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

Posts tagged ‘pastel’

Pretty and Polished Sundown

Indie brand Pretty and Polish has a number of thermal colour-changing polishes; this one is Sundown, released earlier this year. All these photos are taken with flash. The second one is also near a window so it appears lighter.

Pretty and Polished Sundown

In its cool/room temperature state, Sundown is a light apricot orange colour, with matte hex glitters in orangey yellow, pink and pale yellow.

Pretty and Polished Sundown

In its warm state, the base turns to a soft golden pastel yellow, and the golden shimmer in the base becomes more apparent.

Pretty and Polished Sundown

Yep, my fingers are extra red in that warm photo, due to dipping them in hot water!

Pretty and Polished Sundown

Here is Sundown in a transition state, I love it! When I was in a warm location (i.e. not my cold apartment haha) I would sometimes find that it would stay in a state of yellow nail bed and orange tips. 😀

Pretty and Polished Sundown

These photos show three coats of the polish, plus top coat. You could probably get away with two coats but I didn’t want to take chances that it would end up appearing streaky when warm, since the warm colour is notably paler than the cool colour! I found the polish easy to apply; I did a little bit of “placement” of the glitter, but not too much. The formula is fairly thick, as most thermals are due to the nature of the colour changing pigment. All in all, a great polish!!

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Pretty and Polished

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More From the Vault

My apologies for the lack of posts! Things have just been super busy lately! So I thought I’d post another group of photos from several years ago that I just never got around to posting and don’t necessarily have the info on number of coats, formula etc. anymore.

OPI Fiercely Fiona with Nicole by OPI Brilliant Idea on the accent finger.

ffiona

ffiona2

ffiona3

ffiona4

A frankenpolish that I call Firecracker. The ingredients for this are Martha Stewart glitter in fire opal (which does bleed colour into the base, but not too much) and some of the LA Girl Glitter Addict polishes in orange, fuchsia, and red.

firecracker

firecracker2

firecracker3

firecracker4

firecracker5

OPI Absolutely Alice with half moons in Nubar Night Sparkle.

opi_aa_shade

opi_aa_sun

OPI and Apple Pie, a classic “ugly” shade, under the Ott Lite.

opi_applepie

Category:

Frankenpolish, LA Girl, Nicole by OPI, Nubar, OPI

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China Glaze Sun of a Peach and comparisons

Here’s another neon from the China Glaze Sunsational collection!

China Glaze Sun of a Peach

Sun of a Peach is a neon pastel peach, and a great unique colour! I like the name too, haha.

China Glaze Sun of a Peach

The formula is a bit difficult to work with, but not really worse than other neons or pastels.

China Glaze Sun of a Peach

I used three coats to even everything out. The photos include base coat and top coat.

China Glaze Sun of a Peach

I think the colour is certainly worth putting up with the neon formula. With flash:

China Glaze Sun of a Peach

In the shade:

China Glaze Sun of a Peach

And here is a nail wheel comparison with other peaches, neon and non-neon, and some that lean more towards coral. The photo was taken with flash, but somehow the polishes still look a bit darker than they do in real life. So, word of warning that these aren’t colour accurate, but give a good indication of the relative differences in these polishes!

Sun of a Peach and peach/coral comparisons

1) China Glaze Sun of a Peach, 2) Misa Shake it to the Samba, 3) China Glaze Peachy Keen, 4) Nubar Orange Creme, 5) NCLA Poolside Party All Eyes On Me, 6) Joe Fresh Orange Sorbet, 7) Kleancolor Mango, 8) Jessica Tangerine Dreamz, 9) NYX Amazon, 10) Cult Nails Scandalous, 11) OPI Apricotcha Cheating, 12) FingerPaints Circus Peanuts, 13) NYX Girls Naked Pink, 14) Funky Fingers Daiquiri on the Deck, 15) Barry M Peach Melba, 16) Kleancolor Pastel Orange, 17) Illamasqua Purity, 18) Essence Rebels Peach Punk

None of these are close to Sun of a Peach; the most similar are Kleancolor Mango which is darker and much less bright, and oldie NYX Amazon which is a translucent jelly with iridescent glitter, however. But as you can see there are some dupes and near-dupes among the other polishes – notably China Glaze Peachy Keen and Misa Shake it to the Samba which are basically identical. Cult Nails Scandalous is also similar to OPI Apricotcha Cheating, and Kleancolor Pastel Orange to Illamasqua Purity, but those pairs aren’t close enough to be dupes.

