Very Denniee Nails :): February 2012

Thursday, February 23, 2012

18. Essence - Walk of Fame

Sorry for the long wait everyone!  School's been crazy lately :(  I just finished midterms last week, and there are finals next week, too!  Oh, the life of a student...

Walk of Fame is a lovely, purple-toned taupe color.  In yellow lights, it looks more brown, but in natural light, it looks purple.  It's a very flattering color on me.  Usually, I'm very tan, since I'm in the sun all day, due to dragonboat practices.  However, Walk of Fame makes my skin look more pale.  I'm usually really dark, so it's a nice change.




The actual color of the polish is somewhere in between the shades of these two pictures.  The top picture is too dark, but the lower picture doesn't have enough purple in it.

Application was easy.  This is 2 easy coats, with no dragging or balding, with seche vite on top.  

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

17. Essence - Irreplaceable

Today, I'm wearing Essence's Irreplaceable.  Irreplaceable is a sand-colored cream polish with gold shimmer.  The shimmer seems to be mostly gold, with some green and orange tones in certain lights.  The base is beige with a little bit of brown and grey thrown in.  This one is another favorite of mine.  Usually, I get bored of nudes fairly fast, but this one has a little something extra that keeps it interesting.    Again, I absolutely LOVE gold shimmer; it can spice up any nail polish color.

Application of Irreplaceable was smooth; no bald spots or dragging.  When I first got this polish, I was wondering if I'd actually get full coverage, or if it'd be sheer, but this polish is wonderfully opaque with 3 coats. You can still see the tiniest bit of VNL in the pictures, but you can't really see that in real life.
I really like the formula of Essence polishes, but I don't really like their brush.  It's a little too puffy and makes the polish get all over my cuticles.  I've gotten used to their brush, but it isn't my favorite (my favorite is the OPI pro-wide brush).



Irreplaceable is a very work-safe without being boring.  I think normally, such a cool-toned color would not look very flattering on my skin, but the gold shimmer gives the polish a little extra warmth that makes the polish look nice on me.  I remember when me and my bestie went to Ulta and saw this, we freaked out and grabbed this polish immediately; we liked it that much at first sight.  I'm very glad it did not disappoint :)  I really wish these Colour & Go polishes came in bigger bottles, so I wouldn't have to worry about using it all up.  I guess it's lucky that they're not LEs.

Sunday, February 19, 2012

16. Essence - Choose Me!

Today's polish is a goodie from Essence called Choose Me!  Choose Me! is a teal cream with darker teal and golden-green shimmer.  Choose Me is actually so shimmer-packed that the pictures make it look like a foil.  This polish is absolutely gorgeous!  I got a lot of comments on this :)  I love the color teal and I love gold shimmer, so this is a definite favorite of mine!  It reminds me of sunlight reflected off of a clear lake, or looking down into the bottom of a pool.





I would say this polish is a little more green-toned in real life, with the brightness and shinyness of the first picture (look at how much that polish looks like a foil).  The first picture's a little bit too blue-toned though, and the second picture's a little bit too dark.  But look at that gold shimmer!  Awesome!

Application on this polish was fairly smooth.  I think Essence polishes work better with the Essie ridge-filling base coat, Fill the Gap!  When I used the Ulta polishes over Fill the Gap,  I got a lot of cuticle drag on the first coat.  With the Sally Hansens over the Essie, I got less dragging, but still noticeable bald spots.  The polishes would even out after 3 coats, but it still kind of bothered me.  However, the Essence polishes have no dragging whatsoever.  Shown above is 3 coats with a coat of Seche Vite on top.  Choose Me's drying time was faster than normal.

I really wish we had more Essence polishes available in the US.  I see swatches of the Essence polishes available in Europe, and there are just too many colors that I want from them!  Here, I can only find a small selection of 10 or so polishes at Ulta.  Some of the colors, like this one and Irreplaceable, are absolutely mesmerizing, but there are so many more in the Essence line that we just don't get here.

