Formula X for Sephora: Hyped and Blast Off

I've been eyeing the new Formula X for Sephora line with great interest lately, so I finally decided to take the plunge and pick up a couple bottles. Today I have swatches of Hyped and Blast Off to show you.

First up is Hyped, part of the Formula X Electrics line. This is a bright magenta with some very subtle blue shimmer.

I was surprised to see so many negative reviews for this line on Sephora's site—I thought the application was very good, and I didn't have any chipping for the few days I wore it. My only complaint is that the color itself is much brighter than what I really prefer, so I grew tired of it a little faster than normal. But that's all on me!

These pictures don't show it as well as they could, but the slight blue shimmer in this polish makes the color really interesting and very different from anything else I've seen.

I also picked up Blast Off, part of the Formula X Xplosives Top Coats line. This is an all black confetti glitter topper that I REALLY liked. The glitters are all different shapes and sizes, and it went on super easily—just painted right on, with hardly any dabbing or placement. I did fish around for a couple of the largest black glitters, but that was really it.

I'm in LOVE with the splattered black paint effect of this. I see myself using it a lot when I'm in the mood to ad a little something to a plain color with minimal effort. My only caveat for this one is that it almost stayed on TOO well: I felt like I needed a sandblaster to get it off! Those glitters were very committed to staying put. That might be a good thing, though, if you want something that's not going to go anywhere for several days.

What do you think—have you tried the Formula X for Sephora line yet? What colors look most intriguing to you?

Thanks for reading!

Swatch: A-England Saint George

Today I have swatches of what turned out to be probably my absolute favorite nail polish that I've tried to date. It's been in my collection for a while, but I (foolishly!) didn't get around trying it until recently, and I'm kicking myself for that now because it's just. so. GORGEOUS.

This is a-england Saint George, a deep, jewel-toned green, and I pretty much want to have it on my fingers all the time now. I know that most nail bloggers are very aware of a-england polishes, and a quick search reveals that this one has been swatched all over the place already, but I just couldn't resist posting my own pictures of it here.

The polish itself went on beautifully—two very easy coats, and it stayed right where I put it. (I could have easily gone with just one coat, but I like at least two coats on my nails because they're on the thin side.) The holographic elements are also beautiful: I couldn't stop staring at my own nails, especially in full-spectrum light.

The other cool thing about a-england polishes is that they're all inspired by amazing stories: check out Sam's amazing write-up over on Fashion Polish if you're interested in reading about what inspired Saint George and the other shades in this line. She did a much better job with it than I ever could!

Seattle Seahawks Nail Art

We're big Seattle Seahawks fans in my house, so when they played their big Monday night game recently, I decided to do some crazy Seahawks-themed nail art to celebrate (and to match my jersey!).

As you can see, I couldn't decide exactly what kind of look I really wanted, so I did a little bit of everything. I started with a base of Nars Galathee on my thumb, middle finger, and pinky, and then a base of Sephora by OPI It's Totally Karma on the other two fingers. Then I used striping tape on my middle and ring fingers before adding a coat of OPI I Saw...You Saw...We Saw...Warsaw and peeling the tape off. I applied the blue hex glitters (from the Born Pretty Store) to my pinky using a toothpick and clear nail polish, and a coat of ILNP Matthew Peri finished off my pointer finger. Finally, I applied the Seahawks helmet waterslide decal from Nail Country Decals to my thumb and finished everything off with a couple coats of topcoat.

After wearing this mani for a full week (butter LONDON P.D. Quick Topcoat does not mess around!), I decided that the design on my ring finger—the navy blue with the bright green stripes—is probably my favorite. The two colors together in a pinstripe just look really sharp, I think. What about you—which nail do you like best out of this random assortment?

Anyway, thanks for reading! Go Seahawks!!

Scarlet & Silver Half Moons

I know I should be continuing with the 31 Day Challenge if I want to have any shot of getting through it before the end of the year, but I ran across this Nailasaurus post the other day and was reminded of how much I love this look, so I just couldn't resist doing my own version of it.

I pretty much followed Sammy's technique exactly: I started with a base of Nail Envy and let that dry, and then applied hole reinforcers to my cuticles one at a time before adding a coat of Julep Aisha and removing them right away. Then I decided to add some topcoat before continuing (butter LONDON Hardware P.D. Quick top coat, in this case), just to make things easier on myself.

Once all that dried a bit, I used a small nail art brush to add the silver lines using Zoya Trixie. My accent lines turned out quite a bit thicker/wider than I'd originally planned, but I'm still happy with them! I kind of like that the silver is very noticeable, actually.

 I'd love to hear what people think—did I do this look justice at all? Do you like silver accents better, or gold?

Thanks for reading!