Rebel Debutante Swatches - Spring 2010

Hello all! I went ahead and got myself the 7-piece set of one of Color Club's newest releases: The Rebel Debutante Collection. I didn't get the blue and neon green though. It's so weird they released a collection of 7 + 2. I know it's been done, but I couldn't resist swatching all of these for you. I can't let a whole collection (sort of) keep from being swatched and posted.

Who Are You Wearing? - I love shades like this! It's a soft, slightly gray, white creme. The only drawback was that I had to do 4 coats of it and it still looks a bit streaky.

High Society - This is a "greige" creme. I like the look of it a lot and it's a great alternative to Deborah Lippmann's Waking Up In Vegas which I compared here. It's on the thin side though and needed three coats.

Best Dressed List - I really liked the look of this tan in the bottle but I don't find it flattering on my nails. :c( Too bad. It reminds me of a baby deer. This is two coats.

Charity Ball - I was so excited to get this shade. I love an odd polish color and this one definitely is. Question was, though, is it going to be ugly-pretty or just plain ugly once I got it on? Well I can say that I love it on me! It's so odd but works. This is three coats.

Uptown Girl - Dusty, grayed purple. Always chic. This is two coats.

She's So Glam - I don't normally go for pinks and definitely not Barbie, bubblegum pinks like this, but I have to admit the truth: I really like my nails in this. This is three coats.

Ms. Socialite - And my favorite! This is a very rich, red sided purple creme and I love it! This swatch is two coats. It has the best application of all these shades too. Very smooth, pigmented and easy to apply.

So overall I can say that this isn't the most exciting collection ever. I wasn't jumping up and down over it's release like some collections, especially Color Club collections, but I do like almost all the shades. I think they make a nice addition to my collection and they are all pretty chic and work safe at the same time. The formula is on the thin side, but manageable.

What do you think?

Flat Splat

I thought up a great chrome-on-matte manicure while doing the one I showed you yesterday, and I thought I would save it for a while... although I don't know what I would save it for! Except maybe keeping thing fresh here and not giving you back-to-back similar posts. Well, I couldn't wait and did this beauty immediately:

My Flat Splat manicure!

I started with a base of Orly - Matte Vinyl, an awesome super flat, black creme and then stamped with Konad plate M21 and various, bright, chrome polishes.

I used six different chrome shades for this look:

• China Glaze - Cherish
• China Glaze - Adore
• China Glaze - Harmony
• Sally Hansen - Blue Sapphire
• Revlon - Punch Chrome
• Revlon - Copper Chrome

And we can leave out righty!

Have a great weekend!
-Elaine
:c)

There's a New Sheriff in Town

I have been waiting to do this manicure for a looong time. I bought this Konad plate weeks ago but then had to secure OPI - Russian Navy matte which I finally did. And here is the final look:

I used China Glaze - 2030 to stamp with. I adore chrome stamped on matte. It' s like my favorite thing ever! I wish that the badge came out crisper. In person it doesn't look bad but this zoomed close-up shot doesn't flatter it.

I love the little gun!

Happy Friday!

Black Label OPIs

I'm back with more. Told you I would be!

I got a hold of a few black label OPI nail polishes from a friend. What does "black label" mean? I will tell you:

Nowadays most new nail polishes are free of the 3 big "bad" chemicals: toulene, formaldehyde, and dibutyl phthalate (DBP). You will often polish-heads refer to them as "the big three" and polishes without them as "big three free" or "B3F".

You can quickly spot bottles that have had their chemical formulations changed among some of our favorite brands, such as OPI, Essie and China Glaze by their labels. Newer China Glaze bottles have black labels with white writing, indicating they are B3F, where as older bottles have white labels with black writing, meaning they were made before the formulation change.

The same is true of OPI, but a little different. Newer polishes released by OPI have white labels with green text, and older bottles before the formulation change have white labels with black text, deeming them "black label OPIs".

