Textured Polish Week Day 7: Julie G Frosted Gumdrops Collection (and this time, it's complete!)

(This post was supposed to be up last Sunday, but as I've said before, I got busy this weekend and didn't have time to do it. And then I got cancelled at work for two days so I cleaned my room instead, which was no easy feat because my room is FILTHY!)



Hiiiiiiii errbodyyy! Today is Day 7, the last day, of Textured Polish Week! And for the finale, I have a complete collection to show you: the Julie G Frosted Gumdrops Collection.

The first half of the collection is similar to the Zoya Pixie Dust polishes while the second half is similar to the O.P.I Liquid Sand.

Now, I don't usually buy all of the polishes in a collection because usually I don't like one or two shades in it, but there was a good deal on the Jesse's Girl website (the company behind the Julie G polishes) and I couldn't pass it up! And reswatching these (I have bought these polishes a while back, and swatched them on my IG) I now have no regrets over buying the whole collection because I was reminded of how beautiful the shades are. I hope I did these polishes justice in my swatches!


Headlining the first half, we have Hot Cinnamon.

Slightly unfocused macro to show the fleck shimmer and sparkle

Hot Cinnamon is a red textured polish with tons of gold fleck shimmer and pink sparkles. It pains me to no end that I cannot capture the gold shimmer and the pink sparkle because it truly is gorgeous on the nail! What you see on the bottle is what you get on your nail, and more. The only way I can capture the shimmer and sparkle is to take an unfocused shot. It's actually okay with one (one!) coat but looks infinitely better with two coats. The finish is similar to the Zoya Pixie Dust polishes.


Next, we have Sugar Rush. 

Macro

Sugar Rush is an orange, like a light vermilion, textured polish with the same gold fleck shimmer and pink sparkles as Hot Cinnamon. Again, very difficult to capture! Also opaque in one coat but much better with two. Same finish as Hot Cinnamon.


And here we have Tangerine Dream.

Tangerine Dream is a yellow-orange textured polish with tons of gold fleck shimmer. To my eyes it doesn't have the pink sparkle, but in my opinion it looks better without it. This one needs at least two coats for opacity, but would probably look best with three. Same finish as Hot Cinnamon and Sugar Rush.


And now for the second half, let's start with Rock Candy.

Rock Candy is a metallic light green textured polish that has slightly bigger silver glitters. It's less bluish in person, definitely green. It's completely different from the first half of this collection, but I think it works because the silver works better with the cool tones. Perfectly opaque in two coats. The finish is similar to the O.P.I Liquid Sand polishes with regards to the bigger glitter pieces.


Next, we have Blueberry Fizz.

Blueberry Fizz is a metallic light blue, sort of like a light-wash denim, textured polish with the same glitters as Rock Candy. I'm in love with this color! Also perfectly opaque in two coats. Same finish as Rock Candy.


And rounding out the collection, here is Crushed Candy.

Crushed Candy is a metallic red-leaning purple textured polish with the same silver glitters as Rock Candy and Blueberry Fizz. Again, perfectly opaque in two coats. Same finish as the two from this half of the collection.


And of course I have to try them with top coat!

Hot Cinnamon with TC

Sugar Rush with TC

Tangerine Dream with TC

Rock Candy with TC

Blueberry Fizz with TC

Crushed Candy with TC

Thoughts? I freaking LOVE this collection! I think Jesse's Girl (parent company of Julie G, if I'm not mistaken) has done a great job with these polishes. I love the gold fleck shimmer and the pink sparkle in the warm colors, and the metallic finish and silver glitters in the cool colors. I'm not much of a fan of Sugar Rush and Tangerine Dream but they are pretty nonetheless. I also love how they were easy to apply and that it only took two coats to achieve opacity. They also look beautiful by themselves or with top coat. The top coat makes the base a touch darker, but it's not really a big issue. Dry time is fairly fast. The first nail you paint is practically dry by the time you finish painting the last nail. The brush also fans out pretty nicely, and I'm always a fan of short and squat brushes. :)


Would I recommend these polishes? Yes, definitely! The colors are gorgeous, the formula is great, and the dry time is pretty fast. The price is pretty okay, at $3.99 for a 10 ml bottle. It may be a bit expensive for some, but the colors make up for it. I personally think it's a good deal. Availability might also be an issue for some, so check your local Rite-Aid, Tiffany's Family Drugstores and Fagen Pharmacy. You can always also order online at Jesse's Girl website (they have free shipping for orders over $20!) Groupon actually had the set for about $13 plus shipping back in April, but I've heard some girls had problems with bottles breaking due to improper packaging. Anyway, if you can get your hands on these polishes, you definitely should! 


