Color Club Blossoming Collection Spring 2012 Swatches and Review!

Good afternoon my fellow lacquered lovers!  I have a treat for you this afternoon!  I was lucky enough to receive the new Blossoming Collection from Color Club which consists of 5 pastels for spring and an awesome new glitter top coat! 

This collection was recently released and has some really gorgeous shades in it.  There are a lot of pictures ahead so I will let them do the talking!  Now, without further ado, on to the polish!

Above:  3 coats of Blue-Ming

Am I the only one that thinks this name is misleading?  Blue-Ming is a very pretty minty green/turquoise creme that's a great color for Spring because it's not yellow based at all and looks good on all skin tones!  Plus it makes your hands look tan!  Blue-Ming definitely errs on the side of green but I really like it!  This polish, like all in the collection, has a bit of a thin formula but three coats builds it up perfectly!

Above:  3 coats of Blushing Rose

Blushing Rose is a typical light pink creme polish.  This was my least favorite in the group because I'm just not a light pink person but if you are, this is a good one!  It's not super chalky like a lot of them can be, just a pretty pale pink that's opaque in 3 coats.

Above:  3 coats of Hydrangea Kiss

Hydrangea Kiss is one of my favorites of this collection!  Would it be strange if I called it a dark dusty periwinkle?  It has that dusty quality we've been seeing a lot of this spring and it's just a gorgeous medium blue!  This is the only one from this collection that I could have gotten away with only 2 coats but I added a third for good measure.  I actually really like the shade and think it's perfect for Spring!

Above:  3 coats of Lavendarling

First of all, I love this name!  Second of all, I love this color!  Lavendarling is a medium dusty purple (in the same vein of Hydrangea Kiss) creme that's just beautiful on!  I like that this isn't a pastel and really could be worn year round because it's a bit darker.  Three coats made this perfectly opaque and really pretty on!

Above:  3 coats of SweetPea

SweetPea is a pretty darker pink that has the same dusty quality as the previous two polishes.  I'm sorry I don't have a better pink descriptor for you guys but my pink vocabulary is lacking!  If you are a pink person, this would be nice to add to your collection!  Like the others, opaque in 3 coats and tons of pigment!

 Above:  1 coat of Diamond Drops over SweetPea

Above:  1 coat of Diamond Drops over Hydrangea Kiss

Last but certainly not least is Diamond Drops, a holographic glitter top coat!  The pieces of glitter are irregular and look like shards and I love the way it looks!  The formula was a bit thick and hard to work with, but if you glob it on the nail and then push it into place with the brush it's not too difficult and the end result is pretty awesome!

All in all, I liked this collection!  I liked the combination of pastels and darker, dustier shades and Diamond Drops is certainly unique!  The Blossoming Collection is now available wherever Color Club is sold!

What do you think of this collection?  Any dupes?

The products in this post were sent to me for my unbiased review.  Please see my disclosure policy for additional information.

Elemental Styles Manganese, Please and Co-Balt of Lightning Swatches and Review!

Good afternoon my fellow lacquered lovers!  Today, I have some awesome polishes from an awesome lady to show you!  The very lovely Whitney from the blog Elemental Styles has started creating a nail polish line under the same name!  All the polishes are named after elements in the periodic table!  I have two of her polishes to show you today so now, without further ado, on to the polish!

Above:  1 coat of Co-Balt of Lightning over Finger Paints Black Expressionism

First up for you all I have Co-Balt of Lightning!  First let me say how much I love the name!  Co-Balt of Lightening is a color changing top coat that is mostly blue (like Co-Balt) but flashes navy and purple depending on the lighting.  I had trouble capturing all the shades with my camera but it's stunning in person!  I love color changing top coats and Co-Balt of Lightning is a great addition to my collection!  It looks great layered over a dark color, above it's layered over black, but I can't wait to see how vibrant it will be over a dark blue or dark purple!

Above:  2 coats of Manganese, Please

Manganese Please is a gorgeous deep teal shimmery polish that leans more to the green side.  In certain lights it has a very slight duochrome effect to more blue and even a hint of purple.  I love how pigmented this polish is and how rich the colors look!  This was perfectly opaque in two coats and just has a ton of shimmer and dimension to it!

All in all, these polishes are great!  All of Whitney's polishes are available at her Etsy store found HERE for $7.50 not including shipping.  The names are very clever, the polishes are a great quality and I look forward to seeing what she comes up with next!

What did you think of these polishes?  Do you have any Elemental Styles polishes yet?

Please note that these polishes were sent to me for my unbiased review.  If you have any questions, please see my disclosure policy.

Essie Spring 2012 Navigate Her Collection Swatches and Review!

Good afternoon my fellow lacquered lovers!  I hope you all had a fabulous weekend for this last week in February.  I was unfortunately sick (hence the lack of post on Friday) however I did get a chance to swatch some awesome polishes for you!  Today I have Essie's Spring Collection, Navigate Her, for your viewing pleasure!  Ok that's a lie, I only have 5 out of 6 because I couldn't bring myself to buy another peach/nude shade since it's not a color I really ever wear, but I promise the other 5 are worth seeing!  Now, without further ado, on to the polish!

