Island Girl Hawaii Polish Haul Part 3: Island Paradise, Island Sunset and Island Heat (or so it says on the bottles...)

Hiiii errbodyyy! So. I have the last three polishes from my haul last weekend from Vegas. (See part one here and part 2 here.)

Before I jump to the swatches, I'd like to tell you a story. So apparently three out of the four polishes that I've already swatched before were mislabeled... I don't really know what's the case, because I haven't seen these polishes before in person, so I don't really know what the real colors or names are supposed to be. Someone said they were mislabeled; somebody else said they probably recycled the names or something. Anyway, I decided to just ignore the names and just enjoy the colors. ;) So for this post, I'm just going to go by what the labels say, and if you ever find these polishes under a different name or a polish with the same name as these, just let me know. :)


So, let's get started!


Leading the pack is Island Paradise.

Two coats, no undies, with top coat

One coat over undies, plus top coat

Island Paradise is a medium bubblegum pink crème base with tiny and small blue matte hex glitters. I was expecting the base to be a little less opaque. I did two thickish coats without undies plus top coat, and another one with undies (Colour Gossip Fashionista) plus one coat of polish and top coat. This polish was a little bit on the thick side.


Next up is Island Sunset.

Three coats, no undies, with top coat

One coat over undies, plus top coat

Island Sunset is a bright yellow crème base with the same glitters as Island Paradise. For this polish I did one with three coats by itself, and another one with undies (SHXW Mellow Yellow) plus one coat of IS and top coat. This polish applied the best out of the three, with the thinnest formula.


Last but certainly not the least, here is Island Heat.

Three coats, no undies, with top coat

One coat over undies, plus top coat

Island Heat is a light aqua blue crème base with the same glitters as the other two polishes. This was the most problematic to apply out of all three polishes. It had the thickest formula, and it got clumpy as I was applying it. Shame, because I really liked the way this one looked. Again, I did three coats without undies plus top coat, and another with undies (Colour Gossip All About Me) plus one coat of IH and top coat. For some reason, irl this polish reminds me of Sully from Monsters, Inc. If the glitters were purple, it'd have been the perfect Sully polish!


Thoughts? While I like the idea of these polishes, I wish the base were less opaque. Or it went on perfectly with one coat, because the glitters get buried underneath the opacity of the base. I prefer the look over undies. While it does not really change the look of the polish because the base of the Island Girl polishes are pretty opaque by themselves, it still helps because you only have to use one slightly thick coat so the glitters stay prominent. The formula wasn't consistent, either, with Island Heat being the thickest and Island Sunset the thinnest out of all three. By default my favorite is usually the blue, but for these polishes, my favorite is the yellow one.


Would I recommend these polishes? Yes and no. For polish hoarders collectors, I recommend these just because you can never have too many crème-based glitters,. But personally, I'd suggest you just spend a little extra and order indie polish instead, if you like the look of glitters in a milky/crème base. Some sellers will even let you customize a shade of your own, so you can recreate these polishes if you wanted. Indies are also relatively more accessible than these because indies will usually ship anywhere within the US (some do only CONUS, while others include Puerto Rico and Canada) and some are also available from international sellers. When it comes down to it, it's all up to you if you want to hunt these down, or request from your nail mail buddy, or pass up on it completely.


And that wraps up my Island Girl polish haul! Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog. I hope you'll be here for the next posts! :)


*I bought these polishes with my own money at the ABC Stores in Las Vegas on Tropicana Ave. Each bottle is $2.99 plus tax. Here is a list of their locations, but the only stores in the continental US are located in Las Vegas (they have eight stores there.) You can also order some sets here, but they don't have a lot of choices and shipping is $9. Island Girl is sold exclusively in ABC Stores.*


*Disclaimer: Due to variations in screen displays and resolutions, polishes may appear different to each reader. I try my best to capture colors as accurately as I can, and if I can't, then I try to describe the color/s to the best of my ability.*

 

Island Girl Hawaii Polish Haul Part 2: Surfer Babe and Honolulu Orchid (plus an update!)

*UPDATE: Apparently, Surfer Babe is more neon than this. My new friend Mayli of Mommy Needs A Manicure Stat said it looks more like Big Island Volcano. (She said she'll check it out in the store; she lives in Hawaii! How cool is that?!) ALSO, Honolulu Orchid seems to be a hot pink polish rather than the blue I got! This is so confusing!!!*

Hello everybody! As promised, here is part two of my recent Island Girl polish haul. (See part 1 here.)

I have two cream polishes for this installment of my Island Girl haul. Lately, I only have the energy to swatch a couple or so polishes at a time, so please bear with me.

Without further ado, let's get right to the polishes!

Here is Surfer Babe.

Surfer Babe is a pale seafoam green creme. It's less blue-toned in person. More on the yellowish side of seafoam than aqua; that's the best way I can describe it. It's a very pretty seafoam green and I wish the true color would show on camera! I used three coats plus top coat.

Next up: Honolulu Orchid.

Without top coat

With top coat

Honolulu Orchid is a light blue polish with pink/orchid shimmer running through it. The color is similar to Sinful Colors Cinderella in person, but the shimmer is more fine in this one. (I should totally do a comparison one of these days!) I tried so hard to capture the true color; I played with lighting and camera settings but it still won't give me the result I want! Also, I feel bad that the shimmer doesn't really show up on camera and barely translates on the nail. You can see it on the bottle though, right by my fingertips. This one also dries to a matte finish. For comparison I posted one without a top coat and one with top coat. I used three coats but if you're patient enough you can get away with two.

