Zoya Storm Swatch and Review

I am trying to figure out what this year's "Gangdam Style" is at weddings. Man I heard that song so much last year and I think this year I've heard a lot of Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines" but let's face it - it's just not the same, haha! Anyway today I've got Zoya Storm, which is from Zoya's Winter 2012 Ornate collection. I kept seeing it and wanting it and I decided to pick it up from Nail Polish Canada a couple of months ago.

Zoya Storm is a black based polish, jam packed with holographic micro flakes. Application and formula were flawless. I don't often use that word, but it had such even and smooth coverage, I can't find any other words for it. It covered beautifully in two coats and seriously, my swatch is without top coat. It dries to a high gloss finish and it looks freaking great. Here's my swatch in two coats:













Yeah, I am pretty much in love. It's also super holographic in the sun. I definitely recommend to pick this one up if you've been eye-ing it for a while like I had! I am certainly not disappointed.

Do any of you guys own Storm? Did you get it before everyone else got it and called it cool? (Haha!) What polishes did you lust after a while before getting it? Were you happy with it?

Sally Hansen Fuzzy Coat #500 Fuzz-Sea Swatch and Review

Hello, I am back! Sorry about that - I was going to rock some Shitty Nail Art Monday but I've been so busy with weddings and I didn't have any photos in my queue. But alas! Here I am today, just in time for Cheap Polish Tuesday. Today I've got one of the polishes I was coveting so hard this year - Sally Hansen Fuzzy Coat Fuzz-Sea. I got this one on sale at Shoppers Drug Mart last week for $4.99 - I believe the regular price is around $7. Anyway, sale price sneaks this polish into my Cheap Polish Tuesday!

Sally Hansen Fuzzy Coat Fuzz-Sea is a fair dense mix of lime green and teal micro bar glitters that are almost fiber-like in a clear suspension base. Formula wise it applied OK, but the glitter distribution was a little finicky. Like most textured polishes, secondary coats always stick closer to the first coat's texture foundations. So in other words, if the fiber glitters were favouring mostly one side, the secondary coat would favour that side as well. In order to get full coverage, quite a few coats are needed. I used between three to four. According to Sally Hansen's website, this polish is supposed to finish with a "3D textured, woven fiber effect" (source). I honestly don't like the "3D effect" - I don't think it's an effect at all, it just sounds like a marketing phrase blanketing the fact that that's what the glitters will do when it dries.

Here's Sally Hansen Fuzzy Coat Fuzz-Sea with one coat:



Here's Sally Hansen Fuzzy Coat Fuzz-Sea with two coats:



Here's Sally Hansen Fuzzy Coat in three to four coats on the nail without any top coat:











So the "3D effect" isn't much of an effect at all as you can see - I do like the "3D aspect" in that you can see all the layers of the fiber glitters over top one another in their own layers, but that maintains itself even with a nice top coat. Here it is with Seche Vite, as you can see - there's no noticeable different with the overall look:





Anyway I hope it doesn't sound like I am tearing Fuzz-Sea a new asshole; I honestly thought this polish was pretty cool, and I don't have anything exactly like it in my collection. The closest I have to it would be Daily Lacquer's circus collection. The only thing I didn't like was my own application - I couldn't quite get the sides. Next time I will have to apply on those sides directly, or I will try wearing a base colour underneath, maybe something similar to OPI Fly to match the teal fiber glitters.

I recommend picking this one up if you spot it on sale and if you're looking for something kind of bizarre. Have you tried any of Sally Hansen's Fuzzy Coats? Do you think that this was actually intended to be a "texture" polish, or do you think it's a marketing phrase?

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure #560 Mermaid's Tale Swatch and Review

It's Friday here on Claw of Cthulhu, and I'm taking a vacation day on Monday! I don't know if I'll be back on Monday or Tuesday but in either case, I'll be back next week at some point. Today I've got a polish that I am actually surprisingly excited about - Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure #560 Mermaid's Tale from the Under the Sea collection! I picked this up from Target Canada, when it opened here in the Lower Mainland. It cost on the high end at $8.97.



Sally Hansen Mermaid's Tale is a sheer ocean toned blue jelly, with blue and green hex glitters, sprinked with smaller blue glitters. Application wise was good, however the jelly was very sheer and even though it can be built on its own, I would layer this glitter over top of a creme next time. The brush was flat and wide, similar to the brush in the Insta-Dri line and was easy to work with. As I stated before, it's really sheer, so in order to build up my swatch, I ended up having to use about three to four coats, which is extremely ridiculous. Here's my swatch without top coat:







Here's a photo of the bottle and brush:



I think Sally Hansen has so many different polish lines, so I had to look up what exactly do they mean by "Complete Salon Manicure". Here's a copypasta on Sally Hansen's description of what you get with their Complete Salon Manicure line:

Skip the salon, get the results. Don't settle for just color when you can get a base coat, strengthener, growth treatment, salon-inspired color, top coat, chip-resistance and a gel finish all in 1 bottle. Featuring the unique precision brush for a flawless finish and patented Vita Care technology for advanced 10 day wear, more shine and nourishing care.

