Contrary Polish Desert Fruit + Comparison

Today I've got for you the last of my Contrary Polish stash. Desert Fruit is one that I have worn several times, but just couldn't get decent photographs of until recently. It's a purple, so no surprise there...I'm very surprised to see myself getting excited about a purple, though. That hasn't happened in a while!

Desert Fruit was a stand-alone release from Fall 2012, and not part of any collection. It's a dusty, warm purple with fiery red shimmer, and like my other Contrary Polishes, dries a little satin-y so top coat would be a good idea.

I have to say, Desert Fruit has the best formula out of the Contraries I own. It was solid in 2 coats. And look at that shimmer- it's even clearly visible in the shade! Let's take a look at it in the sun:

That red shimmer is really cool!

Desert Fruit reminds me of Dior Shadow and OPI Peel Me a Gobi Grape, though Shadow looks like it has slightly less shimmer, and Peel Me a Gobi Grape has roughly the same amount of shimmer but it looks a bit more coppery than red. They're all very pretty in their own right, but I don't think either the Dior or the OPI are available anymore, whereas Desert Fruit is probably in stock at Llarowe right now.

I also thought of L.A. Girl Intoxicate, which I have compared to Desert Fruit here.

Now, they are quite similar, especially in the shade, but there are a few subtle differences. Intoxicate is darker, and while it didn't really translate well in pictures, it also has a yellow-gold shimmer. Intoxicate's purple base is also a more saturated purple, whereas Desert Fruit is kind of dusty. They're both nice colors, but Desert Fruit has a much better formula. Intoxicate needed 3 coats, and I noticed that the drying time was quite slow.

Have you tried Desert Fruit? Thoughts?

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

Contrary Polish Ain't No Sunshine

Today I have another lovely Contrary Polish to show you. Ain't No Sunshine is from the Love Lyrics collection that was released for this past Valentine's Day. Ain't No Sunshine is perfect in 3 thin coats, and needs a layer of top coat to bring out the awesomeness.

The shimmer is so delicate and pretty. Like my other Contraries, it's subtle but not hidden.

Great formula, too. Very smooth, and the brush was great as usual.

It reminds me a lot of Illamasqua Raindrops, but I prefer this. Raindrops is supposedly quite sheer, and based on swatches the shimmer looks a bit too subtle for my liking. Ain't No Sunshine is darker and bluer, of course, but I think that helps ensure that the shimmer is visible. Needless to say, I am no longer interested in Raindrops. I also want to note that this wore very well on me- after 4 days I had the tiniest hints of tipwear, but that's it. Me encanta. These grey-blues get me, every time.

Have you tried any of the Love Lyrics collection? Thoughts?

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

Contrary Polish Purple Smoke + Comparison

Happy Friday!! I am especially stoked today. I just finished my last final (Spanish), and I feel great about it. Today I've got for you a Contrary Polish that isn't necessarily as exciting as the others I've posted so far, but is still quite awesome.

Contrary Polish Purple Smoke is one of the original six colors. When I first saw it, I thought, eh, it's close enough to Paradoxal, Perplex, etc. and if you're not a fan of those greyish/taupe-y/purple colors, it probably is! However, I love them, and am quite pleased with Purple Smoke. It's opaque in 3 thin coats. In the shade:

Like the other Contraries, Purple Smoke is a subtle shimmer, but not at all hidden. Purple Smoke dries pretty matte, so you'll definitely need top coat. In the sun:

The shimmer in Purple Smoke isn't nearly as contrasting as some of the other colors, but I think it's lovely nonetheless. I've also compared it to Revlon Perplex and Barry M Dusky Mauve (an exact dupe for Chanel Paradoxal). I know, Perplex and Dusky Mauve are pretty close, but I chose to compare it with both because to me, Perplex is definitely more purple, and Dusky Mauve is more brown.

So, first up, Purple Smoke vs. Perplex. 2 coats of Perplex on the index and ring fingernails, with top coat.

As you can see, Perplex is darker, warmer, and more purple.

And Purple Smoke vs. Dusky Mauve. 2 coats of Dusky Mauve on the index and ring fingernails, plus top coat.

Like Perplex, Dusky Mauve is warmer and more purple than Purple Smoke, but Dusky Mauve is also a lot more taupe or brown-leaning. Purple Smoke looks blueish in comparison.

All three of these polishes have great formulas, so I'd recommend any of them. Out of these, Perplex will definitely be the easiest to obtain. It has been renamed Naughty, and is now core. Full-sized Contrary Polishes are available on Llarowe, Femme Fatale, and Shoppe Eclectico, but on Fridays, you can also buy minis straight from the Contrary Polish blog. For those of you in the US, Dusky Mauve will be the most troublesome to obtain- I bought mine on Ebay. Harlow and Co. sold Barry M at one point, but I don't see them on the site anymore. You can order directly from Barry M, but I know of someone who had quite a bit of trouble with them, and wouldn't recommend it.

