OPI Femme de Cirque - In The spot-light Pink & I juggle...Men

These are 2 of the shades from OPI Femme de Cirque from the Soft shades collectionIn the Spot-Light PinkI am not a sheers fan or big on the traditional pink & white frenchy(I spend enough time with people asking if my nails are fake, lets not add to it)This is 3 coats with no top coatApplication is very nice, smooth even and dries quickly then I added a coat of I juggle...MenI think if you like

Nubar The Finest Silks collection swatches part 2

The second half of the Finest Silks collectionPekin - a rich dark redMoire- a light reddish brownOrganza - an intense pearl white
Chiffon - a muted brown
Pekin in natural light shade
In SunlightPekin is a nice vampy red almost a jelly but not quite.2 coats to opaque
Moire in natural light shade
Moire in sunlightOn me this is not so much a reddish brown as a nude.2 coats to opaque
Organza in

Essie Petal Pink & Konad Rhinestone Glam Decals

Good morning, Dear Reader!

For today's Nails of the Day I was in the mood for the rarely seen sheer, and I used two coats of Essie Petal Pink.  It needed a little something, and I didn't feel like Konading, so I added the pink Konad Rhinestone Glam decals to it, mostly to cover up my nail lines.  I waited until Petal Pink was totally dry to apply the decals, and after applying them, I sealed them with a coat of Diamont.  I find they're surprisingly durable this way.

Essie Petal Pink, Two Coats & Pink Konad Rhinestone Glam Decals

That's my pink Nails of the Day, and just about all I have for you today.  Until tomorrow, love and nail polish to you!  

Borghese Tutti Gelati collection

I love Gelati....yum!The Borghese Summer 2010 Tutti Gelati collection is just as yummy!6 beautiful Jelly/sheer shades of summer fun!These are all sheer or jelly but they are Gelati so they should be. :o)I admit I've only had a couple of Borghese prior to this, but these colors are so pretty.I love the brush too, it's wide but not painting the barn wide and the formula is very nice.All pictures

Illamasqua Body Electrics Nail Varnish Set

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Today, as the title, tells you, I have a little something fun for you from across the pond: the Illamasqua Body Electrics.  I don't think I've ever called nail polish "varnish" before, but that's the official name of the set, and I find it charming, so I used the full name.

I got the full set because Illamasqua was out of at least one of the colors individually.  The set consists of the three Body Electrics colors, and they toss in a free base coat.  I've told you before that the base coat is pretty nice and that I use the one I got as a freebie before with Illamasquas, but I wouldn't pay the Sephora price of $14 for it.  I'm halfway through the first base coat, and I got a couple more Illamasquas not at Sephora as long as I was paying the £7.50 for shipping, so it worked out well to keep using it with them.

I took picures of the Body Electrics in natural light, and they're fabulous.  Each applied beautifully, as I expect from Illamasqua, and were easily two-coaters.  Let's get to the swatches!

Force is an amazing blue, really bright and vivid, and I think it's dramatic against very pale skin.

Illamasqua Body Electrics Nail Varnish Set: Force, Two Coats in the Sun

Jo'mina is a gorgeous pale purple creme unlike any other I have.

Illamasqua Body Electrics Nail Varnish Set: Jo'mina, Two Coats in the Sun

Prism is a sheer, not my strong suit.  I tried it over black, and it's too milky to go over black, so I ended up putting it over my Jo'mina manicure, and I like it a lot.  It softens the color a bit, but adds a blue flash.  This is one coat of Prism.

Illamasqua Body Electrics Nail Varnish Set: Prism, One Coat over Jo'mina

Those are the three Illamasqua Body Electrics colors, and I'm glad I got all three - I really love them.  

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

Dior Blue Lilac (Lilas Bleuet) & Fimo

Good morning, Dear Reader, and happy first day of Spring!

To celebrate the first day of Spring, I did my first fimo manicure, and I'd call it a moderate success. I got some of the pieces of fimo as thin as I wanted them. It's festive, if nothing else!

I decided I wanted to use Dior Blue Lilac as the base, a color I've shown you before. Since it's sheer, I started with one coat of Essie Walk Down the Aisle, then did two coats of Blue Lilac. I added top coat, waited a few minutes, then went to town applying the fimo pieces I'd cut out before starting the manicure. I sealed the fimo with a coat of Diamont.

