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!

Colour Alike 405 - The Big Blue

Today I have another Colour Alike to show you, number 405, also known as The Big Blue. Much like Nubar, Colour Alike has introduced a denim collection as their answer to Les Jeans de Chanel collection that Chanel released earlier this year. 405 is the one that is meant to be similar to Coco Blue, which is the only one of the Jeans collection that really interested me. I hesitate to call it a dupe because I haven't seen them compared side by side.

As you can see, 405 is a light blue with hidden shimmer - very hidden shimmer. Normally shimmer that dies on the nail is a major pet peeve of mine, but I love this shade so much that I really don't care where the shimmer goes when I put it on. =)

This shade of blue is so perfect for my skin tone. I have lots of light blues, but none of them are exactly like this one.

The formula is absolutely to die for. What you see here is two coats. I expected there to be streaking issues, as is often the case with these lighter shades, so I was very pleasantly surprised when this one was perfect with just two coats. 

Love, love, LOVE.

I wish I could get in the mood to do some real holiday manis, but I keep getting awesome things in the mail that aren't holiday related at all. I guess that's a good problem to have though! ^.^

Hope you guys are doing well and are surviving the pre-holiday craziness. As always, thanks for stopping by!

Colour Alike 468 - Syrenka

Colour Alike is a Polish nail polish brand that I've shown on my blog before. I have a good buddy there helps me out in obtaining these little gems, and the most recent one she's sent me is 468, also known as Syrenka.

Syrenka, which my friend tells me means "little mermaid," is a beautiful icy blue foil polish. It's slightly more muted than these photos make it look - with no sun, I'm struggling to get color accurate pictures these last couple of weeks, but these are close.

The formula is top notch. Two easy coats, dries super fast. The polish goes exactly where I want it to go, so I barely had to do any clean up at all.

This is such a great wintery shade - different than the reds and greens that I'm typically drawn to at this time of year. Just beautiful!

Hope y'all are having a great week. Thanks for stopping by!

Some random comparisons and swatches

I'm still in the process of checking my stash for dupes and weeding out things I don't like. Hope these help someone!

OPI The One That Got Away

OPI Tease-y Does It

Ulta Envy vs. FingerPaints Avante Garde Green

Zoya Blair vs. Zoya Isla

Zoya Valerie vs. OPI Visions of Sugarplum

Ulta Banana Rum in the Sun vs. China Glaze Lemon Fizz

American Apparel Factory Grey vs. Ulta Concrete Evidence

China Glaze Sea Spray vs. Color Alike 451

Nicole by OPI My Lifesaver vs. Barry M Mint vs.
 Orly Ancient Jade vs. Ulta Mint Condition

Colour Alike 445

This beauty was my NOTN for all of about two hours before I dinged it up beyond repair. *sigh* Then I tried to fix just the messed up fingers and dripped acetone around and generally made a mess. Still! It's a beauty, and I got pics before I messed it all up, so here it is! Colour Alike 445 is an absolutely luscious deep teal with subtle shimmer.

The shimmer actually doesn't die on the nail, but it's not super obvious either. The color is so deep and rich, and the shimmer adds even more depth to that. Outside in the sunlight, it really does come alive, but it's beautiful indoors too.

The formula on this one is great, though a little thick. I added a few drops of thinner and it flowed much better for me. I think I could have gotten away with one coat, but I did two because that's how I roll.

And these were taken with flash to bring out the shimmer.

Hope you all are doing well, and hi to the new people! Thanks for stopping by and visiting my little blog! =D

Colour Alike 150

Happy Hump Day! Today I'm wearing Colour Alike 150. This is another of the polishes that I received in the awesome swap that I mentioned in this post. Colour Alike 150 is a gorgeous medium royal blue that I would say is halfway between a creme and a jelly.

The formula is really top notch, absolutely perfect. It went exactly where I wanted it to go, and I had to do very little cleanup. Perfect coverage in two coats, and it dries to a squishy jelly-like finish.

I adore this polish. I couldn't stop looking at my nails last night when I put it on, and that's saying something for a simple creme polish! =) And one more pic, guest starring my Nfu Oh 51 ring!

Thanks for stopping by, hope your week is going well!

Colour Alike 451

Tonight I have another of the polishes I received in my awesome swap that I mentioned in this post, Colour Alike 451. I love greyed out shades in general, and greyed out blues in particular, and this one is just lovely.

Great formula, just like all my Colour Alikes. Two easy coats, no fuss, no struggling with bald patches or the streakiness that is so common in light colors.

It has this marvelous soft shimmer that reminds me greatly of China Glaze Sea Spray and Nubar Blue Hydrangea. It's more blue on me than Sea Spray, and lighter and more grey than Blue Hydrangea, but it definitely is in that same family as far as finish.

I probably didn't really need this many pictures of this, but I just love it to bits. It was exactly what I needed tonight... it made me feel very calm and serene. =)

And for reference, here's a bottle comparison with Sea Spray.

As always, thanks for stopping by! I hope the week is treating you well!

Nail Mail!

When I got back into town last night after two straight weeks with my sweet and amazing husband, I had four packages waiting for me. One was more jewelry supplies, yay! And the other three were awesome polish packages! They didn't make up for my sadness at being apart from my DH again, but they at least perked me up a little bit.

First up was an awesome RAOK (random act of kindness) from my friend Jen over at Spaz & Squee! Most of these have been on my wishlist for quite some time, and I'm sooo excited to have them in my grabby little hands! The nail polish world is not without its drama, but I will never stop being amazed and grateful for the kindness and generosity that most of us share with each other. Thank you, my Nail Bed Twin! *squish*

Then I had another swap package from my friend Aleksandra at Hedonism, Ltd., one of which was my NOTD that I posted earlier. I seriously love these Colour Alike polishes, and I will always jump on the chance to swap for more of them! Love, love, love!

And last but not least, my two Barielles that I ordered during the Haute Look promo a few weeks ago!

Hooray for Nail Mail! ^_^

Colour Alike 456

Some days you pick up just the right polish. Today is one of those days. I present to you Colour Alike 456.

Colour Alike is a Polish nail polish brand. I received this one in a great swap with my long distance nail buddy over at Hedonism, Ltd. (Thanks, doll!) Colour Alike 456 is simply lovely, a bright, shimmery turquoise blue. See the shimmer?!

I've been complaining a lot lately about polishes that have beautiful shimmer in the bottle, but that don't translate to the nail. I'm thrilled to say that this is NOT one of those. The shimmer is very evident on the nail, almost like a fine glitter. 

I took so many pictures of it! It's just the perfect polish for me today. The application was great, two easy coats. I love these Colour Alikes! 

Thanks for stopping by! =)

Colour Alike 448

Today's polish is a real beauty that I got in a swap with a really sweet girl in Poland. =) I had never heard of Colour Alike before, and I swapped for 3 of these beauties. The one I'm wearing today is No. 448, and it's a deep, deep blue with gorgeous shimmer that gives it a nice depth. I love this one because it's very dark, but doesn't look black.

And here she is!

Look at that shimmah!

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope all you mothers out there had a lovely Mother's Day! =D