YSL La Laque Bleu Majorelle vs Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Pacific Blue

About a year ago, I finally decided that bright, bold, cobalt blue nails WERE, in fact, as fabulous (about 3 years after the trend surfaced), but as I wasn’t sure if the shade would suit me, I dipped a toe in by picking up Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Nail Polish in Pacific Blue for $2.99. If it didn’t work out, no harm no foul at that price. As it turned out, while I liked the shade I wasn’t over the moon about it, and I promptly put it away never to wear it again.

Still, the color haunted me. I wasn’t satisfied for some reason, and onto my wishlist went YSL’s Bleu Majorelle, one of the most iconic iterations of the shade (I believe Nails Inc. Baker Street was the first of it’s kind). The high $27CAD price tag deterred me however, and I kept holding off, until one day I came to notice that my local Sephora stopped stocking the YSL polishes altogether. At that point, of COURSE then I had to have it ASAP. Conveniently, my observation occurred during the Sephora ‘Love Notes’ spring sale, so into my online basket it went.

There are NO regrets, people. THIS is what I was really looking for. Though Pacific Blue is a close contender and would do in a pinch if you’re looking to get on the cobalt blue bandwagon on the cheap, Bleu Majorelle has a richness and brightness that the Sally Hansen shade lacks, and it truly makes all the difference (to me anyway).  On top of that, the formula is TOP NOTCH – along with a ridiculously smooth and easy 2-coat application, note that these photos were taken 5 days into my manicure with not a chip in sight. This rarely happens for me – no matter what the brand, I almost always have chips by day 3. For once, I feel like the higher price tag is (nearly) justified.

Left: Sally Hansen Pacific Blue; Right: YSL Bleu Majorelle

These are the kind of polish purchases I enjoy now: one in, one out – I have no need for SH’s version so it will be passed on for someone else to enjoy. I should have known better, really, because I always prefer the ‘real thing’ and any time I try to make substitutions (with almost anything in life – food, makeup, etc.) I end up feeling unsatisfied and filling that void until I go ahead and get the real thing in the end. In this instance it wasn’t a big deal/loss, but something I really try and adhere to.

On a final note…bonus points for anyone who notices what is different in the picture above 😉

Did you get on the cobalt blue trend when it began? Are you content with ‘dupes’ or do you need the ‘real deal’?

Summer Polish Combo: Zoya Robyn with Essie Come Here

Happy Canada Day!!!  It’s been a busy week and an even busier weekend, as usual!  I had an excellent weekend celebrating Canada’s 146th birthday, even despite the fact that the weather has been absolute CRAP.  Sometimes though, the fact that everyone pulls together to make the best of a shitty situation (in this case, crazy rain and wind for DAYS) is almost better than if everything had been perfect.  And when you’re doing all this with the people you care about, well, then it’s all gravy 😀

As the weather has been hit or miss this summer so far (with more misses than hits), I haven’t been very concerned about my mani/pedi situation, but last week after picking up those few new shades, it was due time to get on it!  Below I tried out two of the shades, Zoya Robyn – a bright sky blue – and Essie Come Here, a coral red from the 2013 Resort collection.  Both are perfect vibrant summer shades that work well on both fingers and toes – I love them!

Zoya Robyn was a unique addition to my polish collection – most blue shades I have lean teal or aqua, or are more of along the lines of a deep navy.  This eye-catching shade is perfect for spring and summer, and I really love it!  I wasn’t sure about it on my hands at first, but it really grew on me and I ended up wearing it for a full four days.  The formula is thin which means you have to be a bit careful in application, but it only required two coats so it’s not terribly fussy.  It wore exceptionally well and I only had minor tip wear after those four days.

Essie Come Here is my kind of shade!  I love the strong red leaning that sometimes leans pink and sometimes leans more orange.  It looks fabulous on toes and will go with pretty much any shade I pair it with.  Formula was lovely with absolutely no issues or tricks required for application.  100% win!  I haven’t yet worn Essie Come Here on my fingernails, but I am eager to – below I have a few comparison swatches to show you (aka justify my purchase); it’s really not like anything I personally own.