Thoughts? I like the colors. I don't think I have a dupe for Surfer Babe, so I'm glad I got it. The application puts me off a bit though, but maybe it's expected because I always tend to use three coats for light creme polishes. Maybe a more adept person can get away with two coats. As for Honolulu Orchid, it looked pretty in the bottle but I wasn't expecting it to be a matte, and I wish the shimmer was more visible when you put the polish on. The matte finish isn't really a big issue because you can use top coat to remedy that. The brushes feel a little less fluffier than the first two IGs I posted. But like the first two, the brushes were pretty soft.

Would I recommend these polishes? If you don't have a similar-colored polish yet then yes, I would. But if you don't have access to these polishes then I suggest just trying to find a dupe for them. But if you're a serious polish hoarder collector then by all means, get them! ;)

That's it for part two of my Island Girl polish haul! Stay tuned for the final installment. :)

*I bought these polishes with my own money at the ABC Stores in Las Vegas on Tropicana Ave. Each bottle is $2.99 plus tax. Here is a list of their locations, but the only stores in the continental US are located in Las Vegas (they have eight stores there.) You can also order some sets here, but they don't have a lot of choices and shipping is $9. Island Girl is sold exclusively in ABC Stores.*


*Disclaimer: Due to variations in screen displays and resolutions, polishes may appear different to each reader. I try my best to capture colors as accurately as I can, and if I can't, then I try to describe the color/s to the best of my ability.*

Island Girl Hawaii Polish Haul Part 1: Aloha Sunset and Sugar Cane (plus an update!)

Hi errbody! Last Saturday (June 22nd) was me and my boyfriend's fifth anniversary. It also fell on the second day of summer and what better way to spend it than a weekend getaway at The Westin Lake Las Vegas Resort and Spa in Henderson, Nevada! We checked in Friday night and checked out Sunday noon. We spent the weekend kayaking and swimming, and just enjoying life. :) I was sad that the weekend had to end, but there is this thing called work on a Sunday night, which is interfering with my playtime. But if I don't go to work, no money for playtime! Oh, it's a catch-22 situation. Haha.

Here's a little glimpse of our celebration <3

Anyway, a Vegas trip isn't complete without a trip to ABC Stores to buy, what else, nail polish! Island Girl nail polish to be exact. The Strip was actually about sixteen miles from where we were staying at, but we had our anniversary dinner at Cravings at the Mirage so I took advantage and purchased some Island Girls.

I managed to cull my choices down to seven, but will only post two for now. (Two are all I have the energy for today. I'm pooped!) For part one of the Island Girl haul, I chose to feature the two blinding neons that I bought: Aloha Sunset and Sugar Cane.


First: Aloha Sunset.

Without top coat

With top coat

Holy neon... Aloha Sunset is a bright neon pink. It's much brighter and a more saturated pink in person. Neon polishes are notoriously known to be hard to capture and today I proved that right! I've tried everything I can and this is the best I can come up with. It applied like a jelly polish to me. I used three coats over a white base. Can get away with two but I felt like it still had bald spots and was not saturated enough. It dried into a pretty, waxy matte finish. Not much difference between with and without top coat, but maybe my top coat just wasn't shiny enough?


Second is Sugar Cane.

*UPDATE: Apparently this one is called Aloha Color. Sugar Cane is a neon green, according to the other swatches I've seen and been tagged in on IG.*

Without top coat

With top coat

Now this is a neon!!! I think my retinas got seared by the brightness of it. Heck, even my camera's lens probably got burned. I'm not sure why they named it the way they did. Maybe they should have just named it Ray of Light or something. Haha. Sugar Cane is more yellow irl, not greenish like my picture suggests. It's like a highlighter exploded on your nails! And get this. This is one, ONE, coat over a white base. ONE COAT! Granted, it's over a white base, but still! Again, applies like a jelly, and dries to a waxy matte finish.


Thoughts? These are so bright, it's not for the faint of heart. I was expecting it to be a bright neon but I was not expecting it to be as bright as it is! And I was never a fan of neons, but since I started getting more interested in nail art, I've been more open to trying colors which I didn't think I would like before. And neon polishes are starting to grow on me! I'll probably ease into it by using these for nail art and not a full-on plain manicure on all ten fingernails. Only issue I have with them is they make my hands look so dark! I swear my hands are not as dark as the picture shows. And yeah I got a few shades darker due to being in the sun most of the weekend, but still, my hands are not that dark. The brushes are also a little too fat and full for my liking, and it tends to grab a lot more polish than I want. But at least it's soft and didn't leave streak marks or make it uneven and bumpy. Just be sure to make your white base even.


Would I recommend these polishes? If you love neon then yes, I would absolutely recommend you get these! It will satisfy your need for a bright neon and more. The formula is on par for a jelly polish, squishy and a little runny, and because it dries matte then dry time is very quick. You must absolutely use this over white though, because I tried without it and it looks like you painted your nails with straight up highlighter pens. Not very pretty but you can try it if you don't want that in-your-face neon. Availability is an issue though, because these polishes are only available at ABC Stores in Las Vegas and Hawaii. If you have nail mail buddies from either place then ask them to kindly get them for you, or if you are taking a trip to Vegas then be sure to check them out.

That's it for part one of my Island Girl haul! Stay tuned for parts two and three. ;)


*I bought these polishes with my own money at the ABC Stores in Las Vegas on Tropicana Ave. Each bottle is $2.99 plus tax. Here is a list of their locations, but the only stores in the continental US are located in Las Vegas (they have eight stores there.) You can also order some sets here, but they don't have a lot of choices and shipping is $9. Island Girl is sold exclusively in ABC Stores.*


*Disclaimer: Due to variations in screen displays and resolutions, polishes may appear different to each reader. I try my best to capture colors as accurately as I can, and if I can't, then I try to describe the color/s to the best of my ability.*