Comparison Thursday: Medium Blue Holos

Well, today was a fantastic day...  My poor kitty isn't feeling well and isn't eating, so we've had to take him to the vet twice (once for emergency and once for a checkup after the emergency).  Long story short, he had a million tests, and we still have no idea what's wrong.  Le sigh.  Please send positive thoughts to him so that he recovers quickly!  Here are a few pics of the little butt so you can see just exactly how adorable he is <3

Purchased by me, made by me, or gifted to me.

So now that the sad news is over, let's take a look at some blue holos.  For this grouping, I looked at the following:

Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer Ocean Warmed by the Sun, Lilypad Lacquer Violet Moon, Model City Polish Cold Snap, Nailant Never Wanna Know, and Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer Chlorine Light.

There's one thing that I can say about every single polish in this lineup - all had extremely easy application with very little need for cleanup.  Let's take a peek at each polish individually as well as together!

Ocean Warmed by the Sun

OWbtS is definitely the outlier in this group as it's the most teal.  It's closest in color to Cold Snap, but definitely not a dupe.  Ocean has a very strong pink to purple shift, and it dries satin.  While it is opaque in 2 coats, Ocean is thick without being clumpy.  You can currently purchase Ocean Warmed by the Sun at my shop here.  There's a discount code for all items in the On the Way Out section, which includes all of the Far From the Sun collection, good until 1/16 at 11:59 pm est.  Use code GOODBYE at checkout to redeem!

Violet Moon

VM is a little more periwinkle than the rest of the polishes in this grouping, but I wanted to see how it compared anyway.  It has a strong pink flash that is very visible both in the bottle and on the nail.  VM is also opaque in 2 coats, but I used 3 just for my photos.  You can purchase LPL's at her shop here, but it appears that she's currently on vacation.

Cold Snap

Cold Snap is the most silvery-blue of the group.  Like the others, it's fully opaque in 2 coats, but again, I used 3 for photos.  CS is also the most scattered of the group and doesn't have any additional shimmers.  I had a very slight bit of staining after I took it off, but only on the skin around my nails.  A little extra scrubbing helped to get it all off.  As I stated above, it's closest in color to Ocean Warmed by the Sun, but it's not a dupe.  You can purchase Model City Polishes at her shop here.  Sadly, it appears that CS has been discontinued, but you can grab Arctic Sea instead, which is also gorgeous and could probably tide you over!

Never Wanna Know

NWN has the smallest holographic particle in the grouping.  It's also sheer without being too thin, and there aren't any added shimmers to the blue.  It's closest in color to Chlorine Light and probably the 4th darkest of the group.  It took 3 coats for full opacity.  Like with Cold Snap, I had slight staining upon removal.  I think I'm going to have to blame the staining on my dry skin, though, as I don't have staining issues when my skin is nice and moisturized.  Sadly, Stinna doesn't sell her gorgeous creations, but she has been known to donate them for prizes in giveaways!  Make sure you're following her blog for hot tips on if she's got any available to pick up somewhere!

Chlorine Light

Chlorine Light is the darkest of the grouping.  Its added umph comes from flakies whereas the rest of the grouping has nothing, strong shimmers, or glass flecks.  Application for CL is super easy, and I only needed 2 coats for full opacity.  You can currently purchase Chlorine Light at my shop here.  As I stated earlier, there's a discount code for all items in the On the Way Out section, which includes all of the Far From the Sun collection, that's good until 1/16 at 11:59 pm est.  Use code GOODBYE at checkout to redeem!

So, what do you think?  Which was your favorite?

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!

Blog 2 Year Birthday Giveaway Prizes Part Two

So, yeah, I'm having to work tonight (still not done, in fact, *sigh*), so this will be pretty short.  There's only about half an hour left before my 2nd year blog birthday giveaway is over!  So, make sure you enter here!  Now, let's take a look at the rest of the prizes!

Lilypad Lacquer I Just Think It's Pink

IJTIP is a bright hot pink polish packed with flakies and holographic glitters.  I only needed two coats, but I probably could've just gone with one coat instead.  Dry time was quick, and application was super easy.  I'm so in love with the vivid brightness of this polish!

Model City Polish Strawberry Jam

I've got a full review of Strawberry Jam here, so make sure to check it out.  I just love how squishy this polish is!  And the sparkle!  Ahh, I love it so much!

Color Club Eternal Beauty

Application for EB was fairly easy and didn't require the use of an aqua base, which is fantastic!  Application was fairly easy and didn't really pool, drag, or bald like a lot of the other mainstream ultra-holos.  I used three coats to ensure opacity, but it only really needed two.  

Emerald and Ash Mie Scattering

Mie Scattering is a white jelly with a subtle holo shimmer.  It's a true jelly, so you'll need to layer it with other polishes to get rid of the nail line.  Here, I used five coats to try and cover up any sheer spots.  It can get a tad thick, so you may need to thin your bottle a little bit.  Otherwise, application was fairly easy without much need for cleanup.  It's my go-to white jelly, and it's just so squishy and gorgeous.  Dry time was average.

Elevation Polish Ave Secretan

For some reason, my photos are looking a lot more red than it really is.  It's actually a lovely bright pink and not really red.  I love the consistency of this creme, and it applies easily in just two coats, but I used three coats for my photos.  There was a little need for cleanup, but nothing too serious.  Dry time was fairly quick with a quick dry topcoat.

Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer Hypothermia

You can check out a full review of Hypothermia here.  It was a super limited edition that I released last year as a free gift with purchase of my full winter collection.  It will be back off and on as a free gift with purchase or prizes for giveaways, but it will never be sold individually.

So, there you have it!  Those are all of the prizes for the giveaway!  Which are you most excited about?  I'll have the winners announced sometime tomorrow evening.  Good luck, everyone!

Oh, and if bits and pieces of this post made no sense or were grammatically incorrect, please note that I'm running on fumes here...  I hope to be able to catch up on some sleep sometime in 2015...  ;)