Color Club Fall 2008 Dance To The Musique Collection Revisited

The first time I posted about the Dance To The Musique collection, I only posted one picture of 'skittles'- one color on each finger and one bottle in my hand. The reason I did this was not because I didn't love the collection- it was because the sun was setting and I needed to get the picture taken in the fastest way possible since I didn't feel like swatching one collection over two (or more, depending on the sun's cooperation) days.

Since is was such an incredible collection, it deserves a real post with real swatches.



After Hours. A shimmery, smoky grey. A lot of other charcoal-grey shades have a strong blue tone to them, but this one seems a lot more neutral.



Electronica. Deep sparkling purple. This color is actually purple, despite how blue it looks in my picture. Purples are just, for some reason, impossible to photograph. They always come out blue no matter what I do!! Anyway, Electronica is AMAZING. One of the best purples ever. It's deep but not too dark or black looking and it's packed with shimmer, miniature 'flakies' and even what appears to be microglitter, though there is no hint of roughness to this polish. Perfection.



Feel The Beat. A coral-copper-orange duochrome. Yes, this is a duochrome. It reminds me a little bit of Misa Bo-Jangles. It's coppery red all over the polish and at the edges it's orangey-coral. I couldn't really capture the full effect of the duochrome, but it's definitely there.


Groove Thang. Blackened vampy purple shimmer. At first, this color reminded me of an OPI- maybe a mix between Black Tie Optional and Ink or Who Are You Wearing?... It has that sort of color-changing 'beetle shell' quality to it. It is very dark, almost black, but any light hitting it brings out a purple glow on the surface of the polish. Pretty unique and ultra hot.




Slow Jam. Warm reddish brown shimmer. This color screams FALL!!!! to me. Is this what you would call 'burgundy' or is it too brown? I'm not sure. Either way, this color rocks because it's one of those 'lit from within' shades I love. It looks like it's dark on the edges and the center is brighter, almost like it's glowing.



Velvet Rope. Red shimmer. You will rarely see me get excited over a red shimmer... But, even if I am not absolutely in love with it, it is still beautiful. Velvet Rope is bold and loud and sparkly. It really stands out against my skintone and it's almost like there's a miniature neon sign above my hand with an arrow pointing down saying "LOOK AT MY NAILS". Very flashy, indeed.


Despite three of the six shades being red or almost-red, this was still one of my favorite collections of 2008. I would wear (and have worn, multiple times) every single color in this collection. Electronica is so breathtakingly beautiful you can't help but want to stare at it all the time. Sometimes I just take out the bottle to look at it! It's that good. And Groove Thang, same with that one. There must be some color-obsessed geniuses working at Color Club because they consistently release awesome and adventurous shades. Even their sheers/pale/french manicure shades rock!!

The formula on these is perfect. Even though Color Club isn't as popular as one of the 'big brands' like OPI or Essie, their formula could pass as high end any day. It's pigmented, smooth, even-textured, fast drying and long wearing. It's not too thick, not too thin, not at all runny. The bottles and brushes are great- no weird shaped bottle to knock over and no defective bristles. They do have a tendency to get stuck shut- I mean really, really stuck... I have a bottle of Yell-Oh! that I haven't been able to open for over a year. Nothing I do seems to work, I think I just have to buy another bottle. So, make sure the necks of your Color Club bottles are clean!

One of the best things about Color Club is the price. I think the average price for these online and in nail supply stores is around $2.50 each. With a quality just as good as OPI and even better than some other higher-priced brands, it's truly a bargain. Low price, high quality, amazing shades. They make nail polish accessible.

Overall, incredible collection. Fantastic sexy vampy fall shades, great formula, great price, gorgeous makeup on the model that appears on the packaging.... You can't go wrong with Color Club! I hope they continue to release fun, funky colors that appeal to everyone- not just the salon consumer but us, the hardcore nail junkies!

Orgasm Cosmetics Hard Day's Night

Orgasm Cosmetics Hard Day's Night.

This is the first polish I've tried from the new brand Orgasm Cosmetics and I am really pleased with it.

This shade is called Hard Day's Night, and despite the fact that it causes the song of the same name to instantly repeat over and over inside my head, I really enjoy this polish. It looks like a rich charcoal grey with silver shimmer, but it has a really blue cast to it like it's not actually grey, it's a darkened, smoky blue. In fact, Orgasm Cosmetic's color chart portrays this polish as a dark blue-purple and not grey, so I can't be imagining the blue cast on the polish.

The formula on this polish is really nice. The color itself is opaque in two coats. The texture of the polish is 'normal' to me- not noticeably thin or thick and for a three-free polish it really doesn't seem like one (it doesn't have the runny/gooey texture that three-free polishes can have). The brush was a nice shape and didn't have any defective bristles. The drying time was reasonable- not particularly long or short. All around, a good, solid formula with no obvious flaws.

