Monthly Archives: August 2011

August 30, 2011 · 9:16 pm

Zoya: Cynthia

 I feel like Cynthia might be a polish from the Smoke and Mirrors collection that a lot of people might pass up assuming that it will just look black. I didn’t really assume that, but kind of wish I had. It’s definitely not as blue or navy as I had hoped.

Deep, almost black, inky navy blue

Cynthia is a deep, inky, navy blue. It’s very saturated and dark. Indoors and in the shade it’s hard to tell that it isn’t black. In the direct sun, you can tell that it’s less harsh against the skin that black is. But looks basically black expect for around the edges. I think on cooler and lighter skin tones it would be prettier and easier to tell it’s navy.

Shiny, creme finish

The formula and application on this polish was up to the standard we expect from Zoya. It went on smoothly and covered in two even coats. The drying time was good.  Also as I mentioned with Dree, this polish has been wearing very well. I’ve had minimal tipwear, which for me is saying a ton.

Where to Buy: Zoya.com / $ 8

Are you feeling Cynthia? Do you like that it’s an almost black? I like that it’s an almost black that isn’t purple, since those are so popular. But I wish it was more of a gem tone, yet still dark. I’d like a good, rich, but not black looking navy. What’s your favorite one? Suggestions please!

- Liz

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August 28, 2011 · 11:43 am

Zoya: Dree and Urban Outfitters: Afterhours

I hope all of our readers dealing with the hurricane are safe. That’s scary!

I recently got my order of the new fall 2011 Zoya collection, and Dree was the first one I wanted to try. I had also been toying with the idea of using this Urban Outfitters holo glitter and thought the balance of masculine army green and girly light pink holo glitter would be a fun contrast. I ended up wishing I had just done Dree, which isn’t surprising at all.

Creamy almost muted army green and pink glitter holo

Dree is a rather interesting color. It’s an army / olive green creme, but it has that hint of dustiness to it. And also has a good amount of grey in it so it’s mellow and a much calmer green. It’s absolutely ideal for fall, and for the not common green polish wear-er. It’s sophisticated and pretty. I love it. Afterhours is a chunky pink holographic glitter polish. I thought it was a bit more taupe. Nothing too special or too “me”.

Smooth Zoya application

Like every other Zoya creme I own, this went on like a dream. Buttery smooth with zero issues. I only needed two coats for full opacity. And believe it or not, I have also gotten pretty great wear on this manicure. It’s day four and I have minimal chipping. That’s always a huge, huge plus for me.

Where to Buy: (Dree) Zoya.com / $ 8 

Where to Buy Afterhours: Urban Outfitters / UrbanOutfitters.com / $ 4

I’m really excited to wear the rest of the Fall 2011 Zoya’s I ordered. Did you get Dree? What polishes from the collection did you get? Or which ones caught your eye?

Have a nice True Blood Sunday.

- Liz

 

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August 24, 2011 · 8:11 pm

Deborah Lippmann: I Know What Boys Like

When I first saw this summer 2011 color come out, I knew I was going to love it. I loved how it has this really beautiful balance of both blue and purple. I had been meaning to pick it up for months now, but just recently got around to it. And I’m not disappointed at all.

I will throw in the disclaimer that my camera did (like it does with all blurples) made this look more blue than it actually is. Not drastically, but noticeable to me. I’m sorry. It sucks, I know.

Less blue in real life

I Know What Boys Like (fun name) has this harmonious balance of blue and purple. Although it’s basically a medium toned blurple creme, it’s not boring at all. It’s periwinkle-ish, but with a punch. The color is so interesting naturally. Is it purple? Is it blue? I will say that on me, it does lean more blue, but not by much. It’s feminine and pretty, but has a uniqueness to it from the blend of colors. It’s really cool.

Prefect, shiny half creme half jelly finish

The first coat of this polish did not go on so great, but by the second one it looked absolutely perfect. It was very saturated, smooth, and shiny. I only needed two coats. It’s one of ever popular half creme half jelly formulas. It also had a good drying time and wore decently on me.

Where to Buy: Nordstrom’s / Neiman Marcus / DeborahLippmann.com / $ 16

What are your thoughts? Do you like this blurple? Or does it not look that special to you? How did you feel about the rest of DL’s Summer 2011 collection? I liked all the colors for sure.

- Liz

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August 22, 2011 · 8:14 am

China Glaze: Trendsetter

Oh, Monday morning. To make things a little better today, I have a new hands down favorite of mine to share with you guys. I’m sure you’ve seen the swatches of this year’s fall l Metro collection. But Trendsetter is a total must have. It’s awesome and out of the box.

