Category: Nail Polish Reviews

Favorite Friday: Cloud Manicure with Julep Polish

Posted on by Adventures in Polishland

It’s Favorite Friday! That’s when I use one of my favorite nail polishes, or recreate one of my favorite manicures! I’ve been wanting to do something fun with my nails, but I am not very good at nail art. I decided that this week I would recreate the cloud manicure I did a couple months ago. My nails were already painted with Julep’s Claire, so I used two other Julep polishes to upgrade my mani.

 

Not only do cloud manicures look really cool, but they are easy to achieve! All you need is three colors of nail polish, and some patience. With a steady hand you can easily master this technique. The best part is, people will be so impressed with your nails! You can get full instructions from my original cloud mani post HERE.

 

For this mani, I began with Julep’s Claire (blue) and then added on Morgan (purple) and Blake (yellow). Too be honest I’m not so sure how I feel about this color combination together. I think the clouds look great, but the yellow on the tips was a bit off for me. I will definitely do this manicure again with different colors!

What do you think of my cloud manicure? Have you tried this technique?

Try it on Tuesday: Layla Magneffect Metallic Sky

Posted on by Adventures in Polishland

A couple weeks ago, I was lucky to score a bottle of Layla Magneffect nail polish on Copious. I have been wanting to try magnetic nail polish for a while, but the price kept me away. I did not want to pay $10 and up just to try it! Luckily, I had Copious credits at the time of my purchase, so I only paid $0.92 for this Layla that usually costs $15! That’s pretty affordable!

For those of you who may not have used magnetic nail polish before, it is basically a metallic colored polish that has a special formula that reacts when a magnet is placed over it. Depending on how the magnet is shaped, you can get different 3-D designs on your nail! I couldn’t wait to try out the Layla Magneffect I got in the color Metallic Sky, a deep navy blue. I read the directions on the bottle, and got painting. At first, I didn’t achieve good results, so I tried again, and it came out much better. Let me explain how I got this look:

 

First, apply a thin coat of polish on each nail. If you want, take the time to practice applying the magnet now, so you know what to do for the next coat. Once your first coat is dry, you will have to work on each nail one at a time. Be sure to work as quickly as possible. Paint a thick coat of polish and immediately turn the brush around so the magnet is as close to your nail as you can get it without touching. Hold it there for about five seconds. When you pull the magnet away, you will hopefully have a funky design on your nail! How cool is that?! Now, repeat this process on all of your nails, one by one. It sounds tedious, but it actually moves rather quickly. Layla Magneffect dries extremely fast, so you don’t have to worry about smudging your manicure in the process.

 

Another tip I have when using this particular magnetic polish is to give the bottle a good shake before you use it. Typically shaking polish creates air bubbles, but you want to make sure this formula is mixed well before you use it. That way the magnet will react well to the polish.

 

All in all, I really enjoyed this polish from Layla Magneffect. Once I learned a good technique, it was easy to use. I won’t be buying magnetic polish on a regular basis because of the price, but if I spy another good deal I will be sure to go for it. A lot of the newer polishes coming out have really cool designs, such as hearts! I will keep my eye out for those. Don’t forget, if you want to get great deals on nail polish, join Copious HERE. You will get a $10 credit just for signing up!

Have you tried magnetic polish? What do you think of it?

Michael Marcus Paradise Pink

Posted on by Adventures in Polishland

It’s not that I don’t love sparkly and funky manicures, but for my first day of law school, I thought it would be more appropriate if I toned it down a little bit. At first the idea of a neutral tone popped into my head, but then I realized a pink would probably be okay, too. I decided to try out one of the Michael Marcus nail polishes that I received in my July Little Black Bag.

Paradise Pink is a gorgeous color that I would label a true pink. It isn’t too bright, and it isn’t too dark. It’s just pink! The formula of Paradise Pink is like a dream. It is so easy to apply, and I didn’t experience any problems. The brush was easy to hold and use as well. I was good to go with two coats of this polish.

My only woe with Paradise Pink is that it already began chipping not even twenty-four hours after application. I did apply top coat, but a few nails had slight wear around the edges. I am rather surprised by this, as Michael Marcus retails for $15 a bottle. Since this is the first time I’ve used it, I’m going to say the chipping occurred because of something I did, and not because of the polish. We will see how future manis with this brand turn out!

What do you think of Paradise Pink? Have you used Michael Marcus nail polish before?

Favorite Friday: Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Celeb City

Posted on by Adventures in Polishland

Happy Favorite Friday! This week I am using another polish from Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear. I know I blog about this brand a lot, but it’s because the polishes are great quality at an amazing price.  Plus, there are dozens of colors to choose from, and you can buy them at almost any drugstore or department store. I decided to use Celeb City this week because it is one of my all time favorites. Not only is my bottle half full, but my roommate from undergraduate school loved it so much she bought her own bottle! I think one day I’ll end up purchasing a replacement of this one.

