Barielle Wrap Me in Ribbon

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I'm still cranking my way through Barielle's Holiday Hustle Collection, today with Wrap Me in Ribbon.  In the promo pictures, Wrap Me in Ribbon looks like a pink frost, and in the bottle I thought it was kind of a dark rose frost, but it's completely different when dry.  Barielle says this is "a metallic raspberry with violet and copper pearl undertones," and I'd say that's an accurate description of the finished manicure with Wrap Me in Ribbon.  It's much more metallic than frost.

Like the others, this polish was a little on the thick side, but sufficiently pigmented so two very thin coats are all that I needed.  Here's Wrap Me in Ribbon in the sun.

Barielle Wrap Me in Ribbon Nail Polish, Two Coats Dry

In the picture, there are slight brush strokes, but that's just because the picture's giant.  Just walking around normally, that doesn't show at all.  I was skeptical about this one, really, but now that I'm wearing it I quite like it.  The color is somewhat "safe," but the metallic finish makes it a really interesting combination.

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


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

SpaRitual Living in the Moment

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I'm cranking through the SpaRitual Imagine Collection, and today I have Living in the Moment for you.  It's a creme, kind of a cross between greige and mauve.  It's definitely a work-safe color, but still interesting, sort of like an updated mauve.

It applied really well, the polish was easy to control, and took two coats.  This one is just a swatch, no topcoat, and so I can't comment on the dry time on this one.  I was thinking there were more than six in the collection, but it's just the six I bought, so I thought I'd swatch this one so I could show you all of the Imagine Collection with the last one tomorrow.  Anyhow, here it is...

SpaRitual Living in the Moment Nail Polish, Two Coats

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

Urban Decay "X"

I Love my old Urban Decay Polish's!The  beautiful duochrome "X" is one of my top 5 UD'sHmmm...doesn't look too special you say?
Oh big deal, gold shimmer you say?
Oh wait, what's that you say, DAAAYYYUUUMMM!Duochrome love!
From so so to hotness! I love it!I am watching for the rest and I WILL find them!

Fairy-like Mauve

I had to try one of the Peggy Sage colors that Lilynail sent me.I chose Feerique Mauve which in English (according to Google translate) means Fairy-like Mauve.The name makes me love it all the more.A beautiful subtle semi duo chrome. I love the mauve center where the light hits it and then the deep purple out to the edges! So beautiful!
I love the bottles and the brush. The polish just magically

As the Sun drifts down behind the evening sky

That is what this color reminds me of.China Glaze Sunset glow is a soft, safe pink with a lilac undertone and a golden shimmer that glows from within. This is not my usual type of color but I have a lot of friends that have to wear work safe colors and I think this is a great alternative to the standard nudes and neutrals.
Click to enlarge these and see that gorgeous glow!




This will certainly

FingerPaints Holiday 2009

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

This afternoon I thought I'd give you a peek at the FingerPaints Holiday 2009 Collection. Five are swatches and one is a full manicure, all six required three coats to be opaque and even, and other than the three coat thing, they're great. The went on well, all the brushes were good, and I have no complaints.

Several of these have the little flaky glitter like Festive Claret does - they're definitely FingerPaints. I'll get straight to the pictures, which were taken in afternoon sunlight.

Sparkling Snow is a whitish silver shimmer.

FingerPaints Holiday 2009: Sparkling Snow, Three Coats

I can still see through my nails after three coats of Decked with Dazzle, a pinky mauve shimmer.

FingerPaints Holiday 2009: Decked with Dazzle, Three Coats

Snowman's Scarf is red with a strong gold shimmer.

FingerPaints Holiday 2009: Snowman's Scarf, Three Coats

The other red, Candy Cane Shimmer, has a foil-y finish.

FingerPaints Holiday 2009: Candy Cane Shimmer, Three Coats

My two favorites have the tiny flaky bits. A violet shimmer, this is Icy Iris.

FingerPaints Holiday 2009: Icy Iris, Three Coats

Last is the full manicure, which is three coats of the green shimmer, Evergreen Dream.

FingerPaints Holiday 2009: Evergreen Dream, Three Coats

So that's what FingerPaints is giving us this holiday season. I like them! Until tomorrow, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!

Diamond Cosmetics Winter 2009 Nail Polish Collection

Good evening, Dear Reader!

Diamond Cosmetics sent me samples of their upcoming Winter 2009 Collection to review, and I just finished swatching them and doing a full manicure with the fourth (the collection is four colors). I've got pictures of them for you today.