I've also read that the Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure line is "5-Free (including formaldehyde resin and camphor, which can be an irritant)" (source), despite them not advertising it on their website.

I really liked this colour. Like, a lot. I know that Sally Hansen claims it's an all-in-one formula, but honestly, I think this colour benefits from a glossy top coat. Here's a coat of Seche Vite over top:





I love it, guys, I really do. Now, supposedly this is a dupe for Deborah Lippmann's Across the Universe, which I wanted so badly, but couldn't bite the bullet for $22. Now it's completely sold out on Nail Polish Canada, with no intention of a restock, but to be honest - I really, really liked Sally Hansen's Mermaid's Tale - even if I felt weird for spending $9 on a Sally Hansen polish. It's an extremely pretty glitterbomb that I am sure will get worn multiple times.

What do you think of Mermaid's Tale? Do you believe in all-in-one polish formulas, or do you still slap on base coat and top coat afterwards? Can anyone confirm this is a Deborah Lippmann dupe? Welp, that's all for now - I hope you enjoy your weekends and I'll see y'all next week!

Essie No Place Like Chrome Swatch and Review (Bonus: Pre-Claw of Cthulhu Nail Pic Lulz)

Hey guys so I am waiting for my car to get all fixed up at the shop and since there's nothing better to do (OK I am sure I could actually do some work but enh), I'm here. Right now. At a Starbucks with a hibiscus berry green coffee refresher and an egg white and turkey bacon breakfast sandwich. Stealing wi-fi. Mwahaha. Anyway.

Today I've got a polish from Essie from the Mirror Metallics collection released in 2012. This is Essie No Place Like Chrome, which is a slick metallic foil silver. I know many of us want the shiniest glossiest "mirror" shine but it doesn't seem like there's any polish that actually mimics that. The closest you can get to that kind of effect is to use nail wraps. Application and formula wise, this one can be tricky if you're not careful. It will pull on application with multiple brush strokes, however it will also self level to an extent. Despite the weird application, it does cover quite nicely and finishes beautifully. With that said, beware: this polish will reveal all of your nail's flaws. Do you have a ridge? It will show. Did you not remove all the polish and any cotton residue? It will show. Did you apply this polish with multiple brush strokes, creating issues do the polish can't level? Don't worry, that will show too. Anyway, here's my swatch in two coats without any top coat:







I honestly thought my nails were reasonably healthy looking but see how this polish exposes the explicit shape and all flaws on my nail? I'm not too hot on that part.

You might also recognize this polish from when I was highlighting Fandom Cosmetics. If you missed out, here's one coat of Fandom Cosmetics Rumbelle over Essie No Place Like Chrome. As you can see, the glitter kind of hides all the flaws, but I also find the nature of this strong foil to really overpower the glitter. I've seen this already so I don't know why I keep trying. You'll see -





Anyway what I mean by I've seen this before is when I used Essie No Place Like Chrome underneath Rainbow Honey The Worst Possible Thing. It again, was overpowered by the strong silver foil. Also, this is hilarious because these photos are before I started Claw of Cthulhu. I don't know if they're better or worse - hopefully they're worse - but I kind of miss the white background sometimes. Anyway I also decided to add some black half moons, but in hindsight, I should have gone for the Louboutin look instead. Here's some photos of Essie No Place Like Chrome with Rainbow Honey The Worst Possible Thing before this nail blog mess all happened:



Overall, I like No Place Like Chrome for what it is. I think every polish needs a polish like this - it's really opaque as well and makes a great stamping polish if you work fast enough. What do you think of this foil effect? Will your nails survive the flaw revealing polish? Do you have any embarrassing pre-blog photos that you'd share?

Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear Gunmetal Swatch and Review (Bonus: Rainbow Honey The Worst Possible Thing)

It is Cheap Tuesday where everything is cheap like tacos and movies so today in the world of Claw of Cthulhu, it's no different - it's Cheap Polish Tuesday where we explore and discover polishes that are found on sale or at regular price for $5 or less. Today I've got a Sally Hansen polish and Sally Hansen seems to have so many permutations of lines, it gets a little confusing. This from the Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear line. I know this one is definitely under $5 at Shoppers Drug Mart up north here, but I for sure picked this one up for $2 on sale.

OK this will be a mouthful... Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear Gunmetal is gunmetal with cold undertones and finishes a tad frosty. It matches my Volkswagen Jetta's gunmetal colour very closely! Formula and application wise, it goes on quite nicely and has slight frost finish. It will probably have the tendency to streak, so apply with minimal brush strokes on the last coat. My swatch is 2 coats and no top coat:







I've also used this polish before when I made matching nails with my car. Ch-ch-ch-check it out:





And of course, for funsies, I added some Rainbow Honey because Rainbow Honey is my favourite and for the last couple of months, I've made the decision to only buy Rainbow Honey polishes until next year. (Albeit we'll see how well I do with that one.) Here's one coat of The Worst Possible Thing over top:







Now as for being 3 Free, that's where I am a little unclear. It isn't labelled on the bottle. I've also read that the Sally Hansen Hard as Nails top coat is not 3 Free - not sure if the same is to be said about the polish line! But I'd consider that a buyer beware.

