Comparison Friday: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer April Showers Collection

Tonight's comparison is all about the new Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer April Showers Collection that releases on Sunday, April 27, at 4:30 pm edt.  This post will be short on words and heavy on photos.  As always, click on the photo to see it in more detail.  I'm including some rare and special editions in this as well so you can see how those compare.  So, let's get started!

White

Dogwood vs. Untrodden Snow

Both are shown with three coats and a topcoat.  Dogwood is more jelly-like and has various sizes of flakies and shimmers.  Untrodden Snow is a creme with strong blue flash and blue microshimmers.

Pink/Orange/Neutral

Cherry Blossom vs. Flash Forward Fantasy vs. Peruvian Lily vs. <3

Clearly, Cherry Blossom and Peruvian Lily don't really mix in with the other two.  One is pink and the other is orange...  While Flash Forward Fantasy has a strong pink shimmer, which gives it a strong pink leaning, it's still neutral.  <3 and Flash Forward Fantasy both have the same base color, but FFF is a creme that dries matte and has a shift whereas <3 is a jelly with iridescent glitters.  All are shown with four coats except for <3, which is three coats.

Purple

Dew in Lieu of Frost vs. Purple Phlox vs. Ovaries before Brovaries

FiLoD is a darker purple and more of a blue purple than the other two and is a creme with a strong shift.  Purple Phlox is a straight up jelly without any additional shimmer, but it does include micro-iridescent glitters.  These glitters are different from the ones in Ovaries before Broveries.  Ovaries before Brovaries is a crelly with a shift and iridescent glitters, but it leans closer to a creme than a jelly.  However, at some angles, the base color in OBB and Purple Phlox is almost identical.  They both lean on the red side of the purple spectrum as compared to FiLoD, but the added shimmer in OBB changes the base just a tad making it a hair lighter than Purple Phlox.  All three polishes are shown with three coats.

Green

Essie Mint Candy Apple vs. Lady Slipper vs. Monster's Tea at Tiffany's vs. Zoya Wednesday

Unlike the other colors in the collection, I actually had a few mainstreams that I thought might be comparable.  While they are close, they're still very different.  Essie Mint Candy Apple is a creme that's also a giant pain in the butt.  It didn't self level and it would bald easily.  Lady Slipper's base color is closest in color to MCA, but application was easier and it has a shift to it.  Monster's Tea at Tiffany's is a few shades darker than Lady Slipper but lighter than Wednesday.  The shift in MTaT is a green to red, which is also different from Lady Slipper's blue to pink shift.  Lastly is Wednesday, which is much darker than all the rest and is a plain creme.  All polishes are in three coats, except MTaT, which is only two.

Blue

Hydrangea vs. Sordid End

This one's a pretty clear difference.  Sordid End is much darker than Hydrangea and has a strong teal to purple shift.  Hydrangea has teal, blue, and purple shimmers and is in a crelly base.  Sordid End has a creme base versus Hydrangea's crelly.  Both polishes are shown in three coats.

I hope this comparison has helped to show that this new collection is pretty unique within the BEGL line.  These will be released on Sunday, April 27, at 3:30 pm edt at my store here.  This will be a relatively small restock, so get there early and be ready!  Some of these colors may come back after this release depending on popularity, but please note that I'm currently planning to retire them after this restock.  Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for news and updates, or sign up for the newsletter here.

Golden Oldies Thursday: Something Tropical

The name of this week's GOT Polish Challenge theme, Something Tropical, made me giggle quite a bit.  I mean, it's so open to interpretation, that I wasn't sure exactly what I should do.  And then I started thinking...  I haven't stamped in a while...  And then I thought some more, I haven't attempted a "pond" mani in a while either (not since this).  I'm not very great at nail art, nor am I very good at doing these pond manis without them looking wonky, but I thought I'd give it another shot!  So, that's what I've done!  If you're curious about the pond mani concept, check out the one that started it all over at Olive View Fashion!  Basically, it's a jelly sandwich but with nail art or stamps instead of glitter. Although, every time I think of anything "pond," I think of this: 

(Source)

Look at those fierce red nails on the second best red-headed companion out there.  (Yes, I'm a huge Donna Noble fan.  If you're not, then whatever.  I ain't bovvered!)

(Source)

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.

For this mani, I used Color Clubs Almost Famous, Pucci-licious, Wham Pow, and Twiggie and China Glaze Pool Party sandwiched between layers of OPI Don't Touch my Tutu.  I used images from the Cheeky Summer Collection plates CH36, CH37, and CH38, as well as Red Angel plate RA-109.

