Red Yellow and Blue Floral and Dot Nail Art

August 10, 2013, 10:47 am

≫ Next: You Say Tomato, I Say...Nail Art

≪ Previous: Simple Floral Nail Art

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Lately it feels like all I do is sleep and work, so my nails have been on the back-burner. Finally got some time today to churn out something more than a plain solid color. I hope to be a little less busy soon so I can do all the ideas that have been swimming around my brain.

Red is China Glaze Rougish Red
Blue is Sally Hansne Complete Salon Manicure Barracuda
Yellow is China Glaze Happy Go Lucky
Brown is L'Oreal Brownie Points

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You Say Tomato, I Say...Nail Art

August 12, 2013, 9:36 am

≫ Next: Grumpy Cat Nail Art

≪ Previous: Red Yellow and Blue Floral and Dot Nail Art

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Okay, so I love tomatoes. I eat probably fifty a month, and sometimes I just slice them and eat them all by themselves. So um. I painted them on my nails. I'm sure this will be super inspiring to other weirdos.

Background is Orly Coachella Dweller
Tomato is a mess of polishes: China Glaze Ruby Deer, China Glaze Rougish Red, Sinful Hazard, Sinful Skylark
Seeds: China Glaze Happy Go Lucky
Stem: China Glaze Starboard

Grumpy Cat Nail Art

August 15, 2013, 9:24 am

≫ Next: OPI Alcatraz...Rocks Swatches and Review

≪ Previous: You Say Tomato, I Say...Nail Art

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All work and no play makes me a very grumpy girl. Here is some nail art to match my mood! I switched accent fingers this time around, since I figure the middle finger is more fitting for a Grumpy Cat manicure. It took all my willpower not to add some dots or cutesy paw-prints to the other nails. I wanted to be true to my source material!

Blue is China Glaze Kinetic Candy
Brown is China Glaze Foie Gras
Cream is Color Club Coastal Cream

OPI Alcatraz...Rocks Swatches and Review

August 21, 2013, 1:49 pm

≫ Next: Orly Purple Poodle and Teal Unreal from the Surreal Collection (Fall 2013)

≪ Previous: Grumpy Cat Nail Art

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OPI Alcatraz...Rocks is one of the only OPI San Francisco collection polishes that caught my eye. It was the last bottle at Ulta, and I'm pretty sure someone tried to hide it in a display of the old Mariah Carey liquid sands. Sorry, person! You snooze you lose! This is the most gorgeous thing I've ever seen. I honestly am not sure if I like it better matte or with topcoat. It's so sparkly and complex,  with purple and green and gold shimmers. It...rocks (hurr hurr). What follows is a bunch of spammy pics and a couple shots of it with topcoat. GO GET THIS. 

Blurry to show sparkles!

With Topcoat

With Topcoat

Orly Purple Poodle and Teal Unreal from the Surreal Collection (Fall 2013)

August 22, 2013, 11:17 am

≫ Next: Orly Teal Unreal with Sally Hansen Copper Penny Glitter Gradient

≪ Previous: OPI Alcatraz...Rocks Swatches and Review

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Picked up two of the new Orly Surreal collection polishes today! I haven't heard anything about these! I could only find a couple swatches and promotional images. I was sad that the one that interested me most, Pixie Powder, was already sold out. I will update this post as soon as I find it! 

Anyhow, here is Orly Purple Poodle, a mix of violet micro-shimmer and flakies in a deep raspberry jelly base. This is lovely, but a bit sheer. It took four coats to get to this opacity, and in the future I will probably just layer it over a similar base color.

I also got this one, Orly Teal Surreal. I am so mad at my pictures for this, absolutely none of them were color accurate, and my Photoshop skills didn't help. This is as close as I could get! In reality, this is a much more vibrant jewel toned teal. It even dried a bit matte, as I'm sure it has some neon-esque pigments. The name is seriously appropriate, because it manages to be deep but super saturated and I have nothing like it. I highly encourage you to look out for this one in stores because it's gorgeous! If this kind of color is your thing, I think you need this. I promise it's not the same old teal you have six of already. Two coats, stains like a mother, is worth it.

