Confession: I’m totally obsessed with Nathan Fillion. From his stint on Buffy to his current role on Castle he’s just too amazing. One of his best projects was Firefly ( & later on, Serenity) & although it was cut short…it holds a special place in my heart. When Laura of Joyful Noise Cosmetics asked me if I’d swatch her trio I was thrilled. I am late late late with these swatches…but I sure hope they were worth the wait!
Each shade is named after a quote from Firefly. If you haven’t seen the show & you’re into scifi (or Nathan Fillion….) then jump into that & educate yourself! All three of the shades definitely have their own personality. Besides these shades being from the same collection…they’re all vastly different! Each of these shades is a mini but they’re also available in full sized bottles.

Tell Me I’m Pretty- A semi sheer bubblegum pink base with a scattering of holo dust & varying micro to medium shades of pink hexes. 2 coats over Essie Fiji. Very girly & oh so pretty. I like it over a base best & Essie Figi is perfect, super fair & doesn’t alter the polish shade. 

Shiny- Multi colored ultra fine shimmer that leans more blue/purple/pink that comes together as an opal finish. I’m not usually a big fan of opal finishes but I actually really like this one. It flashes more over black but I am really digging it over white! Pointer & pinkie are 3 coats, middle is one coat over black, & ring is one coat over white.

Burn the Land, Boil the Sea- Medium very reflective silver holo hexes, fine blue glitter, & holo dust in a  sheer blackend base. 2 coats over black. My favorite because I’m such a sucker for super holo glitter. Along with the layering of blue & fine holo dust this polish is gorgeous. Boil the sea indeed!

For those of you who don’t know, Joyful Noise (formally Nails by Laura) was the first indie polish brand I’ve ever reviewed. I think we were both newish to our professional passions & I feel like we’ve kind of grown together. I now consider her a friend which is how she even knew I dug Firefly. To be fair, I was one of the people chanting for her to start obsessing about Dr. Who. I sincerely hope she’ll create a Dr. Who inspired line…& maybe even let me help! As into makeup & fashion as I am I am definitely a geek girl at heart.

To purchase Joyful Noise Cosmetics nail polishes ( & other beauty items like lippies & bath products!) you can visit her store on Etsy. She has quite a few new polishes that I’m jittering over! Summery too! She has these 3 shades labeled as limited edition so if you want them grab them while you can!

Which shade is your favorite? Are you a Firefly fan? What show/books/movies would you like to see turned into a polish line?

When it comes to nail trends, I tend to dive right in. The texture trend wave is faltering for some people but I still love them. I’ve been awaiting the Sally Hansen Sugar Coat polishes for quite awhile & now I get to share them with you! I broke my swatches up into two posts because I have a total of 7 & the first 3 I have to show you are the most spring-like. Keep reading to see swatches & review of Sally Hansen Sugar Coat Nail Polishes in Sour Apple, Bubble Plum, & Cotton Candies.
The Sally Hansen Sugar Coats are pretty even across the board with these 3 shades. With the exception of Sour Apple, you need only 2 coats of these. Sour Apple needed 3 but I might try it again with thicker coats. These polishes are quite odd…you can feel & see the grit in this polish as you apply not just as it dries. Like the Zoya Pixie Dust polishes I reviewed for Summer 2013, you need to let each coat fully dry in between & not use a top coat. These feel more gritty than many of my other textures.

Sally Hansen Sugar Coat Nail Polish in Cotton Candies- Bright bubblegum pink with a matte, textured finish. 2 coats.

Sally Hansen Sugar Coat Nail Polish in Bubble Plum- Purple leaning lilac with a matte, textured finish. 2 coats.

Sally Hansen Sugar Coat Nail Polish in Sour Apple- Soft pastel mint green with a matte, textured finish. 3 coats.

