Butter London in Scrumptious

Brand: Butter London 3 Free Nail Lacquer-Vernis

Shade: Scrumptious
(magenta purple color, glossy finish)

Cost: $$$

The Scoop:
I'm loving this shade for Feb. I feel like red is too racy (and predictable), pink is too sweet. This dark magenta color feels sophisticated. Scrumptious, indeed!

Butter London in Bubbles

Brand:  Butter London 3 Free Nail Lacquer-Vernis

Shade: Bubbles
(pale rose gold color, metallic finish)

Cost: $$$

The Scoop:
Happy 2018! You might be hung over from last night, but your fingers aren't. This is a great shade to keep the celebration going into the new year. Plus, it's got a gold cap so you know it's fancy...

Sally Hanson in Game of Chromes

Brand: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel

Shade: Game of Chromes
(matte gold color, metallic finish)

Cost: $$$

The Scoop:
I don't think this is like the gel polish you'd get in a salon -- it's not nearly as thick. But it's prob better for your nails! And I do love this shade. It didn't chip, it more kind of rubbed off on the edges after a week or so. I can live with that.

Butter London in Cool Britannia

Brand: Butter London 3 Free Nail Lacquer-Vernis

Shade: Cool Britannia
(blue black color, glossy finish)

Cost: $$$

The Scoop:
I'm always a fan of a dark nail. I love Butter too. And, it's nice that they make mini sizes that are less expensive than the biggies (though I generally buy them in packs, so that kinda defeats the purpose). What I didn't love was how this stained my nails REALLY badly when I took it off... Mr Clean Magic Eraser to the rescue!

ILNP in Mega

Brand: ILNP (I Love Nail Polish) Boutique Nail Lacquer

Shade: Mega
(semi-sheer silver color, rainbow iridescent finish)

Cost: $$$

The Scoop:
So I was on Amazon and they had this new section of "interesting finds." Lo and behold, this beauty was in the mix so I snapped it up along with 3 others.  This is like a disco ball in a bottle and I love it!

Julep in Kayla

Brand: Julep Nail Color

Shade: Kayla
(periwinkle purple color, iridescent finish)

Cost: $$$

The Scoop:
I wanted to make summer last, so I put on a light shade. I love Julep, but I don't think this one is what I was looking for, mainly because I'm not 13. I lived with it for about a day and then took it off. Bye, Felicia. I mean... Kayla.

Nails Inc. in Leicester Court & Old Church Street

Brand: Nails Inc. Stars & Gel Polish

Shades: Leicester Court & Old Church Street
(cream white color with sheer glossy finish and silver glitter stars)

Cost: $$$

The Scoop:
It's 2017! This combo is a bit much for me, but if you've ever imagined yourself as Elsa from Frozen, you just might love it.

Sally Hansen in Dig Fig

Brand: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel

Shades: Dig Fig & Top Coat
(cranberry red color, glossy finish)

Cost: $$$

The Scoop:
My college roommate gave me this shade when I came over to make Christmas cookies with her kids, so it's got fun memories for me. But it's also just a great holiday color that works all month long. Merry everything!

Julep in Johnny

Brand: Julep

Shade: Johnny
(black color, glossy finish)

Cost: $$$

The Scoop:
With Halloween around the corner I decided black is the way to go, and this is a great one. I originally got this shade because my dad's name is John. But now thinking about it, I wonder if it's named Johnny after The Shining? Yeah, that's probably it.

Julep in Marika

Brand: Julep Nail Color

Shade: Marika
(graphite gray color, matte metallic finish)

Cost: $$$

The Scoop:
What better color to pick for back to school than a graphite gray? Like a pencil! Do students even use pencils anymore? I dunno. Anyway, I did like this shade very much, but I don't love the matte trend.  I like my nails like I like my apples.  Shiny.

Julep in Leo

Brand: Julep

Shade: Leo
(bronze brown color, metallic finish)

Cost: $$$

The Scoop:
I'm a Leo, so of course I had to get this shade from the zodiac collection.  They call this a golden honey color for Leo's "confident and majestic" personality. Hmmm. I call this shiny baby poop. I removed it about a minute after I put it on. It's a horrible color, and I cannot throw enough shade at it.

Julep in Suzanne & India

Brand: Julep

Shade: Suzanne & India
(cherry red & royal blue colors, iridescent finish)

Cost: $$$

The Scoop:
For July 4th, of course I had to whip out the spirit fingers as a salute to the red, white, and blue. Especially since the political scene is getting heated, it's a good reminder that at the end of the day, we're all Americans.

Butter London in Mum's the Word

Brand: Butter London 3 Free Nail Lacquer-Vernis

Shade: Mum's the Word
(mauve nude color, glossy finish)

Cost: $$$

The Scoop:
You know I don't love nude shades that make my fingers look like mannequin hands. So I'm not crazy about this one. But my nails are short right now. And I guess it looks clean -- if you're made of plastic.

Julep in Darby

Brand: Julep Nail Color

Shade: Darby
(dark emerald green color, shimmer finish)

Cost: $$$

The Scoop:
This shade is a good way to get into the spirit of St. Patrick's Day without looking like a leprechaun barfed on your nails. I took this pic about 5 days after painting my nails, so you see its rubbing off on the ends, but no chips.  Talk about luck!

Julep in Isabela

Brand: Julep Nail Color

Shade: Isabella
(neon periwinkle blue color, glossy finish)

Cost: $$$

The Scoop:

I loved this one in the bottle.  On my nails? No bueno. Maybe because they are so stubby and this bright color draws attention to it. Better luck next time...

Whim in Fan-TAN-sy

Brand: Whim Nail Lacquer

Shade: Fan-TAN-sy
(mauvey nude color, glossy finish)

Cost: $$$

The Scoop:
I know a lot of people think nude nail color looks clean. But this one reminded me of pantyhose. Gross. At least it was shiny. That made it better. Shiny pantyhose? Not so much.

Julep in Erin

Brand: Julep Nail Color

Shade: Erin
(gray green color, glossy finish)

Cost: $$$

The Scoop:
You know I love some Julep, but I wasn't crazy about this shade.  I know gray is so chic these days, but depending on the light, my nails just looked sick. (Not in a good way.)

Julep in Kay

Brand: Julep Nail Color

Shade: Kay
(goldish beige color, iridescent finish)

Cost: $$$

The Scoop:
Merry (almost) Christmas! I really liked this shade, it's nice for the holidays but you can also wear it to work. Sometimes red gets to be a little too much, you know? This gold is subtle, sophisticated, and hard to tell when it chips.

Butter London in Scallywag

Brand: Butter London 3 Free Nail Lacquer-Vernis

Shade: Scallywag
(turquoise blue color, matte glitter finish)

Cost: $$$

The Scoop:
I thought this was a festive shade.  And it is!  But much like the tinsel on your Christmas tree, it looks better at night than in the daytime. Use this one sparingly and keep a chisel handy when you want to remove it.  It's a stubborn one!

Sally Hansen in Birthday Suit & Halloween Nailthins

Brand: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel

Shade: Birthday Suit & Top Coat, plus Halloween Bat Nailthins
(beige-nude color, glossy finish, black bat)

Cost: $$$ (for the polish + the gel topcoat) and $ (for the appliques)

The Scoop:
I get to do some cool stuff at work.  Tomorrow, I'll throw an elegantly spooky Halloween party. We'll be doing bat-icures for our guests, so of course I had to try it for myself. Loved Sally, liked the Nailthins, but they're a bit hard to apply and look better from afar.