Nails Inc Neutrals Collection

This past weekend was very dreary and rainy and a bit chilly. I think the grey weather put me in the mood for some soft grey polishes. While virtually browsing Sephora, I ordered this cozy neutral toned collection of Nails Inc polishes.

 

Elizabeth St., Jermyn St., The Thames, Porchester Square

 

 

Elizabeth St.

 

Elizabeth St is a sheer warm pink jelly/cream hybrid. This is a great polish as a "palette cleanser." One coat is incredibly sheer and would be good to even out nail coloration when you want a clean look. It does have a tiny bit of streaking problems, but levels really well as it dries. 3 coats for full coverage. Good dry time.

 

Jermyn St.

Jermyn St is a dusty red/brown mauve cream. I didn't really like this one until I put it on. It is really flattering for my skin tone, and not out dated like I thought it would be. 2 coats, great coverage, nice flow and good dry time. My only issue was a few stray bristles on the brush, definitely a lack of quality control.

 

The Thames

The Thames is a dark grey cream with blue/green undertones. This one is my least favorite of the set & horrible for my skin tone. Hello lobster hands!!! Similar formula as Jermyn St & Porchester square. And the same brush issue as Jermyn St. Two polishes out of four with wonky brushes is pretty bad.

Porchester Square

 

Porchester Square is a light purple toned taupe cream. Nails Inc claims it is the original "Greige" color. It is actually a great color, soft and simple. Great for days when you want to have a nice clean look, instead of flashy, bright or glittery. Same formula as Jermyn St and The Thames, but thankfully no brush issues.

 

 

Overall, this is a really great set if you are in need of a good range of neutrals or work appropriate colors. It's a great deal as well, four full sized polishes for $25. Nails Inc continues to impress me with their formula, brush quality aside.

 

Nails Inc is available for US customers in stores and on line at Sephora

Layla Ceramic Effect #52 (Butterfly Effect)

Layla Butterfly Effect has been one of my lemmings for a while now. It always seemed to be out of reach and out of stock! But I finally was able to snag a bottle from Ninja Polish.

 

 

 

 

Layla Ceramic Effect #52 (Butterfly Effect)

 

Butterfly Effect is a deep royal purple jelly with red/green flakies and coppery pink micro glitter. I am completely astounded by this polish. It is possibly the most beautiful thing I have ever put on my nails! The formula is great as well. 2 coats for full coverage, good dry time, and smooth application. The glowy color shift of the flakie/micro glitter combo is amazing!

 

 

Layla Ceramic effect is available on line at Ninja Polish





Sally Hansen Lustre Shine: Lava and Copperhead (Pic Heavy)

A few weeks ago, I saw a post floating around twitter, about a new Sally Hansen collection of duo chrome polish called "Lustre Shine" and searched for swatches, bottle shots and any info available. I fondly remember Sally Hansen's Prism collection (even tho I no longer have any of the bottles! ::sob::) and had insanely high hopes for this one. Apparently, each polish has silver infused in the formula, which adds to the luminescence. I literally stalked every beauty department I came across looking for the new line, and finally found them today!

 

Sally Hansen Lustre Shine - Lava

 

Lava is a gorgeous pink/red/orange/gold duo chrome glass fleck foil. It looks very similar to MAC Bad Fairy, but I don't have MAC to do a comparison. 2 coats for full sparkly coverage. Formula was okay, I did have a bit of drag while swatching and if I went too fast over a previous stroke, I would lose some glitter. The trick is load up the brush and go slowly! It was a bit slow on the dry time, as well. 

 

 

Daylight

 

It has an incredible sparkle in full sun. That lense flare, in the last pic, was not added in photoshop. Almost too much shine for my little camera to handle!

 

 

 Sally Hansen Lustre Shine - Copperhead

 

Copperhead is a coppery reddish brown/purple duo chrome. Now this is a great fall color! Unique for a duo chrome too. I don't think I have seen a color shift like that! The purple flash is a bit toned down, but it is there, especially outside. The silver particles really stand out in this one, creating such a pretty twinkle! 2 coats again for this one as well, which is good for a pricier polish. Formula was okay, not the greatest. It has a tendency to show brush strokes if you're not careful with application. Dry time was slooooowwwww. Even with a top coat of Seche Vite, I still managed to wrinkle my pinky nail a few minutes afterwards.



