Color Club Beyond the Mistletoe

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Color Club sent their Beyond the Mistletoe Collection for review, and I'm wearing the namesake of the collection today.

Beyond the Mistletoe is a very pale, barely green medium-fine glitter that's loaded up with some really exceptional holographic glitter.  The base is clear and the glitter provides full coverage in just two coats.  I applied it late last night, and since the glitter's pretty fine I'd hoped the one coat of Essie Good to Go I'd used to dry it would be enough, but this morning it was totally dull and felt like sand.  I kept adding one coat of top coat as I sat here doing other things, and at five coats of top coat, it's smooth.  That's a lot, but not terribly high maintenance since adding each coat to a dry manicure takes about one minute and dries really fast, and the finished manicure is totally worth it.

It's cloudy (and snowing!) here today, so the pictures are just a hint at the glitter - it's really blazing, and I have yet to see a picture of it that really shows just how cool the polish is.  I'll toss my own inadequate representations onto the pile and give you my cloudy-day pics of Beyond the Mistletoe.

Color Club Beyond the Mistletoe Nail Polish, Two Coats

I chose this picture because the middle of the polish bottle gives you a glimpse of how this really looks on all nails - the bright colors reflected show up well even in indoor lighting.  Here is a closer look at part of one nail so you can see the glitter a little better.

Color Club Beyond the Mistletoe Nail Polish, Closer Look at Two Coats

A polish that looks like this under a cloudy, snowy sky is a winner in my book.  I've already chosen another from this collection to wear when I present this project I'm working on - I figure even if I completely bomb, I have a solid shot at mesmerizing them all with my mani and no one will notice!

That's Color Club Beyond the Mistletoe and the first of the collection, so until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!

All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen from a real nail polish blog.

Sally Hansen Sweet Tart-an Salon Effects

Good evening, Dear Reader!

I came across some new Sally Hansen Salon Effects nail polish strips while grocery shopping today, and they seemed like a good choice after soaking off OPI Divine Swine - I was up for low maintenance after that!

I've found that there's significant variation from one pattern to the next in how easy or difficult Sally Hansen Salon Effects are to apply, and these seem to be at the more difficult end of the spectrum  With Sweet Tart-an, I ended up with wrinkles, air bubbles, or both on every single nail, and none of the usual tricks to fix them up after the fact were particularly successful.  I didn't use base coat under them, and most of the others I've used have been really easy to apply smoothly all alone, but that wasn't the case here.  I considered taking them off right away since they're not perfectly smooth and will likely get on my nerves, but figured what the heck, I have red tartan nails whether they're perfect or not, added a coat of top coat, and called it finished.

I took a picture of them under artificial light once they were done, and this is my Sally Hansen Sweet Tart-an Salon Effects manicure.

Sally Hansen Sweet Tart-an Salon Effects Nail Polish Strips

You can see the bubbles and wrinkles in the picture, but without the magnification they really don't show.  The only real trouble I anticipate is the unevenness getting on my nerves, but for a day or two, I can live with it.  Although this is one of my favorite Salon Effects patterns, the manicure with them is probably my least favorite  Salon Effects manis so far.

That's my Sweet Tart-an Salon Effects manicure and the update for today, so until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!

All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen from a real nail polish blog.

Chick Wild Rooster

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

I have another from Chick Nail Polish to show you today, a red creme called Wild Rooster.  I think red cremes are a good way to evaluate a line of polish since everybody has one and there's a good bit of variance in how pigmented they can be.  Wild Rooster is a great classic red, easy to apply and control and opaque in two coats. I finished it off with Essie Good to Go when I applied it last night, then took pictures this afternoon.

Chick Wild Rooster Nail Polish, Two Coats

I love a good red creme, and this one fits the bill.

That's Chick's Wild Rooster and the update for today, so until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!

All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen from a real nail polish blog.

