Butter London Shag

Hi and happy Friday, lovely readers! :-)

Today is my 4 year wedding anniversary with my husband. I just wanted to take a moment to share with you how wonderful of a support he has been for me and this blog. Not only does he proofread all my posts, but he has accompanied me on numerous polish-shopping trips and sat patiently with me through hours of weekend swatching after I have rearranged our weekend plans around the daylight I need for taking pictures. He is also the one to shake me awake at night when I fall asleep on the couch while editing pictures or writing a post, reminding me that I must finish my next day's post. <3

I have my favorite color from Butter London's Autumn/Winter 2012 Collection to show you today. Shag is a warm, copper-toned, reddish brown with lots of gold, orange, and red shimmers in a metallic finish.

The formula on this is just perfection. It is smooth and easy to apply, with no dragging or pooling. The pigmented formula achieves opaque coverage in two quick coats. And even though it is a metallic, it's not plagued by any discernible brush strokes. This color just epitomizes fall for me. It is the color of vibrant autumn leaves and apple cider, and just looking at it warms me up and helps to fight off some of the autumn chill in the air.

You can find Shag on butterlondon.com for $14 for 0.4 fl oz.

** This post contains a product that was provided to me by the company for honest consideration. How I obtain the products does not influence my opinion. For more info, please view my Disclosure Policy.

Butter London Trustafarian

Hi, you guys! Hope you're all in the midst of a fabulous week! :-)

Today, I have another polish from Butter London's Autumn/Winter 2012 Collection to share with you. Trustafarian is a light, sage green with a golden, shimmering holographic finish.

I think the question on everyone's mind when it comes to a holographic polish is "how strong is the holo?" I would say it's about medium strong with Trustafarian. You can definitely see it as you rotate your hands, especially under a direct light, and it should be the strongest under sunlight. Unfortunately there isn't a lot of sunlight in the Pacific Northwest this time of the year, so I had to settle with taking pictures under artificial lighting. You can definitely see some of the holographic shine, but my pictures don't show its full potential.

Trustafarian's formula is thin, smooth, and easy to apply. What you see in the swatches is two coats, and it's still a little sheer. When the holographic shine is in effect, it helps to hide the sheerness, so two coats is no problem. But you'll probably need that third coat for the other times. 

My favorite part of this polish, in addition to its holographic finish, is that pretty and fresh green base. And yes, it took me a few times before I figured out how to spell "Trustafarian". :-)

You can find Trustafarian on butterlondon.com for $14 for 0.4 fl oz.

** This post contains a product that was provided to me by the company for honest consideration. How I obtain the products does not influence my opinion. For more info, please view my Disclosure Policy.

Butter London Lovely Jubbly

Butter London came out with their five-polish Autumn/Winter 2012 Collection a few weeks ago, and I've got my top picks from the set to share with you. Today, I'll start with Lovely Jubbly, a densely packed glitter polish filled with small and sparkling pink, purple, blue and silver glitter particles and micro-glitters in a sheer base.

I found the easiest way to get even and opaque coverage for this polish is to start with a thinner coat, followed by a thicker coat with a fully loaded brush. The formula is pretty smooth for a glitter polish, and the glitters spread out easily onto the nails without much coaxing or finagling. This dries gritty, so you will need a top coat if you prefer a shiny finish.

This is such a fun look on the nails, like festive confetti or some sort of colorful candy. The only downside is the removal, as expected with glitters. Use the foil method, or you will be at it for a long time and be finding glitters under your nails and all over your skin/cuticles for some time afterwards.

You can find Lovely Jubbly on butterlondon.com for $14 for 0.4 fl oz.

** This post contains a product that was provided to me by the company for honest consideration. How I obtain the products does not influence my opinion. For more info, please view my Disclosure Policy.

Girly Bits Crunchy Leaves

Hi you guys!

I'm super excited about the Girly Bits polish I've got to show you today. Crunchy Leaves is from Girly Bits' September Calendar Girls collection. and it is filled with small orange, copper, brown, and red glitters relatively densely packed into a sheer brown base.

