Topping Lane

As April winds down, I’m getting to try the last of these sprinkly/speckled polishes I own.  I’ve finished the ones from Illamasqua, then Lippmann, and now this collection with Nails Inc. Topping Lane (Sprinkles) is a candy pink creme with fuchsia, purple and silvery-white small hex glitter:

Picture taken in sunlight. I’m so used to dealing with this sort of glitter-loaded creme formula by now that I have an easy time with it. Like the others I tried before it, this gave me full coverage in two coats, with some minor touching up in between. I can’t say that this immediately makes me think of cupcakes or ice cream, but what struck me when I first looked at the finished mani was how girly it is!  The pink and purple together just makes me think of Barbie…like a Barbie-themed birthday cake! I paired this with Sally Hansen Night Hydrangea (Salon) on my toes.

<3sarah

Polka Dots and Moonbeams

This is the last of the black glitter-speckled polishes I have. I always used to associate glitter with “sparkly,” so I before these polishes came out I couldn’t imagine what black glitter would look like, but matte black glitter works perfectly against light/pastel creme bases! Lippmann Polka Dots and Moonbeams (Staccato Collection, Spring 2013) is a white creme with small black hex glitter:

Picture taken in sunlight. (I’ve been loving growing out my nails, but the length makes it harder to crop pictures as closely as possible. :/) Out of the three in this collection, this one seemed to contain the most black glitter. The formula was a little thick but still applied pretty well, and I only needed two coats (with touchups in between) for full coverage. I love the simple contrast of black and white (and grey too, the glitter that sits under the surface takes on a lighter hue.) When I saw these in stores, I only bought Rockin’ Robin because that was the only one I thought I really “needed,” but I’m glad I ended up buying the rest. It’s a lovely collection, and I’m Not Edible actually turned out to be my favorite! The other two reminded me so strongly of ice cream, and this one definitely does as well, of cookies n’ cream, another one of my favorite “standard” flavors. It also makes me think of dalmatians! I paired this with Lippmann Funky Chunky on my toes.

<3sarah

Sweets Way

This is definitely the polish that piqued my interest in this confection-like finish. I bought it last year but I’m finally trying it now. Nails Inc. Sweets Way (Sprinkles) is a milky white creme with bright sky blue, light pink, and white small hex glitter:

Picture taken in sunlight. On the first coat, the white base seemed like it would be really sheer, but it builds to opacity in three. It also applied smoothly, despite being loaded with glitter. I know all that glitter means it will be a pain to remove, but this is so pretty that it’s totally worth it! I love the combination of pink, blue and white; it looks really sweet and makes me think of cotton candy. I catch myself looking at my nails a lot. I’ve actually had this on since Sunday! Normally I would have changed my NOTD by today, but this is so hard wearing (I know I have a difficult removal ahead of me) and I like the look so much that I kept it on. I paired this with Essie Sweet Talker on my toes.

<3sarah

Rockin’ Robin

I think I like these speckled polishes so much because I have a sweet tooth, and they make me think of a number of sweet treats. The ones from this collection make me crave ice cream. Lippmann Rockin’ Robin (Staccato Collection, Spring 2013) is a soft pastel mint creme with small black hex glitter:

Picture taken in sunlight. This applied smoothly and was well-pigmented; I got full coverage in two coats, with some touchups in between. It could have just been my application but I got less glitter on the nail here than with I’m Not Edible. Based on trying I’m Not Edible, I also expected this to be much more brightly stark, but it actually has a really soft look. It’s a gorgeous mint color. I previously said that Illamasqua Mottle reminded me of mint chip ice cream, but this one really, really looks like I have mint chip ice cream right on my nails (but as there can be different shades of mint nail polish, there can be different shades of mint ice cream). Mint chip is my favorite “standard” flavor of ice cream, so I love looking at this. I paired it with OPI Mod About You on my toes.

<3sarah

Strawberry Milkshake

The pastels I’ve tried recently have been of the speckled variety, but I do have some plain cremes as well. Ciaté Strawberry Milkshake is a warm, light pastel pink creme:

Picture taken in natural light.  This was pretty well pigmented, but still streaky. It went on smoothly though, so I got full coverage in three easy coats. I thought this would be like your standard pastel pink, but I love it so much more than I expected to! Perhaps it’s because I just tried it, but this color reminds me of I’m Not Edible without the black glitter.  It’s a warmer shade than baby pink, which sets it apart from other pink pastels. My favorite thing about it is how very stark it is! It’s stark without being too pale, so it actually looks really bright and vibrant. It totally gives me an ice cream craving, and this sort of pink also reminds me of adorable piglets. I paired this with OPI Thanks a Windmillion on my toes.

