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Carinae

Unfortunately, this color is rife with problems. So while I love the fact that this is a sky-blue creme, it was runny. This is my first time using a Julep polish and I certainly hope that the entire line is not as awful as this.

While it was wonderfully opaque in two medium coats, this was a runny formula that tended towards cuticle pull. It took forever and a day to dry…I was so bored waiting for it to dry that I slapped on my Poshe fast drying top coat and I got shrinkage super fast. I had to start all over again because every single nail was ruined. GRRRRR. Strike number one.

I had to wait about ten to fifteen minutes per coat for it to dry. When it finally dried, I was quite pleased with the color itself.

However, Julep Claire is not the kind of polish that’s for the long haul. Within less than two days this color was rife with chips and tears.

I’m glad I didn’t purchase this polish at full price – quite happy I got it in a swap. This formula confirmed my suspicions of dislike with Julep.

I have other colors from Julep that I acquired in a swap and we’ll see how those fare.

Value for the dollar? I think Julep is a HUGE RIP-OFF. Plus, if my nail polish memory serves me correctly, they were nearly sued by Zoya because their nail polish was named after women, which is what Zoya is known for…sneaky, very sneaky and unimaginative.

Why pay so much for a nail polish that…

• Has smaller bottles that don’t close properly (I have 4 others from Julep)
• Is priced higher per fluid ounce than some CHANEL and DIOR (true luxury brands)
• Has an awful formula that chips in under three days?
• Has colors that have been done better by higher and drugstore brands…and at a much cheaper price?

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Julep Claire – shade

Looks lovely, soft and buttery beautiful.

Julep Claire – sun

Even in the harsh glare of direct sunlight, this is still lovely and soft. Pity the formula sucks.

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I’d have loved to have seen six wins in my lifetime, but maybe for now five is good enough.

Anyway, this is the mani I sported today in support of my team.

49ers Mani

When I grabbed the bottle I thought it was a dark blue. I put it on me and was totally smitten…This color turned out to be something that I didn’t expect. It flattered me. I loved it. It loved me. I mean, look at this color below!

Plus, the formula is awesome — it was opaque in two coats and dried so fast I couldn’t believe it. It has a nice cool tone and shows up as almost two different colors in different lighting! This also has a very high glossy finish which was a total surprise.

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Color Club In The Limelight – shade

The shade shot reminded me of a flower for some reason. Maybe the pretty blue-purple of a morning glory? It’s gorgeous! Wouldn’t you agree?

Color Club In the Limelight – Flash

In this shot it looks almost smokey…Very seductive! I’m definitely loving it.

Color Club In the Limelight – Sunlight

This particular shot shows how opaque it is. Normally the sun washes out any color I put in it and this shot shows that the polish can hold its own.

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However, it’s the only color I’ve wanted off of the Barielle site – nothing else on there really makes me want to buy. One day, a blogger was having a polish sale et voila, there it was…for a mere $3+ shipping. While I now have it…hm. :/

So the formula is great, as it is with most Barielle polishes. However, I love colors like this and normally they are so flattering on me…this one…not so much. It was actually disappointing.

Great application and the formula was a dream to apply. It was a bit lumpy because of the glitter, but a couple of applications of top coat took care of that. It did take a while for this to dry in between coats, but it wasn’t as bad as some other polishes I’ve used.

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Barielle Myrza’s Meadow – Shade

Indirect light/shade shot. I think this color would’ve been better without the glitter. I really love the base.

Barielle Myrza’s Meadow – Sun

The sun drowned out the glitter on the nail, but not in the bottle.

Barielle Myrza’s Meadow – Flash

I like the flash shot and how the glitter shows up, but again, I think this polish would be better without it.

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I’ve already shown you some other colors from Halo Hues. They’ve proven to be some serious contenders against other holographics and I will buy holos whenever I can, but I won’t break any records nor will I knock anyone over to purchase them.

Blue Heaven, in my opinion, isn’t any different than any other holo. However, like other holos, it does have its quirks. While it’s not as flashy as others, it still is a gorgeous color. Pale blue, as you will see in the first shot, yet it comes to life in the sun and with flash.

Application is wonderful…I do like polishes that dry quickly and give me as little stress as possible in application. Quick drying in two coats and a fairly easy to work with – better than most holos! I did find this a bit thicker than the other holos, but I was fine with that. Though slightly thicker, it really didn’t impede or impair application.

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Color Club Blue Heaven – Shade

Super pretty in the shade. A nice cool tone!

Color Club Blue Heaven – Shade 2

Partial shade. But look at the prettiness that is starting to shine through.

Color Club Blue Heaven – Sun 1

Slightly blurry to show the awesomeness of this color.

Color Club Blue Heaven – Sun 2

Full-on sun shot.

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The Halo Hues line was also one of the most anticipated holographic lines to release since…who knows when?

Even I, in my jaded state of mind, wanted it. However, I wasn’t going to rush out and get it the moment everyone else did. I waited until my nail guys got it in…and I was a bit shocked at the price – $7 a bottle. You’ve got to remember, I’m used to paying $4 or less.

