A vegan nail polish blog. A celebration of colour and light, as well as of justice for nonhuman animals.

Archive for September, 2012

Soulstice Monterey and comparisons

I’ve got another Soulstice polish to show you today; this one is an older shade that I purchased online from Nail Polish Canada.

Soulstice Monterey

Monterey is a medium dusty blue creme. In fact, on applying one coat, it looks like the base is sheer and milky, which gives the polish its soft, dusty look. I had a hard time capturing the true colour of this shade; in real life it seems a bit softer than some of these photos suggest.

Soulstice Monterey

Monterey covers pretty well in two coats, although the formula is slightly thin so if your nails have ridges like mine, it’s better at three coats, which is what I used for these photos. I didn’t have any base coat under this swatch, so a ridge filler probably would have helped too.

Monterey in the shade:

Soulstice Monterey

I have a comparison to some other blue polishes that are actually not very similar to Monterey at all! From left to right, Cult Nails Time Traveler, Monterey, Nails Inc Baker Street, and Sally Girl Epic which is like a lighter version of Baker Street. Monterey actually looks truer to colour in this photo.

Soulstice Monterey comparison

Left to right: Cult Nails Time Traveler, Soulstice Monterey, Nails Inc. Baker St, Sally Girl Epic

After doing that comparison, I realized that I actually *did* have a polish that was much closer to Monterey than the others, Nubar Boyfriend Jeans. This photo makes these polishes look darker than they are, but it shows the two relative to each other.

Soulstice Monterey comparison

Top to bottom: Nubar Boyfriend Jeans, Soulstice Monterey

Closer, but far from being a dupe; Boyfriend Jeans has a hint of teal in it in comparison.

I love Monterey; I love the milkiness and the way it builds up and the fact that it’s super glossy (no top coat in these photos). And as the comparisons show, it’s also a totally unique shade of blue in my polish stash!

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Category:

Cult Nails, Nubar, Sally Girl, Soulstice Spa

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Zoya Myrta and Comparisons

Zoya Myrta is from their summer 2012 collection, Surf. I’m slowly but surely trying to do large nail wheel comparison posts for all of the Beach and Surf polishes. I like to see where shades fit into the colour spectrum of similar shades, and hopefully you do too, dear readers. 🙂

Zoya Myrta

Myrta is an orange-red coral shade, with a finish somewhere between foil and glass fleck. This is two coats of Myrta, with two coats of Cult Nails Get it On base coat underneath as I’d heard this polish stains. The two coats of base coat did prevent staining, but did cause a bit of bubbling; not sure if I didn’t wait long enough between coats, or if Zoya just doesn’t play nicely with Cult Nails base coat…

Zoya Myrta

Bright, shimmery, pretty!

Zoya Myrta

Here are my nail wheel comparisons with Myrta! I used pretty much any polish in remotely the same colour family here, so the wheel is full! I realized afterward that I probably should have numbered or somehow indicated the start position on the wheel, but hopefully it’s not difficult to find Myrta as it’s pretty much at the top in both photos (more specifically, it’s the one right above the letter ‘L’ in the word ‘WHEEL’ that is on the centre of the wheel) and right next to it is the matte Manglaze polish (I applied topcoat to only half of this matte shade’s swatch). As usual, each swatch shows a progression of one, two and three coats of the given polish.

Like last time, I have to apologize again for the lack of appropriate lighting to properly and accurately show the nail wheel comparisons. Again, I did one photo in the sun and one under the Ott Lite. I’m waiting on a soft lightbox that I ordered, so hopefully soon I’ll be able to take better photos of these types of comparisons. Sun photo:

Zoya Myrta comparison

Clockwise from top: Zoya Myrta, Manglaze Butt Taco (matte, left side of swatch with topcoat), Color Club Feel the Beat, LA Colors Fiery Orange, Nubar Arencia, Milani Metal Gear, Orly Flicker, LA Girl Copper Alloy, No Miss Tamarack Tangerine, Soulstice Rio, LA Colors Coral Reef, Milani Glitzy Jam, Milani Just Peachy, Milani Melt With U, LA Colors Aztec Orange, Orly Emberstone, Milani Orange Burst, Milani Flashlight.

Ott Lite photo:

Zoya Myrta comparison

Clockwise from top: Zoya Myrta, Manglaze Butt Taco (matte, left side of swatch with topcoat), Color Club Feel the Beat, LA Colors Fiery Orange, Nubar Arencia, Milani Metal Gear, Orly Flicker, LA Girl Copper Alloy, No Miss Tamarack Tangerine, Soulstice Rio, LA Colors Coral Reef, Milani Glitzy Jam, Milani Just Peachy, Milani Melt With U, LA Colors Aztec Orange, Orly Emberstone, Milani Orange Burst, Milani Flashlight.

