Nubar Spring Garden

For Spring this year Nubar has created a collection of pastels. Now, usually that is everyone's Spring collection, and usually that is disappointing because there isn't too many ways to change up pastels, but these are actually different. They all have a softness to them, mostly due to the silver, pearly shimmer in them.

Pink Lily - This is a soft pink creme that leans on the peach side. The shimmer is pretty hidden in this one, but it's contribution makes a difference.

Earthen - This is a "greige" creme, that is more on the gray side than beige side. The pearly shimmer really stands out in this one and makes it look less like mud than most greige cremes.

Baby Sprout - Super cool, soft green pastel green. It's not so much a mint... it's like a ... baby sprout, I guess. It reminds me of mint gum. This one is a bit more white and stark that some of the softer colors in this set.

Blue Hydrangea - This is a bright, baby blue with strong, pearly, silver shimmer.

White Peony - This is a super soft white creme that is soft in texture: it's sort of squishy, and it is also soft in color as it is slightly off white, or maybe a smidge yellow or ivory. It's a bit difficult to explain but it's beautiful. It also had an amazing formula for being white. Very easy to apply.

Yellow Primrose - This is a very, very soft yellow with pearl finish. It is so soft of a yellow it is almost wrong to call it yellow. It' s more like a cream shade.

Purple Aster - I love this one. This is a gorgeous shade of lavender. This is one of the ones in this set that has more shimmer than others. I looooved wearing this. It's very pretty and delicate, but interesting and not boring, but not flashy and too noticeable. Good work shade.

Honeysuckle - If you have been searching for a polish in Honeysuckle to satisfy your need of the Pantone color of the year in a polish form, here it is! It is a creme with a slight jelly finish. Very pretty and flattering.

Dewdrop (over Purple Aster) - To complement all the shades in this collection, Nubar released this iridescent glitter in a clear base.

These are available now for $49.95.

What do you think?
:c)

Disclosure: The products featured in this post were furnished to me by the manufacturer or PR company for review. For more information please visit my disclosure policy.

OPI -Texas Spring 2011

For Spring/Summer this year OPI has released a set of 12 timeless shades perfect for the warm weather months to compliment fingers and toes. This is broken down into two distinct six-piece sets. The green/blue/gray/brown shades then the pinks and purples that are all a jelly finish that OPI is dubbing "Sorbet".

Don't Mess With OPI - This is a grass green creme. Is it similar to Jade Is The New Black? It's close. JITNB is more blue toned leaning toward that tennis court green and DMWOPI is more grass green. Although it is different, I would hope that if they did a green reme, or a green at all, they would do one that was more unique. The formula of this is a dream: super smooth. I got it on in two easy coats.

Austin-tatious Turquoise - This is a shimmery teal. Very beautiful. What I love about this is the base is a cool, jungle green sheer and then it's packed with the teal shimmer. Then to take it one more level, the shimmer has a purple duochrome. This polish is more complex than just teal shimmer. What I don't love about this is the formula. This is 4 coats.

I Vant To Be A-lone Star - I vant to be alone with this. I mean.... this is a hot color. This is a gorgeous clean silver with a pearly shimmer finish. Bright, clean, flattering, shimmery and just mesmerizing. This may be my fave from the whole set.

It's Totally Fort Worth It - Is it? If it's worth it is going to be different for everyone I suppose. This is a taupe-gray sheer with flecks of pinkish shimmer. I like the idea of this but it is very sheer which is a deal breaker for me. This was four coats. If I were to wear this for a full mani I would layer it over gray creme.

San Tan-tonio - haha! I have been dying to get this just for the name! I love it! I love the color of this too. I can't really think of color I have that looks like this. And if I do I don't like them on me. I actually like this one. And the formula rocks as well. Perfection.

Suzi Loves Cowboys - Oh my. This is delicious. It makes me want to eat my hands. I feel like my nails are little drops of dark chocolate.

And now for the sorbets>>>

Ya'll Come Back Ya Hear? - This is a bright, tangerine orange jelly. Very fun and happy, but it's a jelly so it's still got some visible nail line (VNL) after 4 coats.

Big Hair Big Nails - Red/orange jelly. This is a sort-of coral shade. I want to call it something else though. Maybe... guava? I was thinking guava and it hit me that it was like a jelly version of China Glaze - High Hopes, which is described as guava. So I guess that is a good description.

