China Glaze Cabin Fever

 *I won this!*

Hello my sweet friends!  I'm going to preface this post with, YOU NEED THIS POLISH (I feel like I say that a lot).  I really don't even need to write anything else about it, but if you are a fan of duochrome polishes, Cabin Fever is AHHH-MAZING! 

China Glaze Cabin Fever is part of the 2015 The Great Outdoors collection.  This has been my favorite collection from China Glaze this year.  It's also probably my favorite Fall collection released this year.  It includes creams, foil shimmers, duochromes, vampy shades, etc...

Shown is 3 thin coats of Cabin Fever and a coat of Out The Door.  Two would have been adequate but I wanted to make sure there were no sheer spots.  In the sun, shade, or indoors the color shift from a deep rose to orange to coppery gold is perfect.  I'll just let the pictures do the talking... 

This was a pretty popular collection from China Glaze, so I think it's vanished from most stores by now. You will still be able to find Cabin Fever online on Amazon, or other beauty retailers like HeadtoToe Beauty, and HB Beauty Bar.

I was lucky enough to win this beauty on a bi-monthly twitter chat called Nail Glossip (#NailGlossip).  It's a great community of bloggers and polish fanatics who chat about a specific topic designated for the week.  There are often giveaways, and you even get to chat with big brands like China Glaze and OPI!  

Nail Glossip is run by Jen from The Polishaholic (you might have heard of her ;-) JK, of course you have!) and All Lacquered Up.

 Nail Glossip is on Sunday nights, so check it out if you're on Twitter!  Let me know if you do and what you think about Cabin Fever.  Have a great day!

~ Hayley ~

Summer Favorites Swatchfest!

*All Polishes Were Purchased*

A few of my favorite colors to wear this summer are notorious for formulas that are a struggle.  That being said, the colors are worth it. I'll give you my honest thoughts below:

First up is Urban Outfitters Honeydew.  This was 3 coats that dry slightly matte, and topcoat to even things out.  In the bottle it looks extremely close to Color Club Under the Blacklight.  Honeydew is in the pastel neon bunch and I cannot get enough of colors like this!  On the nail it's slightly brighter than Under the Balcklight, which you'll see below.  Decent formula (since I have come across a pastel neon that has yet to be easy, I was expecting it).  This one was slightly on the easier side to work with.  I  love the glow in late dusk and early morning you get with these colors.

Next is Color Club Under the Blacklight. I LOVE this color - I wore with matte topcoat it in the above picture because it was my first try with the polish, and figuring out the formula was a struggle.  This was 3-4 coats (some had 3 some had a thin 4th coat).  This was an indoor shot which leans more yellow than outdoors like you see with Honeydew (I promise these two colors really are similar!) but my camera was a little freaked out so it is very slightly greener.

Pure Ice Feisty is up next.  This one was from a few summers ago, but Pure Ice does bring back previous shades and I came across this in Walmart just the other week, so it's still around!  This was 2 very easy coats.  Pure Ice formulas are thin, so I was pleased with how opaque the coats were and that it didn't flood at all.  I recommend this polish if you see it.  It dries semi-matte like neons do - this was without topcoat.  I later tried to matte it - and it almost acted like a crackle polish - it was so odd!  I'll try it again with a different matte, but it is a beautiful purple leaning fuchsia!

This is Sweet Cheeks by Bonita Colors. This was the first polish from Bonita that I have tried.  I was a little thrown by this coral.  In the bottle it look more pink than in the picture, BUT this is definitely color accurate on me.  It dried on my nails more orange coral than the pink coral in the bottle.  Still very pretty for summer and stellar 2 coat formula.  It is not terribly unique - so if you don't have it there are a ton of similar options out there.  SinfulColors Island Coral comes to mind, because that is another one that leans pinker in the bottle, but more orange coral on the nail. 

