Jade Fascinio Violeta

Irony. After weeks of unremitting heat and bright sun here in southeast Missouri, today it is overcast and threatening rain. Of course it is, because I got my Jade holos in the mail yesterday and planned to photograph Fascinio Violeta today. =p Instead of full sunlight, which would have shown the holo at its best, I've had to settle for lightbox and desk lamp pictures. 

These first two are in my lightbox. These are more color accurate, but don't really show the holo very well at all. These are VERY strong linear holo polishes, but the lights I use in my lightbox just can't really capture that very well.

Fascinio Violeta is such a lovely, lovely sort of medium purple. These next photos show it as being much darker and sort of murkier than it actually is, but they DO show the holo really well.

Application on Fascinio Violeta was super easy. What's shown here is two effortless coats. This is one of those easy to apply holos, like the Ozotics or OPI DS holos, so I just used my normal base coat rather than an aqua base. Dry time was on the longer side for a holo, but not outrageous.

Gorgeous, no? The Jade holo collection is available at llarowe and retail for $10 each.

Hits Apolo, a Blue for World Autism Awareness Day

I'm actually a day late with this post. World Autism Awareness Day was actually yesterday, but I couldn't get my act together to make a post about it - it was just one of those days. But since it's also Autism Awareness Month, I figured being a day late wasn't too bad. =)

What is Autism?

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and autism are both general terms for a group of complex disorders of brain development. These disorders are characterized, in varying degrees, by difficulties in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication and repetitive behaviors. They include autistic disorder, Rett syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder, pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS) and Asperger syndrome. ASD can be associated with intellectual disability, difficulties in motor coordination and attention and physical health issues such as sleep and gastrointestinal disturbances. Some persons with ASD excel in visual skills, music, math and art.

 

The above paragraph is from Autism Speaks, and they have lots of great information there. I'm not personally affected by autism, but I have several friends with children on the autism spectrum, and I know from them what an important issue this is. So in support of my friends and their children, siblings and spouses who are autistic, I present you with a lovely blue for Autism Awareness Day, Hits Speciallita Apolo.

 

 

Apolo is simply stunning, a gorgeous medium shade of blue. The formula itself was great, opaque in two coats. My bottle of Apolo is, sadly, plagued with one of the defective Hits brushes, so it was a bit like applying my polish with a fuzzy, frazzled mop. I really wish that brush situation would get under control because I want to order more of these, and it would be great if they had normal brushes. 

Just perfect.

Apolo was actually a gift (Thanks, Daphne!), but it's available through Llarowe.

Until next time, thanks for reading!

Layla Flash Black

I mentioned in this post that I had ordered both Ocean Rush and Flash Black, so here's Flash Black. I actually don't have tons to add to that post, so this will be mostly pictures. =D

Gorgeous, right?

I mentioned in my post about Ocean Rush that I had used my GOSH Fix base coat, and that I would try my regular base coat next time I wore one of these to see if an aqua base is really necessary. This polish was really not happy when I tried to apply it over my regular base coat (Pro FX Epoxy Bond). The application was so patchy that I took the polish off the first nail and started over. I actually layered my GOSH Fix over Epoxy Bond, and the polish still wasn't happy - you can't see it in these pics, but I had some odd lumpiness and streaks going on. Now, I have applied a lot of holos without an aqua base. This one probably would have evened out in several coats. But GOSH Fix makes these apply SO much better. I think it's definitely worth putting these over an aqua base.

So there you have it. If you like holos at all, I'm afraid that you need these. They are simply magnificent.

Hope you all have had a lovely weekend. Thanks for reading!

Layla Ocean Rush

Layla Cosmetics has introduced a line of eight shades of holo polishes called Hologram Effect. I ordered two of them, Ocean Rush and Flash Black, and Ocean Rush is the star of today's blog post.

Bright medium blue holo perfection. O.O

Okay. Now that I got the initial oogling out of the way, here's the scoop. Layla is offering a special base file for use with these polishes that they say is like a base coat file... or something. I'll be honest and say that I didn't use that because I already buff my nails regularly (they are thick and strong, so they can take it), and I really didn't want to buff them further. Instead, I used my GOSH Fix Base Coat. Ocean Rush applied completely smoothly with GOSH Fix, and I didn't have any issues with bald spots or dragging or anything else weird. I think next time I wear it, I'll give it a shot with just my normal base coat to see if the application is any different. I did allow the polish to dry completely between coats (it dries super fast anyway), just to try to avoid any potential application issues. This is two coats.

I used my normal top coat, Pro FX Quick Dry, and didn't have any dulling of the holo effect once the top coat was completely dry. I had intended to put another coat of the holo over my top coat, which I often do with the more troublesome holos that are dulled with top coat, but Ocean Rush didn't need it.

I can't comment on wear because I've had it on for less than 24 hours at this point, but I really couldn't be happier with Ocean Rush. My first reaction upon putting it on was, "I'm gonna need about a million backups of this." It's pure amazingness. =D

I ordered Ocean Rush from Beauty Blvd (seller: directperfumes4u) on eBay. I was very happy with their service. They also offer the Layla Magnetics, LCN Magnetics and Color Club Magnetics.

Happy Friday! Thanks for reading!

