Barielle "Slate of Affairs"

"Slate of Affairs" is from the Fall 2009 All Lacquered Up collection by Barielle. it is a blue-leaning medium grey creme with very subtle blue shimmer. it's a very pretty shade although not particularly flattering on me. i also had the same problem with this shade as i have with other Barielles: it never fully cured and was still dentable after a day. oh well, i returned it.

Claire's "Light Blue Iridescent" aks "Mermaid"

i got this pretty little polish as an extra in a swap the other day. it is a light aqua blue shimmer with pink iridescence--quite a neat combo! unfortunately this polish has a sheer formula and was still translucent at 4 coats. i love it nonetheless.


it reminds me of iridescent glass:

edited to add: i was informed that this polish is also named "Mermaid". my label actually reads "Light Blue Iridescent".

Orly "Royal Navy"

behold the most incredible blue polish: Orly "Royal Navy". this polish was released as part of the Spring 2010 In the Navy collection. you wouldn't expect a red-white-blue collection to yield such a stunning shade, but apparently we lucked out. "Royal Navy" is definitely a saturated royal blue--NOT a navy blue--and it is packed with lighter aqua microglitter that sparkles through the jelly formula.
i put off wearing this polish for a long time because i assumed the formula would be problematic--usually runny, sheer, dark polishes are no fun to work with. i was pleasantly surprised by the formula of "Royal Navy", though, because it was fantastic. i also expected to need 3 coats with this jelly, but 2 was plenty.
a really important tip when applying this polish: SHAKE WELL. the gorgeous aqua microglitter sinks to the bottom of the bottle and if you don't shake it up, you won't get nearly as much sparkle on your nails as you could.

this colour was exceptionally difficult to photograph accurately because my camera tried to make the blue look lighter and more transparent than it does in real life. i had to do some post-processing on these photos to make them more accurate, but i think i succeeded.

Orly "Royal Velvet"

i'm supposed to be doing a blue marathon right now and even though this polish isn't technically blue-based, i think it has enough blue in it to qualify. Orly "Royal Velvet" is from the Spring 2011 Precious collection. it has a dark plum purple base with strong blue iridescence. although the two colours are both visible, it's not a true duochrome. regardless, it is a stunner and glows like crazy.
it needs 3 coats but the formula is pretty decent if a little runny. i'm trying Sally Hansen Insta-Dri top coat in the red bottle for the first time right now and so far i'm loving it.

hello, gorgeous

China Glaze "Bermuda Breakaway"

China Glaze "Bermuda Breakaway" is from the Winter 2008 Bahama Blues collection. there were only blue polishes in this collection. "Bermuda Breakaway" spoke to me because it's a saturated dark blue creme...not so dark that it ever looks black, though. the formula was annoying on this polish--it was too watery and not viscous enough. luckily it had good opacity and a glossy finish after 2 coats. it also did not have any shrinkage with my Poshe top coat.

it's gorgeous and i'll be keeping it in my collection but i do wish the formula had been better.

LA Girl Color Addict "Idol"

i first saw this LA Girl polish in Steph's Closet gallery. i thought it was so unique and had to find it. i looked for its Forever 21 Love & Beauty version at my local stores but couldn't find it, so i resolved to order it from CherryCulture.com.
LA Girl Color Addict "Idol" is a gorgeous dusty greyish-blue with light golden shimmer. i am so far in love with the thick, glossy LA Girl formula from the polishes i ordered. they are nearly opaque in a single coat. i did however experience some shrinkage after applying my Poshe super fast drying top coat.

Catrice "Hip Queens Wear Blue Jeans!"

i received this polish as a gift from an awesome local MUAer. it was night time when she gave it to me, and she told me to wait until i saw it in the light. this was because it's a beautiful dark blue with blue shimmer hidden within. the formula is perfect--thick and glossy. the brush sucks though, which is a shame. regardless it's a gorgeous polish.

Catrice is a European brand and this is the first polish by them that i've ever tried.

Barielle "Falling Star"

Barielle "Falling Star" was a long-time lemming for me that i was grateful to receive in a swap. i like it because it reminds me of lapis lazuli with pyrite inclusions:

"Falling Star" has a slightly dusty medium blue creme base with small squarish copper glitter. not too much glitter, but not too little. the result is a polish as unique as it is pretty. it needs 3 coats to be opaque but it's worth it.

there's just nothing else out there like this! except for the real thing...
i even have a pair of lapis lazuli plugs for my stretched earlobe piercings to match my nails with!

Nubar "Indigo Illusion"

Nubar makes some of the best duochromes i've ever seen, and "Indigo Illusion" might be my favourite. "Indigo Illusion" is actually a multichrome--in the bottle it appears to be a light blue with pink iridescence, but on the nail, a whole bunch of green and gold showsup. it's really gorgeous and unique. the formula is a dream too (unlike the famous Ozotic multichomes can be), opaque in 2 coats and dries fast. i am a big fan of Nubar polishes and i don't think they get as much attention as they deserve.


amazing, no?

