Deborah Lippmann released this adorable mini set of 5 neon shades just in time for summer.




How cute is this packaging! The box features a hand with the nails cut out so that you can see the colors in the set. It instantly made me want to do a skittle mani with these shades.

"Experiment and have fun with color." xx Deborah

Onto the swatches!

The finish on these is described as demi-matte, but all my swatches feature the shades with topcoat.

2 coats

 Deborah Lippmann I Kissed a Girl is a bright mid-tone pink creme. It totally reminds me of Pop Life, so I'll have to swatch those at some point to compare.

4 coats

Deborah Lippmann It Girl looks like a yolky yellow on its own, and it's also pretty sheer. There is no way I'd ever wear it this way, so I layered it over Deborah Lippmann Amazing Grace:

2 coats It Girl over 1 coat Amazing Grace

3 coats

 Deborah Lippmann Hollaback Girl is an orange squishy creme. It leans red in some lights and is borderline coral. I guess that's why I love it because I normally hate orange polishes.

3 coats

Deborah Lippmann Nasty Girl red toned purple jelly. It's so pretty, but it reminds me of at least three other purples. I feel a huge comp thread coming with these!

3 coats

Deborah Lippmann Party Girl is a red coral squishy creme. I'm a sucker for all shades of coral. One might say I'm slightly obsessed.





So, how did these apply? AMAZINGLY WELL! They are the *perfect* consistency. I was especially surprised that It Girl applied so well. I'm used to yellows being a bit of a pain to apply, but all four coats of It Girl went on without a fuss. The dry times on these are all really great as well.



Must-have or not? I can't say that this set is a must-have because the shades seem pretty dupeable. However, the formula on these is to die for. So, if you're in the market for neons and don't have similar shades yet, maybe this set is for you.



The Deborah Lippmann Run the World (Girls) set retails for $45 and is available at deborahlippmann.com.

Recently, I spent a day with one of my very good friend's daughters, who
love getting their nails painted. Naturally, I put them to work
reviewing a few polish collections for my blog.

Ava, 8; Hope, 7 (happy birthday!!!)

You may remember Ava's review of Butter London's Spring/Summer collection. This time, Hope is up with her views on the OPI Nicki Minaj collection.



Since you've all probably been inundated with the swatches, just enjoy the novelty of it. :)

3 coats

OPI Did it on 'Em is such a pretty yellow green creme. It was a bit streaky on the first two coats, so I had to do a third coat to even things out.



Hope says: "I like it because it's green."



Simple enough.

2 coats

OPI Pink Friday is a light pink creme; it really pops. The formula is on the thin side, but it had a nice, smooth application.



Hope says: "It's beautiful! I will wear this every day*."



*She's not worn it since. :)

2 coats

OPI Fly is a bright teal creme. The formula is on the thick side, but it's totally manageable. It's nicely pigmented, too.



Hope says: "Woah. This looks like a sky!"

2 coats

OPI Save Me is silver microglitter and multicolored bar glitter suspended in a clear base. I didn't have too much trouble applying this.



Hope says: "This looks like sprinkles. Ooo, this polish has so many cute things!"



I concur.

3 coats

OPI Metallic 4 Life is a black jelly base with silver sequins. Easy application.

Thanks for reading!

I am overwhelmed by both my stash and the amount of untried polishes I have, so I am starting what is bound to be a difficult, tedious polish purge.



To make this process slightly more fun, I am introducing a new blog series called Purge Wars. Here's the premise: each week, three polishes from the same color family will enter the purge arena. However, only two (or maybe one if things get crazy) will make it out un-purged. Got it? Awesome!



This week is the battle of the pink corals. Who will be the victors?








First up, Deborah Lippmann Daytripper

3 coats

Daytripper sort of has an advantage because it's a Lippmann! Not to mention, it's a squishy creme. Two qualities for which I am a major hoor. No question that this is a gorgeous polish. Daytripper was also a dream to apply. It self-leveled and didn't run or streak.



Next up, Illamasqua Lament.

3 coats

Lament is a full creme. It almost has a neon quality to it - so pretty and fun. The formula was less than desirable. Lament was a bit thick and difficult to control. I never cleanup for swatches, so you can tell how poorly a polish applied by how messy my cuticle gap is. It's really nothing a bit of thinner can't solve, though.



Finally, American Apparel Pink Ladies

2 coats

Pink Ladies is probably my favorite shade of the bunch. It's a full creme, and it is slightly warmer and more subdued than the others. The formula is kind of similar to Lament's, but slightly thinner.





Battle casualty: So long, Illamasqua Lament. I hardly knew ye!

The first polish I thought of when swatching 15 Minutes of Frame was Four Leaf Clover:

Top to bottom: 15 Minutes of Frame, Four Leaf Clover, 15 Minutes of Frame

As you can see, China Glaze Four Leaf Clover looks to have much more blue in it than Finger Paints 15 Minutes of Frame. They're both gorgeous in their own rights, of course.



 In addition, because I was all polished out and too lazy to take off my swatch, I made it a full mani. Then, I threw Nubar Black Polka Dot on top.






This is two coats of Black Polka Dot. I love this glitter!

It seems as though Finger Paints has added 7 neon shades to its range. I hope I'm not speaking too soon, but the fact that there is no collection name (the display just says, "new neons!") makes me think these will be core.



I have split these swatches into two posts simply because I can only deal with photographing neons for so long. It's an arduous process!

3 coats, topcoat

Finger Paints 15 Minutes of Frame ruined my camera's life. There was literally no hope for it with this shade. 15 Minutes of Frame is bright kelly green-teal hybrid that is all sorts of gorgeous. You need to see this in person!

2 coats, topcoat

 Finger Paints Pink Perspective is a super hot pink. It literally glows. I'm not sure why I avoided hot pinks for so long, but I kind of want to collect them all now. Hot damn!

2 coats, top coat

 Finger Paints Inkblot Blue. Hold me closer, Tony Danza. This blue is ridiculous. ABSURD!





The formula on these is pretty awesome! They applied with no problems whatsoever. Also, the pigmentation is top notch - no white base is needed to make these babies pop.



This month, Finger Paints are $3.99 ($2.99 for professionals) at Sally Beauty. Plus, if you buy three, you will get a free tote. What a perfect excuse to buy all of these!

3 coats

Sinful Colors Cinderella is a soft, pastel blue with coppery pink flecked shimmer. It's so cute! The finish is quite squishy, which is another plus. If the shimmer were just a bit more obvious, Cinderella would easily make it into my top 20.



I've run into application issues with some Sinfuls before because they seem to have a strange thick, yet runny formula. Subsequently, I was very cautious applying Cinderella. Three very thin coats did the trick.



Sinful Colors Cinderella retails for $1.99 and is available at Walgreens.