Saturday, October 31, 2009

O! A Daily OPI! - OPI My Private Jet

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:
OPI My Private Jet

Essie A Sweet Time Of Year Collection

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.

Friday, October 30, 2009

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

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 Light My Sapphire

OPI DS Vintage, a nice rich copper holographic!
OPI DS Vintage

Thursday, October 29, 2009

New MAC Magic, Mirth and Mischief Holiday 2009 Nail Lacquers

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 $$$$$ Yes:
MAC $$$$$ Yes

MAC Lucky Number:
MAC Lucky Number

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

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

OPI Kris Kringle Makes Me Tingle:
OPI Kris Kringle Makes Me Tingle

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Zoya Color Lock System!

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.

PICT3690

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.
PICT3692
PICT3695

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.

PICT3694
PICT3693

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:
DSCF3239

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 longer, and it keeps that promise.

O! A Daily OPI! - OPI DS Ruby

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

OPI DS Ruby:
OPI DS Ruby

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Monday, October 26, 2009

O! A Daily OPI! - OPI DS Chiffon

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

OPI DS Chiffon:
OPI DS Chiffon

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Some More Halloween Cheap Crap from WalMart

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.

DSCF4722
fakes
DSCF4726

O! A Daily OPI! - OPI DS Divine

And it is.

OPI DS Divine:
OPI DS Divine

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Color Club Wonderland Mini Polish Set

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!
DSCF4664

Color Club Wonderland:
Color Club Wonderland

Color Club Under the Mistletoe:
Color Club Under the Mistletoe

Color Club Yule Love It:
Color Club Yule Love It

O! A Daily OPI! - OPI Blue My Mind

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

OPI Blue My Mind:
OPI Blue My Mind

Friday, October 23, 2009

Color Club Dark Romance Matte Collection

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.
DSCF4669

Color Club Dark Romance Matte
Color Club Dark Romance

Color Club Alabaster Matte
Color Club Alabaster Matte

Color Club Smoke and Mirrors Matte
Color Club Smoke and Mirrors Matte

O! A Daily OPI! - OPI Black Cherry Chutney

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:
OPI Black Cherry Chutney

Thursday, October 22, 2009

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

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 Lincoln Park After Dark Suede

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 Suzi Skis in the Pyrenees Suede

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 Russian Navy 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 You Don't Know Jacques Suede

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

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

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

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

OPI DS Original:
OPI DS Original

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Color Club Master of Disguise Halloween Themed Mini Nail Polish Set

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.
DSCF4668

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

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 Ghost of Chance

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 Abracadabra

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.
Color Club Taboo!

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

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:
OPI Ink

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Revlon Runway Collection Glue On Nails Review

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.
DSCF4644

DSCF4633

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.
DSCF4637
DSCF4645

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.

DSCF4640
Revlon Nails

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.
DSCF4649

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.