Orly Teal Unreal with Sally Hansen Copper Penny Glitter Gradient

August 27, 2013, 8:43 am

≫ Next: Graphic Floral Nail Art a la Mr. Candiipants

≪ Previous: Orly Purple Poodle and Teal Unreal from the Surreal Collection (Fall 2013)

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Quick update today with what's been on my nails for 3 days now (weird for me!). Orly Teal Unreal (from the Surreal Collection) and Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Copper Penny. I love these two together! As I mentioned in the swatch post for Teal Unreal, it's super saturated and hard to capture with my dinky iPhone camera. But I think the copper glitter really makes it pop. Oddly enough, I don't ever think I've done a full glitter gradient manicure before, only accent fingers. Anyway, I love nail art like this, it was relatively simple to do but is big impact. Also, this really stayed put! I can do some major damage to my manicures at work, but this only has minor tip-wear now. It's not often I can attest to how long-wearing a polish is, since I never give them time to prove themselves, lol!

On a unrelated note, I've been unimpressed by many of the Fall collections this year. I only want a few when normally I'm draining my wallet (more than usual) around this time! Instead, I am READY for Halloween and Winter collections to start popping up! Anything I should be on the lookout for?

Graphic Floral Nail Art a la Mr. Candiipants

August 31, 2013, 7:38 am

≫ Next: Finger Paints A Pair Affair Collection Swatches & Review

≪ Previous: Orly Teal Unreal with Sally Hansen Copper Penny Glitter Gradient

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I've mentioned before that I'm obsessed with Mr. Candiipants' nail art, and so here I am again, trying to recreate one of her designs. Her line quality is freaking amazing, I can never quite achieve it, but I'm happy with the results! Anyhow, my brain has been so fried lately, hopefully I can sit down and do some original art soon! I'm sure there is some favorite food of mine I haven't commemorated yet.

Peach is China Glaze Mimosa's Before Mani's (Yes. I know.)
Green in Sinful Colors Olympia
White is Wet N Wild French White Creme
Black is Wet N Wild Black Creme

Finger Paints A Pair Affair Collection Swatches & Review

September 3, 2013, 2:40 pm

≫ Next: Revlon Elusive Swatch from the Evening Opulence Collection by Gucci Westman (Fall/Winter 2013)

≪ Previous: Graphic Floral Nail Art a la Mr. Candiipants

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I picked up the entire Finger Paints A Pair Affair collection from Sally's today! This collection was done in collaboration with Michelle Mismas of All Lacquered Up fame! Her blog was one of the first ones I read when I was just a baby nail fanatic! How exciting that she got to create her own collection. I'm super jealous, and this collection is pretty awesome. 

Finger Paints Sarong So Right is a poppy orange jelly with iridescent micro-glitters. This is so fun! I love this particular shade of red-orange, it's so cheerful! And the glitter makes it even better. Three coats.

Finger Paints A Grape Catch is a gorgeous dusty plum foil with gold and iridescent shimmers. Love this one! My second favorite of the collection! Two coats.

Finger Paints Our Tips Are Tealed is the stand out of this collection! This shade is a perfect mermaid green jelly packed with teal micro-glitter. I can't even capture the beauty of this one on camera, it just glows! Two coats. 

Finger Paints You Yacht To Know Better is a dusty denim blue with silver and iridescent shimmer. So pretty!!! Two Coats.

Finger Paints Sage It Isn't So is a sage green foil-esque polish. I say foil-esque because it's almost a little too creme-y to read as metallic. Kind of like a green version of OPI I Have A Herring Problem. This was three coats.

 Finger Paints Bare No Secrets is a milky tan shade with pinky shimmer and gold micro-glitter. I kinda snuck this one down at the end because my swatch isn't doing my fingers or the polish any favors.This is honestly a really pretty nude shade, I just don't think it's super flattering on me. Three coats.

