Monthly Archives: November 2010

November 27, 2010 · 10:10 am

OPI: Meet Me On The Star Ferry

I hope everyone is having a fun holiday weekend involving lots of eating and maybe a little shopping! Lauren is back home in Chicago with me for the holiday and we know we have been slacking on posting! But I am back today to show you a matching polish we painted the other night from the Hong Kong Collection that I hadn’t heard much about, actually.

In Sun

Meet Me On The Star Ferry is a purple metallic base color with a hint of brown and sort of shy micro multicolored glitter. I like that the basecolor is sort of this interesting mix of purple, pink, and brown that you can’t really tell which color is more predominant indoors. It’s a very pretty winter color to me. It looks like a sophisticated New Years Eve color to me. Or a pretty ornament. The metallic finish with the somewhat hidden multicolor only comes out in the light. Subtle, but still interesting.

In Shade

In the shade it just looks like a cool purple / brown metallic. Which is still a nice color. This was sort of a hidden gem for Laur and I to stumble on in her mom’s polish collection. The application on this polish was fine. I did a very messy application, but everything turned out fine. I did three coats for full multicolored glitter-ness and for even, saturated color. I am really liking this polish.

Lauren and I are going to try to stay warm shopping for new polish and beauty products today that we can’t wait to blog about!

- Liz

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November 23, 2010 · 10:00 am

China Glaze: Peace On Earth

Peace On Earth

Out of all of the China Glaze Holiday 2011 collection that I own, this is color is my favorite. Peace on Earth is a golden, olive green. I’m going to start off by saying that the formula on this polish wasn’t the best. It seemed to be thicker than the normal China Glaze formula. It also had a certain sticky, goopy-ness to it that no one likes. I used two coats. And it dried pretty quickly. I would suggest a thinner first coat followed by a thicker second coat for full coverage.

In Shade

This polish has a very nice metallic, shimmer finish on it. However, I could see someone not liking this polish because of the finish. I could see one saying it is “too frosty” or “pearly” looking for their taste causing it to read dated. Though, the finish to me allows it to be very holiday. Also, the golden olive / military green is a very cool and edgy color to me, so nothing about this polish is anything but awesome for me.

In Shade

I also think this color would look great on all skin tones. Specially someone with beautiful porcelain skin or someone with darker skin tones. Since winter has arrived here in Chicago, my skin is back to it’s more yellow natural, so I think this polish looks more yellow on me because of it.

This polish overall is awesome. I love the edgy-ness to it. I love how the color is young and hip, but could also be styled in a more holiday feel. I think it’s very versatile and not only wearable during the holiday season!

- Liz

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November 20, 2010 · 4:36 pm

Sephora by OPI: It Looks Like Reindeer

It Looks Like Reindeer

I hope the name I used for the post isn’t confusing to you all. There appears to be some confusion about the name… my bottle says “It Looks Like Rain, Dear”… which doesn’t make any sense because there’s no play on words involved. I’m not sure if that’s what they intended to do or if it’s a miscommunication/typo. Either way, I’m going with the cuter and more fun of the options.

Glitter!

Now for the good stuff! This polish is packed full of gold glitter! It’s predominantly gold with some silver microglitter in there, but the best part of the polish is the larger iridescent glitter. These make the polish so pretty and unique and they are always changing different colors. It also takes a gold glitter and makes it more holiday which I wouldn’t have expected, but see it when it’s on the nail it kind of reminds me of tinsel or the star on top of a tree.

I used 2 coats for my mani, but I don’t think 3 would overdo it at all, it would probably be glorious! Since it’s all glitter it will be glittery so plan to use a heavy top coat to smooth it out if you don’t like the feeling of straight glitter.

close-up

This is the best close up shot I could get of the glitter. You can definitely see the iridescent pieces, they don’t hide, which is really nice and it’s not a wimpy gold it hits you with color. I only put this on last night, but I’ve had no problems today. The 2 coats went on smoothly and were both pigmented. Enjoying wearing this all weekend!

Happy Saturday!

-Lauren

 

** Update! I had to remove this polish this morning, a day earlier than I would have liked… It was such a pain to get off, more than I expected. It was like Orly Luxe in the sense that first the remover removed all of the gold coloring from the nail and only then did it begin to remove the polish itself. The glitter was to be expected… long and painful. Another bad thing that happened was that it stained some of my nails! Such a bummer to see these results from the removal of Reindeer… I don’t think it’ll keep me away from this polish forever, but probably at least for a few weeks :(

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November 19, 2010 · 12:36 pm

Rescue Beauty Lounge: Scrangie

In Sun!

I’m sure many of you have seen or heard of this polish. But look at it, it’s so perfect! RBL came out with a blogger collection a couple of years ago and this is the ever so popular blogger Scrangie’s personally designed polish. For anyone that loves purple polish, this is a serious must have. Or I’d even claim anyone that likes polish needs to have this because it is beyond unique and gorgeous.

