In Honor of Breaking Dawn... Nox Twilight Sugar Plum

Hi out there in TV land... errr, internet land! Sorry for my sporadic posting again, im still not back in my house 100%.

Anyway, Breaking Dawn is coming out tonight at midnight! Yours truly will be there, of course! I bought the tickets months ago so the anticipation has been building and building, so I'm pretty excited at this point. This is actually an older mani (from last week) but I decided to save it for this occasion. :)

Sugar Plum (I don't understand why none of the names of this collection are even vampire or Twilight related, but whatever) is a lovely purple shade with blue shimmer, which almost makes it look like a duochrome. Again, ignore my missing pointer finger who is still on the disabled list.

I used two coats and it applied really nicely. I love the formula and brush on these polishes. See you on the flip side, after the movie!

xoxo,
Amanda

More Blue: Nox Twilight Talon

Hi ladies, I have more blue for you today! It's Nox Twilight Talon, which is a deep navy blue that glows from within. It looks black in some lights if you look quickly, but most always is noticeably blue. This was two easy coats and the formula was great. I also love the brush, which made it really easy to contour around my cuticles - this is following minimal cleanup (which, in retrospect, could have been better).

In my room, which is what I typically call "low light"



In sunlight

So I'm a big fan of this polish. Even if it wasn't Twilight related (yes, I'm a Twi-hard... I'm even going to see the next one at midnight. Don't judge me... move on! haha) I would still love it for its formula. It was a really nice, wintry/fall color and it really glowed. I caught myself staring at it during sessions with clients haha. What do you think? This is my last blue for now, but do you like these themed weeks?

xoxo,
Amanda

I'm a terrible, neglectful blogger

Hi girls! I'm so sorry for my absence. You've heard my runaround... grad school, boyfriend, job, internship, the whole bit. No excuses! Here's a post. First up, can I make it up to you with an INCREDIBLE giveaway? ThePolishAholic is having a blogiversary giveaway. Lots of stuff up for grabs, including Misa's new collection, the Beiber collection, and the whole OPI Texas collection. Go enter!

Okay, on to some nails. I haven't been doing my nails much lately, and even when I do I find that I'm not picking very blog-worthy colors. Maybe it's my subconscious preventing me from feeling disappointed with myself when I don't post... maybe I'm spending too much time thinking in psychological terms.

First up, this is Nox Twilight Poseidon. I got these from a lovely lady on MakeupAlley (if you're reading this, I still love you! thanks again!) and I am not disappointed. This is the first one I wore as a mani and I was impressed. It had great wear, even though the formula was a little runny. It was a nice robin's egg blue, but looked gray in some lighting. I find this season I've been trying lots of light blues, so maybe I'm making my own personal trend?

This one is OPI DS Reserve, a beautiful light pink holo that I had been avoiding because a) it wasn't sunny for holos and b) it was the DS color I liked least. But man, I regret that now. Beautiful! Loved every minute of it. This is after about two days of wear, so excuse the tip wear and cuticles.

Finally, some ELF polishes! I was scoping these out online and wanted to try this brand (big 3 free and only $1!). Luckily, Target started displaying them so I picked one up. This set was $4.99! All the colors are great but I'm especially enthusiastic about the light purple (creatively named Lilac). I'll let you know what I think once I try them out.

So, that's all she wrote for today! I also got the Zoya spring collection with their Women's Day promo, so I may show you guys that at some point, although I'm sure you're swatched out over those right now. I'm wearing Dannii and it's gorgeous. I thought it would be my favorite, but I'm really tempted to try Dove and Caitlin tonight...

xoxo,
Amanda

Misa Sailor Beware, A Swap Haul, Some Experimenting, & A PSA

Hey ladies! This is my NOTD from Monday night and Tuesday using Misa Sailor Beware.

This looks kind of red in the photos, but I assure you it's a mid-tone pink which does lean towards red. Could also be the silly lighting in my room! It dries very shiny... this is with no top coat!

So, of course, immediately after painting my nails I got a package in the mail with some polishes I was swapping on MakeUpAlley. I was trading for 2 Nox Twilight polishes (yes, yes, you got me - I'm a Twihard. I hope this doesn't change the way you feel about me?) and was anxious to receive my end. Well, that sweetheart did me one better and saw the third Nox Twilight color I wanted on my wish list and sent it as a surprise! Don't you love people sometimes?

Nox Twilight: Poseidon, Sugar Plum, Talon

 I haven't swatched any of these beauties yet, but if I could describe them in the bottle I would say Poseidon is a stormy blue, Sugar Plum is a pink/purple duochrome, and Talon is a royal blue with some beautiful shimmer in it. They look gorgeous and I'm excited to try them out! Although I must say, for being Twilight polishes you would think the names would have something more to do with the series... just sayin'.

Finally, I decided to experiment with my NOTD before taking it off. I added China Glaze Fairy Dust (left), Orly Winter Wonderland (center), and Essie Matte About You (right) to a finger, just to see what it looked like.

Unfortunately, my camera wasn't really cooperating but you can see the multi-colored sparkle in Fairy Dust, the white sparkle from Winter Wonderland, and the matteness from Matte About You - what a contrast to its ultra-shiny normal state! This reminds me...

NeverTooMuchGlitter posts frequently about her feelings towards animal-tested products - she dislikes them. I agree with her, so I'm glad she makes this topic public. Unfortunately, Essie does test on animals, so I will not be buying any more polishes from them or featuring their colors I already own on here (except Matte About You, since I just did...). Unfortunately, OPI was recently acquired by Coty, which has iffy testing policies and refuses to sign a statement saying they don't test, according to PETA's Caring Consumer website. I know PETA is rather controversial and sometimes sensationalist, but if a brand makes their "goodie" list, I feel pretty secure knowing they leave animals alone. Therefore, after the Katy Perry Collection/Black Shatter, I will not feature or buy any more of their products, either (unless they will state they don't test on animals). If you have questions about whether a company tests on animals, you can check their bottles for a "jumping bunny" logo (although some companies that don't test don't use the logo on their bottles, so this isn't failsafe). You can also check Caring Consumer which updates weekly and simply reports on brands that signed a legal document stating they do not test on animals and those which refused to do so. Lots of brands we don't think about test on animals, so give the list a look if it strikes you. Animals shouldn't have to suffer for our own vanity, don't you think? Okay, PSA over. Sorry! Had to say it.

xoxo,

Amanda