Samba Collection from NYC Summer 2014 - Part 2: The Coral Candy Colors - Tropicoral & Carnival Red

Continuing on with NYC New York Color's Samba Collection, here are the two corals from this group.

Tropicoral is perfectly matched to its name. It's a yummy coral, leaning towards pink. It applies alright in two coats and I certainly can't complain about the color despite what it did to my camera :)

Carnival Red is almost unrealistically shiny, I actually wanted to post what it did when I hit my flash, which no other polish had done, just to show you how well the gloss caught the light. More than that, you can see how the coral red color moves from pink to red toned depending on what light you'll be under. This one also applied very easily in just two coats. One of my definite favorites from this collection.

The other half of this collection to come, a group of poolside blues and greens and purples :)

My Nail Polish Picks of 2013

 In retrospect, I feel like 2013 has been the oddest year for folks. I just can't imagine going through one like this again; not that it was particularly bad or particularly good, it's just that when it was good it was amazing (getting into grad school) and when it was bad it was unbearable (multiple deaths in my family within weeks of each other). I'll admit to using nail polish to try and escape out of my funk or to celebrate an event quite a bit this year.

The nail polish trends have been hella odd as well. From all-over-bar/feather glitter (urghh) to texture polishes (yay!) it's been an inconsistent year for most brands in my opinion. Unlike last year where I couldn't wait to try most collections, I spent most of this one shaking my head or just plain bored, with a few exceptional exceptions, which pretty much meant I spent a lot of time browsing collection archives for gems I'd missed.

So here they are, my twelve faves of 2013:

Envy (Hard Candy) - A surprise find from a blast from the past brand. I have been looking for a blackened green shimmer that sung to me and I found it in this loveliness right here. The Slytherin in me was pleased :)

Bold Gold (Sally Hansen) - A twist on the black and white glitter combo, a black and gold combination perfectly timed for the holidays.

Chita (Zoya) -  Zoya took the textured polish trend and blew everyone else out of the water. This lovely green is a prime example why.

Lagoon (piCture pOlish) - I saw swatches of these absolutely everywhere and I didn't believe that it would look as good as the pictures till I swatched it myself. This polish delivers on every promise it makes.

Black Magic (SinfulColors) - It's weird. I like it. I like it a lot.

Cream Pink (SinfulColors) - I've walked past this beauty so many times, no idea why. Beautiful pink with low key gold shimmer. Yummy shade.

Purple Poodle (Orly) - This one was weird too, but in a really pretty. A fuchsia base with blue flakies, sign me up!

Just Keep Swimming (Dollish Polish) - How could I resist a Dory reference, and a perfect one interpretation at that?

Into The Blue (SinfulColors) - Blue creme of my polishaholic dreams!

The Fifth Element (Emily de Molly) - I'm smiling extra hard because I'm in the middle of watching this very movie as I type up this post. An awesome blue polish with surprising large orange glitter mixed in. One of my best indie polish experiences.

Rise & Shine (SinfulColors) - I think this may be a dupe for Turned Up Turquoise (China Glaze) and I should really check that out but it still makes the list if only because I lost my bottle of  TUT (CG).

Atlantis (China Glaze) - An oldie but a goodie; I fell so deeply in love with the glitter combo here that I bought a second bottle as back up a day after I bought the first. It's that wonderful. I love that it looks serene and exciting all at once!


Whew!

All done, have a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
May the polish gods smile upon us with even more exciting results for 2014 :D

Neptune (SinfulColors)

I have no earthly idea why I hadn't swatched this yet. I snagged this early on when it first caught my eye in their incredible Cast Away spring collection last year. I actually had multiple shades from this collection and I stupidly got rid of them thinking I'd come across them again like I do with most SinfulColors collections. I was mistaken. I shed a figurative tear every time I think of the hole that Zeus, Olympia, and Athens, created when they left my stash.

I'm not sure how Neptune escaped the accidental purge but I'm really glad it did. She's a gorgeous dark sea-blue base with silver shimmer all throughout. It's just a little sheer and while you could probably do 2 careful thick coats, make your life easier and just go for 3 easy coats. One of my favorite blues ever, let alone from SinfulColors. I hope that they use their tendency to re-promote with the colors from the Cast Away Collection.

Lagoon (piCture pOlish)

Without a doubt one of the prettiest polishes I've ever had on my fingers. Lagoon (piCture pOlish) is a bright and sparkly turquoise jelly packed with multi-size glitter and sparkles everywhere. Despite the jelly consistency, it isn't very sheer and in two coats I had acceptable coverage with only a hint of VNL. My favorite part is the depth in this jelly because of the multi-size glitter and holo shimmer; it almost looks a bit 3D on the nails. Lagoon is part of piCture pOlish's blogger collaboration set earlier this year, I believe.

