Showing posts with label awesome. Show all posts
Showing posts with label awesome. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
More Del Sol Solar Color Change Polish
I no longer feel good about recommending this brand, so I've archived my review.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Nail Lacquer
I wouldn't have discovered this brand if it weren't for a wonderful reader recommending them to me, so thank you!
Before I post these pictures I want to apologize for the quality. I was too anxious to swatch them and spent a couple hours battling clouds. They are a little blurry and have lots of reflections of clouds on them, but the colors still show accurately. Sorry!
Okay, hold onto your hats!
Blackboard. Chalkboard green creme. Wow. Totally unique color. Exact same shade as the chalkboards (blackboards) from when I was a kid. I love this to death. I don't own a single dupe for this color.
Dangerous. Medium grey creme. This is the color of sharks. Gorgeous grey creme with easy application.
Grandma. Bright coral creme. The name of this one had me practically rolling on the floor laughing. I love a company with a sense of humor. This is totally something my grandma would wear. Despite the fact that it's a grandma color, it's still nice! Bright and summery.
Swamped aka Swamp Thing. Dark olive creme. My bottle says Swamped, website has it listed as Swamp Thing, I'm not sure which is correct. This is such a perfect color. It's the olive I've been looking for. Not bright and clean olive by any means, this is a murky, dirty, stagnant swamp green and I couldn't be happier.
Traffic. Taxi cab yellow creme. This is a bold bright yellow creme that has a surprisingly good formula. I've been trying out a lot of new yellows lately (including this one) and the formulas seem to be improving drastically. Maybe they have finally figured out how to make a yellow smooth? Either way, this had great formula and opacity, especially for a yellow. It could be a two coater if you're careful, but I did three because I was too excited to apply it properly.
Wasabi. Wasabi-paste bright spring green creme. This is almost the exact color of that little ball of wasabi that you get with cheap sushi. It's bright but at the same time it's a little murky, if that makes sense. It's crisp with a little dirtiness. Fantastic and also pretty unique.
The formula on these is great. It's on the thin side but it's very pigmented. All but Traffic and Wasabi were two-coaters. I'm pretty sure these are three-free but the texture of the polish wouldn't make you believe so. I had zero application issues. Drying time was very good as well.
I am so impressed with these polishes. All of the names are pure genius, the formula is impeccable and the colors are mostly unique and not boring. I'm always complaining that polish companies are playing it too safe, but you won't hear me say that about Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics.
After a quick browsing of their website, I can say they're definitely not afraid to think outside the box. They seem to be focused mainly on professional, theatrical and special effects makeup, but when looking through all the shades of products you'll see every color of the rainbow represented. Not just boring safe pinks. Their polish line is the same- it's a small, limited selection but every color is represented, and for once, someone has more than one green. Awesome.
Overall, I am ridiculously pleased with my new polishes from Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics. Blackboard and Swamped/Swamp Thing were instantly added to my 'favorite polishes ever' list the minute I opened the package, and the rest of the ones I tried were very memorable. I especially love the names of all of them, even the ones I didn't try- Uber, Lucretia, Pallid, Bone Daddy and Anime, just to name a few. I hope that in the future they will expand their polish line to include even more colors and finishes! I, for one, would love to see a little glitter.
Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics nail lacquers and cosmetics are also vegan and cruelty-free. The polishes can be purchased directly from their website and retail for $8.00.
Before I post these pictures I want to apologize for the quality. I was too anxious to swatch them and spent a couple hours battling clouds. They are a little blurry and have lots of reflections of clouds on them, but the colors still show accurately. Sorry!
Okay, hold onto your hats!
Blackboard. Chalkboard green creme. Wow. Totally unique color. Exact same shade as the chalkboards (blackboards) from when I was a kid. I love this to death. I don't own a single dupe for this color.
Dangerous. Medium grey creme. This is the color of sharks. Gorgeous grey creme with easy application.
Grandma. Bright coral creme. The name of this one had me practically rolling on the floor laughing. I love a company with a sense of humor. This is totally something my grandma would wear. Despite the fact that it's a grandma color, it's still nice! Bright and summery.
Swamped aka Swamp Thing. Dark olive creme. My bottle says Swamped, website has it listed as Swamp Thing, I'm not sure which is correct. This is such a perfect color. It's the olive I've been looking for. Not bright and clean olive by any means, this is a murky, dirty, stagnant swamp green and I couldn't be happier.
Traffic. Taxi cab yellow creme. This is a bold bright yellow creme that has a surprisingly good formula. I've been trying out a lot of new yellows lately (including this one) and the formulas seem to be improving drastically. Maybe they have finally figured out how to make a yellow smooth? Either way, this had great formula and opacity, especially for a yellow. It could be a two coater if you're careful, but I did three because I was too excited to apply it properly.
Wasabi. Wasabi-paste bright spring green creme. This is almost the exact color of that little ball of wasabi that you get with cheap sushi. It's bright but at the same time it's a little murky, if that makes sense. It's crisp with a little dirtiness. Fantastic and also pretty unique.The formula on these is great. It's on the thin side but it's very pigmented. All but Traffic and Wasabi were two-coaters. I'm pretty sure these are three-free but the texture of the polish wouldn't make you believe so. I had zero application issues. Drying time was very good as well.
