Chi Chi - Like It Like That

My nails went through a bit of a war zone over the last few days, so I needed a 'super short nails friendly' nail polish, and this fit the bill perfectly. It's on the subtler side, but it's absolutely stunning. The formula was also really nice on this one, though I still did 2 coats to ensure evenness with a coat of Essie's Good to Go top coat.

Direct sunlight

Direct sunlight

Shade

Essie - Who Is The Boss

This was either from the most recent resort collection or wedding collection from Essie, I can't quite remember which. It's a bit hard to describe because whilst it looks quite green, it has a bit of blue tones in it, and it is dulled down with grey tones. Regardless, it's pretty and I hope to get some more use out of it this spring. 2 coats, no top coat.

Shade

Direct sunlight

Direct sunlight

China Glaze - Traffic Jam

This is one of those colours that look amazing all year round. It came out in the metro collection (I think it was a fall/autumn collection?) but I'll be wearing it all through summer as well. Just a bright, almost raspberry pink, its certainly dupable, but with China Glaze being only US$3 online, I definitely think it's worth having this one in your collection. Painted on smoothly and opaquely after 2 coats, no top coat.

Direct sunlight

Shade

Direct sunlight

Direct sunlight

Essie - Bikini So Teeny with Essie - Pure Pearlfection

Perhaps the most talked about shade from a summer collection, I finally plunged and purchased Bikini So Teeny. Whilst it is absolutely gorgeous in the bottle, I was hesitant to use it on my nails because of my weird aversion to blues. Whilst I think it;s a pretty blue, and one of the prettiest I own, I did find that I preferred it with a sparkly top coat since the sparkles in the actual nail polish were non-existent once painted. Pure Pearlfection was my top coat of choice, and I think it's sort of magical :)

All photos taken in cloudy daylight.

China Glaze "United in Purpose" Breast Cancer Awareness Collection 2012 (skittle swatches)

Firstly, let me just praise all those who do collection swatches/dupe posts because I had no idea how hard/time-consuming it was! Secondly, I didn't have a whole lotta time today so I couldn't do full manicure swatches. Hopefully this helps as just a guide until some of the more popular bloggers do collection swatches.

United in Purpose is a 12 piece collection and I purchased 9 - the shades I passed on were Angel's Breath, Pearls of Wisdom and Dare to be Bare.

L-R: Always A Lady; Hopeful; Faith; Exquisite

L-R: Hello Gorgeous!; United; Heart of the Matter; Live, Love, Laugh; Beauty Within

 Swatches after the break

China Glaze - Always A Lady

This is a new one from the United in Purpose Breast Cancer Awareness collection from China Glaze. When I purchased these from head2toebeauty.com about 3 weeks ago, I wasn't really surprised that there weren't any swatches online. 3 weeks later though when they arrived at my door, I was extremely surprised there weren't any swatches of this full collection. Here's just one of the polishes, but  I think I might get a skittle mani up of the colours I purchased just for those who like to see pictures before purchasing so expect that later today or tomorrow :) 

2 coats, 1 coat Essie - Good to Go top coat. All photos taken in direct sunlight.

Orly - Prelude to a Kiss

I can never decide whether these milky polishes look good on me or not. I think I like this one though, since it's just a tiny bit...dulled down? Has a hint of grey? You'll know what I mean by that if you compare this colour to Essie's A Crewed Interest, which is just a tad brighter, though extremely similar in colour (I may at some point swatch them together if anyone's interested). I found the formula a tiny bit thicker than what I prefer, but it still painted on smoothly and opaquely by the second coat. 

(again, I took this back in winter so my nails aren't at their best :(

Direct sun

Direct sun

Direct sun

Shade

Orly - Lunar Eclipse

Is it sad to admit that sometimes I get the Orly Cosmic FX (2010) collection out of my draw just to look at? They are just so pretty! Today I decided to wear Lunar Eclipse, a blue/purple duo and I love it. It's a deep but bright colour that looks completely amazing in the shade/indoors. It was so close to being a one coater too! This is 2 coats, no top coat. 

Shade

Direct sunlight

Indoor daylight

Indoor daylight

Chanel - Frisson

I've been going a little bit Chanel crazy lately, and at AU$40 a pop, I really need to cut back! Anyway, here is Frisson. This colour looked so, so pretty under shop lights that I couldn't resist taking it home with me. A medium-light pink, almost jelly in finish, with lots of gold sparkle - who could resist?! Whilst I definitely don't regret the purchase, it really wasn't as special as I thought it was once I'd painted it on my nails. That said, it was still pretty and delicate, and I'll get some use out of it. This was 2 coats and if you have longer nails than me, there would be VNL. All photos taken in direct sunlight.

L'Oreal Paris - Magic Croisette

Firstly, please excuse my nails. This was taken back in winter at some point when I didn't feel the need to keep my nails looking particularly nice (which I regretted as soon as I bit them off!). When I spotted that Priceline had a new display of nail polishes with some sort of offer (either 20% off or BOGO), I had to pick some up. Magic Croisette isn't particularly unique, but it's just so stunning in the bottle that I couldn't resist it. It painted on fine in 2 coats.

Direct sun

Direct sun

Cloudy

Shade

Look at that bottle - it even looks stunning in the shade! :D