Saturday, December 28, 2013

Saturday Random Swatchfest 12/28/2013

Happy Saturday!  It's nearly 2014 and this has been such a blessed year for me and I'm so grateful for all the people and things I hold dear to my heart.  I'm grateful for my husband and children that keep me smiling every day.  I'm thankful for my family and friends far a wide that are such good examples of happy and humble living.  I'm grateful for my passions and interests that keep me moving along and growing which is something this blog has provided for me this past year and a half.  I'm grateful for you for being a part of my nail art community where we can all share our love of art.  I wish you the best year in 2014!  May you have the courage and will to accomplish all that you dream for yourself.  XOXO!

On to the swatching!

To start things out we have Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Red-io Active from probably my favorite drugstore polish line.  Sally Hansen does have many lines of polish, but this one is almost always spot on.  A little while back they released a small collection of jewel-toned shimmers for Fall and I should have picked them all up when I actually found them still in the display.  Soon they were all swiped and had to be content with the few I purchased initially.  I love the extra dimension the subtle shimmer gives this red.  This is one coat and its just a really great basic with a twist.  A




Color Club Sweet Pea is a dusty rose which is just kinda ok for me.  I don't know why but this shade speaks a little bit grandma to me.  If you're into rose for the nails this one might be just right for you though because I didn't have issues with the formula and as I've stated on my swatchfests before- you can pick up Color Club's collections at Ross or Marshalls from time to time for an outstanding price compared to what they retail for online.  The thing I love about this brand is (this polish aside) they really come out with a great grab bag of shades kind of akin to China Glaze.  I still prefer China Glaze for its inventiveness, but this brand does make a good stab in that direction.  B




Wet n Wild The Clock Strikes Orange is from the often marked down to fifty cents line at the drug store.  I don't find this cheapest brand to offer as nice formulas as their other lines, but it does sometimes have interesting color releases throughout the year, and for such a price, the tween polish fanatic in your life would love this one.  If you are not a tween, but really love orange polishes, well there are better formulas out there to which I'd say you could skip this one.  This is three coats.  B




NYC Mulberry Street is this champagne, sheer crelly/shimmer that I hadn't picked up from their display because I was afraid it would turn out on the nail just as it had.  However, when this brand also had these bottles knocked down to buy one get one, I said, hey why not.  Well this might be your cup of tea, and if it is that's wonderful because you can pick it up for a buck when you see that sale, but I think I'll find myself rarely, if ever, reaching for this bottle.  This is two coats.  B-




China Glaze came out with an expansive holographic line this year and they had a lot of gray/silvers and blues but this one was a stand-out for me from the collection and I am indeed glad I picked it up(on clearance of course).  Here is the funky and fierce OMG a UFO no flash and below you will find how it shifts with flash
So fun!  I'm not really as gaga for holographics as I am for the textured polish trend, but it is fun to have a couple to pull out from time to time, especially one so unique as this olive green with a blue and gold flash.  This is two coats.  A




Sinful Colors is a great brand because you can get em for just two bucks at drug stores, but often they are down to a dollar.  On top of that they are constantly releasing collections and they're always up on the trends.  This is Sinful Colors Cold Leather from a collection of matte polishes that are meant to look like they have a leather finish.  I thought the concept was good on this, but I can't remember if any of my swatches turned out any better than this one...they're a tad hard to apply evenly.  Fun idea though.  This is two coats. B




Nicole by OPI I Lilac Gumdrops is so gorgeous to me.  My camera had a hard time focusing it appears. There is so much bling and texture in this polish that the eye and the camera has a hard time looking at just one place :)  This is like a silvered-out lilac and I find it to be perfection.  You may be tempted to say, well that's just because it's her favorite color, and well I can't argue with that one- but just look at the bottle shot. See those specs of silver, they go throughout the polish and really liven up this shade.  If you still see it out, snatch it up!  This is two coats.  A




Pure Ice Absolutely Mauvelous is a really great neutral that applied smoothly in two coats.  This is so clean and lovely.  Where rose shades feel like grandma to me, this is a chic and fresh way to rock rose colors- mauve em out.  This is another great bargain brand that you can find for a couple bucks at Walmart.  This brand is hit and miss so take care.  A




Sinful Colors Unwrap Me is my glitter offering for the week.  As you can see this bottle is comprised of hot magenta hexes, then slightly smaller black hexes and then micro black hexes all in a clear base.  I swatched this over white so I could really see what the glitter was on its own without any enhancement but I think this would look great with some other color combinations.  I do really love the hot pink/magenta with the black. It's very lingerie :)  This is two coats.  A




Nicole by OPI Am I Making Myself Claire? from the Modern Family collection is my featured polish of the week.  I think it's because I have had one really crazy week (or two or three...) that I really need some calm.  This very grayed-out dusky purple is very soothing to me.  You're looking at two coats and it applied easily.  I think this is a polish I could really wear anywhere and everywhere and go through a bottle like no other. What do you think?  Are you with me?  I give it a great big A+


There you have it- our last Saturday Swatchfest of 2013.  So glad you stopped by today.  What was your favorite polish of the week?  Did you find something you liked from my list or do you have a favorite at home that you want to share with me?  Tell me what it is- I love to hear what you're into!  See you back tomorrow.

Song of the Day: Tired Pony- Pieces
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_6Y8bGZ--g
*this link is provided for its audio content only*

Over and out

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