Serum No. 5 Swatches and Review Part 2

How's everyones' nights going? Full of polish fumes and design ideas I hope! There are two contests with awesome prizes you all should enter! My 3D nail art contest, and the Rite Aid Nail Extravaganza! What're you waiting for?! Get going!

If you're stuck for inspiration though, I understand. Sometimes you need a kick in the creativity to get going on a project. For me, that inspiration often comes from a polish itself, rather than a more obvious design choice like floral designs or a beautiful background.

Sometimes just spending a thoughtful moment with a polish is enough, so here's seven Serum No. 5 polishes and some nail art to help get you started!

The nail art was inspired by the fierce, sparkling red glitter reviewed below, called Poppy Field. The sheer red jelly base paired with the dazzling ruby glitter reminded me of flames (and more specifically, the girl on fire). I lit up this polish by putting it in the 'hot seat' and drawing flames around it.

Now onto the swatches! This is the second installment of my swatches for Serum No. 5, the first of which you can see here.

Happy Place (2 coats over OPI Skull and Glossbones) - A somewhat opaque grey shimmer acts as a base for sparkly red square glitter, matte white shapes, and some larger gold pieces. As you paint on the layers of polish, they add a mask over the glitters underneath, and create a really great subtle look.

May Flowers (2 coats over Sation Teacher's Pet) - A springy, yet somewhat difficult glitter mix to work with, this mix features unusual shapes, including yellow flowers and holographic butterflies. The unusual shapes were obnoxious to apply though, causing a lot of frustration, even with the dabbing method of applying glitter. There's also a primary mixture of holographic shimmer, green, pink, and silver hexagons.

April Showers (1 coat over OPI You're Such a Budapest) - Like fog after a storm, this shimmer in this polish is very subtle. It adds light sheen over your polish (or bare nail if you choose) and a few matte white pieces of glitter. The shimmer is iridescent, so it's an interesting addition to any polish.

Beach Cruisin' (1 coat over OPI My Vampire is Buff) - This is a fun glitter mix! The large hexagons are slate green, and look like they want to curl but don't, giving them a very distinct visual pop on the nail. This might layer up nicely, even without a base coat, but I prefer to put shimmer mixes over cremes. You can see in the bottle shot that it's not a clear base, but not quite a jelly either.

Poppy Field (2 coats over OPI My Paprika is Hotter Than Yours!) - Poppy Field is super tricky to apply, but it's pretty lovely. The glitter pieces are much larger than most glitters I have worked with, so the dabbing method of application is definitely best. What I like about this glitter is also its super thin, jelly red base. You obviously can't see that in my swatch over the red polish, but in the nail art above, you can tell it's pretty great.

Fame (1 coat over OPI OPI...Eurso Euro) - A holographic beauty of perfectly shaped micro-glitter! It's perfect and I absolutely love the way it looks, especially over this beautiful dark blue. You definitely need to get this one!

Pink Peonies (4 coats) - I didn't use an under-color for this swatch because it's a creme mix, though it is quite thin. It looks like Valentine's Day frosting doesn't it?

What are your favorites from this swatch post? I personally love Fame. It reminds me of Fairy Dust from China Glaze. You can layer it over anything, and it would completely change the look of a polish, especially a creme! Get your hands on it or any of its siblings at the Serum No. 5 Etsy store.

These products were sent to me by Serum No. 5. The reviews are based entirely on my experience with the products and were in no way influenced by anyone.