Lime Crime Les Desserts d'Antoinette: Swatches & Review

One of my all-time favorite indie make-up companies, Lime Crime, has recently branched out into nail polish. I love their crazy, colorful lipsticks (They have blue, green, yellow, you name it!) so naturally I was very excited to try out the latest additions to their brand. Their first polish collection is called Les Desserts d'Antoinette and features six pastels, all with dessert-themed names.

First up we have Milky Ways, a warm off-white. This is a far cry from your typical "white-out" style of white cremes. It looks very creamy and buttery, like vanilla frosting. It's very unique, especially for a white. The closest thing I have in my stash is Essie A Crewed Interest, but even then, that's considerably more orange than Milky Ways. This is easily my favorite white polish I've ever tried. Lime Crime calls Milky Ways a French tip nail polish on their website and while you could use it for that, I think it's absolutely adorable and worthy of a full manicure all to itself!

Pastelchio is a pastel lime green. This is another rather unique color. It's bright, but still has that touch of pastel softness to it. Pastelchio is such a fun shade and I could see it looking great on just about any skintone. Doesn't it make you think of some kind of crazy tropical drink, the kind with the little umbrellas sticking out?

Once In A Blue Mousse is a baby blue. You know me and my blues; I just can't get enough of them. I love how soft this color looks and something about it feels very feminine to me.

Peaches <3 Cream is a neon peach. I don't have anything else like this in my collection and I can't think of an immediate dupe. Like Pastelchio, Peaches <3 Cream strikes a nice balance between neon and pastel. The color isn't quite as bright as my camera makes it appear though. This polish reminds me a lot of orange sherbet. Yummy!

Lavendairy is a pastel lilac. This has got to be one of my favorite purple cremes. It's positively adorable and one of those colors that just makes you happy whenever you look at it. Unlike the rest of the collection, this one dries to almost a satin-esque finish. What you see here is Lavendairy without topcoat, but you could easily slap some on top to give it more of a traditional creme finish if you prefer.

Crema De Limon is a pastel yellow. This is a dupe of my all-time favorite yellow, China Glaze Lemon Fizz. Since I'm quite fair-skinned, I don't always have the best of luck with yellows, but this is one that I think will flatter even the palest of skintones. Plus it's such a cheerful color--like sunshine in a bottle.

Parfait Day is a bubblegum pink. It's a perfect "girly-girl" kind of color.

All of these swatches were three coats. Overall, the formulas are excellent. Although these are pastels, they aren't streaky at all and apply very evenly. Peaches <3 Cream was the only one that gave me a bit of trouble (it has some drag to it) but otherwise these all perform beautifully.

I really enjoyed this collection. There are some adorable cremes here! It's a tough choice but my personal top picks would be Milky Ways, Lavendairy and Pastelchio. I hope Lime Crime will continue to expand their nail polish line in the future!

Lime Crime is three-free and not tested on animals. Each bottle is 9ml/0.3 oz. and retails for $5.99. You can buy Lime Crime polish on their official website.


Disclosure: These products were sent to me for my honest review. For more information, please see my disclosure policy.

Twinsie Tuesday: Studio M Grape Escape

It's Tuesday, so you know what that means: time for another go-around of Twinsie Tuesday! This week's theme is regional polish: a polish that is only available where you live or a brand that originates from your area. For me, this was an easy choice. I'm from Michigan, the birthplace of Meijer, which is a grocery store chain and the only place that carries the Studio M line. If you're not familiar with Studio M, they're owned by the same company that owns Color Club, so a lot of Studio M polishes are rebottled Color Club polishes, although Studio M does have its own unique colors as well. I actually don't have much access to Color Club where I live, so the Studio M line is a nice way to get some Color Club!

I'm not sure whether the Studio M polish I chose to show you today, Grape Escape, is a rebottle or an original. (If you do know, please give me a heads-up in the comments!) But I can tell you for sure that it's a blue-based neon purple creme. :)

This is kind of like China Glaze Grape Pop on steroids. It's bright but not melt-your-face-off-like-at-the-end-of-Raiders-of-the-Lost-Ark bright. I really love this color and I could see it flattering a wide variety of skintones.

Grape Escape dries to a semi-matte finish. The formula is excellent and completely opaque in three coats. What you see here is right after I painted--no clean-up required! I love it when that happens.

