butter LONDON Royal Navy - Looking for the PERFECT Navy Creme?

I'm a relatively new blue polish lover. There are shades of blue that just don't work for me so rather than try to sort them out, I've pretty much avoided blues for 30+ years...until recently. (Well maybe not 30+ years because I really don't remember blue nail polish in the 70s or even the 80s.) Sad, I know. And even though I've started to embrace blues, I was having the hardest time finding a really great navy blue creme to love. I found a few good blues but they all had some sort of shimmer or they were jelly or the formula was a pain.

BUT NO MORE!!!!!!  I've found it!  I'm not sure how long it's been around but I accidentally stumbled on it the other day at Ulta and it's fabulous!  butter LONDON Royal Navy! I *think* it came out in 2010, but don't hold me to that. There was no spot for it in the regular butter LONDON display and it was shoved in the back behind the rest. One lone bottle. Finally an impulse buy that worked out!!!

butter LONDON Royal Navy

butter LONDON's Royal Navy has a fantastic formula that applied smoothly and easily. Two coats for full opacity and even though it's a creme and applied like a creme, it does have sort of a jelly look to the finish. Just lovely.

butter LONDON Royal Navy

butter LONDON Royal Navy

butter LONDON Royal Navy

butter LONDON Royal Navy

butter LONDON Royal Navy

butter LONDON Royal Navy

butter LONDON Royal Navy

Can you even STAND it?


What do you think? Do you wear blue polish? Is this one you'd wear?


butter LONDON polishes are available at butterlondon.com and selected retail stores like ULTA (and most recently, Dillard's Department Stores) and they retail for $14.00 for .4 ounces. To stay up-to-date on special deals and offers, you can "like" them on Facebook here. Royal Navy is just one of the over 60 colors they offer, in addition to various indulgences for your hands and feet...and even your lips. The nail lacquers are 3-free and butter LONDON is a Cruelty-Free company. That's a major plus for me.


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Illamasqua Phallic - Swatches and Review

Yes, you read that correctly, it's called Phallic. Maybe I'm extremely naive, but a blue phallic symbol? Not sure I get it. Now I could understand the blue part a little better if it were something ELSE, maybe. LOL!

Regardless, Illamasqua Phallic is a gorgeous deep navy blue with lots of royal blue micro-glitter, giving it that "lit from within" look we all seem to love so much. It applied smoothly and evenly and was opaque in 2 coats. Dries to a very shiny finish.

My only issue with this one, which will be a plus to a lot of  you, is how dark it looks against my washed-out skin. But if you have any color in your skin at all, you'll love it. Shown below with 2 coats of color and no top coat.

Illamasqua Phallic

Illamasqua Phallic

Illamasqua Phallic

Illamasqua Phallic

Illamasqua Phallic

Illamasqua Phallic

If you are a fan of blues, this one is probably a must-have. I have nothing else like it in my stash.

Illamasqua polishes are available at Sephora stores in the US and sephora.com or you can buy straight from Illamasqua.com in the UK. Polishes retail for $14.00.

What do you think? Do you have it yet?



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Zoya Ibiza - Swatches and Review

Yes, you are correct! I am now pulling polishes out from 2009! Well sadly, I missed out on all the hoopla back then so I get to celebrate them all like they're brand new again, because, you know...they ARE brand new for me!

Zoya Ibiza is from the Dare Collection, which was a part of Zoya's Truth or Dare Collection for Fall of 2009. (And it's still available on their site because you see, Zoya doesn't pull any of the "oh let's see what the buzz is about with this collection and discontinue it to create a frenzy!" stuff. Yeah, Zoya's funny like that. They make a great product in unique colors and it kinda speaks for itself. Go figure.)

Okay, on to the polish! Ibiza is a deep, shimmery indigo blue. It's maybe a bit blackened, creating that "lit from within" look with the shimmer. It's not one of those extremely glowy, NSFW polishes though - the shimmer is barely visible unless the light hits it just right. Just enough to make it interesting.

