I'm Swatchin' You - Pure Ice Skinny Dip

Pure Ice's Skinny Dip is up next.  This is a very beautiful neutral pearl, with a bit of a frost finish.

I can see why this one is called Skinny Dip.  It's a very classy nude color.  For a drug store brand, it has a great formula that was very easy to work with.  It was a bit on the thin side, but not too bad.  Since it has a slightly frosted finish, you will see some brush strokes.  Great color!

SH Double Duty and SV as base and top.

I'm Swatchin' You - Zoya Ava

Today's color is very sweet sheer neutral from Zoya.  This is Ava, from the Spa Essentials collection.

You are looking at three coats here.  A fourth may have been a good idea.  For a sheer, it builds nicely.  Also, the formula was great with little streaking.  Although I couldn't capture this on camera, there is a very subtle shimmer to Ava, too.  Very classy lady.

SH Double Duty and SV as base and top.

I'm Swatchin' You - Orly Nite Owl

You know I do love my Orly polishes, and this one is too pretty!  It's Nite Owl, from the Birds of Feather collection.  It's a neutral, cool brown with silvery shimmer.

The formula on this one was amazing!  Super easy application, and good to go in two coats.  I think this is such a classy color.  It pops without being overly noticeable or in your face.  Classic.

SH Double Duty and SV as base and top.

I'm Swatchin' You - Orly Rage

Say hello to Orly Rage!  This is a neutral (bronze) foil from the Foil FX collection.  And yest, the virtual bandage strikes again!  Dun, dun, dunnnnn......

Rage is an awesome foil that applies so well.  The formula is amazing.  This was almost opaque in one coat, but a second coat was needed to really get a good finish.  This was a little difficult to clean up, but it's so worth it!

On a side note, I will not be posting tomorrow, as it is Christmas Day.  If you celebrate Christmas as I do, Merry Christmas, and I will see everyone on the 26th!

SH Double Duty and SV as base and top.

I'm Swatchin' You - OPI DS Classic

Do I have a beauty for you today!  It's the incredible OPI DS Classic that I am sure you are all familiar with.  It's a beautiful neutral holo, so watch your eyes!  Blingy goodness ahead!

Not only is this polish incredible, but so is the formula.  It applies so well, which can be tricky with a holo.  This was a breeze, and you are looking at two coats.  I also love that there was no pro wide brush to be found!  LOVE!

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

I'm Swatchin' You - China Glaze Fast Track

China Glaze's Fast Track, from the Hunger Games collection, is a must-have!  You have been informed.  Again, I really wish I had my lightbox with me so you could really see how gorgeous this is.  Fast Track is a neutral with gold shimmer, and I love it!

Yes, I dinged my middle finger.  It looks much worse than it was IRL.  The light just happened to keep highlighting what was really a tiny little bump.  Figures.  Anyway, the application on this was great.  I only did two coats for this swatch.  I think a third coat would really have made it look better as it builds beautifully.  The gold shimmer is subtle and gorgeous!

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

I'm Swatchin' You - Butter London All Hail the Queen

I am so excited to be showing you my first Butter London!  I decided to show you my absolute favorite BL color, which is All Hail the Queen, a very subtle neutral holo.

For such a light color, application was quite nice.  I thought there would be a lot of streaking and balding.  One thing that is lovely about BL is their formula.  This applied evenly, and builds nicely.  I did my usual two coats here, but I do think a third coat would really solidify the color, and show its true beauty.

For those of you who are not familiar with this brand, it is a bit on the pricier side.  It retails for $14, but they do have some truly beautiful colors.  I go for BL when I want to splurge a bit.  And like I said, the formula is really great.  I have heard of some people avoiding BL because they think it would be too difficult to apply using a square applicator.  Never fear...it's just a square cap.  There is a little round handle for the applicator.  Personally, I feel it's a little too small, but that really doesn't make too big of a difference.

