Orly Golden Halo

Le sigh...

I picked this one up a few days ago from TD, as it was supposedly a "French Manicure" polish (and I'm currently obsessed with French manis), but I have no idea how one would use it as a French manicure polish, unless you use it as the tip or in a funky French. 

That said, Golden Halo, is a gorgeous gold metallic with a heavy lavender cast, but it's not a duochrome.  Like most metallics, It is a bit brushstrokey, but it's not bothersome, at all.  In fact, it adds to the beauty of the polish, IMO.  This one reminds me of the ChG Romantiques polishes in appearance, though there is nothing this unique in the Romantiques collection.  This was 2 coats and I had no application issues.  BTW, while it's pretty in the picture, it just doesn't do this beautiful polish any justice.  It's definitely a "must see IRL to fully appreciate" polish.

It's a very different polish.  I mean... it's a golden lavender or a lavender-gold (whichever you prefer), so it will definitely appeal the those of us that like our polishes to be a little out of the ordinary.  That said, it is a lighter polish, and it's not "in your face" with it's unique-ness, like say a bright green holo would be, so it's not too crazy for most mainstream nail polish fans. 

This one is d/c'd according to TD, but still readily available through e-tailers.  Sally's may have it as it was (is?) part of the Orly French Manicure line, but as I haven't checked myself, I don't know for certain.  Hope you girls like this one. 

OPI Shrek Forever After Collection

I just received this one a few hours ago, and even though I was in the process of swatching the new Nina Ultra Pro collection, I stopped what I was doing and started swatching these. I have to say, it was totally worth it.

Before I start the review, let me just say that the entire time I was swatching the collection, I kept singing the Fairy Godmother’s rendition of “Holding Out for a Hero” from Shrek 2.  Love that song.  :)

On to the swatches...

Funky Donkey is a straight-up bright, medium purple crème and probably, aside from Rumple’s Wiggin, the most mainstream of the colors. It’s very reminiscent of last year’s RBL Mismas, or ChG Grape Pop from this year’s Up and Away Collection. I don’t own Mismas, but I will be sure to compare it to Grape Pop when I do my comp post later in the week. I know the nail polish world went from zero colors of this kind to three within 9-10 months, and if you ask me… that’s just fine. LOL. This one applied perfectly and was opaque in 2 coats.

What’s With the Cattitude? Is a pale blue crème, but beyond that, I was finding some difficulty describing it. Unlike the picture, it does not lean aqua.  Bottle color is the most true-to-life.  It’s not a baby blue. It’s not a robin’s egg blue, and it’s not a watery blue (though the formula is watery, but more on that in a bit). There’s a dustiness to it that I was having a hard time putting into words, other than to say it’s a dusty pale blue. Then I happened to find this on Crayola’s website, and when I put my nail up to my computer screen, What’s With the Cattitude? was the same shade as Crayola Blue Bell. I love this color. I can’t wait to use it as a full mani. As for the formula, well it was typical for being a pastel OPI. It was a little watery and as my nails are short, I had to use thin coats, as I had nowhere for excess polish to go. It was opaque in 3 coats, however, you may want to let these dry a little more than usual in-between coats as I did have a bit of drag. That said, while it’s more difficult to work with than the darker shades in this collection, it is a must for any blue lover. Plus, Puss in Boots is probably my favorite character from the Shrek series, so I love it even more for the name.

Rumple’s Wiggin is a pale purple crème and unlike the other big pale purple from this year, ChG Light as Air, this one does not lean pink. It reminds me of this color of lilacs. Finding the perfect pale purple has always been a quest for me, and I think Rumple’s Wiggin finally ends my quest. If you read my review of ChG’s Up and Away collection, you may recall that I mentioned Light as Air may be my Holy Grail pale purple. I still like Light as Air, but I think this color has taken its throne. As for formula and application, it was a little easier to apply than What’s With the Cattitude? but it was still rather thin. It took 3 coats to reach opacity, but it didn’t require babying like What’s With the Cattitude?















Fiercely Fiona is a pale yellow crème, but it’s not a pale lemon or a banana pudding yellow, like the other 2 pale yellows, ChG Lemon Fizz and Orly Lemonade, I reviewed this year. This one is a true yellow-green. Even with Who the Shrek are You? Being a bright, swampy green, I think this one is the most unusual of the collection. If I was asked to use one word to describe this color, I would say “tart”. I was all set to say this one applied the easiest of the 3 light shades in this collection and then it took 4 coats to reach complete opacity. The formula was good, though. It wasn’t at all watery, like What’s With the Cattitude?. Also, I thought this one would make my hands look dirty, but it didn’t. Bonus!

