Adventures in Polishland

Keeping it Neutral with L’Oreal Greycian Goddess

Posted on January 25, 2013August 12, 2015 by Adventures in Polishland

Happy Friday! Today I have another fabulous and affordable nail polish to show you from the brand L’Oreal. This line of polish can be purchased at drug stores for around $6 per bottle, but I got this one at a street fair in NYC where all L’Oreal polishes were just three for $5! You can learn more about Street Fair Cosmetics HERE, though they are now closed for the season. Let me show you one of the beautiful polishes I purchased from the fair!

Greycian Goddess is the perfect grey nail polish with blue undertones. This polish took two coats to be opaque, and had a very good formula. I was impressed with how cleanly and evenly it applied! I also really liked the brush that came with Greycian Goddess. It was very easy to work with due to it’s long bristles that stayed perfectly in place during application. Greycian Goddess is an all-around great polish. Not only is the quality top-notch, but it is a nice neutral shade for winter. Instead of reaching for a tan or nude, next time you want a neutral nail, grab a grey! This shade is perfect for layering as well.

Greycian Goddess is the third polish from the L’Oreal Colour Riche line that I’ve tried. Just like the others, it is fabulous! If you’re looking for a more affordable polish with guaranteed good quality, I highly suggest this line. Plus, they are often on sale! Keep an eye out for coupons in the Sunday paper for added savings.

Illamasqua Rampage and a Jelly Sandwich!

Posted on January 22, 2013August 12, 2015 by Adventures in Polishland

Good morning, and happy Tuesday! Today I am bringing you a splurge polish. While I value a bargain, sometimes it is nice to treat myself to a higher priced polish. I bought my first Illamasqua at the end of the summer at Sephora for $14. I’ve already used it for three manicures, so I’m making sure to get my money’s worth! Let me show you this jelly polish.

Illamasqua Rampage is a dark green polish with a jelly finish. Unlike many jellies, I was able to achieve opacity with just two coats! This polish’s formula is just okay — it was a bit streaky and uneven. This is characteristic of jelly polishes, but because it is a higher end brand, I expect a bit more from it. I also find it difficult to make my manicure look perfect with this one, but if I make too much of a mess I can just clean it up afterwards. Formula issues aside, I love this color! I wore it for the first time on Thanksgiving, and I couldn’t help but carry this trend over into winter.

You may remember my last post, where I used Rampage as the base color for Are You My Mummy? from Lucky 13 Lacquer (see that post HERE). Well, I couldn’t help but make a jelly sandwich! Here’s how it came out.

I am absolutely thrilled with the final product! If you don’t know what a jelly sandwich is, you can see THIS post for more information. Basically, it’s when you layer glitter in between layers of jelly nail polish. To get the look above, I have on two coats of Rampage, two coats of Are You My Mummy?, and one very thin coat of Rampage. Because of the dark color of this Illamasqua, I made sure to use a very thin coat over the glitter so I could still see the different shapes and colors. I would say this mani upgrade was a complete success!

You can purchase Illamasqua nail polish on Sephora’s website for $14 per bottle.

Indie Spotlight: The Last of the Time Lords Collection from Lucky 13 Lacquer

Posted on January 20, 2013August 12, 2015 by Adventures in Polishland

Calling all Doctor Who fans! Today I have some awesome polishes to show you from the new collection by Lucky 13 Lacquer called The Last of the Time Lords. This collection is inspired by the revival series of Doctor Who, and you will see characters, episodes, and memorable quotes represented throughout the entire set. I have four of the thirteen polishes to show you. Let’s get started!

First up is A 51st Century Guy, a clear glitter top coat. This polish is filled with small white squares, gunmetal grey hexagonal glitters, and red hearts. I layered two coats over OPI in If You Moust You Moust (see that polish HERE). While the overall formula was great, I had the hardest time getting the hearts out of the bottle and onto my nails. I did everything I could think of to get those hearts out, but they were stuck to the sides of the bottle. I was able to get out just three so I could show you what they look like! I think if you had the full size bottle, it would be easier to fish out the hearts. Besides that issue, however, A 51st Century Guy is a great polish and has a fast-drying formula. I thought layering this over a pink would give me a Valentine’s Day manicure. I love the finished product!

Note: Lucky 13 is aware of the difficulty with the hearts, so until lightweight hearts can be added to the new batch of polishes, the brand is including extra hearts that can be hand placed with each purchase!