Color Club Kiss Me Mistletoe

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

Last night I had to do a quickie gel and color change, and the polish I used was Color Club Kiss Me Mistletoe from their Scent-suous Holiday Collection.  It's a light green foil, very well pigmented (two coats was plenty), and it smells like a mistletoe scented candle.  I've had it on for close to twenty-four hours, and it's worth noting that the fragrance is pretty much gone while the others I've tried from this collection have stayed pleasantly scented for a couple of days.

I was dreading changing the soak-off gel base I've had for a little over a week because I initially applied it to repair two cracks, and I really hate doing repairs.  I took a short nap yesterday and in that weird half-asleep state waking up, saw a teeny edge of gel lifted from a nail, decided I'd change it when I got home late, and peeled off a big piece.  I have no idea why it would make sense to do the last part, but evidently it did.  On this gel application, I violated all manufacturers' suggestions and didn't do any of the prep (buffing, primer, bonder) to see if it would hold and make the removal easier.  It turned out to be a good but inconvenient decision - when I was washing my hair to go out last night, I kept feeling that peeled edge snag, so once I was done with my hair I peeled it again, and the soak off gel and polish peeled off just like a regular manicure will in the pool after you've been swimming for a couple of hours.

When the that one came off completely, I started trying to get the others to do the same while still under the super hot shower, and it worked surprisingly easily - I scraped a corner of each nail with the opposite thumbnail to get an edge to come up, and once the edge lifted I could peel it right off with ease.  So that made for one of the easiest removals of anything I've ever had, but had to be somewhere shortly and suddenly had bare nails.  With the cold, they'd break right away while bare, so I went with drip-dry hair and no makeup in order to at least get some gel on them.  I felt like I was in one of those Lee nail repair kit commercials from the 80's.

Re-doing the glue on the cracks then applying and curing the Gelicure base and sealer took only twenty minutes, so I figured I'd get the polish on and be done with it.  I used two coats of Kiss Me Mistletoe and one of Essie Good to Go, and it dried fast and smelled really good.  I'm a little sad that the smell is gone, because I kept finding myself sniffing it!  I took a picture just a bit ago in the last afternoon sunlight.

Color Club Kiss Me Mistletoe Nail Polish, Two Coats

Even without the fragrance, Kiss Me Mistletoe is a pretty polish - I'd wear this one even if it were not scented.

That's what I have for you today, Dear Reader, so until next time, love and nail polish to you!

All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen from a real nail polish blog.

Models Own Beetle Juice Purple Blue

Good evening, Dear Reader!

I changed polish tonight to Models Own Beetle Juice Purple Blue from their latest collection, which are duochromes.  Purple Blue isn't particularly impressive in the bottle, but it's a lot cooler applied.  Rather than the usual color shifting duochrome pigment, Purple Blue has a bunch of purple and blue shimmery pigment throughout, so both colors are pretty consistently reflected.  I think it works out well.

For the manicure, I used three coats of color and finished it off with Essie Good to Go.  The soak-of gel base I've had for seven days is starting to have a bit of lifting on one nail (still impressive after five color changes with acetone-based remover used), and Essie Super Bossa Nova wore very well on it  for three days with no chips or tip wear at all.  I liked the gel, so when I remove the worn application, I'll put on a new one.  Anyhow, back to Beetle Juice Purple Blue, after it dried I took pictures under artificial light.

Models Own Beetle Juice Purple Blue Nail Polish, Three Coats

Here are a couple of closer looks at the shimmer, where you can get a better look and the purple and blue shimmery bits.

Models Own Beetle Juice Purple Blue Nail Polish, Closer Look at Shimmer

Models Own Beetle Juice Purple Blue Nail Polish, Even Closer Look at Shimmer

It's not quite what I'd expected, but the name is accurate and it definitely shows two distinct colors at the same time.

That's the next Models Own Beetle Juice and all I have for you today, Dear Reader, so until next time, love and nail polish to you!

All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen from a real nail polish blog.

Essie Super Bossa Nova

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

Today brings a bright polish, Essie Super Bossa Nova.  I think this one is from Summer 2011, but I'm not positive of that.  It's relatively recent, in any case.

