a england excalibur revamped (the mythicals)

today, i am showing the swatches of the gorgeous excalibur (the new version) from the a england's the mythicals collection.

i love wearing polishes with foil finish in the winter and autumn. i can see the reason behind the name from the official description: "a steely grey hue filled with multi-dimensional shimmer, creating a unique fusion of silver and gold - a shade to match a hero's blade".

the colour is so hard to describe,  because it's both silver and gold, with grainy, irregular golden flakes. it has that old gold covered with patina feel. it's gorgeous, rich, with no brushstrokes and excellent opacity.

opi first class desires (gwen stefani holiday 2014)

first class desires is my only pick from opi's gwen stefani holiday collection for 2014.

the base color is really complex, a brown-leaning eggplant purple, filled with goldish/bronze shimmer that really comes alive in the sun.

application and formula are great, and this is one of the polishes that looks much better in real life than in pictures. it seems to be winter's it color, since zoya's sansa is a pretty close dupe.

natural light:

illamasqua facet (sacred hour)

i don't have a lot of illamasqua's, but the ones i have are amazing. and facet, from the sacred hour collection for autumn 2013,  may be my star.

facet is a perfect taupe, leaning more towards brown in sunlight and grey in the shade. it's real beauty lies in the amazing maching with the dense coppery and golden fleckish type of shimmer. i would say its really unique.

one down side, although the formula and application are good, is the opacity. it is on the sheer side, and it takes either two really thick or three thin coats for perfect coverage.

natural light:

china glaze i'm not lion (on safari)

i jokingly call i'm not lion, from china glaze's on safari collection back in 2012, my favourite polish when i am not sure if i want gold or silver bling.

the base is clear, and it is filled with antique gold and silver glitter, giving it a somewhat champagne look. it might be that it looks different in different environments. because it is a true glitter, it dries to a texture, but it is not gritty because the glitter particles are not chunky enough. 

i prefer it on an overcast day to a full-blown sun, because it truly stands out in that environment. i love my textured polishes, so i never put top coat on them.