China Glaze Hunger Games Collection Swatches

I finally got around to swatching the polishes from the Hunger Games Collection that I got at Sally's FOR 75 CENTS EACH! The only downside was that most of the colors that I was looking forward to weren't there (Dress Me Up, Fast Track, Stone Cold) but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I actually liked these polishes.
(left to right) Harvest Moon, Argo, Foie Gras, Hook and Line

 First up, Harvest Moon. This is really a color that I would not  typically pick BUT for 75 cents, why not? It is a really pretty copper color with golden micro-glitter.

The formula on this one was great. It took two coats to reach opacity and i had zero issues with streaking or anything like that.

One Coat:

Two Coats:

Close up:

I don't really love this color on my skin tone but there is no denying that this is a gorgeous polish. I thought that It would had been glittery but on the nail it seemed to lean toward a glass fleck. I think one coat of this would look really pretty on top of another color, so I see some experimentation in my future!

Next up is Argo. This is one of my favorite polishes in my entire collection. It is a stunning kind of moss green with golden shimmery/ pearly/ microglittery action! When I first used this polish I was kind of "meh." I thought it was a pretty shade of green, but nothing spectacular. Then I went outside. Photos will really not do this justice. This polish has such dimension.  The sun light really makes it come alive. Two coats to full opacity. I will say this, I own two bottles of this polish. One of them was really thick, and dented really easily. You had to put aside a long time to get a good manicure. My newer bottle that I just got had 0 issues. I don't know if that was an actual formula problem or if someone had opened the bottle in the store or something like that.

One Coat:

Two Coats:

This next one is another one that I would have never really picked up, but I am glad that I did. I think this will be a great fall and winter color. The only way I can think to describe Foie Gras is as a   taupe-y purple. It is really creamy and for some reason makes me crave something chocolatey . You could probably get by on one thick coat but I used two.
One coat:

Two coats:

This last one was a surprise favorite for me. I was afraid that  it would be too light for my skin tone, but it turned out absolutely beautiful. Hook and Line is a pearly light grey. The pearly-ness really caught me off guard because it looks like it would be a creme in the bottle. I seriously couldn't get over how pretty this one turned out. It takes two coats to reach opacity.

One Coat:

Two Coats: (ignore the smudge, I photographed it before it was fully dry because I'm impatient :P)

Overall I love the quality of all of these and all the colors are stunning. I am pretty sure I am going to have to get my hands on the rest of this collection. Which were your favorite Hunger Games polishes?

My Zoya Bogo Picks and A few Drugstore Finds

Eeek! My Zoya Bogo order is here! 6 Zoya polishes for $24? Not too shabby! This is my first time ever purchasing Zoya polishes from their actual website and I urge everyone to stop what they're doing and go make an account on their website! They have a lot of promotional deals and their customer service is astounding! They also sent me swatches of some of their new collections which I love! It really lets you see the true colors and put up against your skin and everything before you buy. So genius.

Here is how they were packaged:

(left to right) Akyra, Shawn, Gemma

(left to right) Kylie#2, Kieko, Breezi

Love them all! Especially Shawn. I really hope it is as pretty on the nail as it is in the bottle.

These next three I bought while I was at the grocery store.
(left to right) Sally Hansen Crushed, Wet n' Wild Sage in the City (*swoon*), Wet n' Wild Ebony Hates Chris

I REALLY love these colors together. I'm thinking about experimenting with some tribal designs with these. They make me want to put on a bikini and drown in daiquiris on a beach somewhere. *sigh*

Meanwhile in reality.... I deep cleaned my car for the first time since we moved last year (I know, shameful) and I found these guys hiding out under the seat.

Essie Beach Bum Blue

Turns out I've had an Essie polish hiding out for a year already. I remember buying this a few days before my wedding because I wanted it for my bridesmaids. I guess it makes sense now why I couldn't find it :p
I just thought the cashier didn't put it in my bag!

Sally Hansen Twisted Pink

I don't even think this belongs to me lol
It isn't really a color I would pick up BUT it was under my seat so into my box it goes.

Stay tuned for the swatches of everything to come. I am about to work on the China Glaze Hunger Games swatches and they should be up later tonight or tomorrow. What did you guys pick for your Zoya Bogo?

China Glaze Poolside Collection Swatches

Hey guys! Sorry it has taken so long to post again. Life is crazy sometimes. First my hubby got sick so I was playing nurse then I got it. Bleh! Feeling a lot better now and ready to get back on the blogging train. Today I'm posting some swatches from China Glaze's Poolside collection. I got these beauties at Sally's last week for $1.35 each! Such a great deal. They had every color except the green (the one I wanted the most -.-) so I only picked up 3.  I got Under the Boardwalk, a really pretty, bright fuchsia color, Flirty Tankini a hot pink leaning towards coral shimmer., an Ride the Waves, the darker of the two blues in this collection.

