Color Club Winter Affair (Sally Beauty Supply Edition)

     Today, I have the final installment in the scented polish odyssey. I am going to show you Winter Affair from Color Club's A Winter Affair collection. This version (from Sally Beauty Supply) of Winter Affair is a gold chrome where the alternate version is a burgundy shimmer color (Available everywhere else). I was unable to pin down exactly what the smell is supposed to be (according to Color Club or Sally Beauty Supply), so I'm gonna tell you what I think the smell is...cinnamon/sugar glazed almonds. It's a warm, sweet scent, with hints of vanilla, spice, and a nutty finish...yum!

Swatches:

Indoor no flash. 

Indoor with flash. 

Outdoor...it's trying to snow again. :-/

Closeup:

Indoor no flash. 

     All pictures are with two coats of Winter Affair and a top coat. This formula is thick, dries really fast, and was fairly easy to apply. A word of caution in application though. Make straight thin strokes with the brush or you will have lines in the dried polish. Other than that though it's pretty easy to use. I'm not a huge fan of gold polish... in fact if you don't count glitters (which I don't) I only have 3 or them (China Glaze Passion, OPI Goldeneye, and this one). But I love this polish. It's so pretty...and it smells amazing. The scent is just yummy...it's sweet and warm, with vanilla, spice, and a nutty undertone to it. Arguments could be made for gingerbread or maple syrup scent but to me it smells more like cinnamon glazed almonds. Which is just about my favorite smell...ever. Lets just say that if they made the scent of this polish into a mens cologne I would want to jump whomever wore it (Just sayin' ;) ). But I'm a spaz like that. I'm sure none of you are shocked by that at this point. I am going to be very sad when I have to take this one off...but rest assured it will be sniffed a plenty before that happens. Well that's all I have for you guys today. Until next time, stay classy and stay polished.
XOXO

Color Club Ho-Ho Holly

    The forth entry in the scented polish odyssey is Ho-Ho Holly from Color Club's A Winter Affair collection. Ho-Ho Holly is a metallic hunter green sparkle. And it is supposed to be scented with Wooded-Herbs according to Sally Beauty Supply's website.

Swatches:

Indoor no flash.

Indoor with flash. 

Outdoor in sunlight.

Outdoor in shade. 

Closeups:

Indoor no flash. 

Outdoor in sunlight. 

     All pictures are with two coats of Ho-Ho Holly and a top coat. This polish is fairly thin but applies easily to full opacity in two coats, and it dries quickly. It's actually a really pretty metallic green, that would be great for Christmas or Saint Patrick's day, and I actually have an idea for an Easter basket mani with this polish as the Easter grass, so Easter would be good as well. Or you know Thursday because you like green polish...I'm not the boss of you wear it when you want. The only problem with the polish for me is the smell...it stinks to all high heaven. It smells like someone took one of those little tree shaped (fake)pine scented air freshers and dipped it in Old Spice cologne. Which happen to be two of my least favorite smells in the entire world BTW. It's like layering one bad smell over another. A heavy topcoat deadened the smell a bit to a tolerable level but...bleck just the same. I see extra hand washing in my future with this polish. But hey if you like those little pine tree air fresheners and Old Spice you will love the smell...me not so much. Luckily, the polish is a pretty color so I can over look the stench...what we ladies do for beauty. Have you guys tried it? Do you think it smells good or do you agree with me and say it smells like someone rubbed a pine air freshener on grampa? Anyway that's all I have for you today. Until next time, stay classy and stay polished.
XOXO

Color Club Gift Of Sparkle (Sally Beauty Supply edition)

     So the odyssey of scented nail polish continues. Today, I am going to show you guys Gift Of Sparkle from Color Club's A Winter Affair collection. Now there are two versions of Gift Of Sparkle floating around out there. One for Sally Beauty Supply (which is what I am going to show you) that is a metallic blue sparkle and one which is a purple glitter. Why they did that, I don't know...other than to make us want both. The evil geniuses.

Swatches:

Indoor with flash. 

Indoor no flash.

*Best color representation. 

Outdoor...it's trying to snow so it's shade(ish).

Closeup:

Indoor no flash. 