Dior Blue Lilac Nail Polish, Two Coats & Fimo for Spring

Dior Blue Lilac Nail Polish, Two Coats & Fimo for Spring, Closer View

I'll be interested in seeing if these stay on all day or not. I have errands to run, so I'll find out... Yesterday I got the tip from a reader to warm the fimo slices prior to application so that I could make them flatter on the nail, but the fact is that after cutting them, doing a three coat manicure, and waiting five minutes to apply the pieces, I just wanted to be finished and get on with the day, so I didn't. Maybe next time...

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

Essie Wedding Collection 2010

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

I swatched Essie's Wedding Collection for you because I wanted to change to a different color than pastel blue for plans tonight. I figured while I was at it, I'd knock out some swatches... Essie sent me this collection, which will be available April 1st.

The collection is five sheers and one soft white, with the white being Walk Down the Aisle. That made me think it's intended for French manicures, so that's how I swatched them. For each, I did one coat of Walk Down the Aisle over my tips and then one coat of the sheer. The pictures are in somewhat weak natural light.

Pillow Talk is an almost clear (in one coat) nude.

Essie Pillow Talk Nail Polish with Walk Down the Aisle Nail Polish Tips, Once Coat Each

BBF Best Boyfriend is a nude with a bit more color to it.

Essie BBF Best Boyfriend Nail Polish with Walk Down the Aisle Nail Polish Tips, Once Coat Each

Petal Pink is a soft sheer pink.

Essie Petal Pink Nail Polish with Walk Down the Aisle Nail Polish Tips, Once Coat Each

Show Me the Ring is a gold shimmer, bur still quite sheer. It would probably be better alone.

Essie Show Me the Ring Nail Polish with Walk Down the Aisle Nail Polish Tips, Once Coat Each

Main Squeeze is a lavender shimmer.

Essie Main Squeeze Nail Polish with Walk Down the Aisle Nail Polish Tips, Once Coat Each

These were quite nice, really. The white, Walk Down the Aisle, gave good tip coverage in one coat, and all five of the sheers were non-streaky at one coat. I'm a fan.

I'll wrap up the Illamasqua pastels tomorrow, Dear Reader, so until then, love and nail polish to you!

Revlon Street Wear Nail Polish, Part I

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I have the Street Wear nail polish swatches I'd promised you - not a green to be found. Actually, there's a great green called Forest as well as one called Blood that I'm going to try to hunt down for Round II, but I'm not really sure I still have them. Unfortunately in the pictures, you can kind of tell I was chasing the setting sun as I finished.

I did three coats of each, and they're in natural light.

Shocking is a really great orange, and what I especially like about it is the strong shimmer. It was on the list of those I'd never have, I thought.

Revlon Street Wear Shocking Nail Polish, Three Coats

Stain is a peachy pink shimmery sheer.

Revlon Street Wear Stain Nail Polish, Three Coats

Raw would clearly look better layered, but I used it alone to be consistent.

Revlon Street Wear Raw Nail Polish, Three Coats

Chick is a super shimmery (downright frosty) pale yellow that I never thought I'd get.

Revlon Street Wear Chick Nail Polish, Three Coats

Sky is a pale blue with the same finish as Chick.

Revlon Street Wear Sky Nail Polish, Three Coats

Jelly is a dusty purple/mauve creme.

Revlon Street Wear Jelly Nail Polish, Three Coats

Grape is a deep bluish purple with a great shimmer.

Revlon Street Wear Grape Nail Polish, Three Coats

Ruined is a brown with a stunning shimmer, which was also on my Things I'll Never Have List.

Revlon Street Wear Ruined Nail Polish, Three Coats

There are more where these came from, and some regular oldie Revlons as well. I hope to show you more from the oldies gold mine I found tomorrow, and until then, love and nail polish to you!

More Revlon Nail Polish

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I mentioned that yesterday I ran into some Revlon nail polishes while hunting for Rock Royalty, and I swatched them for you yesterday. I had many more, I don't know if I still have them. If I run into some of the cool ones I'm thinking of, I'll show them to you. In the meantime, I found plenty to keep me busy.

I'll start with some of the oldies. Speedy is a pink frost, a little too frosty for my taste, now that I look at it. Another to offload! This is two coats.