Up next is Fantastic! This is another clear glitter top coat, and is filled with tiny black hexagonal glitters, and medium gunmetal grey hexagons. Fantastic! has a good formula – no fishing for glitters with this one! I layered two coats over Zoya Julie for the look you see in the photos. My one gripe with Fantastic! is that it has a strong aroma, but otherwise it’s a great polish. I love the way it makes a pastel purple look edgy. Fantastic! would also liven up a plain black nail polish.

Another polish from The Last of the Time Lords collection is Bowties Are Cool. This polish has a brown shimmer base, and is filled with tiny bronze squares, and red, brown, and caramel colored hexagonal glitters. I knew it would take at least three coats to be opaque on its own, so I layered two coats over Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Mellow Yellow (see that polish HERE). I absolutely love the result! My fingers were sporting a golden yellow combo! Bowties Are Cool has a great formula, and the glitters come out of the bottle with ease. Just as A 51st Century Guy became a Valentine’s Day manicure, Bowties Are Cool is also extremely versatile! Your base color has the power to transform this polish, and you can get a different look every time!

Last but not least is my favorite polish of the bunch, Are You My Mummy? This polish is a clear glitter top coat and is filled with tiny green hexagonal glitters, and orange, brown, and yellow hexagons as well in various sizes. I layered one coat over Illamasqua Rampage. I was absolutely thrilled with Are You My Mummy?! One coat provided great coverage, and the glitters applied very well. This is a great nail polish for the fall, especially when layered over a dark green!

All in all, The Last of the Time Lords collection is extremely versatile and is perfect for Doctor Who aficionados and nail polish lovers, too! This collection can be purchased on the Lucky 13 Lacquer website HERE. Full size bottles are $8 each and mini bottles are $4. Lucky 13 is also offering a special bonus — buy 7 or more polishes from this collection and you will get a bonus bottle! You can also like Lucky 13 Polish on Facebook HERE.

The products in this post were provided for my unbiased review. All opinions are my own.

Favorite Friday: Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Mellow Yellow

Posted on January 18, 2013August 12, 2015 by Adventures in Polishland

Happy Friday! Today I will be showing you a special polish in my collection — Mellow Yellow from Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear. Although yellow is not usually my favorite, this is the first polish I bought after I started this blog! In fact, you can see it HERE! I have come a long way since then, but I still love when I get the chance to use this nail polish. Let me show you Mellow Yellow!

Mellow Yellow is a banana yellow polish with a creme finish. The formula on this polish is not the best — it is a bit watery and streaky on the first coat. Thankfully it evens out well and is opaque with the second coat. Mellow Yellow dries surprisingly fast, too. For only around $3 at drug stores and department stores, this polish is affordable, and I don’t mind if the formula isn’t perfect. The end result is beautiful! Plus, since I don’t wear yellow a lot, I prefer to buy a bargain brand. Overall, Mellow Yellow is a great polish, and one of my favorites!

What do you think of yellow nail polish? Which yellow is your favorite?

Save More and Make it Mini: OPI in If You Moust You Moust

Posted on January 16, 2013August 12, 2015 by Adventures in Polishland

Happy Wednesday! Today I am excited to be bringing you a lovely pink color to celebrate Pink Wednesday, and to show you a perfect Valentine’s Day polish. If you’re like me, you love to try out a lot of different nail polish colors without spending big bucks. OPI is a great brand, but I don’t like spending up to $8.50 for a full size bottle that will only be used a handful of times. Thankfully, whenever it comes out with a new collection, OPI will release a set of mini polishes so that those of us on a budget can enjoy the collection at a discounted price. As a lifelong Minnie Mouse fan, I knew I just HAD to have the Vintage Minnie Mouse collection mini set. Luckily, I won it in a giveaway over the summer, but it is selling on Amazonright now for just $6.96! That’s an amazing price for three colors and a top coat. Let me show you one of those polishes.

If You Moust You Moust is what I am calling the perfect Valentine’s Day pink! It is a classic pink polish, and I am just in love with it! The formula was great — a bit streaky with the first coat, but evens out well with the second. Just two coats are needed for opacity. I used this polish as the base for a glitter manicure that you will soon see, but it can easily be worn alone. It’s perfect for the office, as it’s bright and feminine, but not too out there. Plus, OPI polishes last a long time without chipping so it is great for the girl on the go! As a pink aficionado, this is one of the best pinks I’ve tried!

If you love this polish and Minnie Mouse as much as I do, I highly suggest going to Amazon and purchasing one of these sets right away. As I’m typing this, there are only 8 more left in stock! Click HEREnow to get it for just $6.96!

