Wednesday, November 28, 2012

NOTD: China Glaze Ruby Pumps

China Glaze Ruby Pumps

I was doing some major re-organization of my stash this weekend, and I realized that I have never swatched Ruby Pumps! I know that I have worn it, but how in the world did I manage to skip taking a pic? Who knows, but I knew I needed to remedy that because it's gorgeous.

The above swatch is three coats, but two would be fine. The best thing about this polish is that it dries smooth, so you don't need to add a coat of Gelous before you do your QDTC. That certainly made for a quick and easy mani.

What classic China Glaze is your favorite? This is definitely mine.

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Monday, November 26, 2012

NOTD: China Glaze Angel Wings

 China Glaze Angel Wings
from the Holiday Joy Collection for Holiday 2012

Just like with Glistening Snow, there is gorgeous holo shimmer! I love it!


The above swatch is two coats. I found that it was pretty gritty (even after one coat of Gelous), so I actually did 2 coats of Gelous before I did my topcoat (NYC Grand Central Station) and that worked great and left a nice shiny smooth finish.




Stop by back this week as I plan to swatch the rest of what I ordered. I ordered all but the red cremes and Pure Joy- this is a dupe for Orly Devil May Care from their Naughty or Nice Holiday 2012 collection.

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Tuesday, November 20, 2012

NOTD: China Glaze Glistening Snow

China Glaze Glistening Snow
from the Holiday Joy Collection for Holiday 2012

Look at that gorgeous holo shimmer! I love it!

The above swatch is two coats. I found that it was pretty gritty, so I did a coat of Gelous before I did my topcoat (NYC Grand Central Station) and that worked great and left a nice shiny smooth finish.



There are some really pretty shades in this collection. I ordered all but the red cremes and Pure Joy- this is a dupe for Orly Devil May Care from their Naughty or Nice Holiday 2012 collection.

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Friday, November 16, 2012

NOTD: Pop Culture Cosmetics Neverland

Pop Culture Cosmetics Neverland (2 coats)
over China Glaze Blue Bells Ring (2 coats)

Do you have mani ADD like I do? I have so many pretties, it is hard to wear something for more than a day or two!

And that's what happened with China Glaze Blue Bells Ring... it still looked nice, but after a day it needed a little something.... glitter!

So I added 2 coats of Pop Culture Cosmetics Neverland and it satiated my desire for something different. Denise has a great pic showing it over black. I think I will have to try that next.

You know my love for mini bottles- I am so glad Denise offers them. Her pricing is fabulous too- just $4 for her mini bottles, which hold 5mL.

Disclosure: Neverland was provided to me for review purposes.



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Thursday, November 15, 2012

NOTD: China Glaze Blue Bells Ring

China Glaze Blue Bells Ring

I recently ordered quite a few shades from the new China Glaze Holiday Joy Collection for Holiday 2012 and found myself craving the blue shade first.

Blue Bells Ring is so pretty! It was almost a one-coater, but I had a few spots that needed another coat, so I think two coats is best.

There are some really pretty glitters in the collection that I'm drying to try, so watch for swatches of those soon!

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Wednesday, November 14, 2012

NOTD: Pop Culture Cosmetics Glitterazzi over Revlon Saucy


Revlon Saucy (2 coats)
topped with Pop Culture Cosmetics Glitterazzi (1 coat)

Denise from Pop Culture Cosmetics sent me some of her gorgeous glitters to try, and I thought Revlon Saucy would be a good base for Glitterazzi.

I did just one coat of Glitterazzi and loved the effect I got. I topped it with a coat of Gelous followed by a coat of NYC Grand Central Station and it was quite smooth.

Here's Denise's description of Glitterazzi:

This fabulous polish is a *limited edition* and we've named it Glitterazzi! It's a glitter coat filled with over 65 different glitters of all colors, shapes and sizes, it is really gorgeous!!

All of the polishes from Pop Culture Cosmetics are 3-free....they do not contain Toluene, Formaldehyde or Dibutyl Phthalate.

Disclosure: Glitterazzi was provided for review purposes.

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Tuesday, November 13, 2012

NOTD: Revlon Saucy

Revlon Saucy

Last week I stopped by Walgreens and this little beauty called my name. In the bottle there is some gorgeous  gold shimmer, but sadly, it doesn't translate to the nail at all. On the nail, it is a glowy red that is really pretty, but you can't see the gold at all.

The above swatch is two coats and I found coverage to be nice and even. Topped with NYC Grand Central Station, it dried nicely in just a few minutes.

