The Time Has Come...

I have been contemplating writing this post for a while now, and I can't put it off any longer. I have been blogging for a long time, si...

Saturday, June 30, 2012

Red Nails with a Hint of Bling

Hi friends! Hope your weekend is going well :) Here is a mani I wore a few weeks ago that really brought a smile to my face. This is such a killer combo, hot red with an accent nail of gold bling!

The red is Sation Overdressed Party and the gold is Deborah Lippmann Shake Your Groove Thing. The gold does take quite a few layers to get total coverage, I think this was five or six coats, but I love the end result. Doing it as one nail helped minimize the effort.

Products provided for review.

Friday, June 29, 2012

OPI Designer Series 2011

Hi friends :) Today I have the two newest OPI Designer shades, released in 2011. These are straight glitters, and unlike a lot of the Designer Series lacquers, not holographic. I think a lot of people aren't happy about that because the DS line has "diamond dust" in them so that equates a higher price and for that people expect something a little extra. However, just because these aren't holo doesn't mean they aren't lovely.

This is DS Temptation, the definition of a glitterbomb! Purple in overall shade with some blue tonality. This has lots of large and small glitter pieces. Really a gritty glitter, you definitely need the Seche Vite for this one to create a smooth surface. Thick but not terribly hard to work with like I've heard from others. This is three coats plus topcoat.

And this is DS Bold, a jelly red base with medium silver and red glitter. This is less dense than the previous glitter but still nicely packed. Very pink at some angles. This is a basically a dupe of China Glaze's Mrs. Claus from their 2010 Christmas collection. This is three coats.

What do you think of these two glitters? How do you feel about the Designer Series in general? Are they worth the price hike?

Products provided for review.

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Nicole by OPI Walmart Exclusives for 2012

Another set of Nicole by OPIs today! These are new for 2012, exclusive to Walmart. You got a shimmer, a foil and a crazy glitter. Hold on to your hats folks!

Here is Best Pink Ever, that's the name not my personal opinion haha. This is a thin magenta pink with blue shimmer and glass flecks. Very interesting finish. This is two coats. You can see the edge is looking like it's shrunk from topcoat, but I didn't use any, it's just the formula is very thin. I like it better than I thought I would looking at the bottle, but it's still not my "best pink ever" by far.

The Gold Shoulder is not gold. I'm not sure what they were going for on the name. This is a foil metallic silver with almost imperceptible bronze bits. It is REALLY metallic, take a look at the bottle! Weird huh. It looked like that each time I flippen moved it. This is a miss for me. Two coats here.

And the saving grace of the trio is "Fabulous" Is My Middle Name. Gorgeous thin bar glitter in red, blue, purple and silver with silver microglitter. Love. I again am surprised to see this funky polish from such a big name brand, which is awesome. I have come to really enjoy bar glitter, before I never really tried it and thought it looked weird but I am happy I have. This is three coats.

Here is two coats of "Fabulous" over Di-Vine is Divine. I love this combination.

You can purchase these from your local Walmart for around $7.00. Any favorites guys?

Products provided for review.

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Nicole by OPI Target Exclusives for 2012

Hi there and hello! Today I have to show you four new Nicole by OPI nail polish shades for 2012 that are exclusive to Target. I believe they came out around March this year.

First up is Great Minds Pink Alike. This is a sheerish jelly coral tinged pink with violet glass fleck shimmer. I love this one on my fingernails, but wore it as a pedi and it just wasn't as pretty for some reason. This is three coats.

Purple Yourself Together is a medium bright grape purple with gallons of heavy gold shimmer. I believe this to be very similar to Sephora by OPI Hell to the No from the Glee collection, but I think this is more sheer and more of a brighter purple base. This is three coats.

That's Totally Red-ical is a bright raspberry red with super subtle silver shimmer. This one is uber bright and very flattering. I tend to like these more than straight out primary reds I think. Two coats here.

The next shade should be Look at Me, Look at Me, a silver and multicolored glitter polish released for Target with the others, but for some reason I was sent a different one instead haha. Oops ;) This is honestly gorgeous and so I had to show it to you anyway. Di-vine is Divine is a smooth berry purple metallic with red glimmer. Not sure when it was released but I found swatches online from back in 2010 so *shrug* This is two coats.

You can get these at your local Target :) Hope you enjoyed these swatches and we'll talk again real soon.

Products provided for review.

Sunday, June 24, 2012

New Nicole by OPI Shades for 2012

Today I want to show you four new Nicole by OPI nail polishes that came out for 2012. They aren't exclusive to any stores, just new additions to the current line.

Vio-Lets Talk About Red is a shimmery thin magenta with red and blue microshimmer. This reminds me of OPI's Miss Congeniality from the Miss Universe collection, maybe a tad brighter? This is two coats. Great formula and though not terribly unique, still lovely.

Shoot For The Maroon is a dark almost brown tinged purple with duochrome shimmer. This is not my favorite polish. It's a little too muddy looking. Makes me think of Nicole Sounds Grape to Me, but more purple toned. This is two coats.