Indie Spotlight: The Hidden Valley Collection from A Rhyming Dictionary Polish

Posted on January 14, 2013August 12, 2015 by Adventures in Polishland

Today I am extremely excited to show you five amazing polishes from the indie brand A Rhyming Dictionary Polish. These polishes are from the soon-to-be-released collection called The Hidden Valley, which will be available very soon. I first tried A Rhyming Dictionary back in early December when I brought you the post highlighting Unc Nunkie (read that HERE). Now that I have tried a substantial amount of polishes from this brand, I can tell you that it is of the highest quality. Definitely be sure to check out the Etsy shop and pick yourself up a few of these! I will post the link at the end of this post. Let me show you some of The Hidden Valley collection!

First up is Scraps, an extremely unique polish in a purple jelly base. Scraps is full of black and white glitters in all shapes and sizes. There are hexagonal glitters, square glitters, and shards, too! This polish also has a holo shimmer, so it truly sparkles. I used three coats alone, and while it was not opaque, I loved the look! If you would like an opaque look, I suggest you layer this over a purple or black polish. Moreover, Scraps has a great formula — lots of glitters come out upon application and they lay flat. The polish was a little hard to work with because of all the glitter, but when it dries it looks super cool. I applied two coats of top coat to even out the finish. Overall, I love Scraps! It is unlike any other polish I’ve tried before, and it reminds me of my undergrad’s school colors. I was staring at my nails a lot with this one!

Up next is Collapsible Kite, a glitter top coat in a clear base. I layered two coats over Zoya GeiGei (which you will see very soon!). This polish has magenta, yellow, and orange glitters, and is a mix of hexagonal, square, and fine glitters. The formula was fantastic, and I didn’t have to fish for glitters. The glitter lay flat on the nail, too. I finished up with one coat of top coat. I just love the color combination of Collapsible Kite! I wore this as my New Year’s Eve manicure, and it matched my pink dress perfectly! The light pink base was an ideal choice, because none of the glitters got lost in the background, but it was still complimentary. A great combination, I think!

The next polish from The Hidden Valley collection is Magic Muffins! This purple polish has a holo shimmer throughout. I applied three coats for full opacity. It was a bit streaky at first, but evens out very well. I also love the gorgeous satin finish of the polish, so I did not apply top coat. Not only does this polish have a super cute name, but it is a complete manicure all in one or can be used for layering. In fact, I used this as the base for the next polish in the collection!

Here is Equinots, a glitter top coat in a clear base. I layered one coat over Magic Muffins to get the look in the photos. Equinots is full of pink hexagonal glitters, magenta square glitters, and royal purple hexagonal glitters. There is also a sprinkling of magenta grains. This went perfectly with Magic Muffins, and was a dream to apply! One coat brought out a lot of glitters, so I left it at that. I applied one coat of top coat to complete the look. The finished product looks like one gorgeous polish! The holo shimmer from Magic Muffins stands out and combines with the glitters of Equinots for a stunning look. This is just one way to use the polishes from this collection together, alone, or with other polishes! They are so versatile!

Last but not least is Kite Island, a glitter top coat in a clear base. I layered two coats of Kite Island over Sinful Colors Mint Apple (see that polish HERE). Kite Island is a really fun polish! It has fine glitters in pink and green, hexagonal glitters in orange, blue, pink, and green, small green squares, and (my favorite!) large white squares. Just as with the other polishes from A Rhyming Dictionary, the glitters came out with ease and lay flat on the nail. I just love the mix of colors in Kite Island, and the white glitters are a surprising touch. With one coat of top coat my manicure was complete. I chose a seafoam green background so none of the glitters would blend into the base. Overall, it is a super fun manicure!

All in all, I love all of these polishes from The Hidden Valley collection. The best part is that there are even more polishes in this collection that I’m sure will be just as fabulous! This collection will be released very shortly, and I will announce on my Facebook page when they are available for purchase. For now you can shop for other polishes at the A Rhyming Dictionary Etsy shop HERE and follow on Facebook HERE.

The polishes in this post were provided for my unbiased review. All opinions are my own.

SinfulColors in Mint Apple

Posted on January 12, 2013August 12, 2015 by Adventures in Polishland

Happy Saturday! Adventures in Polishland began as a way to highlight nails that are both fabulous and affordable, and I want to make sure I stay true to that motto as this blog continues to grow. In the next few weeks I will be bringing you some amazing reviews of indie polish, but I hope to intermix some affordable brands and some do-it-yourself nail art in there as well! Today I want to show you a stunning polish from the brand SinfulColors. Let’s take a look at Mint Apple.