Revlon Speedy Nail Polish, Two Coats

Serene is a very sheer peachy pink.

Revlon Serene Nail Polish, Two Coats

Firecracker is a classic, a red glitter in a red jelly base. I used three coats.

Revlon Firecracker Nail Polish, Three Coats

The next batch, I believe are currently available. Get Reddy is a red shimmer that took three coats.

Revlon Get Reddy Nail Polish, Three Coats

Raven Red is a dark red creme, also a three coater.

Revlon Raven Red Nail Polish, Three Coats

Vixen is a vampy dark red creme, another three coater.

Revlon Vixen Nail Polish, Three Coats

Guava Glam is a light coral shimmer that required three coats.

Revlon Guava Glam Nail Polish, Three Coats

No Shrinking Violet is a great violet shimmer which needed two coats.

Revlon No Shrinking Violet Nail Polish, Two Coats

Last, the limited edition. The only one I ran into was Not So Blue-Berry, a sparkly light blue scented one. It smells like Boo Berry cereal.

Revlon Not So Blue-Berry Nail Polish, Two Coats

I added some Konad White to it using Konad plate M80.

Revlon Not So Blue-Berry Nail Polish, Two Coats, with Konad M80

Those are the Revlon nail polishes I have to show you for now, Dear Reader. Until next time, love and nail polish to you!

Color Club Pardon My French Collection

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Another day, another collection... Today it's Color Club's Pardon My French Collection. French speaking readers, please forgive some of the names. They're not my doing!

This is another I bought from Trans Design while waiting for manufacturer samples. I was surprised when I saw it - I got them just because I wanted to show them to you, but it's not really a collection of French manicure colors as both the collection name and the color dots on Trans Design might indicate. There are four cremes in the collection, three of which are semi-sheer at three coats, and the other three are glitters. The glitters match the other colors, so the seven piece collection is set up really well for layering.

Given the potential for layering, I took pictures of each of the cremes both with and without one coat of the corresponding glitter, and of all but one of the glitters alone. All of the pictures are in moderate natural light.

Upon opening the set, I noticed that one of the glitters, Turn the Other Chic, looked really dupey to the orange Japanese glitter, Dazzling Orange. I did a bottle comparison, and they're super close.

Color Club Orange Glitter Bottle Comparison, Turn the Other Chic on Left and Dazzling Orange on Right

Turn the Other Chic is the orange I did not swatch on its own, for two reasons. One, I swatched Dazzling Orange alone before (I think), and two, if I recall correctly, an orange jelly base alone on natural nails is a pretty hideous sight, and I saw no good reason to subject you to that again.

I also compared the blue glitters, Si Vous Please! and Blue Hawaii. They're totally not dupey.

Color Club Orange Glitter Bottle Comparison, Si Vous Please! on Left and Blue Hawaii on Right

The third glitter is a pink. There were a total of either three or four pink Japanese Color Club glitters, including that odd mislabeled, seemingly limited edition one with a silver cap. I could only find two of the darker ones that were clearly not the dupes - I think that silver capped one may be a dupe for the pink glitter in this collection, Hot Couture, but alas, I have no pictures to evaluate whether that's true. So that's it for bottle comparisons, let's move on to the swatches.

First, the glitters alone. I did two coats of each, and am again hiding my silk wrap from you (which is in horrible shape after all the swatching this week, so please forgive it in the pictures where it shows!).

This is Hot Couture.

Color Club Hot Couture Nail Polish, Two Coats

This is Si Vous Please!, with the exclamation point being part of the name.

Color Club Si Vous Please! Nail Polish, Two Coats

As I mentioned, there's no swatch of Turn the Other Chic alone because that would just make us all sad. That brings us to the cremes, three semi-sheer at three coats and one totally opaque at two coats.

Pardon My French is a pinky beige creme. On my ring finger, you can see what I mean about semi-sheer: the free edge is barely visible through the polish.

Color Club Pardon My French Nail Polish, Three Coats

I added one coat of Hot Couture to this one, and it really transformed it from a conservative office appropriate color to a more fun one for the office. Although you should never take my word for what's office appropriate, as I've been in IT for ten years, where anything goes.

