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pink

Rebel Debutante spring 2010

Color Club Spring 2010 – Rebel Debutante

Wednesday, 17 February, 2010

This is actually the first time I’ve willingly purchased Color Club. My fellow nail polish girlfriends have sent me bottles of the stuff and in turn, I’ve forwarded them on to other people.

I made the decision to buy when I saw the swatches on Scrangie’s blog…and I’ve got to say, I’m not impressed by the colors. Well, there are two that I like. There were 9 colors, but I only bought the 7 that enticed me the most…and if I could do it all over again, I’d probably only get 5.

Just a note – these pictures were taken with a mixture of sunlight and indoors. Normally I do my swatching during the day, but the sun set and I decided to finally try the light box set up hubby used for my jewelry. I used my same lil old camera and maybe it’s time for me to graduate to the big kids stuff…but anyway, this is my first time using the light box so please don’t be so harsh on me.

Who Are You Wearing?
Not one of my favorite colors. When I saw it in the bottle, I thought it could quite possibly be a dead ringer/sister/twin/dupe to my all time favorite OPI’s Tickle My France-y. Nope. Not a chance. While I appreciated the efforts put forth by Color Club, this didn’t do it for me.
Rebel Debutante
This is the name of the collection and I thought the signature color would be…well, kind of stand out. I was disappointed that it was a close to but not quite neon. I mean, it’s green and it looks pretty, but it wasn’t my cuppa.
Best Dressed
It’s a little too much brown going on for me…I can do my best mannequin hands impersonation with this color!



High Society
A very pretty mellow mushroom taupe color! I love these kinds of colors.


Uptown Girl
You can’t really see how pretty this color is – it’s a beautiful, rich purple creme…and I totes blew it with my incompetent light box skills. Sorry.


Ms. Socialite
Yea, I messed up on the name on the pic. Oops. 🙂 If I had been able to use the light box properly you would see this as a gorgeous purple plum. My bad.
Gossip Column
An epic fail on my part in trying to capture the prettiness of this color…it reminded me of a peacock kind of blue. Actually, I’ll take it back, both of the swatches are very true to life despite my ineptness with a light box.


Loved a handful of colors and the formula for that green wasn’t the best. For the most part all of them needed 3 coats but only Gossip Column and High Society were the ones that could get away with 2 coats.
For my first time with Color Club, I’m pretty happy.
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Hong Kong Collection OPI Spring 2010

Spring 2010 – OPI’s Hong Kong Collection

Saturday, 13 February, 2010

13 February, 2010
4:29PM

Let me first start out by saying that there hits and misses for me in this collection. There are some bright colors in here and that’s what I’ll be showing first. They hurt my eyes…big time. I definitely enjoyed the rest of the collection, too. Very pretty and very not what I expected. I had seen it on some other people, but on me…I fell in love. For once, there was no black nail polish involved. 😀

The formula itself was pretty good, too…I normally have issues with cremes because I am little miss heavy handed in application. You’ll see it here and there throughout the pics but overall no problems. Please excuse the messiness of the manicures. I’m normally a lot more careful in application, but all the colors and the excitement got to me. Haha. Sad, but true.

As always, click to make the pics bigger!

A Good Man-Darin Is Hard To Find
Shade (L), Sunlight (R)
Yea, this was the brightness I was talking about…ouch. My eyes. They feel like burning!
Chop-Sticking To My Story
Shade (L), Sunlight (R)
Ok, for some reason, I loved this color…a lot. It’s not quite pumpkin orange on me and there is enough orange mixed in with a hint of brown that makes it very appealing. I normally would never wear something this color, but for some reason, this really made me excited!
Dim Sum Plum
Shade (L), Sunlight (R)
While it wasn’t my favorite color, I was having flashbacks to their previous Fall 2009 collection’s color Ate Berries in the Canaries. I’ll do a comparison side by side if I remember to after I do a write up on all of these. 😀 I won’t swatch it but I will put my previous pics up. DSP is a pink that I think will go well with people who love these kinds of shades. I really have to be in the  mood for this sort of color. While it’s fun to swatch, it’s not one I’d actively wear if given a choice.
Hot & Spicy
Shade (L); Sunlight (R)
Wow. In the bottle it looked like a bit of an orange coral. Out of the bottle and on me it looks like…an orange coral. Not me. So not me.
Red My Fortune Cookie

Shade (L) and Sunlight (R)
It’s not quite tomato and not maraschino cherry…It didn’t look bad on me, but it didn’t look good either.

