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NOTD: Avon Serene

Avon Serene

2 coats

I purchased this shade this spring from Avon's Spring collection called Zenergy.

I had some serious trouble with this shade. I did a mani with it a few weeks ago and got terrible bubbles. I tried again today and had to re-do several fingers due to bubbles again. It's also a color that gives me Lobster Hands. I just don't think it's very flattering with my skintone.

NOTD: OPI Dim Sum Plum topped with Cover Girl City Lights

OPI Dim Sum Plum (2 coats)

topped with Cover Girl City Lights (1 coat)

Cover Girl City Lights is a mani fixer! Saturday night I planned a mani using OPI Dim Sum Plum (an untried from a few years ago) but I think I've got a bad bottle of NYC Grand Central Station because when I applied GCS as a topcoat, the mani went bad. All of the sudden, there were brush strokes and bubble galore.

But I remembered that a nice holo glitter can cure most any issue, so I slapped it on there and was so happy with the result.

NOTD: Essie Ole Caliente

Essie Ole Caliente

2 coats

Ole Caliente is from Essie's Spring 2012 collection, Navigate Her. I didn't realize I hadn't swatched it yet and I am totally on a red/coral kick so I knew I needed to wear this one.

Mr. Sasha was a big fan of this one, and I really liked it too. As usual with Essie, application was super-easy and I got great even coverage.

NOTD: Revlon Top Speed Hearts of Gold FX

 

Essie Sunday Funday (3 coats)

topped with

Revlon Top Speed Hearts of Gold FX (2 coats)

 

 



shade pic

 

Hearts of Gold FX is a clear base with small gold glitter and larger holo pieces of heart glitter.

 

Just like my opinion of Celestial FX, I do not like Heart of Gold FX.

 

It's also so pretty in the bottle. But it also is very watery and again I had to absolutely go on a fishing expedition to get that lone large glitter on each finger. A second coat did not help at all. Such a disappointment.

 

NOTD: Essie Sunday Funday

Essie Sunday Funday

3 coats

 

Sunday Funday is from Essie's Summer 2013 collection and I recently purchased it at Walgreens. It's a pretty coral with a gorgeous shimmer that looks almost flakie like.

 

I found the formula to be somewhat streaky, and although I've seen several blogger say they just needed two coats, I needed 3 to get good coverage.

 

I think this would make a gorgeous pedi color too.

NOTD: Revlon Top Speed in Celestial FX

Revlon Top Speed in Celestial FX (2 coats)

over SinfulColors SinfulShine in Picante

Celestial FX is a clear base with small silver holo glitter and larger holo pieces of diamond, moon, and star glitter.
 

I do not like Celestial FX.

 

At all.

 

In the bottle it's so pretty! But it is very watery and I had to absolutely go on a fishing expedition to get that lone large glitter on each finger. A second coat did not help at all. Such a disappointment.

 

 

NOTD: JENsations Flower Power

 

JENsations Flower Power

2 coats over Sally Hansen Linen

 

Jen, who custom blends her polish and sells it on Etsy, contacted me about swatching a few of her shades and I was excited to give them a try. I thought that Sally Hansen Linen would be a great base for Flower Power  and it was.

Flower Power was a bit thick. I ended up doing two coats of it to try to get better glitter coverage. I did fish a few of the flower glitter out of the neck of the bottle and placed them where I wanted them- I wanted to have at least one on each finger. I topped it with a coat of Gelous before I added NYC Grand Central Station, and it smoothed it out nicely.

JENsations polish sells for $8 and is available on Etsy. Shipping starts at $3, and is $0.85 when purchased with another item.

 

Disclosure: Both polishes featured in this post were provided for review purposes.



NOTD: SinfulColors SinfulShine in Picante

SinfulColors SinfulShine in Picante

Last week I had a Walgreens giftcard burning a hole in my pocket, and I decided to pick up one of the new SinfulColors SinfulShine shades. I thought Picante was a perfect summer shade.

 

Available exclusively at Walgreens for $2.99 for a limited time, the SinfulShine line with Gel Tech™ provides opulent rich color and superb shine.

Picante was a dream to apply. Two coats gave perfect coverage, although Picante *is* a bit of a jelly and I did have a bit of visible nail line.

This picture was taken on Sunday afternoon, after I painted my nails on Saturday night. I'm writing this post on Monday morning and my mani still looks perfect. I'm pretty impressed.

Have you tried any shades from the SinfulShine line?

