Formula X for Sephora in Demolition, Thunder, and TNT

Hello!  Have you heard about the new collection of polishes Sephora has released?  Now that Sephora is no longer carrying the Sephora by OPI colors, they have reformulated their small release of the Sephora X line.  Read on and you'll see why you need these in your life (and your helmer).

 no base coat, 2 coats OPI Alpine Snow - Matte, 1 coat Formula X TNT, no top coat

Let's just pause for a minute and consider how momentous these new polishes by Sephora are.

The line of "Xplosive Top Coats" are all mixed shape matte glitter polishes in a clear base.  They range from a single color of glitter in a clear base (like TNT shown above and below), to multi-colored glitter in a clear base (like Demolition and Thunder seen further down).  They even have a number of polishes that are a mix of black glitter with other colors, besides the ubiquitous black and white matte glitter in a clear base.

  no base coat, 2 coats OPI Alpine Snow - Matte, 1 coat Formula X TNT, no top coat

TNT is a bright cobalt blue glitter topper made up of large, medium, and small hexagonal shaped glitter in a clear base.

  base coat, 2 coats black creme, 1 coat Formula X Thunder, no top coat

And now on to the multi-hued polishes!  The fact that Sephora has released a line of permanent polishes that all contain various sizes and colors of matte glitter really shows they are up on the trends.

Thunder is described on the Sephora website as containing "turquoise, lime, periwinkle, and white confetti" in a clear base.  I'm not quite sure what color they are calling the extra-large hexagonal pieces of glitter, but they appeared light pink to me.

 base coat, 2 coats black creme, 1 coat Formula X Thunder, no top coat

Last of the three I picked up with glitter is Demolition.  This was the first of the three I tried on when I was swatching, and I instantly fell in love with this one.  What do you think?

 base coat, 2 coats black creme, 1 coat Formula X Demolition, no top coat

Demolition is described on the Sephora website as "blue, turquoise, lime, and orange confetti" in a clear base.

base coat, 2 coats black creme, 1 coat Formula X Demolition, no top coat

And for one last photo, I have put both Thunder and Demolition over a white polish so you can see the comparison of the two and the overall color output these two each give off.  Thunder definitely leans more blue, while the orange micro-glitter in Demolition contrasts against the larger white glitter as well as the even larger blue and green glitter pieces giving it a general feeling of a mixture of pastel colors.

no base coat, 2 coats OPI Alpine Snow - Matte, (from left to right in image) 1 coat Formula X Thunder, 1 coat Formula X Demolition, 1 coat Formula X Thunder, 1 coat Formula X Demolition, no top coat

From my experience swatching these three, each glitter topper has an amazing payoff of glitter, and you don't have to go digging in the bottle to get the larger chunks of glitter.  I would recommend doing both a dabbling and brushing method to jointly push the larger glitter pieces to where you want them on your nails.

The Formula X line contains 62 creme/metallic polishes that are packaged with a white cap and are under the label "New Classics," as well as the glitter polishes mentioned above, along with other black capped polishes such as a small line of holographic polishes (called "Holograms," there are 5 of those in total), and the usual foil/metallic glitter polishes.

Along with the change up in bottle shape and name from the Sephora X line, these lacquers also cost an additional dollar (so the "regular" polishes with the white caps are $10.50US instead of $9.50US, while the black capped bottles that include the glitters and other "special effects" are $12.50US instead of $11.50US).  Now while price increases in nail polish annoy me and I tend to buy way less of a brand when they've increased their price more than 50 cents in less than a one year period, these polishes are definitely worth the price.  Not only are there special glitter lacquers that are unique colors that you will be hard pressed to find somewhere else, but the bottles themselves are made of nice weighted glass and feel larger than the Sephora X bottles (at least giving the illusion of containing more polish).

I bought these three lacquers along with two others that I will hopefully be sharing sometime soon this past Thursday.  The first Sephora I went to was just stocking them at 11:15 in the morning, so I got a pretty good view of half of the collection, but the store I went to in the evening to look for the holographic polishes said they were setting up their display that night to be ready for Friday.  So what that means for you is that you can hopefully find these in stock at your local Sephora this weekend.  Do call ahead as it seems that different stores have different arrival times for their packages, and some stores may not have their display up yet.

