Polish Mayhem

The “Beauty” of a Good Cause – World Blood Donor Day, June 14

2010-06-07T19:45:00.000-07:00

Forwarded from Orly! Good for them!!

ABOUT THE “GIVE” DONATION INITIATIVE:

Many Americans consider giving blood to be an important act of community service, however, less than 10 percent donate on an annual basis. Incredibly, if just one percent more donated–less than four million Americans–the nation’s blood shortages would disappear for the foreseeable future. To help close this gap, Nexcare Brand and America’s Blood Centers are partnering on the second annual give program, a nationwide blood donation initiative kicking off on World Blood Donor Day, Monday, June 14th, and extending through Sunday, June 20th.

With the support of hundreds of participating local blood centers, the give program inspires Americans with a message of hope, and helps them to spread the word by distributing limited-edition Nexcare Bandages marked with the word give.

World Blood Donor Day comes at an important time each year. As local blood centers face “summer shortages,” the nation’s blood supply comes under strain due to less donations because of increased vacation schedules and other seasonal distractions that tend to take place in the summer months. World Blood Donor Day reminds Americans to donate and enables them to help make a impact in reducing these shortages.

The 2010 give Bandages are inspired by both the patriotic act of giving blood as well as Flag Day, which will also be recognized on June 14, 2010. This collection of three Nexcare bandages are designed to represent the American flag signify the everyday hero in each American who commits to saving lives by donating blood.

Additionally, there’s a dedicated website, www.nexcaregive.com, where visitors can share their story, get directions to our local blood center and register to receive coupons and a free sampling of bandages.

Did You Know? Facts About Blood Donation
· One pint of blood can save up to three lives
· Every two seconds, someone needs blood
· Most Americans will require a blood transfusion at some point in their lives
· Less than 10% of Americans donate blood on an annual basis
· If one percent more Americans gave blood, all national blood shortages would disappear for the foreseeable future
· There is no substitute for human blood
· Donors can give whole blood up to six times a year

MAC Prêt-à-Papier Nail Lacquers

2010-05-05T20:47:00.000-07:00

The MAC Prêt-à-Papier collection features two lacquers, one is a light brown with a teensy amount of shimmer, the other a fairly standard bronzish metallic shimmer. I found this less boring than the other collections lately. For some reason I am really taken with the brown paper bag color of the light brown, called, of course "Brown Bag". Somehow it strikes me as very stylish. So I got it and I like it. It feels very au courant as MAC says. Though frankly even thinking the words au courant makes me feel like such an asshole.

I didn't bother with the bronze lacquer, called Originality, as it isn't. At all. In fact they seem to forget MAC Mercenary, released just last year, is very like it!! Did someone get amnesia? I mean they aren't exact dupes but come on.

MAC Brown Bag. Actually not too wildly different from Essie Uptown Taupe, if you have that. Brown Bag is warmer than Uptown Taupe though, and UT has a silver shimmer not a goldish one. So they are like cold/warm sisters.:

What You Should Wear For Spring

2010-05-04T14:49:00.000-07:00

While adding my pictures back to my blog I thought it would be fun to revisit some stuff while I add old pics back and do new swatching.

WHO CAN RESIST CHINA GLAZE FROSTBITE??

Sinful Sale at Walgreen's

2010-05-03T15:47:00.000-07:00

Buy One Get 50% Off has never impressed me much, but the polishes are only $2 full price, so it's a pretty decent sale. I guess it will last through Saturday.

BTW - Zoya Pictures and Status of Re-Adding Pics to Blog

2010-04-27T21:55:00.000-07:00

If you google Zoya pictures to do the Polish Exchange, you should come upon plenty of my Flickr pics. I am MollyHell on Flickr. Of course. I am in the process of adding the pictures one by one back to my site, but all my pictures are available on Flickr. I only have 250 or so to add back to the blog. GAG.

Anyway enjoy. I should be done in, oh, 2012.

Hot Summer Days and Cool Denim Inspired Polishes

2010-04-25T17:07:00.000-07:00

Got some more denim inspired polishes a while ago. These run the gamut between dark and light, some are better than others. The nice thing about the Maybelline formula for these is it is not only easy to apply, it's one coat.

Maybelline Boot Leg is a dark navy with a lot of purple in it and some larger size metallic shimmer. It's very pretty.

Maybelline Stone Washed is a faded denim frost. Also very nice.

Maybelline Blue Riders is another bran new denim looking shimmer. Looks a lot like brand new Levi's 501s.

Maybelline Hip Huggers is a nice creme, it has a large tinge of lavender to it though.

Maybelline Five Pocket is my favorite. A more faded denim blue, it has a soft shimmer to it. Almost a frost.

NYC Skin Tight Denim Creme is not a creme. Weirdos. It's a SHIMMER. I think this is more a regular navy than a denim inspired, but it's a nice polish.

Time for the Zoya Polish Exchange Again

2010-04-22T14:06:00.001-07:00

If you have $3.50 per bottle and some crap you want to get rid of, it's time for the Zoya Polish Exchange!

http://www.artofbeauty.com/content/category/Nail_Polish_Exchange.html

Any bottle of polish (except Zoya Qtica or Nocti) can be sent in, with $3.50 per bottle you want to exchange, and you can pick a bottle of Zoya polish to be sent to you in return. It's not cheap per se, but it's a lot cheaper than their regular prices!! You must send in at least six bottles. It lasts until June 30, so you have a bit of time.

Coupla Ulta Yummers

2010-04-19T19:47:00.000-07:00

Snapped these two up on a fast "grab as walk to the cashier". For two bucks who wouldn't? I think the green is a bit too dark, but I like it, and the blue metallic is a dupe for my beloved NDB Midnight I can't find anywhere. They are a whopping $2!! Buy some!!!

Ulta Envy:

Ulta Alter Ego:

Spa Ritual Contest!!

2010-04-19T10:35:00.000-07:00

SpaRitual is running a fun sweepstakes to celebrate its Believe Nail Collection for Spring 2010 and we wanted to see if you’d be interested in entering and/or sharing with your readers?

Through April 21st, SpaRitual is asking fans to unleash their creativity and imagination and answer the evocative question, what do you believe? People can upload a video or record a video response on the SpaRitual Believe YouTube sweepstakes page expressing their unique take on what they believe. There are weekly winners and a grand prize of $500 worth of SpaRitual products!

More info:
http://www.pitchengine.com/free-release.php?id=53514
And contest rules and regulations: http://www.sparitual.com/WhatDoYouBelieve/

Participants go to the SpaRitual YouTube channel to enter and also email their real name, age, mailing address, and YouTube username to: TheSpaRitual@gmail.com

Zoya Flash and Sparkle Collections Summer 2010

2010-04-14T21:10:00.000-07:00

Well well well what have we here!? Another double collection from Zoya, which to me seems like bright cremes for summer days and shimmery jellies for summer nights. Hot, just like the season! I like that they went with deeper colors for the season, not light shades or pastels. By making the Flash brights, they keep the summer feeling for the cremes, and by making the Sparkle shimmery they catch a "night out on the town" summery feeling. Hot days, hot nights, hot nails.

Let's start with the cremes - the Flash collection. These remind me of the OPIs of last year which were inspired by those dumb tight pants which make everyone look fat except supermodels and wimpy boys. The Zoya creme formula is nice, maybe a touch thick, thin it with Zoya Renew or another thinner like my favorite, Poshe Polish Reviver, which is like 2 bucks or something for a pretty big bottle.

The sky blue, Zoya Robyn, is very close to OPI No Room for the Blues and Creative Hot Pop Blue (which was my better/cheaper alternative to OPI No Room for the Blues), but it is actually a shade darker.

Zoya Jancyn is a smooth citrus orange, I like it even though I don't, as a rule, like orange. I know OPI had In My Back Pocket - very similar though I believe that was a shade darker than Jancyn.

Zoya Perrie is a medium purple with some red in it, so it isn't much like Zoya Malia or OPI A Grape Fit. It's like a lighter Creative Studio 54 or MAC For Fun.

Zoya Jolene is a pretty standard candy pink. Very very close to China Glaze summer offering, Sugar High, which is much cheaper. It's a lot like Black Phoenix Croquet also, but hotter pink.

Zoya Maura is your standard hot red. I actually kinda like it, even though it's not my style, and is that kind of red I always shreik at when I see it on people's lips. It's a tad bluer than Zoya America, but not so different I see the point, really.

Zoya Dana: fuchsia pink. What's more to say? Cute. It's the same fuchsia pink we see everywhere but it's mercifully free of the omnipresent blurple shimmer, which makes this a kind of relief.

Onto Sparkle Collection - the SHIMMERS!!! The size and style of shimmer reminds me very much of OPI's Winter 2009 Collection I loved so much. These are nice, easily applied shimmery jellies (except for Zoya Nidhi, which is a creme). DELUMPCIOUS!!! They loosely follow the color array of the Flash Collection, with a couple replacements, but in a darker shade. Love!

Zoya Gilda is probably Dana's match, and even though it adds that tired blurple back to the fuchsia, it manages, with the jelly and the shimmer grain size, to be fresh and yummy. I guess it could be Jolene's match if Zoya Alegra is Dana's match, but Gilda matches Dana better than Jolene (see below).

Zoya Mimi is a deep royal purple shimmer jelly. Sweet.

Zoya Alegra, Dana's match? Who knows. Anyway this is a magenta with blurple shimmer. I like it.

Zoya Charla is, in my opinion, the masterpiece. It's like looking at tropical waters. It's an absolutely stunning teal my camera could not do justice. I just stared and stared at this, it is so beautiful. It absolutely glows on the nail, with an almost metallic shine. An instant addition to my top 10 polishes of all time.

Zoya Ivanka is, thankfully, NOT dark green. I am fucking sick of dark greens. I don't think it's the greatest green ever, but it's nice, shimmery, and I love the jelly!

