REVIEW of Sephora Color Hit Nail Polish in Psychedelic

Hello mushrooms,

How are you? I'm fine. I swear. Those of you who have been following this blog for a while may find it odd that I'm reviewing a light purple polish in the middle of January but I promise, it's still me. We all need a palate cleanser every so often and sometimes we also throw random things into our carts when Sephora is having a sale. If you read my recent Sephora Extra20 Haul post, you'll know that I picked up this polish during that promotion. As far as I can tell, the reason these polishes were on sale is that Sephora is no longer carrying them. Actually, Sephora might have abandoned all of their own polish lines all together. Nevertheless, I'm sure if you put your minds to it, you'd be able to find this polish somewhere.

Color: Sephora Psychedelic is a light purple creme polish. It's not light enough to be a pastel and it's not dusty enough to be a lavender. I guess it's closest to lilac but that doesn't seem quite right either. I'm not sure how to explain it but there's something poppy about this polish without it being all that bright. It's a candy color. It's a color you'd use in a fantasy cartoon world. It's not aggressive or in your face but it's got a quality that gets your attention.
Formula: The formula on this polish is on the thinner side.
Application: The first coat of this polish glided onto the nail very smoothly though it was sheer. The second coat also went on smoothly though the brush created shallow ridges in the polish if I applied a bit too much pressure or didn't have enough polish on the brush. At three coats, I still had no major application issues but a light test revealed that the polish was not opaque and that application was a little patchy. Though I hate doing it, I added a fourth coat which helped with the patchiness though the polish still was not opaque.
Wear: I wore this polish for a few days. It was probably around five or six days. I experienced notable tip wear but it was the even kind and not the kind where the polish chips away. It was enough for me to notice but not enough to cause any concern about how the polish holds up. My manicure also did start to appear dull and lacking in shine towards the end of the wear period.
CONCLUSION: Wearing the polish I actually didn't notice the lack of complete opacity and personally, this is one of the more flattering shades of purple that I've tried. With a steady hand, you'll be able to get pretty nice, even results, especially for a light purple like this. Even though it lacks opacity, I would still recommend this polish if you can get a hold of it. I prefer it to the other light purples I own though if you make a request in the comments, I can always do a comparison to see how they stack up.

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REVIEW of China Glaze Nail Lacquer in Running in Circles

Hello baubles,

I wanted to write you this review before you started taking all the ornaments down but unfortunately things didn't quite work out that way. Blah blah, life. Blah blah, excuses. I've been testing. I just haven't been writing the reviews. Let's set out to remedy that immediately by just jumping into this review of China Glaze Nail Lacquer in Running in Circles. I picked this up on sale from cherryculture.

Color: Running in Circles is a festive, sparkly green foil polish. Photographs don't always tell the whole story. I find this polish flashy but not too overwhelming. It's that depth of green that's just a shade or two lighter than a jewel tone emerald but not so bright that it'll blind you. I would be wary about wearing this in a more conservative work or school environment though. It's also a bit thin and glittery as foils go but after I got it to full opacity there was no way I wasn't calling this one a foil.
Formula: This China Glaze polish definitely has a thinner formula whether you're comparing it to glitter polishes, cremes, foils, or even other China Glaze polishes.
Application: The first coat of this polish went on smoothly but not evenly. Because the polish is so sheer it's not thick enough for you to smooth it out into an even coat of lacquer. It was already very glittery in one coat but I felt like more glitter was being deposited that color from the base liquid of the polish. The second coat also went on smoothly. Again, the polish was glittery but still quite sheer. With the third coat I was still getting visible nail line and the polish was nowhere near opaque. I added a fourth coat of polish which I am always loathe to do. I think there was a slight improvement but the polish was still not capable of blocking light. The decision between three and four coats is really up to you as it made a difference but not a monumental one.
Applying the polish with my non-dominant hand, the experience was pretty similar though the polish was a bit more streaky on the first coat and the manicure was a little less even and opaque overall.

CONCLUSION: It's such a beautiful festive green foil that I would recommend it if you're looking for something fun for the holidays or for a special occasion. However, it is quite sheer and that does get annoying so I won't say that this is one you need to have in your collection. But if you don't mind the lack of opacity, application isn't too much trouble and you might still be able to find it on sale somewhere. Personally, I'm glad I didn't pay full retail for it.

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REVIEW of Sephora by OPI Top Coat in Only Gold For Me

Hello chickadees!

This isn't really a review as there's not much to review with top coats but I wanted to share my recent manicure with you. I wanted to do something special since I was attending the final matinee of Side Show and I kind of missed the boat on doing a flashy New Year's Eve look. So in honor of Side Show and my inclination towards something sparkly I painted by nails with three coats of Sally Hansen Red Zin and topped it with two coats of Sephora by OPI in Only Gold For Me. I haven't the slightest clue when or where I picked up this polish. I don't have any record of getting it from Sephora but I also didn't get it in California when I discovered some Sephora by OPI polishes at Big Lots.

You can find my original review of Red Zin here. Application was still easy though I found the polish very sheer. Even at three coats it wasn't opaque. I'm not sure if this is something that happened with time or if it's always been this sheer. Anyway, it didn't matter much as a good glitter top coat can hide a multitude of sins.

Only Gold for Me is a glitter top coat suspended in a clear base. It contains gold glitter particles and gold hex glitter. To my eye, the hex glitter is slightly smaller than regular hex glitter, giving this top coat a more refined look. It made me think of champagne bubbles dancing around in a glass. The gold glitter is a cooler-toned gold but it doesn't go so far as to appear silver. The top coat went on very smoothly but it was hard to get the glitter placement exact. This is one of those polishes with a lot of base liquid so you have to struggle to balance getting too much of the polish base on the brush with still picking up glitter.

