I am always learning new slang terms from Butter London. In the 1970s a Disco Buscuit was a quaalude, but more recently it describes an ecstasy tablet. There you go – word of the day!   I bought Disco Biscuit on our recent trip to Portland. The salesgirl at Nordstroms seemed amused by the name. She had to dig for a while in their display to find it, but I had to have it! It is a bright pink jelly with purplish-blue glitter (click on the picture to see the glitter detail).

Butter London Disco Biscuit in sunlight

Application was good, but it went on quite sheer (what one would expect from a jelly finish). I tend to like my polish opaque, but this lovely jelly is still pretty even with VNL It is also quite thirsty. It needed two coats of top coat to achieve a glossy finish. Although it required too many layers, I think the payoff was worth it Four coats and two coats of top coat shown.

Butter London Disco Biscuit, Butter London Slapper & Butter London Knackered

I have long admired the frankens I have seen posted by other beauty bloggers. Making your own polish colors? How cool is that?!?! I have been meaning to try it for a while, and I finally decided to take the plunge. I have a set of Color Club polishes that I bought at Ross, All About Color, for $7.99. I could not find any information online and unlike the other Color Club sets I have, the names of the polish were not printed on the box. I have had this set for a while, but never blogged about them as they were mystery colors. For my first franken, I decided to use a Barbie pink from this set and jazz it up with some holographic and pink cosmetic glitter. I added three small scoops of each to the base color and mixed it up. The result looked good in the bottle, so my hopes were high. I tried my new concoction on a nail wheel and was dismayed to see that I had some very bumpy polish that looked like it had a bad rash! Uggh. I though the polish was too thick, but I did not have any thiner on hand as I never finish a bottle. Since the bottle was already ruined I took a chance and added a few drops of polish remover. I again applied it to the nail wheel with disappointing results. I added a second coat anyway, and a top coat. The top coat smoothed the polish and made the glitter particles more visible! Although the polish was not amazing, it was pretty cute. Now the mystery polish is a Barbie pink with the subtle twinkle of glitter. I am calling it Princess Polish. I have ordered some polish thinner, and can’t wait to give frankening another crack!

Princess Polish in sunlight

Application was ok. The formula was a bit bumpy and uneven. Most issues were smoothed out with a top coat. Three coats and a top coat shown.

Mystery polish on the left, "rash" polish next to it and Princess Polish on the right

What do you think? Do you franken?

Princess Polish

Izzy is a deep pink shimmer from Zoya’s holiday Gems & Jewels collection. It is such a happy, festive color. Looking at it on my nails really brought a smile to my face. Since I seem to have been infected with holiday glitter this year, I decided to add Kissy on my ring fingers as an accent. I figured that if I only use glitter on accent nails my pain will be greatly reduced when it is time to take it off! First I tried Kissy over Izzy. It looked good, but I noticed that in addition to pink and holographic bar glitter, Kissy was also full of fine red glitter. I tried it over Butter London Knees Up, and boy did they work nicely together! When it came time to take my polish off, my plan worked and I was rewarded with a fairly easy removal Please note that because  Izzy was so shimmery it was difficult to find lighting that equally flattered it and Kissy. Izzy looks much better in person!

Zoya Izzy in sunlight (with Butter London Knees Up and Zoya Kissy on accent nail)

Application was excellent. Two coats with a top coat shown (two coats of Butter London Knees Up and one coat of Kissy on accent nail).

Are you loving any of this year’s holiday glitters? Which ones?

Butter London Knees Up, Zoya Izzy, and Kissy

Foil Me Once is a pretty color, and after wearing it around a bit I decided to freshen it up with a glitter top coat. Although it is still a total PITA to remove (I do hold remover soaked cotton balls on each nail for at least 30 seconds, but still…), I am warming to glitter polish a bit. Mmmm, holo sparkly! It reminds me of a tasty treat sprinkled with sugar crystals. Yummy!

Color Club: Sugar Plum Fairy, Foil Me Once, and Candy Cane in sunlight

Application was good. The picture shows two coats of Foil Me Once with one coat each of Sugar Plum Fairy and Candy Cane (no top coat).

Color Club: Sugar Plum Fairy, Foil Me Once, and Candy Cane

Foil Me Once is a cool toned, silvery pink foil that looks lilac in some lights. It is from Color Club’s new Foiled collection. I got the whole collection, but decided to try this one first. It is a soft, pretty “girly” color. I quite like it! Next I will try it with some Color Club holiday glitters…

Color Club Foil Me Once in natural light

Application was excellent. Two coats with a top coat shown.

