Giveaway winner!

Happy belated Turkey day! I was on the road all of yesterday and am wide awake now at 2:30. There is something wrong with me.

Anyway.

Congratulations to Melissa E. or winning the giveaway! I've emailed and she has 48 hours to respond.

I've got some other goodies heading out ya'lls way so stay tuned!

L'Oreal Limited Edition Project Runway 2012 Electric Fantasie Polishes Swatches and Review (pic heavy)

Whew that was a serious title. And these are some serious polishes. In total, there are 8 adorning the limited edition Project Runway displays around local drugstores (someone else's local, I have no drugstores in town, boo!), two in each subtype. I've got all 8 to show you (I know, I have a sickness when it comes to buying nail polish). I tried to do some simple nail art with each combo.

This is a pic heavy post, so just be warned!

L'Oreal Project Runway Electric Fantasie 2012 Nail Polish

The Queen

L'Oreal The Queen's Ambition, L'Oreal The Queen's Might

L'Oreal The Queen's Might is a sheer red, almost  hot pink polish. In the bottle it looks more bold and commanding, but on the nail it's very ... blah. It's a nice color, but it's a little sheer for my taste and the color isn't very impressive.

L'Oreal The Queen's Might (three coats with top coat)

The Queen's Ambition is an opaque black polish with silver glitter. Think Owl's Night but in black. It's not that interesting (I'm not loving this Queen combo, am I?) but it's nice and opaque and I really appreciate the formula.

L'Oreal The Queen's Ambition (two coats with topcoat)

The Temptress

L'Oreal The Temptress' Touch, L'Oreal The Tempress' Power

L'Oreal The Temptress' Power is a yellow green with yellow shimmer. Interesting color, makes me think of those fugly colors that were so popular awhile ago. This particular color seems futuristic almost, but I can't pinpoint why. This one gave my problems with application. Thick, goopy, and took forever to dry. Definitely not my favorite, but it IS an interesting color.

L'Oreal The Temptress' Power (three coats with top coat)

L'Oreal The Temptress' Touch is a sheer nude-tan duochrome with light green shimmer. This one is really neat and my first grab when I saw the display. It's almost a sheer, lighter version of Maybelline Downtown Brown that was released recently. I think this would look great layered over a darker brown or nude, but on its own, it's way too sheer. This was six coats and there is still a visible nail line. Visually interesting though. One of my top picks.

L'oreal The Temptress' Touch (six coats with top coat)

L'oreal The Temptress' Touch (six coats with top coat)

The Muse

L'Oreal The Muse's Attitude, L'Oreal The Muse's Inspiration

L'Oreal The Muse's Attitude is a dark green blue polish with shimmer. On the nail it dries a bit flat but a shiny top coat perks it right up. This one did pull more than the others given I used the same top coat for all (Seche Vite). Not much to say about this one.

L'Oreal The Muse's Attitude (two coats with top coat)

L'Oreal The Muse's Inspiration is a gorgeous medium orange with shimmer. Lots of depth and it is a chameleon! Bright orange, medium, darker with bright shimmer. I was really impressed with this one!

L'Oreal The Muse's Inspiration (two coats with top coat)

L'Oreal The Muse's Inspiration (two coats with top coat)

The Mystic

L'Oreal The Mystic's Future, L'Oreal The Mystic's Fortune

L'Oreal The Mystic's Fortune is a magenta leaning purple with shimmer. Nice color, I feel like I've seen this color a lot, but it's definitely eye catching and I can't say I have anything like it in my stash. Formula was a little watery so it liked to pool at the cuticles.

L'Oreal The Mystic's Fortune (two coats with top coat)

L'Oreal The Mystic's Future is a gorgeous dark purple with shimmer. My pictures make it look super blue, which it's not. Let's all say it together ... Purples are so hard to photograph! The above pictures are closer to reality but this formula applied like a dream! 

Whew! Are you still with me? =) All done! Hope that was helpful in case you were thinking about picking up one, or two, or eight.

I know this is pretty late and this collection has been out awhile, and may be even hard to find at this point, but I lost two of the polishes for awhile and just now found them, so I'm posting this a quickly as possible!

I promise to work on my nail art to showcase colors! =P Some weren't that inventive and my fav, the tape mani, didn't show up well because of the colors. Live and learn!

Sinful Colors Nirvana...Matte?

Did you know Sinful Colors has some matte colors? I didn't realize it until recently when I came across a display and I was checking names to see if there was something new hiding in the midst of the polishes. I came across Sinful Colors Nirvana (Matte).

I LOVE matte polishes, rubber polishes, suede polishes, etc which I find ironic since I'm so in love with glitter.

Anyway.

I put this baby on right away and behold it's matte-ness!

Sinful Colors Nirvana (two coats)

O_o

Umm. Didn't it say matte? 

Yep, it did. Let's look again, maybe it was the lighting...

Sinful Colors Nirvana (two coats)

Nope, not the lighting. Sigh.

