GlitterDaze Essence of a Unicorn (aka WORDS WORDS WORDS WORDS)

  A few years ago I bought a pair of shoes I fell head over heels in love with on first sight-- black patent leather BCBG slingback pumps with pearlized red, yellow, blue, and green color blocking on the toes.  I didn't stop to think about what I'd wear them with because I had every confidence I'd figure it out; but there's just something about them that causes me to reach for something else every time.  Maybe it's that they're a little on the too fancy for jeans side and my dress slacks require a heel just a little bit higher.  Maybe everything I tried them with looked either too matchy-matchy or completely clashed.  Whatever it is, it's been at least two years since I've even attempted to wear them but I hold out hope that they'll get their proper weartime and so they sit in my closet, looking cute as always, with no place to go.

GlitterDaze Essence of a Unicorn

Revlon Moon Candy-- Satellite & Orbit

  Hi all!!  The Revlon Moon Candy Nail Art duos have been around for a couple years and they've never really seemed to catch on, despite the fact that they're easily accessible flakies perfectly matched with a corresponding base color.  The other day I went to the display at my most frequently used watering hole and dusted (yes, dusted) a couple Moon Candies off and brought them home with me.  Brace yourselves because I've got a lot to say about these.

Revlon Moon Candy

Cult Nails Falling Hard + Feedback

  Hi friends!!  A discussion on favorite polish combos on facebook the other day prompted me to bring out my favorite flakie topper and one of the pinks I've been obsessing over lately and put them together.  This is Cult Nails Feedback, an iridescent pink and gold mylar flakie, over Falling Hard, a sweet, bright, super saturated orchid pink creme.

Cult Nails Falling Hard + Feedback

Cult Nails Feedback + LVX Dahlia

*LVX press sample

  Hi everyone!!  Happy Saint Patrick's Day!  I honestly forgot all about it as I was doing my nails last night, so here is my decidedly un-St. Paddy's Day-like manicure.  I will be wearing green elsewhere.

  I'm pretty much in absolute love with Cult Nails Feedback and I really want to wear it over every creme and jelly I own.  Part of Cult Nails' fall 2013 All Access collection, Feedback is a highly irregular pink and gold mylar flakie suspended in a clear base.  One of my favorite duos from that collection is Feedback over the burgundy jelly Lamestain.  I don't have Lamestain, so I grabbed one of my own favorite vampy jellies, LVX Dahlia.  Observe.

New Indie Alert!! Baroness X

*press sample

  Good morning everyone!!  I'm excited to share with you all today a few polishes from an indie maker so new that her logo was finalized as I was in the process of reviewing her polishes.  Baroness X is no stranger to hand mixing her lacquers, though-- she's been doing it for years, for herself and her friends, and only recently decided to go public with her creations.  I get to show you five of them today, from two different collections.

  The first three are from the Holiday collection.  First up is Snowball Fight, a sheer and very pale jelly base filled with iridescent powder and mylar flakies that totally works as a classic French with a slight twist polish but really shines over a dark base.  I layered one coat of Snowball Fight over an indigo creme and I love the effect-- the opalescence over the deep purpley blue make it very Revlon Moon Candy-esque.  I finished this with one layer of HK Girl Glisten & Glow topcoat.

Zoya Fall 2013 Cashmeres + Maria Luisa

*press sample

Hi friends!!  The fall Zoya cremes do it for me every time with their beautiful and classic shades.  This year's collection of Cashmeres *might* be prettier than last year's Designer collection, and I seriously didn't think that was possible.  I'll keep from being repetitive and say the formula on all six cremes is very nice, some better than others, but all in all, some of the smoothest cremes I've applied.  All went on perfectly in two coats.  That gold lamé looking thing is Zoya Maria Luisa, a gold cellophane in a clear base topper from the Satins collection (thanks Candice for your inspiration ♥). I used one coat of Maria Luisa over each creme.  And now, on with the show.

First up is Pepper, a rich brick red. LOVE.  It's an amazingly auntumnal red with enough brown to keep it from veering into vampy territory (NO!!  TOO SEXY!!!!) but it's still got that striking quality of a true classic.

 Maria Luisa over Pepper.  Here's what's cool about Maria Luisa-- it's a little along the lines of those luxe goldleaf flakies from last year but it has more dimension.  It's a richer color while also being more sheer and subtle, so it actually complements its base color a little better.  The cellophane bits have a slightly opalescent quality and flash a little pearly green from time to time.  I like it.  I was so besotted with this spring's shimmery gold topper, OPI's OY-Another Polish Joke, (still am!) and I think Maria Luisa will be just as fun to try over different bases.  It certainly adds a fun and festive dimension to the Cashmeres. 

Flynn, a warm and cozy camel.  I adore this name and its nod to Hollywood bad boy of old Errol Flynn.  I'm so impressed with this formula.  Zoya's not the most awesome when it comes to light cremes but this one is fantastic, in opacity and application. 

