I've had an interesting busy Sunday and now that I've stuffed myself with Chinese food and am finally able to relax with a glass of Skinny Girl margarita, I can show you all one of my favorite polishes. I know I use the words "favorite polish" a lot, but I can't help it. As my collection continues to grow more and more out of control, the favorites pile up, and Object of Envy from Color Club is one of the many greens and glitters that make my polish collection a bit brighter.

Color:
A fantastically dense kelly green glitter in a clear base.


Application:
No real issues. It takes 3+ coats for complete opacity but that's alright by me since it has a nice consistency that isn't goopy in the slightest- which is sometimes hard to come by with a dense glitter polish.


Downside:
The main problem is that it remains pliable long after it's dry to the touch, which is typical of this kind of glitter. So don't go loading your dishwasher for a good couple hours after application because you'll just get dents. Other than that it's fine.


Bottom Line:
I love kelly green and glitter. When you combine those 2 things you get Object of Envy. And it's beautiful. It twinkles like hell and it's a color/finish that people definitely notice. And if you're looking for the perfect St Patrick's Day polish- look no further. This is the one.

You can find Object of Envy and most other Color Club polishes for a sweet $3 at 8ty8beauty.com.

Have I told you guys about the nail polish plaza near me? It's got a Five Below, a Dollar Tree, a Bed Bath and Beyond, a Sally's and a TJ Maxx. All in one plaza. I went over there with my mom a few days ago and couldn't find anything to buy (shocking, right?) until I went with my mom through the checkout at TJ Maxx and saw a Color Club Starry Temptress set for $10. 7 Color Clubs for $10? Yes, please.

I was going to swatch them all for you but I know you've seen them all before by now. I'm the one who's late to the Starry Temptress parade. But today I'm wearing Wink Wink Twinkle from the collection and wanted to share. I will warn you though that my camera HATES neons, so not only are these pictures not completely color accurate, they're also not all that sharp.

Color:
Neon purple/fuchsia with holographic glitter. The glitter in this is strange though, because instead of giving off a twinkly effect, it just makes the polish look speckled. I chalk this up to the base color being more of a creme and not a jelly.


Application:
This polish is thick. Much thicker than I anticipated, which turned out to be not such a bad thing. I only needed 2 coats for opacity and that's pretty much unheard of for a neon. Easy to work with but will no doubt need some thinner added to it in the near future.


Downside:
It's gritty. I used 2 coats of Seche Vite on top and it's still not totally smooth.


Bottom Line:
Wink Wink Twinkle and all of the colors from the Starry Temptress collection are really unique. It's not the colors that are original (they're not). It's the weird speckled effect that they have that makes them totally different from anything else I have in my collection. Wink Wink Twinkle is a really pretty color too, although I'm disappointed that it looks a lot more pink in my photos than it actually is. If you can't score a set of these for a cheap price like I did, try buying them at 8ty8beauty.com.

Please excuse my lack of posting for the last 5 days or so. It's getting colder and I'm trying to hibernate through the wave of depression that wants to swallow me whole. (That sounds really emo, doesn't it?) I am one of those people who gets incredibly lethargic and down when summer ends, and in my head it's got nothing to do with the weather, but it must considering how often history repeats itself.

I only mention this because it's affected my desire and enthusiasm for blogging. "I'll post it tomorrow" or "I'll take pictures later" have been my attitude. But I'm determined to push through it and get back to a regular schedule. Which is why I got myself an iced coffee the second I woke up this morning and started on this blog. Feeling sorry for myself only wastes time.

Here are some (bad) photos of a design I did a few days ago. I've been wanting to do a sweet rainbowy design for a long time, but couldn't put together anything that looked presentable until now. I love this and plan to do many more renditions of it in the future. But I have to make a note to buy some more polish thinner, because the silver striping polish I used was waaaaaaay too goopy.

I told you that the photos were bad. I have some swatches lined up for later today or tomorrow, depending on what the sky looks like, and I promise that the photos of those will be decent.

I'm still working on my new workspace. Actually, to tell the truth I didn't do anything to it today, but I put such a huge dent in it last night that it's okay. I'm hoping to get it all done by Monday and will have pictures of it up shortly after that. But while that's being sorted, take a look at Beetle by Hard Candy.

Beetle was the color that I was really hoping would be sent to me, and thankfully it was. It looks like a puddle of gasoline on a hot pavement.

Color:
Multichrome glitter. Flashes purple, orange and green.


Application:
No real problems there. It took 3 coats for opacity though. Drying time was average.


Downside:
Believe it or not, this actually falls flat in average lighting. I'm also not entirely sure that I like it with my skintone.