Super Bossa Nova is a bright, kind of fuchsia pink shimmer, not anything terribly unique but it has a really pretty shimmer that I like.  I used two coats and finished it with Essie Good to Go, and although the application of the color was just fine, it's not too shiny once dry.  It's not matte or anything, it just lacks the really glossy finish of quite a few recent manicures, and I prefer shinier.

After giving the manicure a few minutes to dry, I took a picture in sunlight.

Essie Super Bossa Nova Nail Polish, Two Coats

A good vivid pink was overdue, so even though it's not the shiniest ever, I like it.

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

All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen from a real nail polish blog.

Orly Rococo A-Go-Go

Happy Thanksgiving, Dear Reader!

I thought I'd give you a look at my Thanksgiving manicure, Orly Rococo A-Go-Go, because the color is really cool.  I'm so late posting it that it the Orly Mineral FX Collection is probably not even in brick and mortar stores anymore, but it's pretty and still available online.

The color is kind of a red plum with the same cool finish as the other Mineral FX shades, and it seemed like a good Thanksgiving color to me.  I used two coats with a coat of Essie Good to Go and gave it some time to dry before taking pictures in the sunlight.

Orly Rococo A-Go-Go Nail Polish, Two Coats

That's my Thanksgiving manicure, and now I'm off to enjoy Thanksgiving.  I hope yours is happy, Dear Reader, and until next time, love and nail polish to you!

All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen from a real nail polish blog.

Wet n Wild Diamond in the Rough

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

It seemed than an especially blingtastic mani was in order today, and that called for a Wet n Wild Color Icon nail polish.  I picked up three of them weeks and weeks ago, and today I'm wearing Diamond in the Rough, the charcoal one that's loaded up with tiny silver regular and holo hex glitter.  The hex glitter in Diamond in the Rough throws off more bright colors than any other I have, it's really cool.

Because I wanted to make the removal a little easier since I have a coat of soak off gel on, I started with a foundation of two coats of Illamasqua Boosh, their black creme.  I let each coat dry for a few minutes, then added one coat of Wet n Wild Diamond in the Rough.  I was prepared to part with two coats from the little 0.34 oz bottle, but the glitter in it is very dense and one was all I needed for layering.  I added a coat of Essie Good to Go to dry it, and I'm really impressed with the top coat.  It really dries polish fast without shrinking it and the brush doesn't pick up and color at all, which is ideal.   It's still a new one for me, so I'll continue to mention anything noteworthy about it as I try it for various things.

Despite the fact that its glitter is fine, Diamond in the Rough was surprisingly gritty after drying.  I did the manicure last night, added one additional coat of top coat to even it out before bed, and needed a third this morning.  It's still not glassy smooth, but it's smooth enough that it isn't annoying and looks shiny.  I took pictures maybe 12 hours or so after applying it in natural light.  The one I chose here is not the clearest of them, but the most accurate in terms of what Diamond in the Rough really looks like.

Wet n Wild Diamond in the Rough Nail Polish, One Coat over Black

See the bright colors reflected off the hex glitter in the center of the bottle?  That's the most accurate representation of what it really looks like - the reflected colors are very vivid, and shift from color to color as I move my hands.  I got a WTF??? look from a guy next to me in traffic at a light today as I was playing with it (I'm sure the look was about the idiot fascinated that she could move her hand rather than the polish!), and it's not even especially sunny today.  Here's a closer look at the glitter so you can see how I could get lost for a moment having fun with it.

Wet n Wild Diamond in the Rough Nail Polish, Closer Look at One Coat

Even though the density of one coat points to Diamond in the Rough only requiring 2-3 coats for opaque coverage, it's pretty likely I'll be using it for layering to savor my precious 0.34 oz of it.

The six-day Zoya Feel break from glitters and dramatic colors made Diamond in the Rough over black far more fun to wear than it otherwise would have been, so I'm glad for the timing.  It's something I'll have to remember when nothing seems to be much fun to wear no matter how fabulous it is - that's a hint that a change to neutrals for a bit is in order.

That's Diamond in the Rough, my return to fabulous sparkly things, and the update for today, so until next time, love and nail polish to you!

All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen from a real nail polish blog.

