NOTD; Bad Romance by Deborah Lippmann...

I'm not feeling very romantic and cute today, so allow me to show off a anti-Valentine mani for Valentine's Day week.

Yes - the name had a more then a bit to do with why I bought today's Spotlight polish, as I'm a big Lady Gaga fan and that song in particular is one of my faves. Take that name for a black based polish, and toss in fuchsia glitter = my perfect polish. 

Doesn't it?

So pretty, but stil quite bad: Deborah Lippmann Boom Boom pow...

 

Boom Boom Pow is a mix of gold glitter and actual gold flecks in a clear base. I use it for layering over dark polishes - either all over the nail, over half of the nail, or as a gradient. It looks stunning with any dark coloured polishes, but it's especially gorgeous over blue or plum.

I really do want to tick yes for 'would you buy it again', but I have to be honest and admit that I wouldn't. Simply put; this polish is slow to dry and remains soft for hours after applying it, no matter which quick drying topcoat I use. It is so much slower to dry then any other glitter based polish that I own, that I have found myself using it less and less, in favour of other glitters in my collection.

with OPI Can't Let Go.

with China Glaze Sugar Plums

NOTD: OPI Can't Let Go, with Deborah Lippmann Boom Boom pow...

 

 

Get Your Number isn't what I expected; it is meant to be the purple shade that Mariah Carey wore in the ads for this polish range, and before I applied it I swatched it onto card to make sure I'd picked up the right mini and the shade was definitely purple, but once it's on my nail it is blue. The shade looks great on my shorter nails and is a all-seasons shade, so I still like it.

 

 

What the colour should be like...

 

 

This polish takes at least two coats for the effects of the textured finish; sometimes two coats doesn't look fully opaque, but I don't mind the semi-sheer look.

 

 

I love the look and feel of the matt texture and light spattering of glitter, that is the formula of the OPI 'liquid sand' finish. It is made to be worn without a topcoat for the gritty, matt finish, but as there are glitter articles in the polish it looks good with topcoat too. I prefer the matt look of this polish, so I do fin it will chip faster then normal OPI polishes, but as it has a textured finish touch ups are easy to do and are largely seamless.

 

 

 

I found a trio of Deborah Lippmann polishes in TK Maxx the other week, so was testing the glitter shade in the trio, Boom Boom Pow, to see what the formula is like and layered it over Can't Let Go. I was playing around so the results aren't neat, but I love the combination of the two polishes, so I took a few snaps...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NOTD: China Glaze Boo-gie Down, over Deborah Lippmann Lara's Theme, OPI Hi Pumpkin, and a Rite-Aid Pumpkin Polish...

Boo-gie Down is one of the five new shades for the Halloween 2013 [Monsters Ball] range, and is one of the four glitter shades, where it is one of the two scattered polishes in a clear base. So this shade is made for layering over other polishes. This is probably my favourite shade out of this year's Halloween range.

Boo-gie Down is filled with small, medium and large black hex glitters, some white hex and larger copper gold hex glitters and some black bar glitters. The most 'Halloweeny' colour combination that I've tried so far and recommend wearing Boo-gie Down over is orange, as shown in this post.

The copper glitters don't photograph well, but they look lovely in real life :)

I've also seen photos of other people wearing Boo-gie Down over green, another great option for Halloween, and beige, where it looks like snake-skin. No doubt there'll be other great combinations too - I just haven't had the time to play around yet.

LT: Deborah Lippmann Lara's Theme
HP: OPI Hi Pumpkin
PP: Rite-Aid Pumpkin Polish [unnamed shade]

Despite the glitter this polish is easy to apply, leaving no bubbles or streaks and I was impressed with the drying time. Being a it does take a little bit more effort to remove, but it seems easier than my other glitter polishes.