China Glaze Hologlam Collection: When Stars Collide and Strap On Your Moonboots

Hello errbody! I have another bonus post for you this week. Today I'll be swatching two China Glaze Hologlam polishes: When Stars Collide and Strap On Your Moonboots.

It was gloomy yesterday and this morning, which wasn't really doing my mood any favors. (I live in California and might have been spoiled by the almost-all-year sunshine...) So when I came out of the room at around 6 PM (don't judge me; I work night shifts! Lol) and saw sunshine, I immediately thought of taking advantage and swatch another holo (or two) polishes!

I've had these two polishes for sometime now, but have only worn Strap On Your Moonboots once as a full mani (you can see a pic on my IG feed from a couple months ago or so) and When Stars Collide just sat in my untrieds pile til today. And since the sun decided to come out and play for a bit, I decided to bust these polishes out and give them a proper swatching.

These polishes, as you've noticed, have space/galaxy-themed names, as with the rest of the polishes in this collection.

So, let's see them, shall we? :)

First up: When Stars Collide.

Indoor lighting

Direct sunlight

When Stars Collide is a metallic maroon that turns holographic in certain angles and lighting. Shown is two coats with no top coat; first in indoor lighting and then under direct sunlight.

And here we have Strap On Your Moonboots.

Indoor lighting

Direct sunlight

Strap On Your Moonboots is a metallic dark denim blue that turns holographic in certain angles and lighting. Shown is two coats with no top coat; first in indoor lighting and then under direct sunlight.

Thoughts? Well, as you can see, they are not as holographic as the Color Club 2013 Halo Hues, nor their predecessor, the China Glaze OMG Collection (thanks to Scrangie for the beautiful swatches!) Sadly the OMG Collection now sells for about $45 EACH on eBay, because they have long been discontinued and hard-to-find.

Anyway, the Hologlam polishes are like the Halo Hues and OMG Collection polishes' more subdued sister, but that doesn't mean they're any less prettier. This is a good start for those who are intimidated by the in-your-face holoness (is that even a word..?) of the CC Halo Hues or the CG OMG. At first I was actually disappointed in them because they weren't very holographic, but I grew to love them! They do look pretty even without the strong holo. The formula was a little runny but got a little goopy while I was working with it, which isn't really a big problem because it was still easy to work with. I've also noticed that with China Glaze brushes, they tend to overload and if you're not careful you will end up with that surprise glob of polish dripping from the long brush stem. It only took two coats for opacity so I'll give it that. I didn't see streaks or bald spots even without a top coat to smooth it over, so that's also a plus for me, because with holo polishes it's best NOT to use top coat because some top coats can dull the holo effect.

Would I recommend these polishes? Yes, for the most part. They may not be as holographic as the others, but the base colors are pretty enough on their own. It's also a good way to ease into the holographic trend, if you're new to it and find the strong holo polishes to be just a bit too much. The formula and brush might be a bit tricky to work with but just be patient and you'll get used to it. They're also cheaper now than they used to be when they first came out so I suggest you need to take advantage of it.

And that's it for this post! I hope you enjoyed this post and please stay tuned for my next posts. :)

*I bought these polishes with my own money from Amazon for about $7 each, plus free shipping. You can find these polishes at Sally Beauty Supply, other nail salon supplies, and online. Prices may vary with each seller.*

*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.*

Indie Thursdays: Glampaint Lacquer Milkshake, Turquoise and Company, Barbie Jeep

Hello everyone! It's that time of the week again! I wasn't able to post last week because of Independence Day. I did do a patriotic mani ;)

Thirteen stars were physically impossible to fit on my nubs without it looking ugly, so I managed to get eleven at the most. The star studs were from Nail Sauce.


Anyway, I have three Glampaint Lacquer polishes to share with you today: Milkshake, Turquoise and Company, and Barbie Jeep.

I have always wanted these polishes before, but they were always sold out. They were one of the first indies I remember ever wanting, but since they were always unavailable, I sort of forgot about them. Then when the opportunity to purchase these polishes came (at a sale price, too!) I went ahead and bought them! Glad I did, too, cause they were sold out again just a little bit after I purchased mine.