And that concludes Textured Polish Week! Thank you for sticking with me and tune in for my next blog posts! :)


*I bought these polishes with my own money from Jesse's Girl for $3.99 each bottle, including shipping. You can also check your local Rite-Aid, Tiffany's Family Drugstore or Fagen Pharmacy for availability.*


*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.*

Textured Polish Week Day 6: China Glaze Texture (Bump & Grind, In the Rough, Of Coarse!)

(This post was supposed to go up on Saturday but my weekend just got really busy and honestly, I was also feeling lazy and unmotivated... So here I am posting this about three days late.)


Hello everyone! It's Day 6 of Textured Polish Week! I have three polishes from the China Glaze Texture Collection.


These polishes are pretty similar to the Milani Texture and Sally Hansen Sugar Coat polishes I have posted, texture-wise. It's a bit more refined than the Milani polishes, closer to the texture of the SH Sugar Coat polishes. So let's get to the swatches, shall we? :)


Leading the way is Bump & Grind.

Bump & Grind is a dark reddish pink creme that dries to a textured finish. It's not quite matte, but not as shiny as regular polish. This is three coats with no top coat.

Next, we have In The Rough.

In the Rough is a light chartreuse (fancy way of saying yellow-green lol) creme that dries to a textured finish. Not quite matte when it dries, but not as shiny as regular polish either. This is three coats with no top coat.

Last but not the least, we have Of Coarse!

Of Coarse! is a bright medium blue creme that dries to a textured finish. Again, it did not dry very matte, but it wasn't as shiny either. This is three coats with no top coat.

Thoughts? The colors on these are bright and perfect for summer (although these polishes came out a while ago, but then all collections come out a whole season early.) If I had to pick a favorite out of the three, I'd pick In the Rough, just because the color is interesting. Usually I would default to the blues, but this time I'm picking the chartreuse!

The CG brush was a bit tricky to use, as the brush stem is longer than most and the brush is long and skinny (which spreads out well, so I guess that's okay.) Some people might prefer this but personally I prefer a shorter and wider brush. As I was applying Bump & Grind I felt like the brush was gonna snap in half everytime I swiped it against the mouth of the bottle to wipe the excess off. And I'm not sure if it's the brush or the polishes themselves but in my experience with CG polishes almost all of them tend to overload on the brush, so you do have to be careful with them and be sure to swipe the excess off. The formula on these aren't so bad; they did get thick along the way but a few shakes thinned them out. Dry time was also fast. The first fingernail is practically dry as soon as you finish the last fingernail, so you can paint your whole hand without waiting for the first coat to dry.


Would I recommend these polishes? For the most part, yes. The colors are perfect for summer, and the texture isn't as gritty as one would expect, so if you're new to the textured polish trend these polishes are a good place to start. Depending on where you buy them, it'll end up cheaper than those you can find at drugstores. The formula was quite easy to work with, much better than the Sally Hansen ones, in my opinion.


And that is it for Day 6! Stay tuned for the last installment of TPW. :)


*I bought these polishes with my own money from eBay for $15 for the three polishes, including shipping. You can also find these at your local salon supply store for much cheaper; just check for price and availability. I'm not sure if they are still available at ULTA and Sally Beauty so check your local stores for availability.*


*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.*

Textured Polish Week Day 5: Sally Hansen Sugar Coat (Treat-Heart, Royal Icing, Laughie Taffy)

(This post was supposed to go up on Friday, but I did not have time to do them, so I am posting these today instead. I had a busy weekend and blogging fell by the wayside... Oops.)


Hiiiiii errbody! It's Day 5 of Textured Polish Week! For this post I have for you three polishes from the second Sally Hansen Sugar Coat collection.


While the first collection had all creme polishes, this collection has some glittery polishes that are reminiscent of the Zoya Pixie Dust polishes. I bought two of the glittery ones and one of the cremes. (Please search online for pics of the other shades, as I have only bought a total of three from this collection.) Let's get right to the swatch pics, shall we? :)


First in line is Treat-Heart.

Treat-Heart is a medium pink, glittery polish that dries to a matte, yet sparkly finish. I received my macro lens in the mail so I went and did an unfocused macro shot of this polish because that was the only way I could capture the subtle hot pink glitters that's scattered throughout. This is three coats with no top coat.