Mint Apple is a gorgeous seafoam green color that is full of green and gold shimmer. I applied two coats in the photos above to achieve opacity. I was really impressed with the formula of Mint Apple — it applied evenly and dried really quickly! My one complaint is that the brush for the polish was a bit more fanned out than I would have liked, but that luckily did not affect the application. Other than that, I love Mint Apple! The shimmer is so beautiful, and gives it a lot of dimension. I originally wanted this color because I love mint green nail polishes, but as you can see, this is a really different shade. I am happily surprised!

The best part about SinfulColors nail polish is that it can be purchased in drug stores and department stores for just $1.99! That is super affordable! Although I have only tried this one polish, the formula seems to be great quality. Plus, SinfulColors has an extensive line that features almost any color you can think of. I highly suggest you buy yourself a few of these, especially if you are on a tight budget but are looking to try some new colors out. I can’t wait to give more SinfulColors a try!

Indie Spotlight: Different Dimension in Bazinga

Posted on January 7, 2013August 12, 2015 by Adventures in Polishland

I was extremely excited when I discovered that the indie brand Different Dimension sells a collection named after the TV show The Big Bang Theory. I am a huge fan of the show, and immediately added the collection to my wish list. I was even more excited when my mom bought the collection for me! Right before Christmas, I tried Bazinga. Let me show you this super fun polish!

Bazinga has a light yellow jelly base and is filled with yellow and red hexagonal glitters, and small red fine glitters. I layered two coats over SquareHue Champagne Toast to get the look in the photos. As with the other polishes I’ve tried from Different Dimension, Bazinga had a great formula. I wish the larger hexagonal glitters came out more often during application, but otherwise I love the polish. Bazinga looked really nice over a gold tone for a holiday look, but the yellow glitters did blend into the background a little bit. I think next time I will layer Bazinga over a different color to ensure that the glitters really stand out from the base. I can’t wait to try Bazinga again!

You can buy this polish on Etsy HERE for $8.50. You can also “like” Different Dimension on Facebook HERE.

Simple Saturday: Julep Isla

Posted on January 5, 2013August 12, 2015 by Adventures in Polishland

Happy Saturday! Today I’ll be showing you a polish I wore as the base color for one of my holiday manicures. You’ve already seen it in THIS post topped with Cameo Colours Lacquer in Tangled Lights, but Julep Isla is so beautiful it deserves it’s own moment on the blog! Here’s a simple post to highlight this polish.

Julep Isla is a white, metallic polish. It has a beautiful shine to it, and a great formula that is opaque in two coats. I love Isla because it has a creamy look to it. Plain white is boring, but Isla’s metallic finish is a complete manicure on its own. Plus, it is perfect for layering. It adds an extra bit of shimmer and shine to any glitter top coat! I got Isla in my July Julep Maven Box (join the Maven program HERE), but I think it is perfect for the winter months, too. It looks just like snow shining in the sun! Julep Isla is an all-around great nail polish!

Have a fabulous weekend!

Chick Nail Polish in Raven’s Egg: An OpenSky Score

Posted on January 2, 2013August 12, 2015 by Adventures in Polishland

Happy Wednesday! Today I have a gorgeous blue nail polish to show you from the nail polish brand Chick. Typically a bottle of polish from this line costs $8, due to it being vegan friendly and chemical free. I was lucky enough to score a set of four Chick polishes on the website OpenSky for just over $6 when I joined and got a bunch of free credits. I got two sets of polishes from this one purchase alone. First I showed you Hello, I Love You! from ncLA, and now I will show you Raven’s Egg!

Raven’s Egg is a navy blue polish with a shimmery finish. It truly shines in the light and has a duochrome feel to it. At times it looks dark purple, but Raven’s Egg is a true navy. This polish also reminds me of a metallic polish, but with a formula that is easy to apply and opaque in two coats. It did chip off in a couple days, but I did not apply top coat when I wore it. Raven’s Egg is a great blue polish, and is unlike any other polish that I own. I think it would be great as a base for nail art! Plus, I love the cute bottle. The rectangular shape makes it easy to store.

Overall, I love the dark blue of Raven’s Egg from Chick Nail Polish! It was a fabulous price on OpenSky, and I would recommend it if you can find it for a bargain, too. I do think $8 would be too much for this polish. You can join OpenSky HERE and you will receive $10 in credit when you sign up. Unfortunately you must spend $50 to use the credits, but you can still get a great deal. Happy Shopping!

P.S. Don’t forget to vote for your favorite manicure in my New Year’s Eve Manicure Contest on my Facebook page HERE!