In terms of similarity, I’d say that Myrta is closest to LA Colors Aztec Orange (4th shade to the left of Myrta), although Aztec Orange has a sheerer base and more sparse shimmery flecks. As you can see, some of the shades on the wheel are dupes or near-dupes to one another, notably Milani Orange Burst and Flashlight, and the trio of LA Colors Fiery Orange, Nubar Arencia, and Milani Metal Gear.

Category:

Color Club, LA Colors, LA Girl, Manglaze, Milani, No Miss, Nubar, Orly, Soulstice Spa, Zoya

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Soulstice Santa Monica and Nevis

I’m very excited today to be able to show you two brand new polishes from Soulstice! Santa Monica and Nevis are two of four shades that have just been released. This half of the set isn’t your traditional fall colours, but they are gorgeous!

Soulstice Spa Santa Monica and Nevis

On the left we have Santa Monica, a light lavender with blue/pink duochrome glass flecks, and on the right, Nevis, a leafy green creme. The following photo shows the shimmer in Santa Monica that the previous one didn’t catch!

Soulstice Spa Santa Monica

Santa Monica is really, really pretty. It’s sheer at first, since it has a jellyish base to allow the shimmer to sparkle through. The formula was good, slightly thin but not runny. I used three coats here.

Soulstice Spa Santa Monica

Disclaimer: please note that I took these photos as the sun had just begun to set, so they appear a bit warmer than in real life! (Also, my index finger is still growing out the last of the break I had a while back, so any irregularities you might see there at the tip are not the fault of the polishes!)

Soulstice Spa Santa Monica

These next two photos at an angle show the colour shift in the shimmer better. As usual, you can click on any photo to enlarge it and get a better look at the details.

Soulstice Spa Santa Monica

Blue duochrome glass flecks, of course, mean instant love to me. 😉

Soulstice Spa Santa Monica

And here is what Santa Monica looks like in the shade:

Soulstice Spa Santa Monica

And now for Nevis! I definitely have a soft spot for this sort of green, bright and leafy and bold!

Soulstice Spa Nevis

I found the formula thin on this one, and the first coat went on streaky as a result. However, a second slightly thicker coat evened it all out!

Soulstice Spa Nevis

This shade of green looks like it’s close to Misa Good to Be Green, which I loved, and I love this! As a side note, just after I did my comparison post for Good to Be Green, I ended up with two other polishes that are a lot closer to it than the ones in my comparison photos! With this one, that makes three similar ones I have, so I’ll have to revisit that comparison in a new post!

Soulstice Spa Nevis

Here is Nevis in the shade:

Soulstice Spa Nevis

The other two shades in this release are Napa, a shimmery deep red, and St. Barts, a shimmery deep teal, that also look like they’re going to be great! I’m definitely looking forward to picking those up when Nail Polish Canada gets them in stock… For those of you in the US, the four new shades are already available from Soulstice’s web store!

Disclosure: The polishes in this post were provided to me by the company for my honest review. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

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Soulstice Spa

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China Glaze Unpredictable

Today I have another duochrome from China Glaze’s New Bohemian collection to show you! The first two polishes I reviewed from the collection are here.

China Glaze Unpredictable

This is Unpredictable, a metallic green/teal duochrome. Like the other polishes in the collection, the metallic finish is slightly brushstrokey but not so much that it really qualifies as “frost”.

China Glaze Unpredictable

Shown are three coats, but I probably could have gotten away with two. No issues with application other than taking a bit of care to get the brushstrokes straight. Here you can see that head-on, the leaf-green aspect is prominent, whereas the above photos at a bit more of an angle show off the teal side of the polish.

China Glaze Unpredictable

In the shade:

China Glaze Unpredictable

The rest of the photos show one coat of Unpredictable over one coat of Kleancolor Black, deepening the overall effect. As usual lately, please disregard any lumps in the too-thick base polish!

China Glaze Unpredictable over black

China Glaze Unpredictable over black

China Glaze Unpredictable over black

China Glaze Unpredictable over black

China Glaze Unpredictable over black

China Glaze Unpredictable over black

In the shade:

China Glaze Unpredictable over black

This polish didn’t disappoint; I think the duochrome is quite apparent and the two green tones are really nice!

Category:

China Glaze, Kleancolor

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Orly Preamp

Like Flicker, this is another of my new favourite Orlys! This one is Preamp from the Electronica collection.

Orly Preamp

It’s a slightly jellyish lavender-pink with lots of hot pink glass-fleck shimmer.

Orly Preamp

These first photos in the shade show two thick coats of the polish. The formula was a little thick but smooth.

Orly Preamp

In these next sun photos, I have an accent nail of Milani Hot Pink, a bright pink jelly with golden glass-fleck shimmer. I believe this was three coats of Hot Pink. Both polishes have topcoat added here.

Orly Preamp with Milani Hot Pink accent

I thought these two went together really well!

Orly Preamp with Milani Hot Pink accent

I really love glass-fleck polishes in general, and Preamp is a great one!

