Tag Archives: nail polish swatches

Sinful Colors Swatches

I noticed that some of my most popular posts are the ones featuring Sinful Colors swatches, so I though that I should swatch all of my Sinful Colors polishes for you. I managed to miss a few (I’ve managed to buy a lot of these polishes – mostly while they were on sale for $1 each), but here are 30 swatches. Since there are so many polishes, I did these on nail wheels.

The first wheel starts with some miscellaneous topcoats (and a metallic), goes to pink, then we start the rainbow – red, orange, yellow, and green. All swatches are two coats unless otherwise noted.

Because this post is so long and image-heavy, I’ve placed the rest of the photographs behind a cut (hopefully it works) so the front page of the blog doesn’t get too long and load slowly! Continue reading →

American Apparel Nail Polish Quick Swatches

A while back, I had a Groupon for American Apparel, which I spent on nail polish. I had a little trouble finding blog posts with swatches of multiple colors – so here are some quick nail wheel swatches, which will hopefully prove helpful for someone in a similar situation! These swatches do not have top coat (except where noted), so you can see the finish of the polish.

The cremes:

american apparel swatches - dance port imperial purple 7th and alameda army jacket peacock

Dance (one coat), Dance (three coats), Port, Imperial Purple, 7th and Alameda, Army Jacket, Peacock

Dance is a sheer beige / nude. It is even enough to wear (non-streaky) at one coat, and relatively opaque at three coats.

Port is a dark red/wine. Imperial Purple is a very dark purple that looks black in most lights. 7th and Alameda is a deep grey. Army Jacket is a dusty army green. Peacock is a dark teal blue. All of these cremes are opaque in 1-2 coats, and are very smooth and pigmented.

I also own American Apparel Hassid, a black creme (swatched here) – it is completely opaque in one coat, and dries to a semi-opaque finish.

The other finishes:

american apparel swatches - bronze dash, meteor shower, violet panache, redondo beach

Bronze Dash, Meteor Shower over black creme, Violet Panache, Violet Panache over black creme,
Redondo Beach (one coat), Redondo Beach (three coats)

Bronze Dash is an amazing bronze foil – it is completely opaque in one coat (as pictured). I would highly recommend this polish!

Meteor Shower is a gold flake effect topcoat; the swatch is one coat over a black creme with topcoat – it definitely requires 1-2 coats of topcoat to smooth it out.

Violet Panache is a metallic purple with a slight pink shift; the duochrome is more visible over black. The swatches shown are two coats alone and one coat over a black creme. This one is gorgeous.

Redondo Beach (part of the Sheers lines) is a sheer baby blue. One coat is a slightly streaky pale blue. After three coats, the polish is mostly opaque, the color is a somewhat deeper blue, and the polish is still a touch streaky. This is my least favorite of the polishes in this post.

Overall, I’m really happy with all the polishes except Redondo Beach, but it’s not terrible and every line has some hits and some misses. In the future, I’ll probably stick with the cremes and metallics, however. If you’re interested in buying American Apparel polishes, they’re available online and in AA stores, but I would recommend waiting for a sale or a Groupon to get a better deal.

Chrome, Foil, and Metallic Nail Polish Swatches, Comparisons, Photos

It’s time for the next part in my nail polish comparison series! Today, I have metallics, chromes, and foils. If you’d like to see the previous ones, I’m collecting all the links from the nail polish swatch series on my Project Swatch Roundup page.

First up: Bright silvers – here, my favorite is Maybelline Mirror Image, which is long-discontinued. I bought mine on Ebay. I also love Zoya Trixie – I love it alone, but also frequently use it as a base for silver holos. I would consider Zoya Trixie and Revlon Silver Dollar dupes.

Maybelline Mirror Image, Wet n Wild Metallica, Zoya Trixie, Revlon Silver Dollar

I swatched these before I purchased Revlon Hypnotize – otherwise, it would fit right in! My favorites here are Revlon Gold Coin and Wet n Wild Deadly Dose (which was a limited edition from last Halloween).