Zoya Feel Collection

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I have the last of the Zoya Feel Collection to show you today, and that's Zoya Megan.  Zoya describes it as "taupe gray cream," and I can sign on for that.  I also see a bit of a lavender tinge in the bottle, but that really doesn't show up nearly as much on my hands.

This manicure is slightly different than the prior five in terms of the base used.  I cracked a couple nails on my right hand putting clean sheets on the bed over the weekend, so I did the long term repair of gluing the cracks and adding soak off gel.  With the weather changing, I figured I'd ward off additional cracks by just using one thin coat of Nubar Gelicure base coat and one of their soak off sealer on all ten nails.  It ended up being a really good ridge filling base, and I just applied two coats of Zoya Megan, which went on just as well as the previous five, and a coat of Essie Good to Go to dry it.  Over a very smooth base, Zoya Megan is even shinier than the others were.  I applied the color when I did the repairs yesterday, and it's raining today so I took this morning's picture under artificial light.

Zoya Megan Nail Polish, Two Coats

As promised, I'll put all of them in one place so you don't have to flip between pages to compare any.  To summarize, I'm just putting Zoya's color description, the picture, and a link to my full review of each, and I've tried to order them so similar colors are close together.

I think Carey is closest to Megan, and that's the "periwinkle gray cream."

Zoya Carey Nail Polish, Two Coats

Kristen is the "gull gray cream."

Zoya Kristen Nail Polish, Two Coats

Kendal moves us to the beiges, a "rose quartz beige cream."

Zoya Kendal Nail Polish, Two Coats

Kennedy is the "pale french beige cream."

Zoya Kennedy Nail Polish, Two Coats

The last is Avery, the "blonde beige cream."

Zoya Avery Nail Polish, Two Coats

The review summary is that I found all six to be exceptionally easy to apply and control, even, opaque, and super glossy in two coats, and to have a better than average drying time.  I think making choices from this collection really boils down to which colors seem like they'd work best for you, and even though Avery isn't great with my coloring, I think all six are solid updated versions of good neutral basics.

Wearing neutral cremes was a good break from glitter, just what I needed!  I'm ready for something more exciting though, and fortunately, I have good things to show you.  Until then, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!

All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen from a real nail polish blog.

These products were sent by the manufacturer for review.

Zoya Avery

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Today brings Zoya Avery from their Feel Collection, the second to last of the collection that I have to show you.  This one's pretty much a Band Aid beige creme, and I think it's my least favorite in terms of color.  However, I think on different colored hands, it would be a good neutral, just not on mine.

Like the others in this collection, application was very easy and two coats of color gave a very even, opaque, shiny manicure.  Here's Avery under a cloudy sky with base and top coat, about twelve hours after I applied it.

Zoya Avery Nail Polish, Two Coats

You can see in the picture that it's really shiny and even, but it's just not the most flattering shade on me.

That's Zoya Avery and Part Five of our look at Zoya's Feel Collection, so until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!

All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen from a real nail polish blog.

This product was sent by the manufacturer for review.

Zoya Kristen

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Today brings another installment in the Zoya Feel Collection series with Kristen, the light blue creme in the collection.  Zoya describes Kristen as " gull gray cream," and it's definitely a very grey blue, maybe halfway between grey and blue.  The overall impression I get from it is still blue though, and relative to Carey, the grey I showed you yesterday, it's much more blue.

Like the others in this collection, Kristen was super easy to apply and control and exceptionally well pigmented without sacrificing shine.  I used two very thin coats of color between base and top coat, and one coat of color was almost sufficient.  I applied it last night and took pictures under a cloudy sky this morning, so the manicure was completely dry for the picture.

Zoya Kristen Nail Polish, Two Coats

You can see the color of Kristen falls into the "kinda grey, kinda blue" category, and also that its shine is really outstanding.  For me, Kristen is far more appealing than a plain grey (even though I'm a big fan of greys) just because the blue in it makes it more interesting to look at.

That's Zoya Kristen and Part Four of a look at the Zoya Feel Collection.  Until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!