 

Daylight

 

 

They are a bit on the pricey side for drug store polish, $8.49 at the Walgreens where I got mine. Overall the collection has eight shades, and I have seen six of them. There are at least two more on my list (of the six I have seen), Firefly and Scarab. But those will have to wait until my bank account is less empty. Lava is really special, and I think everyone needs to grab that one. Copperhead too, if you like unique looking polishes!

Have you seen any of these? Which ones are on your wish list?

Nubar Swatches

Nubar has been one of those brands that I don't have very much experience with, but love from afar. I broke down a while ago and did a bit of splurging.

 

 

 

Nubar Indigo Illusion

 

Indigo Illusion is one of Nubar's most popular duo chromes and I could instantly tell why as soon as I swatched it. The color shift, steel grey/blue/purple/pink, is outstanding and incredibly vibrant! Formula was flawless, perfectly thick, great flow and quick dry time. 2 coats to perfect duo chrome goodness. Indigo Illusion was the first one I tried, and it sold me hook line and sinker. I am completely smitten with Nubar!

 

Nubar Star Dust

 

Star Dust is another one of Nubar's amazing duo chromes. It has a gorgeous pink/orange/warm golden color shift. Again, the duo chrome effect is very obvious and so lovely. Same amazing formula as Indigo, a tad bit thinner tho. 3 coats for full coverage.

 

 

 

Nubar Gold Feather

 

Gold Feather is quite the deceptive polish. It is a sheer peach with a fantastic light green shimmer. Together, they create a stunning duo chrome effect. Despite the sheer quality, it took just 3 coats for full coverage.

 

Nubar Ruby Red Glitz

 

Ruby Red Glitz is a blue toned red jelly with red glitter. This isn't my usual polish choice. I'm not huge on red colors and tend to pick more unique finishes like Gold Feather. I think I am secretly getting excited for the holidays, and decided a glittery red jelly was just the thing to decorate my nails when December comes around. The glitter is really pretty and very sparkly, just rather hard to capture digitally. 3 coats, again, for full coverage.

 

Nubar Gem (from the prism collection)

 

Gem is a metallic purple toned taupe with chunky scattered holo. Out of all the bottles I ordered, this was my least favorite. It appears very pretty in the bottle, with an amazing holo sparkle, but the size of the glitter doesn't exactly sit in the polish, and dries rather gritty. 2 coats for full coverage.

I am definitely a fan of Nubar now, and I can be certain that I will be getting more of their amazing duo chromes! Any recommendation?

TonyMoly Swatches

Late one night, trolling for nail polish on ebay, I stumbled across a Korean brand called TonyMoly and this lovely little three piece of soft milky glitters.

 

 

 

GS08 (Milky Way), GS09 (Shooting Star), GS10 (Pinky Star)

 

All three have similar formulas, and I will have a write up after all the swatches.

 



 

GS08 (Milky Way), Four Coats

Gs08/Milky Way is a pale blue jelly with blue, pink and silver hex glitter. Looks very similar to Deborah Lipman Glitter in the Air/Revlon Whimsical. I haven't had a chance to compare with the Revlon dupe, but will doing so very soon.

 

One Coat

 

Two Coats

 

Three Coats

 

 

 

GS09 (Shooting Star), Four Coats

 

Shooting Star is a pretty purple jelly with a rainbow of hex glitter. It has the most opaque coverage out of the three and surprisingly, my favorite!

 

 

One Coat

 

Two Coats

 

Three Coats

 

 

 

GS10 (Pinky Star)

 

Pinky Star is a soft pink jelly with gold, red, and pink hex glitter. It has the most sheer coverage, but still looks very nice.

 

 

One Coat

 

Two Coats

 

Three Coats

 

Each dries with a satin finish, so a good shiny top coat is recommended for the full squishy jelly effect. Formula was tricky with all three. Leveling problems and slow dry time, combined with a fluffy brush did nothing to win me over. But there is something to be said for the dreamy quality these polishes have.

 

There is little info available about the brand TonyMoly (except for their global brand site), and they claim the polishes do not contain harmful ingredients and are safe to use, but there is no mention of them being "3 Free" so take that as you will.

 

There isn't an online vendor that I have found, other than a handful on ebay. Average price is about $6 per bottle.