Bats My Eyes (China Glaze) from the Monster's Ball Halloween Collection

Now this is a cool one. Bats My Eyes is from China Glaze's Halloween collection. I completely passed on this collection as largely uninteresting but the more I saw swatches of this particular one, the more I thought I should get it. I'm really glad I did. It is a confuddling black jelly with gold glitter; the glitter is pretty great too, made up of multi-size gold glitter and gold to orange reflective bar glitter. The black jelly base is also not so sheer that I can't build it up and it was all good in three coats. The sparkle is great, practically lightning up in the sun while still being visible in the shade and indoors. Love it!

Skyscraper (China Glaze)

If you're wondering if it really is that sparkly, the answer is yes! Sometimes the best shades are in the collection backlogs. I've tracked this shade all the way to fall 2011 in their Metro collection. The jelly base is a dark blue, almost blurple and packed, and I mean packed, with fine blue and silver shimmer. It's a jelly so it is quite sheer, but considering three coats were all it took for this pic, I'm okay with that. Found it just in time for the winter seasons :)

Purple Silver (Forever 21) Sand Lacquer

Purple/Silver aka Purple Jazz is a cool toned purple base with, just like it's description, silver and purple flecks mixed in. Best application of all five of the other sand lacquers that I got and I only needed 2 coats to opacity. This may be my favorite out of this collection.

Brownstone (NYC) & Lemme See Your Peacock (Icing)

I'm always in search for a great neutral shade. Brownstone (NYC) is just about the most perfect taupe neutral I've ever had on my nails. Ridiculously easy application with only two coats needed for opacity. NYC is one of those surprisingly affordable brands that just takes it to amazing levels when they want to, especially with their creme formulas. All you need is a good top coat and base coat and you can have comparable wear to more expensive brands.

As a random addition, Lemme See Your Peacock from a random drop in at Icing (let's all have a moment of silence for the name). It is nevertheless a great mix of blue, green, and fuchsia-purple glitter reminiscent of peacock feathers in a clear base. The glitter disperses pretty well on application and you can control how much you want with ease. I'd be interested to see this built up to something like opacity, but that's harder with these larger size glitters in a clear base.

Purple Poodle (Orly) from Orly's Surreal Fall 2013 Collection

This is Purple Poodle from Orly's fall 2014 Surreal collection though I would actually peg this as more of a spring/summer shade. Purple Poodle is a fuchsia jelly base chock full of gorgeous blue flakies that light up in the sunlight but are still a bit noticeable in the shade. It took three coats for the pictures below, but that is pretty good for a jelly. I'll warn that the jelly formula can make it somewhat goopy, but nothing a bit of thinner won't fix immediately. A really cool looking polish all around!

a bit of blur to get an idea of the true sparkle level

NOTD: Frostbite (China Glaze) w/ a side of Just Keep Swimming (Dollish Polish)

Wanted something fun and vibrant and uber blue. Frostbite (China Glaze is one of my favorites, and not just because it's a blue polish; the shimmer on this is subtle and perfect but it still brings out a remarkable depth in the polish, even when covered in a loud mishmash of glitter like Just Keep Swimming (Dollish Polish).

Totally In The Dark (Nicole by OPI)

I don't even remember how to begin again, it's been so long. So let me just delve right into it. 

I love black polish, there's something gorgeous about really great black polish that somehow manages to have depth without changing the fact that it's black. Case in point Totally In The Dark (Nicole by OPI). It's a black polish chock full of silver glitter that doesn't take away from the fact that it's a black based polish. Better yet, the shimmer is present indoors and out in the sun!

Totally In The Dark was released as one Nicole by OPI's Spring 2013 shades (odd choice for spring, I know). Application was alright, a bit sheer but full coverage at 3 coats. Or you can get around that by using a really well formulated black polish to start with. A great choice for when you want black polish with a starry kind of kick.

13. Pacific Blue (Sally Hansen) - A Polish That Would Be Worn To A Wedding

Weddings used to be all about pinks and shimmery neutrals, but I think we're past that. Now I feel like it's all about bright and cheery (at the very least for the guests). So my pick for polish I'd wear to a wedding is Pacific Blue (Sally Hansen).

two coats (forgive the index fingernail; it broke right before I swatched)

This is a gorgeous muted iris blue creme from their Xtreme Wear line. Due to the mild purple tones in this shade, it is of course just about impossible to capture it perfectly on camera but trust me the very subtle purple tinge adds a lovely twist to this blue creme and it does have a slight desaturated effect which only adds to the polish's appeal. Application is as smooth as butter, which was surprising, and I had opacity in two gorgeous coats. Perfect color to welcome the summer and a great bright to wear for spring as well, especially as it starts to taper out (it's already 80 degrees fahrenheit where I am!).