Essie Meet Me at Sunset, China Glaze Surfin’ for Boys, Essie Come Here, butter London Snog

Top to bottom: butter London Snog, Essie Come Here, China Glaze Surfin’ for Boys, Essie Meet Me at Sunset

I thought Snog was going to be quite close, but it’s far too pink.  Surfin’ for Boys is in the right vein but much lighter and with shimmer.  Meet Me at Sunset is clearly too orange, but it has the same intensity of saturation.  From what I understand, Essie’s Ole Caliente and Flirt are very similar to Come Here, so if you have either of those, you’re probably set.  Bottom line: It’s a great shade that I’m totally diggin’!

What do you think of this combo?  Have you come up with any great combinations of your own lately?

Celebrating the Arrival of Spring With New(ish) Nail Polish Pretties!

Though I’ve been in somewhat of a nail polish slump, similarly to filling in gaps in my makeup collection, I’ve been picking up polish shades here and there that fit in nicely with the array of colors I already have.  For the most part, I’ve been beefing up my existing collection with shades that are generally thought of when we think ‘spring’ – pale, pastel-like shades that have a fresh, soft, feminine quality to them.  I know that there’s no need to stick to ‘seasonal’ colors any more, but I personally like to change the tones I wear (for both makeup and nails) each season, and typical spring shades are no exception.

I actually don’t own a large array of pale nail polishes, as I normally gravitate toward broodier, richer tones, but this season I’ve accrued five new shades that I’m totally digging, which means I now have a good handful or two of polishes that are just perfect for the spring season.  My two favorites from past years have been Zoya’s Marley and MAC’s Mischievous Mint, and now joining those two are: Sally Hansen Barracuda, a pale yet bright blue; China Glaze Dandy Lyin’ Around (new from this season’s Avant Garden collection), a shimmering white; butter London’s Bossy Boots, a pale pistachio green, and Jasper (new from the Sweetie Shop Spring 2013 collection), a pale lemon yellow; and Chanel Orange Fizz, a slightly muted coral orange.

Sally Hansen Barracuda is a Complete Salon formula, which is supposed to mean that its the full meal deal, with base & top coat qualities rolled into the one polish.  I actually do find these polishes to wear better without base coat, and the swatches below with sans top coat – as you can see, this baby is SHINY.  There really is no need for top coat unless you need a quick drying one to get it on and get out the door.  I found it did require three coats to achieve full opacity and to look it’s best, so if you’re in a hurry you may need a fast-drying top coat anyway.  However, I found that it dries relatively quickly on it’s own, so its not an absolutely necessary step.  Also, I have to mention that I adore the brush on these polishes – it’s wide and thin and covers almost my whole nail bed in one go.  Application is a breeze!

China Glaze Dandy Lyin’ Around was a recent lemming of mine, having only first seen it on All Lacquered Up (a blog, by the way, I’m pleased to see back in action!) this past week.  A couple weeks ago, Taylor of My Lucite Dreams posted about a white polish, and it looked SO lovely on her but I knew the white polish trend was NOT going to be my friend.  However, when I saw Dandy Lyin’, I had a feeling that it’s softer, sparkling quality might be a way for me to try the trend, and I was right!!  I really like this polish a lot, even despite the fact that it’s sheerness and slightly streaky quality requires three coats – just be careful in your application.  It’s worth the effort for me as I’m loving the look on my hands!  I can’t wait to try it on summer toes 🙂  Note that no top coat was used, and I don’t feel it needs one, unless you want to get that smooth, uber-glossy look.

butter London Bossy Boots has NOT been a recent lemming; in fact, I wanted this bad boy last year but held out until a couple months ago when I got it on discount.  As a general rule, I do not like green nail polish – not on others (typically) and definitely not on me.  However, light greens are totally exempt and I love the way they look.  I’m not 100% sold on the yellowish undertones in Bossy Boots as being the best for me, but I still enjoy this shade and am glad I finally picked it up.  The application was good with no real troubles – shown is with two coats – although it would benefit from a top coat to give it a bit more gloss and shine (no top coat used in photos).

butter London Jasper was another longer-term lemming of mine since the launch of the Sweetie Shop collection earlier this year.  I could have easily bought every shade from the release, but held myself back to just this one.  I don’t own a single yellow, and dislike most versions of the shade, but this pale shade hooked me from the get-go.  I love it on and it just screams spring to me.  I’ve read conflicting reviews on this color’s formula – I don’t have a lot of experience with pale yellows, but I think that this formula is pretty darn good.  It does require a bit more attention to application, but as far as it goes this is a good formula with minimal issue, for me at least!  I did go with three coats just to get the best opacity, but it wasn’t that much of a pain.  Like Bossy Boots, it would benefit from a shiny top coat, which I did not use in these photos.