Anyway, let's get right to the swatches!


First, we have Milkshake.

Milkshake is described as a "milky white base with pink, purple and blue glitter." To me the base looks a little more grayish on the nail than true white, but I love it! It has tiny and medium pink, purple and blue hex glitters. Shown is three coats with top coat.


Next up, we have Barbie Jeep.

Barbie Jeep is described as "a pink milky base with glitter galore." This polish reminds me of Revlon Girly (just search for swatches) but with smaller glitters. Barbie Jeep has tiny pink, small hot pink and dark purple, medium pink and blue, and large silver holo hex glitters. Phew! Shown is three coats with top coat.


Last but not the least, here is Turquoise and Company.

Turquoise and Company is described as "turquoise base with loads of glitter." I will try to describe it a bit more, lol. It has a slightly shimmery, light turquoise crelly base, with tiny green holographic hex glitters, plus small hot pink and purple, and large white, turquoise, and silver holo glitters. Shown is two coats with top coat.


Thoughts? I love Milkshake and Barbie Jeep. Turquoise and Company, hmm, not so much. Out of the three, Milkshake is my favorite. I love milky white-based glitters and Milkshake was just perfect. The formula did get a little thick after a bit, but wasn't really much of a problem as it's a beautiful shade and chock-full of glitters. All of them were actually full of glitter, not much fishing required except for the larger glitters. I liked Barbie Jeep better than Girly because the glitters in Barbie Jeep were smaller and the formula was quite easy to work with. I didn't like Turquoise and Company as much because the base was just a little too opaque for my liking. I felt like the base obscured the glitters a little bit. It could probably work better layered over a similar-colored base. And as with all glitter-loaded polishes, load up on top coat because they do tend to have a gritty finish.


Would I recommend these polishes? Yes and no. I would recommend Milkshake, no doubt. You can probably skip Barbie Jeep if you already have Revlon  Girly. If the opacity of Turquoise and Company doesn't bother you then by all means get it, because it does look pretty. Also, availability might be an issue because as of this moment, only Barbie Jeep is available out of the three.

And that's it for this week's Indie Thursdays! Stay tuned for the next posts. :)


*I bought these polishes with my own money from Glampaint Lacquer's website. Each polish was bought on sale for $5 each, plus $5.95 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.*

On Wednesdays We Wear Pink: Dotticure Flowers

Hello errbody! It's that time of the week again: On Wednesdays We Wear Pink!


To be honest, lately I am feeling uninspired when it comes to nail art designs. Add to that being a bit lazy and being tired all the time, and you have lack of nail art posts! I can do swatches just fine, but when it comes to doing an actual design, my mind is just drawing blanks. My arsenal of techniques are also limited, so I can only do so many designs without repeating myself over and over again.

Anyway, enough of the whining! For this week's OWWWP, I did a design that is basic but one of my favorite designs to do: dotticure flowers.

Thumb shot

Dotticure flowers are, as the name says, flowers made of dots. I did the dots using a dotting tool.

This is the dotting tool I use. It's double ended, with a small head at one end and a bigger one at the other end. It actually came in a pack of five, with different sized heads ranging from very tiny to large. I ordered mine from eBay (I forgot which seller but they're pretty much within the same price range.) Just search for nail dotting tool and you'll find a whole load of sellers, both within domestic and international.

I used three coats of Sinful Colors in Starfish for the base. For the brighter pink flowers, I used Pure Ice in Gossip! and for the darker flowers I used Pure Ice in Rumors. Rumors is appearing a bit more brick red than it really is a dark old rose/mauve. The yellow is Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Mellow Yellow. The white dots are Sinful Colors in Snow Me White.