Category:

Barry M, China Glaze, Cult Nails, Essence, FingerPaints, Funky Fingers, Illamasqua, Jessica, Joe Fresh, Kleancolor, Misa, NCLA, Nubar, NYX, OPI

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China Glaze Neon & On & On, Shell-o, and neon pink comparisons!

China Glaze Neon & On & On and Shell-o are from their recent Sunsational collection of neons. Since they’re both in the pink-coral family, I thought I’d post them together along with nail wheel swatches of all the neon pinks I own!

Shell-o is a neon coral pink jelly. I used three coats over ridge filler for the swatches. I didn’t have problems with application for this one.

China Glaze Shell-o

It dries somewhere between glossy and matte, and these photos do not include top coat.

China Glaze Shell-o

In the shade:

China Glaze Shell-o

Neon & On & On is a warm/coral leaning pastel neon pink creme. I used three coats over ridge filler, plus top coat.

China Glaze Neon & On & On

The formula on this one was difficult to work with. It helps to not go over the same spot twice while applying each coat.

China Glaze Neon & On & On

It dries very quickly, so that’s a plus. The polish dries matte, and a little lumpy before topcoat due to the thick and quick-drying formula. But top coat really helps to even it out. Next time I think I’ll try adding thinner to this one.

China Glaze Neon & On & On

In the shade:

China Glaze Neon & On & On

ANd now for the great neon pink comparison! I’m including two photos in slightly different lighting (apologies that the orientation of the wheel isn’t quite the same in both photos).

1) Kleancolor Barbie Pink, 2) China Glaze Surfin' for Boys, 3) China Glaze Flirty Tankini, 4) China Glaze Shell-o, 5) China Glaze Pink Plumeria, 6) China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy, 7) China Glaze Neon & On & On, 8) Milani Pink Hottie, 9) Color Club Electro candy, 10) Zoya Kiki, 11) Color Club Poptastic, 12) Kleancolor Neon Pink, 13) Misa Girls' Night Out, 14) Kleancolor Pink Lady, 15) Zoya Renée, 16) Orly Passion Fruit, 17) China Glaze Rose Among Thorns, 18) Misa Bikini With a Martini

1) Kleancolor Barbie Pink, 2) China Glaze Surfin’ for Boys, 3) China Glaze Flirty Tankini, 4) China Glaze Shell-o, 5) China Glaze Pink Plumeria, 6) China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy, 7) China Glaze Neon & On & On, 8) Milani Pink Hottie, 9) Color Club Electro candy, 10) Zoya Kiki, 11) Color Club Poptastic, 12) Kleancolor Neon Pink, 13) Misa Girls’ Night Out, 14) Kleancolor Pink Lady, 15) Zoya Renée, 16) Orly Passion Fruit, 17) China Glaze Rose Among Thorns, 18) Misa Bikini With a Martini

1) Kleancolor Barbie Pink, 2) China Glaze Surfin' for Boys, 3) China Glaze Flirty Tankini, 4) China Glaze Shell-o, 5) China Glaze Pink Plumeria, 6) China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy, 7) China Glaze Neon & On & On, 8) Milani Pink Hottie, 9) Color Club Electro candy, 10) Zoya Kiki, 11) Color Club Poptastic, 12) Kleancolor Neon Pink, 13) Misa Girls' Night Out, 14) Kleancolor Pink Lady, 15) Zoya Renée, 16) Orly Passion Fruit, 17) China Glaze Rose Among Thorns, 18) Misa Bikini With a Martini

