Revlon Powder Puff (a perfect pink!)

Look at that yummy shimmer!

Get this soon, I think the line's being discontinued. It was $1something at Target a few days ago.

Three coats, and there's a lingering scent of baby powder (this line has fragrance when dry)

Some sparkle

Sephora Galaxy was really, really pretty in the bottle. On the nail, less so. This is the kind of texture that just won't quit, not even after four coats of topcoat! 

So, yeah. Not my cup of tea exactly, but alright for a day.

 Now THIS is what I'm talking about. Lacquistry Amazeballs is a stunner. You can spot a bit of grow-out (eek) because this is day #3 on my nails, but look at how well it's worn!

too many pictures of too pretty a polish

China Glaze Choo-Choo Choose You is magic. That's all there is to it, this polish is sorcery. 

Unfortunately, it chipped really fast on me (which is weird? usually I get decent wear out of China Glaze), so these pictures aren't quite as nice as I'd like them to be.

Please keep your pretty, polished fingers crossed for me! I submitted an essay for publication in an academic journal and I'm NERVOUS!

This is magic

Okay, I know I get possibly over excited whenever talking about Chanel Malice, but

but

BUT LOOK AT IT

Layered here with Beyu 209, a (dare I say it) equally magical polish

Poopy iphone pictures don't quite capture the beauty

(does anyone still read this?)

College is busier than I ever thought. College is more caffeinated than I ever thought.

Here's some mani spam from from my phone. They're all pretty old and I can only kind of provide accuracy with polish information.

I'll do better in the future, maybe.

All done with acrylic paint on polish.

 One of my own PAINTS by Allya polishes over a random light blue.

 A horrifically inaccurate picture of China Glaze Flip-flop Fantasy

 Sally Hansen's Tweedy. Three coats. I love it.

Butter London Wallis with Sephora by OPI goldleaf topcoat

A sunset as seen from the bay at my school. No filter or editing, it seriously looked like this.

Yum. Assorted Sinful Colors!

The picture on Island Coral looks weird, but that was all in an effort to get the darn color of the polish accurate. I think I succeeded.

Calypso is super gorgeous and I love it.

Sweet Tooth is a red-leaning light purple with a hint of shimmer and I love it for spring.

Overall, my pictures have weird lighting because all the colors were being difficult to photograph. Still, A+ for Sinful Colors, these polishes are great! 

Long time lemming

ooooooh, have I wanted this polish for AGES. PixiGLOW's Pirouette Pink, for those wondering. It's at Target.

It's a neon pastel pink with gold shimmer and it is GORGEOUS. It's also also $8 for .25fl oz (half the size of your standard OPI bottle), so it was a bit out of my price range. When I saw it on sale for $4, I snapped it right up. I know I just posted about not buying things simply because they're on clearance, but I've genuinely lemmed this exact polish for a long time, so I felt it was alright.

It totally didn't disappoint, though next time I'll layer it over white so it pops better.

Red

Pure Ice Moulin Rouge, two coats. Could've used a third.

Really pretty pink shimmer in this, I'll have to compare it to Chanel Rouge Carat. I know the Chanel is more opaque and this is darker, but they could be similar.

I like this. It's a pretty standard-issue red that's a bit less opaque than I'd like, but shimmer's pretty interesting

This was sent to me for review.

Seriously Disturbed (with my own habits)

I hadn't worn MAC Seriously Hip since purchasing it over a year ago. That really bothered me (my consumerism is starting to do that, but we'll save that for another post), so I decided to finally get some use out of it. I wore it for a few days plain and then layered Butter London's A Tart With a Heart on top for the easiest galaxy nails you ever did see. Love the final result- hate the final pricetag. 

I really should do a post on the consumerism that runs rampant in the polish community and how that's affected me, a student. But I wouldn't want to bore you all to tears. Hmmm.

China Nails

This is Pure Ice Draped in Satin with an Ulta polish (I don't remember the name, sorry!) stamped on top using my MASH plates. 

I really adore this combination.

Some products in this post were sent to me for review. 

What would you call this color?

Brown? Gunmetal?
Hmmm. It's a dark grey that definitely leans brown (or brown that leans grey) loaded up with silver shimmer.

First pic is Sation I'm With the Bandana (how does that name even make sense for this color?). Second pic has Sation Oh My Gaudy thrown on top.
I adore this combination.

This is the best thing that's ever been on my nails. Ever.

 So, I started with my new favorite polish: Chanel Malice. I splurged on this one immediately following hitting "submit" on the application to my #1 school out of hopes it'd distract me. Well, it did.
I wore it for three days, which isn't usual at all for a polish addict like myself. It's so glowy and beautiful.

 But at some point I realized I had another untried that I wanted to use. I didn't want to remove Malice, like, ever, so I just tossed another polish on top. The result was breathtaking.
That's Sephora by OPI It's Real, a real 18k gold topcoat.
The retail value of this manicure (as totaled by its components  not labor and such) is the most expensive that's ever been on my nails: $60. But it looks so rich, doesn't it?
I wore it for another three days. The lesson here is that gold and red look gorgeous, real gold makes everything even more luxe, and Chanel can have my wallet and soul if I can live in their creations. That is all.

Ulta Lust in Lace

This collection was super cool. Four dark vampy shimmers. Here's the breakdown:

Underneath it All (green)

Of Corset it Is! (brown/red)

Let Your Garter Down (blue)

Let it Slip (emerald)

Alpha Nail Polishes!

Alpha Nail, a polish company for men, sent me some of their nail pens and Clean Slate remover for review. Check their products out here, just don't do it at work!

The polishes come in a pen applicator, which is, I suppose, intended to look less feminine for their target audience. Honestly, I found it just made things more difficult, especially on Cocaine. I eventually got the hang of application, though, and the nails came out a little better looking. My method was pumping the pen for polish, dabbing that on a piece of paper, and then using the brush to put that on the nail. More complicated, yes, but also more uniform.

Now, as for the colors, these were pretty darn cool! Deep Ocean has this shimmer that's unbelievable and Burnin' Rubber is SO matte. Gasoline has a slight holographic effect. It's not a lot, but it's there. Cocaine, though, wasn't salvageable. I love how dirty and off-white it is, but the formula was too chunky for the unforgiving finish.

The remover Alpha Nail sent me is called "Clean Slate" and comes in a twist-off cylinder that contains the pre-moistened pads. It smells a little odd and feels a little greasy. They weren't my cup of tea, but my little sister now uses them and swears by them, saying she can get all the polish off her fingers and toes with just one wipe. They're acetone free.

Overall, I'm never super crazy about products being branded for one specific gender but I see what Alpha Nail is trying to do here. The polishes deliver cool "toughness" without looking too feminine, though they just as easily work on any girl.

These products were sent to me for review. I still have given my honest opinion of them.