Hits Speciallità in Ares over Orgasm Cosmetics in In Your Dreams + Comparisons

Direct sunlight

Sorry for the lack of posts last week, but I was seeing to some very important business: the completion of my final projects, culminating in my graduation! I'm not even going to couch it - my feelings are an emphatic, HELL yes! I was hearing the Dazed and Confused soundtrack in my head all weekend:

My graduation mani was actually pretty disappointing (Chanel in #517 Mistral), but here's what I wore to ring in the New Year. I chose red because the Chinese New Year celebrates red as a lucky color. I'm not Chinese, but with my graduation 2013 is marking a significant new chapter in my life, and I'd like all the good fortune I can get. I wore Hits Speciallità in Ares over Orgasm Cosmetics in In Your Dreams. This mani looks a lot deeper out of direct light, which you'll see from my pictures.

Ares was released with the Winter 2011 "No Olimpo" collection, which was a collection of vividly colored linear holographic polishes. This was one of the first of the more recent collections to bring holographic polishes back to the forefront of the polish world, and I love the theme and selection of colors. A true red holographic polish is still a fairly elusive thing, even though there are a handful of currently available options. (I'm still searching for OPI in Mica My Day Red!) Since this collection, polishes with stronger holographic effect have been released (the holographic nature of Ares isn't highly visible out of direct light), but I like the versatility of Hits' formula. Ares is buildable, but the Hits bottles are small (6 mL/~ 0.2 fl. oz.), so I decided to layer. I used 1 coat of Ares. The formula is very easy to apply (not like traditional holographic formulas). Used alone, Ares is a warm red, but layered over deep colors, it takes on a matching tone with whatever base is used.

For my base, I used Orgasm Cosmetics in In Your Dreams. So, let's briefly talk about the brand. I bought three polishes from Orgasm Cosmetics based on Scrangie's swatches when I was still fairly new to collecting. The names of the polishes are all sexual, which is a bit cringe-worthy. They were reasonably priced, and I didn't have any problems with ordering. However, I can't speak to the brand now and would urge you to research before purchasing from their website. I ordered when it was an emerging brand, and a look at their website indicates that there haven't been many updates recently (although the copyright says 2012). Honestly, I wouldn't buy polishes from them again - not because of the names - but because I don't think the colors are really unique; the two I own are dupes for other, more readily-available polishes. In Your Dreams is a cool-toned red jelly. The formula is lovely - I used 2 thin coats (I might have added a third if I weren't layering over it).

Worn December 31, 2012 - January 8, 2013.

Indirect natural light

Indirect natural light - indoors

Direct flash

Indirect natural light

Indirect natural light - indoors

Direct sunlight

Below, I compared In Your Dreams with Chanel in #08 Pirate, OPI in Vodka & Caviar, and OPI in Got the Blues for Red. 

Pirate and Vodka & Caviar are pretty much dupes, and they give you an indication of the depth of In Your Dreams. In Your Dreams and Got the Blues for Red are exact dupes - Got the Blues for Red is deeper in these pictures because I did my swatch sticks at different times, so In Your Dreams is shown at 3 coats and Got the Blues for Red is shown at 4 coats, but I did a quick nail comparison (sorry, no pictures) to verify, and they are 100% dupes.

Here are more pictures of Ares: The Polished Perfectionist swatches, Scrangie swatches, The PolishAholic swatch, Spaz & Squee swatches, Vampy Varnish swatch, Fashion Polish swatches, and More Nail Polish comparisons.

I didn't do much searching for more swatches for In Your Dreams ("orgasm in your dreams" didn't seem like keywords that were going to get me pleasant results), but here is Scrangie's swatch.

Do you like this combo? What's your favorite red holo? And, can you give me a job? Hahaha!

But really, y'all, I need a job because this is what happens to me if I let myself fester:

Yeah, guys, if you can't tell, I spent one whole day of preparation for my final project's presentation looking up GIFs. But, I'm a graduate, so those hours were not a waste! (PSA: If you have any projects due do not look up GIFs for Beyoncé, Jennifer Lawrence, Parks and Recreation, or Arrested Development.)