I really like the bottle- it's a unique shape. I have no other polishes that have the same bottle as this one. If you're trying to make your brand stand out from the crowd, a unique bottle shape helps. It also helps if the bottle shape is actually good (Butter London FAIL) and while this bottle isn't terribly fancy or anything, it is sturdy and stable and not an awkward shape and it doesn't tip over when you're painting your nails.

Another thing I like about this polish is that the name of the polish is printed on the bottle. I wish more companies would do this! I can't tell you how many label stickers I've found floating around in my polish bins. Certain brands are notorious for having the labels either fall off or fade completely, and that can't happen with this polish. Nice big print on the back of the bottle clearly displays the name of the shade. A really nice touch.

For a new brand, it sure seems like they did their homework. Fun colors, great formula and bottles with labels that won't fall off. The color chart on the website is the only flaw I've seen so far- it is a very pretty interactive color chart, but it's not an accurate depiction of the colors (at least for two of the four colors I have tried).

Orgasm Cosmetics nail lacquers are available directly from their website for $6.
Clicking on the color swatch of the polish you want will open the "add to cart" screen.

Blue...

I'm feeling pretty sad today, so I thought I'd post some swatches to match my mood.



China Glaze Blue Sparrow


China Glaze Blue Without You



China Glaze Drinkin' My Blues Away (Which may or may not be what I'm doing...)



China Glaze Martini Pedicure


China Glaze Rain Storm



Nicole by OPI It's Up To You



Lippmann Collection Rehab


NARS Midnight Express




Misa Pour Me Something Tall And Strong


Misa On The Edge


Sephora Brand Glittering Nail Polish Blue Sapphire



OPI Glacier Bay Blues


OPI Blue My Mind


OPI Blue Moon Lagoon


Naturistics Crystal Blue Pearl


OPI Midnight Blue Glitter



Rescue Beauty Lounge Dead Calm



Sally Hansen Magical Nail Makeup Blue Aura



And now I'm going to go listen to...



Clarins 202 Metallica.....


.... Damn it, where's my picture of Lippmann Collection Fade To Black when I need it?!?!


*sigh*

China Glaze Kaleidoscope Collection

China Glaze Kaleidoscope collection. One of the best collections to ever be released. Nothing beats holographic polishes, and China Glaze Kaleidoscope polishes are at the top of my list of favorites.

Onto the swatches! As always, I leave these pictures huge intentionally- please click in the images to view them in full size.


Don't Be A Square. Medium pink holo.


He's Going In Circles. Light seafoam green holo.


How About A Tumble? Light purple holo.


It's My Turn. Gold holo.



Kaleidoscope Him Out. Light blue holo.



Let's Do It In 3-D. Charcoal-black holo.



Octa-Gone Wild. Purple holo.


Sexagon. Silver holo.


Spin Me Round. Bronze/tan holo.



Tickle My Triangle. Hot pink/fuchsia holo.


Visit Me In Prism. Silvery lilac holo.


Agh! I'm still missing one!! Rated Holographic is missing! I will add it once I find it. I just bought a new one, too!

The formula on these is top notch. It's thin and manageable, and it dries faster than any polish I've ever used. Lightning fast. All are sheer on the first coat, and all look best with two to three coats.

The main difference between the Kaleidoscopes and the OMGs is the size of the holographic particles. The Kaleidoscopes have larger particles and the holographic effect isn't as smooth and linear as the OMGs. They may look like glitter, but these polishes aren't glittery at all. They're completely smooth, no chunks, no grit.

This collection has been discontinued, so I would highly recommend picking these up before they disappear completely.

Up next, China Glaze OMG collection swatches!

50% Off Every Order at Carolyn New York!

Just got this in my email, thought I'd share:

Carolyn New York is wishing you a happy 2009 with a limited-time New Year's sale guaranteed to keep your lacquer lasting long!

50% off plus free shipping for one week only. Must end January 7th. Use promo code HAPPYNEWYEAR

Sweet. The bottom of the email also says you get a free base coat and top coat with every order.

I have a few Carolyn New York polishes that I've never gotten around to reviewing, but I do like them. Here are a couple of the ones I've swatched:


Subway Surfing


Hangin' On The Stoop



Handball Courts


Greenwich Avenue


Frankie Joins The Navy

Good gravy those are terrible pictures... but you get the idea. Pretty sweet grey, green and blue polishes!

Swatches: China Glaze Romantique Spring 2009 Collection

If you noticed, the other day (on Twitter) I said these were ugly and disappointing, and I didn't even want to swatch them.

Well, the sun was out yesterday and I got around to swatching them and I think I've changed my mind!

