China Glaze Wait n' Sea

 Wait n' Sea is a bright teal creme.

Collection: China Glaze Off Shore Summer 2014

Color: This a pretty teal creme. I love the brightness and freshness of this color. It's nice, but it's not the most original color either.

Formula: The formula on this was strange. This had a really loose and runny formula. It pooled up in my cuticles and I found it a bit messy. It wasn't awful, but it wasn't a formula I really liked working with.

Price: I purchased this on Head2ToeBeauty for $3.25.

Overall: This is nice color, but it's really not something special or unique especially when it has a runny formula to boot. It's just not entirely worth it to me. The name is cute, but everything else falls a bit flat.

My Rating: 3 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Happy Tuesday!

Native War Paints My Favorite Sweater and Jeans

* I received the following polish in exchange for my honest review.

I have a Native War Paints polish to share with you today I received at Cosmoprof last summer. Yes, I still have some Cosmoprof polishes laying around to review. I love Native War Paints because I think they're definitely the queen of shimmers when it comes to indies. They really know how to make great shimmers and I don't see shimmers often in the indie world. This one is from their past fall collection

My Favorite Sweater and Jeans

My Favorite Sweater and Jeans is teal with blue shimmer.

Collection: Denim Fall 2016

Color: I can't say I'm a big fan of this color. It's not a bad color it's just not doing much for me. I prefer a more contrasting shimmer and the shimmer in this is really close to the base color. I also find this shimmer to go a bit frosty as you can see the brush strokes on my nails. The blue shimmer isn't really working for me. 

Formula: This had a nice and easy to use 3 coat formula.

Price: This is $9.00 on the Native War Paints website. 

Overall: I think this is a nice color. There isn't anything wrong with it, it's just not my cup of tea. The shimmer is too pronounced and I don't think I really like blue shimmer. It's just not adding much to the polish as far as depth and interest. The shimmer is more distracting in this color. This just isn't for me color wise, all other aspects of it are good.

My Rating: 3 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Happy Thursday! 

L.A. Colors Infinite

As I've mentioned recently I'm on a bit of nude/neutral polish kick. I'm still in it and it's been about 2 months already. I've been wearing nude polishes for 2 months straight and I can't get enough. I know the job search kicked started it for sure as I want to be prepared for job interviews with neutral nails, but outside of that, it's really all I'm craving. I've had fun shopping around stores picking up nude polishes I never would have considered before. This L.A. Colors one recently caught my eye.

Infinite

Infinite is a soft dusty rose creme.

Collection: L.A. Colors Color Last Core

Color: I love this soft rosy color. I know this maybe an old lady color to some, but I'm really liking it. I also like that it has some cooler tones to it so it keeps it skin tone friendly for me.

Formula: Ugh, why! I have reviewed two other colors from this Color Last line (Family Ties and Ever After) and I loved the formulas and the brush. The formula on Infinite isn't good for the brush. The brushes on these polishes are thicker and wider and worked perfectly with the thinner and jelly-like formulas of Family Ties and Ever After. Infinite is a creme and it is thick and very opaque. This brush/formula combo did not work well together. It was difficult to apply and even out. It was a mess. I used 2 coats here and it was just too thick. I wish this formula was thinner and sheerer with buildability. It would have been better than 2 coat thick icky mess.

Price: This was $1.98 at Walmart.

Overall: I'm really bummed out about this one because I love this color. I also have had great experiences with this line of polishes before. So, I really encourage you not to knock this line based on my review of this one shade. I actually have Family Ties as a contender for my Top 25 of 2016, so don't knock this brand! This formula just does not work for me. I'm really grumpy about it too!

My Rating: 3 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Happy Thursday!

China Glaze What I Like About Blue

I have another polish from China Glaze's Lite Brites collection to share with you today. This was a collection from China Glaze that really caught my eye. I haven't been too thrilled with China Glaze collections as of late. I wish I could say this polish was all I wanted it to be, but I hit a few snags with it.

What I Like About Blue

What I Like About Blue is bright aqua with a golden shimmer.

Collection: China Glaze Lite Brites Summer 2016

Color: There is absolutely nothing wrong with this color. This is what attracted me to this polish. I love this aqua color and you know me with gold shimmer. This color reminds me of tempting and beautiful swimming pool you just want to jump in on a hot day. It's stunning.

