OPI Swiss Collection, Fall 2010

For Fall this year, OPI went for another one of their signature "location" collections. This time the theme is Switzerland. I would love to go to Switzerland. Do some skiing! It's on the list of places to visit. Hope I get there one day. For now I will wear these and pretend.

Glitzerland - This is a super shimmer, foil-ish finish shade that we have been seeing a lot of lately. This is a very flattering slightly yellow, warm gold. This swatch is three coats. I thought at first it might be a dupe to China Glaze - Swing Baby, but it's not:

They have the same finish, but Swing Baby is a neutral, champagne color, and Glitzerland is a yellow gold. Different enough to own both.

Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous! - Oooh! This is a foxy charcoal shimmery, foilish shade. It is so seductive! I love the deep charcoal color but it is also so sparkly! Awesome shade. This swatch is three coats.

Yodel Me On My Cell - This is a mesmerizing aqua shimmer It is definitely blue, but has the slightest smidge of green to it too. I really love this. I believe I did three coats for this swatch because a couple nails had bald spots after two.

Ski Teal We Drop - This is a dreamy smooth, medium to dark teal creme. Not much more to say but AWESOME.

I'm Suzi & I'm a Chocoholic - I thought this was going to be the shade I liked the least, and it is actually the one I like the most! Weird. I love this shade but hate the name! Chocolate is brown, not red! The first coat is more red and by the second coat it is much more brown, which I liked. It is so smooth and dreamy. I love it! The pic makes it look more red in the bright sunlight, but it was pretty brown otherwise. The pic also doesn't make it look as creamy and dreamy as it should because I smudged my topcoat.

The Color to Watch - This color I didn't have high expectations for. It was thin and needed three coats, which I expected. I did end up liking this on my nails and actually wore it, which I did not expect. It is delicate, interesting, pretty but not flashy.

Overall I am impressed with these shades. I would wear them all. Great shades for fall, which is right around the corner. I wish there were more two coaters than three coaters, but for a great color it's worth it. Plus the Pro-Wide brush helps speed up application so doing a third coat isn't so bad.

Other shades in OPI Swiss:

• Color So Hot it Berns
• Cuckoo For This Color
• Diva of Geneva
• From A to Zurich
• Just A Little Rösti At This
• William Tell Me About OPI

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.

Zoya Skittles

Here is a cute mani I did with some sparkly Zoyas I have:

This is Zoya Mimi, Gilda, Charla, Sienna and Ivanka, all 3 coats.

How was everyones' holiday?!
-Elaine
:c)

Blue Planet

Morning! Thank you all so much for all the well wishes for my Blogoversary! You all are the best!!!!

So remember when I showed you a couple of LA Splash swatches back here, and I mentioned frankening with Sparkling Ocean Spray because I wasn't a fan of the empty space between the glitter? Can you guess where I am going with this? :c)

I decided to mix it with Wet n Wild - Nocturnal which must be a great polish to franken with because it is not the first time I have mixed with it and with this post I used it all. Anyway, I am madly, wildly, crazy in love with what I created.

I am calling this "Blue Planet". That would have been the name of my Illamasqua create your own polish entry had I gotten it in on time. So if the shade Illamasqua makes isn't as cool as this, then we'll know I would have won if I wasn't a procrastinator! :cD

Check this out! This is a dark blue jelly base with teal glitter. AHH! I love this!!! The base and glitter are matchy, but not the same and that gives it so much character.

To make it I poured out a little less than half of Sparkling Ocean Spray and filled back up most of that space with Nocturnal. Pretty easy!

What do you think?!
-Elaine
:c)

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.

LA Splash Nail Splash Swatches

Happy Monday all! I was naughty and went shopping over the weekend. Check out what I found at Ulta:

LA Splash - Golden Seahorse, Sparkling Oceanspray

I love these bottles! I would never expect these to be nail polish. They look like lip-gloss, or liquid eyeshadow, or liquid liner, or mascara... anything but nail polish. Love it.


Golden Seahorse - This is a sea foam green base with soft, warm gold glitter and a few brassier colored glitter pieces. HOW FRICKIN PRETTY IS THIS?! Doesn't the closeup make you think of treasure sunken at the bottom of the ocean? Gold coins and gold nuggets sitting in the sand in the bottom of the Caribbean? It's amazing! It reminds me a lot of the incredible, un-findable, un-dupeable, green/gold glitter I received from the lovely Tuli that I showed you guys back here and here and if I totally created a unquenchable lemming from showing it to you, you can hopefully satisfy your need with this. This is fabulous! This swatch is 3 coats.

Sparkling Oceanspray - This is a medium to large grain teal glitter in a clear base. What I love about this is how shiny and glittery the particles are. It reflects a ton of light. I love the teal shade of the glitter. But I dislike that it is not full coverage. This is 4 coats and it obviously leaves plenty open spaces. I was considering adding a bit of Wet n Wild - Nocturnal to the base to make it blue. I think that would be so pretty but I haven't gotten the courage to do it yet.

I found these at Ulta and they retail for $3.99.
What do you think?
-Elaine
:c)

Diamond Cosmetics Swatches

Hello! I finally got myself some Diamond Cosmetics nail polishes! They are all awesome. I love them all. I swatched them all and will show some today and some more tomorrow. All swatches are 2 coats.

