Review: CrowsToes Orion - Pleiades Collection

Orion is a constellation that appears just above the horizon here in the Northern Hemisphere during the winter months. CrowsToes nail polish is made by The Polished Crow and she discusses the Greek mythology story behind her collection here: 

http://thepolishedcrow.blogspot.com/2012/12/blog-post.html

NOTE: I purchased this polish myself from llarowe.com with my own money!

Bottle shots

Orion the constellation has personal meaning to me. When I was growing up in San Diego, our family would sometimes take a trip to IHOP to eat breakfast for dinner. I always got the chocolate chip pancakes! When we were out doing this one night when I was around 10, we all went outside to wait for my mom who was using the restroom after eating. I looked up in the sky and I seriously thought I had just discovered a constellation (because I had never learned it). It was Orion but I saw the main rectangular shape with the "belted waist" and I called it the Hunter Daddy constellation because my dad was a hunter (gun AND bow). I was a bit of a daddy's girl at the time. When I found out later that week that I had not made it up myself, I was devastated---until I learned that it was named the Hunter, too! I was right about something at least :)

Onto the polish! 

This is a really sparkly multichrome that goes from a green-gold to green to blue. It is not a drastic multichrome like, say, Ludurana Show but it is noticeable. I am wearing it over black in all the photos. 

Wearing a multi or duochrome over black is the best way, in my opinion, to bring out the range of color. This polish is fairly sheer and I hate wasting multichrome so one layer of Wet n Wild Black Creme and one layer of Orion means I get to wear it many more times!

This photo shows how blue it can get. Open up the image in another window to see it better!

See, I have been on the hunt for a multi or duochrome polish that has a base color of green (hunter green in this instance) and changes easily in the light. I think I have found it, which makes me so happy! No diss intended but the shots of this polish on The Polished Crow were not promising.

Open this photo in another window to see the particle sizes and the changes in color better.

The bottle does that thing that a lot of duochromes in rounded bottles do; they appear to be a MUCH more complex multi-chrome. Don't be fooled, this one only has about 3 distinct colors as far as I can tell.

I added the constellation Orion to my ring finger using Sally Hansen Gold Chrome and Petites 24k Gold

Now, I compared it to the only other two greenish duo-multi-chromes I have; Scherer Chameleon in Fandango and MISSHA HGR01

Bottle Shots

Reverse order from the above photo

Correct order

Correct order

As you can see, the MISSHA is a more dramatic multichrome but it never gets to the deep golden or forest greens of the CrowsToes. Fandango really only has two colors and it is a muddied and sort of frosty color.

How would I rate this polish on a scale of 1-10?

Uniqueness: 10

Do you see many forest green-based multi OR duochromes out there?! No, seriously, if you know any more, tell me! This is very unique to me!

Formula: 10

Like other duochromes, it has a really smooth formula and applies rather sheer. It is opaque in 3 coats but I don't like to use that much. I recommend it over a black nail polish like I recommend most other duochromes :)

Payoff: 7

I am only saying 7 BECAUSE...it is not a dramatic duochrome. That may bug some people. The other polishes in this collection seem to be a lot more dramatic. I think it is probably because of the pigment used in making a green duochrome and the type of pigment used. Maybe one day, I will get my wish of a wicked awesome, super dramatic and flashy green-based multichrome!

ORION rates a 9 for me by those standards

I really like this polish a lot!

Again, this was purchased by me (Nat) using my own money! No one knew I was going to review this polish or asked me to :)

butter LONDON 2 Fingered Salute

I wanted to show you all a mani that is...well, not artsy in any way. I bought this polish from nordstrom.com awhile back (before it was sold out, apparently!) and just wore it last week. I LOVE IT. 

All photos are 2 coats with one coat of top coat. It is not gritty polish at all.

I thought it was copper glitter in a seafoam base but it is large shimmer like in RBL Halcyon in a seafoam base. Which is why it isn't gritty.

The shimmer is a rose/copper duochrome, kinda like Orly Space Cadet but in reverse. The copper is the most prominent color with the rose shining at odd angles. 

See, I don't always franken-dupe everything! I also buy a lot of polish!

The base also has a very very subtle shimmer. I am so happy that it is PACKED with large shimmer particles because in a milky/pastel base, you really need a lot of them to make it a real shimmer. I think this is why so many people were frustrated with Halcyon; it is subtle. 2 Fingered Salute is but also is not. O_o

See, it is subtle here.