 

Celeb City is a silver metallic polish with lots of shimmer. Unfortunately my photos are not going to do the polish justice today, as they were taken from my iPad. I promise only camera photos from now on! Anyway, the formula of Celeb City is perfect. I do need to apply two coats, but it goes on smoothly and evenly. It also dries really quickly. The best part about this polish, though, is that it lasts a really long time without chipping. If you want a polish that lasts over a week, this is the one!

 

Even though Celeb City looks amazing on its own, I decided to add an accent nail with Hollywood Walk of Fame from the new Wet ‘n Wild Fergie collection. I recently got it in a nail polish swap, and thought it would be fun with silver. I’ve never tried star glitter before. It looks great, but it hard to apply. A full review of Fergie polishes at some point in the future.

 

What do you think of Celeb City? Do you like silver nail polishes?

Try it on Tuesday: Orly Rock Solid

Posted on by Adventures in Polishland

I wasn’t planning on participating in Try it on Tuesday this week, as I had hoped to do a mani upgrade with a gradient. Unfortunately, my last mani got all messed up (my fault!), and I couldn’t stand to look at it anymore. Thus, here I am! I asked my Facebook followers which brand I should try out today, and they voted for Orly. I think they made a great decision!

Rock Solid is my first Orly polish. I bought it on HauteLook using credits and only paid $0.45 for it! This polish is actually from the Mineral FX Fall 2011 line, so it’s like I went dusty hunting online for this one. Rock Solid is a dark grey polish with small holographic glitters. I used two coats to achieve full opacity. The formula is a dream to work with– no streaks whatsoever! It also dries rather quickly. For once I didn’t use a topcoat, either, as I love the look Rock Solid has. The finish is a bit textured. This may sound silly, but it looks and feels like a rock, only not in the “I found it in my backyard” sort of way. Instead, it is stunning! The glitter shines in the light, and changes color as you move your hand. The grey also has a silver undertone. It’s beautiful!

Look at that bottle!

 

Rock on!

 

I’m not usually one for dark colors, but I’m loving this one! I can’t wait to wear it more in the fall and winter. I also love the Orly cap and brush. The cap is a soft, grip material. That way it doesn’t wiggle around in your hand when your painting your nails. The brush is also awesome. It’s thin, but holds a lot of polish. No mistakes or globs here! I hope to get more Orly polishes in my stash.

If you’re not an HauteLook member, make sure you join HERE. They have sales on nail polish all the time!

Favorite Friday: Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Mint Sorbet

Posted on by Adventures in Polishland

It’s Favorite Friday! That’s when I wear one of my all time favorite polishes that I haven’t used in a while. Today I have Mint Sorbet from Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear. I absolutely love mint polishes! I bought this one after I had seen many girls rocking mint nails on the NYC Subway in the spring of 2011. Not only is Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear affordable at just $3 a bottle (or less at some stores), but the quality is rather good. You can read more about this brand HERE.

Mint Sorbet is not my all time favorite from this brand of polish, but the color is so pretty. This is definitely a two-coat polish, as the first coat comes out streaky and uneven. Luckily a second coat usually fixes everything and smoothes the color out. Today, I was pleasantly surprised with how beautiful my mani turned out. I don’t know if I’ve just gotten better at painting my nails, but Mint Sorbet is at its best ever! I even did something I never do — I did not apply a topcoat! The polish looks so glossy on its own that I didn’t bother. What do you think of Mint Sorbet?

 

 

I’m sure you can see why this is one of my favorites! Have you tried this color or brand before?

Try it on Tuesday: Jesse’s Girl Confetti

Posted on by Adventures in Polishland

This week I am trying on one of the Jesse’s Girl polishes that I purchased in a blog sale about a month ago. Confetti is a really interesting polish. In the bottle it looks like a shimmery purple, but upon application I realized it is also a holo polish that shifts between purple and blue depending on the light. Confetti is very sheer. I applied three coats and it is not completely opaque. I think it would look great layered over another solid color, though. I had no problems whatsoever with application.

 

I’ve been wanting to try out Jesse’s Girl polishes as they retail for just $3.99. Besides being affordable, they look really pretty. Confetti reminds me of Sally Hansen HD polishes, but at about half the price. Though I’m not thrilled with how sheer the polish is, it is definitely stunning. I love that it has the appearance of glitter without being a glitter polish. I can’t wait to try this out as a top layer!

 

Have you tried Jesse’s Girl nail polish? What do you think of Confetti?