Swatches!! ---->

Seafoam Spray - This is more of a pale mint, I think, than a seafoam green. And it has a golden shimmer. Very pretty! I think maybe, possibly, I did 3 coats on this but now I can't remember!

Chainmail Charm - This is a brown-black holo. It is more brown than another popular black holo realeased this year; Color Club - Revvvolution. But Chainmail Charm is more holo. I like Revvvolution, but I have always felt like I really had to dig for the holo. It only shows up in strong sunlight or flourescent lighting. But Chainmail Charm shines even in low light. Comparison:

Revvvolution on the left and Chainmail Charm on the right.

Never So Evergreen - Cloudy fir tree green with a golden shimmer. I love this. Of course! I don't have another green like it.

Not Your "Hum Drum" Plum - Okay. Whoa. This is one of the best colors I have ever seen! It is a bold blurple cream and I swear it glows! It is so vibrant. It is more purple than in the pictures. My camera makes purples lean blue sometimes. When I look at this I hear a scream of joy in my head yelling, "BLURPLE JAM!" I love this. Must have for any purple/blurple lover.

Don't Teal My Heart Away - Teal cream. Perfect. I adore this.

Diamond Cosmetics polishes can be purchased HERE and retail for $2!!!

China Glaze OMG! Collection

Like yesterday's post, this one contains attention-taking holographic/prismatic polishes! These are from the China Glaze OMG! collection which has 12 bright colored holo polishes. I only have four to show you, though. The OMG! collection is different from the Kaleidoscopes because the holographic particles are not as gritty looking or irregularly shaped in the OMGs. They are more uniform. Also, the base colors of the OMG polishes are more bold, where the Kaleidoscopes are softer. Also, I needed 3 coats with the Kalaiedoscopes, but only 2 with the OMGs. Onto the swatches!--->

DV8 - Teal holo. Sun and shade. This is so hott! And you can still pick up some holo even in the shade.

TMI - Salmon pink holo. Sun and shade. The holo is a little less pronounced than the other ones in this post. I wish it was summer so I could put this on my toes!

LOL - Royal purple holo. Sun and shade.

2NITE - Periminkle holo. I adore the base color of this one and like, DV8, you can still pick up some holo in the shade.

So I posted my Kaleidoscopes and OMG! colors. Could I pick between the 2 collections? I don't think so. I like them both the same! Most of the colors in this collection, like the Kaleidoscopes, have been discontinued (sorry I don't know which ones! I was just told "most") so if you want them, get them while you can! They won't be around forever!

Dark Teal/Green Shimmer Comparisons

As promised, I did a comparison of Lippmann Collection - Don't Tell Mama against other dark green/blue shimmers. In the pictures, from left to right they are:

--- Lippmann Collection - Don't Tell Mama
--- Sinful Colors - See You Soon
--- Wet n Wild - Morbid
--- Misa - Toxic Seduction



Don't Tell Mama is definitely the darkest and the shimmer is what I would call teal, since it looks blue and green. See You Soon is on the blue side of that, and Morbid and Toxic Seduction are on the green side.

What do you think?

Lippmann Collection Fall 2009

Happy Monday, everyone! I am not thrilled to be starting the work week again, but to make me feel better, I bring you the beautiful fall collection from Lippmann Collection. It includes 2 hott polishes: Marquee Moon and Don't Tell Mama.

Marquee Moon - This is an opaque, metallic silver. It is perfect in 2 coats. The metallic is very smooth and chrome looking. It shows minimal brushstrokes. The best part about this polish, however, is the hexagonal glitter pieces! What I love about them is: 1) They are hexagons which I love (and they must be loved be Deborah Lippmann as well since this is following the 10th Anniversary Collection which has hexagons in every polish!) 2) They are large hexagons. I don't need to zoom in to show you that they are hexagons. 3) They are sparse and random making for a unique manicure. Every nail is different, but the whole look pulls together and looks incredible. 4) The hexagons that go on in the first coat get covered by the second coat, but you can see the outline of the shape. The hexagons that go on in the second coat sit on top and are very visible, and are super shiny. Add a topcoat and it is over-the-top awesome. They look like little mirrors. It makes for a party on your nails. Every time I look at it I think of disco balls, the circus or cirque du soleil. The only negative that I can think of is that you have to be conscious that you have glitter on the brush. They are sparse and random and you aren't guaranteed to have some on your brush on every dip. So it takes a little effort to dab off excess polish on the bottle neck, but not dab off glitter. It's not too much trouble though and it's worth it anyway.

Don't Tell Mama - This is a deep, almost black base with a dark teal shimmer. It's very beautiful and mysterious. I love to look at it in the bottle because on the edges you can see that the shimmer looks purple! I really wish that that duochrome look translated to the nail but sadly I don't see it. That would look incredible! But I shouldn't take away from this polish's beauty. I must say though, that if you have a problem with polishes that look too black this may may not be for you. I don't know if I can say that it is too dark. I am usually upset with almost black polishes and I really love this one on my nails, but everyone's tastes are different. It is pretty dark though, so consider it if you don't want to be disappointed. I am planning a comparison of other dark blue/green shimmers show you can think about it. I did a close up bottle shot to show the purple edges I'm talking about:

This collection is available now at Lippmann Collection and each polish retails for $16.00.

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.
Special Thanks to Gabby & Arleny, Tractenberg & Co. and Lippmann Collection