1) Kleancolor Barbie Pink, 2) China Glaze Surfin’ for Boys, 3) China Glaze Flirty Tankini, 4) China Glaze Shell-o, 5) China Glaze Pink Plumeria, 6) China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy, 7) China Glaze Neon & On & On, 8) Milani Pink Hottie, 9) Color Club Electro candy, 10) Zoya Kiki, 11) Color Club Poptastic, 12) Kleancolor Neon Pink, 13) Misa Girls’ Night Out, 14) Kleancolor Pink Lady, 15) Zoya Renée, 16) Orly Passion Fruit, 17) China Glaze Rose Among Thorns, 18) Misa Bikini With a Martini

Category:

China Glaze, Color Club, Kleancolor, Milani, Misa, Orly, Zoya

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Zoya Jacqueline

Zoya Jacqueline is from the spring Lovely collection, and is my new favourite nude polish from Zoya! It originally came out in one of the Peter Som fashion week collaboration trios last year, and I remember hoping that they would re-release it in a regular collection since I didn’t have access to the trio. Happily for me, they did!

Zoya Jacqueline

It’s a very pale, pastel yellow with a hint of beige, creme polish with just the tiniest hint of hidden shimmer in it.

Zoya Jacqueline

I used three coats over a layer of ridge filling basecoat. Two coats would probably have been enough if not for my ridges (even with the ridge filler…). I also have topcoat on in these photos.

Zoya Jacqueline

The formula was a little thick, but didn’t really give me any trouble. I love this shade!

Zoya Jacqueline

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Zoya

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Color Club Blue-ming

This beauty is Color Club Blue-ming, from last spring’s Blossoming collection. I love this almost-neon-bright pastel turquoise! But I wasn’t quite able to capture its unique shade in the photos, unfortunately… Picture it slightly greener and brighter!

Color Club Blue-Ming

It’s kind of streaky, not surprising for a pastel like this. These first photos in the sun show three coats of polish.

Color Club Blue-Ming

Before the last two photos, I added a fourth coat due to smudging a couple of nails! I also added a layer of top coat. In the shade:

Color Club Blue-Ming

Indoors with flash:

Color Club Blue-Ming

Despite its streaky formula, this is one of my favourite polishes because of its unique colour! Love the almost-neon pastels!

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Color Club

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Zoya Rory, Kimber, and Comparisons

Today I have another one of my straggling summer Zoya posts – the two pink foily polishes from the Surf collection! (Look at how long my nails were – I really liked this length/shape! ;))

Zoya Rory

First is Rory, an awesome cool-toned, lilac-leaning bubblegum pink foil polish! Quite unique, I love it! This was two coats. The formula was a little thick but easy to apply.

Zoya Rory

And next, Kimber, a darker red-toned warm fuchsia pink with golden shimmer.

Zoya Kimber

I’d say that Kimber’s finish is somewhere between foil and glass-fleck, definitely not a true foil like Rory.

Zoya Kimber

This is also two coats of Kimber, whose formula was similar to Rory’s, although slightly thinner. Neither had any issues with application.

Zoya Kimber

And now, some nail wheel comparisons of any and all polishes I had that were remotely similar! The first photo is indoors near my Ott light, the second in direct sun; neither is that great lighting-wise but I hope each can make up for the other’s deficiencies in showing the colours! Kimber and Rory are directly across from one another at the point where the two wheels are closest to each other.

Left wheel, clockwise: Soulstice Kauai, Milani Photo Flash, Milani In a Flash, Kleancolor Metallic Pink, Manglaze Lesbihonest, Milani Golden Girl, Milani Gold Digger, Milani Pink Out Loud, Zoya Kimber, China Glaze Strawberry Fields, Essence Glamorous Life, China Glaze Endurance, Zoya Starla, LA Colors Coral Reef.