In Shade

I really like the fact that the base color in this polish is not too dark or deep. It also has a red tinge to it that I could see while applying, so the purple is warmer. The depth on this polish is so impressive between the warm purple and the cool shimmer. The light blue / greenish shimmer that is running through this polish takes it to another level. When I saw it in the sunlight, I could barely believe how pretty and mesmerizing it was. I don’t want to stop staring at it! It also allows for the polish to be brighter / lighter overall, which I really like. This color is an eye-catcher and a serious show stopper.

The application was slight on the thin side. I had to use three coats for full saturation and for the color to become completely opaque. But the three coats allowed for the color to really build and come out perfectly. I did notice that this formula smelled like hair dye to me. Which I found annoying and slightly strange.

- Liz

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November 18, 2010 · 10:51 am

China Glaze: Mistletoe Kisses

Overcast Light

..I don’t like glitter polishes. I don’t like the way they feel when you touch them on your nail.  And I specially do not like the complete pain, literally and figuratively, they are to remove. It’s just ridiculous. So, I don’t own many. If I had someone to remove them for me, I might take a better liking to the. However, that’s not a reality so my dislike will probably continue. I did recently purchase this China Glaze Holiday however. It looked really cool and different in the swatches I saw and just made me buy it.

I don’t know what to say. When I look at this polish just on my nail, I like it. I like that it is green, silver, and fun to stare at. But when I start thinking about the polish in the bottle, swatches I have seen, and the holidays my feelings sway.

This is two thick coats. The application was fine, minus I do have a patchy spot on my ring finger. I feel like the color is too in the middle. I feel as though I want it to be either “icy-er” or darker. It’s just sort of in the middle. I think maybe if I layered it over a light blue it would look very cool. Maybe more snowy and crisp. Or if it had more silver and lighter glitter with a hint of green. However, if it was darker it would also seem more of that “Christmas green” or holiday. Because to me right now my first thought when I look at it is money, not holiday.

Overall I am slightly disappointed. Although as mentioned, I don’t love glitters, but I do love green. I think that if you like glitter polishes, this could be a good addition to your collection. It’s sort of unique but not in a positive way, because I feel like the color is sort of flat and could be more interesting and less mediocre.

I will also probably wear this color for the next 5 days because I don’t even want to deal with the removal process!

- Liz

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November 17, 2010 · 6:34 pm

Essie: Big Spender

 

Essie Big Spender

 

Today I have for you Essie’s Big Spender. I got this nail polish about a year ago and I’ve worn it a few times already, which is quite a feat as I’m sure you already know. There had been so many blues and glitters in my life recently, I needed something completely different! Big Spender is a bright pink creme, but there is some purple to the shade. In bright sunlight it can tend to get mostly pink. but most of the day you can see the hint of purple in it.

This goes on smoothly and has good coverage in 1 coat, this is 2 coats. It hasn’t worn very well for me since Monday night, but I mostly blame myself for that, not Big Spender.

I love this color because it really stands out compared to most other pinks. It’s easy to get a hot pink or a baby pink, but few pinks are bright and dark at the same time, let alone with the hint of purple this one has. I really enjoy wearing it because I love pink, but you don’t always want ballet slipper pink or rose pink.

 

This past summer I picked up a bunch of Sonia Kashuk nail polishes when I first heard about them. One of the ones I got was Ooh La La, which, when I got home, looked just like Big Spender. I was kind of disappointed, but I figured they couldn’t be exact dupes no matter how alike they looked in the bottle and either way Ooh La La only cost $3.99, haha.

 

Ooh La La and Big Spender

 

Ooh La La on middle finger

 

 

Here I have Big Spender on the pointer and ring fingers and Ooh La La on the middle finger. You can tell the difference right away: Ooh La La is truer to a hot pink than Big Spender is. It’s definitely a noticeable change and Ooh La La is much brighter. I like both polishes, Ooh La La is a great hot pink, but I think if you want a little extra something special you should go with the darker Big Spender.

 

Happy Hump day!

-Lauren

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November 16, 2010 · 6:53 pm

Make up! Mac and Benefit

Mac Dashing Lassie palette and Benefit Lady's Choice

Love plaid!

Today I thought I’d show you guys some of the goodies I picked up this weekend… I was bad, but I couldn’t be happier! I got Benefit Lady’s Choice lipstick, which I saw back in the summer and had been craving ever since. It’s a pinkish nude, matte and so flattering. In fact, both items I got are great every day neutrals and I think that’s part of a make up collection that constantly needs replacing because you either use them up or have so many that you need to throw out the old items.

The Mac palette is called Dashing Lassie and it has 6 eye shadows. I have now officially worn them all. The top row of 3 are kind of on the sheerer side. This was a little surprising because I’m used to heavy Mac pigments. I did get them for neutrals, so for me this wasn’t really a problem at all, I can kind of favor sheerer shadows for day to day. The bottom row of 3 have more pigment to them, especially the first 2 reddish colored ones. The last shadow on the corner right is called Showstopper and it looks really dark, but isn’t, it’s kind of a light, smokey grey and that might be my favorite one right now.