How do you feel about bright polish shades for weddings?

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Polish that:

would be worn to a wedding

is blue
is new
is from a favorite brand

has a name that describes me
is a glitter

is easy to apply

is vampy

was coveted
is from my favorite collection

has never been worn

is boring

is inexpensive

is my favorite
is my least favorite 
makes me happy
is "so me"
reminds me of a special day
is worn often
was gifted to me
is from a least favorite brand

was loved but is now hated
is overrated

is a pastel
was hated but is now loved
hasn't been worn in some time
is hard to apply
is sexy
i can't pull off
matches my favorite outfit

Tudor City Teal (NYC) - NYC Cosmetics Spring 2013

Just when I thought NYC cosmetics had given up on their incredibly affordable "Long Wearing Nail Enamel" line, they surprised me. I was walking by their display in my local CVS when this beauty caught my eye, and it's easy to see why.

Tudor City Teal is a delectable minty teal creme with a color pay off that's perfect for spring. Application was a bit troublesome; it is quite sheer (in fact I thought it might be a jelly) and streaks and drags up to the second coat. Though a third coat applied carefully and giving time for the other coats to dry covers well enough. The formula was very thin, but it fixed itself as I carried on with the application and it got a chance to thicken from exposure to the air.

Despite these issues, at $0.99 Tudor City Teal is worth the trouble (though I can't guarantee it's worth the trouble of the mint chocolate chip ice-cream craving I'm having :p). If you see it around your local store and you haven't a color like this yet, definitely grab it for your polish stash.

12. Endless Blue (Sinful Colors) - A Polish That Is Blue

Endless Blue (Sinful Colors) is an unreal cobalt blue creme that  there are few words for other than "WOW!". I just swatched this polish last month but I had to bring it back for this challenge because there isn't another blue from my stash I'd pick for this prompt. A bit of thinner worked out the application issues I had in the first post and it applied well with opacity in two coats. That peek of orange on my pinkie is Thimbleberry (Sinful Colors) which I'll swatch soon.

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Polish that:

is blue

is new
is from a favorite brand

has a name that describes me
is a glitter

is easy to apply

is vampy

was coveted
is from my favorite collection

has never been worn

is boring

is inexpensive

is my favorite
is my least favorite 
makes me happy
is "so me"
reminds me of a special day
is worn often
was gifted to me
is from a least favorite brandwas loved but is now hated
is overrated

is a pastel
was hated but is now loved
would be worn to a wedding
hasn't been worn in some time
is hard to apply
is sexy
i can't pull off
matches my favorite outfit

10. Blue Iguana (China Glaze) - Polish That Is From A Favorite Brand

China Glaze is one of my favorite brands because it gives me quality, realibility, and fun in a very economical way. I am very rarely completely dissapointed with their polishes and when I'm impressed I'm over the moon!

Case in point Blue Iguana a brilliant blue glass fleck from their 2011 Island Escape collection. No one does glass flecks shimmer like China Glaze and I've been in love with then since I tried Riveting. It's a bit sheer, but it is so worth the build up. Application is extremely easy and I had no issues with it and it was great after three coats. Any VNL you see in the picture is only visible with flash from my camera and isn't at all noticeable in real life. There's also a ton of fuchsia shimmer mixed in with the blue that you have to see to fully appreciate. I haven't seen any other blogger's swatches where it shows up on the pictures but they all rave about it and with good reason. It revs an already gorgeous polish up to another level. You have to have this for summer if you don't already own it! I plan to wear mine in the sun as much as possible because that's when it's at full effect.

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Polish that:

is from a favorite brand

has a name that describes me
is a glitter

is easy to apply

is vampy

was coveted
is from my favorite collection

has never been worn

is boring

is inexpensive

is my favorite
is my least favorite 
makes me happy
is "so me"
reminds me of a special day
is worn often
was gifted to me
is from a least favorite brand
is blue
was loved but is now hated
is overrated

is a pastel
was hated but is now loved
would be worn to a wedding
hasn't been worn in some time
is hard to apply
is sexy
is new
i can't pull off
matches my favorite outfit

9. Sudden Impulse (Joss) - A Polish That Has A Name That Describes Me

This felt like the perfect fit for "a polish that has a name that describes me", especially after the shoe sale binge I went on today.

