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

NOTD: Sally Hansen Diamond Strength 250 Pink Promise

Today's NOTD is a sparkly baby pink nail polish from Sally Hansen - it's in the shade Pink Promise.

This is a color with a very cute story behind it.

Rose Gold Nails: Essie Penny Talk vs. Orly Rage

As the popularity of rose gold jewelry and accessories soar, it's no surprise that it's becoming a popular nail color as well!  I put two different formulations, one a classic and the other a brand new metallic shade, side by side for comparison.  So, let's find out, Reasonable Readers - what's the difference between Essie's Penny Talk and Orly's Rage?

NOTD: Essie Bikini So Teeny

I went on a recent nail polish spree and picked up a few colors by Essie, Revlon, and Color Club.  They're all great, but I couldn't wait to try this particular shade out.  It's Bikini So Teeny by Essie.  It's the perfect shade of periwinkle blue!  The creamy formula doesn't bubble as much as a lot of my other lighter polishes do, and it only takes two coats for good opaque coverage.  Wear is fairly typical - it did chip after 24 hours, but not very much.  I normally don't wear my nails very long because I tend to be rough on them, but they're currently a bit longer than normal, so I'm still getting the hang of not being so rough on them.

I picked this up at my local Rite-Aid, but had to look at several stores before I found it.  It's part of Essie's summer 2012 line (Mojito Madness is another one this season) and it's pretty popular.  Glitter accent is OPI's Last Friday Night.

Would you wear it?

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

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:

Spring Trend: Blue Polish

It seems like a major trend going on right now is blue fingernail polish.  I was perusing the polish section at Target and almost purchased Sinful Colors Aquamarine and a couple others.  When I spotted Essie's Trophy Wife, I knew I didn't need to buy any new blue shades.  I have all that I need already in my collection!

Mesmerize, Beach Bum Blu, Trophy Wife, and Dive Bar

I think it's just a coincidence that they're all by Essie, but I am definitely a fan of the brand.  I try to stay away from serious royal blue colors (rival university color), and I didn't see Sally Hansen's Pacific Blue, which I was definitely interested in picking up.  A couple of other colors were really interesting, but I think for now, I've got the shades I need.  Mesmerize is a creamy blue, reminiscent of denim.  Beach Bum Blu is a pearlescent aqua, while Trophy Wife has more green tones in it.  Dive Bar is a dark, dark blue, almost black with a chrome look.

What are your favorite shades of blue this spring?

Summer blues

Anyone who knows me knows that I adore the color blue.  I bleed Carolina blue.  Seventy percent of my wardrobe is blue or has blue accents.  Sapphires are my favorite gem.  Blue blue blue blue blue!

So, it's no surprise that my favorite nail color right now is Mesmerize by Essie.

Please excuse the gross cuticles - we're still unpacking, cleaning, getting arranged in our new house and my hands and nails are paying for it.

This is the perfect blue.  It's not too dark or too light, it doesn't have sparkle or shimmer (but it's not matte), and it's creamy and smooth.  It reminds me of the ocean, which makes me happy.  I love my Essie polishes, but I have noticed with Adore-a-ball, the paint tends to chip pretty easily at the cuticle, and then I end up pulling out my hair while doing things like blow-drying my hair.  The darker colors do not do this, so no problems with this color!

Glitter polish is by NYC.  It's ironic that the cheapest glitter polish I've found is by far the best one, followed by Orly's Shine On, Crazy Diamond at a very distant second place.

What polish colors are you loving this season?

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Nail Polish

These three Sally Hansen's Insta-Dri nail polishes were purchased at my neighborhood Target for less than $5 apiece.  (I think they were around $4.50 each, but don't quote me!)  I first purchased the purple color, "Lively Lilac" and liked it so much, I went back for the other two: "Snappy Sorbet," a fun peachy color, and "Snappy Sprinkles," a glitter nail polish that has a lot of peach and looks gold on the nail.

The color formula is very good.  You only need one coat, but a second coat can make your nails have a smoother look overall.  One thing to note is that this formula dries very quickly, so you must work fast to get everything the way you want it.  If you take too long, it becomes tacky and and you'll be reaching for your nail polish remover to start all over!  The applicator makes it a little difficult to maneuver at first, but over time, you get used to it and it becomes a quick and easy process.

Applicator:

This brush is flat and larger than usual.  This makes things a bit difficult when first applying, but if you do a thorough job of removing excess product before touching it to your nails, you should get the hang of it quickly.

The glitter formula isn't as good, unfortunately.  The glitter is very chunky - almost more like confetti than glitter.  Here's an up-close picture:

You can see that the glitter is long, rather than being small and fine.  This makes application difficult, even with multiple rounds - and it also tends to "bunch" in certain areas, getting worse with each coat.  In my brief internet search of this nail polish, I only found one review that didn't seem to have too much complaint, but she may not have used it much.  Once applied (I use it over the Snappy Sorbet), it has a rose gold appearance, which I actually like, but it is not smooth.  You will also need to trim any glitter pieces that stick off your nails with nail clippers or cuticle scissors.  Despite multiple coats of Seche Vite clear top coat (a thicker formula that I adore), I could not get my nails anywhere close to smooth with this glitter polish.

The bottom line: The solid colors are wonderful and make a great addition to your nail color collection.  The light colors are likely to be even better since the formula is thick enough to go on with one coat without trouble.  I'd stay away from the Snappy Sprinkles glitter polish.  Stick with a similar color from OPI, which tends to be a finer grain glitter with a slower drying time.