Wet n Wild Chrome Steel The Spotlight, Revlon Gold Coin,
Wet n Wild Chrome A Show at the Palladium, Spoiled I’m Ba-roque,
Wet n Wild Megalast Deadly Dose

I love copper polishes, and I really love all four of these. I can’t pick a favorite, they’re all different and beautiful to me.

Sinful Colors Super Nova, Revlon Copper Penny,
Wet n Wild Chrome Penny For Your Thoughts, China Glaze Harvest Moon

I put too many polishes in one shot here, but these are all sort of similar, though none are dupes. All of these are pretty, but I don’t love any of these as much as the bright silver, gold, and copper polishes.

Note that I left the very last photo extra-large since it has so many swatches – click to see enlarge.

Essence Date With the Night, Maybelline Metal Icon, Revlon Carbonite, Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Oxide, ELF no-name (bottom says 25), OPI Brand New Skates, Wet n Wild Megalast Venemous Vixen, Revlon Steel Her Heart

Anything you especially love in here?

Nail Polish Comparisons & Swatches: Linear & Scattered Holos

Holo Nail polish swatch sticks

It’s time for part six of my nail polish series! Today I have my holos, both linear and scattered. I’ve also snuck in my indies at the end, just beacuse I don’t have very many of them. I didn’t include my Starlight and Sparkles color shifting polishes and topcoats, because I have all them swatched here. If you’d like to see the previous ones, I’m collecting all the links from the nail polish swatch series on my Project Swatch Roundup page (scroll to the bottom).

As before, I’ve included pictures that have the handle of the swatch stick, so you can more easily see the name of the polish. I also have a close-up of the polished tips only. In every set, the close-up of the tips is more color accurate. The number at the end of the stick is the number of coats, and no number means two coats. A couple of these have topcoat, and the swatch stick then says “+ TC.”

Again, I’ve left these pictures larger than usual – click to enlarge.

First, my linear holos. Magia Negra and FYI are my favorites here.

Jade Magia Negra, Layla Flash Black, Glitter Gal 707H, Starlight & Sparkles Starlight, China Glaze FYI

Some very strong scattered holos; I think my favorite here is OPI DS Classic. I really love neutral holos – they are classic with a twist!

OPI DS Classic, Milani 3D, Milani Hi-Res, Milani HD,
China Glaze Glistening Snow, China Glaze Angel Wings

I love all of my A-Englands, but Tristam might be my favorite. I also like using them together – using one color as an accent nail with a manicure as another, doing a gradient, or things like that. I’ve been wanting to water marble with them, but haven’t tried it yet. These are much prettier in person than in my swatches here – they’re full of rainbows in the sun!

A-England: Bridal Veil, Saint George, Tristam, Lady of the Lake, Ascalon

And finally, three miscellaneous holos that didn’t fit in my other groups – weaker scattered holos. Catrice Dirty Berry is a new favorite, and Butter London All Hail the Queen is an old favorite. It’s also my fiancee’s favorite polish for me to wear, so I might wear it at my wedding next year. It is a bit lighter and more holo in the sun than in my swatch.

Catrice Dirty Berry, Essence Can’t Cheat on Me,
Butter London All Hail the Queen

And, some indies! As you can see, --> --> -->Nail Pattern Boldness --> --> --> makes my favorite indie polishes (I’ll have a review on her Glitter Food topcoat coming up in the next few days). I also adore Hare Twilight Savings.

swatches - Nail Pattern Boldness "Silver" Flake Topcoat, Nail Pattern Boldness Oodiful, Nail Pattern Boldness Ignition (remix), Nail Pattern Boldness Seppuku (with a frisbee), Candeo Colors Jellybean, Hare Twilight Savings

Nail Pattern Boldness “Silver” Flake Topcoat, Nail Pattern Boldness Oodiful, Nail Pattern Boldness Ignition (remix), Nail Pattern Boldness Seppuku (with a frisbee), Candeo Colors Jellybean, Hare Twilight Savings

Anything in this post catch your eye?

