Shakeup Your Makeup

A NOTD from a few weeks back, Essie "For the Twill of It", from their Fall 2013 collection.  This is a dark metallic with magenta, teal and green flashes.  A bit thin, but after two coats it seemed to cover nicely.  

I will say, I want to wear this one again now that my nails have grown out.  I don't care for this on my short nails, but I think on my longer nails I would like it better.  

 

Spring is so close, I can feel it.  In honor of my desperate need to get past the winter blues, I grabbed a bottle I had been holding onto for warmer weather - Flower by Drew Barrymore in "I Lavendare You".  The new line by Drew is a complete collection, including BB Creams, blushes, nail colors, lip sticks and butters, eyeliners and mascaras...you name it.  Most range from $4.98 (as the nailpolish is) $13.98 for the foundations.  Really a nice price for a new cosmetics line. 

 

I picked up the Nail'd It Nail Lacquer in I Lavendare You (below) and a Lip Butter in Haute Honeysuckle.  I will swatch the butter later. 

 

I Lavendare You is a gorgeous, extremely pale lavender shade with just the slightest (and I mean slightest) hint of an iridescent blue shimmer.  It was so slight, it was difficult to capture, but I think you might get the idea in the second picture.   There are a variety of shades, from rich wines to pale nudes, and a couple extravagant colors like a turquoise and orange as well.  The bottles squat square bottles, but easy to hold.  The brush was nice, thin, and applied an even coat.  The actual consistency of I Lavendare You was much thinner, more jelly like than I anticipated.  I guess by looking at it in the bottle, I was expecting an opaque creme, but it did not apply as such.  With that said, I was very pleasantly surprised with the outcome.  

 

 

 

This closeup (above) gives you a feel for the shimmer in this color.  Not over the top at all - in fact, I can't say it actually translated onto the nail.  When I look close up, I do not see any shimmer at all.  Just a pleasant little surprise in the bottle. 

 

Below, my swatches.  See how gorgeous this color is?  I mean, it screams spring.  Just a light, beautiful pastel.  I actually thought of those conversation hearts for Valentine's Day when I saw it on.  This could easily have used one more coat to get full opacity (I did two here), but I am very happy with the color and slight transparency of this.  With one coat, it is streaky, so I would suggest two.  Application was a breeze - runny enough to get a nice thin even coat, but thick enough to hold on when you are getting close to the cuticles.  Dried quickly and didn't shrink with a top coat, which is another added bonus. 

Final verdict?  I will certainly be picking up another color or two in this collection.  I really love this shade, and hopefully the wear will live up to the hype of everything else I have experienced with the color.  I would definite suggest picking this shade, I Lavendare You, if you are needing a little spring pick-me-up.  You won't regret it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.artisticnaildesign.com

 

The Internet was all a-buzz yesterday regarding First Lady Michelle Obama's blue/gray/lavender nail polish that matched her Traci Reese dress for the Democratic National Convention.  Before it was announced that she had worn Artistic Nail Design Colour Gloss in "Vogue", I started shopping my stash to see what I had that was comparable.  The one color I found that really stood out because of the slight shimmer was Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Mystic Lilac.  It's actually been a couple of years since I've swatched this one - funny how some colors come back around.  Below is an updated swatch with Wet 'n Wild's "On the Hunt" on the ring finger (one coat). 

 

 

So what do you think?  Is this dupable for The First Lady's manicure?  What do you think is a good color/dupe?

I snagged this Studio M polish half off the other day when I was getting groceries at Meijer.  I believe it's from their spring/Easter collection and at $1.49 I had to pick it up. 

Cute Chick is a very pale metallic lavender-pink with iridescent microglitter throughout.  I'd say there are even traces of tiny flakies in it too.

Here's a closeup of the side, so you can see the color and the shimmer.

Below is three coats.  This is a very sheer, thin polish.  It's a beautiful color and a nice way to wear color in a subtle way.  This would also be beautiful layered ontop of another color: purple, black, white, etc...

