YSL Jade Imperial

YSL Jade Imperial was released with the Arty Stone collection this past spring. It's a lovely jade green creme. I am weirdly picky about my minty greens. Off the top of my head, the only ones I can think of that fit my tastes are Sinful Colors Open Seas, Milani Dress Maker/Chanel Jade, and YSL Jade Imperial. Of course, I didn't actually decide I liked Jade Imperial until right after it sold out locally, and I'm not big on online shopping. I got lucky though, and the SA that was helping me said I could have the tester! Sure, it's missing the gold outer cap, but I don't care about that. The tester is in pretty good condition, and it's about 75% or 80% full, so needless to say, I am very happy.

Now, onto the polish itself. Jade Imperial has a flawless formula. Almost perfect in 1 coat, super smooth application, dries shiny...I am in love. The brush is quite large, and I was a little worried about how that would affect the application, but I had no trouble. In fact, I didn't even need to clean this up.

I did leave gaps that are a little too wide, but that's because I did my nails in dim lighting while dying watching HBO's Oz. I know I'm ten years too late on that show, but OMGGGG. Kirk Acevedo. Rita Moreno. Lauren Velez. Eamonn Walker. Dean Winters. BD WONG. And holy crap, JK Simmons. That guy has RANGE. Seeing him go between Jameson and Schillinger and that Farmers Insurance guy...damn. I have a hard time thinking of him as anyone other than Vern, though.

Thoughts? Did you fall in love with Jade Imperial too? I've pretty much heard nothing but raves about it. And what about Oz? Have you watched it?

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

A-England Dragon

Aaaaand here is Dragon! Dragon is a fern-y green scattered holographic with the added bonus of some gold shimmer.

Well, the gold shimmer isn't exactly visible in the shade, but it'll come out in the sun.

Dragon was even in one coat, but I found that a second coat added depth.

One thing I should note was that Dragon's formula wasn't quite as good as Saint George. It had a slight tendency to get a little lumpy if you go over the same spot more than once, but a couple drops of thinner would probably fix that.

Yayyy, shimmer! Admittedly, I am not quite as stoked about this one as I was about Saint George, but to be fair, Saint George is pretty hard to beat.

Dragon reminds me a bit of La Femme Unica, but Unica is definitely more olive than Dragon. It's also more holo, and lacks the gold shimmer. Of the two, I'd definitely choose Dragon, personally!

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

Reswatch: Essence Walk on the Wild Side

Essence Walk on the Wild Side was released last summer. I posted it then, along with three of the other Colour & Go polishes, but I wore it again recently and am once again smitten. Plus, I'm hoping my nails and photos have improved somewhat in the last year ;)

Greeeeeen. Shimmery green. The shimmer isn't super sparkly but it's so cool! Walk on the Wild Side is as fabulous as I remember. My assessment of the formula hasn't changed either- almost perfect in 2 coats but still requiring a third for full opacity.

Now I want to wear the others again.

Did you wind up like me, getting all excited about these when they were released, only to forget about them until a year later?

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

NYC Tudor City Teal + Nails Inc. the Wyndham

NYC Tudor City Teal is a polish that didn't have a proper "release," as far as I know. But it started showing up on blogs and looked like a very cute color, so for 99 cents I thought, why not? I'll give it a try. Unfortunately, the formula is thin and watery.

I used 3 thick coats here and there's still a bit of VNL, but it sure is pretty.

And over that, I added 2 coats of Nails Inc. the Wyndham, a green-blue flakie.

I really like this combination! It kind of makes me want to go somewhere tropical, which is weird because I hate hot weather despite being from a tropical country. Bad South Asian. I do miss the fruit though!

Have you also succumbed to the 99-cent allure of Tudor City Teal? What did you think of the formula?

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

China Glaze Running In Circles

China Glaze Running in Circles is part of the Cirque du Soleil collection from Winter 2012. Personally, I don't care for Cirque du Soleil, or for most of the colors in the collection for that matter...but this one is a different story. Running in Circles is a beautiful, complex grassy green glass-fleck.

I can't even. It's so sparkly, and has so much depth! It's a wee bit sheer, a 3-coater, but I think the finish completely makes up for it.

Running in Circles, like Don't Mess With OPI, stained a blue, but it was nowhere near as bad. Plus, the slight blue staining worked quite nicely for my yellowed nails >.>

There's a P2 polish called Green Palm Tree that I think is similar to Running in Circles, but it is lighter and has this super-cool gold shimmer running through it. The only problem is, P2 is a European brand, but if I could get ahold of it at the same price I paid for this, I would choose the P2. Don't get me wrong, they're both lovely, and I am happy with this one! But I am a sucker for some nice gold shimmer.

Have you tried Running in Circles, or any of the other Cirque du Soleil colors? Thoughts?