All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen from a real nail polish blog.

This product was sent by the manufacturer for review.

Zoya Kennedy from Feel

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Today brings another polish from the Zoya Feel Collection, Kennedy.  It's described by Zoya as "pale french beige cream," and I'll sign on for pale beige.  It's got a hint of a blush tone to it that keeps it from being all-out Band-Aid beige, but the overall look of Kennedy is pale beige.  Since Feel is all neutrals and I'm showing them to you one at a time, once I've reviewed all six I'll assemble a summary so you can see all six together to help with decision-making.

For this manicure, I again used base coat, two coats of color, and top coat to dry it.  Like Kendal, Kennedy is well pigmented without sacrificing gloss and easy to apply and control.  Two coats made it opaque and perfectly even and shiny.  Another similarity is the better than average drying time.  After allowing a few minutes for the manicure to completely dry, I took pictures in sunlight.  This manicure got a test of thorough dryness when I went out for pictures - it's cold out so I put on a jacket, and I knocked two nails into each other putting my left hand into the sleeve.  I expected a good dent at the very least, but there wasn't any evidence of the little collision at all.

Zoya Kennedy Nail Polish, Two Coats

I like it - it's one of the more basic colors in the collection, but it's got that muted element that seems to update the color and it's so shiny that it's a really outstanding rendition of a basic.  The other thing I like about a good beige on long nails is that I associate them with Barbra Streisand, so I can pretend I'm Babs as I go about the rest of my day.  I might even burst into song a few times.

That's Zoya Kennedy and part two of six as we look at Zoya Feel, so until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!

All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen from a real nail polish blog.

This product was sent by the manufacturer for review.

Zoya Kendal from the Feel Collection

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

Zoya sent a sample set of their Feel Collection for review, and today I'm trying out Kendal.  Rather than swatches, actually wearing these to review them seemed like a better choice since I'd be able to tell you about their drying time this way.

The press info tells me that "FEEL by Zoya Nail Polish delivers six new, highly pigmented, full coverge neutrals." That doesn't sounds anywhere near as cool as it is, to tell you the truth.  All six shades are very modern, pale neutrals, and I waffled on a few to pick out which to try first.  I settled on Kendal, described as "full coverage, rose quartz beige cream," and I can't really think of a more accurate way to describe the color.  It's definitely an opaque version of the color of rose quartz, which is just difficult to describe.  My hat's off to whoever came up with the description Zoya gives!

For my Kendal manicure, I used base coat, two coats of color, and Tout de Suite to dry it.  I found the color very easy to control and apply, and one thin coat was almost opaque and exceptionally even in general, let alone for a very pale creme.  I added a second coat of color because it added a lot to the gloss of the polish, but I think one moderate coat could easily do the job.  Kendal dried quickly, with each coat being close to dry when I came around for the next, and after giving it a few minutes to finish drying I took pictures in sunlight.

Zoya Kendal Nail Polish, Two Coats

In the picture, you can see that it's very even and very glossy, and also that it's a tough shade to put words to.  I think the timing of this release, which went online at Zoya on November 15th, is perfect.  Although I enjoy all the glitters, duochromes, and dramatic holiday shades that have come out in recent months, some modern seasonally appropriate neutral cremes are a refreshing change of pace.  I have more glitters around to show you, but they feel kind of like I'm eyeing a Snickers after a big bag of Halloween candy - just way too much.  Zoya Feel's shades, however, seem just right.

I'm quite pleased with Kendal, and looking forward to wearing the remaining five shades this week.  With the very opaque coverage and high shine combined (normally, it seems one of those suffers a lot when the other is great, but not here), there's an elegant simplicity to these shades that I find very appealing.

That's the update for today and the start of my Zoya Feel series, so until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!

All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen from a real nail polish blog.

Models Own Beetle Juice Aqua Violet

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

Today I have one of the Models Own Beetle Juice nail polishes to show you, Aqua Violet.  I'd say of other duochrome polishes, it most reminds me of Sally Hansen Nail Prisms Turquoise Opal.  Since Aqua Violet is more opaque than Turquoise Opal, I used it alone, but I think next time I'll layer over black to see how it works out that way.

