butter LONDON Shambolic

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Today I have butter LONDON Shambolic for you, which is from the Sparkle Sparkle collection that BL released last year for the holidays. I was super excited when this set and a couple of other popped up at Nordstrom Rack for an incredible price. Butter London has been a bit out of my price range before now but I am glad I was able to snag some at a great price. Of course, now that I have tried them, I only want more. :)

Shambolic is a fine magenta glitter filled with small black glitter and silver hex glitter. Shown here is 2 coats with top coat.



I was a little worried about this at first because the first coat was really sheer. However, the second coat really helped and it only took 2 coats to get it this color. This wasn't very gritty for a glitter so that was a nice surprise. Overall I think this is a very pretty and pretty unique shade in my collection.

My Ten Friends Planetary Romance

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Happy Sunday! Is everyone having a good weekend? Anyone planning on watching the Oscars tonight? I am not usually one for awards shows but my friends invited me over to hang out. It's be pretty chill and I am looking forward to it. Does anyone else think it's kind of interesting that magazines and other celebrity sites now report what nail polish stars are wearing to these events? It's pretty cool that nail polish is getting more attention. (Except for that manicure red carpet cam thing they had at the Golden Globes. That was just awkward.)

So today I have another polish from My Ten Friends. This one is called Planetary Romance and is a really cool purple polish with gold and red hex glitter. Show below is 3 coats with top coat.






Planetary Romance was more sheer than the other two polishes I had previously tried so I needed 3 coats to get it to this color. It's definitely still a bit sheer and I would suggest layering it if you wanted something opaque. I really like this combo though and it has a slightly squishy look to it.

Still very impressed with this polishes. Each little bottle is like a tiny galaxy and the color combos are so unique. If you want your own bottle of Planetary Romance, head on over to the My Ten Friends Etsy shop.

My Ten Friends Chrononaut

Friday, February 22, 2013

Hi, guys. TFIG! Even though it was a short week, it felt like a really long week so I am happy that Friday is finally here. Today I have another fun glitter bomb from indie polish maker My Ten Friends. This one is called Chrononaut and since I suck at descriptions, I will let you read the official description from the shop.

“Chrononaut” means time traveller and the color is inspired by a NASA photo (see image 2 - image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech). A grayish black base filled with red, gold, blue and silver glitter in various sizes. Strange yet beautiful like the universe itself.




As you can see, this is a really unique polish. The muddy base is packed with awesome glitter. I really love this unusual combo. Formula was a bit thick but I expected that with a glitter this dense. Shown here is 2 easy coats with top coat. I couldn't help taking one close up shot of all the awesome glitter. 


You can find My Ten Friends on Etsy. Thanks for stopping by. Have an awesome weekend!

My Ten Friends Zero-G

Monday, February 18, 2013

Happy Presidents Day, everyone! Hopefully you guy all have the day off like me. Today is going to be spent catching up on bloggy things and reading. The weather does look nice outside though so I may wander out for a bit. 

Today I have a  polish from indie brand My Ten Friends. I haven't really delved much into indie polish, but I encountered the brand earlier this year at UniqueLA, a local craft/art fair. I only picked up one polish at the event but then ended up buying about 6 more when they had a big sale back in December. 

This is Zero-G, an awesome black with rainbow hex glitter. Taken from the MTF website, this polish is described as: "Zero-G" is a true black polish with silver and holo glitter in various sizes (but does not contain the extra-large holo glitter that is in some of my other polishes). This polish is so pretty and in the bottle it seriously looks like liquid outer space - very cool!" Shown is 2 coats with top coat.





As you can see, it's very glittery and pretty. I really love the way it looks. I am a sucker for these galaxy type colors and this one is pretty sweet. I didn't have any issues with the formula. It was a bit thick but not terribly so, and that's expected of glitters. It was a little gritty so I did do top coat but again, that's par for the course with glitters. All in all I am very happy with this purchase. I have of bunch of other My Ten Friends to swatch so keep an eye on the page for more.

You can find My Ten Friends on her Etsy shop

Essie Butler Please

Friday, February 15, 2013

Happy belated Valentine's Day, everyone! I really wanted to post some of my favorite V-Day manicures this week but I just ran out of time. Instead, I will show you what I actually wore on my tips this Valentine's Day.