Either way, Sinful Colors Nirvana is a medium chocolate brown. Neutral, nice for work or "underwear" for a fun glitter. It's a pretty color, just not what I was expecting. Surprisingly, it fit a tiny unfilled hole in my brown colors, so that was nice.

But just for ... grins ... let's look at it mattified. I used Butter London Matte Finish Top Coat, which I purchased at a STEAL on Coterie (three polishes + matte top coat for $15).

Sinful Colors Nirvana (two coats) + Butter London Matte Finish Top Coat (1 coat)

Sinful Colors Nirvana (two coats) + Butter London Matte Finish Top Coat (1 coat)

Have you tried any Sinful Colors Matte colors and been disappointed? Or was that matte referring to something else and I'm just being silly?

Shimmer Jennifer

I've got another fabulous Shimmer Polish for you! 

Shimmer Jennifer is a great true multicolor glitter with different sizes and shapes. This one truly has a little bit of everything and would look great over any color polish making it really versatile!

Shimmer Jennifer (1 coat) over Sinful Colors Morning Star

Shimmer Jennifer (1 coat) over Sinful Colors Morning Star

Sinful Colors Morning Star by itself. Click here if you would like more swatches of it by itself!

Sinful Colors Morning Star

Info & Stats

• Etsy page (click here for inventory and purchasing!)
• Facebook
• Website
• $12.00 for .5oz
• She makes CUSTOM colors, $14 for custom colors!
• International sales & shipping

Shimmer polish provided for review.

Shimmer Tammy

Shimmer Tammy reminds me of Mardi Gras in a bottle with the heavy purple and gold. Two coats to reach opacity. Here I'm wearing it over a base coat of ... Elmer's glue and it worked great! It did eat three coats of top coat, but who's complaining? I'm not! Totally worth it and it sealed the glue basecoat so I didn't have any disintegration problems.

Shimmer Tammy (two coats plus topcoat)

Shimmer Tammy (two coats plus topcoat)

Shimmer Tammy (two coats plus topcoat)

Shimmer Tammy (two coats plus topcoat)

Shimmer Tammy (one coat) over Catrice Heavy Metallilac

Info & Stats

• Etsy page (click here for inventory and purchasing!)
• Facebook
• Website
• $12.00 for 0.5oz
• She makes CUSTOM colors, $14 for custom colors!
• International sales & shipping

Annnddddddd Catrice Heavy Metallilac for your viewing pleasure. You can see more swatches here. 

Catrice Heavy Metallilac

Shimmer Polish provided for review.

Orly You're Blushing

While working my way through neutral, work appropriate polishes while giving me a little fun with color, I picked out Orly You're Blushing.

Orly You're Blushing is a beautiful muted lilac rose creme that applied a little thick and chalky (like a pastel) but it evened out on the second coat. Opaque at two, but you may need a third if it pulls at the cuticles. Lovely color I like to think is work appropriate but at the same time feminine and a little fun.

Orly You're Blushing

Hello right hand! I just can't hold the bottle similarly and take pictures at the same time...

Orly You're Blushing

What do you think? Work appropriate? This would be a lovely color for a wedding (obviously given the name and collection) or soft fall color.

Sinful Colors Morning Star

I've decided I really like Sinful Colors nail polish. Debacle aside, they've got decent polish for pretty cheap, especially when  you can get them on sale, which they often are at local drugstores!

Sinful Colors Morning Star is a light blue polish with baby blue shimmer. Beautiful color. Formula is slightly thin so this was four coats for opacity. It reminds me of Sinful Colors Cinderella which wasn't a huge win for me. While the idea and color is gorgeous, it falls flat in the pink shimmer department. Sinful Colors Morning Star, however, has beautiful shimmer you can see in medium to strong light, and it glows from within. It IS thin, however, so layering over a similar base color or lots of time to do a manicure is best. Aside from the shimmer, the color is a gorgeous true baby blue that looks great without the shimmer in shade and low lighting and I think it would be gorgeous as the accent to a light/neutral outfit or a wedding manicure!

Sinful Colors Morning Star (four coats plus top coat)

Sinful Colors Morning Star (four coats plus top coat)

Sinful Colors Morning Star (four coats plus top coat)

What do you think? Hit or miss?

Essie Eternal Optimist

I've been picking through my neutral polishes and wearing a lot of pink lately. This one reminds me a lot of Revlon Cheers. I think this one is a little more light pink and less dusty. I'll have to do a comparison of them, because Revlon's formula was soooo much better. This one was thick and goopy and hard to get even. Three coats here plus topcoat. Not a fan, Essie.

Essie Eternal Optimist (three coats plus top coat)

Essie Eternal Optimist (three coats plus top coat)

Essie Eternal Optimist (three coats plus top coat)

Kinda meh overall. Color is nice but it chipped within the first day wearing it and the formula was hard to work with so not a huge fan of this one.

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain - Swatches & Review

I am in love.

