More Polish from London- MaxFactor Fantasy Fire!

*Purchased by me*

I am so glad I finally got MaxFactor Fantasy Fire!!! By all reports, it's "widely available" in the UK, but the last time I was there, I went to 4 different Boots and they were all out of it! Must have been a run on it, I guess, because this time I found it every time I went into a Boots! I ended up getting two bottles so that I can wear it with abandon. I'm sure I don't really need to describe this famed polish to you, but Fantasy Fire is a near dupe of the Almighty Clarins 230... a.k.a. Unicorn Pee. Fantasy Fire is a shimmering color shifting chameleon-like polish that changes all the way from flaming orange-red to green. For these pictures, I used one coat of Fantasy Fire over two coats of OPI Roadhouse Blues. 

Fantasy Fire was a breeze to apply and one coat offered tons of color changing shimmer. It's not very opaque on it's own, I've heard that it needs four coats to look decent. But that's fine because I think it looks best layered over a dark or saturated color anyway. Plus, these are little bottles! Four coats would probably use up half the bottle LOL.

 *Purchased by me*

I'm happy I finally found Fantasy Fire and I'll be wearing it a ton for sure. It's one of those really entertaining polishes.

GOSH Holographic Hero

*Purchased by me*

Hi everyone! Sorry for my couple days of absence here. I was in London for 6 days and got home late Tuesday night. I had blog posts scheduled for my absence and thought I'd have plenty of time for blogging on Thursday. However, my dad went into the hospital Wednesday morning and life has been crazy. He's doing great though and will be coming home tomorrow. Anyway, I was in London for the Irish Dancing World Championships, but obviously had to do a bit of shopping after the competition was over. I made the essential stops in Boots, Superdrug and Primark (for shoes, duh). I'll be showing you the polishes I picked up over the next few days, starting today with GOSH Holographic Hero. Holographic Hero is a silver linear holo with an interesting almost satin matte finish. Holographic Hero is the "re-release" of the famed GOSH Holographic, although to me it is pretty obvious that they are not the same. I don't own Holographic, but it is much more blindingly holo. I found a comparison post by Pretty Kitty Claws, so you can see the difference for yourself. 

Now, with that said, I actually really like this polish. Once you get past the fact that it isn't the same as Holographic, you can see that it's a lovely and unique polish. It is more holo than my pictures show, but it's an interesting, very smooth looking holo flash. The rainbow flash is kind of all over the nail, rather than showing up in bands like some linear holos.

This is three coats of Holographic Hero. The first two coats had a lot of VNL and bald spots (despite letting each coat dry completely before adding another). But the third coat really evened everything out and upped the opacity. I've been spoiled lately by Smitten Polish holos, they make this seem like a PITA.

 *Purchased by me*

I'm glad I got this, it was fairly inexpensive and it's pretty. But I wouldn't shell out a bunch of money to have it shipped over here or anything. If you're in London or the UK, you can get this at Superdrug. The weather was great while I was there, so we took a Thames river tour. Here's the London Eye from the boat!

A Spring NOTD with Essie Hors D'Oeuvres

*Purchased by me*

Spring seems like it's finally here (no more snow!) and I am really happy about it. My favorite nail colors for spring are always baby chick yellow, mint and periwinkle. I wanted a fun mani using China Glaze Lemon Fizz and I spotted Essie Hors D'Oeuvres sitting in my untrieds drawers. Hors D'Oeuvres is a really perfect glitter topper for a pale yellow polish because it has golden shimmer and silver glitter in a clear base. Gold and silver both look excellent with yellow and both of them together is magical! The golden shimmer really popped in person.

This is three coats of Lemon Fizz (always a bit problematic with streaks) and one coat of Essie Hors D'Oeuvres. Hors D'Oeuvres was easy to apply and lots of glitter and shimmer came out with just one coat. This would make a great topper over a wide variety of colors, for all seasons.

