Monthly Archives: June 2011

June 27, 2011 · 5:38 pm

OPI: Y’all Come Back Ya Hear? and Sally Hansen Complete Manicure: Hidden Treasure

I was really feeling like wearing an orange on my nails recently. And while I was poking around in my stash, I realized I don’t have that many oranges, which was a let down. I wanted to wear Y’all Come Back Ya Hear? and remembered this awesome manicure, and decided to repeat it.

Flakes underneath Y'all Come Back Ya Hear?

I decided to do this manicure as accent nails only on my ring fingers and thumb. YCBYH is an ideal orange jelly that is saturated, fun, and ideal for summer. The perfect orange. Hidden Treasure is a flake-y top coat that is warm toned with orange and yellow. These warm toned colors go really well together, even if warm tones aren’t my favorite.

Pretty, subtle accent

I started with 2 coats of YCBYH on all of my nails. Then I added one thick coat of Hidden Treasure on both of my thumbs and ring fingers. Then gave all nails another coat of YCBHY and top coat to finish. It sounds a little more time-consuming that it actually was. Everything dried easily and was worth the outcome. I wish I had done it to all my nails not just as an accent! It’s subtle, but adds a splash of sparkle in the sunlight and is something fun for summer.

Some of you might be wondering why I didn’t just put HT on as a top coat on my accent nails. I really prefer with a jelly finish and a flake-y top coat to put the flakes within the layers for a look that has a lot of depth and looks like a Nfu Oh polish. They look like they are inside the polish, not just floating on top.

Where to Buy Y’all Come Back: JCPenny / Ulta / Trade Secret / Dillard’s / Professional Salons / $ 8.50

Where to Buy Hidden Treasure: Maybe Ebay? Or you could find any flake-y top coat to use. I know Hard Candy had one and I’m sure there’s a drugstore brand out there that makes one.

So, tell me. Do you love flakes in polishes? I know some people go nutso for it. It’s nice once in a while but not a regular thing for me. What’s your favorite flake-y nail polish?

- Liz

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June 25, 2011 · 11:42 am

OPI Pirates of the Caribbean: Stranger Tides

Wow. Let me start off by saying I hope, or actually I know, that everyone else has been having a better week than I have. Chicago had a crazy storm about 3 days ago and Death by Polish’s headquarters (aka my house) was left with no electricity or water until 10 pm last night. A total nightmare to say the least.

At any rate, Stranger Tides is a polish I wore a couple weeks back that took me pleasantly by surprise.

Muted sage greyish green

As you may know, this polish is a very light, muted sage green. This was the first color from the Pirates collection I was drawn to. I think this color would look great on almost everyone, but it did think it looked particularly nice with my newly tanned skin. It reads a neutral but when you noticed it wasn’t, it added a nice little surprise. It was really pretty and I enjoyed wearing it.

A pretty outcome but not the greatest formula

The formula on this polish wasn’t great. It was streaky and slightly annoying to apply, but not awful. I did need three coats to even everything out. I have heard bloggers mention that Essie’s Da Bush is a dupe with a better formula, if that’s an issue for you. Sometimes I get annoyed with OPI when their creme formulas aren’t easy to work with. I feel like they should have that figured out, haha.

This is one of the very few polishes I own that I actually got a couple of compliments on. Which doesn’t happen very often to me (seriously it does not) and when it does I get really excited. So more points to Stranger Tides for that.

Where to Buy: Ulta / JCPenny / Trade Secret / Online Retailers / Professional Salons / $ 8

- Liz

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June 23, 2011 · 10:52 am

What Does Your Nail Polish Say About You?

http://www.stylelist.com/2011/06/23/nail-polish/?icid=maing-grid7|aim|dl3|sec1_lnk3|72472 

I saw this article on Stylelist this morning and thought it would brighten your day! Pretty fun. (Although you do not want to know what my tips are communicating right now! Gah! Chips!)

Happy Thursday,

Lauren

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June 21, 2011 · 6:40 pm

Color Club: Total Mystery

I was compelled to purchase a few polishes from the recently released Alter Ego collection. I like foils because you get the flashy finish that’s a bit more pulled together than glitters. This was my first experience with Color Club polishes and I’m always excited to give new brands a try.

I tried my best to capture the flash of purple in this polish that I thought was going to be more apparent on the nail like it was in the bottle. However, it didn’t really deliver all the purple that I wanted. Sigh.

