As a thank you to my followers, I am giving away the full Layla Hologram Effect collection. They are gorgeous polishes that I think everyone should try!

Mercury Twilight, Coral Glam, Retro Pink, Ultra Violet, Jade Groove, Mermaid Spell, Ocean Rush, Flash Black

I am also including a bottle of Nfu.Oh Aqua Base to make these a lot easier to apply.



The form below has all the information you need to enter. Good luck!

3 coats

Essie Pink-a-Boo is a light pink with iridescent shimmer. You know how some polishes have tons of shimmer and look amazing in the bottle and then once you've applied it, it might as well be a creme? This is not one of those polishes. The shimmer definitely showed up for the party.



I honestly do not remember how this applied, which might be a good thing. I mean, if it were absolutely terrible, I would remember...right? I will just say that the formula is average. Nothing remarkably terrible or amazing to report.

I chose the first three polishes that popped into my head to compare with Chanel June. My mind definitely cries dupe way more often than necessary (i.e. it's usually wrong).

Deborah Lippmann P.Y.T., Chanel June, China Glaze Peachy Keen, Barielle Blossom

It was obvious from the bottles that two were definite outliers, but I stayed the course anyway.

The swatches are shown in the same order as the bottles, 3 coats each

As far as comparisons...



-P.Y.T. is far too pink but has the same squishy creme finish as June.

-Peachy Keen is the most similar of the bunch, but it is brighter and has a true creme finish. Note to self: I bet a coat of PYT over Pechy Keen could achieve a near-June result.

-Blossom is not at all similar, but super pretty, and I must remember to wear it soon.





With the slew of dupes coming out from cheaper polish brands (oh hey Revlon), I would imagine that a color as popular as June may have a dupe sometime in the future. The only question is, are you willing to wait?



If any polishes come to mind that you'd like compared with June, let me know. If I have it, I'll compare it.

3 coats

Chanel June is a gorgeous peach. The finish is a cross between a creme and a jelly, which results in a squishy, yummy looking finish. I just love squishy cremes. The color is also a love for me. This is as close to orange as I can get before things get ugly.



The formula is great. I had no issues with application, and three thin coats were enough for full opacity.



So, is this a must-have? I can't in good conscience recommend a $26 polish to anyone, especially since a lot of popular Chanels have been duped by cheaper brands lately. However, I will say that I absolutely love it and plan to wear it often, so it is a must-have for me.



Chanel June is limited edition, retails for $26, and is available at Chanel.com

2 coats, Sinful Colors Pearl Harbor as an accent

Dior Tuxedo is a beautiful navy shimmer with a slight purple cast. The shade is classy and subtly vivid. The shimmer is not as obvious as pictured - I used flash to bring it out of hiding. In most lights, it has a subdued metallic sheen that catches the light beautifully.



Tuxedo, like most of the other Dior polishes I have encountered, applied beautifully. It is self-leveling and easy to control. I am not a fan of the brush, but the formula definitely makes up for it. The wear was also great - this picture was taken after 3 days of wear (with a topcoat refresher on day 2)



Dior Tuxedo was a limited edition release for the Fall 2011 collection.

3 coats

Illamasqua Nomad is an interesting hybrid of pistachio green and jade. It's a color for which I couldn't even begin to think of a dupe. Does this mean I just don't own enough greens? *plots to go shopping* Anyway, Nomad is a gorgeous creme!



The formula on this is...bearable. A little thick and streaky, a third coat was needed to even things out. The wear was great! My mani of 1 coat of Butter London Nail Foundation, 3 coats of Nomad, and 1 coat of Butter London Hardwear lasted 4 days without a chip or noticeable tipwear. Not too shabby.



Despite the less than perfect formula, I would still put this in the must-have category.



Illamasqua Nomad retails for £13.50 at Illamasqua and $14 at Sephora.

It is common knowledge that Emilio Pucci is the master of bold, bright prints, which is why I was so ecstatic when I learned of his collaboration with Guerlain for their Summer Terra Azzurra collection.



I mean...look at this palette!






Swatches after the jump!

Swatched with a finger, no primer, natural lighting

Guerlain Capri contains an iridescent white gold, a satin medium pink, a shimmery coral, and a satin cool dark brown. The colors in this palette just scream Summer, don't you think?



All of the shadows are wonderfully pigmented and have a smooth, blendable texture. They are also long-lasting. I didn't notice much fading at all after about ten hours of wear over my NARS primer.








I can definitely see this becoming my go-to Summer palette!






Guerlain Capri is $59 retail and is available for purchase at Sephora.com

2 coats

YSL Black Tulip is one of my favorite purples. It's a rich, vibrant aubergine creme. It's also a favorite of mine because the formula is out of this world. It applies like butter and self-levels like no other. Seriously, it's amazing.



Also, I added Finger Paints Twisted as an accent.

2 coats

Doing a little throwback with these swatches from Summer 2011. If you haven't heard of Dr.'s Remedy yet, check out their Facebook page for information about what makes them doctor approved.

2 coats

Nurture Nude Pink is a warm pinky beige with pink shimmer. It reminds me of Barielle Pink Sherbet (no, they're not dupes), which is an all-time favorite of mine. I love shades like these. They are so easy to wear.

2 coats

Bold Baby Blue is a bright blue metallic foil. Metallics and I don't often get along, but the color makes the finish a little more bearable.

1 coat

Lovely Lavender is a dustry lavender creme. Holy pigmented, Batman! Beautifiul color and it's a one-coater?! Double winning.

2 coats

Tranquil Tangerine is a not so tranquil golden orange metallic. Colors like this just don't look good on me. I was very angry at NARS for releasing a similar color last year. Clearly, only colors that suit me should be available for purchase (just kidding!).

