Deborah Lippmann Lady Sings the Blues

I'm not going to say that Deborah Lippmann Lady Sings the Blues is my first-ever HG polish. There are other polishes that I love for their wearable beauty (Revlon Lilac Pastelle) or because they're ultra-flashy yet go with everything (Color Club Cloud Nine). However, Lady Sings the Blues is the first time a polish has ever totally captured my personal aesthetic all at once, letting me wear my soul on my nails. It's black and blue, my favorite color combination; it has that sheer jelly base that makes it look a trillion miles deep; it reminds me of the ocean, the rain, and city skylines at night. I knew from the moment I saw the first pics that this polish would end up being a firm favorite.

As you'd expect after all that raving...it does have its flaws. It needs to be applied over black polish - this is two thick coats over black. Like most jelly glitters, tipwear is practically instantaneous. It seems to take forever (~20 minutes) to dry, although that could be a side effect of the humid Texas summer. I don't care. It's worth the fuss and the price - I got it for US$14 on Amazon, quite a savings compared to the usual price of DLs. Pick this one up if you like dark and glittery, because it is divine.

Sinful Colors Endless Blue + Darling Diva Ringer

I want to apologize for the tipwear and kitchen sink you're about to see. I usually have pretty high standards for the pics I upload. However, the color and finish of this mani are too amazing to let it go unseen by the Internet.

This picture is not Photoshopped. My nails really are an intense, ultra-saturated blue with strong purplish-pink shimmer. This is two thick coats of Darling Diva Ringer over one of Sinful Colors Endless Blue. Endless Blue is the Sinful answer to Nails Inc. Baker Street and the other ultramarine blue crèmes that have been all the rage lately. As a bonus, it's opaque in one coat, which makes it a real live unicorn among Sinful polishes, which are infamous for still showing VNL after five coats. Darling Diva Ringer is supposedly a dupe for the legendary and discontinued Clarins 230 - I wouldn't know, as I've never seen it in person. If you own both these polishes or any of these dupes, it's a must-try layering combo that reminds me of a brilliantly lit nebula. That makes it very appropriate for the playing of Mass Effect, which is a bonus!

Ninja Polish Glamorous bottle shots

OPI DS Glamorous is a highly desirable blurple (blue/purple) linear holographic polish that's become basically impossible to get. It occasionally pops up on eBay at exorbitant prices---think two or three digits---or, every once in a blue holo moon, someone will find one in an off-trend salon or nail supply store ("dusty"). Ninja Polish has wisely anticipated that a good dupe would sell like hotcakes and released the pretty you see below, named Glamorous, as part of their Spectrum collection.

I'm not sure exactly why I immediately snatched up my own bottle of Glamorous. It could very well be due to the hype surrounding OPI DS Glamour. Fortunately, that's an existential crisis I don't actually have to deal with, as I'm a sucker for blue linear holos anyway. With that in mind, Glamorous is actually a lot more purple than I expected - I would describe it as a deep denim blurple. I haven't actually tried it on yet, but so far I prefer Hits Apolo to fill the (quite important) ocean blue holo niche in my life. Glamorous is US$11 at Ninja Polish, although it's currently out of stock and will probably be hard to get for a while due to the insane popularity of OPI DS Glamour.

Need an Emily de Molly polish?

(Note: This is not an endorsement. I'm not receiving anything in return for this post, unless you count being permitted to fork over my ~$30.00 for one polish that may never actually arrive. I am glad to have the chance, though!)

If you're a U.S.-ian polish lover like myself, you've probably despaired at ever getting your hands on the Emily de Molly polish(es) of your choice. The only current U.S. stockist is Llarowe.com, and EdM restocks there sell out so quickly that actually getting the polish you want isn't too far removed from winning the lottery. I've really been lemming Black Forest (check out Nails and Nom's post on it if you don't mind risking the same fate), and so I've been searching for international stockists willing to ship to the U.S. One, based in Singapore, ran out of Black Forest before I had the chance to nab it. Finally, I took the plunge and e-mailed Sally of Sally Magpies to see if she'd be willing to ship to the U.S.

The answer is yes. However, there's a slight fly in the ointment. Their shipping to the U.S. is a flat £11 - about US$15 as of this morning. That's without tracking. The polish itself is £11.50. In short, you have to really want it. I do, so I bit the bullet. Will you?