Here's another shade from the Orly Surreal Fall 2013 collection.

3 coats

 Orly Purple Poodle is a fuchsia jelly with purple flakes and shimmer. It looks darker in the bottle than it does on the nails. I wasn't pleased with how this looked on me, so I added a coat of Essie Matte About You to see if that would change my mind.







Uh yeah! It totes did. I love it matte and will probably only wear it this way. Purple Poodle's formula was thin and manageable. No application issues at all.



Have you picked up anything from this collection? What are your current fall lemmings?

I have a few swatches that I either can't dedicate a full post to or are part of a collection that I've neglected to finish swatching. I figured I'd share them with you before I forget about them completely.

2 coats

Color Club Angel Kiss is part of the 2012 Halo Hues collection. It's a pretty light blue with a killer flame. Remember the holo drought? For years, companies would release weak, scattered holos, holo glitter, and even flakies and call them holographic. What a frustrating time! I'm so happy we have strong, linear holos that are easily accessible.

3 coats

Essie Secret Story is a midtone pink jelly. I randomly picked this up on clearance and was pleasantly surprised when I found out it's a jelly! Don't you love that? Secret Story's easy application was just a cherry on top.

3 coats

Here's an unnamed franken that I found while reorganizing my stash a couple months ago. I know it contains Wet n Wild Nocturnal and Cover Girl Ice Slicks Anti Freeze, but I'm not sure what else is involved. I only made a mini bottle, but I wish I'd made more. I love it!

2 coats

American Apparel Neon Red is more coral than Neon Coral is, in my opinion. I love the AA neons because they apply so well and don't require white undies.

4 coats

Verity Deep Violet is a purple jelly that should be in everyone's collection. It's gorgeous! However, I don't think my bottle is as pigmented as others because I see all these posts with 2 coats and no VNL, and I'm like...what? 4 coats later, my Deep Violet mani still showed VNL. I don't mind, though. It's perfect for jelly sandwiches.

2 coats

Illamasqua Charisma, how I love thee. It's a gorgeous cranberry raspberry hybrid with a flash of gold. It also has red shimmer sprinkled through it. I know people say Essie Swing Velvet is a dupe, and I even bought that one to satisfy my lemming for Charisma. It didn't quench my thirst, though, and I ended up buying Charisma anyway. I wouldn't say they're dead on dupes, but they're definitely similar. I prefer Charisma.





That's all, folks!

Today, I have three shades from the China Glaze Sunsational Summer 2013 collection. Out of the jelly half of this collection, these three were the most attractive to me.





These jellies don't self-level at all. Floating the brush and avoid going over the same spot twice helped tremendously. I think they are worth getting if you're willing to be patient with them.

I only picked up one polish from this little collection because I have enough pinks to last a lifetime, and I'm really trying to cut down on purchasing full collection just for collecting's sake. So here's the most interesting color from the collection, in my opinion.








Essie Using My Middle Name is a medium violet with pinky red shimmer. The shimmer is subtle, but it is visible on the nail. I really like the color of this, and I don't have anything quite like it.



The formula is nice. I had no application issues with this one.





Essie Using My Middle Name retails for $8 and is available at Ulta.

I thought I'd start off the year with a Purge Wars post, since my one and only New Year's resolution is to take purging my stash more seriously. Hopefully it sticks because I'm running out of storage space!



Today, I've pitted different flakies with colored bases against each other. I also wanted to see if I could franken-layer to achieve a similar look.



First into the arena were Layla Ceramic Effect 52 and Nfu.Oh 51

Layla Ceramic Effect 52, Nfu.Oh 51

5 coats 51, 3 coats 52

The base colors of 51 and 52 are more similar than I anticipated. The biggest difference would be the opacity. I'd probably choose 52 to wear alone more often than 51 because I don't often have time for a 5 coat mani. I had no trouble applying either of these.



I used American Apparel African Violet as a base, and then layered Essie Shine of the Times and Milani Purple Neon for my franken layer. The purples I chose were too warm, and the flakie was too dense, but I do think it's possible to get close to 51 or 52 with a few corrections and maybe a coat of 230 or something similar. I think my next attempt will be more successful.



Battle Casualty: I'm keeping both of these because...just look at the pretty! Look at it!



