Dance Legend WOW Prism: Night Ranger #28 - Swatches and Review

Press Sample 

*This product is Cruelty Free 

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Dance Legend

WOW Prism

Night Ranger #28

I'm back with another one of Dance Legend's WOW Prisms! This time, it's a bright blue called Night Ranger #28.

Continued after the jump...

Colors by Llarowe In the Navy - Swatches and Review

Press Sample 

*This product is Cruelty Free 

♥

We're on a downhill slide to the long weekend! So how about a happy, bright blue linear holo? This morning I have Colors by Llarowe In the Navy for you.

Colors by Llarowe In the Navy

Over the coming week I have several brand-spanking new polishes to show you from Colors by Llarowe. These polishes begin launching on May 26, 2013 at Llarowe.

In the Navy is a bright, vibrant navy blue linear holo. The linear is strong but I still don't have full sun, so you can imagine what it looks like in full sun if it's this linear in artificial lighting. No issues at all with formula or application. This one is pretty much a ONE coater but I used two for the photos - and NO top coat.


Continued after the jump...

WellNails Blue French Horn

Press Sample 

*This product is Cruelty Free 

♥

How about another WellNails polish today?  WellNails (an Indie Polish from Denmark and the sister brand to Foxy Paws that I reviewed previously) - Blue French Horn! As you may know, this entire line is inspired by How I Met Your Mother. 

I laughed so hard when I read the description from WellNails:

"Son, a piece of advice: Never use the words 'Smurf P*nis' on a first date." 

This blue baby has been given two names, because I realize that my original naming of it might offend some people. Whether you want to call it 'Blue French Horn' or 'Sort of looks like a Smurf P*nis', it will get your mind around the very first episode of How I Met Your Mother.

In the episode Ted has his first date with Robin, and they go out to dinner at a restaurant that has a blue french horn hanging on the wall for decoration.

When Robin comments on it, Ted says: "Yeah, it sort of looks like a Smurf p*nis..." which, Older Ted explains to his children years later, girls ordinarily don't tend to like.

But Robin is no ordinary girl...

This blue has been a long time coming thing, that's been playing in my head for ages. So I'm proud to announce: A royal blue jelly with lots of blue, holographic glitter. 

Photos and review after the jump...

Wonder Beauty Products - Kismet

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Tonight I have another one of Wonder Beauty Products' Valentine's Day Collection - Kismet.

Kismet is an intense bright royal blue glitter polish. It appears to be various sizes of blue hexes with some magenta shards and silver micro-glitter or shimmer. The application was good and the glitters all laid perfectly flat on the nail. I used two coats and two generous coats of Poshe to smooth it all out.

Wonder Beauty Products Kismet

Wonder Beauty Products Kismet

Wonder Beauty Products Kismet

Wonder Beauty Products Kismet

Wonder Beauty Products Kismet

Wonder Beauty Products Kismet - bottle macro

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What do you think of this one? Very intense bright color.

Wonder Beauty Products polishes, as well as "frankener starter kits" and other products, are available at their Etsy Store here and be sure and "like" them on Facebook here for updates, swatches and restock information. *Valentine's Day Collection will launch on or about February 7, 2013.





*PR Samples provided for my honest review

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Nails Inc. Southwark - with a Baker Street Comparison

And you thought Baker Street was electric blue?

This morning I have a fantastic, almost electric, royal blue crelly (creme/jelly hybrid) from Nails Inc. - Southwark. (For the Americans, it's pronounced "Suthuck" just FYI.)

I will apologize in advance for the poor quality/blurriness of some of the photos, but this one was hard to get a color-accurate shot of and I did NOT want to color adjust so I will admit to walking around taking pics near every light source in the entire house...light bulbs, windows and there may or may not be a photo taken inside the refrigerator. I'm not admitting to anything.

Nails Inc. Southwark

Nails Inc. Southwark

But how does it compare to Baker Street? Well here ya go...

Nails Inc. Southwark vs Nails Inc. Baker Street

Nails Inc. Southwark vs Nails Inc. Baker Street

Nails Inc. Southwark vs Nails Inc. Baker Street

Nails Inc. Southwark vs Nails Inc. Baker Street

Nails Inc. Southwark vs Nails Inc. Baker Street

Told you they weren't the best quality, but 1) I hate color-adjusted photos when I'm trying to decide where/whether to spend my money and 2) I don't really know how on the photo editor (for dummies) that I'm using.