You can find SinfulColors online here:

Twitter: @SinfulColorsNP

Facebook: Sinfulcolors Professional

NOTD: Sally Hansen Smooth & Perfect Color + Care in Linen

NOTD: Sally Hansen Smooth & Perfect Color + Care in Linen

This mani is 3 coats of color topped with NYC Grand Central Station. The shades in this line retail for about $5.50. This is a great palate-cleanser and is so soft and pretty.

THINK: Let your nails breathe

WHAT IT IS: Creamy color and porcelain-smooth perfection in one beautiful polish. The latest trend to hit your fingertips. Nearly naked, barely-there color with plenty of shine. The ultimate in understated elegance, sheer shades and healthy even shine work for every occasion. That’s why Sally Hansen created a chic collection of nude nail polishes that marries the two, Smooth and Perfect Color + Care, the ultimate fusion of perfecting polish and beautifying care. 

Designed to hide ridges and imperfections, the uniquely breathable formula promotes stronger, healthier looking nails with a patented technology that allows for up to 20% more oxygen to reach the nail. The result? Ridges and imperfections are virtually erased and nails are left looking smooth, shiny and porcelain perfect. 

Disclosure: This polish was provided to me for review purposes.

Swatches of Sephora by OPI On-Sale Shades

I thought I'd go through my past posts and show pics of all the on-sale Sephora by OPI shades that I have worn. You can tell some of these pics are really old- and terrible! So sorry about that, but maybe you'll see a color you can't live without.

All individual shades are half-price ($4.50). This is a fabulous deal! Note also that ebates is giving back 8% from Sephora purchases right now.

My last post shows the shades in the Metro Too Chic collection- the mini set is on sale for just $12 and I definitely recommend getting it, or at least a regular size bottle of Metro Too Chic.

 212-Sephora

A Color That Can't Be Tamed 

Caliente Coral 

Caught With My Khakis Down 

Chest-Nuts About You 

Designer Fig Leaf

Domestic Goddess

Eve-y On The Eyes

Frankly I Don't Give A-Dam

Happy Earth Day To Me

Havana Dreams

How Many Carats?

I Don't Bite

I'm With Brad

Iris I Was Thinner

It's Totally Karma

Leaf Him At The Altar

Meet For Drinks

Metro Chic

Once A Cheetah, Always A Cheetah

Queen of Everything

 Read My Palm

Teal We Meet Again

That's My Fuschia Husband!

Sephora Discontinuing the OPI for Sephora Line

Not sure if you have heard, but Sephora will no longer be carrying the Sephora by OPI (or OPI by Sephora, as it's listed in their alphabetical drop-down).

My undertanding is that they will be expanding their Sephora X line.

I am disappointed because I've been a big fan of the Sephora by OPI line....... a big fan!

The somewhat good new is that they are having a sale on the line- quite a few sets and all individual shades are half-price ($4.50). This is a fabulous deal! Note also that ebates is giving back 8% from Sephora purchases right now.

One thing I'd definitely recommend is getting the Metro Too Chic set- it's currently half-price ($12!). If you don't get the set, you at least NEED to purchased an individual bottle of Metro Too Chic- it's absolutely gorgeous!

Here are swatches of the Metro Too Chic mini set. I really like this set- I think Metro Too Chic and Arose Beyond Shimmer are stand-outs.

Sephora by OPI Metro Too Chic set

Left to right:

Pale is the New Tan

Arose Beyond Shimmer

Metro Too Chic

Keys to My Hybrid

Nifty Shade of Grey

Tweet You Later!

Pale is the New Tan
3 coats

Arose Beyond Shimmer
2 coats

Metro Too Chic
3 coats

Keys to My Hybrid
2 coats

Nifty Shade of Grey
3 coats

Tweet You Later!
3 coats

The other shades currently in stock and on sale are:

212-Sephora

A Color That Can't Be Tamed

Add a Cherry on Top

Already Famous

Arm Candy

Bare To Be Different

Beauty Junkie

Break A Leg-Warmer!

Bright As A Feather

BYO Boy

Cab Fare

Caliente Coral

Casanova Is So Into Me

Caught With My Khakis Down

Charge It!

Chest-Nuts About You

Cover Me In Petals

Curve-aceous

Dance Til Fawn

Dark Room

Dear Diary…

Designer Fig Leaf

Domestic Goddess

Eve-y On The Eyes

Fancy Schmancy

Fiercely Fabulous

Frankly I Don't Give A-Dam

Give Peach A Chance

Go My Own Way

Happy Earth Day To Me

Havana Dreams

Henna-Thing Is Possible

Hi Def

Hippo To Be Square

How Cute Is That?