At this point I would just like to mention one extra thing: customer service.  I have almost always had great customer service at Sephora, but Thursday the people working at both stores I went to were exceptionally wonderful and went above and beyond what is probably normal protocol.  At the first store where the display was in the process of being set up, the sales associate there began opening boxes and pulling out one lacquer from each box that was still unopened for my individual examination (and I didn't even ask her to do this)!  At the second store I went to the sales associate warned me that the boxes were piled together in their storage rooms but went to dig out a mixed bag so I could at least get a look at some of the polishes.  I only mention this because I find great customer service is worth the cost.  I like spending only a dollar on Wet-n-Wild polishes at my local Walgreens or Rite Aid, and where I live the sales personnel at those stores are both friendly and helpful, but I definitely feel that it makes it a lot easier parting with $50 for 4 polishes when I have been treated like a customer rather than an interloper that no one wants to deal with.  So I would just like to say "kudos" to Sephora (and their employees) for making me feel like a valued customer.  If you've never been into a Sephora, I definitely recommend it.  Even if you just want to try on nail polish, the experience and service there is top notch.

Nails Inc Galaxy in Trafalgar Crescent

New at Sephora from Nails Inc. are three polishes from the Galaxy collection.  Today I have one of those three polishes to share with you: Trafalgar Crescent.

First up, let's examine Trafalgar Crescent on its own.

 no base coat, 2 coats of Trafalgar Crescent, no top coat

The beautiful thing about this lacquer is that you can not only wear it on its own, but you can also layer it over another color to bring out the iridescent shimmer that is strongly present in this polish.

 no base coat, 2 coats of Trafalgar Crescent, no top coat

And now let's examine how just one coat looks over a plain white creme:

 no base coat, 2 coats of OPI Alpine Snow - Matte, 1 coat of Trafalgar Crescent, no top coat

For some very odd reason the white base looks like it is tinted yellow under this polish.  Now, I didn't notice this when I was taking photos of this swatch, but it could be either the white polish that is old, or it could be the iridescent base that makes this polish lean off-white rather than look completely white.

 no base coat, 2 coats of OPI Alpine Snow - Matte, 1 coat of Trafalgar Crescent, no top coat

The above image is one of the better examples of the indigo/violet shimmer that is strongly present in this polish.  In some lights the shimmer looks completely purple, but over black (as seen below), the blue sheen becomes apparent.

Below is where this polish really shines - one coat over a straight black creme polish.

 base coat, 1 coat of Fantasy Makers Darkest Hour, 1 coat of Trafalgar Crescent, no top coat

base coat, 1 coat of Fantasy Makers Darkest Hour, 1 coat of Trafalgar Crescent, no top coat

These polishes are now available in Sephora stores as well as online.  Trafalgar Crescent is a perfect winter polish.  A mix of medium sized silver hexagonal glitter with smaller holographic hexagonal glitter all suspended in a shimmering violet/indigo base.

The other two colors in the collection are Knightsbridge Road and Buckingham Court, a mostly gold glitter and a mostly red glitter.  Unlike Trafalgar Crescent, the other two do not have iridescent shimmer in the base (or at least from what I could see when I tried them on in store).

Deborah Lippmann 99 Luftballons

Have you heard the news?  Deborah Lippmann is now at Sephora!  And to celebrate the monumentous occasion, Deborah Lippmann is releasing a 4 polish collection just for Sephora.  There are 3 cremes and 1 glitter polish in this new collection.

When I first heard about this collection, I rushed onto Sephora.com to order the glitter.  Meet 99 Luftballons.

I may have taken a few hundred photos of this polish, but I have narrowed it down to 8 shots to show you how this polish looks first without top coat, and then with top coat.

 no base coat, 2 coats of 99 Luftballons, no top coat

The above photograph was taken in indirect sunlight.

  no base coat, 2 coats of 99 Luftballons, no top coat

The above and below photos were taken using an Ott-lite.

  no base coat, 2 coats of 99 Luftballons, no top coat

The photo below was taken in direct sunlight.  Can you see that great glow from the glitter?

  no base coat, 2 coats of 99 Luftballons, no top coat

And now for the photos taken after top coat:

  no base coat, 2 coats of 99 Luftballons, top coat

In the above photo, you can see how the top coat helps the glitter pop from the jelly red base of the polish.

  no base coat, 2 coats of 99 Luftballons, top coat

  no base coat, 2 coats of 99 Luftballons, top coat

 no base coat, 2 coats of 99 Luftballons, top coat

So what do you think?

