This category! I had so many problems narrowing it down to a top 5! I love them all! As I am typing this, I still have not decided what my #1 is! I am hoping that it will come to me soon! Needless to say, there will be a few honorable mentions. Three to be exact. So many pretties to look at, let's get right to it!
Just a reminder. I
always paint to opacity and then add one more coat for the macro pics.
In other words, when it says I used 3 coats, you can usually achieve "in real
life opacity" at 2 coats. In no particular order:
 |
| With Flash |
 |
| Artificial Light |
OPI Alcatraz Rocks - 2 coats
Let's start with a polish on several of my fellow bloggers' lists, the well loved Alcatraz Rocks. This is well loved for good reason. Like most OPI's Liquid Sands (I would say all, but I haven't tried them all :) the application was easy and smooth with only 2 coats needed for full coverage and depth of texture. It is a gorgeous dark sapphire blue, as you can see. What you can't see in my pics is the amazing bits of purple, green and pink mini glitter that flash throughout. It is stunning! Plus it has texture! If you don't have this in your stash, it should be your #1 lemming!
 |
| With Flash |
 |
| Artificial Light |
Mentality Tough - 2 coats
I am crushing hard on Mentality! I have yet to try one of their polishes that I wasn't fully satisfied, if not ecstatic, about. Tough is one of the ecstatic ones! I cannot even begin to describe how this beauty glows! Even in its natural state, matte, it is radioactive! See that bottom pic? That is not Photoshopped, no filter or color adjustment. This is ow it looks in real life....almost UNreal! What about with top coat?
 |
| With Flash |
 |
| Artificial Light |
With top coat, the shimmer shows its glittery side. I must admit I like it matte better, but it is almost as striking with a hard top. If you like neon robin egg blue colors, this is one that MUST be in your collection!
 |
| With Flash |
 |
| Artificial Light |
Mentality Sizzle - 3 coats
On their site, Mentality describes this as "a black crelly holographic with blue fleckies and a green to bluish purple duochrome color shift." The thing that makes this one unique is the blue micro glitters. I don't quite know how to describe this, but with the glitters sandwiched in the black crelly holo, it gives it the sense that all those particles are hovering above the nail, not laying on it. This effect CANNOT be captured. I have tried...and tried...and tried! Believe me, it seams to float and I could not stop examining it all day, trying to figure out how. How 'bout a gif? Sorry 'bout the tip wear!
 |
| With Flash |
 |
| Artificial Light |
Zoya Dream - 3 coats
Yes, this category contains more than one holo! Zoya scattered holos are unlike other holos out there. The particles are like mini shards floating in a gellie finish. Go gorgeous! These pics are without top coat! This brilliant beauty shines all on its own. What more is there to say?
 |
| With Flash |
 |
| Artificial Light |
 |
| Natural Light |
I Love Nail Polish Birefringence (H) - 2 coats
What is the deal with that name? I had to Google it, of course. Birefringence used to describe anything that has an optical quality that causes light to have a double refraction. At least that is what I understood it to be (tee hee). Lots of scientific jargon out there! Anyways, once I understood what the name meant, it made a whole lot of sense. What else would describe this multichrome that bends through the top of the rainbow, alternately blue, teal and purple, even gold at some extreme angles! And the (H) in the name means that it has added holo particles. This polish makes me speechless! The only thing left to say is....#1 BABY! Oh and, "Got gif?"
So let's talk about honorable mentions. There are three....yes three! I will let you know why each of them made this special list. The number one reason is that I LOVE blue.
 |
| With Flash |
 |
| Artificial Light |
 |
| Indirect Light |
Julep Millie - 2 coats
With my new found love of cremes, I couldn't leave this finish out of the list. However, with all the other amazing finishes in this category, Millie kept slipping down the list. However, I had to show you my favorite dark blue creme. Millie is a greyed navy blue, dusty and divine. Plus, her application is flawless, self leveling and fully opaque at one coat. The only question I have is...maybe she should have been in the top 5? She can be found in nail art HERE.
