Lunuland.

China Glaze Watermelon Rind

2010-10-05T20:43:00.000-04:00

Love this color--and it held up. This is after a week of wear. Well done, China Glaze!!

It's a beautiful dark green with a hint of blue and lovely glass flecks throughout. A part of the permanent collection, I believe--you need it!

Sorry I have to run--no time these days. Thanks for reading!

OPI Here Today...Aragon Tomorrow, suede

2010-09-14T15:00:00.001-04:00

Ahh...another lovely color. As autumn is right around the corner, I was thinking of some of my favorite fall shades of polish. Deep emeralds flatter my fair skin and dark hair, and they go great with the brown, red and orange fall color palette. After polishing on two coats of HTAT, I decided to go with a shiny finish versus the matte suede. I love the shimmer hidden in the polish and I think it comes alive with some seche vite. I think I like this better than the original!

This color is fabulous--you need it! Thanks for reading!

Zoya Kelly

2010-09-13T19:15:00.000-04:00

Zoya Kelly is a rich grey creme with blue and purple undertones from the Wonderful collection. This is two coats and it's all creme-y goodness! I'd say it's more of a slate or smoke than a charocoal, but this is a pretty trendy color. I don't think I have any dupes, but I plan on doing a grey comparison swatch real soon just to see. All of these pictures are in direct sun.

Sorry for the wear on these--I've been polishing at night lately and haven't been home during daylight hours to take a next day pic. I use my hands all day at work and there's often tipwear by the time I get home. The color is accurate anyway!

Thanks for reading!

Orly It's Not Rocket Science

2010-09-05T21:27:00.000-04:00

I'm sorry I've been MIA for a bit--I forgot how much going back to school changes my entire life. I started this blog at the start of the summer as a way to pass the time and share my finds, but now I have no time to pass! Anyway, I finally made it to Ulta this week to check out the new polish collections. Though I'd been waiting forever to see the Orly Cosmic FX collection in person, the $10 price tag still upset me. I picked up this one, It's Not Rocket Science, as I was feeling the swamp thing vibe it was giving off.

Bottom line: I love this color. I've seen that there are two dupes (a SpaRitual and one of the new China Glaze halloween colors) but I have neither of those and so I don't care! This is one of those pretty ugly colors that you either love or hate. I love. This is two coats of INRS and one of seche vite--it was more opaque than I had thought it would be; I was anticipating three coats. INRS is a darkened olive shimmer with a hint of gold--at some angles there is even a bit of a teal tint. It's definitely a cool color--not for the weak!

Here you can see a bit of teal at the corners!

And here it looks a bit more brownish.

Well, hope those sold you on it! I am going to try to get on more of a regular blogging schedule. Teaching just wears me out! What color did I wear for the first week of school you ask? Chanel Paradoxal--it was the perfect nod to the end of summer and looks oh so professional with the right outfit. Hope all is well in your part of the world--thanks for reading!

Ulta Vintage

2010-08-26T22:29:00.000-04:00

Hey all!

I recently got my hot little hands on the Ulta "I Got the Denim Blues" collection (which I will hopefully have time to swatch next week) and I just wanted to give you a bit of a preview. For $9.95 you get 5-0.24 oz. polishes ranging from a baby blue to a deep navy. Of course they're all blues, and they're all fabulous. I would be sure to pick this one up while it's still in stock!

This is Vintage--a deep peacock blue, two coats and one of seche. Try to ignore the tipwear--I didn't take the pic on day one and I neglected to wrap my tips. Plus, I've gone back to work this week, so lots of typing!

Thanks for reading!

Color Club Wild and Willing

2010-08-24T20:18:00.000-04:00

School has started...again. And I need sparkle therapy! Wild and Willing is a gorgeous sparkley, shimmery duochrome from the Wild at Heart collection (fall 2009). It's a copper rose-gold foil with hints of green in some lights. I don't even know how to describe it--it's gorgeous!!

This is after two days of wear (two coats and one of seche vite!). This totally satisfied my craving for shimmer. I love this one!

Thanks for reading!

