Return with ILNP

I really dropped the ball.  I didn't return when I said I would, purely out of laziness.  I have been buying and assembling furniture, taking down fug wallpaper, etc, so I have been busy.  Luckily, no breaks.

I've also made minor appearance changes to the blog.  I think it looks better and I'm pretty happy with it.  Hopefully I can get off my bum and make more posts.

Today is ILNP.  I hauled these when she discontinued the old bottles and branding.  I admit, I'm sad to see it go.  I never was a big fan of round bottles, but ILNP bottles were so symmetrically that I just didn't mind. Nay, I actually really liked their shape.  I can't complain about square though.  I'm planning on getting some soon in the new bottle, so I'll have to let you know what I think.

Oooo...pretty

To start off my return, I'm just showing one of these lovelies.  Black Orchid is a dark vampy red burgundy.  This is pretty dark, but I feel it's special because it still never looks black, even in low light.  This looks good on me (if I do say so myself) and is a real keeper.  Formula was good.  Two coats makes it fully opaque.  It's a bit of a thinner formula but this is really easy to clean and doesn't appear to stain the cuticles.

  

There's also some subtle holo to this.  I wouldn't get thinking this is bam!, in yo FACE, holo because it's not going to do that.  But it's nice that it's there when the right light hits it.  Here's a flash shot to show it off.

ooooo...

That's it for now.  I have no idea what I'm going to do next.

I Love Nail Polish - Sirene

I'm back yet again with another beauty AND some swatch comparisons.  Today is Sirene, a beautiful ultra chrome from I Love Nail Polish.

This polish has an amazing shift, primarily in the green to purple family, but there is a smattering of blue that I've been able to pick up.  You don't need to layer this over black, however, you might want to to save on coats.  I did only two but ideally three would be best alone.  It's gorgeous.

This is the second time I've worn this.  I didn't actually think this the first time, but upon applying this time around, I thought "Gee...this looks like something...".  I went and pulled out both my Essie "For the Twill of it" and Essence "Chic Reloaded" (I apologize, this is discontinued but you may still be able to find it).  Upon swatching, I realized that they're sort of similar, but they're not the same.  Sirene has a definite green shift, and while the other two do have hints of green, it is not nearly as strong as Sirene.  Also, both Chic Reloaded and FTTOI are...darker.  I'm not sure if that makes sense, but they're more smokey looking.  They are close, but honestly if I had to pick one, it would be Sirene. The good thing about swatching all three is you get a good look at Chic Reloaded and FTTOI together.  They're real close.  You don't need both of those.

Sirene, Chic Reloaded, FTTOI

FTTOI, Chic Reloaded, Sirene

FTTOI, Chic Reloaded, Sirene

Formula wise, Sirene is good, though was getting concernedly thick there towards the end.  I ended up thinning it afterward because there was just so much polish gooped up around the handle that it was getting ridiculous.  Despite this it was still serviceable (and I like when polishes behave enough in these situations). This bubbled like crazy though...I don't remember if it did so on our first rodeo together, but I was shaking the bottle to keep it going, so it was probably on me.

If you are interested in getting your hands on Sirene, please go to ilnp.com and check out the Ultra Chromes.

I Love Nail Polish - Birenfringence (H)

Hey everyone!  I've got a lovely today.  I had initially planned on having a holo at the ready, but what do you know...it always rains when I wear a holo.  It will have to wait another day, sadly.  But I do have a goody today that I've had for a little while.

If you've never had a the pleasure of having an I Love Nail Polish, you're missing out.  The packaging is divine. The box it comes in is lovely and showcases the bottle with the shape of a heart cut out.  The bottle itself seems like a nice one, with a rubberized handle.  It's just a really great design overall.

This was one of my first orders with I<3NP, and I really liked the idea of getting holo and duochrome in one, thus opting for this version.  However, holo will dull polish colors (I think this is why it's hard to find good red and black linears) so keep that in mind when ordering.  

This has some great color shifts which are pretty easily seen in the bottle shot. Blue, purple and a yellow/green are apparent and the holo is fairly decent, though could just as easily have been topped with a holo top coat to get the same effect.

The formula on this was wonderful.  I wasn't really sure what to expect since I had no base black coat but I only needed two coats and they were easy too.

Please check out Barbra's collection at her website, http://www.ilnp.com/.  She does the multichromes right.

Please note: I am entirely unaffiliated with this company.  I purchased this, and all of my other bottles of ILNP myself because they're too stinking pretty.