Pearl of Wisdom
Shade (L); Sunlight (R)
Even in the shade the polish was able to capture a beautiful shimmer and give off a slight hint of the pinkness within. In the sunlight you can really see the prettiness. This is a sheer color and I think wearing it over a darker color would definitely be the best thing you can do with it.
Now this is where I think the Spring Collection starts to really shine…
Lucky Lucky Lavender
Shade (L) Sunlight (R)
This wasn’t quite as lavender as I was expecting. It’s really kind of…well, a pink lavender, don’t you think? I don’t know why, but the sun really washed out any hint of lavender in this color.
Panda-Monium Pink
It’s actually even prettier in person. I thought I had this confused with Lucky Lucky Lavender, but no…this was the correct bottle and swatch. I’m not a fan of pinks or pastels, but this didn’t stand out on my fingers like spring colored M&Ms. (BTW – love that I went a little nutso with the cleaning of my cuticle on my index finger?! Haha. Silly little Sally Hansen manicure clean-up pen.)
Meet Me On The Star Ferry
Shade (L) Sunlight (R)
Now this color…blew me away. Only because waaaay back in the mid 80s, I found a color by Sally Hansen that was very similar to this. I used it until it dried out and I threw it away. I never was able to get another bottle because for some reason, the jr high kid in me had managed to pick the ONE color that was a limited edition. That alone should’ve been an indicator on my nail polish obsession…anyway, here it is, looking just as good, if not better than what I had in high school. Beautiful berry with a lovely shimmer running through it. The shot of it in the shade reminds me of my much loved and much lamented Chanel’s Brown Sugar. This color really defines the collection for me.
Bling Dynasty
Shade (L); Sunlight (R)
I LOL’d mightily at the name of the polish. I cringed when I saw it in the bottle, but I fell in love with it when I put it on. What a gorgeous shade of gold this is. Definitely a keeper in my book!
Jade Is The New Black
Shade (Top); Sunlight (Bottom)
What rockin’ shade of green this is…I have a dark green that’s more forest green and a light green…and a minty green. I don’t have this kind of green…and I’m in LOVE. Very very pretty.
Suzi Says Feng Shui
Shade (L); Sunlight (R)
This is a gorgeous teal/dusty blue. In fact, it was a color I wanted to paint the walls of our bedroom in but Colin said no. I guess I’ll have to settle for it on my fingers! 🙂
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Orly Fall 2009 – Once Upon A Time

Monday, 8 February, 2010

8 February, 2010
10:17PM

Orly decided to drop a collection on us called Once Upon A Time, basing colors on fairy tale stories from either their lines or just a vague reference to all stories.

Overall I liked the collection…save for one color, which you will see.

I liked the formula on this – I had no problems or complaints…not even a tiny one!

As always, click to enlarge the thumbnails.

Now, off with her red…oops. That’s OPI’s Alice in Wonderland thang…wrong place to put it – sort of. 🙂