Bright blue foil

Total Mystery is a bright blue foil polish with what I would call, a hint of purple micro-glitter. It was basically mostly blue on me at all times. I was a bit disappointed since it looked prettier in the bottle. I do really like blue polishes, so I’m not going to hate it. The formula and application of this polish was thinner than I expected. I did use three coats and got full coverage easily.

Where to Buy: Transdesign.com / $ 3

Are Color Club polishes in your regular rotation? What are your favorite Color Club polishes? I feel like I didn’t get off to great start with the brand.

- Liz

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June 19, 2011 · 9:38 am

Sonia Kashuk: Tutti Fruitti

Sonia Kashuk is big in the Target make up lover’s world. I have a few items from her make up line and I really love them. This is a polish of her’s that I have had since it first came out last summer. And it is honestly one of my go to summer colors, especially for my toes. Even if I despise the name of the color. :)

Red leaning coral creme

Tutti Fruitti is a red-leaning coral creme. There’s both orange and pink undertones in this polish that really softens up the red factor, which is great for me. It’s very saturated but it’s not screaming bright. This color looks great on even if you just have a touch on color from being out in the summer. It would be flattering on just about everyone. Is it the most unique red-coral? No. But it looks great.

Smooth application

The formula and application of this polish is quite impressive when considering the price and that I believe this was the company’s first go at nail polish. The consistency is almost ideal: it’s thicker so there’s no pooling issues and is very smooth and easy to apply. It’s also full of pigmentation. I needed two coats for full coverage.

Where to Buy: Target / $ 5

Also as a side note, I like these polish bottles. I think the square is cute and the silver handle makes it look a little fancy. Sort of like Estee Lauder polish bottles. Short, fat and cute.

Do you own any Sonia Kashuk nail polishes? Do you scope them when you’re at Target but haven’t taken the plunge? I think this is a great one to try first.

- Liz

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June 17, 2011 · 12:00 am

Jason Wu for CND: Brigitte

This is the last polish I had yet to wear from Jason Wu’s CND collection. And, well, since I chose it last it may be obvious to say that it was my least favorite. This polish didn’t look great on me. To be honest, I’m not sure it would look great on anyone. It’s a little drab.

Almost dusty pink nude

Jason Wu described Brigitte as ” a healthy, natural nude in a fresh, flushed-cheek tone.” Which, I guess is pretty true. Though my cheeks don’t ever look this color. For me, there is something that is off about the hue of this color. It looks almost muddy and dull in a not cool way. Also on my skintone, I lost a lot of the pink in the color so it ended up looking like a bizarre fleshy color. The frumptastic factor on this color was pretty high.

Perfect application

Even if I didn’t love the color of Brigitte, I did love the application. It went on smooth, creamy, and pigmented. I used two coats with no problems. As all of this collection, the formula and application was perfect.

Where to Buy: Transdesign.com / CND.com / $23 to $47 for the complete set

What do you guys think of these dusty pinky flesh colors? A little old lady? I think that you have to find the right one for your skin, but I’d rather just opt for a beige-y nude instead. Those are much prettier and sexier to me.

- Liz

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June 15, 2011 · 12:00 am

China Glaze: Turned Up Turquoise

This is one of those polishes that I always remind myself to pick up, and then never do. It always seemed like a great summer color. A bright, saturated green / blue would normally be right up my alley, but this polish did not deliver for me.

I’m not a huge neon polish girl. I know in hot months girls love a neon pedicure and even matching neon manicure, but it’s just not really my thing. (Though I do really like Essie Bermuda Shorts a lot!)

Neon!

The color of this polish is actually really pretty, but what’s throwing me off about it is that I don’t view it as turquoise. For me, there’s not enough blue in it to send it into that turquoise zone. I know turquoise is quite a subjective color, but this one is a little off to me. It’s a bright, almost spearmint green with a touch of blue to me.

Like most neons, the formula on this was a pain. I found it to be a bit worse than other neons. I had major cuticle drag issues after three coats. I had tons of streaks and unevenness on my left hand. I guess I wasn’t patience enough with this color, but it wasn’t worth the painful application. I do like the shimmer in this color, but I wish it was easier to apply.

Where to buy: Ulta / Sally’s / Online Retailers / $ 6ish

Maybe I’ll give this polish another try this summer. What your favorite neon polish? Do you like to wear a neons in the summer?

- Liz

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June 12, 2011 · 11:29 am

Orly: Lemonade

Sunny yellow!

