Shakeup Your Makeup

I have read about several sightings of the Hunger Games / CoverGirl collaboration, but hadn't seen it in the stores until this past weekend.  What a gorgeous collection.  I fell l in love with two of the nail colors (although all of them are stunning), so today I present to you Scalding Emerald.  This is a very sheer, gray jelly base, with green and gold flecks.  Very sheer, this would be gorgeous!  

Below is 3 coats.    

Happy Second Day of Fall!  I have been waiting for the cooler weather to hit, because now it means sweaters, boots, and of course, rich neutrals!  Walmart had a massive Sinful Colors display up when I went in this weekend, and this color just spoke to me - Dark Bronze.  And, you guessed it, it's a dark bronze color!  Actually, these pictures give it a bit more gold and less of the olive undertones that I see in natural light, but still a gorgeous shade.  This is a shimmer, but nothing over the top.  It actually is relatively muted, and kind of muddy.  

Click any picture for a larger view.  

A few weeks back I spotted the new entry into the UV/Gel nails: Nutra Nail Gel Perfect UV-Free Gel-Color.  I think Walgreens had four colors total available, and I chose Dahlia, the darkest shade in the group. 

These Nutra Nail Gel Perfect collections are a non-UV, gel nail colors, that dry in 5 minutes or less and protect nails from breaking with a patent-leather shine.  Each set comes with three bottles:

1.  Nutra Nail 5 Minute Gel Polish "Activator" (the larger polish with the red label)

2.  Cleaner (small bottle with white lid).  This was actually clear, but I used this before I snapped pictures.  As you'll see below, this is used to clean the brush on the actual nail color, hence the fact that the cleaner is now a deep maroon too!

3.  Gel Color - bottle with the black lid.

Below is a closeup of the color I purchased - Dahlia.  This is a cream chocolate maroon.   A beautiful color for fall and winter, I have worn this on my fingers, but will be using this as my pedicure shortly. 

So, the next question is, how do you do this without UV?  I took a picture of the instructions, or you can go over to Nutra Nail's website and click here to see them.  It's really pretty easy.  I would suggest laying everything out in advance, though - that will make it even easier.

1. First, make sure you have a clean work space, and a towel or paper towel that you can use to dry the brush off after cleaning.

2. Open/unscrew all your bottles, but leave the brushes in them. 

3.  Brush one coat of applicator on 5 nails.  Apply liberally, but don't go overboard.  You just want the nails to look wet or shiny.  Do not let this activator dry, and do not touch it, before you move onto the next step.

4.  Apply one, thin, coat of the gel nail color.  This is a very thin "polish" or color, so don't be surprised if it bleeds out, or spreads out on the nail more than a standard nail polish. 

5.  Clean the brush in the cleaner, and dry on your paper towel.  You will want to keep this cleaning step and repeat every 5 nails.

6.  Repeat Steps 3-5 on your other 5 nails.

7.  Repeat for a second coat - you will need to do this to achieve full coverage of the color. 

You can clean the activator and color brushes in the "cleaner" bottle.  This will help avoid buildup.

Below are my swatches of my first attempt.  I will say, because of the fluidity of the color, having accuracy upon application is a lot more difficult than it is with standard nail polish.  All in all, I was very impressed with my mani seeing as this was my first attempt! 

Overall thoughts?  I actually liked this.  The product does leave my nails stronger and thicker (due to the polish and activator, not because it is making my nails healthier).  The activator reminds me of nail glue - maybe it is, maybe it isn't, but that's what it reminds me of!  The color dried impeccably smooth and shiny.  Probably shinier than anything I've used before, including Seche Vite.  I didn't wake up with any fabric marks on my manicure, so when it says it dries in 5 minutes, it means it!  The actual product lasted on my nails for a good 10 days before anything began to chip off.  I should have taken a final picture, but I was so anxious to try some of my newer polishes I picked up that I didn't even thinking about it.  So, with that being said, make sure it's a color you really like, because you'll be wearing it for a while!  I think this would be great for a pedicure, simply because of the shine, strength and lasting power.  I tend to leave my pedi's the same for a longer period of time, so it makes sense for me to have something that can last that long. 

So, bottom line, would I buy this again?  I certainly would!  My only request would be to have more color options at the store - I like to see them in real life, not a computer generated swatch, so I probably won't order anything online.  The colors available online definitely surpass those at the store.  This is a pricey venture, too.  At $13.99 for a set, I would like to see the individual colors available.  I don't know that I need to buy the entire package again - I have plenty of activator and cleaner left from my first manicure, so if I could buy the color bottle alone, that would be nice, too.  On a side note, there are coupons available online if you are interested in trying these out, and are turned off by the price.  I'm not sure how much an actual professional gel manicure costs, but I would think that the costs of the at home version is close to 50% off of the cost of a salon version.

One more thing, I almost forgot.  This does suggest using the remover associated with this system, but I'll be honest, I used 100% acetone and didn't have a problem at all. 

So, seeing as this is fairly new, have you seen this or given it a try yet?  I know one reader posted earlier on my "spotted" post, but would like to see what others think too!

Avon Nailwear Pro in Vintage Boutique.  This is a deep khaki/gray creme, leaning more on the warmer side.  Depending on the light, it can look brown to an almost pale brownish lavender.  In my opinion, it's more of a brown with grey undertones, kind of like the color of melted milk chocolate.  Although it may look a little dull in the bottle, when applied this is a gorgeous color, especially for fall. 

I don't know if Avon has updated the formula or not, but this applied extremely well.  This is three coats, although I probably could have only used two.  The nail polish dries so shiny too, which is different than some of the older shades I've used in the Avon line. 

Side note, sorry for the blurry picture.  I used my camera phone instead of my actual camera since the battery has died on it and needs to be charged. 

(natural light)

(Flash)

Today I bring you Sally Hansen Insta-Dry Fast Dry Nail Color in Bronze Ablaze.  This is from the Fall 2011 collection for Sally Hansen.  Bronze Ablaze is a little bit of a chameleon, but not necessarily a duochrome.  Depending on the lighting and/or what you're wearing it looks like a warm bronze with green undertones, or a deep olive green with golden shimmer.  You can see this in the pictures below, depending on the lighting.

Without the flash, the bottle looks green. 

Swatch above, picture taken without the flash.  This is the "green" version of the polish. 

Picture above taken with the flash.  This looks more like a deep penny bronze/copper with the slightest hints of golds and greens (in the bottle).

Swatches are two coats.  This covers really well, and drys quickly (hence the name).  I also added a top coat of Seche Vite just to speed up the process. 

Very, very pretty - this definitely reminds me of fall and the changing leaves.  A gorgeous, warm shade that might satisfy your need for Chanel's Peridot, although it's definitely not a dupe...just a similar type of color.

Just a quick little NOTD using my most recent OPI purchase, "Holiday Glow" from the 2009 Holiday Wishes collection.  This is a very unique color - it's a deep wine/brown shade with tiny golden silver micro glitter.  In the bottle below, you can see the glitter very well, but for some reason the picture of my actual manicure doesn't show the glitter very well.  I really do love this color.  For the holidays you always see bright reds and golds, but this color is so complex and unique, its great to wear any time to really add some drama. 

Better yet, if you have the craving to vamp up your Dell computer, you can get your laptop in the Holiday Glow shade as well!  BEAUTIFUL!