Sinful Colors: Kandee Johnson Vintage Anime Collection

I’m going to be honest here. Before I found out about this collection (and the Pretty Vintage Collection), I had no idea who Kandee Johnson was. I saw advertising for the Pretty Vintage collection, as well as some articles mentioning a second, anime-themed collection. I thought the mattes from the first collection looked beautiful, although I have had no luck at all in finding them in any stores in my area. I was also immediately interested in the Vintage Anime Collection because … hello! … Anime!! That is my jam. I love anime, and have been completely addicted to it for years. I even fell so far into the anime black hole that I collected production artwork for several years. Talk about a hobby that is even more addictive than nail polish!

So, I went online and researched Kandee Johnson. I found her YouTube channel and watched some of her videos. She is such a beautiful lady! Although I know she might just be projecting a certain persona in her videos, watching her channel makes me feel like she is a beautiful person on the inside, as well as on the outside. I’m not into make-up or beauty stuff at all, other than nail polish, but I loved the positive attitude and message in her videos.

The Vintage Anime collection is a 12 piece collection. It’s full of sparkle, fun finishes, and bold colors. Sinful Colors is normally sold at a number of stores, but the Sinful Colors website indicated that this collection is only available at Walgreen’s. I have looked at a few Rite Aid and Wal-Mart stores near me. These stores usually carry some Sinful Colors, but I have not found the Vintage Anime Collection at any of them. I don’t know if this is because they had it and it sold out, or because they never had it at all.

As I mentioned above, I didn’t have any luck at all in getting the Pretty Vintage” Collection into my hot, little grabby-hands. A few stores around me had displays for it, but the colors I wanted were always sold out. Now, I can’t even find the displays any longer, so I think I missed the boat, so to speak. I’ll keep looking. You never know what might turn up unexpectedly. I had much better luck with the Vintage Anime Collection. I was interested in 8 of the 12 polishes, and I was able to find all of them at my favorite local Walgreen’s store.

First off, here is “Blueberry Hotrod”. This polish feels like a jelly with just a touch of “crellie” tossed into the mix. It’s a vibrant shade of medium to dark blue, with a bit of shimmery finish to it. There are blue and silver shimmers running throughout this polish, and those seem to give this one an almost foil appearance on the nail. I used two coats for my swatch picture, and I felt like this gave adequate coverage. With that said, I would have also been okay with doing a third coat. It might have made the color even deeper and more vibrant. I didn’t have much trouble with the formula on this one. It went on easily, although the first coat was really sheer. If you tend toward thinner coats, you will probably want to do three for full opacity.

Look at that color!! Wowza! I adore everything about this one, and I think it was probably my favorite of the ones I purchased from this collection. I love how vibrant and bright this blue is, and I love love LOVE the squishy finish on the nail. I didn’t find the shimmers particularly prominent on the nail, but I could see them in the bottle. I think you can even see a little bit of the pink shimmer in my picture, just between the “P” and “R” in “Professional”. Other than the first coat going on quite sheer, I can’t think of any drawbacks to this polish. I really loved it, and I can see myself wearing this one quite a lot down the road.

This is “Dripping in Pearls”. This polish has a light (white to champagne) base, with quite a bit of shimmer to it. I didn’t feel like the shimmer was prominent on the nail as “shimmer”, but it gave the polish a pretty and soft look.

This polish surprised me! In the bottle, I felt it looked like a shimmery and soft white. But, when I put it on my nails … BOOM! It has so much gold flash that it looks very gold in some lights. But it’s not an obnoxious gold. It seems to glow right off the nails. It really does remind me of a string of pearls, and how they catch the light and seem to glow from within. I used three coats in my swatch picture, and you can see that it is still not opaque. I might have been able to get it opaque in four or five coats. But I also think it’s very pretty in a sheer look, where the nail line juuuuust barely peeks through the polish. There is something delicate and feminine about it. I think this one could also be a pretty topper, although I didn’t try it that way. The formula on this polish was decent, other than the fact that it was sheer. I also found it to be a little bit “brush-strokey” (is this a word? if it isn’t, it should be!). I haven’t decided  yet if the brush strokes bother me enough to sponge it on the next time I wear it.

This is “Flip Tease”. This polish is a lovely, light, minty blue-green. I feel like it leans more toward a light and airy blue. It has pink and silver shimmer, and I found the shimmer to be much more noticeable on the nail in this polish, especially the silver shimmer. In certain lights, I saw a definite pink flash, too. This one has a cream formula, and it ends up looking a bit “thick” on the nail. It isn’t textured. I thought the formula was pretty great. It went on smoothly, with slight streaking on the first coat. But it leveled out nicely in two coats.

I surprised myself by really liking this polish! Mint creams are like light, pastel pinks for me. I almost always buy them, and I almost always dislike them on me. Even as I buy them, I tell myself, “Self, you know we aren’t going to like this? Right?” Ugh. It’s a disease, I tell ‘ya! I’m honestly not sure why I continue to do it. Maybe I am looking for a mint or pastel pink that is “just right” for me. You know, my “perfect” minty blue-green or pastel pink. I’m here to tell you: this might be the mint for me! I liked how this one applied and built up. I liked the color against my skin tone. I liked the subtle, soft look to the shimmer. And I really liked that it has a sort of “thick” appearance on the nail. It’s not really squishy looking or anything like that. It’s just … substantial. Argh. I know I’m not explaining it well at all. But this is a look that I tend to like on my nails. I am possibly weird — because of this and oh-so-many other things. But this polish is not weird! It is wonderful!!

