Dude, wtf?!

EDIT: It looks like they've made it invite only... But I was able to take screen shots and get a .pdf of it before they made it private! :) Thanks for your support and kind words everyone! I really appreciate it. You guys are the best!!

This jerk stole a bunch of my pictures and then cropped out my watermark!!

Look how pathetic it is!

Not only did they take them and alter them without my permission, it clearly violates my creative commons license terms.

This makes me absolutely sick.

There sure are a lot of assholes in the world.

Ugh.

NYX Revisited.

About a year or so ago I did a post featuring swatches of my entire collection of NYX polishes.
Looking back at them, I realized that the pictures could be a lot better, so here I am at number three in my series of collections revisited.

I've also revisited China Glaze Bahama Blues and Color Club Dance To The Musique.

Antique. Smooth, shimmery metallic antique gold. More of a bronze, really.

Asphalt. Black jelly with multicolored glitter. I call this one "Clown Roadkill."

Aurora. Light, pearly green-tinged yellow. This is soft and springy. Very difficult color to pull off, though. Makes my hands look super red.



Jungle. Duochrome aqua, green and turquoise shimmer. This is a must have color for any blue or green lover. It is breathtaking.

Las Vegas. Deep rich green with tons of green shimmer. This is incredible. Again, another must have. It is impossible to capture the beauty of this polish on camera. It has so much depth and sparkle, you just have to see it to believe it.

Lime Sparkle. Golden green glitter in a lime green jelly base. One of the best glitter polishes in the universe. It's so smooth and shiny, so ridiculously sparkly and over-the-top insane. I adore this.

Paradise. Light blue shimmer with golden-green duochrome. Serene and tropical.

Rainbow Sparkle. Opalescent glitter in a neon yellow jelly base. Holy cow. One of the most bizarre polishes in my collection. It is super bright and neon, much closer to the bottle color than the color on my nails. Awesome.


Tahitian. Spring green shimmer. Crisp light green, doesn't necessarily make me think of Tahiti, but it's still nice.

Techno. Pearly, frosty medium purple. Much, much more purple in real life but still a little on the blue side.

Wild. Shimmery, rich purple. It is a nice color, but it's one of the worst polishes ever. It's insanely sheer. If I recall correctly, this was either five or six coats. It needs them. You won't achieve bottle color with fewer coats than that.


Purple Avenue over Wild. Blue-opal chunks of plastic in a sheer purple base. Honestly, this is an awful polish. I'd pass on this if I were you.

And one old picture because I couldn't find the polish to re-photograph it:

Peach Avenue over Wild. Peachy opal chunks of plastic in a sheer orange base. Another awful polish. Do yourself a favor and get Sinful Green Ocean if you want the plastic-chunk look, it's much better and easier to use.

The formula on these is very hit-or-miss. Some were dreamy, like Techno or Jungle. Others were sheer, like Wild and Las Vegas. Some were thick, some were thin, some were just right. I don't know what's up with their formula. Drying time is also all over the place. I can't make a definite statement on this.

The color selection is unbelievable. They have everything you could want. Sheers, reds, pinks yes but also duochromes, glitters, brights, vampies, GREEN, blue, et cetera. I don't know if they regularly release new colors or if they only have a core line, but this brand is hardly lacking in variety. The one downside is that they have changed formulation on some colors but kept the same name, so you may have two entirely different colors that share a name.

The only thing I really hate are the "Avenue" polishes. I thought they would be neat mylar glitter or something, but they're just crap. They are nearly impossible to apply. You will have an inch thick coat of sheer goo before you even have a decent amount of glitter on your nail. You could use the toothpick trick that I use to apply the heart polishes (Like the Valentine's Day Nicoles) but it's just not worth it. The 'glitter' is large chunks of sharp plastic. It sticks up through the polish and doesn't lie flat. At least they're really pretty to look at in the bottle!

I bought all of my polishes directly from Nyx Cosmetics.

The Worst Manicure I've Ever Done

It started out innocently enough. I hadn't worn black polish in a while, and really wanted to do a shiny black mani.

I applied my favorite, Wet N Wild Fantasy Makers Black Pearl, which isn't pearl at all, but a perfect, smooth, shiny opaque black.

As I admired my shiny black nails, I just couldn't help but feel that they were a little too plain.

So, I got out my trusty Konad and decided on plate m65 with China Glaze Adore from the Romantique collection as my stamp color.

It was just what I needed! It looked awesome.

Fast forward to the next day.

I had been cleaning with my hands in water all day, and by the time I was done I had serious tipwear. I didn't have time to re-do my manicure completely, so I resorted to my old lazy manicure trick: Cover up the tipwear with a french tip!

