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!

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.

Wear Test: Living in a material world, and I am a...

*Press Sample*  Material Girl!  Tonight we're going to take a look at my last Darling Diva polish, Material Girl, and see how it fairs in my durability test!

First up, though, is the finale of my getting to know you questionnaire asked of Darling Diva's creative genius, Carrie!

5) How did you become interested in creating your own polish line? 

 Its a drug, seriously. I started out hand mixing stuff because I didn't see what I wanted or I couldn't get what I wanted and people started to ask if they could buy.

6) Tell me 3 fun facts that people wouldn't ordinarily know about you.  (Hobbies, interests, history, etc)

Fun? What is this word fun? ;) Well I am a hockey heuer. Go Wild <sob>, I am super addicted to Redbull, I have a desk full of toys. Hello Kitty, Sponge Bob, Backyardigans lol.

*I was not financially compensated for this post. I received a sample of Darling Diva Material Girl for review purposes.  All other polishes in this review were purchased by me for my own use.  The opinions are completely my own based on my experience. For more information, please see my Disclosure Policy in the tab above.* 

All of the photos interspersed throughout the review portion are from day one.  The wear test info will start on day two.

Color: Bright pink with silver, fuchsia, and hot pink hexes and dots in various sizes, including GINORMOUS.

Finish: Glitter Jelly – glitter in a colored jelly base.

Bottle / Brush: Round bottle – the brush and wand are the standard width and length.  Easy to control and manipulate.

Opacity: Medium – achieves opacity at three coats.

Glitter Application: Easy – Spreads evenly without much manipulation.  The base to glitter ratio, however, is such that you won't get a whole lot of glitter on your brush at first.  Instead, it's best to use a few coats to get the desired glitter coverage.  Here, I've used two coats over Lumina Lacquer's I Want You and three coats alone on my ring finger.

Consistency: Fluid – thin but flows easily from the brush.  Thickens up over time as you work on your mani.

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

Stampability: Not designed for stamping.

Two coats of Material Girl over Lumina     3 coats of Material Girl alone

Dry Time: Long – dry to the touch with minimal smudging in over 8 minutes.

Overall Thoughts: I have been blown away by the Material Girl collection, for sure.  They have all been stunners and mostly easy to use, aside from my user error on Lucky Star.  Material Girl was no different!  Application was easy, and the effect was nice.  HOWEVER, I'm a moron and tried a new topcoat that refused to dry.  So, I added another layer...  That also refused to dry, but I went to bed and prayed for the best.  Then, I woke up, and it was shrink city.  Womp womp!  Plus, it was all dull from never really drying.  So, I added a coat of Liquid Lacquer's No Time quick dry top coat, and it was finally shiny and dry.  However, it was crazy thick and the shrinkage damage was already done.  I feel like those factors have skewed the test results, unfortunately.  So, let's see how it held up despite yet another one of my blunders.

Items Used for Wear Test: 
Originally, I hadn't intended to wear Material Girl, a glitter, as my wear test from Darling Diva, but it just happened that way. I'm pretty sure that this polish would've lasted longer than the 3 days had I worn a normal tried and trued topper instead of branching out to something new. 

Here's what I used this time:

• 1 thin coat of Duri Rejuvacote
• 1 thin coat of Orly Bonder on top of the Duri
• 2 coats of Lumina Lacquer I Want You on all but ring finger
• 2 coats of Material Girl on all but ring finger, which is 3 coats alone
• 2 coats of Miss Sporty Discotheque UV topcoat
• 1 coat of Liquid Lacquer No Time

Day Two:
Other than shrinkage, there's only one little chip on my thumb, which was actually a screwup on my part.  Otherwise, no problems with chipping.  Just stupid shrinkage.  Ugh.

Day Three:
Finally have my first proper chip on my thumb.  As you can see, it broke a little, so I think that's why I got a chip.  I also broke my middle fingernail, so I had to remove Material Girl before it got worse.

So, there you have it!  It performed better than most of my glitter jelly manis, and it probably would've been way better had I not screwed the pooch and use an unknown variable.  The color is so rich and saturated, it just glows.  I mean, not literally, but it's one of those polishes that definitely catch your eye.  

You can purchase Darling Diva's Material Girl collection soon!  I'm hearing in a week or two!!  Keep an eye on her Facebook and Twitter for news and updates on its release.  You can purchase Darling Diva Polishes at her store, Llarowe, Mei Mei's Signatures, and Norway Nails.

So, what do you think of the DDP Material Girl collection so far?  Which is your favorite?

*I was not financially compensated for this post. I received a sample of Darling Diva Material Girl for review purposes.  All other polishes in this review were purchased by me for my own use.*