Halloween High Version Duex

 Remember this one?!
 Well, I did it again, only this time around I only used one coat of a-england Lancelot (a very much blackened wine creme) and one coat of my second bottle of Lynnderella Cauldron Drippings.
 I was more than happy to wear essentially the same mani twice in a row because it is so unbelievably fabulous.
 The second bottle of Cauldron Drippings has much more orange to it.  The glitter seems to go on more densely, also.
 The first bottle (you can see my pictures here) has more purple and red.
 Do you see the blue bar on my thumb above?  That was really exciting for me when it came out and off the brush!  I love so much with Lynnderella glitter polishes that you really never know what you are going to get and what's going to come out on each nail.  It's always a super fun surprise!
 Do you have a preference?  I definitely like the first version better, but this one is mega hawt as well!
I'm extremely happy to have two uniquely wonderful bottles of Cauldron Drippings.  If you haven't heard of Lynnderella polishes yet, you can check out her blog here.

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StrangeBeautiful Volume 5

 These are swatches of the newer StrangeBeautiful Volume 5.  I say newer because there is, to my knowledge, an older version of Volume 5 which contains two fewer polishes but bigger sized bottles.  The above polish is shown at two coats.  None of the swatches are with top coat.
 All of the volumes have newer versions now with smaller bottles and two new colors each.  The above polish is shown at just one coat!
 I find the whole bottle size change and additional colors in the newer volumes to be rather disconcerting.  The above polish, which is quite lovely, is shown at two coats but probably could have been just one coat.
 The polish above is shown at three coats.  It's kind of pinkish taupe?  I like it but I wish my nails weren't so stained.  :(
 The above polish is just about the exact color of my stains, speaking of stains!  I only used one coat.
 The polish above is shown at two coats.  It's a dark grayish brown.  None of the polishes have names, if you hadn't gathered that by now.  I kind of wish they had names or numbers or something.  Or, at least the bottle could have a label on the bottom that says which volume it's from.  It's kind of confusing.
 The polish above is shown at one coat!  It's a lovely dark, cool, gray.
 The polish above is shown at two coats.  It's a caramely color, not too unlike the very first caramely color.  This one is a little muddier or murkier somehow.  I prefer the first one.
 This one above is shown at two coats.  It's a very dark brown with just a hint of green.
This is the last one in the set.  It's shown here at one coat.  Awesome color!

Overall, the set is full of interesting and odd colors.  There are a couple that I really don't care for, but most of them I quite like.  Some feel too similar to each other for me.  The formula and application are excellent and you can tell that they are all ridiculously shiny.  I'm not sorry that I have this set, but I am rather disappointed by the change in bottle size and the addition of new colors to the older sets (some of which I own but now I feel like I'm missing colors from them).  It's frustrating from the stand point of collecting the different volumes.

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Ice Ice Baby

 You know I don't normally swatch collections.  I'm far too lazy and unmotivated.  But, I felt the need to swatch the Wet 'N Wild Color Icon Ice Ice Baby collection this evening, so I had to go with it!
 All swatches are shown over one coat of Wet 'N Wild Black Pearl ('cause that's how I roll) and I did use top coat on all of them because they go really dull without it.  Oh!  And I only used one coat of each of the glitters over the black.
 Look at all the teensy tiny hairy glitter!!

 More delicate bar glitter.  I am a happy camper here.
 I was lucky enough to find these at Walgreens last week after checking only two stores!  That pretty much never happens to me.

 It's All In The Cut might be my favorite from the collection, but gosh it's hard to just pick one!

 This pretty one is very similar to Hello Kitty Silver Star.  They are not dead on dupes, though.
 Diamond In The Rough has more large pieces of glitter and it's more opaque looking over all.
 Lobster hand much?
 Cost Is No Issue is really opaque in just one coat, as you can see.  It nearly covers the black base.
 Several of these are obvious dupes or near dupes to Nails Inc. Special Effects polishes.
 I'm more than happy to have both!
 By this point I was definitely feeling loopy from fumes.

 I was also trying to hurry before the sun disappeared!
Back Alley Deals - uh-may-zing!  The names are pretty silly, though.

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Halloween High

 Check this HAWTness OUT!
 I started with two coats of a-england Lancelot - my first time using this brand.  I am SO uber impressed with the formula and application!  Lancelot, despite looking completely black, is actually an extremely dark and most nearly black wine color.  LOVES it.
 I added a coat of Lynnderella Cauldron Drippings and bwoila, instant awesome-o Halloween goodness!
 I was pleasantly surprised at how easily Cauldron Drippings applied.  I used Lynnderella's Glitter Tamer and the Seche Vite over top.
I'm head over heels for this mani.  I may even do the exact same one over again next, or something very similar because I have a second version of Cauldron Drippings which looks ever so slightly different in the bottle.  It will be fun to compare and I just adore this festive Halloween polish!!  :D

Aaaand, if you still haven't heard of Lynnderella polishes, you can check out her blog here.

I ordered the a-england polish (along with some frens!) from their website here during an awesome sale recently.  Sale or no, these bad boys are worth their weight in gold....er, pounds - well, you get the idea.  Go get some.

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Mashed Up Leaves

 I'm sitting here writing this with a tummy ache worthy of my having just gone to the Epcot Food and Wine Festival!  It's a perfect day and we really enjoyed a lot of great food.  :)
 This was actually my mani from a few days ago.  It's three coats of Color Club Nouveau Vintage.
 I got it in one of the value sets at Ross, so of course there's no actual label on the bottom of the bottle.  Speaking of the bottle, check out all of that green in there!!
 When I put this color on I was surprised at how much red is in the base.  The overall effect is a really lovely almost foily brown.
This definitely puts me in the mood for the Northern Fall, which I do so miss.  I also think I may trying wearing more browns this season!

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Spidey Webs

 It's time for more awesome Halloween nail appliques!
 These are the limited edition "Spun For You" design by Sally Hansen.
 I have to say that I'm mostly proud of my application this time around.  I got the placement much better than what I had done with the little ghosts.
 I did mess up a couple of nails, though, and have to start over using a new sticker.  Thank goodness for the extra ones!
 Also, this time around, I decided to experiment by using my beloved Palladio Fuse base coat underneath them, and then I top coated them right away with Cult Nails Wicked Fast.  Normally I don't use a base and I top coat them after about four or five days of wear.
In some ways, the base helps right away when you're applying but it also makes it a bit tricky because you have less wiggle room to mess up and start over!  The base is sticky, so you have to be sure you're placing it right before you make a move.

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