Formula: This is where I hit my snags, and I'm wondering if it's just me because I'm not seeing any other formula issues reported from other bloggers. This formula too me was sticky, goopy, and uneven. When I say sticky, it didn't want to lay flat and spread out on my nail it just wanted to stick to itself and the brush. I found this formula such a pain to apply. I used 2 coats here, but they weren't easy coats for me.

Price: I got this on eBay for around $4. I always get better deals on China Glaze on e-tailers.

Overall: While I love and adore this color I just can't get behind the formula. I don't know if I got a bad bottle or what it is going on with it. I'd love to give this polish stellar reviews, but that sticky weird formula is holding me back.

My Rating: 3 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Happy Monday!

China Glaze Papa Don't Peach

I have another one of the jelly glitter polishes from China Glaze's Lite Brites collection to share with you today. I am big fan of this collection and I think it's one of the best collections China Glaze has released as of late. I was a big fan of the other jelly glitter We Got The Beet. Will this one steal my heart too?

Papa Don't Peach

Papa Don't Peach is a neon orange jelly packed with gold microglitter.

Collection: China Glaze Lite Brites Summer 2016

Color: This color caused my camera to flip out of a bit. I tried my best to color correct in my photo program, but I still couldn't get it 100%. This is more yellow-orange in real life. This colors is bright and I love the combination with the glitter. This is the perfect summer shade. It's juicy, glitter, and oh so bright!

Formula: Well, I didn't have issues with We Got The Beet's formula like others had mentioned with these jelly glitters, but I did have problems with this formula. This formula was a mess for me. It was thick, sticky, and goopy. This is a polish you really need to let dry completely between coats otherwise it gets too thick and goopy in spots and will never dry or level. Like We Got The Beet, this does dry flat so it needs a top coat, all the more reason to let it dry between coats unless you want a smudgy sticky nail polish mess.

Price: I paid around $4 for this one eBay. I recommend shopping this on e-tailers it is much cheaper than China Glaze's $7-$8 retail price.

Overall: I'm not a big orange fan, but I do love love this color. It's such a fun color that really pops. I'd wear it if the formula wasn't so bad. This formula was just a mess for me and it's so disappointing.

My Rating: 3 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Happy Wednesday!

Throwbacks Week: LA Splash Midnight Rain

Back before indie days fun glitter polishes were not easy to find. LA Splash was a brand that used to be carried at Ulta around 5-6 years ago and they used to sell fun glitter polishes. One of my favorites used to be Midnight Rain. I rediscovered it in my stash recently and that is what I have to show you today.

Midnight Rain

Midnight Rain is a navy jelly base with blue and red glitter.

Collection: N/A

Color: I love the combination of red and blue glitters. A bold red and bold blue are probably my favorite colors. The thing I don't like about this color is the sheerness, which I'll get into in the next section. The colors of though are awesome in here and I don't see many red and blue color combos like this often.

Formula: This is sheer. This is probably best layered, but I've been spoiled the past 4 years with awesome opaque glitter polishes from indies. This isn't how things were pre-indie. Layering glitters were expected. I used 4 coats here on its own and you still see patchy spots. The formula was a bit on the thick side too which is not ideal when you layering on 4 coats!

Price: N/A. I don't think you can find this one anymore.

Overall: I really do like this glitter, but I'll remember it needs to be layered in the future. I'd probably rate this so much higher if it were 2012, but it's 2016. No, this isn't an ideal polish now, but it's a nice throwback.

My Rating: 3 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Happy Wednesday!

Noodles Nail Polish Mint For Each Other

I'm a little late to the game sharing a Valentine's polish, but it still looks pretty springy! This one is from Noodles Nail Polish a indie I recently fell in love with for their amazing crellies. The polish I'm going to share with you today is meant to be a Valentine's version of their Peppermint Twist polish (which was in my Top 25 of 2015) from the holidays. This one unlike the other Noodles Nail Polishes did fall a little flat for me, but I'll explain that later.

Mint For Each Other

Mint For Each Other is a white based crelly full of mint, aqua, silver, magenta, and pink glitters as well as mini pink hearts.

Collection: Noodles Nail Polish Valentine's 2016

Color: I absolutely love this color. I adored Peppermint Twist, so I love this Valentine's version as well. I love the pairing of the pink and mint. It's really a cute and great color combination. I also love that this a crelly polish. Noodles nails crelly polishes.