Urban Outfitters Orange 2

2010-08-20T20:45:00.000-04:00

Sorry I haven't been around in a bit, but Northern California was so amazing. I did not want to come back to the humidity of the East Coast, but I am here. I have to face reality again--and I will do so with another UO Polish on my nails! This is Orange 2 and, while it looks a bit more "burnt" in the bottle, it comes out as a nice bright pumpkin creme on the nails. This is two coats with some added sparkle and a coat of seche vite. I was in a sparkly mood and so I went with CND effects in Gold Sparkle....a wise choice, I think.

I hope you've all had a wonderful week as well. Back to school on Monday...ugh.

Thanks for reading!

OPI Paris Couture for Sure!

2010-08-10T00:02:00.003-04:00

I'm away for the next week--headed to the West Coast for some RnR (and vino!). As you are reading this, I am hopefully eating something delicious on the bay! I swear, my only reason for vacationing is to try restaurants/trendy food spots that I've heard about. I eat my way through every vacation...at much more than $40 a day (suck it, Rachael Ray)! You should have seen me during my year in Europe--not pretty.

Anyway, speaking of European cities where I made a glutton of myself, this is Paris Couture for Sure. It is a smooth silver glitter holo, labeled as a "glitter top coat". I have a lot of silver holos, but this one is my favorite. One of my OPI oldies, I think it's discontinued, but I believe you can still find it on ebay. I love this silver holo, though I am still lemming the Nfu-Oh one.

Since this is a top coat, it is a bit sheer. This is three coats and I still have some vnl, four is perfect.

Thanks for reading!

Nature Nails!

2010-08-08T16:53:00.000-04:00

This was my entry for Polish Hoarder Disorder's "nature" challenge. My favorite season is winter--I love when everything is frosty and cool and I love to see the trees covered in snow!

This is three coats of Sally Hansen Complete Manicure in Silver Lining. I then sponged on Wet n Wild French White Creme and used a Sally Hansen chrome in Aqua Chrome along with bundlemonster plate bm19 for the leaves. My nails really felt icy!

Milani Dress Maker

2010-08-05T11:55:00.002-04:00

This is going to be a quick post today as I need to make a four hour drive in a little bit and I still have lots to do! This is three coats of Milani Dress Maker--I saw the new(?) Milani Haute Value collection at my local CVS yesterday and I picked up a few of the colors. After I polished this on, I did a bit of research and this is said to be a dupe for Chanel Jade. Now, I've never really been into the Jade hype, but it's good to know for those of you who are still looking and don't want to shell out your life's savings for a bottle on ebay.

This is a pretty opaque jade green with a slight shimmer--very pretty. Three coats:

Thanks for reading!

Sally Hansen Silver Lining

2010-08-04T00:29:00.000-04:00

This sparkling gem is from the new-ish complete salon manicure line. I have a number of silver foils, but this one is very different. It leans towards a cloudy sky grey with a very faint blue shimmer with a pinkish duochrome. It's incredibly difficult to describe. Though this color is quite sheer, I think that the four coats it takes to make it opaque are totally worth it. My fingertips feel icy and gorgeous.

Click on the images to see the touches of blue glitter throughout--it's lovely.

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. I adore this polish. Thanks for reading!

Essie Perky Purple

2010-08-01T22:48:00.000-04:00

I needed some neon today...bad. Unfortunately, this color doesn't show up anything close to accurate on my camera. I tried to mess around with the hue and such and this is the closest I can get. Sorry about the green skin!

This is from last summer's neon collection. I polished on two coats of Essie Perky Purple with one of Seche Vite and I probably could have used one more coat, but I was in a rush. This is a neon purple/pink and so it dries matte...and shows every flaw. Have some topcoat ready. I do love how awesomely bright it is though.

Hope you all had a nice weekend. Thanks for reading!

Vampire Nails!

2010-07-31T13:42:00.000-04:00

This was my entry for Polish Hoarder Disorder's weekly challenge: Vampire Nails!

My nails look like little mouths! This is a coat of Wet n' Wild (WnW) Black with OPI Dim Sum Plum (mixed with white) for the tips. I used WnW white for the teeth, and WnW red for the blood with some China Glaze Ruby Pumps for the glitter on top! Hope you like them.