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Revlon Elusive Swatch from the Evening Opulence Collection by Gucci Westman (Fall/Winter 2013)

September 7, 2013, 11:10 am

≫ Next: Maybelline Color Show Classic Camel & Mod Moss swatches (Vintage Leather Collection Fall 2013)

≪ Previous: Finger Paints A Pair Affair Collection Swatches & Review

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Picked up this little beauty the other day, from Revlon's Evening Opulence collection for Fall/Winter 2013. Revlon Elusive, is a mix of large blue-green hex glitter, smaller emerald green hex glitter, and blue micro-glitter in a black jelly base. This is so lovely! Like a blue-green version of Revlon Facets of Fuchsia/Scandalous. I love polishes like this, it's so pretty to see the glitter peeking through the layers. The formula was pretty good, two coats was plenty for opacity. It dried a bit matter, which was odd, but topcoat fixed it right up!

Maybelline Color Show Classic Camel & Mod Moss swatches (Vintage Leather Collection Fall 2013)

September 8, 2013, 1:39 pm

≫ Next: Sinful Shine Man Hunt & Who's the Gloss Swatches and Comparisons!

≪ Previous: Revlon Elusive Swatch from the Evening Opulence Collection by Gucci Westman (Fall/Winter 2013)

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I was excited to finally find the Fall 2013 Vintage Leather collection from Maybelline Color Show! I've been impatiently searching ever since G's post on Nouveau Cheap! I knew I had to get my hands on the two shimmers. 

First up is the one above, Maybelline Classic Camel. This is a matte metallic copper with sparse amounts of flakies. I wish the flakies had been a bit more numerous, because I do think they add to the "leather" effect. As it is, I'm not totally sold on this one while matte, it looks a bit lumpy. Two coats.

My reservations about this one matte are completely canceled out by how stunning this one is with topcoat! Look how much it glows! So pretty!!!

Second, Maybelline Mod Moss, is a matter olive green shimmer. This one is more my style while matte! A bit more suede than leather, but gorgeous and velvety looking. This is two coats.

This one is even more breathtaking with topcoat! I love how complex the shimmer is, with gold and copper shimmer particles. I love it!

Sinful Shine Man Hunt & Who's the Gloss Swatches and Comparisons!

September 9, 2013, 1:07 pm

≫ Next: Is it Fall Yet? Manicure: Autumnal Acorn Nail Art!

≪ Previous: Maybelline Color Show Classic Camel & Mod Moss swatches (Vintage Leather Collection Fall 2013)

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 i gave into my curiosity and got two Sinful Shine polishes while they were 2 for $4 at Walgreens!

First up is a core color, Sinful Shine Man Hunt, which is a dusty army green with a beautiful silvery shimmer. This is so lovely! Two coats.

I thought I would have way more to compare this one to, but I was shocked by my lack of army green shimmers (gasp!). Zoya Gemma is a totally different base shade with blue shimmer, and Essie Sew Psyched is too pale and not nearly as shimmery. No dupes here!

Next I have Sinful Shine Who's the Gloss, which was part of a (possibly limited edition) separate display called "Hot For Shine". This color is a dusty eggplant with vibrant violet shimmer. This is so gorgeous! It juts glows. Two coats.

I figured this would be along the lines of the many Chanel Paradoxical dupes, and was correct. However, I think Who's The Gloss outshines (literally and figuratively) it's competition. China Glaze Jungle Queen's shimmer is far more subtle, and the base color in Revlon Perplex (re-released as Naughty, I believe) isn't as dark, so it swallows the shimmer. The shimmer contrasts a lot more with the darker base color of Who's The Gloss, which gives it that "lit from within" look. I don't have the Chanel to compare this to, but I wouldn't be surprised if the Sinful Shine was even more beautiful than the original. Chanel fanatics, don't shun me!

I've yet to wear these as full manicures, so I don't know if Sinful Shines wear any better because of the "Gel Tech" qualities purported on the bottle. However, I will say that none of these swatches have topcoat, and they are plenty shiny!

Is it Fall Yet? Manicure: Autumnal Acorn Nail Art!

September 11, 2013, 8:16 am

≫ Next: Zoya Channing, Mason, & Maria Luisa from the Satin Collection (Fal 2013)

≪ Previous: Sinful Shine Man Hunt & Who's the Gloss Swatches and Comparisons!