Amanda: http://amandalandish.blogspot.com/
Anna: http://goingtotheshowing.blogspot.com/
Anne: http://grapefizz.blogspot.com/
Ashley: http://artevolve.blogspot.com/
Brandi: http://thecollegiatenail.blogspot.com/
ChiChi: http://beautystarr1009.blogspot.com/
Cordia: http://srslyswatched.blogspot.com
Jenn: http://allthatisgorgeous.blogspot.com/
Jenna: http://www.jennafroggy.com/
Katherine: http://hauloffame.blogspot.com/
Maribeth: http://obsessivecosmetichoardersunite.blogspot.com/
Marisa: http://marijonails.blogspot.com/
Meredith: http://polishandcharms.blogspot.com/
Nory: http://fiercemakeupandnails.blogspot.com/
Rachel: http://topcoatit.com/
Sarah: http://seesarahswatch.blogspot.com/
Tara: http://polishyoftruth.com/

Nicole by OPI Fall 2012 Preview

Are you ready for even more previews of upcoming collections? I feel like a ton have been popping up lately--not that I'm complaining, of course! I'm always dying to get a sneak peek at new polish.

This time around, we'll be taking a look at what NOPI has in store for us this fall. They'll be releasing five new shades, all Target exclusives.

It looks like a fun group of colors, but it's so hard to tell what the real deal will actually look like based on these promo mock-ups. Mer-Maid for Each other and For Gold Times Sake seem most promising to me though!

The official release date for these is August, so they should be showing up at your local Target shortly. They may even be there already if you're lucky!

China Glaze New Bohemian Collection: Swatches & Review

My online order for the China Glaze New Bohemian Collection came in today and I could not wait to share them all with you! I have been anticipating this collection for a looonnggg time now and I know I'm not alone! The collection features six polishes with a finish China Glaze is calling "luster chrome." They don't quite manage the molten metal look of Essie's mirror metallics, but they're still smooth, shiny and jaw-dropping.

Deviantly Daring is teal with green duochrome. This polish is spectacular! Think of it as the chrome cousin of Zoya Charla. This will give you instant mermaid nails. I really cannot stress enough how absolutely stunning this polish is! I used two coats here.

No Plain Jane is purple with pink and gold duochrome. I don't actually own it, so I can't do a real comparison, but this looks to me like a potential dupe for Deborah Lippmann Private Dancer. I think this is one of those polishes that looks better in person than it does on camera. The duochrome is much pretter in real life. This is three coats.

Want My Bawdy is blue with a very slight purple duochrome. The base color is really pretty but the duochrome is pretty much non-existant. This is three coats.

Rare & Radiant is, as you may have suspected from preview pics, yet another Chanel Peridot dupe. It's a warm gold with green and teal duochrome. Peridot is my favorite polish, so obviously I like Rare & Radiant as well. If you already have Peridot, OPI Just Spotted The Lizard or any of the other dupes out there, you don't need Rare & Radiant, unless you're like me and stockpiling this gorgeous color in any format you can get it. Rare & Radiant seems a little more brushstrokey to me than Just Spotted The Lizard but--and this may just be my imagination--I think the duochrome is a bit stronger. This is three coats.

Swanky Silk is a rosy champagne with pale pink duochrome. This strikes me as very similar to Deborah Lippmann Sugar Daddy. Swanky Silk is kind of an unusual shade, but it's one I like a lot. I used three coats here.

Last but certainly not least is Unpredictable, a blue-based green with gold duochrome. This is another real stunner. I absolutely love it! It's ridiculously reflective and the base color is amazing. I can't think of another polish like it. This is three coats.

The formula on these polishes is excellent. They're surprisingly non-brushstrokey and apply very nicely. Every shade is super shiny and reflects light beautifully. It's a fantastic collection overall, but my top picks are Swanky Silk, Unpredictable and Deviantly Daring. Which ones will YOU be picking up?

OPI So So Skullicious Preview

Check out this preview of OPI's annual Halloween minis set. The set, called So So Skullicious, will feature four mini polishes plus a sheet of nail stickers.

L to R: Hi, Pumpkin!, A-Rose From The Dead, Mourning Glory, Candlelight

The stickers are adorable but based on this pic, the polishes themselves don't strike me as anything special. I'll be taking a pass on this collection but I am looking forward to China Glaze's Halloween collection.

Essie Good As Gold

When Essie's Mirror Metallics were first announced, I was a bit apprehensive. I was afraid they'd be too frosty or too brushstroke-y. If Essie was going to pull this collection off, the finish would have to be smooth, streak-free and vibrantly reflective. Now that I actually have the Mirror Metallics on my fingertips, I can tell you that is exactly what they've done.

