Purple Shimmer Sunday: CrowsToes Storms Never Last

Hi everyone! Today I have another gorgeous polish from CrowsToes' One Mad, Crazy Summer Collection. I will have to say, when I got Storms Never Last, I wasn't expecting to love it as much as I do. And I figured out while taking pictures that it is because it is impossible to capture how pretty it is in pictures and thus all swatch pictures I have seen (including mine) have failed to show its beauty completely. It has a very shimmery base that shifts from blue to purple with tiny disco glitters throughout. I layered 2 coats of Storms Never Last over Essie No More Film.

 

CrowsToes polishes are available at Llarowe. Be sure to follow CrowsToes on Facebook for updates and details about new collections. Be sure to check out what Kathy and Kristy have going on for Purple Shimmer Sunday! Thanks for looking everyone!

Purple Shimmer Sunday (Tuesday?): Color Club Gift of Sparkle

Hi everyone! I did actually wear this on Sunday, but I've just been lazy about posting it. I finally got my paws on Color Club Gift of Sparkle last week and I was under the (false) assumption that it was a purple jelly base with glitter and red shimmer. So that's a purple shimmer right? Well...the red shimmer is actually a super fine red glitter. Oh well...it's pretty so that counts? Right? I'm pretty much going to post purples on Sundays and beyond that...maybe it will be a shimmer. ;) This is 2 coats of Gift of Sparkle, no undies. This polish was impossible to photograph in all of its glory. It is amazing!

Thanks for looking everyone! Please check out what Kathy and Kristy are doing this week!

Purple Shimmer Sunday: Illamasqua Baptiste + OPI Movin Out

Hi everyone! It's Purple Shimmer Sunday again! Be sure to check out what Kristy and Kathy are doing today! Today I have two of my favorite polishes combined in one fantastic manicure. OPI Movin Out is from the Holiday on Broadway collection way back from 2003 (same collection as La Boheme). It has a gorgeous shift from pink to green with little red sparkles throughout. I've worn it before over black, but this time I went for purple.

One of my favorite purples in fact, Illamasqua Baptiste. It is purple shimmer perfection in my book and one I think every purple lover should have. The microshimmer in it is glorious and the formula top notch. This is 2 coats of Baptiste. I feel that it leans a little warmer in real life due to the reddish shimmer, but pictures make it look more cool.

And now here is 1 coat of Movin Out over Baptiste. As you can see from the bottle, the formula of Movin Out is more milky than Clarins 230 and its dupes as you can see in the bottle pics and the end result from layering it looks very different than them.

Isn't it just delicious? Thanks for looking everyone!

Fun with Pure Ice Heart Breaker

Hi everyone! This past week I decided to pull out one of my favorite polishes ever and play around with some layering. Pure Ice Heart Breaker is a lovely green shimmer in a clear base and it is great for layering over ALL THE THINGS! Now do take note, in the past few years, the formula on this one has changed and it is in a more milky base and the shimmer is just not as gorgeous and sparkly anymore. I have heard rumors that the old formula has been spotted again, so be on the lookout at your local Wal-Mart and grab it if you see the good sparkly version.

This is what the "good" version looks like in the bottle. As I said, the other version has a much milkier look in the bottle and that green shimmer you see on the sides of the bottle just isn't really present. I wish I had a bottle of the other one so I could show you a side-by-side picture of them.

First I did some layering over Pretty and Polished Sea Spray, a gorgeous dark blue scattered holo. This mani absolutely glowed with Heart Breaker on top.

Here is Pretty and Polished Sea Spray on its own as well.

I did some layering over Rescue Beauty Lounge Scrangie this week as well because the green shimmer in that one was always a bit disappointing to me. With the addition of Heart Breaker, Scrangie was everything I always wanted it to be! Sorry I did not get any good pics of this mani with my real camera, so I will share a few iPhone pics with you. I also intended this to be my Purple Shimmer Sunday post (so be sure to check out what Kathy and Kristy wore!).

So can you all see why I love Heart Breaker so much? It is just divine! I think it is a must have for any green shimmer lover because the layering possibilities are endless! Thanks for looking everyone!

Purple Shimmer Sunday: Kiko 255

Hi everyone! It's Purple Shimmer Sunday again and I have a gorgeous polish for you guys today! Be sure to check out what Kristy and Kathy have going on as well!

I recently acquired Kiko 255 thinking I would have an exotic purple shimmer to show you guys, but I didn't realize it is actually glitter! I guess I would have known if I had looked up the proper name for it, Purple Glitter (so original Kiko!), but in the pictures it looked like a shimmer. To be honest, it real life it doesn't much look like a glitter but more like a glowy shimmer base with holo glitters scattered throughout. I have a suspicion that the smallest holo "glitters" are actually holographic pigment. So in short...I may be cheating again with this one...but it looks darn shimmery to me! This is 2 easy coats.

