e.l.f. Disney Villains 2013 Nail Polish Collection: Review and Giveaway! [CLOSED]

The Reasonable Blog is back and better than ever - and we're celebrating with a GIVEAWAY!  (Sorry friends across the ponds... this one is only domestic because I can't ship it internationally, but look out for future giveaways for you!)

Look what I found!

Glitter Polish Dupe? Sally Hansen's Mermaid's Tale vs. Deborah Lippmann's Across the Universe

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in #560 Mermaid's Tale

Spring nail polish lines are coming out! Among the lilacs, mint greens, and pale pinks, Sally Hansen's aquatic-themed spring line is bold and fun. I picked up this little number today at my local Walgreen's. Full price is $7.99 but there are coupons out for 2 dollars off.

Mermaid's Tale is a glitter polish with a dark royal blue (almost navy-ish) base, blue microglitter, and blue and green chunky round glitter.

Click below to see swatches and more!

Nail Polish Dupe Alert: Sally Hansen Pacific Blue

Here's a heads up for you gals who couldn't get their hands on Sally Hansen's Pacific Blue.  There's another polish currently out that is an almost exact match - Essie's Butler, Please.  Here are the pictures to show you.

Sally Hansen Pacific Blue and Essie Butler, Please

NOTD: Revlon Midnight Sparkle

Last week, I decided to paint my nails a fun sparkly color for the holidays, so I picked up Revlon's new color Midnight Sparkle for something a little different.

The polish is very opaque, and can be worn with only one coat. The base is a deep dark blue with chunky glitter and microglitter in a couple different shades of blue. This polish is beautiful in the bottle, but unfortunately doesn't translate well to the nail.

Application is thick and awkward, which means only one coat is necessary, but more than that causes major "gooping" on the nail.  The polish doesn't sparkle on the nail as much as in the bottle.  From a distance, it's almost like a crackle or just uneven application.  Despite two healthy applications of a good quality clear coat (Seche Vite, which is a thicker, smoother formula), my nails were never smooth or shiny.

I wore the polish for one day, then immediately removed it.  Typical of a glitter polish, removal was quite the chore!  I replaced it with a light baby pink: Teddy Girl by Butter London, which is smooth, shiny, and has great staying power without being thick and gross.

I recommend finding a nice, pretty navy blue polish and then using your glitter top coat of choice, because Revlon's Midnight Sparkle gets a thumbs down from me.

Xoxo,
Kelly

Spring 2012 Essie polish haul

I stopped by a beauty store that I've never been in before, and boy am I glad I did!  They had the new Essie polishes out by the register, so when I was paying for my Biotin (I was in there looking for polish and bobby pins), I squealed rather loudly and tossed these three babies onto the counter.  Good thing - they're $3.50 cheaper at that store than at the drugstore!

Sure Shot, No More Film, and She's Picture Perfect

Spring has sprung!

Well, really the weather has been all over the place, but I like to think that Spring is officially here!  One trend I'm enjoying this spring is light green nail polish.  Essie's Spring 2012 line includes this one, called Navigate Her.  What do you think?  Would you wear it?

Battle of the Blues

I've written about this before - I'm on a blue kick this year!  I've been more and more intrigued/obsessed with getting perfect blue nail polishes.  It's my favorite color, it's featured prominently in my upcoming wedding, and it's a school color for both my high school and college.  I think even my graduate school has blue as one of its colors!  So, I love blue.  Head over Heels love.

My newest acquisitions

Today I broke and purchased Sally Hansen's Pacific Blue.  I'd been looking for it for a while, but was having a lot of trouble finding it.  I happened to be over by my all-time favorite Rite-Aid (I can find everything there!) today, and I spotted it in all its beautiful brightness.  I had to get it.  Of course, when I got home, I noted this:

Nail of the Day

It's fall!  The leaves are changing, the weather is cool (but rainy here in the Northeast), the days are shorter, and post-season baseball has begun.  During the summer, I tend towards bright colors for my nails, but now that fall is here, I'm drawn to darker, more dramatic colors.  In honor of my fiance's beloved Phillies, my nails of the moment are a deep, sparkly red!

I put a base of Orly's Red Flare (not pictured), which is the same shade of deep, blue-based red shown above.  For added sparkle and fun, I topped it with a coat of Orly's Star Spangled, which has very fine red glitter in it.  It's almost like car paint... from a distance, it just looks deep red, but up close, you can see the immense sparkle.  It's a great way to have some fun without looking too over-the-top.  I like this color combination because it gives a great pop of color on paler skin.  I'm not normally a super tan girl, but as the seasons change, we all start spending a lot more time indoors and our healthy glows start to fade.  It also tends to go well with colors we wear in fall, which tend to be warmer colors, sweaters, etc.

I got these two colors at CVS on sale... they were Buy One Get One 50% Off, I believe, but I'm sure you can find them at Ulta or any place that sells Orly products.  The color is pretty opaque, and more coats only got me deeper color.  Best results were two coats of Red Flare, then two coats of Star Spangled, but your preferences may vary.

I can see that this combination is going to be a favorite for fall and winter this year.  What are some of your favorites?