I need to drag out the real camera

but I won't, because it's infinitely easier to snap the photos in between checking on what the world is up to. 

This manicure did not photograph very well, but it was stunning in person. 

Two coats of Color Club First Look, a sultry deep blueish greenish with just a hint of shimmer.  The accent nails are an addition of one coat of Butter London Henley Regatta, a fabulous blue green micro glitter that really added light to the dark base. 

I covered all nails with a coat of Wicked Fast and called it a day. 

Long Live The Queen!

Or the McQueen, depending on where you buy your Butter London polishes.

A really gorgeous shimmery champagne that gets awesome opacity in three careful coats.  I really loved this shade on me because it was just dark enough to not give me weird flesh-y nails, but it wasn't so dark that I got creepy lobster hands.

Sandwiches Without Peanut Butter

I've never been on the PB bandwagon like so many of you fools out there.  Every once in a while I get a hankerin' for some, but one sandwich and four hours of sucking the roof of my mouth later, I'm over it.

Luckily, today's manicure is carb and food glue free!  All you need is a good jelly, some glitter, and a couple of nails that need dressing up.

Zoya Frida encapsulates Butter London Henley Regatta

And I go la la la la la - she's got the look...but uh-oh...that giant pinky is coming straight for you!

Aaaaaaargh, it's going to get you with its tiny irregular nail tip that I didn't even see until just now.
Nice filing, clawface.

The microglitter is a PITA to clean up, clearly, but man this payoff is so so worth it.

I had tried a jelly sandwich previously, again using Frida and another sparse glitter I thought would go well with it, but I hated it.  I think the difference this time was I used two coats as a base, instead of one, which works much better for my personal aesthetic.  I just don't like the super transparent ghost finish that most jellies have, so I "made it work".  Butter London Henley Regatta, a fantastic blue/green micro shimmer suspended in clear base, made the perfect partner for this one.  Frida turns everything this really ethereal turquoise that is just gorgeous.  I mean, sparkly in all lights mood elevating fantastic.

Smoke Signals

Man, I am ON the Butter London train.  Every single color I've tried has been not only fantastic formula-wise, but absolutely insanely gorgeous color-wise.  I bet that it helps that while I'm standing in Ulta looking through bottles I'll review swatches online on my phone.  I know I'm blocking the aisle a little bit because it's on an endcap, but KEEP MOVING YOU DONT NEED ANY MORE URBAN DECAY, LADY.

If I'm going to pay upwards of $10 a bottle (I only buy during Buy 2 Get 1 sales) then I'm going to take my time.  But I can't get over how cute the packaging is, and how great the polishes are; they're just fantastic.

Today is another winner from my beloved, Butter London Big Smoke.  It's a pearly midnight blue with shimmery cadet blue (ooo, fancy!) flecks to give it some depth.

I forgot to take a picture in the sun, or they were all shaky and I deleted them.  Who knows!

The sun is bad for you anyway.

This is two coats of Big Smoke, which was perfect opacity, followed by a topper of Seche Vite.  BL makes those great self-leveling formulas too, so you don't have to worry about moving your brush around too much to hide strokes.

It's got a deep rich tone all its own, so I was happy to add it to my ever-blossoming "blue" drawer, as I don't have anything quite like it.

Holly Jolly Green Midget

I know, another green so soon?  Don't blame me - blame Ulta and their 20% off your purchase coupon.

But since that has expired, you can use that time to get off your couch/computer chair, and go VOTE!  Don't be one of those "my vote won't count because my state turns ____ every year anyway."  Yes it does!  Go!

Back to the business at hand...I added a few to my stash on Sunday, and Butter London's Jack the Lad was one of them.  I'm a sucker for most glitters, but this one is beautiful right there in the bottle.  A mix of green/gold/turquoise and sparkle, I snapped it up and when I got home, I compared my swatch sticks to find a perfect base.

Zoya Ray and Butter London Jack the Lad

Beautifully simple in the shade...

...and fiery green genius in the sun.  Shield your eyes from the awesome!

Zoya Ray is an absolutely flawless pine green that's almost imperceptibly dark in the shade.  It's got just a touch of frost in the light, and it's forest color really comes through in the sun.  I did two coats of Ray on all fingers, and it only took one of Jack the Lad to highlight my index and middle fingers.  It makes a really beautiful tonal match, pairing the two together.

Just another danger free combination from two of my favorite people (and animal!) friendly polishes.

Peacocks Are My Favorite

Doing a little upscale shopping this weekend, I came upon the Deborah Lippmann Santa Baby collection at Neiman Marcus.  Apparently, this fabulous trio is exclusive to the chain, and after sampling "Sleigh Bells", I knew I had to have it.  The trio is so new that I can't find it on the website, or anywhere really, so I'll be swatching tonight.

But first things first, let's talk about how much I love duo-chrome polishes.  Anything that's not metallic, or chrome-y, or looks like a sewage spill.  But the rest of the duo-chromes!  Like Sleigh Bells which is a gorgeous green/purple/blue (trio-chrome?) with the softest amount of shimmer:

Deborah Lippmann Sleigh Bells with Butter London Tart With a Heart

I color-corrected too much so you could see the shift.
I'm also still reaching for the stars on my clean-up jobs.

Isn't it fabulous?  I love it probably the best out of every polish shade I've bought to date - and I am not a blue nail fan.  The application was a dream - this is ONE.COAT.  I had not previously purchased any Lippmann polishes, as they are a bit out of my budget day-to-day, but this trio is worth it.  I'll have The First Noel and This Christmas up tonight so you can see the glorious shimmery goodness.