I am so impressed with these polishes. All of the names are pure genius, the formula is impeccable and the colors are mostly unique and not boring. I'm always complaining that polish companies are playing it too safe, but you won't hear me say that about Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics.
After a quick browsing of their website, I can say they're definitely not afraid to think outside the box. They seem to be focused mainly on professional, theatrical and special effects makeup, but when looking through all the shades of products you'll see every color of the rainbow represented. Not just boring safe pinks. Their polish line is the same- it's a small, limited selection but every color is represented, and for once, someone has more than one green. Awesome.
Overall, I am ridiculously pleased with my new polishes from Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics. Blackboard and Swamped/Swamp Thing were instantly added to my 'favorite polishes ever' list the minute I opened the package, and the rest of the ones I tried were very memorable. I especially love the names of all of them, even the ones I didn't try- Uber, Lucretia, Pallid, Bone Daddy and Anime, just to name a few. I hope that in the future they will expand their polish line to include even more colors and finishes! I, for one, would love to see a little glitter.
Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics nail lacquers and cosmetics are also vegan and cruelty-free. The polishes can be purchased directly from their website and retail for $8.00.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Illamasqua: Makeup For Your Alter Ego
I've only recently discovered the brand Illamasqua and I'm already in love.
Where has Illamasqua been all my life?! It's like we were made for each other. I adore everything about this brand- the packaging, the colors, the website, the names of the products, the formula of the polishes, just... everything.
By taking a minute to browse their website, you'll see why I like them. They're not some frilly, foofy pink pom-pom girly-girl cosmetics company. They're sexy, dramatic, mysterious, edgy and a little dark. Needless to say, that really appeals to this girl.
They are mainly a cosmetics company, but they do a range of polish shades as well. Just wait until you see them!
In the polish ('Scratch') portion of their website, you can see that they have a small but strong collection of polishes. I love the names- Obtuse, Boosh, Unnatural, Ruthless, Milf... And for such a small collection, they have a high concentration of awesome polish colors. I see what looks to be about five greens, five blues, oranges, yellows, purples, metallics and glitters and just a splash of pink-and-red to please the less adventurous polish consumer.
Here are the shades I tried:
Hectic. A drab olive creme. YES!!! I don't know what else to say about this other than... WOOHOO!!!! It's great. Straight off my "Nail Polish Wishes" post!
Rampage. A rich forest green creme. You've already seen this but it's worth posting again because it is UTTER PERFECTION. I have already made a significant dent in my bottle and I've had it for less than a month.
Phallic. Rich, starry dark blue shimmer. What a name for a polish. Fantastic. The polish itself is pretty amazing, too- it's one of those dark blue vampy shades that look lit from within. Dark around the edges and light in the center. It's rich and sparkly, like a starry night sky. Tons of depth in this one.
Spartan. Antique gold glitter. This is a cool one. It seems to be multiple shades and sizes of glitter that create a soft antique gold look. They aren't really your traditional uniform circular glitter particles. They're more like flakes and shards. They are pretty fine but buildable and the end result is very smooth. With one coat of Seche Vite you can't even tell you're wearing glitter. I love the names of all of them, but this one especially. I think they may have been going for this type of Spartan:
But of course, it makes me think of this type of Spartan:
Anyway...
Here's one coat of Spartan layered over Rampage:
Sparkles!!
Now that I've raved about the colors and the names, I'll touch on the formula briefly. It's perfect. The polishes are thick and opaque. I did two coats of all of them. The formula is extremely smooth and easy to apply. It's comparable to Rescue Beauty Lounge's formula, which is pretty much the gold standard for me. The polish dries quickly and wears well. I had no bubbling and after two days of wear had almost no sign of tipwear (that second shot of Rampage- the indoor lighting one- that was taken after two days of wear).
Now, these polishes aren't cheap- they're £12.50, which comes to about $19 in US dollars. Cheaper than Chanel but with much better formula and color selection. They are one dollar more than Rescue Beauty Lounge. At least they have great formula. If a polish is going to cost this much, it better apply itself!
The brushes are good, I did not encounter any wayward bristles or application problems with them. The bottles are really pretty- they're a solid bottle that's not going to get knocked over easily and they're a little bit Gothic in design. Beautiful to look at. I especially love the logo and the shape of the cap:
So, overall, the only think I don't like about this brand is the price. Everything else is freakin' awesome. The style is finally something I want rather than something I have to settle for. I hope they release more colors because I have faith in them to create things that appeal to me. Even if they don't release more colors, their line is pretty strong as it is. That also impresses me. The number of good colors outnumbers the safe colors by a lot. Love it.
Illamasqua can be ordered directly from their website. They are a UK company, but they will ship to the US.
Where has Illamasqua been all my life?! It's like we were made for each other. I adore everything about this brand- the packaging, the colors, the website, the names of the products, the formula of the polishes, just... everything.
By taking a minute to browse their website, you'll see why I like them. They're not some frilly, foofy pink pom-pom girly-girl cosmetics company. They're sexy, dramatic, mysterious, edgy and a little dark. Needless to say, that really appeals to this girl.