For this manicure, I used base coat, three coats of Aqua Violet (two coats of color was almost enough, but not quite), and one coat of Tout de Suite to dry it.  I took a bunch of pictures in different natural light to give you a look at it.

Models Own Beetle Juice Aqua Violet Nail Polish, Direct Sunlight

Models Own Beetle Juice Aqua Violet Nail Polish with Sunlight from Left

Models Own Beetle Juice Aqua Violet Nail Polish in Partial Sunlight

Models Own Beetle Juice Aqua Violet Nail Polish in the Shade

It's a good one.  It seems the lower the light, the more duochrome-y it is, which makes it interesting to shift around.

That's Models Own Aqua Violet and the first of their Beetle Juice polishes I have to show you, so until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!

All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen from a real nail polish blog.

Chick Falcon Pearl

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Today I'm trying out a new brand of nail polish, a big three free, vegan-friendly one called Chick Nail Polish (that's a link to the web site).  A few were offered for review, and I'm pleased with how the first one worked out.

I tried out Falcon Pearl, which is a really nice gunmetal shimmer.  At one coat, it looked thin, but the second gave it good opaque coverage without brushstrokes, which are often a shortcoming of gunmetal greys.  For the manicure I used Illamasqua base coat, two of color, and Tout de Suite to dry it, and I noticed the dry time was quite good before adding top coat (each coat of color was mostly dry by the time I came back around for the next coat).  After it dried, I took pictures in the sun.

Chick Nail Polish Falcon Pearl, Two Coats

I really like it, and I'm always glad for new small brands making good polishes.  The names of them are cool too - they're all chicky-themed, which is fun.

That's Chick Falcon Pearl the update for today, Dear Reader, so until next time, love and nail polish to you!

All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen from a real nail polish blog.

China Glaze Velvet Bow

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

After all the glitter I've worn in recent weeks, China Glaze Velvet Bow from their Let It Snow Collection seemed really appealing to me.  That's the burgundy jelly-ish creme, and I'm absolutely smitten with it now that I have it on.

I used Illamasqua base coat (for no other reason than it was handy), and I tried to do thicker coats to see if I could get Velvet Bow even in two coats.  I almost did, but the fact is that I normally do very thin coats and at this length I'm spreading the polish pretty thin, so I needed three for even coverage.  I think most people could do fine with two.  I finished it off with a coat of SpaRitual Tout de Suite, and after it dried I took pictures in moderate natural light.

China Glaze Velvet Bow Nail Polish, Three Coats

I love this as a holiday color, but also as an all-purpose color.  It's along the lines of a Rouge Noir standard vamp, and it's also just the color of a rich burgundy velvet.  It's one of those colors that I associate with childhood Christmases (I had a fabulous burgundy velvet dress that I loved when I was maybe five, and it brings it to mind), and I think the older I get the more holidays are about tradition and family history, so this one fits the bill.

I'm thinking of adding a coat of FingerPaints Sparkle Top Coat to this one tomorrow just because Velvet Bow seems like it would make a cool base color for it.  We'll see!  Until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!

All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen from a real nail polish blog.

Color Club Orna-Minted

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I tried out Color Club Orna-minted, the silver glitter from their Scent-suous Holiday Collection, to add on to my Blue Year's Eve manicure.  I added one coat of Orna-minted, which I found to be similar to Sugar Plum Yum as far as application - it's thick, and the easiest way to use it was to get out a blob, put it in the middle of a nail, and smooth it over the nail.  I used a total of three coats of Sally Hansen Speed Shine over it to smooth it out.

Color Club Orna-minted Nail Polish, One Coat over Blue

I like Orna-minted and applying it gave me what seems like a good idea for a mani with it, but this isn't the best use of it.  I was going for a cold, icy manicure, but I think it looks more like I fell on some sparkly gravel with wet nails.

I was a little apprehensive about a mint scent, but it turns out that Orna-minted has the best possible variation of it.  It smells like peppermint tea with just a little bit of white sugar, and although definitely there, is not too strong.

