A brief throwback to when I had square nails! Not part of the college series, but still pretty (very) old. I just started my second semester of college, so it's going to be a while before I can settle down and start working on new material. For now, three coats of ILNP Birefringence will do... :)

Ah, the days of square nails.

This is yet another discount retail find – Orly Rococco-A-Go-Go. It's incredibly difficult to capture the multifaceted nature of this polish, so my attempt consists of multiple photos with multiple angles and multiple finishes.

I'm honestly not even sure where to start with this one.

Well, clearly, it's purple. It's a warmer kind of berry purple that leans heavily into red, although its intensity is negated by the multichrome flecks that lighten up the base. These irregularly-shaped little flecks (not glitter) shift from pink to orange to a yellowed olive green at the very edge of the nail.

The shift is stunning, but definitely more subtle than I would've preferred... or maybe I'm just biased because I've been wearing ILNP Birefringence for daaaays. It also seemed like the type of polish that would have a "glow-from-within" look when matte, so I went ahead and tried that as well.

Unfortunately, it didn't perform as well as I had hoped. There's none of that rich glowiness you get with some shimmers, probably because the multichrome particles are slightly too large. Still beautiful, though – a very regal autumn/winter shade that looked a bit subdued despite the bold color.

Orly Rococco-A-Go-Go

Price: $6.00, standard retail // $10 - $40 on eBay (VHTF status) 

Size: 0.60 fl oz (standard, on the larger side) 

Finish: Small multichrome-particles in a thin but pigmented base
Formulation: 3-free + without formaldehyde resin.

Application: Frankly, I don't remember. But I'm going to guess about 3 coats here, with Essie All-In-One base as basecoat and topcoat (and NYC's matte top coat). 

Brush/bottle: Orly makes cylindrical glass bottles that are domed at the top. Their caps are famously ergonomic, as they're coated with non-slip rubber with dot indentations for a secure grip. The curved shape makes them easy to hold, and the brush is long and thin with flexible bristles. Note: this is the older cap, but the new one should be further improved. 

Overall: It's a pretty color. It's honestly not something I would wear very often, as I prefer straight glitter or straight crèmes, but it's worth keeping in the collection simply because I own nothing like it. 

Glossy or matte – what do you think?

Thanks for reading! :o)

Bethany
Currently listening to It's Only (ft. Zyra) by ODESZA.

All products in this post purchased by author. Photos taken with an iPhone 5s and color-corrected in Photoshop CC 2015. 

I've got a few looks from the end of summer and fall semester to post... This'll probably be a quick series without much captioning – let the designs speak for themselves!

You probably expected this.

If I had hinted in my previous post that the next one would involve art of some sort, you would've guessed that it would be florals. You're probably wondering if I know how to paint anything else.

Nah, not for now.

But, I did vary my style up a bit! Instead of scattered roses, these rest at the base of the nail and snake up towards the free edge. Not sure which style I prefer more... what do you say?

I warmed Zoya Heather (light purple shade) a bit too much, but it looks pretty similar to this in yellow lighting. 

Of course, you gotta mix up the roses with a couple studs and metallic accents. After a tragic tear on my index nail, though, I could no longer support a piercing. :(

Still think this is one of my favorite looks, though!

Polishes used:

• OPI Vant To Bite My Neck? – deep eggplant crème
• Zoya Heather – light lilac crelly with hidden silver shimmer
• Skin Food Sparkle Sun Yellow – metallic yellow-gold smooth microglitter
• Zoya Hunter – deep hunter green crème
• Forever 21 Overcast – light grey crème with hidden silver shimmer 

Unrelated: I'm back on the East Coast, and the snow is dwindling surprisingly quickly... I was able to wear normal shoes today without any sort of puddle nonsense at all. Not sure how I feel about this. 

Thanks for reading :•) 

Bethany

Currently listening to Miles Away by The Maine. 

All products shown here were purchased by the author. Photos taken with an iPhone 5s and color-corrected in Adobe Photoshop CC 2015. 

[Click on the photo to view full post.]

Zoya Heather in sunlight, indoors.

This post was supposed to come before the Pi Day mani, but that's okay. My first legitimate, planned swatch post! Absolutely amazing. (The others were random shots I decided to convert into swatch posts.)

What's equally amazing is the shade itself – Zoya Heather. Heather is a pale, slightly warm lilac with extremely subtle silver microshimmer that's only visible in the bottle. And, as someone who generally dislikes subtle shimmers, I am 100% okay with that. As I've never actually noticed the shimmer translate onto the nails, I'm just going to go ahead and label this one a creme.

Zoya Heather in yellow/incandescent light, indoors.

I've been on the lookout for such a shade for a while. China Glaze Sweet Hook was my original target, but then the Zoya New Year promo happened and I just had to order. ($15 for 3 full-size bottles of my choice and a mystery mini trio? Including shipping and handling? Um, yes.) Heather is my current favorite! Here's a quick breakdown of the polish.

Zoya Heather

Price: $9, standard retail

Color: Whitened lilac

Finish: Crème, with existent but unnoticeable silver shimmer. I'm wearing a thick, gel-like clear topcoat in each of these pictures to mitigate some application issues. 

Application: A little problematic. It often failed to self-level, so even with careful application attempts, I was left with slightly bald streaks or uneven thickness. Otherwise, consistency was standard.

Opacity: These pictures depict 4 coats. 

+ : The color! So gorgeous.

– : Application was finicky, and it lacks that perfectly smooth gloss I can achieve with my other crème polishes. 

Sunlight, indoors. Apologies for poor quality, but the color was most accurate in this shot.

Conclusion: Zoya Heather is worth its four coats and self-evening issues for me, but only because I don't have a similar color. Does China Glaze Sweet Hook have fewer application issues? (Or would CG Light As Air be a better dupe?) All in all, I still adore this color – and it makes for a perfect spring mani. 

And... look what arrived!

Here's a preview of the next post ;) 

Pre-cleanup and all on my most summery sheets! My phone hates neons still.

Thanks for reading :^)