Friday, January 31, 2014

CND Vinylux Wear Test

CND Vinylux Weekly Polish in Night Glimmer (2 coats)
topped with CND Vinylux Weekly Top Coat

Photo taken right after painting- Day 1

photo taken exactly three days later- Day 4
significant tip wear

significant chipping around sides of nail

I wanted to love CND Vinylux. I really did. And there were a few things I really did like.

1. No base coat is required, in fact, you are not supposed to use a base coat.

2. I *love* that this was dry, enough to rub my nails without damage, in just 8 1/2 minutes. I painted them about an hour before we went out for dinner and it was nice not to have to worry about denting my polish.

3. The polish applied easily onto the nail with great pigmentation.

4. Even though no base coat was used, I got absolutely no staining, and it was super easy to remove using my normal method- the scrubby tub.

But I did not like the chips that started appearing on day 4. To me, they were bad enough that it had to be removed. I can get wear similar to that with my regular base and top coats......

I'm going to give Vinylux another try with a different shade and see what kind of results I get. But I was definitely disappointed in the wear time of this mani.


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Wednesday, January 29, 2014

L'Oreal Extraordinaire Gel-Lacque in Lacqueriste

L'Oreal Extraordinaire Gel-Lacque in Lacqueriste
2 coats

Last weekend I picked up all three steps of the new L’Oréal Paris Extraordinaire Gel-Lacque system. 

Steps 1 and 3, the primer and glaze, are sold together and retail for about $10 in mass-market retailers like Target and Wal-mart.


The individual color bottles, like Lacqueriste shown in my swatch pic, retail for about $5. It appears there are 21 shades available right now. Most are core-type colors, just nice classic colors that appear to all be a creme finish.

Here's some info from the L'Oreal website:

Introducing our exclusive 3-step nail system for spectacular nails like you’ve never seen before. New L’Oréal Paris Extraordinaire Gel-Lacque provides high-gloss, and resilient shine while protecting nail color from dings, dents and scratches. Get the high-shine of a UV-Gel and the perfect nail shape without harmful UV rays.

Extraordinary nails as easy as 1, 2, 3:

STEP 1: GEL PRIMER
Nail surface is instantly smooth and flawless

STEP 2: GEL COLOR
Color is richer, magnified to a new level of intensity nails are visibly thicker

STEP 3: GEL GLAZE
Shine is captured and reflected from every angle

My experience:

The primer is pretty thin, and reminded me of a rubberized basecoat like CND Stickey or Orly Bonder. The color applied nicely and was quite even in two coats. The glaze applied just like a topcoat. 

I tried the system last night and I waited about 30 minutes before I did anything with my hands after I was done and then went to bed about 2 hours later. I didn't experience any smudges or sheet marks, so I would say this dried nicely. 

I did not test this last night to see if it could be considered a quick-dry topcoat, because I wanted a perfect mani so I could do a wear test and see how it progresses over the next few days.

I'm hoping this system is what I hoped CND Vinylux would be. Watch for a post on that soon- I was not pleased at all with the wear I got from Vinylux. 



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Thursday, January 23, 2014

CoverGirl Glosstinis in Scalding Emerald

  CoverGirl Scalding Emerald Glosstinis Nail Polish
3 coats
photo taken in sun

photo taken in shade


Scalding Emerald is part of the CoverGirl + Hunger Games Catching Fire collection. I purchased this at Target for $3 around the time the movie came out.

Note that Glosstinis are definitely in the mini bottle category at just .11 ounce. I didn't have too much trouble with the brush, although it was short as mini bottle brushes tend to be.

I did need 3 coats to cover my visible nail line. At two, it was very apparent in the sun that I didn't have complete coverage.

If you are interested in seeing the rest of the collection, KarenD has swatches of all 9 shades in this collection.




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Tuesday, January 21, 2014

L'Oreal Paris Colour Riche Nail Collection Privee in Eva's Nude

L’Oréal Paris Colour Riche Nail Collection Privee in Eva’s Nude
3 coats

I was excited to try the shade that actress Amy Adams wore to the 2014 Golden Globes. Nudes are such great "palate cleansers" and certainly very work-appropriate. I do love that there's a hidden shimmer in there- if I am going to wear a nude, I want it to have some sort of special feature to make it pop a bit.


AMY ADAMS
NAIL ARTIST: Tom Bachik

INSPIRATION: Tom and Amy wanted to create a very clean, classic nail look so as to not distract from her bright red Valentino dress and sparkly jewelry. They chose a full coverage nude that was a bit lighter than her overall skin tone but picked up the highlights and luminous tones of her complexion.