In the bottles they do look pretty ugly. Bland, boring, would never catch my eye on a shelf among other more interesting polish collections.

However, on the nails they're actually really cool. They're a frosty metallic texture. Not really chrome or reflective, but a smooth shimmery type of metallic. Sort of futuristic looking. Not all of the colors are 'my thing', but there are a few that I'm seriously digging.

These are sold in two halves like past China Glaze collections, a warm selection and a cool selection. I don't remember which are which, so I'll present them alphabetically.

As always, please click on the pictures to view them full size- I try to leave them really big so you can see the detail of the polish :)


Admire. See? Isn't it cool? Admire is a cool silvery pinkish color. For once, a pink that is flattering on me!


Adore. I don't know what color this is. I want to say blue, but it seems more... teal? Is it turquoise? I say it's blue. This is one of my favorites. Spaceman blue. (... Cause you're the one that I adore... We must never be apart....We must never be apart... )


Awaken. Awaken, take the land that must be taken! Okay, sorry, had to do it. Ten points to anyone who gets the joke :) Aaaaanyway, it's a gorgeous blued-charcoal metallic. Looks really similar to some of China Glaze's other charcoal metallics, but the texture of this one is superior. Smooth and opaque, very lovely.


Cherish. A frosty mint green. This one was disappointing to me. How many light mint greens do we need, honestly? I can think of four other polishes I have that look like this. Nail polish companies: stop making light greens. We want rich, deep, saturated forest greens!!! Cherish the thought of always having you here by my side...



Delight. Kind of a bronzy brown with a reddish mauve tint to it. This is one of the ones I thought looked really ugly in the bottle, but once I put it on my nails I decided that I liked it. (Uhh... sky rockets in flight??)



Devotion. Sweet devotion, it's not for me... Just give me motion and set me free.... Seriously, all of these names are reminding me of songs. Maybe they did that on purpose. Devotion is a gorgeous frosty silver. Right up my alley, I'll definitely be wearing this one.


Emotion. Sweeeeeet emotion.... Metallic medium warm-ish pink. Plain, but pretty. The color doesn't wow me but I like the finish. I would probably never wear this, but I'm sure it will be a popular color. But I need some time of from that emotion, time to pick my heart up off the floor...


Harmony. Unforgettable harmony. Holy crap, did I just sing Barry Manilow lyrics?! I'm embarrassed for myself. *ahem* Harmony is a drop-dead gorgeous metallic purple. I really love this one. It's bright and shiny and PURPLE!!! .... together in perfect harmony...



Joy. Have I no control, is my soul not mine? Am I not just man, destiny defined? (That's one of my favorite songs ever. Anyone know it?) Joy is a really stunning muted purple metallic. This might be my favorite of the entire collection. Truly lovely. Joy to the world...


Magical. There's not too much magic in this one. It's a pretty yet bland pinkish silver. Kind of... champagne? It's not really gold, but it's too pink to call it pure silver. I can't think of a song lyric for this one.


Passion. Wow, I can't think of a song lyric for this one either! Totally gorgeous light gold metallic. Might be tied with Joy for my favorite. I would wear this all the time. It rocks.
(Ooh, I think I have a song. Amy Rose's theme in Sonic Adventure is called My Sweet Passion...)


Poetic. I'm not sure what to call this color, either. Light metallic dusty rose? Mauve? Pretty but again, not anything special. It doesn't wow me, but I still like it.


Overall, I do like this collection. As I said, my first impression of it was that it was really ugly and boring. It's not. The bottle color is very deceptive, because once you put these on your nail they're really fascinating. And the more I think about it, the more I appreciate China Glaze for doing different collections. I mean, look at some of the other collections that were released recently. Essie Winter, OPI La Collection de France and Holiday in Toyland, Lippmann and Rescue Beauty Lounge's recent collections... This collection is nothing like any of those. I'm not sure if it's because it's meant for a different season, but this is totally unique. Essie would have released red and pink cremes, OPI would have done maybe some interesting vampy shimmers, but China Glaze released pastel metallics. I like that.

The formula was pretty nice on these. It was still a little runny and goopy like three-free polishes tend to be, but these went on nice and smooth with minimal running or streaking and they were surprisingly opaque. The were a little quicker to dry than usual as well. I have no complaints.

The names are really hard to remember. It's like OPI's Designer Series with the one word names that aren't the least bit memorable or descriptive and they're all really similar. Design, Desire, Extravagance, Exclusive, Elegant... How am I supposed to mentally connect the name of the polish with the color? I need a cheat sheet or something.

I found it amusing that most of the names immediately made me think of songs. I suppose that the names are generic enough that the words are used in a variety of songs, and maybe they meant it that way. Maybe I'm just nutty.

So... what do you think? I say: Awesome finish, bland colors, but a very versatile and pretty collection.