Last but not least Zoya Nidhi is a cream with large blue shimmer. I wish the shimmer showed up more because this counterpart to Zoya Maura is an absolute STUNNER because of the blue shimmer in it. It's hot and original and a must have. LOVE.

Enjoy them, you shouldn't be disappointed with any of them unless you already have a close dupe. But BUY CHARLA!!

Picture Problems? And Facebook!!!

2010-04-04T16:30:00.000-07:00

If you cannot see my pictures, email me @ polishmayhem@gmail.com. I recently renewed my Flickr Pro account and I think the links are shut down, if they are not back up within 24 hours, I will talk to Flickr.

Also I am now on Facebook!! Friend PolishMayhem Nailpolish!!! Hope to see you there!

I have a few posts in the pipe, I will hopefully be more active the next two weeks, but after that is finals week, so I'll be down a week or two. Hugs!

Gettin' Warm! China Glaze Poolside Collection for Summer 2010!

2010-04-04T15:00:00.000-07:00

They're bright, tight and dy-no-mite! Well, I love neons, so of course I am going to say that. These are probably not colors you don't already have something similar to, though maybe not exact. But they are a great, manageable formula, very bright, and semi- to fully-opaque. These are all three coats, a thin bottom coat, and two relatively thick coats, with, of course, a topcoat, as they dry matte. They dry pretty quickly, so they are easy to apply, and they are inexpensive, one of the reasons (with the fact their colors can't be beat and their whoppingly magnificent glass fleck) they are my favorite brand. I like this collection but I would added a purple to make a full rainbow!

China Glaze Pool Party is the bright hot pink. My favorite of the group. This is actually a bit different than most of the hot pink neons I have. I'm keeping it.

China Glaze Sun Worshipper is a great neon orange. A calmer neon orange than some, kinda like a neon clementine fruit. I was surprised to find the only neon orange I had other than this is Orly Orange Punch, and this is nothing like it. It's a true orange, not reddish orange.

China Glaze Yellow Polka Dot Bikini is greener than shown here, but is still too much like China Glaze Celtic Sun in color to be worth it - but - this is far more opaque than Celtic Sun, though it is not fully opaque. It may be worth it to spend the few bucks on this and throw away Celtic Sun.

China Glaze Kiwi Cool-Ada is a grassy green neon. And while I like it a lot, it is far overshadowed by China Glaze In the Limelight, which is far more opaque. But still what's not to like about this (providing you like neon, and if you don't you have probably already stopped reading)!

China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy is that pink with a hint of orange my camera can NEVER capture, so sorry for the picture, but you can get a hint of the color. It's juicy and very bright. At first I thought I had a dupe for this - Essie Punchy Pink, but that is actually darker and pinker, this has a lot of orange in it, and nothing I have is a dupe for it. Claire's Fabulous is the closest I have, and that too is pinker.

China Glaze Towel Boy Toy is a summer sky blue with the lovely blue shimmer that my beloved Color Club Electro Candy neons of last year had. And in fact Color Club Pure Energy is an almost spot on exact dupe, but the Color Club has more shimmer in it.

Are you ready for summer yet? You better start!!

MAC Blue India

2010-03-16T21:41:00.000-07:00

I haven't had much good to say about MAC polish since the Style Black Collection. A few collections have come and gone without me mentioning them, because they were frankly boring crap.

But I picked up MAC Blue India from the Give Me Liberty of London Collection and I really like it. It's a great blue/Grey creme, One coat perfect, and I don't have anything like it! A winner! The other polish in this collection is Vestral White, a boring rerelease. If you can't find WHITE CREME cheaper than this, turn in your polish brush, please.

MAC Blue India:

BleachBlack Dick Weed

2010-02-18T20:43:00.000-08:00

Got hipped to this by a friend, dude. http://needsupply.com/womens/brands/bleachblack/dick-weed.html

It looks jawdropping in the advertising picture doesn't it???? I thought it would be like wearing the carapace of a beetle or a bluebottle fly.

It's pretty but it's basically shimmer in a smoky jelly base. It needed to be a fully pigmented color and have more metallic to it.

BleachBlack Dick Weed:

Looks like a not so shiny Zoya Akyra.

Color Club Emerald Depths is better too. Both are cheaper.

ZOYA SALE!!!!!!

2010-02-16T16:41:00.000-08:00

Just got this email from Zoya!!

In honor of NYFW(New York Fashion Week) Zoya, The New Color of Fashion,
wants to give a "Fashion Reward" to all our followers and fans.

Place any Zoya or Qtica order of $10 (on http://www.zoya.com, http://www.qtica.com or http://www.artofbeauty.com/) and get any 2 Zoya Nail Polish shades (0.5oz bottles) as our Free gift to you.

Simply add all the items that you want to purchase online to your shopping cart.
Enter the code NYFW in the "code" field and press the "update" button.
A $14 discount will appear in the shopping cart for the value of the 2 Zoya Nail Polishes.

Offer valid from Wednesday, 2/17/2010 until Friday, 2/19/2010, at 5PM ET. Standard shipping charges apply. Offer valid for consumer online orders only. Free ground shipping for orders over $55 in Continental USA only. Not valid with any other coupon code or offer.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Enjoy!!

OPI Alice in Wonderland Collection

2010-02-15T15:03:00.000-08:00

Meh. Not much else to say. After the winter's incredible reds, these are lackluster and boring. Winter's glitters were more interesting too. I love glitter, especially microglitter, and these are nice ones but they just don't wallop me over the head. Dunno why. Maybe I am over glitter tossed in clear polish unless it totally covers the nail? Who knows.

The OPI Alice in Wonderland Collection is small, and I bought the mini set.

OPI Thanks so Muchness! is red. It's a nice blue red shade. It's no world shaker.

OPI Absolutely Alice is a neat dark blue that seems somehow to have black in it. It has gold micro glitter mixed in with the blue, for interest and dazzle.

OPI Off With Her Red! is oranger in person than the picture. It reminds me of burnt carrot casserole or something.

OPI Mad As a Hatter is a mainly dark purple microglitter with opalescent/pastel rainbow microglitter. If it had better coverage I'd probably be in love. This is four coats.

Happy Glitterday!

2010-02-12T15:25:00.001-08:00

Here's a few recent glitters I have welcomed into my overloaded drawers.

Sally Hansen In the Spotlight. Well I love strip glitter with a white hot passion, so this find was a source of much shreiking. Which was not appreciated at Walgreen's. I like that this can be used as a glitter topcoat.

China Glaze Doll House is okay. Somehow I don't truly love it, but it certainly grabs attention.

Nicole Let's Get Star-ted is mini rainbow glitter and little purple rainbow stars! You'll have to dab and place the stars where you want them of course. No one who ever read John Bellairs' trio of stories about Louis Barnavelt (The House With a Clock in its Walls, The Figure in the Shadows, and The Letter, the Witch, and the Ring) can look at this polish without thinking of Mrs. Zimmermann. How she would approve.

And last but not least GOSH Holographic is a strange one, because this truly is a glitter polish. The is a clear base with just simply tons of holographic microglitter in it. It takes several coats (this is four) and can be a bit tricky to apply. Let each coat fully dry before you add the next or you may lift off the prior coat.

Enjoy, mateys! BTW go see the Wolfman!!!! LOVE that Old School action.

Zoya Reverie Spring 2010 Collection

2010-02-09T18:15:00.000-08:00

I love pink/green duochrome shimmer. I LOVE it. And every single color in Zoya's Reverie Collection for Spring 2010 has it. Oh sigh. It's so fucking purty.

This is a kind of "Valentine's Day" collection, made up of two pinks, two red/oranges, a purple and a silver all in incredibly thick rainbow microshimmer, so thick it's nearly a frost in application. You might see streaks when you put it on, but let it settle and it goes back to a sleek coat. Just try to be a bit even in your application and you should be okay. It's a good formula, Zoya pretty much always is, so it applies nicely and two coats did me for a nice opaque polish job. This absolutely needs topcoat though, for you non-topcoat wearers, as I found it dried a bit dull, but you should wear topcoat anyway. It brings out the full beauty of a nail polish (except a matte, of course).

You can't always see the duochrome effect in my pics, I think the purple, Adina, shows it well, and I think Reece shows the pink aspect okay. Just know it has it.

Zoya Happi, the light pink:

Zoya Reece, the dark pink:

Zoya Gwin, the orangier red/orange:

Zoya Lana, the redder red/orange:

Zoya Adina, the purple:

Zoya Laney, the silver:

Sally Hansen HD Liquid Crystal Opulent Cloud

2010-02-04T22:25:00.000-08:00

Sally Hansen HD Opulent Cloud, the most recent release in SH's High Definition Liquid Crystal line, yeah I have been looking out for it just like everyone else, I guess. Finally found it at Walgreen's with another two unexceptional new HD offerings, and it's pretty. It's not the fingernail scorcher I thought it would be though. It is just pretty nice. The reason I am not terribly impressed is that it is actually just a sedater version of Sally Hansen Arabian Night.

Sally Hansen HD Opulent Cloud:

Sally Hansen Arabian Night:

You can't get Arabian Night except on eBay. But you CAN get Hard Candy's Mr. Wrong, which is a close dupe of Arabian Night and still more exciting than Opulent Cloud. But OC is nice. I will be keeping my bottle, but probably not reaching for it. Cause I roll like that. I am a polish hoarder, apparently.

A Couple Green Zoyas

2010-02-03T21:19:00.000-08:00

Remember that very cool "Buy $20 worth of polish" or whatever it was and get seven free green Zoyas? Here are a couple of them I had not already posted. For some reason they sent me two Veruschkas and didn't send me one of the other greens, and I cannot remember which one it was. Anyway enjoy these two beauties!

Zoya Tangy:

Zoya Irene:

FIRST ANNUAL POLISH MAYHEM 2009 COLLECTION AWARDS!!!!

2010-01-27T23:40:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-24T14:18:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-23T21:17:00.001-08:00

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.

2010-01-08T13:17:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-06T15:36:00.000-08:00

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.

Back from Holidays! And MAC Crap!

