I really loved the light pinks from this collection, delicate and work appropriate. My favorite from this collection is Cubby Cheeks – it reminds me lobsters. : )
(WTH is that… ectoplasm?)
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I know what you guys must be thinking – is she really posting a Valentine’s Day mani… in September. I know, I know, but I’m trying to catch up on my mani photo back log. Back in February I decided against posting this mani, mainly because everyone else’s Valentine’s Day manis were so elaborated and beautiful. Mine paled in comparison.
I’m a pretty big fan of the Maybelline heart polishes. Sadly, I’ve only been able to snag one bottle over the years because the displays are ALWAYS empty when I find them. My sole lonely heart polish is Clearly In Love and it’s comprised of medium grain silver glitter suspended in clear polish with silver holographic hearts. Some girls complain about the application of these polishes. They’re finicky because the hearts are big and heavy enough to make it fairly difficult to apply strategically using the brush. If you want a random pattern of hearts, like in my picture above, just use the brush. If you want your hearts strategically placed, try using the fine point of an orange wood stick to pick the hearts off the brush and position the hearts carefully on the nail. This mani used two coats of the Maybelline Clearly in Love.
The base color here is Essie Status Symbol, a mid-tone pink and a semi-jelly consistency, from the Spring 2009 Collection. Speaking of Essie – take a minute to take their survey. They’re trying to fine tune their customer service and you can get a promo code for a prize after completing the survey.
]]>In any case, I know you’ve all seen it but here’s Color Club Catwalk Queen Collection. Like Femme Fatale, this collection is composed of sheers and solids that can be mixed, matched, and layered. I like this collection but it’s a little depressing looking at these pictures. The photos are from a few months ago, my nails were so long back then. Man, the bar exam takes away everything.
Catwalk Queen, the collection namesake, is a vampy tyrian purple with complex amethyst and subtle blue shimmer. This swatch was 3 coats but this polish is pigmented enough that coverage would be fine with just 2 coats. (This image is a little blurry because I was trying to capture the shimmer – I failed. The shimmer is way more obvious in person.)
Fashion Addict is my favorite from this collection. Lilac holographic? Sign me up. The holo is medium grain like the holos in the Femme Fatale collection. Like Worth the Risque and Revvvolution, the holo has a greenish cast. The polish gets darker with each layer so it’s slightly lighter with 2 coats, this picture is 3 coats.
Here’s a shot of the holo flash. I hope Color Club does a few more holos in the future because these were just superb. Personally, I would love to see a dark green holo.
Front Row Diva is an extremely pale gray that leans towards lavender, it has a pearl finish. It’s chic and work appropriate – which is pretty much all I’m wearing now so I’m stocking up on colors like this and you’ll see plenty of them featured here in the months to come.
Runway Muse is one of those sadly deceptive duochromes. In the bottle, it’s a predominately green duochrome that flashes pink. On the nail, it’s a frosty sheer with pink shimmer that only flashes a subtle green rarely. I so wish that the bottle appearance was comparable to the on nail result, nonetheless, it’s pretty amazing over black. Scrangie has all the sheers from both the Femme Fatale collection and the Catwalk Queen collection over black on her site.
Vintage Couture. Scrangie called this a mod lilac pink baby creme and that’s definitely the best description for this color so I’m going to steal it from her. It’s pinker on the nail than I expected but it’s still pretty stark. The application was finicky. I forgot to write down exactly how many coats I used but if I remember correctly, I believe it took 4 to even everything out.
Ready to Wear is my current NOTD and as you can see my nails are little yellow nubbins right now. *More sobs* Ready to Wear is a frosty opalescent sheer with warm pink shimmer. Usually sheers like this require 4 layers but I actually got good coverage with 2 coats, but since my nails are so yellow, I went ahead and added another layer. Edit: I’ve been wearing this color for a full day now and I want to revise my review. It’s definitely a duochrome, it’s not really noticeable until you see it in sunlight. It flashes a warm light coppery gold tone, almost some what metallic. The mixture of the gold and the pink reminds me of a sunset. I love it when colors present surprises in the sunlight.
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In any case, to get back into the regular flow of nail polish blogging I’m starting off with the Lancome Pink Irreverence Collection which is in stores now. I have the Lancome Le Magnetiques but this is my first rodeo with their Le Vernis line. These are some pricey polishes but I have to say I’m pretty impressed overall. The formula for both these colors is excellent – smooth, perfect application. The brush size and wand length is absolute perfection. The wand is just long enough to keep the polish flowing consistently without cuticle pooling. The brush is like a toned-down version of OPI’s Pro-wide, making Lancome’s brush shape and size just perfect for the shape of my nails. My one major critizism is that Lancome opted to go with the non-removable square cap. Other companies like Chanel and Butter London make the square cap removable, which is preferrable because square caps can be awkward to hold. With that said, I love the over all style of the bottle – mirrorred cap and a sleek bottle body with a mirrored silver rose stamped in the corner.