Because I tend to press hard with my stamper, this mani took a bit of time to complete.  I applied my first coat of Don't Touch My Tutu and then went ahead and added a layer of KBShimmer's Clearly on Top Quick Dry Topcoat.  I waited about five to ten minutes and then stamped.  Rinse and repeat three times.  I probably could've taken more time and not used my topcoat between layers, but I was working late at night and was too impatient.  Using topcoat between the layers ensured that my mani didn't smudge off or slide around while I stamped.

I was super surprised and extremely pleased to see that my Color Clubs would actually stamp so well!  I'm not the world's bet stamper, so when I find a polish that stamps well and without much effort I get super excited!  The image transfer was easy on all four polishes. The color isn't as saturated as I would've liked, but honestly, I was still super pleased with the outcome.

Pool Party was the trickiest to stamp with.  With Pool Party, you've got to move fast between the steps of scraping, picking up the image, and stamping the image onto the nail.  If you're not quick, the image won't transfer onto the nail and will just stick to your stamper.  So move quickly if you decide to use it to stamp.  I would've used Sinful 24/7, another neon pink, but I haven't had it for over a year, which means it didn't fit within the parameters of this challenge.

As I was going through this mani, I decided that I wanted to add a little bit of sparkle, so I added in a layer of China Glaze Fairy Dust, a silver holographic micro glitter topcoat.  It's underneath about three layers of DTMTT, so it's super faint, but I like how it gives the effect of sand glittering on a beach.  I almost wish I had put the layer a little closer to the top, but I'm still liking this effect.

You can purchase Color Clubs at beauty supply stores, drug stores, Ross, and Bed Bath and Beyond.  China Glazes are available at beauty supply stores and salons.  OPI are available at beauty supply stores, Salons, and some drug stores/Target.

So, have you done a pond mani before?

An InLinkz Link-up

Oldie but Goodie: Old Swatch Roundup China Glaze and Dollish Polish

It's time for the next installment of the Old Swatch Roundup!  I've got a MILLION photos of gorgeous polishes that need to be reviewed, but I've taken so long to actually do anything with these photos that I don't remember anything about the actual polish!  D'oh!  My solution?  I'll just toss a bunch of older swatches into one post a month without an actual review!  By the way, I've been keeping notes on application for all of the recent swatches I've done to ensure that I don't forget when it's time for the review.  I can't let my laziness deter from proper reviews!  Ok, let's take a look!

China Glaze Fast Track

China Glaze Dorothy Who

Dollish Polish Rolling on the River over CG Dorothy Who

China Glaze Merry Berry

Dollish Polish I Wanna Do Bad Things to You over CG Merry Berry

China Glaze No Plain Jane

China Glaze It's A Trap-eze! (layered over itself with middle finger sandwiched with OPI Don't Touch my Tutu)

Have a great Wednesday!

Part 2 Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer Release and Restock: April Showers

Today, w'ere going to take a look at part 2 of the Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer April Showers Collection set for release this Sunday, April 27, at 3:30 pm edt!  Check out the first three polishes from the collection, Peruvian Lily, Cherry Blossom, and Dogwood, here.  And here's another shot of the full collection.

From left to right: Peruvian Lily, Cherry Blossom, Purple Phlox, Hydrangea, and Lady Slipper.

As always, click on the photos to see them in greater detail!

Purple Phlox

Purple Phlox – purple crème with blue to purple iridescent micro glitters.  This is three coats with one coat of KBShimmer's Clearly on Top.  The photos don't show the micro-glitters very well, but they are definitely easy to see in person.  It's almost like it's got a light within it on the nail!  All photos are taken in artificial light.

Hydrangea

Hydrangea – pastel blue crème packed with purple, blue, and aqua shimmers.  Here, I've used three coats with one coat of KBShimmer Clearly on Top.  All photos are taken in artificial light.  

Lady Slipper

Lady Slipper – mint green crème with a blue to purple shift.  This is three coats with one coat of KBShimmer Clearly on Top.  All photos are taken under artificial light.  The shimmer in Lady Slipper is very prominent in person, and the shift is also pretty visible.

You can purchase Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquers at my store here.  Follow me on Facebook for news, updates, and giveaways!  Make sure you sign up for my newsletter to get the first look at all upcoming Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer releases as well as insider information and special discounts!