Outside - sunlight

This last polish was one of my favorite colors, but I'm pretty sure I cried and almost threw the bottle out of the window when I applied it.  This is Spring In My Step from China Glaze.  I adore this color! It's a beautiful pinky-peach, and it's bright!  The formula was HORRIBLE though. It was streaky and patchy - this is 4 coats + topcoat and every single one was a struggle.  But I cannot express how I LOVE this color!  I give it a pass for that only, but I'm on the hunt for anything similar.  I might have found one, so I'll report back.

Thanks for stopping by!  Are there any other colors you recommend similar to these?  What are your favorite summer polishes?

~ Hayley ~

2014 Favorites

We hope you all had a great holiday and here's to the New Year!  Without further adieu, these were our favorite polishes from 2014.  Did any of these make your list this year?  Are you making any polish/ blog resolutions in the new year?

Hayley's Favorites:

My resolution this year is to explore (and post) more Indie polishes.  Almost everything I posted this year was from mainstream brands, but there are too many fabulous indie makers out there to pass up!

Sinful Shine Prosecco

A polish so nice, Sinful released it twice! (and right in a row).  I'm sure I don't need to say much more about the stir Prosecco caused, but you can view my full post here.

China Glaze - Choo-Choo Choose You

I imagine China Glaze Choo-Choo Choose You will show up on a few 2014 lists. I love how multi-faceted this polish is, so it deserved a spot!  Post is linked to check out more pictures.

Sinful Shine Go Glossy

I just could not get enough of this color on my nails this fall and winter.  There were many that I liked, but this one actually came out in 2014...way to Go Glossy! ;)

Jackie's favorites:

My resolution is to try more polishes from my stash. Anyone up for "Untried Tuesday" posts? I did get a few new polishes for Christmas so you'll be seeing those soon!

My first pick should come as no surprise and it isn't one specific brand, but a color - PURPLE! I've been so into purple in 2014 and I don't forsee that changing much next year. Here are a few of my favorites I've shared:
BEGL Fare the Wind
Different Dimension Dueling Unicorns
China Glaze Choo-choo-choose You
Above the Curve UH Purple

My next 2014 favorite was a surprise to me. I never would have guessed an orange polish would steal my heart as much as LynBDesigns Am I Ginger? has! This color just worked for me. I admit I bought it simply for the name, but I am so glad I put it on. This is proof that sometimes when step out of your comfort zone you find something new to love.

My final 2014 favorite isn't a polish, but rather my new found love for cuticle care products. Be they oils or balms, I've been much more diligent about using these daily and I try to use something after I wash my hands, even if its just a standard lotion. I've found that moisturizing helps my nails grow faster and I can say that I have seen some improvement in my peeling. Not as much as I'd like, but it all takes time. So if you don't already use some sort of cuticle oil or balm or lotion or something, try it out in 2015 and let us know how it works for you!

Here's to a new year filled with fun new favorites! Cheers to 2015!

~ Hayley and Jackie

Happy November! Fall Worthy China Glaze skittlette

I hope everyone had a great Halloween with lots of chocolate involved! I cannot believe it's NOVEMBER.  The weather is still  in the 80s on my side of the country....but it's supposed to get cooler this week (finally)!

In honor of it fall, I wanted to do a simple skittlette and finally try my OPI Glitter Off that I had been pining away for.  It has been completely M.I.A. in stores, but I finally found it on Amazon. Also, China Glaze Boundary of Memory had been sitting in my melmer untried for too long, so I had to change that!

This is China Glaze Release (thumb, index and middle), Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Ion (a Target exclusive from 2012), and China Glaze Boundary of Memory glitter (pinky).  Nothing super intricate, but I loved the color combination.  The China Glaze formulas were great...2 coats and easy to work with.  Ion was challenging, so you're not missing much if you don't have it!  The color is pretty (light warm grey) but was streaky, tough to apply evenly, and dry time was long even before I could topcoat for fear of pulling.  I don't know how it compares to China Glaze Five Rules or OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls (let me know if you do!) but they might be close!

