China Glaze Surprise swatch: Glitter Up

China Glaze "Glitter Up"

As I mentioned in my previous blog post, I wanted to pick up "Glitter Up" from the latest China Glaze polish collection, "Surprise".  There are six chunky glitter toppers in the entire collection, and while all are very unique combinations of colors, there was only one that I was interested in adding to my collection.

"Glitter Up" is a combination of mini and large hexagonal navy blue, sky blue, and coral glitters suspended in a clear base.  Basketball season may be over, but I couldn't stay away from a Florida Gators-esque color themed glitter topper.

Today is the LAST day for Sally Hansen Beauty Supply Store BOGO Free special: all nail polishes are Buy One, Get One Free (excluding OPI brand), so if you're eyeing this fun topper, you can also nab another polish as well!

I applied one layer of "Glitter Up" over two coats of Essie "Find Me an Oasis" from the Resort Fling collection.

China Glaze "Glitter Up"

China Glaze "Glitter Up"

China Glaze "Glitter Up"

The suspension base is nice and smooth, which allows for easy application of the glitters, but because some pieces are so big, I resorted to fishing for the larger pieces and spreading the glitters around to disperse them evenly.

Dry time is average, and I added China Glaze Fast Forward top coat for an extra seal.  I can't wait to revisit this topper during football season!

Wet N' Wild Wild Shine Swatch "Deception" and Jelly Sandwich Tutorial

The Wet N' Wild Spring 2014 Street Art Limited Edition collection contains two JELLY polishes, and I when I read about it from Nouveau Cheap, I absolutely had to scoop them up at my local Walgreens.  Luckily for me, not only did I find the entire collection untouched in its display, but they were on sale at 69 cents (even though its regular retail price at 99 cents isn't bad either).

 Wet N' Wild "Deception" and "Cursed"

Jelly polishes have a liquid-like finish that seems see-through but shiny on your nail.  They're one of my favorite polish types because you can use them in "jelly sandwich" nails, which is painting glitter polish in between layers of jelly polish, hence the sandwich name.  The final look makes the glitter seem like it's suspended on your nail!

I haven't bought polishes from the Wild Shine in a while, but I do like their polishes in general.  I don't open beauty products in store, and unfortunately, the brush in my "Deception" bottle was frayed and funky.  I dipped it in the polish a few times to try and it eventually smoothed out, but after a while, the bristles would stick out again.  This doesn't bother me since it's a drugstore polish, but I know a few lacqueristas who wouldn't find it acceptable.

Wet N' Wild "Deception"

To create a jelly sandwich, I painted two coats of my jelly polish on my nails.  Since you'll be using several layers of polish, be sure to let each coat dry enough before adding another.  

One and two coats of Wet N' Wild "Deception"

Next, I added a layer of glitter polish.  I chose Sephora OPI "Mauve-ie Star in the Making".  It is a nice, mixed glitter topper with mauve and lilac purple hexagonal chunky glitter mixed with microglitter.  One layer was enough since it is a generously dense topper.

Sephora OPI "Mauve-ie Star in the Making" over Wet N' Wild "Deception"

I sandwiched the glitters in one last coat of "Deception"!  Depending on how opaque the jelly polish is, you might want to add more, but only one coat was enough for that juicy goodness!

Finished "jelly sandwich" manicure with Wet N' Wild "Deception"

 I am such a huge fan of jelly sandwich manicures!  Both colors "Deception" and "Cursed" are bright and festive for summer.  And at a drugstore price, these polishes are a definite hit for me.  I'm glad I could tear my eyes away from my nails long enough to write this tutorial.

Sinful Shine "I'm Blushing" and Wet-n-Wild Mega Rocks Swatches

The nail trend of Spring 2014 is definitely nudes.  Collections of beiges, taupes, and creams sprouted throughout beauty lines of all brands, from Urban Decay to Sinful Colors.

Sinful Shine, a glossy spin-off from the Sinful Colors line, boosts Gel Tech technology that dries extra shiny so the user can skip the top coat.  I decided to pick up a few colors during a Walgreens sale, where all Sinful Shine polishes were only 99 cents. 

I've currently been obsessed with neutral white-looking polishes that have just a tint of color. 

Sinful Shine's "I'm Blushing" is a perfect example of this variant of a plain white color.  The formula on the polish is dreamy for a drugstore brand.  It only took two coats to reach full opacity, three being generous.  And the Gel Tech clearly works on this polish; you can see how shiny the polish is after it dries.  There's no top coat!

