Color Club Alias

Another new polish in my collection: Alias by Color Club, from the Alter Ego collection.

I literally said, "Holy fuck!" when I was putting this nail polish on. So pretty! Alias is a purple base, with duochrome glitter. You can tell it just looks like normal purple glitter a lot of the time, but in the right light, the duochrome comes out! I wish I was able to get better photos of the duochrome. I am going to try tomorrow morning when it's not, you know, dark outside.

The application was smooth, but a bit thin. It builds up nicely in three coats, though. This was my first Color Club, and I can't wait to try more.

Sleepy time! Good night!

EDIT:

Took some better photos, in natural light, that show a little bit of the duochrome effect. Ignore the shrinkage.

Barry M Strawberry Ice Cream

Happy Easter! Today I'm wearing the very Spring-y Strawberry Ice Cream by Barry M.

I was pretty impressed with the application of Strawberry Ice Cream. I was expecting it to be a pain, but it was pretty easy. I did use four coats to even things out, since it was a bit streaky, but the coats dried quickly. Definitely one of the better consistencies I've seen on a pastel polish!

I am loving this color on me! I have been after something like this for a few years, but always ended up with duds. This is perfect!

Nails Inc. Hampstead Heath

Next up from my package from Nicole is Hampstead Heath by Nails Inc., from their Autumn/Winter 2009 collection.

 

 

This is such a "me" color! I love it! Hampstead Heath is a berry red. In real life, it's a bit more brown/purple than my camera was able to capture. Blood red would be a fitting description, as it looks a lot like blood that is starting to dry up. It's so shiny, too!

Application was a pain, though! It was pretty thick, which made it streaky. But luckily it evened out with two coats. Clean up was pretty messy, as you can tell. My index finger looks like it's been dipped in cherry Kool Aid! My right hand is a million times worse. I'm sure my whole hand will be covered when I remove the polish.

It was all worth it for such a great color though! This is the perfect fall color, and I think it would look really great as a half moon manicure.

Miss Sporty 60

Another polish sent to me by Nicole - number 60 by Miss Sporty.

 

This is a very pretty blue/green shimmer. The camera picked up mostly blue on my nails, but you can see some of the green reflecting in the bottle. The green is much more visible in real life. It's so pretty the way it shifts back and forth in the light! It reminds me of a mermaid tail.

I was quite impressed with Miss Sporty. The application was really smooth. There was a couple air bubbles in the first coat, but they evened out with the second coat. The consistency was perfect. I was also really pleased with the brush. For such a small bottle, I was expecting a crappy small brush (ahem OPI minis), but the brush is nice and wide! The polish also dried super fast.

I'm eager to try the two other Miss Sporty polishes Nicole sent! I just wish they had more interesting names than boring ol' numbers!

Models Own Gold Rush

The other night, I saw the King Tut exhibition at the Science Museum. Inspired by all the awesome gold jewelry and sculpture and sarcophagi, I decided to use my new Models Own polish, Gold Rush.

Gold Rush is so pretty! It goes on pretty sheer, but after three coats, I find it nice and opaque. This would also look really great layered over another color. It's very shiny and foil-y, and it looks different depending on how the light catches it. Sometimes it looks like liquid on my nails. The application was great, and the dry time was pretty fast.

Even though it's really pretty, I'm not sure quite yet how I feel about it on me. My skin is yellow/olive toned (even though I look like a lobster in these photos), so part of me feels like it blends in too much. And the other part of me feels like because it's so shiny, it looks really awesome on me. I'll have to try layering it over some other colors!

If you happen to be in Minnesota, go check out the King Tut exhibit. It was pretty awesome.

Barry M Mint Green

I was finally able to decide on what polish to try out first from the swap. Inspired by the gorgeous weather we've been having, I chose Mint Green by Barry M - a nice Spring-y green.

 

 

The application wasn't the best, but it wasn't terrible either. It was runny and streaky, but not too difficult to work with, and it evened itself out nicely. That's not too bad for a pastel! I needed three coats to fully cover some bald spots. For a top coat, I used Seche Vite, and got a little bit of shrinkage, but nothing too noticeable.

Barry M is a brand I've been dying to try, and I must say I'm quite pleased. I can't wait to try out the others!

What I Received

Nicole at Top to Toe is SO AWESOME! I received my package from her today, and I couldn't be happier with what she sent.

 

Starting to open the package.

 

 Check out the cute wrapping paper!

 

 All wrapped up safely!

 

Yummy candies!

 

Getting closer!

 

Here they are all lined up. 17 total!

 

Barry M Blue Glitter, Navy, Strawberry Ice Cream, Mint Green, Bright Purple, and Buzz.

 

Models Own Gold Rush, Pastel Pink; Miss Sporty 380, 60, 105.

 

Collection 2000 Green With Envy; China Glaze Cheers to You; Nails Inc. Hampstead Heath; Claire's Unknown?; Front Cover Unknown?; Boots No 7 Milan.

How lucky am I!? So many goodies! I can't wait to try them all.

Nicole, thanks so much. You are the best!