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!