ABC Challenge: C - Black Cat Lacquer Celestica

Self-purchased

Black Cat Lacquer Celestica is an ethereal pale grey crelly with iridescent square and hex glitters and holographic microglitter dust. I used 3 coats. The formula was great because it was easy to apply and I didn't have any trouble getting out the glitters. As a habit when dealing with glitter-infused polishes, I left the bottle upside-down before polishing. When dried, it looked unflattering because the the crelly base sunk while the glitter protruded so I used top coat to smooth it out.

Thanks for looking! See you on the other side of the day!

Michelle

ABC Challenge: B - Candy Lacquer Balloons in the Air + Wet 'n Wild Ebony Hates Chris

Self-purchased

Candy Lacquer Balloons in the Air has fuchsia, turquoise, pale grey, white, pale pink, pale green, silver, and sky blue round, square, hex, and star holographic and matte glitters, along with scattered holographic microglitter, in a clear base. Oddly, the clear base now has a pink tint. It's probably from the fuchsia or pale pink glitter, but neither glitter looks faded. I used 1 coat over Wet 'n Wild Ebony Hates Chris. The formula was good and easy to control. Out of habit, I put the bottle upside-down before polishing so I didn't have problems getting out the glitter. It dried bumpy because of the glitter so I smoothed it out with top coat.

Wet 'n Wild Ebony Hates Chris is a black creme. Unlike many black cremes, this one had a blue base. I used 2 coats. The first coat was surprisingly pigmented! The formula was great as it was very easy to apply. No cleanup necessary either! :) It dried quickly (as true to claim) and shiny. No top coat.

Thanks for looking! See you on the other side of the day!

Michelle 

ABC Challenge: A - Black Dahlia Lacquer Amethyst Pansies

Self-purchased

I enjoyed the ABC Challenge so much I decided to do another one this year! :) I'm also pretty busy with my life right now so the challenge is a perfect way for me to post at least once every week.

Black Dahlia Lacquer Amethyst Pansies is an enchanting periwinkle creme texture with pale lavender, blue, and holographic silver small and micro glitters. It sparkles very beautifully in the sun and bright light. I used 2 coats. The formula was good, but the creme base was a bit sheerer than I expected. The texture materialized a bit slower than standard textures. It was really bumpy, but not as bad as China Glaze Wish Upon a Starfish was. No top coat to retain its textured finish. This is actually an 8 mL bottle so it's "medium-sized."

Amethyst Pansies was one of the polishes Black Dahlia Lacquer first launched with. Unfortunately, it has since been retired. You can shop other Black Dahlia Lacquers here.

Thanks for looking! See you on the other side of the day!

Michelle

ABC Challenge: Z - Zoya Zuza

Self-purchased

Zoya Zuza is a deep turquoise creme packed with silver shimmer. I used 3 coats. The formula was amazing and applied so effortlessly! It was also easy to control and required no cleanup. It dried with a nice shine. No top coat, though it would have smoothed out some leveling issues.

Thanks for looking! See you on the other side of the day!

Michelle

ABC Challenge: Y - Smitten Polish You're Turning Violet, Violet

Self-purchased

Smitten Polish You're Turning Violet, Violet is a red-toned purple jelly filled with small blue and purple metallic hexes, iridescent micro glitter, and small, micro, and bar silver holographic glitters. It really reminds me of grape juice. :D I used 2 medium coats. The formula was good and easy to apply, with just the right amount of jelly base. I had no problems getting out the glitters. It dried bumpy so I used top coat to smooth it out and add some shine.

Thanks for looking! See you on the other side of the day!

Michelle

ABC Challenge: X - Julep Mystery Shade

Self-purchased

I couldn't find a polish with "X" in my collection so I went for an unnamed polish instead. I got this mystery shade in one of Julep's mystery boxes a couple or so years ago.

Julep Mystery Shade is a blue-green hybrid creme. It appears more green or blue depending on the lighting so I had a difficult time capturing the color. Even though the unnamed polishes in the mystery boxes from a couple years ago were supposed to be released as actual shades, I have yet to see this one appear in a Julep Maven box. I used 2 coats. The formula was very pigmented and creamy. It's very common for these pigmented shades to be stainers so I used two coats of base coat to prevent staining. It didn't level well so I used top coat to smooth it out.

Thanks for looking! See you on the other side of the day!

Michelle 

ABC Challenge: W - Milani Wedding Dress

Self-purchased

Milani Wedding Dress is a silvery white foil/shimmer. I used 3 coats. The formula was good and applied smoothly. It was very reflective and bordered on being a frost so streaks and imperfections showed easily. Removal was a pain because the shimmer literally went EVERYWHERE. No top coat.

Thanks for looking! See you on the other side of the day!

Michelle

ABC Challenge: V - China Glaze Visible Shivers + Native War Paints Black Cat Crossing

Self-purchased

China Glaze Visible Shivers (index and pinky fingers) is a gunmetal-purple shimmer. It's prettier than I thought it would be! This polish was made before the current Big 3-Free era so I'm not sure if you can still purchase it. I'm not sure if it's part of the core collection either. My dad found it at a beauty supply (?) place a few years ago so dusty hunting would be your best bet. I used 3 coats. The formula was thin and a little watery, but still easy to apply. It smelled terrible though, thanks to the Big 3 chemicals in it. It dried shiny so I didn't use top coat.

Native War Paints Black Cat Crossing (middle and ring fingers) has copper, lilac, purple, and silver diamond, hex, square, and star holo and metallic glitters, along with black holo cat glitter, in a glow-in-the-dark lavender jelly base. It was an extremely limited edition polish so I was very lucky to score the last one! My bottle is numbered 5/5. :D I used 3 coats. The formula was good and packed with glitter, but I needed to dab the large glitters onto my nails. I didn't have trouble retrieving them though. It dried bumpy so I used top coat to smooth it out.

