Feeling all Warm & Fozzie with OPI

OPI's  Muppets Collection is one I was so excited about and I am not at all disappointed!

This manicure is OPI Warm & Fozzie with accent finger and tips in OPI Nevermore from the Go Goth 2010 Halloween set.



Browns do not work on me but this I can manage.



OPI description is : Warm
& Fozzie A feel-good shade of metallic copper.

But it's so much more than that, there are flecks of rose

China Glaze Crackle Glaze Metals

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

I'm back much sooner than I'd planned because I have swatches of the upcoming China Glaze Crackle Glaze Metals to show you.  China Glaze sent them for review and they arrived this morning, and once the bottles had cooled down to room temperature, I got to swatching.

I used them all over a charcoal shimmer - I figured charcoal would let them show up well and show us their opacity, and I thought shimmer would work better with the almost-chrome finish of all six Crackle Glaze Metals.  I did just single nail swatches for this preliminary test drive and look at them - in addition to the fact that I was racing predicted storms for sunlight and didn't want to change lighting conditions halfway through, all six are gorgeous and I'd rather put a little more thought and effort into full manicures with them than just pairing them with charcoal.

Since I used three colors on each hand I split them up as I figured you'd want to see them, putting the true metallics (silver, gold, bronze) one one hand and the others (teal, pink, lavender) on the other so you can see how they look relative to one another.  They all have top coat, and this is in good sunlight.

First, we'll look at the true metals.  They are, from the top down, Cracked Medallion (bronze), Tarnished Gold (gold) and Platinum Pieces (silver).

China Glaze Crackle Glaze Metals Swatches, Round I

I think you can see how well these apply, and the application was  the same for all six shades in the collection.  The consistency of the polish is like normal polish, and so it was easy to apply a thin coat.  With crackles, I pay no attention to how even or opaque the crackle is during application - when it splits up, the pieces become much more opaque and things even out.  When applied, these looked somewhat sheer, but you can see that all three broke up beautifully and are opaque enough to completely cover the charcoal base between cracks.  Here's the same picture with the polish names added - I find labels on pictures can be distracting, so I figured I'd let you get a first impression without them and tack on the labelled version for reference.

China Glaze Crackle Glaze Metals Swatches, More Round I

As for the colors, I really like them a lot.  I've always loved metals and chromes, but the fact is, a chrome finish isn't the most forgiving.  If there's one ridge in a nail, and I have many, a chrome finish pretty much places a neon sign flashing "RIDGES" on that nail.  These have the same overall effect as regular chromes without that shortcoming, and they are really solid renditions of each color.

For Round II, also from the top down, I have Oxidized Aqua (teal), Haute Metal (pink), and Latticed Lilac (lavender).

China Glaze Crackle Glaze Metals Swatches, Round II

Here, you can see that these three are as opaque as and broke up just as well as the first three, and the colors are stunning.  These three will require a little more thought to pair up with good bases.  Here's the labelled version of Round II.

China Glaze Crackle Glaze Metals Swatches, More Round II

All six swatches have just the one coat of top coat, and you can see that the crackle layer isn't terribly thick, which is nice.  I'm a huge fan of this collection, and I'll be trying them out individually this week.

That's really all I have for today, Dear Reader, so until tomorrow, love and nail polish to you!

BB Couture Glampyre

You want a sexy, vampy color...BB Couture Glampyre is all that and then some!A deep blackened bronze Try not to drool on your keyboardThis is 2 coats, no top coatI think this is a very versatile shade and BB Couture has a great formula that I have yet to have any issue with. You want Glampyre? Kim at OverallBeauty has your BB needs covered and she is the sweetest lady you'll have know. I would

Borghese Rapid Dry polish swatches

Borghese sent me a couple of their new Rapido fast dry lacquer to reviewFirst I am sorry about my dry hands/cuticles, I had just removed an evil glitter polish.
Siena- a very pretty bronze with gorgeous shimmerDo not adjust your monitor, as beautiful as this color is, bronze shades give me lobster skinI love the shimmer in this, it's multi tones of bronze with green under tones and a flush of

Barielle Gelt Me to the Party

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Today is the final installment of the Barielle Holiday Hustle Collection with Gelt Me to the Party.  Barielle describes it as "a copper bronze metallic," which is pretty accurate.  The finish on Gelt Me to the Party is not the same as Wrap Me in Ribbon (the other they describe as metallic), which was almost like a chrome.  As I applied Gelt Me to the Party, I thought that the finish reminded me of SpaRitual Steel Magnolia, where it's brush-strokey as it goes on, but once dry it's just a glowy shimmer.

