Top 10 Spring Nail Polishes

I've been on a polish kick lately and while painting my nails the other day I thought I'd compile a list of some of my favorite Spring colors! My polish color selection during this time of year is a mixture of Fall and Summer colors; so neither complete brights nor complete dark-vampy shades either. During this time of year I love reds, shimmers, pinks, pretty pastels, neutrals and even glitters. Here are some of my favorites I always reach for, all of which look great on both hands and toes.

Click to enlarge! 

(And while working on this post, I realized how hard it is to be a nail blogger. I clearly need to get a nail wheel for swatches so please excuse my n0obtastic swatches).

First up is Zoya's 'Pandora' ($8) which is described as a "a medium pink-beige nude with blue and mauve undertones and a hint of pearly silver shimmer." Can I just add how gorgeous the formula is?! When I just want clean fool-proof nails, this is the polish I reach for. The formula is the perfect consistency that one coat does the job.

OPI's 'Catch Me in Your Net' ($8) is a sea green/teal with gold and green shimmer. This color is vibrant and gorgeous, aaaand it looks superb on the toes. The formula is slightly semi-opaque and the swatch below is with 2 coats.

OPI's 'I'm Not Really a Waitress' ($8) is what I'd describe as a deep shimmery red. It's synonymous with OPI and is their bestseller for a reason. This reminds me of a Snow White-red and is probably my favorite polish in general. The formula is perfect and one coat does the job. I love this on the toes but especially love it on my hands. I can see this working for every skin tone because of the undertones. A favorite!

The highly coveted OPI's 'Mad as a Hatter' ($8) from the Alice in Wonderland collection is a complex and a sophisticated glitter polish. This is a unique glitter polish which does not look obnoxious or "adorable" and I'd describe this as sheer black with gold, green, purple, red and blue (almost a rainbow of colors!) micro-glitter. The glitter is dense enough that this becomes opaque in 2-3 coats. I love this accent deep pastels or as a top coat for bland colors.

Butter London's 'All Hail the Queen' ($14) is described as an "opaque, holographic beige' but I think it's more a light taupe with SUPER-refined pink-gold holographic glitter. A gorgeous shade with a fantastic formula. The swatch below is with 2 coats.

Orly's 'Space Cadet' ($8) from the Cosmix FX collection is GORGEOUS. It's one of my favorite duo-chromes and I'd describe this as a green, purple and gold/orange multi-chrome with possibly a teal/blue base. I think you can detect the blue-ness in the picture on the top-right corner (or am I seeing things?) and the swatches below are with 3 coats, so the formula is slightly thin. Regardless, it is BEAUTIFUL and totally unique in my collection.

Chanel's 'Graphite' ($26) is a new purchase and has already become a favorite. I just love silvers and refined-glitter polishes and this fits the bill perfectly. This is described as a "light charcoal foil glitter warmed up with small gold flakes", and is overall very dimensional. Not only is Graphite a beautiful color but the formula is great too because the swatch below is with one coat.

Essie's 'Sew Psyched' ($8) is another FAVORITE of mine. I love odd shades of green and this is described as a "a cashmere-soft sage pewter" which I interpret to be a grey-green (ahem). I absolutely LOVE this color and find it to be perfect for every season, but especially during the months of Fall. The other reason I love this-- the formula! This has the best formula out of any of these polishes here because it's opaque with just one coat and the finish is SUPERB. Take a look for yourself (hopefully my camera catches the creamy goodness of this polish) because it almost looks like I added a Seche Vite-esque topcoat on top but nope, that is the polish in a single coat. Gorgeous, right?

Essie's 'Super Bossa Nova' ($8) is a fun pink I love for both hands and toes. This is described as an "upbeat bright fuchsia" and I spot some flecks of purple/blue ultra-fine shimmer in this when looked at under sunlight. The formula is not creamy-opaque but builds to the intensity below with 2 coats.

And last up is Dior's 'Rose Dauphine' ($23), also known as Dauphine Pink or Pink Icing and I would describe this as a soft baby pink with ultra-fine pink/red/gold shimmer in it. This is perfect when you want subtle and clean hands. I also like the color of OPI's Sweetheart but hate the sheer and gooey formula of that so prefer this over that. The formula is not streaky but still sheer and the swatch below is done in 3 coats. I especially love the brush on the Dior polishes which has a "rounded" tip and for those that do not like to flood their cuticles/like the "gap" will love the Dior polishes.