A Lit-Teal Bit of Love is an electric teal blue, reminicient of OPI Swimsuit...Nailed It! also from the Miss Universe collection. I wasn't terribly impressed with this one, the texture is too metallic to get it really smooth. This is two coats.

A Million Sparkles is the stunner of the group, a glitter bomb! The main type of glitter is a tealish blue small round glitter, then there is thin small tealish blue bar glitter, medium-small pale goldish hex glitter, and larger pale pinky bar glitter. This is an interesting combo of glitters, very cool of Nicole. I personally think this would benefit to having brighter colors *shrug* This is four coats.

Here is A Million Sparkles layered over A Lit-Teal Bit of Love. These two work well together. The color of the glitter blends into the blue background seemlessly. I am impressed by the creativity the OPI/Nicole brands have taken the last year or so, never thought I'd see something this funky from a big brand like them. This is three coats of glitter over two coats of color.

These are available for $7.99 each in the U.S. at CVS, Harmon, HEB, Rite Aid, Sears, Stage Stores, Target, ULTA, and Walmart, as well as online at Amazon.com, Drugstore.com, Target.com, and Walmart.com. In Canada, lacquers will be retailed for $10.99 each at Jean Coutu, Loblaw, Shoppers Drug Mart, and Walmart Canada. Do you have any of these new Nicoles? What do you think of them?

Products provided for review.

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Zoya Smoke & Mirrors Collections

Hi there friends! I know it's been a little longer than I'd like since I've blogged, but this week was c-razy. My computer was being a total beezy and my cuticles are all cut to hell from filing at work :( Anyway, here is a little blast from the past, Zoya's Smoke & Mirrors. These came out last year for the Fall 2011 season. I got them right around the time I went on my unplanned hiatus and never got around to posting them. Here they are in all their glory!

The Smoke collection starts off with Anja, a rich, deep, vampy red-toned wine purple. I absolutely love vampy colors and this is nice and dark and sexy. This is two coats.

Next is Jana, a medium nude putty creme with grey, mauve and purple tones. Very complex for a crème, as it tends to be a kind of chameleon, changing in different lights. I love the whole grunge purple thing that this has going on. Three coats.

Here is Codie, speaking of vamps, this baby has sexiness in spades! This is a very dark blackened espresso brown. Just dark enough without being black. This is two coats. I should do a comparison between this and RBL Fortissimo...

This is Petra, awesome name, reminds me of Kylie Minogue's character in Bio Dome (90's pop culture anyone?). Another greige purple, this one is darker and more moody. This is two coats.

Dree is a light, dusty drab olive green with yellow tones and a touch of grey smoke. I was sure I would love this when I saw initially saw promo images for the collection and it was no disappointment when I saw it in person. Ugly pretty for sure. Two coats here.

Last in the Smoke collection is Cynthia, a smoky, blackened peacock teal with soft warm undertones. This one has almost imperceptable teal shimmer to it, interesting. I had trouble with the application on this, it was incredibly thick and I got bubbles every time I tried to do a mani with it. Pity because it's gorgeous. This is three coats.

Now for the Mirrors collection, first up is Marina. One of my very favorite female names. This is a super beautiful slate blue silvery grey with a dusty metallic finish. I love how it's frosty but not too frosty so it becomes really brushstrokey, it dries very soft. This is two coats.

Here is Neeka, a lovely smokey amethyst purple with subtle pink duochrome shimmer and gold glitter speckles. I love this, very interesting and unique. I adore how the glitter isn't terribly sparkly, just scattered and makes the polish look very deep.

Tao is a light smoke grey with blue undertones and a muted, softened metallic finish. This gal is along the same lines as Marina, very metallic but not really frosty which is lovely. This is a very sophisticated and classy color. Two coats.

OOOH. Jem is a drop dead gorgeous color, you NEED it. She's a dark red-toned purple base with metallic dark pink highlights and subtle gold duochrome flecks. This would be a sister polish to Valerie from Fire & Ice, both beautiful but this is more my style. Uber velvety texture and sparkle for days! Two coats.

Nimue is another frosty "mirror". This time done in a smoky muted purple with blue and mauve tones. This is just as pretty as the other two frosts, la la love. This is two coats.

I wasn't sure Yara was even a name, but found out it's a pretty popular Brazillian and Arabic name. It was actually the name of one of the drag queen contestants on RuPaul's Drag Race season 3, which I'm addicted to. I watch the seasons over and over again! Anyway, back to the polish. This is another super unique lacquer, same type of finish as Neeka, a medium smoky olive drab with a dash of gold glitter. Same speckled look, reminds me of a dinosaur egg!

You can get these on www.zoya.com for $8 each. Do you have any of the Smoke & Mirrors colors? I realize these are much more suited to fall and winter than the middle of the summer, but hey, everyone needs a break from neons once in a while ;)

Products provided for review.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

OPI Boo-Berry

Hi friends! I wanted to show you a close to my heart polish today, OPI Boo-Berry. This is a glow in the dark polish that was released for Halloween in 2007 (I think). This is similar to last years Zom-body to Love from OPI, a kind of grainy looking sheer. The blue color is so slammin' and I've wanted this polish forever. This is three coats. I tried to get a pic showing it glow in the dark but that mission failed.