Black label on left, green label (B3F) on right

I recently explained this to a friend and she was intrigued. While visiting family she snagged a few OPIs from her sister for me to play with since they were black label, meaning they may be pretty old. I suspect some may be extremely old. I have never even heard of any of these shades. Want to see? Sure!

Royal Flush Blush - This is a blush pink metallic. Has some brush strokes but I could live with it. I don't know that I would actually ever wear it though.

Pink-Ing of You - Now this one I have heard of. Unfortunately this one broke on my friend. I really don't trust OPI bottles. She managed to save most of it and put it in a Cover Girl bottle. The application was rather horrible. I needed to do 4 coats and it still isn't even but it may be because of the Cover Girl brush. I don't know.

God Save The Queen's Nails - I love this one for the name. And that is about it. The application was rather uneven and needed three coats. And the color rather bores me. Burgundy shimmer...whatever. Next.

Gala Gold - This I can get on board with. This is a gold shimmer. I did three coats for this swatch. What I love about it is that it is not like any other gold I have seen. It isn't a warm yellow gold, but it isn't a neutral or rose gold either. It is like a peach gold? Does that make sense? Whatever it is I like it a lot.

Japanese Rose Garden - Oooh. Another winner. I know it is pink, but it is a pink I really like! It is a creamy, cool pink with a bit of silver shimmer. This swatch is two coats.

Prince George's Passion - Another great name! This is a dusty brick red creme. I am sure OPI has a million of them but this one is nice. This swatch is two coats for the camera, but I wore it as a mani a couple weekends ago and I was able to do just one coat! And it looked great! I wore it for a few days.

Hawaiian Orchid - Another winner! This is a sheer which I wouldn't normally get excited about, but I want to use it for a french mani real bad. It is super smooth and streak free and it has a bit of a blueish flashy shimmer.

Mother Road Rose - I found this rather similar to God Save The Queen's Nails so another snooze fest really, but the application was better than GSTQN. This was two coats.

So overall I like these a lot. Mostly I was excited to try some older shades I may have had a hard time finding if I really wanted to get a hold of them. I would have loved to get like, Rainforest, or some other highly sought after black label but these are nice too!

What do you think? Are you going to go inspect your bottle labels now?!
:c)
-Elaine

NOTD: 1969

Hello and Happy Hump Day! I wanted to show you guys what I did with the Urban Decay - Summer of Love shades for my nails today.

This is 2 coats of Psychedelic Sister topped with one coat of Love Light. This is super pretty and doing a great job of taking my attention! I love the glints of green and pink from the shimmer and this red is so pretty and interesting! Not your typical red, that's for sure.

Have a great Wednesday! I'll be back soon with another post before the day is out!
-Elaine
:c)

NOTD: A Little Bit of Konad Goes a Long Way

Good morning everyone! I have a cute little manicure to show you today. I think it is really fitting for the gloomy, rainy weather here in Chicago today. I didn't mean for it to match the gray day, however. It just sort of worked out that way! April showers...

I was wearing Diamond Cosmetics - Serendipity yesterday and thought I would add something to it instead of redoing my nails for today. I added a bow with Konad plate M59 China Glaze - Awaken, China Glaze - Millennium and a dotting tool. It's just a nice little added touch to an already great mani.

Have a great day! Hope you have clear skies where you are!
:c)
-Elaine

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.

Important Update on Rescue Beauty Lounge

I just got an email about the Spring release from RBL. If you didn't know, the Surf shades I showed you here sold out very quickly when they became available for pre-order. But they are back up:

So you missed out the first time? No worries. The surf nail polish colors are coming back in stock. Put your order in now so you don't miss out.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER

ORDERS WILL SHIP AT END OF APRIL 2010
72 HOURS ONLY
Monday 4/5- 11AM EST to Wednesday 4/7 11AM EST

If anything at all I highly recommend Diddy Mow. It is so unique and fabulous!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter! You didn't think I would leave you hanging without showing you my Easter nails, did you?!

