If you ask me, I think YSL's Tie & Dye La Lacque is quite a genius product.

While simple in function, performing as a glitzy topcoat to add some spice to your manicure, the beautiful and interesting settling of the product makes you need it in your stash.

Which is probably why I ended up with it even though I hardly have time to paint my nails these days.

A Spring 2013 release, these Tie & Dye La Lacques are sold in extremely limited quantities on our shores. Word is that only 24 pieces per color were brought in (to the YSL Boutique at ION only) and they could very well be sold out by now.

I managed to pick one up by dropping by the YSL Ion Boutique when the stocks were in but testers and word of the release was not out yet.

When left to stand (for quite a long while), the polish settles into three beautiful layers, perfectly showcasing the formula.

Though when shaken up, it appears like a shimmery, shiny, and part metallic mixture.

The polish is fairly liquid too hence it is not hard to shake it up.

Going for S$35 each, these polishes give a hint of color with more emphasis on the glowing shimmer and shine.

Hip coat, the one I have here, has a purple-ish hue to it along with occasional flashes of pearly blue and green tones.

Amongst the 4 shades, this caught my eye the most and seemed the prettiest and most unique, though they are all gorgeous.

I did not bother with doing a swatch of it alone because I anticpated the sheerness of it. Thus, here is Hip Coat worn a monochromatic base.

Base Colors –
MAC Dark Enough? + Random White Polish

Base Color + YSL Hip Coat –

Pardon the spam but at certain angles Hip Coat, while being largely purple, can look a little greenish too.

While I applied 2 coats of Hip Coat over the white base, apparently it hardly shows up on camera and the black base has stolen the show. In person, it is a soft irridescent touch but hardly noticeable unless you were inspecting it.

I have a mind to try Hip Coat over a purple base, just to see how it would transform. Though that is if I can find time to paint my nails again!

For swatches of the other shades, do visit Ommorphia!

Though as I had mentioned, they could be sold out locally by now.

Thanks for reading and hope everyone enjoys their (Labour) day off!

I am slowly waddling my way through this all to familiar term, backlog. So I hope you don't mind me putting up all these items I have received from awhile ago.

Awhile ago being towards the end of last year.

❧

It was during my confinement period when Nicole by OPI held their bloggers event, thus I could not head down for it but they were kind enough to send over a generous bag of polishes for me to swatch to my hearts delight.

I have 10 Nicole by OPI bottles with me, all from the brand as I did not own one prior to this.

I am not unfamiliar to Nicole by OPI but with the amount of polishes on hand (and other distractions), I never gave myself the opportunity to look at their offerings until now.

The polishes they sent are a good spectrum of colors and even contained shades that I do not have in my stash – such as that bright pink, bright yellow and bright green that you see there!

So... maybe there are some 'loopholes' in my stash. And we all know what that means.... heh.

Nicole by OPI polishes, as many of you may already know, comes with a flat brush and isn't too long in length. Polish brushes of this design and length are my favorite because it applies easily and the length allows for good control.

In terms of the Nicole by OPI brushes, I found them easy to work with. There was nothing overly spectacular yet the design and size did allow for easy application.

Since I don't have time to paint my nails that often these days and do not want to go for an uncoordinated skittle nail look, I decided to make use of my nail wheel once again to show you some swatches!

All swatches done below were done with 2 coats regardless if the polishes are still sheer or were easily opaque in one coat.

Here's a bit of a rundown about each shade.

• Berry Sweet is a chrome-like shiny red. It reminds me of Danke Shiny Red which is now in my mom's possession so I welcome this color very much.
• Reach Out is a lovely jelly pink shade. While it is a jelly, it still remains vibrant in color.
• It Starts With Me is a rusted champagne shade. It is a little sheer at 2 coats but would maybe look quite nice with 3. Alternatively it could be used atop another color
• Light A Candle was easily opaque in one coat. Some brush strokes are inevitable with this blue-ish metalic shade but it isn't obvious nor would I classify it as streaky.
• You're A Star is a sheer polish, made to serve as a topcoater to add sparkles

Now on to the second batch of shades, featuring 2 colors from the Kardashian Kolor collection.