Friday, February 17, 2012

15. Ulta - Fashionably Late

Today I have Fashionably Late from Ulta's Glitterati mini collection.  This has a black jelly base with large red hex and small red square glitter.  Essentially, it's a red version of Glamoflauge.  Surprisingly, I like the red on the black more than the purple on black.  Fashionably Late is a dupe of Deborah Lippmann's Ruby Red Slippers.

Application on this was not too difficult.  However, you do need to be careful, as dragging can occur.  There was this one bald spot on my right thumb that just wouldn't disappear until coat 4!  The formula was fine and the glitters went on fairly evenly and densely.



There's actually a lot of depth to this polish, more than i could see in Glamoflauge.  It's a sexy red without being too over-the-top bold and it reminds me a pair of sexy of Louboutins :D

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

14. Ulta - Black Tie Affair

Hey everyone!  Today I'm wearing Black Tie Affair from Ulta, which is supposed to be a dupe for DL's Today Was a Fairytale.  Honestly, after seeing swatches of the DL, I can say that I like that version better.  Black Tie Affair is a dark, smokey grey jelly-ish base with small and large silver hex glitter.  The Ulta version is pretty, but it's nothing too special.

Black Tie Affair looks to be darker than Today Was a Fairytale, with smaller silver hex glitter.  Actually, at 1 coat, Black Tie Affair looks more similar to TWaF, but it does not apply evenly, so I could not leave it at that.  2 coats left me with some nails darker than others, but still pretty looking.  However, 3 coats is a little bit dark for me; I like it better when it's light and more sheer, strangely.  Even after 3 coats, there is still some VNL, so I would suggest layering this over a cream if you want full opacity.



BTA dried very gritty and dull, so I used 2 layers of topcoat: 1 coat of Seche Vite and 1 coat of Poshe.


Since BTA didn't really impress me at first, I added matte top coat just to see what it looked like.  I can say that I'm digging this look much more!

Monday, February 13, 2012

13. Ulta - Glamoflage

Today I'm wearing Glamoflage, another polish from the Ulta mini set Glitterati.  This one's a supposed dupe for DL Bad Romance, another long time lemming of mine.  I really like how this looks on the nail!  It's a black jelly/cream with large purple hex and small purple glitter.  I love this color combination :)



Despite how much I love how this polish looks, the application was pretty bad.  The first and second coats were streaky and pretty sheer, with lots of cuticle drag.  Coat three evened everything out in the end, though, so I suppose it's all good.  The polish dries really gritty and dull, so make sure to use lots of topcoat over Glamoflage!  The glitters in this are very generous as well, lots of glitter in each stroke :D

Shown is 3 coats of Glamoflage topped with a coat of Poshe.  It could probably use another coat of Poshe, as it's still a bit bumpy.

Saturday, February 11, 2012

12. Ulta Glitterati - Hide and Go Sequins

Hide and Go Sequins looks like it's a dupe for Deborah Lippman's Across the Universe.  Me, being a poor college student, saw this polish in a mini set at Ulta and immediately bought it.  I'm so glad I did!  This polish is a dark blue jelly containing large green, blue, and silver hex glitter.  There are also smaller blue hex glitters as well.  I really love how this polish looks on the nail.  It's dark, but the squishy appearance of the jelly base softens how dark it really is.  And the jelly base also gives the polish depth.  It's absolutely amazing to look at!

Application was decent on these.  Coats one and two were kind of uneven, but three evened out the color.  However, I like my polish a little more opaque, so I added a forth coat.  Four coats is a little bit much for me, but luckily the polish dried pretty fast.  I think the end result was worth it :)  The polish is fairly easy to work with.  At first, the glitters tended to clump together, but after coat 2, the glitters spread pretty well.  The formula is just the right consistency; a great break from the watery formula of the SHs.





