Maybelline Bleached Neons- Day-Glo Teal

I.am.obsessed. When the Maybelline Bleached Neons collection came out, I only bought one polish, that being Day-Glo Teal. I was SO mad because I thought the collection would show up at Meijer (where the polishes are a less $$ than Walgreens), but it never did! I ended up running around town like a madwoman trying to get my hands on more of the Bleached Neons shades, but never found the one I really wanted (Coral Heat). Oh well, right?

Day-Glo Teal is AWESOME!! It is opaque in two coats and the color is just amazing. “Bleached Neons” is the perfect way to describe this collection. They’re bright, but just a bit washed out.

I definitely recommend looking for these on eBay or seeing if there are any stragglers left at the drugstores. 🙂

Maybelline Bleached Neons Lime Accent

Ah, the Bleached Neons. I made a mistake with this collection, and that is that I didn’t buy them when I saw them! Usually these limited edition collections hit Walgreens and Rite Aid, and then pop up at my local Meijer. Wal-Mart (at least here) does not get them at all. They are more affordable at Meijer, so I usually wait. I did wait, and wait, and WAIT, and they never showed up at Meijer! Luckily, I was able to snag four shades, BUT NONE OF THE PINK ONES! I might have to hit eBay and pay double the price…

Anyway, onto Lime Accent! This is a fab polish- I’ve seen some negative reviews that it requires four coats, but I didn’t have this experience at all! I only used two coats here. These shades also seem to wear pretty well compared to the core line (of course…Maybelline ALWAYS does limited edition better than permanent). This dries to a semi-matte finish and has yellow undertones.

What are your Bleached Neons picks?

2014 Color of the Year: Radiant Orchid Polish Picks!

Pantone’s Color of the Year for 2014 is Radiant Orchid. I thought it would be fun to share some of my polish picks in that shade range. As you can see, some are dark, some are bright, and some are in the nude shade range.

Essie Play Date– This is described as “soft purple.” It’s coming across a little dark here; it’s a little brighter in person.

OPI You’re Such a Budapest– This is a purple toned periwinkle shade. This is a really great color for winter and spring because it truly pops on the nail!

Maybelline Lust for Lilac– I think that this is Maybelline’s answer to Radiant Orchid, because this is a new shade for 2014.

Butter London Molly Coddled– This is the perfect choice, as it is described as “lavender orchid cream.”

China Glaze Sweet Hook– I seriously love this color. It’s a pale lavender shade that is white-based.

Essie Bangle Jangle– This is one of the first polishes I bought when I stopped biting my nails. Described as “lavender amethyst”, this looks a lot darker here than in person.

Zoya Rue– I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this color. This is a pink toned nude from Zoya’s spring collection that appears to be Radiant Orchid inspired.

Zoya Kennedy– This is a cool beige cream shade that has a slight lavender tint. This is a great nude!

Revlon Gray Suede– This is another nude in the same color family as Kennedy and Rue. It has some slight shimmer to it. Very office appropriate!

Essie Go Ginza– This is a milky, white-based lavender. It’s like the purple version of Fiji.

In the sunlight!

There are a lot of great picks out there if you want to get into the Radiant Orchid craze! My favorites from this bunch are China Glaze Sweet Hook (my favorite of them all!), Essie Go Ginza, and OPI You’re Such a Budapest.

Are you enjoying this year’s color of the year?

Maybelline Brocades in Gilded Rose

Maybelline’s holiday collection, the Brocades, is amazingly gorgeous! I cannot resist sparkles, but only ended up with a couple of polishes from this collection so far, including this one: Gilded Rose. This shade has gold shimmer and metallic rose shimmer. I thought it applied nicely and wasn’t too chunky. You just never know with glitter.

This is two coats over Essie Topless and Barefoot, which is a pale nude pink. I am going to try Gilded Rose over some darker shades to see how that looks, but I love it over lighter colors so far! This could easily be layered to opacity as well, but I already had the Essie polish on!

Maybelline is one brand where their limited edition stuff is consistently better than the main line. Kind of frustrating, but kind of exciting too.

Did you get anything from this collection yet?

Maybelline Red Relic

Hello! I don’t know about you, but I was SO excited for the fall Maybelline polishes to come out. They’re called “Vintage Leather”, so they dry matte and have flakies in them. This gives the nails a bit of a “distressed” look, but it’s not totally textured either.

Red Relic is quite bright. I was actually surprised at how bright it is, and also how sheer it is. I’m wearing three coats above and you can still see some nail line. That doesn’t bother me though. The formula actually went on nicely. The flakies didn’t catch or pose a problem, and the distressed look is very subtle. I love the matte finish, too!

Did you pick up any of the fall collection from Maybelline?

Ten Polish Picks for Fall Under $5

Fall is just around the corner, or already here depending on how you look at it! 🙂 I like to go headstrong into fall once September 1st arrives, but that’s because it is my favorite season! Actually, we had our first red leaf on our tree in July. I don’t want to know what that means for winter!