The Mirror Metallics aren't foils, but true chrome finishes--and they are amazing! First up I have Good As Gold to show you, a golden chrome. This polish looks like you dipped your nails into molten gold.

My friend Brandi at The Collegiate Nail suggested to me that I apply these either with a ridge-filling basecoat or none at all. If your nails have prominent ridges, I really would suggest a ridge-filling basecoat, as chrome finishes really call attention to the texture of your nails and amplifies any little imperfections. But since I don't have a ridge-filling basecoat, I went without one and application was, surprisingly, near-flawless. Drytime is super fast and Good As Gold is virtually a one-coater. I used two here.

I was blown away by this polish. I only have one other true gold, my beloved OPI Glitzerland, but As Good As Gold stood out enough to convince me to add a second--and I don't regret the purchase one bit! If you like golds, you absolutely need this, no question!

Butter London 24-Hour Sale

Need to stock up on some Butter London? Then check out the promo they're running for today only! You get to pick any three colors from their entire line for $30!

Seeing as I've got a growing hoard of untrieds and I have the complete China Glaze New Bohemian set coming in the mail as of today (I can't wait!!), I won't be hitting the sale up this time around. But if you do, be sure to share your choices in the comments section so I can live vicariously through you. :)

Essie Sand Tropez

I don't really like nude polishes. I do, however, like putty polishes, which I guess are kind of the grungier, grimier sisters of nude polishes. Essie Sand Tropez is a putty-ish beige; sort of a taupe color, really. It's hard to pin down exactly, but whatever it is, I like it.

The formula is great; Essie creme at its best. More than any other major brand, I feel like Essie has a tendency to be hit-or-miss with their formulas, but when they get it right, they are truly top-notch. This was three coats.

I was recently compelled to bust this polish out because Essie Yogaga reminded me of Sand Tropez. Yogaga appears to be a bit darker but they are definitely in the same family. I still want Yogaga though. Addiction is a terrible thing. ;)

Twinsie Tuesday: Tokidoki Latte

First thing's first: I want to give a BIG welcome to our newest Twinsie, Maribeth of Obsessive Cosmetics Hoarders Unite! I've been following Maribeth's blog for a while now, so I'm very excited for the chance to get to know the girl behind the polish! Be sure to hit up her blog and say hello. :)

Now, this week's Twinsie Tuesday theme is a polish you got on clearance or on sale. On a recent eyeshadow run at Sephora, Tokidoki Latte practically lept off the shelf at me. I don't own anything else Tokidoki but this is a very tough polish to miss; it definitely has a lot going on, all of it sparkly! Latte is a clear base with blue round glitter and two types of bar glitter: silver holographic and purple. The entire Tokidoki line is being phased out at Sephora, so I was able to snag this polish for $6 instead of the usual $10!

I apologize that these pictures look like they were taken with some weird Barbara Walters-style filter. I got home from work late last night and didn't have a chance to take some good daylight shots, so I had to make-do with bathroom lighting.

It comes with some cute nail decals too:

Any of my fellow glitter diehards out there will love Latte! If you are fan of polishes like OPI Save Me, then Latte will definitely be right up your alley. Despite being jam-packed with all sorts of glitter, the formula on Latte is very easy to work with, aside from having to watch for stray bar glitter along the edge of my nails. This is three coats. It dries to a bit of a dull finish on its own, so you'll need top coat to really bring out all those sparklies.

What's the best deal you've ever got on a polish? I'm always scouting for deals, so I'm very interested to see what lucky breaks my fellow Twinsies got on their clearance polishes!

Amanda: http://amandalandish.blogspot.com/
Anna: http://goingtotheshowing.blogspot.com/
Anne: http://grapefizz.blogspot.com/
Ashley: http://artevolve.blogspot.com/
Brandi: http://thecollegiatenail.blogspot.com/
ChiChi: http://beautystarr1009.blogspot.com/
Cordia: http://srslyswatched.blogspot.com
Jenn: http://allthatisgorgeous.blogspot.com/
Jenna: http://www.jennafroggy.com/
Katherine: http://hauloffame.blogspot.com/
Maribeth: http://obsessivecosmetichoardersunite.blogspot.com/
Marisa: http://marijonails.blogspot.com/
Meredith: http://polishandcharms.blogspot.com/
Nory: http://fiercemakeupandnails.blogspot.com/
Rachel: http://topcoatit.com/
Sarah: http://seesarahswatch.blogspot.com/
Tara: http://polishyoftruth.com/

China Glaze Holiday 2012 Preview

Ready to see what China Glaze has in store for us this holiday season? The Holiday Joy Collection will feature 12 new polishes, plus a variety of gift sets. Click to enlarge the pictures below to get a better look!

