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For the weekend that Star Trek: Into Darkness opened, I wanted to pick a polish that had a galactic look it. I ended up picking Chanel Taboo (Revelation de Chanel, Spring 2013), a rich, deep purple shimmer with red and blue shimmer:
Picture taken in weak sunlight. (Please click to see more detail. I wish I had more sunlight for a better picture, but anyway, this would definitely be one to see in person anyway). This was highly pigmented and applied so smoothly; it could be a one-coater but I did two out of habit and to get a really, really rich color. I can’t come up with enough superlatives for this polish. It’s absolutely gorgeous and stunningly dimensional. To start, the shade of purple is beautiful; it looks very regal. It has this rich jewel tone, yet it’s deep and looks vampy. The addition of the red and blue shimmer makes it look that much more interesting, and is what gives it that multidimensional, galactic feel. I love how Chanel does this specific type of shimmer. It’s sparkly in a delicate way, and its subtlety just makes it look more complex. I paired this with NARS Purple Rain on my toes.
I liked 2009′s Star Trek, but I was really looking forward to and LOVED Star Trek: Into Darkness, and that has to do with Benedict Cumberbatch. I could go on and on about how brilliant he is as an actor and man (seriously, he’s amazing!) If you aren’t already in love with him, go see Star Trek and you will be (then watch all his other work)! Go on, get yourself Cumberbatched. 
<3sarah
To follow up my previous NOTD, I’m wearing the other polish I got from this collection, and I’m also wearing this color for Oscars weekend. Illamasqua Swinger (Naked Strangers, Summer 2012) is a light champagne gold metallic foil:
Picture taken in sunlight. The formula was smooth and applied very well in two coats. There are some brushstrokes but they’re hardly visible due to all the foily shimmer. It’s nicely opaque for something so sparkly so I imagine this would be good to use for nail art. When I was looking at this in the bottle, I saw a very faint amount of holographic glitter. It’s hardly noticeable in the bottle, so it doesn’t really transfer to the nail. I only see it when I really look for it, but it’s worth mentioning ’cause it’s in there somewhere. This is the kind of shade I look for in a gold polish. Aside from those antiqued, honey golds, I don’t really like yellow gold shades, so I like that this is more neutral to cool-toned. It really does make me think of champagne when I look at it. 
I paired this with China Glaze Twinkle Lights over black on my toes.
<3sarah
When I got some of the polishes from this collection, I knew I’d end up trying them in February, just based on their names. Illamasqua Faithful (Naked Strangers, Summer 2012) is a light brown with reddish bronzey shimmer:
Picture taken in sunlight. The formula wasn’t as buttery smooth as I’ve come to expect from Illamasqua, but it still applied pretty well in two coats. I got a good amount of bubbling, but thankfully it disappeared after applying topcoat. It looks like a light golden-bronze brown in this sunlight photo, but this shade appears different under different lighting conditions. Sometimes it looks like a cooler taupe brown, other times like a warmer reddish brown. In the sun is where it really shines, because all the pretty shimmer gets lit up. It’s subtle, but it’s not exactly a secret or hidden shimmer; this doesn’t just look like a creme out of direct light. In the shade the shimmer gives the finish an overall pearlescent glow, and that looks pretty as well. I paired this with Barielle Two Timing on my toes. I picked it out because I thought the colors looked good together, but it’s a rather ironic name pairing!
<3sarah
After so many reds and pinks in a row, I felt the need to wear a something different, something on the other side of the color spectrum, Lippmann Don’t Tell Mama (Fall 2009) is a deep greenish teal shimmer:
Picture taken in sunlight. This doesn’t exactly have that effortless buttery formula, it still applied well, needing two coats for complete coverage. This was another long-standing untried, and once I had it on I remembered why I wanted it so much. It’s gorgeous! It’s a deep shade, so it looks deliciously vampy in low light. Of course it looks best in the sun, where all the shimmer gets lit up. It’s blue enough to still be considered a teal, but it’s on the green side of things. I like Deborah Lippmann’s description of this as a “mood ring blue/green,” but I look at this and think of beautiful, luxe jewels. I paired this with Nails Inc. Houses of Parliament on my toes.
<3sarah
I have a few spring polishes left untried from last year, so instead of waiting until the weather turns warm(and since I know there will be more new spring releases to try at that time), I’m going to wear them now, in the month of Valentine’s Day. China Glaze Gothic Lolita (Electropop, Spring 2012) is a medium-light warm purple with subtle red and blue shimmer:
Picture taken in sunlight. This applied well, giving full coverage in two coats. The shimmer is hard to pick out, even in this macro shot. The finish doesn’t look sparkly, but instead the shimmer gives it a sort of pearlescent glow. The color seems more Sweet Lolita than Gothic Lolita to me, but it is lovely. I’d call it a lighter purple, but it’s more of a light bright and definitely not lavender/lilac pale. It’s relatively bold, but still looks delicate and springlike. To bring a little more goth into the equation, I paired this with Chanel Black Velvet on my toes.