Flirty Tankini (the middle bottle) is WAY less orange and more pink in real life.

First up is Under the Board walk. I took these pictures after wearing it for about 5 days so please excuse the tip wear. I actually planned on swatching all of them on the day I painted my nails, but this polish dried so slow that it seems like a waste to take it off right away! It took two coats for some nails to get even and three for others. Overall I was not impressed by the formula of this polish. It did hold up fairly well though and I do love the color. This is just a polish you have to have a lot of patience with.  I do love, love, love the color though. It is much deeper on the nail than in the bottle (at least indoors). It actually startled me when I was in the car the day after I painted my nails and the sun hit my nails. They literally lit up to a neon fuchsia. So pretty. It didn't capture very well in the photos unfortunately. It also dried a little matte, so all these photos are with a top coat.

(I have no idea why this keeps posting upside down! I have been trying everything for like 15 minutes and no change.)

Next up is Ride the Waves. I really love this color in the bottle. It is a darker blue but it is still bright. What disappointed me the most about this polish is that it ended up being really sheer. These pictures are of two coats because I think that is when the color was the prettiest. I have this on my toes right now and I ended up doing three coats because I didn't want my nail to show underneath, and it turned into a really dark blue. It is still pretty, just not the color I was looking for when I bought it. This one dried pretty slow on the second coat too but no where near as slow as Under the Boardwalk.

This last one ended up being my favorite overall, and by far is the best formula wise. Flirty Tankini is a hot coral-y pink. It also has a nice pearly shimmer to it. Two coats and you are good to go! It dried normally and ended up looking kind if matte. These pics are with no topcoat.

I got my Zoya Bogo polishes in the mail the other day and I don't know whether I want to swatch those or my China Glaze Hunger Games polishes first. I am leaning towards China Glaze because there are only 3 but we shall see lol!
What do you guys think of these polishes?

Essie Swatches : Bobbing for Baubles and School of Hard Rocks

Hey guys! I am super excited about all the polishes that I got today but I think that I was most excited about these two. These are my very first Essie polishes and they did not disappoint. The colors that are bought are from the 2011 Cocktail Bling collection.

The first color is Bobbing for Baubles. Essie describes it as a deep sapphire but I would say it is more of a navy with slight greyish undertones. The formula for this polish was amazing! Full opacity in just one coat and It dried so shiny! If  you didn't plan on wearing this polish for a long time you could definitely  skip the top coat.It was so shiny that it was pretty hard to photograph. It came across a lot darker in the photos. It is more blue in real life
One coat indoors:

One coat outdoors:

Next up is School of Hard Rocks. I was a little disappointed by this one. The swatches that I previously looked at made it seem more green than it actually is. I think I actually have a dupe in my tiny collection : Revlon Chic. I'll try it tomorrow and post the results. Formula Wise this polish is fantastic. It is a very pretty greyed out blue. You could probably reach opacity in one coat if you made it thick enough. I used two.

One coat:

Two Coats:

Overall I can totally see why everyone raves about Essie. The formula was amazing! Everything went on smoothly and finished with a great shine. It also feels like it would not chip very easily but I will have to wear it for a while to test this theory. What do you guys think? Are there any must have Essie's that I'm missing out on?

Amazon and Sally's Haul

I stopped by Sally's today while I was out running errands with the intentions of only getting some nail polish remover.... I should have known better! The sales rack was calling my name and I picked up three new China Glaze polishes.I got two from the Hunger Games collection for only $1.35 each! I got one more from the summer neon collection for $3.25.Everyone seriously needs to go to Sally's and get in on the deal that they are having tomorrow. All of their sale items are an additional 50% off. When I got home I had another surprise waiting for me.

Here is everything unpacked:

China Glaze: Argo, Hook and Line, Foie Gras, Flirty Tankini
Essie: Bobbing for Baubles, School of Hard Rocks
OPI Little Jewels from India collection: I'm Indi-a Mood for Love, Lunch at the Delhi, Black Cherry Chutney, RapiDry Top Coat
OPI Spiderman Minis: Into the Night, Number One Nemisis. Spotted the Lizard, Your Web or Mine?

I'l be swatching the Essie tonight!

A Polish Addict Giveaway!

I've been super busy today and haven't had any time to sit down and swatch some new polishes so I thought I'd stop by and let you guys know about an amazing giveaway that A Polish Addict is having.

She is giving three lucky people a chance to win 3 fabulous polishes from Shimmer! I'm really loving these polishes. Head over there and show her blog some love and maybe you can be the lucky winner.

Here is a link to the giveaway: http://www.apolishaddict.com/2012/08/indie-polish-giveaway-shimmer-polish.html

Good luck everyone!

