I'm Swatchin' You - Spoiled Shrimp on the Barbie

Yup, I got another Spoiled.  Luckily, the color is amazing, because the brush certainly isn't.  This is called Shrimp on the Barbie, a pink jelly with gold micro glitter.

This took just two coats to look incredible.  While my brush was the worst I've seen from Spoiled, it certainly still qualified as craptastic.  As I said, the color is gorgeous, so I'm still glad I braved another Spoiled.  I'll be decanting sometime in the future.  The only other downside is that I hate cleaning up micro glitter!

SH Double Duty and SV as base and top.

I'm Swatchin' You - China Glaze Champagne Bubbles

So, remember a few days ago I told you that my cuticles have been ravaged by some work I'm doing in my mother's bathroom?  Well, manual labor strikes again.  While removing a wallpaper border, I broke TWO nails.  A moment of silence, please.  Beware, extreme nubbins lay ahead...with horrible cuticles to boot.

Today's color is China Glaze's Champagne Bubbles, a gold shimmer with silver micro glitter.  This is from ChG's Winter 2011 Let It Snow collection.

This is two coats with no issues.  The formula was good, and I really had no problems with this at all.  The color is good, but not really anything to shout about.

SH Double Duty and SV as base and top.

I'm Swatchin' You - Sinful Colors All About You

Today's color comes to you from Sinful Colors.  This is called All About You.  It's yellow and copper glitter in a clear jelly base.

For a micro glitter, it applies very nicely.  The formula was great, and you get a nice, fairly even application with it.  You are looking at two coats here.  But I have to be honest, I'm not in love with this one.  It's very nice, and may serve its purpose when layered over something else.  It's just not something to get very excited about.  I think it would be a great polish if the base had been tinged with some color, too.  What do you think?

SH Double Duty and Insta-Dri as base and top.

I'm Swatchin' You - Orchid Funky Monkey

Today's color comes to you from Orchid.  It's called Funky Monkey, and you know I bought it for the name!  It's basically a brown glitter in a brown-tinged base.

If you look closely, you will see that the shimmer is a coppery brown that even looks rose and gold from different angles.  It's a very pretty color.  The formula was great, but it does go on a bit sheer.  So you are looking at three coats.  This does build beautifully with each coat.  The only thing I don't like is that there is a slight VNL, which the brown tinge of the base makes it look kind of like there's dirt under your nails.  Do you agree?

SH Double Duty and Insta-Dri for base and top.

I'm Swatchin' You - China Glaze Ultamate Holiday

Hey folks!  Today, I've got a polish from China Glaze's limited edition collection that was done for Ulta.  It's called Ultamate Holiday, a gold holo glitter in a clear jelly base.

One thing I loved about this polish is that it applies really well for a glitter.  It goes on evenly and dense.  You are looking at my usual two coats.  However, this does dry matte, and it's a top coat eater.  I only applied top coat to my middle and pinky fingers.  I don't know if you can really see the difference.  If you want a smooth finish, you will need 2-3 coats of your top coat.

SH Double Duty and Insta-Dri for base and top.

I'm Swatchin' You - Spoiled Cougar Attack

Hello everyone!  Today's color is from Spoiled.  If you are at all familiar with Spoiled, you know they have horrendous brushes.  That is my only complaint about this color, Cougar Attack.

To be honest, I didn't think I was going to love this color.  But everyone was raving about it when it came out, so I grabbed it to give it a shot.  OMG, what a gorgeous polish!  It's a copper glitter in a copper jelly base.  The base color builds quite nicely.  You are looking at two coats.  It would just get more incredible with more coats.  The result is a beautiful coppery color with a strong copper shimmer from the glitter.  It looks great and my pics just don't do it justice.  You. Must. Buy!

SH Double Duty and Insta-Dri for base and top.

I'm Swatchin' You - Wet 'n' Wild Back Alley Deals

Hopefully, if I chuck some glitter at you, it will give you a happy, sparkly Monday!  This is from Wet 'n' Wild's Color Icon line.  It's called Back Alley Deals, and it's purple micro glitter and dark pink round glitter in a clear base.

 

The glitter is very dense, so you get really good coverage in only one coat.  But, it is difficult to get even coats.  Your first brush stroke is pretty dense, but subsequent strokes are sparse.  So, be sure to re-load your brush for each stroke.  From left to right below, you are looking at one coat, then two coats, one coat over white (OPI Alpine Snow), and one coat over black (ChG Liquid Leather).