Category:

Milani, Orly

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Cult Nails I Got Distracted

Today I’ve got another polish from Coco’s Untamed collection by Cult Nails. The polishes in this collection were all designed by Coco, the daughter of Cult Nails’ founder!

Cult Nails I Got Distracted

I Got Distracted is a black jelly with small holo glitter and medium green glitter. Maria of Cult Nails shared the family joke behind the name of this shade – “I got distracted” is Coco’s classic excuse for anything she was supposed to do but didn’t, used so often that it just had to make an appearance among the polish names.

Cult Nails I Got Distracted

Shown are two coats; the formula was fairly thick but I found it easy to apply using thick coats. I almost didn’t need the second coat, as this polish is quite pigmented. It dries gritty from all the glitter so a good thick topcoat is in order. In these sun photos, I had on two layers of Cult Nails topcoat: one that I applied right after the polish, and another the following morning. The sun photos were also taken with my phone, which probably has something to do with the reason that the watermark ended up going on sideways! haha!

Cult Nails I Got Distracted

The rest of the photos only have one layer of topcoat and were taken just after finishing the mani. In the shade:

Cult Nails I Got Distracted

And finally, a couple of photos that show off the glitter a bit better! Under the Ott Lite:

Cult Nails I Got Distracted

With flash:

Cult Nails I Got Distracted

Category:

Cult Nails

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Orly Flicker

Another amazing wonderful polish today! …at least, in my opinion! Picture heavy post! 🙂

This is Orly Flicker from the new Fired Up collection for fall 2012. It’s a gorgeous orange-red with slight duochrome, and is very aptly named!

Orly Flicker

The formula was thin and somewhat sheer. I used two coats, the second one thick (except I ended up using three coats on my index & middle because the second coat had been thinner on those fingers).

Orly Flicker

The duochrome isn’t super-intense but it’s definitely there, as you can see in some of the photos at different angles.

Orly Flicker

Orly Flicker

Orly Flicker

Orly Flicker

In the shade:

Orly Flicker

As usual with duochromes, I also tried it out over black. Here is one coat of Flicker over one coat Kleancolor Black:

Orly Flicker over black

Mmmm, sparkly and glowing!

It applied slightly streaky over the black but that was just because I was rushing. Not to mention that my mini bottle of Kleancolor Black is on its last legs and needed more thinner; it was a bit lumpy.

Orly Flicker over black

Orly Flicker over black

Orly Flicker over black

Orly Flicker over black

This was the only polish I picked up from this collection, but I’m so glad I did! It’s amazing! ❤

Category:

Orly

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Picture Polish Pshiiit

I recently learned that Australian brand Picture Polish is vegan-friendly, so of course I had to buy some of their polishes to try them out!

Picture Polish Pshiiit

This beauty is a brand-new shade called Pshiiit, as it was a collaboration with French web-store owner and blogger Camille of Pshiiit. Picture Polish recently did several collaboration shades with e-tailers in their distribution network, and I’ll also have swatches of a couple of the others soon.

Picture Polish Pshiiit

Pshiiit is a teal jelly with flakies and lots of fine gold shimmer as well as some microglitter thrown in. Gorgeous! I recommend clicking on the photos to see all the detail of the finish in the larger versions!

Picture Polish Pshiiit

I found the formula had a little of the thin-yet-thick thing going on, but didn’t have trouble with it and a second, thick coat evened everything out. This could easily be worn as a layer over a creme polish for those who don’t like visible nail lines.

In the shade:

Picture Polish Pshiiit

Love it! Great job, Camille and Picture Polish! 😀

Category:

Picture Polish

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Ozotic 607

Another quick post of a recent manicure! This is Ozotic 607, a pretty, slightly dusty pastel pink with scattered holo. I used three coats (I think I missed the third coat on my ring finger though, because that one appears more sheer than the others, whoops!) and OPI DS topcoat which is my go-to topcoat for holographic polishes. The formula was smooth, easy to apply, and dries relatively quickly, although not quite as quick as some holos do.

In sunlight:

Ozotic 607

Ozotic 607

Indoors with flash:

Ozotic 607

Category:

OPI, Ozotic

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Orly Emberstone

Here’s a post of photos from my most recent week-long foray into a pointy nail shape (which was a couple of months ago now)! This is Orly Emberstone from last year’s Mineral FX fall collection. It’s a gorgeous complex shade with a slightly duochrome finish that is somewhere in between foil and glass fleck. It’s a bright red full of sparkles of orange and magenta/pink.

Orly Emberstone

This is three coats with topcoat, but the third coat wasn’t really necessary; I just did it to add even more depth to the colour. This has a great formula; I had no complaints. Really pretty shade! Be sure to click on the larger versions of the photos to see the flecky/foily detail of the finish and the slight duochrome that appears in the shade!

Orly Emberstone

Orly Emberstone

Shade photo:

Orly Emberstone

Category:

Orly

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