Bottom Line:
Beetle is a truly amazing multichrome polish that you could look at forever in the sun. The fact that it's a glittery finish only adds to it's charm. This is certainly a Hard Candy shade that you don't want to pass up, and since it retails at $4 a bottle at Walmart, you really ought to pick a bottle of it up.

I am bound and determined to finally get my shit together, sort through all of my polish, and organize them the way that I have been envisioning it in my head for the last month. So this weekend is dedicated to doing that, which means that I better hurry up and post something now before I get entangled in a web of organization that I can't pull away from. So with that said, here are some swatches of Hard Candy's Fabuluxe.

Color:
Dense hot hot hot HOT pink foil glitter in a hot pink jelly base.

Application:
Not bad at all. It's easy to control and pretty opaque (2 coats) due to the glitter being so dense. Of course it's a total pain in the ass to remove, but that comes with the territory. Drying time is average and my only qualm is that it's a topcoat eater. But again, that's the way it goes with these glitter polishes.


Downside:
Nope. Aside from the minor application/removal issues that I mentioned above, I can honestly say that I'm thrilled with this polish!


Bottom Line:
Of all of the Hard Candy polishes I have (including a small handful of vintage shades that they no longer make), this is the one. The color is seriously bold, and the blingyness is out of control. This is the perfect party girl polish. I'm not even totally sure what I mean by that, but I know that I can picture Cyndi Lauper circa 1985 rocking Fabuluxe 7 days a week. In fact, I'm surprised that something like this wasn't what OPI created for their Katy Perry collection, because it definitely feels like a shade she would wear.

Today I'm wearing Dorothy Who? from China Glaze's Wizard of Ohh-Ahz collection. It's a keeper and belongs in your glitter loving collection. If you don't have it yet then I suggest you shell out the $3-8 (depending on where you buy ChG) and treat yourself to some blue sparkles.

And as you can see, I had to file my nails down a bit. My index nail chipped a few weeks back on one side and then the other side chipped yesterday :(

Color:
Royal blue jelly base with dense dodger blue and silver micro glitter.


Application:
Stellar. Very easy to control and none of the goopiness that is a big problem with many other glitters. 3 coats for opacity. Not a top coat eater!


Downside:
It's obviously a bitch to remove if you don't use the foil method, but that's to be expected.


Bottom Line:
Just the color alone is really beautiful. But the fact that it twinkles like hell makes it that much better. It's one of the easiest to apply glitters I own (and I own a lot of glitters). I also love that it dries to a relatively smooth finish despite it being so chock full of glitter. For me, Dorothy Who? is a must have.

Today I'm swatching one of my favorite polishes of all time- Zombie Zest from China Glaze's 2010 Awakening collection. There is so much about this one polish that I love. The color, the finish, the name. I definitely had to give it the recognition that it deserves.

Color:
A gorgeous olive green jelly base infused with millions of particles of green and gold micro glitter. There are no proper adjectives to describe how stunning this color is. So I'll let the pictures do the talking for me.



Application:
Easy to control, but pretty sheer. It takes me 4 coats to achieve the opacity and depth of color that I prefer. And because it requires so many coats, it's drying time leaves a lot to be desired.



Downside:
See above. When I use this polish I make sure I have a spare hour and a movie to watch. If you don't give this the proper amount of time to dry, you will end up with a mess on your hands (literally).



Bottom Line:
Just look at it. It's one of the best colors I've ever seen! If you love greens and glitters then you need this polish. It's also relatively cheap (I think I paid about $5 for mine) and perfect for Halloween coming up. The other colors from ChG's Awakening collection are pretty awesome too. If you have a chance to score the whole set, I say go for it. You won't be disappointed.

Here is my final post in the Deborah Lippmann series that I've been doing for the last week or 2. This is Bad Romance, which is obviously named after the Lady Gaga song. I'm not a Gaga fan at all but that wasn't going to deter me from trying out this crazy, vampy, glittery jewel.

Color:
Bad Romance is a black jelly base with a hearty dose of both large and small pieces of magenta glitter suspended in it. Vampy and glittery and awesome beyond words.


Application:
I had no problems with this at all. It was completely opaque in 2 coats, was easy to control, and the glitter pieces were very easy to distribute evenly.


Downside:
None. Even the steep price tag is not considered a "downside" this time. It was worth every penny.


Bottom Line:
Bad Romance is badass. You need this right now. Forget that it costs $18. It doesn't matter. If you love vampy colors or glitter or anything that is kind of edgy and fun, then you need this immediately.


