I’m coming at ‘ya today with the second installment of my Sinful Colors swatch-a-palooza. I am skipping around a little bit on my usual “ROYGBIV” order. Greens were on deck for today, but I didn’t have that many. I decided to skip ahead a little bit to add in some of my Sinful Colors neutrals in order to flesh out the post. I think I ended up with a slightly longer than usual post, because I had more Whites, etc. than I remembered having. D’oh!
DESTASH UPDATE:
Before jumping into the polishes for today’s post, I wanted to note that I ended up destashing Cash Game, which was one of the yellow polishes listed in last week’s swatch post. I decided it was too much like China Glaze Lighthouse to keep in my stash. I love Lighthouse, and, at first, I thought I could keep Cash Game as a substitute, since my bottle of Lighthouse has quite a wear line in it. After some thought, I realized it wasn’t similar enough to stand in as a substitute. And so … to the destash pile it went!
GREEN:
In general, I don’t have a lot of greens from Sinful Colors. In the past, green polish hasn’t been at the top of my “I NEED THIS!!!” list with any polish brand. But I feel like I have come around to loving green as a polish color over the last few months. I think I am quicker to jump in and purchase a green now than when I purchased most of my Sinful Colors polishes. When I went through my stash to swatch everything the first time, I had 8 Sinful Colors greens. I ended up destashing 1 of those (a-Peas-ing) at that time. So I have 7 greens to share in this post today.
Works Like a Charm is from the Spring 2017 Luck of the Stylish Collection. It is a sage or pistachio green with gold glitter. I have seen this described online as a mint green, but it seems a little too muted or dusty to me. This polish has a good formula. It is easy to apply and opaque in 2 coats.
I have to admit I’m a little torn on this polish. It is a pretty color, and it has a delicate appearance on the nail. I like the combination of the dusty and pale green with the gold glitter. I wish the glitter was a bit more visible on the nail. You can see it, but I feel it is more subtle than I would like. But, overall, I like this polish. I enjoyed swatching it and seeing it on my nails when I did my second set of swatch pictures. With that said … Would I wear this color on a regular basis? Or at all? I’m honestly not sure I would. It hurts my heart a little bit, but I am going to destash this one.
She’s Gone Matte is from the Spring 2016 Porcelain Matte Collection. It is a turquoise that leans slightly green, and it has a slight shimmer. The formula for this polish is good. It is opaque in two fairly easy coats.
I went back and forth on this polish. The very first time I swatched it, I thought I would destash it. Then, I put it onto my nails a second time — either for another swatch or as part of a manicure. And I enjoyed seeing it on my nails. Recently, I went back to this polish a third time for a better swatch picture. I still liked it. Looking at the picture right now, I have to say the lovey-like feelings remain. I still think the color is nice and pretty. And, I don’t dislike seeing it on my nails.
And yet … I also don’t love having this type of color on my nails for any length of time. I have destashed most of the polishes in my hoard that have this type of green-leaning turquoise hue to them. The fact that this is a matte polish is completely lost on me, since I put a glossy top coat on everything. Overall, I don’t think it’s worth it for me to keep this polish. I have other turquoise shades I enjoy more because they lean more toward blue. I am going to destash this one.
Super Cooper is from the Spring 2017 Desert Divas / Stoned Crystal Shimmer Collection. It is an olive green crelly with silver flakes and a slight shimmer. This polish has a good formula that is opaque in 2 easy coats.
This polish kind of broke the internet … or, at least the nail polish corner of the internet. This was one of those colors it seemed like “everyone” wanted to get their hot little hands on, and it proved to be the most elusive color from the collection for most of us. I have 2 bottles of this polish. My first bottle came to me courtesy of my wonderful nail bestie (@jenniferwallenfels on IG). And then, a few months later, I found the entire collection in my Rite Aid. It had randomly popped up there, way out of season. I couldn’t resist grabbing a second bottle of this baby.
You’ve probably already guessed I’m keeping this one. I love murky, dusty, swampy greens. I feel like they have more depth or weight to them, and I enjoy them on my nails. When you add in the silver flakes, I think this polish is a total winner. I love it!
Kameleon is from one of the Kylie Jenner collaborations that came out in 2016. It is a multi-chrome that, according to the Sinful Colors website, shifts from cerulean to emerald to teal to aquamarine. This has not been my experience with this polish. It mostly looks like a green-gold on my nails, although I can see some slight blue tint or undertone to the green. The formula isn’t bad. It is opaque in 2 fairly easy coats, but I found it shows brush strokes.
This is a pretty polish. I love the green and gold combination. And, even though I didn’t see as much shift as the Sinful Colors website promises, I did see color shift on my nails. This is not an expensive polish, so I was happy with the shift I got for the low price of $2 or $3. My biggest negative about this polish is that I found the formula unforgiving. I felt it showed every single imperfection on my nails. And, believe me, I have imperfections!! I also feel like this polish has a heavy chrome-like appearance on my nails. I’m not wild about that.
I went into this swatch session thinking I would keep this one, in spite of my misgivings, because the color is so pretty. But then, I realized it is very similar to Mermaid Tail (which appears below). I don’t want to keep both of them, and I think I like that one slightly more. So I am going to send Kameleon to the destash pile.