L to R: One coat, two coats, one coat over white, one coat over black

This also dries matte and gritty.  The two nails on the left have no top coat so you can see the natural matte finish.  The good news is that even though this dries gritty, it is not a top coat eater.  I added one layer of my top coat, and it is perfectly smooth.  The top coat also really brings out the shine in the glitter.

L to R: One coat and two coats with no top coat

L to R: One coat over white, then black with one layer of top coat

I used SH Double Duty and SH Insta-Dri for my base and top coats.

I'm Swatchin' You - New York Color Starry Silver Glitter

Hello!  So, I bought this next polly at the same time that I bought my other NYC polishes, so it's fairly old.  It's called Starry Silver Glitter.  I actually saw this in a store recently, so they still make it.  It's holo micro glitter and blue and silver round glitter in a clear base.

The formula is very good.  It went on smoothly and evenly.  However, you do have to work to get the round glitter on your nail.  I actually didn't try too hard, so that's why there is not much in terms of the round glitter.  It dries shiny, but you need a top coat if you are looking for high shine.  I did not use a top coat so you could see the natural finish.  And it is not gritty at all.  Left to right below, you are looking at two coats over black (ChG Liquid Leather), two coats over white (OPI Alpine Snow), two coats, and one coat.

L to R: Two coats over black, two coats over white, two coats, one coat

L to R: Two coats, one coat

L to R: Two coats over black, two coats over white

I used SH Double Duty as a base.

I'm Swatchin' You - Sally Hansen DVD

Good morning!  I've got a blingy-bling polish for you today.  This is from SH's HD line.  It's called DVD, and it really cool!  I'm not quite sure how to classify this one.  It's a super sparkly duochrome that flashes blue and purple (blurple!), or it could be called an iridescent.  And the finish could even pass as a foil.  I am very happy to report that the brush was on this line is also a round brush instead of the SH paddle, and it worked very well.  The formula on this was fantastic.  Application was smooth and even.  This is my usual two-coat swatch.  It was almost opaque in these two coats, but not quite.  One or two more coats would do the trick.  While this looks incredible on its own, it would be even more beautiful over a light base.  And it is positively blinding in the sunlight!

Blurred for Bling

SH Double Duty and SH Insta-Dri for base and top.

I'm Swatchin' You - Nail-Venturous Floam

Hi all!  Here is the polish featured on Friday, Floam, an indie polish made by Nail-Venturous.  This is only the second indie polish I liked enough to buy.  Floam is neon blue and neon yellow matte glitter in a clear base.

As I've said before, I'm not usually a big fan of most of the indie polishes out there.  But this one was too unique to pass up.  Plus, I have all of the earrings I wore back in the 80s, and this polish totally reminded me of one of my favorite pairs!

On to the deets on Floam!
The formula was a little thick and finicky.  I had a hard time controlling it, so I wasn't able to get a clean cuticle edge.  The glitter also seemed to be very attracted to my cuticles!  I found that the first stroke did not have much glitter, but the following strokes covered well.  After a little trial and error, I found that it is best to do a light first coat and thicker second coat.  This can be layered, but I decided to wear it on its own.  You are looking at pre-cleanup, and cleanup was no fun!  Floam dries matte, and it is a bit of a top coat muncher.  I topped with two coats of SV and it still was not very smooth.  All in all, a very cool polish that is definitely unique!  You can purchase this through Ninja Polish or the Nail-Venturous etsy shop.  However, the owner, Amy, is currently taking a break.

SH Double Duty and SV as base and top.

I'm Swatchin' You - Spoiled Shaken Snow Globe

Rise and shine!  Be sure to enter the giveaway...it ends Thursday!  And I'm already shining and sparkly thanks to today's color.  This is Spoiled's Shaken Snow Globe.  You know the deal on the brush...ewww.  C'est la vie.

This is, of course, meant to be layered.  Here it is in the natural state, and it's full of oh-so-glittery sparkle in a clear base.  You get lots of colored sparkle in a great formula that goes on wonderfully.  Now if only you could apply it would a quality brush, right?  Well, if you can deal with the brush, it's a fantastic color to add to your stash!  My camera just doesn't capture the colorful goodness of this one.  Sorry for that!

SH Double Duty as base.  No top coat.