Diamond Cosmetics - $2 Polish and Not Bad At All!

Rebecca kindly sent me a metric fuckton of nail polish the other day, because she's kind and generous like that. She found Diamond Cosmetics, and decided she'd add some stuff for me onto her order. She also, dear Polish Monkeys, bought YOU a gift, which I will post about next.

Diamond has a pretty decent formula! It's more on the runny side, only one creme did I find thick (Oh, Tiff!). All had good coverage with two coats except the Glow in the Darks, which are very sheer. Some cremes could probably even be one coaters, if you put on a thick enough coat, but I prefer two coats in most circumstances to prevent sheer spots.

Diamond has some July Specials, which I will start with first. The first special is six "neons" plus a topcoat and a white, for $15.00. I do not as a rule use whites for base coats, as Diamond suggests, I find that rather than provide a bright base for colors, they wash them out. But that's just my opinion, you may like them very much that way. All these swatches are without white as a basecoat, but, as they are neons and many neons dry matte, I used a topcoat.

Diamond Froggy:


Diamond Beware:


Diamond Danger Zone:


Diamond White:


Diamond Safety Zone:


Diamond Hot Summer Pink, fuchsia pink neon with purple shimmer and an INSTANT all-time favorite of mine:


Diamond Wow, just the bottle and washed out at that, could NOT photograph this bright hot pink correctly, but it's very, very like Essie Punchy Pink:


The second July Special is the "Summer Special" - six red/pinks and two blues, and a topcoat for $12.00. These are two coats with no topcoat.

Diamond Oh, Tiff! - with which I will be doing a comparison against other Tiffany blues later:


Diamond Pink Passion:


Diamond Fiery Coral, which I say is red:


Diamond Don't Teal My Heart Away, a very nice dark teal creme:


This collection also contains Hot Summer Pink, already pictured, and a soft pink called Cotton Candy, which Rebecca kept. The next are not on "Special", but are only $2.00 each, and they are Glow In the Dark, so damn straight I love them. Sorry I did not test out the GITD ability it was daytime and I had a lot of swatchin' to do. :( This is four coats and topcoat. To make up for needing so many coats, they dried quickly!

Diamond Tangeglo:


Diamond Gloworm Green:


Diamond Blue Moonglo:


Diamond Pink Flaminglo:


I have some others, but I am gonna hold them back as I see "A Daily Diamond" daily polish review in the future. :D

Another Month of Zoyas! - Zoya Sirena

Zoya Sirena is medium pink shimmer with a bit of juicy coral thrown in. It's good for days and anytime you want a nice feminine polish acceptable for work/play/family/whatever. It has enough coral that it appears juicy and not too girly-wirly.

Zoya Sirena:

Essie Summer Collection 2009!

I must be one of the very first blogging about this! Essie's Summer Collection 2009 is a selection of pinks and corals. All cremes, and very shiny, they are fairly simple girly shades. Nice clean colors for the summer, office-wearable, and happy. No one will goggle at your nails in horror if you have these on, they will probably just be nice hand enhacers. This is not eye-popping like the Neons, this is more, I dunno, something you might wear to play tennis or out to lunch by the beach?

While I don't see these as becoming legendary or after being discontinued, setting price records on eBay, but these are nice happy go-to shades. Most are a bit translucent, and the formula ranges, like all cremes, from easy to apply to a bit clumpy. Overall they are fairly easy to apply.

There are six in the Collection. First is a medium taupe called Not Just a Pretty Face (not pictured), which is fairly average. Last is a bright deep coral with a lot of chalky undertone, called Chubby Cheeks, also not pictured.

Essie Luscious Lips is a soft light bud pink creme, like all of the Collection, very shiny!:


Essie Lovie Dovie is a medium pink creme:


Essie Funny Face is a fun one. A bright fuchsia pink, it is actually very close to a non-neon Essie Flirty Fuchsia! I like this! A great alternative if you do not like neons!:


Essie Cute As a Button is a coral creme, fairly standard.:


So if you like pinks and corals and want some pleasant summer shades, pick it up, preferably online where they are far cheaper!

More Sally Hansen Prisms!

As promised, here are more Sally Hansen Prism swatches! I get my discontinued Sally Hansens from CassieCosmetics on eBay. Quick efficient service and always what I ordered. Some prices are decent, some a bit eyebrow raising.

Anyway feast your eyes on the following!

Sally Hansen Prisms Lapis Amethyst:


Sally Hansen Prisms Fire Opal:


Sally Hansen Prisms Golden Cinnabar:


Sally Hansen Prisms Bronze Ruby:


Sally Hansen Prisms Scarlet Ruby:


Sally Hansen Prisms Coral Amber: