Sally Hansen - Hidden Treasure vs Gosh - Rainbow

Sally Hansen - Hidden Treasure and Gosh - Rainbow

When I first started seeing swatches of the new hot drugstore release, Sally Hansen - Hidden Treasure, I started thinking that it looked just like a little gem I got from a friend overseas. It's by a brand called "Gosh" which is sold in Europe and Canada, and not to us US girls. I have showed you a little of what Gosh - Rainbow can do, and if you like what you saw and couldn't get it, I have good news. There are dupes!

In sunlight, one coat layered over black:
Sally Hansen - Hidden Treasure (HT) on index and ring
Gosh - Rainbow (GR) on middle and pinky

In shade, one coat layered over black:
Sally Hansen - Hidden Treasure (HT) on index and ring
Gosh - Rainbow (GR) on middle and pinky

still one coat, just at an angle

still one coat, just close-up

At first looking at the bottles they look much different, don't they? HT looks like it is more white and cloudy, while GR is crystal clear. HT looks like it flashes some more pastel shades, and GR look like a prism. But on the nail... they look the same. The photo directly above makes it look like HT may have a more dense coverage, but it is just based on those two nails. I had a lot on brush when I painted my ring finger, but you can see it is not as dense on the index. It was just a fluke. To me they flash the same colors, at the same angles, and have the same intensity and density.

So if you are not in the US and can't find HT, then you can get yourself Rainbow. If you can't get Rainbow in the US, you can get Hidden Treasure (maybe. It seems as though it's hard to spot!) and if you can't get either, it looks like a new release from Nubar is a twin too: Nubar - 2010

What do you think?
HAPPY FRIDAY!
:c)
-Elaine

Spinoff: Flakies Made Matte

Hi! I can't let go of my crazy flakie manicure. So to freshen it up I added a matte topcoat to it. I just adore matte flakies. If you think flakies are cool alone, matte top coat takes it up a huge notch. It's so fascinating how even though you are taking away shine, the flakies seem to shine more. It is just wonderful. There is no glare to take away from them. Every little flake and every little detail shows and glows.

So to recap, here is what my mani looked like yesterday:


And here is what it looks like now:

It's like opalescent, crushed, stained glass. It's so cool!!

Have a great day!
-Elaine
:c)

Holy Layering!

Happy Monday! How's the start to your week? Mine isn't the best, I have to admit, but I am smiling thanks to the mani I have on!

I have a wild and awesome mani for you today. I did it over the weekend and am stunned at it's depth. It has it all: it's blurple, it's flakie and it's shining every color possible at me. Why do I need to wear anything but this? :cP

I started with a coat of Essie - Mesmerize. Then I added Nfu-Oh - #51. The sheer purple of #51 over the bold blue of Mesmerize created an electric blurple that is just perfect for this insane mani.

Then I threw on a great flakie I received from a sweet lady in Holland called "Rainbow" and it is from a line called "GOSH". I know GOSH is well known to my international readers but us fanatics in the US don't have access to it. The flakies in it are just like Nfu-Oh - #51 but the base is clear, making their "flakie-ness" shine a bit more than #51's.

Then the kicker. I added Nfu-Oh - #40 on top which I showed you over black here. #40 is one of my favorite polishes ever. Alone it isn't that exciting, but layered... oh. How it kills layered. #40 is what really makes this creation because although the flakes in #51 and Rainbow are well, rainbow, you get the different colors when you move your nails and look at them from different angles. So straight on they show mostly red and orange, but straight on #40 looks blue, green and aquamarine, so you all colors at once without twisting your hands around. It's rather intense!

Let's give a round of applause to the crew that made this possible! Woo! Mesmerize, #51, Rainbow, #40.

Also if you didn't know, fabuloustreet.com (where I get my Nfu-Oh polishes from) is having a sale this month:
All Polishes are priced at discounted prices. We are clearing our inventory on the Discontinued Paint Series (No. 133-282) They are marked 30% off. All other polishes are marked on 10-20% off. OFFER Valid from 04/01/2010 until 04/30/2010

Something to consider if you are in the market for some Nfu-Oh polishes!

What do you think? Do you rock layered looks?
:c)