     All pictures are with two coats of Gift Of Sparkle with a layer of topcoat. This formula dries quickly and applies easily. It's also worth noting that for a blue metallic polish it removes fairly easy (most of them are a real pain in the butt to take off). The smell of this polish is supposed to be (according to Sally Beauty) hot cocoa and marshmallows. And I definitely smell that...but it smells more like the powdered cocoa mix with dehydrated marshmallows than a real cup of cocoa. Which let's face it, is not the same thing, but not a bad smell either. It reminds me of fall/winter mornings when my mom would make me hot chocolate with breakfast (I know I was spoiled but what can I say my mommy loved me). It's just a really sweet cocoa vanilla smell. If you are not a chocoholic as I am or if you are one of those people who don't like chocolate (That's just unnatural by the way) then you might want to pass this one by. But other than that it's probably my favorite metallic blue that I own. In fact I wish I had bought a big bottle of this one (instead of the mini) and passed on Blue Bells Ring by China Glaze (since they are very similar colors) and this one doesn't stain your nails. Beyond the removal of Gift of Sparkle being easier than Blue Bells Ring the smell is 1000 times better. Anyway that's all I have for you guys today. Until next time stay classy and stay polished.
XOXO

Color Club Berry And Bright

     Today I have the second installment from the scented polish week. I am going to show you Berry And Bright from Color Club's A Winter Affair collection. Berry And Bright is a bright metallic red polish that is scented with pomegranate perfume.

Swatches:

Indoor with flash. 

Indoor no flash. 

Outdoor...sorry about the lighting it was trying to snow when I took these. 

   All pictures are with two coats of Berry And Bright and a top coat. The formula is thick and fully opaque in two coats. It also applies easily and dries fairly quickly. Now onto the scent. This polish is fairly strongly scented and I was able to smell it under a topcoat for two days (then I took it off). I'm not sure that this polish smells like pomegranate as it's supposed to, but it smells good none the less. It's definitely a berry smell...I would say  it's closer to a cranberry or mixed berry rather than a pomegranate (IMO). In fact before I went to Sally Beauty Supply website to see what it was supposed to smell like I guessed cranberry punch. Either way it's a nice berry smell that's not to overwhelming and still hangs around after a top coat. I rather enjoy the smell myself. Anyway that's all I have for you guys today. Until next time stay classy and stay polished.
XOXO

Deborah Lippmann Forsaken True Blood Inspired Let It Bleed

     This week I decided to do a theme in my swatches and the theme is scented nail polish. So to start out I am going to show you guys Let It Bleed from Deborah Lippmann's True Blood Forsaken collection. Let It Bleed is a dark brownish red polish that is scented with the True Blood Inspired Forsaken perfume.

Swatches:

Indoor no flash. 

Indoor with flash. 

Outdoor in sunlight. 

Outdoor in shade. 

     All pictures are with two coats of Let It Bleed and a heavy layer of top coat. Let it Bleed is a thin formula that applies easily and dries at a normal pace. Over all a great color and a really pretty shiny finish. The color doesn't look like blood which I think is the intent but I like the color all the same. That said I didn't buy it for the color alone...I bought it because I am a huge True Blood fan. And in case you where wondering I love Bill (even though he makes the worst possible decisions in any given situation) and Alcide (Because, damn! Have you seen that man shirtless? O.o). I detest Eric, he's icky...and blond (blonds don't do it for me). I also like Pam because she's a sarcastic, badass, and Lafayette because he has the best lines in the show. What about you guys? Do you watch True Blood? If so who's your favorite character and why?
       Now to discuss the smell of of Let It Bleed. Let it Bleed is scented with the Forsaken perfume which is said to have: blackberry, Anjou pear, blood orange, jasmine, violet, plum, ebony, amber, patchouli, and vanilla scents in it. What I smell is definitely the blackberry, the vanilla, the amber, and the jasmine. In fact the jasmine, blood orange, and the blackberry are the strongest scents I could pin down on my own, before I searched for what smells where supposed to be in it online. I also read a few reviews before buying this polish, where people said they couldn't smell this scent in this polish...and that's weird because as soon as it was dry I couldn't not smell it. And by that I mean it has a really strong smell. So strong in fact that under a heavy topcoat two days later I can still smell the polish (if it's near my nose).  I have always had an exceptional sense of smell so I may be what's referred to as a hyper-smeller (someone with above average smelling ability). That said it's not a bad smell just strong, it fades over time but doesn't go away. So be prepared for that if you add this polish to your collection. It also reminds me of my sister Amy for some reason...I guess what they say is true, scent really is the closest sense tied to memory. That's all I have for you today. Until next time, stay classy and stay polished.
XOXO