Formula: I wish this polish did not have pink heart glitters in it otherwise I would give it a glowing review. These pink hearts were a PITA to get out as evidenced by my swatch. I could only manage to get one heart out. It was frustrating me beyond belief trying to get these hearts out. The formula itself sans the hearts was good. It was on the thick side, but it applied smoothly and opaquely in 3 coats. This polish didn't need the hearts in it. I think the polish looks great without them. The hearts really tarnished my view on this polish because how frustrating they were. Plus, they were in a white crelly base which made them hard to see.

Price: This one is no longer available. I'm not sure if it will be remade, but Noodles does have other excellent polishes on her etsy site.

Overall: This polish really pushed my buttons. Those darn hearts! That being said, hearts out of the picture I'm in love with this polish. I don't want this to deter anyone from purchasing this brand. I've reviewed a handful of other Noodles Nail Polishes I absolutely loved and some even made my Top 25 list from last year. This one just didn't work out for me based on stupid heart glitter. I didn't feel the polish needed them because it's great on its own and they really tested my patience. This would of been a golden 5 paint splatter polish without the hearts!

My Rating: 3 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Happy Wednesday!

Cuccio Dancing Queen

*I received the following product in exchange for my honest review.

I have a new to me brand to share with you. I received sample from Cuccio Colour at Cosmprof. This is a brand I had heard of before, but never came across ever. I now know why. This is a salon only brand! No wonder I never saw it. I was glad to be introduced to it. I did realize while you can't buy this as professional from their own site, you can sometimes find these on etailers, Amazon, or eBay. It's not a total lost cause. I have one of the polishes from their fall collection to share with you.

Dancing Queen

Dancing Queen is a deep navy blue with blue and golden/green shimmer.

Collection: Cuccio Colour Royale Fall 2015

Color: You see that beautiful multi-dimensional shimmer in that bottle in my picture? Yeah, that barley translates on the nail. How frustrating is that! This color is a lovely rich blue shimmer. There is nothing wrong with that aspect, but I want to see what's in the bottle on my nail. I'm not getting that intense shimmer I see on my nail at all. 

Formula: The formula on this was good. It was pretty standard. I used 3 coats above.

Price: You can find this in the $8-$9 range if you search it on Google.

Overall: I wanted to love this polish, but it really disappointed me. The base color is great. The formula is good. I just really wanted all that amazing shimmer I see in the bottle. I can't get past that!

My Rating: 3 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Happy Wednesday! 

Color Club Age of Aquarius

"When the moon is in the Seventh House And Jupiter aligns with Mars , then peace will guide the planets Aand love will steer the stars"

I'm doing so many manicures and reviewing polishes lately that get songs in my head! I'll never forget a nail polish if it reminds of a song. I spotted this bright Color Club in my recent Head2ToeBeauty haul.

"This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius The Age of Aquarius Aquarius! Aquarius!"

Age of Aquarius 

Age of Aquarius is a neon mint-aqua green creme.

Collection: Color Club Poptastic Collection

Color: This is a spectacular color. This is insanely bright too. I would most definitely consider this a neon even though it isn't a traditional neon color. I love the vibrancy of Age of Aquarius and I love that it's a minty green! Mint and neon is an amazing combination.

Formula: I so so so wish I could say this formula was as spectacular as the color. Sadly, it's not. I found this color to be thick, chalky, and did not apply evenly. This isn't the worst formula I've ever used, but it was pretty bad -sad face-.

Price: I paid $3.25 for this on Head2ToeBeauty.

Overall: The color is just that amazing. The vibrancy of this shade is killer, it is unlike any other bright mint-aqua colors in my collection. The formula is a major let down for me, but the color *almost* negates that. I know neons/pastel neons can have better formulas than this, I've seen it done with indies. I expect better, but I've been put under Age of Aquarius' spell a bit.

My Rating: 3 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Happy Tuesday!

China Glaze Boho Blues

I have a new spring color from the China Glaze Road Trip collection to share with you today. I found this collection at the beginning of the year at Ulta. I haven't bought anymore spring polish since. I need to get my nail polish butt in gear!

Boho Blues

 Boho Blues is a periwinkle blue creme.

Collection: China Glaze Road Trip Spring 2015

Color: This is a pretty straight forward color. You can't really go wrong with a periwinkle blue though! The color is nice and saturated, but I wouldn't call it unique or anything.

Formula: I was overall disappointed in this formula as well as the others in this collection. Boho Blues formula was better than some of the shimmers, but I did find it didn't self level.. The formula also wanted to pool up and get all over my cuticles.

Price: I paid around $7.50 for this at Ulta.

