Swatches: Winter vs. Summer Nails

Absolutely been way too long since my last post. I have so many ideas and things I want to write and review, it's overwhelming. I've been very distracted as of late. New secret relationships can really take a lot of your time! Plus I've been spending much of my every waking hour gathering items for Sims Social... such an addiction.

Anyway, not going to bore you all with the details. Here are some back logged nail pictures I found in my hard drive. A nice winter vs. summer nail juxtaposition collection.

Butter London's Lady Muck - 1 Coat

Here's a cool tone wintery nail color that I loved, Button London's Lady Muck, a murky blue-grey color. The color looks a little gloomy, so it'll probably be my winter choice, unfortunately not suitable in a professional work environment. This is one of my first Butter London polishes and they were super easy to apply and dry.This lasted longer than the Fairy Lights that I tried.

Zoya's MIA - 1 Coat

Here's a more work-friendly nail polish - Zoya's MIA. It's a neutral mauve pink that leans on the sheer side. Shown here with 1 coat only. Dries fast, but wears away from the tips without top coat pretty quickly. Doesn't last more than 1 day without the wearing off.

Essie's Muchi Muchi (2 coats) & Hello Kitty in Blueberry (1 coat)

One day I felt like being a little more "daring" and decided to paint my nails in 2 different colors. Essie's Muchi Muchi is a super sheer and needs at least 2 coats for opaqueness. But it's a classic baby pink that's perfect for spring so it's a keeper for me. Paired with the most gorgeous pacific blue color from Hello Kitty's Blueberry. The Hello Kitty nail polish was from my Sephora haul a year or so back. One coat, as you can see, is still very streaky. This polish will require 2 coats, but the color payoff is magnificent.

Revlon's Sheer Nude (1 coat), Milani's Nail Art in White Canvas, and Butter London's Tart with a Heart

Switching gears back to an office-friendly French manicure. This time I added a little bling to my normal French tip with Butter London's Tart with a Heart. This Butter London nail polish has a sheer pink base with multiple glitter particles in various shapes and colors, would probably look very weird alone (I haven't tried that yet), but looks really nice layered on top of a opaque color. I dotted my normal French tip with a toothpick, super easy, and super quick.

Revlon's Color Stay in Marmalade

Revlon came out with a new line of nail polish called ColorStay which claims to last up to 11 days as long as you use their top and base coat. I'm not too crazy for long lasting color for THAT long, but I was drawn to this bright orange coral in Maramalade. They are very pricey compare to the regular line, these run up to $11. They lasted quite a while on me, but as you can see, they also wear off pretty quickly at the tips. But overall, a perfect summer POP of color.

=)   That's it for the nails, hopefully my other reviews will be up soon!

Swatches: Del Sol, Zoya Pink Nail Polishes

Here's the two swatches of my new nail polish collection. Been having a crazy nail polish frenzy lately, I've bought so many yet have not really gotten a chance to try most of them.

Del Sol in Flirt (Pale Pink with Glitters)

Del Sol is what I'll call a tropical brand. I've only known about them after going on a few cruises to the Caribbeans. There is also one chain store located in the Quincy Market in Boston. They're actually a company that specializes in apparel that changes color under the sun (hence the name Del Sol). Their designs react to the sun's UV rays and transforms in color. Yup, even their nail polishes!

Del Sol nail polish indoors

Here I'm wearing the Del Sol nail polish in Flirt. It's a pale pink with lots of silver glitter. The glitter is very fine. I love how it gives off a slight shimmer this way. Perfect go to work color.

Del Sol in Flirt under the sunlight thru window

Difference in color between thumb and ring finger

Here you can sort of see a difference in color after I left my hand under the sunlight for a minute or so. Outdoors the colors are even more vibrant! I'll try to upload a picture of how my nails look outdoors. You can sort of see the difference in color between my thumb and ring finger.

Overall these are not great quality nail polishes. With only 1 coat and no top coat, my nails started chipping the next day. Very easy to apply and they dry fairly quickly. These nail polishes retail for $10 each. And they usually have a Buy 3 Get 1 Free sale in stores.  Pretty expensive for not so great nail polishes, but they are so fun to wear! These make a really nice staple to any summer outfit. So I don't mind purchasing more (I own like 8 of these already). I top it with my favorite Revlon Top Coat and it stays for almost a week. =) Good enough for me.

Next is the Zoya nail polish. I managed to get in on the 3 Free Zoya nail polish promotion a few weeks ago. All I had to pay was $6.95 for shipping and handling, still a very good deal since each of these polishes retail $8 each.

Zoya Nail Polish in Piper (ZP243)

Zoya Nail Polish in Piper is a warm neutral pink that's not really sheer. I had 2 coats on my index finger and only 1 coat on the rest of my hand.

With Direct Flash

With a Side Flash

Zoya claims to make the longest wear natural nail polish. And I think they really do live up to that claim. I didn't even apply a top coat on and I had no chips for 7 days! After that it started chipping a little but it wasn't too bad. The polish was easy to apply and dries quickly also. I think I've found a new love. =)