They are mainly a cosmetics company, but they do a range of polish shades as well. Just wait until you see them!
In the polish ('Scratch') portion of their website, you can see that they have a small but strong collection of polishes. I love the names- Obtuse, Boosh, Unnatural, Ruthless, Milf... And for such a small collection, they have a high concentration of awesome polish colors. I see what looks to be about five greens, five blues, oranges, yellows, purples, metallics and glitters and just a splash of pink-and-red to please the less adventurous polish consumer.
Here are the shades I tried:
Hectic. A drab olive creme. YES!!! I don't know what else to say about this other than... WOOHOO!!!! It's great. Straight off my "Nail Polish Wishes" post!
Rampage. A rich forest green creme. You've already seen this but it's worth posting again because it is UTTER PERFECTION. I have already made a significant dent in my bottle and I've had it for less than a month.
Phallic. Rich, starry dark blue shimmer. What a name for a polish. Fantastic. The polish itself is pretty amazing, too- it's one of those dark blue vampy shades that look lit from within. Dark around the edges and light in the center. It's rich and sparkly, like a starry night sky. Tons of depth in this one.
Spartan. Antique gold glitter. This is a cool one. It seems to be multiple shades and sizes of glitter that create a soft antique gold look. They aren't really your traditional uniform circular glitter particles. They're more like flakes and shards. They are pretty fine but buildable and the end result is very smooth. With one coat of Seche Vite you can't even tell you're wearing glitter. I love the names of all of them, but this one especially. I think they may have been going for this type of Spartan:
But of course, it makes me think of this type of Spartan:
Anyway...Here's one coat of Spartan layered over Rampage:
Sparkles!!
Now that I've raved about the colors and the names, I'll touch on the formula briefly. It's perfect. The polishes are thick and opaque. I did two coats of all of them. The formula is extremely smooth and easy to apply. It's comparable to Rescue Beauty Lounge's formula, which is pretty much the gold standard for me. The polish dries quickly and wears well. I had no bubbling and after two days of wear had almost no sign of tipwear (that second shot of Rampage- the indoor lighting one- that was taken after two days of wear).
Now, these polishes aren't cheap- they're £12.50, which comes to about $19 in US dollars. Cheaper than Chanel but with much better formula and color selection. They are one dollar more than Rescue Beauty Lounge. At least they have great formula. If a polish is going to cost this much, it better apply itself!
The brushes are good, I did not encounter any wayward bristles or application problems with them. The bottles are really pretty- they're a solid bottle that's not going to get knocked over easily and they're a little bit Gothic in design. Beautiful to look at. I especially love the logo and the shape of the cap:
So, overall, the only think I don't like about this brand is the price. Everything else is freakin' awesome. The style is finally something I want rather than something I have to settle for. I hope they release more colors because I have faith in them to create things that appeal to me. Even if they don't release more colors, their line is pretty strong as it is. That also impresses me. The number of good colors outnumbers the safe colors by a lot. Love it.
Illamasqua can be ordered directly from their website. They are a UK company, but they will ship to the US.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Amazing Zoya Tweet Buy!!!
If you aren't already following Zoya on Twitter, you should be! Otherwise, you might miss out on incredible 'secret sales' (called 'TweetBuys'!) like this:
Purchase a Zoya Color Lock System ($48) and get Ooh La La and La Di Da Collection samplers for FREE! Add the Zoya Color Lock System to your cart and enter code HH3. Samplers will appears in cart automatically. Expires tonight at midnight.
Now, I don't normally post about Zoya's TweetBuys on here because you're supposed to find out by following them on Twitter, but this deal is way too amazing to pass up.
Check out my swatches of Ooh La La and La Di Da here:
Ooh La La
La Di Da
And be sure to follow Zoya on Twitter to hear about more of their amazing TweetBuys!
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Zoya Matte Velvet, Matte Shades Fall 2009
Introducing MATTEVELVET...
all of the color, none of the shine
After working with hundreds of matte formulations and color options, the ZOYA color experts are happy to announce three perfect LIMITED EDITION, exclusive MATTEVELVET* shades for Fall 2009...
Loredana (ZP498) - gunmetal gray matte shimmer
Dovima (ZP499) - black matte shimmer
Posh (ZP500) - wine matte shimmer
Designed to appeal to a multitude of matte color trend lovers; including every metro mod, vintage stylista, retro pin-up, goth beauty, glam rocker, street chic fashionista and color junkie out there, ZOYA MATTEVELVET* shades deliver the new color of fashion. Get all of the color, none of shine with MATTEVELVET*, Zoya’s exclusive blend of matte base and subtle shimmer resulting in utterly wearable and truly stylish nail polish.
ZOYA nail lacquers are free of harmful industrial chemicals like toluene, camphor, formaldehyde, dibutyl phthalate (DBP) that are known to cause cancer and birth defects.
Find ZOYA MATTEVELVET* as well as over 300 other ultra high-fashion ZOYA shades at www.zoya.com. As always, each and every ZOYA color is made for women so we name them after women.
