Wheel N6: Glitters from Barry M and Other Brands

(all are three coats except as noted below; all have one layer of topcoat as well)

1. Barry M Pink Iridescent
2. Barry M Silver Cascade [nearly a 2 coater]
3. Barry M Once Upon a Time
4. Barry M Red Glitter [almost a 2 coater]
5. Barry M Blue Glitter [another nearly 2 coater]
6. Barry M Silver Sea [shimmery base works really well here]
7. Barry M Green Glitter
8. Paul & Joe 021 Hallelujah [square glitter was hard to find when this polish was new]
9. Paul & Joe 014 Confetti [love the delicate mix of colors here]
10. Paul & Joe 015 Venus
11. Paul & Joe 016 Mediterranean [pretty sure this was my first round glitter polish]
12. Rescue Beauty Lounge Look Rich Be Cheap
13. Rescue Beauty Lounge Locavore
14. Rescue Beauty Lounge Frugalista
15. Rescue Beauty Lounge Black Russian (2 coats) [okay, this is really a creme with scattered microglitter]
16. Models Own Purple Haze (4 coats)
17. Models Own Disco Mix (4 coats)
18. Kiko 270 Sparkle Touch
19. Kiko 231 Sparkle Touch
20. Chanel Illusion d'Or [looks quite nice next to the Kikos; I should do a mani with these three, layering over a base color]

Bottles 1 through 7:


8 through 11:


12 through 15:


16 through 20:

Recent NOTD: Models Own Beth's Blue Plussed

I pondered saving this manicure to post sometime later because both the polishes involved have made appearances here fairly recently, but when I save things for later they often don't get posted at all, so here I am with Models Own Beth's Blue, which you saw in the Essie Summer 2012 Bikini So Teeny episode, accented with my favorite from the L'Oreal Summer 2012 group, Silver Sparkle.





For some reason, I didn't write down what I used for a base under this; I should know better than to think I'll remember. I do know that Beth's Blue was two coats and Silver Sparkle was one on top of that for the accent nails. Top coat was Sally Hansen Insta Dri as usual.



Oh look, it's my rarely-in-the-spotlight left thumb. The right thumb had no glitter because I was feeling edgy and asymmetrical that day. What—happy blue and iridescent glitter isn't edgy?





This held up pretty well for most of a work week, with really minimal tipwear, then I got a big chip on the side of my thumb. That was probably mostly my fault since I think I was scraping something with that nail (I know, bad Karen) but I do wonder if the thickness of Beth's Blue contributed; maybe I'll try adding a touch of thinner next time.

Essie Summer 2012 Bikini So Teeny Collection with Comparisons

When I first saw the Essie Bikini So Teeny display, I only bought the blue and the green because those called to me most strongly. It wasn't until I needed some serious cheering up and happened across the four-color display again that I bought the orange and the pink. At that point, since I had two-thirds of the collection, I figured I might as well got to Target and get the other two colors. (See, this is how one fills as many Helmers as I have.)



Bikini So Teeny is described on the Essie site as a "sparkling, cornflower blue". I used three coats.



Cornflower blue, yes, definitely. The "sparkling" part took me much, much longer to identify. I assumed this was a creme, but there are actually eensy weensy shimmer particles in there. Get up close to the screen if you need to, because that might be the only way you see them. The shimmer is pretty, but I feel like the only way people are going to see it on my nails is if I let them get way too close. I do adore the color, though.



Mojito Madness is a creme (for sure, I double checked) that Essie describes as "lime green". This isn't as yellow-toned as what I think of when I hear "lime"; I'd call it more of a grass green, though I'm sure there are limes this color, at least on the outside. I used two coats of this one.



Fear or Desire is a juicy orange creme. It's very bright, but not quite neon. I did three coats, though two probably would have been fine.



Off the Shoulder is a bright pink creme and a solid two-coater.



Cascade Cool is a purple-tinged pink creme. It's a softer, lighter version of my summer 2010 Essie favorite, Splash of Grenadine. This was two coats.



All Tied Up is definitely a shimmer; at no point did I confuse it with a creme the way I had done with the blue. The color is one of those I have trouble describing. Essie calls it "rustic bronze", but I'm not convinced. If pressed, I'd probably call this terracotta (though it's perhaps not orange enough for that) or perhaps old rose (though it's not really pink enough for that). It's puzzling, like In Stitches puzzled me in the Essie Fall 2010 collection.





And now it's comparison time! If I didn't have so many other things planned for the next week or so, I might have split this part off into its own post, but I do so I didn't.

Because the shimmer in Bikini So Teeny is so subtle, I chose a creme to compare it to, Models Own Beth's Blue. (I also considered Color Club Hydrangea Kiss, Essie Lapis of Luxury, and Orly Snowcone, but Bikini So Teeny was noticeably lighter than all of those. It was also definitely more purple-toned than most blues I pulled out to ponder for comparison.) The Models Own was two coats to Essie's three. Despite the shimmer/creme thing, these looked fairly close to each other. Bikini So Teeny is a more vibrant and less purple-toned than Beth's Blue. Left to right below: Models Own, Essie, Models Own, Essie.



Here's a closer look; Essie on top, Models Own below:



Here's Bikini So Teeny next to Nicole by OPI Nothing Kim-pares to Blue (on a nail wheel). The Essie is nowhere near shimmery enough to be a match, but perhaps with a topcoat it could scratch that itch if you liked the NOPI but don't want the bottles in your stash.



