Yeah, I highly recommend this, though I did get it in a swap because the lovely lady I traded with said she didn't care for it with her skin tone. I'm pale and cool-toned so if that describes you or you just can't get enough green...pick it up.
6/27/10
Oh wow I love this.
Yeah, I highly recommend this, though I did get it in a swap because the lovely lady I traded with said she didn't care for it with her skin tone. I'm pale and cool-toned so if that describes you or you just can't get enough green...pick it up.
6/24/10
Nina
Hello there, sorry it's been a while. As promised I haven't been buying much nail polish lately but I've been having a great time rummaging through my collection. I've also completed a few swaps that were a lot of fun...recently I was able to send someone a number of surprise extras that were on her wish list, and I love doing that.
Anyway, I did make an exception to my no-buy the other day...though I have to say, it's not so much a strict no-buy as it is a not-really-feeling-anything phase. I do really want some of the new Essie colors but not badly enough to run out and pay $8 each for them. But in any event I received an email from Sally Beauty informing me that I only needed to spend $2 to receive my 15% off bonus coupon for July, so naturally I made a point of stopping by on my lunch break this week. Now to be honest with you I had other, hair-related purchases in mind, but as always I perused the polish selection. I found this screamingly neon Nina that's blowing my mind:
YOWZA. These pictures are disappointing because you can't see just how BRIGHT the polish is, or the amazeballs GREEN SHIMMER in it, but it's all there. Dries matte like a true neon, so I used Seche Vite to give it shine. If you're familiar with the China Glaze Poolside collection (I don't own any of them because China Glaze doesn't seem to work well for me), it's very similar in color to Flip Flop Fantasy.
Different lighting.
I can't wait to wear this as a pedicure, honestly.
Previously I was wearing another Nina, Tutti Frutti from the Hard Candies collection.
Bright pink jelly with silver flecks. Not quite 100% opaque, but I didn't have any problems with a visible nail line.
I really love Nina polishes and I hope they keep coming out with new colors and collections. For less than $4 I'm happy to experiment.
Anyway, I did make an exception to my no-buy the other day...though I have to say, it's not so much a strict no-buy as it is a not-really-feeling-anything phase. I do really want some of the new Essie colors but not badly enough to run out and pay $8 each for them. But in any event I received an email from Sally Beauty informing me that I only needed to spend $2 to receive my 15% off bonus coupon for July, so naturally I made a point of stopping by on my lunch break this week. Now to be honest with you I had other, hair-related purchases in mind, but as always I perused the polish selection. I found this screamingly neon Nina that's blowing my mind:
YOWZA. These pictures are disappointing because you can't see just how BRIGHT the polish is, or the amazeballs GREEN SHIMMER in it, but it's all there. Dries matte like a true neon, so I used Seche Vite to give it shine. If you're familiar with the China Glaze Poolside collection (I don't own any of them because China Glaze doesn't seem to work well for me), it's very similar in color to Flip Flop Fantasy.
Different lighting.
I can't wait to wear this as a pedicure, honestly.
Previously I was wearing another Nina, Tutti Frutti from the Hard Candies collection.
Bright pink jelly with silver flecks. Not quite 100% opaque, but I didn't have any problems with a visible nail line.
I really love Nina polishes and I hope they keep coming out with new colors and collections. For less than $4 I'm happy to experiment.
6/13/10
Illamasqua-rama
A while ago I used a discount code to purchase several Illamasqua nail varnishes. I already owned Rampage and Muse and couldn't wait to try more shades. It's been a while since that order, and after trying Jan (a dusty, muted pinky taupe) and Grab (a grapey pink) I set the last two shades (Milf and Fern) aside for a while. Last week I pulled Milf out of my stash and I'm delighted to share it with you now.
Pastels, as we know, can be terribly problematic, but Milf was extremely easy to apply. The color payoff is great, too. I do have other minty greens, but Milf seems to be one of those polishes that attracts comments - it just has some quality about it that's unusual enough to remark on it.
Here are some other mint greens, for comparison (and for fun!).
Orly Mint Mojito, Essie Greenport, Essie Mint Candy Apple, Illamasqua Milf.
And on the nail:
Pastels, as we know, can be terribly problematic, but Milf was extremely easy to apply. The color payoff is great, too. I do have other minty greens, but Milf seems to be one of those polishes that attracts comments - it just has some quality about it that's unusual enough to remark on it.
Here are some other mint greens, for comparison (and for fun!).
Orly Mint Mojito, Essie Greenport, Essie Mint Candy Apple, Illamasqua Milf.
And on the nail:
6/11/10
What my nails did while I moved house
Well, I moved.
All of my polishes survived intact, but to be honest it's not as if I gave them much chance of coming into harm's way. I transported them by car and now they're safely stowed away in the bathroom closet, eagerly awaiting a Helmer. We're planning a trip to IKEA in the next couple of weeks when we have a better idea of what we really need. It's easy to get out of control in that store, so we're not going without a list, lest we end up spending $100 on INGBORSTs and YOOBLIs and whatnot.
Anyway. Moving was very bad for my nails and cuticles. Before I started the heavy-duty packing I cut my nails very short and painted them a dark vampy color, L'Oreal Boogie, which I showed you in the previous post. As I was running out of my preferred Instant Artificials base coat at the time, I reverted to my original favorite, a combo of Palladio ridge filler and Palladio Fuse bonding base coat.
I don't know if it was the Palladio products or the L'Oreal polish or the the combination of the two, but here is my L'Oreal Boogie manicure after 6 (6!!!) days of packing, taping, wrapping, cleaning, washing, etc.:
IMPRESSIVE.