And takes a very dramatic turn in low light. 

Flash

With the flash photos, you can see the contrast! This is why I had thought it was glitter going by early swatches.

Flash

Low light

Low light

I love the low light photos best. I think the subtle intensity of the polish really shines here. It almost looks as if I used a color changing top coat on it. A true chameleon of a polish.

Sally Hansen Lava

I have been SO BUSY lately!! Sorry for not posting so much.

My mani for Saturday was Sally Hansen Lustre Shine in Lava. I managed to snag this one off of a display at my local Meijer. I had no time to clean up my mani or anything :/ I had to run off to take photos with my family, hang out at Oktoberfest (I know, it is September), and it was my brother's birthday. 

This is 100000x times better than Bad Fairy or Poison Apple (and sorry for the tip wear! I didn't wash between taking off my polish and putting base coat on >< )

I put it on over OPI Royal Rajah Ruby. OPI shimmery vamps always fall flat on me so I just use them for undies. 

This is one of my favorite polishes ever. I am going back for a back up (or two!)

It is purple-y when angled down

ZOMG.

That is all.

Golden Duochromey Goodness

2 posts back to back! It is like I am a blogger again or something. Hehe!

China Glaze Rare and Radiant! When I was wearing this, I went to Meijer and found 2 dupes to this by Maybelline and Sally Hansen...But at least I only paid 3 bucks for this at CosmoProf :D That is still cheaper than both of those brands AND I have 15mL of this stuff. w00t

This is a franken mix I made as I was inspired by adding aqua shred to gunmetal glitters...the golden green was inspired by the main color of this polish and the aqua by the duochrome flash. It also has garnet hexes, purple squares, and copper bar glitter. You can get the glitter mix on the GLITTER MIXES tab at the top of the page! It is called BEST DRESSED.

Editorial, darling.

I made it work!

This is after a day of wear so there is a little tip rub off going on. Still a sweet color. I think it looks good with my skin tone but is a little too flashy for work-wear.

Bright Night Sky Clouds

I felt the need for freehand (and to use my new Nostalgic Labyrinth collection) so here goes!

I was inspired to do a bright night sky. I have been wanting to do a full "cloud" mani for awhile. This is a freehand nail art but it is SO EASY to do! When you mess up the cloud bumps, you can just make it a little bigger. No biggie! 

My base is China Glaze First Mate. My husband thinks this is "the best color you have ever worn." *eyeroll* It is pretty but come on, a dusty blue?!?! Note: he is red/green colorblind so I am thinking blues show up best for him?

With Chilly Down over it

The light blue is Zoya Kristen and the bright blue is Sally Hansen Pacific Blue. See the ring finger? I messed up and had to make my clouds bigger! 

Chilly Down is a pinky-purple/blue duochrome shimmer-glitter. Or whatever you call that texture!

Daylight photo. Sure, if it were the real night sky, the clouds would be grey but I wanted to use some of my untrieds (cough, Kristen and Pacific Blue, cough). 

By the way, I will be purging again soon. I am moving in probably 2 months so I need to slim down. My helmer has 4 full drawers O_O and I have colors I do not like but keep them for nail art. I am making the transition to acrylics (which I have but don't use) soon! 

I will also be selling frankens I have made but never use. Don't worry, they won't be costly, but I will keep my $10 limit on blog sales.

Girly Girl Gold and Pink Stampicure with bonus Gradient!

I will be honest: if I ever had a pink mani, I blocked it from my memory. When I saw this polish (Pretty in Pink) in the Dollish Polish store, I had to have it! Or at least get a mini since I don't wear them a lot >_>

It is slightly duochromey, with a pink-blue and pink-orange shift. It was a little hard to work with but that may be because it is a bit sheer. I globbed it on and it got a little bubbly. That will teach me to be impatient!

And then I had to stamp over it!

I used a Hello Kitty Gold Star gradient on the ring finger and DRK-A for the stamping with Sally Hansen Gold Chrome. It is a little crooked but I was still learning! 

After this mani, I decided that the side-to-side roll method of stamping is preferable to the "Stick it in the middle and move side to side" method O_O 

I was happy with it, though! :)