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Fall is my favorite season, and this summer  has been pretty cruddy, so I'm ready for it more than usual! Here is my nail art in hopes that it will make the season get here sooner! I think acorns are adorable, they look like they're wearing tiny little berets. I attempted a sassy squirrel on the accent nail, but evidently I need way more practice to achieve sassy squirrel levels of nail art expertise.

Polishes Used:
Background color: Maybelline Canary Cool
Accent Nail Glitter: China Glaze I'm Not Lion
Tan: China Glaze Desert Sun
Brown: China Glaze Mahogony Magic
Dark Brown Spots: China Glaze Call of the Wild
White Spots: Wet N Wild French White Creme

Zoya Channing, Mason, & Maria Luisa from the Satin Collection (Fal 2013)

September 12, 2013, 10:11 am

≫ Next: Herringbone Nail Art

≪ Previous: Is it Fall Yet? Manicure: Autumnal Acorn Nail Art!

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Today I wanted to share three of the Fall 2013 Satin collection shades from Zoya. I usually wait for one of Zoya's amazing sales, but I just couldn't wait this time!

Zoya Channing is the epitome of fall, a rust colored metallic with gold shimmer throughout. It can lean orange or rusty red in different lighting, but it glows regardless. Such a pretty shade, and I have nothing quite like it in my collection. Plus, the name Channing always reminds me of Stockard Channing, the actress who played Rizzo in Grease (Channing Tatum, who?). This is two coats.

Zoya Mason is not a color I usually go out of my way to buy, but it made me curious! This is a bright red-violet with fuchsia shimmers. This shade isn't uncommon, but in the bottle it looked like it had a bit of duo-chrome going on. On the nail it's not as apparent, but it has that "lit from within" look that gives a lovely depth to the shade. This is three coats.

Finally, what made me bite the bullet and buy these without a sale is Zoya Maria Luisa. I never had the chance to get one of those "real" gold flaky topcoats at a decent price, but this is making up for that! Rather than larger, sparse gold flakes, Maria Luisa is a densely packed flakie topcoat with a mix of yellow golds that are almost iridescent. This is GORGEOUS over warm shades like Channing, above. It transforms the shade! It looks like hammered copper, I love this effect.

Over Mason, the contrast of purple and gold is so striking. This is only one coat and is already quite dense!

I think these were well worth it, and I hope to pick up a few more shades when Zoya has another one of its ubiquitous sales!

Herringbone Nail Art

September 15, 2013, 11:10 am

≫ Next: New Core Hard Candy Shades (2013)

≪ Previous: Zoya Channing, Mason, & Maria Luisa from the Satin Collection (Fal 2013)

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I'm not sure where I was going with this nail art. Was I trying to make my nails look like knitting? Herringbone? Whatever, my weeklong mani (China Glaze Aquadelic) was looking pretty rough, so I spruced it up a bit with China Glaze Kinetic Candy. This was a bit rushed, but I kind of like it. I may try this with some taupes or grays to make it look more sweater-esque.

New Core Hard Candy Shades (2013)

September 16, 2013, 10:34 am

≫ Next: Sinful Colors Glitz & Glittered Collection Swatches and Review

≪ Previous: Herringbone Nail Art

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So, I was a bit saddened to hear so many Hard Candy polishes were discontinued right under my nose! I've been to three Wal-Marts trying to snag the shades, but alas!

On the bright side, there are new shades to drool over! I picked up two to show to today.

First up, the tackiest polish I own. Hard Candy Emerald's Eve is a mix of small blue-green glitter and large holographic gold hex glitter in a clear base. Now, I knew going into it that this was going to be a pain to apply. I used Scrangie's method of application and a lot of patience to get this result, and I'm pleased. I know this look probably isn't for everyone, but I wear a lot of ridiculous things (like my awesome new Unicorn Sweater), so I love it! This was three "coats".