Ogre-the-Top Blue is a bright royal blue crème. In my pics, it leans a bit aqua, but it is a true-blue, IRL. It reminds me of ChG Sky-High Top from the Custom Kicks collection from summer 2009, though they aren’t dupes. Ogre-the-Top Blue is a bit lighter and brighter than Sky-High Top. Also, Sky-High Top has subtle shimmer, whereas Ogre-the-Top Blue is a true crème. If you compare it within the collection, you could say it’s the blue version of Funky Donkey… highly pigmented and very shiny. I love this color, and though it’s a hard call, I have to say this one is my favorite. Application was practically effortless. It was opaque in 2 coats.

Who the Shrek are You? is a bright lime green crème, and there is really no way to accurately describe this other than calling it a Shrek-green. It is truly the color of Shrek in nail polish form. It’s super shiny as well, like the other brights in this collection. Unlike the other brights, however, this one was a little more challenging to apply. It took 3 thin coats to reach opacity and was a tad streaky until the third coat. Also, I thought this one, like Fiercely Fiona would make my hands look dirty and red, but surprisingly, it did not.

The one thing I will say, is while I love OPI’s names, some of these were not meant to be taken literally. Just reading the names and knowing the characters on which they are based, you would expect What’s With the Cattitude? to be an bright yellow orange and Funky Donkey to be a medium grey.

OPI Shrek Forever After is OPI’s bright contribution for summer 2010. Compared to some movie/tv show tie-in collection in the past, this one is the best yet, though I do have undying love for the glitters in the Alice in Wonderland collection. There are 4 in this collection that I see myself wearing on a regular basis (both blues and purples), one that I would only wear if I were going to see Shrek Forever (Who the Shrek are You?), and one I couldn’t see myself wearing at all, but I can appreciate it for what it is (Fiercely Fiona). On the whole, the formula was a bit hit-or-miss. Both Funky Donkey and Ogre-the-Top Blue had effortless application and a perfect formula. The other 4 were a little harder to handle, with What’s With the Cattitude? being the most difficult. However, there’s not a single one that I would say to shy away from based on formula. Like I mentioned Fiercely Fiona and Who the Shrek are You? aren’t my style, but they are beautiful colors and, as far as I know, dupeless. All-in-all, I love this collection. I think OPI hit it out of the park with this one. It’s fun, bright, and perfect for summer. OPI Shrek Forever After is supposed to launch in May 2010, but I’ve read of a few people already finding it online and at beauty suppliers.

These were sent to me for review.

KOTD: Random Ribbons Funky French

Lately, I've been finding myself trying to push myself to be more and more creative with nail art.  More times than not, it's just me thinking about designs before falling asleep, but sometimes it actually comes to fruition.  This was one of those ideas that actually made it to my nails.

I started by using a base coat of Orly Love Each Other, a purple shimmer top coat, so the color of my natural nails could show through.  I want to experiment more and more with konadding on bare (basecoated) nails.  I then applied a konad design using plate m63.  I used the ribbon stamp and three different colors, ChG Grape Pop (bright purple creme), ChG Light as Air (lavender creme), and ChG Devotion (a purple/silver metallic).  I made sure the pattern was completely random by only using a part of it, or turning it in a different direction before stamping.  I then topped with a coat of Out the Door.

I waited about 2 hours for my konad design and base coat to be completely set before I applied a funky french to my tips using one coat of ChG Grape Pop (I had to go back and touch up a few patchy spots, but the majority is one coat) .  To get clean lines, I used Orly French Manicure Guides and waited 20 minutes or so until they were fully dry. Lastly, as I felt it needed a final element to look cohesive, I added a glitter line using Art Deco Striper in Silver Glitter under the French line.  I then topped the entire nail with another coat of Out the Door to set it.

Okay, I realize it looks like I just threw everything but the kitchen sink on my nails, but I really love this.  I love my natural nail color peeking though the konad.  I love the subtle sparkle of the base coat, and I especially love my bright purple tips.  There's something so unexpected about it that I absolutely adore and I can't wait to try this same "formula" using other colors and konad designs.

Also, I'm not going to lie to you all and tell you that it wasn't completely time-consuming.  All-in-all, it took about an hour of stamping and painting to achieve this look, so it's not something that you'd want to do before you were rushing out the door, but I knew I'd have a bit of time while I was watching LOST and V to have my design set, and a little more time to complete the funky french before I went to sleep.  Which is where I'm heading now. LOL.

Hope you all like this one and I'll see you in the morning.  :)

Orly Red Sea Pearl

This has been a long time lemming of mine.  Over the past 10 years or so, I probably had 4-5 bottles of this polish only to throw it away when it became glumpy, or whenever I stopped polishing my nails (which was a pretty often thing w/ me.  I'd buy a bunch of polish and then give up on my nails within 6 mos).  It always was one of my favorite colors, but was sadly d/c'd before I was able to pick it up (again). 

