Sally Hansen Problem Child + Sephora by OPI Traffic Stopper Copper

Problem Child is anything but.  I am in love love love with it!  So much so that I bought two bottles.  Call me crazy, I can handle it.  Anyway, it is a deep eggplant purple shimmer with firey copper flakies that add depth and show themselves when the light is right.

In low light it looks like a deep, almost black, royal purple.

Oooh pretties!

Inspired by the copper flakies, I had to add some Sephora by OPI Traffic Stopper Copper on top.

It was very good.  I’d been looking for a copper glitter for quite some time.  This one has large hexes and fine glitter in a clear base.

 

~ Allison ~

Maybelline Cool Couture

The very first nail polish my mother allowed me to get, when I was 7 years old and begging her in the grocery store, was a bright candy pink Maybelline.  (It was lots of fun until I spilled it all over my bedroom floor.  Oopsie!)  Tangents about childhood aside, I haven’t bought any Maybellines since because they seem to stick with pinks and reds – a color range I find snooze-worthy.  Cool Couture is an exception!  This is a limited edition shade from the Express Finish line.  I find it hard to describe this chic fall color.  The best I can do is call it a dark slate grey – appearing as an almost-black teal in low light – with a fine, hidden, yet electric turquoise shimmer.  I couldn’t wait to see if that shimmer translated onto the nail!

The shimmer certainly visible in strong light.  I took the picture above in direct sunlight.

In weaker light you can see how it seems more slate grey – and that turquoise shimmer is much more subdued.

Now, the bottle proclaims this a “50 second” nail polish.  I beg to differ.  When I brushed it on a teeeeensy bit too thin it dragged horribly and started drying right away.  Then the slightly thicker coats took several minutes to dry.  A few minutes isn’t bad, but it’s not 50 seconds.  This lacquer easily migrated into my cuticles so cleanup was not too successful, as you can see.  I used 2 coats here which ended up providing good coverage.  I got a small chip on my tip after 1 day.

Methinks I will definitely hold on to Cool Couture and give it another try, because I think it’s too interesting of a color to give up.  Can you think of any dupes?  I’m at a loss…

Have you had any luck with any of the Maybelline polishes?

 

~ Allison ~

 

Random Multicolored Lacquer Swatches for You

I am so behind on my swatches.  Enjoy six quickies!

 

Milani Totally Cool

Royal purple jelly with rose gold foil.  I found this one in the K-Mart 99 cent clearance bin!  Although this polish is really pretty it’s a bit sheer.  Even with the 3 coats I used here my nail line is still peeking out – boooo.  Still, that color.

 

Milani Feisty Flames

Cutest name!  Another K-Mart 99 cent wonder.  It’s a basic tomato red creme with a jelly’s squishiness and major shine – how do they do that?  Although I don’t buy much red polish this color was fun to wear.  A great choice to coordinate with your 50’s pinup looks.

 

Rimmel Lava Red

I am a sucker for these “blackened” colors.  Although this metallic red pearl looks almost burgundy in low light, in the sun it appears lit from within!  And look how glossy.  This one is sure to make you feel vampy and seductive.

 

Rimmel Hard Metal

Dark pewter metallic frost.  The formula was creamy – a pleasure to apply.  This is 2 coats.  I appreciated the fact that even though this is a frost-leaning finish my brushmarks didn’t dry streaky and visible.  Again, pretty shiny on its own.

 

Pure Ice Spitfire

This is a mauve-pink holographic glitter in a clear base.  Naively I hoped this could be worn on its own for discoball impersonation nails, but that wasn’t happening.  Next time I will layer it over a base color, for sure.  Anyway, this baby was very holographic and reflective in the sun.  Let’s do more glitter, shall we?  We shall!

 

OPI Uh Oh Roll Down the Window + Milani Gold Jewel FX

UORDTW is from OPI’s latest collection, Touring America.  It’s a dark olive green creme that reminds me of camo.  I like the fact that OPI included some off-the-beaten-path green/beige/brown shades along with their pinks and peaches.    My bottle is so strange – it looks like the pigments got separated, but no amount of shaking will mix them up again.  I don’t think that affected the application, though.  The color looks darker in the nail than in the bottle.  Then I decided to glam up this puke green with glitter!

This is Gold from Milani’s Jewel FX collection.  Sure enough, it’s big gold hex glitter that’s pow, in your face.  Very easy nail art.

 

No more for tonight; I must eat dinner.  Thanks for viewing/reading and I’ll catch up with you soon!

 

~ Allison ~

 

 

 

Holo-Fest! Part I

We have been hit with so much rain in New York for the past couple of weeks.  So, when the sun emerged yesterday with a forecast of rays all day, I snatched up my camera and polishes and did some swatching for you.  Viola – here are the holographic nail polishes I have in my collection.

I’ll kick off this post with the Milani 3D Holographic Collection.  It has been available for awhile, but for some reason I couldn’t find these locally til a couple of months ago.  Anyway, I’m so glad I scooped up all 6 because they are gorgeous!  Unlike some holos, these went on like a dream, with no dragging or splotchiness.  I didn’t use any special basecoat – just my usual Essie Millionails.  These dry very shiny, as well – you don’t need a topcoat to get that glossy look.  On to the swatches!

HD is a bright, clear silver.

3D is a warm golden holo.

Hi-Tech is a crazy gorgeous yellow-green.  I love how there are both color particles in this one in addition to the holographic.  Since it’s such a chameleon I had a hard time capturing the color with my camera.

 

Cyberspace is a blue holo that looks baby blue or blue gray, depending on the light. This one is extra spectacular in the sun!

Digital is a cool-toned medium pink.

Hi-Res is a lilac purple with tons of holo goodness.  It’s such a stunner that I thought it deserved an extra photo.

What a rainbow!

All of these are two coats except for HD (the silver), which was not as opaque as the others, for some reason.  I’m really glad Milani dipped their toes into the holographic nail polish stream (ooh, that sounds refreshing, can I go?).  These manage to be chock-full of chunky holo particles while giving off a linear shine and drying smooth and glossy on the nail.  They also look fantastic both in low/indoor light and bright sunlight.  My absolute faves are Hi-Res (purple), Cyberspace (blue), and Hi-Tech (green).  Get your paws on these polishes for $5.99 apiece at CVS.

How do you think these compare to some of the other holographic nail polishes – OPI DS, Color Club, etc?

Watch for Part II of Holo-Fest, coming soon!

 

~ Allison ~

 

American Apparel Hunter + Sinful Colors Call You Later glitter

Hunter by American Apparel is a medium hunter green creme.  Although I’m not a fan of AA’s thin, skimpy brush, it did apply this polish evenly in two coats.  It dries to a glossy finish and tends to look almost black indoors.

I have a lot of untried Sinful Colors glitters that I’ve been itching to bust out, so I painted Call You Later on top.  It’s a clear base packed with different sizes of fine golden olive and emerald green glitter.

It works like a dream over Hunter’s dark base.  Mmm, green sparklies.

This is one coat – all that’s really needed for an application like this, because the glitter is so dense.  I loved the depth and interest it added!  Since the glitter is finely textured this wasn’t much of a problem to take off – a nice bonus since the hassle of removing glitters can deter me from wearing them.  I just used a cotton ball and my regular non-acetone Cutex nail polish remover.

Enjoy!

 

~ Allison ~