Zoya Ibiza

Zoya Ibiza

Zoya Ibiza

Zoya Ibiza

As always, photos click to enlarge.

I'm pretty happy that it doesn't read totally black as deep blues have a tendency to do on me. Application was, as always, smooth and perfect in two coats. I think one might have done the trick if you're careful, but I used a light 2nd coat to even things out.

Just look how shiny it is! =)

Orly Royal Navy Swatches and Review

There really aren't any words to be said about this one. The polish speaks for itself!

Photos are pre clean-up and without a topcoat. (Though, I did add a topcoat later.)

Orly Royal Navy

Orly Royal Navy

Orly Royal Navy

I will say that the application was easy and the finish and formula...flawless. As has always been my personal experience with Orly.

Cult Nails Time Traveler Swatches and Review (Super Powers Collection)

Today I tried out Cult Nails Time Traveler. It's a fantastic navy blue creme! Actually it has a jelly-ish look to it, which is great, but none of the application problems I often encounter with jellies. It does have that "stained glass" look about it, indicating jelly and also that "squishiness" but I'm still calling it a creme because of the ease of application. The only thing I was really afraid of was that it would read black on me as navy polishes often do, but it doesn't! It's a true navy - even against my pasty white skin! It's darker on me than it will be on some, but still blue! This was two coats with no top coat.

♥

Cult Nails Time Traveler

Cult Nails Time Traveler

Cult Nails Time Traveler

Maybe it's just me, but I am really rather sick of glitters right now and this is such a refreshing treat!

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Barielle Berry Blue Swatches and Review

I was really surprised when I went to find a navy or darker bright blue in a straight up creme. I thought I had several! But I don't. They all seemed to have a shimmer or glitter or glass fleck of some sort. I am sure they are out there, but I didn't have any. So when I ran across this Barielle shade in Berry Blue that is a pure creme, of course I had to pick it up! And the name is perfect to describe the color. It's navy, but it's bright blueberry in the sunlight!

The formula is good and application was good. Perfect in two coats. I used a base, one light coat, one medium coat and a Seche Vite top coat.

Barielle Berry Blue

Barielle Berry Blue - natural lighting

Barielle Berry Blue - natural lighting - in the shade

Indoors or in the evening, it's a deep navy that doesn't read black on me (WooHoo!) and in the sun, it's a great bright blueberry color.

I know there's a time and place for a little something extra like a shimmer, but there are times when I just want a pure creme. And this is a good creme.

Next time, I will wrap my tips though. I started showing tip wear by the end of the evening. And, as with all blues, use a GOOD base coat! I used the OPI base coat with this and I had a little staining even with that. I'm still on the hunt for the perfect base. Right now, I think my favorite is the Cult Nails base coat. Any other suggestions are welcome!

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Thinking of Blue

I picked this one up on a whim today while I was looking for some of the Halloween collections.  Continuing my attempt at overcoming my fear of blue nail polish, I grabbed it.  I think it caught my eye because it doesn't have that metallic look that most of the dark blues do that I've been seeing lately. I don't know how to describe it - it has a milky quality maybe?  Like making cocoa with milk instead of water? Richer.  It's a great dark navy (or dare I say indigo?) creme that went on like a dream! I am partial to the wider flat brushes, which Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure has. And that little rubber grip doesn't hurt.  It went on *almost* as a one coater, but it did need two to even it out. Just a perfect formula.

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Thinking of Blue

Sally Hansen Thinking of Blue

Sally Hansen Thinking of Blue

The one below is the most color accurate one I took - the close up. Maybe you can see the "milky" quality I was trying to describe. It's just yummy!

Sally Hansen Thinking of Blue

Editing to add a better photo with indirect natural light.

Sally Hansen Thinking of Blue

Maybe the smoke from the wildfires we're having in Texas will have dissippated some by tomorrow and I can get some clearer photos.  Wondering if this is what L.A. looks like with the smog...

Stay Safe everyone!