China Glaze Up & Away Swatches

Check out these bad boys! The Up & Away collection is truly stunning and a must have. There, I said it. Sorry to say it if you have been holding out. You need them.

I had purchased what I thought were the only colors I truly needed as soon as they were available on Transdesign.com. That was only 6 colors (out of 12). Well last week I saw them all in person and my mind changed big time on four more. Yup, I bought them. I feel a bit mad! Mad, as in crazy! I'm over it. I am thrilled I have these. I already gave you peeps of some of the shades in comparison swatches but today I am finally bringing out the full spectrum. Let's get on with it!>>>

Lemon Fizz - Holy bananas. This is a must have for sure because it is a 2 coat yellow and as we saw from the banana yellow comparison swatch, it is the gold medal for brightness, whiteness and application. It think it needs a better name than "fizz". "Fizz" makes me think of "fizzle" like "sizzle or fizzle" (fo shizzle) and that doesn't make it sound as hott as it is. This swatch is 2 coats.

Light As Air - Lavender pastel creme. This is very pretty and maybe not a must have for some if you have lavender shades but I really didn't own anything like it. I love it too! This is not crazy stark pastel. Just a nice sweet, light shade to rock in the spring or even still in the winter. This swatch is 2 coats.

Re-Fresh Mint - What a gorgeous little gem. This was also compared recently and you may have a different opinion, but of all the shades we looked at this looks like a perfect mint to me. I found that trying to get this on in 2 coats was a bad idea. I had to try and make the coats a bit thicker, but being that this is a pretty thick consistency it was then too thick and looked like crap. It looks much better done in 3 thin coats, which is what is in this swatch.

Happy Go Lucky - Great name! This is a very clean, bright, sunshine yellow and the application was great. I did feel I needed a third coat to totally eliminate any streak, but perhaps you could get it on in two. Sometimes yellow looks a bit "eh" to me. I want to love but don't always end up loving it. I love this one.

Grape Pop - Absolutely the most perfect medium purple creme. Not blue sided or red sided. Straight up, middle of the spectrum, royal purple. So pretty! This swatch is 2 coats.

Four Leaf Clover - Are you serious? Buy this.

Sugar High - This is one of the babies that came home from the store after it pleaded it's case. "Oh no, I am not your average pink creme. Mm mm. I am different. I have a bright pop, but not bubble-gummy. No ma'am. I know how you feel about bubblegum pinks and that is not me. I am saturated with color and am salmon-y, making me look sophisticated and appropriate for a grown woman, not a little school girl." So I fell for it. And I should have trusted the swatches I saw because they were right! This is a wildly bright, very, very close to neon pink. That bit of salmon I thought I saw ended up disappearing and this crazy glow came instead. It is far brighter than the picture depicts. It is bright. It is loud. It is bouncing off the walls. It is on a sugar high. This swatch is 2 coats.

Peachy Keen - Yet another second chance pretty. This one never really looked peach to me at all in swatches and it still didn't in store, but that may just be the reason I took it. I think it is more of a light orange (tangerine, perhaps?) and I am obsessed with orange. So naturally, I had to buy it. Creamcicle. That is it. It is creamcicle and maybe has a pinch of peach. This swatch is 2 coats.

High Hopes - What a fantastic name! It's so optimistic. This is a bright punchy coral. I feel like I have plenty corals but for some reason, this one was necessary. I think the thing that turned me on most was that it was very bright and very orange sided. Corals are just attractive anyway. I can't imagine coral looking bad on anyone. But I warn you. This is also wildly, bright. Nearly neon. Be prepared to turn heads with this one. This swatch is 2 coats.