Favorite Friday: Hunger Games Nails on a Budget

Posted on by Adventures in Polishland

Welcome to my first Favorite Friday post! Even though I love that my nail polish stash is growing, I miss using some of my favorite colors. In order to ensure that I am not only using my brand new polishes, I am beginning a blog series called Favorite Friday. Each week I will use one of my favorite polishes from my stash. The only rule is that it must be a polish that I have not used in a long time. This way, I can try out my new polishes on any day except Friday!

Today’s manicure is one that I created back in March for the midnight premiere of The Hunger Games movie. I really wanted to splurge on some of the China Glaze Hunger Games Collection, but I thought that $8.99 a bottle was too much, especially since I had already paid for a t-shirt and a Mockingjay pin. Instead of spending more money, I knew that I could create my own Hunger Games mani using polishes I already owned.

To get this look, I began with two coats of an unnamed OPI mini that I have in grey. Then, I used a clear, glitter topcoat from Wet ‘n Wild and painted two coats of that. The finished product is a sparkly grey that reminds me of polishes that can be found in the China Glaze collection. I can definitely picture Katniss wearing this mani! I loved it so much on premiere night, and I am glad I got to wear it again for Favorite Friday.

What do you think of my Hunger Games nails on a budget? Do you try to create looks based off expensive polishes?

Feel free to participate in future Favorite Fridays with me! Post photos of your mani on my Facebook page, or send along the link to your blog!

Monthly Nail Polish Haul: July Edition

Posted on by Adventures in Polishland

Adventures in Polishland is dedicated to fabulous and affordable nails.  At the end of each month, I show you the polishes I purchased, and the good deals I got on them. I rarely pay full price for anything, and that includes nail polish. Although I did go a bit overboard in July (33 new bottles!), I only paid a fraction of the retail value for all my new polishes. Get ready to see this awesome haul!

Polishes I bought at retail stores in person, left to right:

  • Anise in Miss Inspector and Bronzed Babe. You can purchase Anise polishes at DSW stores for $6 each. Typically they are on sale for buy one get one half off, so these polishes came to $9. I had some money left on a gift card, so I only paid $6.96 for these two polishes! You can read my review of these two colors HERE.
  • China Glaze in Hook and Line and Mahogany Magic from the Hunger Games Collection. I bought these two polishes at my local Sally Beauty Supply store on clearance. I paid a total of $6.58 for both, but they retailed at $8.99 a piece when they came out! Sometimes patience is the key to getting the colors you want.
  • Elle in Surfer Babe. I scored this beautiful blue at Kohls for FREE when my mom let me use her Kohls Cash. Usually Elle retails for $10. If you go to Kohls, keep an eye out for coupons near the display. When I went there were $1 off coupons available! See my post highlighting this polish HERE.
  • NYC in High Lime Green. I bought this polish at CVS and used a coupon for $0.50 cents off any NYC purchase of $1.79. Lucky for me this polish was exactly $1.79, so I only paid $1.29 for it! I found this coupon on a store display also, so be sure to keep an eye out for those at CVS, too.

Polishes I bought through Blog Sales or Swap Groups, left to right:

  • I purchased Deborah Lippmann in Pearly Queen and Oh! You Pretty Things from Diana over at Polish Monster. As a special surprise, she threw in Miami Spirit from the new Wet ‘n Wild Fergie Collection! I paid a total of $15 including shipping for all three of these polishes. What a bargain!
  • I purchased all three Jesse’s Girl polishes (in Center Stage, Cupcake Frosting, and Confetti) from a special Blog Sale. A few months ago, a member of the nail blogging community passed away. As a benefit to support her family, her daughter was selling her polishes. I sent her a total of $22 including shipping, and asked her to throw in a few mini polishes that hadn’t been sold yet with the three Jesse’s Girls. I was completely surprised when I got the OPI Spiderman mini collection! From left to right is Into the Night, Number One Nemesis, Just Spotted the Lizard, and Your Web or Mine? Not only did I save a few dollars off the retail price, but I helped a family in need. See my post featuring Your Web or Mine? HERE.
  • The mini on the far right is Sephora by OPI in I Don’t Bite. I purchased it from a Swap Group on Facebook. A mini from this brand typically retails at about $5, but I paid only $3 including shipping.

Polishes I bought on Copious using credits first, left to right:

  • e.l.f. in Royal Purple. I paid only $0.54 for this gorgeous polish that retails at $2. See my blog post featuring it HERE.
  • Matte.n.a in Film Noir. My first matte polish! I got it for just $0.01 with my credits, though they typically sell for $2.25.
  • piCture pOlish in Citrus. I got this beautiful orange for a mere $0.13 even though they retail at $9.50. I’ve heard great things about this brand and I can’t wait to use it.
  • Pretty & Polished in Forest Phire. My first indie purchase, and I only spent $0.30!  Minis from this brand usually sell for $5.25, so I got a great deal.