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

French Bows - The Last Easter Mani...I Promise!

Good morning and welcome to 3 more new readers!  Only 7 to go, folks!!!

For my mani yesterday, I wanted something soft, subtle, and sweet for Easter Sunday.  So I started with my base of SH Double Duty.  Then, I did four coats of OPI's Barre My Soul, from their new NYC Ballet collection.  It's a sheer that I wanted pretty opaque, hence the ridiculous amount of coats.  I did this on all of my nails, except my ringer finger, which I was going to use as a subtle accent.  On that one, I did four coats of OPI's Care to Danse, a sheer purple that is also from the new collection.  Then I taped off my tips and added Orly's Faint of Heart.  To finish it all off, I topped with SV, and added nail art - a sweet, little, yellow bow, to my accent fingers.  And for some inexplicable reason, my cuticles decided to look ginormous when I took the pics.  @^%#$!* REALLY?!?  Anyway, I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and here's to a (hopefully) painless week!

I'm Swatchin' You - Cover Girl In the Buff and Some Giveaway News

Happy Monday!  As I inch towards my first giveaway, I want to let you know about some giveaways from fellow bloggers.  First, Lacquered Lover is giving away the Zoya Surf collection to one person and the Zoya Beach collection to another.  You can find that here.  Then, Glam Polish is giving away 6 of the ChG Neons here.  Go check them out!

As for today's color, I felt like another little stroll down amnesia lane.  I have a couple of Cover Girl Nail Slicks colors to show you.  This one is a sweet color with a saucy name...In the Buff, and I love it!  There is just something so classy about a barely there color.  Very sophisticated, IMO.  It went on quite nicely, smooth and even, despite its age!  While it looks beautiful all by its lonesome, it would make a great french base, too.  Great brush, great formula, great polly, Miss Molly!

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

Feature Friday - Raging Olive Squared

Happy Friday!  Today's mani happened because I was so loving the CQ Golden Green I put on a couple of days ago, which you can see again here.  So you already know I started with my base of SH Double Duty and put on two coats of Golden Green.  I used tape to mask off the lower right square and painted on Orly's Rage.  I topped them with a quick coat of SV and repeated the taping for the upper left quadrant.  I finished it all off with a another coat of SV and voila!  Thanks for being here with me and have a great weekend, everyone!!!

I'm Swatchin' You - Maybelline Sheer Ivory

Good Monday morning to you! Here we have another Maybelline Express Finish.  This one is called Sheer Ivory.  I had some high hopes for this color.  I just love a subtle, light color.  However, this one reminds me more of discolored nails.  The ivory has a little too much of a yellow undertone to be pleasing.  It goes on sheer, of course, but very streaky, too.  You're looking at 3 coats (which you know I hate doing) and it's still pretty uneven.  This one needs to be filed in the "for layering only" pile, and probably sandwiching at that since I wouldn't want this being my final top coat.  Oh, well...so far, I can say I will not be running out to buy any Maybelline polish anytime soon.

SH Double Duty and SH Insta-Dri...as always.

I'm Swatchin' You - Colorama Spiced Tea

Good morning, sweet people!  Here is another Colorama color.  This one is a sweet little color called Spiced Tea.  It's got a nude-y beige color with a touch of sparkle and hint of pink.  This is another great base for a french.  As with the other Colorama colors I've used, it goes on very smooth and even.  I really want to layer this color over a black someday, too.  Let me go jot that down...

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

I'm Swatchin' You - Revlon Copperglaze Platinum

Another "I only own one" color is from Revlon.  This one is really pretty.  I have used this color when I needed something "classy" that I didn't want clashing with or upstaging my dress.  It's called Copperglaze Platinum.  It goes on like butter...like butter, I tell you!  Very smooth, easy to work with, and great coverage!  I got a sunny pic so you can see the pearly goodness of this color.  I do wish I had a better camera for you!  Do you have a go-to color for those dressy occasions? 

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