Unlike most d/c'd OPIs, d/c'd Orlys are almost impossible to pick up on eBay and it was sold out at all the regular e-tailers.  I'd pretty much given up on finding it until the other night I happened to do a google search on it and found the name in the text of an eBay listing.  I emailed the seller and they still had them in stock, so I bought it and waited.  It came yesterday.

*aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh* Angels singing.  This is truly one of my favorite polishes of all time.  It's a bright fuschia shimmer with a pronounced blue flash.  I know that's a popular type of polish, but this one is unique in that the base color is a darker pink, rather than a hot pink.  This was 3 coats, as I still had VNLs after 2 coats.  This is old-formula Orly, so it stunk to high, chemically heaven, but there were no issues with application.

I almost didn't want to post this one, as it's very hard to find (but not super spendy like an OPI HTF is, eBay scalpers tend not to hoard Orly polishes), and I didn't want to create any lemmings, but I just had to show it off.  If you like the color, you may want to try OPI Pompeii Purple, which it my knowledge is still available, and unlike the name suggests, is a hot pink shimmer with a blue flash.  It's very similar, though a bit pinker and brighter.  I tried to do a comp post, but I couldn't get my camera to pick up the differences.  Maybe I'll try one in the sun a little later in the week.

I wish I could convince Orly to bring this one back and name it "Megan's Favorite".  LOL.  I love it that much.  :)

Color Club Pardon My French Collection Part 2

Yesterday, I posted part 1 of this collection (the cremes), so for today, here are the glitters.  As these are all very similar in formula and application, so rather than doing a full review of each color under the picture, I'm going to post individual pics and review them altogether.

Turn the Other Chic- pale orange glitter

Si Vous Please! - icy white/pale blue glitter

Hot Couture - pale pink glitter

All three of these are 2 coats and there were no application issues.  These were very much like CC's Japanese glitters, and aside from Turn the Other Chic (ew), I liked them.  Like the Japanese glitters, these have holo glitters.  TtOC made my nails look stained.  It it was more of a sherbet orange than an yellow/apricot orange, I think it would have been a beautiful polish.  The other 2 are very pretty and I think would look amazing over a French manicure, something I plan to do in the near future.

Again, like I mentioned yesterday, I hope this helps some of you.  I'd seen this collection for sale at various etailer sites, but I knew nothing about it.  Unlike Rebel Debutante, which was released around the same time, this one got very little press and blogger reviews.  I know Siobhan at the Nailphile did a review of these, but that's the only one I remember seeing.  Though, there may be a few more since I last googled this collection.

If you happen to find this collection at Ross, like I did, I think it may be worthwhile picking up.  Sure, it's not a spectacular collection, but I feel Meet Me at Your Chateau alone is worth the price of admission, and the pink cremes and the two, non orange glitters are pretty and are okay addittions to my collections.  However, the two oranges are just a waste, IMO.  I realize that CC tends to do 6-7 polish collections, but I really don't see how those 2 polishes would work for the vast majority of people.  Perhaps, 2 purples (and creme and a glitter) would have been a better addition to the collection.

Color Club Pardon My French Collection Part 1

I picked up this collection at Ross about 6 weeks ago.  I had the text of a post all typed out and then I went back to review my pictures and they were all so bad, I couldn't post them.  I figured if I wanted to do this collection any sort of justice, I'll have to wait until my nubbins grew out a little more and until I had a bit more time in which to swatch, take pics, review, and post.

This is a confusing collection, in that the name is misleading.  Given the name "Pardon my French", you may assume it was a collection of polishes to be used for French manicures.  Um... not so much.  LOL.  It's a collection of 2 opaques (well one opaque and one almost-opaque, 2 semi-sheers, and 3 glitters).  Truth be told, I didn't really like the look of this collection when I got, but 1. I wanted Take Me to Your Chateau, so I figured for a few bucks more, I could review the entire collection and 2. I think part of me just bought it because I actually found a CC collection at Ross... something that'd been eluding me for months.  Unfortunately, my opinion hasn't changed all that much, save for 2-3 polishes.  I haven't seen much press on this collection, aside from a couple blog reviews, so I hope this will help someone that sees it on an etailer's website and wonders what it's all about (just like I did). 

Today, I'm going to show you the cremes and tomorrow will be the glitters.  I suppose this collection was meant for layering, but I don't really like layering with CC's holo glitters (for some odd reason), so unless someone posts a request for me to layer 2 particular polishes, I'm going to not layer these.