Next up, Royal Icing.

Royal Icing is a sheer, baby blue glittery polish that has this gorgeous pink sparkle that doesn't really translate in pics. I did a slightly unfocused macro shot to show the pink sparkle. If you own Sinful Colors Cinderella, Royal Icing is like the textured version of it. This is three coats, no undies, no top coat.

And last but not the least, here is Laughie Taffy.

Laughie Taffy is a navy blue creme polish that dries to a textured finish. It's still fairly shiny when it dried. I did three coats for this one, with no top coat. Please excuse the bald spot on my middle finger... it was user error, not the polish's fault.


I also tried putting top coat on Treat-Heart and Royal Icing, and this is how they look:

Treat-Heart with top coat

Royal Icing with top coat

They pretty much look the same, just that they went a bit darker and shinier.


Thoughts? I love the colors of these polishes. I also love that they came out with sparkly polishes. Royal Icing was such an interesting color, although I wish the base color was a bit more opaque. I tried layering it over SC Cinderella but the texture wasn't the same. Treat-Heart was also a pretty color. It looked very sparkly in person! Laughie Taffy was also pretty, even though it's pretty dark for summer. Perfect for fall or winter! The texture was a bit like sandpaper, but top coat can solve that. The formula was pretty ok. Treat-Heart and Royal Icing were more like thin jelly polishes. Dry time was also good. Removal can also get messy if you do it the traditional way. Maybe foil method can help, but I've heard it can be drying on the nails.


Would I recommend these polishes? For the color alone, yes. The colors are very pretty, and if you don't like the texture, you can always put on some top coat to smooth it out. Textured polish can be out of others' comfort zone, but it's fun to try something different once in a while. :) The price might be a bit expensive for a drugstore brand, but there are some deals/discounts from time to time so be sure to check out your local drugstore for them.


And that's it for this post! Stay tuned for the next one. :)


*I bought these polishes with my own money from Walgreens at $7.99 each. Check your local drugstore for availability and for discounts. These polishes are available at most drugstores.*


*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.*

Textured Polish Week Day 4: Sally Hansen Sugar Coat (Sugar Fix, Sweetie, Sour Apple and Lick-O-Rich)

(I do realize that I should've posted these last Thursday, but I didn't have time and then my weekend was just too busy. So here is the post meant for Thursday!)


Hello everybody! Textured Polish Week continues! Today is Day 4 of TPW and I'm featuring four polishes from the Sally Hansen Sugar Fix first generation collection.


Again, I have already swatched these polishes on my Instagram account before (it's @tinkybellgotlacquered so go and follow me on there too!) but since we're doing TPW I figured I'd swatch them again. My old swatches were terrible at that too...

Anyway, these polishes are similar to the Milani Texture polishes that I posted last Tuesday. The difference is that they are a bit less gritty than the Milani ones, and these are more "springtime" colors.

Let's get right to the swatches!


Leading the roster is Sugar Fix.

Sugar Fix is a white polish that dries to a textured finish. It's like powdered sugar on your nails! Shown is three coats with no top coat.


Next, we have Sweetie.

Sweetie is a soft buttery yellow polish that dries to a textured finish. I love yellow polishes so naturally I had to get this one. Shown is three coats with no top coat.


And here is Sour Apple.

Sour Apple is a pastel mint green polish that dries to a textured finish. I honestly think they should have labeled this something else because when I hear or read "sour apple" I think of a different shade of green. Shown is three coats with no top coat.


Last but not the least, here is Lick-O-Rich.

Lick-O-Rich is a black polish that dries to a textured finish. Yeah black isn't really very "springtime" but I still like this color. And I'm guessing the name is a play on words but it just sounds... (reads?) weird. Haha. Shown is three coats with no top coat.


I didn't try this with top coat because I felt like the results will be like the Milani ones.


Thoughts? I liked the texture on these better than the Milani ones. These had a bit finer texture, and a wider range of colors. The only issue I have with these polishes is that it takes three coats to achieve this look, but it wasn't really a big deal because they dried fast. The first coat goes on good, but when I do the second coat, that's when I start having problems. That's why I have to do three coats to even it out. The formula was so-so. It does get thick after sometime but if you work fast enough, it won't be a big issue. Also, it doesn't dry as matte as I expected. It was just like regular creme polish that dried with a textured finish.


