Revlon Whimsical

When I bought Whimsical, I bought two bottles. One for myself and one for my giveaway. I knew I wanted to swatch it up for you so you could see all the loveliness of it, but I couldn't decided what base I wanted to use for it. I happened to be reading through my blogs and came across Lacquer Me Silly where she had just worn Tiffany Impostor. That made me think about For Audrey. And from there it was an easy jump to using For Audrey for my base for Whimsical.

I think For Audrey was a good choice for this. However, I wasn't thrilled with Whimsical. I thought the formula was a bit thin and the hex glitter was a bit too sparse. I love the pink and blue hex glitter. I just wish more of it would make it on to the nail. And the iridescent glitter shimmers wonderfully.

I used two coats of For Audrey and two coats of Whimsical for the photos below. That was then topped with Seche Vite.

Macro Shot of Whimsical

Really Macro shot of Whimsical

You can really see some of small glitter in this one

I've currently had this mani on for three days and it is holding up better than most. I usually have major chipping after a day at work, but this time I've only had minor chipping. Not sure what was different, but I'm glad for it no matter what it is!

Have you used Whimsical? Did/Do you like it?

Revlon Royal

 I got my Zoya buy 3 get 3 free in the mail the other day and I planned on swatching them. However, I also picked up Revlon Royal that same day and it sat there on my table screaming at me. It was begging me to put it on. And so I did. I topped it with some stamping done with Sally Hansen Celeb City. I had originally planned to just stamp accent nails on each hand. Planned. Originally. But, I oopsied and stamped the wrong nail on my second hand. That's what happens when you try to stamp and watch TV at the same time. So, I just went ahead and stamped the whole thing.

I really liked the formula on Royal. This blue is just gorgeous! I had to use three coats to get even coverage though. I tried it with two, but there were a few spots that just looked a bit thin. It looked great after that third coat.

This is only my second time doing stamping. I think it came out alright. I know I messed up in a couple of places, but overall I think that it looks nice.

 Also, I'm running a little giveaway to welcome myself back to the big bad world of blogging. I'm giving away Revlon Whimsical, Sinful Colors Cinderella, and Hard Candy Beetle. You can check that out here.

Welcome Back to Blogging Giveaway

I think I finally have things under control and can get back to blogging. YAY! I've missed sitting down at my computer and playing with my pictures and trying to get my posts just right. Of course I'm still learning. I'm just a baby blogger! But, I've decided, in honor of my return to the blogosphere, to have a giveaway.

I will be giving away three polishes: Revlon Whimsical, Sinful Colors Cinderella, and Hard Candy Beetle

Giveaway is only open to US residents. Sorry folks! This is my first giveaway and I want to keep it as simple as I can. You must use the Rafflecopter widget. Blog comments will not be added to giveaway.

Absence

This is just a short note to explain my absence from my blog. On March 2, my grandmother (who raised me as her own since I was 3) passed away. I've been focusing on that in my down time instead of my blog. I am hoping to start rolling posts out again in the next week or two. I may even have a giveaway to welcome myself back to the blogging world. It wouldn't be much, but I need something fun right now.

What small something would you like to see as part of the giveaway (besides polish)?

Swatch Essie - Go Overboard

I picked up Essie Go Overboard at my local Walgreen's a couple of weeks ago. I finally got a night where I could swatch it up and show it off. All photos were taken under my Ott Lamp. Since I work nights and sleep days, it is super hard for this vampire to ever see the sun. I think the Ott Lamp does a good job of showing off the true color though.

This swatch is a base of Essie Grow Stronger and 2 coats of Go Overboard. I probably could have gotten away with just one coat if I had been a bit more careful of my painting. I probably would have still done a second coat anyway. I find it hard to put less that three coats of polish on, and two is cutting it a bit fine for me. I'm not wearing any top coat in these photos. Just look at the gorgeous shine on there. 

Essie describes Go Overboard as a "limitless sea blue". I definitely put it in the darker teal category.

I know I could have been a lot neater in my application and should have probably cleaned up a bit. However, I was in a hurry and I didn't think it looked too bad. Until I saw the photos. I promise to try and do better on my next group swatch.

The application on Go Overboard was spectacular! It covered in almost one coat and probably would have had I used a slightly thicker coat. The brush worked really well and I was able to control it quite easily. The polish you see on my cuticles is from human error, not the brush.

Overall, I love this polish! I can't think of anything bad to say about it at all.