3 coats, flash

Nails Inc. Stratford was certainly an enigma to my camera. It is a really pretty pinky copper that shifts to a golden green. The color kind of reminds me of a less garish version of Orly Space Cadet. It's quite beautiful. The finish, however, is prone to brush strokes. A careful application (which I did not use for these swatches) will certainly help mitigate that issue.



Stratford is definitely reflective, which is something I failed to capture on camera. You will just have to take my word for it. It's no Layla, but it is metallic enough to not look frosty. The formula is quite thin, but it is very manageable.

shade

indoor natural light

indirect sunlight

I really love the colors in Stratford, so I am more than willing to forgive the brushstrokes. There are definitely ways to fix that.



Nails Inc. Stratford retails for $9.50 and is available at Sephora.com

2 coats

Orly After Party is a black base with blue and fuchsia shimmer. It is most impressive in direct light or in the sun, but it's a pretty shade all around.



The formula was quite thick, and I had a bit of trouble applying this. Once I added a few drops of thinner, though, it was perfect. Side note: I do not really understand the philosophy that some hold about not wanting to thin a new bottle of polish. If there is a solution to a formula issue, I will use it. Right?





Orly After Party is part of the summer 2012 Feel the Vibe collection and is available wherever Orly is sold.

A bit belated, but another battle in this purge war has begun!

OPI Mermaid's Tears, OPI Thanks a Windmillion, Zoya Bevin

Let's see who'll make it out unscathed.

2 coats

OPI Mermaid's Tears isn't a sage green, but I wanted to include it anyway. It's more of a minty green. Whatever it's called, I absolutely love the shade. However, Mermaid's Tears was a bit thin and streaky. I didn't love the application.

2 coats

OPI Thanks a Windmillion is more what I would call sage. Love it! I also really like the formula on this one - not too thin or thick and self-levelling.

2 coats

I think I prefer Zoya Bevin to TaW because it's lighter a bit more flattering. Like most Zoya cremes I have encountered, though, it was thick and finicky to apply.





Battle casualties: OPI Mermaid's Tears and OPI Thanks a Windmillion.



I feel Zoya Bevin suits my skin tone the best, and I really don't wear this shade or anything close to it very often. I'll deal with the formula by adding some thinner.



So, how do you feel about this week's battle? What would you have purged?

Deborah Lippmann released this adorable mini set of 5 neon shades just in time for summer.




How cute is this packaging! The box features a hand with the nails cut out so that you can see the colors in the set. It instantly made me want to do a skittle mani with these shades.

"Experiment and have fun with color." xx Deborah

Onto the swatches!

The finish on these is described as demi-matte, but all my swatches feature the shades with topcoat.

2 coats

 Deborah Lippmann I Kissed a Girl is a bright mid-tone pink creme. It totally reminds me of Pop Life, so I'll have to swatch those at some point to compare.

4 coats

Deborah Lippmann It Girl looks like a yolky yellow on its own, and it's also pretty sheer. There is no way I'd ever wear it this way, so I layered it over Deborah Lippmann Amazing Grace:

2 coats It Girl over 1 coat Amazing Grace

3 coats

 Deborah Lippmann Hollaback Girl is an orange squishy creme. It leans red in some lights and is borderline coral. I guess that's why I love it because I normally hate orange polishes.

3 coats

Deborah Lippmann Nasty Girl red toned purple jelly. It's so pretty, but it reminds me of at least three other purples. I feel a huge comp thread coming with these!

3 coats

Deborah Lippmann Party Girl is a red coral squishy creme. I'm a sucker for all shades of coral. One might say I'm slightly obsessed.





So, how did these apply? AMAZINGLY WELL! They are the *perfect* consistency. I was especially surprised that It Girl applied so well. I'm used to yellows being a bit of a pain to apply, but all four coats of It Girl went on without a fuss. The dry times on these are all really great as well.



Must-have or not? I can't say that this set is a must-have because the shades seem pretty dupeable. However, the formula on these is to die for. So, if you're in the market for neons and don't have similar shades yet, maybe this set is for you.



The Deborah Lippmann Run the World (Girls) set retails for $45 and is available at deborahlippmann.com.

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, 7 (happy birthday!!!)

You may remember Ava's review of Butter London's Spring/Summer collection. This time, Hope is up with her views on the OPI Nicki Minaj collection.



Since you've all probably been inundated with the swatches, just enjoy the novelty of it. :)

3 coats

OPI Did it on 'Em is such a pretty yellow green creme. It was a bit streaky on the first two coats, so I had to do a third coat to even things out.



Hope says: "I like it because it's green."



Simple enough.

2 coats

OPI Pink Friday is a light pink creme; it really pops. The formula is on the thin side, but it had a nice, smooth application.



Hope says: "It's beautiful! I will wear this every day*."



*She's not worn it since. :)

2 coats

OPI Fly is a bright teal creme. The formula is on the thick side, but it's totally manageable. It's nicely pigmented, too.



Hope says: "Woah. This looks like a sky!"

2 coats

OPI Save Me is silver microglitter and multicolored bar glitter suspended in a clear base. I didn't have too much trouble applying this.



Hope says: "This looks like sprinkles. Ooo, this polish has so many cute things!"



I concur.

3 coats

OPI Metallic 4 Life is a black jelly base with silver sequins. Easy application.

Thanks for reading!

I am overwhelmed by both my stash and the amount of untried polishes I have, so I am starting what is bound to be a difficult, tedious polish purge.



To make this process slightly more fun, I am introducing a new blog series called Purge Wars. Here's the premise: each week, three polishes from the same color family will enter the purge arena. However, only two (or maybe one if things get crazy) will make it out un-purged. Got it? Awesome!



This week is the battle of the pink corals. Who will be the victors?








First up, Deborah Lippmann Daytripper

3 coats

Daytripper sort of has an advantage because it's a Lippmann! Not to mention, it's a squishy creme. Two qualities for which I am a major hoor. No question that this is a gorgeous polish. Daytripper was also a dream to apply. It self-leveled and didn't run or streak.



Next up, Illamasqua Lament.

3 coats

Lament is a full creme. It almost has a neon quality to it - so pretty and fun. The formula was less than desirable. Lament was a bit thick and difficult to control. I never cleanup for swatches, so you can tell how poorly a polish applied by how messy my cuticle gap is. It's really nothing a bit of thinner can't solve, though.



Finally, American Apparel Pink Ladies

2 coats

Pink Ladies is probably my favorite shade of the bunch. It's a full creme, and it is slightly warmer and more subdued than the others. The formula is kind of similar to Lament's, but slightly thinner.





Battle casualty: So long, Illamasqua Lament. I hardly knew ye!