FIRST ANNUAL POLISH MAYHEM 2009 COLLECTION AWARDS!!!!

I hope you're wearing a tux, or some garish outfit worthy of Bai Ling. I hope you're ready to squeal and shriek. Because it's the FIRST ANNUAL POLISH MAYHEM 2009 COLLECTION AWARDS!!!! Yes, the best, and worst (this IS Polish Mayhem) of 2009, as seen by me. It was a hell of a year for polish and I am going to give it all its due. So join me for a beer and a fight in the parking lot as I give out my FIRST ANNUAL POLISH MAYHEM 2009 COLLECTION AWARDS!!!!


Let's start with the best, shall we?? It must be said that some MAGNIFICENT polish collections did not get into my top five this year. Color Club Electro Candy Summer 2009 was an intense neon collection, all with blue shimmer, that really deserves an award, and won't get one. China Glaze Retro Diva was a great little collection. Color Club's Wild At Heart for Fall/Winter 2009 was a festival of richly pigmented magnificence, even containing a purple holographic. Definitely in the year's top ten. Orly Once Upon a Time Collection was a terrific mix of colors, with a great range, including green and denim blue. I loved that collection. But I am only giving five awards.


5th BEST NAIL POLISH COLLECTION OF 2009:
Tie between OPI Holiday Wishes Collection Winter 2009 and Nubar Going Green Collection!
OPI Holiday Wishes Collection Winter 2009. Jellies, cremes, glitters, shimmers to die for. Rich jewel toned colors that set my imagination afire. Hot reds alive with deep shimmer, cobalts so rich they glowed, even an orange/brown so delicious *I* wanted to wear it. Sapphire in the Snow, Shim-Merry Chic, Merry Midnight, Smitten With Mittens, there really wasn't one bad color, though some outshone the others. Everything I hoped for in a Winter Collection from OPI.

My original OPI Holiday Wishes Collection Winter 2009 review: http://polishmayhem.blogspot.com/2009/11/opi-winter-2009-holiday-wishes.html


Nubar Going Green was the answer to many people's prayers, with stunning, rich greens, which included shimmer, creme, a holographic green (!) and a duochrome green that was one of my single polish top ten faves of the year. This collection was needed and necessary and that's why I cheated and tied it for 5th Best. It had to be done.

Original review of Nubar Going Green Collection is here: http://polishmayhem.blogspot.com/2009/07/nubar-going-green-summer-2009.html





4th BEST NAIL COLLECTION OF 2009:
BB Couture Beach Summer 2009 Collection!!! I went absolutely nuts over this collection. There wasn't a single dog in this bunch. I mean there's always ONE right? Not in this collection. Named after Southern California beaches, this collection was mostly jellies with glitter that just captured light and shimmered. There were cremes in light blue and green, hot pinks, golden brown like tanned skin, it was simply a stunning collection. BB Couture Venice Beach Party is in my top ten favorite nail polishes of all time.

I reviewed this in two parts: Part 1 , Part 2





3rd BEST NAIL POLISH COLLECTION OF 2009:
Zoya Truth and Dare Fall 2009 Collections! These were kind of separate collections but were marketed as a team and that's how I am taking them. And they deserve to be taken together. They are a dazzling array of rich jewel toned shimmers, jellies and cremes in gorgeous glowing pinks, reds, blues, purples and a green. Zoya set the trend for the rest of the year, shattering the pastels and wavering shy colors many were putting out just then, and just like with the mattes, other nail brands scrambled to follow their lead. Zoya is giving us so many great colors, OPI better watch their back, because if Zoya gets in as many stores as OPI is in, OPI may be second fiddle and staying there. IMO Zoya is a brand to look to for new trends, exciting colors, and hotness that can't be beat.

Original review of Zoya Truth and Dare Collections: http://polishmayhem.blogspot.com/2009/06/zoya-truth-and-dare-fall-2009.html





2nd BEST NAIL POLISH COLLECTION OF 2009:
Tie Between OPI Suede Collection and Zoya Matte Velvets (both offerings)!!! Once again a tie but they belong together, I think, because if Zoya hadn't shown the world how matte was supposed to be, I don't think OPI would have fixed their shitty, yes I said it, shitty, mattes.