*MATTEVELVET nail color by ZOYA is not intended to be worn with a base coat, top coat or speed dryer of any kind. Due to the unique matte formulation, color is not as long-wearing as traditional nail color. A completely clean, dry nail surface yields the best results for matte nail color wear. For best results make sure to always prepare nail with ZOYA Remove + (3-in-1 nail polish remover, nail plate cleaner and new color prep.) prior to applying color.
MATTEVELVET by ZOYA available July 1, 2009.
Sug. Retail $6.00 per 0.5 oz bottle.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Illamasqua Rampage
Illamasqua Rampage.Here's that other awesome green I mentioned in the last post. The name of the color is Rampage, which is also what I was about to go on if someone didn't release a deep forest green soon! This is a cooler shade of green which is a good thing because it doesn't make my hands look red like warmer green shades do.
This shade has me speechless. I could rave about it all day. Everything about it is excellent. The shade, the finish, the durability, the application, the brush, the bottle.... This is about as close to perfect as it gets.
Worth pointing out- the second picture (the indoor picture) was taken after two days of wear. Maybe just a hint of tipwear- I'm impressed.
This color has instantly skyrocketed to number two in my list of favorite greens- number one is, of course, the notorious NARS Zulu. Unfortunately, Rampage is not a dupe for Zulu but it's still similar. I am working on a comparison of these new dark greens against Zulu and Rescue Beauty Lounge Recycle, so I'll be sure to post the pictures as soon as I get a chance.
I have three more ridiculously awesome polishes from Illamasqua to post, so stay tuned for those.
May this be the year of the greens!
This shade has me speechless. I could rave about it all day. Everything about it is excellent. The shade, the finish, the durability, the application, the brush, the bottle.... This is about as close to perfect as it gets.
Worth pointing out- the second picture (the indoor picture) was taken after two days of wear. Maybe just a hint of tipwear- I'm impressed.
This color has instantly skyrocketed to number two in my list of favorite greens- number one is, of course, the notorious NARS Zulu. Unfortunately, Rampage is not a dupe for Zulu but it's still similar. I am working on a comparison of these new dark greens against Zulu and Rescue Beauty Lounge Recycle, so I'll be sure to post the pictures as soon as I get a chance.
I have three more ridiculously awesome polishes from Illamasqua to post, so stay tuned for those.
May this be the year of the greens!
Friday, May 1, 2009
BB Couture For Nails Green Goblin
It's been rainy and cloudy here for the past week so I haven't really had a chance to swatch anything. I'm enjoying the weather, but it's creating a huge backlog of things I planned on swatching!
However, this beauty arrived today and I had to find a way to get a picture of it. Good picture, bad picture, it didn't matter. I just *had* to show you this. I resorted to using ambient light from my back door, so pardon the reflections.
BB Couture Green Goblin.
However, this beauty arrived today and I had to find a way to get a picture of it. Good picture, bad picture, it didn't matter. I just *had* to show you this. I resorted to using ambient light from my back door, so pardon the reflections.
BB Couture Green Goblin.
When I saw this nail polish, a magical thing happened. I think the bottle may have been glowing. I could faintly hear Handel's Messiah playing in the background. Suddenly, the world was a better place.
Behold, a dark green polish.
This particular shade of green is earthy and mossy. It's dark but not so dark that you can't tell it's green. It has a creme finish but the polish itself has an almost blurry, mottled looking effect- it's not a flat, uniform color. It says 'moss' to me. I love it.
The formula is flawless. Smooth, opaque, not too thick, not too thin. Drying time is good. No bubbles, no shrinkage. No complaints.
I especially love the name. Green Goblin. I love goblins. The best part is, this one won't kick your ass with Bomb Toss!
This has been a very good week for green polish. I have another unbelievably cool green to show you as soon as I can get a decent photo of it. It's from the British brand Illamasqua and it is truly a sight for sore eyes. My cries for deep green polish are being answered.
BB Couture polish can be purchased from OverallBeauty (and there are MULTIPLE greens!!).
Behold, a dark green polish.
This particular shade of green is earthy and mossy. It's dark but not so dark that you can't tell it's green. It has a creme finish but the polish itself has an almost blurry, mottled looking effect- it's not a flat, uniform color. It says 'moss' to me. I love it.
The formula is flawless. Smooth, opaque, not too thick, not too thin. Drying time is good. No bubbles, no shrinkage. No complaints.
I especially love the name. Green Goblin. I love goblins. The best part is, this one won't kick your ass with Bomb Toss!
This has been a very good week for green polish. I have another unbelievably cool green to show you as soon as I can get a decent photo of it. It's from the British brand Illamasqua and it is truly a sight for sore eyes. My cries for deep green polish are being answered.
BB Couture polish can be purchased from OverallBeauty (and there are MULTIPLE greens!!).
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Nubar Disco Blue Glitter
I have a lot more french manicure stuff to post, but it's putting me to sleep!
So how about I spice things up a bit in between bland french mani posts?
Take a look at this beauty from Nubar:
Nubar Disco Blue Glitter.
Your eyeballs can't repel sparkle of that magnitude!
