Illamasqua - Muse

i got this color for Christmas (well, i picked it out a few days before) after having a little freakout at Sephora because i forgot they carried Illamasqua now, and i love it! this probably isn't the best picture since the sun went into hiding, but i think it's pretty accurate. the color reminds me of a very clear, bright sky.





this is just one coat! there was slight VNL in certain lighting at certain angles, but i hardly noticed it. it went on very smoothly, although the brush holds a lot of polish so it took me a couple nails to figure out how much to use. i also liked that you could easily pull the cap off, so you can paint with a normal circular cap.

Christmas nails.

Happy Holidays to everyone! here are my Christmas themed nails. i'm thinking of adding snowflake decals on a couple of fingers.

direct sunlight:

indirect sunlight:

i messed up a little on a couple of nails, but i still like it :) i used 2 coats of China Glaze Emerald Sparkle, 1 coat of Ruby Pumps on the tips using Orly's french tip guides, and a line of Color Club Sex Symbol using a nail art brush. i really like that using Ruby Pumps over Emerald Sparkle made it darker (though not as dark as Lubu Heels), i think it coordinates better than what RP looks like in the bottle.

a few NOTDs

i forgot to take pictures most of the time (or i did but they didn't come out right), so there's not as many pictures as i wish there was. but i will definitely update more from now on! :)

Zoya - Akyra.

i think this was 2 coats. i love this color, it reminds me of peacocks! Zoya says it's best described as "Sparkling blue azure metallic with subtle sparkle finish." there's a lot of green in there though, so i'd say it's more of a teal. the sparkle looks like a mix of silver, green, and blue but i'm not positive.

Love Bites - Chartreuse (no official name)

this is 3 coats of the most confusing color i have EVER worn. i think it's chartreuse, i looked at colors on Wikipedia and that looked the closest. i still don't know what the finish really is. it looks a little frosty, but not enough to be completely a frost. you can get this brand online and in store at Rue21.


China Glaze - Sci-Fi

2 coats. i was a little disappointed when i first put this on, because there wasn't as much lavender as i was hoping for except in direct sunlight. but after a few minutes i started to like it more. i like the new Khrome collection because the colors don't give off brush strokes as bad (or at all, if you apply it right) as the Romantique collection. their metallics get better each collection, it seems (since Romantiques was also better than the one with Platinum Gold/Silver).

China Glaze - Sci-Fi with China Glaze Matte Magic

now there's the lavender i wanted! i'm still amazed at how mattifying Sci-Fi brought out so much of the lavender. matte top coats do weird things sometimes.


essie - Flirty Fuschia

this color is way brighter in person! although it doesn't quite reach retina-burning level, it's still neon. i did 2 coats with slight VNL, so you would probably need 3 for complete opaque-ness. i really like how bright it is :D