Chanel Orange Fizz was sort of a random buy, which happens very rarely these days.  When I picked up a few things from Chanel earlier this year, I was disappointed with the spring shades released but wanted a new polish.  This one grabbed my attention and I’m super-happy that I bought it, it’s a stunner!  This shade is obviously more pigmented/intense than the other shades I’ve shown above, but it still has a soft quality to it that feels spring-like to me (though this will also be kick-ass in summer!)  The formula is thicker (typical of many Chanel polishes, I’ve found), but flows well and is self-leveling – again, just take care in your application and you should have no problems.  I love the glossiness of this polish on it’s own – no top coat needed!  I used three coats in these swatches, and you can still see slight VNL, but in person it’s hardly noticeable, and you could probably opt for two coats – I’m just fussy 😛

So there you have it!  A handful of pretty polishes – a perfect way to shove usher in spring 🙂

So!  What spring shades are you lemming/have you picked up?  Do you go with softer shades or stick to whatever floats your boat at the time?

From the Pages of a Magazine: FOTD Inspiration

Before the online world took over, I used to be a voracious reader of magazines.  First it was YM, which I only read for the ‘Say Anything’ section when I was about 11-12 years old.  Then it progressed to Seventeen, then Cosmo, and then Allure – the latter which firmly entrenched my love affair with makeup eternally.  Often, I would pull pages out of a magazine with pictures that evoked a certain ‘something’ – I can remember papering my walls with Calvin Klein ads for DAYS (OMG this is bringing back memories!); the models all seemed to fabulous and mysterious. As I grew up, I instead began to pull makeup looks from the pages of my favorite mags, anything that piqued my interest visually and was just begging to be attempted.

Though I don’t do this as often today (I have a subscription to only one mag now, and try to avoid buying any because – hello, internet!), I still do come across pictures in print that I clip out for future reference.  I have a big photo album full of ’em now, tied together as a collage – each page with a different theme (YES I KNOW I AM ORGANIZED/OCD/CRAZY/WHATHAVEYOU).  This morning I thought of my album and pulled it out to get some ideas for the day’s look.  What I decided on was this:

Every so often I go through the album and remove photos that I’m no longer ‘feeling.’  Amazingly, this actually doesn’t happen very often – even though the span of these photos is over probably 7+ years, I still love most of them and they don’t seem to become dated.  The photo above is one of my oldest, and yet I think it’s still as relevant today, and I still totally love it.  A flash of blue liner and a stained pout – simplicity at it’s best.

I wore this look today for the first time, and I’m pretty pleased with how it came out:

I did tone it down a bit by not bringing the blue all the way to the far inner corners; I was after all, at work today and my office isn’t terribly ‘creative’ (I know, totally not what you expect for the GOVERNMENT, right? Ha).  But otherwise, I actually think I captured the look fairly well.  The liner shade is exceptionally close (though I suspect she’s wearing liquid – while I used MAC’s Petrol Blue Pearlglide liner).  I think I even almost got the lip stain right (MAC’s Bing Mattene lipstick), though it looks a little worn here because I reapplied and then forgot and ate some chocolate.  Oops.

