Howdy nail people! Hope everyone's weekend is off to a great start!
I have a bottle spam/ eye candy post for you today featuring polishes I'm really feeling for Spring. It's finally rainy and warmer here in Chicagoland, and stuff is budding and spouting, so I thought it was high time for a look at the shades I'll be taking inspiration from this season!
Some of these polishes are personal favorites of mine, some are classic but new-to-me, and some are untrieds that I've hoarded for far too long!
A sampling:
Spring= pastels, right? Well, yes. But I think there's always room for a bright here and there, or even something darker! Proportionally, I don't own a ton of pastels. I guess I tend to gravitate toward midtones and darks more, but lately that's changing!
I pulled...a lot of polishes. I got a little carried away, and so to manage the volume of polishes (and make it a little more interesting), I decided to break them down into groups based on their finish instead of their color. Previously, I've always sorted them for photos by color, but I had a lot of fun doing it this way.
I would love some feedback on which format you prefer or find more helpful! Are you ready??!
Cremes
semi-clockwise from top: Misa- Blue Jade Vine, LVX- Cerise, Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine- Papaya, Illamasqua- Harem, Estée Lauder- Rosa Rosa, Essie- Mint Candy Apple, OPI- Mod About You, Zoya- Lo, LVX- Deco, Rescue Beauty Lounge- Plié
I know cremes are the least interesting finish for a lot of people, but I really have a soft spot for them. There's something about a swath of pure, beautiful color! And, of course they are perfect foundations for nail art.
Illamasqua- Harem, in the middle, is one of my favorite creme polishes I own, period. Is it purple? is it pink? No one knows, but it's super pretty and flattering! OPI- Mod About You I have so far only ever worn on my toes but I loved how it looked (other than the fact that it chipped quickly).
LVX- Deco probably looks super similar to Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine- Papaya, and well, it is, but there's definitely a color value difference. I've worn the Barry M recently and it was lovely, but it dries darker than bottle color. Maybe a comparison is in order for those two.
That version of Essie- Mint Candy Apple is apparently the original one released in 2009, and it's much bluer than the newer Mint Candy Apple sold now. This polish is new to me, and I was honestly expecting something greener, so I'm curious to try it out!
A mildly interesting story about Estée Lauder- Rosa Rosa: I came by it in a pile of polishes that a friend offered to me. Most were dried up, decades-old drugstore polishes beyond revival, but this was one of the gems- and it's in excellent shape! It's a promo-sized baby bottle, only .17oz, but the color is a dusty rose with maybe a hint of coral. A little old school, but I love it! It's my only Estée Lauder polish thus far, but definitely makes me want to try more!
Holographics
ILNP- Iconic, Nubar- Gem, L. A. Girl 3D Effects- Dazzling Pink, ILNP- Dreaming in Violet
I'm off and on with holos, but always end up falling for them when I wear them- especially in nice sunny weather! I especially love chunkier, scattered versions as opposed to linear holo!
You can't tell by this photo, but Nubar- Gem has been well-loved! The bottle is almost half-depleted! It's got a really chunky mix of holo microglitter, and is neutral but complex and lovely.
ILNP- Iconic is obviously stunning, and I just haven't had an opportunity to wear it yet! L.A. Girl- Dazzling Pink has that chunkier holo shimmer that reminds me of the Zoya scattered holos (Dream, Aurora, Blaze, ect.)
Glitter Mixes
Emily de Molly- Bo Peep, Illamasqua- Fragile, Essie- Hors D'oeuvres, KBShimmer- Sugar Plum Faerie, ILNP- Strawberry Creme
I also haven't historically gravitated towards glitter mixes because of the hassle sometimes involved in application and removal, but that's definitely changing. I'm also pretty picky about the actual mixes. I don't like them too busy, and I'm not super into square or irregular glitters, ect. However, there are so many I've loved recently. (I also love a good peel base, so honestly there's no real excuse to avoid these babies!)
Emily de Molly- Bo Peep has actually made a previous seasonal Bottle Spam post, but I haven't had a chance to wear it yet! (Too much polish, too little time!) But, look at it! It's cute and so perfect for Spring.
I'm wearing Essie- Hors D'oeuvres right now as part of a skittlette nail art thing, and it's really lovely! You'll see that one soon! I've had ILNP- Strawberry Creme since I first became interested in ILNP, and never worn it- but it's such a cute, girly mix. Can't wait to try that out soon!
Is there anything more eggshell-like than Illamasqua- Fragile? I really don't think so. (See it here.)