How Many Carats?

I Don't Bite

I Gotta Blush On You

I Need Space

I Only Shop Vintage

I Think I Cayenne

IM Beauty

I'm So Sari!

I'm With Brad

In The Shadows

Iris I Was Thinner

Is She For Reel?

It's All About Me

It's Bouquet With Me

It's Totally Karma

Just A Little Dangerous

Justa' Pinch of Glitter

Keep Me On My Mistletoe

Keys To My Hybrid?

Leaf Him At The Altar

Leotard Optional

Let's Plie

Looks Like Rain Dear

Meet For Drinks

Mermaid To Order

Metro Chic

Metro Too Chic

Ms. Can't Be Wrong

Neutral Beauty

Never Enough Shoes

Nonfat Soy Half Caff

Ocean Love Potion

On Stage

Once A Cheetah, Always A Cheetah

Queen of Everything

Read My Palm

Ruby Without A Cause

S-Age Is Just A Number

Screen Test

Seriously, It's A Naan-Issue

Set the Mood

Shiny Dancer

Skinny Jeans

Social Climber

Sorry… Calendar's Full

Studs & Stilettos

Teal We Meet Again

Techno Girl

That's My Fuschia Husband!

The Way Tutu His Heart

Thyme For A Mani

Under My Trench Coat

Violet's Just Get Married

Wardrobe Change

What A Broad

What Aura Gonna Where?

What Film Noir You In?

What's a Tire Jack?

What's Your Sign?

White Hot

Why Yellow There…

NOTD: OPI Too Hot Pink to Hold 'Em

OPI Too Hot Pink to Hold 'Em

(2 coats)

from the Texas Collection

 

I was working on my polish collection spreadsheet and realized I never swatched this one! Half of the Texas collection, which came out in Spring 2011, were jellies (OPI called them "sorbets") and I purchased Big Hair... Big Nails, Guy Meets Gal-veston and Too Hot Pink to Hold 'Em. I love love love these and couldn't believe I had missed wearing this one.

 

With just 2 coats, there is a bit of visible nail line, but with the popularity of jellies these days, I'm not as bothered by it as I was in the past. I really like the sheer look right now.

 

NOTD: Hard Candy Sweet Tooth

Hard Candy Sweet Tooth

3 coats

macro shot

After I wore nails inc. Sweets Way last week I remembered that there was a possible dupe made by Hard Candy in their Candy Sprinkles line. It was amazingly close!

However, the price is a bit different. Hard Candy retails exclusively at Walmart for $3.97 for .26 ounces. Nails inc. can be purchased from Sephora for $9.50 for .33 ounces.

I used 2 coats of Nails Inc. while I needed 3 coats of Hard Candy to get the same look.

Another difference I noted was that the Hard Candy version dried smoother- I only needed a topcoat of NYC Grand Central Station to smooth it out. With the Nails Inc. version I added a coat of Gelous before my topcoat.

One more thing: these tend to be pretty chip-tastic on me and I had quite a few chips on the second day. Still love the effect- the layered glitter sandwich look you get by doing multiple coats is so cool.

NOTD: China Glaze Keep Calm, Paint On

China Glaze Keep Calm, Paint On

2 coats

from the Spring 2013 Avant Garden collection

 

I was afraid this shade would give me Lobster Hands, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. There's a really pretty shimmer in there that looks really neat in the sun.

 

 

NOTD: nails inc. Sweets Way

NOTD: nails inc. Special Effects Sprinkles Nail Polish in Sweets Way

2 coats

(listed as "Sweets Away" on the Sephora website)

Sweets Way macro shot

white with pastel blue, pink, and silver sprinkles

Today I've got the last of the four shades from the nails inc. Special Effects Sprinkles collection. I am not sure why I waited to long to wear this one- it's very pretty. I continue to be impressed with the coverage you can get from just 2 coats in this collection.

It was a bit bumpy so I added a coat of Gelous before I did my topcoat and it smoothed it out well.

Details
 

Brand/Name:  nails inc. Special Effects Sprinkles Nail Polish in Topping Lane

Number of coats in pic/topcoat?: 2 coats color topped with 1 coat of Gelous and 1 coat of NYC Grand Central Station
 

Price: $9.50
 

Purchased from:  www.sephora.com
 

Collection: Topping Lane is part of the Special Effects Sprinkles Nail Polish collection, released in Summer 2012, along with Sugar House Lane (pastel grey with monocrome sprinkles), Puddling Lane (teal with navy and gold sprinkles), and Topping Lane (pink with cerise, silver and purple sprinkles)