(Ahhh, I’m kicking myself right now because I had such elaborate meticulous notes concerning this color.) Piha Black is black (I’m captain obvious) with glass fleck glitter. My picture doesn’t properly exhibit the sparkliness of the glitter – it’s visible but not in an ‘in your face’ kind of way. There are a few blacks with glass fleck glitter that have varying prices and are different degrees of rarity on the market. Just to name a few, there’s Dior Black Sequins, Sally Hansen Salon Raven’s Wing, OPI Baby It’s Coal Outside, Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Black Diamond and Pure Ice Electric. You can see comparisons of a few those on Steph’s Closet and if I can ever get it together, I’ll have comparisons of the latter 3. Without having side-by-side swatches for true comparitive value and by only eye balling the bottles, my initial impression is that none of these look exactly alike. There are slight variations in the depth of the black as well as the luster and density of the glitter for each polish, however, if you’re on a recession budget the lower end polishes (that Pure Ice will only set you back $1.50, tops) might be worth your consideration. What makes Piha Black stand out from the others, at least for me, is that it’s completely opaque in one coat. Making it not only perfect for nail art as pictured below, but also saving application and giving you double bang for your buck.
Sassiness is a soft translucent pink, perfect for french manicures. The subtle genius of the Pink Irrevence Collection is the dichotomy between the edgy black and the feminine pink… which together… kick butt. Instead of doing a traditional funky french, I decided to do a chevron and a half moon just for illustration purposes, I absolutely love the way these colors compliment each other. My index and middle fingers are 4 coats of Sassiness. It applies perfectly so one coat looked excellent but I wanted to test buildability. Sadly, it doesn’t build. Sassiness looks pretty much the same at 4 coats as it does at 2 coats, which is pretty much the hallmark of a good french manicure base color. I can only hope that the colection’s designer, Aaron De Mey, is secretly attempting to usher Lancome into the realm of nail art. I hope Lancome takes the plunge.
]]>I like the approach that Barielle took to Spring. Now wait, before you throw stones, let me explain. This Spring collection is not very Spring-like, it’s all work-safe variations of pinks and a sheer taupe, whereas traditional Spring colors tend to be bright. Barielle probably would have gotten fire from me for releasing a collection like this with nothing more. But, Elle and Barielle, knowing best, released the Spring and Summer collections nearly simultaneously. Together, these collections contain something for everyone and my irrational (irrational because soon I won’t be able to wear them) desire for out of the ordinary colors is well met. (I’ll have swatches of Barielle Summer 2009 soon but Scrangie already has some excellent swatches for your viewing pleasure.)
As an aside, I’m trying a different approach to my swatching. I’m going to be using for left hand for a little while in order to get swatching done a faster. I’m sure you have all noticed that I’m really behind on the Spring collections so I’m playing catch up. The added benefit is that my left hand is no where near as yellowed as my right hand so you’ll get more accurate swatches. Bare with me as I get the kinks worked out, photographing my left hand is still very awkward.
Barielle Nauti Gal is a translucent taupe with tiny flecks of translucent glitter. It’s a great professional/work appropriate shade. I’m a little disappointed in it only because it looks opaque in the bottle. I am a huge fan of taupe so I was really excited for this color only to find that it applied sheer. I love sheers but I just can’t wear them properly anymore, my nails are just too yellow. Nauti Gal applies very well. Not a streak in sight so this would make an excellent french manicure color at 1 or 2 coats. Even though it applies sheer, it is build-able so at 3 to 4 coats you get a semi-translucent nearly opaque shade of taupe. If my nails weren’t so horrifyingly yellow, this color would be stunning. This swatch is 4 coats.
Sailor’s Delight is a somewhat muted although vivid medium pink creme, very flattering. At first glance I thought it was going to be too pink to be considered professional but on my skin-tone the color tones down and the muted-ness of the pink becomes more pronounced. I suspect it might look different on girls with lighter skin. The consistency of the polish is chalky but it applies well, this is 3 coats.