Disco Blue Glitter is a medium blue shade of fairly large size yet not chunky in texture glitter. It looks chunky, but it has a strangely smooth and flat feel for this type of glitter. That's the beauty of Nubar's glitters, they're unusually smooth.
The way the glitter lies on the nail is also fairly different from other glitters I own. It is really flat and smooth looking, the closest glitter I can compare it to is Milani Disco Lights. It's like little glitter platelets. Hard to describe, but the end result is spectacular.
Nubar is known for their out-of-this-world unique and breathtakingly beautiful duochrome shades like Peacock Feathers and Purple Beach, but they also have some of the best glitters on the market. They're all intensely sparkly to the point of being dangerous in their ability to distract. If you walk outside wearing one of Nubar's glitters on your nails, I guarantee that you will be staring at your hands more than is probably safe.
The other special feature of Nubar's glitters are the shades. Yes, they have the standard gold-silver-holo-red type glitters, but they also have colors that you'd be hard pressed to find anywhere else. Orange glitter is one of my favorites, but they also carry a burgundy glitter, which is a color I haven't seen from another brand (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, I'm always looking for new glitters!). Grass Green glitter is the best green glitter in my collection. I'll be posting pictures of all of my favorites as soon as I can re-photograph them, but in this humble glitter addict's opinion, Nubar glitters are a glitter lover's dream.
And, like I mentioned above, Nubar's glitters are strangely smooth. Normally wearing glitter is like having little sheets of sandpaper on your nails (which doesn't bother me but is sometimes a deal breaker for people) but the glitters I have from Nubar aren't half as rough. I don't know why that is. Maybe it's the type of glitter they use or maybe it's something in the formula. Either way, it cuts down on the amount of topcoat you have to use to produce a smooth, glassy finish.
Really, what I'm trying to say is that Nubar glitters rock. I love them.
So how about I spice things up a bit in between bland french mani posts?
Take a look at this beauty from Nubar:
Nubar Disco Blue Glitter.
Your eyeballs can't repel sparkle of that magnitude!
Disco Blue Glitter is a medium blue shade of fairly large size yet not chunky in texture glitter. It looks chunky, but it has a strangely smooth and flat feel for this type of glitter. That's the beauty of Nubar's glitters, they're unusually smooth.
The way the glitter lies on the nail is also fairly different from other glitters I own. It is really flat and smooth looking, the closest glitter I can compare it to is Milani Disco Lights. It's like little glitter platelets. Hard to describe, but the end result is spectacular.
Nubar is known for their out-of-this-world unique and breathtakingly beautiful duochrome shades like Peacock Feathers and Purple Beach, but they also have some of the best glitters on the market. They're all intensely sparkly to the point of being dangerous in their ability to distract. If you walk outside wearing one of Nubar's glitters on your nails, I guarantee that you will be staring at your hands more than is probably safe.
The other special feature of Nubar's glitters are the shades. Yes, they have the standard gold-silver-holo-red type glitters, but they also have colors that you'd be hard pressed to find anywhere else. Orange glitter is one of my favorites, but they also carry a burgundy glitter, which is a color I haven't seen from another brand (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, I'm always looking for new glitters!). Grass Green glitter is the best green glitter in my collection. I'll be posting pictures of all of my favorites as soon as I can re-photograph them, but in this humble glitter addict's opinion, Nubar glitters are a glitter lover's dream.
And, like I mentioned above, Nubar's glitters are strangely smooth. Normally wearing glitter is like having little sheets of sandpaper on your nails (which doesn't bother me but is sometimes a deal breaker for people) but the glitters I have from Nubar aren't half as rough. I don't know why that is. Maybe it's the type of glitter they use or maybe it's something in the formula. Either way, it cuts down on the amount of topcoat you have to use to produce a smooth, glassy finish.
Really, what I'm trying to say is that Nubar glitters rock. I love them.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Essie Summer 2009: NEONS!!!
I just got the new Essie neons and HOLY CRAP! These are BRIGHT!!!!!!!
First, a disclaimer and then the swatches. Since these polishes are neon, they don't photograph true to life. I have not yet found a way to capture the true glow of a neon polish. They do weird things to my camera. I have tried my best to get the colors accurate, but these will look much, much brighter in real life.
I'm trying out different types of lighting for these, and a couple of them turned out pretty good. Some are taken in the shade or in a dark room, so that's why my skin looks grey... No, I am not a zombie. Yet.
First, a disclaimer and then the swatches. Since these polishes are neon, they don't photograph true to life. I have not yet found a way to capture the true glow of a neon polish. They do weird things to my camera. I have tried my best to get the colors accurate, but these will look much, much brighter in real life.
I'm trying out different types of lighting for these, and a couple of them turned out pretty good. Some are taken in the shade or in a dark room, so that's why my skin looks grey... No, I am not a zombie. Yet.
Edit: Check out Siobhan's awesome swatches of this collection at The Nailphile!
Flirty Fuchsia. Neon pink. Sunlight pictures of neons never come out, I don't even know why I bothered. This pink has almost a touch of red to it- it's a deeper pink than Punchy Pink but it's just as bright!
Funky Limelight. Neon highlighter yellow. This is a true highlighter yellow. It's officially my new favorite yellow. This is retina-searingly bright, in fact, it gives me a bit of a headache just looking at it!