 *Purchased by me*

I know a lot of people were not fans of the polishes from this Essie collection, but I really liked both this and On a Silver Platter. I think they make great glitter toppers and did not find them to be super chunky or too textured. I bought mine from a seller on eBay, these are still relatively easy to find. 

Is it spring where you live? Are you finally enjoying warmth and sunshine?

Smitten Week- Smitten Polish Not Your Mama's Easter Grass

 *Purchased by me*

How's this for an Easter mani? Finishing off Smitten Week with a bang is Smitten Polish Not Your Mama's Easter Grass, neon acid green glitter in a bright neon green jelly base. I could not wait to get my grubby little paws on this polish from the second I saw swatches of it. Green is probably my favorite polish color to wear and I love all things holographic and glitter. Not Your Mama's Easter Grass is a really bright acid yellow-y green and the holo glitter seriously sparkles in the sun. I don't think my camera could deal with it because what you see here is only a small representation of how sparkly this was.

This is three coats. Coverage was pretty good, I found that I did need the third coat to hide any VNL. This was super easy to control while applying, and I did not do any clean-up in this pictures. It was very easy to get a nice rounded shape by the cuticles. These swatches all have one coat of OPI Top Coat and my nails felt pretty smooth. If you are obsessed with glossy smoothness, you may want to use a thicker top coat with this, but it's not really rough or textured.

*Purchased by me*

Keep checking Smitten Polish's Facebook for restock updates. Noelie is really good about restocking everything until everyone gets what they want. I really love that about Smitten, I don't have to panic if I miss a restock. Happy Easter to all celebrating today!

Smitten Week- Smitten What Sorcery Is This?

 *Purchased by me*

Smitten Polish What Sorcery Is This? is not from the spring collection, but purple is a year round favorite color of mine, so I thought I'd include it in my Smitten Week. What Sorcery Is This? is a bright purple linear holo. The rainbows make it hard to tell if this is a blue or red leaning purple, but I think it's a bit blue-leaning. The only other purple holo I own is quite dark, so I was happy to add this to my collection.

This is two coats and same great formula as all of the other Smitten holos I've tried. In general, they are very easy to apply, have good pigmentation, and have no troubles with patchiness. These swatches are with no base or top coat.

*Purchased by me*

I am not sure when What Sorcery Is This? will be restocked on the Big Cartel store, but check the Smitten Polish Facebook page for updates.

Zoya Magical Pixie Summer 2014 Preview!

Zoya Magical Pixie Summer 2014 will be available for PRE-ORDER on Zoya.com starting April 17.
Product is expected to begin shipping in early May.
NOTE: Our previous release of Spring Magical Pixie SOLD OUT very quickly.

Smitten Week- Smitten Polish Ker-Bloom

 *Purchased by me*

I'm happy to see that Connecticut seems to have come out of the winter darkness finally and we've been having some sun. This means I can continue to swatch my amazing new Smitten Polish holos for Smitten week! There are a few key words in polish descriptions that equal an automatic purchase from me, in this case it was "periwinkle/cornflower linear holo". Yes, Smitten Polish Ker-Bloom is a deep periwinkle holo treasure and I am in love! I do not have anything like this in my collection, it's absolutely stunning in the sun. Look at the rainbows!

This is just two coats of Ker-bloom. I see a bit of VNL in these pictures, but I didn't see it in person. The formula is par for the course for Smitten holos- easy to apply with no complaints at all. Again, I don't wear base or top coat with holos typically.

*Purchased by me*

You'll be able to nab Ker-bloom late this week on Smitten's Big Cartel store. For updates about restocks, like Smitten Polish on Facebook. I'll be ordering the Spring Part 2 colors- Himalayan Blue Poppy, Radiant Orchid, Frangipani (um, a holo polish named Frangipani? Another automatic buy) and Tornado Skies.

Zoya Tickled & Bubbly Summer 2014 Preview!!

Ahhh! Holographic glitters, yay!! Zoya Tickled and Bubbly will be available for pre-order on Zoya.com starting today and will ship beginning in early May. 

