Franken Friday #2 + Finger Paints Asylum

Today's franken isn't a particularly interesting one, but it's a 1-coater and I'm quite fond of it all the same. The only problem is...I couldn't get it to photograph in such a way that it didn't look identical to the first one! It's a greyish blue, and it's very clearly blue in person, but every photo I took of the darn thing just looks grey.

Yeah.....it just looks grey. It's not, I promise! I added 3 coats of Finger Paints Asylum over top. Asylum, like Flashy, is super sparse...

A closer look at the flakies in Asylum:

Before I took it off, I decided to try it with a matte top coat, and I'm very happy with the result!

And a closeup of the flakies with matte top coat:

Thanks for looking!

China Glaze Glittering Garland

China Glaze Glittering Garland is from the Let it Snow collection, China Glaze's Holiday 2011 offering. To be honest, I didn't find the collection all that interesting, but Glittering Garland is AMAZING. It's got gold and green glass-flecked glitter in a dark green jelly base. It's similar to Orly Meet Me Under the Mistletoe, but it's more opaque and more of a yellow-toned green, whereas the Orly is much more blue and closer to a pine green.

Glittering Garland is surprisingly opaque and glossy! This is 2 coats, no top coat:

Here it is in indirect light to give you a better idea of the type of shimmer that's in it:

So gorgeous! After wearing that orange, I needed something that was more in my comfort zone, and you can't get farther into my comfort zone than green and glass-fleck. Here's a closeup of the shimmer:

Thanks for looking!

Essence What Do U Think? + Essie As Gold as it Gets

Good morning! Today I have a not-so-premium polish to show you. Bonus points if you get the reference!

Essence What Do U Think? is one of the known dupes for Chanel Orange Fizz, and is the most easily accessible here in the US, since Ulta sells Essence Colour & Go polishes. The other dupe that I know of is Catrice I Scream Peach! but as far as I know, Catrice isn't available here.

I can safely say that between the formula and the brush, What Do U Think? is one of the worst polishes I've used in a long time. The formula is thick, chalky, and very streaky, so you need at least 4 coats before it will even out. And despite the fact that these polishes are marketed as quick-dry, it took a very long time to dry. Longer than normal polish, even, although that could also be attributed to the excessive number of coats required. I even wound up with bubbles on my pinky. Not cool.

Check out those bubbles. Cute. That said, this really is a nice color. Orange is pretty far out of my comfort zone, but I really like the color. It's soft and vibrant at the same time. In the bottle, there is some sparse golden shimmer, but that barely shows up on the nail. I was originally going to wear this on its own, but those bubbles were driving me nuts, so I layered a coat of Essie As Gold as it Gets on top. Here is the result:

Not only do the sheer golden flakies in As Gold as it Gets look awesome over a lighter base color, they even camouflaged the bubbles and other such flaws in my application! Have a closer look at the texture and shimmer of the Essie:

Thanks for looking!

Deborah Lippmann Razzle Dazzle

Thought I'd give you a closer look at one of my Top 20 polishes! Razzle Dazzle is magenta glitter in a dark raspberry jelly base, and it is nothing short of spectacular. It's sparkly and glossy and has loads of depth. It needs 3 coats for opacity, but it also has the typical smooth, self-leveling, quick-drying Lippmann formula. This is how it looks whenever you're inside or in indirect light:

In sunlight, the glitter is much more visible, and you can see the true depth of this polish. By the way, despite the density of the glitter, it only required one coat of Gelous to be completely smooth!

And here's a macro:

So awesome. And this is one of the Lippmanns that hasn't been duped yet!

Thanks for looking!

Top 20 - Part II

Today I have the second half of my Top 20 for you! This half consists of blues, greens, and layering polishes. Yesterday's disclaimer still applies, by the way.

Blues:

Orly Halley's Comet

Revlon Chic

China Glaze DV8

China Glaze 2NITE

Essie Starry Starry Night

Greens/Layering polishes:

Lynnderella Connect the Dots (shown here over SHCSM Dorien Grey)

Nails Inc. the Wyndham (shown here over Nails Inc. Kensington)

Chanel Peridot

Lynnderella All Hallow's Eve

Illamasqua Rampage (arguably my all-time favorite)

Thanks for looking!

Top 20 - Part I

Before I start, let me apologize in advance for some of the photos. A few of them were taken back in March or April, when 1) I was using my cell phone as a camera and 2) when I was completely clueless about lighting. Eventually I'll retake most of these photos and post them properly!

I've broken my Top 20 up into 2 parts so that it'll be a little more managable. Today I've got the reds, pinks, purples, and neutrals to show you!

Neutrals:

Deborah Lippmann No More Drama

Estee Lauder Surreal Violet

Reds/Pinks:

Deborah Lippmann Ruby Red Slippers (this is the main one I was apologizing for at the beginning of the post, lol)

OPI Royal Rajah Ruby

Deborah Lippmann Razzle Dazzle

Quirius Sunshine Energy

Purples:

Barry M Dusky Mauve (Revlon Perplex is pictured here, but they're more or less the same color)

Zoya Neeka

Milani Dot Com

NARS Purple Rain

That's it for now. I'm cringing as I look at a few of these older photos...yikes. Tomorrow I'll post the other 10. Thanks for looking!

Lavender Creme franken + Finger Paints Flashy

I've been hunting for my perfect lavender creme for almost a year now. Everything out there right now is too white, too chalky, too lilac, too bright, or too blue. Picky, I know, but there's a very particular color that I've been after! Planks a Lot was released with OPI's Pirates of the Caribbean collection earlier this spring, and lo and behold, the exact color that I wanted! But of course, I wound up with the brighter, warmer-toned version, and later found out there are two versions of this color. What the heck, OPI. I got tired of looking though, so I added a few drops of Essie Mesmerize and a few drops of this grey creme, and I'm very happy with the result!

And as you may have heard, Finger Paints is releasing a collection of flakies! The official release date is New Year's, but I got lucky and found a Sally's that already had Flashy.

Flashy is your standard red/gold/orange/green flakie, and is exactly like SHCSM Hidden Treasure, Nubar 2010, Nfu Oh 38, and Essie Shine of the Times. The only difference between these is the density. Shine of the Times is the most dense, and I think Flashy is the least dense.

Advance apologies for the random bits of water in these photos! It was raining a little when I went out to take them. What you see here is 3 coats of Flashy over 3 coats of lavender: 

I really like how coppery these flakies look over lavender! Here's a macro at an angle so you can see the color shift:

Thanks for looking!