Next is Hard Candy Bite of Black, a mix of fuchsia, blue, and silver glitter in a black jelly base. I like this a lot, but was disappointed that I had an almost exact dupe already. I love the Hard Candy line because it has such funky shades, so it was kind of a bummer. This will teach me to keep better stock of what I already own! This was three coats.

Here is the comparison shot of Hard Candy Bite of Black vs Pure Ice Private Show. As you can see, there is almost no difference. The only one I could tell is that the fuchsia glitter in private show can reflect more red than pink, which I actually like better. The formula on Private Show is also slightly better. The price point is also a factor...Hard Candy polishes are $4 for .26 oz, while Pure Ice is $2 for .5 oz.

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Sinful Colors Glitz & Glittered Collection Swatches and Review

September 19, 2013, 11:04 am

≫ Next: Talk Like A Pirate Day Nail Arrrght!

≪ Previous: New Core Hard Candy Shades (2013)

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Sorry about how blurry this is! The sales lady was giving me major side eye!

I was excited to see Glitz and Glittered, Sinful Color's holiday collection at Rite Aid Today! I had heard nothing about this collection, but I picked up all but one of the shades! The one I didn't get was Ice Dream, which is a re-promote and is fairly dupey to shades I already own.

First up, Sinful Colors Charmed, is a re-promote of a core shade. I had never really given this much of a look until now, and I feel like I've been missing out! This is a really delicate silver and multi-colored micro glitter. It's almost as if one of the million Deborah Lippmann Happy Birthday dupes was put in a blender. Very beautiful! This is three coats.

Next is Sinful Colors Decadent, a mix of small red glitter and larger red hex glitter in a clear base. This is nothing special, but if you've been looking for a red glitter it's a good one at $1.99 (or cheaper if you catch a sale!). This is only one coat, swatched over Wet N Wild French White Creme.

Sinful Colors Full Spectrum is a mix of small holographic glitter and large pink hex glitter in a clear base. This is cute but nothing ground breaking (it looks like it may be a dupe for OPI Pink Yet Lavender), and again only one coat over Wet N Wild French White Creme.

Sinful Colors Gilded is a mix of tiny red glitter in a gilden shimmery base. This is soooo pretty! My only complaint it that it is a bit sheer, this swatch is four coats and there is still visible nail line. I think this is pretty and unique enough to be worth the effort, but I will probably just layer it over gold when I wear it for real. 

Sinful Colors Holiday Rebel is a mix of green glitter, large red hex glitter, and very sparse large holo hex glitter. This is in the same vein as China Glaze Party Hearty, and I'm happy to have it since I've been afraid of running out of my "Christmas in a bottle" go-to shade! This one coat over Wet N Wild French White Creme.

Sinful Colors Silver Belle is a mix of small silver glitter in a silver frosty base. The swatch above is three coats and I'm disappointed by how sheer it is. I think it will be fine layered over a silver, but I'm worried the pearly look of the base will be lost!

Sinful Colors Unwrap Me is a mix of black and red hex glitter with smaller black glitter in a clear base. Again, nothing groundbreaking but a good price and formula if you have nothing similar! One coat over Wet N Wild French White Creme.

Talk Like A Pirate Day Nail Arrrght!

September 19, 2013, 11:48 am

≫ Next: Sinful Colors Black Magic Swatches

≪ Previous: Sinful Colors Glitz & Glittered Collection Swatches and Review

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I'm a dork and I love any excuse to do a tacky theme manicure, so here's my silly pirate nail art in honor of International Talk Like A Pirate Day! 

In case you were curious, this is what it looked like with topcoat, but I preferred it matte!

Polishes Used:
Balck is Orly Matte Vinyl
Cream is Maybelline Canary Cream
Gold is Orly Luxe
Matted with Essie Matte About You

Sinful Colors Black Magic Swatches

September 20, 2013, 3:10 pm

≫ Next: China Glaze Monsters Ball Swatches and Comparison

≪ Previous: Talk Like A Pirate Day Nail Arrrght!

