CND Effects Have Stolen My Heart!

Some of you may have realized by now that I really, really enjoy layering polishes to experiment with them, change their attitude, their vibe. Layering can take a totally demure polish and turn it into a showstopper, it can tone down an overly loud polish, and can make magic happen.

That's why I've had my eye on CND's Colour & Effects polishes. With 50 creme shades and 15 effects polishes, you have an enormous range for combinations. The effects include subtle pearl effects, saucy shimmers, and standout sparkles that bathe your nails in glittery sparks of light!

Imagine my surprise when I came out and found CND's Oil Slick and Sapphire Sparkle in my mailbox! I was so giddy that I could barely wait to get inside to open them and try them on. I tore into that box like a mad woman, and simply held the bottles for a few minutes, watching the light play across the Sapphire Sparkle.

Oil Slick didn't really excite me too much at first. I thought it was a deep rich black. That's good, I need a good black polish. (I know, what kind of polish-obsessed chick am I?) Sapphire Sparkle totally held my interest, though. It was odd because I could see so many different colors flashing in it. Obviously there was sapphire blue (which my camera absolutely refused to capture in the bottle), but there was also a lovely violet and sometimes even a hint of green.

I know! Green? But I swear, it was there. This stuff shifts colors in the most curious way, and the entire time I had it on, I couldn't stop looking at my nails, shifting my hands one way, then another. Even my husband looked on, intrigued by the changing colors!

I apologize, y'all... I took about a billion photos of these just to try and show some of the beauty. Some sort of capture it, so many fell short. I picked the best to share... Back to the nails!

Once I started applying Oil Slick, I got a huge surprise- it's not black! It's actually a deep teal blue, so deep that once you've got two coats on it looks like a deep inky black with blue tones. It's absolutely gorgeous, and a nice switch from straight black. On its own, it's beautiful!

I applied two coats of Oil Slick, and found that it applied like an absolute dream. It's such a rich, creamy opaque color that if I were better at painting my nails, I'd have been able to do a single coat and call it done. As it is, two coats was perfect, and worth wearing on its own.

But obviously, I didn't. I didn't even get any photos of just the Oil Slick on. I was just too excited! As soon as I applied the Sapphire Sparkle, things lit up. Honestly, do you see the sparkle? It's like a blue fire, catching the light, shifting and changing as the colors fade from blue to purple to pink to green...

It's absolutely magical. I cannot say it enough. I also wore this for three days before I photo'd it, simply because I was being scatterbrained. Note the tipwear... not that it matters. There was no real chipping or flaking, and I made the mistake of not wearing a base coat with this! I was only planning to swatch it, then only planning to wear it for a day. It wore well for that!

Finally, I have to show this last picture. You can see the purple and the pink that seem to show up in lower light from odd angles. Have I mentioned yet that I'm absolutely in love with how this polish changes color depending on the angle you view it from?

I know, I know. I'm being repetitive. I can't help it! I am absolutely smitten with this color! Instead of getting put away in the box of colors I've worn, this set got put aside in the favorites section. I'll be wearing it again!

First photo courtesy of http://www.cnd.com.
CND Oil Slick and Sapphire Sparkle were provided by CND for evaluation.