Tag Archives: Sheer

April 18, 2012 · 7:47 pm

OPI: Don’t Touch My Tutu!

I’ve been somewhat on a search for the perfect “white” polish for a while. I love the way a more opaque, but not full coverage creme, white polish looks. It’s so clean and more modern than the common sheer whites. I loved the way this polish looked in the bottle, so I was unable to resist it.

Sheer-er, milky white

Don’t Touch My Tutu! (I actually think this name is cute) is a sheer, pale white from the 2012 NYC Ballet Soft Shades collection. It has a pretty, medium coverage jelly finish to it. This polish has a crisp, clean color to it. It doesn’t have any noticeable blue or pink undertones to it. It’s pretty, and very different from what I normally wear. I like it, though wish it was more of what I was looking for and more of what it appeared to be in the bottle.

Only noticeably streaky in macro, looks very even on the nails

This photo makes this polish look as though it’s streaky or uneven, but in real life, it’s almost undetectable. The macro setting on the camera made this much more visible. I did use three coats for this polish, but had no issues with drying time. The formula was thinner but it is semi-sheer. I do wish it was a touch more opaque so it would have been more of what I had in mind. My only application tip would be is that you can build it up or wear it sheer, whatever look you are going for it seems to be pretty flexible.

Where To Buy: Ulta / JCPenny / Trade Secret / Dillard’s / Online Retailers / $ 8.50

Do you like Don’t Touch My Tutu!? Do you often wear classic, sheer polishes like this one? Did you buy any others from this years Ballet Soft Shades collection? Or what’s your favorite more opaque white? I’m still looking, help a girl out!

- Liz

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February 7, 2012 · 7:25 pm

Sonia Kashuk: Sugar Rush & OPI: Fiercely Fiona

I’m almost back to feeling 100% after being on my death bed. I have a looming cough that won’t quit, but I’m hoping that will subside eventually. Sooner rather than later of course.

Fiercely Fiona is one of my beloved polishes. I adore the green-y yellow hue that is oddly interesting yet approachable and cheery.  I needed something to cheer me up so I pulled out Fiercely Fiona, but also wanted something clean and fresh. That’s where Sugar Rush came in.

Natural pink with a fun green-y yellow accent

Sugar Rush is a really pretty natural, slightly sheer blush pink. It takes a bit of time to dry, which is annoying, but I really like this polish. It just brightens everything up. A “your nails but better” type of polish. Fiercely Fiona is from the Shrek collection. A chartreuse creme to me. A green-y yellow that is fun, but still interesting and a bit sophisticated since it could be deemed as a bit ugly. I really like this color combination and manicure. It’s something different.

Accent nails

I used two coats of Sugar Rush. This polish takes a bit of time to dry, which is annoying. But I did apply two thicker coats to get a more opaque look from it. For Fiercely Fiona, I also used two coats. This polish applies just a touch streaky on first coat, but evens out with no problem by the second. And wish no drying issues at all.

Where To Buy (Sugar Rush): Target.com / $ 5

Where To Buy (Fiercely Fiona): Online Retailers / $ 5

Do you own either of these polishes? Do you like either of them? Did I make you want either of them? :)

- Liz

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January 19, 2012 · 6:25 pm

OPI: Stranger Tides & Sit Under The Apple Tree

I feel awful for my absence the past week! I have been apartment searching and it has eaten up any ounce of down time I’ve had. Luckily, it’s over and I can get back to taking care of my nails.

I found Sit Under The Apple Tree (hate this name) on clearance at Ulta recently. It’s originally from OPI’s Retro collection in 2009. It’s rather sheer so I knew I wanted to layer it. I’m very satisfied with this outcome, I’ve been admiring it all day.

Pretty pale, shimmery green combination

I knew I wanted an opaque base for this manicure and a number of base colors would work well with layering Sit Under The Apple Tree. I picked the pale, grey-ed out sage Stranger Tides. SUTAT is very pretty and delicate for a yellow / green shimmer. The micro-shimmer is so fine and dense that it really covered my nail well with one coat. It looks gorgeous and cheerful in the sunlight. Somewhat “springy” because it’s a yellow-toned green. There’s definitely a brighter cast of green that comes out when it’s applied, but it worked perfectly with ST.

Easy application and pretty outcome

I used two coats of ST and everything was opaque and streak-free. It also dried quickly. On top of that, I only needed one coat of SUTAT to get a good amount of shimmer and color. Of course, applying another layer would bump it up even more. I think SUTAT would look good layered over a lot of different colors. Neutrals, green, yellow..maybe even black.