Color Club Pardon My French Nail Polish, Three Coats with One Coat Hot Couture Nail Polish

The next creme is I Believe in Amour, a muted medium pink. In this picture, it's my index finger where the slight sheer quality is visible.

Color Club I Believe in Amour Nail Polish, Three Coats

Pretty on its own, I like it even more with one coat of Hot Couture added.

Color Club I Believe in Amour Nail Polish, Three Coats with One Coat Hot Couture Nail Polish

That brings us to the last of the slightly sheer colors, which is Oh Naturale, a pale peach creme. This was the most sheer of the collection, and you can see just through my tips on all nails with three coats of it.

Color Club Oh Naturale Nail Polish, Three Coats

This one got one coat of the orange glitter, Turn the Other Chic, and that totally changed it into an orange glitter manicure, which confirmed my theory that Turn the Other Chic alone would have been bad news.

Color Club Oh Naturale Nail Polish, Three Coats with One Coat Turn the Other Chic Nail Polish

Now we're up to the last creme, Take Me to Your Chateau, which is a pale blue creme that was completely opaque in two coats. This one, I used as a full manicure, and I used Nu Nails as a base coat. I think had I used a sticky base coat, one coat of Take Me to Your Chateau would have been sufficient for complete coverage.

Color Club Take Me to Your Chateau Nail Polish, Two Coats

I added one coat of Si Vous Please! to it, and since three coats is a lot of nail polish, I took the picture before applying top coat to give it a few seconds to set. This manicure reminds me of icicles and snow much more than Spring, but I really like it, so that's just fine with me.

Color Club Take Me To Your Chateau Nail Polish, Two Coats with One Coat Si Vous Please! Nail Polish

In swatching the cremes, I found they applied very evenly, and for those who are comfortable with a more sheer look, two coats of the sheerer ones would work just fine. They were even and without streaks at two coats, I just added the third for more coverage out of personal preference.

By the time you read this, I may have manufacturer samples with press release info. I actually took the pictures and wrote this yesterday morning. I'd planned to just do the pictures yesterday, but with all the comparing, layering, and different number of coats of each polish, I didn't trust my memory to write it today. Because of that, I used PhotoBucket for the pictures so Poptastic could get the attention it deserved yesterday. I'll add all the pictures to Flickr as time permits - there's a heck of a lot of them, but they'll all get there!

I also had Konad news for you... WowSoCool initially received a very limited supply of the new Konad plates, as I told you. I got word that another shipment arrived, so they're available again. I forgot to mention that in yesterday's post, so I think I'll go tack that info on to the end of it. There's nothing like new Konad plates for those of us who love them!

If time and lighting permit, I'll have Color Club's Rebel Debutante Collection for you tomorrow (the real tomorrow, as you read this!). I'm getting ready for a little trip, and have lots and lots to get done, but there's always time for swatching at sunrise!

That's the complete update for today, Dear Reader. Until next time, love and nail polish to you!

OPI Hong Kong Collection

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Yesterday I got my OPI Hong Kong Collection, and I have a metric boatload of pictures for you. The natural light yesterday, and in the upcoming forecast, was really low, which made the colors look washed out, and bright artificial light made them a bit too vivid, so I have both for you. Times twelve colors. You can just mull this paragraph over for a bit whilst the page loads... I have avoided reading any reviews of this collection lest they affect my impression of it, so I'm just giving you my observations from swatching. I have seen pics of two of them, but the other ten were a new sight for me.

The Hong Kong Collection consists of nine cremes and three shimmers, one of which is sheer. All twelve were three coaters for me, but otherwise applied pretty well. There are some dupey colors both within this collection and to recent collections. I'll just show them to you in alphabetical order with the exception of the last one, so we end on a strong note. The last two, I really like a lot, some of the others I'm fond of and would wear, but there are a few... I'll show you the natural light picture of each first, then the artificial light picture.

First up at bat is A Good Mandarin Is Hard to Find, which is a bright orange creme.

OPI A Good Mandarin Is Hard to Find Nail Polish, Three Coats in Weak Natural Light

OPI A Good Mandarin Is Hard to Find Nail Polish, Three Coats in Strong Artificial Light

Bling Dynasty is a metallic shimmer, but a hard color to describe. My first thought was of an authentic Chinese restaurant I used to go to where they made their own hot mustard and sold it for something like $3 a pint - the color of Bling Dynasty reminds me of that hot mustard. The natural lighting picture is more accurate with respect to color, and the artificial light one shows the shimmer.

