Mainstream Mondays: Maybelline New York Color Show Polka Dots

He-lloooo everybody!! I'm baaaaack! I missed last week's Indie Thursdays due to this little holiday called Independence Day  ;) I did a patriotic mani but didn't have time to post them (read: the boyfriend and I watched movies at the theater THE WHOLE DAY.) Anyway, today is another week and let's get back on track!

For this week's MM I have the new Maybelline New York Color Show Polka Dots nail polish.

The collection comes with four jelly-based polishes with black and white multi-sized hex glitters, plus a glitter topper in a clear base. Have you noticed that lately, mainstream brands have ventured into making polishes that look like indie polishes? It's a hit and miss, but I think this one's a hit. Let's jump right to the swatches and you can judge for yourself. ;)


First in line, we have Pretty in Polka.

With shiny top coat

With matte top coat

Pretty in Polka is a bubblegum-pink jelly base with black and white multi-sized matte hex glitters. Formula was pretty decent. It got gloopy after sometime, but maybe it's because I was working in a room with a fan. I used three coats for this swatch; one pic with shiny top coat and one with matte top coat.

Next, we have Dotty.

With shiny top coat

With matte top coat

Dotty is an orange jelly base with the same black and white glitters. This color kinda reminds me of orange soda! Formula was the same as Pretty in Polka. Again, three coats, and one with shiny top coat and one with matte top coat.

And then we have Drops of Jade.

With shiny top coat

With matte top coat

Drops of Jade is a blue-leaning minty green jelly base with the same black and white glitters. Looks like mint chocolate chip ice cream, but more blue-green. Heh. The base on this one was also more color-saturated. Again, three coats, then with shiny top coat and with matte top coat. Could probably be good with two but I like doing three.

The last of the colored bases, Blue Marks the Spot.

With shiny top coat

With matte top coat

Blue Marks the Spot is a sheer sky-blue jelly base with the same black and white glitters. I found this the sheerest out of the four. I did three coats for this one. It could've used four, but it was so glitter-loaded that another coat would've been too much. Maybe layer this over a similar creme base? Again, one pic with top coat and another with matte top coat.

And here is the glitter topper, Clearly Spotted.

Jelly sandwich using O.P.I. Glints of Glinda

Jelly sandwich using O.P.I. Don't Burst My Bubble

Clearly on Top is a, well, clear base with black and white glitters. The glitters in this topper is smaller than the colored bases, which I love. Reminds me of Hard Candy Black Tie Optional but without the bar glitter.

I did a jelly sandwich for the swatches since I haven't really done any before and thought this polish was perfect for it. For those of you that don't know what a jelly sandwich is, a jelly sandwich is where you layer a jelly polish, glitter, and then the jelly polish again, hence the name "sandwich." I put the names of the polishes I used in the caption. Then, I tried doing jelly sandwiches using more bold colors. For each jelly sandwich combo (except the one with CG Red Satin where I did one coat only,) I used two coats of polish, one coat of Clearly Spotted, then two more coats of polish.

Jelly sandwich using China Glaze Red Satin

Jelly sandwich using NYC Midtown Mimosa

Jelly sandwich using China Glaze Are You Jelly?

Thoughts? I really liked these polishes. I like "organized" glitter polishes and these are just right. They might not be the first black-and-white-glitter-in-a-colored-base polish you've seen, but they certainly are pretty enough to justify owning them too. At least for me, they aren't like any I own. The glitter payoff was also good; no fishing for glitters needed. If anything, it coud use less glitter, if that's even possible. The formula was also pretty easy to work with. The brushes are your standard thin, round brushes, although Drops of Jade had a fluffier brush than the rest. If I have any issues with these polishes, is that I wish the blue was a bit more saturated. It was too sheer for my liking. Also, I wish it came in more colors!

