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.

OPI Colección de España Fall 2009 and OPI Holiday Wishes Winter 2009 at P'ssion!

If you haven't seen them already, the lovely Emelie of P'ssion has posted promo images of OPI's upcoming fall and winter 2009 collections!

Colección de España Fall 2009

OPI Holiday Wishes Winter 2009

They both look amazing, but I'm most excited about España!  There's a GREEN!!!!!

Thanks for posting, Emelie!

New Shades from KO!

I just saw this on KO's facebook page- new colors!  On the top are Calamine and Karen, which we already have.  But on the bottom- Ox, a matte purple and Liberty, a matte mint green!

GREEN!

These look amazing.

They also mentioned two more colors to be released- Pool and Concrete (I'm going to assume they're blue and grey).

Looks like the companies really are listening to us. 

KO polishes can be purchased directly from the company's website, although I have heard some complaints about the customer service.

Jessica Summer 2009 Life's A Beach Collection

This is the second collection I've tried from Jessica and I love it even more than the first!

The Life's A Beach collection is a collection of brights and a few have a very jelly-like finish!


Bikini Bottoms. A bright fuchsia creme. This isn't really as jelly-like as the other shades in this collection. It's a nice, bright pink but it's not neon. It also looks good against my skintone, which is rare for pink!






Diva On The Dunes. Bright orange creme. This one is a lot more jelly-like, but doing three coats covered up the squishy look. It's a very bright but not quite neon orange.



Loving The Lifeguard. Rich red-purple creme. This looks a lot like some of the neon purples in my collection but with the 'neon' removed! It's not really bright but it is bold.



My Cabana Boy. Near-neon coral-orange creme. This color is hot! It was also impossible to photograph. This is as close as I was able to get to the real life shade. It's much brighter and more saturated. I don't think it's a true neon, it doesn't dry matte, but it is bright enough to be seen from across the room! I think this is my favorite one so far!



No Tan Lines. Bright bubblegum pink creme. Your standard girly pink.




Under My Umbrella. Near neon hot pink creme. This has the most obvious jelly finish out of all the polishes in this collection. It's also super bright but not a true neon. It's right on the edge of bright/neon! Bold and bright, perfect for a summer pedicure.


I didn't think Jessica did a whole lot of brights or neon-like colors, so this collection was another surprise for me. The more and more I experience this brand, the more I like it.

I especially love the name of this collection. Life's A Beach. Ha!

The polishes all have a great texture, not too thin, not too thick. They don't seem to have three-free syndrome. They all apply evenly with no streaking, running or pooling. They dry very quickly and the wear on them is really quite good. The bottles and brushes are also of a very high quality, and that helps a lot when applying polish.


I love these colors. Like I said, they're bright but not neon. Brighter than the colors in China Glaze Kicks but not as bright as the colors in Zoya La-Di-Da. Every shade is flattering and could be worn by a wide variety of skin tones and still look perfect. I was especially shocked that the pinks looked good on me. Pinks usually make my fingers look dirty or burnt. Bonus!


Overall, hot colors, perfect for summer. Great formula. Not the most exciting or unique collection, but at least there aren't any ugly colors. Perfect for someone who's not brave enough to venture into neons but wants to wear bright color.

I don't have an exact release date for these, but they're available at the end of April and can be purchased from Jessica's website.

Summer Colors from Sephora by OPI!

Someone directed my attention to these beauties just added to Sephora.com:




They look incredible! Green! Blue! Silver! I am SO happy this blue/green polish trend is catching on.

Mermaid To Order
(shimmering deep green blue)

Blue Grotto
(deep ocean)

Just a Fairy-tail
(silver and iridescent shimmer)

Underwater Fantasy
(shimmering light cornflower blue)

Water Baby
(opaque molten silver)

Lagoon-a Beach
(shimmering pale blue)

As soon as I can get my hands on these I'll do swatches, but for now they're out of stock!

Here's the link from Sephora's website.

Ad for China Glaze Kicks Collection

I just saw this ad and I thought I'd snap a quick picture of it to share. It's for the upcoming China Glaze Kicks collection:



You can click it to view full size. I know the picture kinda sucks, I really need to get a scanner!

The colors are:
Entourage
Paper Chasing
Custom Kicks
Sky High Top
Fly
It's Poppin
B-Girlz
Laced Up
Sneaker Head
Oh How Street It Is
Style Wars
Breakin

Looks awesome! They look bright but not quite neon. There also seem to be sets of three nearly-identical pinks and oranges. Hmm... I'll have to see this in person to know for sure!


