Layla Softouch Turquoise Splash

Today I'm showing you my first ever Layla polish! This polish was a Christmas gift from the lovely Caitlin of Epic Nail Time (you should really go check out her blog, she has the most flawless nails, and takes gorgeous photographs!) I was late to discover Layla, since I wasn't impressed with their holographic line, but I've already purchased three more of the Softouch Effect. :)

This is Layla Softouch Effect Turquoise Splash. It's a bright turquoise blue with silvery green shimmer. It's a matte finish, but has some intense sparkle going on.

The formula was amazing, it applied in two smooth coats that dried quickly without any clumping, which sometimes happens with matte finish polishes (the brush is about the size and shape of the OPI prowide brush, which is my favorite).

I'm seriously in love with this polish, the sparkle is so beautiful and I'm sad that I couldn't quite capture it with my camera. The finish is soft and matte but wore very well. I'm pretty rough on my hands and always have tip wear or chips after 24 hours, and this mani lasted two days without tip wear (although the second day I added a top coat). Did I mention that it's amazingly sparkly

The second day I wore this mani I had to add top coat to see what it would look like. One coat of top coat smoothed it out to a glassy finish and really brought out the sparkly finish. I really can't decide if I like this color better with or without top coat! I love the soft smooth feel of Turquoise Splash without top coat, but it's so sparkly, pretty and gorgeous with top coat too. 

Layla Cosmetics is an Italian nail polish that can be purchased here in the US from select Ulta stores or online from Ninja Polish, or Harlow and Co. The Softouch Effect line retails for around $10.

China Glaze Manhunt

China Glaze Manhunt is a 2012 release, as part of the China Glaze On Safari collection, but new to me. When I see a new collection I always try to convince myself that I don't need any more blues/reds/pinks etc, then always end up buying them anyway!

Manhunt is a beautiful blue creme. It's really the perfect blue creme, nicely balanced with just a touch of dustiness. The formula was great, usually China Glaze cremes run a bit thick for my taste, but this one sat nicely between thin and controllable and thick and opaque. Two easy coats to opaque and it is self-leveling so it dries so shiny and smooth. I didn't have any staining, so removal was just as easy as application!

This is definitely my favorite blue creme, it's just the right shade for my skintone and will make the perfect go-to blue or undies for glitter polishes!

Antique Silver Studded

This is a first for me, my first studded mani. When I received some silver studs in my Cult Nails grab-bag I was really excited to try them out. I'm usually a plain sort of girl, I mostly wear shimmers and cremes and don't even do accent nails when I'm out and about, so studs are definitely new to me and something I probably wouldn't have purchased myself.

I started with a A-England Dorian Grey, a gorgeous blackened pewter shimmer that really reminds me of something antique and luxurious (it seemed like a great choice to pair with these sliver studs). I used top coat, then added the square studs with the corners going end to end while the top coat was still wet. They aren't quite straight/even.. but I think it's okay for my first attempt. I finished it with another layer of top coat although the studs still stuck out on the sides since they are flat and my nails are very curvy.

Here are the other studs I received from my Cult Nails grab bag:

I can't tell you how much I loved this. I never thought I would be able to stand something so big and "obnoxious" on my nails but it looked so pretty and the metallic studs caught the light like polish never can.

*Cult Nails nail art supplies can be purchased here and silver studs retail for $2.00 USD.

OPI Your Royal Shyness Swatch

I've recently gained an appreciation for nude polishes. For the longest time I thought it was silly to wear nail polish that wasn't bright and colorful, but as a self-proclaimed nail polish addict I wear polish every single day. After a while you get tired of bright bold colors (and having to think about what you have to wear that won't klash with your nails). Since I love the feel of nail polish on my thin, fragile nails I opt for a nice nude polish rather than wearing no polish.

OPI Your Royal Shyness is a polish I picked up in my local grocery store. In the last month a small rack of OPI nail polish has popped up in the Bi Lo near my house. I have no idea why they are selling nail polish next to the band-aids, but I love it!

Your Royal Shyness is a sheer pearly shimmery nude. It's from the Princess Charming collection and I'm not entirely sure it's 3-free (although it does have the pro-wide brush). I wasn't going for an opaque finish, so I used three coats although I'm sure it would have been opaque in four.

I don't know what's up with me suddenly wearing neutral colors and wanting to see visible nail line! What's next? Boring french manicures?!? I hope not! :-P

Butter London West End Wonderland

I said I had a bunch of Butter London polishes to show you, here's another!

Butter London West End Wonderland is a gorgeous gold glitter. I've said it before and I always seem to say that I'm not a fan of gold, yet I keep finding gorgeous new colors that make me eat my words. West End Wonderland was one of the polishes available on Coterie quite a while ago, and with the deal they had I could get 3 Butter Londons for $11 and I took some chances on colors I normally wouldn't go for. I'm definitely glad I got this one.