• Keeping Up With Santa appears very similar to Berry Sweet (above) but is more darkened in appearance which would make it easier and more understated to wear for some. The red jewel tone is still very lovely regardless.
• Deck the Dolls is a beautiful pearly cyan-blue shade. It does have a chrome and slight metalic effect to it resulting in some brush strokes being apparent but yet again, not streaky in my terms.
• Purple Yourself Together is beautiful, simply stunning! A medium, slightly cool-toned, purple with gold shimmers within. The shade itself is also beautifully glossy.
• Make Mine Lime was stunning in the bottle and slightly disappointingly sheer but a bright green nonetheless. There was a slight pearly tone in the bottle that is lost upon swatching.
• Yellow Its Me , like Make Mine Lime, is also on the sheer side which is sad but it is a cheery yellow nonetheless. It would be most effective over a white base.

My picks of the lot would definitely be Purple yourself Together, Deck the Dolls, Keeping Up With Santa and Reach Out. The other shades are also very lovely too but these were the ones that stood out the most to me.

While these nail wheel swatches serve as a quick representation of the colors, I will show them up-close and with better shots when I wear them on my nails (in On My Nails entries).

In fact, I think I really want to swatch Purple Yourself Together soon!

❧

While doing this entry up, I hopped over to Nicole by OPI's website and noticed that they had a Modern Family collection! Modern Family is probably my favorite sitcom of all times so... call me intrigued!

Turns out VampyVarnish had done swatches of all the 14 shades released with this collection (yes, all) and you can see them here.

Some shades are passable, well most are to me actually, but I like how What’s The Mitch-uation? and Candid Cameron looks! How coincidental!

Well, thanks for reading and I hope these swatches are of help!

Nicole by OPI retails at S$12.90 and is available at select Watsons outlets (Ngee Ann City for sure).

Do you own any of these shades? If not, did anything catch your eye?

Disclosure:
Products were provided to me for review consideration.
I am not affiliated to them and all opinions expressed are my own.

Hello!

So here's a quick mention of the items I had lugged home with me from Beauty Asia 2013 at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre (Marina Bay Sands).

If you did not catch my entry about the show, click here to hop on over to it!

❧

Shopping at the show is quite a funny thing really – for me, that is.

In a glance, it felt like there wasn't much to spend on yet without realizing it, I spent more than I thought I would have. Though since the prices for some items were discounted during the show, I guess you could say there were savings involved to?

That is probably me making myself feel better so, here's a look at my little haul.

I think I did quite good yet like I had mentioned there were some savings with the trade discounts so... even if you do spend a lot, you're spending and saving! Heh.

I mainly zoomed in on nail stuff and nothing much from the other departments really caught my eye. Some falsies here and there did but pity they did not have the designs that I was eyeing so... oh well!

The one purchase I am really glad for would be the nail wheel! I cannot tell you how glad I am to finally have these for swatches and such.

Plus, I can now sample nail designs on it before committing on myself! Well, provided I have time to do designs now that is.

I introduce this first because this newly hauled item will be thrown into action right away!

The first few items would be necessary base and topcoat ones so let me get these out of the way.

Seche Vite's Fast Dry Topcoat isn't cheaper at the show (similarly priced) but since I was almost out of mine, might as well get it here. Nail Tek Foundation is something I have been meaning to get for the longest time. Believe it or not, I actually don't have a habit of using a base coat prior to polish *le gasp*

Next are some polishes from Cuccio Colour, a brand best known for their natural nail, hand and footcare treatments. They were selling their lotions in gigantor tubes at the show, it was quite intimidating.

Turns out their polishes are rather pretty too so I snagged 3 of them.

Beijing Night Glow, Meet Me in Mykonos, Speeding in the German Autobahn.

I must also admit, their clever names are adorable and a pull-factor too. While Meet Me in Mykonos is a lovely color, the main reason I got it was because Fleet Foxes's Mykonos is one of my favorite songs.

The Cuccio Colour polishes I got are rich in color, especially Beijing Night Glow which was opaque in one coat, but they do not have the glossiest finish. In fact, it is almost satin-like. Though that's nothing a topcoat can't fix.

They also have a tendency to dry darker than it appears in the bottle.

These were S$6 a bottle.

Next, I got some Misa polishes – my first very Misa ones!

Got it Made in the Shade, Confection Section

I have this thing for murky and creamy olive-grey shades right now and I have no idea why. I swear I zoomed in on maybe 3 or 4 polishes from varying brands that had a similar color.

And for representation purposes, here's Confection Section over Got it Made in the Shade.

The lighting pulls a bit different here but the idea of how this polish layers is there!

These were S$5 a bottle

The shelves of Zoya polishes were quite ransacked and a couple of colors were already out of stock when we got there hence while I wanted to get my hands on more Zoyas, I only fell for one.

Maisie

This is a flakie polish so while it looks absolutely stunning in the polish, has a different effect when swatched.