Would I recommend these polishes? Mostly, yes. Yes because they are pretty and fun, and easy to work with. But at $2.98 (or $4.50 depending on where you buy them) for a 7ml bottle, it might be a bit much. I personally do not mind, but some might have issues with it. This is actually the cheapest of its kind I found, so I think it's a pretty good deal. I'm also not sure if this will be a part of their core line, but at Walmart they had these in the regular display. Availability might also be an issue, since not all Walmarts carry this. I know Rite-Aid and other drugstores carry this so check your local stores for availability.

And that's it for this week's Mainstream Mondays! I hope you enjoyed this post, and please stay tuned for the next one. :)

*I bought these polishes with my own money. Pretty in Polka, Blue Marks the Spot and Clearly Spotted were purchased at Rite-Aid for around $4.50 each bottle. Dotty and Drops of Jade were purchased at Walmart for $2.98 each bottle.*

*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.*

On Wednesdays We Wear Pink (plus a bit of purple...) Gradient + Inspired-By + Tutorial. *Warning: Picture-heavy post!*

 Whew! That was a lengthy title! Anyway, hello! I didn't do last week's OWWWP post so I figured I'll give you a bonus today: a tutorial! That's right. My very first pic-torial (heh.) so please forgive me if the pictures are not very good. I had to take pictures by myself and I only have two hands... Haha.

Anyway, I know it's supposed to be only pinks but I cheated a bit today and used a purple. I know, I know... "You can't sit with us!" But hey this is my blog and I make the rules here. :P I was actually running out of ideas for nail art til I got inspiration from a small pouch that came with a box of sanitary pads feminine products. It had a gradient of some sort plus white stars, and I've been itching to do gradients lately so I thought it would be perfect for today.

This is a picture-heavy post so be warned, it WILL be lengthy!

Let's start the tutorial, shall we? :)

These are the materials I used:
1. White polish for base (I used OPI Alpine Snow)
2. Two colors of your choice. I used Pure Ice Gossip! (pink) and Last Chance (purple)
3. Cuticle oil or cream (I used lush Lemony Flutter; I transferred some in a sample pot)
4. Makeup wedge sponge (You only need half of the wedge)
5. Nail polish remover and cleanup brush and q-tips

Step 1: Paint your nails a white base. Some prefer to use the lighter of the two colors, but I personally prefer a white base. Make sure it's completely dried.

Step 2: Put some cuticle oil or cream around your fingers. You can use tape, but I found that cuticle cream works better, plus it's extra moisture! :)

Step 3: Take your sponge and paint the color you want closer to your cuticles on the top part of the sponge.

Step 4: Paint on the second color, making sure they overlap in the middle. This step is important, because the overlapping is what creates the gradient effect.

See the part in the middle where the two polishes overlap?

Step 5: Dab the sponge on your nail, with the top part of the sponge near the cuticles. (In this case the pink is what is on the top part and what I wanted closer to the cuticles.) Dab the sponge sideways and up and down (but not too much, or you'll end up mixing the colors instead of just creating a gradient in the middle!

It should look like this:

Step 6: Repeat step 5 two to three times or until you get the desired depth of color you want. I did three to four for this mani. Also repeat steps 3 and 4 as necessary if the polish has absorbed into the sponge.

Step 7: Repeat step 6 on the rest of your fingers. It should look like this: (Don't worry if it's messy, we'll clean it up!)

Ok this is where you can interchange the steps. It's totally up to you if you want to do 9 first before 8, but I personally like to do 8 first.


Step 8: Take your q-tip and dip it in polish remover, then clean up the sides and other stray polish. Use a clean-up brush to clean around the cuticles and the nooks and crannies of the side of your nails.

Step 9: Take your top coat and place top coat on all fingernails. Top coat is necessary as it helps with blending the gradient more and making it more fluid and smooth.

Your mani should look like this! :D

And there you have it! That's the tutorial part of the mani. I actually added white "stars" to this mani, but didn't include a tutorial because basically it's just taking a toothpick and white polish and making tiny tiny cross-shaped things that resemble twinkling stars. Here are some (more!) pictures of the whole mani, plus the inspiration behind it.

