New Brand Alert: Confetti

I am always on the lookout for new polishes or interesting nail products when I am out and about. I always looking out for you guys! I was very pleased to stumble upon and display in CVS of a new brand: Confetti. Overall the whole line looked a bit boring (I mean "safe") but they did throw in some interesting shades for us junkies, including a green! And they retail for just $1.99 a bottle! So I grabbed a couple.

Moonstruck - I showed you this one last week for my Chanel - Paradoxal dupe. It's that cool, edgy, gray-taupe-purple color we love so much! Great shade and great formula.

Centerstage - This is a bright, glowing purple. It's on the red/magenta side and shimmers flecks of blue. Great formula. Two coats.

Bombshell Blue - Awesome, shimmery, glowy, cornflower blue. Very eye-catching. This is my favorite type of blue polish color. My only complaint is that the formula is thin and needed 3 coats.

My Favorite Martian - The star of the show! This is a very shimmery, olive green. This also needs 3 coats like Blue Bombshell and the brush was a little wonky. It reminded me of Sinful Colors - Show Me The Way so I did a comparison:

They are actually pretty different. The similarities are shimmery olive, needs three coats, and $1.99 price tag. But on the nail they are obviously different. My Favorite Martian builds to a more saturated color and is more green while Show Me The Way is more yellow. Show me the way has a great glass-fleck that is lost in this picture in the bright sun.

What do you think?
:c)
Have a great Friday!!

Chanel - Paradoxal....ish

Have you all been nervously pacing wondering if it is a good idea to drop $23 for the new Fall shade from Chanel: Paradoxal? A lot of us are. It is beautiful, but.... $23? It's a hard pill to swallow. I can't help thinking there has to be a way to get the gray-taupe-purple shade with the violet shimmer look for less either by frankening (mixing different polishes together) or layering.

Then I had a polish revalation. A "lacqualation", if you will. I picked up a polish from CVS last week from a new line called "Confetti". The shade is called "Moonstruck" and it is that hard to peg taupey, grayish, purple, just like Paradoxal. Next I had to get some purple shimmer in there. I recently acquired a cool, gleaming violet shimmer in a clear base. It's Orly - Love Each Other. Then I threw that on top.

Looking at my creation I am sure it is probably a lot lighter than Paradoxal, but that is okay. I love this!

What do you think? Are you getting Paradoxal? Or are you looking for a cheaper option to get the look?
:cD
-Elaine

Vintage Vixen Swatches - "Hotsy Totsy"

Hello Everybody! I have a very exciting post today: One half of the China Glaze Fall Collection, Vintage Vixen. I have been very excited to see these shades for myself and they do not disappoint. The only way they disappoint me is that they make me wish it was fall!

Vintage Vixen is a collection of 12 foxy, vintage shades and I am showing you them in two parts. Today is going to be the first 6-piece set: Hotsy Totsy. Tomorrow I will show you my swatches of other set.

Okay, ready? >>>

Jitterbug - This is a steel colored, mega shimmer with a sort of foil finish. It's part foily metallic, and part shimmer. Very flashy and hott. This is 2 coats.

Swing Baby - Same concept as Jitterbug but this is a champagne colored shimmery foil shade. This appears to have several different colored particles in it to give it the overall shade it is. It is hard to peg as "cool", "warm" or "neutral". This is on the thinner side than Jitterbug though. I needed three coats.

Bogie - This is a eggplant purple shade with silver shimmer. WOW. I really like this one. I wish it was fall so I could wear it! It doesn't feel like a summer color.

Hey Doll - This is a mauvy, rose with shimmer. Not a color I would normally go for, but it is still pretty.

Ingrid - Ah, the beloved taupe nail polish. Do we have lots of them? Sure, but this one is special thanks to the caramel colored shimmer.

Foxy - A very unexpected surprise. This is a very brown, red shimmer. On coat 1 it looks mostly like a red shimmer (boring), but by the second coat it has a more noticeable brown color to it (awesome). This is another one that is making me wish it was fall.