Indoors - Release has more grey undertones

I didn't know what to expect with Glitter Off...I figured after 2 days I would see wear.  I did use topcoat since Boundary of Memory doesn't dry super shiny on its own.  Maybe the topcoat helped, because around day 5 I worried that there was some super glue mixed into my bottle since it was still going strong.  I removed it on day 6, and it was very much like peeling an eggshell; little pieces came off.  I was still happy that no remover was needed, so I call it a win!  It is very dry right now in Arizona so maybe that aided in it adhering better to my nail?  Any ideas?

Indoors low light - love Boundary of Memory!

Lastly, (but not least) THANK YOU to all our new friends who entered our first little giveaway!  We hope you stick around. :)  Congratulations to the winner, Heather, and stay tuned for more in the future!

Oh Shift!! China Glaze Choo Choo Choose You

This is one I am sure you've seen on every blog, (including this one!)  Of course, this is Choo-Choo Choose You by China Glaze.  I saw this while I was out looking for The Giver polishes and my Sally's had the All Aboard collection out early. I saw this in all it's deep purple and shimmery glory and that was it. You can see the strongest purple in the bottle, but it gets even better from there...

Bottle shot, mostly :)

Like this rose, bronze and greenish gold shimmer

Indoors

Or this shift from purple to amber to green. Hello.

Outside

This is two coats and no topcoat.  I noticed in some photos a sheer patch on my ring finger, it doesn't show up in all of them and it's not visible in person.  So, maybe I'll try 3 coats next time. Also, this whole week has been completely overcast, rainy and not sunny!  It's been so wonderful, but I had a tough time capturing good sunlight pics.

Choo-Choo Choose You is absolutely the stand out color in all the fall collections, in my opinion!  If you have not picked it up, you need to try and track it down.  If you have it and haven't worn it yet, then go try it! :)

~ Hayley ~

 *This pretty polish was purchased by me

Taupe Skittle: China Glaze Release and Essie Chinchilly

I was looking through my collection to come up with some inspiration.  I lined up my taupe polishes and couldn't decide on one to use, so why not try them all?!  This was the result:

This skittle was such a chameleon (and that's putting it lightly!) These pictures are the most color accurate of the individual shades but in most lighting situations they were very close...only a shade or two off and fluctuated between looking grey or purplish.  I'm sure I don't have to explain the personality of taupe polishes for that to make sense!  But I will tell you the polishes I used (from thumb to pinky):  L'Oreal Liya's Nude, Essie Chinchilly, China Glaze Release, L'Oreal Sparklicious, and L'Oreal Eiffel For You. 

These polishes are all available currently, with the exception of Sparklicious (which is amazing...think Beyond Cozy but with different size glitters).
- All polishes were 2 coats and a topcoat and the formula was fantastic on every one! These are pretty much the only Loreals I own and the first time I used any of their creams. I was totally impressed!  Release (the most purple of the bunch) is from the new China Glaze limited edition collection, The Giver. After I purchased Release, I suspected it would be a dupe for something in my collection but I haven't found that to be the case by bottle comparison.

Outdoors - shade

Indoors

Natural light - shade

I'm going to have a really tough time picking just one of these to wear...but Eiffel For You (on my pinky) is one of my favorites.  I am in love with these neutrals and the promise that fall might show up in Arizona!  If you have a taupe or fall color that you can't live without...please let me know in the comments!:)

~ Hayley

*These pretty polishes were purchased by me 

China Glaze Choo-Choo-Choose You

We have seen so many swatches of Fall colors and collections coming out and we both ran out to snatch up some of these beauties. One of them that Hayley and I both chose was from Chine Glaze's All Aboard collection and is called Choo-Choo-Choose You. It is clear from looking at the bottle that this polish is different.

 

To me it looks like a dusty purple leaning gray polish with a greenish shimmer to it, but on my nails I felt like the shimmer was more coppery or rose gold than green. It is one of those shades that changes depending on the light source and angle from which you are looking.

 When I stepped outside, I knew that this color was reminding me of! We have a Japanese maple tree that changes from green to a dark burgundy in the fall. What better prop for a fall shade that is also sort of a chameleon, right? Above photo was in the shade of the tree.