2009-12-28T21:44:00.000-08:00

Wow that was a long vacation away! I missed you and felt bad I was so lazy. Anyway I am back and I bring crappy news.

I didn't even buy the three new MAC polishes that are newly out. It wasn't even worth it to buy them, swatch them, then return them and tell my favorite MAC salesperson/diva how shitty they are.

Three cremes, a medium reddish brown named Dim the Lights and a light peachish pink called Blissed Out are in the Warm & Cozy Collection, and a mushy flabby taupe called Light Affair is in the Love Lace Collection. Boring crap in a bottle. Give me something Wet n' Wild doesn't do better for $2. What do you think I am, a moron? I can buy that at the dollar store, not Nordstrom for $12. Why are you sometimes a genius and sometimes downright insulting, MAC???

Anyway here are the pictures from MAC. Believe me when I say they are FAR more flattering than the reality.

MAC Blissed Out:

MAC Light Affair:

MAC Dim the Lights:

Ho Ho Ho! Merry Glittermas!!!!

2009-12-17T21:53:00.001-08:00

MOAR GLITAR!!!!!!! Oh yes, because nothing is better than glitter for the Holidays.

The Zoya Ultra Glitter Collection is two pinks and a silver, so I got the pink I thought I would like best. And I like it very much! Nice, easy full glitter coverage!!
Zoya Astra:

Sinful Euro Trash is teensy rainbow glitter in a sheerish gold frost base. Reminds me a lot of China Glaze Cowardly Lyin'.

Sally Beauty's Sally Girl line of cosmetics are mini, and cheap as dirt. Even without a Sally Card their polishes are $0.79 or something. These are cute small glitter and large hexagon glitter in gold and silver. Great alone or as topcoats. Also seems to me these would be super for kids (male and female, let's expand the horizons of our culture!) who wanna emulate Mom or have something sparkly on their nails.
Sally Girl Chunky Gold Glitter:

Sally Girl Chunky Silver Glitter:

Sinful UFO, peachy orange jelly with small opalescent glitter. Reminds me of Dreamsicles.

Barry M Blue Glitter, fantastic easy coverage. This is in a slightly charcoal colored clear base, and it adds so much depth. Great coverage with two coats.

Zoya Soho Punch. I guess this is more of a sheer shimmer. But I swatched it with the rest and I am posting it, O By Gosh By Golly.

GOSH Bright Passion. Ah, passion, yes. Rainbow strip glitter? In a charcoal jelly base? WHO MADE THIS AND DIDN'T ALERT ME??? Ride Santa hard and put him away wet, cause I love this polish!!

And for no reason whatsoever here is GOSH Bright passion with matte topcoat.

Enjoy! Happy Holidays. I'd like to invite you all to a period festivity where we all dress in houppelandes and sing Good King Wenceslas to lutes and sacbut, but I don't think my neighbors would enjoy the sacbut. You'll be there in my heart.

China Glaze Techno and China Glaze Nova Comparison

2009-12-17T10:16:00.000-08:00

Danica asked me what the difference between China Glaze Techno and Nova is. Viola!

Techno is a smattering of tiny glitter and a loose assortment of hexagons, all in rainbow/prismatic.

Nova is small rainbow glitter, and lots of it.

Enjoy!

S'More China Glaze Glitters!

2009-12-16T22:51:00.000-08:00

Yay! I can has moar glitar?? I has a glitar!! I can no has long fingarnalez, tho. U forgiv?

China Glaze Dynasty is kind of a dark rose. But it has a bit of red in it, sometimes I almost think this is brick red. It has small rainbow glitter.

China Glaze Techno, large rainbow hexagons and small rainbow glitter in a clear base. Dab this one on, don't stroke it, so you get good coverage on the hexagons.

China Glaze Sour Apple - what else? Apple green jelly with small opalescent glitter in it. Nice! This is two coats I believe.

China Glaze Mahoganie is on the browner side of brick red. It has small rainbow glitter.

China Glaze Shooting Stars, I think this is indispensible. It's got tons of microglitter in nice opalescent shades, and big opalescent hexagons. It layers so beautifully over other polishes!! This is only two coats, it has great coverage!

Ther is moar glitar in teh futur!!

Island Girl Nail Polish

2009-12-15T21:41:00.000-08:00

I dunno who makes this polish, Island Girl, but it has a VERY familiar sort of daisy shape on the top of the cap (no not Color Club). But it is sold at these stores in the mall called "ABC", which are the kind of convenience store that preys on hungry/needy shoppers and tourists and sells them massively overpriced items. I always ignore it until one day the corner of my eye caught a big nail polish display! These are only $2.99 and they have a large array of colors, but they are mostly very bright and/or glittery. So if you like that search them out.

I bought four but one ran away. I have no idea where it is, I mean it.

Island Girl Island Color is tiny pink and silver glitter, very opaque with a few coats.

Island Girl Island Volcanic is not volcanic, but it is a very nice blue semi-metallic. It has this neat grainy quality I really like. Reminds me very much of NDB Midnight. Easy to apply, and one coat perfect.

Island Girl Mahalo Dream - Very sheer orangy-pink jelly with rainbow glitter.

FingerPaints Holiday Collection

2009-12-13T20:56:00.001-08:00

I like FingerPaints. They have a good formula, easy to apply, looks great. Their holiday collection is six shimmers. I did not get the medium red with very fine subtle gold shimmer (Snowman's Scarf), it just looked like a ton of other stuff to me. Also I did not get Sparkling Snow, which is your standard silver shimmer. IMO if you have one you have them all.

The other four are pretty nice, though! the shimmer in most of these is large grain, almost like clear sheets. It's neat. It manages to be subtle and yet impactful. If glitter is a rhinestone covered dress, and shimmer is a sequinned dress, this is a satin dress. If you get me. It shines yet it is not on your face. If you can wear these color shades to work, you won't be worried they'll be too bling and get you a raised eyebrow. I think they're sophisticated.

FingerPaints Candy Cane Shimmer is a medium red with smaller shimmer than the other polishes. The thing about this is it really does kind of have a satin sheen, rather than any shimmer. And the genius of this polish is that it looks EXACTLY like the red ribbon you buy at the store to wrap presents with. Not the new prismatic or mylar ones, the old style. Go check it out and see! I think it's so cool.

FingerPaints Decked With Dazzle is my least favorite. It's a reddish purple, kinda a red grape look. It has very nice chunky shimmer, but it's very sheer. It's pretty but I am not wowed. But you may be and the quality is nice, just the sheerness was unwelcome.

Gorgeous deep purple with the same chunky shimmer, FingerPaints Icy Iris is absolutely taking a place in my "keep" pile.

The clear queen of the bunch is FingerPaints Evergreen Dreams. Wow, a green not named after Envy. Imagine that! It's a gorgeous emerald green shimmer. One incredibly cool thing about it is when you apply a matte topcoat, it looks EXACTLY like Zoya Veruschka, which I will be demonstrating in the next couple of days when I review the Zoya Matte collection which came out a while ago, which I somehow neglected to be sent review copies of. :disgruntled and horrified face: Grin. Anyway this is a winner.

Here's FingerPaints Evergreen Dream first topped with Hard Candy Break Up, then FingerPaints Evergreen Dream topped with Hard Candy Break Up and Essie Matte About You topcoat! What I won't do for fun, eh?

You Say It's Your Birthday!?

2009-12-11T23:22:00.000-08:00

Why yes I do! Here's what I wore tonight, you may find it's a nice holiday idea. Also you can see how pathetic my nails are right now, hence why I am wearing fakes for photos.

China Glaze The Ten Man topped with China Glaze Shooting Stars:

Hard Candy New Polishes at Walmart

2009-12-09T21:53:00.001-08:00

These are a fine formula. They seem to be a lot of dupes of other polishes, so if the polish you want to dupe is over $5, you can buy these. Some of the polishes are quite pretty!

Hard Candy Envy is a black jelly with dark bluish green shimmer. Screams Zoya Suvi with way less shimmer. This is less $$ but also less pretty.

Hard Candy Hot Pants. When I saw this I said "Oh, hey! Nubar!" But it's cheaper and just as nice as their jelly glitters, so hey why not?

Hard Candy Mr. Wrong. Now this is a fairly close dupe of the incredible Sally Arabian Night I posted not too long ago, and while the base color isn't quite the same (I think Sally's is prettier) there is far more golden shimmer here, this is a STUNNER I would suggest everyone buy!!

There's another I have but I haven't swatched it yet. Stay tuned.

MollyHell's Grab Bag! - Nina Ultra Pro Purple X-ing

2009-12-08T21:33:00.000-08:00

Do I need to type anything but this is available now??

Nina Ultra Pro Purple X-ing:

Orly Metallic Matte Collection

2009-12-05T21:18:00.000-08:00

Been on vacation but I am back!!

As you can probably tell from the pictures, these are a lot like OPI's Suede Collection. A nice satiny finish with a ton of metal shimmer underneath. Tons of texture and depth. They give us a couple nice new shades for matte, gold and bronze, and we have the black already but it's very nice in the satin/suede finish!

These apply just like regular polishes, and do not dry too fast. But try hard to remove any overlap, or brushstrokes that clump, because it will show up in the final polish. Just mess with it til it is smooth.

Orly Glam Rock:

Orly Iron Butterfly:

Orly Solid Gold:

MollyHell's Grab Bag! - Dusky, Hot Sexy Purples

2009-11-29T23:17:00.000-08:00

Thar they blow! Could be reddish, could be bluish. Whatever, I love them!

Sally Hansen Flirt:

Rimmel Night Before:

Rimmel Hard Edged:

Color Club Snow Queen:

Chanel Vendetta:

BB Couture Maleficent Magenta:

Creative Heiress:

MollyHell's Grab Bag- Spa Ritual SpaRitual Days of Wine and Roses and Spa Ritual Can You Dig It?

2009-11-28T22:09:00.000-08:00

I only have two Spa Ritual polishes. the formula is good and the polish is highly pigmented. I think it's overpriced, even at $8 on eBay.