Dashing Lassie shadows

The names of the shadows, top row (L to R):

A Dashing Lassie, Once Upon A Time, Magical Mist

bottom row (L to R):

Bronze, Buckwheat, Showstopper

It’s definitely made my week to be able to wear new make up, I wish I could go out and get some more! There’s so many good things out for the holiday season. While I was at Sephora I also picked up a nail polish from their Holiday 2010 collection, the gold glitter, It Looks Like Rain, Deer. (some dispute in the spelling, but I think that’s how they intended it). I know Liz and I both got that one so one of us will have that swatch for you soon!

If only money did grow on trees…

-Lauren

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November 15, 2010 · 2:58 pm

China Glaze Holiday: Little Drummer Boy

Ugh, let me just say that the weather here in Chicago was not working well with taking swatches today. It’s sunny, but not really, I feel like I can only get photos before or around noon or else it just doesn’t work. But these are the best I could do. What I really need is a new camera. Anywho..

Little Drummer Boy is a beautiful dark blue. It’s similar to a midnight blue but seems almost richer in a way. The shimmer within the polish really makes me want to call it midnight blue. It’s also difficult to tell what color the shimmer is? It seems as though it might be the same color as the base color, and it also might have shimmer that is slightly lighter than the base color. This color is very unique even though a “midnight blue shimmer” doesn’t sound that original, I don’t own any colors that close to this blue. It’s a darker, deeper color than say, Essie Midnight Cami.

Partly Sunny

The application and formula on this polish was insane. It could have possibly been a one coater, but I did a pretty poor job applying today because I was in a rush and excited. The formula was smooth like butter and fully saturated. Also, once you add your top coat to this color all the shimmer comes shining through like you’re out in the sun. You really see the depth and how pretty it is. Though there is sort of silver / metallic finish on this polish that I don’t know how to describe since there’s no silver in the shimmer or anything. It’s faint, but you can see it in the bottle as well. Something about this color reads “velvet” to me.

Is anyone as excited about this China Collection as I am? All of the colors are really cool and interesting!

- Liz

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November 14, 2010 · 10:38 am

OPI: Yodel Me On My Cell (with accent nail!)

Yodel Me On My Cell + Absolutely Alice

Hey everyone! Happy Sunday. Well yesterday I said I felt like I needed some color after Under My Trench Coat and blue was that color! I was sifting through my blues deciding which one to do and rediscovered Yodel Me On My Cell. I loved it when I got it back in August and hey, it’s still fall, so why not? Megan recently posted on Polish Or Perish about accent nails and I was in the mood for that, really enjoying it so far.

This is 2 coats of Yodel Me except for the ring finger, which is 1 coat Yodel Me and 1 coat Absolutely Alice. I like this color combo because it’s a very subtle change, but still something special and noticeable.

Yodel Me is a little on the sheer side and with 2 coats you can still see VNL in some lights. The application is lovely on both. I am already preparing myself for the removal of Absolutely Alice, but at least it’s only 1 nail (for now, haha).

Pic with the Yodel Me On My Cell bottle

Here’s a picture with the Yodel Me On My Cell bottle just to have a view from both sides. These are both wearing well for me, I did the mani Saturday morning and it’s looking like it’ll go strong through today and probably tomorrow too!

It may be fun to try a reverse accent nail? where you do all glitters with 1 creme nail. It’s nice to do something different with colors you love wearing.

Almost time for football!

-Lauren

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November 13, 2010 · 8:14 am

Sephora by OPI: Under My Trench Coat

 

Under My Trench Coat

 

I’ve been wearing this color almost all week! Sephora by OPI Under My Trench Coat, from the fall collection called Film Noir, I believe it was last fall, 2009. I know that since then, this polish has gotten mixed reviews in terms for a shade of taupe, I also referred to it as a greige earlier this week and we know that color is in right now. I think it can be generally difficult to find the most flattering taupe for your skin tone and obviously this won’t work for everyone, but personally, I love Under My Trench Coat. It’s on the lighter side and it has a really pretty gold shimmer in it.

 

A little darker looking in this pic

 

I used 2 coats here, when you put the first coat on it looks much lighter than you would expect from the bottle. If you wanted a darker color, I’m sure you could get that in 3 coats. The wear has been really great for this, and for Sephora by OPI in general, at least in my case. I barely had chip wear after 3 full days at least, possibly 4, and I had some pretty hefty nail imperfections going on this week. I’m really happy with this polish and it’s another case where I’d like to get more from this collection, I know that this is still available in stores. The polish also went on very smoothly, no issues at all that I can think of.

It’s a really nice, neutral rainy day kind of color… maybe it’s the name that makes me think of that, but I find myself wearing this a lot in spring and in fall. Now that I’ve been wearing a neutral all week though I’m looking forward to something a little brighter.

 

Happy weekend!

-Lauren

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