More from the Linda Johansen Sugar Blossom Collection

A while ago I got a box with seven of the polishes from the new Sugar Blossom summer collection from Linda Johansen Nail Candy. I’ve already showed you Lilac Lilly and Key Lime, and today I have swatches of the remaining five colors I recieved.

 

Bikini Bottom
Greenish sky blue creme. Bright, but sometimes surprisingly dusty as well.

Blushing Bride
Light, soft pink with subtle golden shimmer.

Caribbean Breeze
Light blue with sparkly glassflecks.

Hot Blush
Bright pink with a hint of golden shimmer. The shimmer is visible in the bottle, but unfortunately very shy on the nails.

Sea Mint
Pastel mint creme.

The formula on these was excellent, the polish is neither too thick nor too thin, and it glides on the nails beautifully. Even Sea Mint was a dream to apply, which is very surprising for such a light pastel polish. All of these were opaque in two easy coats, except Caribbean Breeze, which needed four coats. These swatches are shown with a topcoat, again except Caribbean Breeze.

The colors are lovely, and very appropriate for spring and summer. The Sugar Blossom collection consists of fourteen polishes, mostly purples, pinks, blues and greens, so there should be something for everyone here. Linda Johansen Nail Candy can be purchased at Linda Johansen Beauty Shop, the price is NOK 139,- a bottle.

These products were sent to me for review.

The ABCs: S for Sara

I rarely wear red polish, but I always love them when I do. Red nails are classic for a reason, you know! I was happy when I saw that I had an untried red polish starting with the letter S, namely Zoya Sara from the Fire and Ice collection.

Sara is a real stunner, packed with lots and lots of glassfleck glitter that makes it look like it glows from within. It’s a very raspberry-leaning red, almost looking pink at certain angles. I figured out why, it’s because the glassflecks actually change from gold to pink! You can tell from the bottle in these pictures, see how the glitter is golden at the top of the bottle, but flashes magenta at the bottom? Gorgeous!

Please excuse the vampirish skintone in these pics, I just got my hands on a macro lens for my Nikon D90, and I haven’t completely figured out how to adjust the white balance and everything else perfectly yet.

Sara is a dream to apply, the polish glides on very effortlessly. You could probably get away with one thickish coat of this one, but I did two thinner coats to make the color deeper and more saturated.

I got this from Nailetc, where it’s still available for $8. (It’s listed as Sarah, though, my bottle says Sara. Scrangie mentioned the same difference between bottle name and Zoya spoon name in her post about this collection.)

The ABCs: E for Edyta

Today’s polish is Zoya Edyta, which is from the Wicked collection for fall 2010. It’s one of those shimmery, sparkly, glittery types of finish that Zoya does so well, and the color is a mossy forest green with flecks of gold and metallic. I really don’t have much more to say about this polish right now. It’s not a very spring-like color (it is from a fall collection, after all), so I’ll rather save this for autumn. Right now I’m craving sunshine both outside and on my nails! Edyta is a very pretty lady, though!

The formula is excellent, I needed two coats for opacity, and they flowed right on the nail with no problems. Just keep in mind that this polish stains both your nails and your skin, so take some precautions during removal!

I’ve bought my Zoyas from Nailetc, where the price is $8 a bottle.

Linda Johansen Nail Candy Purple Haze & Star Gazer

The other day I got a message that a mystery package had arrived for me at the post office. I didn’t remember ordering anything from that sender, so I was super curious to find out what it was. Turns out it was a beautiful box of goodies from Linda Johansen Beauty Shop!

The box contained two Lip Spa lip balms, a bottle of Speedy Top Coat and two bottles of polish from the Winter Breeze collection.

I’ve reviewed the top coat earlier, along with the shade Mannequin, read more about it here. Today I will be showing you my swatches of the two winter colors, called Purple Haze and Star Gazer.

First out is Purple Haze, this is a purple taupe creme. It has a chameleon-like quality, sometimes it looks grey, sometimes brown and sometimes it leans more purple. Although it’s a creme, it looks very similar to Chanel Paradoxal, just without the violet shimmer. A very chic and edgy color.

Next we have Star Gazer, and I just have to say wow! What a stunner! It has the same base color as Purple Haze, but it’s packed with tiny glitter particles in gold and purple that really makes it sparkle. It kinda reminds me of a purple version of SpaRitual Sacred Ground, which I also love.

These were easy to apply, just a tad streaky on the first coat(s). I used one thin and one thicker coat for Purple Haze, and it really levels out beautifully on the nail. For Star Gazer I needed three coats, but you could also layer this one over Purple Haze, since the base colors are so similar. I’ve used the Speedy Top Coat over these swatches, and it’s a quality top coat with great shine.

These polishes, and other products from Linda Johansen’s line, can be purchased here. The price of the nail polishes is NOK 139 a bottle.

By the way, did you know that Karianne from Neglelakkmani is a color consultant for Linda Johansen’s nail polish line? I trust her to give Linda some insider tips on what we nail polish addicts really want to see more of!

(These products were sent to me for review.)

Random Spam #3

It’s time for another round of spam from the previously unsung heroes of my stash! This edition has no red thread, so just sit back and enjoy the ride. I hope there’s something good for everyone.

China Glaze Visit Me In Prism

Color and finish: Golden-taupey nude scattered holographic.
Collection: Kaleidoscope (2009)
Formula and coverage: Easy to apply, but be aware that you’ll easily drag the previous coat and get bald spots if you don’t wait a bit between coats. Very sheer, 4 coats for full coverage.
Where to get: Unfortunately, these are hard to come by nowadays, but maybe you’ll get lucky and find it in a blog sale somewhere? Also, “dusty” salons are likely to still have these in stock, or eBay as a last resort. Price will naturally vary.

China Glaze Starboard

Color and finish: Starboard-lantern green creme. Reminds me of when I used to go fishing with my dad when I was little, and he used to let me steer the boat, and how he taught me the difference between port and starboard. A nice basic color. (I had to hold the topcoat bottle, because when I held the polish bottle, all the green in the frame freaked out my camera and made the pic very inaccurate!)
Collection: Anchors Away (2011)
Formula and coverage: Glides nice and easy on the nail. Surprisingly sheer, I needed three thin coats for opacity.
Where to get: Web shops such as TransDesign, $2.99.

Orly Emberstone

Color and finish: Orange-red glassfleck (or mineral-fleck?). I can also see some pinkish particles here and there! This was hard to capture on camera, so my pics are more orange than it looks in real life.
Collection: Mineral FX (2011)
Formula and coverage: Easy application, but slightly on the runny side. 3 coats.
Where to get: TransDesign, $5.32.

Color Club Alter Ego

Color and finish: Purple based foil with gold and silver sparkles. Looks oddly grey and mostly silver on me, though.
Collection: Alter Ego (2011)
Formula and coverage: Slightly runny, but easy enough to apply. Sheer, so I needed 4 thin coats for full coverage.
Where to get: TransDesign, $3.10.

Hope you enjoyed this little roundup, thanks for stopping by!