And an even more up-close shot:

I chose to bring the liner around to just the edge of my upper lash line, though I don’t think she has that in the photo.  I liked the effect though.  Overall, I liked the look – I don’t think I’ve ever worn anything like it, and it was a great way to use the MAC eye pencil as I’m trying to get rid of it (great shade, terrible wear on my eyes which tend to get smudgy at the corners).  I wore an eyelid primer (NARS Smudgeproof) to prevent this from sliding down my face.  I must admit, similar to my other blue look, I felt kinda badass wearing this, which is always a good thing in my books because if it gives you a little bit of a swagger, all the better 😉

So what do you think of the look?  Where do you get your inspiration from?  Do you get any benefit from these kinds of posts?  Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

Swatching Is Rough (AKA My Eyeshadow Collection)

I was going to leave my eyeshadow collection ’till last to swatch in my ‘find the gaps’ series of posts, but the superstorm (which…is kind of lackluster – yea, there’s lots of snow, but I want some action, darn it!) seemed like the perfect time to just get ‘er done – so I did!  Oh man…for those of you who have larger collections than mine, I feel sorry for you if you attempt to do this – it is a BIG EFFING ORDEAL.  I started last night and got just over halfway through before both (!) arms had had enough.  I continued today and after needing to re-swatch several shade categories to get them *just right*, my left arm is just burning (as you’ll notice in the photos – red spots galore!).  So: enough.  I’m ready to rock ‘n roll.  Now – let’s get into ‘er!

Note: All shades are permanent within their respective brands except where otherwise noted.

WHITE EYESHADOWAvon True Color Quad in Smokey Eyes (satin white)

Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Uzi (shimmer w/glitter) (LE)

 

‘HIGHLIGHT’ EYESHADOWMake Up For Ever Star Powder in #920 (iridescent)

KATE Real Create Eyes BR-2 Palette (white gold pearl)

MAC Eyeshadow in Vex (frost)

 

NUDE EYESHADOWMAC Eyeshadow in Next to Nothing (Cult of Cherry Tempting Quad – frost) (LE)

Laura Mercier Eye Color Duet in Suspense (matte cool beige) (LE)

Burberry Sheer Eyeshadow in Trench (satin)

 

BEIGE, CHAMPAGNE & PEACH EYESHADOWUrban Decay Eyeshadow in Midnight Cowboy Rides Again (shimmer w/glitter)

Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream in #13 Warm Beige (frost)

Chanel Illusion d’Ombre in Emerveille (shimmer)

Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Snatch (shimmer w/glitter)

Kate Real Create Eyeshadow BR-2 Palette (soft peachy shimmer)

MAC Eyeshadow in Arena (satin)

 

GOLD EYESHADOWMAC Pigment in Melon (frost)

Laura Mercier Illuminating Eye Color in Gilded Moonlight (pearl) (LE)

Clinique Touch Tint for Eyes in Gold Glimmer (shimmer) (discontinued)

 

COPPER & ORANGE EYESHADOWMAC Eyeshadow in Amber Lights (frost)

Ardene Eyeshadow in 8B (pearl)

 

BRONZE EYESHADOWMAC Pigment in Cocomotion (frost) (LE)

Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Smog (shimmer)

MAC Eyeshadow in Tempting (lustre)

Clinique Color Surge Super Shimmer Eyeshadow in Rum Spice (shimmer)

 

BROWN EYESHADOWMAC Eyeshadow in Dark Edge (Cult of Cherry Tempting Quad – satin) (LE)

KATE Real Create Eyes BR-2 Palette (deep brown shimmer)

Make Up For Ever Eyeshadow in #17 Espresso (matte)

Laura Mercier Eye Color Duet in Suspense (matte burgundy brown) (LE)

 

TAUPE-BROWN EYESHADOWS

Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Suspect (shimmer)

NARS Duo Eyeshadow in Rajasthan (beige-gold taupe) (shimmer) (LE)

KATE Real Create Eyes BR-2 Palette (taupe shimmer)

 

TAUPE-PURPLE EYESHADOWS

NARS Duo Eyeshadow in Grand Palais (silver-taupe shimmer)

Hourglass Visionaire Eye Shadow Duo in Exhibition (mauve shimmer)

MAC Eyeshadow in Shale (satin)

bareMinerals High Shine Eye Color in Meteorite (frost)

Le Metier de Beaute True Color Eye Shadow in Corinthian (shimmer)

 

RED & PINK EYESHADOWL’Oreal Infallible Eyeshadow in Golden Mahogany (frost)

Chanel Illusion d’Ombre in Abstraction (shimmer)

Avon True Color Quad in Smokey Eyes (matte light pink)