Beaches and Dreams is a very light sandy-ish creamy peach creme (a little tough to describe haha). I think it might be too stark for an ultra-conservative office but it’d be perfect any where else. I really like this color, it’s like a peachier version of Color Club Coastal Creme. It’s my favorite from this set.
Skinny Dip is a delicate muted pink nude sheer. It’s perfect for french manicures at 1 or 2 coats but the color is build-able. This swatch is 4 coats with no top coat.
Sand-al Chic is less muted than Skinny Dip and more pink. It’s also makes an excellent french manicure shade but builds well. This is 4 coats with no top coat.
And finally, Shell Shock is a slightly lighter than a traditional barbie pink. It’s sheer like Skinny Dip and Sand-al Chic but I don’t think it would make a good french manicure color because it’s a little too bright. Also I had trouble with the application. This is 4 coats. The color applies smoothly but the sheerness is such that it takes some effort to build it properly.
]]>Celine is looking for a Zoya that her friend used to wear, it’s a neon orange-y pink creme. In my opinion, Maya is the closest thing to that description.
Eva is a bright rose pink creme. This is the type of ‘bright’ polish that is excellent for people who feel like they can’t wear bright colors because it’s not as showy as other brights tend to be.
Fergie (some bottles might say ‘Feigie’) is a funky pink-toned purple creme. It’s a little brighter in person.
Kali is a bright crimson-toned pink creme. It’s not as bright as the others in the set but still summer-y.
And finally, Maya, which is a unique semi-jelly bright pinkish coral creme. This one is my favorite from this set.
Zoya is running a promotional nail polish exchange. Send them your old unwanted polishes and they’ll send you any Zoyas of your choice. They charge 3 dollars per bottle for shipping and processing. I heard on the nail board that the last day that Zoya will accept packages containing polishes for the promotion is this Saturday, February 28th, so it’s not too late to participate if you hurry.
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We have to face it, I don’t think we (I mean ‘we’ as in the people who have a psychotic appreciation for nail color) are the target demographic for most companies. I don’t think anyone would disagree, these are pretty colors but most people who collect nail polish probably feel like they’ve seen it, done it, and done it some more. I’m an exception only because I’m stock-piling work appropriate colors for my legal debut in May and I’ve long accepted that the repetition of red and pink nail polish is just a fact of life (like mosquito bites and chicken pox). But, I can definitely sympathize with everyone’s desire to see Essie step outside of it’s company image.
With all that said, look at the magic that happens when Essie does decide to take a stroll on the wild side and throw collection caution to the wind:
Holy &%$#! Essie Mesmerize, in all her glory, is a medium blue cream. (I think it’s Super Man blue but my roommates told me I have no idea what I’m talking about.) The color accuracy of the image is a bit off, Mesmerize is a slightly darker blue in real life. Oh man, this is one gorgeous, unique color. Seriously, can we get a slow clap going for this color? Mesmerize is so out of the ordinary for Essie that it almost looks kind of weird in the Essie bottle, like it doesn’t belong. The application was good but a little thicker than the other colors in this collection. It could have worked with 2 coats, but I preferred 3. I got a mega ton of compliments while wearing this polish, a testament to its awesomeness. This is definitely my favorite color of the season so far. I consider it a ‘must own’. But, beware, I suggest wearing a good base coat with this color or you will end up with smurf fingers.
Eternal Optimist is a pink toned nude. This is a great ‘work appropriate’ color. It’s a lighter, less pink version of Rescue Beauty Lounge Om. Eternal Optimist is definitely not a dead on dupe but certainly the closest I’ve seen so far and a good enough substitute. This swatch is 3 coats of color.
Flawless is a muted Barbie pink. Pretty and delicate, but probably not appropriate for ultra conservative work places – A-Okay for every where else. This is 3 coats.
Status Symbol is a mid-toned pink with a semi-jelly consistency. I wore this with Maybelline Clearly in Love layered over it as my pre-Valentine’s Day manicure (I haven’t gotten a chance to post about this manicure yet but I promise I will, even though, I guess it’s a little late now. haha.) This swatch is 3 coats but I feel like it would have looked better with 4th.
One of a Kind is a red/orange/coral cream, similar to my beloved Color Club Sexsea. One of a Kind is slightly less extravagant, more toned down. It applied well in 2 coats, but I used 3 for this photo.
Lacquered Up is a bright, bright, bright true red creme. It exudes sexiness. I wore Lacquered Up to a party and it quickly became a topic of conversation. The application was exceptional, perfect in two coats.