The inspirational pouch behind the mani

A rare shot of my whole hand

Gradient with the stars

And there you have it for this week's On Wednesdays We Wear Pink post! I hope you'll join me again next time. :)

*I bought these polishes with my own money. Pure Ice polishes can be purchased at Walmart for $1.99 each. I bought the OPI online on Amazon for about $7.*

*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.*

Mainstream Mondays: Essie Naughty Nautical Summer 2013 Collection

Hellooooo errbodyyy!!! It's that time of the week again! Today I have the six polishes from the Essie Naughty Nautical Summer 2013 Collection to share with you.

This collection has been out for sometime now, but I only got the chance to own it a few days back. I don't own many Essie polishes, but these colors caught my eye! They're a bright and fun way to celebrate summer.

So, let's get right to the swatches, shall we? :)


First, we have The More The Merrier.

The More The Merrier is a slightly dusty lime green crème. Not as bright as neon but not so murky either. It actually looks like a pea green to me lol! It's brighter and lighter in person. This polish was a bit difficult to work with, or maybe it was just me. I've been having a terrible time with polishes lately, hence the lack of nail posts on IG and the blog. I found this one to be a little on the thick side. I used three coats plus top coat for this swatch. Also, this is the only polish without the silver shimmer.


Next is the namesake of the collection: Naughty Nautical.

Naughty Nautical is a teal, that leans towards more to the green side of teal, with fine silver fleck shimmer running through it. This one wasn't as hard to work with as TMTM, but I did use three coats for this swatch just because I felt like it didn't look as good with two coats. Again, it might just be me and not the polish itself.


And now we have Rock the Boat.

Rock the Boat is a pale periwinkle with the same shimmer as Naughty Nautical. It's less bright and blue than it shows on the pictures. In fact, it's actually very pale! This was also the one I had the most problems with. I used four (yes, four!) coats plus top coat and it still didn't look even to me. I even reswatched but still the same results...


Next, we have Full Steam Ahead.

Full Steam Ahead is a pastel violet, but with the same shimmer as NN and RtB running through it. I liked this one! It was easy to work with, had a good formula and leveled itself out. For this swatch I used three coats but that's because I'm a three-coater person. You could get away with two if you're careful and patient enough.


And here we have The Girls Are Out.

I would describe The Girls Are Out as an orchid violet, with the same shimmer as NN, Rtb and FSA. I thought this shade looked familiar and it did remind me of Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Cherry Cherry Bang Bang, but that one doesn't have shimmer. This was also easy to work with, good formula and leveled nicely. I used three coats (surprise, surprise) because I felt like the color wasn't saturated enough with two. The color is also darker and more saturated in person.


Last but not the least, we have Sunday Funday.

Sunday Funday is a bright peachy coral with the same shimmer as NN, RtB, FSA and TGAO. It's not as... orange... as it appears on the picture. I don't know why it insists on showing up that way! It's more peachy in person. I personally don't like the way it looks on me, as it makes me look darker than I really am, but it would probably look better as a pedi or something. That's not saying it's not a beautiful color because it is a pretty color, but probably more suited to a fairer-skinned person. I used three coats for this swatch but you can get away with two.


Thoughts? I like most of the colors in this collection. The ones I liked the most were Naughty Nautical, Full Steam Ahead and The Girls Are Out. Sunday Funday was so-so for me. The ones I liked the least are The More The Merrier and Rock the Boat, both because of the colors and the formulas. There probably are colors similar to these, but what makes them a bit different is the fine silver fleck shimmer running through it. The formulas are alright, most were like crelly to me. Only The More The Merrier was the one that applied more like a crème.


Would I recommend these polishes? Yes and no. I would recommend these just because the shimmer is pretty and the colors are beautiful, but if you don't like some of the colors from the collection then you can just pick your favorites. I personally would recommend Naughty Nautical, Full Steam Ahead and The Girls Are Out.


That's it for this week's Mainstream Mondays and I hope you join me again next time!


*I bought these polishes with my own money from Nuvia of @girlsobsessionz on IG. You can also contact her on Kik at pinkluv3r. The whole set was $35 including shipping.*


*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.*