I will admit that this is not the best combination because the result seems a little visually off-putting and diseased, but incase you're thinking of a creepy nail shade for Halloween, you can consider this!

This is really just for representation purposes, over Cuccio Colour Beijing Night Glow

Zoya's Maisie was going for S$7

The next 2 polishes were rather frivolous buys because one of them was only going for S$3 and the other was made because I don't have a piecey 'topcoat' polish.

Though come to think of it,  everything classifies as a frivolous buy, yes?

From China Glaze...

Whirled Away, Skate Night

Skate Night was the one going at S$3 and I don't think I have a shade quite like it in my stash – a pearly red-magenta with a fuschia glint. Of course Whirled Away is the fun purchase and I can't wait to start playing around with it!

Skate Night was going for S$3 and Whirled Away for S$6

With that, this wraps up the purchase that I have made at Beauty Asia.... thus far!

I got a little tempted and bugged Eliza (who was going the day after I did) to help me get some small items and I swear it really is just 1 or 2 things. Though those can probably wait for their own mention so I am putting these All About Nails one up first!

Looking back, maybe I should have grabbed a couple from Orly and NfuOh while I was at it but... oh well!

Perhaps at the next trade show? Heh...

Thanks for reading!

Hello folks! It's been awhile, I know and I am terribly sorry for my disappearance on here. While most of you may know, you can follow me on twitter or instagram for quicker updates and to know I'm still alive and well! :)

While I haven't posted pictures of myself (on here) in a bit, here is a glimpse of my hand in this nail swatch.

I know, lame but hey, it's to signify I'm still running this!

I figured I had bore-d you all enough with my swatch-journey through what I hauled from the OPI Germany collection so I painted this on with no intention to snap pictures of.

Though what started as a move to slap something quick on my nails turned out to be yet another OPI Germany swatch entry!

The minute this color went on my nails, I was just so in love with it – and I don't entirely love dark jewelled blue shades either.

I do fancy this color, which is why I hauled it to begin with, but it's not the usual gorgeous holo or cutesy pastel that catches my eye so I was caught off guard by how attracted I was to it.

(with flash)

(with flash)

This shade works well with a single coat but for the swatches in this entry, I applied 2 just to make sure that I completely masked the nail bed.

And because I think nail shots with my phone are just as good, here's what I snapped while waiting for the dreaded bus to work. Why dreaded? Well, if you check my twitter feed on select mornings, you would probably see my early morning tweet-complaints about commuting, Heh.

This color, like Danke Shiny Red, reminds me of a car's paint job – so chrome yet littered with specs of shimmer. How pretty!

Anyway, I hope everyone is having a great Sunday!

I have loads of posts in mind to put up, some with pictures snapped, some without but for the most part my brain hasn't been co-operative of late and I draw a blank each time I try to draft something. My pals call it the pregnant-brain, where you get scatter-brained, slower and not as smart but pshhhh, I don't believe that.

Though it may seen true....

But oh well, more stuff on here soon and I am trying to churn them out as quick as I can before baby arrives!

Thanks for reading and hope noone gets a case of the Monday Blues tomorrow!

What a quirky (and long) name for this polish and it faintly reminds me of Hitler... tsk.

I normally prefer darker tones when I have shorter nails so after (finally) trimming my nails down, I took this opportunity to swatch on OPI Germany's Nein! Nein! Nein! Ok Fine!

Yes I am still going through the Germany batch one at a time.

The swatches are 2 coats of Nein! Nein! Nein! Ok Fine!, without a top coat so you can see the color's glossy glory.

(with camera flash)

The color is fairly straight forward but still lovely — a darkened olive that is almost black yet not not quite. It isn't so dark that under dim lighting it is a flat black, no, you can still see mild greenish tones running through it.

I have been wearing it for over a week now and while I love it, dark creamy tones have a tendency to bore me after awhile, no matter what brand and how gorgeous.

I think I need a color kick in my life again so I will be moving on to something else real soon.

❧

In other news, work is picking up again with the influx of assignments, along with home-matters to tend to after and on weekends thus time has been on the tighter side these days.

I have just been a wee bit overwhelmed with everything and my life is a little on the routinal track thus isn't overly exciting and is a lot of rushing about with my makeup routine (work or weekend) being at its peak of simplicity (really just foundation, brows and blush) thus I apologize for any blah-ness going on here! In truth, I would love to have some me-time for a bit but that's a little hard to achieve at the moment.

