Ella + Mila Selections

Before I took off the long fakes I shared in my previous post, I used them to swatch some Ella + Mila shades I got when I saw them at Walgreens. Most of the ones on offer were cremes which I need more of like I need to engage with my neighbors who think "HIPPA" is a thing that means they don't have to face any consequences from their decision to not get the COVID vaccine (I still sometimes do drop a link when they comment on Facebook but that's for folks reading who might not know what HIPAA is and be open to learning). Sorry, where was I? Oh, most of the shades were cremes, which I try not to buy so much anymore, so I got the two glitters and one that looked like it might be a chrome. Since chrome finish does best on a really smooth base, and my natural nails are not that right now thanks to things like thrusting my hands into bushes to pick huckleberries, I thought the fakes would be good for that. Here's Entice Me, a silver-y chrome-y shimmer. I did two coats, no topcoat. As you can see, even the ultra smooth base of the fake nails didn't prevent me from getting some brushstrokes.

 

 

When looking for other people's swatches of Entice Me to see if they also had the brushstrokes issue, I found some that showed a different version from 2014. That one was a dusty purple, more shimmery, less metallic, and dried matte. I liked the looks of that one better. Oh well, glitter will help. Party in a Bottle has multiple shades and sizes of metallic glitter in a clear base, reminiscent of classics like Deborah Lippmann's Happy Birthday. I see red and silver and blue and green and pink in there.

 

I put two coats of Party in a Bottle over Entice Me. It was a bit of a challenge to get the glitter distributed evenly on my nails, so some brushstrokes are still peeking through but the the glitter is distracting enough so they're not too noticeable, especially in real life rather than captured in a still photo.

 

 

The third Ella + Mila I got was After Party, which has small rose gold and holographic hex glitter plus a scattering of larger rose gold hexes in a clear base.
I was fading fast at this point in the swatching session, so just whacked one coat of After Party on my thumb. I liked that combination so much I wished I'd thought to try it earlier; the glitter on the clear tip helped it look more integrated with the rest of the nail, not just hanging off in space being hard to see.

 

 

The elephant on these bottles is cute, and of course I like the squared shape for storage efficiency. The polish doesn't seem to be anything special, though, either in colors or formula. It's fine, just not something I'm going to seek out as I don't have any emotional connection to the brand (unlike, say, Sally Hansen).