I wanted to try and capture the shimmer in this polish, but my camera died, so I snapped a few shots with my camera phone.  They aren't quite as hi-res as the others, but you get the point.

Like I've said, I really like the color selection of the Studio M polishes.  Yes, they aren't quite as pigmented as some others, but for $2.99 a piece, the selection is nice!

Every once in a while I come across the L.A. Colors nail polish at CVS.  It's hit or miss on when and where they will carry them, but a couple of years ago I stumbled across a set of four Color Craze Metallic polishes.  This is one of them.  None of the colors have a name, so I have dubbed this one "purple".  Creative, I know.

This purple is a deep blue/purple jelly base with purple iridescent glitter.  When I look hard at the polish, especially in the bottle, I get bits of pink, so there may be a pink or magenta glitter in there as well.  Here is a closeup of the bottle so you can see the color - this is about as true-to-life as I could get. 

Three coats below and I got a really nice coverage.  At first I thought it was going to be difficult to get the full opacity, but once I started the second application, it was smooth sailing.  In the sun the sparkle really comes through, otherwise it is a just a really pretty deep purple.  I would exactly call this metallic.  I consider metallic to me more of a foil effect, but this is pretty none the less. 

Also, my very week and last minute attempt at a stamping on my ringer finger.  Not too bad, but I really need to sit down and figure this whole Konad thing out.  I bought one for my sister and myself for Christmas.  She has used it so much that she is an expert now, so I need to go get a tutorial from her!

Happy Monday to everyone.  Here's to this week being a great week!

Another Halloween mani with the pumpkin polishes.  This time I layered the Pumpkin polish with orange and black confetti glitter on top of OPI Designer Series "Mystery".  The OPI is the most unique color, and so hard to capture on film.  Unfortunately it's been rainy and gloomy out so I couldn't go outside and take a picture either.  The color is a deep purple/almost black with gold micro glitter. 

If I could do this again, I would use a lighter shade underneath because you lose the black confetti in the dark color of the base polish.  Instead, I might choose a similar base shade, but something more purple and less black.   Regardless, the OPI is gorgeous on its own.  Too bad the picture can't capture it.

What is your Halloween manicure going to be?

It's that time again - SPRING!  In honor of that, I decided to wear one of my new Zoya polishes from the Intimate Collection.  The color is a beautiful cream lilac with just a *hint* of shimmer.  It's hard to even see unless you have the color under the right light. 

This shade instantly made me happy, so I thought I'd share!  The formula is great - this is two coats with Seche Vite as a topcoat. 

I finally found Hard Candy's nail polish in Beetle when at Walmart the other day, and this has quickly become my favorite nail polish I own.  This is the most complex, beautiful color I've seen.  Honestly, although it is named Beetle, it reminds me of the rainbow effect from an oil slick - purple, green, gold and oranges...all shifting in the changing light.  The entire nail polish looks like a complex microglitter in the bottle.  I found that the formula itself was quite nice - my pictures below (which don't do the polish justice at all), are two coats with a top coat over.  Honestly, the second bottle shot below, is probably the most true-to-life for the color than any of them.

(bottle shot - natural sunlight)

(two closeups of the polish - see how it changes based on the light?)

This is the best shot on my nails I could get - I tried everything, natural light...flash...no light...tilting my nails...you name it, but unfortunately this is just one of those polishes you have to see in real life to understand!  A beauty that is a must buy if you come across it!

Have you tried this polish?  On a side note, I have read that this is a dupe for Orly's Space Cadet, which I tried for weeks to find and couldn't.  For some pictures of the comparison, take a look at Catch the Beauty with Arie's Blog here, as they have great snapshots comparing the two.

Purples are all the rage this fall, and Sally Hansen is right on top of the trends. If you are looking for a deep, dark, and intense egg plant purple color, Problem Child is absoultey gorgeous and can be found at your local drugstore or Ulta, which is where I bought mine.