Perky Purple. Saturated neon purple. This might actually be my favorite type of color. No matter how many neon purples I own, I just never seem to get sick of them and always find myself wanting more! This is more of a deep purple in real life, but super bright. It's a lot like Essie Bermuda Shorts from last year's neons.
Punchy Pink. Uber-bright neon light pink. This is the lighter of the two pinks, and it seems more on the cool end of the spectrum. These pictures can not possibly portray how cool this polish is. It is ridiculous.
The formula on these is perfect. Thin, pigmented, smooth, totally flawless. I had zero application issues. These are right in line with the Zoya neons formula-wise. In fact, these are even thinner and smoother than the Zoyas, but not as opaque. They are slightly on the sheer side- one coat of polish lays down a lot of pigment but to build intensity you really need three coats. All of these pictures are three coats of polish with one coat of Seche Vite. Since it is the nature of neons to dry matte, you will need a topcoat if you want a glossy finish.
I am going to say it right now: Funky Limelight is the best neon yellow I own. It's the brightest, the smoothest, the least streaky and just plain incredible. Backup-worthy. I don't usually like to choose 'best' products because something better usually comes along, but no, this is THE. BEST. Period.
Overall, I am totally thrilled with these. Yes, these are pretty much your average neons, but they seem a lot brighter than most of the neons I own. The other thing that has me so excited about these is that, hello, they're ESSIE. Neons. Essie. Safe, sheer-pale-pink-nude Essie made these obscenely bright neons. Wrap your brain around that!
I would have liked to see a blue and green to round out the collection, but I can deal with just four awesome shades. I can't even see clearly because of the spots in my eyes from looking at these. It's like looking at the sun. Wicked.
Flirty Fuchsia. Neon pink. Sunlight pictures of neons never come out, I don't even know why I bothered. This pink has almost a touch of red to it- it's a deeper pink than Punchy Pink but it's just as bright!
Funky Limelight. Neon highlighter yellow. This is a true highlighter yellow. It's officially my new favorite yellow. This is retina-searingly bright, in fact, it gives me a bit of a headache just looking at it!
Perky Purple. Saturated neon purple. This might actually be my favorite type of color. No matter how many neon purples I own, I just never seem to get sick of them and always find myself wanting more! This is more of a deep purple in real life, but super bright. It's a lot like Essie Bermuda Shorts from last year's neons.
Punchy Pink. Uber-bright neon light pink. This is the lighter of the two pinks, and it seems more on the cool end of the spectrum. These pictures can not possibly portray how cool this polish is. It is ridiculous.
The formula on these is perfect. Thin, pigmented, smooth, totally flawless. I had zero application issues. These are right in line with the Zoya neons formula-wise. In fact, these are even thinner and smoother than the Zoyas, but not as opaque. They are slightly on the sheer side- one coat of polish lays down a lot of pigment but to build intensity you really need three coats. All of these pictures are three coats of polish with one coat of Seche Vite. Since it is the nature of neons to dry matte, you will need a topcoat if you want a glossy finish.
I am going to say it right now: Funky Limelight is the best neon yellow I own. It's the brightest, the smoothest, the least streaky and just plain incredible. Backup-worthy. I don't usually like to choose 'best' products because something better usually comes along, but no, this is THE. BEST. Period.
Overall, I am totally thrilled with these. Yes, these are pretty much your average neons, but they seem a lot brighter than most of the neons I own. The other thing that has me so excited about these is that, hello, they're ESSIE. Neons. Essie. Safe, sheer-pale-pink-nude Essie made these obscenely bright neons. Wrap your brain around that!
I would have liked to see a blue and green to round out the collection, but I can deal with just four awesome shades. I can't even see clearly because of the spots in my eyes from looking at these. It's like looking at the sun. Wicked.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
To China Glaze: A Special Message from Mazoo (and the rest of us!)
Hello China Glaze,
I hope you are well. I however, am not. I have a fever. And the only cure is more green nail polish.
You may remember the Bahama Blues Collection from Winter 2008. This is probably because you made it. I remember it too, because I bought the whole thing. You know what else I would buy? A green version. Serious.
I have taken the promotional picture for the Bahama Blues Collection and used my "mad photoshop skillz" to make it look a tad more "foresty". Yes, I know that isn't a word. I even posted the picture on the MakeUpAlley Nail Board to conduct a little market research. The reaction from all who posted seemed to indicate that ladies would "stabba bish" or "cut a ho" to get their hands on a set. If you aren't familiar with such colloquialisms, that means that these ladies would really, really like some more greens.
I also used the aforementioned photoshop skillz to make a purple version, and a yellow. These versions were also highly regarded by nail board ladies, but honestly, those bishes can wait. I want some greens.
I have come to the completely unbiased conclusion that green shades equals money in the bank. The frenzy over your own Emerald Sparkle? That was no accident. The crazy prices girls are paying on eBay for OPI Rainforest, Jasper Jade & Golf Course Green? That's because we LOVE the greens. Supply is not meeting demand. Suzi thinks that we all want more red. She is WRONG. Don't be like Suzi China Glaze, don't go there girlfriend.