Have you tried any of these? What did you think? Are you as much of a sucker for greyish purples as I seem to be?

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

Contrary Polish Anna Maria

Good morning! Today I'll be showing you my one of my favorite Contrary Polishes, Anna Maria. It was released in Fall 2012 with the Islands trio. The other two colors in the trio are Aruba and Santorini, which are a lighter bluish teal with green shimmer, and a bold royal blue with white shimmer. They're lovely, and definitely on my wish list, but in my opinion, Anna Maria is the standout.

Anna Maria is a gorgeous, slightly murky teal jelly with gold/yellow shimmer. Because it's a jelly, it needs 3 coats for opacity, but the formula is excellent. 3 coats, plus top coat, in the shade:

It's such a cool color! And so unique. The shimmer has a lovely texture. In the sun:

Come on, you gotta admit, this is pretty awesome. I can't think of any dupes for it.

Contrary Polish Firebrand

Contrary Polish Firebrand is one of the original six shades. According to Carrie, Firebrand is one of her top sellers, and I completely understand why! It seems like a pretty boring red, but it's really lovely.

I've told you countless times of my love for vampy reds, and this one is a shimmery jelly to boot! So pretty. I did use 4 super-thin coats, but they dried quickly, and zero bubbling. Bonus: it cleans up nicely! Most reds and vamps tend to spread their reddish pigment around when you try to clean up, so your skin looks angry and inflamed, but this is not an issue with Firebrand.

It has some berryish tones that keep it from being a plain dark red. This is such a flattering, classic color. Since it's a berryish red, I'm sure there's a dupe or something close out there, but I'm quite pleased with this one.

Have you tried Firebrand? What do you think?

Thanks for looking and commenting, and I hope you're having a great week!

Contrary Polish Inky Fingers

Today I have a Contrary Polish to show you! Yay. I have 5 Contrary Polishes, actually, so you'll be seeing four of those over the next month. Aside from Inky Fingers, I have Firebrand, Anna Maria, Purple Smoke, and Desert Fruit (which is the one I've not yet photographed). Inky Fingers is a really cool dark blurple with subtle, greenish blue shimmer. It's solid in 2 coats, and I should also note that the shimmer is more apparent in person. It's also more purple than it appears. It's kind of like a smoky, cooler-toned version of Zoya Pinta, with shimmer.

It dries a little satiny, so you will definitely need top coat. The formula is good, no complaints there.

Such an awesome color. I should note that the brush is a bit different- it's kinda wide and flat, not nearly as big as the OPI Pro-Wide, but definitely bigger than say, a China Glaze or Essie brush. I'll show you how it compares in one of my next Contrary Polish posts. I quite like it, personally, and if you're a murky shimmer fan you definitely need to check these out.

Do you own any Contrary Polishes? What do you think?

Thanks for looking and commenting, and I hope you're having a great week!

Top 30 of 2012! (part 2)

Today I'll show you my favorite indies. To be fair, I don't own many indies, 13 or 14, but for the most part, I really like the ones that I have!

HARE King of Carat Flowers

Unique glitters in a light grey base? Sold. And hello, there's square glitter!!

HARE Cast in Bronze

Application with this one was difficult, but I can forgive that for such a beautiful color. And look, more squares!

HARE Star Tropics

Can you tell I like square glitter? This was my mani for New Year's, and while it is quite thick, the end result is fantaaaaaaastic.

Across the Ocean

This is a franken that I made over the summer! Although I'm not an indie seller (and do not ever plan on becoming one), I threw this one in here because it doesn't really fit in anywhere else. I'm sure you can guess what my reference was when I made this ;)

Contrary Polish Firebrand

I've told you time and again of my love for reds, vampies, and jellies, so it makes perfect sense that I love Firebrand.

Contrary Polish Inky Fingers

Just a note: Inky Fingers is more purple than it looks in my picture. It's like the dark, inky, moody sister of Sephora Pantone Parachute Purple. Excellent formula, and really cool shimmer.

Contrary Polish Anna Maria

Contrary Polish makes some really cool, unexpected shimmers. Murky teal with yellow shimmer? LOVE.

Twili

This one was a custom, and I am absolutely in love with the result. Great formula, and the balance of shimmer to base color is just perfect.

Pahlish Toxic and Timeless

I have an older, barless version of this polish, and it is just so freaking cool. The wear is amazing too. I wore this for ten days! When I get to blogging about this properly, you'll see the end result.

Lynnderella Connect the Dots

Even though this was released in 2011, it has a spot on my list because it's that awesome. Yes, there are 75083672308573028 different versions of this out there, but this has the distinction of having the only bar glitter that I don't hate. I actually like it. What.

Thoughts? Do we have any indie favorites in common? I know it took me a very long time to warm up to indies (aside from Lynnderella, whom I ordered from a few months after she opened), so I'm curious, have you jumped on the indie bandwagon?

Thanks for looking and commenting, and I hope you're doing well!