Now I have to mention, something that first drew me to this polish was the name.  I love it!  That used to be a song I listened to a lot when I was younger and just wearing this polish gives me a nostalgic feeling.

99 Luftballons is what we've come to expect from Deborah Lippmann: a supremely glitter-packed polish.  The red jelly base is that shade of red that almost borders on pink in certain lighting.  To get a better idea of the type of glitter and the colors held within, think of Happy Birthday with a sheer red base.

I really like this polish - it's sparkly and shiny even in low light, and the red base will make it perfect for any time (including the upcoming Holiday season).

If you want to add this polish to your collection, head over to Sephora.com and add this to your basket! And if you're a Beauty Insider, for only 100 points you can get a mini version of Happy Birthday.  If you have never tried Deborah Lippmann before, now is the time!  You can pick up any Deborah Lippmann shade, and for only 100 points you can snag her most beloved glitter!  The mini size is .27 fl. oz./8 mL, which is the same size as the mini DL's you can buy on HSN.com.  The great thing about these minis are the fact that the bottle is just a smaller version of the beautiful DL bottle, and each bottle is labeled on the bottom just like the regular sized bottles - something that I greatly appreciate!  

Now if that isn't incentive to go buy this polish, I don't know what is!

Deborah Lippmann Va Va Voom and Rolling in the Deep

Today I have two lacquers from Deborah Lippmann's Jewel Heist collection to share with you: Va Va Voom and Rolling in the Deep!

 base coat, 2 coats of Rolling in the Deep, no top coat

So first let's take a look at the creme part of this duo.  The Jewel Heist collection features 6 polishes in total.  There are 3 chunky glitter polishes, 2 cremes, and 1 micro-glitter polish.  There are 2 golden shades, 2 green shades, and 2 blue shades, where each shade has a chunky glitter polish and a corresponding creme or micro glitter polish in a similar color.

The photograph above is Rolling in the Deep against a white background with an Ott-lite lightbulb.

base coat, 2 coats of Rolling in the Deep, no top coat 

To give you a better idea of how blackened this polish is while still remaining blue in color, I also wanted to show it to you against a black background.  At first glance this polish does look black in most lighting conditions, so don't be surprised if people assume you are wearing a black polish when you have this on!

The lighting in the above photo is an Ott-lite.

 base coat, 2 coats of Rolling in the Deep, no top coat

A very interesting aspect to this deep blue creme is the fact that it has a very faint silver micro-shimmer to it.  I have tried to capture the illusive sparkle, but it is only visible around where the light reflections on each nail are.  In the photo above, on the nail second from the left (my middle finger), you can faintly see two silver specks.  This is the sparkle.  In real life you can see the sparkle better, but for the most part it is swallowed up by the deep blue creme finish.

For a better view, click the photo to make it bigger.

 base coat, 1 coat of Va Va Voom over 2 coats of Rolling in the Deep, no top coat

With the above picture, you can get a better understanding for how well these two colors pair up!

This is Va Va Voom layered over Rolling in the Deep.

 base coat, 1 coat of Va Va Voom over 2 coats of Rolling in the Deep, no top coat

Against the black background the contrast between the glitter and the creme background really pops out at you.

 base coat, 1 coat of Va Va Voom over 2 coats of Rolling in the Deep, no top coat

And one last look at the pair in indirect sunlight to see the sparkle and color contrast.

 base coat, 2 coats of Va Va Voom, top coat

Va Va Voom is the show stopper part of this duo!  This polish contains large silver hexagonal glitter and smaller (almost micro hexagonal glitter) - both of which is holographic!  All of the glitter floats in a lovely blue base.  The blue jelly finish of the base leans slightly purple, giving it a look of a dark periwinkle blue/cornflower blue.

 base coat, 2 coats of Va Va Voom, top coat

Because this polish is packed with glitter, at two coats the glitter is built up to almost complete opacity.  If you enlarge the photos by clicking on them, you can still see some spots on some of the nails where you can see through the blue jelly finish to the nail bed below.

base coat, 2 coats of Va Va Voom, top coat

This was such a beautiful color to wear that I didn't want to take it off after swatching it, so I wore it on my left hand for the rest of the evening....

