My Collection in Swatches # 9: Blues, Part 1

Happy Wednesday Everyone! I hope you are all having a great week so far. We took a brief break from my collection swatches to talk about the Liebster Award, but today I am happy to be back to show you my blue polishes! Once again, I have a bunch of them so I am splitting them into two posts. All pictures will be shown with a basecoat of Nutra Nail Strengthener. Shall we get into it?

Let's start with Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear #380 'Blizzard Blue'. True to its name, this is a bright, icy blue polish with really pretty shimmer. The formula is very sheer and so thin that it has a tendency to flood the cuticle if you aren't careful with application. I don't like having to apply a half dozen layers for opacity because besides being time consuming, it can alter the true color of the polish. So, on the pinkie I have 2 coats layered over a base of Sinful Colors 'Snow Me White'. The rest of my nails are pictured with 4 thin coats, no undie, and is still not fully opaque. I finished with a glossy topcoat on all nails.

Next up is #115 'Ocean Wave' from Kleancolor. A good look at the bottle shows a light blue polish with a ripple-like silver shimmer running through it. The effect on the nails is so much shimmer as to almost be metallic; I really love this polish! It has a great formula with nice smooth application. And it is a one-coater! It is pictured here with one coat and topcoat. 

For polish number three we're going back to Sally Hansen's Xtreme Wear line with #130 'Blue Me Away!' To me this is the quintessential summer pool blue; you know, where you look at a pool and it is unnaturally, but beautifully blue? Yup, just like that :-) This is another one-coater with a beautiful formula and application. Pictures are with a topcoat of Out The Door by INM. 

NYC's #140 'Empire State Blue' is next. This is another sheer polish that is layer-able with patience, though that may alter the color a bit. Again, it may be best served by layering it over another polish, which I have done on the pinkie finger (2 coats over white); the other I used 4-5 thin coats and all have a topcoat. This polish is kinda funny. In the bottle and according to the name, you think you're getting a blue polish, but when you keep layering it over itself, it turns more teal then blue. You can see on the pinkir the more accurately represented blue color of this polish. 

Last but not least, one more Sally Hansen for you. From the Hard as Nails line comes #670 'Teal Steel'. Based on the name, you might think this should have been part of the teal swatches from last week, but like the last color, it only appears teal when layered over itself several times, which is needed unless you use an undie since this is another sheer polish. I swear, until I bought the SH 'Blue Me Away!', I was beginning to think all blue polishes were sheer, LOL. Pictured we have the pinkie with 2 coats over white and the rest with 4 thin coats which is still not fully opaque. All nails have been topped with INM's Out the Door Fast Drying Top Coat. The pinkie is a truer representation of this color. 

That's all for part one, folks! Which polish is your favorite so far? Come back Friday for part two of my blue polishes! As always, thanks for reading and I'll see your around the blogosphere!