Okay... without much further adieu (ha.French.ha), here are the cremes....

Oh Naturale. Let me go on and start with my least favorite first.  Oh Naturale is a pale, sheer, orange-y peach.  It almost looks like a dreamsicle orange, but there is a bit too much yellow in it to be that shade.  It almost reminds me of the color of apricots.  I really don't like this color.  I think on my skintone, it's extremely unflattering.  Perhaps if you have a tan or a darker, less pink, skintone, you may be able to make it work.  However, it's very streaky.  This is 2 coats and you can still see big streaks.  Hovever, I wanted to try and do this color some justice and see if additional coats would help.  Below is 5 COATS and it's still not fully opaque and even in application. 

Sorry girls, I think this one is a pass.

Pardon My French.  This one is a pale milky pink and is pretty in theory. I have no problem with sheers, but it was way streaky, just like Oh Naturale.  I was able to combat the streaky-ness some what by using thin coats, but they were still there.  However, I do like the color, so if you use a base coat and are careful to let coats dry in-between, you may be able to get this one to work for you in 2-3 coats.  Pic is 2 thin coats.

I Believe in Amour.  This one is a pale, dusty rose, with a milky quality, like Pardon My French.  It's a beautiful color, but it was still streaky and not opaque at 2 coats.  Although, I love this one so much, I tried it with a base coat and gave it 3 coats and a bit more time and I think it's very doable (pic below).  I plan on using this one as a full mani in the future.

I saved the best creme, and in IMO, the best in the collection, for last...

Take Me to Your Chateau.  This is an amazing pale blue.  It's opaque in 2 coats and very pigmented for a pastel.  In the pic, it looks like it may lean a bit turquoise, or green, but that's not the case.  It's a straight-up pale blue  This was 2 coats, though it was almost opaque in one.  If you been looking for a perfect pale blue, definitely pick this one up.  I plan on having a pale blue comp post w/in the next few days. 

All in all, I found myself torn on these polishes.  I love, love, love Take Me to Your Chateau.  I also like the colors of I Believe in Amour and Pardon My French, but the formula requires patience and time and it's not effortless like TMtYC.  As for Oh Naturale... for me, it's a pass.  I really don't see how it could work for anyone given the streaky-ness, but if you love the color, you may be able to make it work with a good sticky base coat and time between (thin) coats.  Also, aside from TMtYC, these required thin coats.  If I put too much on my brush, it was very globby and hard to keep it from pooling on the nail.

Tomorrow, I will post the glitters in this collection, so stay tuned.  :)

Pale Yellow Comps

In a post a few days ago, I mentioned that Orly Lemonade is very similar to ChG Lemon Fizz.  Here's proof...

Lemonade on middle and pinky, Lemon Fizz on ring, and, for good measure, Happy Go Lucky is on my index finger.

All 3 of these are 3-coaters and were streaky until you hit that magical third coat.  Also, they were all 3 a little hard to handle.  Thin coats is the way to go on these.

Both Lemonade and Lemon Fizz are pale lemon yellows, though IRL, Lemon Fizz is a very slight bit warmer, but it's so slight, no one would notice, or even care for that matter.  Happy Go Lucky, OTOH, is a brighter, sunnier yellow.  It's almost the color of the forsythias that are popping up everywhere right about now.  Of the 3, I would have to say that HGL is my favorite, but it's by a slight margin.  I love all three of them and can't wait to wear them more and more as we get closer to summer.

Would you consider this Pretty or Ugly?

The other day Brooke from Getcha Nails Did  Did a post on  polish that's pretty ugly.  I thought it was pretty interesting that how some polishes can very well be pretty, and ugly at the sametime.  Me,  I love all colors and in my humble opinion even though it might not be a color that you readily pick up to wear often, you just might have a jazzy outift or even a simple scarf that will make that pretty ugly polish shine!  When Dollar Tree had the SH polishes I picked up every color I could get my little hands on.  Today, pretty ugly is SH Hard as Nails with nylon Edgy Creme....Brooke, thanks for posting my picture! :)

 The application was smooth and buttery!!  I think I used 2-3 coats.

Looks like an army green color to me.

It also looks like split pea soup...hmm I like split pea soup. lol!!

I'm sure you have in mine what this looks like....be nice. Lol!!

So, What pretty ugly polishes do you have? It's the weekend, enjoy and if you're going shopping have a good nail polish shopping day and don't pass up those pretty ugly polishes! (*_*)  

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Grape Going!

On Sunday, after a night of swatching, writing, and scheduling posts (which is my new way to not be a slack-ass blogger), I decided I'd pick my color for the next day or 2, do a mani, take a pic, and be on my way.  Unfortunately, I picked a big fat disappointment.