First off…. IT’S OUR ONE YEAR BLOGIVERSARY! Thanks so much to all of our readers! I can’t believe it’s been a whole year! We’ll be announcing the winners of the giveaway soon. So excited!

And now… back to the polish

Orly’s Lemonade is from the Sweet Collection which came out last year. Out of the entire collection this was the only polish that really grabbed me. Kind of unusual when that happens with a pastel yellow, but I just think this is so cute!

I don’t have any application problems with this one, as you can see it comes out pretty smooth and even. I remember the first coat being a little streaky, so you probably have to work to even it out a little with the second coat. I only used two coats for this mani.

Lemonade is a rather pale yellow compared to others. It’s not golden, shimmery, or bright and electric like the few other yellows in my collection. I think this is such a cute color, although it probably won’t look great on everyone. If your skin tends toward the yellow side already, I’d probably stray away from this one and go for something that’s more golden or orange. It’s definitely a pastel, which isn’t something that appeals to everyone (normally, I’m one of those people, hah!) If you’re looking for a different yellow, however, you may want to give Lemonade a try.

close up!

I got pretty good wear time out of this polish, which has been my general experience with Orly polishes for the most part. This is always something fun and different for me to wear because it’s not what I normally grab when looking at my collection. It instantly makes most outfits cuter and girlier, haha.

Writing out this post makes me wonder what’s going on with Orly lately. I think the last time I bought a new Orly polish was last fall. It seems like their Pin Up Collection this year kind of repeated the Sweet Collection from last year.

Where to Buy: Online retailers

Hope everyone is having a good weekend!

-Lauren

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June 11, 2011 · 12:00 am

Jason Wu for CND: Sophia

It may come to no surprise to regular readers that I also love this Jason Wu for CND polish. As I have mentioned, the formula on every polish in this collection is, basically wonderful. The colors are just standard neutrals, but for some reason, I’ve really taken to them. They are so sleek and clean.

Sophia - Medium chocolate-y creme

Jason Wu describes Sophia as “perfectly warm, smooth, milk chocolate nail.” This polish does remind me of milk chocolate, however, the color is more interesting than that. It has this grey tone to it that makes it look really earthy and reminiscent of a beautiful, natural stone. It’s somewhat like a twist on taupe. Very professional, sexy, and elegant. I don’t own another polish like this one. I loved this manicure.

Dreamy smooth application and finish

Like all of this collection, the formula and application was one of the best I’ve ever used. It went on completely effortlessly with almost fully opacity in one coat. The formula was so smooth and velvety. I used two coats to finish the manicure. I also noticed that this manicure wore pretty well considering what I put my polish (and hands) through daily.

Where to buy: CND.com / Transdesign.com / $47 on CND or $23 on Transdesign

Come on, I know I can’t be the only one loving these polishes. Anyone else give these a try? Or have you been thinking about picking them up?

- Liz

PS – Enter our 1 Year Giveaway if you haven’t yet! You can win over 15 polishes! It ends tomorrow, June 12th!

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June 8, 2011 · 7:33 am

Essie: Cute As A Button

I hope all the Midwest readers out there haven’t melted to death, I know I almost did today. Death by heat would be far less cool than death by polish, haha. (Yay bad jokes!)

I’m back today with one of my all time favorite polishes. Cute As A Button isn’t the most unique polish for me to be in love with, but every time I wear it, I literally can’t stop admiring my nails. It’s so flattering, I absolutely love it. It’s also clearly perfect for a pedicure.

Wonderfully juicy pinkish coral

There’s something about the hue of this shade that is just perfect. This polish could be labeled as pink, coral, or orange. It has this great mix that allows this shade to be spot on. It’s a pink based coral, heavy on the pink, but you can tell there’s orange within. I love corals of this shade. I prefer them more than red corals. This color looks so juicy, refreshing, and tropical. It’s as if a watermelon and a honeydew got together and popped this out!

Super shiny coral

The formula on this polish was really easy to work with and I always have zero problems. I only need two coats for full coverage. It goes on smooth and even. It’s a jelly / creme hybrid but may slightly be more jelly. There’s the slightest bit of VNL, but no one would detect it but you. This also dries quick and easy. When this manicure is finished, it’s so glassy, juicy, and shiny. I love it.

Where to buy: Ulta / Drugstores / Target  / $ 8

Do you own Cute as a Button? Is it a go-to-summer color for you? Pick it  up!

- Liz

P.S. – Enter our GIVEAWAY!

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