Barielle Elle's Spell

Tonight will be a quick post because it's getting late and I have to work tomorrow...wah!  Also I think the amazingness of the polish speaks for itself...you'll see.

I used two coats of Elle's Spell over a burgundy creme from Julep called Anisa.  The actual Barielle polish is a red jelly with holo flakies and it's amazing.  I feel like putting it over red was pretty but I should have put it over a dark purple...oooohhh!  I'm starry-eyed just thinking about it.  Sorry that's all I have but tomorrow will be a better day all around.  (:

Darling Diva Erotic City and Wild Child

Just as promised I have swatches of the other two Darling Diva polishes that I received from the maker Carrie.  Can you believe I had to swatch them twice?  The first time I forgot to hold the bottle.  I know that seems minor but I like my photos to be consistent so, of course, that did not stand.  lol  I think my other swatches were better but it's kinda hard NOT to make polish look good when it's just as gorgeous on it's own.  So true!

First up is Erotic City.  You may remember this from my 31DC2013 post for galaxy nails where I used it as my base.  I think it looks like a galaxy even without all of the nail art on top.  Erotic City is a deep purple jelly base filled with holo micro glitter and blue opalescent hexagonal glitters.  When I first put it on, it looked like clear glitter, as if the color had bleed.  I was really sad about it until I put my hand closer to the light and that's when the blue really shined so definitely no bleeding.  I know you can see every inch of it in these photos.  I used three coats just to get rid of my VNL and the formula was a bit thick but very manageable.  

Next is my second favorite out of the four I received, Wild Child.  I mean how can you not love a rainbow glitter polish?  The base is clear but I chose to layer two coats over a grey (Julep Meryl) because I always love the contrast between neutral and neon.  The base on Wild Child is clear and there are so many different glitters in here like large pink hexes, medium blue hexes, small green hexes and squares, small pink squares, and then pink and green tiny glitter.  There is definitely a good distribution of the larger glitters so you don't have to fish them out too many times.  I think out of the two coats on each nail I only had to fish out one of them.  All the glitter seems to lay flat to my nail except the large ones but I do have pretty curved nails.  On my thumb and people with wider nails there would be no problem.

I really think these are amazing.  Carrie is such a lamb for sending these to me.  If you like what you see you can purchase them from Darling Diva's Etsy Store for just $9.00.  She also has a new collection so don't forget to check it out.  Have a great night!

Claire's Electric Avenue

Alright Ladies!  I was a Claire's yesterday and I happened to see a lot of new nail polishes and nail art accessories.  Of course all of the cosmetics are always BOGO 50% off so I bought 4 new polishes...well 3.  One was a matte top coat.  Anyway, I tried to Google swatches of the new ones, but I couldn't find them anywhere.  Nothing and I mean nothing came up.  So I'm not gonna say that I'm the first to post this, but I think I'm the first to post this.  lol Please correct me if I'm wrong.

This is called Electric Avenue.  It is a beautiful teal jelly packed full of black and white glitters in all different sizes.  I had to use 3 coats for (almost) full opacity.  The formula was a bit on the thick side but not unmanageable.  I had to place a few of the larger glitters so they wouldn't slide off but the smaller and bar glitters stuck perfectly.  And speaking of bar glitters, some of them are starting to curve.  I'm sure that's not supposed to happen, but it didn't create any problems and to me it doesn't look bad so I left it alone.

Here is a close up bottle shot for your viewing pleasure.  At first glace I really thought I could just create this polish look with Zoya Frida and any black and white glitter using the glitter sandwich technique, but how much easier is it just to put on a couple of coats and go?  Besides, I'd rather use Frida and my black and white glitters for more fun manis.

I have two more colors to show you soon so please check back.  Don't forget to check out your local Claire's or Icing stores to see the rollout of new goodies.  Oh and if you purchase $20+ between today and August 24, you will get $10 off your next $20+ starting on August 25.  I'm keeping mine in a safe place until I can redeem it for all the other polishes and accessories I saw.

Alter Ego Rust Bucket Owner

**I received this product complimentary for testing and review purposes from Alter Ego Nail Enamel**

I am super excited about this polish because it is my first ever Alter Ego polish.  I did give a couple away last year but I didn't get to keep any.  lol I received this polish straight from the maker, Cynthia.  She has relaunched HER STORE ON ETSY and reformulated all of her polishes with a new, lighter base and I'm here to tell you how it is.

All the Alter Ego's are named for occupations or actions so I got Rust Bucket Owner.  It is a rust colored orange/red (which didn't come out correctly) with brown, black, and scattered holographic glitter.  When I first opened it, I was so excited because it is so pretty.  I really wish I could capture the color correctly so you can see how dead on the color is to actual rust.

I had to go outside to get a better color and I almost nailed it...lol.  Nailed it!  Anyway, see the brick wall in the background?  See how close in color the polish is?  Yeah.  It's awesome!  (:

So the formula was amazing by the way.  I don't even know what I thought it was gonna be, but it wasn't this.  It turned out to be the easiest jelly polish that I've ever used.  I applied 3 coats for full opacity.  Oh but wait, as if that amazingness weren't enough, it dries semi-matte!  Yep!  My only suggestion for this polish is to wait until each coat dries completely or else you will need extra, extra dry time.  I didn't wait hardly any time between each coat and though I had absolutely no dragging or bald spots (thumbs up for Cynthia!), it did take a little while to dry.  Jellies are squishy and this one is definitely that.

Thank you so much to Cynthia for gifting this polish to me.  I really, really love it and I can't wait to try more polish from you.  If any of you, my dear readers, would like to get any Alter Ego polish to add to your ever-growing stash, just visit HER ETSY STORE and purchase any of her amazing full size bottles for just $8.50. Have a wonderful evening and rest up for the upcoming week.  See yaaaaaa!!!

Orly Hot Shot Revisited

So today was a good day and then it wasn't anymore.  I thought I was okay, but I'm not really.  So I'll just give you a quick post tonight.

Orly Hot Shot is a super punchy pink crelly.  It's showing up a lot darker than it is, but I couldn't get it to come out.  It's a little more pink then it's showing, but it's just as neon.  I used 3 coats for full opacity.

Sorry I'm not more into it, but I hope you all understand.  /:

OPI Y'all Come Back Ya Hear?

So I have a couple reasons I wanted to show this particular polish today.  First and foremost, it's from the Texas Collection and I am a Texas girl, even if I don't always like it.  Also, it's freaking hot outside right now and this orange is a very hot color.  How hot you ask?  105 with a heat index of 110.  

I hope you all liked that explanation.  lol.  I definitely love this color.  This is 3 coats and since it's a jelly, or a "sorbet" as OPI calls it, you can see my VNL, but no biggie to me.  It's so shiny, it's too difficult to pay attention to anyway.  I do have a love-hate attitude towards the shiny finish because it's nice to not have to wear a top coat.

Happy Hump Day!
D

OPI Pirouette My Whistle

I know this one has been on a lot of blogs lately but it's one of my favorite polishes right now, so I'm gonna post my photos too.  *sticks tongue out*

I don't need to say much about it because I'm sure you've all read it before a hundred times.  I layered 2 coats over OPI My Pointe Exactly but I wish I had put it over my favorite OPI, Sweet Memories.  How gorgeous would that be?  I'm gonna do it and I'll put it up on my Facebook page for you all to see. 

Enjoy the beginning of your weekend and be safe.
D