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Glitter, Swatch, Uncategorised

Sorbet Seams Swatches: We Are Golden and Chewing on a Candy Bar

13th August 2014

9 Comments

I must confess, I’d never heard of Sorbet Seams but was immediately taken by their exciting range of glitter toppers when I came across this Belgian brand on Pretty Polish. The polishes were offering some pretty unique glitter combinations and the labeling was just too kitsch to ignore. Those are real punched Dymo labels on the front of the bottles. Old school! Today I have swatches of two of their polishes – We Are Golden and Chewing on a Candy Bar.

We Are Golden is made up of mostly fine gold glitter with two shades of pink hexes and little person shaped pieces… or Skull x Crossbones depending how you want to look at it I suppose!

I only had to use one coat to get a good spread of glitter for this swatch over NYC Peach Popsicles. Seeing it like this, I’d label it as a very summery glitter but it could also great over a moody, dark colour in winter, and especially around Christmas time.

Chewing on a Candy Bar has a good mix of glitter including some white bars and really pretty, iridescent purple squares. I had to use two coats for this swatch over Barry M Heather but I kind of expect that whenever there is chunky glitter involved.

With the bars and squares in these bright colours, there’s a very digital, technologic feel about this polish. I think it would look amazing with 3 coats over white.

Where to Buy Sorbet Seams

Sorbet Seams polishes are available from prettypolish.com with shipping all over Europe.

RRP €9.95 / (approx.) £7.90.

Glitter, Swatch, Uncategorised

Polish Me Silly Thermal Polishes: Get Breezy and Sizzling Sunset

7th August 2014

12 Comments

Press Sample

Polish Me Silly Thermal Color Changing Nail Polish Swatches // The Nailasaurus

Polish Me Silly is an indie brand that’s been on my radar for a really long time but I’d never actually tried any of their polishes until recently. You may know them for their innovative use of neon glitter in their polishes and that’s exactly what I’m going to share with you today.

I have swatches of two of their Thermal Color Changing polishes – Get Breezy and Sizzling Sunset – to share today. Each polish is packed with neon glitter and the colour of the base transforms dependent on whether the polish is warm or cold!

If you have long nails that extend past the tip of your finger, you will get a ready made gradient effect where the polish is cooler on the tips and warm where it sits on your nail bed. On my short nails the polishes mostly stay in the ‘warm’ phase apart from at the very tips so I had to dunk them in ice water to get them to change colour. It’s a pretty cool party trick!

In the bottle, Get Breezy is a lovely sky blue colour with lots of bright glitter pieces from purple, to orange to green and more. For this swatch I used 3 coats with top coat.

The colour change from warm to cool on this polish is really subtle. It’s an almost white, icy blue when it’s warm but when cool, it gets a bit darker and turns to an aqua blue. A few pictures down, you can see the two right next to each other to really compare them and see how subtle the change is.

Polish Me Silly Get Breezy swatch // The Nailasaurus

Polish Me Silly Get Breezy cool and warm swatch // The Nailasaurus

Cold on the left. Warm on the right.

Polish Me Silly Sizzling Sunset when warm swatch // The Nailasaurus

The colour change in Sizzling Sunset is way more noticeable than in Get Breezy! It contains hexes and circle glitter of yellow and gold with some fuschia hexes thrown in. This swatch is 3 coats with top coat.

It goes from a bright, sunny yellow when warm to creamy orange when cool. When I dipped my nails in cold water, the change was instantaneous and very obvious! We know that yellows are notoriously difficult polishes to work with but this one is as smooth as butter and is a really flattering tone to boot. When you see the gradient effect of half warm / half cool on this polish, you can see how it got its name.

Polish Me Silly Sizzling Sunset swatch // The Nailasaurus

Polish Me Silly Sizzling Sunset gradient swatch // The Nailasaurus

I was really impressed with these thermal polishes. They change instantly when exposed to a change in temperature and are incredibly easy to apply. It’s really hard to pick a favourite from the two. The colour change in Sizzling Sunset is so incredible but I have a weakness for Blue and Get Breezy has the more interesting mix of glitter. If I really have to pick just one, it’s gonna be Get Breezy!

Where to buy Polish Me Silly

Polish Me Silly nail polish is available from Polish Me Silly on Etsy with worldwide shipping available.