Sudden Impulse is my first holo lacquer; I haven't ever been really taken in by holos despite the hype they receive from nail blogs. However, I saw this gorgeous red/pink holo swatched, decided it was worth a try, and with another impulse buy, grabbed it for my stash just before it sold out on Llarowe. It applied in two coats which took me by pleasant surprise and the only downside is that it started chipping before the day was out, even after a top coat of Seche Vite.

I'm not all sold on the holo polish craze, but I did love this one. It wasn't as loud as others I've seen (which I liked) and the holographic effect had excellent dimension.

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Polish that:

has a name that describes me

is a glitter

is easy to apply

is vampy

was coveted
is from my favorite collection

has never been worn

is boring

is inexpensive

is my favorite
is my least favorite 
makes me happy
is "so me"
reminds me of a special day
is worn often
was gifted to me
is from a favorite brand
is from a least favorite brand
is blue
was loved but is now hated
is overrated

is a pastel
was hated but is now loved
would be worn to a wedding
hasn't been worn in some time
is hard to apply
is sexy
is new
i can't pull off
matches my favorite outfit

8. Atlantis (China Glaze) - Polish That Is A Glitter

My nails are going through some thangs, so forgive them for a while.

To distract you from that, I have the gorgeous glitter bomb realness that is Atlantis (China Glaze) from their Specialty Collection glitters way back in 2009, I believe. In three coats I see no nail line and the teal jelly base holds a lot of holo, silver, and teal glitter. It dries to rough finish, almost sandy but a good thick top coat and fix that and give the holo glitter even more sparkle. If you want a darker base, put it under a darker teal creme and that way you'll be good in two coats. Sunshine lights up the holo glitter so don't be surprised if your eyes go back to your nails time and time again.

There's nothing not to love here. Wear it as a glitter, by itself, or with a base. It's stunning. Definitely my pick for a polish that is a glitter!

---

Polish that:

is a glitter

is easy to apply

is vampy

was coveted
is from my favorite collection

has never been worn

is boring

is inexpensive

is my favorite
is my least favorite 
makes me happy
is "so me"
reminds me of a special day
is worn often
was gifted to me
is from a favorite brand
is from a least favorite brand
is blue
has a name that describes me
was loved but is now hated
is overrated

is a pastel
was hated but is now loved
would be worn to a wedding
hasn't been worn in some time
is hard to apply
is sexy
is new
i can't pull off
matches my favorite outfit

Get Your Number (OPI) – Liquid Sand Mariah Carey Collection 2013

Back again after having no internet connection for three days (oh the horror!); I don’t know how I made it! I’m excited to show off this one. 

I’m starting to realize that if it’s blue polish, I’m probably going to fall in love (which is odd because purple is my favorite color but apparently not on the nail). This is Get Your Number from OPI’s Mariah Carey Collection. The textured effect has been dubbed liquid sand for its fine grit look and feel on the nail. Because of obvious reasons, this polish is a jelly and is a bit sheer and so I chose to err on the side of caution and I applied one haphazard coat of Man Hunt (China Glaze). All I needed after that was two really fun coats of Get Your Number for opacity

The smaller glitter gives it the grit (although I suspect there’s more to it) and the rough texture is visually and touchably noticeable. I like that while rough, it is a fine sort of roughness that doesn’t catch on fabric and other things and that you can still see the holo glitter even without top coat. It is by default a thirsty glitter and could mean endless coats of your usual topcoat if it’s not thick enough. The result is an absolutely stunning bright blue base with silver, blue, and holo glitter (visible here only in the pics but definitely visible in actual sight) in different sizes. 

Goldeneye (OPI) - Bond Edition Mani

I went to see Skyfall last week and forgot to post my mani!

I wish my camera didn't mess with Goldeneye's shine so much; the most accurate visual is on my pinky finger where the light catches it just right. I kept this mani on for a week I loved it so much. The red accent nail is Die Another Day.

 Goldeneye applied easily and took three coats to cover the worst of the bald spots; when the flash is used in pictures I can see some of my nail but this isn't so when in normal light, even sunlight. This is the best gold polish I've seen; it's the perfect color- not too yellow, not too dirty gold.

Now all I want for Christmas is a nail polish collection created in honor of the Bond Women (I hate the term "girl"). Judi Dench's M being premier among them (something constant and blue), followed closely by Naomi Harris' Moneypenny (something rich and purple), Eva Green's Vesper (something classic and grey), Halle Berry's Jinx (something daring and orange), and so on.

Any other color ideas for the Bond Women?

Urban Night (China Glaze)

This is the very sultry Urban Night from China Glaze's Metro collection. I love browsing through old collections for gems I've missed and this is certainly a treasure. It's a lovely deep eggplant purple creme with excellent application and opacity in two coats. In fact, that's one coat on my pinky and look how dark it was already; if I'd been more careful I could have made it in one!