Probably like the majority of people that picked up this polish, I did so because it was supposedly dupish to RBL Scrangie.  Truth be told, Scrangie (the polish) had never really grabbed me.  It looked pretty enough, but perhaps I'm broken, because swatches of it never gave me a polish-gasm, unlike most normal polish junkies (ha... normal polish junkies, that's an oxymoron).  However, I did almost pick it up during RBL's fall sale just because it was LE and Scrangie (the blogger) is one of my favorites.  I decided not to, though, because I thought it would be best if I let someone that really wanted it get it, as I had a feeling it would sell out.  Then, I read that SH I-D Grape Going, was a close fascimile to RBL Scrangie, so I decided to pick it up.  It's pretty enough in the bottle... a shimmery blue-purple, but it didn't have the green flash of Scrangie, but I fgured for $5, that was okay.  Afterall, the RBL was 18 bucks. 

I picked this up several months ago, when the new Insta-Dris came out, but I just now got around to trying it.  OMG.  I couldn't get it off my nails fast enough.  Before I go too far, here's a pic:

All I can say is "ew".  Now, don't get me wrong, I don't think RBL Scrangie is in anyway "ew"-worthy.  Granted, I don't own it, but in pics, it looks pretty, it just didn't make me want to pay $18 for it (if that makes sense).  However, the flash in this from blue to purple was minimal, and it has a frosty sheen that just made my hands look gross.

Also the formula and application were shit.  Pardon my language, but there is no other way to describe it.  I've never tried an I-D (just the TC which isn't the same), and I'd heard the brush was troublesome, but I didn't know it was such a PITA.  It's like a big mop that slops polish all over your cuticles.  I can't imagine how girls with small nail beds deal with it.  Also, the formula is hard to deal with.  Given the name, Insta-Dri, it's only reasonable to assume that it would dry fast, but this was more irritating than a matte.  You have to work very fast, and if you need a second coat, you have to make sure that mop of a brush is fully saturated or you have pulling, and of course, that puts too much polish on your nail, so you are just chasing it around with that irksome brush.  Grrr.

All in all, IMO, avoid this polish at all costs.  If you wanted Scrangie, but didn't nab it before RBL sold out, fear not because Ji is bringing it back (along with No More War (yay!!!) and Opaque Nude).  I realize RBLs aren't in everyone's price range (and they aren't really in mine, if I'm being honest), but for such a specific color, I think it's worth it, especially if you've been lemming Scrangie.  And though it doesn't really wow me in pics, I think I'm going to pick it up myself\.  I kinda want to see what it's all about.  Certainly everyone that raves about it can't be wrong.

American Apparel...Dynasty and a little Konading

This polish was so pretty to me.  I didn't want to take it off just yet so, I decided to dabble into my konading kit to see what design would make it elegant looking.  I usually only konad my index and ring fingers because I thought konading all fingers was just a little bit too much for me.  So, then I decided why not konad all fingers.  I really like it!!!  I used konad plate M57...and here she is :)

I also used Konad whte polish.  This design was pretty simple to do.

I hope you enjoyed my konad!  Have a great nail polish day (*_*)

Glitter French

On the whole, I dislike the look of traditional French manicures.  However, when you take a traditional French and add in a konad design or some glitter along the white line, then I love them.  There's something about taking the boring and adding a small detail to make it un-boring that makes me love it. 

I've recently become a wee bit obsessed with Frenches.  In fact, when I recently ordered basecoats from TD, I made sure to add in several French Manicue polishes from Orly's French line, as I didn't have any clear tinted polishes, or even a good tip white, for that matter.

Unfortunately, Frenches are a little time consuming and time is something I am sorely lacking, so I am not able to do them very often.  In fact, I rushed this one and thus, it didn't look the best, so I took pictures and then promptly took it off (there was a lot of bubbling on my thumb).  Next time I try, I'm going to do so when the twins are asleep and when I have more than 20 minutes to devote to my nails.

Anyway, I started with Orly's French manicure guides.  Sure, you can free hand it, and I often do, but it's much easier to use the guides.  You simply put them a little below the white part on you names.  One trick is to take them off quickly, like a Band-aid, especially if they aren't fully dry when you remove the guides. 

Next, I applied 2 coats of Orly Pointe Blanche, a heavily pigmented, thick (yet not chalky) white to the area on my nail, above the guide. 

Then I applied 2 coats of Orly Beverly Hills Manicure in Beverly Hills Plum.  BH Plum, is actually a sheer rose, but it has a bit more pigment in it than Orly French Manicure Bare Rose.

