KO Flatte Matte Polishes

I had been drooling over these polishes ever since I first saw them, and then, out of the blue, a very lovely and wonderful person sent me them as a gift! I couldn't believe it. I still can't! Thank you, amazing generous friend :) Your gift is loved and appreciated.

Anyway, enough mushy stuff, on to the polishes!

These polishes were created by the makeup artist Mike Potter- known for his work on Hedwig And The Angry Inch. Just from reading that sentence, you know they're gonna be awesome, right?

They are.



Flatte Black. That's pretty much a description in and of itself. It's flat black. It's very black and very matte.



Powder. It's kind of an off-white matte creme. It's not as matte as Black, this shade has more of a satin finish.

KO (Knockout) also has a matte pink called Calamine and a matte red called Karen, but I haven't tried them.

First, let's talk about the formula. It is much thicker than your average polish. It also dries very quickly. The combination of those two qualities can lead to some difficulty in application. Just make sure you have enough polish on the (gigantic) brush and work carefully and you shouldn't have a problem. What you see is what you get, so be careful to apply them evenly.

The Flatte Black is opaque in one coat. Powder needs three coats to be even an opaque.

The polishes start out matte, but by the end of the day are a satin finish. They become smoother and shinier the longer you wear them. Kind of cool, but I wish they stayed matte!

Another odd thing about this polish is that when it dries it becomes very brittle. After I had been wearing Black for a few days (I was sick and couldn't change my polish) it began to crackle and little black flakes would fall off randomly. I have never seen that happen with any other polish- it was so weird!

Now comes the interesting part- the bottles.

The bottles are a work of art. I absolutely love them. They are beautiful and a polish I would be proud to display.

They have long brushed metal handles, a matte finish frosted glass with KO and Flatte being the only shiny parts. They are flat and have a scallop shape. Lovely. Oh yeah, and they're GIGANTIC.

Here they are compared to a regular OPI bottle to give you an idea of how huge they are. They are really, really tall and pretty wide.

They look awesome, but the super long brush and handle make them difficult to work with. It is very tricky to maneuver the extra-long brush stem, and since the stem is so long it's also hard to get all of the excess polish off of it to prevent dripping.


These polishes are incredibly cool and even if you aren't wearing them they're nice to look at.

They remind me of another brand of extremely cool matte polish with awesome bottles...



ManGlaze.

ManGlaze will always be my favorite matte polish, but the KO polishes are different enough from ManGlaze to warrant owning both.

KO is just plain flat black that becomes shiny after a few hours of wear. ManGlaze Black (I believe it's now called 'The Death Tar') and Grey ('Fuggen Ugly') have depth and texture. They're packed with these little particles that make the polishes look like smooth asphalt that stays matte without topcoat, but transforms them into an uber-sparkly black or grey polish when topcoat is applied.

I will do a side-by-side comparison when I get a chance, but I just wanted to point out that yes, they are different.

KO Flatte Black is one of my new favorite colors. It's seriously badass. But, if you want to keep it looking totally matte and intimidating looking, you will need to invest in the KO Flatte Top
topcoat. I have a suspicion that it's nothing more than a ridge filler or nail strengthener in a topcoat bottle, but I've never tried it so I can't say for sure. China Glaze used to have something called Flat Top -it's discontinued but still available at some beauty supply stores- it was a topcoat that made your polish matte. I wonder if they're similar?

I love matte finish polishes and I have a feeling that we will be seeing a lot more of them this year. Bring on the mattes!!! (And make a green, please.)

Nail Polish Wishes

I have been thinking a lot lately about new nail polish collections. Wondering what types of colors the polish companies are creating and why. What influences them? Is it fashion? Art? Or is it just the numbers, new creations based only on what sells?

I fully understand that I (we) are a different type of nail polish consumer. The main difference between me (us) and your average salon consumer is a big one: Volume. While the average salon patron or nail polish customer may purchase one or two polishes every couple of months, perhaps spending up to $20, we, the nail polish connoisseur, are no strangers to purchasing twelve polishes at a time, usually more, spending more on one polish purchase than the average polish consumer will in her lifetime.

Polish connoisseurs like you and I buy polish because we love color, and we love being able to have a little fun with our nails. We don't buy polish because we have to maintain our perpetually sheer-pink tips and our only bottle of Essie Ballet Slippers is running out. We buy it because we love it.

In my opinion, that should give us more pull with polish companies when they consider the colors for their collections. I feel like the only look at what the salon consumer is likely to purchase, but us polish junkies need some love too!

