Essie Summer 2014

Welcome back!

I tried out all of the Essie summer collection a while back, and so I just wanted to post my thoughts finally.

Urban Jungle

Coats: 3

This was an off white polish with a pretty good formula. It was kind of a nude, but definitely a light one. Surprisingly, I really liked the color. It was a good clean color, which can be nice sometimes. It's definitely good for nail art when you want to use a white polish, but maybe don't want such a stark white polish. It also makes it more interesting I think. I used this for a baseball manicure and really liked now it was different than you usually see.

Strut Your Stuff

Coats: 3

This bright blue polish was very opaque and had a great formula. It was very smooth and it just went on very well without any effort. I really liked the color, too. It was very bright and caught your attention which I really like during the summer.

Fierce, No Fear

Coats: 2

The formula on this polish was absolutely amazing. I really like the color, too, which is surprising because I don't normally lean toward nudes or browns. This one, though, was gorgeous. The color would also work for fall, too, which is actually when I wore it. I paired it with Nicole by OPI Shaved Nice and really felt like it was a good fall/winter combination. It reminded me of hot chocolate and snow! This color will also work great for work, or when you just want a neutral nail polish to wear.

Haute in the Heat

Coats: 2

I almost got away with one goat on this, which is unheard of for me. I typically need three coats on a polish that everyone else would only use two on. The color itself was kind of unique, too. It was a pinky-red. Some lighting made it appear mostly all red, and others made it appear like pink with just a touch of red. I really like this color, too. When I wore it, I paired it with a silver glitter, so it made it look Christmas-y! I really love when polishes can work for more than one season or time of year.

Roarrrange

Coats: 3

Unfortunately, after trying four great polishes, I was a little let down by this one. The formula wasn't thr best on it, and I felt like it was kind of hard to work with. It was sort of sheer and watery to me, which is one formula that I hate. The color was orange, but much darker than I expected. I was expecting a very typically orange polish, but what I got was a much more burnt orange. It was dark, and I usually go for the lighter orange if I'm going to wear any. The picture of just the swatch of it was only two coats, but I did do three the first time I put it on, when I actually wore it.

Ruffles and Feathers

Coats: 2

This was a blue-green color. It definitely leaned much more green, but there were some blue tones to it. The color was pretty and the formula was good, too. Again, I feel this polish would work well at Christmas. I paired it with Essie Jazzy Jubilant when I wore it and I was pleased with how it looked, but it was a little Christmas-y.

Overall, I was very happy with the collection. Essie polishes can be kind of a hit or miss for me, but I liked five of the six colors which is great! It was a fun collection and I can still rock some of these shades even in December!

Thanks for reading <3

China Glaze Off Shore Collection: Summer 2014

Welcome back!

Here are my notes about all of the polishes from the China Glaze Off Shore collection which was released during the summer. Some of these polishes can be found still, and are marked down at some stores!

Dune Our Thing
Coats: 2
Color Family: Pink
I loved this color! It is perfect for later in the summer, when it's really hot, and summer is almost over. August, to be more specific, which is exactly when I was wearing it. I think this color is pretty unique, actually. I couldn't think of any off the top of my head that were the same.

Float On
Coats: 3
Color Family: Pink
I liked this color alright. It was a little goopy and thick, though, which also made it come out kind of streaky. It looked fairly smooth, though, which is good. It was pretty opaque for being a lighter color. I felt like it was pretty similar though to Petal to the Metal from their spring collection.

Feel the Breeze
Coats: 2
Color Family: Pink
The formula on this one was pretty similar to Float On's formula. It was a little goopy and thick, but opaque, too. It's a pretty color, but I didn't think it was too spectacular.

X-ta Sea
Coats: 2
Color Family: Purple
This color was a good color for the transition from summer to fall. It'll be great for that awkward time in late August to September. I really enjoyed the color on this, and the formula was good, too. It was nice and opaque.

I Sea the Point
Coats: 2
Color Family: Blue
This one was yet another one that I felt was good for later in the summer. It's dark, but it's vibrant, too. Somehow they have a dark and bright polish all at once! The formula was good and opaque, making application easy.

Wait N' Sea
Coats: 2-3
Color Family: Blue
This was a pretty color, with a pretty good formula. Unfortunately, I don't remember exactly how many coats it took, and I do not have any notes about it. :(

Stoked to Be Soaked
Coats: 3
Color Family: Orange
This was a good formula, and fairly pretty orange. I am not the biggest fan of orange nail polish on its own, though. I used this for a Halloween manicure, though, and really liked it for that!

Shore Enuff
Coats: 3
Color Family: Green
This was a pretty color and had a good formula. I felt like I had seen this color before, though. The best way to describe it would be a "grass green," which means you probably already own something like it.