:c)

For the base I used Sally Hansen - Lavender Cloud for all nails. Then I did "skittle" polka dots with various pastel cremes. From pinkly to thumb:

China Glaze - Re-Fresh Mint

No Miss - Boynton Beach Blue

China Glaze - Light As Air

Maybelline - Sweetie Pie

China Glaze - Lemon Fizz

I did all the dots with a dotting tool. What do you think? Fit the "Easter mani" bill?

-Elaine

Nailene Bedazzle Nail Decals

Hello everyone! Hope you are having a wonderful Friday and that you enjoyed my little joke post yesterday! April Fool's is so fun! I didn't get any major scams played on me, thank goodness.

I have had a really cute little mani on for the last few days and I thought I'd share. I was going to save this post until I did a few more test manis, but that probably isn't necessary and I just have to show you this.

This is NYX - Aurora, a mellow yellow shimmer, topped with the green flower decals. I have had this on for a couple days and I love it! And the flowers have held up great. Here are some pics of all the decals that come in this set:

The whole package. One thing I love about the package is that it is an easy open and resealable. So nice.

This is the sheet I got the flowers from. There are blue, sky blue, green and white. They also have a smidgen of iridescent glitter on them. I love these!

This sheet has pink and white decals in butterflies, stars, swirly things, and silver bullions.

This sheet has Greek letters and some sort of mythological pictures, maybe?

This sheet is all silver decals with a slight prismatic effect. There are stars, hearts, circles and moons. They remind me of stick-on earrings from when I was a kid.

Here are a couple other things I have done with these this past week:

This is the flower again on Color Club - Pucci-Licious. The other nails are Essie - Lilacism.

Here is the other hand from that mani. I used the silver bullions from the 2nd sheet. I love idea for this but I should have put on a topcoat to seal around the circles.

This is the flowers redone adding a shimmery sheer and topcoat. Notice how this looks more uniform and like the decals are really a part of this mani and not just a sticker ready to fall off. I had to redo the first one because I messed it up by not putting a topcoat on.

This is one of the pink butterflies over Revlon Streetwear - Drab. I thought the pink would make a nice contrast against the camouflage green. I think I was right! Again, should have put on a topcoat. It looks far too detached. And actually ending up cracking without a topcoat on.

Final Verdict: These definitely get a solid "A" from me. I love these! They are super cute and easy to use. It's just a sticker. Peel it off and put it on! The only negatives I found (and these are small) is just that they are brittle and will snap in half if you don't put on a topcoat. Plus they could catch things and peel off but this is easily remedied by putting on a topcoat. That's what I did for the yellow/green mani and its been holding on very well. The other negative is that the very small stickers can be a bit difficult to work with because they are tiny, but I remedied that. When I did the small silver circles I scraped them off the sheet and picked them up with an orange stick like I would do with rhinestones and positioned them where I wanted. Easy peasy.

You should be able to find these at drugstores and where Nailene products are sold. I believe they retail around $5-$6.

What do you think?

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.

Disguised Nail Polish Review

Disguised Nail Polish - For Concealed Carry

For immediate release: This is a new line of products for ladies (or men) to easily conceal that they are carrying nail polish on their person. The line is an array of products to help make your bottle of nail lacquer look like something completely different. They are all ordinary, everyday items that would never get a double-take.



Doesn't this sound great?! I was a bit skeptical at first but I have definitely come around. Do you ever try to go out with your NP and think, "Gosh, I look like a weirdo. It's not like it's lipgloss. It's nail polish. People must think I'm nuts". Well not anymore! I have a few of these concealing items to test out for you guys! Let's take a look:




This may look like your everyday bottle of Excedrin, but if you look closely you can see that it is actually Sinful Colors - Cream Pink. Take that, migraine.

Well what do we have here?! A travel toothpaste? Could it be or is it actually a Maybelline nail varnish? Hmmmmmmm...........

Now to the untrained eye this may look like a pack of delicious Trident gum, but it is actually a Wet n Wild nail polish in disguise! Can you believe it? That is impressive



What do you think?

Oh, and before I forget... APRIL FOOL'S!