 

MAUVE & ROSE EYESHADOW

Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Bordello (shimmer w/glitter)

Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Last Call (metallic)

NARS Duo Eyeshadow in Grand Palais (matte dusty rose)

 

PLUM EYESHADOW

NARS Duo Eyeshadow in Habanera (sparkling plum)

Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Rockstar (shimmer)

Hourglass Visionaire Eye Shadow Duo in Exhibition (eggplant shimmer)

 

PURPLE EYESHADOW

Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Psychedelic Sister (shimmer)

MAC Paint in Infamous (metallic) (discontinued)

 

BLUE EYESHADOW

MAC Paint in Blue Boy (metallic) (discontinued)

Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Radium (shimmer)

MAC Eyeshadow in Blue Edge (matte w/shimmer) (discontinued)

 

AQUA & TEAL EYESHADOWS

NARS Duo Eyeshadow in Rajasthan (blackened teal shimmer) (LE)

Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Loaded (metallic)

theBalm Shady Lady Eyeshadow in Jealous Jordana (shimmer)

Make Up For Ever Aqua Shadow in 8E (matte)

Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Haight (shimmer)

Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Money (shimmer w/micro-glitter) (LE)

NARS Duo Eyeshadow in Habanera (mint frost)

 

GREEN EYESHADOW

Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Kush (shimmer w/micro-glitter)

Le Metier de Beaute True Color Eye Shadow in Jade (shimmer)

Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Mildew (shimmer)

MAC Eyeshadow in Sharp (Cult of Cherry Tempting Quad – satin) (LE)

Lise Watier Couleur Folle Eyeshadow in Folie Pomme (iridescent shimmer)

Make Up For Ever Eyeshadow in #57 Chartreuse (satin)

 

YELLOW EYESHADOW

Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream in #24 Yellow (matte)

MAC Eyeshadow in Bright Future (

 

KHAKI EYESHADOW

Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Intense Waterproof Eyeshadow in #24 Smokey Copper (shimmer)

Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Intense Eyeshadow in #6 Khaki Pulse (shimmer)

Clinique Color Surge Soft Shimmer Eyeshadow in Autumn Moss (satin)

 

TAUPE-SILVER EYESHADOWS

Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Maui Wowie (metallic w/glitter)

Bobbi Brown Chrome Eye Shadow in Pewter (frost) (LE)

theBalm Shady Lady Eyeshadow in Insane Jane (shimmer)

Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream in #2 Steel (shimmer)

 

GREY EYESHADOW

Avon True Color Quad in Smokey Eyes (medium grey & dove grey) (shimmer)

 

BLACK EYESHADOWS

MAC Pigment in Dark Soul (frost w/glitter)

Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Perversion (matte)

 

….PHEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Did you make it??

…So.  To be honest, when I started swatching all my makeup, I was originally just trying to find a way to justify new purchases – if it could be considered a shade I didn’t already own, then I would feel free to go for it.  However, now I’ve discovered that being so fully aware of what I own, has made me really excited to play with my current collection, instead of seeking out new products.  I especially noticed this with this eyeshadow post – there are so truly fabulous shades in there!  While there are still of course colors I’d like to pick up to fill the gaps (namely – a lilac and a skintone [MY skintone, to clarify] shade, among a couple others), overall I’m WELL aware I have a ton of shades to rock out and don’t really *need* anything else at the moment.  I did notice I have a lot less color than I imagined, but that’s actually OK because I don’t tend to wear it a ton and try to avoid buying a lot of it only for it to go unused.  I think my stash is fairly representative of the kind of makeup I wear day to day!  So SCORE for being logical in my purchases 🙂

I am kinda worn out from the work necessary to do this post, so I’m done now LOL.  But – I have questions for you!

Do you see any gaps that I could fill?  What shades make up the bulk of your eyeshadow collection?? Also – anyone bother to count how many shades I have?  I’m too tired now to bother LOL

The Perfect Every-Season Shade – butter London’s Royal Navy

I’m feeling very antsy and at odds today and I’m not entirely sure why.  I think partly it’s because I work tomorrow and Thursday night at Clinique so those two evenings are shot, and I have a late doctor’s appointment Wednesday which means I won’t get home till super-late as well.  So essentially my week is over, good night 😦

Anyway!  The best kind of posts for when you can’t sit still is a nail polish post – you can make ’em quick and dirty (unless you tend to be chatty like I am).  Today I have for you a GORGEOUS polish which I sadly couldn’t capture in it’s full glory (but trust me – its effing AMAZING): butter London’s Royal Navy.

