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!

Zoya Intimate Collection, Marley and her kitty

Marley is a sweet lilac creme with a touch of secret shimmer....Did you meet Marley's kitty?Mew just looked like she belonged with MarleyThe formula is very good for a pastel, slightly streaky on the first coat but smooth and perfect with the second. The pigment is really great on this as well.

**Some products in this post were sent by the company/PR for my honest review

Barielle Shades Ulta Exclusives Swatches Part 2

It's a busy day so let's jump right into the pretties!(Sunlight)Pink Sherbert is a sweet soft pink with amazingly glowy shimmer
(Shade)Magic shade makes her a nice work safe neutral pink
(Sun)Sailors Delight is a perfect baby pink with excellent streak free coverage in 2 coats(Shade)I just love the name of this one!
(Full sun)Expressive is a gorgeous lilac creme(Shade)I am addicted to purples and

Lilac tears franken

I was in the frankening mood last night and this is where I ended upA pink toned lilac with soft blue shift and silver flecks
I am very happy with the turn out
Oh it's love...or at least strong lust
Click to bigify
I made it all with raw pigments
Thinking up my next franken!

Old School Urban Decay nail polish in Graffiti

I Love the old Urban Decay polish!The bottles were awesome the colors were hot and the names were fun!This one is Graffiti a sweet Light blue with purple shiftSorry about the tip wear! It has/is a very busy week with 2 of my children starting or going back to school.I managed to forget to take pictures the first day and this is day 3. *Hangs head in shame*
I know this one is badly blurry but it

Zoya Flash swatches part 1 of 2

Zoya Flash and Sparkle are the fun summer colors for 2010.Flash is a set of 6 hot summer bright cremes.All pictures are taken in my lightbox.All swatches are 2 coats of color with no top coat.
Robyn is a bright pool water blue.I love this Aqua for summer it's so happy.
Perrie is a sweet dusty lilacThis is a great anywhere, anytime color
Maura is a sassy coralish red
Such a great sexy alternative

Chinoiserie!!!

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

I awoke to a happy surprise this morning - a package from Jessica! She and I have been chatting over on the right lately, and then when she emailed me on a forum we're in recently, I discovered I've known her in a group for a couple of years. I've just had the fun of getting to know her personally lately. Anyhow, she sent me a package that I got first thing this morning that contained not one, but two, Chinoiserie nail polishes. How cool of her!!!

Chinoiserie is the brand of polish that belong to Chinois Beauté Bar in LA, and my friend L8B has shown myriad pictures of different colors that had me interested in the brand. When Jessica offered to pick one up for me, I was thrilled, and she did a perfect job picking colors for me. So good, in fact, that I had to play with both to show them to you. First I'll show you the cool elaborate packaging of them. Here's Platinum in its box.

Here's the front of the bottle, which is really delicately ornate.

And the equally detailed back of the bottle.

Nice, isn't it? I was a little concerned about the shape of the bottle being hard to work with. In fact, that's what's kept me from trying this brand up until now, but I was wrong. When I polish my nails, I hold the bottle in the hand I'm painting, and much to my surprise the shape of this bottle was really handy for that. Here's my Nails of the Day, Platinum.

Isn't it a great delicate Spring color? I love it!

The other, which I broke into early early this morning, is just as beautiful in a completely different way, Peacock.

That, Dear Reader, is my very happy introduction to Chinoiserie. I think I'm in love!

Until next time, love and nail polish to you!

Even More Precisions and Some Classic China Glazes

Good morning, Dear Reader!

This morning I did some swatching for you - more Precisions that I recently got. I also have pics of two NOTD's - one from another swatching day this week, and the other is today's. I've been "saving" (for what, I don't know!) some of my old and hard-to-find polishes, and this week I've cracked into them and really enjoyed them - so much that I haven't even felt compelled to Konad them!

I'll start with the Precisions. Each is two coats over a base coat under artificial light.

Senorita Rosarita, I'll just get out of the way. What my application problem was on this one, I'll never know, and I didn't realize how shabby it was until I saw the pics! The polish itself is great - it's a blood red jelly that's unique to my collection. If you can disregard the application, you'll see it's a really cool color.

Romeo + Juliet (that's how the label has the name) is a classy slightly fuchsia red with a strong shimmer.

Can You Keep a Secret? is a hot pink almost-creme - it has a very slight shimmer to it. The shimmer shows up more in these magnified pictures than it does in real life.

Sticky Caramel is an excellent BABB (Band-Aid but Better) creme. This is definitely one I'll wear, and it's screaming at me to Konad it!

The last of the Precisions is my favorite of this bunch - Purple Haze. It's lavender with a strong silver shimmer to it. This one is so pigmented that one coat was almost enough - I barley needed the second.