Application was fantastic. No issues at all. I used two coats and no top coat for the photos. It dries to a semi-glossy finish but with a top coat it positively glows. What do you think? Baker Street was the most "electric" blue I owned...until this one. It's really amazing.

A limited selection of Nails Inc polishes are available through Amazon.com or Sephora.com for around $9.50 in the US and the entire line is available through Nails Inc's own site nailsinc.com for around £11.00. Nails Inc. doesn't ship to the US so I'm ever thankful to my UK buddies for keeping me supplied.



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butter LONDON Scouse - Swatches and Review

This evening I have butter LONDON Scouse for you. This is one of the new butter LONDON Autumn/Winter 2012 polishes and this one is supposedly a Dillard's exclusive. Of course you can also get it directly from the butter LONDON site.  You can find their link on my sidebar under Some of My Favorite Places.

Scouse refers to a person who hails from Liverpool, England. Haven't worked out if it's good, bad or neutral yet. LOL - maybe one of the Brits will clue me in. Scouse is a royal blue duochrome glitter polish that flashes purple. It has pink, purple and blue micro-glitter pieces that catch the light just right.  Application was smooth and easy and I used 3 coats for full opacity. The only problem I have is that I can't seem to photograph it! I haven't mastered blues or purples well, as far as color-accuracy, so a blue/purple duochrome really evades capture. But I've done my best. As usual, there's almost always ONE photo that is perfectly color-accurate, thankfully. It's a gorgeous polish, but very much like a foil in appearance, so not my favorite on me. It also removes like a foil.

butter LONDON Scouse

butter LONDON Scouse

butter LONDON Scouse

butter LONDON Scouse

butter LONDON Scouse

butter LONDON Scouse

butter LONDON Scouse

So there she is - isn't she stunning? I don't know why I'm not a fan of these types of finishes on myself. I truly do find them lovely on others.


butter LONDON polishes are available at butterlondon.com and selected retail stores. This one is a Dillard's exclusive, however so it may only be obtained from dillards.com or butterlondon.com. They retail for $14.00 for .4 ounces. To stay up-to-date on special deals and offers, you can "like" butter LONDON on Facebook here. Scouse 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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Blue Comparisons - Royal Blue

Just after I chopped off all of my nails, I did a quick and dirty comparison of a few blues to see how they looked.  Apologizing in advance for my cuticles and lack of clean-up. When I cut my nails short, I do a lot of cleaning for some reason and I HATE gloves.

For this comparison, I used:

Pure Ice French Kiss
Dior Electric Blue
Nails Inc. Baker Street
Nails Inc. Tudor Way
RBL IKB: 2012

Blue Comparison

There are two very close matches among those five.  Can you see them? Can you pick out which is which?

Blue Comparison

Okay, FINE, I'll tell you which is which. Tudor Way was easy, but how did you do on the others?

Blue Comparison

Blue Comparison

Blue Comparison

Blue Comparison

So, as you can see, Dior Electric Blue and Nails Inc. Baker Street are very similar. I don't really have a favorite between the two. Both had extraordinary formulas. Very smooth, easy application.  The Dior is the tiniest bit brighter in person and is just slightly less opaque. Dior is $23 and Nails Inc. ranges from $9.50 to $14.

I am sure you also noticed how close Pure Ice French Kiss and RBL IKB: 2012 are. I DO happen to have a favorite between these two. The Pure Ice formula is infinitely better than RBL's formula. Yes, I said it. I'm sorry, but I have to be honest or else what's the point? I absolutely hated the RBL formula. It was gloopy and not even slightly self-leveling. Pure Ice was smooth and easy. Is the color 100% identical? No, but I'd say it's "almost" identical. Pure Ice is $1.98 and RBL is $20. Doesn't compute. If it's a polish I love, I'll gladly shell out the $$ for it, but NOT for a label only.

Here's a close-up of RBL IKB: 2012 - trying to show how lumpy it was. And I'm no amateur when it comes to polishing my own nails. Even "quick and dirty" I can get a good result. Some formulas have different characteristics and I adjust accordingly when I can, i.e. two thin coats, don't over-manipulate, etc. to avoid issues. This one just simply wasn't cooperating.

What do you think? Do you have any of these? Do you like the comparison posts?



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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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