 |
| Without Top Coat |
 |
| With Top Coat |
Essie Lots of Lux - 2 coats
Lots of Lux didn't make top 5 because...well, because I realized last moment that I didn't have this swatched on its own. If it had unstamped pics, it would have bumped Zoya Dream into the honorable mentions. There are two reasons for my Lots of love for Lux (See what I did there?). The first is that this was the moment that I realized that Essie had stepped out of my mom's world and into mine. I usually think that Essies are a bit uninspired, but the Encrusted Treasures collection was filled with risk takers. Secondly, this baby was highly pigmented, needing two coats ONLY because I wanted more depth to the texture. AND despite being so pigmented, it wasn't a stainer! Welcome to my world Essie! You can find more details about this nail art HERE.
 |
| With Flash |
 |
| Artificial Light |
China Glaze Strap On Your Moonboots - 2 coats
Strap On Your Moonboots (SOYMB from here on out :) made my honorable mention list because, in my humble opinion, this polish did not get enough love in the nail polish community. I have to admit that I was unimpressed with most of the others from the Hologlam collection, but this one is lovely! I actually like the subtle holo, giving it a denim finish. I have heard that you should use a ridge filling base under all of the Hologlam polishes, but I had problems with that. I tried my Aqua Base, and no matter how long I let it dry, the base clumped when I applied this polish. Then I tried Orly Ridge Filler. It also clumped, although not as bad as the Aqua Base. The I tried it with OPI Nail Envy. Yes, it showed a bit of ridging on the first coat, but the second coat smoothed it out pretty well with only my major ridges showing. By the way, SOYMB stamps like a dream! You can see it used as a stamping polish HERE and with a flakie HERE.
.
*All polishes purchased by me. This post does not contain any affiliate links. I am not compensated for any link clicks contained.*
This day has flown by! I have some exciting swatching to do tonight that I want to get on the blog tomorrow, so this is going to be another fast one!
Just a reminder. I
always paint to opacity and then add one more coat for the macro pics.
In other words, when it says I used 3 coats, you can usually achieve "in real
life opacity" at 2 coats. In no particular order:
 |
| With Flash |
 |
| Artificial Light |
Julep Joanna - 2 coats
Joanna, I can't hear this name without thinking of Johnny Depp. Yes, I LOVE Sweeney Todd. Even before Mr Depp became Mr Todd. Back to the polish! Joanna is a delicate greyed baby blue frost. Yep, all that in a gorgeous formula. Although it is frost, it is a Julep frost, which is not overpowering and DOESN'T show brush strokes. Plus, this is two coats! You know what that means, you can get non-pic coverage with 1 coat! This almost made 1st place for me, it is so striking, yet delicate too.
 |
| With Flash |
 |
| Artificial Light |
 |
| Macro to show shimmer |
Orly Pretty-Ugly - 3 coats
Nothing ugly about this blue! It is a sweet light sky blue filled with a turquoise shimmer. So gosh darn....pretty! It has a very sheer coverage, so you will probably need three coats, macro pics or not. I painted this over Orly Ridge Filler, my go to base for sheer polish as it has a milky white color to it. I have been disappointed with Orly's collections in the past, but this year they really stepped up their game and several ended up on my Faves lists.
 |
| With Flash |
 |
| Artificial Light |
Zoya NYX - 3 coats
After my excitement about the first OPI Liquid Sands, I was giddy with the Zoya PixieDusts! Zoya really knows how to do the pastel textured finishes. This is an almost grey polish, looking like a dusty blue in some lights and a blued grey in others. The texture is perfect, not too rough or bumpy. It is, like many of the pastel textured polishes, sheer. Although I am usually turned off by polishes that need multiple coats, this one is totally worth it! It also layers very easily.
 |
| With Flash |
 |
| Artificial Light |
Superchic Lacquer Funnel Cloud - 3 coats.