Where to Buy Stranger Tides: Online Retailers / $ 5 – $ 8

Where To Buy Sit Under The Apple Tree: Online Retailers / $ 4 – $ 8

Do you own Sit Under The Apple Tree? Do you like layering sheer shimmery polishes over cremes? If not, what’s your favorite way to wear them? Do you want to pick up SUTAT?

- Liz

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March 21, 2011 · 1:26 pm

OPI Shatter with Essie: Jackie Oh My

Shatter over creamy Jackie Oh My

My sister kindly presented me with a bottle of Shatter over the weekend. Since then, I have been thinking about what combo I was going to use for my first attempt.  And let’s say, my first couple attempts weren’t the best.

I know you guys have seen tons of these swatches and combos, and to be frank, I wasn’t in love with Shatter via blogs but wanted to give it a try myself to be fair and see how much I liked it.

OPI Shatter

At first, I tried Zoya’s Alegra with the shatter, which is really similar to the pinky red in the Katy Perry collection.  That combo turned out to be WAY too much for my taste. It didn’t look great at all. So, I went the opposite route. I used three coats of Jackie Oh My. The light, creamy, sheer polish has some secret shimmer. I think I prefer this sort of look with the shatter because it’s not too many things shouting at you all at once. This gives a neutral background that allows the shatter to do the talking. I didn’t like how goopy the shatter is. But I liked that it was pretty easy to control and getting smaller lines and cracks was simple with a thin coat.

I’m pleased that the shatter isn’t actually as bumpy  and gritty on the nail as it can look in photos. It’s actually pretty smooth to the touch, texture wise. It doesn’t bother me like heavy glitters can. I was concerned about that.

Shatter-rific

I also think that I don’t love shatter because I think it’s a little over the top and is almost meant to be paired with a screaming polish to make it even MORE intense. I mean, you guys know I like my bright, fun, not safe polish colors but something about this is a little much. I also try to give myself a flawless manicure every time, so this intentional imperfection is throwing me off slightly. I think the neutral base is allowing this look to grow on me. But for me, I think it’s something more appropriate for a special occasions or a fun holiday manicure.

Where to Buy: Ulta / Dillard’s / JCPenny / Trade Secret / Online Retailers / $ 8.50

Is anyone else feeling the same as I am with shatters and crackles? Or can you not get enough with the the new color crackles? Or are you kind of over it?

- Liz

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February 9, 2011 · 1:36 pm

Clinique Different Lipstick: Glazed Berry

Clinique Different Lipstick in Glazed Berry

I went on a Clinique stop the other day because one of the department stores was having their Clinique bonus time. Bonuses are one of my little joys in life. If you’re unfamiliar with Clinique and their bonuses, it’s a really nice thing for consumers and beauty lovers. Clinique bonuses are gifts given with any purchase of $21.99 or more.

The bonuses include a really fun, cute make up bag packed with goodies for you to try. We have at least 1, 000 make up bonus bags collected over the years at my house. There’s usually 7 different samples included from moisturizer (like the ever popular Even Better Skin Tone Correcting Moisturizer) to bronzer and everything in between. Lots of the time you get a full sized lipstick out of it, like this Clinique Different Lipstick in Glazed Berry!

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January 8, 2011 · 5:29 pm

Chanel Le Vernis: 511 Pearl Drop & 515 Peche Nacree

Hi lacquer lovers!  I finally have photos of the other two polishes from Chanel’s Spring 2011 collection.  Let’s start off with Pearl Drop.

Chanel Le Vernis 511 Pearl Drop

Pearl Drop is a beautiful white color with gold reflections.  I usually won’t buy a white color like this but this color is just gorgeous.  I literally gasped when I first swatched it because it was just so pretty.  I like my polish to be pretty opaque so I layered this 3 times.

Chanel Pearl Drop Closeup

Closeup of Pearl Drop

Chanel Pearl Drop Swatch

Pearl Drop in the sunshine

Chanel also suggests for Pearl Drop to be used on your toes with Black Pearl on your hands.  I cannot wait to try that combination because I can imagine this on my toes lounging around poolside.  So good!  So, all in all, this color is great.  1 coat is way sheer, 2 coats should be perfect and 3 coats makes this a strong color.

Chanel Le Vernis 515 Peche Nacree

Peche Nacree is a feminine peach color that looks pretty similar to skin tone but obviously more peach and with shimmer.  I adored this color in the bottle but wasn’t as impressed once it was on my nails.  It’s a subtle color and I prefer something with a bit more contrast to my skin tone.  Regardless, I do think this is a great color on and think it will look great on all skin tones.

