Cover Girl + Hunger Games Catching Fire Glosstini Collection Swatches: Scalding Emerald and Violet Flicker

Cover Girl Scalding Emerald (3 coats)

Cover Girl Violet Flicker (3 coats)

Today I'm going to go watch Catching Fire with my parents so I thought showing my 2 Cover Girl Hunger Games swatches would be appropriate. I could only find these at Target, but I'm not sure if they're exclusive to them or not. Up first is Scalding Emerald which is a murky green color with most colors of the rainbow without it being a holographic polish if you know what I mean. I love it! Sometimes it was just hard to see what color this really was. These are tiny bottles with short brushes which I don't love, but it wasn't a deal breaker for me. These hold only 0.11 fl oz and were $2.99. 

The second swatch is called Violet Flicker which is a plum color with blue and pink shimmer. I didn't find this one to be quite as unique, but it was still really fun in the bottle. These were both a bit sheer and needed 3 thick coats, and you can still see a little bit of nail at the ends. Surprisingly the removal was pretty painless and didn't need the foil method. Overall, these were pretty, and if you can find them, pick them up because they are cheap and won't take up space. Well, that's why I picked them up. 

LeChat Dare To Wear The Dream Colors Collection: Pirouette

LeChat Dare To Wear: Pirouette (3 coats)

Quick post because my family is still here. Did you do any shopping today? Thank goodness I did not, but I did have some awesome Tex-Mex food. The next few days will involve having tons of leftovers from Thanksgiving.

LeChat is a brand that is hard to find, but I was able to get it at my local nail supply store for only $2.50 apiece. I have a few that I'll show over the next few weeks, but to continue my "Thanksgiving" theme for 1 more day I have Pirouette which is a milky brown color with a slight holo effect and a green flash. The green flash is so awesome and makes this color very unique to my collection. It was a little sheer, but the application and formula was fine otherwise. This was my first try with LeChat, and I'm happy so far (and their emblem is a cat because Le Chat means cat in French). If you can find any in your area, I would recommend you trying them out. 

Thanksgiving Day Manicure Featuring Julep's Candace and China Glaze 2013 On the Horizon Swatch Flying South

Julep Candace (2 coats)

Candace over 1 coat of 

Happy Thanksgiving! 2013 has been a pretty crappy year, but there are still things to be thankful for. I'm thankful for every single one of you who has come to my blog. If it weren't for you, this blog probably wouldn't still be around (I don't like to disappoint people). In other words, you guys keep me going. Sometimes I don't have much to say in my posts like I used to, but that's likely because I don't have many positive things to say. Anyway, thank you. 

I got rid of my Julep Maven box so you won't be seeing too many more Julep polishes after I finish my last 2 boxes I didn't want. Right here is Candace which is a brown shimmer and then I decided to put Flying South from the China Glaze On the Horizon collection that sneaked out this fall on top. Flying Fall is the "feathered" bar glitter in orange and tan with coppery microglitter. I thought this combination felt very fall to me and Lucy from Peanuts thought it looked pretty as well. 

Again, Happy Thanksgiving!

OPI Spring 2013 Euro Centrale Collection Swatch: A Woman's Prague-ative

OPI A Woman's Prague-ative (3 coats)

It's almost Thanksgiving! A Woman's Prague-ative felt very Thanksgivingy (yup, I just made this word up) and I've been trying to wear some bronze, copper and brown colors for the next few days to get you in the spirit. Anyway, it's a copper and gold shimmer that is very vibrant. My husband gave it 2 thumbs up as well. The formula was a bit sheer and needed 3 thick coats for full opacity, but the application was otherwise fine. Enjoy your night!

Super Black Fall 2013 Collection Swatches: Guilty and 3rd Degree

Super Black Guilty (2 coats)

Super Black 3rd Degree (2 coats)

*press sample*

Today I have the last 2 polishes from the Super Black fall collection which includes 1 more holographic polish and 1 shimmer. Holy crap, do you see Guilty? This is one of the most beautiful holographic polishes I have ever seen. It is so vibrant and colorful that my pictures don't even do it justice. This would make a perfect stocking stuffer for that lovely lady or guy you know (that can include yourself, don't worry). Guilty is a bright gold holographic polish with a small sticker decal from Essence that I decided to throw on there for fun. The application and formula on all 4 of these polishes were perfect, just to throw that out there. 

The second polish is called 3rd Degree and is the only non-holographic polish in the collection. I feel bad for 3rd Degree; it looks a bit boring compared to the other polishes, but it is still a nice red polish with gold shimmer throughout. If I had my pick, I'd go with the holographic polishes, but there's nothing wrong with 3rd Degree, either. This was my first time trying out Super Black polishes and I was very pleasantly surprised and will be back for more. Have you tried their polishes? What do you think?

*These polishes were provided by the company or PR representative. All reviews are based solely on my opinion. For more information, please see my full disclosure at the bottom of the site*

Super Black Fall 2013 Collection Swatches: Spanked and Heather

Super Black Spanked (2 coats)

Super Black Heather

*press sample*

Today I have the start of the Super Black handmade lacquer fall collection which featured 3 holographic polishes and one glitter polish. If you don't know anything about Super Black, I would recommend you check out her awesome blog/comics here. When I got an e-mail about being sent polishes, Natalie sent out the funniest e-mail saying how it's her sending stuff and not some weird order going through. Situational humor I suppose. 