Overall: I like the color of Boho Blues, but the formula of this one and the entire collection left me with a sour taste in my mouth. Pastels like this can be made with nice formula in 2015. I've seen it done in drugstore brands, mainstream brands, and indies. If this were 2-3 years ago I'd probably consider this formula good, but not anymore. It's not terrible by any means, but it's not what expected from a major mainstream brand. I'm also pretty confident you can find a similar if not a dupe to this color readily available in a store right now.

My Rating: 3 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Happy Wednesday!

OPI My Voice is a Little Norse

So what happened to November? I think everything transitions from Halloween to Christmas pretty quickly. I'm trying to hold back putting up holiday polishes now. I don't have a problem with the jump personally, but it does make me want to rush into holiday everything when I've barely tapped into fall stuff!

Speaking of fall, I do have one of the OPI fall Nordic polishes to share with you today. I'm a bit on the fence with this one.

My Voice is a Little Norse

My Voice is a Little Norse is a gray-toned sheer base with silvery-gray holographic glitter.

Color: I really like this color of this. I like that isn't not a straight up silver, however, I really wish this was more of a full coverage glitter.

Formula: The formula on this is alright. I used 3 coats above. Like, I said above I really wish this was an opaque glitter. I have tons of silvery holo glitters, I can use as toppers, and this really doesn't look very different in comparison to those layered. This on it's own though is deeper and richer in color, but I don't get the coverage I'd like. I'd never use this has a full mani because of this. I'm very picky about seeing my nail underneath. I have used it as an accent though which I like.

Price: I bought this in the $8-$9 range at Sally's Beauty Supply.

Overall: I really like the concept of this. The steely gray color is really nice, but it doesn't provide the coverage for me that I'd like. It's pretty there is nothing wrong with it, really, other than it doesn't quite meet all my expectations.

My Rating: 3 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Happy Monday!

Revlon Artsy

I came across a beautiful collection of polishes recently in a Revlon display. The display was fall collection called by Boho Chic by Gucci Westman. Gucci Westman is a makeup artist. I had to Google her. I may be a nail blogger, but my knowledge of the cosmetic and fashion industry is lacking!

This display had 4 nail polishes 3 blingtastic glitters and one shimmer. I picked up all the blingtastic glitters of course. Glitters make me salivate. I have one of those to share with you today.

Artsy

Artsy is a sapphire blue jelly jam packed with blue hex and blue bar glitters.

Color: This is the perfect blue. I love jewel-tones for fall, and this hits the spot. This is the perfect sapphire blue. The jelly base is rich in pigment, and the blue glitter is plentiful.

Formula: Oh Artsy, this is where you become a bit fartsy. There is so much glitter in here that is really messes with the base. The glitters stack on top of each other in application, and the jelly base just can't really level around the glitters. This can really be a hot mess application wise. I used 3 coats above. Sad face.

Price: I paid around the $5-$6 range for this at CVS. This Boho Chic collection is limited edition, however, this particular polish will become part of the permanent Revlon line.

Overall: I can't get enough of this blingy sapphire blue jelly glitter. I really love this as a polish, but the formula really kills it. Despite that, I can't chuck this one at all, it really is just too beautiful. I will most likely never wear this as a full mani, but I could see myself definitely sporting this as an accent nail. If you love jelly glitters like me, you may be willing to make this work for you. If you're not into glitters so much, I think you can pass.

My Rating: 3 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Happy Tuesday!

P.S. Nail'd It a nail art competition show premieres tonight on Oxygen at 9pmEDT/8pmCDT. I'll be watching! Who else?

Sally Hansen Pink Dream

I have another one of the Sally Hansen Complete Salon limited edition fall shades to share with you today. This is one of the glitter toppers in this collection which obviously being a glitter addict caught my eye.

Pink Dream over China Glaze Life Preserver

Pink Dream is a golden-orange base with golden-orange-pink toned iridescent glitters.

Color: This isn't really pink to me. It's hard to explain this it's kind of a sunset orange-golden-pink color? Does that make sense? I'm a huge sucker for glitters like this, but I don't think you're getting anything standout or original here.

Formula: The formula was nice. I used 2 coats on top of a base.

Price: I purchased this in the $7-$8 range at CVS.

Overall: Like, I said I'm a sucker for iridescent glitters like this, so I gravitated toward it. In hindsight, I should of passed. The only way I see this varies from other glitters like this is it does have a more golden hue. Otherwise, this isn't special, unlike Chili Flakes which is awesome. It's not a bad polish formula wise or anything, just a bit of a downer color appearance wise. Also, the price is a steep for a drugstore polish.

