Chanel Fall 2008 - Gold Fiction and Kaleidoscope Swatches

Gold Fiction. As you can see, it's a light metallic yellow gold. Is it nice? Definitely. Is it worth $30? Hell no. There are other gold polishes out there. This isn't so unique that you'll never be able to find a match. Sure, it's really beautiful, but I don't think the price is justified, even if it is more expensive to make. It also comes in an opaque bottle so you can't see how much is left.



Kaleidoscope. This, on the other hand, is totally worth the price tag. It's $10 cheaper than Gold Fiction and ten times cooler. It's a silvery metallic greenish sort of color with this mesmerizing microscopic shimmer running through it. Totally stunning. Weird color to be named "Kaleidoscope" but, hey, it's cool, right?

Essie Fall 2008 Swatches!

This collection really surprised me. In the bottles the colors all looked like deep, rich creams but on the nail they pop! They're vibrant, saturated and somewhat translucent. I think it's what you would call a "jelly" finish. Really quite a nice effect, especially in these colors. Definitely unexpected.

They're all very feminine and glamorous, albeit a little "safe". Still, I think these will be perfect for fall and will hold up well against fall fashions.


Big Spender. This is surprisingly bright for a fall polish, but I'm not complaining. It's kind of similar to my favorite Essie Laced-Up Bootie, which was an old Ulta exclusive. Laced-Up Bootie is more muted and purple, but Big Spender is in the same vein.



Forever Young. WHOA! I didn't expect this. In the bottle it looks like a muted red cream, but on the nails it's a super-vibrant bright red with a translucent finish. You can sort of see my nail through it if you look hard enough. Reminds me somewhat of Essie Jelly Apple.


Lacy Not Racy. This looks awesome. I'm not sure how to describe this color- I can't figure out if it's cool or warm. All I know is it looks different on the nail than how it looks in the bottle, and it has that really cool almost see-through finish.


No Boundaries. Isn't this pretty? It's purple-plum, exactly the color I was hoping it would be. It's so smooth and applies effortlessly.


Swept Off My Feet. This is a strange color. It's not ugly, just strange. Like a dusty rose or mauve sort of color, very soft.


Tomboy No More. LOOK AT THIS! Holy smokes, this color is sexy! I don't even wear reds and I love this. It has the same awesome translucent jelly finish, but the color is so jewel-like, like a ruby or garnet or something. I'm not too good with my gemstones, but I know I could picture this on a queen's crown.


Overall, I'm happy with these. They all applied wonderfully, the polish was so smooth and just the right consistency. While they are very 'safe' colors, I can still see myself wearing them. The colors aren't terribly unique, but the finish is- I love the jelly texture of these, it's something I don't see very often. I thought they would be a lot darker, but they're really not very dark at all!

Zoya Fall 2008 Preview

I got a new Art of Beauty catalogue with my Zoya order today, and it had a preview of the fall polishes!

Excuse the awful picture, I was so excited I had to take a picture of the catalogue in the dark. Yes, I am easily excited. ;-)

Pulse - 6 Glamorous Metallics:

Sloane, Mikka, Blair, Colbie, Rihanna, Jacy


Vibe - 6 Lush Creams
Asia, Nina, Sam, Riley, Alix, Dakota

I can't wait to see these in person! Fall collections are always my favorite, and these look right up my alley. Dark, vampy, glamorous!

Essie Fall 2008

Here's a little teaser:


Tomboy No More, Swept Off My Feet, No Boundaries, Lacy Not Racy, Forever Young, Big Spender.


It's pitch black here, so I can't really do swatches, but I promise that if the sun comes out tomorrow I'll be sure to swatch!

Initial impressions: WOW! Fall! Vampy! PURPLE!!!

Random Swatches: OPI, Zoya, Misa and Urban Decay

Following up on a couple requests, here's OPI Mod About You for Tabe-Chan:


As you can see, it's a milky "white out" pink, very stark but also very cool. I like the way this stands out.

For Kittylamour, here's Misa Passion 4 Fashion:

It's a deep dark espresso shade that looks super rich. It also doesn't make my hands look red! Bonus.

And, here's some random swatches just because.


Following the brown trend, here's Borghese Espresso Brown F. I love the brush in this, it's the perfect shape! Maybe if the OPI Pro Wide brushes were shaped more like this they'd be easier to use. It's apparently two small brushes next to each other, but it's slightly rounded on the ends. It fans out perfectly at the cuticle and makes just the right shape.



Misa Moody Model. Like melted milk chocolate, right?



Zoya Pasha. I'm not sure what color this is, but I love it! Is it grey? Taupe? I have no idea. Whatever it is, it has this fine silver frost running though it that in certain lights gives the illusion of a blue reflection. Extremely unique, in my opinion.


Here's Pasha with a thin coat of Zoya Sparkle Gloss topcoat. Sparkle gloss is really interesting, it has very fine flat flecks of shimmer that look white. It's really sparkly but it doesn't look glittery at all. It almost reminds me of the edible glitter I used to use when making cakes.




Urban Decay Id. I tried to capture the green reflection in this, but I don't think I did a very good job. This color is amazing, it changes from gold reflection to green reflection depending on the light. Lots of pretty gold shimmer, and it has a "jelly" finish to it. Why on earth did they discontinue these?!?! They were awesome!


Petites Dare. This is another polish that has those flat glitter flecks. They look like tiny pieces of chopped up cellophane or something. I'm growing fond of these flaky-looking glitters.