Spa Ritual Days of Wine and Roses:

Spa Ritual Can You Dig It?:

Free Green Polishes at Zoya Today Thru Tomorrow Afternoon!

2009-11-26T21:43:00.001-08:00

http://zoyanailpolish.blogspot.com/2009/11/zoya-nail-polish-creates-green-friday.html

ZOYA GREEN FRIDAY
"It's just our way of sending some green back to you!" While other retailers taking all your green, let Zoya give you some FREE green!

Spend $20 or more and recieve 6 of our favorite greens for FREE*.

That's right, Zoya Tangy - Zoya Envy - Zoya Midori - Zoya Irene- Zoya Suvi - Zoya Veruschka all 6 for FREE on Zoya Green Friday Only with any purchase of $20 or more at www.zoya.com.

Code will activate on Thanksgiving (11/26/09) at 5 PM (EST). So you will have plenty of time to gobble your turkey and then gobble up our great greens too (who needs football anyway). Code will expire on Friday (11/27/09) at 5 PM (EST).

CODE: GREENFRIDAY

*Promo code valid online at http://www.zoya.com/ only. Offer valid in continental US only. Consumer orders only. Offer begins at 5 PM (EST) on 11/26/09 and expires at 5 PM (EST) on 11/27/09. Offer not valid in conjunction with other promotions, discounts or offers. One code per order. Allow 2 -4 weeks for order processing.

WOW What an order!!! Of the greens they are offering I have these, for info purposes:

Zoya Suvi:

Zoya Envy:

Zoya Midori:

MollyHell's Turkey Day Grab Bag

2009-11-26T21:16:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone who celebrated had a happy and safe Turkey Day. I'm not any major religion, and I couldn't give two farts in a crowded theater about Pilgrims, but I celebrate the day as a day of being with family, and making an incredibly delicious meal. So basically a day of sitting around stuffing my face.

Anyway because it's Turkey Day, the polish is BB Couture Cranberry Crush!

Black Phoenix Claw Polish

2009-11-25T18:50:00.000-08:00

I was the very lucky recipient of some of the illustrious Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab's nail polish, which they call Claw Polish (love it)! BPAL doesn't just make hundreds of incredible artisan perfume oils in "magickal, pagan and mythological blends, Renaissance, Medieval and Victorian formulas, and horror / Gothic-themed scents", they do jewelry, Tshirts and assorted neat stuff which fortunately includes a growing offering of nail polishes (under the Black Phoenix Trading Post arm of the site). Mostly now it is blacks and browns, deep reds and a few pinks, and one glow in the dark. I hope to see them branch out! They certainly have enough inspiration.

First thing that is notable is the formula was quite surprising. It was terrific. A polish line in which the CREMES are more manageable than the jellies??? Wow. Dries fast, hard and just like glass. It's incredibly shiny stuff. I would use topcoat for protection but it is in no way needed for a glossy finish. It's kickass. The brush may be a bit stubby for you long brush lovers, but otherwise is standard. Anyway all due accolades to the talented people at Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab. Thank you!!

I tried a different style photograph for these polishes, inspired by the "Claw Polish" name. Yes, Napoleon, I have large talons. If you hate it feel free to call me an asswipe.

You're going to have to take my word for it that Destroying Angel is not black. it's a dark chocolate, but it's browner than the picture. I am sure I will try again at some point.

Smokestack is actually a very dark blurple jelly with a ton of very fine subtle shimmer. It packs far more punch than you think it will. Very nice.

Croquet they call a flamingo pink, I think it's a bit softer and a great deal prettier than flamingo. Bet the Sissies will love this one!

Malediction is simply black, with that stunning super-gloss that China Glaze Patent Leather has. This is a jelly, not a creme.

Sed Non Satiata is a smooth, sleek berry.

Robotic Scarab is a gleaming bronze shimmer. I drool on this.

Bordello is a beautiful lightly metallic raspberry shimmer. Suckable!

MollyHell's Grab Bag! - Orly Golden Jubilee

2009-11-25T01:14:00.001-08:00

How about a nice warm harvesty golden color for Turkey Day?

Orly Golden Jubilee:

MollyHell's Grab Bag! - Rimmel Blood Red

2009-11-23T23:42:00.000-08:00

Picked this one up cheap after Halloween, there may still be some around.

Rimmel Blood Red:

MollyHell's Grab Bag! - NYX Las Vegas Green and Nyx Las Vegas Purple

2009-11-22T23:07:00.000-08:00

Two great colors I couldn't live without. Nyx Las Vegas Green is less sheer than it looks. It's a brilliant dark emerald with dark blue shimmer. It is a lot like a greener version of Nubar Earth. I love it.

Nyx Las Vegas Purple is a deep purple shimmer with plenty of rainbow glitter. This

Pretty sure this is still available, but be sure to specify Green or Purple when you order, or contact the seller first, as both are just called "Las Vegas".

MollyHell's Grab Bag - Jade Red Ruby

2009-11-20T20:29:00.000-08:00

Jade Red Ruby is a great ruby red glitter with a bit of gold, in a clear base. this is two coats I believe. I think it'll be a super holidays standalone or top coat. There's a place called Spa Beauty Supply that sells this, never bought from them though.

MollyHell's Grab Bag - Sinful Love Nails and Sinful Pinky Glitter

2009-11-19T19:50:00.000-08:00

There's a sale at Walgreen's this week, buy one Sinful, get the second free! I think it runs through Sunday, Novermber 22nd. Here's two Sinfuls I bought, for a total of $2!

Sinful Love Nails:

Sinful Pinky Glitter:

MollyHell's Grab Bag! - Chanel Metal Garnet

2009-11-17T20:16:00.000-08:00

I have loved Chanel Metal Garnet since high school. I think it's better than a naked male model. Lasts longer, too!

Chanel Metal Garnet:

MollyHell's Grab Bag! - Nubar Moodies #M138

2009-11-16T21:10:00.000-08:00

Nubar Moodies don't work. Pretty much a given. But this one KINDA works. As you can see the tip is a nice warm bronze and the top half of the nail is a beautiful gilded orange falling leaf color. It kind of gives you a fall leaf manicure all on its own.

Nubar Moodies #M138:

MollyHell's Grab Bag - Clinique Black Honey Velvet

2009-11-15T21:55:00.000-08:00

Clinique Black Honey Velvet is meant to be a companion to their wildly popular lipstick/lip gloss Black Honey. A dark sheer berry, you can make the lipstick lighter or darker in shade depending on the amount you apply. It's said to flatter all skin tones, and I believe it. It's a huge makeup staple for me.

The polish is the same berry but is only the darker shade. It's a jelly, and it applies surprisingly well for a makeup brand not focusing on nail polish. It's incredibly shiny. I got mine on eBay, as Clinique is no smarter than many companies and tends to discontinue their best stuff for no reason, like total idiots.

Clinique Black Honey Velvet:

MollyHell's Grab Bag! - Maybelline Denim Inspired Polishes

2009-11-15T11:19:00.001-08:00

I go crazy over denim inspired polishes. I have no idea why, I am not crazy over blue jeans, even though I wear them a lot like most people. But denim type nail polish makes me nuts. Go figure.

Maybelline Jean Jacket. Shimmer soaked. Has a great purple shine, kinda like OPI Ink. Really reminds me of new unwashed denim.

Maybelline Button Fly is a creme, love this so very much.

I don't think Maybelline Blue Chill is denim inspired, but it still reminds me of very old, very faded denim. Great grey/blue with blue shimmer.

I've posted Zoya Jo before but it also reminds me of denim.

Any other denim polishes you know of you can hip me to, dude, I'd love it.

China Glaze Wizard of Ooh Ahz Returns!

2009-11-13T21:57:00.000-08:00

I got a great package today! Whee! Wizard of Ooh Ahz Returns! Here is what China Glaze has to say about it:

"Click your Ruby Pumps and come travel with China Glaze down the yellow brick road to meet "The Wizard of Ooh Ahz"! Just in time for the holidays, China Glaze is re-releasing the ever-so popular Wizard of Ooh Ahz collection! Very similar to the original version that was released in 2001, these colors will remind you of exactly why China Glaze glitters are always in the forefront! Colors in the 6 piece acetate include:
Ruby Pumps: An all time red glitter favorite!
Good Witch: Pink Frost with specks of pink micro-glitter
C-C-Courage: Purple Frost with specks of purple micro glitter
Dorothy Who?: Blue polish with massive amounts of silver and blue glitter!
Cowardly Lyin': Gold frost with specks of gold micro glitter
the Ten Man: Silver frost with specks of silver micro glitter

China Glaze will take you to that special polish place, some where over the rainbow with these gorgeous glitter polishes!"

The formula is good, stays in place. This stuff is a bit sheer, all of these pictures are three coats. It dries quickly. VERY sparkly. These pix are on glue-on nails (except Ruby Pumps). All have topcoat, which I think the frosts need as they dry semi-matte. Without further ado, the polishes:

Let's start with Ruby Pumps, ruby red jelly with red glitter. This has not changed from the Ruby Pumps they always sell, so it's of course gorgeous.

The Ten Man, frost with tiny bright sparks of silver. Glitterier than the picture. The tip of the bottom finger is how glittery the polish actually is, also the gold and pink and purple.

Cowardly Lyin' is also far glitterier than the picture. Rely on the bottle to see the flash, as somehow this and the silver kinda photographed more showing the frost base than the micro-glitter.

China Glaze Dorothy Who? is a nice medium blue jelly, kind of a light cobalt, with silver and blue tiny glitter, and I also see light purple micro glitter in there too. Even blingier than in the picture.

Good Witch is a very pretty medium rose frost with tons of pink micro glitter. Once again go look at the bottom finger tip of The Ten Man picture to know how sparkly this really is.

C-C-Courage is my favorite. A dark grape purple frost with a somehow dusky tinge to it, it has not only great little micro-stars of purple glitter but a super all-over purple sheen to it.