I'll show them to you in increasing order of preference. They all applied well, with the basic thick 3-free formula, which is not a problem for me. It was easy to control, and did not seem to have that thick-yet-runny thing happening. Each took two coats to be completely opaque.

First up is Smokey Rose, which quite simply is a smoky rose creme. There's nothing wrong with it, it just doesn't excite me. If you don't have a basic rose, this one's $2, so it's not a bad choice, but I have a million.

Diamond Cosmetics Smokey Rose Nail Polish, Two Coats

The next one, Mulberry Mayhem, I kind of underestimated in the bottle. When I swatched it, I was more impressed. It's a bright red-berry creme. I like this one quite a bit.

Diamond Cosmetics Mulberry Mayhem Nail Polish, Two Coats

The next two struck me right when I took them out of the box - I'm fired up about these two. Which would be third and which would be fourth was a matter of inspecting the bottles as I swatched. Number three is a purple creme called Crushed Velvet. It's a rich, deep, slightly blue shade, and will definitely be the base for Konad manis.

Diamond Cosmetics Crushed Velvet Nail Polish, Two Coats

The last shade in this collection is my Nails of the Day, and the only shimmer in the collection. It's called Cherry Tobacco, and is a very rich blackened red brown shimmer. It's my top pick from this release.

Diamond Cosmetics Cherry Tobacco Nail Polish, Two Coats

So overall, I'm really pleased with this collection. Two I love, one I really like, and one I simply have dupes for. Not bad at all.

As I mentioned above, these go for the princely sum of $2 on Diamond's site. What I don't know, and am about to email them to ask and will later add as an edit to the bottom of this post, is whether this seasonal collection is permanent or limited edition. In any case, I don't think there's any need to panic yet! I've been happy with all the polishes I've used from them though, so for $2, what the heck...

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

Edit: I just got word that these are a permanent addition to the line.

Essie Cuddle with Color Collection for Fall 2009

Good morning, Dear Reader!

This is turning into Swatch Week! Today I have Essie's Cuddle with Color Collection for Fall 2009 for you. They were all three-coaters for me, and went on well. The color can be divided into those you'd expect and those you wouldn't. I'll start with those you would.

Angora Cardi is a deep muted mauve creme.

Chinchilly is a somewhat grey, beige-y creme.

Mink Muffs is a muted brown creme.

Now for the surprises!

Bright Tights is a retina-searing orange neon creme.

Pink Parka is also a retina-searer, a pink neon creme.

Last, Midnight Cami is a dark navy shimmer.

Quite a collection for Fall, no? I'm a fan of all six shades, so I'm happy with them. Whether they hang together as a collection, well, I don't know if that matters to me here!

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

Barielle Shades All Lacquered Up Collection for Fall 2009

Good evening, Dear Reader!

I had a long, tiring day today out and about today, and came home to a surprise - a package from Barielle. Inside was their Fall 2009 Collection, called All Lacquered Up, which was created by celebrity manicurist Elle with Michelle from All Lacquered Up as a guest collaborator. It consists of twelve colors, and I decided to swatch six of them for you while I unwound from highway driving.

No thought at all went into the selection of which six to show you - they came in two six packs, and I swatched one of the boxes. All six were three-coaters for me, and the formula was very three-free. It was thick and a bit runny at the same time, kind of like the polish was trying to escape the brush. There are definitely some unique colors here though!

Since I'm weary, I'll just show them to you in alphabetical order. Again, no thought...

First is Falling Star, which is a blue creme with copper glitter. I definitely have nothing like this one.

Next is Get Mauve-ing, which is like a slightly darker Sephora by OPI Call Your Mother - a greyed out mauve creme.

Then we have Make It A Latte, a chocolate brown shimmer. I had high hopes for this one seeing it in the bottle, but the shimmer is not as pronounced as I'd hoped for.

Out-grey-geous is a silver shimmer with gold microglitter, along the lines of OPI's Brand New Skates but more metallic.

Pin Up is a vivid red shimmer with gold microglitter. I have many reds with gold shimmer, but since it's a combination that works, here's one more.

The last for today is Putt-e-on Me, a greyed out taupe creme a la OPI You Don't Know Jacques, Sephora by OPI Metro Chic, and Sparitual Sage. I was thinking a comparison of those would be interesting, but I'm really, really far off from unpacking nail polish in the moving-in process...

So that's Box #1. I'll have the rest of the collection swatched for you soon. Until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!