How pretty are these? I would have normally thought tomorrow's set would be way better thanks to the bold colors like blue and green, but this set is fantastic! There is lots to enjoy here. The formula of these are a bit thin and runny, but very pigmented allowing for two coats on all except for Swing Baby. Hey Doll may need 3 coats but by doing a thicker second coat I was able to get away with just two.

Stay tuned for Part II!!

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.

Urban Decay - Summer of Love Nail Polish Swatches

Happy Monday all! Are you all lagging from the sugar and overindulgence of Easter feasts and Cadbury Eggs? I know I am!

But regardless, I have a new post for you today and I think it is a pretty great one. I have swatches of the newest nail polish release from Urban Decay: The Summer of Love Nail Kit, part of the Summer of Love collection of make-up and beauty products influenced by the rebellious 1960s.

The collection is 7 shades in mini, 5ml (0.17 fl oz) bottles in a little zip pouch, just like the Apocalyptic Nail Kit that released in the fall.

The pouch has "Summer of Love" on the front and "Psychedelic Sister" forward and backward on the back with that cool, trippy font. I wish I had that font to write this post with.

Shine On - This is a metallic, shimmery taupe. I know taupe doesn't normally sound exciting but Urban Decay knows how to make it exciting. Plus I think it is so fitting for this collection. This is 2 coats.

Woodstock - This is a neon pink creme and as always, please remember that neons are not the best photo subjects. Although this swatch does look pretty bright. Please excuse that bit of debris on my ring finger. That was my fault, not the polish's! This does dry on the matte side as most neons do, but in atypical neon fashion, this is not thin and watery. It has a very pigmented formula and is perfect in two coats. Hmm! That is interesting! This is 2 coats.

Love Light - This is a shimmery, sheer peach. I know most LL readers are not fans of shades like this, but that doesn't mean people don't like them. There are folks who would say this is right up their alley. I know my sister would love this. I actually felt great about it once I got in on for this swatch. I would normally never want to rock something that would show my tips underneath, but I really like this look! *feels forehead* Maybe because it is soooo shimmery it hides my yellow nails well and looks really interesting? I don't know, but I like it. And if you don't like it alone, you can rock it layered over some of the other shades in this kit. Observe:

Shine On + Love Light

Woodstock + Love Light

Hashbury - Very cleverly named after "Haight and Ashbury" but made into one word. This is a very vibrant, red-purple with flashy shimmer. At first when I got this kit I thought that this shade would be dupable but it definitely is not. At least not with anything in my stash. This is unique to my collection for sure. It is firery and beautiful and who doesn't love purple? This is 2 coats.

Magic Bus - I love this shade! I know I am biased as an orange lover, but it is so great to see an orange release. We don't get many of them. It is similar to L'Oreal - Sizzling Tangerine so it's not unique, but I think it is awesome and so fitting to the premise of this collection. This swatch is two coats.

Aquarius - I am sure this is going to be the fave of this collection. And everytime I think about it I start singing in my head: "This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius, age of Aquariu-us!" It never fails. This is a glowing Caribbean blue/shimmering teal/aqua just gorgeous shade of blue-green that is scene stealing! I don't find it terribly unique. I don't have exact dupes but it is reminiscent of Rimmel - Green with Envy and Wet n Wild - Caribbean Frost. This swatch is three coats.

Psychedelic Sister - Urban decay describes this shade as "bright coral" which is a fine description but I actually find it to be more red than coral. And I don't find it bright, actually. I think that is what I like about it. It is a faded red. It reminds me of an old, faded bandanna. So although "red creme" sounds boring, this one is unique. It almost got worn today but the BF picked out a blue for me instead! Oh, and this swatch is 2 coats.

Formula-wise this collection was pretty consistent at being awesome. Most were 2 coats and the all glide on effortlessly. The only one that broke that mold was Aquarius. I found it to be on the thin side and had to give it 3 coats, but I am sure people will love the shade enough to look past that flaw.