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I picked up Sinful Colors Black Magic the other day and was so excited to try it out! This polish is a gorgeous mix of orange hex glitter and charcoal micro-glitter jam packed into a clear base. This polish is sheer enough that you can use it as a topper for other shades, but still dense enough that you can build to opacity in three to four coats. I love this! Super sparkly and a fun take on the many black & orange glitters I have in my collection. This may allllmost beat out China Glaze Fortune Teller as my fave Halloween polish!

China Glaze Monsters Ball Swatches and Comparison

September 26, 2013, 11:14 am

≫ Next: Orly Surreal Collection (Fall 2013) Part 2: Angel Rain, Pixie Powder & Digital Glitter

≪ Previous: Sinful Colors Black Magic Swatches

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Picked up a few polishes from China Glaze Monsters Ball collection! China Glaze always has awesome Halloween collections, so I was pretty pumped. I skipped the other glitter and the black textured polish, they just weren't calling my name. I'd also like to add that I wish they'd re-release Spellbound!!!!

China Glaze Boo-Gie Down is a mix of small black and gold glitter, black, white, gold, and copper hex glitter, larger copper hex glitter, and black string glitter in a clear base. This is one of the many indie-esque glitter bombs that have been popping up all year, but I love the gold and copper mix. I think I'm done buying this kind of glitter though! Good application, no need to stab-n-dab, this is one coat over Orly Decoded.

China Glaze Bat My Eyes (adorable name!!!) is a mix of mult-sized gold hex glitter and sparse copper bar glitter in a dark olive jelly base. I wish this one had more of the copper bar glitter so it was more apparent! That would also make this more distinct from similar polishes from previous Halloween collections. Still, I love kinda ugly shades like this. This was three coats.

China Glaze Howl You Doin' is a mix of purple glitter and orange flakies in a dark purple base. This is jam-packed with glitter and achieves a lot of depth in only two coats! 

Of course, I was concerned this would be too dupey for OPI Merry Midnight/Orly Fowl Play. Thankfully, those two are much more sheer and have shimmers instead of purple glitter. The base colors are also fairly different, more a red-violet shade for the OPI, and a bit dusty/paler for the Orly. They also have much more of the orange flakies. No dupes here!

Orly Surreal Collection (Fall 2013) Part 2: Angel Rain, Pixie Powder & Digital Glitter

September 29, 2013, 11:56 am

≫ Next: OPI Every Month is Oktoberfest

≪ Previous: China Glaze Monsters Ball Swatches and Comparison

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Okay, I gave into temptation and picked up a few more from the Orly Surreal collection for Fall!  I have previously posted about this collection, and now have all but one of the shades! 

Orly Angel Rain in a gorgeous duochrome that shifts from aqua to purple to pink. The shift isn't super apparent, but definitely noticeable and pretty. In the sun it can look a bit brush-strokey but nothing that bothers me. It's a bit sheer at 4 coats for opacity, but I don't mind it since it's such a pretty color. I was so excited to get my hands on Pixie Powder, but was surprised to find that this one is my favorite from the collection! 

(Many!) More pictures and swatches after the jump!

Next is Orly Pixie Powder, a mix of violet micro glitter and pink shimmers in a clear base. This is probably too sheer to really get opaque, I tried my best with 4 coats. Still quite pretty, and what a perfect name!

And here is Pixie Powder layered over Angel Rain. Soooooo pretty! This is the manicure a fairy princess would have. The slight duo-chrome of Pixie Powder is heightened when combined with the much stronger shift of Angel Eyes. Love love love. 

Lastly is Orly Digital Glitter, which was disappointing as I incorrectly assumed it was going to be opaque, not a glitter topper. It's an odd mix featuring black, red, and holo hex glitter, pink shimmer, and square silver glitter in a clear base. It's my fault for not checking swatches, so I don't want to hold its sheerness against it. It is quite funky layered over Pixie Powder, above. Three coats.

And here is Digital Glitter Layered over Angel Rain. I don't like this combo as much as the one above. Two coats.

I wanted to truly capture the beauty of Angel Rain (and Pixie Powder layered over it!) and got carried away. This is too many pictures, it got out of hand, and I regret nothing! :) Please check out Part 1 of this collection for two more shades!