Shimmers
Superchic Lacquer- Cause & Effect, Illamasqua- Loella, China Glaze- Strawberry Fields, China Glaze- Strike A Rose, OPI- Just Lanai-ing Around, Misa- Peaches and Cream, Nubar- Earthen, Illamasqua- Radium, Illamasqua- Hemlock
Ah yes, shimmers! One of my favorite finishes. They can really range from super subtle to obvious!
China Glaze- Strawberry Fields is new to me, so I am pretty stoked to see what that one's all about! You may see it in a Nailstalgia post! Nubar- Earthen is a tried-and-true neutral greige for me, and yes, it does have shimmer! It's just uber subtle, and gives a nice glow! (Same with OPI- Just Lanai-ing Around, which you can see here.)
Superchic Lacquer- Cause & Effect will be swatched for you soonish along with three others from the Serendipity collection! Illamasqua- Hemlock is super unflattering on me, but it's so unique and beautiful that I still love it! In fact, I'm also wearing it as part of that same skittlette- are you intrigued?! Why does everything have an exclamation mark?!
Even More Shimmers because reasons!
Zoya- Leslie, Zoya- Zara, Picture Polish- Eerie, Indigo Bananas- Electric Unicorns, Indigo Bananas- Roll in Ze Hay, Orly- High on Hope, Emily de Molly- Lace Man, Sally Hansen Triple Shine- Make Waves, Zoya- Dillon, Butter London- Two Fingered Salute, OPI- I Vant to Be A-Lone Star
This second grouping has all types of shimmers, including more complicated ones like glassfleck and larger flake shimmer mixes, as well as a couple that border on frostiness. Also Indigo Bananas- Roll in Ze Hay which has holo, microglitter, and glow-in-the-dark pigment. Didn't know where to put that one!
Orly- High on Hope might be considered dark for Spring, but I'm going to wear whatever I want anyway. Look how pretty it looks in the bottle! Similarly, Butter London- Two Fingered Salute could be considered more of a Fall shade (swatch/ comparison here), but I think it could work! (To be honest, I'm really jonesing for Illamasqua- Melange, but TFS will have to do for now.)
Sally Hansen Triple Shine- Make Waves was a bit of an impulse drugstore purchase, but look at it! I am hoping that it looks that nice on the nail. I've worn Indigo Bananas- Electric Unicorns on my toes, and it looks so incredible that it definitely deserves some phalanges time. I'm just making shit up now! Too Much textwall!
Zoya- Leslie is, of course, from the new Delight collection, and I may be swatching those for you if I can find time! I really want to- I think it's a great Spring offering! If not, you can find bottle shots here and some nail art here!
Miscellany
Misa- Silver Skyline, Zoya- Stevie, Formula X for Sephora- Starfish, Zoya- Monet, China Glaze- Are You Jelly?, NYX- Turquoise Glitter, Studio M- Gel-ous
Textures, a foil, clear-based glitters, jellies!
It's looking a little purple/ lavender-heavy here at the end, but I love them! China Glaze- Are You Jelly? is from Summer 2013's Sunsational neon jelly collection, and I had application problems with those polishes, so I definitely want to give this one a second shot!
Behold, the only nail polish the boyfriend has ever randomly picked out in person for me: Studio M- Gel-ous! It's a bright, dense chartreuse glitter mix in what I think is a clear base. Nyx- Turquoise Glitter has iridescent green-turquoise glitters in a super sheer jelly base.
Zoya- Stevie is one of my favorite original PixieDust polishes! So pretty and so easy to wear! Zoya- Monet you've seen before, but I want to re-visit it. It's slightly suspension base-heavy, so I want to try sponging it on, and possibly mattifying it!
Misa- Silver Skyline is newer, from last years's Fall collection called Warm Days, and it's a metallic lavender foil!
Formula X for Sephora- Starfish is just super lovely (nail art here), and I'm kind of craving it as a full manicure!
That's it! It'll be interesting to see how many of these polishes I can actually use before Summer is in full swing! My strategy is going to be skittles and nail art, of course! Is that cheating? I don't think so!
Thoughts?
I'd love to know what your favorite Spring polish is!
*Disclosure: some polishes in this post were provided to me as press samples for honest review, and all opinions are my own.
SO pretty. I'm glad it's finally warming up here in IL, despite the storms. This was a really cool post!
ReplyAwesome bottle spam! Those are some things of beauties :)
ReplyThanks, Erin! I kind of hate the heat, but it's soooo nice not to have to totally bundle up when going outside now. :)
ReplyThanks Lisa! I love doing these posts, but they also make me feel overwhelmed because I know I won't get to wear them all, haha! It's a disease!
ReplyAwesome! There are some really nice polishes in this post!
Reply