Color Club - Worth the Risque

Hello everyone! What a polish I have for you today.. boy! Holos have been in somewhat short supply in the last few years. Apparently the supplies to make them are pretty expensive. :( There has been somewhat of a resurgence now with some great holos by Layla and HITS but they're still pretty darn pricey. I only own a few holos and hoard them a little bit.. can you blame me? Color Club made some great ones a few years ago and I'm trying to collect them all. Worth the Risque is one of these and it's all mine thanks to a kind swapper on MUA. :)

Silver holos are pretty common so the color of this isn't too special but it's the holo effect that makes it so fun and enchanting. It really is like having rainbows on your nails! One of the best things about this is that the holo is fairly strong and the formula isn't bad; some stronger holos need special bases to make sure they apply smoothly. This was two quick coats with no topcoat since some topcoats dull the holo effect. The nice thing about holos is that they generally dry quickly so not having topcoat isn't a big deal. I've had this on for a few days and have noticed something interesting: the polish seems to be rubbing off in places instead of chipping. I've never seen that with any other polish! It's certainly not bad, as you can't see much wear at all in my picture, just interesting.

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Zoya - Adina

Hello everyone! Today's polish is a definite oddball.. in a good way. I've never seen anything like it! After wearing such a traditional color like my last post, you know I had to put on something a little wild. :) Adina definitely fits the bill! It's a super-flashy purple/green duochrome that makes me think of space and beetles and those really cool custom cars with duochrome paint. The purple base is a little more reddish than it shows here but the green is just about spot on! It looks so cool in both bright sun and low light. Since it's a duochrome, the formula is a little thinner but no problem at all. This was three quick coats. I bet it would look awesome over black! Please excuse the tipwear, I apparently had a bit of shrinking with this.

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Zoya - Sarah

Hello everyone! Here's a little surprise for you.. a red! I've spoken before about how infrequently I wear reds. It's not that I don't like the color, there are just so few that catch my eye. Sarah definitely did, though. I got this when Zoya had their Valentine's Day promotion this year where you got a free red polish and free shipping with any order. They're one of my favorite companies so I knew I'd find a great red.

Sarah is a multifaceted red, full of subtle color changes that make it a joy to look at in all lights. It's especially vibrant in sunlight, though! You can see the sparkle and liveliness on my middle nail and a hint at how it looks in indoor light on my pinky nail. There's also a subtle golden flash that emerges sometimes in bright light. The formula was superb, very smooth and easy. I only needed 2 coats. Just be careful with your application and cleanup! It's so pigmented that you can have a tiny bit of staining and some of the sparkle might stick on your skin after you go over it with your cleanup brush.

I think I'm going to stay at this shorter length for a while. I do miss having my long nails but this is more manageable for sure!

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Essie - Navigate Her

Hello there! Here's a quick post of a new color. Navigate Her is a recent release from Essie for Spring, and I think it's a great fit for the season. It's a slightly yellow dusty light green that makes me think of pistachios and mint milkshakes and fresh, tiny tree branches. It's fun and clean. :) I know I've complained about Essie's formula in the past and I still wouldn't say it's one of my favorites, but I've learned how to deal with it. This applied fairly easy for an Essie. The first coat was streaky but the second evened things out nicely. It will look uneven before you put on top coat but these Essie cremes seem to just need some time to settle down and get smooth.

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China Glaze - Fast Track

Hello everyone! I can't believe it's the first of April already. It feels like New Year's Day was just yesterday.. I hope you're having a pleasant Spring so far. :) You'll notice my nails are much shorter here. It's no April Fool's prank! I broke my thumbnails in two separate incidents and developed a bad nick in another nail, so I trimmed them down. Thankfully I didn't have to go to full nubbins, but these definitely feel very short. I needed to do some filing down anyways.. I just never expected it to go this far!

Fast Track is another polish from the Hunger Games collection. It's the one I've looked forward to most and I'm extremely pleased with it! The base is a greyed yellowish beige that's FILLED with golden shimmer! It's really striking in the sun, just sparkly and lovely. In the shade the shimmer is more subdued, but still visible. I think you could probably get away with this at work. It's definitely more interesting than your usual beige. When  I put it on, I was reminded somewhat of Zoya Jules; while they're somewhat similar (though you can't see Jules' gorgeous shimmer too well in that old picture), Jules has a much more grey-brown base, much cooler toned than Fast Track, I think. I can't get enough of these types of colors though. I think they're classy and chic without being dull. The formula was a pleasure as well, two simple coats giving me the coverage I wanted.

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