With flash, you can see how seriously blue this polish can be – however, when worn, it’s rather dark and the blue tones are quite elusive.  It looks more like the shot below, like the Atlantic Ocean – super dark blue-black with just a hint of it’s true colors around the edges:

For those of you who don’t live near the Atlantic Ocean, it seriously looks just like this – the Pacific Ocean, alternatively, is like this crazy aquamarine! – totally shocked me when I went to New Zealand.

I tried and I tried and I TRIED to get the polish to photograph as beautifully as it looks when worn, but to no avail.  Sunlight didn’t bring it out; actually, when it looks it’s most stunning is in diffused, indirect, warm lighting – which is a bitch to photograph in.  Needless to say, I’m not happy….but I tried my best!

The second shot is where I captured its beauty most, but the polish is so damn shiny that it kept reflecting off the flash (argh!).  But that is essentially how it looks at it’s most entrancing.

This last shot makes it almost look like a jelly, but it’s not.  Two coats to full opaqueness, although it’s nearly done in one.  Applies easily with a good flow to the formula, though because of it’s darkness you do need to be a bit more careful than usual with application.

I love this polish with all my heart!  These kinds of super-dark shades work best for me, rather than mid-tones or more muted/dusty ones.  I also like ’em dark like this because I feel like it transcends seasons – this would be suitable no matter what the weather or situation, because it’s essentially a neutral…..a BAD-ASS neutral, too 😛

Any polishes you fallen head over heels for lately?

Filler Post Alert! Essie’s Bikini So Teeny, Take One

I am not too bright on Friday’s it seems!  I had this fantastic post (well…ok, I had A post) written that I was going to put up today, but I left my USB at work so I’m totally out of luck until Monday.  Stupid dummy! (That’s what I said to myself when I realized my mistake)  Anyway, I’ve been slower posting lately with all the moving business etc., and I don’t like it, so I’m going to give you SOMETHING to look at this evening if it kills me.  Maybe even two things, if you’re lucky 🙂

My alternative post, which I planned on putting up at some point soon anyway, was my first ‘Summer Polish Combo’ of the season, but goodness gracious – I could NOT for the life of me capture the vivid neon of China Glaze Beach Cruise-R, AGAIN, like I wasn’t able to capture most of the bright shades from the Summer Neons collection last month.  I even have it layered over white polish, to make it pop, and of course my fab shiny new camera takes infinitely better pictures, but it’s near impossible.  I’m sure a better photographer than me can do it no sweat – I just don’t have the patience/skill (yet).  So you’re gonna get a runner-up to the runner-up post!  How do you like them apples?

…Yea, that’s pretty shabby of me, I know.  But what do you do?  So, I’m going to show you Essie’s Bikini So Teeny – shots that unfortunately aren’t my favorite just because one of my fingers has a small nick in the cuticle and it’s generally not my best mani – it was taken a few days after application and I had some tip wear – but the color is fairly accurate and I absolutely LOVE this polish, so I won’t mind re-posting better shots down the road.  Hope that’s OK with you!!

So, here it is:

With flash

Indoor lighting

Fab, Fab, Fab.  I adore this color so much!!  What’s really hilarious is that it is super-close to Essie’s Lapiz of Luxury from a few years ago (it looks to be a bit darker than ‘Bikini’), which I bought, tried, HATED on my skin tone, and promptly swapped it on MUA.  Those were still the early days of funky nail polish colors, and it was probably one of the first I tried that wasn’t your standard pink/red/purple/neutral shade.  Now several years later, I am LOVING these colors, and this one in particular I think stands out in a good way on my skin.