Smitten Week- Smitten Polish Audrey's Rainbow

 *Purchased by me*

I am declaring this Smitten Polish week here on Never Enough Nails! I in the midst of a serious obsession with this brand right now and Noelie keeps cranking out amazing polishes that I must have. Over the next week, I'll be showing you some of her latest drool-inducing spring polishes. She said on Facebook that she will be doing a restock of the spring polishes, some older colors, and some new spring polishes later this week, so I thought this would help you prepare! Today's post is Smitten Polish Audrey's Rainbow, a pastel "Tiffany" turquoise blue linear holo. The rainbow effect in this one is a little lighter than other Smitten holos, but it fits the soft color. It's just gorgeous in sunlight!

This is three thin coats of Audrey's Rainbow. Two coats was nearly opaque, so if you do thicker coats, two will suffice. Smitten holos are very easy to apply and I have never experience patchiness or balding with them. I don't wear base or top coats with my holos (unless they look like serious stainers).

*Purchased by me*

Smitten Polish Audrey's Rainbow should be restocked with other colors late this week on Smitten's Big Cartel store. For updates about restocks, like Smitten Polish on Facebook. While you're on the Facebook page, check out pictures of the upcoming "Tornado Skies"... OMG need it now!!

Candeo Colors Jellybean- the Ultimate Easter Polish

OK so I know you've definitely seen Candeo Colors Jellybean before, but I've never posted swatches before, so work with me here! Jellybean is the most perfect Easter polish ever, from the name to the pastel yellow crelly base filled with candy colored glitter. Baby chick yellow says spring to me like no other color and this squishy base is the perfect canvas for turquoise blue, pink and purple hex glitter, with a smattering of tiny green, yellow and pink glitters. Basically all the colors of spring in one polish! 

This is three coats of Jellybean on it's own and I found it to be nicely buildable. The first coat was a bit sheer, but three coats offers great coverage, while retaining some of that nice squishiness. The formula was great too, I had no trouble getting the glitters on my nails and the yellow was nice and even, no streaks at all. My bottle had been sitting in my Helmer for quite some time, so I did turn it upside down for about 5 minutes before using it, even though the glitters did not appear sunken.

 Luckily, the maker of Candeo Colors seems to agree that this is the most perfect spring polish, because she stocks it pretty regularly. I love when indie makers keep their best items in stock/restock them frequently. I hate the stress of trying to get LE items. You can buy Candeo Colors Jellybean here and check Facebook for more Candeo Colors info.

Ready for Summer with Formula X Danger Zone!

*purchased by me*

Formula X for Sephora Danger Zone is the first polish from Formula X I have tried. Wowza, what a way to kick off trying a new brand! Danger Zone is an eye-searingly bright coral pink neon with pretty blue-ish shimmer. My camera kind of had a heart attack about this one, so I have to tell you that it leans more pink than the pictures suggest. The pictures all look orange, almost red-orange, but in person it's a slightly orange-hued pink. This polish screams SUMMER to me, even though the weather around here is nowhere near summer.

This is three thin coats of Danger Zone. Two thicker coats would be opaque as well. Since this is a neon, it dries down to a satin finish, so I did used a shiny top coat for these swatches. The formula was excellent, nice and easy to apply, no streaking. I am really happy with this purchase and I think I will try some more Formula X polishes! They have a huge variety of colors and finishes to choose from, so it shouldn't be hard to find some pretties.

Formula X polishes are available at Sephora stores and Sephora.com.

Smitten Polish Shamrock Shake a.k.a. Love of My Life

 *purchased by me*

I missed out on Smitten Polish Shamrock Shake during it's first release (for St. Patrick's Day) and I was DETERMINED to get it the next time it was in stock. I mean, minty green holo goodness named Shamrock Shake??? Yes PLEASE! Well, I camped out for that restock and got my Shamrock Shake and I couldn't be happier. I am fast becoming a rabid Smitten Polish fanatic, her holos are so gorgeous! Shamrock Shake is a lovely blue-toned mint green linear holo.

