Butter London: Black Knight

YAY! Another post and it hasn't been 3 months since my last!  The semester has officially kicked off and I've had each of my new classes at least once.  So far, so good.  I've opted to take one class credit/no credit and I think I stand a better chance at succeeding this semester.  Even without blogging I did not do as well as I would have hope last semester.  I've decided to be optimistic/altruistic about this and see it as an opportunity to prove myself.  I've got nowhere to go but up, so here goes nothing.

I know you few straggling followers don't sign on to read my legal chronicles, so here is some polish for you all!  Tonight I have Butter London Black Knight that was released as part of their winter collection.  It is a highly pigmented black creme polish packed with fine glitter in red, blue and pink.  Upon closer inspection there may be some ultra fine silver glitter hiding as well.

2 coats Black Night + 1 coat Poshe top coat, artificial light

Formula-wise I found this pretty thick (almost goopy) but still easy to apply.  I think the density of the black pigment and glitter causes this.  However, it may not have been so thick initially.  I used this once before and don't remember it being so glue-like.  Regardless, it didn't bother me.  Like all Butter London polishes, this is 3 Free and comes in the signature bottle.  Besides how unique and pretty this polish is, the only other thing worth noting is that this is a topcoat eater.  You can kind of tell from the picture, but the finish is bumpy.  If you wanted to add more coats of topcoat you may have a smoother result, but the finish didn't bother me so I left it.  In fact, I actually like touching the surface of the polish in class.

This polish is still available form a variety of vendors including Zappos and Amazon.

Did anyone else find this polish thick??  Are any of you back to school?

<3
Shbecky

Sister/Cousin Nail Art Ventures

I'm hoping my internet holds out long enough for me to churn out this quick post.  Once in a while a page spontaneously manages to load, but it's normally just a tease and cuts right out.  My boyfriend left at 4:30 this morning :(.  I wish he could stay up in NH longer, but one of us has to be responsible and go to work.  I've been laying around in the sun all day and feel totally baked.  It's terrible but I love it.  Anyways, I wanted to show you the manis I gave my 18 year old sister, cousin and my 13 year old sister.  The first mani came about by accident when I was just playing around before dinner.  She decided she wanted me to give it to her as a full mani the next day, and the rest followed her lead!

Nfu Oh 65 + Orly Instant Artist Stripes + Seche Vite, sunlight-ish

RGB Slate/Butter London Wallis with divider stripes + Seche Vite, sunlight

Nubar Reclaim + Orly Instant Artist + Seche Vite, flash

I need to figure out a better way to get posts out to the blogosphere from here.  This is torture!

~Shbecky

Butter London: Dosh

I've been a bad, bad blogger! Thankfully, Shbecky has been holding down the fort. Today, I bring you Butter London's DOSH. Since this polish, I have acquired 3 more Butter London polishes. I'd even go so far as to say they are my new favorite brand. They may be expensive, but the formula is incredible!! Dosh is a light green color, dotted with tiny speckles of glitter.

[hard to see the sparkles in the bottle]

[2 coats + Seche Vite, make sure you click through to see the large version!!]

[closeup, pretty glitter!]

I will definitely be keeping this, however I probably won't be using it again until fall. I prefer bright, obnoxious colors in the summer!

Also, if anyone has Tumblr, you can view mine at eisenbrat.tumblr.com

-Eisenbrat

Butter London Wallis

As promised, here is another post to make up for missing yesterday!  This is Butter London Wallis.  It is available now as part of the Anniversary Sale at Nordstrom, but will be available at other retailers as part of the fall collection.  FYI the much-coveted No More Waity Katie will be re-released as part of that collection.  This 3 Free brand always has a great formula and this is no exception.

2 coats Wallis + Seche Vite, artificial light

 Wallis is a truly unique color in my collection.  It comes in the standard rectangular prism bottle with a pop-off cap that reveals a ridged plastic top for application.  It's a smooth foil polish.  I think it's a black jelly based packed with a bright olive green foil.  The foil has some sort of duochrome-esque characteristics.  In some colors its more yellow and in others (see below) it's more green.