Like the others in this collection, this one was easy to control, but the application was a little higher maintenance because of the finish, where if one brush stroke is at an angle it can show when it's dry.  That just meant being a little slower and more careful than usual.  However, Gelt Me to the Party is also a two coater, so the extra time is not significant.  Here's the finished, dry manicure under artificial light.

Barielle Gelt Me to the Party Nail Polish, Two Coats Dry

As for the color, I think it's an unusual color and I like it, but not on me.  It makes my hands look kind of pink, and it just doesn't do anything for me.  I think this one might work really well next to brown skin, but I sure don't think it works with Irish skin.

That's the update for today, Dear Reader, and it wraps up Barielle's Holiday Hustle Collection.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!  


*This polish was sent to me for review by the manufacturer.

Barielle Holiday Hustle Swatches Winter 2010

Iwas sent the Barielle Holday Hustle collection....I love it!Barielle has a great way of avoiding the typical so again they make me so very happy!
All swatches are 2 coats no top coat, in lightbox lighting.Gelt me to the Party is an antiqued Copper/bronze/goldI really wish this looked better on me because I love the color a lot!
Coalest day of the year is a dark gray almost black with pearl

Nude but not naked

A mirical happened today...I put makeup on! seriously, the first time in 2 weeks! It has been,still is, too hot to bother.Today my Sephora order came in so I decided to play! Now you have to look at me! hahaha!Don't look too close, my skin is very angry about the heat!
I tried a nude look...meh!My winged liner turned out decent though. YAY!
Yeah a Nude lip...not so nude on me but the swatches I

Newbar Venitian glass collection swatches

Nubars Fall 2010 Venitian glass collectionWatch for these at ByNubarInspired by traditional Venetian glass, Nubar's Venetian glass collection captures the brilliant colors & flawless craftmanship of the ancient traditional handmade glass of Venice.With vivid hues, a strong glass-flecked shimmer, & rich color saturation,these shades are as memorable as their inspiration.
These have such a strong

Nubar Venetian Glass Collection

Good morning, Dear Reader!

The manicure I had planned for today was thwarted yesterday when samples of Nubar's Venetian Glass Collection for Fall 2010 came from the manufacturer yesterday.  I wanted to swatch them right away despite the fact that I didn't have enough natural light for pictures, so I used artificial light.

The collection is eight colors, all opaque glass flecked polishes, with five kind of leaves-changing-color shades and three that are just really cool.  I was excited about opaque glass flecked polished, since most glass flecked are pretty sheer on me.  I did two coats for all, I think one or two might have been better with a third.

Oro is a yellow gold, with an almost foily finish.

Nubar Oro Nail Polish, Two Coats

Caramello is a browner golden shade, also almost a foil.

Nubar Caramello Nail Polish, Two Coats

Bronzo is a coppery bronze.

Nubar Bronzo Nail Polish, Two Coats

Arencia is a Fall orange.

Nubar Arencia Nail Polish, Two Coats

Rosso is a pink red, and sorry about the sloppy swatch on this one.  I wear out doing eight!

Nubar Rosso Nail Polish, Two Coats

Those were the five I think of as fall leafy colors.  The other three are my favorites, I think.

Vino is a great burgundy.

Nubar Vino Nail Polish, Two Coats

Vaso is a great light purple glass fleck.

Nubar Vaso Nail Polish, Two Coats

This last one is a complete manicure with top coat.  Verde is a deep green with visible green, blue, and gold flecks.

Nubar Verde Nail Polish, Two Coats

That's Nubar's Venetian Glass Collection for Fall 2010, available June 30.

I should have more swatches for you this week, too - notice for another mystery package was left when no one was around to sign for it.

That's the scoop for today, Dear Reader.  Until tomorrow, love and nail polish to you!  

Coach Nail Polish Set & Olympics NOTD

Good morning, Dear Reader!

A while back, Coach was giving away little freebie nail polish kits, and I got one for a few bucks on Ebay. I swatched those recently and have the pictures for you today.

My finding is that unless you really want them for the novelty factor, save your pennies. They all required at least three coats, and although pretty in the bottle, the purple is an absolute nightmare on the nail. They're unnamed, so I'll just refer to them by color. I did three coats of each, but you'll see that two of the four don't look right and need more, but I wanted to be consistent.

Since some might still want the set for the novelty factor, I took pictures of the packaging. Here's the box closed, and I left my hand in the picture for scale. They're minis.

Coach Nail Polish Box, Closed

Here it is open.

