LA Splash Crimson Tide

Crimson Tide. I'm so mature, but it definitely makes me think of menstruation. Either that, or those toxic red tide blooms that have been causing fish kills. Side note: have any of you read And the Waters Turned to Blood, by Rodney Barker? Dramatic title, but such a fascinating book. And it turns out my former boss was involved in the project that discovered Pfisteria piscicida!

Anyway, back to nail polish. Crimson Tide consists of fine, burnt coppery orange hex glitters suspended in a vampy, bloody red base. I feel like this one's quite good for Halloween, but it's also a lovely color for any time of year. Because of the glitter, it is a bit gritty, but one coat of regular top coat (Revlon Quick Dry in this case) smoothed it out just fine, and it's opaque in 3 coats. LA Splash bottles are awkward to hold, so you get to see my ridge filler instead.

Another side note: OPI Ridge Filler is full of disappointment. But I'm almost out of Essie Fill the Gap, and I can't find anymore. Essie's Ridge Filling Base Coat isn't nearly as good either. BOO. First world problems.

Crimson Tide is a bit streaky, and because the brush stem is SO LONG, make sure you wipe it off really well before you start painting, or you'll wind up with random globs all over your fingers. I may or may not be speaking from experience. But if you wipe it off well, and stick with thin, careful coats, you'll be just fine. Here it is in the sun:

I'm really liking the fact that there are glints of red too, where the glitter is partially obscured by the base. I also like how unique this is, despite the fact that it's a vampy jelly. I haven't seen this jelly/glitter combination anywhere else. At first, I was thinking that they don't even go together, but I think somehow, it works!

Thoughts? Feelings? Do you love vamps as much as I do?

Thanks for looking and commenting, and have a great week!

SHCSM Petrol + LA Splash Midnight Rain

Petrol is one of the colors released as part of Sally Hansen's Spring 2012 collaboration with Alexander Wang. The brand also collaborated with Tracy Reese and Prabal Gurung, but none of those colors appealed to me. To be honest, Petrol was the only color that piqued my interest, and it wound up being quite a disappointment. See that nice, rich, dark navy blue in the bottle? See that ridiculous black color on my nails? I already have 2 bottles of black cremes, I did not need this :|

Lame. Super lame. Under artificial light (still lame):

Brush and formula are good, as usual. I'm probably going to dump out a bit and top it off with Essie Mesmerize or OPI Ski Teal We Drop to lighten it up a bit. Petrol in its natural state did, however, make a great base for LA Splash Midnight Rain!

Midnight Rain consists of small red and blue hex glitter (with the occasional odd piece of silver hex glitter) and superfine blue square glitter in a sheer navy base. I used 2 coats over Petrol, and no top coat. Most glitter polishes dry dull, but Midnight Rain is surprisingly glossy! I've been drooling over Midnight Rain for about a year now, and I randomly came across it at Harmon the other day. Unlike Petrol, Midnight Rain does not disappoint.

Man, I love glitter. I love the way the red glitter stands out against the blue. It's just awesome, and a welcome relief after the disappointments that are Petrol and Pinta.

Enjoy your weekend, and thanks for looking and commenting!