 Maria Luisa over Flynn.

Sailor, a lightly smoky indigo blue.  I cannot get enough of this kind of shade. 

 Maria Luisa over Sailor.

Hunter, a deep forest green.  This formula gave me the most trouble-- it's a little on the thin side, but that's only in comparison to the rest of the collection.  It's almost a non-issue but in light of how great the rest of these are, I felt it worth mentioning.

 Maria Luisa over Hunter.

 

Louise, a delectable dark chocolate.  This one reminds me of my favorite from last fall's L'Oreal New York Nudes collection, Brownie Points, but with a better formula.

Maria Luisa over Louise.

Livingston, a lively blue-red.  Dr. Livingston, I presume?  Love this name, too, lolol. :)

 Maria Luisa over Livingston.

Gorgeous, all of them-- not a dud in the bunch.  My must haves from the Cashmere collection are Pepper, Flynn, and Louise, but my favorite has to be Livingston.  I love my reds and this one is fantastic.  It's almost not red, it's got so much blue in it, and while it seems a little discordant in this collection, its brightness is in line with another fall trend this year.  It's a lively and fun red and perfect for jazzing up your nails when the deeper shades have you yearning for a little spark.

The Zoya Cashmeres are available for $8 each on Zoya.com.  Like Zoya on facebook to stay up to date on specials.

Thank you for reading and have a fantastic day!! ♥

*press sample

Butter London Snog + Essence Night in Vegas BCA Pink Wednesday Week 4

It's Wednesday eve again, and time again to Go Pink for Breast Cancer Awareness.

I couldn't let the month or the event pass without bringing out my very favorite pink, Butter London Snog.  Because I felt like jazzing it up, and because it's just so much fun to see what flakies look like over different bases, I thought I'd play around with my awesome Essence Night in Vegas topper some more.

Snog's the most beautiful, creamy, elegant bright pink ever, and I think the flakies look pretty neat over it (notice how I couldn't fully commit to it, though... I did accents only on both hands, lol).  They give this sunny (yes, it is a sunny little pink), springy color a kind of fall sunset-like glow.  I used two coats of Snog, one coat of Essence Night in Vegas on my accent nails, and Out The Door topcoat over everything.  

Orly Fowl Play

Happy first Sunday of autumn!!  To commemorate the changing weather and my newly acquired scratchy throat, I decided to finally wear my Orly Fowl Play.  Most of you have seen this one before.  It was one of the darlings of last fall's Birds of a Feather collection.  I've been saving it for shorter, cooler days since my Ulta haul this past May.  Two days into the new season is a long enough time to wait, lol.

You know the description.  Fowl Play's a dark plum purple jelly packed to the gills with tiny holographic shimmer, iridescent shimmer, and color shifting mylar flakes.  It's a very cool, unique polish that's left me feeling slightly underwhelmed.  Maybe I expected the shimmers and flakies to pop more. Maybe it's just not the right shade for my skin.  The formula kind of bugged me, too.  Fowl Play is not an easy one to control.  It's opaque in two coats, which is great for any jelly, but I kept dealing with runaway flakies and really thick spots near the middle of each nail.  Nevertheless, I'm sure this won't be the last time I wear it.  Stuff like this tends to grow on me.

Also... you may or may not have noticed that my photos are now gargantuan.  I'm test driving this different size for a bit.  I think I prefer the smaller photos, but maybe I'm just not used to the new size.  The detail in the polish is certainly better in extra large.  Got an opinion?

Thanks for reading. <3

French Fun With Essence Toppers

Good morning!!  I'm almost done with Gosia's ABC challenge with the letter Y.  I seriously had a legitimate Y named polish, but creativity got the better of me, oddly, (yes, this is creative for me at this point) so I decided to do a French mani copying this lovely look from Mommy Does Her Nails.  It was this post from Kirsten at Geeky Owl that reminded me to get on the ball and try this.

Oh, Y.  Y is for Y not, lol, as in Y not play around and do something different?  I've never done a classic French before, and it kind of took me back to my acrylic wearing days.  I do think it looks best on real, well groomed nails.  Here's my attempt.

I used Milani White On the Spot for my tips.  The flakie is Essence Special Effect Topper in Night in Vegas, and I satinified the whole thing with Essence Special Effect Topper in Soft Touch (a couple steps above full on matte).  I'm pretty sure I need that French dip tip kit Candice featured; her tips turned out sooo much cleaner than my freehand ones.  All in all, I'm pretty happy with my results and I'm excited to wear this one to work today. <3

Thanks for reading, friends, and if you haven't entered my reader appreciation giveaway, you've got a day and a half to do so, if you'd like.  Go to the top of my page and click on the picture of the Butter London polishes.