You may not know about this yet, but I have a total obsession with copper. I have sooo many copper polishes in my stash. Is it any wonder, then, that I love this steel blue pastel filled with a slight shimmer and different sizes of copper glitter? No, of course not. This was in Wonder Beauty's Tornado Alley collection and I own almost the whole collection, but this has to be my favorite. It isn't green enough to replicate a weathered copper statute, but it does bring it to mind. All of the Tornado Alley collection can be found at Wonder Beauty's Etsy shop HERE.
 |
| Natural Light |
LynBDesigns Don't Torture Me - 2 coats
Time for the #1 light blue of 2013! These pics make me cringe! Once again, I should have reswatched this beauty, but ain't nobody got time for that! Look at those cuticles! You've come a long way, baby! This blue is a stand alone in my stash. Jenna describes it as a pastel burple, and I would have to agree with that description. I would also describe it as a greyed neon cornflower blue. Yep, that's it! It is filled with translucent matte white flakies. I get a lot of compliments on the polishes I wear, but this was the one EVERYONE noticed and commented on! I must this one again soon! Jenna is one of my favorite indie polish makers as so much of what inspires her inspires me! You can find her Etsy store HERE. I just got some from her Baker Street collection and hope to have them on the blog in the next week....along with everything else I hope to have up this week!
I have one more thing for you today....an Honorable Mention.
 |
| With Flash |
 |
| Artificial Light |
LVX Celeste - 3 coats
As I was selecting the light blues, Celeste was edged out, only because it is a creme. Yet I felt the list needed a creme. Just because I have a penchant for different finishes, doesn't mean that the creme should be left out! So I give you my first Honorable Mention. It won't be the last one! Celeste is a pale celeste blue. Yes, there is such a thing. Google it if you don't believe me! Once again, this is LVX creme perfection, fully deserving of its honorable place!
I have used some of these in nail art, but am in too much of a rush to add them now. Let me know if you want links and I can add them later! Thanks for looking and commenting!
Tina
Got things to do tonight, so I am going to be fast with this one!
Just a reminder. I
always paint to opacity and then add one more coat for the macro pics.
In other words, when it says I used 3 coats, you can usually achieve "in real
life opacity" at 2 coats. In no particular order:
 |
| With Flash |
 |
| Artificial Light |
China Glaze Keep Calm, Paint On - 3 coats
This pretty light teal just barely made it into my top 5. It was the name that tipped the scales (tee hee). The color and the shimmer are perfect, but the formula is a bit lacking. It is thick, but a few drops of thinner took care of that. However, unlike other China Glaze, it was not self leveling and required a lot of care during application. I think it is all that shimmer packed into it! Despite its downfalls, I still adore the color and finish enough to put it in my top 5....sometimes the heart wins out over the head. You can find nail art with this HERE .
 |
| Artificial Light |
 |
| With Flash |
Scofflaw Flotsam & Jetsam - 3 coats
Ah, Scofflaw! If you haven't discovered this indie, you must seek them out! You can find them HERE and internationally at Llarowe. This is a very pale teal filled with teal and purple shards and a light green shimmer. The top pic gives you an idea of the glitter, but the bottom shows true color and shimmer. The formula on this is purrfect! Thin, yet stays put. Dispersal of the glitters is better than the finest aerosols. Pure pale loveliness.
Maybelline Drops of Jade - 2 coats over white
There were several shades in the Polka Dots line that appealed to me, but this was the one that went straight to my wish list. I hunted for awhile before I finally tracked it down. It always seemed to be the one sold out in the collection. I was happy to see that the drugstore brands were finally taking a cue from the indies, but I don't think they will ever catch up with them! A big reason why this made my top 5 was application. The glitter in this glided on like Bambi on ice, no clumping and no dabbing required! This will definitely grace my tips during the spring.
Revlon Elusive - 2 coats
Choosing my top teal was difficult, but this was just edged out. Another drugstore brand! I am really surprised by how many of these reached my lists! This is what I wanted Emily de Molly to be, so I am so thankful I found this! I plan on doing a comparison soon. The gellie base on this is so dense and well pigmented, yet lets the teal glitters still peek through. This is only two coats! If I had more time, I would gush about this beauty more, but it is time to move on!
 |
| With Flash |
 |
| Artificial Light |
Urban Decay Zodiac - 3 coats
And now we come to the #1 teal. Zodiac had been on my wish list for short time, but the price was a bit too much for me. It doesn't seem much between a $12 indie holo and $15 for this, but once I spend this much on a bottle, next thing you know I will be purchasing Dior and Chanel (those are on my wish list too). Luckily for me, my darling sister gave me an Ulta gift card for Christmas. I debated between getting my hair cut and buying polish. Polish won out! I am so glad it did! Just look at it! It is a deep, dark green filled with gold, green and blue micro glitters. The effect is that of a teal foil and I absolutely smitten with it! Let me show you why.