And so, a horrible monstrosity of a manicure was born.

Small children and those with weak stomachs, look away now.


I present to you, The Abomination:


AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! MY EYES!!!!!!!!!! OH, THE CHUNKINESS, THE HUMANITY!!!!!!!!

Makeup Remover Recall

I just saw this on the FDA's website.... SCARY :(

Celeste Industries Corporation Recalls All Lots of simplySmart Remove Make Up Remover

Contact:
Celeste Industries Corporation
410-822-6200, ext 1349

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- Easton, Maryland – January 5, 2009 – Celeste Industries Corporation has voluntarily recalled all lots of simplySmart™ "Remove" Make Up Remover in the US and Canada This product is packaged as a single towelette with hiexpress.com shown on the packet. This recall was a result of certain limited lots testing positive for Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria.

Read the rest...

The Glam Is A Lie

EDIT: Forgot to add that I did send Sally Hansen a letter on December 18th and as of today have not received a response. I will give them a couple more weeks to address the issue and then I'm taking this crap back to the store. :)

I was out shopping one day and something caught my eye as I was walking past the cosmetics department: bright, colorful boxes full of Sally Hansen nail products. I immediately went over to inspect. "Hmm, six great nail colors, two treatments and some tools, eh? Looks awesome! I have to have this!"

Since the set was $9.99, I decided I could wait to get it- it didn't seem to be in danger of selling out- the shelves were packed with these Sally Hansen Nail Glam party things.

I came home and asked the ladies on Makeup Alley's Nail Board if they had seen these, and they warned me that there was nothing good inside. I had a hard time believing that there was nothing good inside this bright, colorful, fun-looking box of polish, but now I know that I was wrong. Very wrong.

I couldn't get this kit out of my head, and I ended up buying four of them- two of the large, and two of the small.

Just look at this box! How could I pass this up?! I needed this! The box says:

Sally Hansen Nail Glam Party Pack
13 Amazing Nail Essentials
Get Great Stuff!
Your Party Pack Includes:
6 Great Nail Colors
2 Nail Treatments
5 Manicure Tools
____________________
13 Amazing Nail Essentials

Glam party! Amazing nail essentials! GET GREAT STUFF! Six great nail colors!! How could this be anything but awesome?

I mean, look up close at what the lady on the package is wearing:
Blue, hot pink, red, purple and silver 'skittles'! Wow, this is just the coolest nail gift set ever!!!

But I must have been a naughty girl this year, because all I got in my stocking was a big fat lump of FAIL:


WTF?!!!!! What the hell is this?!?! Where are the bright cheerful colors advertised on the front of the box? WHY WOULD YOU PLAY THIS CRUEL JOKE ON ME, SALLY HANSEN?! WHAT HAVE I DONE TO DESERVE THIS?!?!?!

Look at this! Out of the six "GREAT NAIL COLORS" I was supposed to get (oops, left one out of this picture! It was a duplicate and it's pictured below), this one was completely clear:
No, you're not imagining this. That bottle of clear nail polish clearly says Sally Hansen Nail Color on the front. Yes, Nail Color. What color is this, exactly?

But, hey, it's not all bad! Look! I got one of those amazing Sally Hansen Fire Opal Nail Glazes!



...NOT!

Seriously, what kind of a sick, demented joke is this? Putting clear nail polish inside a Fire Opal polish bottle. Some sadistic bastard must have created these nail sets. "They think they're getting a Fire Opal Nail Glaze but it's really just clear polish in a clever disguise! Muahahahahaaa!!! "

This just pisses me off. I try not to get too worked up over nail polish, but come ON! WTF IS THIS SHIT?!?! ARE THEY SERIOUS?!?!?! Does the package not clearly say, "Get Great Stuff!"? Does it not say, "Nail Glam Party Pack"? I don't know what kind of party they had in mind... a wake? Whatever party they're having, I'm glad I wasn't invited.

How about we take a little peek at what the other sets had inside.

Like I said, I got two of each kit. This is the second large kit. Let's see here, we have pale pink (duplicate from the first set), clear inside a Fire Opal bottle, yet another clear, ugly mauve, ugly coral, boring ugly mauve red in a square bottle (also a duplicate from the first set).

Here's one of the smaller kits:

Oh, this one is a Nail Glam Salon. How special.

I think this salon probably won't be in business very long. Two sheer pinks and a red. Tres chic, no?

What's even worse is that none of the bottles even have labels:



They're all completely blank. No shade names. Nothing. You aren't even allowed to know the name of the ugly colors you got in your kit.

