OPI Femme de Cirque

This spring, step right up and enjoy Femme de Cirque by OPI, four new breathtakingly dreamy additions to the SoftShades collection, designed to unleash a woman’s inner ring mistress. The collection includes three pink hues and one sheer glitter coat that can be worn on its own or painted over any of the other lacquers for an entirely new look.

These all look rather similar so what I am going to do is show them to you from least pink to most pink:

So Many Clowns, So Little Time - This is a sheer, squishy white with hints of pink and peach. This swatch is 4 coats. If you want to wear it with decent opacity, this is probably about how many coats you will have to do. I used this for a french manicure and it was awesome. I only used one coat for that. I would show pics but it really didn't photograph well.

Step Right Up! - This is a very white pink in a squishy, jelly form. This is the most opaque of the pinks. This swatch is three coats and as you can see, the opacity is decent. I like the cleanness of this shade.

In The Spot-Light Pink - This is a glossy, sheer, pink. This is the most sheer of the bunch. This swatch is 4 coats and as you can see this is never going to get to a reasonable opaque mani, but the smoothness, and shade could pass for a finished polished look if you like this. I would suggest it for a french manicure though.

I Juggle... Men (shown over black) - This is a clear with purple shimmer. I inspected this closely trying to figure out if it is blue, purple and red shimmer all mixed together, or if it was one shimmer that flashed all the colors. Regardless, that is the colors you get and I like!

So my final thoughts are that these are lovely shades. I think you can get away with wearing a couple of these alone but what I found great about these is that that they are fantastic for french manicures because they are perfectly smooth and apply evenly and not streaky at all. This allows you to do one coat, two coats, etc. However many you desire for your french.

And of course, I Juggle...Men is awesome.

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.

Sunday SPAM

Sunday SPAM is going to be a new featured article on my blog. Like many bloggers and nail junkies, I have a lot of polish. I have a lot of polish that I haven't worn. I have more polishes that I have not worn than that I have worn. I actually have enough untried shades to wear one a day for a whole year and beyond. I realize the chances I will succeed at doing a 365 untried challenge is very slim, but what I am going to do is at least attempt to do my nails everyday and then post all my manicures through the week on Sunday in an edition I am calling "Sunday SPAM".

Nina Ultra Pro - Blu Blaze -Oh blazes. This is hypnotic. This is a hot blue. It's not necessarily neon, but definitely has neon pigment because it dries matte (the look of which I enjoyed as well). This was my first experience with Nina Ultra and I am pleased. The only thing that sucked about it is the brush. Not a fan. It's very small making application a bit tricky but painting very carefully I got the job done.

e.l.f. - Coral - This was my first experience with e.l.f. This is a very inexpensive brand (the polishes retail for $1!) but I was never blown away by any of the shades. (I must note that I haven't checked out their color range in quite some time but it looks like there are some interesting shades now). I received this as an extra in a swap and so I thought I would take a chance. I was impressed. The brush is fantastic, the shade is much more interesting than I expected, and most importantly, and most shockingly, the formula is amazing. The swatch you are seeing is ONE COAT.

Color Club - Charity Ball - This is a very odd color. But it is so weird that I like it! I don't even know what to call this. It's like a really red brown. Like a brick color? Maybe it's burnt sienna? Or rust? I don't know but it's fun.

Mood Struck (hot/cold/in-between) - This I just found the other day. It was a pleasant surprise. I found a display at Rite Aid of mood polishes I had never seen before. This was the only one that I grabbed because a lot of them looked a lot like Claire's shades I already had but this one looked really nice. Cold it's a purple with blue shimmer and hot it's a bright blue with blue shimmer. This is awesome. The only problem I have with this is that it doesn't have a name!!!!!!!!!!!! I hate that. This is the display if you want to keep an eye out>>>


Zoya - Dove - I went ahead and got myself the entire Intimate collection and have used three of them so far and I am very pleased. This is a pretty, soft gray creme. Not too dark, too light, to warm, too cool...it's just right.

Misa - Touch The Rainbow - Oooooh! This is so pretty. I got comments on this baby. This is from the new Misa - Wishes collection. I have also worn a couple of the other shades in this collection and I am enamored with them all! They are so pretty. The soft shades are interesting colors and they are packed with a pretty shimmer that makes the whole look delicate, but beautiful.