2 coats Wallis + Seche Vite, artificial light

Wallis is opaque in 2 smooth and easy to apply coats, and dries pretty fast.  This coloring is not everyone's cup of tea, but it is a great polish for the upcoming Fall season.  It is perfectly on trend as one of the new ugly pretty colors that are popping up everywhere for this Fall.  

~Shbecky

Butter London Dahling w/ flowers

Hey polish fiends!  I wanted to post earlier but my iPhoto is on the fritz.  I tried to fix it, but no luck.  I had to use some old HP software to even open the pictures I grabbed.  I couldn't edit the pictures at all, but I am too impatient to hold off on sharing these pics.   I will review Dahling for Wednesday, and leave you with just the pics of my little experiment.

Don't forget that I've never tried this before, so it's not perfect.  I'm learning :)  The good news is that IRL you can't see the imperfections. 

Nail Art over Dahling, left hand, artificial light

Nail Art over Dahling, left hand, artificial light

left hand thumb

right hand ring finger

right thumb

~Shbecky

Don't forget to find us on Tumblr!

Dusty Purple Comparison

Hey everyone!  Sorry for the late hour of the post tonight, but I got into a swatching zone while the boyfriend was working and I just went with it.  My hectic summer has resulted in me running out of extra swatches to post when I'm too busy to paint my nails but I have just replenished my safety net.  Tonight I have my first comparison by request.  I recently posted about a lovely dusty purple, Butter London Scoundrel (read my review here).  One of our lovely readers, GothamPolish, commented that she would love to see it next to OPI's Parlez Vous OPI (PVO).  Being the hard working researcher that I am, I immediately hopped on evilbay and snagged a bottle.  I'm not sure why I didn't try this out sooner, but whatever. 

I decided to add in OPI Planks A Lot to this party because I definitely thought of it when I first tried on Scoundrel.  I must say that I am thoroughly impressed by GothamPolish's spot here.  These polishes are very close.

(L-R) Scoundrel, Parlez Vous OPI, Planks A Lot, Scoundrel, no top coat, artificial light

 As you can see Scoundrel and PVO are both pink based purple cremes, and that Planks A Lot is more of a blue leaning purple creme.  Planks A Lot is also a good bit lighter than the other two.  All 3 are definitely in the dusty category that has been trending this summer.   PVO had an impressively smooth formula and all 3 of these were opaque in 2 coats.  

(L-R) Scoundrel, Parlez Vous OPI, Planks A Lot, Scoundrel, no top coat, artificial light

PVO is half a shade darker than Scoundrel, but in some light you can't even tell.  For some reason I have the urge to hold onto both of these polishes.  Sometimes I want a rectangular bottle and sometimes I want a rounded one?  OK, fine - I'm a hoarder. 

Tomorrow's post will be scheduled and hopefully goes up alright.  I have a test in the hospital tomorrow that I'm getting knocked out for and I am not confident that I will be functional tomorrow afterwards.

Wish me luck!

~Shbecky

Butter London: Scoundrel

Hey everyone!  Sorry for the late post a second night straight.  I am easily flustered by travel and changed routines, and the boyfriend and I just got to Charlotte, NC for our friend Robert's wedding.  It's actually a pretty exciting weekend.  I need to keep this quick though, because I am staying with my boyfriend's family and I am the only one up at this point.  I'm very glad to be here though, because his family is so great and nice and I never see them.  I'm looking forward to doing girly stuff (aka paint his mom's nails tomorrow) while the boys are off doing their manly traditions.  

Tonight I have Butter London Scoundrel for you all.  Butter London polishes are 3 Free and come in the distinct rectangular prism-shaped bottle with a lid that pops off to reveal a ribbed top with a royal bird imprinted on the top.  The British brand names its polishes with quirky British names, which makes the brand pretty fun.  They also have great formulas on their polishes.  Scoundrel is a dusty lilac purple creme.  It was opaque in 2 amazingly easy to apply coats and I really like the color.

2 coats Scoundrel + Seche Vite, artificial light

Scoundrel is everything I wanted OPI Planks A Lot to be.  It has a great smooth formula that is matched perfectly to the Butter London brush where Planks A Lot was a pain to apply.  I paint my nails because it relaxes me.  Polishes that I have to fight with ruin that aspect painting my nails.  The colors are not dupes, as Scoundrel has a bit more rosiness to it than Planks A Lot.  However, this polish is the clear winner IMO.  Well - it's time for some sleep.  Look for a post from SonyT in the morning!