West End Wonderland is very fine glitter mix with a combination that is subtle, yet incredibly sparkly. Instead of a yellow-gold that would clash with my skin-tone, West End Wonderland is a light gold glitter that looks almost tan mixed with tiny copper glitter.

The formula was great on this polish, it was almost opaque in two coats, and completely opaque in three. Like most dense glitters it dried rough and gritty. I used two coats of Gelous and one thin coat of Seche Vite and it was smooth as glass.

I just can't believe how sparkly this polish is!

Pretty and Polished Sea Spray Swatches and Review

Today I have what might be one of my new favorite  polishes to show you! This is the gorgeous Pretty and Polished Sea Spray.

I am seriously addicted to this one guys. Sea Spray is a blue jelly base with a subtle (yet very apparent) holographic effect. This polish simply takes the cake, and might be my favorite blue of all time. For starters, the jelly base is so deep and dark yet bright and blue. The holo is beautifully linear yet takes nothing away from that deep blue base.

The formula was perfect, this is two smooth coats with top coat.

You simply have to see this one in person. If you're a blue polish lover, GO BUY IT! Seriously, buy it. Best $9 you will spend on polish.

Just look...

This is my second Pretty and Polished holo that was an instant favorite. I'm in love. Just seeing these pictures makes me want to wear this polish again and I've only just taken it off. 

Sea Spray was recently released as part of True Blue Duo, but is also sold separately for $9 on the Pretty and Polished website or Pretty and Polished Etsy Store.

Color Club Holo Hues 2013 Swatches and Comparisons!

Today I have the entire 2013 Color Club Holo Hues Collection to share with you! These are some gorgeous linear holos, so the post is fairly picture heavy (if the pictures are loading slowly, wait it out, it's totally worth it).

In each set of photos the first one is with diffuse light and the rest are with direct light (my daylight bulb). I've also compared each of the colors with everything similar in my stash, I don't have every holo on the market but I had a few to compare!

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Kismet is a yellow-toned green (I'd call it chartreuse) holo, and completely unique in my collection.

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Cosmic Fate is a copper holo. It's a bit of a nude-toned holo on me, but beautiful. I have nothing in my collection like this!

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Miss Bliss is a bright pink holo.

Pink Comparison

The Jade is extremely different than either of the Color Clubs here, it's a hot pink jelly based holo. Halo-Graphic and Miss Bliss are very similar but Halo-graphic is a dustier and less vivid than Miss Bliss. Halo-graphic is also a bit more sheer, I needed three coats to equal the two coats of Miss Bliss. Miss Bliss is my favorite of the two.

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Eternal Beauty is a bright violet purple holo.

Is it weird to say that there's almost a different smell to this one? Something about it smells a bit different than the rest of the collection and I just can't put my finger on it.

Purple Comparison

Direct light:

Diffuse light:

Jade Fascino Violeta has a jelly base while Eternal Beauty is more of a chalky holo (jelly bases tend to wear better). The Jade is also a touch more red-toned than Eternal Beauty. I don't *think* Jade is 3-free (it doesn't smell 3-free but I could be wrong). I like both of these for different reasons, and I'm happy to own both, but some people might be happy with just one.

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Over The Moon is a beautiful sky blue holo.

Blue Comparison

No dupes here! Roger That is still the perfect blue for my skintone, but it's not a very strong holo compared to the Color Club holos. Over The Moon is the winner here!

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Beyond is a beautiful black (well, charcoal grey) holo.

Black Comparison

Direct light:

Diffuse light:

Beyond is a bit more blue-grey toned than Jade Magia which is more black. The holo in Magia isn't as strong and linear. Next to Beyond Magia looks like a scattered holo, although it usually seems quite linear. Unless you really like black holos, you probably don't need both of these.

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The formula on all of the Color Club Holo Hues is fantastic. Beyond was a bit thicker than the rest but still very manageable. As with all holos I did not wear top or base coat. They are all opaque in 2 coats. (You are seeing two or three coats for all of the photographs although they were perfectly opaque in two. I just have a rough spot on one of my nails I was trying to cover up since I couldn't use my normal smoothing base coat.) The formula was also incredibly easy to control, I didn't do any clean up before taking these pictures.

I love this collection just as much as last year's Holo Hues. Color Club is really producing some fantastic polishes, first they introduced incredible strong holos, and with this collection they've added more pigment to produce bright unique colors. The colors are a lot more unique, and a bit more vivid without sacrificing any of the holo intensity. My must haves for this collection are Eternal Beauty, Beyond, and Cosmic Fate, although Kismet is unique to my collection as well. I like Over the Moon and Miss Bliss better than the pinks or blue from the 2012 collection, but I love them all!