OPI Bling Dynasty Nail Polish, Three Coats in Weak Natural Light

OPI Bling Dynasty Nail Polish, Three Coats in Strong Artificial Light

Chop-Sticking to My Story is an odd orange creme, and likely the least flattering color that's ever been on my nails. If Ginger Bells was OPI & Apple Pie Version 2.0, Chop-Sticking to My Story is OPI & Apple Pie Version 3.0. Not 2.1, but 3.0 - it's so unattractive it's a complete overhaul.

OPI Chop-Sticking to My Story Nail Polish, Three Coats in Weak Natural Light

OPI Chop-Sticking to My Story Nail Polish, Three Coats in Strong Artificial Light

Dim Sum Plum is a pretty kind of berry creme, but it looks dupey to Fall 2009's Ate Berries in the Canaries from OPI Espana to me.

OPI Dim Sum Plum Nail Polish, Three Coats in Weak Natural Light

OPI Dim Sum Plum Nail Polish, Three Coats in Strong Artificial Light

Hot & Spicy isn't really either hot or spicy, although it's a pretty kind of bright cantaloupe creme.

OPI Hot & Spicy Nail Polish, Three Coats in Weak Natural Light

OPI Hot & Spicy Nail Polish, Three Coats in Strong Artificial Light

We'll skip to Lucky Lucky Lavender, a pale lavender creme. This is one I like, am sure I'll wear, but isn't anything new or exciting. Just a pretty Spring pastel. In these pictures, the fact that the weak natural light had colors reading somewhat blue and artificial somewhat pink is evident. Comparing the bottle to the two pictures on my monitor, the actual color falls in between the two pictures.

OPI Lucky Lucky Lavender Nail Polish, Three Coats in Weak Natural Light

OPI Lucky Lucky Lavender Nail Polish, Three Coats in Strong Artificial Light

Meet Me on the Star Ferry is one I'd seen maybe two pictures of, and was really looking forward to. It's a shimmer, a very sparkly kind of brownish mauvey shade, but I was let down by it on the nail. It just didn't look that good. However, when I went through pictures, it looked as good as other pictures I'd seen. It's just an exceptionally photogenic nail polish!

OPI Meet Me on the Star Ferry Nail Polish, Three Coats in Weak Natural Light

OPI Meet Me on the Star Ferry Nail Polish, Three Coats in Strong Artificial Light

Panda-Monium Pink is just a little bit paler than Lucky Lucky Lavender, which are the two I think are dupey within the collection.

OPI Panda-Monium Pink Nail Polish, Three Coats in Weak Natural Light

OPI Panda-Monium Pink Nail Polish, Three Coats in Strong Artificial Light

Pearl of Wisdom is the sheer, and I'm hiding my silk wrap in the pictures. It has a tinge of pink and is very shimmery.

OPI Pearl of Wisdom Nail Polish, Three Coats in Weak Natural Light

OPI Pearl of Wisdom Nail Polish, Three Coats in Strong Artificial Light

Red My Fortune Cookie is a somewhat orange red creme, and after three coats I still have VNL.

OPI Red My Fortune Cookie Nail Polish, Three Coats in Weak Natural Light

OPI Red My Fortune Cookie Nail Polish, Three Coats in Strong Artificial Light

My second favorite in this collection is Suzi Says Feng Shui, a medium blue creme. I'm sure others like it exist, but it's a good shade of blue and I'll wear it.

OPI Suzi Says Feng Shui Nail Polish, Three Coats in Weak Natural Light

OPI Suzi Says Feng Shui Nail Polish, Three Coats in Strong Artificial Light

Predictably, my top pick from this collection is Jade is the New Black. It's a green creme, probably most similar to Orly Enchanted Forest, but a little bit lighter. Here, natural light made it too blue and artificial too yellow - again, it's in between.

OPI Jade is the New Black Nail Polish, Three Coats in Weak Natural Light

OPI Jade is the New Black Nail Polish, Three Coats in Strong Artificial Light

That, Dear Reader, is OPI's Hong Kong Collection, and one incredibly long post. That's all for today, so until tomorrow, love and nail polish to you!