It's like they just took whatever leftover bottles they had sitting around and filled them with the lamest polishes they could think of. Instead of just throwing out what they couldn't sell, they packaged it up in a deceptive little package and sold it for $10! Genius! Make them think they're getting what's advertised and then watch the disappointment on their gullible faces as they open the box only to find clear, pink and mauve!

I have always thought favorably of Sally Hansen. They consistently make some of the most beautiful and creative polishes of all. I have so many awesome Sally Hansen polishes. Nail Prisms, Fire Opal and Star Opal Nail Glaze, Magical Nail Makeup, Salon, Lacquer Shine, Xtreme Wear Hard As Nails, Chromes, I could go on and on. How could a company that has made such incredible and unique products sell such a horrible and deceptive box of garbage? It's not like they have a shortage of good polish to put in those boxes! At least give me one out of six! If I got one good polish out of one of those boxes, maybe just one Magical, a Prism, or even just a color that's not pink, mauve or red, I would be a happy girl. But no. Nothing. At all.

I wouldn't have a problem with these Nail Glam sets if they weren't so deceptive. The box is bright and colorful, decorated with blocks of vibrant colors. The model is clearly seen wearing several different shades of polish. The box even says,"Nail Glam" and "Get Great Stuff!". It is false advertising, plain and simple. If the box had said, "Boring Pink and Mauve Nail Salon" or "Grandma Gertrude's Ladylike and Uninteresting Nail Party Kit" or "Polishes We Put In The Wrong Bottle And Can't Sell Because They're Defective Super Awesome Happy Fun Time Value Kit" I wouldn't be complaining. But I am complaining because that's not what it says on the box. The box is bright pink and blue and says Nail Glam Party Kit. It's a lie.


I have no tolerance for false advertisement. The consumer gets screwed enough as it is even without false advertising. This really gets my panties in a bunch. Bright packaging. Model with cool polish. Claims of "glam" and "great" product. Clear nail polish being sold as a color. Fire Opal bottle filled with clear polish. Am I over-reacting? Should I not be upset about this? This is deceptive and dishonest! Of course I should be upset about this!

So, I suppose this is my warning to you, my fellow nail junkie. Beware of false advertising or anything that seems to good to be true.

Tee hee.... Had to do it.

Scam Alert: Fragrancenet.com

This isn't exactly polish related, but it is beauty related.

I used to shop online at Fragrancenet.com quite often. They didn't have the best prices, but they had the most perfumes in stock, including a huge selection of old, nostalgic discontinued perfumes.

I no longer shop there. I much prefer Scentiments.com for my discount fragrance purchases.

One thing that FragranceNet does is send you ungodly amounts of spam. Every day I'm deleting anywhere from five to fifteen spam emails from them. They always tell me "insert name of fragrance I've purchased before ON SALE TODAY ONLY!" and crap like that. Really gets on my nerves.

When you order from them, they also fill your box with spam. Probably ten different fliers advertising totally irrelevant things- ceramic angels, fake gold jewelery, checks with animals on them, snowglobes, that type of thing.

While that is extremely annoying, it's not *quite* a scam, but this next item is.

I got a check in the mail from FragranceNet. I believe it's an actual, legitimate $5 check, made out to your name and everything. However, if you look closely, it says on the front, in small print:
By cashing or depositing this check you are purchasing a membership in Just For Me.

A lot of people might not even read that text and go to the bank to cash this check. And what happens when you cash the check?

Well, this happens! (Taken from fine print on back of check)
...I understand that my membership will be automatically extended for an additional eleven months and the $129.99 annual membership fee will be automatically billed to my credit card on file with FragranceNet.com...

Yes, you can cancel after the first month, but most people will forget. And if you forget to cancel?

...At the end of my first year, my membership will be automatically renewed at the $139.99 annual fee for the next twelve months and I will also be billed every year thereafter...

The very worst part? The last line of the fine print:
By cashing this check I authorize Fragrancenet.com to securely transfer my credit card information to Just For Me for enrollment, billing and benefit processing.


I don't even know what to say about this. To disguise a $130 charge as a $5 check is bad enough, but to transfer sensitive personal financial information to a third party is just despicable.

So, if something looks too good to be true, like, say, a $5 check that randomly shows up in the mail, it probably is. Please always be sure to read the fine print on everything you agree to sign.

I will never make another purchase from FragranceNet.com.