Zoya started the first half of their Matte Velvets with the theretofore standard mattes, black and grey. But they added a red, which changed everything. The red was simply truly like wearing velvet on your fingertips. Later Zoya added a deep purple, a sort of fuchsia, and a forest green, showing us mattes can go as far as you want them to, and look like you got a professional car paint job on your nails. Anyone can look like they visited a salon in matte nail polish. So Zoya deserves my thanks, and yours, even if you don't like mattes, for helping widen the horizons of the nail polish industry.

My original review of Zoya Matte Velvets: Part 1 , Part 2


OPI started out first with a failure of a matte collection. But they quickly wised up and smelled the wind changing and gave us the Suede Collection. They played it safe and only redid old standards of their line in suede, but wow, what standards. They brought out a collection I will use forever, stunning colors with texture and shimmer, despite their matte-ness. OPI may not be on the cutting edge of polish trends, but they learn fast and like the huge company they are, once they get going they can stomp you flat. This collection stomped me flat as a pancake.

Original OPI Suedes review here: http://polishmayhem.blogspot.com/2009/10/finally-opi-suede-collection.html




The trumpets blare! Semi-nude men and women line the stage, dancing!!!!!!!


*** BEST NAIL POLISH COLLECTION OF 2009 ***:
China Glaze Summer Days Collection, Summer 2009. Fruity. Sassy. Glowing, glistening, and mouthwatering. The China Glaze glass fleck formula is possibly my favorite in the business. Everything it touches becomes transformed into something worth drooling over. Even yellow and orange. The Summer Days Collection gave us a great selection of colors, a great formula, and singlehandedly made me a nail polish obsessive. Thank You, China Glaze!!!!

My Summer Days review. http://polishmayhem.blogspot.com/2009/04/china-glaze-summer-days-collection.html







TRIUMPHANT FLOURISH OF CELESTIAL MUSIC!!!!!!!

The stage darkens.

Cue the somber music.

No pictures now. Nothing but boring normal fonts and shame. And darkness. Brooding darkness. And did I mention shame?

5th Worst Nail Polish Collection of 2009:
Sula Peel-and-Paint. The colors weren't so bad, even if they were all kind of jelly. It's the incredible dumbness of the idea. Nail polish that you can just grab and peel off. Who got the idea nail polish was too DURABLE????? Smelled like housepaint, had a lack of depth and shine, and you couldn't fill in your ridges with a base or wear a topcoat. And to top it all off the supposed eco-friendly nature of it - the peeling rather than using remover - didn't work. You still had to use polish remover after peeling off what you could of the polish. Go sit in the corner, Sula. It's time out for you. Til summer 2011 at very least.

Original Sula Paint-and-Peel Review here: http://polishmayhem.blogspot.com/2009/05/sula-paint-and-peel-nail-color.html

4th Worst Nail Polish Collection of 2009:
Butter London Fashionista's Favourites Spring/Summer 2009 Collection. The colors were okay, if somewhat bland and not at all original. Red, yellow, blue, lavender and shimmery bronze. So meh, but what made this collection leave a resounding stench is the formula. WHO WAS ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL WHEN THIS POLISH WAS FORMULATED???? It made me seek out OPI Mattes just to have something easier to use! This was like trying to spread cold marshmallows on your fingernails. It's easier to find an honest politician than apply this crap. Go to the circle of hell reserved for nail polish you can't actually apply, Butter London. And have a long, quiet internal discussion with yourself about whether you really want to be nail polish, or industrial epoxy glue.

Original review here: http://polishmayhem.blogspot.com/2009/06/butter-london-id-rather-have-sour-cream.html


3rd Worst Nail Polish Collection of 2009:
MAC SugarSweet Summer 2009. Two crappy cremes, one pinky/peach and one mint green. Coulda bought these at any drugstore. Puerile and retro without the genius of making what is retro fresh again.