Holiday Charms Mini Set: Merry Berry, Red Satin, Winter Holly, Glitter All The Way

Puttin' on the Glitz Set: Cranberry Splash, Pizzazz, With Love

Keepin' Cozy Set: Merry Berry, Glistening Snow, Cranberry Spash & Fingerless Gloves

Let It Glow Set: Champagne Kisses, Red Satin, Winter Holly & Scented Candles

Brr... It's Chilly! Set: With Love, Angel Wings, Pure Joy & Miniature Snow Globe

Makin' Memories Set: Red Satin, Winter Holly & Picture Frame

Wings of Wonder Set: Blue Bells Ring, Champagne Kisses, Cranberry Splash & Keychain

Jingle All The Way Set: Pizzazz, Merry Berry & Bell Ring

Santa Paws Set: Red Satin, Pure Joy & Stuffed Animal

Cheers! Set: Angel Wings, Glistening Snow & Shot Glass

Trimmin' The Tree Set: With Love, Glistening Snow & Ornament

Stocking Stuffers Set: Pure Joy, Champagne Kisses & Mini Stocking

I'm ambivalent about all the reds but the glitters have me extremely excited. Looks like yet another great collection from China Glaze this year! I couldn't find anything about an official release date for this collection, but my guess would be sometime in November.

See anything you'll be putting on your holiday wishlist...or maybe buying as a well-deserved present for yourself? ;)





Pixi Polish: Swatches & Review - Part 2

You may remember that when I reviewed my first round of Pixi nail polishes, I was very impressed by the fresh, fun colors and excellent formulas. So naturally I was very excited to have a chance to share some more Pixi polishes with you all!

First up is Very Violet, a red-based neon purple creme. I could not get this color to photograph accurately with my camera, no matter what lighting I took shots in. (You know the nail blogging cliche about cameras and purple polish...) It shows up magenta on camera, but it's much more purple in real life. This was two coats.

Next we have Metallic Mermaid, a metallic teal. This polish is super shiny and reflective. It's such an amazing, rich color and I love watching the light hit it; it practically glows! This has zero frostiness to it, which is how I like my metallics, personally. Like with most metallics, you do have to watch where you place your brushstrokes a little bit, but otherwise the formula is fabulous. I used two coats here. Definitely check Metallic Mermaid out if you like teals! It's a stunner and pictures don't do it justice!

Last but not least is Luminous Lilac. I'd say this is more of a purple-leaning light pink than a true lilac, but it's very pretty just the same and has a beautiful silver microshimmer in it. Luminous Lilac is kind of like the little sister of one of my favorite pinks, OPI Pedal Faster Suzi. This was three coats.

I'm just as pleased with these polishes as I was with the ones from my first Pixi post. Metallic Mermaid was my favorite of the bunch, although all three are really lovely. The formula on these is excellent and very easy to work with. Pixi's debut polish collection already has some great colors in it and I cannot wait to see how they expand the line!


Disclosure: These products were provided to me for an honest review. For more information, please see my disclosure policy.

Essie Chinchilly

I think all of us, at one point or another, are guilty of letting names influence our polish purchases. I love a good grey, but when it has an adorable name like Chinchilly, I go from merely liking to needing. You see, I love chinchillas. They're one of my favorite animals and I think they're absolutely adorable.

Anyways, back to the actual polish. Essie Chinchilly is a green-based grey creme. It originally came out in fall 2009's Cuddle With Color Collection but has since become part of Essie's core line.

For a grey, this polish applied surprisingly non-opaque. Although the formula didn't feel runny or watery, it is rather thin. This is three coats.

The green undertones in this polish are quite strong, especially in person. I'm not 100% certain it's the most flattering grey for my skintone (it either needs to be way more green, like OPI Stranger Tides or more neutral, like China Glaze Recycle) but that doesn't make it a bad color by any means. In fact, it's actually quite cute, just maybe not the best choice for me personally. I think someone more warm-toned than myself could really rock Chinchilly for all it's worth though. However, I have had great luck using this polish as a layering base, so I've found a way to make it work for me.

...And seriously, who wouldn't love a polish that reminds them of this?