Comparison Thursday: Periwinkle Holos

As I was working through my stash trying to find things to sell (because I seriously need to downsize asap), I realized I have a ridiculous number of light blue, medium blue, and periwinkle holos.  It's almost insane.  So, I broke them down into several comparisons so I could work through them bit by bit.  Here's the first of those comparisons tonight!  Make sure to click on the photos to see them in greater detail.

[Purchased by me or given as gifts by friends.]

The polishes included in this comparison are: Enchanted Polish Keep Watch, Model City Polish October Sunset, Emerald and Ash Trick, Girly Bits Bachelor's Button, and Darling Diva True Blue.

Four out of five of these polishes are very close in shade and have a little added extra to give them some depth and oomph.  However, none of them are exact duplicates.  Let's check out the differences below.  I have used one coat of KBShimmer's Clearly on Top for all of these photos.  Most are taken in full sun, but one is taken in outside shade.

Thumb: Keep Watch

Keep Watch is definitely the darkest and most purple of the grouping.  As such, it's a bit of an outlier in that it's not really periwinkle.  The consistency was great - it was a bit thick but self-levels.  Application was also easy, so there wasn't any balding or streaking.  It was almost fully opaque in one coat, but it did need that second  coat to completely cover.  This polish was a special limited edition created for Mishka NY, and I'm not sure if it'll ever be coming back.  But you can buy other Enchanted Polishes at her store.

Index: October Sunset

October Sunset is definitely a proper periwinkle.  It seems more silver than the others, which I attribute to the larger holo particles.  It's also got a lovely blue flash.    The consistency is sheer, but it's not too thin or runny.  It also required very little cleanup.  It's closest in color to Trick, but they're not exactly the same color.  In the shade, it looks like an exact dupe to Trick, but, as you can see, they are quite different in full sun.  I used three coats for full opacity.  Sadly, October Sunset has been discontinued, but you can purchase other Model City Polishes here.

Middle: Trick

Much like October Sunset, Trick is a true periwinkle.   Also like OS, it has the same size holo particle, which gives it a silvery look.  However, it has a pink flash instead of the blue flash you see in OS.  Trick is sheer but easy to apply and required no cleanup required.  I used three even coats for full opacity.  You can purchase their polishes at their store, but it's closed until 10/1/2014.  So, make sure to follow their Facebook page for news and updates!  I know that Trick was a limited edition, but I'm not sure if it's completely gone yet.

Ring: Bachelor's Button

Bachelor's Button is very blue in comparison to the others.  It's probably the second most deeply pigmented of the group after Keep Watch.  It's got smaller holographic particles, which means that the base color shines through a little more than it would with a larger grade of holographic pigment. Much like Trick, it's got a lovely pink flash, but it's several shades darker than Trick.  BB has easy application without the need for much cleanup.  I wore three even coats, but as you can see, it's still got a little visible nail line going on in my photos.  To the naked eye, though, it looked fully opaque.  You can purchase Girly Bits at her store here.

Pinkie: True Blue

True Blue is a bit more blue than periwinkle.  Also, it includes flakies and iridescent glitters, which is different from the rest of the polishes in this set.  TB has super smooth application without the need to do much cleanup.  I wore three even coats for full opacity.  The glitters were smooth, so I only used one coat of KBShimmer's Clearly on Top.  You can purchase Darling Diva at here store here, but True Blue is no longer available.

So, what do you think?  Which is your favorite?  Obviously, I like this color, so I'm not sure I could actually pick a favorite!

Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer Release and Restock September 2014 Part 2

Tonight, we're going to take a look at the rest of the Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer polishes coming out this September.  Check out the first three polishes from this release here.  This month's restock will include limited quantities of any excess stock of all older polishes I have on hand as well as the introduction of the second Siren in the limited edition Siren series (which you can see here), the Special Edition Terrific Twos (which you can see a full review of here), and the release of the first six polishes in the It Got Away from Me, Yeah... Collection - the Women of Doctor Who!  So, let's take a look at the final three ladies of Doctor Who!

It Got Away From Me, Yeah... Part 1: The Women of Doctor Who

A Long Time Ago Tomorrow

Tardis blue creme with blue to purple to pink shifting glass flecks.

