Maybelline: Sapphire Stitch

I was running out of inspiration last week when I did a random dive into my nail polish collection and came out with something, well, completely random...

Sapphire Stitch was released as one of the shades in Maybelline's limited edition Brocades collection and as I'd enjoyed the previous few I'd worn from that collection (apart from the chipping!) I had high hopes for this one too.  In the bottle Sapphire Stitch is a dramatic black polish densely packed with silver and purple glitter and had the potential to be amazing...but it was impossible to apply smoothly.  The texture was extremely thick and gluey so it applied in thick globs and required a lot of care to get it to look somewhat decent.  Besides that I was underwhelmed with the finish - normally I'm a bit partial to textured polish but this was begging for a shiny topcoat because it looked dull and murky on its own so I did what was necessary.

All pictures taken indoors under artificial light:

I'll put this one down as one of my failed choices...

Until next time.

L'Oreal Spiky Effect: 892 Totally D' Accord

I'm hoping you'll see why I bought the polish starring in this swatch post because to me this moody thing was just beautiful...

Totally D' Accord is another polish from L'Oreal's Shades Of Grey collection and whilst I admit to being a sucker for textured polishes in general, this one is a little bit more than just that.  This polish has a definite complexity to it with shimmering shades of silver and dirty charcoal blue glitter in that deep murky base.  Application was simply perfection with this polish too, with clean lines and even, 100% opaque coverage in two coats.

All pictures taken in indirect light:

I have nothing but love for this mani! 

Until next time...

L'Oreal Spiky Effect: 891 Noir Whisper

Hey there!  I'm back from yet another blogging hiatus and while I work on a product review in the background I've decided to get a quickie swatch post out to warm up the fingers again...

Getting in on that whole Fifty Shades "moment" (I'm surmising), L'Oreal recently released a little Shades of Grey collection comprising six variations on the grey spectrum.  It wasn't necessarily about the colour for me but the polishes come in varying finishes and it was the two textured "Spiky Effect" shades which caught my eye - and made me spend my money!   Noir Whisper (also called Do Not Disturb depending upon where you are) is a cool steely silver and the textured twist on the usual super smooth silver metallic had me intrigued and I wasn't disappointed.  Two coats completely rendered my nails in suitably rough looking silver...

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What are your feelings on all the grey nails around this season?

Until next time...

Maybelline Brocades: Beaming Blue

I've been noticing a lot of teal and aquatic blue nails around this spring - in my office of all places! - so I jumped onto the bandwagon with a glittery aquatic blue from Maybelline's LE Brocades collection.  The Brocades were released late last year and while no longer on the shelves you can still find them selling on some online pharmacy and retail sites if you're keen.

 

Beaming Blue is a very dense, textured blue/gold micro-glitter polish with a light smattering of larger blue hex glitter.  The effect is almost like shot silk as the colour subtly shifts from blue to gold in the light in a kind of faux gradient.  Two coats was all it took for 100% opaque nails and I left it as is with no topcoat.  That decision turned out to be a mistake because the polish did chip off in ghastly chunks again - topcoat really is recommended for durability when wearing these.  At least it was sparkly perfection for a few days anyway...

 

All pictures taken in indirect daylight

What colour statements do you like to make in spring?

 

Sally Hansen Sugar Coat: Bubble Plum

I remember when I thought smooth and glossy was the only way to go with polish but I have really embraced textured polish in a big way these days.  Sally Hansen got in on the act a few months ago with their (unfortunately) all too limited edition range of Sugar Coat polishes.  When they originally released I passed them over, only buying 2 shades when they'd already started to disappear from stands.  I'm actually kicking myself now for hesitating because my first impressions as posted here are really positive. 

Bubble Plum is a matte pink-purple (or purple-pink) which obviously brings bubble gum to mind but I also think it's a good candidate for a variation on Pantone's colour of the year Radiant Orchid.   Two coats applied really easily and precisely, and dried down quickly to reveal the textured finish.  Because there's no sparkle or glitter it looks like a crazy coloured concrete render job on my nails but I really fell in love with it. I was expecting removal to be challenging but it was extremely easy, and much the same as a more conventional polish.

I'd really love to see this finish in dark autumnal shades like burgundy, navy blue or a regal purple too.


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Until next time!