Left wheel, clockwise: Soulstice Kauai, Milani Photo Flash, Milani In a Flash, Kleancolor Metallic Pink, Manglaze Lesbihonest, Milani Golden Girl, Milani Gold Digger, Milani Pink Out Loud, Zoya Kimber, China Glaze Strawberry Fields, Essence Glamorous Life, China Glaze Endurance, Zoya Starla, LA Colors Coral Reef.
Right wheel, counterclockwise from top: LA Girl Rockstar Scandal, China Glaze No Way José, Orly Rose Radiance, LA Girl Pink Steel, Zoya Rory, Pop Beauty Ruby Metal, Orly Preamp, LA Girl Color Addict Euphoria, Milani Gold Violetta.

As you can see, Rory is unique even among the other pink foils I have, and Kimber is fairly similar to China Glaze Strawberry Fields. Strawberry Fields is a bit lighter and less red though, and its shimmer is less dense.

Left wheel, clockwise: Soulstice Kauai, Milani Photo Flash, Milani In a Flash, Kleancolor Metallic Pink, Manglaze Lesbihonest, Milani Golden Girl, Milani Gold Digger, Milani Pink Out Loud, Zoya Kimber, China Glaze Strawberry Fields, Essence Glamorous Life, China Glaze Endurance, Zoya Starla, LA Colors Coral Reef.

Left wheel, clockwise: Soulstice Kauai, Milani Photo Flash, Milani In a Flash, Kleancolor Metallic Pink, Manglaze Lesbihonest, Milani Golden Girl, Milani Gold Digger, Milani Pink Out Loud, Zoya Kimber, China Glaze Strawberry Fields, Essence Glamorous Life, China Glaze Endurance, Zoya Starla, LA Colors Coral Reef.
Right wheel, counterclockwise from top: LA Girl Rockstar Scandal, China Glaze No Way José, Orly Rose Radiance, LA Girl Pink Steel, Zoya Rory, Pop Beauty Ruby Metal, Orly Preamp, LA Girl Color Addict Euphoria, Milani Gold Violetta.

Category:

China Glaze, Essence, Kleancolor, LA Colors, LA Girl, Manglaze, Milani, Orly, Pop Beauty, Soulstice Spa, Zoya

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Soulstice Spa Kyoto

Soulstice Kyoto is a shade that looks pretty unassuming in the bottle, but really impressed me on the nail! It’s a pastel peachy pink creme, so I expected it would be nice but boring. Not boring though, in my opinion!

Soulstice Spa Kyoto

It had a good formula for a pastel; I applied generous coats with a light touch and there were only minimal streaks during the process. Two coats were enough, although I used three on my ring finger because of its ridges (I didn’t use base coat before swatching this).

Soulstice Spa Kyoto

Rather than being a nude sort of pastel peach/pink, this one is pretty bright and stark (at least on my skin tone!) which makes it really interesting to me!

Soulstice Spa Kyoto

Love it!

Soulstice Spa Kyoto

And now, as an added bonus, prepare yourselves for the cutest fluffy cat belly you’ve ever seen…

Jasmine Blossom
Jasmine! ❤

Category:

Soulstice Spa

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China Glaze Cast a Spell and Make a Spectacle

Happy Halloween! These two polishes are from China Glaze’s Halloween collection, Wicked.

China Glaze Cast a Spell

This is Cast a Spell, a blackened green with golden shimmer flecks.

China Glaze Cast a Spell

It has a great formula; shown are two coats that glided on super-smoothly.

China Glaze Cast a Spell

China Glaze Cast a Spell

And this is Make a Spectacle, one generous coat over Cast a Spell. Make a Spectacle has a ton of iridescent hex and small glitter as well as golden glass flecks in a clear base.

China Glaze Make a Spectacle over Cast a Spell

China Glaze Make a Spectacle over Cast a Spell

China Glaze Make a Spectacle over Cast a Spell

And here is Make a Spectacle on its own, 3 coats. Pardon the orangey stained nails underneath!

China Glaze Make a Spectacle

I absolutely love Make a Spectacle; I think I’m going to have to get a back-up bottle, especially considering it’s one of those thick glitter-packed polishes that tends to get used up quickly!

China Glaze Make a Spectacle

China Glaze Make a Spectacle

Hope you’re having a great Halloween! 😀

Category:

China Glaze

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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.

Category:

Soulstice Spa

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