I'll be sure to add another top 10 when the summer months roll around, too! *\o/*

Chantecaille 'Tiger in the Wild' Eye and Cheek Palette

Chantecaille's Tiger in the Wild Palette ($78 for 13.2g//Chantecaille.com) is probably one my favorite makeup items in my collection. I had originally bought it because I collect makeup items with South Asian symbols (tigers, elephants, peacocks etc) but I didn't realize how gorgeous it would look in person. I got this palette a few months ago and didn't even swatch it until a few days ago for this post. The novelty didn't wear off because it was still sitting on my vanity with its blue satin pouch, but after being forced to swatch it (blogging really does make you break into your makeup) I present to you the glorious...TIGERS!

This limited edition palette was created with a very good cause in mind:

"To celebrate and raise awareness for the wild tiger, Chantecaille has created a limited edition palette with a selection of easy to wear cheek and eyeshades with an elegant Tiger embossing that is easy to wear and attractive on everyone. While the world celebrates the Year of the Tiger, the plight of this majestic animal continues. With this palette, Chantecaille supports TRAFFIC (with 5% proceeds going to TRAFFIC), an international wildlife trade monitoring organization to help save the last tigers in the wild. It is a world-wide concern, which needs attention and focus."

As for the quad palette, it comes in a beautiful metal-esque compact and contains three eye colors and and one blush. And of course, the beautiful laser-etched image of the Royal Bengal Tiger on each shade. I love that the Tigers' heads actually "protrude" out. 

  

Each shade has a gorgeous multidimensional shimmer to it but I was a bit disappointed to discover after swatching that this was just an overspray. That in no way changes my opinion about this palette because the real important bit, the formula, is superb. All four shades are extremely pigmented while maintaining a luxurious refined texture; something not easy to find nowadays when the definition of pigmented has become extreme buttery-smoothness. Basically, these will not indent when pressed with a brush but pack on with the lightest touch, yet still are very delicate on the skin and blend flawlessly. 

   

Starting from the eyeshadows, first up in the top-left corner is the base color in Cream (soft brown-grey cream):

Eye color in Pewter (steel grey with brown/light taupe):

Eye Definer in Indigo (blackened-blue):

Cheek color in Persimmon (coral):

As mentioned above, the shimmer isn't laced in the entire formula of each shade, rather, it's an overspray and disappears after a bit of dusting with a brush/finger.

Pictured below are swatches with flash:

 

And swatches in natural light and done on paper:

All these shades work well with each other and even the cheek color would make for an amazing pop of color in a smokey eye done using these three colors. The only complaint I have is that this is limited edition so once these tigers go, they'll be gone. As for the shades, similar colors can be purchased as singles from Chantecaille's site so your palette can be refilled with those. But for those looking to indulge in a gorgeous versatile eye and cheek "luxe" palette should definitely look into this.

This palette retails for $78 and is available for a limited time on Chantecaille so if you're interested, I suggest picking one up right away since it's already gone from Nordstrom and soon will be gone from Chantecaille's site as well.  

Tag: 7 Deadly Sins of Beauty

There's a fun little tag going around on YouTube with 7 questions regarding beauty/makeup and I thought it would be fun to do a blog version of it with pictures and a little description for each answer!

GREED: What is your most inexpensive beauty item? What is your most expensive?

The most inexpensive-but-well-loved items in my stash would be Wet 'n' Wild Eyeshadows ($1.99-$4.99) // I have 4 palettes depotted into a Z Palette: a trio: 'I'm Getting Sunburned' ($1.99); 6-pan: 'Vanity' ($3.99); and two 4-pans: 'Comfort Zone' ($4.99) and 'Blue Had Me at Hello' ($4.99). I LOVELOVELOVE these. The color pay off is amazing and 'Comfort Zone' is a MUST have. I will be doing a separate posts on these eventually.

The single most I've dished out would be for Chantecaille's 'Tiger in the Wild' palette ($78)// A separate post and review (along with closeups/swatches) on this will be posted shortly but it's one of the most gorgeous quads in my collection, too bad it was a limited edition.