<3sarah
In previous years I’ve reserved January for trying dark colors that seem apt for the cold season. That didn’t happen so much this year, but I thought I’d harken back to that theme with this polish. It’s not new but I finally picked this up in my most recent haul, so it’s relatively new to my own collection. China Glaze Stone Cold (The Hunger Games Capitol Colors) is a matte charcoal with silver microshimmer:
Picture taken in weak sunlight. I had forgotten how awesome mattes are, particularly this “suede” variety. True to a matte formula, you have to work fast when you paint or risk major cuticle drag. This one flowed very smoothly. It could have been a one-coater due to its high pigmentation, but I ended up doing two coats, just to ensure coverage of bald spots. I’m sure this looks gorgeous with topcoat as well, but I embraced the suede finish and let it be. It dries and sets really fast, and is pretty hard-wearing, especially for a mani that’s without the protection of a topcoat. I also love the texture of the finish; often times I would find myself running my fingerpads over my nails. Another plus of the finish is that the shimmer is clearly visible even in low light. The charcoal color is great; it’s at a level of darkness that really makes the silver microshimmer stand out. I wish more new suede polishes would come out, because I’m falling in love with this finish all over again! I paired it with RGB Cosmetics Steel on my toes.
<3sarah
I don’t have many polishes from this brand, and this was the only bottle I hadn’t tried yet, so I’m glad to have finally ticked it off my list, while I’m on this “getting things tried” kick. Borghese Stellare Notte (Fashionista, Spring 2010) is a shimmer that shifts between blackened teal and smoky purple:
Picture taken in artificial light. (Regrettably, there was no sun for this photo.) The formula was not very buttery smooth, but still applied pretty well. It has a slightly metallic finish so there are slight brushstrokes that you can’t really see anyway because they’re covered by shimmer. I used two coats plus touchups for full, even coverage. Even more regrettably, I couldn’t get this to photograph as it appears in real life at all, so I’d say this is just one to see in person. It looks like a deep, blackened teal straight-on, then as you angle your nails upward it turns into a charcoaly gunmetal, then finally a smoky purple. The duochrome effect is definitely strong; it constantly color-changes as you move your fingers. Sometimes you can see two colors at once; teal in the center and purple around the edges. It’s gorgeous and kind of makes me think of peacocks! I paired this with Sally Hansen Deep Purple (Xtreme Wear) on my toes.
<3sarah
I started off the year by wearing a whole collection I should have tried long before that, and I’m continuing in the same vein with my next few manis. I don’t have this whole collection but I’ll start off with its namesake, Color Club Alter Ego (Alter Ego: Keep it Under Cover, Spring 2011), a smoky purple with golden shimmer:
Picture taken in natural light. The formula was on the sheer side, but otherwise applied well. To reach opacity I needed three coats with some touchups. Even with a quick-drying topcoat, this could still be dentable for a while. I don’t mind the sheerness so much because it lets all that shimmer come through. It gives the finish a sort of metallic look without having the brushstrokes of an actual metallic finish. It isn’t just champagne gold shimmer in there either; I see blue and purple too. The smoky purple shade would lean more cool, but the golden shimmer warms it up a bit. I almost forgot this is part of a spring collection, but it seems like more of a cold weather color anyway. I paired this with Revlon No Shrinking Violet on my toes.
<3sarah
For my last mani of the year, and the last in this series of reds, I’m wearing OPI Danke-shiny Red (Germany, Fall 2012), a cool candy apple red metallic shimmer:
Picture taken in weak sunlight. (This looks more cool-toned than the photo reflects.) This was well pigmented and applied very smoothly in two coats. The formula is metallic, but the shimmer hides any brushstrokes. Metallic finishes, even the shimmery ones, aren’t my favorite because of the brushstrokes, but I love them when they come in a rich color, and when they have that certain glow to them. This one definitely has both! This shade of red is on the cool side. It’s not exactly bright but still looks very vibrant because of the glow from the metallic finish. The glow on this one seems really intense, too. I can definitely imagine this being a car color. The name inevitably reminds me of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, though. I paired this with Sally Hansen Midnight in NY (Complete Salon Manicure) on my toes.
Happy New Year!
<3sarah
Starting with this pre-Christmas mani, I have a slew of reds to try through the end of December. Chanel Malice (Éclats du Soir, Holiday 2012) is a deep, ruby-burgundy shimmer:
Picture taken in weak sunlight. The formula was so smooth and glided on effortlessly in two coats. This is breathtakingly gorgeous! The contrast between the darker red base and the brighter red shimmer is perfect. It’s deep and vampy but not almost-black. It definitely has that lit-from within look, where the color looks brighter in the center and darker around the edges. It also has a subtle metallic glow (the brushstrokes are totally covered up by the shimmer and are imperceptible as long as you paint in straight lines.) I catch myself staring at my nails a lot, especially when the delicate shimmer is illuminated by the light. The name may not be cheerful and holiday-like, but I love it anyway, and I think it’s very fitting for this wickedly sultry color. I paired it with OPI Tease-y Does It on my toes.
<3sarah