This polish has lots of my favorite characteristics, it's vintage, it's for Halloween, it has the cutest name, and it's a gift from my favorite gingey, Ang. Thanks sweetie, I love it!

Monday, June 18, 2012

The Hungry Asian - Belle

Hi everyone! I hope you have had a wonderful weekend and are in the mood for the nice bright week ahead. I have a wonderful indie polish to show you from my favorite Etsy seller, Kae of The Hungry Asian! Here is one of her newest creations, called Belle.

This is a milky white jelly with small pink hex glitter and medium brown hex glitter. Very unique and super adorable! I felt very girly wearing this mani. This is four coats with topcoat. I am loving these polishes that give the look of a glitter sandwhich without the layering :) This also looks badass matte, forgot to photograph them though.

You can get this at http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheHungryAsian, $9.25 for a full size bottle (15 ml) and $4.50 for the mini size (5 ml) which is the one I opted for. What do you think of this?

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Beauty Blogger Coalition Weekly Roundup - June 16, 2012


Friday, June 15, 2012

My Picks from Essie's Bikini So Teeny Collection

I wanted to show you some new Essie polishes, from the Bikini So Teeny collection for summer 2012. I wasn't initially impressed by the press release photos I saw and they didn't exactly overwhelm me when I saw the colors in person at my local Walmart. These are the two polishes from the six in the collection that I decided I needed to try out.

First is the darker pink out of the two in the collection, Off the Shoulder. It's sort of a darker pepto pink color, but I'm not seeing anything special. It's not particularly flattering or bright. Just kind of there. The formula was thick. This is two coats.

Here is All Tied Up, described as a bronze, I'd call it more of a pinky brown muddy shade with subtle gold fleck shimmer. I think I would like this more if the shimmer was more pronounced. It only shows up in full sunlight. This formula was also thick but not as much as the first one. This is two coats.

To be honest, I am unimpressed by these colors. *yawn* Sorry, you know I love my Essies but these are just ho hum. You can find these in local drugstores usually for around $6-8 or from select e-tailers like Transdesign where they are $4.49 each. Have you picked up any polishes from this collection? How do you feel about them?

Thursday, June 14, 2012

a-england The Mythicals

Hi folks! I've been a little under the weather so sorry for the lull in posting. Today I want to show you a new-to-me brand called a-england. Adina Bodana from Italy, now residing in London, is the owner and creator of the company. A little blurb from her website tells us "Painting her nails through the bitter sweet stages in life has been a constant moment of enjoyment and empowerment. Sometimes a way to start a conversation, then share an impression, a smile, a story." I love that and what the brand as a whole represents, the touch of regal in everyone. The polishes I have are from her first collection, called The Mythicals. These are named for Arthurian legends, LOVE!

First is Guinevere, a pale antique mauve. I always thought mauve was more of a pinker shade, but it is decidedly on the purple spectrum. I love the legends of England and who doesn't adore the queen, the wife of King Arthur and the lover of Lancelot? I got this opaque in one coat, but shown here is two.

Next is Morgan Le Fay, half sister to Arthur, sorceress and healer. I have always had a soft spot in my heart for Morgan, I first heard of her in the film Merlin and she was played by Helena Bonham Carter, whom I adore. This is a luminescent silvery white sparkler. It lends itself well to layering, and I did a glitter sandwich with it that I adored, but here it is by itself in all its glory. I wasn't sure I was going to like this at first, it seemed a bit ordinary, but now I see how foolish that was because it's brilliant! This is three coats.

Iseult is another polish I wasn't sure I was going to like but it too won my heart after I put it on. This is a pale romantic pink with a pearlized shimmer. I find this to be ridiculously delicate and dainty. I dare say this may be my favorite pale pink ever. The story of Iseult isn't as familiar to me as the rest of the mythicals, but learning about her love potion induced eternal affair with Tristam was enjoyable. This is three coats.

King Arthur is a tungsten steel grey with a powerful metallic shimmer. In no need of introduction, Arthur is a legend and hero of folklore and literary tale. This polish is as authoritative as his tradition. I have to say while this is a beautiful polish, it's not my favorite on me. This is two coats.

And last is my favorite, Perceval. This gorgeous resplendent red truly glows it is so radiant! I love how it's metallic but not a foil, it still retains its smooth shimmer finish. The knight who witnessed the Grail and pledged allegiance to Arthur on a chance meeting, this bold ruby color truly represents the hero that was Perceval. I used this in a half moon mani à la Dita Von Teese once and it was breathtaking. This is two coats.

These are the first a-england polishes I've tried and I'm impressed. I love the ideas and stories behind all of Adina's lacquers and her attention to detail really shows her passion. I love the square bottles and the brushes are of superior quality, however I don't like the mirrored silver handles, as we all know my distaste for fingerprints.

You can buy a-england polishes from their site http://www.a-england.co.uk based in the UK or from US distributor Llarowe, whom I got mine from. They retail for $12 and there are many more than these to choose from, including some beautiful holographic shades. Do you have any a-england lacquers? Do you love them as much as I adore these?

Products provided for review.
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