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In any case, on to the polish talk. Zoya’s newest collection Twist is delicate but edgy Spring installation. Zoya played it a little safe here. Most of these colors are what I consider traditional spring colors but I really love a few polishes from Twist. I had no application issues with any of these colors. All these images are 3 coat of color, 1 coat of base coat and top coat.
Cassi, a pinkish coral with glitzy multi-dimensional irridescent shimmer, is delicate with a twist. Zoya calls it peach, I disagree. This is the type of color I think of when I think of Spring.
Harley is a shimmery light gray. I’m a little bit at a loss as to how to describe the shimmer… it reminds me of concrete, course dark silver shimmer. I love it; Harley is definitely my favorite from this collection. It seems as though nail polish companies are finally jumping on the gray band wagon. Although I wish it had happened a little sooner, I do continue to love these shades.
Malia is a gorgeous lilac creme. This is my second favorite from this collection. Malia is a shade darker than OPI Do You Lilac It? and a few shades lighter than China Glaze Spontaneous (both of which can be seen here.)
Moxie, a vibrant deep raspberry, is another favorite from this collection. It reminded me a lot of the coveted OPI My Throne For a Cranberry Scone, but MTFaCS is actually darker than Moxie. Moxie is an excellent choice for anyone who hasn’t been able to get their hands on MTFaCS. The other potential dupe was China Glaze Designer Satin but it’s, surprisingly, brighter than Moxie.
Barbie is a good name for this color. It’s a Barbie pink with subtle pink shimmer (which didn’t show in my photograph at all). The shimmer is very similar to the shimmer found in China Glaze Pink Underground but the base color of Pink Underground is deeper than Barbie’s base color.
Finally, Jo is a periwinkle blue with silvery blue shimmer. This picture is a little more blue than the actual color which is lighter (I apologize, photographing blues and purples is still extremely difficult even with my new camera and lighting set up.) The base color is similar to China Glaze Secret Peri-wink-le but Jo has a depth to it that comes from the shimmer.
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(Please take note of my side comment in the Cool Set post concerning the color accuracy of these swatches.)
China Glaze Admire is a pink metallic-y shimmer. The warm set is much more ‘feminine’ that the cool set so I figured this color belonged to the warm set.
China Glaze Delight is a metallic-y brown. Love this one. I have a soft spot for brown cremes, but every once in a while a shimmery one finds it’s way into favor as well.
China Glaze Emotion is like… metallic pink bubble gum. I’m not sure how I feel about this one. In a way, it’s unique. I think I have to wear it as a full manicure to make a final decision.
China Glaze Magical is a sort of pinky-taupe metallic. Scrangie hated it, I love it. This is one is borderline work appropriate, if you can get away with slightly out of the ordinary work polish.
China Glaze Passion is an antique gold. This one is my absolute favorite from this collection. It’s very wearable. In my opinion, it’s not too yellow. I’m always looking for the perfect gold for when I finally try the MAC Antiquitease mani I’ve been meaning to do – I think Passion is it.
Finally, China Glaze Poetic is a… uh… bronze-y pink/peach? It’s a strange color. I’m not sure how I feel about it.
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Since I didn’t know what to expect, I took my pink, wore it, liked it, threw it in with the rest of the stash and moved on to other colors. A little while after that, someone posted on MUA requesting suggestions for a milky off-white. Another person suggested Bubble Bath. I thought it was a weird suggestion because Bubble Bath was clearly pink, not white. So I said something to that effect in the thread. We argued back and forth a while, both of us utterly baffled at how the other could mistake what was so clearly one color for another color. Eventually another member clued us in that we were both right. The more recent version of Bubble Bath was pink. The original Bubble Bath was, in fact, white.
I hunted around for this version for a really long time and couldn’t find anywhere. I had just about given up when Dami of Perfectly Polished Tips hooked me up with a bottle. I love this soft off-white milky color way more than the subsequent pink version. However, to my major shock, the pink version which is OPI’s new formula, applied better than the the white version which is OPI’s old formula. The common belief is that OPI’s older formula is vastly superior to the newer big 3 free formula but that’s definitely not the case with this color. I had to use something like 5 coats of color with the white version and it was fairly streaky. The pink version was perfect in 3 coats, very easy to apply.
Here they are, the sneaky polishes together. The original version does seem to have a slightly pinkish tinge. This leads me to believe (and this is all conjecture) that it is possible that the new version is a mistake, too much pink pigment in the batch. However, the color is so different that I wonder whether OPI purposefully changed the color of Bubble Bath. I’d email them and ask but I have a feeling the answer would be “we didn’t change the color.” *cues X-files music*
(Sorry, I’m watching the final disc of entire X-files series right now. I have been unduly influenced. haha.)