Do You Think I'm Tex-y? - This is a jelly raspberry. Clean and bright and decently pigmented so less VNL than some of the others.

Houston We Have A Purple - This is honestly pretty similar to DYTIT? but darker and I guess more purple than berry. It makes me think grape slush.

Guy Meets Gal-veston - This is a bright coral jelly. I really like this one. I can't wait to put this one on my toes.

Too Hot Pink To Hold 'Em - This may be my favorite of the sorbet finishes. This is a hot pink jelly. I think it's the richest and most pigmented of the sorbets and just the most fun! I am a lover of hot, hot pinks like this though!

Overall this is a kick-ass collection. The non-sorbet polishes are gorgeous. You can't really go wrong with blue, green, gray and brown. As for the sorbets, I am pleased that although OPI gave us a whole lot of pinks and berries, they at least made them different. I love the squishy, juiciness of a good jelly. The color choices for all of these really made me think of sorbet and gelato. The only down side is that they take several coats, however that isn't anything new for jellies and when I want to wear a jelly, I deal with more than the usual two coats.

OPI - Texas is available now. Which ones are you going to get?!
:c)

Disclosure: The products featured in this post were furnished to me by the manufacturer or PR company for review. For more information please visit my disclosure policy.

Happy V-Day

I put together something really flashy and reminiscent of Valentines' Day for you today!

I started with a hot pink foil, then did a glitter gradient using a combination of different red and pink glitters. I think it came out fantastic if I do say so myself! It looks sooo much hotter and sparklier in real life. Glitter manis don't photograph too well in artificial light. You need sunlight to really show the sparkle but that wasn't available.

Here's what made it possible: Nicole by OPI - Mis-Magenta Me?, Revlon - Slipper, Color Club - Art of Seduction, Jade - Asteroid Caress, Nicole by OPI - Spark My Mistletoe.

What do you think?
Have any Valentine's Day mani plans?!
:c)

Teenage Dream - The Katy Perry Collection by OPI

OPI has teamed up with Katy Perry to create a collection of 4 glittery shades this winter. Katy Perry is a nail icon so it makes sense to collaborate with her! To complement the shades in the collection, OPI has also released a crackle top coat: whole lotta fun!

Teenage Dream - Semi sheer pink base full of large hexagon holographic glitter and pink micro glitter. This is three coats and I think it does a decent job building up. You could wear it like this, however I prefer it layered.

Not Like The Movies - My favorite of this collection! This is a steel metallic with a green/purple duochrome and little, itty-bitty silver flaky pieces in it.

Last Friday Night - Sheer blue with bright blue shimmer and iridescent hexagon pieces flashing red, blue and green. This one is definitely one to be layered. It looks pretty much identical to Sinful Colors - Hottie which I used layered for this mani.

The One That Got Away - This is a super rich, magenta berry with glass-fleck shimmer. This doesn't have quite as much sparkle as OPI - Let Me Entertain You from the Burlesque collection which I expected it to look just like, but it's beautiful in its own right.

Black Shatter - Shown over The One That Got Away - This is the best thing since sliced bread! I have been having a whole lot of fun with this one. You have to apply this over dry polish. It works best that way. If you ever used the old Cover Girl - Crackles from the 90's you'll remember they had to be applied over wet polish and they took forever to dry/crack. Black Shatter cracks quickly and gives a more uniform look. I am a big fan.

So overall, cool collection. It has everything. Holo, iridescent, duochrome, glitter, shimmer, and crackle! The Katy Perry Collection is out now!
What do you think!?
-Elaine
:c)

Disclosure: The products featured in this post were furnished to me by the manufacturer or PR company for review. For more information please visit my disclosure policy.

Nicole by OPI - Liquid Metals

For the new year Nicole has released a set of shades for some "notice me nails"! This is a collection of for foil finish, flashy colors giving the look of liquid metal on your nails.

Rich In Spirit - When I first saw this bottle I though "blue foil". But once I got it on it looked more like a silver foil tinted a bit blue. However you look at it, it's pretty.

Miss Independent - This is a cool pink foil with undertones of lilac. Very different from any other pink foil I have ever seen. I love how cool and purple it is. It could have been a girly pink but instead it is edgy and hott.