Please don't think I am being ungrateful and whiny- I know that polish companies have been very good to us. They've been listening to what the nail polish connoisseur wants, and giving us a little something every season. I mean, even Essie, the queen of sheer pinks, gave us Mesmerize this season. China Glaze gave us two unique collections, Romantique and Summer Days. Zoya's spring collection rocked my socks, and do I even have to mention Barielle and Color Club? I know they've been good to me, but I still can't help but feel like some things are missing.

Here are my nail polish wishes for this year.

I want....



GREENS!!! Specifically, Mazoo's 'Bahama Greens'. But really, I'll take all the greens I can get. Please skip the light golden-shimmer greens, please! We need a variety of greens in all tones and finishes. The world is severely lacking in dark to medium greens. We have a reasonable amount of light greens with gold shimmer, as well as pale pastel green cremes and chromes. We need more Zulus, more Recycles, more Evergreens, more Date Nights, more Rainforests, more, more more! And we need creme, yes, but frosts, shimmers, glitters, duochromes, jellies and holos! May this be the year of the greens.


I also want....






Camouflage colors! Drab green, olive, dusty grey, dirty brown. Not enough of these colors exist in the world, and I don't want to have to resort to 'frankening' my own. They are chic ad much as they are edgy, and I think people would be open to them if they had the option to buy them. And not just the traditional Woodland camouflage, either! How about desert camo, snow camo, urban camo, heck, even pink camouflage pattern themed colors? You could sell them in sets of three or six. It would be awesome.


I want....



More holo colors! Not just duplications of the holographic colors we already have, I want entirely new shades of mesmerizing holographic goodness! We don't really have a true red holo, nor do we have a dark blue or green holo. We don't have a yellow holo that isn't gold, and we don't have an orange holo that isn't pink. I want darker hologrpahic shades to contrast with all of the very light bordering on pastel holo shades we already have. And I wand more smooth holo like this Nfu Oh- it's extra awesome.


Also,







I want more unique glitters!! We have plenty of gold glitter, plenty of silver glitter, heck, even plenty of plain holographic glitter. I want more funky shades! Dark colors are especially rare. I bet people would love a dark blue glitter, and just look at the frenzy that China Glaze Emerald Sparkle caused! I know that a few people were even hoping for black glitter, and I think it could work. How about darker shades with a handful of holo glitter? Think about the Massini glitters and how much they rock. And don't be afraid to mix shades together, like these mind-blowingly awesome gems in a bottle:





I also NEED....





More Magnetiques! We only have a blue and a brown, think of the possibilities! And don't make them country-exclusive and don't make them limited edition. Does Lancome hold the patent on these? If not, why hasn't anyone else created these?! I have never gotten more compliments on my nails than when I wear Bordeaux Esmee.


I want...



More Mattes! I have both ManGlaze shades, and two Knockouts, but all together that's only six matte shades available for purchase. Two blacks, a grey, a white and a pink. You can do better than that. Matte is cool, we just need more variety. How about a matte red, a matte blue, a matte olive or a matte green? I think the green should look like moss, and maybe even be named moss.


And last but not least, we need more...







FLAKIES!!! The polish finish that magically transforms a plain polish into something special. There's nothing like flakies. And really, outside of Nfu Oh, there are no flakies that are easy to find. There are maybe one or two readily available shades from CND and Nubar, but other than that they have all been discontinued. Flaky polishes are truly unique and the possibilities for creating opal-like shades are endless. Please give us more.


There are a ton more things I'd like to see created by polish companies, but I could really go on all day. This post is long enough with my demands :) Maybe I will do a part two?

I hope that one day I get to see some of these things come to life. Every time a polish company releases yet another red or sheer pink (on top of the thousands and thousands in existence), I feel a little bit sad and wonder if it could have been something awesome instead.

Why don't men wear nail polish?

This article from The Polish Addict got me thinking about something I've wondered about for a long time.

Women all over the world love nail polish. Most women own at least one bottle, and very few would turn down a nice salon manicure or pedicure.

Nail polish looks good. It can help you portray a specific image- professional, clean, wild, fun, sexy, spooky.

It is not only socially acceptable for women to be seen wearing nail polish, it's often a requirement.

Manicures and pedicures are relaxing and are, in my opinion, essential grooming. Gnarly feet, broken nails and cracked cuticles don't just look bad, they're downright uncomfortable.


If it's so normal for women to care for their nails, why isn't it the same for men?

My question: Why don't more men wear nail polish?

I suppose the main answer from all the guys would be, "that's for girls!" I can't get my husband to wear nail polish, but I've sure tried.

I don't understand why it's perceived as girly when it can be equally manly.

Observe:


Steven Tyler does it...


Ozzy Osbourne does it....


Dave Navarro does it....


Kirk Hammett does it...



Alexi Laiho does it...


Richard Kruspe does it...


Hell, even Nathan Explosion does it.

All of these guys could contend for Ultimate Badass, so why don't more badass men rock nail polish? These are shining examples of how nail polish can be the exact opposite of girly.