Because of this little experiment I don't think I'll be replacing my Instant Artificials anytime soon. It's a good product but it seems the Palladio combination works better for me.
Anyway after I took the Boogie manicure off, things got pretty real in terms of the hands-on moving work and I could only be bothered with my nails enough to slap on a sheer, very forgiving polish every couple of days. For this type of manicure I really like OPI Bubble Bath and OPI Moon Over Mumbai. Both are sheer enough to be very easy to apply, they hold up well, disguise any staining and if they chip a little or have some tip wear it's not terribly noticeable.
One day I was so over everything having to do with moving that I went to work with NO POLISH ON MY NAILS...AIEEEEEEEEEE horror show. Holy stains.
So now that moving is behind me (I'd like to say FOREVER but realistically I realize I can't live in a duplex for the rest of my life...unfortunately), I've been able to nurse my destroyed cuticles along to where I am enjoying putting a bit of effort into my nails again. One nice thing is that because I wore so many sheer polishes for so long, my nails are far less stained than they had been. I suspect that this will be undone in fairly short order, but it was nice while it lasted.
In any event, here's what I've been up to, color-wise:
This was a really cute combo that I'm bummed didn't photograph too well. Here's a bottle picture so you can get a better idea of the blue:
I'd had the Ruby Kisses polish for a while but picked up the Savvy not long ago. It's part of a new collection of six (I think?) polishes that, at my quick glance, seem to be intended as sparkly top coats. I liked this combo a lot and received some compliments on it. I'd like to try Glass Slipper over some other colors.
I was very happy to find Orly Rage; I missed it when it first came out and thought it was gone for good. I really love this finish in a polish, and this manicure lasted several days with no visible wear. Would do business with again!
I really cannot say enough about Misa polishes. The formula is crazy nice, and for $3 you really can't beat it. This one was a joy to put on. Misa does have the craziest, most awkward names for their colors...Right Here Now, No More Later? If you say so. I guess it doesn't matter as long as the color payoff is there.
Next up I have an Illamasqua for you, as well as some newer finds. I don't think I'll be buying any new bottles for a while because I'm quite content with the many (many...many many) colors I have for the time being. After moving and coming face to face with how much STUFF a person can accumulate, I'm not feeling very acquisitive of late.
But no worries! I'm sure it's just a phase!
All of my polishes survived intact, but to be honest it's not as if I gave them much chance of coming into harm's way. I transported them by car and now they're safely stowed away in the bathroom closet, eagerly awaiting a Helmer. We're planning a trip to IKEA in the next couple of weeks when we have a better idea of what we really need. It's easy to get out of control in that store, so we're not going without a list, lest we end up spending $100 on INGBORSTs and YOOBLIs and whatnot.
Anyway. Moving was very bad for my nails and cuticles. Before I started the heavy-duty packing I cut my nails very short and painted them a dark vampy color, L'Oreal Boogie, which I showed you in the previous post. As I was running out of my preferred Instant Artificials base coat at the time, I reverted to my original favorite, a combo of Palladio ridge filler and Palladio Fuse bonding base coat.
I don't know if it was the Palladio products or the L'Oreal polish or the the combination of the two, but here is my L'Oreal Boogie manicure after 6 (6!!!) days of packing, taping, wrapping, cleaning, washing, etc.:
IMPRESSIVE.
Because of this little experiment I don't think I'll be replacing my Instant Artificials anytime soon. It's a good product but it seems the Palladio combination works better for me.
Anyway after I took the Boogie manicure off, things got pretty real in terms of the hands-on moving work and I could only be bothered with my nails enough to slap on a sheer, very forgiving polish every couple of days. For this type of manicure I really like OPI Bubble Bath and OPI Moon Over Mumbai. Both are sheer enough to be very easy to apply, they hold up well, disguise any staining and if they chip a little or have some tip wear it's not terribly noticeable.
One day I was so over everything having to do with moving that I went to work with NO POLISH ON MY NAILS...AIEEEEEEEEEE horror show. Holy stains.
So now that moving is behind me (I'd like to say FOREVER but realistically I realize I can't live in a duplex for the rest of my life...unfortunately), I've been able to nurse my destroyed cuticles along to where I am enjoying putting a bit of effort into my nails again. One nice thing is that because I wore so many sheer polishes for so long, my nails are far less stained than they had been. I suspect that this will be undone in fairly short order, but it was nice while it lasted.
In any event, here's what I've been up to, color-wise:
This was a really cute combo that I'm bummed didn't photograph too well. Here's a bottle picture so you can get a better idea of the blue:
I'd had the Ruby Kisses polish for a while but picked up the Savvy not long ago. It's part of a new collection of six (I think?) polishes that, at my quick glance, seem to be intended as sparkly top coats. I liked this combo a lot and received some compliments on it. I'd like to try Glass Slipper over some other colors.
I was very happy to find Orly Rage; I missed it when it first came out and thought it was gone for good. I really love this finish in a polish, and this manicure lasted several days with no visible wear. Would do business with again!
I really cannot say enough about Misa polishes. The formula is crazy nice, and for $3 you really can't beat it. This one was a joy to put on. Misa does have the craziest, most awkward names for their colors...Right Here Now, No More Later? If you say so. I guess it doesn't matter as long as the color payoff is there.
Next up I have an Illamasqua for you, as well as some newer finds. I don't think I'll be buying any new bottles for a while because I'm quite content with the many (many...many many) colors I have for the time being. After moving and coming face to face with how much STUFF a person can accumulate, I'm not feeling very acquisitive of late.
But no worries! I'm sure it's just a phase!
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