Polishes I bought online, left to right:

  • Julep in Yumi, Lynn, America, and Alfre. I got all of these polishes for FREE! The first three were in my July Julep Maven Box, which I had a free credit for. In that box I received a voucher for another free polish, and I picked Alfre! I love the Julep Maven program. Did you know that you can get your first box for one penny with the promo code COLOR2012? Join HERE and read about my July box HERE.
  • Orly in Rock Solid. I purchased my first Orly during a sale on HauteLook. I had credits to use, so I only ended up spending $0.45! HauteLook has all sorts of sales, but there is often nail polish from all different brands. Join the site for free HERE.
  • Zoya in Rea and America. I originally purchased Zoya’s Trixie to get America free during the Fourth of July sale, but when it arrived I realized it was a dupe of a polish I already had. Lucky for me I was able to swap Trixie for Rea in a Swap Group! I did have to spend a little extra for the shipping, but I ended up with both of these Zoyas for just $9.95 instead of the full $16. You can purchase Zoya polish HERE and read my entry about America HERE.

Whew! Did you make it through all that with me? If so, here is the most exciting part! While I did spend $66.21 this month, if I did not use credits, buy sale items, and coupon, the retail value of all these items would be $205.24! That’s right– I saved $139.03! How is that for fabulous and affordable?! For all of these 28 bottles listed above, on average I paid $2.36 per polish. Woo-hoo!

Before I close out this post, I wanted to add in some “bonus” polishes that I purchased through Little Black Bag. I can’t really estimate how much I saved on these polishes, since they came along with other items in a monthly subscription, but I definitely got a good deal on them. Retail value of these five polishes is $77. Left to right, the colors are: ncLA in Hollywood Hills Hot Number & Miss Sunset Strip, and Michael Marcus in Brilliant Sand, Fuchsia Have a Good Time, and Paradise Pink. You can join Little Black Bag HERE.

Please note that this post does not include polishes I received as a gift, as a giveaway win, or as a product to review for my blog. My purpose is to show you how to get great savings on nail polish.

Try it on Tuesday: Zoya America (Was it Worth the Hoopla?)

Posted on by Adventures in Polishland

On the Fourth of July, Zoya had a promotion where if you spent $10 you could get a free bottle of their America polish. Well, shortly after midnight, a photo began circulating on the Internet explaining how you could get a bottle of America completely free without having to spend anything. I was extremely excited about this, as I had not tried Zoya before. I jumped on the chance to get my free bottle, and even shared the news with my Facebook followers. When I woke up the next day, I discovered that Zoya had cancelled my order, along with 14,000 others that had been placed. It turns out Zoya had a glitch in their system, and I would not be getting the polish for free.

This situation caused a lot of drama on the Zoya Facebook page, and throughout the nail blog community. Some believed that since the glitch was Zoya’s responsibility, they should have compensated everyone who ordered the free bottle. Others, however, felt that customers should not have abused the promo code, since it was made public originally that there was a $10 minimum to be spent. As for me, I was quite disappointed. I was unaware of the original promotion. I decided to go ahead and search for a $10 item on the Zoya website. Believe it or not, all of their polishes are $8, so in reality Zoya wanted you to buy two items at $16 to get the free polish. I was about to give up on the promotion, until a few of my Facebook followers informed me of another glitch in the system– only buy one polish and you can get Zoya America for free. Even though this was a glitch too, I received two polishes for only $8!

So after all that trouble, I finally got the chance to try Zoya America for today’s Try it on Tuesday. Not only have I been wanting to test out this brand, but we are the midst of the Olympics– go Team USA!    This bright red cream is not usually my typical color, but I am always up for trying out new things. Zoya has a great reputation, and is a vegan nail polish brand, so I had high expectations. In the end I am not “wowed” by it, but it is definitely a nice polish.

Above is two coats of America. I could have gotten away with one coat, but I added a second one to be safe. This polish was a little hard to work with texture wise. I think it was a bit thicker than I was expecting. It did apply evenly, but next time I will know to do thin coats. America dried quickly, but was impressionable for a few hours after application. This red is not my favorite color, but if you do like red you will love this polish. It was quite hard to photograph accurately, so please visit the Zoya website HERE to view and purchase America.

Instagram photo!

In the end, I do think Zoya America was worth all the hoopla. Though it is not my favorite color, I got to try a new brand at a great price. I look forward to using the other Zoya polish that I purchased in the future!

What do you think of Zoya polishes? Were you included in the Fourth of July upset?