Which led me to the reminder of how hard glitter polishes are to get off.  If you have used a Deborah Lippmann polish like Happy Birthday or another glitter-packed polish, you know how hard it is to get the glitter to come off your nails.  On the bright side, what that means for wear time is that this polish really lasts, so you won't have to worry about re-doing your manicure the very next day!

Another side note I'd like to add is the fact that even though I did put on a base coat (Deborah Lippmann's Turn Back Time), I still had a few patches of staining, so I would suggest doubling up your base coat before painting your nails with Rolling in the Deep.

These polishes are both beautiful additions to the Deborah Lippmann line.  Rolling in the Deep has that extra secret shimmer that is often associated with Chanel polishes, making it an extra special midnight blue hue, while Va Va Voom is a seriously sparkly blue glitter polish that is truly unique and covetable.

I purchased these two polishes as a pair on HSN.com, but you can buy these individually on Deborah Lippmann's website, or at your local Nordstrom and Sephora.

OPI Pink of Hearts 2013 Swatches and Review

Here are the two gorgeous lacquers that come in the OPI Pink of Hearts 2013 box set.

no base coat, 3 coats Pink-ing of You, no top coat

The pink shade that comes in the set is called Pink-ing of You.  It is a full coverage pink creme polish that dries with a perfect shine.  For those of you that wear polish without base and/or top coat, this polish would work well without either, and you wouldn't have to worry about staining.  I used three very thin coats because it was extremely hot inside when I was painting and I had a fan on (and heat + fan + polish = bubbles), so to avoid bubbles I tried to do the thinest coats possible.  You could achieve this coverage with two regular coats of polish.

Now I tried to consider what polish I had that was closest in shade to Pink-ing of You and I was recently gifted I Think in Pink by a dear friend, and in the bottle they look like almost the same shade of pink.  In the photo above, Pink-ing of You is on the left, I Think in Pink is on the right.

(From left to right) 3 coats Pink-ing of You, 2 coats I Think in Pink, 3 coats Pink-ing of You, 2 coats I Think in Pink

In the photograph above, you can see that one of the major differences between Pink-ing of You and I Think in Pink is the fact that I Think in Pink is sheer compared to the creme finish of Pink-ing of You.  I turned off the fan to switch to I Think in Pink, so I used 2 regular coats of polish to create the same thickness of polish comparable to the 3 thin coats of Pink-ing of You, and if you look at the above photo, the nail line is visible on my middle and pinky nails through I Think in Pink.

no base coat, 2 coats More than a Glimmer, no top coat

More than a Glimmer is described by OPI as a matte glitter polish.  The packaging also calls this polish "Limited Edition" so it is likely this polish will not come out later as a separate polish that you can purchase without having to buy a packaged set as it comes now.  This polish is very glitter packed and comes in a milky base.  Made of medium, small, and micro-sized metallic hexagonal shaped glitter in silver, pink, orange, yellow, green, and blue.  

Although I had thought the finish on this polish would be that of a jelly sandwich look - where the glitter would look as if it was sandwiched between layers of a milky white polish - because this polish is so glitter packed, you can't do more than 2 coats without the glitter starting to poke out on the top of the nail rather than lying flat.  So while the finish is a perfect matte glitter finish, the milky color is not as obvious as one might expect from just looking at the bottle.

no base coat, 1 coat More than a Glimmer over 2 coats of Pink-ing of You, no top coat

And here are the two polishes layered together.  This is almost a similar look to Deborah Lippmann's Candy Shop without the suspended glitter finish.  

If you are looking to buy the set online, look for the above package that lists this as the 2013 Pink of Hearts set.  The set also comes with 10 pink ribbon decals and 10 micro nail crystals that you can add to top off your new polished look.