There's even a company that makes nail polish especially for men- ManGlaze. They feature edgy artwork by Joe Simko, who's also done artwork for GWAR, and if you think that's still wimpy... Their black polish is the exact color of a Glock.



Hard Candy even had a nail polish line for men called Candy Man, but I can see why that one failed...

My message to men: It's okay to wear nail polish! And not just black. Any color your heart desires. And it doesn't have to be badass, it can be whatever you want it to be- hell, it can even be girly if that's what you want.

And another question: Why are women so opposed to men wearing polish? A lot of women will scoff in disgust when presented with the thought of a man in polish. I've seen many women respond negatively to pictures of manicured or pedicured men. Why is this? I just don't understand.

Do women feel like it's competition? Do they feel that it's not right because painting nails traditionally a women's activity? This isn't women's underwear, people, it's nail polish. Chemical soup in rainbow colors. To me, that is completely gender-neutral.

Hopefully, in the future, a manicured or pedicured man will be accepted as normal- not 'goth' or 'girly'- just normal.


What do you think? Are you uncomfortable or are you delighted with the idea of men wearing polish? I'd love to hear your opinion on the subject!

While you're at it, check out this man's experience with the fish pedicure.

Random Black Polish Swatches and Comparisons!

I've been working really hard on my swatching project lately and I feel like I'm finally making progress on the giant mountain of polishes I wanted to photograph. Yay!!!

I've actually been working on photographing my entire stash for quite some time, but the problem is my collection keeps growing. That, and I get distracted very easily lately... But wow! Progress feels awesome!

Anyway, here are a few swatches I wanted to share with you:


Zoya Suvi compared to China Glaze Gussied Up Green. Index and middle finger are Suvi, ring and pinkie are Gussied Up Green, thumb is (left) Suvi and (right) Gussied Up Green. You can see that while they're quite similar, they're definitely different enough to justify owning both. Love 'em!



Red glitters! Thumb to pinkie: China Glaze Ruby Pumps, New York Summer Fire Red Glitter, Hot Topic Red Glitter, Zoya Delilah, Zoya Jade.
All quite different! And all very pretty. I still haven't quite figured out the text thing yet, but I'll figure something out!

And there's recently been a lot of interest in black nail polish, so I've swatched a few.



Wet N Wild Fantasy Makers Black Pearl. No, it's not pearly, it's creme.... Weird name lol.


Black Rose. It doesn't have a label so I don't know the actual name or brand, but I found this on the Fantasy Makers halloween display at Walgreens!


Wet N Wild Fantasy Makers Black Magic (over Black Pearl)


Orly Goth. My favorite black with silver glitter. The glitter shapes are somewhat random and it reminds me of snowflakes.


Petites Black Star. Gorgeous black and gold glitter!



Hot Topic Black Glitter. No label so I don't know what the actual name or shade number is, sorry!


Hot Topic Black Iridescent. This is one of the coolest polishes ever. It's full of little flecks of multicolored glitter- they change to all the colors of the rainbow depending on the light! It's unbelievable. If you like black polish, you MUST get this one- it's only $2.99!


Chanel Black Satin. If you're thinking of getting this, don't. Get Zoya Raven instead! It's identical and costs $6. Zoya's formula is better, too!



ManGlaze Black. I adore this.


Misa Wishing On A Star.


Misa I Will Survive.


These are just a few of the black polishes in my collection. If there's a specific black that I haven't posted and you'd like to see it, let me know and I'll be happy to post it for you!

I also took another taupe and dusty purple comparison picture with some new colors I got, but I think I somehow deleted it! I can't find it anyhwere in my photo library or my nail photo folder! :( Oh well... Guess I'll take it again. *sigh*

Silver Swatches, Part 1.

In response to a request from lovely reader (and blogger!) Tabe-chan, here are some silvers.

In case you can't tell, I ADORE silver.


China Glaze Chroma-Toes. Chrome finish.





China Glaze OMG


China Glaze Platinum Silver (streaky, goopy mess!)


China Glaze Sexagon




CND (Creative Nail Design) Disco Ball. Has lots of holographic glitter circles, extremely gorgeous but hard to capture in a picture.



CND Silver Anniversary


Color Club What A Drag


Essie Opera


Essie Sterling Silver



Lippmann Collection Stardust


Lippmann Collection Believe (sort of champagne-silver)


Manglaze Grey (more grey than silver)


Misa Dance Fever


Misa Got To Be Reel


Sally Hansen Sterling (chrome/mirror finish)


Sally Hansen Shooting Star


Piggy Polish Sunshine On Snowflakes (tiny holographic/silver microglitter)



Zoya Trixie


More to come... Stay tuned.