Comparison Friday: Fuchsia Holos

So yeah, this comparison is totally going up after midnight, so it's technically Comparison Saturday...  Oh well!  Let's all play a little game of pretend and pretend that I didn't slack off all day today when I could've been working on this post...  M'kay?  Ok.  Let's take a look at tonight's offerings: Enchanted Polish May 2013, China Glaze Astro-Hot, and Jindie Nails Just Claws.

I purchased all polishes or received them as gifts from friends.

First, the similarities!  All three of these polishes are two coats for fully opaque coverage.  They're all in the same range of fuchsia, but that's pretty much where the similarities end.

May 2013

May is definitely the brightest of the three and looks almost like a neon.  This is two easy coats that required very little effort.  It required absolutely no cleanup, either, which is fantastic!  It's got a linear holographic refraction, but it's not as tight as Astro-Hot.  Sadly May was a one-time release, so you won't be able to purchase it directly from Enchanted Polish.  However, you can purchase other polishes from Enchanted here.  Make sure you sign up for her newsletter to ensure you're up to date with all of the new releases!

Astro-Hot

Astro-Hot is the dullest of the three shade-wise.  It's also more metallic than May or Just Claws.  The linear refraction is the tightest of the three, but it's also harder to see in the low light without the help of the sun.  Application was much more difficult.  I didn't use an aqua base because it wasn't necessary, but it's still a polish that requires quick application.  Don't go over the same spot twice until the polish has dried, otherwise you will get balding and clumping.  Astro-Hot also shows all of the imperfections in your nails, so you may want to wear it over a ridge filling base coat.  Astro-Hot was a part of the China Glaze Hologlam collection that came out last year (maybe in 2012?), but you can still find it easily at Sally's or on blog sales.

Just Claws

Just Claws is second in brightness for this trio.  It's also the most scattered of the three with irregularly shaped holographic particles that bring out the reds, pinks, and oranges of the rainbow most.  The particles also give it the most depth of the three polishes.  Application is super easy and required little cleanup.  Dry time was fast, too.  You can purchase Jindie Nails polishes at her store here.

So, what do you think?  I know we looked at May last week, but that was in relation to February 2014. Which is your favorite?

I purchased all polishes or received them as gifts from friends.

Golden Oldies Thursday: Yellow/Peach

Well, since I'm not really a peach or yellow person, I don't own that many that are over a year old...  As such, I chose two of pretty much the only polishes I had on hand that would fit the requirements even if they weren't exactly what I wanted to wear for the day.  So, check out Color Club Almost Famous and Lynnderella LE Huevos Ladies.

Here is the GOT Polish schedule of events if you would like to follow along or participate.

Remember the rules:

• The polish you use must be at least a year old.
• If you haven't been a polishaholic for that long, you can use the oldest polishes you have.
• The polish should be previously used, but if you're stuck, you can use a polish from your untrieds stack.
• You can use more than one polish as long as it fits the rules.

I purchased all polishes in this post.

I have on three coats of Almost Famous, which went on streaky with the first coat.  The second coat wasn't much better, unfortunately.  The third coat made it passable, but it still had some bald spots.

Almost Famous also didn't self level, which was a major pain because it tended to clump up if applied too quickly.  It's definitely one of those make sure you have enough polish on the brush to quickly apply before it starts to clump, but also make sure that you wait long enough between layers so it doesn't bald.

Dry time for Almost Famous was long even with a quick dry topcoat.  It also flooded my cuticles something fierce, which meant that I had to do a lot of cleanup.  Furthermore, it stained the skin around my nails yellow.  So yeah, it's not exactly a ringing endorsement, huh?

I used Huevos Ladies as my accents.  This is two coats, no undies, and with one coat of Peita's Polish Glitter Glaze and one coat of KBShimmer Clearly on Top.

Application was super easy, and the glitters came out without much digging.  I could've used undies, but I decided to go without just because.  I like the way it came out, and I really feel that these accents saved this mani.  Dry time was super quick and there wasn't any cleanup!

You can purchase Color Clubs at Drug Stores and some beauty supply stores.  You can purchase Lynnderellas here.

I purchased all polishes in this post.