Thanks for reading!

Deborah Lippmann Across the Universe

2010-07-30T19:20:00.002-04:00

By now, I'm sure you've all seen many swatches of this brilliant beauty. I've been sitting with the bottle for a while, but I just haven't felt like wearing it until today. I think I needed a nice sunny day to show off such a gorgeous glitter!

This is three coats of ATU on one coat of Beauty Secrets Ridge Filler and a coat of Orly Bonder, and topped with a coat of Seche Vite. The glitter in this polish is amazing--small bits of sky blue, mixed with larger blue and green hex sequins. It is gorgeous--and all floating in a navy jelly base. Three coats made it perfect, though I had to wait for it to dry between coats in order to allow the hex glitter to settle in its spot. It was slightly bumpy to the touch, but the SV seemed to smooth most of that up.

All of these pictures were taken in the sunlight.

Bottom line: you need this. I cannot stop staring at my nails; they remind me of the scales of a fish, or the tail of a mermaid. It really looks like my nails are made of sequins! Gorgeous, Deborah Lippmann. Well done!

Thanks for reading!

H&M Summer Nails Set

2010-07-28T18:32:00.001-04:00

Hey folks! I just got back from a three-day power outage! We had terrible windstorms on Sunday and it pulled power lines down all over the DC metro area. It felt like I was Amish! Oh well...power is back and here are some swatches.

I stopped into H&M this weekend and came out with this "Summer Nails" set of minis. H&Ms here never have polishes and so I grabbed these. They had some single colors too but I figured I only needed this for now. Each polish is 0.1 fl. oz. and while they don't have the best brushes, I thought it was a nice sized kit for only $4.00.

Look at those creative names! Purple, Green, Blue, and Pure White.

We'll go in reverse order. All of these are two coats.

Pure white was exactly that--this white was a nice formula and was opaque in two coats. It felt as if I had white out on my nails--not something that I necessarily hate, but I'll probably use this more for frankening/nail art.

Blue was quite comparable to Zoya Robyn. I loved this fresh, smooth shade of sky. So perfect for summer!

Green was a deep jade with a hint of shimmer. I love this muted green and can see myself wearing this a lot.

Purple is the one I chose to wear for the day. I adjusted the color on my computer so you could see how red this purple is, so excuse the weird skin. Again, perfect application in two coats with a bit of shimmer. I love these kinds of purples.

Overall, I think this is a great kit for the price. There's nothing original about the colors, but they certainly are perfect for summertime. And this would be great to take on a trip for touchups or to keep in your purse.

And of course, I had to add a bit of Hidden Treasure to the second day mani. Love those flakies!

Do you have any H&M polishes? I'd love to try some more! Thanks for reading!

Urban Outfitters Grey 1 + Konad!

2010-07-25T10:59:00.000-04:00

Urban Outfitters currently has a bunch of their in-house polishes on sale. Though they are regularly 2 for $8, I saw a bunch for only 99 cents and so I had to pick up a few colors. They also had a bunch of their "sparkle" colors on sale, which looked like flakies, but I decided not to get those. Does anyone have the UO sparkles? I was intrigued...

One of the shades I picked up was Grey 1. Though it's not the most creative name, I kind of like how they maybe decided to choose simplicity over cheesiness. Grey 1 is a very dark green-tinged grey in the bottle. On the nails it's a dark charcoal. I really like the darkness of it. The cap/brush are a bit difficult to polish with, but the color was smooth and opaque after two coats. I then used the geometric pattern from konad plate m64 with white stamping polish. I topped the whole thing off with a coat of China Glaze matte magic--this looks soooo much better matte.

Thanks for reading!

Maybelline Twinkle Twinkle

2010-07-24T00:18:00.001-04:00

This is Maybelline Twinkle Twinkle which I received as a gift from a very nice person! It's a lovely navy with teeny silver microglitter and some claim it as a dupe for the coveted Essie Starry Starry Night. The formula was a bit thick and the brush was a bit wonky, so it was difficult to polish with--I think I'll need to thin it out a bit. It's not my favorite summer color (and I wish I had applied three coats instead of just two) but it's beautiful nonetheless.