I love the nails on the model. I think I'll try them for my next manicure!

Essie 'Mystery' Collection -EDITED: Imaginary!!

NEW UPDATE: Essie has let me know that the images received below were an error and do NOT represent actual polishes! I think I may cry, I was really getting my hopes up for this collection! Sorry to say that the collection in this post does not actually exist.

EDIT: I'm still waiting for Essie to confirm or deny the existence of these colors, but I'll be sure to let you know the minute I hear something! This post is currently 100% speculation, so I wouldn't get too excited about this 'collection' just yet! I certainly hope these colors are real and not just a mistake sent in an email :)

I also received these images from Essie with no accompanying information. No names, no release date, no collection information...

My best guess is that this is the Summer 2009 full collection. You know how Essie sometimes releases a mini collection like the Neon Shorts or Cool Click and then does a full collection at the same time? This *might* be it, but I really don't know!

If I get any concrete information on this collection I'll be sure to post it. But, for now, CHECK THIS OUT!!!! IT'S FREAKING AMAZING!!





I can't believe my eyes. Essie... blue, green, yellow??? Maybe they saw how much of a success Mesmerize was and decided to branch out from the usual pale pinks?

I am excited!!!

Essie Summer 2009: The North Fork Collection

Here's a quick look at Essie's upcoming collection of blues, The North Fork Collection.

This is what Essie says about it:

"Within the soft palette of hues that floated down this season's runways, one color stood out among the rest... blue. Dreamy blues reminiscent of bright open skies and deep welcoming waters lead Essie founder Essie Weingarten to create The North Fork Collection - named for the quaint vacation villages perched around the waters of Long Islan's East End.

"The new nail colors remind me of the most beautiful blues that surround The North Fork," says Weingarten.
"Tranquil yet playful, the colors cross over in fashion and nature."

The nail colors in The North Fork Collection capture the essence of blue. The fashion-or azure fingertips lounging under the sun.

Greenport, Sag Harbor and Shelter Island, each named after areas around The North Fork and Long Island Sound, are an homage to the beauty of nature."

GREENPORT - Dreamy aquamarine paradise

SAG HARBOR - Cool silver blue

SHELTER ISLAND - Sky blue radiance

Wow... Essie, is that really you??? A collection of all blues??? Rock on!

Awesome tidbit from Zoya: Midori from the Summer 2009 Ooh-La-La Collection!

OMG you guys, check this out!!!

Zoya Midori from the Ooh-La-La Summer Collection!

How hot is that?!

I am so excited for this collection, I can hardly contain myself! Here's a little more info...

The summer 2009 collection will come in two parts:

La-Di-Da, six bright creams
Ooh-La-La, six bright metallics

These collections will be all about BRIGHT, FUN color! Yessss!!!!

Stay tuned for more info :)

Edit: More colors! It's a scavenger hunt! HOW FUN!!! :D Check out:

Pippa @ CasualLavish
Paz @ The Nailphile
Emme @ VampyVarnish
Goldie @ Clumps of MascaraTallulah @ All Lacquered Up
Dita @ Polish Addict
Ali @ Perfectly Polished Tips
Katy @ The Crystal Files

Barielle Shades Summer 2009 Collection

Summer is looking good so far! Barielle amazed us all with their exceptionally awesome fall collection and that little beauty by the name of Date Night... Oh yeah, remember that one? Fabulous, right?

Now for summer they've given us some bright, cheerful candy colors, two of which are GREEN!!!

For these pictures (with the exception of Lemon Drops) I've taken both an indoor and outdoor photo because the colors seem to pick up slightly different tones in bright sunlight.




Cotton Candy. Soft, girly pink with a hint of shimmer. I love cotton candy (the food) so I have to love this one at least for the name. It is a pretty pink, both bright and playful, but I just don't really do pink.



Decadence. Oh wow. Isn't this gorgeous? It's a medium blue-green shimmer. Does that make it turquoise or aqua? It takes on much more of a green look indoors, but outside in the sunlight the shimmer really lights up and gives off more of a blue tone. So beautiful, like a sparkling sea.