I was determined to compare Mojito Madness to Orly Mint Mojito just based on the names. As it turned out, they weren't too far off from one another. The Orly is lighter and was three coats versus two for the Essie. Left to right below: Orly, Essie, Orly, Essie:



Essie on top, Orly on the bottom:



Orange cremes are under-represented in my stash, so when it came time to compare Fear or Desire, the closest I could come was not too close: OPI Flit a Bit was darker and Zoya Arizon was lighter (and yellower). Top to bottom below: OPI, Essie, Zoya.



I was very surprised that I couldn't find a dupe in my collection for Off the Shoulder. The nearest thing I had was OPI Feelin' Hot Hot Hot, and that was clearly darker. Left to right below: Essie, OPI, Essie, OPI.



Cascade Cool turned out to be not so different from OPI Sparrow Me the Drama, with the Essie being just a touch brighter and lighter. Left to right below: Essie, OPI, Essie, OPI.



Since I mentioned Splash of Grenadine above, here's Cascade Cool next to Splash on a wheel:



The only thing remotely like All Tied Up I could find was an old Maybelline called Truly Mauve, and I didn't think comparing to that would be much help to most people since that particular Maybelline hasn't been in stores in years, not even Dollar Tree. So just went ahead and put it on next to the oddball from Fall 2010, In Stitches, even though that's a cream. They're definitely in the same weird color family, though.



If you back away and dim the lights, they look more alike.



If I were me, knowing what I know now, and hadn't already bought all of these, I'd probably go for just Bikini So Teeny (such a pretty blue I forgive the disappearing shimmer), Mojito Madness (happy green), and All Tied Up (on the weird and old fashioned side but those aren't bad things). How about you?

Also, more questions for you if you've made it this far:
—Are comparisons helpful even if the polishes in question aren't dupes?
—Are comparisons to a nail wheel helpful?

Finger Paints Choco Mint Comparisons

Approximately four thousand years ago when I swatched Orly Jealous Much, Inky Whiskers asked how it compared to Finger Paints Choco Mint. Okay, it wasn't quite that long ago, but it feels like it. Today I finally have the answer to that question. First, though, I'll show you Choco Mint on its own. This was part of the Spring 2012 Gumdrops & Lollipops collection; I haven't seen it at my Sally Beauty store recently but it's still shown on the Sally Beauty website, unhelpfully listed as "in stores only" (thanks, Lola for pointing that out to me). I used two coats of this (no topcoat for these swatches); I thought that was quite good for a pale-ish creme like this.





And here's Choco Mint (top, 2 coats) next to Orly Jealous Much (bottom, 3 coats):



As you see, Choco Mint is darker and more blue-toned than Jealous Much. Another view, left to right—Orly, Finger Paints, Orly, Finger Paints:



Because these two weren't a match, I visited the minty green wing of my nail polish museum to see if I could find something closer. I selected Essie Turquoise & Caicos and Models Own Jade Stone to come to the swatching room.



Top to bottom below—Essie (3 coats), Finger Paints (still 2 coats), Models Own (2 coats):



The Essie is a pretty good match colorwise to the Finger Paints; it's just a bit darker. The Models Own is brighter and a tad more yellow-toned than the other two. Here they are again, left to right—Models Own, Finger Paints, Essie, Finger Paints:



Of the four polishes featured today, I can only make a case for keeping three of them. I don't need both the Finger Paints and the Essie. Which to save? I like the Essie bottle better, but it needed three coats to Finger Paints' two. As Ursula the sea witch says, life is full of tough choices.

Catrice Floralista

Continuing my completist leanings from yesterday, today I have the three colors from Catrice Floralista that I neglected to swatch earlier this month.

Coral's Enchanted Garden took three coats to cover to my satisfaction. Orange-y colors often don't look that great on me, but I liked this one quite a lot.





I don't have an overabundance of coral and orange in my stash like I do for other colors, so the closest match I could find turned out to be not all that close: Essence Colour & Go What Do U Think? (I got mine at Ulta).




Catrice (top), Essence (bottom).

The Essence is noticeably pinker, as you can see. The Catrice is definitely not a true orange, though; it also has some pink in it, just not as much as the Essence. Yay, I can keep them both.

Pink Spring is one of those names that make one wrinkle one's brow in confusion, as it is certainly not pink. It's purple. A warm, reddish purple, sure, but nowhere near reddish enough to qualify it as pink.



Finding things to compare to this one wasn't a problem since I'm a purple person. I pulled Joe Fresh Fig out even though it didn't look super close to Pink Spring in the bottle because a) you never know and b) Fig has been waiting a while to be swatched. I also grabbed American Apparel Dynasty.




Top to bottom: Joe Fresh, Catrice, American Apparel, Catrice.

Fig is the odd one out in this trio; it's darker, bluer, and dustier than the other two. Dynasty is not far off from Pink Spring, just a bit more cool-toned.

Walk in the Woods is a light tan creme that might look better on someone less pink-complected than I.



I couldn't put my hands on any close matches to this in the bottle (perhaps because I haven't yet gotten to sorting my neutrals in the great stash reorg of 2011), but I didn't let that stop me and got out Models Own Nude Beige and Revlon Grey Suede to compare.




Top to bottom: Revlon, Catrice, Models Own, Catrice.

Yeah, neither the Revlon nor the Models Own is close; they're both too pink. They are close to each other, though, despite the Revlon having a slight shimmer. I tried to get my index and ring fingers next to each other to illustrate that, but this is as close as I could manage:



Overall, I think this collection is a great set of colors for spring. Nothing crazy or new going on here, but the aplication is good and the bottles are pretty.