It truly does remind me of stars in the dark sky. Thanks for reading!

ALU-inspired Gradation Manicure

2010-07-20T17:31:00.002-04:00

It's been a little bit longer than usual since my last post. I went to the beach with the boyfriend this weekend and, though I had an awesome manicure, I forgot to take pictures. Though the Orly Luxe/SH Hidden Treasure combo held up awesomely well through the surf and sand, it was a bit too chipped to show you guys when we got back. I have something much prettier anyway. I saw Michelle Mismas' "Quick & Easy" gradation manicure last week and knew that I had to try it myself. I couldn't wait to attempt it on my own nails.

I didn't intend to use the same colors as she did (I hope to try more combinations in the future!) but Urban Decay Toxin is one of my favorite jelly polishes and I just loved how her manicure looked! I first polished on two coats of Zoya Charla and then proceeded to follow her method for layering the purple polish on top in four separate layers. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out! What do you think?

Thanks for reading!

American Apparel Berry Konadicure

2010-07-15T16:42:00.000-04:00

I was in the mood for a tone on tone konadicure today. This is two coats of American Apparel Berry--a perfect berry red-violet. All of my AA polishes go on smooth and glossy. I used this pattern from the bm10 plate and stamped it with Sally Hansen Chrome in Burmese Ruby. SH Chromes are the best for stamping!

I'm happy with how this turned out, but I still have trouble keeping these full nail plates completely straight!

Indoors

In the sunshine!

Just the berry...indoors at night.

And here's the design I added to my Zoya Robyn mani the other day. This peacock on bm15 is my favorite design on all of the bundle monster plates. I just wish my nails were long enough for the entire design to fit! Look at how pretty the tail is--I'm going to work on this one. This was stamped with SH Copper Chrome:

Zoya Robyn and an NYX Girls Enchanted Forest Snafu!

2010-07-13T17:35:00.001-04:00

Though I'm sure you've all seen many swatches of Zoya Robyn...I've got one more! This is a beautiful bright cerulean blue creme with the perfect amount of pigmentation. Two coats and one of Seche Vite and I was good to go. It's everything a bright blue creme polish should be:

This color is pretty accurate. In the sun...

And indoors. Look how glassy and smooth!

Of course, I only decided to polish on Robyn last night after a failed glitter manicure that had to come off. It was a bit too blingy and uneven for me--I know, who thought too much bling was possible?

This was two coats of Pro 10 (not to be confused with 10 Pro) nail lacquer in Muse, a pretty pale yellow creme (Dollar Tree find). On top I polished three coats of NYX Girls Enchanted Forest. EF is a green-tinted clear base with various sizes of green glitter. There is tiny green glitter, small hexagons, medium hexagon and big hexagons. It was just too much--and really gloopy. It didn't dry. I took a few pictures just to show you--but then I took off the whole mess. This would have been much prettier had it worked. I did like the spring green tinge that the yellow took on once I layered the green over it. Oh well!

And I baked the most delicious blueberry buttermilk muffins yesterday. Here's the recipe if anyone is interested...they were TDF! Mmmm...click for blueberry muffins!

Does anyone have any good NYX Girls colors (or regular NYX)? I just cannot get their polishes to work on me...thanks for reading!

Chanel Paradoxal...and some other recent endeavors

2010-07-11T15:30:00.002-04:00

As a high school English teacher (I know...the enemy!) I've found myself trying to explain the meaning of a paradox more than a few times. Next time, I may just have to bring in a swatch of Chanel Paradoxal, the newest color in the Chanel polish line.

As soon as I saw other bloggers swatch this, I knew it had to be mine. I walked my butt over to Neiman Marcus...then left Neiman Marcus to go to the ATM, because I forgot that they only take cash, AmEx, or an NM card...and then walked back into Neiman Marcus to complete my purchase.