Enchanted Forest
Flash (Top), Sunlight (Middle), Comparison (Bottom)
The last one is a comparison from Orly’s Spring I Bloom Collection with Wandering Vine vs Enchanted Forest. Enchanted Forest is a bit darker, deeper while wandering vine really does remind me of ivy…not the poison kind. 😉
Happily Ever After
Shade (Top), Sunlight (Bottom)
Kind of a nice raspberry color with hints of shimmer and a glitter. Not too shabby, but not for me.
Mirror Mirror
Overcast (Top), Shade (Middle), Sunlight (Bottom)
This color wasn’t so bad on me…I was preparing to dislike it. People are loving and lapping up all the greys that’s carried over from fall into Spring. I’m not a fan of grey nail polish but eh…this one looked decent on me.
Pixie Dust
Shade (Top), Sunlight (Bottom)
Not quite cement grey, but almost a dove grey with some pretty sparkles thrown in for good measure. In some lights it looked almost periwinkle on me!
Poison Apple
Shade (Top), Sunlight (Bottom)
Jury’s out on this…it’s almost like a tomato/maraschino red. It’s well…kind of delicious! 🙂
Prince Charming
Shade (Top), Sunlight (Bottom)
Prince Charming failed…application was good, but that color. *barfs* They’d have been better off calling this Tree Bark Brown. Prince Charming was not charming…at all.
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Orly Spring II 2010

Orly Spring 2010 – Part II – Sweet

Friday, 5 February, 2010



As always, click the thumbnails to see the bad cuticles up close. 😉

I’m not partial to pastels and I guess Orly had to put up some pastels because well, it’s spring and what is that season without pretty happy colors for me to throw up on?

I did have problems on most of them. I tried different base coats and they still had a tendency to be a bit chalky and unpredictable. All were 2 coats aside form Cotton Candy. I think I had a bunk bunch of bottles. Oh well. *shrugs*

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Pixy Stix – Shade (L) and Sunlight (R)
Not quite as bright as some other pinks out there, but…it’s got a pretty darn close neon factor.

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Cotton Candy – Shade (L) and Sun (R)
Dunno why, but I think ‘coral’ when I see this on me.

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Gumdrop – Shade (L) and Sunlight (R)
I thought of China Glaze’s For Audrey when I put this on. Will amend post later to add in a comparison swatch

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Lemonade – Shade (L) and Sunlight (R)
Just reaffirms my belief that I was never meant to wear pastel yellow OR yellow nail polish, period. Ever.

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Lollipop – Shade (L) and Sunlight (R)
This reminds me of a lavender shade that’s been liberally doused with pink…

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Snowcone – Shade (L) and Sunlight (R)
I thought it was a periwinkle color, but it’s more along the lines of a light turquoise.

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Snowcone vs China Glaze’s Secret Peri-wink-le
Pinkie and Index finger – Snowcone
Middle and Ring Finger – Secret Peri-wink-le

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opi spring 2008

OPI Spring 2008 – India Collection

Saturday, 30 January, 2010

30 January, 2010
12:43AM

I have 10 out of 12. URGH!!! I can laugh now, but at the time I was about to tear my hair out! Someday I’ll get the last 2 colors — MonSooner or Later and Moon Over Mumbai. Then I can add it to the swatches here. 🙂

Overall, not sure what the heck was going on with the brushes in this collection. The bristles were a bit too thick and some had minds of their own! The formula wasn’t too bad…something I could easily deal with.


Charmed by a Snake
Shade (Top); Overcast (Bottom)
It looks a bit gold, yet slightly bronze on me. When I wore this color 2 summers ago, I disliked it because I had acquired a tan, making me even darker than I usually am (*cues* mommy voice, “Carinae, YOU ARE SO DARK!! YOU WILL NEVER GET MARRIED.” *as mommy makes the sign of the cross and prays for my immortal soul*) and it made the color appear this pallid, pathetic bronze on me. While this time around it’s infinitely more charming I still have bitter memories of that bronze shade.
Curry Up Don’t Be Late
Shade (Top); Overcast (Bottom)
I’m not one for golds, but this wasn’t so bad. It’s pretty lightweight and I felt it was more of a sheer than an actual opaque. I also had issues with it because there were a few jacked up errant bristles that really got in the way of application.
Elephantastic Pink
Indoors, No Flash (Top); Indoors with Flash (Bottom)
Wow…talk about BLING BLANG BRIGHT! ’nuff said.