Flyin' High - I wouldn't recommend it. What? Oh, the polish! Right. The reason I didn't order this at first was I guess I wasn't paying attention. It seemed to me that it was just a bright blue creme. Like we don't have a million of them? Next! But then I saw her in store and I realized: Flyin' High, I was wrong about you. You aren't like the others. You are different. There is something about you. You are mysterious. You are bold. You are unique. You go places other blues won't. You are the love of my life. What? Oh. Ahem. Excuse me. The point is this is unique and not like other bright, sky blue cremes. It is darker and has a smidgen of green. I wore this one day and actually had a hard time coming up with the color. Blue? Greenish? Tealish? Robin's egg teal? Depending on the lighting it can look very blue to blue-with-a-smidge-of-green to pretty f-ing green. It is very pretty, but very annoying. Final verdict: I say blue. But I have my eye on it.

So out of a 12 polish collection I felt that 10 were must haves. That has to be the best ratio I have for polishes I have picked up from collections. Other 12 polish collections I have gotten maybe 1-3 and some I pass all together. The only other large nab I can recall is the Romantiques (Also from China Glaze. Pattern?) from which I picked up 7 out of 12. What I am trying to say to you is if you are still on the fence for Up & Away, jump off! The colors are are truly unique. Great work China Glaze! The formula is incredible; Smooth and pigmented and easy to apply. Even the lighter ones, which ended up being thick, work just fine with a little control. And like I said about Re-Fresh Mint; if you have issues with the thickness, just do more coats, but thin coats. The end result will be worth it.

These are available now on all of our favorite e-tailers and I spotted them at Ulta as well. I think it will still be a few weeks until we see them at Sally's.

New Sinful Colors - Spring 2010

I think I have a Sinful Colors addiction . As soon as I knew Sinful Colors had released new shades I was on a hunt. I planned my routes every chance I got to get to a Walgreen's and snag the newbies. Well my hunting paid off and over the weekend I struck gold. I have a bunch of swatches of new colors and oh boy I am excited about them. First off, most of them...are... GREEN! YES! :cD Second, they are super pigmented and go on in two coats, definitely. No sheer babies here. Check out these hotties>>

Happy Ending - This name is just adorable. I can't help but feel all fuzzy from it! But the color is fierce! It is so not what I would expect from the name. This is a mega-bright, nearly-neon, lime green shimmer. It stopped my heart when I got it on. This swatch is two coats.

Easy Going - Awesome, bold, stark, baby pink, creme. This looks nearly white, but with a hint of pink. Not the same as Sally Hansen - Lavender Cloud's hint of purple though I think this looks obviously pink. The formula is thick, but manageable. Not thin and streaky, needing several coats. I got it on in two coats and it was smooth without a topcoat.

Innocent - Another awesome, ironic name. This does not look innocent. This is a bright, bizarre, very yellow, light green. The formula is again thick, but manageable and very pigmented. It was very close to being a one coater. This swatch is two coats.

Mint Apple - What is it with mint apples? I know I did actually find them on the internet, but it is still strange to me. Anyway, Mint Apple is a pale minty, jade shade that is very blue-sided and shimmery. This swatch is two coats. Before I saw this in person I thought this would be close to being a Chanel - Jade dupe, but it is far from it. I do not actually own Jade, but apparently Dream Catcher from Claire's is pretty close so I did a comparison of Mint Apple against Dream Catcher:

Mint Apple is on the left and Dream Catcher is on the right. Mint Apple is clearly darker and bluer. With all the mints we have available I am really close to being minted-out, but this is not comparable to any of the mints I have. Awesome.

Rise and Shine - What a cheery name! There should be an exclamation point at the end. "Rise and Shine!" Much better. This is a bold, bright, shamrock green shimmer. This swatch is two coats. It reminded me of China Glaze - Four Leaf Clover as I put it on, but FLC is a creme (no shimmer) and it is more green, where Rise and Shine(!) is more blue.

Soul Mate - This is a rose pink creme with peachy undertones. This shade is very pretty and conservative, but not boring. I really like this shade. And guess what? This smooth, pigmented formula allowed me to do only one coat for this swatch.