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains are the new love of my life. These little babies are amazing!! I've posted about them a few times on here, Twitter, IG, etc so if you follow me then you know that I'm quickly becoming obsessed with these. They are fantastic! I keep buying more just because I feel the need to own one of every color. They have great pigmentation, apply easily in a chubby stick form (compact for traveling!), and stain so you're left with color afterwards. This is going to be a long post, so let's get started!

**I am going to apologize in advance that I have used two of these quite a bit already so sorry for that! I had taken pics before those but I kept adding more balms so I did group pictures and, well, we've got some nubs. I am so sorry you have to look at those!

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains
 (top) Romantique, Darling, Crush, Honey, Smitten, Rendezvous (bottom)

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain swatches on hand

Then I found two stragglers!

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains
(left) Cherish, Precious (right)

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains swatches on hand

They absolutely go on like a solid gloss: smooth, silky, and very pigmented given the chubby stick applicator. Usually these glosses are waxy and not very pigmented (in my previous experience), but these are phenomenal! On to individual swatches!

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Cherish

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Cherish is a gorgeous light pink (think mod 60s go-go pink) that is very wearable. Not chalky since it's in gloss form and the stain it leaves behind is a nice, light pink (not as light as the gloss, of course!). Much lighter on the lips/swatch than I expected given the container color.

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Crush

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Crush is a dark magenta gloss. This one applied more like a stain, darkening lines in my lips and didn't go on evenly. It was MUCH lighter than what I expected in the tube, which is fine with me since it's much more wearable than I anticipated and I'm super happy with the color. Application with this one was a bit trickier given it wanted to migrate, and the stain left behind was a medium pink.

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Darling

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Darling is a beautiful lilac-toned baby pink. I know the stick shot looks really blue, but I had to adjust the color to make it look how the tube actually looks. It's very purple, and I was expecting a light pastel purple to show up, but it's actually a very wearable light pink-purple. Enough blue to make your teeth look white! Very soft and feminine, extremely wearable version of purple. Stain left behind was a light pink.

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Honey

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Honey is a beautiful muted pink brown gloss that offers insane coverage! My only dislike with this one (even though you can tell I used it a ton!) is that the stain left behind isn't a light pink or brown, it's a bright pink one! I love the original color that you get when you first apply, but when the balm is gone, the stain is really bright. I wasn't expecting that and I can't decide if I like it or not, but I don't dislike it enough to stop wearing it. I just keep reapplying the balm to keep the neutral color above!

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Precious

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Precious is a nude brown. I apologize for this picture but it was really hard to capture the color. My skin has a lot of red in it, especially around my lips, so it's hard for me to wear a really light nude color that isn't super opaque because it makes me look sick and my skin really red. It truly is a gorgeous color but I can't really pull it off unless I'm wearing full on foundation and don't plan on getting warm at all that day or else I pink up and it throws off the color. I still wear it though! haha

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Rendezvous

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Rendezvous is a gorgeous bright orange opaque gloss. This is one of my front runners. I LOVE this color. It has just the right amount of pink in it without being obnoxious but tones it down a lovely wearable orange. I can't tell you how much I adore this color or how much I wear it. I think my coworkers think I'm crazy when I wear a bright lip, but whatever, it makes me feel fabulous.

Bold Liner and Bright Lip

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Romantic

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Romantic is a gorgeous medium red-orange. This one is if Honey and Rendezvous had a baby. Very autumn, very wearable, very pigmented. This one was a surprise given the dark tubing, but it's much lighter on the lips. Front runner in my book. Gorgeous. I wear this one to work often. Stain left is a medium to dark pink.

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Smitten

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Smitten is a hot pink! Very 80s, very bold, very pretty. Not a color I usually wear as it brings out the pink in my skin that I'm trying to hide, but I can't deny it's a gorgeous color. Staining is more apparent with this color and it's much brighter.

Whew! That was a lot. I hope it's helpful to ya'll that haven't tried them out yet but have been thinking about them.... I'll give you a little bulleted list to make it easier to talk about them as a whole.

Me Gusta:

- Compact, great for purses or traveling

- Feels light, like silky chapstick, not like a stain or gloss at all!

- Nice color selection

- Apply easily and quickly

- Mechanism on end of pencil to twist to get more product

- Balm wears for 2-3 hours, then left with a stain that may vary greatly depending on color

- Stain doesn't dry out your lips

- NOT STICKY!!!!

No Me Gusta:

- No good way to re-sharpen without losing a lot of product 

- Hard to apply well when tip is gone (see Honey above, it's hard to stay in the lines!)

- Some colors aren't represented well by packaging

- Some colors don't apply evenly

- Product is only about 1/2 length of barrel so packaging so not much product

Verdict: Overall, they are a win for me! So smooth and light and great color payoff. Worth every penny! I'm planning to get the rest of the colors I don't have.

My picks? Honey (obviously), Rendezvous, Romantic, and Darling. I would recommend, however, looking at swatches before picking them up since some colors (Cherish, Darling) are MUCH different on the lips than the packaging would lead you to believe.

You can buy these wherever Revlon is sold, and they retail for $7.49-$8.99.