It’s very similar in tone to Lippmann’s I Know What Boys Want – just lighter

I’d almost given up on this polish, as I hadn’t seen it around in stores anyway, and I’d made a pact with myself not to buy it online – but it popped up in Shoppers last week AND it was on sale, so I snatched it up – and I’m so glad I did!  I have China Glaze’s Sea Spray from Spring 2011 which I though was like, THE standard pale blue, but it’s so greyed out and doesn’t really look all that nice on me, so I rarely wear it.  This is pale but at the same time bright, and not a true sky blue but more of a periwinkle, in my opinion.  It’s just really lovely, and the formula is pretty good for an *almost pastel* creme.  Two coats to opacity if you apply them with a steady hand; I had a couple nails I had to do a third coat on as they were showing just a hint of patchiness.

In short: BUY THIS POLISH.  I can’t imagine it not looking wonderful on everyone and anyone – but then again, I’m biased.  Be sure to keep an eye out for me posting this again in the future; it really deserves better than the photos I’ve taken above!

Here’s the failed Summer Polish Combo attempt – so frustrating!  The pedi shade – Zoya Wednesday – came out accurately, why can’t Beach Cruise-R!?!?!

Since I’m crapping out on you on pretty much all fronts, I’ll just throw out the general question of: Thoughts??

I’ve Got the Blues: L.A. Girl Color Addict in Idol and Essence Denim Wanted in My Boyfriend’s Jeans

Something is very wrong with me lately – I have next to no interest in buying any new nail polish!  Even most of the Spring shades that are cropping up here and there hold no real allure for me.  So unlike me!  My dedication to wearing polish hasn’t waned, but buying it sure has.  I think it might be due to the fact that within the next 10 months, I have plans to travel to Jamaica (just booked – we’re going to the Sandals Whitehouse!!), possibly Vancouver, possibly Montreal, possibly Alaska/Yukon, Newfoundland, and New Zealand (for five weeks!!!!).  So….yeah.  Looks like my priority this year is travel, with cosmetics taking a (slight) backburner – though don’t fret, it just means my purchases will be more thoughtful, and by extension, totally awesome 😀ANYWAY (I apologize for my tendency to ramble lol).  I have unworn/unswatched shades to show you, that will tide you (and me) over until that day comes when I once again feel the call of the polish (wow, I’m dramatic tonight, aren’t I?!).  Let’s see what I got!

The first polish I’m going to show you is Essence My Boyfriend’s Jeans, from the Denim Wanted collection last year, which had I think three shades.  I first mentioned this polish when I finally got my hands on Lippmann’s Across the Universe.  Essence is a very reasonably priced nail polish company that’s made in Scotland (though I think it is a German brand) – you can buy it at Shoppers Drug Mart for between $1.99-4.99.  My Boyfriend’s Jeans is a medium blue creme with a slight teal leaning.  Almost fully opaque in one coat, it has an easy flowing formula, with good consistency that’s not too thick or thin.  It’s fairly shiny on it’s own, as you can see below (no top coat was used).  Two coats and you’re good to go!

L.A. Girls Color Addict in Idol was a shade I picked up way back, when I was desperately on the hunt for a shade similar to Dior’s Bond Street, a beautiful dark slate-blue.  This doesn’t really compare, but is still pretty nonetheless.  It’s a dusky, muted, grayed-out deep blue with golden shimmer.  It’s also quite opaque, with a slightly thick formula that isn’t really problematic.  If you were in a rush you could get away with one coat (I’ve got just one on the pinky nail for reference), but I don’t recommend that kind of application as it can chip much faster.  It’s also pretty glossy without any top coat (as shown below).I appreciate that the shimmer in this polish is readily apparent, and you don’t have to get it at certain angles, or in sunlight, to make it show up.  It’s a rather unique shade and I like that the golden shimmer in a cool-toned base make it wearable for warmer and cooler skintones. L.A. Girls polishes retail at Lawtons for around $4-5CAD, so it’s a pretty good deal too.

I quite like both of these polishes, maybe more so the L.A. Girls due to it’s uniqueness, and they’ll be sticking around in my stash for a while.  Yay to polishes I like! 🙂  Blue is definitely one of my favorite shades, I just find it works with just about everything and anyone.

Is anyone else on a polish hiatus?  What do you think causes this phenomenon?  Any suggestions on how I can get out of it??