Two Cheap but Awesome Polishes: ULTA Lav-ish and Spoiled Jewelry Heist (picture heavy post)

I'm going to try to do the nearly impossible, for me and make this post light on the words. Let the pictures do the talking, etc. There are lots of them!

The first cheap polish I want to show you is ULTA Lav-ish. I think ULTA's store brand nail polishes are underrated/overlooked in terms of quality as well as the unusual options they offer. They go on sale all the time for super cheap. Right now they are 3 for $9, but I've got them for $2 in the past, too. Lav-ish is a dusty light purple with gold shimmer that looks pink in some lighting. It reminded me of the kind of something Zoya might make, so I compared it to Zoya Lotus. Obviously it's not a dupe, but it's in a same ball park - the Zoya is darker and just has pink shimmer, no gold. Check it:

Swatch of ULTA Lavish

Swatch of ULTA Lavish

Swatch of ULTA Lavish

Comparison (left to right): 3 coats of ULTA Lavish
vs. 2 coats of Zoya Lotus 

The second polish I want to show you is another cheapie: Spoiled Jewelry Heist, which is only available from CVS and costs $2. You can buy it from the CVS website if there isn't a store near you. I always buy glitter polishes, but then I never really wear them. I just like how they look in the bottle. This one is different though, since it's sort of understated for a glitter. It has pink/rose-gold hex glitters, gold hex glitters, and small, square iridescent glitters, which often look blue, but can shift to pink or green or purple, etc. I thought this looked particularly great over Lav-ish. Otherwise, I usually like to pair it with a base color that is also metallic or is neutral, so that I get a more subtle look. I'm talking about subtle, understated glitter here. What the fuck ever. Anyway, below I'm showing you it over Lav-ish, and then a bunch of other swatches, my favorite of which is Sally Hansen Firefly. One coat of Jewelry Heist in each swatch.

Swatch of Spoiled Jewelry Heist over ULTA Lav-ish

Swatch of Spoiled Jewelry Heist over ULTA Lav-ish

Swatch of Spoiled Jewelry Heist over ULTA Lav-ish

Swatches (left to right) of Spoiled Jewelry Heist over Wet N Wild Black Creme, e.l.f. Desert Haze, 

Ruby Wing Meadow, Color Club Disco Nap, e.l.f. Copper, Sally Hansen Firefly, Orly Ingenue,

Spoiled Shrimp on the Barbie

Swatches (left to right) of Spoiled Jewelry Heist over
Wet N Wild Black Creme, e.l.f. Desert Haze, Ruby Wing Meadow

Swatches (left to right) of Spoiled Jewelry Heist over
e.l.f. Copper, Sally Hansen Firefly, Orly Ingenue

The thing you need to know about Spoiled Jewelry Heist is that you're never going to get full coverage from it. It's definitely a top coat. There is a lot of clear liquid in the bottle, so I find that I get the best results if I swirl the brush around a bit, and then rest it on the edge of the bottle, like in the photo below. That allows the excess liquid to drip back into the bottle but leaves glitter behind, especially on the upper side of the brush. Flip it, and you can pretty much paint the glitter on like you would any ordinary polish.

Spoiled Jewelry Heist

Okay! I've had these photos sitting in a folder for ages. I'm glad I finally had a chance to post them. So fucking pretty.