I am working at clearing the backlogged stuff by drafting with Evernote (awesome app btw) when I get some time on-the-go but there's only so much you can jot down while you're out and about!

Lastly, I have news to share sometime down the road. I am still in the process of putting that news to words but... yes I will share it shortly and when it's ready. Stay tuned :)

Thanks for sticking around and reading still!

You could say that I went a little berserk with this haul but I couldn't help it... Almost every single color looked awesome in Scrangie's and The Polishaholic's posts.

The bottles you see below are already a result of restrain being practiced. Though in my defense, I rarely go this crazy over one collection, much less an OPI one, so the occasional indulgence is... permissible.

With that said, please stop me from any nail lemmings and send a "tsk" my way if another nail haul goes up within, a month?

Here's a close-up at the bottles!

Every Month is Oktoberfest – This color was one of the super unique-looking ones of the bunch due to its purple shift amidst a crimson / dark maroon base. Just - gorgeous!

Danke-Shiny Red – If you know me, you know I hardly ever wear reds on my nails but I was completely drawn to this shade from the swatches. It's not just a bright red but its almost glowy and shiny at the same time.

Unfor-Greta-bly Blue – A rare sort of color purchase for me because I think this may be my first jewel-ish blue polish but I couldn't resist how pretty it swatches. It's glowy, slightly frosty yet still darkens around the edges where light doesn't hit it.

Nein! Nein! Nein! Ok Fine! – I love olives, I think I may have established that but oddly I don't have too many darkened olive polishes so this, I couldn't pass up on!

Don't Talk Bach to Me – I love how odd this color is. It's a mustard-yellow-ish color yet has some subtle shimmer to it instead of solely sticking to a cream finish... I think the weirdness of this was what really drew me in.

Berlin There Done That – And of course I couldn't pass up on this one. It was either this or Don't Pretzel My Buttons but the greyish tone in this (more apparent when swatched) won me over.

I could swatch every color I had gotten but since there are a zillion swatches available online (trust me, I searched for them while painfully eliminating some shades), I shan't do a speed-swatch of them all. I would very much rather enjoy using them and marvel at how they sparkle on my nails for maybe a week before switching to another shade.

What I do have for you now is a swatch of my favorite shade of the lot. Or at least one I feel is somewhat the most unique in my stash.

❧

Every Month is Oktoberfest (2 coats) + Seche Vite topcoat

And with flash so all the pretty glitter bits show up.

I must warn you though that these shots are really zoomed-in and macro-ed. The polish looks stunning but when swatched on the chances of you staring at your polish's sparkle this close all the time is very low. Unless you really do admire your nails quite a bit from time to time.

From afar, the polish looks like a darkened magenta with a deep purple-red sheen (like the daylight shots). It is still very beautiful if darkened shades are your thing but don't let the extremely apparent red shimmer bits steal your heart too much.

One unique point about this polish, which is lost with 2 coats, is the purple base color it seems to have.

Here it is at 1 coat; it's lovely enough but the nail bed is still apparent.

It looks almost like some flame or oil sleek with the red and purple-ish hues, or am I just thinking too much? I believe that purple hue may come into play if you layer this polish over something or just fancy using 1 coat of this.

Incase you are wondering, I had hauled my fill of the OPI Germany collection from timtam.

While I am enjoying these polishes and trying not to hastily swatch them all, I honestly can't wait to play with all the shades. Thus you may see these popping up (quite reguarly) on upcoming On My Nails entries!

Thanks for reading and I hope everyone is enjoying their weekends!

This upcoming week is not a good time for me and I am literally swamped with work commitments (weekends included - boohoo) so I may disappear a little. I will blog when I can, which is when the workload hits a calmer pace!

Maybe polka dot nails were a little too cheery and cutesy to have on long-term and got tired of them pretty soon. However, it is still a fun nail option so dotty nails will make a comeback, fret not!

A small part of why I got over the polka dots so quick was because I recently received these Ruby Kisses polishes and of the 4 shades, 2 of them were just beckoning and calling out to me...

Made in Korea, these Ruby Kisses HD polishes are available in 18 different shades at our local Watsons stores. While I don't have the whole kaleidoscope of colors to showcase, here are the 4 vibrant shades I have:

Peach on Fire

Electric Purple

She a Goldigger (I'm amused with how ghetto this sounds, goldigger term aside)

Bold and the Beautiful

Being completely new to this brand, I would say I approached it with some caution. By caution, I mean that I prepared myself for the scenario that it could be hard to apply, perhaps streaky or have a long drying time. I know, I sound a little crazy.