I don't think I'd be so bold as to call this manicure a success, but I figured I'd post it anyhow because it gives you a good look at one coat of Orna-minted, and that might prompt some fun ideas for a better use of it for you, too.

That's it for today, so until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!

Edited to add a note on removal: Orna-minted was surprisingly not bad to remove.  Even with three coats of top coat, I had it removed with felt and acetone in ten minutes even.  The only part that took effort was the free edges (that's always true of glitter removal) , so getting this off of shorter nails should be even easier.

All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen from a real nail polish blog.

China Glaze Holiday 2011

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

Today I have swatches of the China Glaze Let It Snow Collection, their Holiday 2011 release, which China Glaze sent for review.  These are already out now in stores, so you should be able to find them pretty easily.  As a whole, it strikes me as a really good classic holiday collection with a decent amount of variety, but that's just about the only generalization I have.  There are lots of colors to go through, so let's get to it!

The pictures are all under artificial light, all but one are swatches without a base or top.  I'll start with the reds (or reddish shades), and there are three of those. All three are more jellies than cremes and each needed three thin coats to be even and opaque, but three is what I expect of a red jelly.  Poinsettia is the bright red of a poinsettia, and a really good holiday basic.

China Glaze Poinsettia Nail Polish, Three Coats

Winter Berry is a berry red jelly and a good bit darker than Poinsettia.

China Glaze Winter Berry Nail Polish, Three Coats

Velvet Bow is a really exceptional one, a deep burgundy jelly.

China Glaze Velvet Bow Nail Polish, Three Coats

There are also two metallics, another holiday basic, and both were two-coaters. The first is Icicle,a really good silver with sparkly shimmer bits.

China Glaze Icicle Nail Polish, Two Coats

Champagne Bubbles is a yellow gold with glitter that brings to mind Cowardly Lyin'.

China Glaze Champagne Bubbles Nail Polish, Two Coats

There are two that are kind of off on their own before I move on to the glitters.  Holly-Day is an evergreen creme that was good in two coats.

China Glaze Holly-Day Nail Polish, Two Coats

Blue Year's Eve is a fantastic blue shimmer with the slightest purple duochrome flash, which you can see on the left side of the bottle.  This is the one I'm wearing, so the picture is two coats of color with base and top coat, and I noticed that purple showed while I was driving a little bit ago.

China Glaze Blue Year's Eve Nail Polish, Two Coats

That brings us to the glitters. I'll start with Snow Globe, which I'd use as a glitter top coat.  It's light glitter in a clear base, and here you can see one coat over Blue Year's Eve, Poinsettia, and Holly-Day.

China Glaze Snow Globe Nail Polish, One Coat over Various Base Colors

In the bottle, I thought Ring in the Red was similar to Ruby Pumps, but swatching showed me that's true only in the sense that they're glitter in a red base.  Ring in the Red has powdery fine red glitter and very small red hex glitter.  On the first coat, it looked like it would take a zillion coats for coverage, but it only took three.

China Glaze Ring in the Red Nail Polish, Three Coats

Glittering Garland is a great deep green glitter in a green base that really is the color of a garland.  I used two coats.

China Glaze Glittering Garland Nail Polish, Two Coats

It's hard to name a favorite in this collection because I love holiday polishes, but the next two are in the battle for first place.  Tinsel Town is powdery fine and small hex glitter in a base just a hair lighter than a charcoal grey, and it was good in two coats.

China Glaze Tinsel Town Nail Polish, Two Coats

The last polish in this collection is Twinkle Lights, a clear base loaded up with mostly gold glitter and a decent amount of red and green glitter.  In this swatch, I used two coats on the top two nails, and on the bottom one I used one coat over two coats of Champagne Bubbles because I wanted to see how they looked together.

China Glaze Twinkle Lights Nail Polish, Two Coats

As you can see, the traditional holiday colors are all here and there's a good bit of variety, so I'd have to call this one really solid holiday collection.  That is China Glaze Let It Snow, and I hope the swatches help you make your picks!  Until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!

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