Look how squishy they all look!  aaaaaaahhhhh <3  So lovely~  These pictures are a little bit lighter than what the polish usually looks like on the nail

Seeing how Hide and Go Sequins looks on my nail makes me want to buy DL Across the Universe, but it'll have to wait.  However, if Ulta had a regular-sized bottle of Hide and Go Sequins, I would definitely be satisfied buying that.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

11. Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear - 37 Blue It

Blue It is a pretty blue shimmer.  It has that lit-from-within look that I adore so much :)  Application was pretty good on this polish; nice and even coats.  Pictured is one thick coat.

I love these intese blue colors.  It's bright and shiny!

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

10. Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear - 13 Celeb City

Celeb City is a warm bright silver foil.  It's a pretty polish, just nothing extraordinary about it.  Very glittery and sparkly; definitely eye catching.  Application was fine, with the usual SH formula.  Pictured is two coats, but it could have used 3.  There was still some VNL.


Sorry about the ring finger.  Dented it right before I took the pictures -___-

Sunday, February 5, 2012

9. Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear - 300 White On

White on is your typical kind of white cream polish.  It's a very soft white, not as chalky as some other white creams I've heard about.  Not much to say about the color of this one; I mostly bought it because it is a cheap white cream polish, and I don't have another white cream.

Application was horrible.  My bottle of White On is not very old, yet it was very thick.  I can't remember if the bottle started off with that consistency, or if it became like that because I didn't cap the bottle tight.  The thickness made it extremely hard to apply the polish evenly, or even in thin coats.  It just wouldn't cover my nail right.  I guess I should add a couple drops of thinner.



These pictures may make the polish look matte, but this is with Poshe on top.  I think it's just my lightbox maybe; I assure you, this color dries shiny :)

Friday, February 3, 2012

8. Sally Hansen Nail Prisms - South Sea Pearl

At the first glance in the bottle, South Sea Pearl is your typical boring creamy pearl color.  However, on the nail, this polish comes alive.  It flashes between a creamy, beigey, yellowish color, to a lime-jello-green color.  Quite the interesting color combination.  It also has the lavender shimmer in it, much like Lapis Amethyst and Lavender Pearl.  The shimmer also flashes green in some lights.

Application was typical of the Nail Prism polishes.  Watery but even, slightly sheer.  This swatch is 2 coats of South Sea Pearl over 2 coats of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear - White On.


Here you can see the lavender shimmer.  Excuse the dents on my thumb...I made those while I was typing this post :P


Look at that green flash!  Definitely reminds me of jello :)

This color is definite keeper.  I can't say it's a particular favorite in my collection, but it's definitely unique.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

7. Sally Hansen Nail Prisms - Lapis Amethyst

I originally got Lapis Amethyst as a replacement for my old bottle, which was all used up.  Back in middle school, Lapis Amethyst was my favorite color, and it was always on my nails.  I was really excited when I found TWO bottles of this at Ross in a set with some other Nail Prisms!  But then I looked at the bottle when I got home, and realized that it didn't look like my old bottle.  It was a lot more purple than blue, and I was disappointed.

However, I put this beauty on last night, and I am disappointed no longer!  In the bottle, the polish looks like a blue-toned purple with a slight flash of green.  However, this polish really comes to life on the nail!  This polish flashes from lavender to a grey-blue/teal color (the color it flashes depends partially on the lighting)!  It's a great color combination.  And if you look at it in the light, you can see little green sparkles peaking out from underneath all the colors!





These pictures do absolutely no justice to how surprisingly beautiful this polish is! :(  In fact, the first two look really similar to Lavender Pearl, don't they?  Well, the last picture is definitely different!

This polish applied nice and easy.  The coats were smooth and pigmented, and no cuticle drag.  The formula is typical Sally Hansen: a little bit on the watery side.  Shown here is 2 coats of Lapis Ametyst over 1 coat of WnW Black Creme.