Comparison Friday: EP February 2014 - SPOILER!

If you don't want to know what Enchanted Polish February 2014 looks like, although I'm not sure how you could've escaped seeing a photo by now, you may want to skip this post.  Many people were curious about whether this polish was close to other EPs or other holos, or if it was unique amongst the multitude of holos out there.  I decided to take all possible dupes I had and compare them, so this will be an extremely long and photo heavy post.  Get ready, because here we go!

All polishes were purchased by me.

Do not pass Go if you don't want to see February 2014!!!!  I'm serious.  Don't scroll down unless you want to see February 2014!

The first two swatch photos of each grouping are shown in full sun while the rest are shown in indoor artificial sunlight.  The lighting can really change the color of the polish, so make sure you pay attention to the subtle differences.  All macro swatch shots are shown in full sunlight.

First, let's take a look at February 2014.  It's a plum shade that isn't quite purple, pink, or red but that has a pink micro flakie shimmer.  It's definitely a chameleon.  It's definitely pigmented enough to do just one coat, but I chose to do two for these photos to ensure that I had covered up anything that the camera would pick up and the naked eye wouldn't.  Dry time was quick.  Not only is this polish quite pigmented, but it's also pretty thick.  It was fairly easy to control on the nail, but you need to make sure that you don't get too much on the brush.

My first grouping to compare consisted of (from index to pinkie): Enchanted May 2013, Enchanted February 2014, OPI DS Signature, and Model City Polish More than Words.

Enchanted Polish May is thin, but not super thin.  All photos show two coats with one coat of KBShimmer Clearly on Top.  Required little cleanup and dried quickly.  It is much brighter and more purple than the rest in this grouping.  It is just a regular linear holo without any hidden shimmer or flakies.

OPI DS Signature is also two coats with one coat KBShimmer Clearly on Top.  It's the closest to February 2014 in this grouping, which doesn't mean much, but it leans much more pink than February.  This is the thinnest of the four polishes, so you have to be careful about pooling.  The larger pro-wide brush doesn't help in application.

Model City Polish More than Words is a gorgeous pink polish with pink micro glitters.  It's much more scattered than the rest in this grouping.  As always with Model City Polishes, it has a perfect consistency and applied without any need for cleanup.  This shows two coats with one coat of KBShimmer Clearly on Top.

The second grouping consists of (thumb to pinkie) Colors by Llarowe Dirty Diana, Enchanted Holiday 2013, Enchanted February 2014, Enchanted Mr. Burgundy, and Colors by Llarowe Good Golly Miss Molly.

CBL Dirty Diana is a red linear holographic that is brighter than February's dusty plum.  It's also more red than February which leans purple by comparison.  This is two coats without any need for cleanup.  Also unlike February, this is a straight holo without any extra glitters or shimmers.

EP Holiday 2013 is the darkest of all of the polishes in the review tonight.  It's a deep red that leans almost brown.  This is two coats, but it's definitely the thinnest of the group and required the most cleanup.

EP Mr. Burgundy is red, much like Dirty Diana, but it's a brown-red versus DD's cherry red leaning.  It also doesn't have any extra glitters or shimmers.  This is two coats with little cleanup.

CBL Good Golly Miss Molly is a bit of a deeper red than Dirty Diana and Mr. Burgundy, but it's still more red than February.  Again, GGMM is a straight linear holo without any shimmers or flakies.  This is two coats, but I could've used just one coat.  It required no cleanup and dried quickly.

The third, and last, group consists of Enchanted Mercy, Enchanted February 2014, Elevation Polish Haleakala, and Enchanted April 2013.

EP Mercy is one coat alone.  The opacity, however, interferes with the holo rainbow, so this is actually the least holo of all of the polishes in this post.  Furthermore, it's a more purple blue than red like February.  Application was perfect and required zero cleanup.

Elevation Haleakala is a bright red-purple holo without any extra shimmer, glitters, or flakies.  This is probably the closest to February except that it's a bit brighter and more vivid.  I used three coats of Haleakala, but I really probably could've just used two.  Application was easy, there was little cleanup, and dry time was quick.