Next up are Urban Outfitters Mystic and Deborah Lippmann Ray of Light

Urban Outfitters Mystic, Deborah Lippmann Ray of Light

3 coats Mystic, 3 coats Ray of Light

Mystic has larger flakes and its base more vibrant than Ray of Light. Mystic also looks a touch darker than Ray of Light, which is probably because it lacks that slightly dusty quality that Ray of Light has. The formula on both was a bit thick, so I thinned them both. No problems after than.



My franken-layer is a Revlon Royal base with Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure and American Apparel Moonlight Beach layered. I think Hidden Treasure was a better choice than Shine of the Times because it's less dense. I think I'd go for a darker jelly to achieve a more accurate look. Maybe Deborah Lippmann Rehab.



Battle casualty: Urban Outfitters Mystic. There's something missing here. Maybe some depth? Not sure, but I don't mind parting with it.





Is it bad that I prefer my franken layers over all of them, though? Maybe I'm just stroking me ego. :)



That's it for this round of Purge Wars. Stayed tuned for Battle of the Flakies 2:

They're more similar than you think

I included Essie Bikini So Teeny in the comp as a reference point for the other two.

Essie Bikini So Teeny, Butter London Sprog, Essie Lapis of Luxury

While the shades are similar, Sprog is more pigmented and brighter than Lapis of Luxury. Lapis has almost a dusty quality in comparison to Sprog. In terms of finish, Lapis of Luxury is a crelly, while Sprog is a true creme.



If I had to choose, I'd pick Lapis over Sprog, but I don't mind owning both.



I believe Essie Lapis of Luxury is core now, so it should be readily available.

Butter London Sprog is exclusive to Ulta and butterlondon.com.

Sorry I've been MIA for a few days. You know how life goes.



I've started taking pictures of my stash, which has proved to be quite the task. Eventually I'd like to have close up shots of my entire stash, large group shots will have to do for now. Here's what I've accomplished so far.



Note: I do apologize for photo quality (or lack thereof); I only had enough time to take one picture of each group.

American Apparel. That's Light Year crowd surfing

China Glaze

China Glaze

Yep, more China Glaze

China Glaze, most from the Summer Neons collection

ETF silver capped China Glaze

HTF silver capped China Glaze

Essie

Essie

Essie

That's all for now! I can't believe how much my stash has grown since the last time I posted.

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.

2 coats

My favorite from the collection! Such a gorgeous, dusty green. I've loaned this one to a few of my friends, and I think it's safe to say: this is gorgeous on everyone! So chic. The formula is nice and pigmented - I barely needed a second coat!

As promised, here is the other half of Essie's 2011 Resort collection.

2 coats

Da Bush is definitely my favorite of the bunch. I'm a sucker for dusty cremes, and this one fits the bill. The warm, greyed-out green makes me think of the honey badger at night, hunting prey. I also love the formula. No problems whatsoever. I prefer this to Stranger Tides.

3 coats, 1coat Seche Vite

You almost got me, Essie. I *almost* fell in love with this whole collection, but Fair Game is one hurdle I can't get over. It's a steel blue with some green and lots of fine shimmer, I guess. The color is definitely interesting, but it's not my favorite. The formula is definitely not my friend. It was gloopy, and noticed it didn't do a great job self-leveling. I had to add a coat of SV to even it out. I will try this again, and I'm sure with a couple drops of thinner it will behave a lot more nicely.





Which shade do you love most from this collection? Was the Resort or Braziliant collection more applealing to you?

I love Summer collections. Not only are they always full of fun, bright shades, but there is also no school, which means there is more time to enjoy them! I was especially looking forward to Essie's Resort collection, since last year's was such a surprise love for me. Splash of Grenadine and Lapis of Luxury are both in my top 20.

2 coats

2 coats

I love my texting thumb. My texting thumb keeps me connected to the world. She is always there for me when I need her. She always matches my phone because, well, they're a team:










So yeah, I'm kind of definitely a dork.

Is anyone else loving this collection as much as I am?

I'm going to a holiday party tonight, so I figured now would be the perfect time to break out my holiday glitters. This is 2 coats of Essie Marshmallow, 2 coats of China Glaze Party Hearty, and 2 coats of $OPI Flurry Up. I did my base coat (Barielle hydrating Ridge Filler + Gelous) and coats of Marshmallow yesterday so that I wouldn't have to wait forever for all the coats to dry.