Paradoxal is lovely (like every other Chanel polish I've tried) and it dries to a smooth, glassy finish in two thin coats. I could have gotten this to look good with one thick coat, but I'm a two coat kind of girl. The color is hard to describe. Inside it looks like a dusty plum, or even a dusky grey. Outside it's a purply, taupey shimmer that is just so beautiful. I am in love with this color and I cannot stop putting my nails in the stream of sun coming through my window. It's Chanel and it's lovely.

Indoors

In the sun

Violet shimmer!

A more mushroomy side of Paradoxal

Bottle color!

I also tried a new eye last night, so I thought I'd share--I rarely go all out with eye makeup (even though I have a lot of it!) However, I do love glitter as much on my eyes as I do on my nails:

This was a whole mess of Urban Decay colors (my favorite) with Chanel inimitable mascara. I really like more neutral, taupe yet shimmery, eye makeup in the summer. I finished this off with peach blush and a nude lip.

Lastly, I've been taking a watercolors class this summer. It's the only paint medium I have never worked in, and boy is it hard! I decided to make a brush roll for my new watercolor brushes so they weren't mixed in with all of my other painting supplies. I made this on my sewing machine from a $3 placemat and some brown satin ribbon:

Hope you enjoyed--thanks for reading!

For Audrey--animal style!

2010-07-07T19:29:00.005-04:00

Animal style...a phrase I know to be associated with Californians who enjoy their In-N-Out burgers while I only hear tales of their mythological existence here on the East Coast. However, today's "animal style" manicure actually refers to my favorite of animal prints--the leopard. Leopard nails are my favorite. I used to do them freehand all of the time before I was spoiled by my konad stamper. Perhaps one day I will go back to my simpler ways.

This leopard mani is two coats of China Glaze For Audrey with the full nail leopard stamp from konad plate m57 (stamped with Wet N Wild Black Creme). I then used a dotting tool and Essie Exposure for the pink accents, all with a coat of Seche Vite to make them shiny.

Outdoors

Indoors

Fierce! I'm thinking about adding some glitter to it--what do you think?

Thanks for reading!

Savina Black Pearl

2010-07-06T12:08:00.001-04:00

I found Savina nail polish at a beauty supply shop and decided to pick up one color as I had never heard of the brand before. The bottle looks very similar to China Glaze, except that there are long S shapes on the cap. This color stood out to me immediately--Black Pearl is, like its namesake, a darkened blue-teal/purple duochrome with a shimmer. Here are some lovely black pearls for you to look at :

Ah, so pretty. I wouldn't say that the formula was as smooth as China Glaze--but the color is to die for! And it definitely lives up to its name...look at this pearly finish:

Look, it's purple!

And now it's blue!

Here is the shimmery bottle.

Indoors

I wanted to bring out a bit more of the purple, and so I added CND color effects in Violet Shimmer. This didn't ruin the duochrome, but enhanced it! I love this effect (and all CND effects) but they are hard to find around here.

The formula on Savina Black Pearl was really nice--not too brush-strokey. This was two coats over Seche Recondition with one of Out the Door...and then a single coat of the CND effect.

Thanks for reading!

Happy 4th!

2010-07-04T16:06:00.003-04:00

Happy Fourth of July! It's not that I'm not patriotic...I just am not into "themed" nails, though I love the works of art everyone else has displayed on their blogs. I have seen some amazing konads and gorgeous reds and blues. I decided--in a very slight nod to our forefathers--to go with a purple.

Hey--it's red and blue combined! That's about as patriotic as I get...

This is two coats of Zoya Yasmeen with two of Out the Door. My OtD had some silver foil (from my pedicure) stuck in it and some of it got onto my nails. Excuse the silver color--Yasmeen is in fact, silverless.

Indoors

Look at that shine!

Outdoors--so pretty!

Again, in the sun

This is just a perfect purple, and one of my favorites. Happy Independence Day!

Pure Ice Free Spirit

2010-07-01T16:08:00.001-04:00

There are no Walmarts near me (heaven forbid!) but I made a quick stop when I went to visit my parents so I could pick up a few polishes. I had seen two different versions of Pure Ice Free Spirit on various blogs and I was hoping I would find the one that wasn't mint green--I was never into that trend even though I have a few. I prefer a unique green polish and I was in luck!