Problem Child is almost a black purple, with almost burgundy, purple, and larger (but sparse) irridescent shimmer.  In the pictures below, the picture taken in the flash is a much truer representation of the color.  I did take a picture of the bottle in the sunlight, as well as the very last picture, so you can see all the complexity of the polish.  This is a stunner, especially if you are looking for something a little bit edgier for the fall...

(natural light)

What is your favorite shade for this fall?

Mystic Lilac is a beautiful lavender-grey shade with beautiful iridescent glitter that is present *just enough* to give a slight shimmer in certain light.  From far away, it looks like cream lavender, but when you take a look up close you can really see the hints of shimmer.  I really like this color for something different - it really an up-to-date way to wear the "greige" shades that everyone is raving about this season.  

(sunlight)

(natural light)

You can barely see the shimmer in the picture above.  Unfortunately, my camera was not cooperating enough to get a good picture of it - I'll try and get one for a later post.

(flash)

The above picture is the best representation of the color, in my opinion.  You can tell it is actually a lavender color, and not gray, and you can barely see the shimmer/sparkle.  Even better...I wore it for 5 days without a chip or scratch!  Not bad for $2.99!

I have about 4 more of these new colors from the Xtreme Wear collection to post, so keep checking back!  Also, I'll have the Nox Twilight Nailpolish to post, too!

(With Flash)

(Natural Light)

(Blurry - can you see the sparkles?)

I don't know about you guys, but I'm ready for fall!  The weather has been unseasonably cool recently - I'm talking perfect pumpkin weather, so I decided to try out a few of the deeper e.l.f. Nail Polishes I ordered about a month ago: Purple Pleaser.

This particular shade is a cream, egg plant shade.  The pictures with the flash really lighten the color more than it actually is, but the natural light photo gives a better look at the color.  This is a warmer toned purple, and is absolutely beautiful for fall.

Earlier this week I posted a display, here, of the new nail polish lines that CVS is carrying.  I decided to grab a polish from each line, Confetti and 10 Professional.  Today, let's take a look at the Confetti Long Wearing Nail Color in "Belle of the Ball".  (For another opinion of the Confetti line, take a look at the Recessonista's review here).  Note, she also discovered that Confetti and 10 Professional are actually from the same company!  Interesting... 

Belle of the Ball is a cream, relatively opaque, true lilac shade.  It looks a little cooler in the bottle than it does on, but in all reality, you can't tell a difference in the product in the bottle once applied.  (I mention this because I notice a lot of creme's turn a lot darker once applied and dry, but not so much with this one).  Anyway...moving on....

The brush is a little funky.  I almost think it is too long for the bottle, so as a result, it kind of *scrunches* up at the bottom, and therefore isn't straight.  I might try cutting it a bit shorter to see if that helps.  It didn't really hinder application much, in my experience, but was a bit ackward.

Product consistency is smooth.  It's a bit runny, so I think I could have gone with a 3rd coat on my manicure.  I'm not sure if you can see it in the pictures below, but in some lighting (especially natural light) I can see a little streakiness. 

The product did dry extremely quickly, and seemed to have a built in top coat.  Instead of giving that matte appearance when dry, it did have a nice shine to it.  I didn't add a top coat as a result, but just a fast drying Seche Vite to make sure I didn't ruin my mainicure during the day.  So far, so good on the lasting power as well

All in all, I can't really complain too much about the product - I mean, let's be honest - it's $1.99, and it's hard to find a full size (not Bon Bon at Walmart) polish under $5 that is remotely decent.  I'd be willing to try out a few other shades, and see if I have any different experience, good or bad, with those.  As for the particular color I picked out, Belle of the Ball, I normally don't go towards the bright eclectic shades, but I might have to start now - I am really loving this purple.  It's bright, but not so pastel that it looks more appropriate for spring.  I'd say I'm pretty happy with my $1.99 investment.