Tapping Nails - Holy Moly! This is H-O-T-T! I know it just looks like an orange shimmer but it's not. At first when I got this home I thought it was Sinful Colors - Courtney Orange repackaged. I was thankfully wrong. This is a super bright, bold, red-orange with coral undertones and it has an "oil-slick", duochrome, yellow-green, shimmer. I have a feeling this is a Zoya - Gwin dupe form the new Reverie collection. This is a stunner. This shimmer is more pronounced in real life than in the photo. The camera doesn't pick up the shimmer very well in the darker areas of the swatch , but it is still there in real life. This is way too good to be a $2 polish. This is a must have.

There are all winners in my book. I actually love all these new shades and I am yet again blown away by the way Sinful Colors is stepping up their formula. These are super, super pigmented. Sinfuls get a bad rap for being sheer, but not these. Not a sheer in site. All are very pigmented and smooth too. No disappointments. I promise. :c)

There should be rolling out to a drugstore near you and retail for $1.99.

What do you think? :c)
-Elaine

New Orleans Saints Mani

Hello fanatics and football fans! I decided to do a mani for the Superbowl in honor of the New Orleans Saints. I have been rooting for them this year (when not supporting my beloved Bears!) and thought a Saints mani was in order. Plus I love combinations of black and gold so I have an extra excuse to do it! Apologies to my international readers. I know American football is not an international sport like futbol, but I love it!

I started by painting the whole nail with China Glaze - Passion. Next I halfmooned it with the majority of the nail in black. Then I added Essie - Matte About You to make the whole nail flat. The reason being I love foils stamped over flat black. It looks so hott. Then I stamped the Fleur-de-lis on all nails with Passion and Konad plate M15.

Hope you all enjoy the game, snacks and beer! (and commercials!)

It's a Full Moon! Nope. I Was Wrong.

Hello! I have some pics of a few halfmoon manicures I rocked recently. I have had a big thing for them!

This one consists of Sally Hansen - Commander in Chic for the moons and OPI - You Don't Know Jacques! MATTE for the rest of the nail. They are so close it color! YDKJ is a bit darker and after a day of wear, as the matte gets more satiny and smooth, it gets even darker.

This one is a bit more subtle. It is Zoya - Goldie for the moons and OPI - Dazzled By Gold for the rest.

And this one! I love this one. This is Rescue Beauty Lounge - Underwear for the moons and Mode Cosmetics - Tatt-Tastic, a dark dusty navy, for the rest.

This is how I accomplish this look. A lot of times when I do a halfmoon mani it is just a way to spice up a manicure I have already had on for a day or more. I take reinforce stickers that are used for loose-leaf paper, cut them in half, and place them on the lower portion of my nail. Then paint the rest of the nail with the majority color, peel off the stickers (after each nail) and add top coat if necessary. Not for the matte ones of course.

Here is a couple you've seen already:

Rescue Beauty Lounge - No More War + China Glaze - Matte Magic

Sally Hansen - Thinking of Blue + OPI - Mad As A Hatter

What do you think of halfmoon manicures? Love 'em? Hate 'em?
-Elaine

Mint Creme Comparisons

Essie - Mint Candy Apple, China Glaze - Re-Fresh Mint, BB Couture - Laguna Lagoon, Barry M - Mint Green, Illamasqua - Milf

Hi junkies! This isn't a terribly original post, but it may be helpful. I did a comparison of China Glaze - Re-Fresh Mint from the new Up & Away collection against some of the other mints in my collection.

Across the top:
Essie - Mint Candy Apple
China Glaze - Re-Fresh Mint
BB Couture - Laguna Lagoon
Barry M - Mint Green (my MAC - Peppermint Patti dupe)
Thumb: Illamasqua - Milf

All swatches are three coats except for Milf at 2. Re-Fresh Mint is the cleanest and brightest and is closest to mint chocolate chip ice cream, which is a good standard to go by for mint, I think! Mint Candy Apple is very close to that but more blue. Laguna Lagoon is more yellow and more toned down (not as stark). Milf is very close to Laguna Lagoon but more dusty. Mint Green is not even really comparable to any of them, but is very beautiful.

