Essie Summer 2014 Collection Swatch and Review: Fierce, No Fear

Essie Fierce, No Fear (2 coats)

I can't wait for tomorrow! This week has been dragging and I can't wait for Friday. I hope you enjoyed my Zoya swatches yesterday. As you can probably tell, it takes a bit of work to make posts like that, so I'm always in awe of bloggers who can post that many every day. 

Fierce, No Fear is a medium chocolate brown creme. The first picture shows the color in direct bright light, while the second 2 are more in indirect light. This one would definitely fit in with the Zoya Naturel Deux collection. I'm proud of Essie for taking a chance and putting a brown out for summer. It is the odd man out, but that's exactly why I picked it up. The formula was fine and not too watery and opaque in 2 coats. What do you think of brown in the summer?

Zoya Naturel Deux 2014 Collection Swatches and Reviews

*press samples*

Zoya Spencer (2 coats)

Spencer is the lightest of the "browns" and is a camel beige cream. I thought this was going to really clash with my skin tone, but I think it works fine. It's probably my least favorite, but that doesn't mean I didn't like it. It would make a perfect palate cleanser.

Zoya Chanelle (2 coats)

Chanelle is a milk chocolate cream color that is perfect for fall. Some may not be a fan of this because it is just too "brown" if you know what I mean. I still like it. 

Zoya Emilia (2 coats)

Emilia is a dark, dusty chocolate cream that never looks black in any light. As you can see, it definitely dries darker on the nail. 

Zoya Madeline (2 coats)

Madeline is a light dusty Rose cream. I really like it, but perhaps someone would say that it is too grandmaish. I don't care, I still like it. This is another one that dries darker on the nail.

Zoya Aubrey (2 coats)

Aubrey (why can't they have an Audrey?!) is a mauve with berry undertones. This sort of reminds me of something OPI would put out. It's a very rich color and another great fall color. 

Zoya Marnie (2 coats)

Whenever I hear or see the name Marnie I always think of the character on Girls. Just me? Anyway, it's the darker of the pinks/purples and is a deep plum cream. It's not dark enough to be vampy, but it is definitely fairly dark. 

You may have noticed that I did not mention anything about the application and formula and that's because they were all the same. Every color was extremely opaque, needing only 2 coats, despite being a "neutral" collection. Whenever I hear the word neutral, I always think sheer. Thank you, Zoya for changing my mind. I think these polishes are different enough from the first Naturel Collection, and you need at least a few of these. My favorites are Chanelle, Madeline, and Emilia.

You can purchase these Zoya polishes right now on their website for $9 each or at select salons or Ulta stores. Stay up-to-date with all things Zoya (often including giveaways and sales!) on Twitter or 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*

FingerPaints Core Color Hue Brighten My Day Swatch and Review

FingerPaints Hue Brighten My Day (2 coats)

It's going to be a quick post today because I need to drive home and get ready to watch The Bachelorette (hangs head in shame). Yes, ever since stupid Juan Pablo was on there, it sucked me in and I'd never watched a season up to that point. Don't judge me. 

Hue Brighten My Day (such a cute name) is a core color to the newly formulated FingerPaints line at Sally's Beauty Supply. This one looked unique in the bottle which caught my eye and am I ever happy I bought it. It's a blackened green color with blue, purple, gold and green hexagonal glitter with tons of silver microshimmer. Since FingerPaints doesn't label their textured polishes, I wasn't sure if this was going to be one, and it wasn't. It will, on the other hand, eat your topcoat and be a pain to take off. The formula was great and pigmented for a glitter polish. I hope your Monday went well!

Chaos & Crocodiles Swatch and Review: Color Wheel Chaos

Chaos & Crocodiles Color Wheel Chaos (2 coats) over 2 coats Butter London Slapper

This is my first try with the indie brand Chaos & Crocodiles (love the name). I'm not really sure if the crocodile's name is Chaos or if it just brings chaos. Either way, that lovely creature is featured on every product they sell. Unfortunately, they open just a few times a year, and I got really lucky one time. My apologies for not posting this last month when there was a pre-order, but I had no idea it was happening. Apparently after all pre-orders go out, they will be talking about restocks, so there is still hope. Just go ahead and stalk their Facebook page. 

The polish I have to show is called Color Wheel Chaos and this one should be called Clown Puke. It basically has every type or color of glitter you can get into a bottle. I love and cherish this colorful bottle that I have. Of course it has so much glitter that you have to dab some of it on because this sucker is glitter dense. If you happen to make it into the hour-long restock times, definitely pick this up on their website! 

Butter London Swatches and Reviews: Pillar Box Red and All Hail the Queen

Butter London Pillar Box Red (2 coats)

Butter London All Hail the Queen (2 coats)

I hope your Saturday went well! I went to a 2 months after the wedding reception at a friend's house with lots of my husband (and my) friends. We got to bring Scraggles the dog and she had a wonderful time. There were lots of kids there and she went nuts because she loves kids for some reason.

Anyway, I have a few oldie but goodies from Butter London to show. Up first is a nice basic red creme called Pillar Box Red. The bristles on my bottles were all messed up, so my swatches didn't turn out well. I complained a little about it on Twitter, but it wasn't a big enough of a problem to go asking for a new one. Otherwise, it's a nice red that applied well, but I don't think I'd be paying $15 for it.