Colour Alike 118

Colour Alike is a brand from Poland, and it's honestly one of my favorite brands. They consistently come up with interesting shades and finishes. I'm very lucky to have a sweet friend in Poland who is able to procure these for me. The one I have to show you to today is No. 118.

It's a really interesting shade, no? I can't decide if it's taupe or purple, or somewhere in between. 

And yes, it's a holo! =D It's sort of halfway between a scattered holo and a weaker linear holo. 

Great formula, two easy coats, dried really fast. I didn't use a special holo base coat with this one, and I didn't have any problems with application whatsoever.

Total love. ♥ 

Thanks for reading!

Hits Speciallita Zeus

I've been on a quest for my perfect black holo for a while now, and I think I've finally found it in Hits Speciallita Zeus.

These photos show Zeus at three coats. I don't mind three coats ordinarily, but these Hits polishes come in these teeny tiny bottles, and one 3-coat mani made a noticeable dent in my bottle. I'll layer it over black next time, I think.

The formula is really, really great, and the brush is perfect. I guess maybe it's just the Mari Moon Hits that had issues with the brushes being terrible. 

Yeah. Beautiful. Perfect. I shall be needing more than one bottle of this for sure.

Happy Thursday! Thank you for reading! =D

a-england Ascalon

The second polish I have to show you from a-england's The Legends Collection is Ascalon, named for the sword (or lance) that St. George used to slay the dragon.

Ascalon is exceedingly difficult to photograph well. It's a mid-range grey with a scattered holo effect, but it also has a slight duochrome finish that flashes from a lilac shade to having a sort of greenish tinge. The green was absolutely impossible for me to capture in these pics. The lilac flash is more evident, and it's almost like it's sitting on top of the other finish of the polish. It's really just stunning.

Lots of a-england polishes could be one-coaters, but I definitely needed two coats for Ascalon. The formula is simply perfect, just like my other a-englands, it just wasn't as pigmented as some of my others. 

I wish that I could have captured this beauty better for you guys. It's so much better in person. I own absolutely nothing like it, and I'm so glad I ordered this one along with St. George. 

The a-england Legends collection can be purchased on Llarowe when it's in stock. You can also order directly from a-england, but you currently have to do so by e-mail because the collection is not up on their site yet. The contact address is hello@a-england.co.uk. They offer free worldwide shipping, and mine took less than a week to arrive. =)

Happy Saturday! Thanks for reading!

a-england St George

Gird your loins and hide your wallets! Today I have one of the most amazing polishes I've seen in a while, St George, from a-england's new collection, The Legends. I have a mixture of outdoor and lightbox photos for you because I was really doing everything I could to capture just how amazing this polish is. The lightbox photos pretty accurately represent what the polish looks like indoors for me.

What we have here is a scattered holographic polish that I've seen described as dark teal or forest green. Against my skin tone, it certainly does pull more to forest green than to teal, though I have seen some people on whom it does look very teal indeed.

The holographic effect is not very apparent, but it's definitely there. But even when the rainbow sparkles aren't showing themselves, this is still a serious stunner of a polish.

The formula is to.die.for. This is two coats, but that's only because I'm a habitual two-coater. It looked just like this at one coat. The formula is on the thicker side, but not in an annoying way, and it flows quite precisely on the nail. I barely had to clean up at all.

St George instantly shop into my Top 20 polish list - maybe even Top 10. It's that beautiful. I own nothing like it. Get it. Seriously!

The a-england Legends collection can be purchased on Llarowe when it's in stock. You can also order directly from a-england, but you currently have to do so by e-mail because the collection is not up on their site yet. The contact address is hello@a-england.co.uk. They offer free worldwide shipping, and mine took less than a week to arrive. =)

Happy Tuesday! Thanks for reading!

Ozotic 518 + Zoya Blair

A couple of months ago, my sweet friend Nola suggested that I try layering my Ozotic holos over other colors, especially darker shimmers, to create different shades. I wanted to wear 518, but I wanted the color to be just a bit deeper, so I decided to follow her advice.

This is what 518 normally looks like. It's a stunning and very sexy BRIGHT red holo.

And here's how 518 looks layered over Zoya Blair, a gorgeous blackened red.

This honestly took my breath away. I feel like I've never seen anything quite so beautiful. It would never have occurred to me to layer them this way if Nola hadn't suggested it, so I thought I'd pass the idea along. 

Hope y'all aren't too overwhelmed getting ready for Christmas. I can't believe how close it is!

GOSH Holographic

Today I have a very special polish to show you, GOSH Holographic. This is a hard to find and discontinued shade that recently found its way to me by way of one of my polish buddies. I really do have the greatest and most generous friends. =D

Here we are. GOSH Holographic in the shade.

GOSH Holographic in my lightbox. This is pretty much how it looks everywhere in my house. The rainbows aren't quite as pronounced, but they're there. This makes me a happy girl. 

Add sunlight to the equation, and it's magic.

I mean... yeah. I really have no words.

The formula on this one is notorious for being horrific, so my buddy also sent me a bottle of the GOSH Fix base coat. This is two coats of Holographic over one coat of GOSH Fix. It really helped the application, and I plan to use it with all of my finicky holos.

And here are a few more bonus shots that I took in my kitchen this morning.

*sigh* Perfection.