Original review here: http://polishmayhem.blogspot.com/2009/04/mac-sugarsweet-polishes-peppermint.html


2nd Worst Nail Polish Collection of 2009:
Color Club Dark Romance Matte Collection. This was a mini-collection. A matte black, a matte white, and a matte... metallic silver? And get this, none of them were actually matte. They were just dull, like very old bathroom paint. A MATTE COLLECTION THAT WASN'T MATTE. Way to try to capitalize on a fad. With shitty polish. Why thank you, I WILL use that hammer to destroy these bottles.

Original Review here: http://polishmayhem.blogspot.com/2009/10/color-club-dark-romance-matte.html

***WORST NAIL POLISH COLLECTION of 2009!!!!! ***:
OPI MATTE COLLECTION 2009. Wow what a steaming load this collection was. Like the Suedes, OPI decided the dark horse of matte trendiness was not good enough to develop new shades, so they tried some old ones. Not a bad group, they used many again in the Suede Collection. The problem was they thought that just making the polish MATTE was enough. So what we got was a fetid bunch of chalkboard textured flat house paint looking muddy junk that spread like rubber cement and was as appealing on your nails as coloring them with Sharpies. OPI wised up, but not before the white hot spotlight brought sweat of shame to their brow. A collection that will live in infamy!!!!

Review here: http://polishmayhem.blogspot.com/2009/09/opi-mattes-and-some-ways-to-salvage.html


I hope you enjoyed yourself. I exalted some things. I destroyed something beautiful. I danced and sang for you. I think this was epic. Thank you for your gracious attendance at....

THE FIRST ANNUAL POLISH MAYHEM 2009 COLLECTION AWARDS!!!!

Brought to you by Ikea.


Not really.

Zoya Matte Velvet Winter Collection 2009

This is the last late post I have for 2009 Collections. Thankful sigh! And there's little to say about these except that I think Zoya perfected the suede/matte formula. These have sparkle even when matte, tons of color, great texture, apply easily, and are colors we didn't have before in matte. Great collection. I love them, even if they do remind me of Vegas casino Mardi Gras beads. I mean these colors are exactly the beads they give you.

Zoya Sativa is a gorgeous deep purple.


Zoya Harlow, yummy red grape? I dunno. Very pretty whatever you call it.


Zoya Veruschka is complete perfection. FOREST green, not the everpresent yellowish greens we get, and full of tiny sparkles.


And like I said a month or so before, if you already have FingerPaints Evergreen Dream (sold at Sally's and a lot cheaper than Zoya) if you slap a matte topcoat on it (here shown with Essie Matte About You)you have an exact dupe for Zoya Veruschka. I needed both, obviously.


What a great year it was eh?? Within the week I will post my 2009 Polish mayhem Awards for 2009, so stay tuned!!

OPI DS Mystery and DS Glow, Where I Have Been and My Nails

SO! Where have I been? Well, I did say I'd be gone most of December. The Winter Holidays are a time of much celebration and stuff to do in my life. Then on December 31, I had some surgery. I recovered just in time to start school, then get sick. Eyeroll and sigh. I am all better now, for the most part. But since I started clinicals in Nursing, I will be much busier. I have also run out of stuff to do daily polish posts about. I'll be posting stuff I buy, and most new collections, but I probably won't be posting daily any more. To top it all off, I have to keep my nails 1/8th inch from now on, so pretty much everything you are going to see from now on is fake nails. Eh, no biggie. I have one more collection to post, possibly tomorrow, then get ready for the POLISH MAYHEM 2009 POLISH COLLECTION AWARDS. My Top 5 Favorite and Least favorite Polish Collections of 2009!!!

So anyway on to OPI DS Mystery and DS Glow. I've been waiting for these a while, and I am sure most other blogs swatched these ahead of me. I like these. Same great DS formula, so very easy to use and so pigment rich. The shimmer in these is intense, pinpoint, and packs a nice punch. Your typical OPI DS. Great quality.