Get Me To The Taj On Time
Indoors, no flash (Top); Indoors with Flash (Bottom)
Pretty little sheer with a slight hint of an iridescent shimmer…I’d wear this again for sure.
I’m Indi-a Mood For Love
Indoors, no flash (Top); Indoors With Flash (Bottom)
The name alone made me giggle. I’ve got to say, they’ve nailed it head on with the whole Indian pink shade here. It really popped a lot more in person…and when I put this on, I smiled remembering my time in India.
Lunch At The Delhi
Indoors, No Flash (Top); Indoors With Flash (Bottom)
Oh…it’s a coral color. It is *so* not me. I’m not 60 yet.
Keys To My Karma
Shade (Top); Sunlight (Bottom)
I liked this red…kinda tomato-y, kind of maraschino cherry…it’s almost got a retro vibe to it. Kind of power color ‘bitch in the boardroom’ kind of thing. Very Alexis Carrington!
Black Cherry Chutney
Outdoors in Shade (Top); Sunlight (Bottom)
This was my staple color until the end of 2008…we moved to India and I didn’t want to haul my stash of nail polish – I just bought more there instead. 😉 …And that’s only 3 bottles of swatching. I left behind so many. Not one of my finer moments…I thought I was going back, but as it turns out, I never did. 🙁 Anyway, what I truly love about this color is that it’s got a hint of an orange/pink shimmer running through it. In the bottle, I saw it and went, “oh…a padparadscha sapphire kind of color!!” I had to buy it. But when I put it on, I nearly wept from the sheer beauty of it. The pictures don’t do it justice at all.
Royal Rajah Ruby
Outdoors in Shade (Top); Sunlight (Bottom)
A super pretty shade of red that I’d wear here and there, but Black Cherry Chutney was the one that I still love…I am going to have to get a back-up bottle before it’s too late.
Yoga-ta Get This Blue!
Outdoors in Shade (Top and Bottom)
Ok, I can’t even begin to explain how much I love this color. It got 4 pictures in here! I loved Russian Navy and I thought this would be a ghetto sister to it…oh no. This one really stands out on its own. It’s this navy color that’s got a lovely shimmer running through it. Absolutely freaking gorgeous. I know the swatches may look identical, but the subtleties are there, I promise! 🙂
Yoga-ta Get This Blue!
Sunlight (Top and Bottom)
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china glaze nail polish swatches spring 2010 Up and Away Collection

China Glaze – Spring 2010 – Up and Away Collection

Thursday, 21 January, 2010

Couple of notes – the flash distorted some colors and I’ll let you know where. Also, it’s a big collection – 12 colors. So this post is pretty image heavy.

Despite the fact that I have an intense dislike for pastels, this collection for Spring 2010 that China Glaze has put out totally does it for me. I’d wear all the colors except Happy Go Lucky, High Hopes and Peachy Keen.

I’d have swatched this outdoors, but it was raining cats and dogs….and my impatience got the better of me. 😀

Last note: the formula was wonderful – only 2 coats were needed.

Light As Air
No Flash, With Flash
I loved this light lavender on me…it had a hint of grey that was more thanlikely brought out by my skin tone. But whatever the case may be, love this color.
Lemon Fizz
No Flash, With Flash
I never thought I’d like a pastel yellow, but the pictures make it look somewhat flattering on me…it’s not when you see it in person. It brought out the yellow undertones in my skin and it wasn’t pretty.
Something Sweet – No Flash, Flash
A light pink that is definitely very sweet!
Fe-Fresh Mint – Flash, No Flash
A very pretty minty green. I almost expected it to smell like mint, too! It didn’t. Very bright on me, but a fun color. I’d wear this.
Peachy Keen – No Flash, Flash
Funnily enough, it looks like a peachy orange on me.