However, I was pleasantly surprised that these ended up being an ease to work with, from the opaque formula right down to the brush.

The brush is rather wide, short (not too stumpy either) and flat, which is everything that I love with a nail polish brush. It was easy to control and paint the polish on and you did not have to go over the nail multiple times because the brush spreads and covers the nail pretty well.

Formula-wise, it was another surprise and I found this decently opaque with just 1 coat though I did about 1 1/2, just to smooth out any probable bald portions.

The dry time with this is quite impressive and part of it is due to the fact that it dries down to a satin-ish finish – not a glossy effect yet not matte either. The perks of that is that you need not fear about 'imprinting' on your polish and if you do need some gloss you can always use a topcoat.

So, with the polish introduction done, here are some pictures to follow!

Could you have guessed what were the 2 shades I used in the manicure?

As the base, I painted on Electric Purple and while the immediate image to follow shows a hot pink, this is exactly how the purple is like. Under certain lightings it comes off as a pink, but under others it is somewhat a magenta-purple.

(with camera flash)

(with daylight lamp)

I can't even tell you which is more true to how it appears in person because I have seen this lean both shades on my nails and it really depends on the lighting that I am under.

That aside, the above is a 1 1/2 coats though I only covered some portions by the sides with that extra 1/2 coat. The finish is, as described, rather satin-ish. It does have a muted shine but not enough that I would call it glossy.

To complete this, I tipped the edges of my nails with Bold and the Beautiful !

French tips are incredibly common, I know, but it's a simple and cute way of adding something more to the manicure!

While Ruby Kisses polishes claim to be chip-resistant and long-lasting, it's a pity I couldn't test that aspect out since I slapped on some Seche Vite topcoat right after for a little glossiness.

Thus far I have worn this combination for 5 days now and am getting a little bored of it. I seem to get intrigued by the brights and bored of them really fast, like how I have a plan for Peach On Fire and She A Goldigger...

Will share on that shortly ;) Meanwhile, you can also check out Holly Jean's and Monica (Beauty Oshaberi)'s swatches of other Ruby Kisses shades!

Thanks for reading and hope everyone is enjoying the weekend! I'm trying to switch to productive mode but my brain is refusing to start up.

Ruby Kisses are available at Watsons for S$9.90.

Disclosure:
Products were provided to me for review consideration.
I am not affiliated to them and all opinions expressed are my own.

It seems that Chanel is taking a shot at having coordinating lip and nail colors too!

The limited Twin-Sets will come in three shades, from a vampy deep berry, to a fun and playful pink and a sophisticated beige for the nude-shade loving people.

Here are the nail lacquers:

While marketed as an exclusive twin set combo, the Rouge Allure Velvet lipstick (S$45) and matching Le Vernis (S$37) will be sold seperately, much like how it was done with MAC Cosmetics.

Here are the lovely combinations:

Rouge Allure Velvet La Provocante / Les Vernis Provocation

Rouge Allure Velvet L' Infandéle / Infidéle

Rouge Allure Velvet La Délicate / Délicatesse

While I am very entranced with the dark sensual nature of Rouge Allure Velvet La Provocante, I know that berries and deep plums are an area I have not experimented with. Thus the chances of me actually wearing that lipstick out will be so, so, slim.

Rouge Allure Velvet La Délicate on the other hand looks gorgeous. In fact, that whole duo looks beautiful but isn't it like dejavu all over again for me since it appears similar to what the Peachstock combo was in MAC's collection.

Lipstick aside, I'm spying Provocation and Délicatesse nail polish but we'll see! I think I need to lay off my polish obsession for awhile...

Are you eyeing any polishes / lipsticks or possibly a duo?

(images from CherrySue, as seen on Bagaholic Boy)

At long last, this duo is in (or perhaps on?) my hands!

Well, cheesy at it seems but the minute I set eyes on the promo visuals, I knew I had to check these out once they were launched. Okay. my smaller voice actually said 'pick this up'.

I seldom go by the populated shopping areas these days, with my office and transport location being nowhere near malls. So when I was in town last Wednesday and saw this collection out on display, I bee-lined right over...

...and this came home with me.

The Golden Jungle Vernis Duo comes in a set and If you ask me, S$47 for 2 Dior polishes is pretty much a steal! For reference the normal Dior polishes are S$37 and also 10ml per bottle.

I was smittened with Amazonia too but managed to peel myself away before doing more damage.