My Rating: 3 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Happy Monday!

Sally Hansen Wet Suit

The drugstore really has been coming out with nice stuff lately? These summer pastel bright trend has really been up my alley. Sally Hansen decided to pick up on this trend and create their own array of colors in the Electric Summer collection. This was introduced in their Xtreme Wear line. I have one of those shades to share with you today.

Wet Suit

 Wet Suit is a sky blue creme.

Color: This was one of two colors I picked up out of this collection. What I liked about this shade is just a teeny bit muted. It is a brighter color, but it has softness to it as well. I love this shade a blue. I'm betting there are similar colors out there though.

Formula: Someone forewarned me when I purchased these that they were not a fan of the formula. When I started applying this I had no idea what they were talking about. The first few nails, this applied so nicely. This changed the more I used this formula. The formula became goopy and tacky. This made it difficult for the polish to dry between coats, and caused self leveling issues. I did add a few drop of thinner in between uses. This helped, but what a strange, fake out formula. I was ready to talk about how awesome the formula was, and it let me down. I'm *thinking* maybe too much exposure to air changed it? I don't mean letting it sit out with the cap off either. I just mean in the time frame of using it to paint my nails.

Price: I found this in the $2-$3 range at CVS. This collection is limited edition, so if you're interested go on the hunt for it now.

Overall: I really loved this shade of blue, but that was overshadowed by its baffling formula. I don't get it. This didn't turn this into a terrible polish at all, but it definitely was a let down.

My Rating: 3 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Happy Monday!

Zoya Dot

I have one of the spring Zoyas to share with you today, Yes, it feels like summer, but it's still technically spring. This is color I was pleasantly surprised by. I never would of purchased it on my own, but it came in an Ipsy bag a little while ago. It surprised me in good ways, but I can't say it is a real winner for me.

Dot

Dot is a soft petal pink creme.

Color: This is a very go-to wearable soft pink. This is a one of those colors that will look good for any occasion. I like the softness of this pink. Pastel/pale pinks can give me lobster hands (make my fingers look super red). Dot, is a little more friendly on me than some other pale pinks. It's not perfect, but I comfortably wore this color for a few days, and didn't feel like people would look at my hands and think I'm ill.

Formula: Another surprise here. This formula isn't perfect, but I was expecting a sheer countless coats to make opaque pink here. That wasn't the case. This covered my nail nicely in 3 coats. My issue with this formula is it didn't want to level on my nail, which is apparent in my swatch photo.

Price: This is $9.00 on the Zoya website.

Overall: I do like this. I was surprised it was pink that looked nice on me, and I'm surprised it was a full coverage opaque color. I wore this as a mani, and I liked it. It's not a favorite, and it does have its drawbacks as far as formula. This a like that leans towards the side of OK for me, rather than a love.

My Rating: 3 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Happy Tuesday!

Throwback Thursday: China Glaze Bahamian Escape

I'm sucker for older mainstream brand collection polishes. If I spot an nail polish from a collection pre-2009, I'm going to swap up that sucker in a heartbeat. China Glaze Bahama Blues collection was released in winter of 2008. I started getting into nail polish around then, but hadn't heard about China Glaze until a few months later. This collection had a lot of pretty blues that had been a part of my wishlist for awhile.

On a trip to KMart a few months ago I came across and random little basket of China Glaze polishes, and guess what was in there? One of the polishes from the 2008 Bahama Blues collection. Mine!

Bahamian Escape

Bahamian Escape is a bright sky blue creme.

Collection: Bahama Blues Winter 2008

Color: This is a gorgeous bright light blue. I know in 2008, this shade of blue in nail polish was probably a rarity as far as the mainstream market. I think it's safe to say that sky blue cremes, can be found in probably every brand of nail polish out there as of 2014. Bahamian Escape is certainly not an original color in our times, but it's still pretty great.

Formula: I hate to say it but this formula is pretty stinky. It's not the worst thing ever, but I didn't find it easy to apply or use at all. The formula is thick, goopy, and doesn't want to smooth out or level on the nail.

Price: This can still be found on Amazon in the $5-$6 price range.

Overall: I love this color and it's a great throwback when it comes to nail polish nostalgia. I just don't think unless you want a piece of nostalgia you're really missing out on something special. I don't know about exact dupes, but there are countless sky blue cremes out there now, and with better formulas. I think you can pass on this one, if you don't have it already.

My Rating: 3 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Happy Thursday!