March Polish and Nail Care Favorites!

Another month has gone by, and it’s time for more favorites! I’ve been favoring brights and sparkle this month, because I am ready for SPRING! Here are the polishes I enjoyed the most this month, and some nail care goodies too.

Polish favorites:

• Butter London Tart With a Heart
• OPI Pure 18K Gold topper
• OPI What’s a Little Rain Forest?
• OPI I Just Can’t Cope-Acabana
• Illamasqua Mottle
• L’Oreal Diamond in the Buff

I am really obsessed with the OPI Brazil collection. OBSESSED. They are just knocking it out of the park lately, and that yellow is the greatest yellow polish of all time. Naturally, I can’t help but add sparkle to everything, and Tart With a Heart is a definite favorite. You can’t tell from the photo, but I’ve used a lot of that bottle. It is kind of sentimental to me as well, because my husband picked it out and said it looked like my kind of polish. 🙂 He knows me!

L’Oreal Diamond in the Buff is a shade in their Gel-Lacque line. I went to NYC at the beginning of the month for work, and needed a neutral that would stay on my nails. I figured what better time to test out the system? Diamond in the Buff is a peachy pink nude.

Of course I had to add the entire system to my favorites; I don’t want to say too much now since I’ll be reviewing the system as a whole, but as you can guess, I am impressed!

Bath and Body Works Honolulu Sun has an incredible scent- if you like tanning oil beachy type scents, get this one!

Finally CND Solar Oil. I want to finish up some of the cuticle products I have, so I broke this one out. I love how easy it is to use, it works, and it smells good.

What nail polishes and nail care items have you been loving lately?

ROY-G-BIV Series: Reds!

Hello! I decided to partake in the popular YouTube ROY-G-BIV series. It’s exactly what it sounds like: you go through the rainbow with your favorite polish shades. I’m not completely sure who came up with this originally, but I think it was Holly! Correct me if I’m wrong, girl! 😉 I’m hoping to write one ROY-G-BIV post per week, and naturally I will be adding pink. 😉

I had a hard time picking ten reds..not because I don’t love it, but because I LOVE it too much. There are so many great reds out there, but I managed to narrow it down. 🙂

OPI Over & Over A Gwen– Classic bright red, blue-based cream. This is the type of red every woman should own!

Layla Ceramic Effect 53- This is a red flakie in a jelly-like base that seriously GLOWS. It looks amazing paired over other reds.

OPI Royal Rajah Ruby- From the OPI India collection, this is a favorite because of how rich it looks. It’s a deep burgundy color with hints of gold shimmer.

MAC Riri Woo– Quite possibly my favorite red. This just has something about it. It’s a bright, blue-based cream, but there’s something about it that I just can’t put my finger on that makes this different. I love it.

China Glaze Ruby Red Pumps– A cult classic! Ruby slippers for your nail.

Butter London Knees Up– Metallic red. This is amazing alone and with glitter.

Butter London Abso-Bloody-Lutely– Blood red jelly polish. I love, love, love.

OPI Vodka & Caviar– Bright red jelly. I love this color so much. This is the ultimate red jelly, but unfortunately it’s hard to find.

OPI Skyfall– I don’t know what it is about this color, but it is so sexy to me! It’s a dark burgundy red. I love this in the fall.

OPI Magazine Cover Mouse– This is a liquid sand shade that really glows on the nail.

Honorable mention:

• Illamasqua Scarab
• NARS Yoshiwara
• OPI All I Want for Christmas is OPI

What are your favorite red nail polishes? Any must haves or recommendations? Stay tuned for orange!

Barry M Blue Moon

Barry M, according to their website, is “the UK’s number 1 fashion cosmetic company.” I know they are quite famous for their affordable and pretty nail polish colors. If you’re in the US, you can find Barry M at Ninja Polish.

Blue Moon is a very sheer baby blue shade. Although it looks like a cream, it has a VERY subtle shimmer/pearl finish that I don’t think is visible unless you’re really examining the nail in the sunlight. I can definitely see why people like this polish. It’s easy to apply; very fluid and just glides onto the nail.

Now, the REAL reason I picked Blue Moon for my first Barry M shade is because of my hubby! His favorite football team (as in soccer) is Manchester City, and Blue Moon is their thing…they’re always singing the song, etc. Sometimes I paint my nails blue when they play and thought this would be a good shade to wear, since their color is baby blue! 🙂

What are your favorite Barry M shades? Any must haves?