DS Mystery is a nearly black deep royal purple jelly with a bronze/old gold shimmer. Really nice. I expected a lighter shade, but this is lovely.


DS Glow is the same bronze/old gold shimmer as in DS Mystery, but that is all there is to this. I really love this. So many golds are frosts, or cremes with a lot of shimmer in them. This is slightly sheer, and is gonna look INCREDIBLE in the summer, next to a good tan. Wearing this is going to make you look like a summer goddess, trust me. Believe me you will be seeing it on my hands!


Nice. OPI DS polishes seem to disappoint me very seldom.

Your Boobs and Real Support.

Whether or not you are on facebook, you may have heard of the meme that is going around, people on facebook are posting their bra color. Supposedly this is supposed to help breast cancer in some way, not just excite the guys around you. I think it's just too little. So I started my own meme on facebook. PLEASE either email this or message this to friends on facebook and elsewhere, let's make the ineffectual bra color meme actually do something useful!!!
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We've all seen the colors posted on facebook. It's women posting the color of the bra they are wearing, to raise breast cancer awareness. Well, I don't think I know of anyone that doesn't know that both breasts and breast cancer exist! Let's do something REAL to support breast health. Men love'em, we love'em. Let's keep them safe.

So instead of taking a whole five seconds to type a color on facebook, do something to really help breast cancer. Go to http://ww5.komen.org/Donate/Donate.html and donate to Susan G. Komen for the Cure! ONE DOLLAR is all you need to donate. You can do it online. Is one dollar too much to save your favorite boob? When we all donate one dollar, it makes a difference and doesn't cause a hardship for any of us.

THEN post, telling everyone you know and love how they can do something inexpensive yet real to help breasts everywhere. You can even include your bra color in the post.

Please send this to all your friends on facebook, male and female, so we can make this bra color meme actually do some good, not just words on a screen!!



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If you send this as a private message on facebook, it will link people right to the Susan G Komen Donate page, and I used the pink rose as the icon .

China Glaze Spring 2010 Up And Away Collection

I've had these a while, but with Holidays and an issue on the 30th I had not yet posted them.

What a bullseye. China Glaze Spring 2010 Up And Away Collection exactly hits that happy fresh spring mark, and this time while there are many colors I find few if any superfluous. Fun, frisky, candy-coated confections!! Exciting! There are only a few colors I would call pastel, most are vibrant. And I LOVE them. They are all cremes and I had to start thinning them after a bit to apply better, but a few drops of thinner and a topcoat makes these lovely shades I will be reaching for often. So well done, China Glaze. Kudos!!

China Glaze Flyin' High is a smoky medium blue. I can't wait to wear this with a matching tshirt. Dunno where THAT fashion mistake idea came from. But I want to. :P


China Glaze Four Leaf Clover seems more teal to me. But so great!


China Glaze Re-Fresh Mint! Mint is not my color but this is fresh and sweet.


China Glaze Lemon Fizz, light yellow. Nice shade, not orange, not gaudy.


China Glaze Happy Go Lucky is a bright sunny yellow. I don't like yellows, but this is well done.


China Glaze High Hopes. I think this orangy red looks exactly like a persimmon.


China Glaze Peachy Keen. Peach! I am sure somewhere I have a dupe of this. But it is a lovely peach. Not too pastel, not too orange.


China Glaze Heli-Yum. Yum indeed. Love it.


China Glaze Sugar High. So sexy girly candy. I want to suck on my fingertips like a flirt. COME AND EAT ME.


China Glaze Something Sweet is a pretty standard pink, but I like the hint of blue.


China Glaze Light as Air. Again we probably all have a dupe, but this is soooo nice.


China Glaze Grape Pop - GREAT shade. I don't recall having anything exactly like this, certainly not in a creme. Edited to add this shade is very close to China Glaze Grape Juice but no glass fleck.



Pick some of these up. These will be great fresh pops of color for spring, and will easily transfer into summer.