"Ugly" yet pretty murky yellow green

I know a lot of people classify these different or edgy colors as “ugly”, but for me this polish was not ugly and just gorgeous on my nails. I know it might be out of some’s comfort zone, but it definitely has a cool factor because of its interesting nature. On me, this polish seemed to lean more olive green, but it has a lot of golden or mustard-y yellow in it also. It’s richer in tone and has a touch of dustiness to it. But to counter that, there’s glass flecks that allows this polish to light up in the sun and have a feminine edge.

Good formula and application

I had no problems with the formula or application on this polish.I used two coats and got full coverage and opacity. I also got decent wear time out of it.

Where to Buy: Sally’s Beauty Supply / Ulta / Online Retailers / $ 6

I know this polish has a lot going on, but it works perfectly. At first I almost wanted it to just be a creme finish, but ended up deciding it’s perfect with the glass flecks. It’s such a unique and strange shade that flattered my skin and nails. It also has that edginess that I like.

So, ugly pretty or just ugly? Is this color just too far out of your comfort zone? I highly recommend trying it out. I absolutely love it.

- Liz

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August 17, 2011 · 5:34 pm

OPI: What’s With The Catitude? with Sally Hansen: Hidden Treasure

Ice nailsss

Hey everyone! I’m gonna be loading you up with pictures today. I haven’t had any new polishes in awhile and I wanted to do something different to mix things up. I’m getting so sick of everything I have! I was in layering mood, specifically in the mood for Hidden Treasure. So I went out of my comfort zone and paired it with OPI What’s With The Catitutde? From the Shrek collection. I am really loving how it came out!

This pic is how it looks in the most natural of light, but of course I can’t just leave you with that one. My favorite look is when Hidden Treasure goes all green on top of the light blue and I tried to capture that as best I could. Here’s one a little closer and angled:

from the side

Last night when I finished painting I just thought this was really bright and cute and this morning when I woke up I thought they looked like ice… so I’ve been calling them ice nails, ha ha. I did two coats of What’s With The Catitude? I had not used that polish for awhile because I didn’t care for the application at the time, but I really wanted to use that color and give it another try. The application still isn’t great, but you can pretty much even it all out by the second coat if you’re expecting it from the start. Then I did one coat of Hidden Treasure, which is always fun to use and no trouble at all. I had a pretty fast drying time even though all those layers of polish felt pretty thick on my nails.

Here’s a couple pictures of this mani in warm vs. cool lighting:

warmish

cooler

I think that having something layered over this polish takes away the pastel of the color and the baby boy blue aspect so it doesn’t seem as childish. Slap some glitter on there and it’s instantly more interesting and fun! Really enjoying wearing this one, I’ll have to stop outside my comfort zone more often.

Where to Buy: What’s With The Catitude / Online / $8ish

Hidden Treasure / Online / $6ish

You might be able to find these in stores, but I couldn’t guarantee that. Those prices should be the very highest end.

Happy Hump Day!

-Lauren

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August 15, 2011 · 7:56 pm

OPI: Chocolate Moose

I have briefly mentioned how I am on an ongoing mission to collection all of the Canadian collection from OPI. To be honest, I haven’t been searching lately. I’ve had a hard enough time putting orders in for new collections online, let alone searching in real life. Luckily, my best friend picked this up for me when she was out and about , so I can cross this one off the list.

Creamy, milk chocolate-y color

Chocolate Mose (cute name) is a medium toned brown creme. I get that that description doesn’t make it sound all that appealing or interesting, but I actually really like it. It’s the color of milk chocolate in general, but is a bit lighter in tone. It’s creamy and neutral. It has a sophisticated air to it like almost all semi-odd colored cremes do. It complimented my tan well, but think it would look good on all warm skin tones.

Smooth formula and pretty good wear

The application of this polish was good. I had no issues. It went on smooth and evenly. I needed two coats for full coverage, and it dried quickly. I also need to mention that his polish wore better for me than most of my polishes do. I got almost two solid days with no chips, which almost never happens for me. That is a big plus for me.

Where to Buy: Online Retailers / Target / Professional Salons / Dillard’s / JCPenny / Trade Secret (Think it’s part of the classics) / $ 8

Are you into browns on your nails? Do you own a brown creme? A shimmer? I know darker ones may be more appealing, but this one is a keeper too and something different.