I will add though, that if you're really that tight on cash and you just can't part with the $18, then you might want to try out Wet n Wild's Night Prowl or China Glaze's Mummy May I. Neither are what I would call dupes, but they do consist of black jelly with fuschia glitter. The main difference between them and Bad Romance is that they do not contain any of the large pieces of glitter that make Bad Romance as awesome as it is.

Pools of sorrow Waves of joy Are drifting through my open mind Possessing and caressing me...

1. What’s a nickname only your family calls you?

Color:
A gorgeous pink foil glitter in a clear base. Very "blingy" and feminine.



Application:
This requires no less than 3 coats for opacity. So it's dense, but obviously not as dense as glitters that have a colored jelly base. The upside to this is that you could definitely layer it for a unique look. Drying time is kinda meh, but I've definitely had worse experiences in that department. It dries to a very rough and gravely texture, which is par for the course with this type of glitter polish. So don't bother wasting more than one coat of SV on it. It will just eat it repeatedly.


Downside:
Rosie Lee is super dupable. In fact, I can think of 2 identical twins just off the top of my head. Milani Disco Lights is almost an exact dupe, and I believe that Petites (found at Rite Aid) makes one as well. And like all other Butter LONDON's, this costs $14.



Bottom Line:
It's beautiful, and it makes a bold statement. But you could easily get away with buying the Milani or Petites versions instead for a quarter of the price. That said, I'm sure you wouldn't regret buying Rosie Lee if you decided to splurge. It really is a great color, and sometimes it just feels nice to wear a more upscale polish.

FYI:
For those who are confused by the name, Rosie Lee is British rhyming slang for tea. But if tea looked like Rosie Lee I would probably drink it a lot more often.

Here's another polish from Butter LONDON that my boyfriend recently bought for my birthday. I'd seen quite a few swatches of No More Waity, Katie before deciding I wanted it for myself. And quite honestly, I wasn't totally sold on it at first. I'm not normally into deeply muted colors, and a lot of the swatches I saw looked really sheer and blah. Despite that, I figured I had to have it based almost solely on the fact that it's a limited edition and has that cute Royal Wedding theme going on with it. In the end, I was glad I acquired it.

Color:
NMWK is a smoky grey jelly base with lavender micro glitter.



Application:
This wasn't all that easy to work with. The formula was a tad thicker than I anticipated, and I got a couple bald spots because of it. It's opaque in 3 coats. Drying time was average.



Downside:
As I stated, it wasn't an easy application.



Bottom Line:
It's really pretty without being flashy and in your face. It has a sophistication about it even though it's infused with glitter, and now that I think about it, it's probably the perfect color for a Royal Wedding inspired polish. Kate Middleton herself is pretty, sophisticated, and subtle about it all at once. So kudos to Butter LONDON for creating a color for her that embodies all of those qualities.

Would I buy this again? Yes. Because although I'm definitely partial to bright, bold colors, this is still a welcome addition to my collection. I likely won't wear it often though, because it is a limited edition and strikes me as a color that is best worn on special occasions.

Glitter in the Air is probably one of the most lusted after polishes out there. Every place I look, there are girls talking about how much they love it, want it, and have tried to produce their own version of it. Truthfully, I have seen some pretty damn amazing franken GLITA's out there. But seeing as I am franken challenged, I went with the real thing.

Glitter in the Air, 3 coats with no base

2 coats of Glitter in the Air with 2 coats of Barry M's Blue Moon as a base color

Color:
Glitter in the Air is a sheer baby blue creme/jelly hybrid with semi sparse (round) pink and blue glitter in multiple sizes. Sounds intricate, doesn't it? I suppose it kind of is...

Glitter in the Air, 3 coats with no base

2 coats of Glitter in the Air with 2 coats of Barry M's Blue Moon as a base color

Application:
GITA has "application issues" written all over it. But it actually goes on quite well. But don't even entertain thoughts of this becoming opaque. You'd probably need about 8 coats for that to be even remotely possible. That said, if it wasn't as sheer as it is then the glitter wouldn't stand a chance at sparkling. Drying time sucked. Period.

Glitter in the Air, 3 coats with no base

2 coats of Glitter in the Air with 2 coats of Barry M's Blue Moon as a base color

Downside:
This is sheer beyond words. It's essentially a really souped up top coat. And at $18 a bottle, it aint exactly cheap as chips.

Glitter in the Air, 3 coats with no base

2 coats of Glitter in the Air with 2 coats of Barry M's Blue Moon as a base color

Bottom Line:
It's unique. It's cute. It's "coveted" by many. The sheerness of it is easily remedied by using a similar sky blue as a base color, and the result is really nice. Personally, I think it's worth the $18 just because there isn't really anything else quite like it out there (unless, as I stated earlier, you are skilled at frankening).