Review: Demeter Fragrance Library Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

I'm a huge fan of foody fragrances- vanilla, marshmallow, almond, honey, all that good stuff. Every time I see a new fragrance with some sort of foody or gourmand note listed, I have to try it. So, when I saw Demeter's new Reese's Peanut Butter Cups fragrance, I immediately bought it without a second thought. It's supposed to smell like Reese's, how could that go wrong??

Well, unfortunately, what I thought was going to be an awesome scent turned out to be one of the worst fragrances I have ever smelled.


I did have my qualms about smelling like peanut butter- chocolate I have no problems with, but smelling like peanut butter is a little weird, unless you're Iggy Pop or something. But, I like the smell of Reese's, so it was worth a try.

The minute I sprayed this fragrance, my nostrils were filled with this horrible stench of burning plastic and breakfast sausage coated in Ovaltine. Yum.

Once the alcohol had evaporated, I was left with this frightening fake plastic pseudo-foody bitter rancid smell.

I didn't immediately wash it off- I understand that fragrances need time to develop, but this one didn't change. Unlike other Demeter fragrances which last no longer than five minutes, this one lasted for hours. Yippee.

Not only does it not smell like Reese's, it doesn't smell like chocolate, and hell, it doesn't even smell good! It's sharp and bitter, and while the 'idea' of chocolate is hiding in the background of the fragrance, there's no comparison to the real thing. No peanut butter, no chocolate, just weird melted plastic stink. The closest scent I can compare it to would be those Creme Brulee type fragrance oils, where it has this bad burned plastic smell, like when you accidentally melt Tupperware.

Demeter is usually excellent at duplicating lifelike scents in perfume- I have tons of Demeters that are lovely- Tomato, Riding Crop, Mesquite, Ginger Ale, Flower Shop. All of those are really realistic and quite pleasant. Why they released this tragedy of a fragrance, I'll never know.

This is a truly horrible fragrance and you can bet I'll be returning this to Sephora. I rarely return things, but this is just bad news.

Update on eBay Scumbag! I need your help!

EDIT: As of right now, my images have been removed! Thanks guys!! I'm still keeping my eye on this seller, though... I have a feeling our images will be stolen by them again :( Again, I apologize for being such a spaz about this! It just really, really upsets me to have my property stolen like that :(




Okay guys, I really hate to do this, but I need your help.


They have not only NOT removed the images that they stole from me, but have listed MORE items using my images!

So, if you read my blog and enjoy my pictures, please help me out by taking a few moments to report this filthy thief and their auctions to eBay.

The auctions are here.

You can use your regular eBay account to report the items. Select either "copied listing" or "stolen property", either one will do I think.

Please, don't just do it for me, but for the other lovely bloggers they have stolen images from as well.

I have done pretty much everything I can do to get them to remove my images, but obviously nothing has been done.

Thank you all so much for your love and support, you guys are the greatest!

eBay Scum part two

Just so you can all see why I'm so upset, look at what this dirty thief did to my pictures!

Here's my original picture:


And here's what they did to it!! :



CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT?!?!

The not only stole and altered eight of my images, but several images from The Polish Addict and All Lacquered Up as well. How can they live with themselves?

I have emailed them asking them to remove my images, but they have not responded and have not removed my images.

I don't want to have to keep posting about this, but I am livid and sad at the same time. I just can't get over this. It's un-effing-believable. What kind of lowlife scum just steals pictures and then tries to pass them off as their own? I mean, if they're selling the polish, why not just take their own damn pictures?

I've been stewing over this all day. Unbelievable. Sorry for bitching about it, but I really need to vent. You guys are all awesome, and I really appreciate your kind words and support.

eBay Scumbags

Wow, some scumbag has stolen my images, cropped them down to remove my watermark, put their OWN watermark on MY picture and is using them for auctions on eBay!

That makes me FURIOUS!!!

I do not make money from my website, and someone stealing MY hard work in order to make money for themselves?? Disgusting. It makes my blood boil.

I know it goes without saying, but DO NOT USE MY IMAGES ON EBAY WITHOUT MY PERMISSION!!!


You all know I'm a nice person and if you ask my permission to use my images, I'll most likely say yes! You don't even have to ask me first as long as you credit me for it. To see my pictures altered and used like this just... ugh. It makes me feel awful.

If anyone wants to see this scumbag's auction, I'll post it, but I didn't want to give them any advertising. They don't deserve one red cent for stealing my pictures.

Crappy Swatches: Zoya Flourish Collection

Thank you all for your kind words, I'm feeling better already! You guys are the best. :)

So, Zoya Flourish! Wow! I don't even know what to say. These are super cool.

The sun had already set long before these beauties showed up on my doorstep, but I just couldn't wait, I HAD to play with them!

