Monthly Archives

March 2010

Butter – Thames

Wednesday, 31 March, 2010

I’ll be honest, when I think of the Thames, this isn’t the color. The Thames wishes it were this pretty. Nice subtle shimmer that saves the polish from being dull and lifeless. Another not-so-awful-smelling polish, too! Took forever to dry, though. Hm…What’s up with that?

china glaze nail polish swatches

China Glaze – Grape Juice

Tuesday, 30 March, 2010

I found this gem amongst my many bottles of nail polish…and I remembered why I fell in love with it. In the bottle it’s a bit uninspiring, but on the nails…oh, baby! 🙂

Nice and spring-y, wouldn’t you agree? I love how it looks in the shade.

Ginger & Liz – New Money and Chase Me

Monday, 29 March, 2010

Now, I really must apologize in advance for the bad manicure and nail polish application…I was sick last week and in my hazy moments I honestly thought the nails looked good…even when I was outside taking the pics! I was *still* convinced right up until about 15 minutes ago when I started cropping and watermarking the pictures. A million apologies.

One coat and it looks beautiful. However, it’s not glossy. I wondered if this was meant to be a Wax Coat and wasn’t labeled?

Views with and without top coat; 2 applications of the color.

How pretty does this look?!

Prettier and  more accurate view of the color without top coat in its semi-gloss/semi-matte state.

So I really shouldn’t be allowed to paint my nails while I’m sick and I am clearly not a leftie when it comes to being able to do things. 🙂 That said, isn’t this color just beautiful?!

Sephora By OPI – aka $OPI

Friday, 26 March, 2010

Lately I’ve been into green nail polish. It all started with Nubar’s Going Green Collection and I don’t see any signs of my current green fixation stopping any time soon. When shades of green like Leaf Him At The Altar keep coming out, how can I say no?

This is such a strong match for MAC’s Beyond Jealous, but I’ll have to do a side by side comparison…However, you’ll have to settle for the post that shows the picture. I actually prefer the formula in $OPI because it wasn’t difficult to work with.

Ahh…this color came out the same time as $OPI’s Metro Chic. So I’d say about Fall 2008. I didn’t purchase this until recently. I did, however, purchase Metro Chic the moment it came out because I love that whole mushroom-y, taupe-y color. This is the lighter, more spring version. Think youthful sister, if you will. While I prefer the edgier and darker Metro Chic, I won’t complain if this finds its way on to my fingertips.

Essie – North Fork Collection, Summer 2009

Thursday, 25 March, 2010

I’m late, I’m late…oh well. I was fortunate enough to score these colors long after the collection stopped being seen on shelves. I can definitely see why! I honestly thought I wouldn’t like any of these colors. WRONG! Totally fell for them in a big, bad and ugly kind of way.

This color was the star of the collection, the one that sold out the fastest. It was also the one that was hard to get long after the collection stopped being on regular retail shelves. I was fortunate enough to score the whole set from an e-tailer. I can see why this color sold out and out of the three, this was my least favorite. However, this color did look good on me. I preferred the other two.

This color was very deceptive in the bottle. I thought it was a blue gray while I was indoors, but once outside it really wowed me even more. Sadly, due to the overcast day, you can’t see the very faint shimmer that runs through it – it is absolutely GORGEOUS. Easter is coming up and I’m having a hard time deciding which color to wear – this or Shelter Island, as you will see below.

I kept this color on my nails for TWO WEEKS! That’s a record for me. Why? Because I loved it THAT MUCH. It is slightly hard to find, but it’s one that is well worth it. However, if you can’t find it an extremely close dupe is OPI’s No Room For The Blues.

And just to refresh your memory, here are the comparison swatches again.

Ginger & Liz – Can You Keep A Secret?

Wednesday, 24 March, 2010

Yes, I can keep a secret. I’ll be honest, this is one secret I don’t want to keep! I know I’ve gone on and on about how much I love the Ginger & Liz colors and the brush in addition to the application…and I know I’m going to wear myself (and you) out, but I’ll keep on singing their praises. Nubar and Ginger & Liz = the 2 BEST nail polish in terms of application and wear I’ve ever encountered. They make China Glaze, OPI, Essie and everything else mega ghetto in my eyes.

Anyway, here is even MORE Ginger & Liz love…more will follow during the day because I’ll be adding two more swatches to this post or I’ll post twice in one day! G&L have made me that much of a fan.

I truly wish I could carry off a wonderful dove gray like this, but I can’t. If it had a hint of blue in it, it’d have a fighting chance with my mega asian girl skin tone. None the less, isn’t it a gorgeous color?!

Orly's Goth & Barielle's Slate of Affairs

Tuesday, 23 March, 2010

So the little black nail polish wearing, corset sporting, goth girl at heart loves this color…and not because of the name! I’ve always had a tendency to lean towards dark nail polish and this is no exception…even if it has glitter. What I love about this is actually the glitter…it’s silver against black – yay!! – but not only that it’s different sizes: big, medium and small. Very cool. What a way to play on glitter, Orly. Smart move!

I am so sweet on this blue gray. I wish I could carry off gray nail polish and I wish I could carry off some of the blues I see out there…and this is a perfect compromise! This concrete blue hints at periwinkle, too. It’s got a mild blue shimmer that runs through it, making this blue-gray a total winner in my book!

MAC Cosmetics – Blue India

Monday, 22 March, 2010

UPDATE: When I woke up this morning, I noticed a chip on my middle finger. 🙁 I started sporting this color on Saturday…so that’s less than 48 hours and it’s already chipped. I blame the top coat which was used – Seche Vite. I know some other bloggers love it, I am not a fan. I prefer Poshe and will be going back to that. Was hoping to see how long it would be before this color chipped. Well, now I know. Bummer. Was hoping to change polishes on Tuesday. Looks like I’ll have to do it today. Hm…Ginger & Liz’s New Money has been calling me for the past few days so maybe it’s a good thing. 😉

I was seriously excited about this color…and it didn’t disappoint. Love that it’s a gorgeous blue gray. I love the packaging as well. All the necessary shots are in here!

How gorgeous is this color? I’m going to try and wear this until it chips so we can see how good the formula is. 🙂 It’s not quite blue, it’s not quite grey, it reminds you of teal…but overall this color is just so pretty I can’t stop staring at it!

Here are some other pictures I took…I just noticed that I didn’t include one of the actual polish in the box – I was that excited.

The inside of the box is so cute.

Just a note – Liberty of London teamed up with MAC to create a make-up line that brings the brand’s prints and colors to your face and nails! Also, you can find Liberty of London at Target. Check it out…I think I’ve fallen in love. According to All Lacquered Up, the unusual packaging is “based on William Morris’s Strawberry Thief print from 1883…” Whatever the history and whatever their reasons for choosing this packaging is quite all right by me!