Today I am sharing ten budget polish picks. ALL of these polishes are under five bucks! Some of these are new, some are limited edition, and others are old classics, but with rich jewel tones and of course some sparkle and creme formulas, there is a variety to choose from for the season.

Revlon Cherries in the Snow ($4) -This historical shade is perfect for the entire year, but if you’re going to wear pink in the fall you can’t go wrong with this one! It’s looking quite red here, as it is a pink-red shade. Marilyn Monroe herself rocked this color!

Revlon Divine ($4)– This is a new shade for fall from Gucci Westman’s Fall/Winter collaboration with Revlon, entitled Evening Opulence. Divine is a rich, deep burgundy shade.

Milani High Speed Fast Dry in Rapid Orchid ($3.50-$4)– Rapid Orchid is a new shade in Milani’s Fast Dry line up. It is a very vampy deep purple shade, almost black.

Sally Hansen Insta-Dry in Jet Set Jade ($4)- This is a new, limited edition shade for fall from Sally Hansen’s Rent the Runway collaborations. Jet Set Jade is a very rich green, perfect for right now and as we transition into the holidays!

Maybelline Color Show Vintage Leather in Plush Plum ($3-$4)– This is another limited edition shade that is currently showing up at drugstores and convenience stores. The vintage leather formula is matte and slightly textured with flakies. Purple and plum is having a major moment right now, though it’s always pretty popular in fall.

Sinful Colors Slate ($2)- This gray shade makes for a lovely neutral with a hint of shimmer; great for the cooler weather out there. This is also very pretty with silver glitter added as a top coat!

NYC Broadway Burgundy ($1)– This polish is a real steal! Just one dollar, it is a red jelly with red microglitter. Not only that, it’s opaque in two coats and really shines on the nail! This polish is a cheaper alternative to China Glaze Ruby Pumps.

Sinful Colors Blue Suede Shoes ($3)– Part of the Sinful Shine with Gel Tech line, Blue Suede Shoes is a dusty blue creme. You can get away with just one coat, and it has nice shine even without a topcoat.

Wet ‘n’ Wild Megalast The Bronze Age ($2)– The Bronze Age is a gorgeous cool-toned bronze with fine silver shimmer. Another great neutral, this one is perfect for holiday parties!

Revlon Scandalous ($4)– A dupe for Deborah Lippmann’s Bad Romance, this is deep fuchsia glitter suspended in a black base. Since plums and purples are so big this fall, this classic is one to bust out for sure!

 

What are your budget picks for fall nail polish?

 

Butter London Wellies + Maybelline Clearly Spotted

Here’s a manicure that I’m currently LOVING! Maybelline came out with their “polka dots” collection recently, so I picked up a couple shades, including Clearly Spotted. I thought this would be the same as Hard Candy Black Tie Optional, but this doesn’t have bar glitter, which I definitely prefer. Since this is limited edition, I may have to get a back-up bottle, because I love it! I only had to use one coat and it didn’t require any shuffling of the dots. I love how it applied!

Wellies is a new shade from Butter London’s fall line. It’s one of those great in between green and yellow polishes. I only needed two coats for opacity, and it didn’t budge while I applied Clearly Spotted. I LOVE Wellies! It is such a vibrant color and I own a pair of wellies (though mine are black?).

What do you think of these polishes?

Maybelline Color Show Lustrous Lime

I think I mentioned this before, but when I first saw the limited edition, Maybelline Electric Nights Collection, I thought the colors looked boring. After purchasing one of them (Coral Glow), I ended up getting a couple more while they were on sale. These polishes may not look like much in the bottle, but on the nail they are stunning! They definitely live up to their name, “Electric.”

Lustrous Lime is a very vibrant, yellowy green. This is actually an old manicure that I never posted, so this polish may be difficult to find now since it is limited edition. In typical Maybelline fashion, they seem to release all of their best stuff as limited edition products! 🙂 I like this shade and it is a unique green compared to the other shades that I have.

Maybelline Color Show Mesmerizing Magenta

Mesmerizing Magenta is a limited edition Color Show polish from the 2013 spring Fashion Week collection. This probably won’t be on shelves for much longer, so if you want it, snap it up! I found this on clearance at my local Target for $2. After looking at it many times and putting it back, I snapped it up, and I’m SO happy that I did!

This is a really intense shade of pink! I could not stop staring at my nails while I had this on. That’s how you know a polish is good, right? It is just so pretty and simply glows on the nails; I love when polish does that! If you like this shade, get out there are see if you can find it now, because it won’t be around for long!

Maybelline Color Show Mint Mist

Maybelline Mint Mist is a limited edition Color Show polish for summer 2013. This is a very blue leaning mint green. Even though it is mint, all of my photos were very blue leaning, so I think it was just the lighting. This is minty, I swear! I actually find this color quite unique in terms of mint. G at Nouveau Cheap claimed this is “as blue as you can go and still be mint green”, which I think is a pretty good description.

This is two coats of Mint Mist. For a pastel shade, it was not streaky at all! I definitely recommend checking out the summer collection. Also, check out this gorgeous manicure from The Beauty Secret using Mint Mist and some sparkle!