Flyin’ High – Flash, No Flash
Not quite kickin’ green, but it reminded me of turquoise.
The flash distorted the color in the bottle and on me. It’s actually a great color…and I’ll be wearing it!
Four Leaf Clover – Flash, No Flash
This color was so difficult to capture. To be honest, I was a bit thrown off because they look almost completely different. Maybe it’s me, but this color is one you have to see in person – absofreakingly gorgeous. Flash distortion played a big part in this, but … WOW do I love this color! Maybe I can start to finally stray from dark/black nail polish…
Happy Go Lucky – Flash, No Flash
Yellow. Yikes. I was tempted to paint smiley faces when I put this on.
Heli-Yum – Flash, No Flash
This is just like seeing an electric raspberry on my nails – completely enjoyable!
High Hopes – Flash, No Flash
I was baffled with this color. I ended up scratching  my head a few times, too. I took the pictures then thought I hadn’t cleared off the memory card because there was some strange orange/pink swatch, then an orange swatch where the no flash ones had been taken. It finally sunk in that the color changed a bit (more like a lot) in the flash. I don’t know what to say – you be the judge.
Sugar High – No Flash, Flash
Yowzers. The flash made this color even more bright than I thought possible!
Grape Pop – Flash, No Flash
I really like this purple. I was wanting a gorgeous royal purple creme without any shimmer or glitter. It was totally nailed here – love it <———— this much ————–> ! Thanks, China Glaze.
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fall 2009 spring 2010 the wizard of oh ahz returns

China Glaze – Fall 2009/Spring 2010 – The Wizard of Oh Ahz Returns

Wednesday, 13 January, 2010

How funny that I am listening to the soundtrack for Wicked as I post swatches and a small write up of this collection…I slack. I swatched these last month, but am only getting round to putting them up.

C-C-Courage
Indoors, luminescent lighting (L);outdoors, gorgeous sunlight (R)
This is a royal purple with a twist – glitter. I’d love to see this color without the glitter because I think it would be able to stand alone. It’s beautiful.
Cowardly Lyin’
Indoors, luminescent lighting (L) Outdoors (R)
Very interesting with a jelly yellow base. It’s a very odd cross for me because it’s almost like it was a primary yellow base with gold glitter thrown in to jazz it up and then they made it sheer when I thought it should be opaque.

Dorothy Who? Indoors, luminescent light (L) Outdoors, overcast day (R)

Wow. It’s all I can say. I put this color on and I was absolutely speechless. I have never been a fan of glitter nail polishes. NEVER. But this. This…made me stare at my nails for a little bit. I mean…fascinated me while I took pictures. It’s a bit Dallas Cowboys blue for me, but it’s so damn beautiful. The pictures indoors and outdoors haven’t done this any type of justice.
Good Witch?
Indoors, flash (L) outdoors (R)
It didn’t go too well with my skin tone, but it’s definitely very pretty!
Ten Man
Indoors, luminescent lighting (L) outdoors (R)
Sheer and pretty. I thought it was similar to Tinsel from the Holiday collection, but it’s not. It’s also got a hint of white in it, but just enough to keep this silver. Diggin’ it!
Ruby Pumps
Indoors, luminescent lighting with flash (L); Outdoors, natural light (R)

Overall I liked this collection, but I had issues, massive issues with C-C-Courage…it tended to bubble up far too quickly, even when I put on the thinnest of coats. Maybe it was just me and the formula I got. I even waited 15 minutes in between the first and second coat. To no avail, it still bubbled. Urgh. It also took a while to dry, but the results were still spectacular.

I am not a fan of frosty colors or glitters…so this comes as a surprise for me to like them. Pity Good Witch? and Cowardly Lyin’ didn’t go too well with my skin tone, but face it…I was never meant to wear yellow…and ya know what? I’m perfectly fine with that.

Anyway, I wanted to address this – why did they call it Ten Man instead of Tin Man? Did someone hit the wrong vowel when typing it up and it just went out like that without anyone doing last minute checking?!

My favorite colors? Ruby Pumps, Dorothy Who? and C-C-Courage.

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