I know these swatches are terrible. Really, I think they're some of the worst I've ever done (my Nfu Oh ones are pretty embarrassingly bad too....), however, I plan to get good swatches as soon as there's adequate light. I just couldn't wait to try these all on, and thought snapping a quick photo of them wouldn't hurt.

I'll save my review for when I get better pictures of these. They're so nice, they deserve better pictures and a proper review. On to the blurry, dark, wobbly, wacky swatches!


EDIT: These are all two coats of polish. I always forget to add that!


Cyma


Kalista



Mieko


Richelle (omghawt!!!!!!)


Shivon



Zara.

Swatches: Lippmann Collection Winter 2008

Wow! These are gorgeous!

I apologize for the poor quality of these swatches. I'm having camera problems today! I think my battery is going bad- I charged it to full and on the second picture of each set it gave me a low battery warning and refused to focus! :(

Anyway, here they are:


Maneater. Beautiful reddish brown creme, or dare I say, jelly? It's dark but still looks brown and not black.


Holiday. Ooooooh! A bright pinkish-red with tons of sparkle- same vein as Shut Up And Drive and Lady Marmalade. I'm thinking this is a re-release because the name sounds familiar and I could have sworn I saw this in a holiday set at Nordstrom or something. I would totally wear this.


SUPERSTAR! Brown and gold glitter! It's a brown jelly base with golden brown glitter. I'm in LOVE with this! I don't own a single color that looks even remotely like this. A winner in my eyes.


Icing On The Cake. A pretty, delicate yet super streaky metallic silvery whitish pink. Very 'dainty'. Super streaky, though. This reminds me a ton of those old Sally Hansen Crystal Chrome polishes they used to have- I'll have to dig a few out to compare- could be a dupe of Petal Chrome?


And the Party Like A Rockstar set:



Comes in an adorable black/blue shimmery snakeskin bag. I love it, I can't stop admiring it.




Devil In A Blue Dress. Deep, dark navy blue creme. Looks almost black on the nail.


Good Girl Gone Bad. Stunning mellow burgundy glitter. I think I need nine or ten backups of this. I could wear this every day. It's so beautiful! And it was super easy to remove- rare for a glitter polish!

Overall, these ROCK! The formula is magical- applies so smooth and even, it's almost as nice as Rescue Beauty Lounge. The bottles themselves are great to look at, they're some if the prettiest bottles around. I would 100% recommend these for anyone looking for a more interesting glitter shade or a unique creme polish. Love them all. Great job, Lippmann!!

Swatches: China Glaze Bahama Blues

In my last China Glaze post I had stated that I've fallen out of love with China Glaze polishes due to the crappy thick gooey formula. Unfortunately, Bahama Blues' polish formula is only a hair better than Operation Color. I had serious application issues with most of the colors. Thick, stringy, bubbly and extremely difficult to work with.

As disappointed as I am in the terrible formula, I am happy to say that these colors are worth the headache. They're simply beautiful. Observe:


Bahamian Escape. for some reason this is photographing really weird. It's not really that radioactive blue in real life- the bottle shows the true color. It reminds me of For Audrey but brighter and more vibrant. It's a creme opaque bright sky blue. Very, very pretty.


Bermuda Breakaway with Calypso Blue on pinkie. Fantastic bright creme blue that's somewhere in between OPI Dating a Royal and Misa Pour Me Something Tall And Strong. I thought this and Calypso Blue looked kinda similar in the bottle, so I put it on my pinkie to compare- not even close. I don't know what I was thinking.


Blue Island Iced Tea. Super-sparkly metallic blue with chunky metallic shimmer. Looks much better in sunlight than it does indoors.


Blue Paradise. Glowy blue pearl. Smooth texture on the nail, despite the sticky weirdness of the formula.


Calypso Blue. Deep dark blue creme that's not one of the dark blue cremes that looks black. It looks blue. That makes me happy. It's a cousin to Rescue Beauty Lounge Dead Calm.



Caribbean Blue. WOW! Bright sky blue with China Glaze's pretty glass fleck shimmer. This makes me think of a baby Blue Sparrow. How cute! I really like the shimmer in this one.

Overall, a good collection, but I'm still not in love with China Glaze again. I don't have the patience to work with bad formula polishes. These may be an exception because I love the colors, but still... Why so thick?? Rodeo Diva was amazing, why aren't these amazing? These did seem to dry a little faster than some of the other China Glazes I've been having problems with, so that's a plus.

The colors really are extremely nice, so if you don't mind thick polishes or having to thin brand new polish, I'd definitely recommend them!

Be sure to check out The Polish Addict's swatches of these, too!