Random Polish Brand Swatches

Hey everyone! I decided that I would go ahead and swatch all the random clothing store polishes that I have. These are pretty much the oldest ones in my collection and are probably not too well known so I wanted to get them out of the way. They are all pretty basic colors but I hope you guys enjoy, regardless. :)

This first polish is one that I picked up from Forever21 about a year ago. It is called Baby Blue but I personally think that it is a bit too light to be considered baby blue. I would describe it as more of a minty blue. This polish was really cheap so the overall quality of it pleasantly surprised me. The formula was pretty good. It was really thick and went completely opaque in one coat with absolutely no streaking! The one down side is that it chips super easily. This could probably be helped with a good top coat, though.

Here is one coat

Two coats just for good measure.

As you can see there isn't much of a difference color-wise between one and two coats. Honestly, I would just stop after one coat. This polish is pretty thick and two coats made it really easy to dent.

In the sun

One more. (look at that puppy :D)

This next polish is from American Eagle. It is a really pretty turquoise color with a subtle pearly shimmer. This is one of those colors that I can wear every season. It is a little sheer but you can reach opacity in two coats. The American Eagle polishes can go longer without chipping than any of the other store polishes posted.

One coat:

Two coats:

Here is a close up of the shimmer:

One more Amerian Eagle Polish. I would describe this one as a gun metal gray. It reminds me of Chanel's Black Pearl. I don't own this polish (I wish I did $$$) but here is a link to a great polish blog with a swatch http://www.vampyvarnish.com/2010/12/chanel-les-perles-de-chanel-collection-spring-2011-swatches-review/

Just like the last American Eagle polish it takes at least two coats to reach opacity.

1 coat:

2 coats:

Shimmer:

Overall,  I like American Eagle's polishes. The colors that they offer compliment most of the clothes that they sell. They aren't as good of quality as salon polishes obviously, but great for a "no name" polish.

These four I got at Old Navy in 2009. They suckered me in by having a polish bin right at the check out! I couldn't resist. These are all fairly generic colors that you could find in any brand.

First up is a standard creme pink polish. It kind of reminds me of Barbie pink; maybe a little deeper. This use to be my go-to summer toe polish. The formula is great and you can reach full opacity in just one coat. This sort of pink seems really boring on the nail to me, so I tried it out with a few glitters.

I really love how it looked with OPI's  I Lilly Love You on top.

I tried it with OPI's Last Friday Night too but it didn't do much for me.

Next up is Orangentina. This is a bright, tangerine orange. The finish on this polish was interesting. It seemed almost matte. After I put on my top coat I decided it looks much better with its original finish. This one was also a one coater.
One coat:

One coat with top coat:

I want to start by saying that I LOVE the color of this next one. If you guys have a suggestion for a dupe I would love to hear it because these Old Navy polishes chip SO BAD! This one is called Lime Slush and that is what it reminds me of. It is a nice sorbet-y green that's not too yellow but not too blue either. This one takes two coats.

One coat:

Two Coats:

This last one is just a standard red. I personally love full on red polishes but hate how messy they are. They leave my cuticles pink for hours after I clean them up :(
Any suggestions on how to remedy this are welcome!
One coat:

Two coats:

The last three polishes I'm swatching are from Delia's. They suckered me in at checkout just like Old Navy.... sneaky, sneaky! Deila's does a good job at keeping up with seasonal color trends and usually has some nice colors. 

Ok. I decided to do this one first because I have nothing nice to say about this polish. I was a bit apprehensive about picking this one up because I have yet to ever use a good yellow polish. I gave this one a chance anyway because it seemed unique. This polish is so streaky.... Then when you try to fix it with a second coat you end up with a horrible, goopy mess. No bueno.

White base:

One coat:

Two coats:

 I guess it doesn't look so bad in the photos, but trust me! This polish sucks. The color is interesting though, and looks much more neon in person.There is a blue-ish shimmer in it and it really looks like a highlighter yellow.

Next up is a really pretty peacock blue color. This used to be my favorite blue polish, and I still really love it. It takes two coats to reach opacity. It looks much darker and bluer inside but in when you get in the sun the green tones come through.

One coat:

Two coats:

I added one coat of OPI's Last Friday Night out of curiosity. It turned out cute.

I'm a sucker for a good purple and this polish is such a pretty one. It's name is orchid and that perfectly describes it. I was surprised that this one was as opaque as it was. It only took one coat. I put OPI's last Friday Night on this one too and it turned out so pretty. It turned it into a sparkly periwinkle color.

I didn't think that photographing the nails would be as challenging as it was. The colors come across so differently in pictures. Also, does anyone have any tips for quick polish cleanup? My little q-tip just isn't cutting it! Thanks for reading and let me know what you guys think.