In closing, I would just like to beg unashamedly for some green goodness.
pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease.
Yours Sincerely,
Mazoo.
(Note from Scrangie: Thank you so very much for letting me post this, Mazoo! To everyone, please spread the word!! WE WANT GREENS!!!)
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Hot Topic Iridescent Purple: This One Goes To Eleven.
Hot Topic Iridescent Purple (no name, no label, website listed it as Iridescent Purple so that must be the official name. )
There are just some colors that make me stop dead in my tracks and stare. Sure, there are hundreds of colors that I love, but only a few that make me drop whatever I'm doing and exclaim, "HOLY S#!&^!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Hot Topic Iridescent Purple is one of them.
Unfortunately, this polish is impossible to photograph. I absolutely can not figure out how to capture its glory on camera. The picture above makes it look blue, but it is actually many shades of purple. Not blue at all. It also looks flat and not very shimmery in my picture. In real life it is so shimmery and sparkly, it looks like it's alive. It moves and twinkles and changes from light to dark purple, a little red, a little blue. It's like everything I love about OPI Ink, but amplified.
It's OPI Ink on steroids.
The only downside to this polish is the horrible bottle and brush design. The bottle looks cute, yes, but it's nearly impossible to use. The brush stem is long and skinny and the brush itself is a short, mop-like thing with uneven bristles that stick out at every angle. It's like trying to apply polish with a wet Shih-Tzu. Aside from the brush being messed up, the brush stem is so long that it's hard to remove the excess polish from it, which causes it to drip giant globs of polish onto your hand while you're using it. The bottle is also tall and skinny and has a wide mouth, which makes it ridiculously easy to knock over and spill all over everything.
Despite the hilariously bad bottle and brush design, this is one of the most perfect polishes in existence. I love it so much I even bought a backup, even though it's extremely rare for me to use enough of a polish to warrant a second bottle. I never get tired of looking at this color.
And best of all?
It cost me a whopping $1.49.
Sweet.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Restoring Polish: Quite Possibly The Most Important Post Ever
I want to talk to you guys about the shelf life of polish. How long does polish last? Do I have to throw it out after a certain amount of time?
To put it bluntly, the polish will outlive you. Seriously. There is no reason to ever throw away polish. It doesn't spoil, it doesn't get moldy, it can't 'go bad.' It can separate, but that is fixed by shaking before use. It can thicken or, in some strange cases, thin. That doesn't mean you have to throw out your polish.
I want to show you how to fix a completely dried polish. This will come in handy some day.
I saw this poor bottle of L'Oreal Bijou Crystals in B.Shocking on a store shelf and thought it would be the perfect chance for me to demonstrate this point. Look at it. It's completely dry. People would never buy this because they think it's garbage, but it's not! It's just a wilted flower, waiting to be watered.
Tip it over- it's so dry, it stays put. That's a solid mass of dried polish in the bottom. The brush is embedded in the dried polish. Tug gently to remove it.
My secret weapon: Seche Restore. I am in love with Seche Restore. I've gone through bottles and bottles of this stuff. Most people will tell you that it doesn't make a difference which polish thinner you use. While all polish thinners will thin polish, Seche Restore contains Toluene- a wonderful, magical substance that turns finicky polish into smooth, quick-drying chemical loveliness. This is especially handy for restoring older polishes because it's the toluene that has evaporated from them. Adding Seche Restore can also improve the texture of gooey three-free polishes. No, I don't work for Seche- I just freakin' love this stuff.
All you have to do is pour in some Seche Restore. I don't bother with a dropper when I'm using this much, but if you have some disposable pipettes, those work quite well. I try to add as much Restore to the bottle as I can- I try to picture where the polish would be in a full bottle and I add Restore to create that amount of liquid. Place the cap back on the polish.
You can see that the the Restore starts to dissolve the dried polish immediately. Once the cap is on tightly, shake the polish vigorously. Don't be alarmed if some Restore leaks out of the bottle. It's much thinner than polish and can sometimes make it out of the bottle. And to all of you out there who are gasping in horror when I say to shake your polish: Don't worry. It's okay to shake your polish. It absolutely WILL NOT HARM your polish. The worst it can do is cause bubbles, which settle on their own within five to ten minutes of shaking. So please, be kind, shake your polish. Much safer than rolling, because without a firm grip on the bottle, you could potentially drop the bottle and break it. I speak from experience.
If the polish is completely dried, like this one was, you may have to loosen the dried polish from the bottom of the bottle. I use a toothpick to pry the dry polish lump away from the bottom and sides, and then I stir it a for a little while to break up the dried lump.
After a little while of stirring and shaking, voila! Good as new. The texture is perfectly smooth- or it would be if it didn't have so much glitter in it!- and all of the dried polish has dissolved. You would never know that this was a reconstituted polish. It goes on smoothly and dries quickly. Now you have a full bottle of amazing polish that someone would have thrown in the garbage!