I really enjoy these polishes & the shades work nicely as a bit of color. I find that because these are more textured they seem to cling to dirt too. I find myself really having to wash my nails more. I think they’re fun & really different, I don’t have anything quite like them. These don’t have any shimmer to them like the Zoya polishes I reviewed here but I think they might in the future.

What do you think of these polishes? Are you over the texture trend?

*BL Poole is a PR Sample. Affiliate links.

When it comes to black & white glitter nail polishes…I must collect them all! I didn’t have super high hopes from his one from Claire’s but it turned out lovely. I don’t know why I wasn’t expecting it to, I’ve been impressed with pretty much every Claire’s polish in my collection. I swatched this over Butter London Poole which is pretty much a perfect combo of love for me. Keep reading to see swatches!

Claire’s Splatter Nail Polish: Micro hexes, medium hexes, large hexes, & jumbo hexes in both black & white & then black bar glitter suspended in a clear base. This is “placed a bit (although you can apply in coats I just like an overall even look!) over Butter London Poole.

I’m really loving this shade!  It applied nicely & had the decency to lay flat even without a top coat. I was thinking about how much I loved this combo with Butter London Poole…when I realized this was very similar to a combo I did with Zoya Wednesday last year for IMATs! I guess I like what I like huh?

Butter London Poole is part of the summer collection ( I have 3 polishes to swatch!) so if you like this shade, snap it up while you can! Claire’s doesn’t have an online store so you’ll have to go inside for this baby! They were having a deal that I think was like 2 for something or other but I know it was under $10!

I used to cover Sinful Colors all the time but after their big blogger drama I tapered off a bit. Since it appears they have fixed things with those bloggers (at least to me knowledge!) I have been branching back into the brand. I got some new shades from target recently & then picked up these two shades from Walgreens for $2.99 each. I’m glad I did!
Application on these was the same so I’ll just cover it here! Each polish is 2 coats, not base or top coat. These definitely have a different formula & tons more shine. I wore Alfresco for about 4 days with minimal chipping so I was way impressed! That’s when I went out & bought Mardi Gras & did my swatches! These also both have superfine hidden shimmer but I think it more brightens the shade rather than making it look like a shimmer. They are definitely creams. Note that the handles are also different: instead of black they are a metallic.

Sinful Shine in Alfresco- This shade is a lovely, soft cornflower blue with maybe a touch of Carolina blue. In some lights, you almost see a touch of periwinkle. I love this shade & it is definitely flattering.

Sinful Shine in Mardi Gras- This honestly doesn’t say Mardi Gras to me at all but whatever. I love this shade, it is a nice melon. I think it is slightly more muted than in my photos.

I’m definitely surprised with the quality of these shades & I’ll be investing in more! The finish was lovely & the wear time better than average. Have you tried anything from the Sinful Shine line from Sinful Colors yet? Any shades I need to get my hands on?

I fell in love with this collection. I actually passed on only one shade ( Under Where?) because I thought it looked too much like another shade I own. I’m kicking myself a bit & might need that one in the end. I have a nail polish problem! The shades I did end up with are really gorgeous & must haves in my book if you don’t have something similar! Keep reading to see swatches & review!

Essie In the Cab-Ana- A bright light blue with a hint of dustiness. In case you feel like you’ve heard that description before… Zoya Rocky from yesterdays review was a little bit similar! However Rocky is noticeably dustier & In the Cab-ana is brighter. 2 easy coats.

Essie First Timer- A brightened light mint. I love the look of this shade & it really looks fabulous on. If you pass this one up I think you’ll regret it! I’ve worn it for about a week now! 2 easy coats.

Base shade is Essie In the Cab-Ana, flower is Essie Come Here!, leaves Essie First Timer, flower center is Zoya Thandie which I reviewed yesterday here.

Which shade is your favorite? Did the Essie Resort collection catch your eye too? Tell me…do I need the one shade I passed on?

You can purchase these shades online from Nordstrom (affiliate links) if you can’t find them in store: In the Cab-ana, First Timer, Come Here!, & Under Where? or in a cute mini set.