<3sarah

Pudding Lane

After trying Sugar House Lane from this collection back in March, I was really looking forward to wearing the rest. These came out last year, but it seems fitting that I’m only trying them this year, alongside all the new speckled/sprinkled polishes. Nails Inc. Pudding Lane (Sprinkles) is a bold sky blue creme with purple and chartreuse small hex glitter:

Picture taken in sunlight. The formula was really loaded with glitter so it applied thickly, but it did give me full coverage in two coats. The finish isn’t so rough, so one coat of topcoat leaves it reasonably smooth, but two will give it that glassy feel. For me, this color palette doesn’t really inspire thoughts of puddings, but I love the overall look. I don’t really think of purple and green as colors that go together with blue, but this all works! The sky blue creme base is lovely; it’s pretty and bold and bright (It actually does remind me of the type of color you’d see in cake frosting). The purple and chartreuse glitters complement each other nicely as well. I paired this with Illamasqua Radium on my toes.

<3sarah

I’m Not Edible

I couldn’t stay away from these speckled, sprinkly polishes for long, so today I have on Lippmann I’m Not Edible (Staccato Collection, Spring 2013), a sweet pastel pink creme with small black hex glitter:

Picture taken in sunlight. The sun sort of washes out the color, making it look really light, stark and very pastel, but it can look a a couple of shades darker (but still light pink) out of direct lighting. I’m so pleasantly surprised by all these smoothly-applying pastels I’ve been trying lately! Because this one was so pigmented, with some touchups I only ended up doing two coats instead of three full ones. Even though this look involves black hex glitter in a pastel creme base, the polishes from this collection are different than the Speckled Nail Varnishes from Illamasqua’s I’mperfection collection. While the Illamasquas had both large hex pieces and small regular glitter, these only have smaller hex pieces (which was justification enough for me to get them all :p) The black glitter works equally well here. There’s quite a lot of it, and it stands out nicely against the pastel base. The pink color looks incredibly sweet and delicious, too. It really makes me want a strawberry ice cream! I paired this with OPI Hey! Get in Lime! on my toes.

<3sarah

Maximillian Strasse Her

I did love trying those speckled polishes, and I have even more to try this month, but instead of trying so many glitters in a row, I thought I’d give my nails a break, removal-wise, by throwing some cremes in between. Essie Maximillian Strasse Her (Spring 2013) is a cool, faded sage green creme:

Picture taken in natural light. (My photo makes it look a little mintier than it should; it’s a slightly warmer green in real life.) Because this is a light color, I expected to need three coats for full coverage, but since the formula is nicely thick and pigmented, I only needed two, with some touchups. I like this polish a lot more than I expected to! Apart from the good formula, I love the color as well. It’s a dusty color, but it’s not too greyed. Despite being faded, it still actually looks like a very fresh, springy green. There’s something really calming about this shade, too; I can see it as a color someone would paint their walls with. I also really love the concept behind this collection, that the polish names are inspired by major global shopping destinations. This one is named after Maximilianstraße in Munich. I paired this with OPI Did You ‘Ear About Van Gogh? on my toes.

<3sarah

OPI…Eurso Euro

I can’t believe baseball season has started already! Today I’m wearing a blue for the Yankees’ opening day. OPI OPI…Eurso Euro (Euro Centrale, Spring 2013) is a deep, vibrant cobalt creme:

Picture taken in sunlight. This applied well in two coats. In the shade, this looks like a very dark, slightly indigo-toned blue, but the sunlight brings out its true cobalt quality. This is an amazing shade of blue! At first glance it doesn’t really look like a bright color in the traditional springy way, but there’s just something so vibrant and intense about it. It also looks incredibly rich and regal. It may be a “simple” creme, but it definitely makes for stare-worthy nails (in the sun, anyway.) I paired this with OPI Red Lights Ahead…Where? on my toes.

<3sarah

Fragile

For Easter tomorrow I’m wearing the last of these speckled polishes I have (I didn’t buy the tan, Freckle.) Illamasqua Fragile (I’mperfection, Spring 2013) is a pale pastel sky blue creme with black hex glitter and fine black glitter:

Picture taken in sunlight. This applied very well like the rest; I used three coats for really solid, opaque coverage. I really like how the finish gets smooth with just one coat of topcoat, even though the creme base is full of glitter. It’s hard to pick a favorite from this collection, but if I absolutely had to, I’d pick this one, just because I adore pastel blues. This shade looks so light and airy. It’s pale, but also perfectly stark, and not too whited-out. It’s such a sweet and dreamy blue! I own a couple of similarly-colored creme polishes, so I appreciate the unique addition of the black glitter. I really love this speckled look; Illamasqua did a great job with making these polishes truly look like speckled candy eggs. They make for delicious-looking nails, too. I paired this with Illamasqua Caress on my toes.

<3sarah