This is three coats of Shamrock Shake. It was pretty much opaque in two coats, but I did a third because I do thin coats. If you haven't tried Smitten's holos, I have found every single one that I have tried to be well pigmented and so easy to apply. That is not always the case for holos, but these are not patchy or draggy and go on so smoothly. These swatches are with no top coat.

The other great thing about Smitten Polish is that Noelie believes in offering her polishes until the interest in them dies down, so you don't have to worry about missing out on a super LE polish. If you haven't tried this brand yet, what are you waiting for??? Magical holos and gorgeous glitters await you at Smitten Polish's Big Cartel store! For restock info, check out Smitten on Facebook.

More Fun with OPI Sheer Tints with a Muppets Guest Appearance!

 *sent for review*

 I just can't leave these OPI Sheer Tints alone, they are so much fun! I did this look using a couple of different sizes of dotting tools. I was going for a soft, blended together look, not really a perfect polka dot look, so I kind of squished the different colors into each other when I was dotting. I started with a base of OPI My Vampire Is Buff and then made dots with OPI I Can Teal You Like Me. Next I dotted on OPI Don't Violet Me Down, I've Never Amberrassed and Be Magentale with Me, kind mixing all the colors together.

I think what I love about these is that they look great no matter what you do with them. They're very hard to mess up! 

I mentioned in my OPI Muppets post that I wore International Crime Caper and Muppets World Tour for 5 days. Well on the 5th day, I decided to jazz it up by layering one coat OPI I Can Teal You Like Me on top! I love this too, it looks like I just dyed an egg for Easter! I am a little obsessed with the Sheer Tints right now, I think you can see that!

*sent for review*

OPI Sheer Tints are available now at professional salons, Ulta and Ulta.com. They come in a mini set too, if you want to just try them out!

OPI Muppets Most Wanted Collection Swatches!

 *sent for review*

Let me just start this post by saying that I am a huge fan of the Muppets. I watched them as a kid and I was super excited when they came out with the movie in 2011. I LOVE that movie, so I was super excited to hear about the latest movie, Muppets Most Wanted. And of course, when OPI announced the nail polish collection to go with it, that made me even more pumped! This collection did not disappoint me! OPI International Crime Caper is a soft sheer white with lots of pink shimmer. My camera did not want to capture the pink shimmer, but it's really gorgeous and quite visible in person. If you're wondering how this compares to Ski Slope Sweetie (OPI Mariah Carey holiday 2013), SSS has golden shimmer, Intl Crime Caper is all lovely pink shimmer.

This is three coats and there's still some VNL. You could use this as a topper for another polish, as you'll see later in this post, or as a base for glitter (also later in this post!). It's very pretty all alone as well as a wash of shimmer. The formula was a lovely consistency and easy to apply.

 OPI Muppets World Tour is probably my favorite glitter from OPI in a long time. I love this mix of very fine silver glitter, small silver hex glitter, medium blue hexes and medium pink hexes. It's blingy, yet soft at the same time. This is two coats over OPI Intl Crime Caper and I adore this combo! I actually wore it as a full mani for 5 days (it wore amazingly, but the way, still perfect on day 5). Muppets World Tour is a perfect glitter for spring and Easter manis.

This is two coats of Muppets Worlds Tour. One coat offered pretty good coverage, but I opted for the second to get a bit more bling in this mani. This was very easy to apply, glitter for dummies! These swatches have one coat of OPI top coat on top, but if you like glassy smooth nails, you will want a thicker TC or maybe two coats of TC.

OPI Miss Piggy's Big Number is a shimmering sapphire metallic with hints of violet.  This is a smoother, deeper, more jewel-toned version of some of the blue metallics we've seen before. I am always a fan of metallic blues, I can't help it.

This is two coats of Miss Piggy's Big Number. It has a slight tendency to have some visible brushstrokes, although I think it looks worse in the pictures than it was in real life. Just let it dry fully in between coats and you should be fine. This was nicely pigmented and easy to apply.