WRATH: What beauty products do you have a love/hate relationship with? What product has been the hardest to get?

Love/Hate relationship would be with Chanel Joues Contraste blush in 'Pink Explosion' ($43). I find that 'Pink Explosion' just doesn't seem have much color pay off. Maybe I got a dud? Although it's a GORGEOUS color, I don't find the formula very great. Keep in mind, this is the "baked" version which is sold in Europe so it may have something to do with that because I hear the North American versions are wonderful. Right next to it is another love/hate product: Rouge Allure Laque in 'Dragon' ($32) and this is one of the most gorgeous reds I have ever seen and flatters pretty much everyone I see it on (love). However, this line of lip products was discontinued by Chanel late 2011 (hate).

Products I had the hardest time getting would probably be stuff from the 2008 MAC Hello Kitty collection ($14.50-$38). Being a huge Hello Kitty fan, I was kiiiind of kicking myself for having missed that collection. Well, 4-5 years later in 2011 and early 2012 I managed to collect all the cheek stuff released stuff from that collection, as well as a quad and a lipstick. I did have to pay way more than retail on some of these but now I find myself just not interested in this collection any more. I guess the novelty wore off pretty quick, heh.

Featured here are all four of the cheek products released from that collection; blushes in 'Tippy' and 'Fun & Games', beauty powders in 'Tahitian Sand' and 'Pretty Baby', a lipstick in 'Big Bow' and a quad in 'Lucky Tom'. The packaging is cute but doesn't appeal to me the way it once did. I'll probably keep these for sentimental value, though.

GLUTTONY: What are your most delicious beauty products? 

I immediately thought of my Bath & Body Work's Liplicious Gloss in the flavor 'Toffee'. It smells like vanilla, French vanilla coffee and just pure deliciousness. This doesn't last more than 10 seconds on my lips because I ALWAYS end up licking it off.

SLOTH: What beauty product do you neglect, due to laziness? 

This would be lip liner. And yes, I know it's important, especially when you wear darker lip colors but generally I like to be delusional and think I'll get lucky and it won't feather... That being said, the two pencils pictured above are some of my favorites. On top is a duo-ended lip pencil in 'Dizzy Blonde' by Tarte which has a great brown and a muted pink and next to it is another favorite by Kevyn Aucoin in 'Minimal'. Lip liners are definitely one aspect of my makeup collection I don't seem to have much variety of. I think I'll definitely pick up 3-4 basic colors next.

PRIDE: What beauty product gives you the most self confidence? 

This would be lining the waterline (weird, I know). I just find it makes me look more awake and less like a zombie. I also love using liner to line my upper lashline. For the waterline, I love Hashmi Kajal ($3) and this a brand very popular in Pakistan/India and sells for only a few rupees. I love this because it lines both top and bottom waterlines at once and you don't even need a mirror. If anyone is familiar with Guerlain's Kohl Kajal ($33), then they know where Guerlain got the idea from since this form of kajal in the South Asian Subcontinent has been popular for centuries. Another favorite for the waterline is Milani's Liquif'eye liner in 'Black'. This is AMAZING and better than any other liner I've tried from any price point because it's extremely smooth/soft and SUPER-black but sets and lasts all day. And for flicks and cat lines I always love gel liner and pictured above is MAC's Fluidline in 'Blacktrack'. 

LUST: What are your current lemmings or lusts? 

I did change the question for obvious reasons but current lemmings/lusts are Hakuhodo brushes which are, for those that don't know, hand-made brushes from a Japan-based company. I've been doing a lot of research and asking around so I already have a cart of 3-4 face brushes I need and will be pulling the trigger on that order shortly. Additionally, you can find more about Hakuhodo brushes here.

ENVY: What items would you most like to receive as a gift? 

I can't think of anything beauty-wise so...Toblerone. Always.

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And since we're on the topic of the 7 Deadly Sins, I leave you with this superb music video 'Chal Bulleya' by the Lahore-based Mekaal Hasan Band. This video is actually based on the 7 Deadly Sins and is extremely visually appealing and thought-provoking-- even if you don't understand Urdu or South Asian culture. Enjoy!