illamasqua – Adventures in Polishland

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Manicure Monday | Illamasqua Rampage

Posted on March 30, 2015August 12, 2015 by Adventures in Polishland

Happy Manicure Monday! This week the Alphabet Challenge continues with the letter I, and I dug through my nail polish stash for a brand that qualifies. I totally forgot about the two Illamasqua nail polishes that I own! I purchased them in the summer of 2012 when I first began this blog. I decided to grab Rampage today, and share this lovely polish with all of you.

Rampage is a dark green polish with a jelly formula. It is opaque in two coats, and can be used for layering in jelly sandwich manicures. The application is great, but I do recommend some extra time for drying due to the jelly finish – it is easily dinged! Rampage is a perfect fall color, but can of course be worn at any time of year. I love the deep pigmentation with this one.

All in all, I’m happy I splurged on Illamasqua Rampage back in my early blogging days! I’ve used it quite a bit over the years, but this is the first time I’ve posted a proper swatch for all of you. This polish is no longer sold at Sephora (where I purchased it), but is still available on Illamasqua’s website HERE for £14.50. If you are able to find this one, I highly recommend it! Please be sure to let me know your favorite Illamasqua shades in the comments!

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.

Indie Spotlight: Dollish Polish Mario Collection

Posted on September 12, 2012August 12, 2015 by Adventures in Polishland

Yesterday I polled my Facebook fans and asked what post they wanted to see next on my blog. The votes are in! Today I have for you an Indie Spotlight featuring two polishes from the Dollish Pollish Mario Collection. I purchased 1-Up and The Koompa King on Copious as a part of a group order. There was a listing for the complete collection, but by splitting up the polishes, I got to spend less money and try out two polishes that I really liked. A group order is a great way to get expensive and hard to find polishes at a discount price! Let me show you 1-Up and The Koompa King.

1-Up is a glitter top coat in a clear base. It is comprised mainly of small, green hexagonal glitters, but also has small, white squares, large white hexagons, and white bar glitter. The formula is great and dries really quickly. In order to get the glitters the way you want them, it does take a bit of special application techniques, but with two coats I achieved a fabulous look. I layered 1-Up over Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Mint Sorbet. Though 1-Up is Mario themed, I could definitely see this polish as a Saint Patrick’s Day manicure.

The Koompa King is also a glitter top coat in a clear base. It’s main color is gold, which is found in small grains and small and large hexagonal glitters. Mixed in are red squares, small white hexagons, small and large green hexagons, large silver hexagons, black bar glitter, and (my personal favorite) holographic diamonds. I layered The Koompa King over Illamasqua Optimist, and the look I got was so fun! I only needed two coats of this glitter to achieve this look. I got lots of compliments on this polish! I can’t wait to use it again.

You can buy Dollish Polish direct from their website HERE. The Mario Collection has become hard to find, but keep your eyes open and you might just spot a good deal like I did.

What do you think of these polishes? Have you tried Dollish Polish?

Illamasqua Optimist: It’s Okay to Splurge (Sometimes)

Posted on September 3, 2012August 12, 2015 by Adventures in Polishland

While Adventures in Polishland is all about fabulous nails at an affordable price, there are times when it is okay to splurge on a special polish. After seeing beautiful swatches of the Illamasqua Limited Edition Rubber Finish Nail Varnish over at LacqueredLover.com, I decided to treat myself to a polish from the collection to celebrate my start of law school. I headed over to Sephora’s website, and chose Optimist, what Illamasqua describes as “warm yellow.” I was a bit surprised when my new polish came in the mail and it was a bright orange! At first I was a little bummed, but I paid $14 for my new Illamasqua and the least I could do was try it on.

I have never tried a polish with a rubber finish before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. The formula is easy to work with, but you can definitely see any imperfections and brush strokes. I began with two coats, but I added a third coat just to make sure the finish looked the way I wanted it to. I knew that I wouldn’t be using a top coat with this polish, because the whole point is to showcase the rubber finish! It took a little while for me to get used to this new look, but after a few hours I came to love Optimist!

The color of Optimist actually reminds me of the Crayola crayon “Macaroni and Cheese.” I love how smooth and creamy the finish looks. I have been looking for the perfect orange polish, and I found it here with Illamasqua’s Optimist even though I thought I was buying a yellow polish. This color is great for fall, and even reminded me a bit of a pumpkin. I like how the color is bright, but not a neon. That way it a bit more subdued, and not as “in your face.”

Though I can’t spend $14 for nail polish on a regular basis, I am sure glad I splurged on Illamasqua. If you are looking to try out a great, higher end brand be sure to stop by your local Sephora store. After buying this polish online and being surprised by the color, I definitely suggest looking at these in person first. That way you will find the perfect color for you!

Have you tried Illamasqua polish? What do think of Optimist?