Color Club - Eternal Beauty

     Ahh, holographic polishes... What can I say? I love the way they look. Should I own as many as I do? Absolutely not. I'm not in the sun enough for me to see some blinding holo effect. If I expect for my manis to last any time at all, I have to wear top coat, and we all know that this dulls most holos. Some holos also cost more, and it's not very practical for me to spend extra money on something I can't fully appreciate. All that being said, we are talking about nail polish here, so logic and reason are pretty much irrelevant. On a gloomy day that promised rain, I decided that there was only one polish that I wanted to wear. Eternal Beauty, from Color Club's 2013 Halo Hues Collection, was the exact colour of purple that I was craving. So, enjoy some pics of a polish I'm sure you've already seen, this time sans direct sunlight or flash.

     Eternal Beauty is a mid-toned purple linear holographic polish. The holo effect is crazy strong with this one. All photos were taken indoors, with the sun refusing to make an appearance in the grey clouded sky, and you can still clearly see the holo rainbows. Imagine how amazing this is when there's more light present!

     I had zero problems with application. The formula of Eternal Beauty is fantastic. It went on exactly where I wanted it to, similar to a great creme, and dried smooth to the touch. While far more even and opaque than I expected at one coat, I used two to ensure richness of colour and holo strength. I don't own an aqua base coat, so I used my usual CND Stickey, and this polish flowed nicely over it. I also top coated this mani with Seche Vite. The linear holo effect was initially dulled a little, but reappeared after the Seche was dry. Was it exactly as strong as pre-top coat? Probably not, but it was close enough for me to not care. (I've heard mixed reviews about whether top coat dulls the Halo Hues. When I swatched them on a nail wheel, I found that it depended on the individual polishes. Some seemed unaffected by top coat, others sported a slightly weaker effect. The linear holo wasn't totally killed on any of the shades, though.)

     How gorgeous is this shade of purple?! Factor in the strong holo, and I'm in love. I wore this mani for a night at work and ended up with no (!) chips. Tipwear, yes, but that's to be expected. I did wear top coat, though, so I can't comment on how it wears without it. I'm just happy to find that I can get at least one day of wear out this polish, and that it still looks beautiful with top coat. I can't wait until the weather evens out (hellllooo, Sunshine State?) so that I can try out some of the other polishes in this collection.

     I bought my bottle of Eternal Beauty off of Amazon. I actually purchased all of the Color Club Halo Hues (both 2012 and 2013) at once, as a lot of 12, for just under $80. I didn't shop around, comparing prices, because I wanted them right then. Once again, love of nail polish > logic, reason. Looking around after the fact, I've seen them retailing for significantly more than that, so my impulse bulk purchase makes perfect financial sense. Mmm hmm...

XOXO,

Riotbettyx

Zoya - Storm

     Well, I'm finally back! :) I had a wonderful birthday and got to spend some time with people I love, but now it's back to business as usual. Today I'd like to show you the polish I wore on my birthday. I wanted to pick a special polish. Storm, from Zoya's breathtaking Ornate collection, seemed perfect. Black, holo, cool name... Yes, please!



Sunlight

     Storm is a gorgeous black scattered holo. The base is nice and deep, definitely black, not charcoal. The holographic glitter particles give it a "night sky" look. This polish was part of a holiday collection (which happened to be my first Zoyas), but I think you can wear it year round. I had no qualms about wearing it in March. It's such a "Me" polish!



Indirect light



Indirect light

     
     Indoors, Storm mostly looks like a black polish with tiny silver glitter. Sometimes, the holo shows when certain lighting hits it the right way, but it's amazing in the sun. Application was a breeze, as was removal. After all the glitter I've been wearing lately, I literally breathed a sigh of relief when I realized how effortless this was to take off. The formula was perfect, in my opinion. No pooling, dragging, or streaking. I wore two coats and was surprised at how smooth and glossy it was on its own. Still, I slapped on a layer of Seche Vite, because top coat is a necessity for me.



With flash



With flash

     
     I wore this polish for four days, including a super busy night at work. I ended up with only one chip, on my dominant hand, but tipwear... oh, man. Wrapping your tips is a must with this one. I didn't have the worst tipwear, but it was really noticeable to me, black polish and all. I must admit, these photos were pretty hard for me to come by. It rained for most of my birthday. (Thank you, crazy Florida weather!) Of course, I had picked out this polish ahead of time, and it was the only polish I brought out of town with me. Holo polish + no sunlight = just my luck. Lol. I guess I did go with a polish named Storm...



Blurred

     
     One last pic, nice and blurry to show this momma throwing off some rainbows. Love it. (Storm is available from Zoya for $8). Anyways, I'm glad to be back. I've got some springy colours to wear and major birthday haulage on its way, so keep an eye out!

XOXO,
Riotbettyx