Bitzy Singsong

As someone obsessed with nail polish and in need of cheap, accessible supplies (remover, thinner, etc.), I am a big fan of Sally Beauty. I'm lucky to have a location 5-10 minutes from my home, so I make regular stops when it's time to replenish my nail-related accoutrements. When I'm in the shopping mood (which, let's be honest, is most of the time), I find myself perusing the vast selection of polishes they carry, and often leave the store having spent much more than intended.

However, there is a budget-friendly brand carried at Sally by the name of Bitzy. I'm pretty sure that this is their own in-house brand (meant to replace the old Sally Girl line), as I've never seen them anywhere else. At $2.99 a pop with a wide range of fun colors, I've collected a few of these in my travels. 

Singsong is a lovely vibrant lilac color with very fine, almost invisible shimmer. It's a little cooler-toned IRL, but this photo is still mostly accurate. Shown here in 3 coats. As much as I adore these Bitzy polish, opacity is a bit of an issue... I have yet to find one that doesn't need at least 3 coats. Though I really can't complain... they are rather cheap, and the opacity is their only fault.

The wear on these is weirdly good. I've been wearing this for 2 days now and there's only very slight tip wear. There are a couple of itty-bitty chips on my other hand, but nothing major. The longevity rivals that of higher-end brands like OPI... I can deal with having to add an extra coat if it means it'll stay on my nails for longer than a couple of days!

Here's a closeup of the bottle so you can see that stealth shimmer. The light has to be hitting it just right to show up, but when I do see that little sparkly glint, it makes me smile. Even if this didn't have any shimmer, I'd like this shade... I love a good purple, and this is certainly good!

That just about does it for today, but as a side note -- I've been really obsessed with candles lately (as in, I've literally purchased 15 of them in the past 2 weeks), and the one I've got going right now smells ah-maz-ing. White Strawberry Bellini from Yankee Candle. Go check it out. It's so fruity and fun!

Thanks so much for reading, and until next time... PEACE! xoxo

Wild and Crazy Whatever

 I know what you're thinking. "Is she seriously posting more Wild and Crazy?" The answer is yes, my child. It's always yes. I will stop wearing this brand when I die. I couldn't tell you why I love it so much, considering that the polish itself is (quite frankly) not very good, but I just do. 

(Sorry for the teeny weeny itty bitty little baby nubby nails. I had a breakage the other day. 2 of them snapped trying to close the car door. Super tragic, but c'est la vie.

Also, sorry for the quality of my swatch. I've been wearing this for roughly 24 hours and while I adore Wild and Crazy, their polishes have a bad habit of breaking down pretty badly during the first couple of days.)

Whatever is a dark berry shimmer and I absolutely adore it. In the bottle, it kinda looks like it has silver microglitter, but it disappears on the nail into a nice shimmer. It's dark without being so-dark-it's-almost-black. It's vampy without being too severe. It's simply lovely and I could see myself wearing this many more times. Weirdly enough, I also think I like it better on shorter nails, as with most dark colors... something about a nice burgundy, berry, or black on a short nail is so magical.

Here's a close-up of the bottle! You can see what I mean about the shimmer looking silver here. Can I just talk about how much I love this bottle design? It's so funky, and I've never seen anything else that looks even remotely close to it! Just another thing that sets this brand apart.

Well, that'll be all for today. I don't know why I haven't been feeling very wordy lately, but my inspiration to post pictures far exceeds my inspiration to write an accompaniment. Oh well, so it goes. 

Happy holidays! Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, New Years', everything else... hope you have a good one!

Until next time... PEACE! xoxo 

Wild and Crazy Amnesia (swatches only)

I simply don't have the words for this one. Strong gold shimmer in a mauvy base. Absolutely gorgeous. 3 coats.

Wild and Crazy Renatka

Orange is not a color I have much experience with. I've always overlooked it when considering what color to paint my nails with, and I've always proclaimed that it's one of my least favorite colors... but why? As time passes, I grow fonder of orange. It's fun, it's crazy, and it's a little funky -- not a common choice as far as nail colors go. But if there's anybody that loves funky, it's me...

And funky this is! Renatka is another offering from my beloved Wild and Crazy, aka the only brand I ever want to wear ever again ever. This is a red-leaning orange shimmer that covers beautifully in 2 coats, and I could not be more in love with it. I mean, just LOOK at it! I had originally wanted to set this one aside to use when my nails get longer, but I swatched it on one finger and knew that it couldn't wait. I love the way it looks with my skin tone, my nail shape, my everything! It's perfect.

Something I really like about Wild and Crazy is the fact that it's 3-free but still vintage. This means I get the excitement of vintage polish without the damage of formaldehyde and toluene. I've been trying to be more conscious about what I put on my nails recently, and those old stinky chemicals are absolutely terrible for the health of your nails. Thus the Wild and Crazy kick I'm on! Well, not entirely. It is partially because of the 3-free formula, but mostly because I'm head over heels for their funky colors, fun packaging, and unconventional polish names. 

Here's a nice close-up shot! You can really see the detail of the shimmer in this one. Isn't it so pretty? I've been on a real shimmer spree lately -- cremes just aren't doing it for me at the moment. My skin looks super pale and pink in this photo, but IRL, this polish does a weirdly good job at canceling out my red undertones. I'd think that a red-based orange would have the opposite effect, but apparently not! I'm not an expert in color theory, and I don't claim to be... I just like it when my skin looks less red. :]

I also must say that I am absolutely digging this nail shape. I've been wanting to go square for a while now, but it never seemed to be in the cards for me. Now that I actually have them, I can confirm that short & square is my jam! I don't even feel the need to grow them out now (though I'm not against it)... this shape flatters my hands at any length!