Peche Nacree closeup

Peche Nacree on the nails

Both colors are metallic so there are visible brush strokes but they’re really only visible in bright light.  Chanel Le Vernis Nail Colors are pricey but I find the formulas always to be consistent and strong. I haven’t seen the China Glaze Anchors Away collection in person yet, but from what I have seen I think that “White Cap” will be pretty close to Pearl Drop and “Sunset Sail” to be close to Peche Nacree.  Can’t wait to get my hands on that collection to compare it side by side!

Where To Buy: http://www.Chanel.com & Chanel Counters / $23

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

- Rachel

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January 3, 2011 · 6:49 pm

OPI: Hollywood Blonde

Hollywood Blonde!

Happy New Year, polish junkies! We hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and that your 2011 is off to a great start. Today I have Hollywood Blonde for you! It’s from OPI’s Holiday collection 2007 and Liz got this for me for Christmas (it was a much coveted item). As soon as I laid eyes on this polish I wanted it, I think it is relatively HTF and that Liz had to order it.

Better shot of the shimmer and hues

This is a pinkish nude with gold shimmer. It’s very sheer, I used 3 coats here and it was still difficult for me to capture the actual color and shimmer effect on camera. Let’s just say that with 3 coats this was quite shimmery.

This color is so pretty and I absolutely adore it. I feel like it can work for just about any season and occasion, whether you want sparkle for the weekend or something softer for a wedding/formal environment and for work, as well. I’ll admit, I was rather depressed when this started to chip and I had to take it off. Although even this at it’s most worn out state, this color doesn’t make you want to take it off immediately because it’s so sheer and nude so the imperfections in your mani won’t be obvious.

Trying to get the different dimensions!

I tried to get another aspect of the polish in this shot, not sure if it worked, but I took a lot of pictures. I’m so pleased with this polish and if you are someone who’s been wanting it like I have I can definitely tell you that it’s worth it to order Hollywood Blonde!

One Monday down….

-Lauren

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August 17, 2010 · 5:57 pm

Essie: Demure Vixen

Demure Vixen in sunlight

This is Demure Vixen from Essie’s Summer 2010 collection. This was the only polish I knew that I really wanted from the collection and I searched for it high and low for at least 2 months. Liz and I finally found it a couple weeks ago and I have been so excited for this polish. When I began applying it last night, though, it really shocked me. At first, I thought it looked simply awful on me and was so disappointed, but the lighting in my apartment was weird at the time, so I waited it out. It grew on me and when I saw it in more normal light today I was very pleased.

The darker side

The color is definitely different. After a day of wear, I have decided that it is greyish-purple, or greyple, if you will. The shimmer is very subtle and part of me wishes it was more prominent, but then I suppose it would not be “demure”. I think by now, most gals know that this is a sheer polish, I used 3 coats, it was alright in 2, but I had planned on 3. I have a bit of tip wear, but I think it’s mostly my fault. My nails aren’t in great shape, so I’m sure I’ll have to take this off tomorrow or the next day, which is kind of disappointing because now I’m loving it!

Your demure vixen,

-Lauren

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July 9, 2010 · 8:52 pm

Sonia Kashuk: In The Buff (NOTD)

In The Buff

Hey all! So I couldn’t resist it… my last Target trip, I bought another Sonia. I wanted this one and Candy Man, but by the time I got back to Target most of her polishes were sold out! Luckily ,they had In The Buff still so I snatched it. This was my NOTD for basically last night and this morning. It started to peel along the edges and I had to take it off as soon as I got home from work. I don’t blame this on Sonia’s formula, I’m starting to think my Barielle base coat and Seche Vite top coat aren’t playing nicely with certain nail polish formulas. I’m probably going to start a spreadsheet of what to use what with until I figure out what’s causing the problem. I’m looking forward to swatching Milanis this weekend, so hopefully no problems. Anyway, back to In The Buff!

In The Buff (shade-ish)

So as you would have guessed, it’s a nude. It has a pinkish tint to it, but is definitely not pink. It’s sheer, of course, this was 3 coats. It kind of reminds me of Essie Jackie Oh My without the shimmer. It was really shiny, pretty, and fun to wear. In The Buff kind of has a sexy appeal to it, mostly because of the name, I think, but it’s nice to have something on that makes you feel good. I wish my nails hadn’t started to look gross today or else I definitely would not have taken it off until at least Sunday. If you like the Sonia colors, I recommend running out and picking some up before they are all sold out!

Have a good weekend!

-Lauren

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