Wednesday, January 4, 2017

My #5 Favorite Polish for Winter 2016 is...

Go With The Flowy!


This polish was released as part of the Essie Getting Groovy Winter collection for 2016! It's a gorgeous soft cool toned gray (it almost leans blue) with some subtle silver shimmer. I knew when I saw this polish online that I needed it and when I swatched it for the first time I knew it would be one of my winter favorites. Formula is great. Opaque in two easy coats.



 I don't really have any comparisons for this polish. Which is one of the reasons I love it so much. Here it is next to Now and Zen which was released as part of the Essie Fall 2016 collection. As you can see, it's much much lighter and slightly more cool toned.


I have switched to new lighting so this picture is quite different than the other. Sorry, it always take some time to work out kinks when getting new equipment. Anyway, my cute friend on Insta (@curlycomedynailart) said this design looked like Hot Cocoa and I have to agree! So, that's what I have named this simple design. Since I have done tutorials similar to this one, made the tutorial for this one slightly different. I show you the entire process of one hand to make it go as quick as possible. I hope you enjoy it!


Click on the link below to see the full length tutorial.


-Go Polished




Thursday, December 29, 2016

My #4 Favorite Polish for Winter 2016 is...

Merida!

Merida was released as part of the Zoya Urban Grunge collection for Fall 2016. There are six cremes and metallic holographic polishes (including this one) in the collection. I knew I had to pick up this green once I saw it. I also picked up a few more from the collection as well. You really need to try ZOYA polish if you haven't. They are so consistent with their formulas and their colors and finishes are so unique. Especially this gorgeous Merida! It opaque in two easy coats, the formula is perfect and the holographic shimmer is so beautiful! And it's just as easy to remove as regular polish. So what's not to love?


I don't have any comparisons for this polish in my collection!

I don't tend to wear holo polishes as a solo mani. I feel that can be a little overwhelming (in my opinion).  But, when used sparingly in nail art designs holos add SO much without being to overpowering. You know what I am trying to say? So, here is the design I created for this one. I think simple works well with a stunner like this one. And, it's so easy to do! 


Click on the link below for the full length tutorial. You can go polished for the New Year holiday too!


-Go Polished

Thursday, December 22, 2016

My #3 Favorite Polish for Winter 2016 is...

Getting Groovy!


 Getting Groovy was released this winter as the namesake of the Essie Winter Collection for 2016. The formula of this polish really surprised me. It is the perfect blend of metallic and very fine gold glitter. It has just enough glitter as to not leave the appearance of lines, as often happens with metallic polishes. It is also SO great to use in nail art. I have really fallen in love!  It is opaque in two generous coats and shines even more with a glossy top coat. (I have HK Girl on top in the swatch below.) You need to hunt this one down, it's getting harder to find, so GO, NOW! :)


If you want to see comparisons for this polish please click on the link below where I have comparisons for the entire collection. I also have a link to my live swatch video in the post.


I really wanted to come up with a little less than traditional Christmas design because I have done some many traditional ones in the past. I came up with this. I love purple polish, especially with the shimmery gold and silver.


Do you want to go polished this holiday too?! Just click on the link below for a full length tutorial. I also have links to all the products I used listed in the description box of the video.


Happy Holidays Everyone!!


-Go Polished

Sunday, December 18, 2016

My #2 Favorite Polish for Winter 2016 is.....

OPI Front Runner!


This green is everything!! The green polish is more on the yellow/green spectrum, but it has just enough blue in it as well, making it the perfect shade in my opinion. And, the formula is one coat of awesomeness. Unfortunately this polish is hard to find and I am regretting sticking it in my favorites just because of that reason :/. It was released as a limited edition polish, exclusive to Ulta from the OPI Fall/ Winter collection this year. . It's so pretty, and it's perfect for fall or the holidays. I am so glad I picked it up, but I don't think it is SO unique that you guys couldn't find something similar.


 So, I wanted to get some comparisons for you.  Here are the greens in my collection that are most similar. Now, keep in mind that greens tend to discolor in the polish bottle and what you see isn't necessarily what you get:). You will see what I am talking about when I get them on the nail (below), but here are the colors from left to right: Essie Stylenomics, China Glaze Near Dark, OPI Front Runner, ZOYA Hunter and Essie Off Tropic.


Now, also keep in mind that under my bright lights you will see slight differences made very clear. In natural light these differences aren't as noticeable. I don't have any exact dupes in my collection but, Stylenomics comes the closest. The only difference is Stylenomics is slightly more blue-toned and Front Runner is more yellow-toned. I wore these all for one day and they both looked pretty identical on the nail in a natural setting. (See below)


I also think OPI Christmas Gone Plaid from the Gwen Stefani collection will be pretty close- I don't have that one. I also saw +Young Wild and Polished post a picture of Nails Inc Bruton Mews a few days ago and it looked like a dupe, so check both those out! Seriously...check them out, you all need a dark green in your collection!