Hope you like it!
-Elaine

Grammy-Gaga Inspired Nails

Hello all! How are all my lovely readers?! :c)

Photo Credit: Us Magazine.com

Today's mani is one I thought up after seeing Lady Gaga's red carpet dress for the Grammy's last Sunday. I wanted to emulate the un-parallel lines and the soft purple hues (as well as the crazy pointed accessory).

What the mani consists of:
China Glaze - Light As Air (like the dress. Doesn't look like if a gust of wind got caught under there she would just blow away?)
Milani - Cloud 9
China Glaze - Devotion
LA Colors Art Deco - Silver Glitter
China Glaze - Harmony
Not Pictured: Rhinestones, Seche Vite and striper brush

I started with a base of Milani - Cloud 9.
Next, I took the striper brush and used it with China Glaze - Light As Air to make several horizontal lines on each nail covering the entire nail, but making them un-parallel to each other, so some are straight and some are not and some intersect.
Then, I took China Glaze - Harmony and did the same thing over the first stripes.
After that, I did the same with China Glaze - Devotion.
Lastly, I did the same striping with LA Colors Art Deco - Silver Glitter.

I decided to throw in the starbust accessory on the thumbs. I took a drop of Devotion and added a bit of Harmony to it on a paper plate. I mixed them with a toothpick and using the striper brush I painted the starburst on my thumbs with the mixture. I added a lavender rhinestone to the center.
Finally I topped all the nails with a coat of Seche Vite top coat and viola! Nails to go "gaga" for!!


Aren't you glad I didn't use this for inspiration?! :cD >>>

Photo Credit: The Washington Post

Have a great day!
-Elaine

I Am Not Crazy. There are Two Sunsets

What? You don't believe me?

Last week I posted a gorgeous nail polish that I had found: Maybelline - Sunset Prisms. I told you guys that I believed there was something screwy going on as I was sure that "Sunset Prisms" was an entirely different color. I was right. Behold; my two sunsets:

Straight on they don't look too different, but from the angled shot you can see the different shimmer colors and the bases are two different colors as well.

I have dubbed these Version 1 and Version 2. Version 1 is the one I showed you last week. It is a bright pink base with a strong gold shimmer. Version 2 is an orange base with a green shimmer.

But they are labeled the same. The front labels of these bottles are different which is why I have given them the numbering I have. I believe the front label of Version 2 is newer, therefore that is the most recent version; Version 1 being the original. This is just a guess. I don't actually know for sure.

What I do know is that they are both hott! Glad I have them both!

PS - Happy Groundhog day!

Blue Blue Blue

Happy Monday all! Hope yours is good! I can't say mine isn't but it wasn't the greatest start to the day. It's all good though. I'm staying positive!

I finally saw Avatar over the weekend and all that blue got me thinking of a Avatar-inspired, blue manicure. So I did one!

I used BB Couture - Kyona Beach as a base, stamped with China Glaze - Adore from the Romantiques Collection (my favorite Konad polish) and Konad plate M57.

I took it a step further with a little blue glitter accenting some of the stripes with LA Colors Art Deco - Blue Glitter. I don't know if I like it as much with the glitter, but it's still nice.


Did you like Avatar? Have you seen it? Did you see it in 3D? I did! It was awesome! I haven't been to a 3D movie in years. Like, maybe 10 years? I plan to go to more now though.

Color Club - Rebel Debutante Collection Giveaway

Do you read Painted Lady Fingers? You should! She has teamed up with Color Club to bring us a giveaway of the new Color Club - Rebel Debutante Collection!

(Photo courtesy of Painted Lady Fingers)

Head HERE to enter! Contest open until February 13th.