Crunchy Leaves looks just the way you would expect from the name, with lots of texture, color, and sparkle. Application is a breeze. The glitters spread out evenly onto the nails without much coaxing. The glitters do dry to a slightly gritty texture, so a top coat is recommended if you prefer a shiny finish. While I think the glitters by themselves can be built up to opacity in a few coats, I layered it over OPI German-icure in the swatches. The brown base of German-icure really compliments and highlights all the fall colors in Crunchy Leaves' glitters, and I absolutely love the way they look together.

You can find Crunchy Leaves on Girly Bits' website, as well as on Llarowe.com, Harlowandco.org, Overallbeauty.com, and Meimeisignatures.com

** This post contains a product that was provided to me by the company for honest consideration. How I obtain the products does not influence my opinion. For more info, please view my Disclosure Policy.

Girly Bits Indian Summer

Today, I have another lovely Girly Bits polish to show you. Indian Summer is one of the colors from Girly Bits' September Calendar Girls collection. It has a sheer blue base filled with predominantly pink, blue, teal, and copper colored glitters, split between small round/hexagon glitters and medium square/hexagon glitters.

Over Zoya Skylar

Over Zoya Skylar

Over Priti NYC Lungwort

Over Priti NYC Lungwort

To show off Indian Summer and to do it justice, I wanted to swatch it over a base that is similar to what you see in the bottle and also over a contrasting base to make it pop. I ended up with it over Zoya Skylar and also over Priti NYC Lungwort. With Skylar as base, the polish comes across a little muted, almost wistful or nostalgic. With Lungwort as the base, the glitters in Indian Summer really pop and make everything look fun and fresh.

The formula is medium in thickness, which keeps all those glitters nicely suspended. There are plenty of glitters in the bottle, but since these are bigger pieces, remember to use a light touch and dab gently on any bald spots to get even coverage across the nails.

You can find Indian Summer on Girly Bits' website, as well as on Llarowe.com, Harlowandco.org, Overallbeauty.com, and Meimeisignatures.com

** This post contains a product that was provided to me by the company for honest consideration. How I obtain the products does not influence my opinion. For more info, please view my Disclosure Policy.

Girly Bits Fright Night

Hi you guys! TGIF, right? :-)

I recently got several fun and sparkly Girly Bits polishes and I'm really excited to share them with you. Today, I'll start with Fright Night, one of polishes from Girly Bits' Halloween Collection 2012. Fright Night has a sheer black jelly base with tons of red glitters made up of various shapes and sizes.

I think Fright Night can be built up to opacity, but I took a shortcut and wore it over OPI's Morning Glory, a standard black creme. To achieve the glitter density and distribution you see in the swatches, I did two coats of Fright Night with a heavily loaded brush and a very gentle hand. The red glitters are a mix of small round pieces, medium hexagon pieces, and small thin bar glitters. I'm thrilled that the beautiful red glitters in the bottle translate clearly onto the nails. This is definitely a fun polish and would be totally awesome for Halloween. :-)

You can find Fright Night on Girly Bits' website, as well as on Llarowe.com, Harlowandco.org, Overallbeauty.com, and Meimeisignatures.com

** This post contains a product that was provided to me by the company for honest consideration. How I obtain the products does not influence my opinion. For more info, please view my Disclosure Policy.

Julep Nail Colors Giveaway!

Hi, lovely readers!

Welcome to my new giveaway! :-) I have a Julep nail color prize package up for grabs, which contains five brand new Julep polishes in the colors Blake, Alicia, Mischa, Glenda, and Popova.

Left to right: Blake, Alicia, Mischa, Glenda, and Popova

a Rafflecopter giveaway
This giveaway is open to US and international residents, so everyone can participate! :D The only requirement is that you are a follower of this blog. There will be one lucky winner who will receive the set of five polishes. I am super excited to be able to bring you this giveaway, and I hope you enjoy the prizes! <3

Please allow the widget to load in full; it may take a moment. You can view the Official Rules of this giveaway HERE. Feel free to email me if you have any questions: thepolishhideout@gmail.com.