Sephora Pantone Universe Jewel Lacquers Swatches and Review

When I first saw Sephora's new Pantone Universe Jewel Lacquers I knew I had to try them out I picked out Violet Quartz, Reflecting Pool, and Purple Parachute. PP was the color that origionally attracted my attention, but once I saw what was available I picked out the other two for their beautiful colors and multichrome finishes.

Violet Quartz has a dark brown base loaded with purple shimmer that shifts to amber. (I applogize for my horrible clean up! I blame exhaustion.) The brown base is hardly noticeable because the shimmer takes center stage. This one is quite stunning and my favorite of the three.

Sephora Violet Quartz

Sephora Violet Quartz

Reflecting Pond has a blackened green base with strong teal shimmer that has a slight purple shift that I had difficulty capturing in pictures.

Sephora Reflecting Pond

Sephora Reflecting Pond

Parachute Purple is a dark purple with bright greenish-blue shimmer. The shimmer is more apparent in the bottle than on the nail and the color is a bit darker than it photographed. I've heard that this color is a bit similar to Rescue Beauty Lounge Scrangie, but I'm not sure how they compare.

Sephora Purple Parachute

The bottles are pretty, but it's a lot of glass compared to polish (although the polish is 11 ml / 0.37 oz compared to an OPI or China Glaze that is 15 ml / 0.5 oz) and the brush isn't my favirite. Formula on all of these was pretty nice, it was very thick and dried rapidly so I had to be careful and quick with each brushstroke. I used two coats for each swatch.

Sephora can be purchased from Sephora.com (which is where I purchased them, I'm not sure about in-store availability as I don't have a Sephora near me) and the Jewel Lacquers retail for $9.

Overall I'm pleasantly surprised with these polishes. No, they aren't 100% unique, but gorgeous shimmer, multichrome, and interesting color combinations makes them well worth adding to any collection. Which one is your favorite?

Half Moon Mani!

Today I have a fun half-moon manicure to show you! this is my first attempt at a half moon and I really loved wearing this mani. The colors worked together so well!

The blue is SOPI Mermaid to Order and the black is Essie Licorice, a great black creme.  I started with Mermaid to Order, then used Sally Hansen french Manicure guides to form the half moons and used two coats of Licorice on the rest of the nail. 

If you haven't tried the half moon manicure yet you should definitely try it! It looks great and is rediculously easy!

Sephora by OPI Mermaid to Order Swatches and Review!

Sephora Mermaid to Order is not a polish I've ever seen before. I've seen similar colors, but I haven't seen Mermaid to Order swatched. I picked this polish up in a blog sale for $2, and I can't believe how great of a deal this was. :) It's from an old collection, so I'm not sure how easy it is to find (although I just looked and it's available on amazon.com, and there's even one for sale on ebay). 

Mermaid to order is an aqua blue metallic frost with a faint blue/green duochrome. When it came in the mail I immediately painted my toenails (because they were due for a new pedi!) and fell in love with the color. For the last two days I've been looking at my toes wanting to try this as a mani. It's just so bright, vivid and shiny, definitely Mermaid-scale-like. 

The formula wasn't perfect, although two coats made it opaque, I had to be very careful to avoid obvious brushstrokes (a common problem with frosts) and even with all of the care in the world it bubbled. I used good ridge filling base coat under this one since frosts are soo good at showing any little flaw in your nails. The overall finish ended up being nice and smooth although you can see the dent in my index finger where I got a little overzealous with my chef's knife a few days ago. :)

Click read more to see more photos (it was quite the photoshoot)

Quick Swatch! $OPI I Don't Bite

This is a quick swatch of Sephora by OPI I Don't Bite (I really don't understand this name... but then again I picked up this polish out of context, so perhaps it has something to do with the collection...).

I Don't Bite is a metallic pale lilac-toned blue. For some reason the color and finish together really remind me of an old worn pair of denim jeans. The formula was good, application was good, and I really don't have anything to say about it. It was nice, not fantastic or overly unique, but nice.

I often find myself picking up new colors just to buy new polish or try a new brand and not because I have a particular interest in the color, and I think I need to break the habit before I break the bank. This polish was from a blog sale, so it's not a huge waste of money. It's unique in my collection but it will never be on my favorites list.