Nail Polish Swatches & Comparisons: Flakies & Duochromes

Nail Polish Swatch Sticks: Kleancolor Chunky Holos, Flakies, and Duochromes

It’s time for part five of my nail polish series! Today is fun ones – my Kleancolor Chunky Holos, all my flakies, and all my duochromes. If you’d like to see the previous ones, I’m collecting all the links from the nail polish swatch series on my Project Swatch Roundup page (scroll to the bottom).

Again, I’ve left these pictures larger than usual – click to enlarge.

First – Kleancolor Chunky Holos. I bought all of these as a set of mini-polishes for around $4 (for the set) at Ross. They’re all the same, except for the tinted base, and Black has larger hex glitters.

Kleancolor Chunky Holo swatches: Purple, Teal, Fchsia, Candy, Clover, Black

Kleancolor Chunky Holos: Purple, Teal, Fchsia, Candy, Clover, Black

Next, Finger Paints flakies – these were released as a collection several months ago. I bought Motley at full price, and was lucky to find the rest on clearance! Motley and Twisted are my favorites.

Finger Paints Flakies swatches: Flecked, Flashy, Motley, Asylum, Twisted

Finger Paints Flakies: Flecked, Flashy, Motley, Asylum, Twisted

More flakies! These are most of the other (non-Finger Paints) flakies I have. I love them all!

Nails, Inc. The Old Vic, Nubar 2010, Sinful Colors Green Ocean,
China Glaze Luxe and Lush, Sally Hanson Glass Slipper

And finishing the flakies, here are the Revlon Moon Candy duos I own, plus Orly Fowl Play. The Moon Candy duos are quite pretty, but I’m not thrilled with the quality – I reviewed them here.

Revlon Moon Candy duo Orbit, Revlon Moon Candy Duo Milky Way,
Revlon Moon Candy Duo Galactic, Orly Fowl Play

Duochromes / multichromes are my favorite nail polish finish, I think, though my very favorite polishes are in the last set of swatches below. The following polishes are definitely duochrome, but the duochrome is not very strong.

swatches - Butter London Knackered, Wet n Wild Fast Dry Gray's Anatomy, Sally Hansen Nail Prism Star Opal, Essence Where is the Party?, Orly Mysterious Curse, Chamelon Waltz

Butter London Knackered, Wet n Wild Fast Dry Gray’s Anatomy,
Sally Hansen Nail Prism Star Opal, Essence Where is the Party?,
Orly Mysterious Curse, Chamelon Waltz

Here are some more not-super-strong duochromes – L’oreal The Temptress’s Power is my favorite of this set.

L’Oreal The Temptress’s Power, Forever 21 Light Grey / Multi,
Model’s Own Purple Blue, Maybelline Downtown Brown

And now, some stronger duochromes! Maybelline Pink Cosmo and China Glaze Swanky Silk look almost identical applied – except that the Maybelline takes many more coats to be opaque. OPI Just Spotted the Lizard and Hits Mari Moon Trendy are quite close, but not identical.

swatches - Maybelline Pink Cosmo, China Glaze Swanky Silk, Maybelline Boho Gold, OPI Just Spotted the Lizard, Hits Mari Moon Trendy, Hits Mari Moon Cool

Maybelline Pink Cosmo, China Glaze Swanky Silk, Maybelline Boho Gold,
OPI Just Spotted the Lizard, Hits Mari Moon Trendy, Hits Mari Moon Cool

And now, some of my very very favorite polishes in my collection – my multichromes! Ludurana Show and Hits Mari Moon Cutie Pie are close, but Show is more intensely colored. Hits Mari Moon Dreamer and Ludurana Emocionante are dupes, and they are my favorite polishes that I own, I think. I took photographs from several different angles for these, but didn’t capture all the beauty of the polishes.