CONCLUSION: If you can still get a hold of it, I would recommend Only Gold For Me. It's not going to amaze you as far as gold glitter top coats go but it's a nice one to have in your collection. It goes on smoothly and the glitter is small enough to not be overwhelming but large enough to have an impact.

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Sephora Extra20 Sale Haul

Hello my dears,

I am very late with this post but I've been distracted. I spent the holidays baking. I went to see the last matinee of Side Show. I have a new recapping assignment on TrashTalkTV. Most of the rest of my time is spent working and when I do have free time I'm usually dreaming up new projects that I will start and never finish. Oh, and of course my Lenovo adapter malfunctioned and almost electrocuted me on December 20 and I haven't been able to use my laptop since then. Anyway, enough excuses, let's get into the haul.

At the end of December, Sephora had an offer where all of their sale items were an extra 20% off with a discount code. I took the opportunity to try out the L'Occitane Almond Supple Skin Ritual Set which consists of a dry skin oil and an exfoliating soap.

This was the expensive item that convinced me to make this purchase. You know I have to qualify for that free shipping to place an order. I've heard a lot about L'Occitane's almond shower oil, as I'm sure you all have, but not as much about this supple skin oil. I tried the shower oil on the back of my hand in the store, and I think the supple skin oil is definitely thicker and doesn't spread as easily over the skin. I've been trying it fairly consistently so we'll see how it gets me through the winter. The scent is a lot like baby oil with something extra. I'll let you know if it's worth spending this much on.

The other item that really caught my eye online was the Urban Decay Pulp Fiction palette. I'm not a big fan of the movie. Actually, I've never seen it. I know. I'm a terrible person. But I've heard good things about this palette. I just wasn't willing to buy it at full price or at any of the other discounted prices I've seen it selling for since it was released. It's not a bad palette but the colors are pretty standard so I could only justify the expense at this price.

I recently swatched all my brown shadows to get a better feel for my eyeshadow collection and I didn't come across any dupes so I'm pretty happy with this purchase. We'll see if I can incorporate these shadows into any good looks.

My last big item was this Stila Merry and Bright Makeup Set. There was a Stila pop up in the city over the holidays and I think they might have been selling this there. Regardless, there was only one thing that interested me in this set and that is the Stila Convertible Color Blush in Tulip. I don't use cream blushes that often but Stila makes my favorite cream blushes. Also, I swatched Tulip and it's not a match for Stila Poppy. I haven't tried it on my cheeks yet but I'm not touching anything else in the set until I decide whether or not I like it. This one might go back to the store. I mean, it's a good deal at $20 since a regular Convertible Color Blush is already $25 but if I don't like the blush I don't have much use for the rest of the set. 

REVIEW of Josie Maran Coconut Watercolor Eye Shadow in Rio de Rose Gold

Hello peanuts,

Usually it takes me forever to review products. The exception is when I know that I don't like something and sadly that's the case with this review today. I don't have that much to say about Josie Maran's Coconut Watercolor Eye Shadow in Rio de Rose Gold. I picked it up during the big November VIB 20% off sale and didn't get around to testing it until very recently. I tried it once or twice and came to the conclusion that it's just not for me.

The first time I tried it out I actually tried a simple makeup look. I applied Urban Decay's primer potion as my base. I then blended a matte brown shadow into my crease and then dabbed Rio de Rose Gold onto my lid with the doe foot applicator and blended it out with my fingertips. Blending out the watercolor shadow that way makes it appear a lot like a shimmer eyeshadow which is of course is more wearable but also makes this product less special. And when you're paying $18 for a little bottle of liquid shadow you want it to be special. Blended out, the color appears to be a orange-tinged gold. It's just not very flattering on me. It reminds me of a lot of the brown shadows I have with a bit of a reddish undertone. Applied this way, the watercolor shadow doesn't crease but I have a lot of folds on my eyelids and I thought the product made that more apparent.

The second time I tried this product I tried out two different techniques. On one eye, I applied the product straight from the bottle with the doe foot applicator without blending it at all. On the other eye, I did the same thing but I used less product and blended out the edges. You can get a strong color payoff either way but obviously you'll get more of an impact if you don't blend the shadow and that was the look I was going for when I purchased this product. However, because I have so many folds on my lids, the product doesn't crease but there are clear gaps when I close my eyes (thus stretching the skin of my eyelids) so the product appears to have creased. One of the biggest selling points for me about this product is that it dries completely without feeling heavy. You can get the pigmentation of a cream or pencil without that tight or heavy feeling and without worrying about the product moving around or smudging.

If you have smoother lids than I do without as many folds, you might like this product. If you have a light complexion and enjoy wearing warmer eye shadow shades this might be perfect for you. If you have a darker complexion and can basically pull off anything, I think this product would look lovely. I'm not sure about how strong the pigment will be if you've blended it out by applying it straight from the bottle without any blending I think you should get a strong color payoff.

CONCLUSION: The color is not flattering on me and it would never work with my particular eyes. I wouldn't recommend this for someone older but if you have the right complexion to pull it off and smooth lids without folds or wrinkles, this might still work for you. If you want a big impact, I'd recommend applying the product, waiting for it to dry and then layering other shadows into the crease or however else you'd want to put your look together. Personally, I think blending out the shadow is a waste of the product because it then looks like any other shimmer shadow.

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