Easter Mani - So I didn't exactly redo my mani, but I made it better! I dotted my Misa - Touch The Rainbow with Orly - Snowcone, Orly - Cashmere Cardigan and Nicole by OPI - My Lifesaver.

Hope you enjoyed my first installment of Sunday SPAM and I am super excited to bring you more! Happy Easter!

:c)
-Elaine

China Glaze - Island Escape Summer 2011

Take an exotic island escape with China Glaze this summer with a tropical, shimmering rainbow of brilliant bright colors! Mix and match these hot hues to add a candy-like pop to that summer manicure and pedicure.

108 Degrees - This is a beautiful, hot pink, glass-fleck shimmer. This is one of those "pinks-I-love". Very sparkly and flashy and hot hot pink!

Papaya Punch - This is an orange I love! This is a super pigmented, creamy orange. This reminds me of pumpkins, which isn't very summery, but it is still summer appropriate. The formula is a bit thick, but in a good way.

Electric Pineapple - This is fantastic! This is so weird. I really don't think calling it "pineapple" is terribly appropriate, because it's a very, very green yellow. It's definitely more green than OPI - Fiercely Fiona but more yellow than any other green in the same realm. So it's definitely unique. I did a cool mani with this plus China Glaze - Crushed Candy Crackle Polish.

Cha Cha Cha - This is a striking olivey green with strong gold shimmer. I'm sure you have all figured out by now that this is close to China Glaze - Moonpool, but not a dupe. Whether close or not it is beautiful in its own right and I love it.

Blue Iguana - Now I do not know any iguanas that look like this but if I did I would have a stash of blue iguanas. This is a sparkly, shimmery, deep pool blue. The shimmer is an intense glass fleck. It's very watery and the sparkle reminds me of sparkling water in the sunshine :c)

Señorita Bonita - This is a red toned, glass-flecked purple. Very pretty and not like anything I have. The picture really does not do this one justice.

These are 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.

Spring Nicoles

Nicole by OPI welcomes warmer weather with twelve new vibrant shades from the Something About Spring Collection, available exclusively at Target. From bold purples to fierce yellow metallics and iridescent shimmers, Something About Spring has a hue to accentuate every style.

I had an opportunity to wear most of these shades and not just swatch them and I am VERY pleased with this collection.

Dandy Lion - Starting strong. This is a bold, beautiful yellow shimmer. Probably close to China Glaze - Lighthouse. This is so refreshing and perfect for the season change! I loved wearing this and this is also what I used form my leopard mani.

You're S-teal The One - This is a shimmery bright, cobalt blue with a bit of purple duochrome in the shimmer. It's beautiful and makes me think of jumping in a pool.

Iceberg Lotus - This is awesome, glowing jungle green shimmer. The shimmer seems to have a bit of a blurple duochrome at angels as well. These shimmers are really amazing. I bet they would look outrageous with a matte top coat.

Nicole's Nickel - Now we're stepping up our game with glitter!!! This is a fantastic black sheer base crammed with silver multi-sized silver glitter. It creates a awesome silver/black plating finish.

Brilliant Idea - This is a brilliant idea. This is a clear base with multi-sized lime green glitter. This is bright, sparkly and very pretty. This got lots of compliments.

Sea How Far You Go - And we're stepping it up yet again! This amazing. This is a soft, olivey, antiquey, gold shimmer that is sort of a duochrome, but not quite. It is a warm gray at angles. Very interesting and unique.

Make A Comet-ment - (Shown over Sea How Far You Go) This is a fine holo glitter top coat. Not terribly unique, but very, very pretty.

Pink. Seriously. - HAHA! Love the name. This is a serious, saturated pink creme. Got this one on my toes.

I'm A Pool For Love - This is a super vampy, deep, deep, purple with a blurple shimmer. It's like a super vampy OPI - Ink. And I don't know what the name has to do with the color. Doesn't really look like a pool to me...

Pink-nic In The Park - This may be my least favorite, but still nice if you like more understated shades. It's a soft, sort of sheer, bubble-gum pink with a pinky, purply shimmer.

Shell Me The Truth - This is gorgeous. This is pale pink with a strong gold shimmer. This is stunning.

Daffy Dill - This is a "Shrek-esque" green creme. Rich in color and with a super-saturated formula. Awesome.

You should be able to find these shades at Target stores now!
What do you think?!
: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.

Rawr!

This is Nicole by OPI - Dandy Lion stamped with Konad and filled in with Revlon - Copper Chrome and China Glaze - 2030