Marc Jacobs Petra

I’m trying to get around to featuring some polish from brands that I only have one or two of; Petra by Marc Jacobs is one of two shades I have from the brand. I purchased this when the line was fairly new, back in the summer. Petra is a really unique color. It’s described as “dirty bronze metallic shimmer”, but in reality it’s a purple/gray/taupe/brown with a greenish tinge in certain lighting.

This color is PACKED with shimmer. I don’t usually assign seasons to polish, as I wear whatever whenever, but this is definitely something I would reach for more in the fall months.  The formula is very smooth and applies easily. I used two coats, but it is nearly opaque in one.

I love the color and how unique it is. This definitely needs a top coat though; I’ve found this line to chip easily, which is frustrating for the price ($18). Still, Petra is a gorgeous color and everyone will have different experiences with how fast something chips; it seems to be something that has no rhyme or reason!

Have you tried this polish line?

ManGlaze ILF

If you’ve never heard of ManGlaze polishes, they officially win the award for most hysterical polish names. The evidence: Lesbihonest, Fatty’s Got More Blood, Fuggen Ugly, and the one I have here today: ILF! ManGlaze is an indie polish brand geared toward men, the tagline being “the manliest matte nail polish known to man”.

ILF is a turquoise matte with some very, very, very fine silver shimmer running throughout; it almost has a bit of a ‘glow’ on the nail. It’s pretty sheer, so I used three coats for opacity, but if you don’t mind visible nail line, two will work. In the last photo, I topped it with OPI Pure 18k gold top coat and Butter London’s Tart With a Heart for some sparkle! I really love this color; it’s hard to go wrong with turquoise!

Have you ever used this brand?

Chanel Azure !!

It was bound to happen…right? CHANEL!! This polish is so crazy expensive ($27…yeah, I went there), but I had to get this one after falling in love with swatches. This is limited edition from last summer, but I was able to find it on Nordstrom’s website. Described as “metallic blue green”, it is definitely metallic and BRIGHT!

This polish is a shape shifter depending on how the light hits it. I could not stop staring at my nails when I had this on! It has a beautiful duochrome effect and is VERY bright. The formula is fantastic; I used two easy coats for opacity.

The photo above shows the green a bit more. I think I made an excellent choice for my first Chanel polish!

Barry M Croc Effect in Black

As soon as I saw the Barry M Croc Effect polish, I had a burning desire for it! Croc print on the nail? Yes!!! Unfortunately, I got frustrated with it because I could never get it to turn out right. This polish has a trick to it!

I used Illamasqua Noble underneath as a base. The trick with this polish is to let it dry for a few minutes- not until it is completely dry, but until it is dry to the touch (so, still wet underneath). After that, apply one thin coat, and wait. And wait. And wait. This polish requires PATIENCE (not a virtue that I have). This takes about ten minutes or so, maybe a little longer. When it looks finished, apply a top coat if you desire.

Now that I have this figured out, I see myself using it a lot more! 🙂 This is UK brand of polish, but you can find it on Ninja Polish in the US.

Sinful Colors Cold As Ice

Sinful Colors Cold as Ice was a polish that came out during the holidays in 2013. I was soooo excited about this polish, yet overall it was a bit disappointing once I applied it!

I layered it over China Glaze Aquadelic and used Deborah Lippmann Glitter and Be Gay as an accent. Cold as Ice just isn’t opaque enough for my liking, and it would take a lot of coats to get a decent amount on the nail. It’s a thin white bar glitter polish, but pretty sparse!

Next time I use this, I’m going to try it in a jelly sandwich and see what happens. Maybe I got a dud bottle, or just need to shake it up a bit before applying.

China Glaze Wrinkling the Sheets

I guess this is turning into a GREEN week! China Glaze Wrinkling the Sheets is one of the ‘crinkled chrome’ shades. This is definitely a love it or hate it finish. It is textured, and I find it very cool and space age!

The formula on this polish is excellent, and it wears like iron! I love how the texture looks, and the color is pretty. This is totally opaque in ONE coat and it dries quickly. I’m a fan! I’m glad that I randomly picked this up, but my one regret is not grabbing another shade!

What do you think? Love it? Hate it?

Illamasqua Mottle!

I have another green post for you today! Illamasqua Mottle is one of the speckled polishes that came out last spring. There are some dupes for these right now from Sally Beauty, and I think L’Oreal has a collection out too, that is limited edition.

Mottle is a springy pastel green with black glitter. It is opaque in two coats and the formula is amazing. Illamasqua is amazing in general; seriously, try just one shade! It is expensive, but worth it! I think it is better than Deborah Lippmann too, which has a similar price point.

Although this color is discontinued, try looking for some dupes out there, or maybe even eBay and blog sales. 🙂