 Above:  2 coats of Navigate Her in artificial light

Above:  2 coats of Navigate Her with flash

Pale green seems to be the shade of the season!  Zoya, Dior, OPI, now Essie all have pale greens!  Unlike the other more minty greens, Navigate Her is a yellow based green.  Unfortunately this doesn't work so well with my skin tone which makes me sad because it's so pretty!  The formula was great, opaque in two coats although a bit streaky with just one coat.

 Above:  2 coats of Ole Caliente in artificial light

Above:  2 coats of Ole Caliente with flash

I am really enjoying this trend of pale polish for the spring with splashes of bright colors!  Ole Caliente is a gorgeous orange based red.  Or red based orange.  Or some combination of the two, but in any event, it's a bright red/orange that errs more on the side of red and I love it!  The formula on this one was great, fully opaque in 2 coats and extremely pigmented!

 Above:  2 coats of Orange, It's Obvious! in artificial light

Above:  2 coats of Orange, It's Obvious!  with flash

Well, that's certainly one of the least creative names I've seen in awhile but I have to admit it fits!  Orange, it's Obvious! is a pure orange creme.  This polish is bright, it's pigmented, and it has that awesome juicy feel to it!  Is it unique?  Not terribly, but if you are looking for an orange creme for your collection, the formula on this is fantastic and opaque in 2 coats!  I like that it's not quite a neon and would probably look great on all skin tones!

 Above:  2 coats of To Buy or Not To Buy in artificial light

Above:  2 coats of To Buy or Not To Buy with flash

This name is the biggest handful as is the polish.  In the bottle, To Buy or Not To Buy looks like a very pale lilac that has shimmery pieces of light pink and light blue, almost duochrome shimmer.  However when you put that on the nail, all is lost and it just looks like a lilac creme.  If the light directly hits it you can see the tiniest hint of shimmer but for the most part, it doesn't show up, which is disappointing because this is the one I was most excited about!  You can also see a bit of visible nail line with this one but I think a third coat would smooth that out.

 Above:  2 coats of Tour De Finance in artificial light

Above:  2 coats of Tour de Finance with flash

Last but most certainly not least is Tour De Finance.  I'm having a weird obsession with hot pink nail polish this spring!  Tour De Finance is a bright fuchsia polish that's packed with lighter pink and blue shimmer!  I am kind of in love with it!  I love that the blue and pink shimmer give this a slighter cooler feel and an almost purple flash in certain lights!  This polish was the stand out to me in this collection!  The formula was great, very pigmented and opaque in 2 coats.

All in all, I like this collection!  I like the combination of pastels and bright bursts of color!  I wish that more of the polishes had shimmer like Tour De Finance (and I wish they ALL had better names) but this was a solid effort put forth by Essie this Spring.  The Navigate Her collection is now available wherever Essie is sold for $8.

What do you think of this collection?  Any dupes?  Any must haves?  Any comparisons you'd like to see?

Deborah Lippmann Steal My Kisses Magnetic Nail Lacquer Set Swatches and Review!

Good afternoon my fellow lacquered lovers!  I am super excited about today's post!  As many of you know, I love Deborah Lippmann nail polishes.  I just think they are fabulous!  So, when I found out that she released two sets of magnetic polishes, I knew I had to try them out to see how they matched up against the competition.  I did restrain myself to only one set, the Steal My Kisses duo, and I was NOT disappointed!  Now, without further ado, on to the polish!

 Above:  Berry Metal over Wet N Wild Black Creme with Flash

 Above:  Berry Metal over Wet N Wild Black Creme in artificial light

Above:  Berry Metal over Wet N Wild Black Creme Macro

The first magnetic in the duo is Berry Metal which HSN's website describes as an amethyst shimmer with a plum wave effect.  I'm going to say that it's a lighter purple that when the magnet is used makes darker purple wavy lines due to the wavy pattern in the magnet.  As you can see, I have a little mistake in the macro shot where the magnet was too close to the polish but it still looks amazing!  These polishes were extremely responsive to the magnet and actually held their magnetic pattern more sharply than most other magnetics I have seen!  I did a coat of black underneath because I wasn't sure how much the color would pull but you really don't even see it!

 Above:  Love is a Battlefield over Wet N Wild Black Creme with flash

 Above:  Love is a Battlefield over Wet N Wild Black Creme in artificial light

Above:  Love is a Battlefield over Wet N Wild Black Creme Macro

I really love this polish.  Love is a Battlefield is described as being a mulberry wave effect.  Now I've never seen a mulberry but this polish is definitely a raspberry shade!  Does anyone else think they should have switched the names of these polishes as a side note?  Anyway, Love is a Battlefield worked amazingly well with the magnet and the color is so vibrant and sharp!  I love it!

All in all, these polishes are great!  Now to convince myself I don't need to buy the other set!  I can't wait to try these out with my other magnets!  The Steal My Kisses Magnetic Nail Lacquer Set is available HERE for $29.00 USD.  If you don't own other magnetics, these are a great set to have!  I plan on swatching these against the other magnetics I have soon but I definitely do not own one the color of Love is a Battlefield.

What do you think of this duo?  Are you a fan of magnetic polishes?