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

Don't Mess With OPI

Don't Mess With OPI is a grassy green from OPI's Spring 2011 Texas collection. It's so strange, I clearly remember getting this and being excited about it and wearing it, but it also feels like 2011 was so long ago. :O Don't Mess With OPI is solid in 2 coats.

The formula is thin, but smooth.

There's just one problem with this polish...it stains blue when you remove. Skin, nails, eeeeeeeeeeeeeverything it touches turns blue, and it's a PITA to get out. The staining keeps me from using this too often, honestly.

Now, there are TONS of grassy green cremes out there. The first one that comes to mind is Essie Pretty Edgy, which I have! It is definitely warmer than the OPI, but the formula is not as good. It's thick and streaky, but the color is very nice and it doesn't stain blue.

Have you tried Don't Mess With OPI, or any of the other Texas colors? Thoughts?

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

Crowstoes Orion

DISCLOSURE: Orion was sent for my honest review by Crowstoes.

Orion, a warm, olive green duochrome, is another one of my favorites! I swatched it both alone and over black. This is four coats of Orion.

You can kinda see the brownish base peeking through. It's very different from the kind of greens I usually wear, and while I'm not really used to it, it's kinda cool.

The color shift is visible without a black base, but it's definitely not as strong as Asterope or Celaeno.

Despite my griping about layering over black, Orion is one color that definitely warrants it IMO. Check it out:

Much better! It's still a warm green, but I feel like Orion looks a lot better without the brownish base peeking through. It looks sort of funky on me. I used 3 coats over black, and the end result was totally worth it. The sun actually bothered coming out the day I swatched this, so I snapped some shots in that lighting too.

And check this out, it's even a little duochrome-y in the sun!

It's a subtle shift, but duochromes usually don't look so great in direct sunlight, so this was a pleasant surprise.

Crowstoes are sold at Llarowe and Shoppe Eclecticco, and Aussie customers can buy them at Femme Fatale Cosmetics. I believe they are also sold on Overall Beauty, but interestingly enough, when I tried to access the page to link in this post, my antivirus marked it as unsafe.

I was trawling through Etsy shops recently, and noticed that Digital Nails and Indigo Bananas have some similar colors. I think Pan and Lowkey are the ones closest to Orion, but they're lighter, and Lowkey has a silvery cast that Orion lacks. Pan is about as duochrome as Orion on its own but has a greyish base, unlike Orion's brownish base.

DISCLOSURE: Orion was sent for my honest review by Crowstoes.

Have you tried Orion? Thoughts?

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

Franken: Across the Ocean

Since it was released, Deborah Lippmann's Across the Universe has been a favorite for many polish addicts. I briefly succumbed to the hype, but realized pretty quickly it wasn't actually my thing, so it went off to someone who would appreciate it more. I am a big teal lover though, and figured I would like a similar polish in that color scheme, so I decided to make one. Because I am so super creative and original (/sarcasm), I'm calling it Across the Ocean.

That is 5 coats. I kept it really freaking sheer because I didn't want to lose the glitter.

It's got quite a bit of depth. Not sure why I've got a bottle of Essie drying drops in the above picture, but we'll just go with it.

Boom. Glitter. It wore really well on me too- 5 days, no chips, no tip wear. Just the expected growth at the cuticle end. It makes a pretty great base for Pahlish Toxic and Timeless, which I'll be showing you on Friday.

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

Top 30 of 2012! (part 3)

I don't post a whole lot of layering combinations, but that's mostly because I don't get around to photographing them. Here are the colors that I've reached for the most. First up, the base colors.

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Dorien Grey

A nice, simple, clean light grey creme. It's so versatile!

Ruby Kisses Regaled Out Blue

Dark blue goes with a lot of things, and I can't resist a nice jelly.

China Glaze VIII

An excellent basic eggplant creme. Smooth formula, dries quickly, completely solid in 2 coats.

Nails Inc. Kensington

Inky teal jelly, almost black. Works really well for water marbling, too!

New York Summer Hot Sky Blue

Another squishy blue jelly! This is great for jelly sandwiches, and also looks awesome under flakies.

And my favorite layering polishes:

Lynnderella Connect the Dots

Yep, it's on two of my lists. It's that good. With black and white glitter, there are so many layering possibilities!

Nails Inc. the Wyndham

This has the distinction of being my first flakie polish, and it remains my favorite. The green is so vivid, and there is a very evident blue shift.

Finger Paints Asylum

It has blue flakies!! I have been lusting after a flakie with just blue, but since I loathe Nfu Oh bottles and find Inglot to be too much of a hassle to get ahold of, this is as close as I will get for a while. It is lovely though.

Essie As Gold as it Gets

Sheer gold flecks. This is really delicate and pretty, especially over dusty, mid-toned colors.

Essie Shine of the Times

A basic orange-green flakie. It's very dense, so you don't need  much at all for a single manicure.

So, there you have it! My 30 favorites from last year. Thoughts? Do you like layering too, or do you find it troublesome?