So there ya go. I do not know if these are glass flecks or not, the insert I quoted only says they are glitters. I will email China Glaze and ask, then update this post. Also there is no appearance of the rumored on Twitter redo of Emerald Sparkle with gold glass fleck. I know they re-released Emerald Sparkle recently in a sort of themed re-release of old colors for the Holidays, called "Love You Snow Much", which also had Ruby Pumps in it. Maybe the redo of Emerald Sparkle is a fiction, or maybe it'll come later. I'll try to see if I can get an answer on that.

MollyHell's Grab Bag! - China Glaze Wagon Trail

2009-11-12T19:25:00.000-08:00

So I finally got China Glaze Wagon Trail! So let's compare it to MAC Seriously Hip and OPI At Your Quebec & Call, shall we? I will probably do an on-finger comparison too, later, but for now we can compare photos.

China Glaze Wagon Trail, olive brown shimmer with pinpoint rainbow shimmer:

MAC Seriously Hip is a black jelly, though, with olive shimmer, whereas Wagon's has a brown tone added. So similar, but not exact:

OPI At Your Quebec & Call - much lighter, but same color as Seriously Hip, if you get me. Has the pinpoint rainbow shimmer, maybe not as much as China Glaze Wagon trail?

All in all my fave is still OPI At Your Quebec & Call.

MollyHell's Grab Bag - Adoree Wild Inkberry

2009-11-11T20:40:00.001-08:00

A great dark berry jelly, with tons of silver glitter. Applies easily, looks like a million bucks!

Adoree Wild Inkberry:

OPI Winter 2009 Holiday Wishes Collection!

2009-11-10T20:47:00.000-08:00

OPI's Winter 2009 Holiday Wishes Collection consists of two parts. One half is six reds called the "Glamour Reds", and the other six polishes are the "Dark & Neutrals". First let's get the formula out of the way - this was uniformly easy to apply and non-staining, and easy to remove, though the large grain shimmers took a bit more effort. I love OPI's wide brush. It does make the curve at the top of the nail a bit difficult, but it allows for such easy application otherwise. So formula is no problem here.

Let's start with the Darks & Neutrals. I'd say this part of the collection was pretty damned terrific.

I'll start with what I consider the weakest polish of these six, OPI All A-Bordeaux the Sled, and it's only the weakest because this is simply a standard dark wine vampy jelly. So given that it's unoriginal, you have to admit it's incredibly hot. I got the mini set which included this (only $6.11 at TransDesign) and feel no need for a big bottle, but I wouldn't be surprised if you do. It's a year-round great vampy.

I don't normally love browns, but I like Ginger Bells!. It's a great orangy brown creme which absolutely gives me a Fall feeling. It's sleek and shiny, and could go with so many outfits. I used this as the base color for my Migi Nail Art gingerbread man. I think OPI did a great job capturing that kind of fall baked goods feeling with this one. Mmmm, spicy!

Holiday Glow is a prune-like brown/purple with small silver glitter. It's fun, but it's not the standout of this collection.

OPI Sapphire in the Snow. I want to stab someone in the face I love this polish so much. I wish on the finger it was the same color as in the bottle (I found it a bit darker), but it's so cobalt it almost glows from within. It's incredibly gorgeous even if it is so dark. I LOVE this!

Even with the beauties we have already seen, OPI Shim-Merry Chic and the next polish are the real stars of this collection, in my opinion. Shim-Merry Chic is a bronze shimmer/frost just jam-packed with soft pink/gold/bronze flakes, and tiny rainbow flecks. The picture doesn't begin to do justice to its beauty.

OPI Merry Midnight is a wonder. It's a violet jelly also chock full of that gorgeous soft-shade jewel tone flakes that Shim-Merry Chic has, and also the same pinpoint rainbow shimmer. It's so festive, so pretty, so mesmerizing!

The other half of the Winter 2009 Holiday Wishes Collection, the Glamour Reds, well, it's a whole lotta red. I love reds and even I think this is too many. Luckily they are all gorgeous.

Comet Loves Cupid is kinda like All A-Bordeaux the Sled, in that it's been done, so I don't quite understand it's inclusion. I think it's a bit too bold for most people, but it is very sizzling stuff.

OPI Meet & Jingle is a yummy bluish red cranberry-colored frost. Luckily it's only minimally streaky. I like it well enough.

OPI Glove You So Much is a kind of blackened burgundy. It's in that strange place where could be a slight frost, or a subdued shimmer. I kinda go with frost, but it has very little streaking and damn what a color!!! This color is stunning.

Smitten With Mittens is a new top ten entry in My Favorite reds. Deep, rich, and packed with huge shimmer, this just screams fancy party. It makes me feel like I am putting on my best to go celebrate. The color is great and the shimmer is eye-popping.

The last two Glamour Reds are Crimson Carol and Dear Santa. Despite the pictures, Dear Santa and Crimson Carol are quite similar in real life. I kinda don't see the need for both. So pick one, they're both very, very pretty. Dear Santa is slightly darker, Crimson Carol is slightly bluer.

TransDesign sells a mini pack I already mentioned with Comet Loves Cupid, All A-Bordeaux the Sled, Holiday Glow and Shim-Merry Chic, for $6.11. It also has three other polish boxed sets consisting of two full sized Holiday Glow polishes with a bracelet for $9.98. Nice gift! Enjoy these. I think it's a wonderful collection.

*Note: All but Holiday Glow are photographed with glue-on nails!

MollyHell's Grab Bag! - Creative Aqua Jet

2009-11-10T20:42:00.000-08:00

I love this blue. It's so beachy, so summery, and it has a super shimmer to it. It's still available at TransDesign and Head2Toe Beauty.

Creative Aqua Jet:

MollyHell's Grab Bag! - Orly Midnight Star

2009-11-09T22:02:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I don't like frosts, but this one's color, and the metallic quality make it a huge favorite of mine.

Orly Midnight Star:

MollyHell's Grab Bag - Sally Hansen Rockstar Pink

2009-11-08T11:54:00.000-08:00

And this one is even available right now in stores! Sad to think how often I see a polish or hear about it and it just isn't available anymore.

Sally Hansen Rockstar Pink:

MollyHell's Grab Bag! - Color Club Electronica

2009-11-07T21:37:00.001-08:00

LOVE it!!!

Color Club Electronica:

Halloween Leftover: Ulta Glow Get a Treat OPI Mini Set

2009-11-05T20:53:00.000-08:00

Halloween is over, but I picked up this little mini set at Ulta for a whopping $2.99. It has three polishes, a white glow-in-the-dark, a light blue glow-in-the-dark and an orange creme. I have always wanted Boo-Berry, the blue one, so I snagged this set. Now I don't have to pay eBay prices! An added bonus to this pack: these two glow-in-the-dark polishes are by FAR the brightest I have tried, including Sally Beauty, other OPIS, Wet n' Wild, and China Glaze.

OPI Ghostess With the Mostess, the white GITD:

OPI Boo-Berry, the blue GITD, is very sheer but I LOVE the color:

OPI Pumped Up Pumpkin is darker orange creme than the Tattoo Ta-Boo orange, and I like it better.

MollyHell's Grab Bag! - Creative Studio 54

2009-11-05T20:49:00.000-08:00

Yeah, Creative doesn't make this anymore. That make that mix and match stuff. Whatever.

This is not only a yummy purple, but it glows in black light! For dancin', and bein' noticed on the floor!

Creative Studio 54:

MollyHell's Grab Bag! - Two Polishes Everyone Should Own

2009-11-04T15:08:00.000-08:00

Two polishes everyone should own. Says it all right there.

BB Couture Fairy Blood. Super vibrant ruby red jelly with red glitter. In my opinion the best of the red jellies with red glitter, period. Intense color without staining the skin, easy to remove, and gorgeous.

And BB Couture Dragon's Breath, a juicy purple jelly with red, silver and blue glitter. Incredibly stunning.

Revlon Fantasy Lengths Glue-On and Self-Adhesive Eyelashes

2009-11-04T14:49:00.000-08:00

I got invited to try Revlon Fantasy Lengths eyelashes by janet, who also sent me the nice glue-on nails. I seldom wear false eyelashes but I am always game to try new things. I own exactly one pair of false eyelashes, made by MAC, they're a Hello Kitty collection pair and they are really neat, so I figured why not try the Revlon?

Considering what a complete novice I am at putting on eyelashes these were not too hard to apply. I was sent four pairs, two which had glue you needed to apply, and two with adhesive strips already on them. I only tried the self-adhesive ones. The difference is the self-adhesive ones have a much thicker base to them, which is noticeable. But not becessarily bad, I put on black eyeliner anyway. A couple of fumblings and a couple of trapped lashes, and I got decent enough application. It was pretty easy. Next time I might even be able to not get eyelashes trapped! Revlon's site for these lashes is: http://www.revlon.com/ProductCatalog/SubCategory.aspx?CategoryID=3&SubCategoryID=11 . Unfortunately I have no idea how much these cost.

MollyHell's Grab Bag! - Sally Hansen Arabian Night

2009-11-03T20:38:00.000-08:00

Sally Hansen Arabian Night is a stunning dark blue/purple with golden shimmer. Maybe the best polish Sally Hansen ever made other than the Prisms?

MIGI Nail Art Pens

2009-11-03T20:05:00.000-08:00

I was asked if I wanted to try these pens out by Jeff at Migi Nail Art. Who am I to say no?? He graciously sent me four pens, black, white, pink, and fine gold glitter. These come in small plastic squeeze tubes you can screw together so you have a double sided pen, which makes storage easier. They have about 40 colors, including a couple glitters and some neons. Migi Nail Art: http://www.miginailart.com They've got some design ideas on their site and a lot of videos on YouTube.

