf some more. *hugs it*

Final Tally:
Keep: Heavenly, Lunar Lights, Take a Hint, Opals and Lace, Pink Confetti
Purge: Monet, Let It Snow
Franken: Disco Ball

Wear: Four days to lifting

Daubingy's Beau

The Polish:
BC: CND - Stickey
Undies: Sinful Colors - Beau Khaki, two coats
Glitter: Finger Paints - Daubingy's Garden, one coat
TC: Seche Vite

Look! Look what I did! I've had Beau Khaki for about two years. I almost purged it probably twice because it's a creme, and I'm awful at application on cremes. But the color was perfect, so I wouldn't let myself let it go. Instead, I kept practicing off and on, and just recently, my application skills have improved a little. And it's just enough that I can finally wear Beau Khaki! Eeek! *proud*

I got Daubingy's Garden when Sally's did a free Finger Paints promotion a few months ago. It was the most unique thing on the wall, so I thought I might as well give it a go. In the bottle, it's kind of duochrome-y, but on the nail, you can see it clearly: navy blue and gold/green iridescent hexes in two sizes. The glitters go on easily, but stick together rather easily, as you can see, so application is a little tricky.

It's actually a lot prettier in person than in pictures. I feel kind of fancy wearing this mani, especially considering how long I worked to get application right in order to wear a creme like this!

Wear: Lifting on Day 4. :( Applied a coat of Gelous and an extra coat of SV on Day 3 to give it more shine and maybe help it last longer, but it seems to have done the opposite!

Flakie Champagne

The Polish:
BC: Revlon - ColorStay Base Coat
Color: New York Color - Pink Champagne, two coats
TC: Seche Vite
Added on day 2: Orly - Green Flakie Top Coat (Matte FX line), two coats (Shown in pictures 2-5)

I have to be in a particular mood to wear Pink Champagne anymore. It IS super delicate and cute, but I've been in the mood for more color recently. I just haven't been needing a palate cleanser.

I was pretty skeptical about putting on the flakie top coat at first, and even throughout that day. It really is just a matte top coat with some flakies in it. Nothing really interesting.

But after a while, I started noticing the flakies over the soft, sheer pink and the delicate gold shimmer.. the blue and green iridescent glitter.. They go so well together! They're both fine on their own, but together, they give such a transient, dreamy, effervescent feel. And the fact that it's matte just makes the whole thing seem even softer, smooth and satin-y. These pictures really just don't do it justice!

So, turns out, this flakie top coat I was having second thoughts about is actually a good deal after all. I'm already wondering if I would ever want just a regular matted manicure over a matted-and-flakied one.

Wear: Removed on day four with no noticeable wear.