2 coats

Most golds look absolutely terrible on me, but Glee Gold is definitely an exception. It's a gorgeous neutral gold that is wearable despite the metallic finish. Definitely my favorite from the collection, which is so weird for me to say!





The formula on these was great. They all applied smoothly and easily. Also, the shades are definitely more unique than what I've experienced from them in the past.



Dr.'s Remedy polishes retail for $17 and are available for purchase on their website.





**Products sent for review

Recently, I spent a day with one of my very good friend's daughters, who love getting their nails painted. Naturally, I put them to work reviewing a few polish collections for my blog. :)

Ava, 8; Hope, 6

Aren't they precious? First up, Ava shares what she thinks about the Butter London Spring/Summer 2012 collection.

2 coats

Slapper is a bright, vibrant teal creme that I found impossible to photograph properly. Imagine it has a touch more green. The application was a breeze. It was also very pigmented; her nails barely needed a second coat.



Ava says: "I don't like it. It looks like grass. Yeah, it looks green. I don't like green. Nope."



Well okay then!

2 coats

Bossy Pants is a light mint green creme. My personal favorite from the collection. The formula is a great consistency - not to thick or thin.



Ava says: "It's too light, but it's a beautiful color. It reminds me of thin mints*."



*Aren't thin mints dark brown? Haha

3 coats

Trout Pout is a salmon pink creme. I had some application issues with this one. I found the formula to be quite thick and streaky. A bit of thinner would most likely be the solution.



Ava says: "It's beautiful. It goes great with my 'tin tone' and I love it!"



I totally agree. :)

3 coats

Disco Biscuit is a hot pink jelly with iridescent microglitter. The application was nice and smooth.




Ava says: "It's my favorite color! It reminds me of a flower."

3 coats

Knackered is a purple/grey/green duo (like Wicked Game) with holo microglitter. The formula is on the thin side, but it's not at all runny. It applied very smoothly.



Ava says: "It looks so sprinkly. It kinda looks like grey. This one is my favorite of them all."





Overall, this is a pretty great collection. I think there is a great balance of brights and pastels and glitter. Butter London managed to include several different finishes and shades in just five polishes. That's quite impressive.



If you haven't already, you can pick these up at Ulta stores and online or butterlondon.com or Sephora.com (new!). They are $14 retail.

4,7,8,11,16

At this point, these don't really need a review. Just wanted to show some of the shades on my skintone. I love them, I love the shades, and I can't wait to get more. Swatches after the jump.

4,7

8,11,16

I just found this on my computer and realized I never posted it.









I forget how many coats I used, but I think it's two. I'm sure you've seen more than enough Holland swatches, but this is my favorite from the collection, so I thought I'd share. And it wore amazingly well! I think this picture was taken on day 5 or 6 of wear. Not many polishes survive that long on my nails.

From the Summer 2012 Croisette collection, Aurora is the warmer of the two quints offered. So naturally, I had to have it.





For this collection, the shadows feature a sunburst pleating pattern, which mimics the pleated design of some of the dresses from this season. Gold, orange, bronze...it just screams summer. Without a doubt, it is a stunning palette.



Unfortunately, that's where my happiness ends with this one.

Swatched from top left, middle shade on the bottom.

I love the shades, but the shadows are just not pigmented enough for my liking. The swatches above were heavily applied with my finger. Applied with a brush, these shadows are almost nonexistent.






It's definitely a subtle look, even though I was piling shadow onto my eyes, trying to build up the pigmentation. My lid is still visible through the color, which would not be a bad thing if that is what I had intended. Of course, with a base, the colors would really pop. However, I wish the palette were pigmented enough to stand on its own.



Pigmentation aside, I do really love the texture and finish of these shadows. They are shimmery without being garish and are very smooth and buttery.



Bottom line, I like the shades but don't think they are unique enough or have enough pigmentation to classify this as a must-have.



The Aurora quint retails for $60 and is available at Sephora.com.

2 coats

I decided to finally wear this as it has been exactly one year since I was lucky enough to score this BNIB at a dusty. What a great day! Amethyst is ridiculously pretty and pictures do it (and many other holos) no justice.





Keep an eye out for this when you're dusty hunting! The eBay prices for this one are offensive.

You know what grinds my gears? Seeing things on sale that I bought full price. Oh well!



Let's face it: my turnaround time (purchase>swatch>post) is a little slow. However, when I saw that HSN clearanced the Footloose collection, I made it a mission to swatch them and post about it.



Mission accomplished!

2 coats

You'll have to excuse my shoddy polishing skills. I'm very a little rusty. Let's Hear it for the Boy is a gorgeous pale blue creme. It reminds me of Essie Borrowed & Blue but brighter and bluer. The formula's slightly on the thick side, but totally manageable. Any issues you see are total user error!

2 coats

Dancing in the Sheets is LHIFTB's partner. It's a deep purple base chock full of bright blue shimmer. The color's pretty, yes, but the formula on this one is ABSURDLY AWESOME. It applied with such ease and precision, even though I had a wonky brush. Not too thin or thick, it was a joy to apply.

3 coats

Almost Paradise is a pistachio green creme. It's a green you don't see very often, and I love that! I did not love the formula, though. It was a bit streaky and runny, but it's not a dealbreaker for me. The color definitely compensates for its less than perfect formula.

2 coats

Footloose is a glossy, red creme. It leans slightly orange, but not as much as my photo might imply. This totally reminded me of Supermodel, but it was just my mind playing tricks on me. I loved the application on this one as well. What a winner.



 





If you love the look of these, hurry to HSN and pick up the sets for half the original price!