An InLinkz Link-up

Wear Test: Zoya Nyx

I finally saw Frozen tonight!  It was super cute, so I can see why a ton of people loved it.  Tonight's polish reminds me a bit of Frozen, and since it's been a million years since I've done a wear test...  I figure it was time now to do another one!  I took these photos last year, but I still remember this wear test well.  Tonight, we're going to take a look at Zoya Nyx and how amazingly it wore!  All photos in the review portion of the post are from day one, so the wear test results will start on day two!

All polishes were purchased by me.

Color:  Dusty blue with silver glitters.

Finish:  Textured – a polish designed to be worn without a topcoat and to have a rough finish once dry.  Finish is gritty and almost sand-like.

Bottle / Brush:  Tapered bottle and cap - bottle tapers from a fat top to a smaller bottom making it a little harder to hold if you hold your bottles while you paint.  The tapered cap actually makes for easier application as it's shorter than most caps, but provides enough length to help guide application without being too wide where you grip it.  The wand and brush are a little short, but they have average application.

Opacity:  High – opaque at one to two coats!

Glitter Application:  Easy – Spreads evenly without much manipulation.

Consistency:  Medium – applies easily and doesn’t flood the cuticles.

Overall Ease of Application:  Medium – applies well with minimal pooling, dragging, streaking, or balding.  Spreads well without much manipulation.

Stampability:  Not tested for stamping.

Dry Time:  Medium – dry to the touch with minimal smudging in 3-8 minutes, which is great because I wore this without a quick dry topcoat!

Overall Thoughts:  I really love the Pixie Dusts.  They're probably my favorite textured line out there.  They apply easily and wear for forever.  Nyx was the first texture I ever wore, and it lasted for four days, as you'll see below.  Dry time was quick, which is fantastic since I have a horrible time with the OPI Liquid Sands drying for me.  Plus, it's just so subtle and pretty.  I would definitely say that Nyx is probably my favorite Pixie Dust, but I do have a few others that I'm stoked to wear soon.

You can purchase Zoyas at beauty supply stores.  I purchased mine at their site.  Ok, let's take a look at the wear test now!  Let me just apologize now for the blurriness of some of my photos.  As I started editing, I noticed that a few weren't really all that great, but there's not much I can do about it now.  Oops!  As always, click on the photos to see them in greater detail.

Items Used for Wear Test: 

• 1 thin coat of Duri Rejuvacote

Day Two

As you can see, there is a bit of tip wear on my ring finger and thumb, but otherwise, everything is still going strong.

Day Three

There are a few more bits of tip wear now on my middle finger, but the tip wear from day two didn't get any worse.

Day Four

Sadly, this was the last day I was able to wear this mani.  However, the mani change was necessitated by a gnarly break on my thumb instead of any actual issues with the polish.  I wish I could've worn it longer, but I was also getting a bit bored with having the same mani on for so long.

I'm almost certain I could've worn Nyx for another three days with minimal wear, which is amazing since I wasn't wearing a topcoat.  I'll definitely have to try a wear test again with a different Pixie Dust for as long as I can without getting bored.  How long have you been able to wear your Pixie Dusts?

All polishes were purchased by me.

Oldie but Goodie: Old Swatch Roundup

I've got a million swatch photos on my computer ready to be blogged about, but I took most of them in either 2012 or last year.  As such, I don't have a great grasp of how they applied or really anything else about them.  That being said, I'm planning to do a couple posts with these old photos so that I don't feel bad that they're just sitting around unused.  Be aware that these are old photos taken in my old lighting setup and with not so awesome moisturizing since I only just recently discovered which lotions and cuticle treatments work best with my extra-dry skin.  Ok, let's get started!

All polishes were purchased by me.

Dollish Polish Mermaid Scales over Nicole by OPI Poised in Turquoise

Hare Monster

Dollish Polish Toad-ally Awesome over Indigo Bananas Klein Trink Wasser, OPI OPI Red, China Glaze Liquid Leather, OPI DS Sapphire, and sandwiched between OPI Don't Touch my Tutu.

Dollish Polish Hip Hop Hippity Hop

China Glaze Rated Holographic

Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer All I'll Ever Need and Darling Diva Wedding Day Jitters

Lynnderella Salad Days over Zoya Mimi topped with NYC Matte Me Crazy matte topcoat.

Illamasqua Phallic topped with Lynnderella Angel Food and Amy's Nail Boutique Ecopolo

OPI Wing It

Dollish Polish The Kupa King over Girly Bits Banana Hammock

I've got tons more, too, so I think I'll do this once a month.  Hope you have a great Monday!

All polishes were purchased by me.