Well, thanks so much for reading about this lovely orange polish. There will be more Wild and Crazy on the way, don't you worry! Until next time... PEACE! xoxo

Ciaté London Mini Mani Month 2020: Days 1-8

Happy December! The holidays are fast approaching, and you know what that means... advent calendars! These are always so much fun. Opening a little door every day to reveal goodies inside? Gotta love it! And what better to treat yourself with than a new nail polish every day? Meet Ciaté London's Mini Mani Month - the nail polish advent calendar! It's a dream come true! 

This is actually my first year with the Ciaté advent calendar, and my first experience with any Ciaté polish in general! I've always admired them from afar but could never find them in brick-and-mortar stores, and I wasn't enamored enough with any of their shades to justify an online order. That is until my mom gifted me this calendar for my birthday! Thanks mom, I love it. ♥

This calendar also features Ciaté's brand new Plant Pots. Not only are they enriching for the nails with a formula featuring bamboo, biotin, and bakuchiol, they're environmentally friendly -- the glitter is biodegradable. How awesome is that? As somebody who tries their best to recycle and do good for the earth, I love this!

How this will work: I will wear every nail polish on its designated day. I'll take a pic for each day, and split this up over 3 posts. Why am I doing this, you ask? Cuz it's fun, that's why! :P

Here we go!

Day 1: Good as Gold

Color: Soft shimmery pink with small gold & pink glitter

Number of coats: 2

Wow, okay. I was NOT expecting this shade to cover so well. There's a bit of VNL in person, and 3 coats would totally remedy this -- I just like it slightly sheer. What a wonderful shade to get me into the Christmas spirit! The gold flash is definitely the overarching feature of this polish, as you can see, but the baby pink base and sparse pink glitter (seen more accurately in the bottle) spruce it up a little. I'm definitely a fan! 

(P.S. This totally doesn't need top coat. Not only is it quite shiny on its own and free of any grittiness, it dries lightning quick! I'm really loving this formula so far.)

Day 2: Amazing Gracie

Color: Palest pink creme

Number of coats: 3

Well, I guess they can't all be winners...

After yesterday's spectacular sparkly kickoff, I was expecting something a liiiittle more interesting. This is just your run-of-the-mill so-pale-it's-almost white pink creme, and not a particularly noteworthy one. Of course, it's got that awesome fast-drying formula, but that's about all I can give it. It’s painfully boring, it brings out the red in my skin, it's patchy even after 3 coats... I remember now why I tend to avoid pastels like this.

(My only compliment? It has a slight thinning effect on my hands IRL.)

Day 3: Base Coat

Color: Um... it doesn't have one

Number of coats: 1

As I was opening up day 3's door, I muttered to myself, "please don't be pink". I guess I got my wish! It's just a clear base coat, and a watery one at that. Well, whatever. I guess it's good to get a look at your natural nails every now and again. 

(I promise my nails aren't this yellow in person!)

Day 4: Violet Haze

Color: Rich medium blue-purple creme

Coats: 2

Now here's something fun! This is a really hard color to try and describe. It veers blue, but it's most definitely purple. It's vibrant, but not bright. The color is quite rich. See how attempting to describe this reduces me to baby sentences? I definitely have some comments to make about the formula though - hard to work with, patchy, and stinky. I don't know what it is about colors in this niche (vibrant blue/purple cremes) that always smell so much... it must be something to do with the pigments. Oh, and it also doesn't dry as fast as the others, so quick dry top coat is recommended. While I wasn’t a huge fan at first, this color definitely grew on me with time... I think I’ll be revisiting this one.

Day 5: Lucky 7

Color: Vibrant coral creme

Coats: 2

Oh, how I wish they'd have saved this for day 7... that would have been too perfect! Anyway, this is a nice color. Not something I'd usually choose, but cheery and fun nonetheless. Nice fast-drying formula, kinda patchy and uneven but I don't feel like adding a third coat. Not much to say about this one.

Day 6: Top Coat

Color: none, again

Coats: n/a

I just skipped to day 7...

Day 7: Moondust

Color: Medium purple with abundant golden microglitter

Coats: 2

Now THIS is what I'm talking about! So, so, so pretty. The heavy shimmery glitter almost cancels out the purple base, but it's thankfully still visible. The glitter is so rich, and it could just be my eyes playing tricks on me, but I think I see a few errant blue and pink particles mixed in. I'm actually really happy that I opened day 7's door early, so now I get to wear this for 2 days! 

Day 8: Peachy Cheeks

Color: Terracotta creme

Coats: 2

Ehh... it might make a nice nude if you've got darker skin. On me, it's just... not great. A little too warm. It's opaque in 2 coats and has a good formula, but aside from that... I don't have much to say about this one.

Going forward, I think I'll open these on their designated days but swatch them all on one day. I just don't like the damage that taking off nail polish every single day is doing to my nails. Even when I use non-acetone, I feel like my nails are crying out to be left alone. And while it's fun to paint my nails with a new color every day, I'd rather they be healthy and undamaged. So I'll still be posting about this advent calendar, but the swatches may be a little different. I might also post about my manicures in between these swatches.

Anyways, thanks so much for reading. And until next time... PEACE! xoxo