CM "W/O Compassion"

have you noticed i'm on a blue marathon lately? 7 more blues to go!

i picked up this CM polish at a local nail supply store. it's got a shimmery blue base with green iridescence. i really have zero complaints about this polish. it has a great formula, easy to work with and opaque in 2 coats. it dried quickly with Poshe as my top coat. it's gorgeous. OH AND DID I MENTION IT'S GORGEOUS?
i also managed to successfully wrap my tips for the first time with this manicure--for once my nails are long enough to do this! hopefully it'll make a difference in wear, although it's been a day and my manicure still looks perfect.

although gorgeous, this polish looks a lot like another i own, NYX "Jungle", only with less green. i'm going to do a comparison of them soon.

comparison: Sally Hansen HD "Opulent Cloud" vs. Seche Professional "Vancouver"

i mentioned way back in this post that i'd found a polish very close to the infamous "Opulent Cloud". i finally did a comparison of the two:

both polishes are lavender-leaning silvers with golden iridescence. "Opulent Cloud" is lighter and more golden than "Vancouver", but "Vancouver" is more opaque and could have sufficed with 2 coats. i have no idea how old "Vancouver" is as i'd never seen Seche POLISH before i purchased it in that nail supply store, but i guess this means that "Opulent Cloud" wasn't so original after all!

comparison: China Glaze "Channelesque" vs. OPI "Parlez-Vous OPI?"

i realized that i had acquired both of these polishes (untried) without realizing how similar they are. so i decided to compare them side-by-side:

next to "Channelesque", "Parlez-Vous OPI?" looks lilac. next to "Parlez-Vous OPI?", "Channelesque" looks brown. funny thing about how colours interact with each other.

OPI "Midnight Blue Glitter"

OPI "Midnight Blue Glitter" was released in the 2004 Tuxedo collection, so it's a stinky black label polish. i secretly wanted this polish since seeing it on NailJuice. i say secretly because i not-so-secretly hate glitter and glitter polishes. BUT i was willing to make an exception for this exquisite OPI.
part of the intrigue for me was that i never quite knew what "Midnight Blue Glitter" was MADE OF. when i received it, i proceeded to dissect it:

turns out it is a sheer grey base with tiny black microglitter and bits of small blue-violet flake glitter. HOW WEIRD. it's rare to find a black glitter polish--the only other one i can think of is Nicole by OPI "Pitch Black Glimmer" from the Winter 2010 Target exclusive collection (which to me looks like the economy version of "Midnight Blue Glitter").
in an effort to keep the B3 chemicals consistent (for wearability's sake), i used Sally Hansen Nail Quencher base coat and Seche Vite top coat. i applied 4 coats to reach opacity and i was surprised to end up with a charcoal polish shimmering silver and blue-violet. its name makes more sense to me now! i barely got some sunlight photos as the sun was setting in soon-to-be-stormy California.



and under the sunlight lamp:all in all, i'm pretty impressed by this polish--and not just for a GLITTER!

Dare 2 Wear "Night Luster 2 Blue Flakes"

once upon a time, this was a mood colour-changing polish. although it no longer changes, it's still an interesting polish. the finish reminds me of so-called 'suede' polishes...it dries matte and kind of leathery. it has a neat texture with blue and silver flakes merged together. i may or may not have bought it in memory of OPI "Midnight Blue Glitter".
it needed 2 coats plus a little bald patching. overall i really like the polish but i'm not sure it's very 'me'. although, for being such a cool-toned silvery blue, this polish is quite flattering on warm-toned me.

Sation "Suede Shoes"

i picked up this Sation polish at a nail supply store. it's really quite a nice colour. it's reminiscent of OPI "Absolutely Alice" with it's bright primary blue base and silver glitter, however "Suede Shoes" is more subdued. unfortunately, it's also more sheer and needs at least 4 coats to be opaque :( this would look better layered methinks.

comparison: green-to-purple duochromes

i also had a bunch of these green-to-purple duochromes in my possession so i threw them together as well:

as you can see, the Essence and the Chelsea are pretty similar. the Chelsea is slightly bluer and more sheer than the Essence. the differences between the other polishes are pretty apparent in the photo.

comparison: dark purple cremes

i briefly had a lot of dark purple cremes in my possession so i decided to throw them together for a comparison shot:

the Sally Hansen "Arabian Night" is like the Nicole by OPI with shimmer. same with the Sally Hansen "Night Hydrangea" and the China Glaze. the OPI was darker than all the rest--moreso than i expected it to be.

comparison: Orly "Meet Me Under the Mistletoe" vs. Elianto "Racing Green"

i recently received Elianto "Racing Green" in a swap and was surprised to see how much it resembled Orly "Meet Me Under the Mistletoe".

both polishes are green based golden foils. you can see that the Elianto has more gold and sparkles and the Orly leans a little bluer. the Orly is also a little more sheer than the Elianto.
turns out Elianto "Racing Green" is what i wanted Orly "Meet Me Under the Mistletoe" to be, so i'm glad i got it.
note: Elianto is an Asian cosmetic brand, made in Korea. i couldn't find a way to order Elianto products and was lucky to swap with an MUAer in Singapore to acquire this polish.

KOH "Blue Universe!"

i was really lucky to swap with a great girl in Holland for this KOH polish. KOH cosmetics is based in the Netherlands and i don't know much about them. what i did know was i had to buy "Blue Universe!" after seeing it on Pimp My Nailz.
"Blue Universe!" is like the blue version of OPI "Merry Midnight". it has a dusty, silvery, shimmery blue base with tiny silver glitter and small red flakies. because it has multiple finishes, "Blue Universe!" is a really interesting and beautiful polish. it needed 3 coats to be opaque but dried quickly. unfortunately i got some shrinkage using a Poshe top coat, so next time i'll try a different top coat.