Free Spirit is a darkened lime with a hint of shimmer. Love it! I'd never used this brand before and I'm happy to report that, despite one finicky nail, it's held up nicely for three days. Minimal tipwear.

This is one coat of Beauty Secrets Ridge Filler, two coats of Free Spirit and two of Out the Door:

Look at that lovely green!

Indoor light

Check out the shimmer in the bottle

In direct sunlight, after three days of wear

I still have a few more Pure Ice colors to try out, but this dries to a bit of a satiny finish, as it is a hint neon. If you can find this version of Free Spirit, I highly recommend! This is a fun spring/summer color and I'm loving it in this beautiful weather.

LA Splash Sparkling Gold

2010-06-27T13:00:00.003-04:00

I am going to share my favorite gold with you! I am not really ever a fan of yellow gold--in jewelry or in polish as I am much too pale for any shade of yellow, be it mustard or golden. I tend to go for brass golds or pale golds, which is why LA Splash Sparkling Gold caught my eye when I first found out about this brand. I seriously can't stop looking at my nails--they're so sparkly!

Sparkling Gold is pale gold microglitter with a few pieces of red glitter suspended in a clear base. Together the red and gold create a golden wonderland on the nail--it almost looks like it could be a tarnished silver. I love it!

In all of its glitter goodness, direct sun

The pics above are closer to the true color

of the polish--it's a pale gold.

Glitter close up!

Sorry, that's a lot of pics, I know. It was impossible to capture how truly dazzling this is on the nail. And microglitters are my weakness. Actually, who am I kidding...all glitters! I'm a first grader at heart. I am in love with it--and as you already know, I love LA Splash. The colors are gorgeous, the bottle is skinny and easy to store with a great brush, and the price point is...well, on point!

As with many clear-based glitters, this was four coats until there was no VNL. I put this over Orly bonder (which works wonders with glitters!) all topped with a coat of Out the Door.

Thanks for reading!

Cherry on Top Award!

2010-06-26T14:20:00.000-04:00

I've seen this award making the rounds on the polish blogs and I want to thank Dionela from Short and Sweet Nails for passing on the love to me!!

The instructions:

1.Thank the person who gave this award to you.

2.Copy the award and put it on your blog.

3.List 3 things which you love about your self.

4.Post a picture you love.

5.Tag 5 people you wish to pass this award on to.

1. Thanks Dionela--I love your blog!

2. Look up!

3. I love that I am a teacher who truly cares about my students--and they know it. I love my weird, sardonic sense of humor. And I love how fiercely independent I am--don't get me wrong, my family, boyfriend and friends mean the world to me, but I am so comfortable being by myself that it scares me sometimes. I've managed to make quite a nice life for myself down here south of the Mason-DIxon line!

Maybe pet pics aren't fair here because they're always so darn cute, but my bunny Ponyboy is one of the loves of my life. (Bonus points if you can tell me what book his name comes from!) This was his first time ever in the snow--and he loved it!! How often do you see a cute, white, lop-eared bun playing in a snowstorm? I had to pick this one. I have this picture printed on my credit card!

5. Tagged:

Sarah and Jason at Crystal Polish

The Daily Nail--she has such awesome designs!

Polished Lyrics

MeganChair at Little Music Boxes

PolishSis

Thanks again!

Nina Ultra Pro Salsa!!

2010-06-25T10:27:00.003-04:00

I was in Sally's last week and I saw a display for a new Nina Ultra Pro Collection. I don't remember ever seeing a special collection from them before, but I was pleasantly surprised by the color selection. I believe it was called the "Fiesta" collection, though I may be wrong. (ETA: It's the "Sultry Samba" collection--I was way off!) There was a purple, an orange and my favorite--a beautiful green which I picked up.

Salsa is a dusty green creme that applies smoothly with two coats. Though I don't know why this is called Salsa (maybe Salsa Verde would be more appropriate?) it is gorgeous! This is two of Salsa and one of Out the Door.