The second polish is a Butter London staple called All Hail the Queen. I think everyone has already seen swatches of this, but I guess these are just mine. It's a scattered holographic polish with a light brown base. Very work appropriate, but also really pops in the sun. I think every collection needs a color like this. I know a ton of indie brands have holographic polishes in all colors of the rainbow, so pick up one of those because they'll likely be cheaper than the Butter London polish (well, I guess it depends on the shipping). Overall, I like both colors fine, but they don't stand out enough to really be worth the price tag.

Butter London Spring/Summer 2012 Collection Swatches and Reviews: Slapper and Trout Pout

Butter London Slapper (2 coats)

Butter London Trout Pout (2 coats)

Notice how short my nails are in these pictures? Yeah, that's how old these swatches are. I got these in a Christmas set called Glam Rock when there was a 20% off sale. The set isn't around anymore, but the colors are still in the core collection. These are mini bottles which are basically exact replicates of their regular sized bottles which is cool. 

Up first is Slapper, which is British slang for a loose woman. Yup, Butter London likes to keep it classy. Despite the name, the color is a beautiful aqua or teal creme that applied perfectly (not too thick and not too thin). I think I wore this a few days and added a glitter since I liked it so much. The second color is Trout Pout which is British slang for a person who has too many lip injections and has fish lips. I guess I could see this one since it's a color you could wear on your lips (and they do have a lip gloss of the same name!). Anyway, Trout Pout is a nice pink with some coral undertones. Very appropriate for this time of year, or any time of year really. This one also has a great formula and application, but I only kept it on for a day, so I guess I didn't like it as much as Slapper. You can find Butter London on their website, Ulta, Nordstrom, Macy's, etc. TGIF! 

Chloe & Bella Indie Brand Summer 2014 Summer Bouquet Collection: Cornflower, Stargazer and Rose

*press samples*

2 coats Chloe & Bella Cornflower over Chloe & Bella Azure (3 coats)

Cornflower is a beautiful glitter polish with bar, square and hexagonal glitter, silver microshimmer, and large white hexagonal glitter (sparse). I put this over another Chloe & Bella polish which I will be reviewing soon called Azure, but I think if you really built it up, it would be opaque with all of the microshimmer.  

2 coats Chloe & Bella Stargazer over Chloe & Bella Crimson (2 coats)

Stargazer contains various sizes of fuchsia circle, diamond, bar and hexagonal glitters. As you can see, some of them are holographic which really makes your nails sparkle. There's actually a small amount of yellow glitter that you can see in the bottle, but I didn't manage to get on the nail. I put this over another Chloe & Bella polish called Crimson which you will be seeing soon. Do you like this combination? 

2 coats Chloe & Bella Rose over SinfulColors Matte About Blue (2 coats)

To round out the Summer Bouquet collection is Rose, which contains many different kinds of red glitter, much like Stargazer, right down to the holographic diamonds. If you checked out my 4th of July manicures, this may look familiar to you.

Overall, these are fun glitters and a great first collection, especially for the price of $6.95. You can find them on their website, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, and 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*

Chloe & Bella Indie Brand Summer 2014 Summer Bouquet Collection Swatches and Reviews: Daffodil, Freesia and Magnolia

*press samples*

2 coats Chloe & Bella Daffodil over Essie Strut Your Stuff (2 coats)

I found Daffodil to be one of the sheerest of the Summer Bouquet collection swatches. I ended using it over an aqua blue from Essie which really made the yellow pop. There's a wide variety of different types and colors of glitters used in their colors, and this one is no different. This has yellow and orange circles, copper squares, large and small yellow and orange hexagonal glitter, and yellow bar glitter in a clear base. I got a little bubbling since the glitter was not quite as dense, but nothing like the Sally Hansen ones I showed a month ago. Overall, a very appropriate summer color. 

Chloe & Bella Freesia (3 coats)

Freesia had a microshimmer purple base, so I used it by itself to become opaque in 3 coats. This one is full of glitter! We have purple circles, bare and various other hexagonal glitter sizes, large and small yellow hexagonal glitters, and white triangles and hexagonal glitters. It's best to work with thin coats on the first 2 coats, and really add a lot of glitter on the last coat. The microshimmer covers any bald spots you would normally get. Another beautiful flower-based color.

Chloe & Bella Magnolia (3 coats)

My husband absolutely loves Magnolias so I'm glad they utilized this one in the collection. This has a milky pink nude base with yellow bar glitter, large orange circles and small hexagonal glitter, seafoam green hexagonal glitter, and brown hexagonal glitter. Whew, it's a mouthful! Due to the pigmented base, you can get away with 3 coats to get it opaque, especially if you don't have any free edge on your nails. I think this one was my favorite of the collection!

Chloe & Bella is a new indie polish brand that is the mastermind of an extremely nice owner, Barbara. Their website is very descriptive which doesn't happen too often. The bottles look like the Ciate polishes without the bows, so they are extremely cute. The name and picture that goes with the polish is on the front, so no looking on the bottom or top to find it. The prices are also extremely reasonable with polishes ranging from $5.95-$6.95, so definitely check these out. You can find them on their website, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. What are your thoughts?

*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*