Grape Escape. Grape candy purple creme! This could be a one-coater. Very pigmented. I love purple cremes so much, I am so happy Barielle created this color! This is slightly more of a blue-purple, and it works great with the Konad (more about that in a minute..).



Lemon Drops. I thought I had taken two pictures of this, but apparently not. LOL. It's a sunny lemon yellow creme. Slightly less streaky than other yellows, but still not 100% foolproof. This color is so happy and bright! Not neon at all, and not really muted. Right in between. Love it. I can never get enough yellow.




Sweet Addiction. YESSSS!!!! What a great color! It's a smooth, dreamy turquoise-green creme. Opaque in one coat. So perfect. It is somewhat similar to Misa Dirty Sexy Money, but Sweet Addiction feels less muted. I will compare them. I love them both.



Swizzle Stix. Baby blue creme. I'm wearing this as a pedi right now! It's one of the prettiest sky-blue shades ever. Normally light blues give me a hard time because they make my hands/feet look red but this one is just about perfect on me. The indoor picture is more accurate- it's not a bright blue. It's a soft, light blue, not neon or anything. It's lighter than some of the similar shades I have- OPI Just Groovy and Zoya Yummy.


I mentioned earlier in this post that these polishes work great with the Konad stamp system. Here's a little demonstration of how nice and opaque they are with Konad:


Grape Escape over Sweet Addiction.


Lemon Drops over Grape Escape.

See how nice and crisp the designs are? This polish is the perfect texture for stamping. My designs are messy and uneven, I know. I just wanted to show you that you can Konad with these.

Overall, I think this is a fantastic collection. Two greenish shades, a purple creme, a yellow creme and a sky blue?? How could I not love it??? It's wonderful! Some of the shades are similar to other shades I own, but they are also colors that aren't released very often.

The formula on these is great. Two are opaque in one coat, the rest are two coaters. They're all on the verge of being opaque in one coat, just too much visible nail line at one coat for me to be comfortable. These are very thick, but that works to your advantage in this case. They are thick but smooth and easy to apply and the thickness allows you to do fewer coats. They do take slightly longer to dry with a coat of Seche Vite than some of my other polishes, but not so much that it's frustrating like CND.

I am so excited that Barielle is releasing such lovely colors, it makes me hopeful that we will see more unique shades in the future! After Date Night (and the rest of the fall collection), I have faith in Barielle. They did not disappoint me for summer either! Now I just can't wait to see what they have planned for fall (Yes, I know it's February...).

Too Excited Not To Swatch: Rescue Beauty Lounge Spring/Summer 2009

For economically challenged Glamazons.

Even though the sun was only out for about six nanoseconds today, I just had to try to swatch these. I even tried to do it with artificial light, but I broke the lightbulb in my lamp! I am just way too excited about this collection to wait for the perfect time to swatch. I am obsessed with these polishes!!

So, keep in mind that these are somewhat rushed.

Also, be sure to check out The Nailphile's swatches of these, as well as All Lacquered Up's coverage of this collection!

Ji Baek describes these polishes much better than I can: "They sparkle like little diamonds."

That's the truth- these are some of the sparkliest glitters I have ever seen. And since they're all jewel-toned, it's just like having gem-encrusted nails!


Here are the bottle pictures again, in case you missed it:




Locavore, Frugalista, Look Rich, Be Cheap



Look Rich, Be Cheap. A mix of gold and purple glitter. In certain lights, the gold is more dominant, like this picture. In other lights, the purple is more dominant. Super cool. I think someone said this reminded them of Mardi Gras, and I'd have to agree!



Frugalista. Gunmetal shot through with purple glitter. Man, I love this. It's a silvery gunmetal, more silver than grey and a bright flashy purple. Like Look Rich, Be Cheap, the silver or purple will be dominant depending on the lighting.



Locavore. Top photo is sunlight, bottom photo is dim indoor light. A dazzling combination of gold, green, blue and silver glitter. It looks like a treasure chest full of gemstones! A pirate's booty. The emerald green shade is dominant, but the golden glitter takes on an almost celery-green shade next to it! The purple adds mystery and depth and the blue really compliments the green. This is one of the most perfect glitter polishes I own- it's entirely unique! I don't have a single polish like this, even with the hundreds of glitters I own.

This collection is just incredible. It makes my heart skip a beat! I'm a die-hard glitter fan, so I nearly fainted when I saw these polishes!

If I get a chance to take better, sparklier swatches I definitely will. These polishes deserve it.