Does anyone else have both polishes and feel this way or the opposite?  

Don't forget to enter our Nfu Oh 61 Giveaway!

~Shbecky

Butter London: Blagger

Good morning!  I'm currently in Raleigh, NC for one of my boyfriend's friend's wedding.  We got to town last night and went to a really lovely rehearsal dinner where I got to meet all of his friends from college.  Everyone is really great so far.  I wish I hadn't left my crazy bright crackle manicure on, as everyone was rocking naked nails or a french manicure and I felt a little out of place.  I'm planning on switching to the lovely Butter London: Blagger for the wedding tonight.  It's bright, but not so crazy.  I swatched it the other day and I'm in love.  I've decided that blue polish is the polar opposite to yellow polish.  Yellows tend to have terrible formulas while blues end up being incredible.  It looks a little like BTOUCH's Bet on This Blue (See my post on that here).

2 coats Blagger + Zoya Armor Top Coat, artificial light

Butter London polishes are 3 Free and come in the rectangular prism bottle with a top that pops off to reveal a small ribbed top.  It always seems small until I actually use it and realize it's not an issue at all.  This didn't have the little royal bird embossed on the end of the ribbed top like my other Butter Londons and I'm not sure why.  Blagger is a beautiful bright blue creme and opaque in 2 dreamy coats.

Verdict?  If you like blues, you need this polish.  It is an essential Butter London like Macbeth.  I'll clearly be keeping this one :)

Don't forget to sign up for Nfu Oh 61 Giveaway!

~Shbecky

First Try w/Konad Plate m57

I'm home sick today with an evil sore throat, so I thought I'd give konading a try.  I kept Cult Nails Devious Nature on for 2.5 days 50% out of love for the polish and 50% because I felt too blah to switch my polish (that's how you know when I really don't feel well).  I am happy to report that I had little to no wear or chipping after that time.  Anywho, I recently acquired a stamper and a few Konad plates from BornPretty (*I'll be giving them a little write up soon!).  When they first arrived I gave it a quick try with no success.  After watching a tutorial I roughed up the stamper with a buffer and practiced on a notepad.

Devious Nature topped with fishnet stamp in Zoya Dove + Seche Vite

 I was having limited success on the notepad, so eventually I turned to my nail to see if that would work better.  I swapped out the metal scraper for an old credit card and some thicker polishes and I am pretty happy with the results.  I definitely need to find out which polishes work well since I don't have the special Konad polish.  Some stamps worked better than others, but I figured I'd show you all of results!

Devious Nature w/ flower stamp in Butter London Blagger + Seche Vite

Devious Nature stamped with Zoya Caitlin + Seche Vite

 Zoya Caitlin was way too light against Devious Nature :(

Devious Nature stamped with animal print in Butter London Blagger + Seche Vite

 Here I didn't push down evenly.  The whole nail stamps are much more difficult for a newbie.

All of the practice stamps!

Verdict? I need more practice, but I don't think it's totally beyond my ability.  Any tips for me??

Don't forget to enter the Nfu Oh 61 Giveaway !

-Shbecky

Butter London: All Hail The Queen

Hey everyone!  I just finished my second day at my internship.  It actually went REALLY well.  I was nervous after yesterday that I wouldn't enjoy it or be able to figure things out.  Realistically yesterday was just a disaster.  I felt out of place, because I sit with the a different group of staffers than the ones that I am actually working with.  I had no one to get lunch with, and my metro broke down on the way home.  I topped it off by getting off at the wrong bus stop and had to walk really far.  I thought today was going to be the same way - especially when I got on a different metro line without realizing it.  I realized it too late, but it turns out that it's a HUGE short cut.  Even though I had to get off, go back, and transfer metros I still got there faster. 