 

Lastly is one coat of quick dry TC and then a bit of silver glitter along the white like with Art Deco striper in Silver Glitter. 

I had plans of applying a silver konadded butterfly in the "natural" portion of my nails.  Unfortunately, that didn't come to fruition.  I just couldn't stand the bubbles on my thumb and I didn't have lots more time to wait for it to set.  Plus, I'd only done one hand.  LOL. 

I know it's really conventional, and perhaps doesn't appeal to the vast majority of nail blog readers, but I really love this look.  I plan on doing them more in the future, but adding glitter and/or konadding over top.  Now, I need to go apply a bright green, to get over my "normal" problem.  :P

American Apparel...Dynasty

When I first heard about American Apparel nail polish from MUA... I hurried to their website and ordered 4 bottles of polish.  A few days later they weren't selling them anymore because there was a problem with the bottles apparently some people had problems with the bottles breaking.  They re-did there packaging making the bottles thicker.  Those that bought the old breakable bottles had the option to replace them by exchanging them 2 for 1..(Can't remember the other option they gave us.)   I didn't know we had an American Apparel store in the area.  When I found out. I hurried and made my exchanges turning in my 4 bottles for 8 bottles.  I was a happy camper!  Today Dynasty is being featured.

This creme formula was smooth and only took 2 coats.  The color looks like a dusty lavender and my pictures are pretty accurate.

I love the square bottles and the packaging is so pretty!  That's what I have for you today...Always have a great day and have a wonderful nail polish day (*_*) 

Misa Dirty Sexy Money comps

In an effort to help some of you squash the lemming that is Misa DSM, I did a couple of comparision swatches.  Unfortunately, IMO, lemmings will failed to be killed with these pictures, but they are good for comparision's sake nonetheless.

First up... DSM and Orly Gumdrop. 

Gumdrop on index and ring, DSM on middle and pinky

In the bottle Gumdrop looks very similar to DSM, albeit a little lighter.  However, that does not translate to the nail.  While Gumdrop has the same dustyness as DSM, the colors are nowhere near close. 

So then I decided to try DSM with OPI Jade is the New Black.

JitNB on index and ring, DSM on middle and pinky

Unlike with Gumdrop, the colors themselves are closer, however, JitNB is deeper and more vibrant and doesn't have the dusty/dirty-ness of DSM.

If you are dying for DSM, and don't want to pay $13 for it on eBay, you can consider getting JitNB or Gumdrop, but I don't think it's going to fix the lemming.  Sadly, DSM is d/c'd and sold out most everywhere, though a quick search found it on eBay (as previously mentioned) and at Misa's website, though you have to create an account to see the price (though IIRC, it's $7).

Hopefully, this has helped someone a wee bit, though I doubt it.  LOL

MAC Liberty of London...Art on Nails!!!

Since I have been wearing Liberty of London Blue India for 3 days.  Before I change my mani I thought I should try a little art. I'm certainly know artist especially when it comes to drawing.  I can't draw a pretty stick man. Lol!!!  Be easy on me now this is my first try :)  See inside of Blue India's box design...

These are my supplies used for the design

 

And here she is...look how fast my nails grew in 3 days, look at that big ole gap :)  

Practice makes perfect right? Oh, my dots in the center look much better irl! Hee, Hee (hand over mouth)

I had fun and it didn't take long at all

I hope you enjoyed my little art.  Have a great day and keep polishing (*_*)

Orly Sweet Collection (well 2/3rds)

I posted the press release for this collection back in December.  Many bloggers received samples of this shortly thereafter, so I figured I was out of luck, until Orly's PR firm asked me a few weeks ago if I'd be interested in trying some from the collection.  As luck would have it, I'd already picked up Gumdrop and Snowcone, and I even posted about Snowcone last month. 

Orly sent me another Snowcone as well as Lemonade and Cotton Candy.  As I already had Gumdrop, I figured I'd include it as well.  As I do not have the other 2, Lollipop and Pixie Stick, so this is 2/3rds of the Sweet Collection.  :P

Here are the pics...

Lemonade - pale yellow.  This is pretty close to ChG's new pale yellow, Lemon Fizz.  the formulas are very similar as well.  I compared both of them for an upcoming comp post and they were both streaky until 3 coats.  It was also a little hard to control, but as was the ChG.  If you want a pale lemon yellow, this one (or Lemon Fizz) would fit the bill.

Cotton Candy - pale peachy pink.  This is a beautiful color in the bottle, and it's one that doesn't have any dupes in the Up and Away collection.  Unfortunately, this didn't work with my skin.  Most pinks look good on me, but if they have too much peach/orange in them, all they do is make my hands look dirty.  This one was also problematic with formula and application.  It too 3 coats to reach opacity and it was streaky and hard to handle.

