Dare 2 Wear "Poison Ivy"

i mentioned in my last post that i acquired this yesterday in San Jose.  it's really hard to find Dare 2 Wear in brick and mortar shops around here.  i emailed the company that makes Dare 2 Wear, LeChat, since i know their headquarters are nearby in Hercules, CA.  they told me their showroom is open and that i am welcome to come by and purchase Dare 2 Wear polishes as a retail customer.  guess where i'm planning a day trip to!

getting back to the NOTD, "Poison Ivy" is a stunning yellow-green shimmer.  the formula gave me no problems and it was opaque in 2 coats and dried in good time.  it is so incredibly beautiful and this sort of colour is right up my alley.  even though i have a few similar shades, this one is a keeper for me.

as a note, it differs from the discontinued Dare 2 Wear "Hunter Green 2 Gold Emerald" mood polish by being more green and less gold/brown than the mood polish.  but the two are similar and equally beautiful.

Dare 2 Wear and Savina mini-haul with bottle comps

i explored Santa Clara County a bit yesterday which resulted in a scrumptious little haul.  first i picked up the Dare 2 Wear polishes at Londoner Beauty Supply.  this is a great little shop!  they carry OPI, China Glaze, Dare 2 Wear, Color Club, and Orly in varying amounts.  they also sell adorable mini OPI, Color Club, and Orly bottles individually.
i also decided to visit Nordstrom Rack for the first time and there i found the Savina polishes (they also carry some OPI Shatter colours).

Dare 2 Wear "Poison Ivy", Dare 2 Wear "DJ Mix", Savina "Black Pearl", Savina "Emerald"

Dare 2 Wear "Poison Ivy" compared to "Hunter Green 2 Gold Emerald"

Dare 2 Wear "DJ Mix" compared to China Glaze "Four Leaf Clover"

Savina "Black Pearl" compared to Nubar "Indigo Illusion"

Savina "Emerald" compared to Nicole by OPI "Fell from the Tree"

as a note, i colour corrected Dare 2 Wear "DJ Mix" and China Glaze "Four Leaf Clover" to make them look accurate.  both of these polishes contain neon pigments that look lighter and bluer in photos than in real life. however, in my photos above, they look very much like they do in real life.

Love & Beauty "Yellow"

i've never seen a yellow flakie before this one.  it's a neat colour but pretty translucent (shown is two coats).  i bet it would look nice layered.  the formula was decent aside from the lack of opacity.  unfortunately the brush bristles are sort of flimsy for some reason.  but it's a pretty polish and certainly one that can be worn as a sheer even if you have yellow stains on your nails like i do!  (i'm working to get rid of them of course)

EDIT: i just realized this polish is very similar to Misa "Under My Sunbrella" and L'Oreal "Pineapple Fizz"!

Anise "Pearls for the Devil"

i found this interesting "Stellare Notte"-esque polish at DSW (yes, the shoe store) the other day.  i'd never seen the brand before but they had a number of nice-looking polishes including one that looked like a dupe of Nubar "Verde".  "Pearls for the Devil" is a dark charcoal silver shade with some duochromatic pigment in it that shines green in some light and purple in others.  it had an easy-to-work-with formula and was opaque in 2 coats.
check out the variation in the photos below:

Nicole by OPI "Fell from the Tree" redux

i have blogged about this polish before, but i got a better photo of it this time around and thought i'd post again :)

Peripera "Metallic Green"

hah, i almost forgot to post this one.  i picked it up online.  it's a dupe to Missha "HGR001".  it's really a gorgeous polish--a green/blue duochrome with a chrome finish.  for a chrome, the application was really easy and not very brushstrokey.  i did get some bubbles though when i applied my top coat, so maybe i didn't wait long enough.  unfortunately for me, this polish is scented (i didn't realize until after i bought it).

Essie "Demure Vixen"

i have been intrigued with this polish since it came out but never bought it because i was sure it'd clash with my skin.  actually it works quite well.  i think it's kind of a creepy polish actually because of how fleshy and semi-translucent it looks.  but i mean that in a good way!  i like it quite a lot, and the subtle fuchsia microshimmer is a nice touch.  i was pleased that this polish was opaque in just 2 coats and was pretty easy to apply.

Elianto "Glittery Nickel"

oh man am i in love with this polish!  i mean of course i am, for one it's GREY and it's also SPARKLEY, but beyond that, the formula is PERFECT, almost opaque in 1 coat but 2 is preferred.  the brush and formula on Elianto polishes in my experience has been fantastic.  they have a thicker, flatter brush similar to OPI Pro-Wides that i love.  this polish also wore well.

as you might notice, it isn't a plain grey.  it's a violet-leaning dark grey BUT it didn't clash with my warm skintone at all like Zoya "Kelly" did.

FlorMar Supershines

i received a bunch of these in the mail recently and thought i'd make a post with a bunch of them!

^this is Miracle Colors "u33", a beautiful dark teal/purple duochrome a la Essie "Dive Bar" (only better because this is a foil)

^this is Miracle Colors "u08", a slightly duochromatic dark blue/violet foil.

^this is Miracle Colors "u18", another slightly duochromatic foil in purple/gold-green.

^this is Miracle Colors "u15", another slightly duochromatic foil that's fuchsia/orange-gold.  this is the only one in this post that needed 3 coats instead of 2.

^this is "50", a slightly neon sea green shimmer.  very pretty but too cool for my skin and gave me lobster claws :(

the formula and brush on all of these was fantastic.  they are great quality polishes.  however, since i am downsizing my collection a lot, i don't think i'll be keeping them.

Love & Beauty "Green"

i decided not to buy Zoya "Apple" because i already have and love "Ivanka".  when i saw this dupe in Forever 21, i couldn't resist it's beautiful foily green-gold goodness.  it's much warmer and a bit lighter than "Ivanka" but just as gorgeous.  2 coats is enough.  apologies for the tipwear in this photo as i'd been wearing it for a few days.

Sation "Wild Essence"

hi all, long time no post.  i have a backlog of NOTDs that i'm about to post here.  first is Sation's "Wild Essence".  i picked this one up at a local beauty supply.  it's very pretty and reminds me of shiny sand as well as Orly "Nite Owl".  it only needed 2 coats, but it was too tan for my skintone.  also it didn't seem to react well with my base or top coat and chipped quickly :(