Side note and some gossip on the brand Color Club itself…did you know that Essie and her husband split up maybe a year or two ago? When I say Essie, I mean Essie Weingarten as in Essie the woman behind Essie nail polish! They split up the business and she got to keep Essie and he kept – get this! – Color Club. Or so that’s what my nail guy told me. He says he deals with the man directly at Color Club and they’ve got like a bromance going on. Who knew?!

Anyway…back to Color Club Cherubic~

Color Club Cherubic is this amazing neutral beige. I was thinking of doing a comparison to another China Glaze holo that I own, but I’m gonna be honest – I was feeling like a lazy heifer and I didn’t want to dig through my China Glaze stash. I know where it is, but I was lazy…and it was cold!

Formula on this is typical of a holo…So I worked fast and hoped I didn’t do any crazy dragging of the color. I didn’t use my NFU Oh Aqua base because I didn’t feel I needed it…and I didn’t. When you swatch enough holos you get a feel for the formula very quickly and I liked how fast this one dried. Lickety-split fast.

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Color Club Cherubic – Shade

The beige looks almost like a silver.

Color Club Cherubic – Flash

Flashtastic flash does its fabulous work on the holo. BOOM!

Color Club Cherubic – Sun

So pretty! It looks like a silver-beige in this sunlight shot.

Overall I’d say get the Halo Hues if you can…I’ve got a feeling that these will be like China Glaze’s Kaleidoscope, OMG and LOL collection – once it’s gone, it will be gone. There will be imitators, but they won’t take the place of the originals.

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Butter London Swinger is not exactly the color I’d think of when I think of swingers. I picture bad carpeting…on the floor and the people involved. Even in the 70s there were some questionable hygiene moments and no one really started shaving nether regions until the early to late 80s. I guess there was a lot of grass-green shag carpeting that was rampant in the UK during the 60s, which inspired the owner of Butter London to call this particular shade Swinger.

I still don’t see the correlation.

Formula for this is your typical Butter London glitter – a bit gritty. It was also a bit moody in dry time. I’ve had some Butter London glitters dry as soon as I finished one hand. This one was a bit longer. Almost ten minutes between coats. Like other Butter London glitters, it didn’t really sparkle and shine for the camera like other glitters I’ve swatched and sported. The images below are two coats.

If you’re a fan of green, I’d say get this. While this is not my favorite Butter London glitter, it certainly is pretty enough to remain in my collection…despite its vulgar name.

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Butter London Swinger – Macro

To be honest, in the bottle, I was reminded of Oscar the Grouch green. Aren’t you?

Butter London Swinger – Shade

In the bottle still Oscar green, but on the nail it reminds me of grass.

Butter London Swinger – Sun

I don’t know what or how Butter London does to their glitter, but somehow they managed to make their glitters dull and lifeless…the only exception to that is The Black Knight. To this day that is my go-to black glitter polish. It still makes me swoon after a year of owning it.

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Spumoni is this mint green close to sheer base with pink, white and brown various shaped glitter. It really does remind me of spumoni. Does it taste like it? Not sure since I am not brave enough to try and taste nail polish!

Like any chunky glitter, it can be a little difficult to work with because sometimes the glitter doesn’t fall where you want it to or you don’t get the pieces you want out and in the order you would like. If you’re not a glitter freak, you won’t understand. If you’re not a perfectionist, you won’t understand. I decided to throw it all into the wind…and let the glitter fall where it wanted to. Do I wish bigger pieces of pink glitter came out? Yes, I do! It’s gorgeous and fun.

Drying time was a bit longer than anticipated, but it still dried faster than some nail polish I have.

Note: Undies used was YSL Jade Imperial.

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Lynnderella Spumoni – Macro

Pretty macro shot. Gorgeous shapes of glitter that are also textured. Very cool.

Lynnderella Spumoni – Shade

I think this is my favorite shot I took of this pretty glitter.

Lynnderella Spumoni – Sun

Sun makes nail polish go BOOM! It’s pretty…but like I said above, I prefer the shade shot of this.

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I wish I could say I would do a comparison, but I can’t. I had the opportunity years ago to purchase Chanel Jade, but I passed, thinking it wasn’t really a color I wanted. Oh, how I regret that. I just remember thinking if I couldn’t make up my mind on if I wanted it or not, I don’t really want it. Then I heard Milani Dressmaker was a dead-on dupe, so of course I had to get it.

Formula for this was incredibly frustrating — slow to dry, a pain to really shore up and get into a coherent consistency. You may actually see bald spots on my nails in the swatches if you enlarge them. This was an extremely runny formula – moreso than almost any polish I’ve ever owned. It was almost like water. It took me four coats and an hour and a half dry time before I even remotely felt safe in slapping on some top coat.

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Milani Dressmaker – Shade

Who would’ve ever thought this pretty color would be such a pain? I didn’t.

Milani Dressmaker – Flash

Green shimmer on my pointer finger. You don’t see it in the shade, though.

Milani Dress Maker – Sun

Strong sunlight turns this almost minty…Mmm…mint…mint ice cream…Mmmm. Slight shimmer can be spotted on my pinky!

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