The Next CEO - This is a gold foil, which isn't really unique, but it at least is a more neutral gold thanks to the loads of silver in it instead of being real warm and yellow such as China Glaze - Midnight Kiss.

It Starts With Me - This is a peachy, warm foil. It actually, against my skin tone, made me feel like I was wearing a polish that matched my skin but was foil finish. Weird.

Liquid Metals are available this month and retail at ULTA, Walmart, Target, Sears, Harmon, HEB and Wegmans.

What do you think?!
Elaine
:c)

Disclosure: The products featured in this post were furnished to me by the manufacturer or PR company for review. For more information please visit my disclosure policy.

Nubar Finest Silks

Nubar Finest Silks is a collection of eight feminine, "work appropriate" shades. Mostly creme finishes with the exception of one shimmer.

Taffata - Brownish pink creme. When I was wearing this it made me think that this would be what it would look like if you mixed chocolate milk and strawberry milk.

Marabout - This is a dark gray-brown creme. Really interesting and stylish. It reminds me of mud which I know doesn't sound stylish but that is the kind of colors I like.

Chiffon - This is just like Marabout but lighter. Lighter mud. Nice, but I wore this right after Marabout and really didn't feel like I changed my polish.

Organza - This is a shimmery, sheer white. Not bad alone, but if you don't like sheers I'd say to layer this. This is three coats.

Moire - Light, soft tan creme with a hint of pink. Delicate and pretty.

Charmeuse - Mauve creme. Not a boring mauve; it's bright and bold. I like this. And the formula! All of these have a nice formula but this one was especially nice.

Pekin - Bright red creme. Nice, bold, smooth and sexy.

Sateen - Dark red, blood creme.

These are beautiful shades and I greatly appreciate colors like this being a working professional for when I can't wear my usual blues, greens and glitters. I really enjoy adding shades like this to my collection because I am so used to unusual shades being my norm, that these feel outrageous! But my gripe with this collection is that I feel like there are too many repeats! I like these shades for their sophistication but I don't want the same ones over and over. For example, Marabout and Chiffon really seemed like the same color to me. But anyway, they are nice and beautiful and have a fantastic formula.

Nubar Finest Silks is available now on bynubar.com and retail for $7.49 per bottle or $49.95 for the entire collection.

What do you think?
-Elaine
:c)

Disclosure: The products featured in this post were furnished to me by the manufacturer or PR company for review. For more information please visit my disclosure policy.

OPI Burlesque Shimmers (Part II)

The second part of the OPI Burlesque collection is made up of various shimmers from foily shimmers, to glass-flecked shimmers and more. Take a look >>>

Ali's Big Break - This is a bright, candy apple red with irregular shaped shimmer. This is bold and spicy and I loved wearing this.

Tease-y Does It - This is a brownish purple with a glowy shimmer. It's vampy but not so dark it doesn't have it's own color and character. I love this.

Rising Star - Bold, slightly foily, shimmery yellow gold. It looks like what you would get if you crossed Nubar - Caramello and Nubar - Oro from the Venetian Glass collection.

Take The Stage - Burnt orange, slightly foily shimmer. Also similar to the oranges in the Venetian Glass collection.

Let Me Entertain You - Glass-flecked fuchsia. Very pretty and hot! Super similar to Zoya - Allegra. Like, practically dupes. It just seemed to me like Allegra was thinner, or it just took more because it has a smaller brush than the OPI but I got LMEY on in two coats and it took 3 with Allegra.

The Show Must Go On - This is my favorite!! I may even like this one more than all the glitters! :cO This is a hot pink foil with a gold/copper duochrome shimmer. It's much like MAC - Bad Fairy, but better! They are not dupes, but they have similar properties which makes me compare them. For all the days I was wearing this all I could think is "This is so much better than Bad Fairy!" The colors differ because Bad Fairy is deeper and more cranberry and The Show Must Go On is more like a hot strawberry. The similarities are the finish and the gold/copper duochrome, but the base color is much different. They do look similar in the bottle though don't they?!>>
What do you think of Part II of Burlesque?
:c)
-Elaine

Disclosure: The products featured in this post were furnished to me by the manufacturer or PR company for review. For more information please visit my disclosure policy.