EP April 2013 is the most purple of the comparison and includes blue shimmers.  Of the four in this set, April 2013 is the thinnest requiring three coats.  It's runny with the possibility of flooding the cuticles, so you've got to be careful with application.

And here are macros of all of the polishes in this comparison together.  Click on the photo for more details.

You can purchase Enchanted Polishes at her store, but the majority of these were one-time limited editions.  OPI DS linear holo polishes have been discontinued, but you can find them on blog sales or at salons.  You can purchase Model City Polishes here.  Follow the awesome Nina on Facebook and IG for news and updates.  Elevation Polish can be found at her store here.  Follow Lulu on IG for news and updates.  Lastly, you can purchase Colors by Llarowe here.

So, what do you think?  As you can tell from all of these photos, I don't own anything that's even remotely similar to EP February 2014.  Which is your favorite?

All polishes were purchased by me.

Golden Oldies Thursday: Ruffle Mani

So, tonight's assignment, Ruffles, was pretty difficult for me.  I had planned to do both hands and wear it for a few days, but I gave up halfway through and only did one hand.  Another issue, I should've used cremes instead of holos because the holos tended to meld together making it just look like lumpy lines.  If I do this again, I'll definitely try it with cremes instead.  So, do you want to check out this nail fail?  If yes, scroll on down!

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 (from cuticle to tip): Color Club Cloud Nine, Color Club Miss Bliss, China Glaze QT, China Glaze TMI, OPI DS Vintage, and OPI DS Couture.

Since I wasn't entirely sure what a ruffle mani was, I went in search of some examples.  Lucky for me, the lady herself, Ms Crumpet, had a tutorial up on her blog that you can read here.  I used her concept to recreate this mani.

It bleeds together a bit, which I attribute to the holos and the light refraction melding the colors together.  Here's a pic of the mani in the shade so you can see the detail a bit better.  Oh, hai Fenway!

And here's a macro of it in the sunshine.

I know that it's probably not as bad as I'm making it out to be, but I just really didn't like it.  If I do it again, I'll need to practice for sure.  What do you think about this nail art technique?

All of these polishes are discontinued except for the Color Clubs, which you can still find online.

I purchased all polishes in this post.

An InLinkz Link-up

Golden Oldies Thursday (a Few Weeks Late and on a Wednesday): Skittles

Yes, this post was supposed to go up on March 6...  However, I'm still going to say that I've actually been staying on top of the GOT Polish Challenge!  I've done every single mani so far, and I've at least posted all of the blog posts so far - even if they aren't quite with the right week.  So, tonight's post will be what I should've posted two weeks ago, skittles!

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.

Since it's hard to truly gauge a polish off of application on one finger, I'm going to skip the review of these polishes for a later date.  Instead, let's just look at the pretty pictures.

I used from left to right: Nerd Lacquer Outed by a Probot, Elevation Azure Caverns, Elevation Ubsunur at Night, Liquid Lacquer Mocking Bird, and KBShimmer Hex Appeal.

Probot, AC, and Hex Appeal are all three coats with one coat of KBShimmer's Clearly on Top.  Ubsunur and Mocking Bird, however, are both four coats with one coat of KBShimmer's Clearly on Top.

You can purchase Nerd Lacquers at her store, sometimes, but you'd probably be better off purchasing them from blog sales.  You can purchase Elevations here.  You can purchase Liquid Lacquers off of blog sales as she is no longer running a shop.  KBShimmer polishes can be purchased here.

So, what do you think of my skittles?  Have you enjoyed following this challenge?  I've been really enjoying seeing what everyone has done and their interpretations of the themes!

I purchased all polishes in this post.

An InLinkz Link-up

Pretty Little Liars: The Spy Who Loved Me

Tonight's #RedCoatThursday will focus on just a plain red mani without any dressing or art.  Sadly, it's also the last PLL post for the season.  The choice for this post was pretty easy to make because who doesn't like a spy amongst friends in your favorite tv shows?  So, that being said, let's take a look at OPI The Spy Who Loved Me!