I got the Precisions from sparkling*nails on ebay, as usual (and that's a link to the Precision listings). If she's out of stock of anything that you've seen here, if you email her at sparklingnails@verizon.net and let her know that you saw it on The Nailphile, she'll take very good care of you and see that you get what you want. She has excellent customer service in general, but we've found that she's extra good to The Nailphile readers. One added note, if you find yourself loading up in her store (which is *really* easy to do, says the voice of experience!), she ships free to the US and Canada for orders over $100, and she does ship to France as well. I always add just one more (between Zoya, OPI, China Glaze, Precision, CHI, and SpaRitual...) , find that I'm close to free shipping, and add a couple more to get the free shipping. It's easy to do - I used to do it accidentally, now I just assume I will!

On to the China Glazes! I was hanging on to the second of these pics waiting for a good post where it would fit in, but it's such a great color that I thought I'd just tack it on to today's post. First up is today's NOTD (Nails of the Day), which I did as soon as I finished swatching this morning. It's China Glaze's Crystal Ball, which can be hard to find. The closest thing I've seen to it that's easily available is Precision's Shine, Wine, and Dine (which I posted a while back).

The second is probably my most precious China Glaze. I've had it for quite some time, but was, as I mentioned, "saving" it. I realized I didn't know what I was saving it for, so I finally used it, and it's better than I'd hoped. It is, of course, the very hard to find Moonpool (Moooooooooooooooooooooonpooooooooooooooooooooooooooooool!).

That's what I've got for you today, Dear Reader. I plan to be cracking open more of my precious hard-to-finds in coming weeks since I've enjoyed these two so much (as well as last week's OPI Creme de Menthe). If I ever use them up and they're gone, at least I will have enjoyed them!

Until tomorrow, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!

Something to Hold You Over...

Good morning, Dear Reader! I still have to swatch and photograph the Precision Haul Part V for you, which I plan to do as soon as the sun comes up over the tall buildings to the East. In the meantime, I thought I'd post a little something to hold you over while I wait for the sun and swatch - more Konadicures!

The first is intended to be an all-over pattern, but it's not on me. I like the look of the end of the pattern though, so I left my tips alone. The base color is my precious Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Emerald City, and the patten Konad's Yellow Special Polish. You can tell how precious EC is by how I'm clutching the bottle!

Next is another all time favorite, my beloved SpaRitual Thunder Road, my favorite pale purple creme. I like the pattern a lot (it looks like jewelry to me), but it ended as a square so I also did my tips, using Konad's Purple Special Polish. These pictures were taken by the light of the setting sun.

I know you've come to expect early morning posts, Dear Reader, and I didn't want to let down our European friends by only posting Precisions Haul Part V after they've gone to bed, so I thought I'd give you a little something to tide you over. I'll have more in a bit, and until then, love and nail polish to you!

More Precisions, Part I!

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I told you when I first found that bottle of Precision Purple Hooter that it was dangerous for me to find a new line of polish, and it's true! I've found more fabulous pretties to show you today, and hope you enjoy them. I'll just put them in alphabetical order, because that saves the best for last. Each is two coats over a base coat, photographed in sunlight.

First up is a great purple with a slight reddish sheen to it called Baba Do's n Don'ts.

Second in line is the spectacular Indian Summer, a great fall shade, but the twist on it is the strong silver shimmer rather than the predictable gold.

Next in line is a perfectly chrome-like silver, Shiny Disco Ball.

Number four is a beautiful delicate lilac shimmer, Sugar Plum Fairies. When I first saw the bottle, I was a little sceptical that I may have accidentally gotten a sheer, but it was almost opaque in one coat and totally opaque in two.

Nearing the end, I have See You at Bora Bora, which really is the color of Caribbean waters.

That brings me to the very last, which is my absolute favorite. I've never seen anything like it before, and it mixes two of my favorite things into one polish. It a purple creme with dense holographic microglitter, called Twilight Zone.

I got all of these from sparkling*nails on ebay (that's a link to the listings), and am thrilled to death with all of them. After I swatched them, I needed a mani, and decided to play with Shiny Disco Ball. Here's how the manicure turned out.

Pretty fun, isn't it? I see endless potential for Konad play in this one (and a few of the others as well), but even I wouldn't stamp Twilight Zone...

So, Dear Reader, that's Part I of my Precision haul. There are more parts to this series that you'll be seeing in coming days, and I'm excited about each and every one. If you decide that you "need" any of these, sparkling*nails has them (or will again soon if they're sold out now), and be sure to tell her that you saw them on The Nailphile. She's always good, but she's extra good to my Dear Readers. My usual disclaimer: I gain nothing if you buy any of these, other than the warm fuzzy feeling that you, Dear Reader, got the good stuff!

That's all for today, with more to come tomorrow. Love and nail polish to you, Dear Reader!