How are you rocking Cheap Tuesday? I am seeing Pacific Rim for a second time tonight - this time in 3D! (Even though I hate 3D movies.) What do you think of this gunmetal? Are you aware of any other polishes that are similar and might be 3 Free?

Hayao Miyazaki Universe Soot Inspired Nail Art

I am not a Monday person. I am not a morning person either. So when you've got me on a Monday morning, it's kind of like hanging out with your cat if you just took it to a vet for shots. Anyway today is Shitty Nail Art Monday and I've got some Hayao Miyazaki inspired nail art today. If you've seen Spirited Away or My Neighbour Totoro, you know what these little guys are - they are the soot dudes! They're adorable!

I used OPI Alpine White for a base, and with OPI Black Onyx, I dabbed some black blots, purposely making them a bit "brushy". Then I used a dotting tool for the eyes - the bigger end for the whites, and a finer end for the pupils. I was too lazy to put on top coat but I think it would have been beneficial. Ah well.







Anyway I think I might tackle a more elaborate Hayao Miyazaki nail art another day. I thought these soot dudes were pretty simple! Maybe next time I'll put them over a nicer colour than a plain white.

Speaking of Japanese-esque kind of things - if you grew up with the likes of Power Rangers, Macross Plus, Godzilla - go see Pacific Rim. Oh goodness, I LOVED IT. Have you done any nail art that was surprisingly easy?

Sonnetarium Daydreams and Moonbeams Swatch and Review

Hey guys, welcome to Thursday - which means it's Friday here on Claw of Cthulhu so I'll see y'all next week. I apparently still suck at scheduling my posts in advance but at least I am prepping everything in advance. Or something. Today I've got an indie polish from Sonnetarium, which I picked up from Beauty Pop Shop. I always somehow get nervous when buying from a new vendor online, but I received my order fairly quickly which is great.

So Sonnetarium has an exclusive Sailor Moon inspired collection to Beauty Pop Shop called the Moonlight Fight Collection. I've got one of the most coveted polishes from the collection today - Sonnetarium Daydreams and Moonbeams, which is a white crelly base with a mix of glitter - red hearts, gold and sky blue hexes, and red and gold speck glitters. Formula wise, it applies very well, but with glitter mixes like these, you want to be sure to fish out some of the heart for the final coat. I actually built up a base with Zoya Snow White, because I always want to make glitter application my number one priority, rather than having to focus on opacity building. Here's two and a half (half meaning there was a bit of fishing and touch-up) of Sonnetarium Daydreams and Moonbeams over a Zoya Snow White base. I added a top coat of Seche Vite for a glossy and even look:











This is by far, one of the best Sailor Moon inspired polishes out there today. I could see the inspiration from all three of the Moonlight Fight collection, but this one kills it for me. LOVE IT. The only problem is that it's hard to get your hands on it. I personally waited about 6 months before finally placing an order for it from Beauty Pop Shop. Also I would have loved to get a full sized bottle of this, so this is definitely going to be a "special occasion" polishes for me, as the bottles only contain 9mL.

Do you have any cool plans for the weekend? Why am I the only person who hasn't seen Pacific Rim? Anyway what do you think is your favourite Sailor Moon inspired polish? There's a few of em out there - what's your pick?

Zoya Piaf Swatch and Review (Bonus: Rainbow Honey A Little Kindness)

I am feeling a little blue, so obviously the cure is some yellow. (Wait, what?) Yeah, it makes sense. For serious. So today I've got a Zoya polish, which I scooped up from the impulse buy section by the cashiers at Winners. Usually at Winners, they sell Zoya polishes for $5.99 - I think it's a fair price since I really like their polishes and they're a rare sighting.

Zoya Piaf is a frosty pastel lemon with a bit of shimmer in the mix. It's from the Lovely Collection, released earlier this year in the spring. Formula and application wise, this one went on smoothly after two coats. It's really crucial for a yellow to be even because if it's patchy, it's really noticeable. I would say that if you want to do complete coverage, you can go for a third coat, but I wasn't too picky and I was impressed with the even couple of layers. Here's my swatch in two coats, without a top coat:









Zoya Piaf's lemon meringue hue reminded me of some pony by the name of Fluttershy, so I just had to pull out Rainbow Honey A Little Kindness from the Equestria collection. Here's one coat of A Little Kindness over Zoya Piaf.





And here's my keys - I tend to keep Fluttershy with me wherever I go, hehe:



Do you have a go-to polish when you're feeling bad about things? Are there any other closet bronies/pegasisters out there? Just me? OK.