Shown here with three thin coats, but I could've done just two for full opacity.  

Dries satin, but I did some without topcoat and some with one layer of Alter Ego's She Shines.  This polish is based off of Amelia Pond.

Just Admiring Your Skills, Sweetie

Purple creme with pink to purple shift.

This polish is a one-coater, but I used two for my photos.  The shift is a bit more noticeable in the bottle but it is still evident on the nail.  

I used one coat of Alter Ego She Shines topcoat.  This polish is based on River Song.

A Snogging Booth?

Clear base with black and red metallic and holographic micro glitters.

These swatches show three coats for my photos, but I only needed two for full opacity. 

Dries slightly textured.  Again, I wore this alone as a texture and then with a layer of Peita's Polish Glitter Glaze and a layer of KBShimmer's Clearly on Top.  If you have any of my other micros, this one is slightly less textured than the others.  This polish is based off of Clara Oswald.

Remember, the September sale will include the first six of the fifteen polishes in the It Got Away from Me Yeah... Collection - the ladies of Doctor Who.  The Gents of Doctor Who and the Doctors will be released in October and November respectively, so I will announce those colors and names as it comes closer to their release.  All polishes in the IGAFMY collection will remain available from their release through the restock in November.  Other new items that will be released this month include the newest Siren from the numbered limited edition Siren collection and Terrific Twos, the polish I created to celebrate my blog's second birthday!  Both of these will be offered only during this sale.  There is very limited stock for both the Siren and Terrific Twos, so make sure you get there early!

All items will go on sale at my store here this Sunday, September 21, at 3:30 pm edt! Good luck!!

Game Day Mani: South Carolina

As I mentioned two weeks ago, now that Pretty Little Liars is over, I'm going to start using my normal #RedCoatTuesday slot to honor a different Red Coats - the University of Georgia!  [For those not in the know, UGA's marching band is called the Redcoat Band, which I was in for two years in college!]  So, every Tuesday, I'm going to share my team spirit!  Last week was a by-week, so I didn't do a spirit mani, but I was back on track this week!  It was a crappy game that made me sad, but I'm glad that I had BEGL taxes to take some of my attention away from the horrible defense.  Anyway, enough with the football talk.  Let's get back to polish!

Purchased by me.

For this weekend's mani, I decided to go with something classic and yet still not super boring and plain - a French mani!  I actually took this look from Ashley over at Plump and Polished.  Hers is a bit different than mine, but I really liked that extra pop of color she added in underneath the main tip color!  For this look I used Elevation Polish SBPs in Rococo and Last Stop... Siberia.

Rococo is a lovely blood red with red and gold shimmers, and LSS is a black with purple, blue, and copper shimmers.  It's also glow-in-the-dark, but the gitd pigment settles.  I didn't really want to have gitd stripes, so I didn't shake it up and mix it back in.

First, I painted my base coat, which I used KBShimmer's Basic Training because I didn't want this mani going anywhere since I painted them two days before the game.  I love using Basic Training when I want a mani to have sticking power!  While I love my normal base of Quimica, it does tend to peel off a little more easily than a real base coat.  I then painted on Rococo on top of the base coat.  I don't have perfect application when it comes to smile lines, so I had to do a fair amount of cleanup.  I took the rest of the base coat off with the extraneous red, but that was by design so it wouldn't look patchy.

Next, I painted on a small stripe of LSS abutting Rococo.  I didn't do it with a striper, so I ended up doing the same type of cleanup that I used on the red.

Last, I added a coat of my beloved Quimica over the bare part of my nail and over the tips, and I then added a coat of KBShimmer's Clearly on Top to finish it off.  I'm really happy that there wasn't any smearing, either!

All in all, this mani was nice, but I was a little bored with it.  I thought about adding something else like a decal, but I ran out of time.  You can purchase Elevation polishes at her site here.  Unfortunately, these are both small batches, so they won't be back.  So, what do you think?  Do you like French manicures, or do you think they're old fashioned?  They used to be my thing for a long time, but my nails hadn't been long enough in recent years to really do them anymore.  It was nice to give it another try!