Look at it! Click on it to see a larger version. Feast your eyes and all your senses! Such murky beauty is worth the price tag! And, it applies just like you would expect a high end polish to do. It applies like a sigh, which is what my heart is doing right now (tee hee). It is a bit of a cuticle stainer, but with such smooth application, it should be easy to avoid those edges. Really, look how close I was able to get it to my cuticles without flooding! This is an "extremely limited edition" according to Urban Decay, so get yours while you can!
Once again, a varied list. Do you have any of these in your stash? I think the last two would be in my top 10 of 2013....if I had such a thing! Thanks for looking and commenting!
Tina
I read lots of blogs from all over the world. The last few days I have seen several posts talking about it being spring, even talk of 60 degrees. Not around here! Our high today was -7 with -20 windchill. The kids were off of school today because of the cold. Wish I would have been off! But now I am home and have some gorgeous dark greens to show you!
Just a reminder. I
always paint to opacity and then add one more coat for the macro pics.
In other words, when it says I used 3 coats, you can usually achieve "in real
life opacity" at 2 coats. In no particular order:
 |
| With Flash |
 |
| Artificial Light |
Zoya Chita - 2 coats
Yep, I am riding the texture wave...Hard! The thing I love about Chita is that it is the perfect color green and is filled with antique gold sparkles. So purdy! You can find a texture gradient with Chita HERE.
 |
| With Flash |
Maybelline Emerald Elegance - 2 coats
I forgot that I only got a flash photo of this beauty until this moment, so this is all you get. Just google it so see how gorgeous this deep green is. It has a very unique finish, a dark jellie base chock full of dark green microglitters and emerald hexes. This baby is to die for! And perfect for those Christmas tree manis! You can see just that HERE.
 |
| With Flash |
 |
| Add caption |
SinfulShine Man Hunt - 2 coats
I have a thing for these dusty olive/army greens. I have several in my stash, but this one is unique. It is filled with a lovely shimmer that gives it that added interest and depth. On top of that, the shine on this one! No top coat needed for this one!
 |
| With Flash |
 |
| Artificial Light |
I Love Nail Polish Fresh Evergreen - 2 coats
Barbara, from I Love Nail Polish, knows her holos! Just look at that gif! This vibrant amazon green boarders on teal with its blue bending holo. My pics do not do it justice. Application is as soft and smooth as a green banded swallowtail's wing. It always amazes me that you can pack so much holo into a polish and still get a smooth finish. Although this is two coats, I could have got away with one, even for the macro shots! Two is just habit I guess. I bet this would be an excellent stamper too! I think if you took A England Dragon, crossed it with Saint George and threw in a linear holo, you might come up with this lovely shade. I have a soft spot for dark holos and you know you will be seeing more soon.
 |
| With Flash |
 |
| Artificial Light |
Picture Polish Mallard - 2 coats
Choosing my #1 green was very difficult in this category. It was a close race between this and Fresh Evergreen, but Mallard won out for its inspired composition. Dark forest green gellie filled with shimmer and flakies? Who wouldn't want that! This was another one that I wish I had reswatched. These pics are from early in the year when my application/photography/editing skills were still a bit shaky. Plus these pics are after two days of wear. Just look at the index nail in the flash pic and you will get an inkling of what this polish looks like. Better yet, just hop over to The Polishaholic and look at her swatches! Then check out my St Patrick's Day mani with Mallard HERE .
What do you think? Agree with my top pic? Do you love green polish as much as I do? Sick of the lists yet? We are almost halfway through! Thanks for looking and commenting!
Tina