Here's the polish on my nails. It applied like a dream. However, I can't say I really like the color that much- streaky silver metallic and loads holographic glitter don't play well together. If you want a holographic silver metallic, it's best to use a holo topcoat, like China Glaze Fairy Dust or Piggy Polish Sunshine On Snowflakes on top of a silver polish to avoid the lumpy look that mixed-in glitter causes.
Here's another bottle that I revived from a dried clump of polish. It's CND Pucker Up. I ordered it online and when it arrived, the bottle was actually open and the polish was completely dried. I don't know how they didn't notice that when they packed my order, but somehow it did. I wasn't worried, I knew how to fix it and now I have a perfect polish that would have otherwise been trash!
Here's my message to you: DON'T THROW OUT YOUR POLISH! It can be fixed. I wonder how many old, rare, wonderful polishes have been chucked in the bin because they had thickened, separated or dried. The thought of it breaks my heart! To me, the older the polish, the better.
I hope this was helpful for you. I consider this to be very valuable and useful information. When I was younger, I never knew that polish could be fixed and I threw away so many bottles of gorgeous polish that I really regret getting rid of now. I wish I had them. Beautiful, unique, irreplaceable polishes that had separated or thickened. I am positively kicking myself for not holding onto them. Don't be like me!
To put it bluntly, the polish will outlive you. Seriously. There is no reason to ever throw away polish. It doesn't spoil, it doesn't get moldy, it can't 'go bad.' It can separate, but that is fixed by shaking before use. It can thicken or, in some strange cases, thin. That doesn't mean you have to throw out your polish.
I want to show you how to fix a completely dried polish. This will come in handy some day.
I saw this poor bottle of L'Oreal Bijou Crystals in B.Shocking on a store shelf and thought it would be the perfect chance for me to demonstrate this point. Look at it. It's completely dry. People would never buy this because they think it's garbage, but it's not! It's just a wilted flower, waiting to be watered.
Tip it over- it's so dry, it stays put. That's a solid mass of dried polish in the bottom. The brush is embedded in the dried polish. Tug gently to remove it.
My secret weapon: Seche Restore. I am in love with Seche Restore. I've gone through bottles and bottles of this stuff. Most people will tell you that it doesn't make a difference which polish thinner you use. While all polish thinners will thin polish, Seche Restore contains Toluene- a wonderful, magical substance that turns finicky polish into smooth, quick-drying chemical loveliness. This is especially handy for restoring older polishes because it's the toluene that has evaporated from them. Adding Seche Restore can also improve the texture of gooey three-free polishes. No, I don't work for Seche- I just freakin' love this stuff.
All you have to do is pour in some Seche Restore. I don't bother with a dropper when I'm using this much, but if you have some disposable pipettes, those work quite well. I try to add as much Restore to the bottle as I can- I try to picture where the polish would be in a full bottle and I add Restore to create that amount of liquid. Place the cap back on the polish.
You can see that the the Restore starts to dissolve the dried polish immediately. Once the cap is on tightly, shake the polish vigorously. Don't be alarmed if some Restore leaks out of the bottle. It's much thinner than polish and can sometimes make it out of the bottle. And to all of you out there who are gasping in horror when I say to shake your polish: Don't worry. It's okay to shake your polish. It absolutely WILL NOT HARM your polish. The worst it can do is cause bubbles, which settle on their own within five to ten minutes of shaking. So please, be kind, shake your polish. Much safer than rolling, because without a firm grip on the bottle, you could potentially drop the bottle and break it. I speak from experience.
If the polish is completely dried, like this one was, you may have to loosen the dried polish from the bottom of the bottle. I use a toothpick to pry the dry polish lump away from the bottom and sides, and then I stir it a for a little while to break up the dried lump.
After a little while of stirring and shaking, voila! Good as new. The texture is perfectly smooth- or it would be if it didn't have so much glitter in it!- and all of the dried polish has dissolved. You would never know that this was a reconstituted polish. It goes on smoothly and dries quickly. Now you have a full bottle of amazing polish that someone would have thrown in the garbage!
Here's the polish on my nails. It applied like a dream. However, I can't say I really like the color that much- streaky silver metallic and loads holographic glitter don't play well together. If you want a holographic silver metallic, it's best to use a holo topcoat, like China Glaze Fairy Dust or Piggy Polish Sunshine On Snowflakes on top of a silver polish to avoid the lumpy look that mixed-in glitter causes.
Here's another bottle that I revived from a dried clump of polish. It's CND Pucker Up. I ordered it online and when it arrived, the bottle was actually open and the polish was completely dried. I don't know how they didn't notice that when they packed my order, but somehow it did. I wasn't worried, I knew how to fix it and now I have a perfect polish that would have otherwise been trash!
Here's my message to you: DON'T THROW OUT YOUR POLISH! It can be fixed. I wonder how many old, rare, wonderful polishes have been chucked in the bin because they had thickened, separated or dried. The thought of it breaks my heart! To me, the older the polish, the better.
I hope this was helpful for you. I consider this to be very valuable and useful information. When I was younger, I never knew that polish could be fixed and I threw away so many bottles of gorgeous polish that I really regret getting rid of now. I wish I had them. Beautiful, unique, irreplaceable polishes that had separated or thickened. I am positively kicking myself for not holding onto them. Don't be like me!
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