I think this might be my new favorite green--and that's a lot for me to say! It's a perfect, creamy forest on your nails! I think I'm going to do a pedi in this soon--maybe with some glitter?

Thanks for reading!

ETA: And with a coat of China Glaze Matte Magic, it turns into a perfect old school chalkboard! (excuse the chipping!)

Babbling Brooke's BIG 2nd Birthday Giveaway!!!

2010-06-23T23:13:00.001-04:00

Babbling Brooke is having a birthday--and here's the grand prize:

How awesome is that?!?!

The giveaway will end on Wednesday, July 14, 2010 at 11:00 PM.

Go here to enter!

Orly Royal Navy

2010-06-23T17:17:00.004-04:00

I was home for my little sister's high school graduation over the weekend (I can't believe she's so old!) and I had to stop into the Sally's by my parents' house to see if they had anything I "needed"...and of course, they did! I picked up this gem, which I had passed up before, from the "In the Navy" collection and it looked killer with my bright red dress.

Royal Navy is a royal blue jelly with aqua glitter...and it's gorgeous! I think it might just be my new favorite blue, and I love blues.

Check out that aqua glitter!

Sunny window!

This color is just so pretty and perfect for summertime--if you don't have it already, I urge you to go out and get it asap!! This was two perfectly smooth coats with one coat of Out the Door. Luckily, I think it's been added to the Orly permanent collection so it will be around for a while.

I hope everyone's having a great summer--thanks for reading!

Crop circle nails!

2010-06-19T07:51:00.008-04:00

Crop circles have always cracked me up and when I saw this image on the bundle monster plates, I needed to do crop circle nails asap! Since I have been wanting to try the Claire's Mood polishes, two of which have been sitting around in my stash for a while now. I decided to go for the more subtle of the two, mostly because I was feeling the need for some teal in my life. Claire's Peaceful/Confident hovers between a blue green and a green blue (the lighter of the two shades) depending on your temperature.

I then decided to Konad over the subtle color shift (which you can only see at the top of my nail, where it hangs over my finger) in Orly La Playa, from the Summer 2010 Viva! Collection. I am in love with this super dark indigo, and think it looks great over teal.

I used bundle monster plate bm19--it looks like there are crop circles on my nails!

out in bright sunlight

indoors the polish looks mostly green

indirect sun

Sorry for the wet fingers--here I'm trying to show the difference in color.

The left is the cold color and the right is the warm temperature tone.

I really liked the consistency of this polish, it dried quickly and matte (as neons tend to do), but one coat of Seche Vite glossed it up. The orly was also very good for konading and the dark blue shade was nice and opaque.

Thanks for reading!

Nubar Reclaim

2010-06-15T16:09:00.001-04:00

I've heard such wonderful things about Nubar but, since they aren't available in stores, I've never gotten to try any of their polishes. When I first saw Reclaim swatched (as part of the Limited Edition Going Green collection; on sale now for $49.95) I knew it had to be mine. A medium green holo? Yummy!

Unfortunately the sun hasn't been out since I polished my nails, but I did get some bright outdoor light:

And outdoors:

This is two coats of Reclaim with one of Seche Vite. The polish applied like a dream--no streaks and quick to dry with a perfect consistency. The holo is gorgeous and goes between this spring green with a hint of yellow and brown. I absolutely love it and hope to order some more Nubars soon!

Anyone else want to see someone come up with a dark holo green? I might have to do some frankening!

Shake it up!

2010-06-12T14:59:00.001-04:00

Feeling the need for some bling today! I added two coats of Out the Door's Northern Lights hologram topcoat in silver to yesterday's LA Splash Abyss.

Indoors:

Outdoors:

Holographic awesomeness. Have a great weekend!

LA Splash Abyss

2010-06-11T18:18:00.007-04:00

I love LA Splash nail polish. They're only $4 a pop, come in great skinny bottles and they have tons of GLITTERS!!! I guess I was feeling a bit goth when I got home this afternoon because I went straight for my bottle of Abyss, a black creme with silver microglitter.