Model’s Own Aqua Violet Beetle Juice, Hits Mari Moon Cutie Pie,
Ludurana Show, Hits Mari Moon Dreamer, Ludurana Emocionante

Thanks for looking! Any questions, just ask.

Nail Polish Swatches & Comparisons: Sheers, Whites, Grays, and Blacks

Sheer, white, grey, and black nail polish swatch sticks

It’s time for part four of my nail polish series! If you’d like to see the previous ones, I’m collecting all the links from the nail polish swatch series on my Project Swatch Roundup page (scroll to the bottom).

As before, I’ve included pictures that have the handle of the swatch stick, so you can more easily see the name of the polish. I also have a close-up of the polished tips only. In every set, the close-up of the tips is more color accurate. The number at the end of the stick is the number of coats, and no number means two coats. None of the swatch sticks in this post have topcoat. Again, I’ve left these pictures larger than usual – click to enlarge.

First – sheers. This is mostly the OPI Ballet Collection, but a Wet n Wild Megalast polish fit in with the colors as well. I bought the whole Ballet Collection and love it – My Pointe Exactly is my favorite off the collection, and one of my favorite polishes.

OPI You Calling Me a Lyre?, OPI Care to Danse?, OPI Barre My Soul,
Wet n Wild 2% Milk, OPI My Pointe Exactly

Here are my sheer whites and shimmery whites. Although OPI Don’t Touch My Tutu and Essie Marshmallow look similar, the OPI is much more sheer – three coats of it is about the same opacity as the Essie at one coat.

OPI Don’t Touch My Tutu, Essie Marshmallow, Wet n Wild Break The Ice, Revlon Aloof

Next up is whites – I did one swatch of each white so I could evaluate the polish better. It’s hard to see the differences in the formulas, but the Milani performed best, and the Wet n Wild worst. I also included OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls in this photo so you can see that it’s actually the lightest gray possible – if I photograph it with my gray polishes, where it belongs, it just looks white.

Milani White On The Spot, Zoya Purity, Wet n Wild French White,
Sally Hansen Timeless White, OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls

Gray is probably my favorite color for polish, so these next two sets include lots of favorites! China Glaze Pelican Gray is one of my favorite polishes of all time.

Zoya Dove, China Glaze Pelican Gray, Sinful Colors Jungle Trail,
Sinful Colors Slate, China Glaze Immortal

Darker grays plus blacks with shimmer- Sinful Colors Smokin’ is my favorite out of these, and a pretty good dupe for NARS Stormbird. When I swatched these, I realized that Essence Movie Star is identical to Smokin’, and thus also a dupe for Stormbird.

swatches - Essence Movie Star, Sinful Colors Smokin, Color Club Status Update, OPI Nein! Nein! OK Fine!, Essence Fabuless, China Glaze Stone Cold, China Glaze Smoke and Ashes

Essence Movie Star, Sinful Colors Smokin, Color Club Status Update,
OPI Nein! Nein! OK Fine!, Essence Fabuless, China Glaze Stone Cold,
China Glaze Smoke and Ashes

And here are all my blacks! Like the whites, I swatched all the blacks at one coat (except the matte black, which was super sheer) in order to evaluate the polish better. You can more clearly see the differences in the polishes here vs. the whites. Hassid is completely opaque in one thin coat, but a satin finish. Black Taxi definitely needs two coats for opacity. Illamasqua Boosh and Wet n Wild Black Creme are my favorite blacks – Boosh is glossier, but the Wet n Wild, at only 99 cents, is perfect for layering.

LA Girl Matte Black, American Apparel Hassid, Nails, Inc. Black Taxi,
Illamasqua Boosh, Wet n Wild Black Creme

I hope this post wasn’t too boring – I know these aren’t the most exciting colors. Next up will be more fun – duochromes! And of course, please let me know if you have questions about any of the polishes.