 

In direct sun, the shimmer is very apparent.

Another one in the shade, a bit closer. You can see the deep purple here as well as the coppery shimmer on my ring finger. 

Application for this polish was good. I didn't have any issues with it being too think of thin to manage. I used 3 thinner coats in these pictures plus I used Above the Curve's 5-Free top coat. 

Side note: I apologize for my cleanup being a little less than clean. This was my second mani attempt and the polish I used before this really ticked me off and thus I lost my patience! I'm going to do a post on that polish as well, but I'd like to give it a second chance.

I'm love seeing all these fall shades come out, but that won't stop me from posting a few more bright holos this summer. And fall. And winter too. Who am I kidding!?

Do you have "seasonal colors" in your polish collection? Or do you wear what you feel like? Leave a comment below and tell us! 

Essie Mint Candy Apple...Take Two!

You may remember in a post awhile ago (longer than I'd like), I used Essie Mint Candy Apple for an accent nail and commented on how bright and blue it looked.  I just couldn't let it go.  

So I went searching for a different looking bottle of Mint Candy Apple and found one, so this post is using the new bottle.  I know there are a few colors from Essie that, unfortunately, tend to change over time and thought my bottle might have been on of the unlucky ones.  As you can see the color is quite different than it was here.

Direct Sunlight

Outdoors -shade

This was 3 coats of Mint Candy Apple.  The formula in this bottle was a little more streaky than my last, so I needed the 3rd coat to even things out.  I also chose an untried of mine, China Glaze Luxe and Lush from last year's Hunger Games collection.  It's not so much a flakie as it is iridescent shards, but I love it!!  It looks like shards of sea glass on the nails. The last I noticed, Sally's had a spot for Luxe and Lush in their core China Glaze line.  I haven't actually seen a bottle there just yet. 

Indoors

I know this post isn't anything new, exciting or a unique polish...but I really missed you all!  I've been so busy and just haven't had enough time in my day.  Thanks for sticking around!  There will be more exciting polishes to come!

~Hayley

Join the Blogger Linkup!  Open to everyone:)

Winter Blues NOTD

Do you ever feel blue in the winter? I know I do. All this cold and "hibernation" in my house can get a girl down! So to combat that I've been wearing China Glaze Man Hunt over and over. Man Hunt was a part of the Safari Collection from Summer 2012, but I got it for Christmas from my husband. {Funny story: he knows I love nail polish but didn't really feel like looking at my wishlist, so he just went to Ulta.com and bought all the China Glaze colors they had in stock online (I got 12!). I don't think I would have asked for Man Hunt, but I'm glad I have it now!} Man Hunt is a rich, royal blue polish with a nice glossy finish. Today I decided to pair it with Jessie's Girl Confetti.

Confetti is a beautiful blue-purple (or blurple, if you will) shimmer. As you can see from the photo below, Confetti gives Man Hunt a nice sparkle that would make any girl's blues go away! I must say I love the effect and find myself asking...what else can I layer it over?

 

After looking at my nails for a few minutes I thought, "Whay stop there?" and added an accent nail of Rainbow Honey 20% Cooler. I have to agree with her description of this polish - it really did make (me feel like my) manicure was 20% cooler after adding it.

 

I purchased Confetti at Rite Aid, but the Jessie's Girl site says they are also avaailable at select Walgreen's, Fagen and Tiffany Drug stores.

20% Cooler can be purchased from Rainbow Honey's store here.

Although Man Hunt is no longer available online at Ulta, you might be able to find it on clearance at your local store as well as online at Amazon.

***Edit***I just discovered a linky party that happens every Friday! If you are a fellow polish blogger go link up and share your fabulous Friday mani! I'm off to check out all the pretties!

Disclaimer: Since we are just getting started we are learning about lighting and such. Please bear with us as we get better at the photography. Thanks! 
These pretty polishes were purchased by me and I am in no way affiliated with any of these companies.