Just for fun, I layered one coat of Intl Crime Caper over Miss Piggy's Big Number. I am so mad that the pink shimmer in Intl Crime Caper isn't showing up! This looks so cool in real life. It reminds me of older sheer OPIs that I love using for layering. Try to see Intl Crime Caper in person, you can really see the pink in the bottle and it comes out like that on the nails. You can maybe kinda see a hint of pink shimmer on free edge end of my ring finger nail below.

Next up we have OPI Kermit Me To Speak, the purple-y green duochrome of the collection. I am happy to see OPI do another duochrome, that's exciting! Kermit is almost more like a multi-chrome. Sometimes it looks straight up like a purple metallic shimmer, sometimes really green, and sometimes kind of a tan nude color. Keep the duochromes coming OPI, you do them well!!

This is three coats of Kermit Me to Speak. The formula was a little thinner and less pigmented, but that's pretty typical of some duochromes. It was easy to apply though, no problems there.

I can't tell you how long I've been looking for something like OPI I Love Applause. I've been wanting a soft, semi-sheer white pink to use under glitters for delicate looks, but OPI Bubble Bath and the myriad others I've tried have really been too sheer for my taste. I Love Applause is more buildable than Bubble Bath, but it's still super soft and pretty.

This is three coats of I Love Applause and the formula was really great. It wasn't streaky at all and it definitely packs more pigment than other sheers/semi-sheers I've tried. If you want a more sheer look, one coat will be perfect. With four coats, this would probably be near-opaque.

OPI Let's Do Anything We Want! is a mix of matte white and shiny pink small glitter with larger matte white squares in a clear base. This was the perfect glitter for me to try over I Love Applause for my delicate looking glitter look. Pretty and fun!

This is just one coat of Let's Do Anything We Want! over three coats of I Love Applause. This glitter was pretty dense, you may even be able to wear it on it's own with three coats. Nice easy application.

OPI Chillin' Like a Villain is another excellent semi-sheer, this time a soft peach. This looked so pretty in the bottle, but I (wrongly) assumed it was going to be either super streaky or so sheer it's almost clear. I am happy to report that I was incorrect and that this builds up nicely like I Love Applause. The peach shade is a flattering one too, I think it will look great on a wide variety of people.

This is three coats of Chillin' Like a Villain and it was lovely to apply. No complaints (yay!). I'm really excited about this and I Love Applause. I'm sure you'll see them again soon because I'm going to wear the heck out of them.

OPI Gaining Mole-mentum is a mix of gold and rose gold shard glitter in clear base. I am not the world's biggest fan of shard glitter, but I definitely love the mix of rose gold and yellow gold. If you like shard glitter, and I know a lot of people do, you will want this for sure. All the shards lay nice and flat too.

This is one "coat" of Gaining Mole-mentum. I say "coat", because I did a bit of dabbing to get the shards where I really wanted them. It was not hard to apply though, you will not need to spend a long time placing all the glitters. Lots of glitter comes out on the brush when you dip it in too, the base is a great consistency.

*sent for review*

What do you think about the Muppets Most Wanted collection? I love it more than I thought I would. I was excited about it, but not completely in love when I saw promo pictures, but after trying them all, I'm obsessed! My top picks would be Intl Crime Caper, Muppets World Tour and Kermit Me To Speak. But if you are in the market for some soft semi-sheers (like I was), you NEED I Love Applause and Chillin' Like a Villain!

Muppets Most Wanted by OPI is available now at Professional Salons, including Beauty Brands, Beauty First, Chatters, Dillard’s, jcp Salons, Pure Beauty, Regis, Trade Secret, ULTA and ulta.com for $9.00 ($10.95 CAN) suggested retail. 

For more information, please call 800-341-9999 or visit www.opi.com. Follow OPI on Twitter @OPI_PRODUCTS and become a Facebook fan!