Thermal Polishes RRP, $6.50.

Comparison, Swatch, Uncategorised

The £2 Flakie Duochrome

3rd August 2014

3 Comments

2true Shade No. 02 Swatch // Clear Sparkle

Exactly one week ago, I received an email from a lovely lady named Lynzi who reads this blog who wanted to let me know about a very interesting polish she has in her collection and described it as looking like ‘mother of pearl or white opals’. I’m always on the look out for interesting and unique nail polishes so I was very intrigued and asked for a little more information on the polish.

Turns out it’s made by a brand called 2true which is exclusive to Superdrug. I’ve bought 2true polishes before – it’s a very purse friendly brand and the polishes are really great for that price point. I picked up a bottle for myself this weekend and couldn’t wait to swatch it!

The name on the bottle is ‘Shade No. 02‘ but on the website, it’s been given the generic descriptive name of Clear Sparkle. Seeing nail polish given numbers instead of names is a real pet-peeve of mine since a name can add so much to the appeal of a polish (or any beauty product in fact) and do wonders for the marketing *ahem, Nars Orgasm*. Whenever I see a shade that has a pun for its name, I feel like I have to buy it whether or not I like the product just because I love puns so much. Anyway, that’s a conversation for another time!

You could wear this shade on its own if you want to add a sparkly finish to your natural nails but you’ll never get it opaque. I swatched it over blackto bring out all of the different textures. There is silver glitter in there along with multichrome flakie bits that shift between purple, blue and pink.

It gives a very rich and opulent finish that I’ve never come across in a £2 bottle of nail polish before and it could probably be compared to a number of more exclusive, expensive polishes. The closest match that I own is piCture pOlish Altered State. Scroll down to see a side-by-side comparison.

Where to buy 2true

Shade No. 02 / Clear Sparkle is available from Superdrug online and in stores nationwide. RRP £1.99.

Select products are 3 for £5.

Is it a dupe for piCture pOlish Altered State?

piCture pOlish Altered State Limited Edition Swatch

Altered State is a limited edition shade from piCture pOlish released in February 2014. Currently, it’s still available on the website but when it’s gone, it’s gone! I swatched the whole collection of Limited Edition colour shifting shades back in February.

Altered State is more of in indigo purple and the colour shift is a lot more subtle. The glitter in No. 02 is slightly chunkier (although not chunky by general glitter standards) whereas in Altered State it’s very fine and holographic. There are no flakie pieces in Altered State which is what gives No. 02 its duochrome quality.

I think Altered State is an all around more refined polish and while anyone can see they’re not exactly the same, there is a hint of similarity and you may be able to fool an untrained eye!

So, is No. 02 a dupe for Altered State? No, not really. But it’s a very good alternative!

piCture pOlish Altered State Limited Edition Comparison

Swatch, Uncategorised

Nicole by OPI Seize the Summer Collection Swatches and Review

6th July 2014

Where to buy Nicole by OPI Seize the Summer

In the UK, the Seize the Summer collection will be available from July 30th in Superdrug stores and online. RRP £7.99.

These shades are already available to purchase in the US. Check Nicole by OPI’s stockist information for more info.

Swatch, Uncategorised

Nicole by OPI Roughles Collection Swatches

27th June 2014

1 Comment

Press Sample

Roughles (genius name!) is an upcoming collection from Nicole by OPI that consists of 4 textured polishes. They’re all pastels with a twist and the speckled effect is spot on. It adds that little extra that makes these polishes truly unique.

All of these swatches are two coats with no top coat and I was really impressed with the drying time on these. You don’t have to wait very long for them to dry down to the textured matte effect they’re built for.

The interesting combination blue and burnt purple (almost red) speckle make I’m Stucco on You a stand out for me and it’s my favourite from the collection.

On What Grounds reminds me of mint choc chip ice cream! The base is a turquoise with a hint of mint and the speckles are mostly blue with a few brown sprinkled in.

Rock the Look is a perfect combination of sorbet shades. Past the pink base, there are a few shades of orange and some dark purple.

I have to give Sand in my Shoe props for being a yellow polish that doesn’t apply like a yellow polish (i.e. all streaky and thin). Application was a breeze – it only needed two coats like all the others – and it remains beautifully bright and sunny even with the matte finish.