"I'm Blushing" has a warm pinkie undertone.  In the shade, it's a pale pink-white, but in bright light, the pink really comes out.  It is workplace-friendly and a nice palette-cleanser for spring.

Sinful Shine polishes retail at $1.99 at Walgreens stores.  It is 3-free: there is no formaldehyde, toluene, or DBP in its formula.

formaldehyde, toluene and DBP

formaldehyde, toluene and DBP

formaldehyde, toluene and DBP

Sinful Shine "I'm Blushing"

I also noticed the new line of Wet N' Wild glitter toppers on display at the same Walgreens.  The Mega Rocks line has a standard run of solid colors, but "Stick It to the Man" caught my eye with its mix of orange and blue (Go Gators!) glitter chunks.  It was the only topper I nabbed, and it came with an instant $1 off coupon, so I bought it for $1.99 (retails at $2.99).

Wet N' Wild Mega Rocks glitter topper "Stick It to the Man"

My overall experience with this glitter topper is underwhelming.  Glitter payout is modest from the bottle, so you'll need to fish out the square and hexagonal pieces if you want more on the nail.  The price is average for a drugstore polish, but I think you're better off spending your bucks on other polishes that offer more payout, or spending a little bit more on a higher end glitter topper, which are not difficult to find.

For me, the most disappointing part about the topper is that the orange pieces don't actually show up as orange on the nail!   It's actually tinted mylar chunks that become invisible against the nail.

Wet N' Wild "Stick It to the Man" on top of Sinful Shine "I'm Blushing"

For me, the Wet N' Wild Mega Rocks are an easy pass, even with any future coupons or  sales.

Sally Beauty BOGO Free Polish sale and swatch!

Early Tuesday morning, I received an awesome surprise in my email: Sally Beauty Supply is having a 3-day sale on nail polishes!  From Tuesday, Feb 25 - Thursday, Feb 27, if you buy any polish (excluding OPI), you get another polish free!

There's no coupon necessary, just show the cashier this ad or use the promo code when checking out online.

I headed to my local Sally Beauty Supply store to browse the new China Glaze spring line, but they didn't have any colors that sparked my interest.  Instead, I chose a textured polish by China Glaze "Sand Dolla Makes You Holla" and one polish that almost completes my collection, "Luxe and Lush" from the China Glaze Hunger Games line.

 Luxe and Lush (left) and Sand Dolla Makes You Holla (right)

As my only other brand of textured polish besides Zoya PixieDust, I was interested to see how I'd react to China Glaze's take on the textured gimmick.

Comparison: Glitter bomb polishes

 

From left to right: 

Selena Gomez for Nicole by OPI "Confetti Fun" (retail $8.50)

Ulta "Pinata-Yada" (retail $6)

Sinful Colors "Pride" (retail $1.99)

Multi-color glitter toppers turn your fingers into a party!  I picked up "Pride" from my local Walgreens only to go home and realize that I had two other glitter toppers similar to it.  Of course, I did not return it.

A girl can't have too many glitter toppers, right?

Zoya PixieDust Tomoko

A swatch of my first textured polish, "Tomoko" from the Zoya PixieDust line.

When nail trends come around, I don't immediately buy into them since they usually seem like gimmicks to me (looking at you crackle, magnetics, chalkboard, fuzzy polishes).  Textured polishes are no exception.  When they first emerged on lacquerista radar, the bumpiness actually turned me off completely.

At a friend's recommendation and raves, I decided to pick up my first textured polishes during the 3 Free Zoya sale (Receive any 3 Zoya polishes for free, just pay $12 shipping).  While I can say that I am pleasantly surprised about their PixieDust texture line, I can't say that it completely changed my opinion of textured polishes as a whole.

Tomoko is a beautifully warm champagne glitter.  I consider it less of a textured polish and more of a perfected glitter polish, not a topper, but one of those glitter polishes that are too top-coat thirsty.  The kind that dries to that rough finish no matter how many top coats you apply. 

The color immediately reminds me of China Glaze's "I'm Not Lion", which is one of my all-time favorite polishes.  I cannot wait to do a swatch comparison.

Removal of Tomoko was just as much of a pain as any other glitter polish, but at least the wear made it worth while.  I made it to 4-5 days before any noticeable chipping.

Overall, I am incredibly pleased to have purchased this PixieDust polish during a sale, but at $9 retail, I doubt I would buy into this trend.