I still can't calm down about these- this is the most exciting collection I've seen all year! I don't know how anyone's going to top this!

Sneak Peek: Rescue Beauty Lounge Spring 2009!!

OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


GLITTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Locavore, Frugalista, Look Rich, Be Cheap

I'll have a full review of these as soon as the sun comes out (and I stop hyperventilating!!!).... I think I'm going to faint!

Sneak Peek! Barielle Shades Summer 2009

Summer's looking pretty good so far...





Swatches coming soon :)

(Two greens!!!)

Misa Living On The Fast Lane Collection, Spring 2009

Ooh, I just got the latest collection from Misa, Living On The Fast Lane, and I am so excited! Check it out!



Dirty Sexy Money. Some sort of dusty green-turquoise creme. I have no idea how to describe this color other than freakin' sweet. Dirty Sexy Money is totally unique- I don't own a single color like this. I can't even think of a color to compare it to- maybe if you mixed some green and grey into China Glaze For Audrey? Who knows. I'm in love. Dirty Sexy Money also has a retro kind of look to it, and it really kinda does look like dirty money.


On The Edge. Stunning dark blue creme. Indoors, it's quite a bit darker and more subdued looking, but outside in the sunlight the color really pops. It's bold and dramatic. What's not to love?


Push Upon It. Rich, pigmented berry creme. This color breaks my camera! I can't seem to get a good picture of it. It's like the picture, but darker, deeper, more purple and not as glowy looking. It's close to Zoya Moxie, they have a similar 'feel' to them. I will try to figure out how to get a more accurate shot of this.


Right Here Now, No More Later. Bright sky-blue creme. WHOA. Bright! The picture speaks for itself- this color really stands out. It's cheerful.


Speed Of Life. Orange creme. Orange!! I love orange!! This is a lighter orange, not too deep like a true pumpkin orange would be, but it's not neon, either. It has a soft look to it, like Halloween candy or orange sherbet. Truly beautiful.



Stop Rewinding, Just Fast Forward. Bright coral-red creme. I've been seeing a lot of this color lately. It's like some of the other colors in this collection: Bright, but not neon. It dries shiny. Very rich, very punchy, great spring and summer pedicure color. I imagine that this color would look good on any skintone.

Overall, I'm super-excited about this collection. I have two new favorites, Dirty Sexy Money and Speed Of Life. The creme formula really makes these colors stand out. With all the shimmer I've been wearing lately, these are quite a refreshing change. There's just something about cremes in bright colors that makes your nails look perfect. I love them.

Sure, not all of the colors are completely unique- I could probably find a couple duplicates for On The Edge, Push Upon It and Stop Rewinding Just Fast Forward, but that doesn't make them any less beautiful. I really like how this spring collection is not your stereotypical spring collection. No pastels, no pink! I dig it. Spring collections are my least favorite, and this one is a sigh of relief for me. It was fun to swatch, unlike swatching 24857 shades of pastel pink and red.

The formula is perfect. No issues at all. Smooth like butter. These also, oddly enough, dried much faster than most of my other Misa polishes. I don't know if it's because of the pigment of these particular shades, or if it's the creme formula or what, but I like it. Fast drying polishes are an absolute must for me, I don't have the patience to deal with polishes that never dry even with quick-dry topcoat and drops *cough*CND*cough*.

If you are a fan of blue or green, you need to check out Dirty Sexy Money. You will either love it or hate it. I love it. Like I said, it's totally unique, one of a kind, can't think of a single polish to match it.

One final observation: These smooth, glassy, perfect creme finish nails are just screaming KONAD ME!!!! KONAD ME NOW!!!!!!!

OPI South Beach Collection Spring/Summer 2009

OPI South Beach Collection - Spring/Summer 2009. Release date is February 4th.

Pics first, opinions second :)


Bronzed To Perfection. A warm reddish-bronze with awesome flaky shimmer. Very strange shade choice for spring, but I'm digging it. The shimmer in it is what makes it stand out to me- instead of tiny, round particles it has itty-bitty little irregular shaped shimmer.


Clubbing Til Sunrise. Shimmery, orangey gold. Reminds me of maybe a cross between OPI 18k Ginza Gold and OPI Live From NY... It's OPI!



Conga-Line Coral. Shimmery reddish coral. I like the shimmery finish, but I can't say I really like the shade. It's too in-between for me. I need something that stands out.