Gumdrop - dusty pale turquoise.  Another one with no dupes in U&A.  Though, in the bottle it is very similar to Misa DSM, and IMO, more appropriate for spring than DSM.  This one and Snowcone will have to duke it out for best of this collection.  It's a gorgeous pale green-blue turquoise.  It reminds me of seafoam green, but it's no where near mint green.  Unlike the previous 2, this one had awesome formula and application.  It was opaque in 2 coats and practically flowed on my nails.  Someome remind me to do a comp with this one and DSM.  I know many people are jonesing for DSM and this one may kill a lemming for some of you.

Snowcone - pale blue.  Almost like a pale cornflower blue.  This pic, like in my previous post is a little too vibrant to be true-to-life.  The color on my index and pinky are the most accurate.  Again, no dupes in U&A.  Like Gumdrop, the formula and application were perfect... 2 coats and no issues.

I'm torn on this collection, well the 4 that I reviewed.  Lemonade and Cotton Candy, while pretty, were frustrating.  However, Gumdrop and Snowcone are both beautiful and effortless.  If you like blues and greens, do not hesitate to pick up Gumdrop and Snowcone.  If you are pale and pink like me, Cotton Candy should be a pass, and if you are looking for a pale yellow, check out ChG Lemon Fizz before Lemonade, though if you would rather get Lemonade, keep in mind that it's a lovely pale yellow, just hard to control.

Snowcone, Cotton Candy, and Lemonade were sent to me for review

RBL Purple Haze Comps

As I mentioned in my NOTD post from yesterday, I was interested in comparing RBL Purple Haze to OPI Parlez-Vous OPI.  Here are the results.  I also threw in OPI Done out in Deco for good measure. 

Done out in Deco on index, RBL on middle and pinky, and Parlez-Vous OPI on ring.  BTW, I apologize for the skin around my index finger.  I can't keep my index fingers or my thumbs from peeling and it's driving me bonkers.

As you can tell, neither DoiD or PVO are dupes for PH.  Even though PH has a hazy-ness to it, PVO is just too smoky to be dupey for RBL.  It's also no where near the same color of purple.  PVO has more red in it.  As for DoiD, the colors aren't close, but they look like they could be related.  It looks like if you added a bunch of white to PH, you'd have DoiD.  It is dusty/hazy, but not to the same degree as PH.

All in all, I think if you are lemming Purple Haze, you aren't going to find a dupe in either of these.  I know Ji said it will be OOS soon, but I don't know it it will be d/c'd or just backordered for awhile. 

Orly Iron Butterfly

When Orly introduced their Metal Chic collection, there was one color that I wanted and that was Iron Butterfly.  So, when they offered to send me one from the collection to try and review, I was so happy that they sent me Iron Butterfly.  I may have even giggled when I opened the package.  Though, I am a little over the whole matte thing, I do like this polish, and I may even like it more w/ a top coat (see below). 

It's a deep charcoal grey matte with silver shimmer.  Because it's matte, the shimmer looks like a rubbed silver, more than a bright shiny silver.  This was 2 coats, and I had no problems with application.  The formulation was more like OPI's Suede collection rather than a traditional matte. 

It's awesome with a top coat, too.

If you are interested in viewing the entire collection, Scrangie has a drool-inducing post featuring Iron Butterfly as well as the other 2 in the collection.  Her posts makes me want to pick up the other 2 polishes, even though they would look like crap with my skin (of course, all of Scrangie's posts do that.  LOL). 

This was sent to me for review

My Polish Keeps Chipping!!! STICKEY SANDWICH may be what you need!!!

Many of you might wonder "Why does my polish keep chipping?"  It could be several factors:

1. Lotion/cremes or oils on surface of nails were not properly cleaned with polish remover.  I use Zoya remove+ or alcohol.
2. Nail surface is really, really smooth...no ridges (my daughters nails are like this) 
3. Applying polish too thick (could also cause polish to peel right off)

Products that are needed for Stickey Sandwich method, you can choose either one of these:

1. Orly Bonder (can be purchased at your local Sally's)
2. CND Stickey (can be purchased at victoria nail supply click on nail treatments)

Back of bottle information:
Orly Bonder: A unique rubberized basecoat, grips lacquer to the nail surface for lasting adhesion, PREVENTS  nail lacquer from wearing off for up to  two weeks.
CND Stickey: A soft stickey base coat designed to anchor color to the nail and to PREVENT peeling and chipping. 



Now, that we have our products...Let's get started with our Stickey Sandwich shall we :)

I always start with a base coat or a nail treatment such as nail magic (nail hardener) many have found that the orly bonder stains nails making them turn yellow so, by adding a basecoat or treatment before the orly bonder will solve this problem.