Seas the Day
Coats: 2
Color Family: Red
This polish had a great formula! I really liked the color, but it did not cover the stain on my nail, even though it looked opaque otherwise. This color works well for fall, too, not just summer. It was a red polish, but it had some pink to it. I thought it was very similar to Essie Style Hunter.

If In Doubt, Surf It Out
Coats: 3
Color Family: Orange
I did not care for this color on my skin tone. It is a pretty, peachy orange polish, with a good formula. I'm sure it would look good on some people, but not me.

Sun Upon My Skin
Coats: 3
Color Family: Yellow
I did like this polish. It was an okay color, okay formula, but it was not special. The yellow did not pop, and it was not very vibrant. I was hoping for more. I think I just had higher expectations, and it was not what I was expecting.

Be More Pacific
Coats: 3
Color Family: Green
This was a very summery color! I liked it, and it had a really good formula on it! The only thing is that it reminds me a lot of The Grass is Lime Greener from their spring collection, but side by side, they look different.

Overall, most of the polishes were good formulas and very pretty colors. Unfortunately, I did not try some of them until fall, so maybe I was just not in the mindset of these colors! I was very happy that they found several polishes that I felt fit the gap between summer and fall. That made the transition a lot easier in terms of nail polish!

OPI "Go Neon or Go Nude" Summer 2014

Welcome back!

I've been holding on to these pictures for a while now, and finally finished editing them! They take a long time, and I hate doing that part (by editing, I mean all of the words and watermarking).

This isn't necessarily a review, but really just my thoughts and how I felt about it, more for my own record! Enjoy!

This line included six neon colors. It was promoted with a new white base coat called "Put A Coat On" to help make the neons pop.

For all polishes, I did no white base coat on the pointer and middle finger, OPI "Put A Coat On" base coat on my ring and pinky fingers, and OPI Alpine Snow as the base on my thumb. I label all fingers in the picture accordingly.

Juice Bar Hopping
Color Family: Orange
No Base: 4 coats
Put A Coat On (2 coats): 3 coats
Alpine Snow (2 coats): 2 coats
This polish was definitely brighter on the nails with a white base coat. I felt like on the nails without a base, it was kind of dull. I liked it alright (for an orange) on the white, but would not wear it off the white base.

Life Gave Me Lemons

Color Family: Yellow
No Base: 3 coats
Put A Coat On (2 coats): 1 coat
Alpine Snow (2 coats): 1 coat
I was a little surprised to see how green this polish turned out to be. By the name, I expected it to be much more yellow than it was. It definitely looked better on top of the white base. While I only used one coat on nails with a base, I maybe should have done two. Most people though would probably be just fine with one coat, but mine tend to be thinner than most peoples' coats.

Push & Pur-Pull

Color Family: Purple
No Base: 2 coats
Put A Coat On (2 coats): 2 coats
Alpine Snow (2 coats): 2 coats
This polish was sort of water to me. Without having a base, and basing this just on the formula of the polish itself, I would almost call this a jelly polish. It is watery, thin and looked "squishy" when it was dried on the nail. Off of the base, it was very dark, and not vibrant enough for a neon. On the base, I absolutely loved it. Putting the white dow is definitely worth the extra work here.

Hotter Than You Pink

Color Family: Pink
No Base: 3 coats
Put A Coat On (1 coat): 3 coats
Alpine Snow (1 coat): 3 coats
This polish, although it was pink, it definitely had a bluish tint/shimmer to it. The blue tones were much more noticeable on the nails without the base coat, to me. I was very happy with the formula and the color. It was very vibrant and I liked that about it. I do like this one much better on the white base as well.

Down to the Core-al

Color Family: Coral/Pink
No Base: 3 coats
Put A Coat On (2 coats): 2 coats
Alpine Snow (2 coats): 2 coats
I loved this color. I thought it was so pretty. It is a very typical coral, though, maybe a little more neon. To some people, this would probably be just a repeat, but not to me. It was very good for those summer months.

You Are So Outta Lime!

Color Family: Green
No Base: 2 coats
Put A Coat On (2 coats): 2 coats
Alpine Snow (2 coats): 2 coats
I liked the way this color looked on my hands. I'm iffy on neons. I like how they look, but sometimes I hate how they stand out. They can be too bold and blinding. Thankfully, this was a bright polish, but it didn't hurt your eyes to look at it.

Overall, I was happy with this collection and these polishes. I did not like the white base coat that they sold with them, though. I felt like the Alpine Snow performed just as well, if not better every time.  I thought Put A  Coat On was too watery. I honestly felt a little cheated out of $9.00.

Thanks for reading <3