Top 30 of 2012! (part 1)

So, about a year ago I showed you my all-time favorites. I was going to do it again on the same day, but obviously that didn't happen because I am lame. I was also going to show you how my all-time favorites have changed in the last year, but I don't think they've changed a whole lot, so instead I will show you three lists over the next three days: my ten favorite polishes released this year, my ten favorite indies, and my ten favorites for layering (both base colors and layering polishes).

Several of them, I have not yet blogged about, so you'll be getting a sneak peek of some upcoming posts. And there are a few polishes for which I've not even taken photos, so you'll get a few bottle photos here and there. So, let's get started!

OPI Did You Ear About Van Gogh?

This year, I tried nude cremes! I'm still overwhelmed by all the combinations of hue, undertone, etc. but this one kinda works! It's greyish and cool-toned, but I think it has enough yellow in it that it sort of works. Regardless of my skintone weirdness, this is a great color with a great formula.

Revlon Urban

LOVE. Shiny, squishy dark blue creme with slight purple undertones. Great formula.

Essie Penny Talk

I've told you of my weakness for coppers, and this pretty much epitomizes it. One of the worst formulas I've ever worked with, but I can't resist the color! I'm even willing to forgive some brushstrokes for it.

Illamasqua Charisma

As you probably know, I'm not a pink fan. But this dark berry has some reddish undertones, and that shimmer. I just love it. Great pedicure color, too.

OPI I Have a Herring Problem

This is definitely one of OPI's better names, and one of their better colors too. Despite the sheerness, I love the finish and color, and the application is great.

Essie Ole Caliente

Coral is not really my thing but this is so pretty. It's reddish enough that I don't feel that weird wearing it, and Ole Caliente makes for an awesome summery pedicure.

Deborah Lippmann Cleopatra in New York

I'm not sure how she does it, but Deborah Lippmann really nails the balance of base color to glitter. The black base is opaque, but the gold still shines through, and the end result has so much depth. Plus, you can't go wrong with black and gold. (cue Sam Sparro playing in the background)

Essence Walk on the Wild Side

Really, I could have put all four of the new Colour & Go's on this list, but since I only left space for one, I chose this. Formula could be better, but the finish is great.

Nails Inc. Baker Street

I bet no one was expecting this. /sarcasm
Seriously though, how can you resist such a bold blue?

Revlon Guest List

In addition to nude cremes, I also tried an olive green for the first time this year. The formula is less than stellar, but I really like this.

Thoughts? Do we have any mainstream/mass-produced favorites in common? Tell me about yours!

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

Revlon Guest List

Revlon Guest List is one of the LE Top Speeds from this fall, so it should still be available. The collection seemed to be party-themed, or something. Guest List is a murky olive green creme, and the first color of this sort that I've ever tried. I worried about my hands looking dirty or turning into lobster claws with olives, but I'm pleasantly surprised by this one! In the shade:

In warmer lighting (since the sun was nowhere to be found). This is a more accurate depiction of how it looks most of the time.

So, let's talk formula. I don't think Top Speeds and I get along very well. Apparently I can never seem to wait long enough between coats to prevent bald spots, which is weird because I wait several minutes, and that works just fine for non-quick dry polishes....So, because of the streaking, Guest List is a definite 3-coater. It could be solid in 2 if you can prevent the streaking.

As for dupes...I'm really not familiar with olive greens, as I had always ignored them because I figured they would look horrible. However, I could never really shake the Chanel Khaki Vert lemming until now. I think this is like a more flattering version of Khaki Vert (which is grayer, and a bit browner). For reference, check out theasiangirl's swatch on Tumblr. She and I have very similar skintones, so I know I can rely on her swatches.

Have you ever tried an olive green polish? Did you wind up liking it, or hating it?

Thanks for looking and commenting, and I hope you're having a great week! And for my American readers, have a great Thanksgiving! 

SHCSM Dorien Gray + Pure Ice Heartbreaker + Nails Inc. the Wyndham

I've shown you Dorien Gray quite a few times now, so I'll spare you another set of swatches. 1 coat of Pure Ice Heartbreaker adds a subtle green shimmer without changing the base color.

I'm actually really happy with how this combo looks!

Yaaayyy more picspam because why not....on a side note, I think I am getting sick of my square nails. They are starting to verge on duck nail territory.....that is a dangerous place to be.....

And to that, I added one coat of Nails Inc. the Wyndham.

I love layering but I think this last addition was a mistake. Boo.

Not to mention, a huge pain to photograph! I couldn't get any sun for the last few posts, and now, there is too much sun! Nail blogger problems, y'all.

Yeah, I don't think I can get used to the square nails. Too weird for me. Love 'em on others, but this is not working for me. Oh well!

Have you ever taken the layering thing a step too far? Ever changed up your nail shape? How'd that go? Loved it? Hated it?

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