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Zoya Felicity is rose with subtle pink and gold sparkly shimmer. It’s work appropriate with a kick. This swatch is 3 coats.
Zoya Laurie is jelly-like sheer pale baby pink cream. It’s opaque at 4 coats but can be worn at varying levels of sheerness with less coats. Laurie is more cute than it is professional, I probably wouldn’t wear this one in really conservative officers.
Zoya Lulu, a jelly-like sheer light peach, is one my favorites from this collection. It reminds me of Rescue Beauty Lounge Starfish Patrick but it’s not a dupe. Lulu is not as bright, however, I think this would be a good substitute for anyone who hasn’t taken the RBL plunge yet. Lulu takes 4 coats for opacity but can be worn with fewer like Laurie.
Zoya Miley, a jelly-like sheer pale lilac cream, has been one of my favorite Zoyas for a really long time. I’ve been on a mission to spread my love for it since I first tried it on. It was one of my choices for the Zoya Mini-Collection promotion last year and I also ROAK’d it to Dami of Perfectly Polish Tips. She raved about it as well. Like Lulu and Laurie this is a 4 coater if you want bottle color but it can be worn with fewer coats.
Zoya Penelope, a dusty mauve cream, is a Mom color. It’s chic and professional. This swatch was 3 coats.
Zoya Zanna is a muted dusty rose cream. As many of you know, I have a thing for dusty versions of traditional colors so I’m really digging Zanna. This swatch was 3 coats.
]]>We’re finally approaching the top 10 in the countdown. Number 11 is an exhibitionist, OPI Designer Series Exclusive.
Don’t mind my bottle, it’s a little jacked-up. Exclusive is an older color and I believe I received it in a swap. I’m a pretty huge fan of holographic nail polish in general but there is something particularly beautiful about Exclusive.
My love for this color is surprising because I’m really not a fan of pinks but Exclusive is just so… luxurious and exquisite. My picture above just does not do it justice. The nail wheel swatch to the left is more accurate in showing the amount of bling one should expect from Exclusive. As you can see, this color goes all out. Love it.
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Zoya Gweneth, a crimson creme that pulls towards pink, is my second favorite from this set of swatches. It takes 2 to 3 coats for opacity.
Zoya Jewell is a bright hot pink with very subtle purple shimmer that adds dimension to the color. It’s so subtle you can’t even see it in the pictures. It’s nearly invisible in real life too, however, I haven’t seen it outside so it is possible that the shimmer pops in the sunlight. It takes 2 to 3 coats for opacity.
Zoya Morgan is my favorite from this set of swatches. I’m usually not a huge pink fan but this one, I LOVE. I’d call this creme, Hollywood Cerise (as per wiki haha). This one has exceptional application, perfect in 2 coats but I preferred adding a 3rd.
Zoya Trinity is a hot magenta with purple flash shimmer. It has a metallic-y feel to it but I wouldn’t label it as such. It takes 2 to 3 coats for opacity.
For any one who has made requests in the past, I apologize for the lengthy delays. I promise I will have all requests up soon, bear with me. Also, I haven’t gotten a chance to reply to comments in the last few posts yet but I will soon. : )
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With all that said, even though I’m 2 months late with this post, purchasing this color is for a good, deserving cause. OPI donates $25,000 every year to Susan G. Komen for The Cure. I don’t believe the donation is tied to the purchase of the polish but I still think it’s an excellent way to show support for the search for a cure to breast cancer. Last year’s Pink of Hearts was gorgeous so I have high hopes for next year’s installment, assuming OPI continues to relaunch variations of Pink of Hearts for breast cancer month. This mani was 1 coat OPI Start to Finish base coat, 4 coats of Pink of Hearts (it’s very very sheer, but not streaky), and 1 coat of Seche Vite.
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This color is so subtle, so chic, just perfect. As completely ridiculous as this may sound, I rarely wear colors more than once but I’ve worn OPI Tickle My France-y a whopping 3 times. This color has become my go-to ‘professional’ color. As some of you may know, I’m applying for a position as an Assistant State Attorney. It’s a 3 round interview process. I’ve worn TMFy to two of the interviews already and plan to wear it one more time this Monday for my final interview. I almost feel like this color gives me confidence, maybe even a little bit of luck. If I get the job on Monday, I guess we’ll know for sure. Even if TMF-y isn’t bestowed with magical job granting powers, it’s still an excellent color. It definitely belongs in everyone’s collection. (You can read my original post about TMF here.)
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