The rules are easy: 1) paint your nails red.  2) Add a design if you want, but make sure it's still predominantly red.

I purchased this polish myself.

Color: Red with red and gold glass shimmers.

Finish: Shimmer – a polish that shimmers in the light due to fine particles that refract light.

Bottle / Brush: OPI Mini bottle – designed as a miniature version of the larger bottles.  The shorter handle and wand make it hard to handle.  The brush is also not as wide as the new pro-brush.

Opacity: Medium – achieves opacity at three to four coats.  This is three coats with one coat of KBShimmer's Clearly on Top.

Glitter Application: Easy – Spreads evenly without much manipulation.

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

Overall Ease of Application: Easy – applies well without pooling, dragging, streaking, or balding.  Spreads evenly and smoothly. 

Stampability: Not tested for stamping.

Dry Time: Medium – dry to the touch with minimal smudging in 3-8 minutes.

Overall Thoughts: This was the first time I actually didn't mind a polish in those stupid OPI mini bottles. Application was super easy and didn't require cleanup at all. This was a nice palate cleanser, even though it's red, because I didn't busy it up with glitter. It also wasn't a stainer, which is fantastic, as most reds stain either my nails or the skin around my nails when I remove it. I'm sure I probably could've used only two coats, but I decided to go with three to ensure there weren't any bald spots that showed up when I took the photos. Otherwise, I really liked this polish but will probably still sell it since I'm trying to reduce my stash significantly.

You can purchase OPI polishes at most beauty supply shops as well as some drug stores and Target.

I purchased this polish myself.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Wow, I'm actually on time for a holiday post for once!  That makes me happy!  Tonight's post will be heavy on photo and light on commentary since I've got a million photos to show you.  I've got two different manis that I wore this weekend and today for St. Patrick's Day.  I hope you guys like them!

*All polishes were purchased by me.*

First, let's start with my skittles and attempt at nail art.  Here are the polishes I used:

Elevation Tindur, Elevation Mount Yu, Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer BEGL Go Bragh, Lynnderella Emerald Hope, Elevation Wyui Mountain, Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer SE Faith, Hope, Love, and Lynnderella SE Patty Whack!

On my unpictured thumb, I had Elevation Tindur topped with Lynnderella Tidy Whities, but I have a bit of unsightliness on my thumb, so I didn't subject you to that.  

On my index, I have a dotticure using all of the base colors from the mani, Tindur, Mount Yu, BGB, Wyui Mountain, and FHL over Elevation Mount Yu.

On my middle finger, I have a base of BGB with a free-hand shamrock from FHL.  Not be best work, but it's not as bad as my other hand...

My ring finger has two coats of Emerald Hope over Wyui Mountain.

Lastly, my pinkie finger I have one coat of Patty Whack! over FHL.

For my next mani, I used OPI Love. Angel. Music. Baby, Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer Four Star Daydream, Elevation Torres del Paine, Lynnderella Mindful Heart, Elevation Sarychev, and Lynnderella Cauldron Drippings.

I looked in my stash, and I had zero gold glitters.  Gold doesn't really call to me, so I've never bought one.  So, what do I do when I want a polish that I don't have and can't get right this second?  I make it!  My index finger shows one coat of Four Star Daydream over OPI's matte Love. Angel. Music. Baby.

My thumb and pinkie show one coat of LE The Mindful Heart over ONE coat of Elevation Torres del Paine.  I love that EVP.  It required zero cleanup!

My middle and ring fingers have one coat of Cauldron Drippings over two coats of the succulent and juicy EVP Sarychev.

You can buy Elevation polishes here, Lynnderella polishes here, and Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquers here.  You can purchase OPIs at most beauty supply shops as well as some drug stores and Target.  So, what did you wear and do for St. Patrick's Day (if you celebrate it)?