Would I recommend these polishes? For the most part, yes. If you're a fan of the textured polish trend, these might be worth a go because I haven't seen these colors from other brands. Some aren't still on board with the textured polishes yet, but it's fun to step out of your comfort zone once in a while. :) The price might be a bit for some, at around $7 a bottle, depending on where you buy them. But some stores have deals and discounts once in a while so if you come across any, then it wouldn't be so much out of your pocket.


And that's it for Day 4 of Textured Polish Week! Stay tuned for the next one. :)


*I bought these polishes with my own money for around $7 per bottle from CVS, plus I got $5 ExtraBucks when I purchased $10 worth of Sally Hansen polishes. Check your drugstore for current deals/discounts. These polishes are available at major drugstores, Target, and Walmart. Prices may vary from store to store.*


*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.*

Textured Polish Week Day 3: Zoya Pixie Dust Summer Collection (Miranda, Solange, Liberty and Stevie)

Hi everyone! Textured Polish Week continues! Today is Day 3 and we're continuing TPW with four polishes from the Zoya Pixie Dust Summer Collection. The collection comes with six polishes, but the other two weren't really my type.


I have already swatched these polishes before in my Instagram account (@tinkybellgotlacquered) but since we are doing TPW, it's just right that I swatch them again, more properly this time. :)

The Zoya Pixie Dust polishes are a totally different kind of textured polish than the first two I posted (see the O.P.I here and the Milani here.) You'll see in the swatches what makes these different from the others.


(All four polishes dry to a textured,matte yet sparkly finish.)


First in line, Miranda.

Miranda is a sheer jelly red/rose base with fine glitters. Opaque in two coats, but I did three because I felt like two wasn't color-saturated enough.


Next up, we have Solange.

Solange is a yellow gold foil with fine glitters. Opaque in two, but I did three because I had some bald spots (user error, not the polish's fault.)


And here we have Liberty.

Liberty is a slightly dark blue jelly base with fine glitters. It looks less dark in person. Again, opaque in two coats but shown is three coats for a more color-saturated look. Note: most people say Liberty stains, but I have not personally experienced any staining. I haven't worn it for longer than ten minutes, so I cannot say if it stains if worn for longer than that.


Last but not the least, here is Stevie.

Stevie is a red-toned lavender crelly base with fine glitters. I did three coats for a more color-saturated look, but is opaque in two.


Of course I had to try it with top coat... Here they are with TC:

Miranda with top coat

Solange with top coat

Liberty with top coat

Stevie with top coat

Thoughts? If you have seen my last two posts, you can tell that the Zoya Pixie Dusts are different than the O.P.I or the Milani Texture polishes. While the O.P.I have larger glitter particles, the Zoya has fine glitters. It's completely different from the Milani as while the Milani polishes were a creme, these are glitter. Also, they are way more sparkly in person. I hate how I could not capture the true beauty of these polishes. The texture is also like fine sand, not very gritty as one would expect from a glitter textured polish. Adding top coat helps you have the color and not the texture, if you're bothered by the feel of it.

I love the colors of these polishes more than their predecessor, the original Zoya Pixie Dust shades. (I don't have any of the original Pixie Dusts.) The formula is as what can be expected of Zoya polishes: beautiful and perfect. Considering these are essentially glitterbombs, they were easy to work with. Dry time was also fast. I have always loved Zoya ever since I bought my first (Wednesday, but that's for another post down the line.) Their brushes are one of my favorite brushes to use: soft but doesn't leave streaks or bald spots, and fans out nicely. Altough, I found the Pixie Dust brushes to be a bit fluffier than the usual, but maybe that's because of the polish itself... I'm not too sure. Removal can also be a bit messy. But either way, I love these polishes!


Would I recommend these polishes? Um, YES! Zoya is one of my favorite brands because of their formula and their brushes. I haven't encountered a Zoya polish that I haven't liked (well, maybe certain shades, but that's because I didn't like the color. Not Zoya's fault!) and these are no exception. The price might be a bit steep at $9 a pop ($8 for regular shades) plus shipping, but Zoya always as flash sales/promos so be sure to follow their Facebook page for updates. (I have a secret: I almost always only buy Zoya when they have a sale...) The texture might be off-putting for some, but some top coat will take care of that.


And that's it for Day 3 of Textured Polish Week! Stay tuned for the next installment in the series. :)


*I bought these polishes with my own money from the Zoya website for $9 a bottle. Check their Facebook page for updates on flash sales/deals. Zoya is also available at ULTA and some nail supply shops.*

*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.*