Mermaid Tail is from the 2017 Kandee Johnson Vintage Anime Collection. This is a multi-chrome polish that shifts from blue to darker green to a lighter yellow-green. This polish has a good formula that was opaque for me in 2 fairly easy coats.
I have seen online reviews of this polish that talk about the formula being thin, drying too quickly, and leaving brush strokes. My experience with it wasn’t like that. I’ve swatched this polish two times, and I have worn it in a full manicure once. I had an easy time with the formula every time I applied it. It does have brush strokes, but I found them not as noticeable as the brush strokes in Kameleon. I also like the brighter, more yellow-green tone this polish has as part of its color shift. Because it is so similar to Kameleon (above), I don’t feel I need both of these polishes. I decided to keep this one.
Queen of Green is from the Spring 2017 Luck of the Stylish Collection. It is a blackened dark green base with brighter green and gold shimmer. This polish has a good formula. It was opaque for me in 2 easy coats.
This polish has my heart. I love the combination of deep and bright greens. And it has that little touch of gold I adore so much. I think this one is beautiful, and I am keeping it.
That’s Elfed Up! is from the Holiday 2016 Santa Bae Collection. It is a clear base with matte white micro glitter hexes, green metallic glitter, red hex glitter, and gold hex glitter. For a Sinful Colors glitter, this has a good formula. It wasn’t too base-heavy, and it had a good glitter pay-out.
This glitter is very similar to Santa Claws, which was part of my reds in last week’s swatch post. It makes sense they are similar, because they are from the same collection. Overall, I find I like Santa Claws so much more than this one. I found the glitter combination in Santa Claws more charming, and I love the heavy red and gold combination. Even though this is a pretty polish and a great topper, I am not sure I will wear it. I am going to destash it.
WHITE, BLACK, METALLICS, & MISCELLANEOUS GLITTERS:
When I swatched my stash the first time, I had 19 polishes that fell into the white, black, metallic, and misc. glitter category. I destashed a few of those after my first round of swatches. I no longer had these polishes in my possession, so I couldn’t take new photos of them with my improved camera and lens set-up. I have 11 polishes to share in this section of the post.
Here is a list of the polishes I destashed after my first round of swatching: Ice Dream, Kloud 9, Urban Magic, Da New Black, Undercover, Rocket Out, Cute Cadet, and Snow Me White.
WHITE:
Social Ladder is a sheer white with blue and pink shimmer. This polish has an okay formula. The color is sheer, and it has shimmer in it. I didn’t find the formula particularly streaky, but you either need a base coat or 4 (or more?) coats to reach full opacity with no VNL. I have 3 coats in my swatch picture, and you can see there is still quite a bit of VNL on display.
This polish is really pretty and delicate on the nail. The shimmer is subtle. I feel it doesn’t jump out on the nail, but you can see the pinks and blues as the light plays across your fingers. I don’t really mind seeing VNL with this polish. I kind of feel like it’s part of the overall “look” that happens with these types of colors. I liked this on my nails, overall. But … I seem to have a habit of buying these types of sheer whites. I know I have other mainstream polishes that are very similar to this. I’m going to destash this one.
Angelik was from one of the Kylie Jenner Collaborations in 2016. This is either a white with a touch of pink to it or a very light pink with a lot of white. It looks more white to me, which is why I included it in here, and it has gold shimmer running throughout. This polish has a good formula. It is slightly thin and sheer, but it is buildable to opacity in 2-3 coats. Even at 3 coats, there is still a bit of VNL on display.
As I said above, I seem to gravitate toward these delicate, sheer types of white polish. I prefer this type of look to a stark white on the nail. Even so, I have similar polishes in other mainstream brands. I also have a Cameo Colours Lacquer that is very similar to this in appearance. I decided I would only keep one of these whites from Sinful Colors. And I think this is The One. I love how this one looks delicate, soft, and super pretty on the nail. I also love the gold shimmer. So, this one is a keeper — for now. I may end up going back and destashing it once I give it a little more thought.
Kovet was part of the Kylie Jenner Collaboration in 2016. It is a white with a subtle blue shimmer running throughout. This polish has a good formula. I was happy with the opacity at 2 coats. I felt like it even covered my VNL really well, which was a nice surprise.
So … yet another soft and slightly shimmery white. I like this polish, and I liked it on my nails, too. I’ve decided I will only keep one of these whites from Sinful Colors, and I find I like the warmth in Angelik slightly more. In general, I would almost always stick with anything that has even a touch of blue to it. Blue is my jam, after all. In this instance, I feel it gives the polish a colder, more stark look on the nail. It’s pretty, but I’ve come to realize I like my whites a little more on the soft and delicate side.
Dripping in Pearls is from the Kandee Johnson Collection. It is a pearly white with a strong gold shimmer running throughout it. This has a decent formula. It is sheer because of the shimmer. I liked it at 3 coats, although I could still see a hint of VNL.