I feel people may be thinking these shades are not drool-worthy enough but I have fallen for it for a couple reasons: 1) The "Summer of Love" premise gets me and I find that the shades really capture a retro, hippie feel. Was I around in the 60s to confirm this? No, but I still feel it! 2) I like the collection all together rather than looking at each shade individually. Maybe it is a bit of a collector vibe I am feeling because it is Urban Decay? After I got myself their Book of Shadows II in the fall I swore I would get any and all books they released like that and so when the Alice in Wonderland palette came out I jumped on that too. And since I got the Apocalyptic Nail Kit (the day it came out, mind you) I like that I have this one to go with it and will probably treat any future nail polish releases from Urban Decay the same. It's just that Urban Decay love that I know is felt by many make-up junkies. What is it about these guys?! They really know how to make their fans fall in love with them.

So overall this set gets the thumbs up from me and I especially love Psychedelic Sister, Aquarius, Hashbury and Love Light. I really want to wear Psychedelic Sister with Love Light over it!

The Summer of Love Nail Kit is available now and retails for $28. It is only available as the set, not individual shades. Shop here. And while you are at it, don't forget the Apocalyptic Nail Kit has been reduced to $18.

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.

New Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Swatches

Remember how I said Sally Hansen came out with new polishes and I had some to share? Well today is the day I am sharing! It's the new line that has been popping up: Complete Salon Manicure. First off, I love the bottles. They are 0.5 oz but they feel much bigger. They are huge and have a lot of glass making them pretty heavy. They are awesome! The base of the bottles are square, but going up in gets round. And there is a band of rubber on the top for ease of opening and holding while painting. Genius!

Yellow Kitty - Awww! Isn't this adorable!? That is exactly what I think when I look at this. This is a pale yellow cream. Not as bold and creamy as say BB Couture - Little Deuce Coupe, and not as jelly as Rescue Beauty Lounge - Squarepants. It's right in between. This went on pretty well for a yellow, but I did 3 coats still to make sure it was even. Do you think the name is a play on "Hello Kitty"? I wonder...

Thinking Of Blue - I love this color... SO MUCH! I had it on Friday and while at the dermatologist in the waiting room, I heard one of the ladies at the front desk say to the other "her nails are gorgeous". Aw! Awesome! This is a dark blue creme, but it isn't navy. It has a drop of purple, but I wouldn't call it blurple. I think it's indigo. Yup. That is what I am going with. I hear this is similar or maybe identical to Sephora by OPI - Blue Grotto, but I don't have it to compare. Sorry! This swatch is 2 coats.

Commander in Chic - Hottness. This is in that mushroom, brown-taupe catergory, and I can't believe it, but I think this is my first like this. Except maybe OPI - You Don't Know Jaques Matte. But that is matte. I don't have a regular creme like this. This swatch is three coats, but I did very, very thin coats. You could probably do two.

Gray by Gray - This name kills me! Does this look gray to you? NO! It is blue. A gray-ISH slate, blue. But it's very pretty regardless. It is reminding me of the new Spring release from RBL, 360. We'll have to see how they match up someday. This swatch is 2 coats.

Plum Luck - This is a plum creme. I don't have much more to say than that! Plum. Pretty. 3 coats.

Lavender Cloud - This looks white, I know. It is. Ha Ha! It has the ittiest, bittiest bit of lavender. It's like if you took one big fluffy cloud and added one drop of purple to it for the whole cloud. You can hardly tell. I made a comparison swatch next to a real white so that you can see it isn't pure white:

Lavender Cloud on the left and OPI - Alpine Snow on the right.

And I scanned the brochure I picked up at the drugstore so you can see what new colors there are:

PS - These have the same tapered brush as Sally Hansen - Insta-Dri polishes with the big, flat wand:
Have a lovely and relaxing Sunday!

Nubar Prisms Swatches and Review

This post has been moved to HERE. Sorry and thank you for reading and your comments!

-Elaine