What other brands have some good "flaky" glitter polishes? I have CND Limelight, but I need MORE!! What are your favorites?

Random Swatch: Rescue Beauty Lounge Au Chocolat

As much as I love all the colors of the rainbow, there are certain colors that I just seem to have an affinity for- brown would be one of them.

Fall is my favorite season- if it was October all year round I'd be ecstatic- and a few polish colors really remind me of fall. Gold, copper, bronze, orange and most of all, brown. Needless to say I have quite a few brown polishes, ranging from chocolate milk colored to fresh dirt colored. I like brown shimmer, brown creme, brown glitter, brown frost, you name it, I'm there.

Out of all my brown creme polishes, I've found a new love: Rescue Beauty Lounge Au Chocolat.



Here's Au Chocolat. It's the perfect dark chocolate shade without a hint of shimmer. It makes me want to put on a warm fuzzy sweater and go for a walk in the crisp, cold autumn air. Unfortunately, it's July and I have to suffer through a few more months of summer.

But, still. Look how pretty that is. I feel like my nails don't do it justice. It's perfect.

I know most people don't consider brown to be a beautiful color- in fact, I think most people find it boring, but I love it. If I can't convince you, check out The Polish Addict's swatches of gorgeous, vampy brown colors. There's a chocolate shade to fit every skintone, and I think you should really give one a try!

Scrangie's Nail Care Must-Haves!

In response to a request from lovely reader Gef, here's what I use to maintain my nails:

TOOLS:
Glass File (I like OPI's and Essie's)
Buffer (cheap three-ways from nail supplies work well)
Metal Cuticle Pusher (Round on one end with a pointy thing on the other)
Cuticle Nippers (must be extremely sharp and clean!)
Nail Brush (cheap disposable ones that I change out often, used every time I wash my hands)

Treatments:
Creative Nail Design Cuticle Remover (the clear gel in the big squeeze bottle)
Creative Nail Design Solar Oil
Creative Nail Design Cuticle Eraser
Qtica Intense Cuticle Repair Balm
Qtica Half Time Drying Drops
OPI Nail Envy
Seche Vite (or Poshe)
Cutex Original Nail Polish Remover (or if I'm feeling fancy, Zoya Remove+)

So, there are my absolute must-haves. Now, how to go about using them...

My basic routine is mostly upkeep. I never really take much length off my nails so I usually just file them to maintain their shape. When I do a full manicure, it goes something like this:

1. Remove old polish
2. File nails to desired shape using glass file.
   
3. Apply CND Cuticle Remover and wait a minute.
4. Begin pushing back cuticles and cleaning up around sides of nails and under nails with metal cuticle pusher. Be gentle, but remove as much as you can.
5. Wash off cuticle remover and scrub hands with a grainy sugar scrub.
6. Using cuticle nippers, cut only what's hanging off or sticking up. I never actually cut my cuticles, but if I have a hangnail or just too much excess cuticle I carefully trim it.
7. Gently buff nails with 3-way buffer. I only do this if I need to. Too much buffing weakens my nails, so I only buff when they look rough.
8. Apply tons of lotion and Solar Oil.

Pretty simple, nothing fancy, but that's how I do my manicures.

Now for the "treatments" portion of the list. You'll notice that I have a lot of favorites. I love cuticle oil and cuticle balm and I apply it several times during the day. With the CND Cuticle Eraser, I apply that once or twice a day, sometimes only every other day or whenever I remember to. I also like Poshe's AHA Cuticle Therapy- it comes in a better tube with a label that doesn't peel off and it doesn't smell like rotten lemon juice.

The Solar Oil (or OPI Avoplex, which I also love) I apply constantly. I have the big bottle near my couch, so whenever I'm watching TV I apply it a few times. It soaks in really quickly, so you can apply it repeatedly without getting greasy fingers. I buy tons of mini bottles and stash them all over- in my purse, in the bathroom, in my car, in the kitchen, everywhere. Apply the oil every time you see it.

The Qtica Intense Cuticle Repair Balm is special. It's a new favorite of mine and I don't know how I didn't find this sooner. It's super thick, rich and a little sticky- perfect for after you wash your hands. It really locks in moisture and it's so soothing on dry cuticles. I put this on before bed also.

OPI Nail Envy is one of my favorite treatments, but I'm also really digging Qtica Natural Nail Growth Stimulator. I use them as a base coat before polish. They seem to prevent chipping and staining quite well, with the added benefit of strengthening your nails at the same time. If I'm using a base coat, I like it to double as a treatment. I used to use Nailtek II Foundation, but I've misplaced my bottle and have no idea where I left it.

As a topcoat, I always use either Seche Vite or Poshe. I tend to favor Seche Vite because it seems to dry a bit faster, but Poshe seems a little shinier. Anyway, I don't know what I would do without these! The way to use them, if you've never used them before, is to apply it directly on top of wet polish. You get a decent sized bead on the brush and you spread it over the nail. it will even itself out, but it does start drying right away. Once you apply the topcoat, your nails will be dry to the touch in a minute or two and completely dry in 10-15 minutes. To speed it up, I use Qtica Half Time drying drops. All you do with the drops is drop a tiny amount onto each nail and it protects your polish while it's drying and helps it to dry faster. They rock.


So, there you have it. My bare necessities, my basic nail care must haves!