This is “Heart of Gold”. It is a glitter topper that has gold and holographic micro glitters in a clear base. I could definitely see the holographic glitters twinkling and flashing in this polish, but I think there is more gold glitter, overall. This one is definitely a topper. You MIGHT be able to get it opaque with four or five coats that you sponge on. But why torture yourself with that madness when it looks so lovely topped over other colors? For my swatch picture, I applied it over “Dripping in Pearls”. I love the overall golden look it has. This one reminds me a lot of pictures I’ve seen of China Glaze, “Golden Enchantment”. I don’t have the China Glaze polish to compare, but I think the glitters in “Heart of Gold” are larger. Just comparing online bottle shots, I feel like “Golden Enchantment” has a more finely milled look to it. And it seems to be a more yellow-looking gold.

I like this polish. It applied well as a topper. The base wasn’t too overwhelming, so I was able to brush it on instead of sponging. This is always a plus for me, as sponging creates such a mess. I mostly bought it because I was hoping it would be more like “Golden Enchantment”. I’ve always wanted that polish, but I haven’t been able to get my grabby hands on it. Sadly, I don’t think it’s going to fill out that particular lemming list niche. But it’s still a very nice polish. I think it will look fantastic over a darker color, especially as a glitter gradient.

This is “Urban Magic”. It’s very similar to “Heart of Gold”, but this one has silver glitter in with the holographic. I feel like this one has more holographic glitter in the mix, but that could just be my bottle. Who knows? For my swatch picture, I applied this one over another Sinful Color polish, “Social Ladder”. This one reminds me a lot of China Glaze, “Fairy Dust”. Again, I think (based on eyeballing online bottle shots of Fairy Dust next to my picture of this polish) the glitters in this one are bigger, and it’s not as densely glittery as “Fairy Dust”. With that said, I think this one resembles “Fairy Dust” a lot more closely than “Heart of Gold” resembles “Golden Enchantment”.

I feel like this one falls squarely into the glitter topper category. It’s a nice topper. Similar to the previous polish, the base isn’t too overwhelming. It is entirely possible to apply this one using the brush and still get a really good scattering of glitter across your nails. I think this one has a very pretty look that could enhance almost any color of polish. It’s very sparkly and delicate, which I like!

This is “Spoon Full of Sugar”. It’s a rose gold glitter topper in a clear base, and I swatched it over another polish from this collection, “Kiss Goodnight”. The glitters are a pink-toned rose gold color, and they are in various sizes. I found the base to be a bit heavier and thicker in this polish, although it was not unmanageable. The glitters spread out nicely over the nail, and I didn’t have to fish or struggle to place any of them. When I applied this polish for my swatch picture, I felt like one coat was too sparse, so I went in for a second coat. Now, though, I’m thinking I would have been better off just leaving it at one. Ah well. Live and learn. And BLING IT UP!! Woot!!

Out of the three toppers I bought from this collection, this one was my favorite. It’s unique to my polish stash because of the combination of color and glitter shapes. I think it would look great over light or dark polishes. I like the pink-toned color, which is different and a bit unexpected, and I also like how playful and fun this one looks on the nail.

This is “Kiss Goodnight”. It is a lovely, soft sky blue cream with silver and pink shimmer. I felt like the shimmers weren’t super apparent in my photo, but I could see them on the nail. They are subtle, though — not the kind of shimmer that is going to jump out and grab you by the eyeballs, that’s for sure. The silvery shimmer, in particular, gives this polish a dusty and soft look on the nail.

Was there ever any doubt that I would LOVE this polish? Here’s a hint: The answer is NO! No, there was never a doubt that I would love this polish. LOVE IT. And, I do. This color is right up my alley. I am always, always drawn to blues of any shade or tone, and this one is no exception. I found this polish to be great with application. I got it opaque in two easy coats with no pooling, flooding, or pulling. The first coat was a tad bit streaky, but it evened out easily for me on the second. I like the way this looks on the nails, too. I like the color against my skin tone, but I also like the dusty, shimmery look to it. As with “Flip Tease”, this one has a rather thick, substantial look on the nail, which I quite enjoy.

And last, but certainly not least, here is “Mermaid Tail”. This is a metallic green with a strong gold flash. When I looked at it in the bottle, I saw an olive green metallic. I wasn’t expecting the gold tones, but they really came out on my nails and in my picture. It was a nice surprise. Like all metallics, this one has some brush strokes. You can see them in my picture. I took my swatch picture before the polish was fully dry, so I don’t know how well they will dry down. I haven’t yet worn this polish in a  full manicure, but I’m looking forward to giving it a try.

I’m not always a fan of greens, although I have to say I have come to appreciate this color a lot more over the past year. I love, love, love this one, though! This is a special polish. I thought the formula was great. I got it opaque in two easy coats with minimal streaking. I didn’t have problems with it pooling or flooding. It was a joy to apply, really. The only thing I didn’t love about it was the fact that I could see brush strokes. This isn’t unexpected for a metallic. It’s definitely not a deal breaker for me. I think this is a fantastic and unusual polish, and I’m thrilled to have it in my stash.