The glitter in this polish was perfect: nice and smooth with even spacing. It looked like the milky way! Tiny glitter is my favorite kind of glitter, but I might add a larger glitter as a topcoat tomorrow. The formula was nice and smooth--this was two coats and I had complete coverage. And then I added a fauxnad star on my thumb for good measure, in konad silver special polish:

LA Splash has some great polishes (and mascaras!). Sparkling gold and sparkling lavender are two more of my favorites; they're on sale this week (buy one get one 50% off) at Ulta.

Anyone else love LA Splash? Any other great (and cheap!) glitters?

ORLY Plastix: Swatches and Review

2010-06-08T19:01:00.027-04:00

When I read the press release for ORLY Plastix, I knew they had to be mine...plastic nails? In vintage colors? Please sir, can I have some more? When I saw the pretty matte bottles sitting in my local Ulta, I picked up all four at once. I hadn't seen them in person yet and I'm a sucker for textures and gimmicks.

image via temptalia.com

Orly says:

ORLY, the company that continually pioneers the Nail Lacquer arena with the most cutting edge colors, technology and textures, introduces the Plastix Collection. Complementing the Fall 2010 runway looks that featured bright neon colors amid shiny black plastic, latex, and rubber reinventions of vintage must-haves, Plastix evokes the vintage classic trend with four new lacquers and a unique new formula that coats the nails with a smooth glossy matte “plastic” finish. The exclusive finish and texture is a first in the nail category, delivering a monochromatic, shiny and rubbery look that takes experimentation to an entirely new level, with the focus being on both the distinctive nail surface, as well as the latest in color trends. The unique look can not be achieved with color alone as the finish is a must for recreating the true “plastic” statement.

My review on these is mixed, but I'll start with my favorite:

Viridian Vinyl, described as a "glossy blue-green" was my favorite of the four colors though the formula was a bit problematic. It's a lovely peacock color, similar to the American Apparel color of that name.

You can see the finish best in these pics--it's almost like a satin matte. As this one was the most watery, and I got a bad brush, I don't know if it really looks how Orly intended. I also found that these took a long time to dry. Maybe it's just because I'm used to a quick dry topcoat, but the "latex" nature of these didn't lend itself to a quick swatching session.

Next up, Retro Red, a "traditional red"--I really liked this color. It reminded me of the perfect red lipstick...smeared all over my nails, of course. This one was shinier than Viridian Vinyl, but the consistency was perfect.

Purple Pleather, a "shiny purple" had a great consistency as well. It's a perfect purple, much like China Glaze Grape Pop, but with a satin finish.

Last is my problem child, Old School Orange. Labeled "classic orange" by the folks at Orly, it was my favorite color but the most difficult to work with. It was sheer and thick, not a good combination. It literally made me think I was dripping latex onto my nails. That said, it was the most "plasticy" of the bunch and it is an awesomely perfect shade of orange. Think orange soda:

All of these were two coats, except for the Old School Orange, which was three. They tend to show every imperfection so use a ridge filler or apply thick coats. Allow for ample drying time as well--they take a while. The polish itself feels a bit like latex paint if any of you have worked with that.

I really liked the bright, retro vibe, but wasn't impressed by the "plastic" finish. Like I said it was a satiny matte, not much unlike the Orly mattes I already have. Do you think you'll pick up this collection or is it a pass?

Welcome!

2010-06-07T20:53:00.008-04:00

As a longtime lover of lacquer, and a fairly new reader of nail polish blogs, I have finally decided to start a blog of my own. At first I will just be posting swatches of new polish and photos of my daily manicures, but I soon hope to find my niche in this huge and awesome world of nail bloggers. For now, a post inspired by my plans this past weekend--an 80s concert in Baltimore. The Legwarmers are a killer 80s cover band, and we try to see them whenever they're in town. They happened to be playing at Ram's Head Live! on Saturday night. The occasion clearly called for a neon yellow and purple zebra print manicure!!

This is two coats of Essie Funky Limelight over a coat of white--I stamped the zebra print using Essie Funky Purple and Konad plate m57. And it's all topped off with a coat of Seche Vite!

I can't wait to see where this goes--thanks for reading!