With the Golden Jungle Duo, you get a 'base-color' (gold shade) and a croc-shatter 'topcoat (darkened-olive shade). These shades don't have actual names to them which is quite a shame because that gorgeous golden base really needs a name.

I only own one other Dior polish but to what I know, these come with a different applicator from the usual lot.

Instead of the flat brush with a rounded edge, the applicators for Golden Jungle are 'normal' but thankfully still a short brush. I do prefer relatively short polish brushes because they give me better control.

There are instructions encased with steps on how to best use the combo. While the idea of applying a base color followed by a shatter topcoat seems simple enough, I went ahead and read the instructions anyway.

One key thing to note is to apply the top-shatter before the base color is completely dry to the touch.

I had experimented with using the top-shatter over a week-old manicure and nothing happened so it's either this only works with the Dior basecoat or the tip above is extremely crucial for a good shatter effect.

Regardless, here are swatches of the duo in action!

Here's 1 coat of the golden base color and can I add that this, alone, is positively gorgeous (and opaque!).

It's almost a white-gold shade, leaning a little warm but with plenty of white. I think at least, seeing that I don't actually own a gold polish to compare this to.

(taken with flash)

(taken with flash)

(taken with daylight lamp)

Thankfully, and I can't believe I'm thankful for this, the base color doesn't dry extremely fast. That allowed me to paint it, take some shots with flash and with a lamp before deciding I should proceed. That in total probably took about 1 minute from the first painted nail?

The base-color was in a semi-dry state — surface doesn't get imprinted but feels slightly tacky — when I went on to step 2.

For the top-shatter I estimated a thick enough layer for good coverage yet I didn't want too thick / cushion-looking a shatter either.

It doesn't matter if it appears to be uneven because along the way as it dries and shatters, it works out to look fine.

The shattering process is fascinating to watch because it takes its time and creeps in from the edge of the nail. It is unlike the usual shatters that seem to have a race to see who will shatter and dry the quickest. In a sense this makes painting the nails with this a very leisurely indulgence.

My pinkie received a thicker coat of the top-shatter, hence it was a bit slow with the effect though it was painted first.

And here is the final croc-shatter effect (without a topcoat).

(taken with daylight lamp)

(taken with daylight lamp)

(taken with flash)

(taken with flash)

The images taken with Flash are closest to how it looks in person. While the top-shatter polish is actually a darkened olive shade, with a medium coat of it, it dries to an almost bronze-ish shade most likely influenced by the gold base beneath.

I didn't get any shots of this in daylight but you can check out Sophia's lovely shots of it. That top-shatter really does lean different shades in different lighting conditions.

The top-shatter takes awhile to dry and if you use a top-coat, that would be best to seal the polish down (and give it a gorgeous gloss). I left it as it is, topcoat-less and realized that days into wear, while it is definitely dry, it still has a slight tacky feel to it, very intriguing.

Thus far I haven't seen a bad Dior Golden Jungle shatter and I love how unique this shatter pattern is.

While some may feel that Dior is belated on this whole shatter thing, I would prefer to think of it as them taking their time to perfect their take on it. I am probably repeating myself but this shatter really is so unique and sophisticated at the same time.

Alright, enough of me rambling, do you have your sights set on this or purchased it already?

Thanks for reading!

For such a soft and lovely shade like this, I really can't take this name seriously!

From Essie's 2012 Bridal Collection, Who's The Boss is a beautiful pastel robin blue with maybe just a dash of seafoam green in the mix, just a dash. It's photographs largely robin-blue like yet in person you can visibly notice the seafoam hues.

It's a beautiful shade but... I really can't see the whole 'demanding wife' authority in this one!

I purchased this shade from Eliza, making it my very first Essie polish! While I don't normally scrutinize or take note of polish brushes (unless they are really different), I found Essie's brush a real breeze to work with.

Something about the length, bristles and perhaps also the polish fluidity made this color very easy to apply.

The swatches are all 2 coats without a topcoat (yeap, Seche Vite still missing).

Taken with camera flash

Taken with daylight

Taken with a daylight lamp

I tried snapping them in all lighting conditions - flash, daylight lamp and daylight to best capture the color.

I would say the most true-to-life color would have to be the very last shot with the daylight lamp. The daylight shot is close too but the flash one is totally a robin-blue color.

By now you can already tell how in love I am with lighter, pastel tones on my nails (even though that is so Spring). While I like the occasional dark or bold, I find myself keeping pastel bursts of colors, like this, on for a longer period of time.

Do you have a pastel nail color that you like to wear?

Thanks for reading!