Unfortunately, Kiko polishes are only available in Europe, so acquiring their polishes is somewhat difficult if you live in the US. Thanks for looking everyone!

Purple Shimmer Sunday: Contrary Polish Indigo Rose

Hi everyone! Today I have a purple, or should I say blurple shimmer for you from Contrary Polish. Be sure to check out what Kathy and Kristy have in store for Purple Shimmer Sunday!

Indigo Rose is from the Color Context collection which consisted of polishes with a colored base and a contrasting shimmer which made them have the overall appearance of another color. In the case of Indigo Rose, the base is a deep blue with red shimmer which gives the polish an overall purple appearance. It is a deep, vampy purple which leans very blue and is different than any other purple shimmer I own. Most of the deep purples I own lean really red. Formula was fantastic with full coverage at 2 coats.

 

 

 

 

Contrary Polish can be purchased direct from creator Carrie (details are on her blog) or they are available from several e-tailers including Llarowe (US), Femme Fatale Cosmetics (Australia), Shoppe Eclecticco (Singapore), and Norway Nails (Norway). Thanks for looking everyone!

Purple Shimmer Sunday: OPI Muir Muir on the Wall

Hi everyone! I made a special nail polish (and pizza) run earlier in the week to pick up two OPIs from the San Francisco Collection: Muir Muir on the Wall and Alcatraz...Rocks. I couldn't wait to pull out this baby for Purple Shimmer Sunday. Don't forget to check out what Kathy and Kristy have going on this week!

Muir Muir on the Wall is a plummy purple polish that has a subtle gold duochrome shift. It is quite beautiful with wonderful shimmer. It goes on a bit patchy with the first coat because it is slightly sheer, but a second coat evens it right out. I chose to do 3 thin coats for good measure.

 

 

 

Kathy actually asked me how Muir Muir on the Wall compared to an older, hard to find OPI called Black Tie Optional because it has been rumored that they are similar. I decided to do a little comparison for you guys. Well the good news is, they are pretty close AND I actually much prefer Muir Muir on the Wall because the shimmer is much more prominent. Now, they are definitely not dupes (Black Tie Optional is a little more purple and darker), but I think Muir Muir on the Wall would go far to satisfy a Black Tie Optional lemming if you happen to have one.

Muir Muir on the Wall on middle and pinky finger, Black Tie Optional on pointer and ring finger.

 

 

 

 

I have to say that I am not to enthused with OPI's San Francisco Collection as a whole, but this one is definitely worth picking up (along with Alcatraz...Rocks). Thanks for looking everyone!

Purple Shimmer Sunday: Make Up Store Lava over China Glaze Let's Groove

Hi everyone! Today I have a gorgeous purple shimmer for you that I covered up with flakies. :D China Glaze Let's Groove is a fantastic polish in its own right and deserves wonderful pictures, but unfortunately it bubbled when I put it on and thus I got no decent pictures of it before the flakies went on. Trust me when I say...it is amazing. If you don't believe me...check out Kristy's pics of it here!

Be sure to check out what Kathy and Kristy have going on for Purple Shimmer Sunday as well!

Now what do I do if I have a bubbly mani? I add glitter or flakies of course! They solve all bubbling issues in an instant. I pulled out a gorgeous flakie that was gifted to me by some dear friends for my birthday: Make Up Store Lava. This flakie has a purple tinted base with red/green color shifting flakies as well as some scattered blue/purple color shifting shimmer. It is stunning! This is 2 coats over China Glaze Let's Groove.

The Make Up Store flakies are now discontinued as far as I know, so I am so thankful to my friends for gifting me a set of them for my birthday! <3 Thanks for looking everyone!!

Purple Shimmer Wednesday?: NerdLacquer Gotterdammerung

Hi everyone! Yes...I'm behind this week. I was in a wedding this weekend and there were lots of out of town visitors so I haven't been able to do my Purple Shimmer Sunday post. Be sure to check out my more timely counterparts and their Purple Shimmer Sunday contributions (Kristy at The Polish Haven and Kathy at Pied Polish Piper).

Today I have a polish that I nabbed at the last NerdLacquer restock called Gotterdammerung, which is part of the Opera trio that was released at that time. It is has a purple/blue color shifting base with various purple glitters. To bring out the duochrome nature of the polish, I just used 1 coat of Gotterdammerung over Essie No More Film for this mani.

NerdLacquer polishes are available in creator Amanda's online shop. Everything is out of stock at this time, but she posts info on restocks and new releases on her Google+ account. Thanks for looking everyone!