Coach Nail Polish Box, Open

They were a bit separated, but I just gave them a little shake and they applied fine. Since the application was good and the first swatch was okay, I had high hopes, but they were sooon dashed. Here is three coats of the pink, which was fine.

Coach Nail Polish, Three Coats Pink

The bronze was not-so-fine. It's still semi sheer at three coats.

Coach Nail Polish, Three Coats Bronze

The fuchsia was fine at three coats.

Coach Nail Polish, Three Coats Fuchsia

Brace yourselves for what you are about to see... The purple left uncovered spots and was just an overall mess. I'm showing it to you so you save your money!

Coach Nail Polish, Three Coats Purple

So these will have to find a loving home with a Coach fan who wants them for the novelty factor, because I sure as heck won't be wearing them.

Just so we end on a happy note, I thought I'd give you a peek at my completely unrelated Nails of the Day. Yesterday's Go U.S.A. mani was cheerful, so I thought I'd do another. The colors are Nubar Sensual Red, Orly White Out, and Barry M Cobalt Blue, with Konad M14.

U.S.A! U.S.A! U.S.A!

That's all for today, Dear Reader. Until tomorrow, love and nail polish to you!

China Glaze Khrome Collection

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

I had some sun today, so I swatched the China Glaze Khromes for you. Each is two coats over a base. I used Nubar Foundation for five, and Zoya Get Even for the one I did a full manicure with. Get Even dries way slower than the Khromes, so I got massive bubbles. It's a bad mix...

The Khromes really do look like metal, and they dry fast. I waited for them to dry before taking pictures.

There are a few variations of gold. This is 2030.

China Glaze Khromes: 2030 Nail Polish, Two Coats

A little darker is Hi-Tek.

China Glaze Khromes: Hi-Tek Nail Polish, Two Coats

Darker still, more of a bronze, is Robotika.

China Glaze Khromes: Robotika Nail Polish, Two Coats

The silver is Millenium.

China Glaze Khromes: Millenium Nail Polish, Two Coats

Kind of an aqua green is Metallic Muse.

China Glaze Khromes: Metallic Muse Nail Polish, Two Coats

Here's my bubbly one. It's a slightly lavender silver, Sci-Fi.

China Glaze Khromes: Sci-Fi Nail Polish, Two Coats

Those are the Khromes. Completely unrelated to the rest of this is the fact that I'm a few days behind on answering comments - I've just been overloaded busy recently. I'm reading them as they come in, and will answer them this weekend.

That's all for now, Dear Reader. Until next time, love and nail polish to you!

More China Glaze Glitters!

Good morning, Dear Reader!

This morning I have the rest of the China Glaze glitter nail polishes that I have here for you. I did swatches of them for you. Two were the last two I had, and then I picked up one more that Sally Beauty Supply was putting out yesterday when I stopped in for something else because it was pretty and sparkly...

Preppy Pink is one I had, and is a light pink jelly with multi colored glitter. I used three coats to make it opaque. It's pretty and girly.

Ginger is a gorgeous gingery bronze with holo glitter. This is two coats.

Dreamsicle is the one from Sally's, an orange with orange and golden glitter. It was too Halloween-y to wait for! This is two coats.

Now you've seen all the China Glaze glitter nail polishes that I have, so I can finally move on to that classic manicure that I've been putting off! I'll probably show that to you later today. I still have the Color Club Mattes to show you, but I've been waiting so long for this one that the CC mattes can wait a little longer...

That's what I have for you for now, Dear Reader. Until next time, love and nail polish to you!

More Wet N Wild Nail Polish!

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

I was just out and about for a few hours, and running errands was part of my little outing. I made two discoveries while I was out. First, it seems that my local convenience store carries fishing bait (WTH???), and second, I found a Wet n Wild Rock Solid color that looks very cool, about which I've heard nothing. I thought I'd show you pictures of the bottle - it looks like Claire's Magic's demure little sister to me.

It's called Mystic Quartz, and is either old or new (I don't have a sense of the stores here yet!). In any case, I think it looks pretty cool,. so it goes on the list to use this week. There's not really a list, just some bottles out that are intended to remind me to use them, so Mystic Quartz will get in line.

I figured while I was showing you bottle pictures of that one, I'd show you a manicure with another Wet n Wild Craze color. The metallic shades in this line are hot, and one of those, Rustic, was the second Craze I used. It's a fantastic bronze, good in two coats.

Not too shabby for a couple of $2 cheapies, huh?

That's what I have for you today, Dear Reader. Until tomorrow, love and nail polish to you!