Swatches: Revlon Nail Enamel "Fasionista" (NEW shade)

I got a few new polishes over the weekend (and noticed a bunch of new L'Oreal nail polishes that I need as I don't have dupes in my collection of many of the new colors). One of them was one of the new Revlon shades, "Fasionista". It's a dark navy creme with almost a blue-green tint to it, but only slightly. I decided to review and swatch it today.

Outdoors, natural light.

Outdoors, natural light.

The formula is very opaque, almost only need one coat although I used 2 for these pictures. Not runny or streaky but like most blues, if you get it on your skin it will be a pain (nearly impossible) to get off without leaving stains. I had done clean-up and showered and washed my hands numerous times by the time I took these photos and you can still see some blue tinting around my cuticles.

I like the color. I'm not a big fan of blues (especially because of the staining issues) but this neutral navy color is pretty enough to wear again some time. 

In pictures I am wearing:

• 1 coat of Nail Magic "Base Coat Therapy"
• 2 coats of Revlon "Fasionista"
• 1 coat Seche Vite "Fast Dry Top Coat

What do you think? Anyone know of any colors "Fashionista" could be a dupe of?

A Year's Challenge: Week 3 - Color Block Mani

I had no idea what color blocking was before this challenge! I googled it and after reading a couple articles and searching images, I had somewhat of an idea. So here is my interpretation of a color block mani, inspired by this photo of Rihanna (photo from teenvogue.com):

Left hand, natural light.

Right hand, natural light.

To create this look I used lots of tiny slivers of masking tape (any low-adhesive tape would work though), small paint brushes, patience, and the following colors:

• Essie - Case Study (base)
• Revlon - Plum Seduction (fuschia)
• Borghese - Capri Coral (orange)

I might have taken the term color blocking a bit literally! I like how it turned out though and I learned something about current fashion trends in the process! :D

To check out the details of "A Year's Challenge" and see how others participating in the challenge interpreted the Color Block manicure, go here.

My Polish Collection Swatches: Part 1, Nail Wheel 109

The numbers in the first photo correspond to the list, which indicates the brand, polish name, line/collection/edition (if applicable), and bottle number. Oh yeah, and FYI, the little red marks above each swatch are how I keep track of the number of coats I used to achieve the resulting color.

Indoors w/flash, wht b/g.

Nail Wheel 109

1. Sally Hansen (SH) Radiant 01 - Lacquer Shine*
2. SH Gleaming 06 - Lacquer Shine*
3. SH Bright 02 -  Lacquer Shine*
4. Essie After Sex 468 
5. Essie  Wild Thing 583
6. Essie  Licorice 56
7. Essie Soiree Mauve 329
8. Revlon Winter Mist - Mini
9. Revlon Cherries in the Snow - Mini
10. Revlon Pink Ice - Mini
11. SH Coral Creme 022 - Hard as Wraps*
12. SH Berry Frost 015 - Hard as Wraps*
13. SH Reflective Rose 16 - Maximum Growth*
14. SH Pure Putty 28 - Maximum Growth*
15. SH Practical Plum 13 -  Maximum Growth*
16. SH  Imagine Coral 48 -  Maximum Growth*
17. SH Vibrant 05 -  Lacquer Shine*
18. SH Luminous 02 -  Lacquer Shine*

Indoors w/flash, black b/g.

Outside (late afternoon), natural light.

Leave a comment if you want to see a full swatched manicure review of any of these  polishes featured  in this series! ! 

* = Discontinued

** = Discontinued and hard to find (HTF)

*** = Discontinued for ages and VERY HTF

My Polish Collection Swatches: Part 1 (cont.), Nail Wheel 105

The numbers in the first photo correspond to the list, which indicates the brand, polish name, line/collection/edition (if applicable), and bottle number.

Outdoors, natural light, white b/g.

Nail Wheel 105 

1. Pure Ice Magic 252
2. Pure Ice Love917
3. Pure Ice Kiss Me Here 541
4. Pure Ice Excuse Me 544
5. Pure Ice Envy 965
6. Pure Ice Celestial 775
7. Revlon  Espresso 840 - Top Speed
8. Revlon  Electric 305 - Top Speed
9. Revlon  Cotton Candy Sheer 030 - Top Speed
10. Revlon  Copper Penny 932
11. Revlon Blizzard 010 - Top Speed*
12. Pure Ice Wild Thing 616
13. Pure Ice Siren 603
14. Pure Ice Silver Mercedes988
15. Pure Ice Pussy Cat 263
16. Pure Ice Peony 796
17. Pure Ice Outrageous 794
18. Pure Ice No Means No 542

Indoors w/flash, white b/g.

Indoors w/flash, black b/g.

Leave a comment if you would like to see a full review on any of these polishes (or any of the others in my collection!)

* = Discontinued

** = Discontinued and hard to find (HTF)

*** = Discontinued for ages and VERY HTF

Day 15 of the 30 Day Challenge: Floral Print

I only took a couple pics of this one on my phone and it was after I'd been wearing it a day or two so I apologize for the less than awesome photography this time around. This one was really simple. I think this print is really bohemian-ish. My hippie hubby loved this one. Hehe.

Base: I can't remember. One of my thousands of nudes.

Design: m64 stamped with Revlon TopSpeed "Espresso"

Day 14 of the 30 Day Mani Challenge: Animal Print

Okay, since I really don't like animal prints on anything other than animals and I don't like to wear bright colors, I decided to use all my brightest nail polishes and stamp all of the animal print patterns at once. Why not, right?

I actually really liked the final result. It took me FOREVER and it was tedious but when I was finished I was rather surprised on how much I actually liked it. I even wore it for a few days (most of my manicures are lucky to make it a full 36 hours before I get the itch to do the next one).

 Left Hand, Indoors w/flash

 Right hand, Indoors w/flash

Outdoors just before sunset, no flash

To Get This Look: I've numbered each nail on the above photo so I can list the base polish, polish I used to stamp with, and image plate (in that order) for each nail.

1. SH Insta-Dri "Lightening" (base), Wet N Wild "Black Creme" (stamp), m61 (image plate)
2. SH Insta-Dri "Lickety-Split Lime", Revlon TopSpeed "Grape", m78
3. Maybelline ExpressFinish "Go Go Grape", Revlon TopSpeed "Electric", BM221
4. Wet N Wild "Sunny Side Up", SH Insta-Dri "Brisk Blue", BM211
5. Maybelline ExpressFinish "Timely Turquoise", Konad Light Pink Special Polish, BM223
6. SH XpressFinish "Twisted Pink", Wet N Wild "Black Creme",  SH25
7. Sidenote: I decided that animal footprints technically fall under the "animal print" category heh heh. Maybelline ExpressFinish "Go Go Green", Revlon TopSpeed "Espresso", SH08
8. Sinful "Pull Over", SH Insta-Dru "Rapid Red", m78
9. SH XtremeWear "Blue Me Away", SH Insta-Dri "Whirlwind White", BM211
10. SH XtremeWear "Caribbean Coral", Revlon TopSpeed "Electric", BM223

There ya go. Lot's of time for something I thought I'd hate but ended up liking. I hope the other challenge I'm dreading turns out so good (I'm scared of water-marbling...).