Overall I'd say the matte glitter polish is a great creation by OPI, something unique that will definitely appeal to the nail polish aficionado.  The pink is a nice neutral creme polish but is nothing unique, so if you have light pink creme polishes in your collection it is likely you will already have a similar shade of polish in your stash.

Hearts for the 4th

Instead of stars and stripes, how about some hearts on your nails for the fourth of July?

This isn't a new idea by any stretch of the imagination, but now that you have all of those new texture polishes, what are you supposed to do with them?  Well, layering them over a jelly creates a nice effect for a start.

For this manicure you will need a red, a white, and a blue textured polish.  For a background color, I found a gray to be best - it's grungy enough to complement the unusual textures, while the translucency of the shade makes it soft enough to be combined with hearts.  Used here was Zoya Pixie Dust color Chyna for the red, Sally Hansen Sugar Coat in Sugar Fix for the white, and Nails Inc Denim Effect in Bermondsey (this last color is from the kit from Sephora, which is also apparent by the fact that the lid is silver and does not have the appealing denim-covered cap that the nail polish in the UK seems to have).  For the gray I used OPI in My Pointe Exactly.  Not pictured, you will also need a heart-shaped hole punch which can be found at your local craft store, such as Michael's.

For the first step, just paint on two to three coats of the jelly background polish, followed by a quick-drying top coat.  I used two coats here, but if the weather is hot where you are, go slow and use really thin coats to try to minimize bubbling that seems to happen especially when it is hot but also when you layer on thicker coats.  

Technically, Step 2 has a part A and a part B.  For the first part, part A, cut medium strips of painters tape and stick on a piece of thick cardstock, like an index card (shown here).  It makes it easier to remove and hole punch if you place each piece of tape close to an edge of the card where the hole punch can reach, and then if you leave about a quarter of an inch of tape off the side of the card, then you can easily peel it up after you have punched your hearts.

Also, since you are going to need ten hearts, it is likely you will need two index cards (or other piece of cardstock) unless you want to try to overlap a new piece of tape on an area of the cardstock you already punched a heart on.

Now for Part B of Step 2, cut each strip of tape into sections depending on how many hearts you have on each strip of tape so you have a separate heart for each nail.  Placing a heart directly in the center of your nail each time may be a little difficult to do for some, so instead of trying to place the heart directly in the center of your nail, place it towards the top or bottom of your nail.  Because painter's tape is more flexible and malleable than scotch clear tape, you can push down around the edges of your nail to get a feel for exactly where the heart is on your nail.

After smoothing down the piece of tape, paint on one coat of your chosen color of nail polish.  For texture polishes, I found it easier to show off the texture to its best advantage by brushing a few times in one direction on the nail, than brushing in a perpendicular direction on the nail.  This may lift off a bit of the polish, but it also brings the texture to the forefront of the layered polish and also makes sure you have enough polish on the nail so you don't have to do a second coat.  After quickly painting on the polish, immediately pull off the tape before the layered polish begins to dry, so you don't have any stringy edges of polish attempting to adhere to the tape rather than your nail.

Once you have painted a heart on all of your nails, you will have reached Step 3.

Step 3 is to simply let your nails dry without putting any top coat on top of your nails and thereby reducing your textured look, since the point is to have the texture stand out as best as possible.

So here you can see I did a pattern of one red nail, one white, and two blue.  My thumb would also be red, so only the white polish would have been used once for each hand.

What do you think of this use for your textured polishes?  Have you already used hole punches and tape to create easy to do nail art?  If you don't have a heart-shaped hole punch near you, you can refer to this tutorial, where I began by making hearts without a hole punch.  Scroll down to Step 2 to see how to make a heart without using a hole punch if you have trouble making the heart look even.  It was a comment on that tutorial that made me consider going out and buying a heart shaped hole punch, and as you can see, I caved and bought one!

So what are you wearing on your nails for the Fourth of July?  And if you don't live in the United States or don't celebrate this holiday, would you still try this easy nail art on your nails?  Would you use textured polish for it?

Thanks for stopping by!  Happy nail painting with painter's tape!