This is Essie Butler Please, which I believe came out in fall or winter last year. I had been lusting after this shade for awhile and finally managed to pick it up over Christmas. As you can see, I also did an accent nail with Orly Dazzle. Butler Please is a bright blue creme. Here you see 2 coats with top coat.




I actually had some issues with this formula. It was slightly thick and goopy, making accurate application harder than usual. I found it to be somewhat streaky on the first coat as well though it evened out after the second coat. I definitely think I will be adding a drop or two of thinner before I use it next.

Despite my issues with the formula, I have to say that I love this color. The blue is so vibrant and pure. I don't think I have anything in my stash quite like it. This dried to a satin finish so you'll need a top coat to get it to shine.  Accent nail is Orly Dazzle, which is a really pretty silver foil. This one came out a few years ago and remains one of my faves. Super sparkly and fun with a great formula. It's not a manicure that screams Valentine's Day but it was what I wanted to wear and I am loving it.

What was your Valentine's Day manicure?

Essence Edward's Love

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Back again with a polish from the Essence Breaking Dawn Pt 2 collection that is much more my style. Edward's Love (OMG these names are killing me) is a black base with black and silver glitter.



Below is 2 coats with top coat. I found the formula to be very similar to that of Alice Had A Vision - slightly thick and sheer on the first coat but leveling out on the second coat. I do enjoy a nice black glitter so I like this one, though it's nothing mind blowing. I don't know how this represents Edward's love, but it's sparkly. 


What do you guys think so far of this collection? And if you had to choose a color for Edward's Love, what would it be? I think I would go for a deep red with black glitter. Thanks for stopping by!


Essence Jacob's Protection

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Today I have the last color in the Essence Breaking Dawn Pt 2 collection from late last year. This one is Jacob's Protection, a dark royal blackened blue with lots of pretty micro glitter.



Below is 2 coats with top coat. I found the formula on this to be a little thick but it wasn't too bad. I liked blackened shades like this and the glitter is really pretty. My swatch doesn't show the glitter very well so I added a close up where you can see all of the pretty blue flecks. 



Pretty, right? Overall the collection was cute but not spectacular. I think the Twilight connection was the main reason I picked it up. I am such a sucker for these types of media tie ins. The price point on Essence polishes is also quite low (I think about $3 each) which made picking up the whole collection very affordable.

Thanks for reading!


Essence A Piece of Forever

Friday, February 8, 2013

Hello again! Today I have another polish from the Essence Breaking Dawn Pt 2 collection for you. This is 2 coats of A Piece of Forever, which is a slightly frosty warm gold.





This is probably my least favorite color out of the whole collection. I almost didn't get it but then the completionist in me came out and I added it to my basket. It applied well enough though and brushstrokes were at a minimum. As you can see though, the metallic nature of the polish really shows any bumps or imperfections. I must have tried this on after the glitters in the collection because I can see see some bumps. I  think this gold might also be too yellow for my skin color. Overall, not bueno on me.


Essence Alice Had A Vision - Again

Monday, February 4, 2013

Hi again! Today I am going to show you a polish from Twilight Saga Breaking Dawn Pt 2 (phew - what a mouthful) collection that Essence put out last year. I am not a huge fan of the Twilight films though I do go see every one in the theaters with my friends. I know they're bad but they are also really entertaining and it's a fun girls' night out. I am also a total sucker for movie/tv tie in products and I just could not resist this collection when I spotted it at my local Ulta. I was actually pretty surprised that I managed to get all of the polishes. I must have hit it just after it was put on display.


Alice Had A Vision - Again is a dark blackened purple with small blue and purple glitter. It's quite pretty though you can't always see the glitter in low light. You can see the glitter bits better in the close up below.


It was a bit thick but I was able to get a nice finish after two coats. I wasn't a big fan of the Essence brush though. I wish I had taken a picture of it but I totally forgot. I remember it being a little too short for my liking, making application harder to control.



This is two coats with top coat. Very pretty but very dark. It almost seems black in certain lights. I am not really sure how this color translates to Alice having a vision but I'm just going with it. Thanks for coming and stop by soon for more Essence Breaking Dawn swatches.

Are you a sucker for movie/tv product tie-ins like me?