Anywhoo, the first holographic polish I have to show is called Spanked and is a deep raspberry/cranberry (pick your fruit) pink color with a strong linear holo finish. Heather is a grape purple holo that seemed to stand out a little more, likely due to it being a darker color. The bottles are just like the old Massini bottles which hold more polish (0.61 fl oz instead of the usual 0.5 fl oz) you get with normal bottles. These will set you back $12, but for more polish and having it be a holographic polish from a small source, I think this is a really good price. They claim you shouldn't wear topcoat because it will dull the holo effect, but I always have to wear topcoat (I dunno, I just have to) and found it didn't dull it at all with my NYC Grand Central Station/Seche Vite topcoat mix I made and have been using. You can find the site here, and follower her on Facebook.

*These polishes were provided by the company or PR representative. All reviews are based solely on my opinion. For more information, please see my full disclosure at the bottom of the site*

China Glaze Spring 2013 Avant Garden Collection Swatch: Budding Romance

China Glaze Budding Romance (3 coats)

Short, random post today because we have to move an entire house worth of stuff into our new stuff and find room for it. Long story. Anyway, it's going to be a long day.

Budding Romance comes from the spring China Glaze collection which I bought none of until this one went on sale at Sally's. This was the "weird" one for the collection since it was for a spring collection and usually those are full of pastels. This one is a mossy green jelly that was pretty sheer. I made the mistake of applying thick coats the first time, and I had bubble city so I had to redo it with really thin coats. As you can see, it does finally fully cover at 3 coats. I like this one and it is definitely an interesting color. You can still find this one online if you're interested in it. 

Maybelline Color Show Limited Edition Vintage Leather Swatch: Mod Moss

Maybelline Mod Moss (2 coats)

TGIF! The next week is going to be utterly crazy, but I'm trying to embrace it. Right now I'm trying to get some browns and golds ready for Thanksgiving next week (I've already done by Thanksgiving mani that I'll post). I have family coming in from both sides so it's going to be interesting (well, there will be 2 dogs and 4 cats in my house....yeah). 

Mod Moss came with the Maybelline Color Show Vintage Leather collection and is a mossy green color with gold shimmer and flakes. Yes, a flakie! I think it really adds depth to the polish, and if you can find these at your local Target or drugstore, pick them up because they also look great with a topcoat. They dry super fast. Seriously, crazy fast and only need 2 coats for full opacity. I love this and need to get more if I can find them. Have you spotted them lately *crosses fingers*

OPI 2013 Mariah Carey Holiday Collection Swatch: Underneath the Mistletoe

OPI Underneath the Mistletoe (surprisingly 2)

Man OPI, could you pack any more reds into a collection? I get it Mariah Carey, you like red for Christmas. Could we at least get a little more variety? The place I usually get my OPI polishes didn't have any of the liquid sand polishes from this collection, so I was stuck picking from the reds. I found Underneath the Mistletoe to be the lesser of all evils with it being a red jelly (do I see a bit of a burgundy in there?) with pink and gold glitter. Being a jelly I thought it was going to be sheer, but to my surprise, it was quite opaque in 2 coats. It dries a bit dull so topcoat was a definite must. 

Sally Hansen Triple Shine Swatch: Great White

Sally Hansen Great White (3 and a half coats)

I know what you're thinking, "Oh no, almost 4 coats for a polish for full coverage?!" Well, I usually agree, but this one is a beauty. You could always use a coat of underwear to help as well. Great White comes from the new Triple Shine collection out at drugstores from Sally Hansen. The pictures above do not have topcoat so they are indeed shiny. Great White is a white base with green and pink fine shimmer. The shimmer is so pretty! I said it needed 3 and a half coats because a few nails had some balding after 3 so a fourth was needed. I paid around $5 for this at Walmart, but it was starting to get picked over. 

Essie Holiday 2013 Encrusted Treasures Swatch: On a Silver Platter

Essie On a Silver Platter (2 coats) over 3 and a half coats of Sally Hansen Great White

Man, people are really hating on this whole collection from Essie. I find that maybe it's hard to find the right base color for some of these glitters. For example, I'm using a Sally Hansen white color as a base and I think On a Silver Platter looks really cool with its blue and holographic hexagonal glitter and lots of gold shimmer. It looked even better in real life, I swear. Since I'm wearing white underneath, you can see that there is some base color in the glitter and it's a blue/purple color. Hey, this might not be for everyone, but I don't mind On a Silver Platter. Keep on trying Essie! I had no application issues, but used 2 coats for full glitter effect. 

Essie Holiday 2013 Encrusted Treasures Collection Swatch: Belugaria

 Essie Belugaria (2 coats)

Yes, this is the infamous "ugly" holiday polish from Essie. Here's a shocker: I don't hate it at all. In fact, I found it quite interesting for the polish world. Is it for everyone? No way, but I like polishes that push the boundaries. Essie's Belugaria is a black clumpy textured polish with lots of hexagonal holographic glitter. It is extremely hard to apply, especially when you get to the second coat. The clumps don't want to move around the cuticle so you have to do some cleanup. My husband also liked it and claimed it looked like asphalt before it is smoothed out. I find that to be a perfect description for it. Since it is clumpy, it doesn't last nearly as long on the nail, but it did ok for the day and a half that I put it to the test. What do you think? Ugly or interesting? (sorry for the blurry last picture)