What does all this work stuff have to do with my nails?  Well, as I mentioned previously, work means neutral polishes.  I wore Rosa Rosa from Estee Lauder today with a brand new grey/brown dress that I love.  When I swing through the mall on my way home, I stopped at the Chanel counter in Macy's and I noticed that Chanel Paradoxical matched perfectly and somehow wasn't too out there for work!  I obviously bought it.   Now (finally) I bring you my first work mani.  Butter London: All Hail The Queen is tan shimmery/holographic polish.  It applies fantastically!

2 coats All Hail The Queen, no top coat + artificial light

Butter London are 3 Free and have the unique rectangular bottles with the top that pops off to reveal a ridged and relatively small grip.  They come with these great British-ized names.  This one is on its second name as far as I'm aware.  I think this was originally called All Hail McQueen after the British designer Alexander McQueen, who tragically took his own life in the last year.  I'm not sure why it's been switched.  Any ideas?  Application was a breeze.  I expect nothing less from Butter London.  I swear this polish is holographic, but who would know it.  You can kinda see it in the bottle. 

Verdict?  Love it!  What do you think?

Now for a bonus!  I topped Atlantic with Nubar 2010 and it looks even more mermaid-like.

2 coats Altantic + Nubar 2010, artificial light

-Shbecky

P.S. - Check out our new Giveaway Roundup page!

Comparison Post: Butter London Diamond Geezer and Essie Loophole

On Saturday, Shbecky and I drove deep into Virginia (OK, it really wasn't that far) to shop at Ulta, a nail polish hoarder's dream. I ended up spending $160! $110 on nail polish alone, and $50 on my new favorite product, Liquid Keratin. Anyone else out there use a Keratin treatment??

Anyway, I picked up 2 polishes that looked completely identical in the bottle, but yet I HAD to have both. I'm talking about Butter London's Diamond Geezer and Essie's Loophole. This is my first Butter London purchase, I can't believe they're $14/bottle!

[Foil-y heaven]

The Butter London formula is amazing and I don't regret paying $14. I applied 2 coats that came out very evenly, and the end result was a silver foil with some sparkles that catch the light.

[Artificial light]

[Better shot when it catches the light]

Up next, Essie's Loophole. To be honest, there is no comparison. I don't even want to post pictures of this one because it came out so clumpy and uneven. I didn't even bother to clean up the edges but here you go:


Verdict: There is NO comparison. Butter London FTW! Will definitely be using this polish often, and I will probably give the Essie version another chance at some point as well.

Butter London, Victoriana

It seems like Blogger is finally ironing out most of the kinks!  I've been back up in Philadelphia with my family for the long weekend, and I am really enjoying the time back at home.  I dragged Warren to check out Bean's Beauty earlier today.   I am not sure what I think about beauty stores that aren't supply stores.  They carry everything at full price but stock EVERYTHING you might want.  It's kind of torture when you want everything.  They even carried Deborah Lippmann!  I got to a peak at some of the lovely new shades that I will be grabbing this week when I return to DC.

During my swatch-fest earlier this week I tried out Butter London's Victoriana.  I didn't realize how nice of a brand that Butter London was until I started obsessively reading nail blogs in my free (and not so free) time.  Butter London polishes are all 3-Free, and come in a very distinct rectangular prism-shaped bottle.  Most of the polishes have crafty British themed names, which make a lot of the names pretty memorable.  The black top, shown in the 1st picture, pops off to reveal a rather small ribbed grip with a little royal bird on top.  The grip is a little small for my taste, but Victoriana more than makes up for this with its formula.

2 coats Victoriana, no top-coat, natural light

 Victoriana is a medium green-blue creme with fine gray-silver glitter throughout.   Even with the small handle and a brush that is slim in comparison to most, the polish is very easy to apply.  When you place the brush on your nail the polish stays exactly where you put it and applies extremely evenly.  Opacity can be achieved in 1 coat, but I did 2 for no real reason.  The silver glitter is actually a little gritty if you run your finger over the polish, but it's definitely not that offensive glitter that ruins a lot of polishes.  Even if you wanted to retain the dusty look of the polish by skipping a top coat, you won't be bothered by the unique texture of the polish.  I am very pleased with Victoriana and would recommend it to people interested in trying out the brand.  These polishes run $14 a pop, so definitely try to grab them through a discount!

2 coats Victoriana, no top-coat, shade

cute birdy

-Shbecky