Thanks for looking! See you on the other side of the day!

Michelle

ABC Challenge: U - LA Girl Uninhibited + China Glaze Shell-O

Self-purchased

LA Girl Uninhibited has small and micro black, matte hex glitters in a clear base. I used 1 coat over China Glaze Shell-O. This combination makes me think of a radioactive watermelon! :D The formula was great and easy to apply, though I wish there was more small hex glitter. It was too packed with micro glitter. It dried a bit bumpy. No top coat.

China Glaze Shell-O is a neon pinky-coral jelly. I stopped at 4 coats. The formula was good, but sheer and a bit thin. Despite using so many coats, the patchiness was very persistent. (You can't see them in the photo though.) I didn't have any trouble applying it though. It dried matte and didn't level well. A good top coat will fix the leveling issue. No top coat.

Thanks for looking! See you on the other side of the day!

Michelle

ABC Challenge: T - OPI The Impossible

Self-purchased

OPI The Impossible is a whimsical pinky-red texture with silver holographic hex, star, and fine glitters. The holographic fine glitter put a wonderful sparkle on the nail~ Unfortunately, I couldn't photograph it because it was a cloudy day. I used 2 coats. The formula was amazing! It was very pigmented and easy to get out the star glitters. I'm super happy! :D The textured finish materialized quickly. No top coat.

Thanks for looking! See you on the other side of the day!

Michelle 

ABC Challenge: S - Sally Hansen Sugar Cloud

Self-purchased

Sally Hansen Sugar Cloud is an enchanting sky blue texture with pink to gold shimmer running throughout. Since it was sheer, I decided to do a gradient to show how each layer looked like. At the cuticle is 1 coat, the middle of the fingers shows 2 coats, and the tip shows 3 coats. The formula was great and easy to apply. The textured finish materialized very quickly. Unlike many other textured polishes that usually dry to a "smooth" texture, Sugar Cloud had a rough, sugary one when it dried. No top coat.

Thanks for looking! See you on the other side of the day!

Michelle 

ABC Challenge: R - Sinful Colors Rainstorm

Self-purchased

Sinful Colors Rainstorm is a chic, grey-toned dark blue creme. Depending on the lighting, it can look more grey or more blue. It was SO close to being a one-coater, but I used 2 medium coats. I have no doubt that it'll be a one-coater in one thicker coat though. The formula was spectacular - creamy and extremely pigmented. Application was a breeze. (Boy, I haven't said that in a long while!) It dried shiny so I didn't use top coat. Rainstorm is definitely one of Sinful Colors' hidden gems so I'm really glad that Millie the Nail Smith enabled me to get it! Unfortunately, it was limited edition, but I'm sure you can find it on blog sales and eBay. ;)

Thanks for looking! See you on the other side of the day!

Michelle

ABC Challenge: Q - Claire's Queen Bee + Revlon Celestial FX

Self-purchased

Claire's Queen Bee is a blue-toned lilac creme that's great for spring. I used 3 coats. The formula was creamy, but thin and slightly runny so I had to apply the polish carefully. It surprisingly dried to a satin finish and didn't level well so I used top coat to smooth it out and add some shine.

Revlon Celestial FX has silver star, moon, and diamond holo glitter, along with iridescent glitter, in a clear base. It's a whimsical polish that reminds me of fairytales! I used 1 coat over Claire's Queen Bee. The formula was not very good, but workable. Even though I set the bottle upside-down for a while, I still wasn't able to get the silver holo glitter out unless I swirled my brush and fished for them. Also, I could only get the iridescent glitter if I dabbed it. The polish had a lot of clear base that got a bit thick and gloopy so I recommend sponging this polish onto the nail instead of applying it normally. The large glitters weren't flexible so I couldn't bend them to match the curve of my nails. With top coat.

Thanks for looking! See you on the other side of the day!

Michelle

ABC Challenge: P - Orly Pixie Dust

Self-purchased

Orly Pixie Dust is a sheer, light grey with microflakie-shimmer. I bought it as an alternative to Illamasqua Raindrops, and I'm not in the least disappointed! Pixie Dust is super pretty and calming. I used 4 coats. The formula was great and applied nicely even though it was sheer. It dried with a nice shine, but I still used top coat.

Thanks for looking! See you on the other side of the day!

Michelle

ABC Challenge: O - KLEANCOLOR On-Off Relationship + OPI Don't Touch My Tutu!

Self-purchased

KLEANCOLOR On-Off Relationship has pastel, bluish mint matte hex glitter in a clear base. I used 1 coat over OPI Don't Touch My Tutu! The formula was just okay. I had to set the bottle upside-down a bit before application and dab on the glitter. It had a lot of clear base, though, so I recommend sponging on the glitter to soak up the base instead of applying the polish normally. Despite all the issues, the polish was still easy to work with. KLEANCOLOR polishes are known for having a terrible smell, but I think they smell loads better than Nabi polishes and ammonia-free latex. It dried a teensy bit bumpy because of the large hexes so I used top coat.

One coat

Four coats

OPI Don't Touch My Tutu! is a very sheer white, like it was marketed to be. I used 4 coats to get it semi-opaque, though I LOVE how it looks at just one coat! At one coat, it is seriously PERFECT if you want just a hint of color, a "my nails, but better" shade, or need an appropriate polish for work. Something tells me this polish will also be great for jelly sandwiches. ;) The formula was amazing as it applied very easily with no cleanup required, though it was thin. It dried shiny. No top coat.

Thanks for looking! See you on the other side of the day!

Michelle