After prepping nails, Tom applied two coats of L’Oréal Paris Colour Riche Nail Collection Privee in Eva’s Nude ($5.99) and finished with L’Oréal Paris Colour Riche Nail Top of the Line top coat ($5.99).

L’ORÉAL PARIS*All products are available at LOrealParisUSA.com and at mass market retailers nationwide.


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Monday, January 20, 2014

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Wine Not

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Wine Not (2 coats)

How gorgeous is this? I was excited to give this shade a try and I was not disappointed. It applied super easy and I got perfect coverage in just 2 coats.

Here's some info from the press release I received:

ACTRESS EMILIA CLARKE GETS 
GOLDEN GLOBE READY WITH SALLY HANSEN

Emilia Clarke, the British actress and Golden Globes presenter who is featured on the hit television series Game of Thrones, got red carpet ready for the Golden Globes with a custom nail look created with Sally Hansen nail color. The talented and gorgeous starlet, who has recently been cast to appear in the next Terminator, has quickly become one to watch in Hollywood and a red carpet favorite.

Celebrity nail artist Lisa Postma created a sophisticated look for Emilia Clarke using Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Wine Not to complement her custom embroidered lace and black accented Proenza Schouler gown. To create the nail look, Postma used two coats of Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Wine Not on Emilia’s natural nail shape. For a smooth, flawless finish, Postma used Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Dry + Go Drops to seal the manicure.

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure ($7.99) is an all-in-one formula that combines all the 7 benefits of a professional salon manicure—a base coat, a strengthener, a growth treatment, rich color, top coat, gel-like shine and chip resistance —in a single multi-tasking polish.  

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Dry + Go Drops ($6.99) is a quick dry formula packed with Vitamin E and jojoba to help hydrate and nourish dry cuticles. With just a few drops, nails are dry to the touch in 60 seconds and completely dry in less than 2 minutes. 


WHERE TO FIND THEM: Sally Hansen products are available at chain drug stores and mass retailers nationwide.



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Wednesday, January 15, 2014

China Glaze This Is Tree-mendous

China Glaze This Is Tree-mendous
3 coats

from the China Glaze Happy HoliGlaze Collection for Holiday 2013

This Is Tree-mendous is a green and gold micro glitter. Just like Put a Bow On It covered pretty nicely in two coats, but needed three to be completely opaque and even. It did dry somewhat matte, so topcoat brightened it up.

I have had some trouble with micro glitter polish chipping pretty easily on me, and this one has already started chipping on three fingers. While I do think it's very pretty, I get so annoyed when a mani doesn't even last a day!



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Monday, January 13, 2014

China Glaze Put a Bow On It

China Glaze Put a Bow On It
3 coats

from the China Glaze Happy HoliGlaze Collection for Holiday 2013

 Put a Bow On It is a fuchsia micro glitter. It covered pretty nicely in two coats, but needed three to be completely opaque and even. It did dry somewhat matte, so topcoat brightened it up.

I have had some trouble with micro glitter polish chipping pretty easily on me, but I am now on day three of wearing this and it hasn't chipped a bit. It's absolutely gorgeous and I don't think I'll want to take it off!



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Wednesday, January 8, 2014

China Glaze Travel in Colour

China Glaze Travel in Colour (1 coat)
over
China Glaze Just Be-Claws

From what I can tell, Travel in Colour was released in Fall 2013 as a limited edition iridescent shimmer top coat at the same times as the Happy HoliGlaze collection. I saw it on 8ty8Beauty when I ordered my holiday shades, and since it was a mini and looked neat, I threw it in my order.


I thought it would be neat to see what it did when applied over Just Be-Claws, and I loved the effect. As a reminder, here is Just Be-Claws on its own.

China Glaze Just Be-Claws
2 coats

I found I didn't need a topcoat over Travel in Colour- it dried super fast and shiny.




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Monday, January 6, 2014

China Glaze Just Be-Claws

China Glaze Just Be-Claws
2 coats

from the China Glaze Happy HoliGlaze Collection for Holiday 2013

Just Be-Claws, although not all that unique, is so pretty. It just glows! I have been wearing it on my toes as well this holiday season.

Hope you are having a fabulous day!




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Thursday, January 2, 2014

China Glaze Elfin' Around

China Glaze Elfin' Around
2 coats

from the China Glaze Happy HoliGlaze Collection for Holiday 2013

Elfin' Around is a gorgeous red foil that leans a bit gold, or possibly coral. I really like it. The formula was fabulous- this was almost a one-coater, but I added a second to get a more perfect application.

I really wanted to get lots of holiday swatches done before Christmas, but December was the craziest, shortest month ever. Hopefully things will start to slow down a bit and I can get caught up. Hope you are having a fabulous day!

 

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