Okay, here is the nail design I came up with featuring the lovely Front Runner. I saw this "frosted berry" design created by @mirdinara on Instagram and knew I wanted to use it for a holiday design. It's just beautiful! She is so talented! I wish I could have done it more justice for her, (haha) but I did the best I could. I wish I could paint like her! Check her out.


Click on the link below for the full length tutorial! You can go polished this holiday too!


Thanks for reading my blog, and make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel :)

-Go Polished


Wednesday, December 14, 2016

My #1 Favorite Polish for Winter 2016 is...

Wrenn Uncorked!


Look how stunning this polish is! It is so unique and so flattering on any skin tone, This maroon polish has a very fine shimmer that flashes from cranberry to slightly bronze/gold, and the formula is fantastic. You definitely need to try this one :)


Here is the design I created using this favorite. I wanted to keep it simple and classy, just to let the star of the design shine. What do you think?



Do you want to rock this design? You can go polished too,  just click on the link below for the full length tutorial. Check it out!


-Go Polished

My Winter Favorites for 2016!!

Here are my top ten for Winter 2016! It had a hard time finding colors from the new releases this year that I craved this season. So I picked a few good ones from my stash. I have a good mix of cremes and shimmers for this that are great for these cold month and the holiday season. Stay tuned for photos, live swatches and nail designs for each one in the coming weeks.

Below is the link to my video where I talk about each one. Go and watch!


POLISHES:
Wrenn Uncorked
Essie Getting Groovy
Essie Gala-Vanting
OPI My Pal Joey
OPI Coca Cola Red
ZOYA Merida
Essie Hang Up the Heels
Essie Go With the Flowy
OPI Front Runner
OPI Lincoln Park After Dark

Monday, November 14, 2016

Essie 'Getting Groovy' Winter 2016 Collection Comparisons!


This collection is really growing on me and I have a few ideas on how I want to use some of these colors in some nail art designs! Did you watch my live swatch and review of the entire collection?!
 If you haven't, click on the link below.



Alright now let's get to the comparisons: 

Go With The Flowy- a gorgeous pale dove gray color with silver and blue shimmer/fine glitter. 


I have nothing in my collection that compares to this, so you might want to snag this one! I did want to have a photo with Now and Zen (new from the Essie Fall 2016 collection), just so you could see how much lighter and cooler GWTF is.


Getting Groovy- A gold metallic with yellow gold fine glitter.


While Good As Gold looks like the same color in the bottle, the shimmer in Getting Groovy makes it more of a yellow gold than a white gold. And of course GAG is a metallic with no shimmer. I have to say that I have already used Getting Groovy in some nail art designs (for Chirstmas) and it goes on SO amazingly smooth. I will be picking up a back-up bottle for sure. I LOVE this one so much! I also love GAG. They are both needed for sure!


And here they are close together on the nail. You can see that GAG is more of a white gold. They really aren't the same at all.


Oh Behave!- A mauve pink with a strong gold metallic shimmer.


Well Essie did it again with a unique polish. While this one isn't one that I would naturally gravitate towards, it is growing on me. I did want you to see it next to Eternal Optimist just because if you love that color, than you will most likely love Oh Behave. It seems like OB is EO and with gorgeous gold shimmer added. I have nothing in my collection that compares to this at at all.


Satin Sister- A green toned teal


It was pretty hard to capture the slight difference in these polishes. They all look pretty much the same, but Satin Sister is more green toned than The Perfect Cover-up and CIA. I have heard SS is basically the same as Go Over board (a polish I don't have in my collection). While SS isn't too original, the formula is fantastic if you are looking for a nice winter teal. Just make sure you wear a base coat because it stains slightly.


Here is a close up on the nail. You can see the differences a little better here, but my camera still had a hard time capturing the green tone of this teal.


Party on a Platform- A pink toned red polish with fantastic formula.


Another red...but the formula is great. Pretty much the exact color as Jump in My Jumpsuit and SO many other Essie reds. But, if you are needing to add a red to your collection at the moment, this is a good one!


Ready to Boa- A brown based polish with burgundy and gold metallic shimmer.


I don't have any Essie's like this in my collection. I have heard that Essie Decadent Dish is very close though and I don't have that one. The closest I could find was OPI Muir Muir on the Wall. They aren't the same, but are pretty similar. I also pictured Carry On here because the base colors are very similar and it gives you a good idea of the tone RTB. 


Here you can see the diffences of these two polishes a little closer up. MMOTW has more of a black base and a raspberry and gold shimmer while RTB has more of a brown base with burgundy and gold shimmer. In natural light you can't really see a difference between the two. Both are very gorgeous colors. :)



That's all for comparisons. Are there any you want to add to your collection. What are your overall thoughts about this collection?

-Go Polished