I'm no Nail Artiste. I like my polish simple. But Migi Nail Art pens are easy to use, so I fiddled with them and I think with some practice these could be fun and easy to use. If you unscrew the pen top, you get a normal size nail polish brush. If you pop off the cap you get a hair fine tube which acts as a pen tip. You just squeeze the tube, and polish comes out. The problems can be if you squeeze too hard, or apply too much. The polish has to be relatively thin to get out of the tiny tube, and this means you can get too much on the tip easily. If you wipe it off all the time, that could be wasteful, but I am sure practice and a nearby paper towel would help. I put too much polish on very easily. So while this can probably become extremely easy, it will take a bit of getting used to. My one big complaint: I'd have preferred a thin brush, not the full sized one. It is impossible to get a nice straight line with the pen or the large brush. I was completely unable to make my nail look like a tuxedo top, which I wanted to. I did make my nail look like a tuxedo as drawn by a tired kindergartener, though. I will spare you those pics and show you a few of my other dorkish fumblings. One other large problem: The glitter would NOT come out of the pen. Only the clear suspension polish did. Not good.

These come $25 for an 8 pack, or replacement singles at $3.00. I can see these being great for holidays. I may get a few and make some Christmas nails!

My Gingerbread Man Type Thing:

Assorted Things That Took Zero Talent:

MollyHell's Grab Bag! - Be Ox-Y-In and Elizabeth Arden West End Purple Sage

2009-11-02T20:21:00.001-08:00

To start off November's Grab Bag a day late I've chosen a couple of favorites!

Be Ox-Y-In is a dark blue/green/purple shimmer. I think it's just stunning. I have no idea where to buy Be, this was a swap polish.

Elizabeth Arden West End Purple Sage is just mesmerizingly gorgeous. A juicy purple and a fine rainbow shimmer make this a knockout.

O! A Daily OPI! - OPI My Private Jet

2009-10-31T16:59:00.000-07:00

Absolutely one of my favorite OPIs of all time - but they have changed the formula, I think it is the same basic shade but they toned the glitter way down and it isn't a holographic anymore, just kind of a shimmer. Screw that noise. WHY? So now my alternative is Color Club Revvvolution.

So you'll see I did some glue ons again. I highly prefer photographing my own natural nails, and all of my pictures are natural nail except this one, a few I will be taking here soon of OPI Holiday polishes, and the ones I took recently that I labeled as glue-on nails. It doesn't really make that much of a diference, I guess, but I want you to be able to evaluate how the polishes will look on you, and I feel letting you know which pictures are glue-on nails is important. Glue-ons suck. they damage my nails.

This is the last in a two month Daily OPI series, next month will be MollyHell's Grab Bag. I hope you enjoy!

OPI My Private Jet:

Essie A Sweet Time Of Year Collection

2009-10-31T15:19:00.001-07:00

I am not buying these, guys, so no swatches, but I did try them out today at Ulta. The Sweet Time of Year Collection is three polishes, a baby pink, a mint green, and a red. Same good Essie formula.

The pink is basically a French manicure color. It's a super sheer wash of baby pink. Reminded me a lot of their Yes We Can pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It's not worth it, in my opinion. The red is a nice semi-opaque jelly. It's a kind of geranium petal red, very brash. It has a nice feeling to it though. One coat gives a jelly semi-translucence, two coats full coverage. The mint is a nice bluish mint green, and had it been a jelly I would have gotten it too. But it was a creme, so I passed. Ulta has these buy one at $8.00 get one 50% off, or you can wisely buy the mini pack at Transdesign, or the full bottles much cheaper.

O! A Daily OPI! - OPI Light My Sapphire and OPI DS Vintage

2009-10-30T23:01:00.000-07:00

You get two today because I realize I somehow did OPI DS Chiffon twice. WTF!?

OPI Light My Sapphire. Only a hint of blue.

OPI DS Vintage, a nice rich copper holographic!

New MAC Magic, Mirth and Mischief Holiday 2009 Nail Lacquers

2009-10-29T23:11:00.000-07:00

These came out two weeks ago. I got them one week ago. You'll notice I didn't rush to bring you a post like I usually do with new MACs. That's because in an already lackluster nail lacquer year for MAC, this is probably the most unoriginal, boring "collection" yet. Two streaky metallic frosts in silver and pink is what MAC gives us for a holiday we already know has some spectacular offerings to compete with. Gee, thanks. I'll keep my $12.00 plus tax. Who fell asleep after Style Black???

MAC $$$$$ Yes:

MAC Lucky Number:

O! A Daily OPI! - OPI Kris Kringle Makes Me Tingle

2009-10-29T22:47:00.000-07:00

I've heard this called many nasty names. Glad this year's winter polishes are better.

OPI Kris Kringle Makes Me Tingle:

Zoya Color Lock System!

2009-10-28T23:29:00.001-07:00

The lovely people at Zoya kindly sent me a Color Lock System after they stumbled upon my blog during May's Month of Zoyas! It's nice to get that kind of helpful offering from a company, buying polish in the quantities it takes to keep my fetish satisfied and be useful as a blog does take money, and everything helps. I don't think I really need to mention I am an honest reviewer, do I? Well okay I'll mention it anyway. I consider Zoya's gift a kindness, and I will review the product honestly, and I cannot imagine they would expect anything less. I am horribly embarassed it took me so long to finish this review, and it isn't quite finished, but it's SO past time to post it I am going to anyway.

The Zoya Color Lock System comes in a very large plastic ziplock bag, which was surprising. I expected a little package. While it was lovely and impressive I have to ask if it is truly necessary. I doubt I will use the bag again, and all of the separate bottle packaging save the polish remover was very large plastic boxes with plastic inserts to hold the bottles. Not very "green" and I felt kind of gross throwing all that plastic out. See pics below.

Okay now that has been said let's move on. The Zoya Color Lock system is a nice little set. It is numbered to let you know when to use each product, and comes with a nice placard with directions, and nice artwork. It's easy to understand and the directions are simple. Use the Remove+ to remove polish and clean and prep the nail, choose one of two offered base coats (Anchor or the ridge filler Get Even), use two layers of nail polish in your choice of color (not included), then use the Armor topcoat. Then use one drop drying solution per nail for quick 5 minute drying. A small bottle of Renew polish reviver is included for refreshing clumpy old polish.

Let's start with the Zoya Remove+ 3 in 1 polish remover. This is a low acetone formula. It is designed to remove Zoya polish. It doesn't remove glitters as easily as pure acetone, of course. But Remove+ is also meant to clean the nail and prepare it. And my nails felt FAR cleaner after using Remove+, and my skin did not need lotion like after using plain acetone. What I ended up doing after I used half the bottle was mix it half and half with acetone. This left a nice clean nail and no whiteness on nail or skin. After using it over a series of days, I grew more and more impressed with this. It was far easier to remove polishes than I had hoped, even glitters. It had a great herbal smell, and it left my nails feeling great! The only drawback I see for me is the price, when I factor in how much polish I remove. For a non-blogger, a large bottle should last you a long time and be very worth it. I really liked this product a lot. If I could afford to use it all the time believe me I would! This product gets an A from me. I bought a big bottle of this and love the crap out of it. I hope I can always afford this incredible polish remover. IMO, it's a must buy.

My plan: use the Zoya Color Lock System on both hands for three full days and review with pictures the condition of my hands and nails every day.

Day One: I applied one coat Zoya Anchor basecoat, two coats Zoya Jo, and one coat Zoya Armor. I did not use drying drops, I don't like them and planned to test them separately. Initial thoughts - Zoya Armor feels like a plastic protective coating. It seems to hug the nail, which I don't really love. It flows around the ridges and bumps and imperfections, rather than filling them in. So the feeling is not much like the glasslike feeling of Seche Vite, though it does feel slick. Slick and bumpy. The shine is very nice, but once again is not a glasslike shine because of the imperfection of the surface. But my nails DO feel very protected. Another unfortunate problem - lots of little bubbles. I know Scrangie had this problem too, and lessened the bubbles, here.
My Nails on Day One:

Day Two: Tiny bit of tip wear on one nail. Forgot to photograph.

Day Three: Absolutely the same. Part of the Color Lock System is you should use the topcoat "Armor" every two days. I think this strategy is going to give you the advertised results, VERY long polish longevity. My nails on day three looked exactly the same on Day Three as Day Two, in fact I can't tell the difference between Day Three and Day One. Unfortunately I failed to photograph them. I have no idea why. I'm a doofus? I wanted to do this again, but you know, I keep forgetting and I'd rather get a partial review up than wait longer. Take my word for it there was very little wear. The set does what it claims.

So is it a good buy? Yes. Just know you'll have perhaps some bubbling, maybe you can work out a technique that minimizes or eradicates this. You'll also get that plastic coated feeling, but you might not even mind it at all, it's a subjectuive thing you may not even notice, and may be completely acceptable for the polish longevity you will recieve in return.

The other two products, the Hurry Up 5 Minute Drying Drops and Renew are easy to make a decision on. I hate drying drops. i don't think they work. These are like every other drying drops I have ever used. If you like drying drops, these will make you quite happy. The Renew does the job just fine, but I only got to use four drops. Reason: The entire bottle sublimated out right through the too-small dropper cap, which was badly seated. The four drops I used seem to do the job. The only solution to this I can see, is with both products, leave the dropper caps off and only use them when you need them, leave the regular caps they come with on. Annoying and messy solution? Yes, but necessary.

So I hope I answered your questions. I DO think this set is worth the money, and you will at very least be pleased with the longevity it gives your polish. It's designed to help you keep better looking nails monger, and it keeps that promise.

O! A Daily OPI! - OPI DS Ruby

2009-10-28T21:35:00.000-07:00

OPI DS Ruby is a nice medium red with a smattering of holo glitter.

OPI DS Ruby:

O! A Daily OPI! - OPI DS Treasure

2009-10-27T20:46:00.000-07:00

It's orange.

OPI DS Treasure:

O! A Daily OPI! - OPI DS Chiffon

2009-10-26T21:48:00.000-07:00

OPI DS Chiffon is okay, but not a big fave.