I find this polish similar to The Royal Me, which is listed below, but I like that this one is more of a white with a gold shimmer. It feels lighter and brighter on the nail. This polish has a slightly frosty finish, which shows brush strokes. At the same time, it has a beautifully soft luster to it in almost every light. I love that, and I think it makes this polish worth it — frosty finish, brush strokes, and all. I am going to keep this one, at least for now.
Whipped Frosting is from the 2017 Kandee Johnson Collection. It is a slightly warm-toned white with shimmer. The shimmer is super, super subtle. You can see it a little bit in the bottle, but I didn’t find it showed at all on the nail. I failed to make swatching notes for this polish, but I think the formula was decent. I don’t remember struggling with it for my swatch photo. It dries matte, although I always use a glossy top coat.
I have gone back and forth about whether I should destash this polish or not. I was going to keep it, but it is a harsher looking white than I generally enjoy on my nails. At the same time, it is really pretty. I’m sitting here looking at the swatch photo and thinking about how much I like the look of it on my nails. Argh! This is where the tough decisions are made. *think…think…think*
Yeah. I’m going to destash it.
BLACK & GRAY:
Thera-Pewter is from the Spring 2017 Desert Divas / Stoned Crystal Shimmer Collection. This polish is a silvery-gray with silver flakes. The formula is good. It was opaque for me in 2 easy coats.
I originally passed on this polish when the Desert Divas Collection released. I looked at it several times in a couple of the stores I regularly haunt. Each time, I ended up putting it back on the shelf. A few months after the collection had left stores, a display for it randomly popped up in the Rite-Aid near my house. I took yet another look at the collection, and I decided to get this one at last. I am happy that I did! This polish ended up being one of my favorites out of the collection. There is something about it that really appeals to me with the light gray base and silvery flake combination. It also looks beautiful as a base for nail art. This is a keeper.
METALLIC:
The Royal Me is from the Kylie Jenner Collaboration. It is a whited-out, bright “antique”-toned gold. This polish has a good formula that was opaque in 2 coats.
I have nothing against this polish. It applies nicely, is an unusual shade of gold, and is pretty on the nail. At the same time, I can’t say it really grabs my heart, either. I remember feeling slightly underwhelmed when I swatched it. I’ve never worn it in a full manicure, and I feel slightly underwhelmed in looking at the swatch picture, too. I think that’s a sign this one needs to head to the destash pile.
Nola Way is from the Spring 2017 Bayou Babes Collection. It is a bright yellow-toned gold base with gold shimmer. The formula is good. It is opaque at 2 coats, although I can see a hint of VNL in my swatch picture.
I like the color and finish of this polish. It is a bright and pretty look on the nail, which made me feel elegant and girly. And yet, I am going to destash it. I have several other mainstream gold polishes I enjoy more.
GLITTER:
Heart of Gold is from the 2017 Kandee Johnson Vintage Anime Collection. It is a topper with a clear base and gold holographic glitter. The formula for this is not bad, particularly for a Sinful Colors glitter. It is slightly base-heavy, but not impossible. The glitter pay-off over the nail is good, and the base dries quickly. I don’t think this would ever be opaque on its own.
I like the glitter distribution in this polish. I found it easy to get a nice amount of glitter onto each nail without sponging. I like that it has gold glitter, which reminds me of the gold Fairy Dust. Off the top of my head, I’m not sure I have any other toppers in my stash like this one. So I am going to keep this polish for now. If it turns out I have another gold holo topper I like more, this one might get destashed.
Out With a Bang is from the Holiday 2017 Collection. It is a clear base with gold and iridescent micro glitter and iridescent shards. This has a decent formula. Like many Sinful Colors glitter toppers, it is base-heavy. But it is workable on the nail with the brush. I have it at 1 coat over a base color in my swatch photo.
I was intrigued by this polish in the bottle, but I was also uncertain about whether I would like it or not. I am usually all over anything with iridescent glitters or shards in it, but I was uncertain about how this base would perform. As expected from a Sinful Colors glitter, it is a tad base-heavy. But I was happily surprised to find it is still workable with the brush. The shards are a little sparse, but the micro glitters give a pretty look over the nail. I don’t always wear toppers, but the ones with iridescent flakes or shards are my favorites. This is a keeper.
Flame Game is from the Summer 2017 Free & Fierce Collection. It is a clear base with what looks like a shifting blue shimmer and iridescent shards.
I think this might be another polish that came to me from my sweet nail bestie. I originally thought I would destash either this polish or Out With a Bang, because they are really similar. I have decided to keep both, though. I like the blue shimmer in this one. It gives the topper a cool-toned look, as well as popping blues and greens and purples into the iridescent flakes. Out With a Bang feels more warm-toned to me, overall. I may be grasping at straws to justify keeping both of them … but there ‘ya go!
THE WRAP-UP:
Whew!! That was a loooong post! I feel like we made some really good progress on the swatch-a-palooza project. Next week, I will have some of my Sinful Colors blues to share. I have about 20 or so in that color category, so I may break them up into two posts.
Destashing-wise, I think I did pretty well in this post. I had a total of 18 polishes in this post (if I counted correctly). Out of those 18, I destashed 9. Yay! Go, me!!
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