Collection 2000 BMX Bandit

I've been a terrible blogger lately, I know. I guess I haven't had the motivation to write anything. My philosophy when starting this little blog was to blog because I enjoyed it, and to never force myself to write anything just for the sake of getting a post up. So, I apologize for the delay, but sometimes ya just need some time away, ya know?

Here's a polish I wore probably about a week ago now: BMX Bandit by Collection 2000. It was sent to me by the lovely Nicole. It's a pretty cornflower blue creme.

Unfortunately, I can't remember a whole lot about the application process. I'm sure I used at least two coats, likely three. I do remember being surprised that it wasn't as finicky as I anticipated. I was expecting it to be a pain, considering it's almost pastel, but it went pretty smoothly.

A coworker of mine said it was Spring-like, but not too pastel. Which I'd agree with. If you're not into the brighter or lighter shades of blue, but still want something for the warm weather, this is probably a good option.

Andrea Fulerton Naomi

I had a funeral to attend today, unfortunately, so I wanted to wear something traditional yet not too bright on my nails. I went with Naomi by Andrea Fulerton.

 This is a color you've seen many a time on this little blog. A deep red, with a jelly finish. Love! The color is great, but unfortunately the consistency was a drag. I used three coats. Not because I was trying to cover up visible nail line, but because I kept getting bald spots near my cuticle where I would lay the brush down. On top of that, it took a long time to dry.

On the bright side, I really did like the design of the bottle. I'm a sucker for good product design, what can I say?

NYC Chinatown

Just a quick post before I head to work. Here's Chinatown by NYC, part of NYC's, well, NYC collection.

Chinatown is a deep eggplant purple, with shimmer. The shimmer is not as prominent in real life as my images would lead you to believe, but it is still visible. It was a three-coater, but the coats applied smoothly and were easy to manage. It did also dry quickly, as the bottle claims.


Chinatown does seem New York City-y to me. Dark and vampy, yet chic. It would look good gripping a cup of coffee while you hustle to your next meeting.

Kleencolor Winter Wonderland

There was supposed to be a huge blizzard that was going to start yesterday, and go through today. Well, it snowed a little yesterday, but it was too warm to stick. And I guess it snowed today, but it sounds more slushy than snowy (I have been too lazy to go outside and look). At any rate, I decided to wear Winter Wonderland by Kleencolor.

All the glitter kinda freaked my camera out a bit, so the pictures are not the best I've ever taken, but you get the gist. Winter Wonderland is a shimmery lilac-y silver, with red, blue, orange, yellow, and pink glitter in it. It definitely has a winter vibe. It reminds me of Christmas lights on a snowy night, which I imagine was part of the inspiration. It's quite unique, as many Kleencolor polishes are.

I was not a fan of the consistency. Applying this was a pain in the ass. It was thick, and continued to thicken rapidly the longer it was open. It's on the sheer side, so I decided to use three coats. I should have stuck with two. By the time I got to the third, it was so thick it was nearly unmanageable. And worse yet, it pretty much refuses to dry. It's a good thing this polish has lots of distracting glitter, because my nails are so dinged up.

Words of wisdom for anyone considering this polish: a) work FAST, and b) if you can't deal with sheer polishes, skip it. Otherwise, I think it's a really pretty polish, that is likely to be unique in most collections.

You may or may not have noticed I changed my nail shape. I have been wanting to do something more round/oval for a while, as I think it so vintage-y and cute, and finally took the plunge. I like the square look on me, but I was tired of the edges constantly breaking off, and ending up with rounded nails anyway. I think rounded nails look best longer than mine are, but I don't think they are terrible. I am interested to see whether this style breaks easier or less easy than my square nails. I know it's kind of hard to tell with a lighter polish like this, but what do you think? Are you a fan or oval nails, or do you prefer something more square?

Also, I finally saw The Artist yesterday, and loved it! Have any of you seen it yet? Thoughts? The costuming alone is worth it!

Marks & Spencer Bright Aqua

Here's a polish sent by Nicole, Marks & Spencer's Bright Aqua.

Bright Aqua is, well, a bright aqua polish - a turquoise base with turquoise glitter. It does have a duochrome thing going on, too. You can see a darker blue reflecting in certain angles. Very pretty. I bet this just sparkles in the sun!

While the color is fantastic, it is not for the visible nail line phobes out there. Pictured is three coats of Bright Aqua, and the nail line is still apparent. The base doesn't seem jelly-like, just on the very translucent side. It did apply smoothly though.

This just makes me want to go swimming. I can't wait for summer. How about you?

Revlon Siren

I felt like I needed something bright and cheery to combat the February blues. I chose Revlon's Siren, which is certainly bright and cheery. For those of you who live in colder climates during the winter, do you feel like things start to feel really crappy during February? Luckily, Spring is around the corner (hopefully).

Siren is a bright orange polish. Not quite highlighter orange, but it certainly does have a neon quality to it. The perfect warm weather polish (it would probably look super cute on toesies at the beach!).

I used three coats to even things out, as it was a bit streaky. Luckily, it applied pretty easily aside from that, and it dried quickly. Like neon polishes do, it dried to a satin finish, but with a coat of Seche, it was nice and shiny.

What initially drew me to this polish wasn't the color, but actually the logo. It looked retro to me, and upon further research, it is the original Revlon logo! Siren is from the Fire and Ice collection, which featured a relaunch of Revlon's very first lipstick. The rest of the products from this line are new, but I love that Revlon relaunched something vintage. I wish they'd relaunch vintage polishes! I'd buy those in a heartbeat!

Nicole by OPI Green Up Your Act!

Green Up Your Act! is a polish I purchased a while back - it was part of the Target exclusive Fall line, Something About Color. As you can see, it's a military green creme. A really awesome color that has rightly become quite popular in nail polish collections lately.

While it hits the mark color-wise, application-wise it is a mess. It's one of those polishes where the consistency of the polish and the brush don't mesh well, and you end up with a ton of bald spots. This is three coats, and there are still bald spots (which luckily Seche Vite toned down, and they didn't show up on camera). I do not have the patience for four coats, so I gave up and left it at three. On the bright side, it did dry fast.

Overall, if you are looking for a color like this, I would say chose a polish by one of the million other brands doing this color. The application process is just not worth it when you can find others so easily. (Though I did see a TON of these on clearance last time I was at Target, so if you are a Nicole by OPI lover than now is your chance to pick this one up at a decent price.)