Color Club: Sugar Plum Fairy, Foil Me Once, and Candy Cane

Hot Mess is a deep pink glass fleck polish from Urban Decay’s 2011 holiday set (a set of 6 mini polishes retailing for $28). It has great sparkle! My camera was a bit overwhelmed by the combination of the bright color and the sparkle. Good stuff!! It is quite similar to OPI’s Let Me Entertain You from last year’s Burlesque collection. They are not exactly the same, but awfully close.

Urban Decay Hot Mess in sunlight

OPI"s Let Me Entertain You compared to Urbay Decay's Hot Mess

In the comparison shot it looks like the OPI (on the left) is less glossy than the Urban Decay, but I did not see this in real life. Both comparison shots were taken using two coats and shown without a top coat.

Application was excellent. Two coats and a top coat shown.

Urban Decay: Barlust, Mars, Wrecked, Ziggy, Gunmetal, and Hot Mess

Garden Jubilee and Blushing Lady are two polishes from Nailtini’s latest collaboration with Janie Bryant (the talent behind Mad Men’s amazing costumes). You can find my review of the first collection here. As with every Nailtini polish I have tried, this collection is named after cocktails.

Garden Jubilee

Garden Jubilee is a fabulous duochrome. It displayed a shimmery coppery pink, golden khaki and light olive green.

Nailtini Garden Jubilee in sunlight

Nailtini Garden Jubilee in sunlight

Application was excellent but pretty sheer. With three coats I had decent coverage. Nailtini suggests that you try “cocktailing” and layer their colors. Garden Jubilee is a perfect candidate for layering. I tried it over Blushing Lady, and the result was similar but more opaque and perhaps a bit more pink (not pictured). I think next time I will try it over a darker base color.

Blushing Lady

Blushing Lady is a pretty bright pastel pink. It reminds me of carnations.

Nailtini Blushing Lady in sunlight

Application was good. A bit sheer and slightly streaky, but was pretty even by the third coat. Three coats and a top coat shown.

Nailtini Garden Jubilee, Admiral Perry, Blue Carnation, Blushing Lady

Recently someone found out that I had a nail polish blog, and naturally they asked me about my favorite polish. My brain froze – too many to think about! I love just about anything by BB Couture, Orly has really put out some awesome polish, China Glaze’s OMG collection really rocks, and Nfu Oh can always be counted on for something that packs a lot of punch.  Do I even have a favorite? I couldn’t say I have a favorite. It really depends on what I am craving.  However, I do have a “go to” polish. One that I reach for again and a gain. Although it changes, right now my  go to polish is Orly’s Rage. When I look at my collection faced with indecision, Rage is always a good choice. It boasts excellent application and drying time. When I am wearing rage, I am always pleased gazing at my beautiful rose gold nails It is a good vacation choice too because without being a boring nude sheer, the lighter pinkish color manages to hide a bit of wear.

What are your go tos? Is it a particular polish or a brand that you know won’t let you down?

Orly Rage in Sunlight

Gilda is a hot pink/fuschia glass flecked beauty from Zoya’s Sparkle collection. In the bottle I see some gold flecks too, but I don’t see them on the nail. Today the Bay Area is experiencing some amazing 80 degree weather. It is the kind of day that really calls for something bright and summery. Gilda fits the bill nicely! I really, really like this as a mani but I think it is even better as a pedi color! Today I am wearing sandals, and enjoying the bright pink polish sparkling back at me

I usually order my Zoya online, but on my last trip to Whole Foods I noticed a Zoya display in the cosmetics area! Although it can be nice getting packages in the mail, I love instant polish gratification! Score!

Zoya Gilda in sunlight

Zoya Gilda

Application was a bit sheer, but otherwise very good. Three coats and a top coat shown.

Priced at only $13, Urban Decay’s Apocalyptic Nail Kit is a fun holiday gift or stocking stuffer for the nail polish lover in your life (or maybe a holiday goodie  for yourself )! It looks like the kit is a Beauty.com exclusive. It contains 7 mini polishes: White Widow, Gunmetal, Apocalypse, Grunge, Meltdown, Big Bang and Fbomb.

Big Bang

Big Bang is a bright raspberry pink foil. It looks more red in photographs than it did in real life. IThis bring pop of shimmery color is just what I need for dreary overcast days! I have been wearing this one for three days, and it is holding-up quite well. I often find that foils do not wear well on me, but this one is a wear winner.

Application was good. Two coats and a top coat shown.

Urban Decay Big Bang in natural light

I will try to get swatches of the other colors soon. I also have some other well-priced kits to review as I think they would make great holiday gifts!

Urban Decay Apocalyptic Nail Kit