Done Out In Deco. Pale lilac that leans a little bit blue. I love this one. Very spring-appropriate, another "Easter Egg" type shade. It's a lot lighter than I had expected it to be, and it is somewhere in between lilac and periwinkle.


Feelin' Hot-Hot-Hot! Bright pink creme. I know that a lot of people will really love this color, but it's just not for me. First of all, I hate the name- it instantly brings to mind that incredibly irritating song that drives me insane. Second, this could easily be mistaken for a dozen different OPI polishes... Elephantastic Pink comes to mind first. There's absolutely nothing wrong with the color itself, it is a very pretty hot pink. It's just that it feels done to death.



Miami Beet. Rich beet-purple creme. Whoa, this one was a surprise! it looked really uninteresting on the promotional shot, but I love this on the nail. Just goes to show me that I can't always judge my favorites based on the promo pics. This is a little more of a vibrant purple in real life, my camera couldn't pick up the richness of this shade.


OPI On Collins Ave. Very bright orange-red. Maybe more orange than red. This is a really cool color- for some reason it reminds me of shrimp. OPI Cajun Shrimp maybe? I want to do a pedicure in this color. I've really been drawn to near-neon orange-reds lately.


Overexposed In South Beach. Shimmery purple. My favorite out of the collection! Again, looks nothing like I thought it would from seeing the promotional pictures. It's saturated and shimmery and reminds me a lot of OPI Louvre Me, Louvre Me Not.


Paint My Moji-Toes Red. Muted red creme. Very muted, actually. So much so that it looks almost mauve in the bottle. I know that the use of the word "mojito" in the name is just so they can make a toes pun, but I really think that this should have been green. Mojito says green to me! Again, this color will probably be really popular with the average salon client, but I can't see a whole lot of nail junkies being excited about another red polish.


Party In My Cabana. Bright pink creme. Wait, didn't I just see this color? Zzzzz, booooring. Okay, I'm being harsh. Again, nothing wrong with the color, but it's been done to death.


Sand In My Suit. Shimmery, sandy nude. This really does remind me of sand. This is not my type of color at ALL, but I have to admit, I actually like it. At first I thought it was ugly, but then I put it on and it really grew on me. I like the silvery shimmer.



Suzi & The Lifeguard. Shimmery light pink. The shimmer in this baby-pink shade is very fine, almost to the point of being a frost. Very cute, very sweet. It reminds me of seashells.


I have very mixed feelings about this collection. Nothing in this collection really excites me. On one hand, it's all very work-appropriate, conservative and feminine and will most likely be a well-loved collection by a lot of women. On the other hand, it's too safe and there's really not a unique shade in the whole collection.

I do really like a few of the shades- Overexposed In South Beach, Miami Beet, Bronzed To Perfection, Done Out In Deco, OPI On Collins Ave. Wait... that's almost half the collection, isn't it? Okay, I like half the collection. That's reasonable. I was just hoping to really love the entire thing, like I have with so many OPI collections in the past.

I will admit that I know absolutely nothing about South Beach. The only thing that comes to mind when I think of South Beach is the South Beach Diet. I can picture the cover of the book, a metallic shade of green and aqua. Sparkling sea water. And that's what I think is missing from the collection. Water! South Beach is still a beach, and beaches have water, right? This collection could have used a seafoam green, an ocean blue, even a turquoise or a mother-of-pearl seashell shade. When I think of beaches, I think of fun, lively colors- swimsuits, sparkling water, beach balls, tropical drinks, sunshine. The OPI South Beach seems like a sleepy, vacant beach next to a retirement home. The colors look weathered and washed out, like they need a new coat of paint.

I know, I'm probably in the minority here, but I feel like this collection is missing something.

That being said, I'll move on to application issues. There are none. These polishes apply amazingly well, they're silky smooth and most shades only need two coats for complete opacity. Even with one coat, these colors aren't streaky or uneven at all. OPI must have really been working on their three-free formula, because this is a huge improvement! No running, no globbing, no overly thick polish. Just perfect. Dreamy, even.

That's my take on it. I don't love it, but I don't hate it. It's just okay. I wish they would have been a little more 'risky' in the color choices, or at least had a little more variety within the collection. Red, red, pink, pink, pink, nude, brown, purple. Maybe OPI has something really super-exciting planned for us in upcoming seasons. What do you think?