Dotticure flowers are one of my go-to designs when I can't think of anything to put on my nails. It's very easy to do and a quick way to brighten up a plain manicure.The possibilities with dotticure flowers are also endless! You can use different colors, or combine different sized flowers. You can even layer dots for multicolored "petals." You are only limited by your imagination. :)


And that's it for this week's OWWWP! I hope you enjoyed this post, and that you'll be back again for the next one. Til the next post! :)


*I bought these polishes with my own money. Sinful Colors can be found at Walgreens, Walmart, Target and other drugstores/retailers. They sell for $1.99 plus applicable tax. Pure Ice polishes can be found at Walmart (the only place I've seen them in, so far) and they sell for $1.99 each plus applicable tax.*


*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.*

Color Club 2013 Halo Hues (minus one...)

Hi everyone! I usually don't post on Tuesdays, but it was sunny outside and I decided to take advantage of it to swatch some holo (holo!) polishes! :) The polishes I will be swatching for you are the Color Club 2013 Halo Hues. (Well... five of the six. I am missing the green-gold, Kismet.)

The 2013 Holo Hues are the successors to the 2012 Color Club Halo Hues (see swatches from The Lacquerologist.) These colors are bolder than their predecessors, which I love! Have you ever wanted to put a rainbow on your nails? Well, the CC Holo Hues do just that! I only hope my swatches do these beauties justice.

So, let's get to it!


First up is Miss Bliss.

Indoor lighting

Direct sunlight

Miss Bliss is a metallic-looking pink, that leans a bit towards red, polish that turns holographic in certain angles and lighting. Shown is two coats with no top coat; first in indoor lighting and then under direct sunlight.


Next, we have Cosmic Fate.

Indoor lighting

Direct sunlight

Cosmic Fate is a metallic-looking peachy orange, slightly coppery, polish that turns holographic in certain angles and lighting. Shown is two coats with no top coat; first in indoor lighting, and then under direct sunlight.


And here we have Over the Moon.

Indoor lighting

Direct sunlight

Over the Moon is a metallic-looking sky blue that turns holographic in certain angles and lighting. Shown is two coats; first in indoor lighting and then under direct sunlight.


Next is Eternal Beauty.

Indoor lighting

Direct sunlight

Eternal Beauty is a metallic-looking purple that turns holographic in certain angles and lighting. Shown is two coats with no top coat; first in indoor lighting and then under direct sunlight.


And last but not the least, we have Beyond.

Indoor lighting

Direct sunlight

Beyond is, well, beyond amazing! It is a metallic dark charcoal, almost black, polish that turns holographic in certain angles and lighting. This was my favorite out of the set. Shown is two coats with no top coat; first in indoor lighting then under direct sunlight.


Thoughts? I freaking LOVE these polishes!!! They actually remind me of the metallic pens I loved back in elementary and high school (I don't know if you've heard of the Dong-A My Metal pens, but yeah they were the bomb when I was younger.) The formula is pretty great, a little bit runny but as long as you don't overload your brush, you'll be fine. It also dries superfast, practically dry by the time you finish your last stroke. The color payoff is good: it's pretty opaque in one coat, but GORGEOUS in two. The brush stem is long, and the brush head itself is a bit longer than average, not very fluffy but fans out well and does not leave bald spots or streaks. And did I mention the holo?! The holo (holo!) is very strong in these polishes. Even indoors, you can already see the rainbow on your nails. In short, these polishes are a dream to work with: good formula consistency, fast dry time, good color payoff, and no bald spots or streaks.


Would I recommend these polishes? YES, definitely. If you are a fan of holographic polishes, then these are a must-have. The strong holo and gorgeous base colors are what appealed to me, and I'm pretty sure it will win you over too. If you're not a fan of in-your-face holo polishes, then these might be a bit too much for you, but if you give them a try I'm pretty sure you'll fall in love with them too. The price might be a bit of a turn-off for some, depending on where you buy them. If you can find them in your local beauty supply store then go grab them!


And that's it for today! I hope you enjoyed your visit to my blog, and that you'll come back for the next post. :)


*I bought these polishes with my own money from Amazon.com, for about $7 each including shipping. These might also be available at your local beauty supply store so check availability, and you can also check online stores for them.*


*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.*