hot topic neon yellow

hot topic polishes are fun but a pain to apply. that little bottle-cap-like black top? is the only "handle" to speak of. so good luck if you have chubby fingers like me. also, this brand tends to smell way worse than most polishes. and they don't name them--that bugs me. but oh well, i end up getting a bunch of them anyway. this is probably the brightest neon yellow i have, two coats over one thick coat of essie blanc (white). super fun highlighter goodness.

lamp light

rimmel steel gray

this varnish has a color that took the polish world by storm. it is rimmel steel gray, a virtual "dupe" for cult classic metro chic from sephora by opi. and even better, it's half the price and probably more readily available. a sexy CHIC purpley taupey gray creme that would look good on freaking anyone.

this is one of rimmel's new colors since they did a redesign on their products, packaging, etc. (which it seems LOTS of companies are doing right now). i have to say that i la la love the new bottle and brush design, which is flat, wide, and has the rounded edge that sally hansen polishes are doing now--EXCEPT that these are way more awesome than the yucky sally hansen ones. much shorter handles and easier to control, the brushes seem better cut or something too because this was literally a no-clean up mani. perfect! two coats and we're done :)

lamp light

how is your monday shaping up? mine is going pretty well, albeit boring so far :)

man glaze

when i first heard of a polish called "man glaze", i literally giggled. after i got over my immaturity, for that moment anyway, i took a look at their polish selection. many rock stars and guys do partake in their products, but women definitely love to sport their awesome varnishes. the first color i have to show you is matte is murder, an awesome matte black with multicolored speckley sparkles embedded in the polish. it dried quick like all mattes, reminding me of asphalt or blacktop on a playground basketball court, and you can see the beautiful sparkley goodness in the wet polish. i had some trouble applying it, but i usually do with mattes. i liken this formula to the opi suedes and maybe just a tad thicker. this is two coats.

matte is murder is the second black in their collection, their first black like this one was called the death tar and was discontinued some time last year. i'm told this one has a better formula and is a more true black.

i did not want to put topcoat on the black--although i definitely will the next time i wear it because swatches i've seen are beautiful, because i wanted to put on all three polishes i got from marc at man glaze at once! the bottles were just too much for me, i couldn't resist using them all immediately.

hot mess is a glittery blingy "matte" top coat. it really is matte, although pictures with a flash make it look just sparkely and shiney anyway. i think it's a really cool way to make any color look different and kind of tarnished and antiquey. it reminds me, again, of the opi suede look sort of. plus i just love the name, i say "hot mess" all the time haha. this is two coats of hot mess, but i probably could've just used one.

the last polish i was sent from man glaze was their new matte topcoat, which of course can be used with any polish, called matte-astrophe.  i was hoping to achieve a more flat look with the black and bling i had going on and with this top coat that is exactly what i got. the colors just melded together perfectly and looked like one sheet. really cool effect. this is one coat.

overall i really liked these products. i ADORE the bottle shape and the artwork on the labels, it makes them look very fun and i was super excited to try them. the lids are not my favorite as they seem like you have to keep twisting and twisting them to get them to close all the way, then they're on waaay tight so it's not super convenient to keep opening and closing them when you have wet fingernails (i close my bottles in between coats to keep polish from evaporating).

i used matte-astrophe with china glaze stella in my previous post (actually after i wore this manicure, i go all out of order haha) and wanted to let you know what i thought about it. i do like the effect it had, but i do prefer my essie matte about you or china glaze matte magic top coats instead. i noticed that around the edges of my polish, the sides would feel like they were lifting and would get caught on stuff. this caused a few bits to rip off and would snag on my hair and stuff. i've had this happen with polish i've mattified before, but only when it's been on a chipped nail already--my nails were totally "perfect" when i put this on them. also, the matte-astrophe tended to leave little streaks of shiny parts where the strokes of the brush overlapped, like where i had painted. i thought it was just a spot i had missed with the product, but i went over it again and then it left a shiny streak in another place. i had to go over my nails a few times to get all the streaks off. so yeah, that was annoying.

anyway, phew, my stress load for the semester is over haha. even tho my midterms haven't even started, i'm not stressed anymore because all my presentations are over with. i'm sooo not a public speaker. i hope everyone is doing well and staying warm :) luv ya!

*the products in this post were provided to me by the company. this does not affect my opinions in any way. please see disclosure note for more information.*