 After your basecoat/treatment apply one coat of either the ORLY BONDER or CND STICKEY whichever one you choose making sure you wrap the tips of your nails (free edge) with the first coat. (Giving attention to the tips of nails since this is were chipping starts.) Wait about a minute to dry. Next, apply one coat of your nail polish.  Wait another minute to dry.  Apply your 2nd coat of bonder or stickey.  Then apply 2nd coat of nail polish.  Wait one minute then lastly apply a good fast drying top coat.  I use Seche Vite wrap the tips. Seche Vite dries the polish really fast and also keeps polish from chipping.

Another note:  After your polish is dried, seche vite sometimes causes shrinkage (polish draws back on tips of nails)  to prevent this apply another kind of  top coat you have before applying Seche Vite (I'm curtainly using Revlon Color Stay, you maybe able to find it at Biglots...it's now discontinued) making sure you wrap tips, wait one minute then apply Seche Vite.  Using this method helps to avoid shrinkage.

Side Note: Some nail polishes you may have to apply three coats or more instead of the standard 2 coats depending on how pigmented the polish is. (Doesn't mean you have to apply a 3rd coat of the Bonder or Cnd.) Just make sure you do not apply coats too thick!

Recap Steps:
1. Base coat or nail hardener (If you have ridges,  like me you can also use a ridge filler)
2. Orly Bonder or CND Stickey
3. Nail polish
4. Orly Bonder or CND Stickey
5. Nail Polish
6. Top Coat (before SV to stop shrinkage)
7. Top Coat Seche Vite

These steps are for 2 coats of your colored polish and 2 coats of either Bonder or CND.

I hope this method helps you!  It surely helped my daughter she loves Stickey Sandwich and I hope you do too. (*_*)

NOTD: RBL Purple Haze

I chose this one as my NOTD because I remembered a recent FB post in which Ji mentioned Purple Haze was on it's way to selling out.  I bought it back in the fall as part of my 50% off order, but I had yet to try it.  I was a little wary to try it, given my past issues with RBL's formula, but I used one coat of Amour Sticky Base Coat and one coat of SH Insta-Dri TC and it dried within 30 minutes w/ no issues.  This is 2 coats and there were no issues with application.  The formula was perfect.

As for the color, this one was a bit of a surprise.  I added this one on a whim to my order last fall.  I thought the color was going to be a softer version of vibrant purple creme, like RBL Mismas or ChG Grape Pop.  While it's true that it's a medium purple creme, there is also a smokyness to it that I didn't expect.  It really does have a hazy quality to it... hence the name.  LOL.  She's a clever one, that Ji Baek.  It reminds me of OPI Parlez-Vous OPI, though I think PH is a bit more vibrant.  I plan on doing a comp post with P-VO and PH in the near future.

If you are interested, Purple Haze is still available at rescuebeauty.com.  It's $18 and $7.50 which I know is nuts, but it's an amazing color with an amazing formula, but I'm going to hold off a "you have to get it" rec until I comp it w/ PVO.  BTW, Ji is now offering free shipping on $100 orders in the US and on $200 for international orders.

Random NOTD

This was my St. Patrick's Day mani that I never got around to posting.  I've been dealing with a lot of stuff surrounding my son, so I rarely have time to paint my nails and post anymore (though I've figured out a new strategy to always have new posts).  I only mention that because I wore this to my son's ped's office on St. Patrick's day and his nurse commented that she liked my nails.  :)

This is ChG Four Leaf Clover (keep in mind, it's a kelly green) and a fauxnad stamp in ChG Emerald Sparkle and 2 ChG from the "warm" Romantiques collection, but I can't tell you which ones.  Poetic and Passion, maybe?

I thought it was so fun, I couldn't not post it, even it is a month late.  LOL. 

MAC Liberty of London-Blue India...It's such a beautiful color!

Everytime Mac comes out with a new makeup collection, I wonder is there going to be an exciting nailpolish!  Well,  Liberty of London Blue India was very exciting for me.  I love the packaging and I keep all my boxes when the collections are beautifully decorated.  Is that crazy or what??  I don't think I'm the only one..Ha!!

See the inside of the box.  I'm sure some of you nailartist can paint on these little flowers at ease.  Me, it will take lots of practice :)

The little birdie is so cute!

Great formula, was opaque with 1 coat but, I used the standard 2 coats.

Seche Vite top coat gave it that wonderful shine

  That's all I have for you today.  I hope you were able to get Blue India.  You won't be disappointed.  I certainly was glad to add it to my collection.  Until next time have a lovely nail polish day! (*_*)