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Friday, November 9, 2012

NOTD: China Glaze I Herd That

China Glaze I Herd That
Glittery goodness. I had some chipping when I wore the other glitter like this from this collection (I'm Not Lion) but I am on Day 3 and don't have any chips at all. Hopefully you can see some of the holo glitter in the pic- you can click on it to enlarge it if not. It's really pretty and suits my warm skintone well.

Details

Brand/Name: China Glaze I'm Not Lion


Number of coats in pic/topcoat?: 3 coats color topped with 1 coat of Gelous and 1 coat of NYC Grand Central Station

Price: I purchased this for roughly $3 from www.transdesign.com

Collection: I'm Not Lion is part of China Glaze's On Safari collection from Summer 2012. Other shades included in the collection are:
  • Adventure Red-y
  • Call of the Wild
  • Desert Sun
  • Elephant Walk
  • Exotic Encounters
  • I Herd That
  • I'm Not Lion
  • Jungle Queen
  • Kalahari Kiss
  • Man Hunt
  • Prey Tell
  • Purr-fect Plum

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Tuesday, November 6, 2012

NOTD: Deborah Lippmann Lady Sings the Blues

Deborah Lippmann Lady Sings the Blues

This is so so so pretty! You can see I had to cut my nails down a bit.... I had pretty good breaks on two nails and decided patching would be more trouble that it would be worth, so I just cut them down. I am loving this color on shorter nails.

Details

Brand/Name:  Deborah Lippmann Lady Sings the Blues

Number of coats in pic/topcoat?: 3 coats color topped with 1 coat of Gelous and 1 coat of NYC Grand Central Station

Price: $18

Purchased from: Apothica.com

Collection: The All That Jazz trio, released in Fall 2010, contains these shades:
  • Lady Sings the Blues
  • Razzle Dazzle
  • Some Enchanted Evening

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Monday, November 5, 2012

NOTD: Deborah Lippmann Razzle Dazzle

Deborah Lippmann Razzle Dazzle

Deborah does these glitters so well.... love this one! Two coats wasn't quite enough to I added a third and it was PERFECT. I added a coat of Gelous before my my topcoat to help smooth it out.

Another blogger mentioned she got some staining from Razzle Dazzle, but I did not. I used an Avon mineral basecoat that I think has been discontinued for a while, and it seemed to keep it from staining for me.

Details

Brand/Name:  Deborah Lippmann Razzle Dazzle

Number of coats in pic/topcoat?: 3 coats color topped with 1 coat of Gelous and 1 coat of NYC Grand Central Station

Price: $18

Purchased from: Apothica.com

Collection: The All That Jazz trio, released in Fall 2010, contains these shades:
  • Lady Sings the Blues
  • Razzle Dazzle
  • Some Enchanted Evening

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Friday, November 2, 2012

Swatches: OPI Skyfall Minis

Yesterday when I got home from work I was faced with something quite out of the ordinary- TIME! The kids were done with homework and the house had just been cleaned, and I had about an hour of decent sun left, so I grabbed my OPI Skyfall Mini set and went to swatching!

 GoldenEye
3 coats

You can see I've got some bare areas, especially on my pinkie... but 4 coats is hard to talk me into! Maybe I'll try this for layering?

GoldenEye
macro 

 The Spy Who Loved Me
2 coats

This is gorgeous! It absolutely glows.

The Spy Who Loved Me
macro

The World Is Not Enough
3 coats

This ended up being a favorite for me- I love all the different colors that appear when sunlight hits it.

The World Is Not Enough
macro
blurry to show colors 

Live and Let Die
1 coat- seriously- 1 coat

Ohhh.... a one coater that is rich and dense. It's just lovely. 

Live and Let Die
macro

I always ponder the color choices for the mini sets. On Her Majesty's Secret Service is one I would have liked to have had in the mini set. And of course The Living Daylights. At least they aren't putting mini top coats in there anymore.

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Thursday, November 1, 2012

Giveaway: 2 Sally Hansen Gem Crushes

Today is the last day to enter!

When I was doing a little nail polish organizing this week I ran across some multiples from the Sally Gem Crush collection. I had purchased these two, and then received the same shades for review purposes.  I thought I'd give away the two I purchased, which are brand-new un-opened bottles.


Sally Hansen Gem Crush in Cha-Ching! (2 coats)
over 1 coat of Sally Hansen Hard As Wraps in Heartbeat Cream

Sally Hansen Gem Crush in Lady Luck (2 coats)
over 2 coats Sephora by OPI It's My Pink

One thing to note is that these are very hungry glitters.... they eat topcoat, so I have found that adding a coat of Gelous before using Seche Vite really helps smooth them out.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: These Gem Crush shades were purchased by me.

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