OPI DS Chiffon:

Some More Halloween Cheap Crap from WalMart

2009-10-25T21:20:00.000-07:00

Yes, it was time to buy cat litter again! And I was confronted with a few really nice glue on nails at WalMart for $2. These were well made, thin and good sizes. 24 to a box, very nice medium length. They are glue on and come with glue, but I only stuck them on with temporary adhesive to photograph. The coloring is well done, glossy and won't come off. I really hate to shill anything offered at WalMart, but they're so cheap. Now excuse me as I go hang my head in shame.

O! A Daily OPI! - OPI DS Divine

2009-10-25T21:18:00.000-07:00

And it is.

OPI DS Divine:

Color Club Wonderland Mini Polish Set

2009-10-24T22:06:00.000-07:00

Another terrifically inexpensive set of mini polishes from Color Club. Christmas themed, they are three glitters and a topcoat. A silver glitter in clear polish, a silver glitter in cranberry red, and a nice silver glitter in foresty green. All have a nice amount of glitter and applied nicely. These are two coats, no topcoat. I think this is an excellent holiday set, in great colors, and you can't beat the price. I'll get a lot of use out of these!

Color Club Wonderland:

Color Club Under the Mistletoe:

Color Club Yule Love It:

O! A Daily OPI! - OPI Blue My Mind

2009-10-24T22:03:00.000-07:00

OPI Blue My Mind is a very nice shade, refreshingly lighter than the usual navy blue shimmer.

OPI Blue My Mind:

Color Club Dark Romance Matte Collection

2009-10-23T12:47:00.000-07:00

Frankly I hate these. There are three polishes in this set of mini bottles, a black, a white, and a silver shimmer, and you are also given a matte topcoat. The black and white are not really matte, they are kinda just dullish, like old car paint. They never get totally matte. The matte topcoat produces much the same effect, a kind of half shiny half dull look. In my opinion the silver is the only one worth anything, it's kind of neat. But using say, Essie's matte topcoat over a silver polish will do the same thing. But I don't know of any silvers quite the same as this one, though I am sure one exists. The set is so cheap it may be worth it just for the silver if you like it.

Color Club Dark Romance Matte

Color Club Alabaster Matte

Color Club Smoke and Mirrors Matte

O! A Daily OPI! - OPI Black Cherry Chutney

2009-10-23T12:26:00.000-07:00

OPI Black Cherry Chutney is so perfectly named. It's so very, very black cherry, with a great little shimmer. A fave.

OPI Black Cherry Chutney:

FINALLY!!! OPI Suede Collection!!!!!

2009-10-22T16:22:00.000-07:00

I was pretty scathing in my review of the OPI Matte Collection. I wondered aloud if OPI made the Suedes because they immediately realized how crappy their Mattes were next to other companies like Nubar and Zoya, and those brands' magnificent semi-matte velvety finishes. It appears I was right, because OPI completely redeemed themselves with Suede. Everything that was wrong with Matte is right with Suede. OPI, come back, all is forgiven!!!

They did as I tried to do with the Mattes, they raised the darker colors several shades so you could SEE them, and added a massive quantity of metallic powder to them so they would have some depth, shine and texture. These are about the texture of soft whipped butter. They spread well, and dry quickly. When they dry they look like your fingernails were professionally powder-coat painted. It's such an easy way to get manicured-looking nails within minutes. I would say try to get these in one coat, and not apply two, they can tend to ripple and clump if you use too much polish. I applied these over wet and dry base coat, had no shrinkage or rippling problems with either, they dried quickly and no matte finish was lost.

For those who hate and fear matte polish, I would reconsider. These are not flat. These are like velvet - they have a glow, or like the back side of satin. They have both texture and a mixture of matte and shine. As I said about Zoya's MatteVelvets, these look like velvet made with satin, they have a soft matte but glowing textured layer over a base of shine. They really do look a lot like suede, but if the lowest layer of the suede was shiny. These are terrific. I would have preferred a red instead of two reddish purples, and a green instead of two blues, but otherwise I am over the moon about these polishes.

OPI Lincoln Park After Dark Suede, a much needed color lightening, and doing so made it such a gorgeous color!

OPI Suzi Skis in the Pyrenees Suede is OPI's version of Zoya Loredana, or ManGlaze Fuggen Ugly. It's more the color of Fuggen Ugly, but the texture of Loredana. Needless to say I love it!

OPI Russian Navy Suede does lose a little bit in translation, but it's still pretty. It loses the characteristic purple shimmer, so it could have been tossed for a gorgeous dark green, imagine how great it would have been if they had lightened Here Today, Aragon Tomorrow like they did Lincoln Park and made it Suede!?

OPI You Don't Know Jacques Suede is SO much better Suede than Matte. A boring taupeish brown becomes a sleek sophisticated brown. A real standout.

OPI Ink Suede is more successfully interpreted that Russian Navy. Love it! Somehow manages to keep the purple quality!

OPI We'll Always Have Paris Suede, pretty but this coulda been lost for a red or a vampy burgundy.

Well took me a while, but worth the wait, saved a lot by buying these online. I seriously adore them!!

O! A Daily OPI! - OPI DS Original

2009-10-22T15:57:00.000-07:00

Silvery purple semi-holo, with all the great ease of application and finished look those wonderful DS polishes have.

OPI DS Original:

Color Club Master of Disguise Halloween Themed Mini Nail Polish Set

2009-10-21T22:32:00.000-07:00

You know I'm behind minis all the way, especially for Polish Monkeys with tons of polish. There's always a new polish being released somewhere, so why not try a bunch of them as inexpensively as possible? Especially when dealing with themed polishes, such as Halloween sets. I like this set just fine. Only $5.95 at Victoria Nail Supply, that's cheaper than one bottle of OPI bought in a brick and mortar store.

This set gives your obligatory white and black, but the orange is so much more fun than the creme oranges, and they add in a great blue shimmer.

Color Club Master of Disguise, your standard glossy black. Formula just fine.

Color Club Ghost of Chance. Hmm is this Chance's Ghost, or did they leave out the "a"? Anyway this one was gluey and hard to deal with.

Color Club Abracadabra is a great orange jelly with big ol' gold glitter, so much funner than a creme! So much more holiday oriented! Love this one!

Color Club TaBoo! is very much like OPI Ink, which I featured today, except it is lighter and much more cobalt than Ink's navy blue. It has the same great deep purple shimmer, again, like Ink, my camera was unable to capture it. A great alternative polish to throw in this set, and very lovely.

The funny thing about this set is it lists the four colors as TaBoo! Abracadabra, Ghost of Chance and "Witchy Woman" not Master of Disguise. I am ASSuming it's just a mistake, and perhaps they decided not to name the black Witchy Woman, but Master of Disguise.

O! A Daily OPI! - OPI Ink

2009-10-21T22:18:00.000-07:00

OPI Ink truly looks just like ink. The deep purple shimmer in it even looks like that purple "oil slick" effect on top of a spilled drop of ink. Really stupendous polish. Too bad I cannot get the purple shimmer to show up, just the blue. I hear it's very hard to photograph.

OPI Ink:

Revlon Runway Collection Glue On Nails Review

2009-10-20T21:53:00.000-07:00

Janet at Revlon very kindly asked me if I wanted to try Revlon's Fantasy Length Lashes, which I jumped at and will review as soon as I get an eyebrow wax. (Nothing worse on my face than grown out eyebrows!!) Anyway she kindly also sent two packs of Revlon's Runway Collection Nails.

The nails come 24 to a pack in assorted sizes, with a little nail file, good sized bottle of glue, and the most adorable little white orange stick. The two I was sent were Mystic, a complicated french manicure nail, some of which have little jewels on the tip, and Sequin, which is basic french manicure with a silver mesh overlay tip.

Let's talk about the positives of these nails first. They are very well made. I did not have to shape even one nail to fit my fingers! They are wafer thin, yet extremely strong. They glue on easily, and stay attached very well. I've had one on four days now without the slightest movement or lifting. They are an extremely natural looking color, and the french nail design on the tip is very well applied, it is not wearing off, and is impervious to acetone. The nail stays glossy even after application of acetone, also. Though whisper thin, these nails are tough. They are obviously quality, and long lasting.

The main negative I found about these nails are the things that make them a positive! The super thinness lets you see air bubbles from glue or adhesive (see above) and it also can make the nail have stress marks on some nails (see below thumb). The color is so lovely on these I don't know if they could make it more opaque. It may be you can glue better than I can. Or the bubbles may not be all that noticeable in everyday use. I don't know. But the stress marks are noticeable, unfortunately.

The other negative leads to discussion of the stress/stretch marks : The nails are small. Even this medium length was rather short, in fact my own natural pinky nail extended beyond the glue-on nail and it is not very long right now. To put a larger nail on my pinky would have meant major work reducing a larger nail, and even the larger nails were not very long. It may be buying a longer nail would be enough to fix this. The thumb nail was a very good size, almost too big. I was very surprised at the little stretch marks it made when I glued it on. The next nail up for thumb was HUGE.

Anyway with a little work on size and some extreme attention to nail gluing, these will last a very long time and look very attractive and polished.

O! A Daily OPI! - OPI Firecracker Red

2009-10-20T21:50:00.000-07:00

This came in a min-set for 4th of July. I really get the feeling sometimes they just rename polishes to put in these holiday theme sets, like the white currently in their Tattoo Ta-Boo set. I wonder what red this REALLY is.

OPI Firecracker Red:

Color Club Japan Only?? Glitters!

2009-10-19T13:22:00.000-07:00

I dunno anything about these glitters. I think they are a Japanese exclusive. They aren't even on Color Club's site, and frankly I am too lazy to email and ask them. Imagine that, being too lazy to email.

They have varying amounts of that beautiful, soft opalescent glitter I really love, and are pretty shades. The major drawback I found was these are MAJORLY gloppy. They're like spreading jelly with a nail polish brush. One of these took about THIRTY drops of polish thinner before I could even apply it. Maybe I got bad bottles. But these were a nightmare. A pretty, shiny, glittery nightmare. They're all sheer bases, with the darkest being the least sheer. All of these are three to FOUR coats, no topcoat. They dried pretty fast, though.