- Liz

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August 12, 2011 · 8:11 am

CND: Blackjack

Hey guys. It’s Friday, thank god. This week hasn’t been the best for me. I’m glad it’s over.

I’m going to keep this post on the short side since I do realize there isn’t much to say about a black creme nail polish. But I do know every girl has their favorite. What I really love about this black creme (aside from the name) is that it has no green tones in the base, which I feel like a lot of black cremes do. It’s jet black and full of pigmentation.

Jet black with a perfect formula

Another awesome thing about this polish, is the formula. As I mentioned in my other recent CND posts (The Jason Wu Collection), the formula is outstanding. It literally applies itself in such a smooth, dreamy way. CND has one of the best formulas on the market for a great price. You barely need two coats of this polish, but I did just in case. It has a shiny finish, and dries quickly. This is definitely a holy grail black polish.

Where to Buy: Transdesign.com / Meijer (Or so I’ve heard) / $ 9ish

What’s your favorite black nail polish? Do you own many CND polishes? If not, you seriously need to give them a try. If you do, what’s your favorite? I’m very interested in building my collection from this brand and would love good suggestions.

- Liz

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August 8, 2011 · 7:28 pm

Urban Outfitters: Bandeau

I am usually not one to buy polish from clothing stores. I know they are always trying to temp you with them by the registers, but for some reason I feel like they most likely lack quality. I also don’t know what the company’s animal testing policies are, like with this polish. So if anyone is aware of that information about Urban, please let me know.

However, this polish caught my eye while shopping and I HAD to have it. (They had a lot of interesting colors, by the way.) It looks glorious in the bottle. The prettiest, ideal blurple ever. I’m really excited to share it with you guys. It was a little hard to photograph correctly, but I tried my best!

The perfect blue toned purple. A little deeper in tone, in real life

Bandeau killed an internal lemming I had. I’ve been looking for a polish in this exact color for a long time. I know it doesn’t seem that unique on paper; it’s a vibrant, and saturated blue-toned purple creme. But it’s absolutely beautiful. It has the perfect balance of blue and purple. There is something about this polish that is everything I’ve been looking for. THE one, I might say. This is what I wanted DL’s Call Me Irresponsible (reviewed here) to be. I’m so happily surprised by this polish.

Slightly streaky formula, but it's got some neon pigments in it

The formula was a little fussy. It wasn’t the smoothest to apply; it was a bit streaky. But it did dry semi-matte, so I’m going to attribute the wonky formula to the neon pigments in the polish. But after applying a thicker second coat, it evened out and I got full coverage no problem. It also dried quickly.

Where to Buy: Urban Outfitters / UrbanOutfitters.com / $ 5

Have you tried any polish from Urban Outfitters before? Are you also in love with this color? I’m so smitten with this. Top 5 for sure!

- Liz

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August 7, 2011 · 10:41 am

Hundreds for Chanel…LOTS of Hunreds

Guys, you need to click on this and be happy you aren’t as crazy as the person that spent that much money on that polish. That’s INSANE!

I’ll be back with a real post later. :)

- Liz

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August 4, 2011 · 8:20 pm

Essie: Bermuda Shorts….? Part 2

I recently posted this blog entry about a great summertime polish, Bermuda Shorts, and mentioned how I had a different bottle of Bermuda Shorts than seen in swatches and real life. So, out of curiosity, I recently borrowed my best friend’s bottle of BS to see the difference between colors. And after that, I think there’s more than two different versions out there.

More purple than my bottle of BS

As visible in the bottle side by side photo, this bottle of Bermuda Shorts is more purple than mine. It’s a pretty balance of pink and purple that is reminiscent of a tropical flower or something pretty like that. It has a mix of pink and purple, but is deeper in color from having more purple. I like how it’s saturated and noticeable, but isn’t screaming loud since it’s not overly bright. It has a deeper tone to it. This polish also dried matte.

Smooth finish, easy to apply

Similar to my bottle of BS, this one was easily applied. Sometimes with neon’s there’s a big issue with unevenness, pigmentation, or being too chalky, but this is the opposite of that. It has a really nice formula and application. It dries quickly (which is nice) and I only needed two coats for a pretty finish.

Now, I still think there is another version of this polish out there. When I look up swatches (like this one), I can see a clear difference in color from this version of BS; it seems to be much more vibrant and more purple. I mean, I guess lighting or editing could have something to do with the difference in that photo, but I’m not sure. It looks much more purple and creamier (if that makes sense). Where ever a bottle of that Bermuda Shorts is, it looks really awesome.

- Liz

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