From lightest to darkest:

Color Club Limited Edition Pink Glitter. This is basically just glitter in a base so lightly tinted it makes no difference. The thing it's here for is the glitter. Tons of opalescent glitter. This was the thickest of the polishes.

Color Club Sakura Glow has the least amount of glitter, and only a small wash of pink. Would be nice as a layering glitter.

Color Club Strawberry Sharbet. Yes I know it's sherbEt, it's not my error. Slightly more glitter than Sakura Glow, and a bit more color to the jelly.

Color Club Strawberry Candle is the darkest of the pinks and it's a keeper, in my opinion.

Color Club Too Violet. It has the most opacity, and I think it's very pretty!

Not sure this collection is a must have. I really like the two darkest ones, though. I found these at Victoria Nail Supply.

O! A Daily OPI! - OPI DS Reflection

2009-10-19T13:20:00.000-07:00

I dunno. I forgot I even had this polish. I need to redo this picture. It looks good so why don't I remember it?

OPI DS Reflection:

O! A Daily OPI! - OPI DS Passion and OPI Done Out in Deco

2009-10-18T14:46:00.000-07:00

Skipped yesterday so yay! Another two-fer! I really like these two. Deco is maybe a dupe for Zoya Malia? Haven't tested them next to each other.

OPI DS Passion:

OPI Done Out In Deco:

O! A Daily OPI! - OPI DS Dazzle

2009-10-16T21:03:00.001-07:00

Oh hell yes!

OPI DS Dazzle:

O! A Daily OPI! - OPI DS Fantasy

2009-10-15T20:20:00.001-07:00

Another mega-fave we need more of - a DARK holo.

OPI DS Fantasy:

Color Club Wild At Heart Fall 2009 Collection

2009-10-14T17:30:00.000-07:00

FINALLY I have these. I am in love with this set. It's got great vibrant colors, a healthy helping of holographic glitter, and only one boring color. Even the boring color has glitter! The formula is good, Color Club formula is nice and manageable for the most part, though frosts are almost always streaky and the ones in this set are pretty much no exception.

Onto the colors!

Color Club With Abandon is a strangely named black jelly with large grain brown shimmer. It manages to be dark but STILL be brown!! Would OPI please take notice?? Easy to apply since it's a jelly, needs two or more coats. I woulda named this one Do It In the Dirt.

Color Club On the Wild Side... ah here's that aforementioned streaky frost. What a waste of a gorgeous shade. Pure frosts like this look so old-fashioned and messy. But what a color!

Color Club Wild at Heart, well, I don't think I have ever taken a better picture. It applies like a dream, and looks like it was sprayed on by a professional. Trust me, this one will look just as good on you. It's not a holographic, but it has enough holo glitter to pack a very nice punch and to look sleek and shiny. And what a great, deep purple.

Color Club Love 'em Leave 'em, huh? I woulda named this Renegade Attorney, or Slightly Naughty Secretary. It's BEIGE. This needed to be canned and replaced by a rich ruby red with holographic glitter. they could have filled a large need in the polish world but gave us something you could probably get away with at work, but frankly is too boring for anywhere else, despite the nice holo glitter.

Rule Breaker is a gorgeous teal frost but it has so much shimmer added as well that it applies a bit better than On the Wild Side. Beautiful color, just I think it'd be best worn without color coordinating your clothes with it.

Color Club Wild and Willing is not done justice by my picture. It's a slightly sheer golden brown jelly with very vibrant shimmer. It reflects tons of light. it also has a small shot of gorgeous rose/green duochrome. Just fabulous.

So why am I so interested in the names? Who knows. I know no one cares about the names. They just made me go WTF this time. Heh.

O! A Daily OPI! - OPI Copper Mountain Copper

2009-10-14T17:22:00.000-07:00

OPI Copper Mountain Copper is a kind of brick red semi-frost. It's multifunctional, could be work, could be play! You decide.

OPI Copper Mountain Copper:

Essie Cuddle With Color Fall 2009 Collection

2009-10-13T20:50:00.000-07:00

I'm a bit late with this one, but I wasn't going to buy it til it came on at internet prices and I could buy the mini set. And I'm glad because while it's more exciting than normal Essie offerings it's all been done before. I did not buy or swatch bright tights, it's just a neon orange. I'm sure the formula is fine. Buy it if you like neon oranges. As I said I bought the mini set, plus one full size bottle, Chinchilly.

Essie Pink Parka. Neon pink. It's got more blue to the pink than their summer offering, Punchy Pink, and I adore the color. It's pretty much exactly the base color of Color Club's summer offering Electro candy, but without the blue shimmer. I do like it but a mini will be quite enough. Sometimes neon pinks can get a bit orangey, and this one absolutely is not orangey.

Essie Chinchilly. A grey with a healthy helping of taupe. Would have preferred a straight grey, this reminds me of dirty filing cabinets.

Essie Midnight Cami is another midnight navy blue with a slight shimmer. It has a nice cobalt tone, if it's been a few shades lighter it woulda been to die for, but as is it's just yet another almost black.

Essie Angora Cardi, a simple creme, kinda a bit redder/purplier than raisin.

Essie Mink Muffs is a cool-tone brown. Nice for work.

The formula is standard decent Essie, the colors add some needed variety to Essie's line, but are kinda unremarkable. I think it'd be a nice work set, barring the neons.

O! A Daily OPI! - OPI I'd Like to Thank and also a Note on My Nails

2009-10-13T20:37:00.000-07:00

OPI I'd Like to Thank is a somewhat sheer frosty light brown with a bit of rose/green duochrome.

OPI I'd Like to Thank

Also, just FYI While my nails get stronger and longer I'm wearing glue-ons. That's why suddenly they're all long and perfect. Got tired of broken short nails!

Orly Matte Couture Collection and a Note About Basecoats and Matte Polishes

2009-10-12T19:45:00.000-07:00

Orly made a decent stab at mattes. I'd call these an eggshell finish, rather than OPI's hideous flat finish. They manage to have a bit of depth and not look like if you scraped your finger over these it'd sound like fingers on a blackboard. That said, they're a sophomore effort and nice, but I'll reach for other mattes first. But they're decent polishes, and I am in no way horrified by them. They have a beautiful formula, not gloppy or sticky at all, and you have plenty of time to get them where you want them before you dry. they take a tad longer to dry than other mattes, but in my opinion it's well worth it.

Also I wanted to say a word about basecoats and matte polishes. I ALWAYS use base coat. not only does it improve adhesion, but it fortifies my thin nails, protects them, and - this is hugely important - smoothes out my ridges. Every picture I have ever posted of matte nail polish, and there have been many, I am wearing base coat. It in no way harms the polish's ability to give a lovely matte finish. So don't be scared to wear basecoat with mattes.

Orly Purple Velvet is my favorite, a reddish purple with a nice depth.

Orly Blue Suede is a great light navy shade which we've been lacking in mattes.

Orly Matte Vinyl is your standard black.

O! A Daily OPI! - OPI Girls Love Pink

2009-10-12T19:25:00.000-07:00

This is a sheer, VERY shimmery girly pink. It makes me feel very feminine, and I love the intense shimmer.

OPI Girls Love Pink:

Two Greens I Picked up for $1 Each!

2009-10-11T15:49:00.001-07:00

I think you might really like these two polishes I picked up this weekend.

First, I got Rimmel Camouflage, in the clearance bucket at Ulta for $1. You may want to check your store for this. It's more frosty than I like but the color and the hint of gold shimmer to this are gorgeous.

Later I was shopping at WalMart for cat litter (yes, WalMart IS evil, and I damn it to hell, but I do get cat litter there) and saw a display of Halloween makeup. For $1 they have mini bottles of polishes, black, orange, I think white, and this little gem below. It has no name or even brand, it's just in black and orange packaging in the makeup section. But wow, what a great color!!

Enjoy if you go find them!!

O! A Daily OPI! - Two Days Worth!

2009-10-11T15:45:00.000-07:00

I was busy and tired yesterday, so two OPIs today!!

OPI Standing Room Only Silver, a light silver holo:

And to keep with the sparkly theme, OPI DS Chiffon, a sort of peach/mude with holographic glitter.:

China Glaze Spellbound Halloween Set and Fortune Teller!!

2009-10-09T15:12:00.000-07:00

It's China Glaze, I don't THINK I need to tell you this stuff is incredibly cool and fun. But I will anyway. It's incredibly cool and fun.

The Spellbound set (I bought mine at Head2Toe Beauty and got them almost instantly, 4 piece set $8.97 or $2.99 each) has four polishes. White Out, which I didn't buy, I am ASSuming is a glossy white cream, and perfectly nice. The other three are:

China Glaze Liquid Leather, which I blogged about during China Glaze for days, which is a great, easy to apply black jelly that shines like patent leather:

China Glaze Ghoulish Glow is a slightly milky, slightly yellow clear topcoat. I have tried three GITD topcoats so far (will post about others later, already blogged about the Wet n' Wild one here. This one applies just fine, is a bit less yellow than others, and seems to be somewhat brighter than the others, but it fades fairly quickly. Not a bad choice if you want a glow in the dark polish.

China Glaze Spellbound is large orange glitter with medium sized silver glitter in a clear base. It's... like wearing a Las Vegas showgirl on your finger. WOW. This is four coats, it dried fairly quickly.

China Glaze Fortune Teller is sold separately, and is basically Lubu Heels but with orange glitter in the black jelly instead of red glitter. So it can't help but be fantastic, right? It's so fantastic even in the bottle, as I was in line at Sally's the woman behind me admired it then went to grab her own bottle. Now that's fantastic.

O! A Daily OPI! - OPI Deer Valley Spice

2009-10-09T15:07:00.000-07:00

Deer Valley Spice is a medium red with a lot of blue in it, and it has a small blurple shimmer. It almost looks like a creme with shimmer.

OPI Deer Valley Spice: